Is it just me, or do Katy Couric and David Letterman seem to have a stronger hold on the issues than Sarah Palin? I think I would be scared witless if I were her. But then, she accepted the nomination. I guess she signed up to play with the Big People. That interview was painful to watch.
I have wondered recently why it is that Condoleeza Rice wasn't chosen. She would have served every purpose Sarah Palin has served, only she would have served so much more competently, and she would have been a political force to reckon with in her own right. I don't know if Rice would have secured my vote (I have become increasingly disillusioned with both the Republican and the Democratic parties), but Palin has certainly lost it.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Monday, September 29, 2008
Pancakes
29 September 2008, 10:55 PM
He asked me to make him pancakes,
and somewhere inside I sighed a deep,
exhausted sigh- I had wanted to sleep
until the last possible moment tomorrow.
Getting up in time for breakfast robs me
of fifteen minutes of comfort and home
in my warm bed that I won't ever get back.
But outwardly I smiled, said yes,
and my affirmation opened a door into
the broken heart of a little boy,
made a way in the wilderness for my son
to say the words I knew would come
the day his father left, the day I knew
we would never come back,
and we all were surely better for it.
My son told me a story with his eyes
and tears which, for now, did not fall
because while other places seem less so,
this house will always be home.
I make him pancakes, and by this simple
(if sometimes grudging) act, he knows.
He knows my love for him.
He asked me to make him pancakes,
and somewhere inside I sighed a deep,
exhausted sigh- I had wanted to sleep
until the last possible moment tomorrow.
Getting up in time for breakfast robs me
of fifteen minutes of comfort and home
in my warm bed that I won't ever get back.
But outwardly I smiled, said yes,
and my affirmation opened a door into
the broken heart of a little boy,
made a way in the wilderness for my son
to say the words I knew would come
the day his father left, the day I knew
we would never come back,
and we all were surely better for it.
My son told me a story with his eyes
and tears which, for now, did not fall
because while other places seem less so,
this house will always be home.
I make him pancakes, and by this simple
(if sometimes grudging) act, he knows.
He knows my love for him.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Fall of Night
28 September 2008, 9:06 PM
I wonder where she's been- the Poet
who used to come alive so easily.
On hiatus, leaving me to find
the words with which to paint a picture
of the cornflower sky today, and the little
girl, the little boy, competing so violently
for me, for you, for whatever patch
of territory might be claimed by one
or the other. And in the midst of chaos
does the poet crouch upon her haunches,
waiting to pounce from the darkness,
take me by surprise, remind me
poetry dwells in the most unexpected
places of the Darkness, of the Light,
of the interplay of both, and the radiant
palette of sunset ere the fall of night.
I wonder where she's been- the Poet
who used to come alive so easily.
On hiatus, leaving me to find
the words with which to paint a picture
of the cornflower sky today, and the little
girl, the little boy, competing so violently
for me, for you, for whatever patch
of territory might be claimed by one
or the other. And in the midst of chaos
does the poet crouch upon her haunches,
waiting to pounce from the darkness,
take me by surprise, remind me
poetry dwells in the most unexpected
places of the Darkness, of the Light,
of the interplay of both, and the radiant
palette of sunset ere the fall of night.
Stranger in a Foreign Land
28 September 2008, 6:05 PM
Worship is, or should be,
a familiar experience. That's how
the Sacred makes her way into
a heart- through the vein of gentle,
meaningful repetition of Truth.
Faces, as much as words, convey
the gravity, and the joy,
of understanding the Story is bigger
than we are, and yet it is very much
Who We Are. Something is missing,
out of place when the faces we know
are miles away, and the melodies
of the Holy Place are not our own.
Of course, every Home was once
a Foreign Land, and some things alien
may, with time, become ourselves.
They may.
Worship is, or should be,
a familiar experience. That's how
the Sacred makes her way into
a heart- through the vein of gentle,
meaningful repetition of Truth.
Faces, as much as words, convey
the gravity, and the joy,
of understanding the Story is bigger
than we are, and yet it is very much
Who We Are. Something is missing,
out of place when the faces we know
are miles away, and the melodies
of the Holy Place are not our own.
Of course, every Home was once
a Foreign Land, and some things alien
may, with time, become ourselves.
They may.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Thoughts Political
I find myself in a conundrum for the upcoming election, and because of a comment thread I read online yesterday, I'm beginning to understand why.
In a conversation on Facebook, TJ Schwab was discussing the unconstitutionality of Roe v. Wade. Hear me-- he was not debating the highly emotional issue of abortion itself, and I have no idea what his position on the issue is. What I find incredibly freeing is that in this instance, it really doesn't matter. He was commenting solely on the fact that Roe v. Wade is a prime example of the federal government passing judgment and creating precedences which pave the road to unconstitutional federal laws.
When this country comes to election time, each voting citizen must make dozens of decisions with the pulling of a lever. In a matter of moments, we elect officials who will make decisions about national defense and domestic maintenance. Those same officials will set the moral climate of the country-- they often build their platforms around the influence they will wield on such subjects, and I find this to be a most vile form of political manipulation. It is well nigh impossible for me to vote for someone whose political agenda I respect, because I often find that person's social or moral agendas unconscionable. And it is impossible for me to vote for someone whose moral agenda is more in line with mine, because I am so profoundly at odds with their ideas of what national defense should look like.
Our laws are very much the same way. Apparently if you read laws from the 1790s (I have my reading cut out for me for the next few weeks), they are single page documents, simple and to the point, and there's no question as to what they mean. These days, a single bill may span 20 pages and such unrelated issues as "highways and pig farming and toenail cutter manufacturing," to quote my husband, "and then there's something in there about opposing child torture, and nobody can veto that. So we have a toenail clipper factory built in the middle of a pig farm, and nobody understands why."
Exactly.
So as I was saying, when I go to the polls this year, I should be able to vote on issues of national defense and domestic maintenance without the emotional and religious albatross of abortion and similar moral issues on my mind. Those issues can be tackled more locally, at the state level, where I can actually hope to make a difference. But as it stands, I cannot vote for either candidate without supporting 21st century military imperialism on the one hand, or partial birth abortion on the other. What we should be voting on are NATIONAL issues, not moral issues. Anything that does not directly violate the constitution, as I understand the original plans for the governance of this country, should fall to the states to decide, and so should have nothing to do with the presidential election.
In a conversation on Facebook, TJ Schwab was discussing the unconstitutionality of Roe v. Wade. Hear me-- he was not debating the highly emotional issue of abortion itself, and I have no idea what his position on the issue is. What I find incredibly freeing is that in this instance, it really doesn't matter. He was commenting solely on the fact that Roe v. Wade is a prime example of the federal government passing judgment and creating precedences which pave the road to unconstitutional federal laws.
But the gist of it is, the Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade on the 14th amendment, even though at the time that the 14th amendment was ratified in 1867 (i think) there were abortion laws in nearly thirty states, which would insinuate that the 14th amendment was passed to not include "the right to an abortion". This is what we conservatives call "legislating from the bench". The 10th amendment states that all issues not addressed herewith shall revert to the States. Therefore, this is a states rights issue and Roe v. Wade was decided incorrectly. So can someone be pro choice and against Roe v. Wade? You bet. The states shall decide this issue.The issue that I'm wrestling with after reading his comments is a bit removed, though not completely, from the original conversation, which involved the constitutionality, or lack thereof, of "legislation from the bench." Roe v. Wade is just an example of how we've gotten to the point where certain things that should not fall under the jurisdiction of the federal government, now *do* in fact fall under the jurisdiction of the federal government
When this country comes to election time, each voting citizen must make dozens of decisions with the pulling of a lever. In a matter of moments, we elect officials who will make decisions about national defense and domestic maintenance. Those same officials will set the moral climate of the country-- they often build their platforms around the influence they will wield on such subjects, and I find this to be a most vile form of political manipulation. It is well nigh impossible for me to vote for someone whose political agenda I respect, because I often find that person's social or moral agendas unconscionable. And it is impossible for me to vote for someone whose moral agenda is more in line with mine, because I am so profoundly at odds with their ideas of what national defense should look like.
Our laws are very much the same way. Apparently if you read laws from the 1790s (I have my reading cut out for me for the next few weeks), they are single page documents, simple and to the point, and there's no question as to what they mean. These days, a single bill may span 20 pages and such unrelated issues as "highways and pig farming and toenail cutter manufacturing," to quote my husband, "and then there's something in there about opposing child torture, and nobody can veto that. So we have a toenail clipper factory built in the middle of a pig farm, and nobody understands why."
Exactly.
So as I was saying, when I go to the polls this year, I should be able to vote on issues of national defense and domestic maintenance without the emotional and religious albatross of abortion and similar moral issues on my mind. Those issues can be tackled more locally, at the state level, where I can actually hope to make a difference. But as it stands, I cannot vote for either candidate without supporting 21st century military imperialism on the one hand, or partial birth abortion on the other. What we should be voting on are NATIONAL issues, not moral issues. Anything that does not directly violate the constitution, as I understand the original plans for the governance of this country, should fall to the states to decide, and so should have nothing to do with the presidential election.
Monday, September 08, 2008
Texans in Kentucky
I was dropping some stuff off at the Goodwill donation center down the road when an African American man in a cowboy hat walked up with some things. Being the Texan that I am, I had to comment, so I said, "Nice hat. I'm a Texan. I love to see folks in cowboy hats." I immediately felt stupid once the words were out of my mouth. It's not as if Texas has a corner on the cowboy hat market. But the man flashed a proud smile and said, "I'm from Texas too. I'm a retired State Trooper." *Very* cool! I said, "NO WAY!" And he said, "I AM SO!" and proceeded to pull out his wallet, which held the proof of his prior employment with the Texas State Troopers. What a cool interaction. As we were leaving, he said, "I surely do miss Texas. Yes ma'am, I do."
Friday, September 05, 2008
10 Reg
5 September 2008, 10:27 AM
I never believed my Ten Year Reunion would come.
It's four years gone.
My faded jeans don't fit the way they did
five years ago. I find my washboard has diminished
imperceptibly to a soft-sided hamper, spills over denim
whose dimensions have defined the entirety of my person
since highschool. I begin to realize the efficacy of a corset,
surrounded as I am by so many calorie counters
and thighless waifs. Whose consent I seek to be a woman,
as my body and mind define womaness, I cannot say.
I recall the recent, admiring words of a well-meaning friend--
he said I'd not changed a stitch in fourteen years.
I know better. I have.
What if he could see the hard-body-gone-soft with years
and child-bearing, as it should, as is not allowed
in this age of silicone and suction, of Atkins and all-protein
diets which rob the body of years and deliver something
so much less than life? What of his approval then?
What of affirmation I choose to take from such insinuations?
Inspired by The Weekend Wordsmith
I never believed my Ten Year Reunion would come.
It's four years gone.
My faded jeans don't fit the way they did
five years ago. I find my washboard has diminished
imperceptibly to a soft-sided hamper, spills over denim
whose dimensions have defined the entirety of my person
since highschool. I begin to realize the efficacy of a corset,
surrounded as I am by so many calorie counters
and thighless waifs. Whose consent I seek to be a woman,
as my body and mind define womaness, I cannot say.
I recall the recent, admiring words of a well-meaning friend--
he said I'd not changed a stitch in fourteen years.
I know better. I have.
What if he could see the hard-body-gone-soft with years
and child-bearing, as it should, as is not allowed
in this age of silicone and suction, of Atkins and all-protein
diets which rob the body of years and deliver something
so much less than life? What of his approval then?
What of affirmation I choose to take from such insinuations?
Inspired by The Weekend Wordsmith
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