Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Monday, July 30, 2007
hot monday-hot week forecast.
i spent a lot of time this weekend looking for poems, anything, an idea, a word or two, ANYTHING!
i wandered around the bar, the parking lot then woods and such.
i sat on a landing and stared into a big dumpster for an hour or more.
i could almost catch a thought, but in the end
nothing.
no use trying to force it.
i spent a lot of time this weekend looking for poems, anything, an idea, a word or two, ANYTHING!
i wandered around the bar, the parking lot then woods and such.
i sat on a landing and stared into a big dumpster for an hour or more.
i could almost catch a thought, but in the end
nothing.
no use trying to force it.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
i really should have remembered my camera.
yesterday was the annual club picnic.
there were many, many moments that should have been
preserved for the ages on film!
me, i forgot my camera, but there were a lot
of cell phone cameras clicking away.
some of those photos may come back to haunt people! ; )
it was fun, but boy, i'm tired today.
yesterday was the annual club picnic.
there were many, many moments that should have been
preserved for the ages on film!
me, i forgot my camera, but there were a lot
of cell phone cameras clicking away.
some of those photos may come back to haunt people! ; )
it was fun, but boy, i'm tired today.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Bessie Smith
Empty Bed Blues
I woke up this morning with a awful aching head
I woke up this morning with a awful aching head
My new man had left me, just a room and a empty bed
Bought me a coffee grinder that's the best one I could find
Bought me a coffee grinder that's the best one I could find
Oh he could grind my coffee, cause he had a brand new grind
He's a deep sea diver with a stroke that can't go wrong
He's a deep sea diver with a stroke that can't go wrong
He can stay at the bottom and his wind holds out so long
He knows how to thrill me and he thrills me night and day
Oh he knows how to thrill me, he thrills me night and day
He's got a new way of loving, almost takes my breath away
Lord he's got that sweet somethin' and I told my girlfriend Lou
He's got that sweet somethin' and I told my girlfriend Lou
From the way she's raving, she must have gone and tried it too
(Part 2:)
When my bed get empty make me feel awful mean and blue
When my bed get empty make me feel awful mean and blue
My springs are getting rusty, sleeping single like I do
Bought him a blanket, pillow for his head at night
Bought him a blanket, pillow for his head at night
Then I bought him a mattress so he could lay just right
He came home one evening with his beret way up high
He came home one evening with his beret way up high
What he had to give me, make me wring my hands and cry
He give me a lesson that I never had before
He give me a lesson that I never had before
When he got to teachin' me, from my elbow down was sore
He poured my first cabbage and he made it awful hot
He poured my first cabbage and he made it awful hot
When he put in the bacon, it overflowed the pot
When you git good lovin', never go and spread the news
Yes he'll doublecross you, and leave you with them empty bed blues
it's friday night!
geeeezzz, what a day. rain and more rain.
picked up 15 doz. ears of corn this morning for the club picnic.
that was a nice little drive(pre-rain)that i did enjoy(king's farm, great stuff)
then dropped that off(i got tomatoes, yum, and zucchini and a big cabbage and honey and jam)
then went shopping. picked mom up a new little t.v. since her's fried in that storm.
she has to watch her pirates! got her some peaches and nectarines and plums and eggs and bread.
picked up 1 of her meds and now i'm back.
there's a poem in there somewhere but i'm too tired to look.
picked up 15 doz. ears of corn this morning for the club picnic.
that was a nice little drive(pre-rain)that i did enjoy(king's farm, great stuff)
then dropped that off(i got tomatoes, yum, and zucchini and a big cabbage and honey and jam)
then went shopping. picked mom up a new little t.v. since her's fried in that storm.
she has to watch her pirates! got her some peaches and nectarines and plums and eggs and bread.
picked up 1 of her meds and now i'm back.
there's a poem in there somewhere but i'm too tired to look.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
i'm posting the reply i just received from my senator on darfur.
i have to say this for senator spector, he has always without fail, had the most detailed replies to send out on any given subject. his office has always been fast in replying as well.
whether it does any good or not. at least i try.
Thank you for contacting my office regarding the state of affairs in the Darfur region of Western Sudan . I appreciate hearing from you.
Tensions are not new to this drought plagued region where Arabic nomads and African farmers have long competed for land and resources. However, the current crisis began in February 2003 when two non-Arab Darfur rebel groups, the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), rose up against Sudan 's Arab dominated government, demanding the same resource and power-sharing concessions being offered to rebels in southern Sudan who were then engaged in peace talks to end a separate conflict with the Government in Khartoum .
The response from the Government of Sudan was swift and brutal. An estimated 200,000 Sudanese refugees fled to neighboring Chad telling of a scorched earth campaign being carried out by armed militias, known as the Janjaweed, supported by the Government of Sudan. While the Government bombarded villages from the air, the Janjaweed militias followed on the ground murdering men and children, raping and branding women, and pillaging and burning homes.
The House and Senate declared the atrocities in Darfur "genocide" in July 2004. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell, in remarks before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on September 9, 2004, stated that, "genocide has been committed in Darfur and that the Government of Sudan and the Janjaweed bear responsibility." Further, the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur , in its January 25, 2005 report to Secretary General Kofi Annan, found that, "the Government of Sudan and the Janjaweed are responsible for serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law amounting to crimes under international law."
On May 5, 2006, due to continued pressure by the U.S. Government, in particular the efforts of former Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick, the Government of Sudan and the strongest faction of the SLA signed the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA). The international community was hopeful that this agreement would pave the way towards a lasting peace in the region. Unfortunately the JEM and other small rebel groups did not sign the agreement, the Janjaweed has not been disarmed and violence persists resulting in the continued deterioration of the humanitarian and security situation.
Today, the situation in Sudan represents the worst humanitarian crisis facing the world. Some estimate that 400,000 people have died in the region as a result of violence, disease or starvation. The crisis has resulted in over 2 million people displaced from their homes and dependent on aid agencies for survival. In addition, the African Union (A.U.) peacekeeping force deployed in Darfur is slow, poorly equipped and too small. Moreover, it has a limited mandate that allows it to monitor but not enforce the cease-fire agreement, and is facing pressure from the government of Sudan to leave the region.
With so many lives hanging in the balance, it is vital that the U.S. demonstrate its commitment at the highest level to resolving the Darfur crisis. On March 8, 2007 I became the lead Republican sponsor of the Sudan Divestment Authorization Act of 2007 . This bill would support state and local community efforts to divest from companies that do business with the government of Sudan . On September 1, 2006, I wrote to President Bush urging he appoint a Special Envoy to Sudan charged to proactively work with all parties to fully implement the DPA and secure the deployment of a U.N. peacekeeping force capable of adequately providing security for the region. That same day, the U.N. Security Council approved a resolution authorizing the deployment of a large U.N. peacekeeping force with a mandate authorizing the use of force to protect civilians, relief workers and U.N. workers. Regrettably, the Government of Sudan has refused to accept a U.N. deployment, and is pressuring A.U. force to leave the region.
On September 5, 2006, I spoke on the Senate floor to again call for the appointment of a Special Envoy and to urge the government of Sudan to accept the deployment of a U.N. peacekeeping force. On September 7, 2006 I became an original cosponsor of S.Res. 599, which calls on the President to appoint a Special Envoy and enlist the support of China, Russia, and the Arab League in applying pressure on the government of Sudan to halt the violence and permit the deployment of a U.N. force. The resolution also urges the Government of Sudan to cease its military offensive in Darfur and allow the deployment of a U.N. force. On September 11, 2006, I joined twenty-six of my Senate colleagues in writing to President Bush to urge: rejection of the Government of Sudan's demand that A.U. forces leave Darfur; continued insistence that only a U.N. peacekeeping force can restore security in Darfur; the imposition of sanctions against those responsible for atrocities in the region; the establishment of a no-fly zone to prevent offensive military flights over Darfur; increased pressure on China, Russia, and the Arab League to use their influence to persuade the Government of Sudan to accept the deployment of a U.N. peacekeeping force; that an assessment of the funding needed for continued operations by A.U. forces and transition to a U.N. peacekeeping force be communicated to Congress; and the appointment of a Special Envoy.
On September 21, 2006, I became a cosponsor of the Darfur peace and Accountability Act of 2006 (S.3884) which amongst other things provides for: clear authority to provide the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) with all appropriate and necessary assistance; targeted sanctions on individuals determined by the President to be "complicit in, or responsible for, acts of genocide, war crimes or crimes against humanity in Darfur"; and a Sense of Congress that the international community should immediately act to mobilize forces and resources for the deployment of a U.N. peacekeeping force. President Bush signed a version of this bill into law on October 13, 2006. On October 6, 2006, I joined many of my Senate colleagues in writing to Amr Moussa, Secretary General of the League of Arab States, requesting he employ all diplomatic means to urge President El-Bashir to halt Sudan 's military offensive in Darfur , withdraw Sudanese troops from the area, and facilitate the deployment of UN peacekeepers to the region.
On October 27, 2006 I met in New York with Sudan 's Ambassador to the United Nations. During this meeting I stressed the necessity of Sudan 's immediate acceptance of a U.N. peacekeeping force.
I have consistently supported measures to help bring an end to the crisis. As a senior member of the Appropriations Committee I have helped ensure that the U.S. has been the largest international donor to Sudan . Since 2005, the U.S. has provided more than $300 million in non-food assistance to Darfur and $1.3 billion in humanitarian and reconstruction assistance country-wide. In addition, since 2004 the U.S. has contributed $240 million to the A.U. peacekeeping force in Darfur . On March 3, 2005, I joined some of my Senate colleagues in writing to Secretary Rice, to urge the development of a strategy to facilitate an end to the violence in Darfur . On April 11, 2005 I became a cosponsor of the Darfur Accountability Act (S.495). If enacted, this bill will provide support for A.U. peace keeping forces, call for a military no-fly zone over Darfur , extend the arms embargo to cover the Government of Sudan, and authorize the freezing of assets and denial of visas to those individuals responsible for genocide and crimes against humanity.
The crisis in Darfur is of great concern to me. I will continue to support all efforts which I believe can bring relief to the long suffering people of that region.
Thank you again for writing. The concerns of my constituents are of great importance to me, and I rely on you and other Pennsylvanians to inform me of your views. Should you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact my office or visit my website at http://specter.senate.gov.
Sincerely,
Arlen Specter
i have to say this for senator spector, he has always without fail, had the most detailed replies to send out on any given subject. his office has always been fast in replying as well.
whether it does any good or not. at least i try.
Thank you for contacting my office regarding the state of affairs in the Darfur region of Western Sudan . I appreciate hearing from you.
Tensions are not new to this drought plagued region where Arabic nomads and African farmers have long competed for land and resources. However, the current crisis began in February 2003 when two non-Arab Darfur rebel groups, the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), rose up against Sudan 's Arab dominated government, demanding the same resource and power-sharing concessions being offered to rebels in southern Sudan who were then engaged in peace talks to end a separate conflict with the Government in Khartoum .
The response from the Government of Sudan was swift and brutal. An estimated 200,000 Sudanese refugees fled to neighboring Chad telling of a scorched earth campaign being carried out by armed militias, known as the Janjaweed, supported by the Government of Sudan. While the Government bombarded villages from the air, the Janjaweed militias followed on the ground murdering men and children, raping and branding women, and pillaging and burning homes.
The House and Senate declared the atrocities in Darfur "genocide" in July 2004. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell, in remarks before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on September 9, 2004, stated that, "genocide has been committed in Darfur and that the Government of Sudan and the Janjaweed bear responsibility." Further, the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur , in its January 25, 2005 report to Secretary General Kofi Annan, found that, "the Government of Sudan and the Janjaweed are responsible for serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law amounting to crimes under international law."
On May 5, 2006, due to continued pressure by the U.S. Government, in particular the efforts of former Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick, the Government of Sudan and the strongest faction of the SLA signed the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA). The international community was hopeful that this agreement would pave the way towards a lasting peace in the region. Unfortunately the JEM and other small rebel groups did not sign the agreement, the Janjaweed has not been disarmed and violence persists resulting in the continued deterioration of the humanitarian and security situation.
Today, the situation in Sudan represents the worst humanitarian crisis facing the world. Some estimate that 400,000 people have died in the region as a result of violence, disease or starvation. The crisis has resulted in over 2 million people displaced from their homes and dependent on aid agencies for survival. In addition, the African Union (A.U.) peacekeeping force deployed in Darfur is slow, poorly equipped and too small. Moreover, it has a limited mandate that allows it to monitor but not enforce the cease-fire agreement, and is facing pressure from the government of Sudan to leave the region.
With so many lives hanging in the balance, it is vital that the U.S. demonstrate its commitment at the highest level to resolving the Darfur crisis. On March 8, 2007 I became the lead Republican sponsor of the Sudan Divestment Authorization Act of 2007 . This bill would support state and local community efforts to divest from companies that do business with the government of Sudan . On September 1, 2006, I wrote to President Bush urging he appoint a Special Envoy to Sudan charged to proactively work with all parties to fully implement the DPA and secure the deployment of a U.N. peacekeeping force capable of adequately providing security for the region. That same day, the U.N. Security Council approved a resolution authorizing the deployment of a large U.N. peacekeeping force with a mandate authorizing the use of force to protect civilians, relief workers and U.N. workers. Regrettably, the Government of Sudan has refused to accept a U.N. deployment, and is pressuring A.U. force to leave the region.
On September 5, 2006, I spoke on the Senate floor to again call for the appointment of a Special Envoy and to urge the government of Sudan to accept the deployment of a U.N. peacekeeping force. On September 7, 2006 I became an original cosponsor of S.Res. 599, which calls on the President to appoint a Special Envoy and enlist the support of China, Russia, and the Arab League in applying pressure on the government of Sudan to halt the violence and permit the deployment of a U.N. force. The resolution also urges the Government of Sudan to cease its military offensive in Darfur and allow the deployment of a U.N. force. On September 11, 2006, I joined twenty-six of my Senate colleagues in writing to President Bush to urge: rejection of the Government of Sudan's demand that A.U. forces leave Darfur; continued insistence that only a U.N. peacekeeping force can restore security in Darfur; the imposition of sanctions against those responsible for atrocities in the region; the establishment of a no-fly zone to prevent offensive military flights over Darfur; increased pressure on China, Russia, and the Arab League to use their influence to persuade the Government of Sudan to accept the deployment of a U.N. peacekeeping force; that an assessment of the funding needed for continued operations by A.U. forces and transition to a U.N. peacekeeping force be communicated to Congress; and the appointment of a Special Envoy.
On September 21, 2006, I became a cosponsor of the Darfur peace and Accountability Act of 2006 (S.3884) which amongst other things provides for: clear authority to provide the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) with all appropriate and necessary assistance; targeted sanctions on individuals determined by the President to be "complicit in, or responsible for, acts of genocide, war crimes or crimes against humanity in Darfur"; and a Sense of Congress that the international community should immediately act to mobilize forces and resources for the deployment of a U.N. peacekeeping force. President Bush signed a version of this bill into law on October 13, 2006. On October 6, 2006, I joined many of my Senate colleagues in writing to Amr Moussa, Secretary General of the League of Arab States, requesting he employ all diplomatic means to urge President El-Bashir to halt Sudan 's military offensive in Darfur , withdraw Sudanese troops from the area, and facilitate the deployment of UN peacekeepers to the region.
On October 27, 2006 I met in New York with Sudan 's Ambassador to the United Nations. During this meeting I stressed the necessity of Sudan 's immediate acceptance of a U.N. peacekeeping force.
I have consistently supported measures to help bring an end to the crisis. As a senior member of the Appropriations Committee I have helped ensure that the U.S. has been the largest international donor to Sudan . Since 2005, the U.S. has provided more than $300 million in non-food assistance to Darfur and $1.3 billion in humanitarian and reconstruction assistance country-wide. In addition, since 2004 the U.S. has contributed $240 million to the A.U. peacekeeping force in Darfur . On March 3, 2005, I joined some of my Senate colleagues in writing to Secretary Rice, to urge the development of a strategy to facilitate an end to the violence in Darfur . On April 11, 2005 I became a cosponsor of the Darfur Accountability Act (S.495). If enacted, this bill will provide support for A.U. peace keeping forces, call for a military no-fly zone over Darfur , extend the arms embargo to cover the Government of Sudan, and authorize the freezing of assets and denial of visas to those individuals responsible for genocide and crimes against humanity.
The crisis in Darfur is of great concern to me. I will continue to support all efforts which I believe can bring relief to the long suffering people of that region.
Thank you again for writing. The concerns of my constituents are of great importance to me, and I rely on you and other Pennsylvanians to inform me of your views. Should you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact my office or visit my website at http://specter.senate.gov.
Sincerely,
Arlen Specter
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
check out the cbs evening news website for info on how shabbily
some of our wounded vets are being treated.
http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/eveningnews/main3420.shtml
these people, these traumatic head injuries can be treated.
it just takes effort.
the government owes them that much!
i'll get off of my soap box now.
some of our wounded vets are being treated.
http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/eveningnews/main3420.shtml
these people, these traumatic head injuries can be treated.
it just takes effort.
the government owes them that much!
i'll get off of my soap box now.
i signed. it only takes a few mouse clicks. how hard is that?
Dear sherry,
Thanks again for urging your senators to send a strong signal to
the UN Security Council by co-sponsoring the Biden-Lugar
resolution.
It is up to our leaders to help ensure that the UN Security
Council authorizes a strong mandate for protecting civilians in
Darfur.
Please help us double Senate support for this critical
resolution by this Friday, July 27th by spreading the word to
your friends and family below:
http://ga6.org/campaign/peacekeeping/forward
We'll be in touch again soon with more information about how you
can help get a robust peacekeeping force on the ground.
Thank you again for your dedication to bringing peace to Darfur.
Best regards,
Colleen Connors
Save Darfur Coalition
--------------------------------------------
Donate to Help Save Darfur
Help build the political pressure needed to end the crisis in
Darfur by supporting the Save Darfur Coalition's crucial
awareness and advocacy programs. Click the link below to make a
secure, tax-deductible gift: http://www.SaveDarfur.org/Donate
-------------------------------------------
The Save Darfur Coalition is an alliance of over 180
faith-based, advocacy and humanitarian organizations whose
mission is to raise public awareness about the ongoing genocide
in Darfur and to mobilize a unified response to the atrocities
that threaten the lives of more than two million people in the
Darfur region. To learn more, please visit
http://www.SaveDarfur.org
looks like rain again.
there are still tree companies all over the aspinwall area
cutting up huge fallen trees.
the guide rails on trillium trail have dents in them that have shoved the metal down to the ground.
finally was able to go on my computer.
no connection since early a.m.
took my mom to her doctor appt. their computer service was down as well.
seems fine now, thankfully.
i gots ta have my computer!!!
there are still tree companies all over the aspinwall area
cutting up huge fallen trees.
the guide rails on trillium trail have dents in them that have shoved the metal down to the ground.
finally was able to go on my computer.
no connection since early a.m.
took my mom to her doctor appt. their computer service was down as well.
seems fine now, thankfully.
i gots ta have my computer!!!
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
been opening and closing my top file drawer.
i can't and yet, i can believe i tossed out 10 years worth of
stuff. i had promised myself i wouldn't get rid of ANY
of my
poems ever again.
but, you know, this time it was different.
this needed to be done. now,
to wait and let the muse smile for me,
once more rain words down onto my flesh,
let them soak into it.
it will be an adventure.
we can have it together.
i cleaned out my files
it was time. these are left overs.
words and emotions no longer needed.
thoughts better thrown in the garbage with
coffee grounds and moldy scraps.
words that i have dined on more than once.
leftovers cooked in the stock pot of my
skull and ladled out to any that stopped by.
wishing i had better for company.
i've picked off all the meat and sucked the marrow.
time to boil fresh water and pick the herbs,
wash the soil from emotions and serve a new dish.
these next 2 poems are from my friend
and i swear, a delightfully manic (but brilliant)englishman.
all we need is the mad dog and the midday sun.(noel coward)
anyway. he's been gone for awhile and he's back.
his work is in the archives here.
i loved these 2 poems and asked him if i could post them
he said yes and i'm glad.
give his website a look while you are at it.
i think you'll
be happy you did.
and i swear, a delightfully manic (but brilliant)englishman.
all we need is the mad dog and the midday sun.(noel coward)
anyway. he's been gone for awhile and he's back.
his work is in the archives here.
i loved these 2 poems and asked him if i could post them
he said yes and i'm glad.
give his website a look while you are at it.
i think you'll
be happy you did.
Drunk in New York
Wandering the streets
no longer mean
but welcoming
a belly full of Brooklyn lager
helps an open state of mind
and active sense of the absurd
I meet strange folk
the dispossessed
untamed and frankly weird
who would have danced
and rattled tins
on Bleecker and McDougal
in the changing times of Dylan
Electric-puppet-poet Toni the Beat
convulses on Mulberry Street
spinning like the cartoon Taz
and gabbing warp speed words
to anyone who listens
'Bukowski', she says
and I do understand
Tree-Man breaks the saplings off
in Roosevelt park
to fashion a gorilla nest
he will not use
cursing all and sundry
but not in malice
a demented Father Christmas
he gives warped benediction
for the sober
Czecho Father Charlie tells me
there's coke dealers
on the Bowery
'if you get good stuff' he says
'give some to me'
warns Tree-Man not to drink too much
then asks him for a beer
his parish are the sad and lonely lost
who do not ask his help
but get it anyway
his god is love
and I trust him
Bar stool skinner RL Haney
long white hair and cowboy boots
imagine Joe Buck 40 years on
playing Hank Williams / Stockhausen
on an ancient Hofner semi
neither can I but it's true
his Concert of Death
still has people talking
20 years on
on the upper west side
300 million ants it seems
in Chinatown
busy at their business
and a multitude of things
I'll never know about
'you want shoe?
gimme fi dollar'
I did
and they're comfy too
Ray the Broker
laughs at British humour
in the Patriot Lounge
and buys me Jagermeister
while Cydny dances on the bar
with tassels on her tits
her tips alone will pay for college
‘I love this bar’ some country singer warbles
on the jukebox
I know what he means
Drunk in New York
mick moss
Wandering the streets
no longer mean
but welcoming
a belly full of Brooklyn lager
helps an open state of mind
and active sense of the absurd
I meet strange folk
the dispossessed
untamed and frankly weird
who would have danced
and rattled tins
on Bleecker and McDougal
in the changing times of Dylan
Electric-puppet-poet Toni the Beat
convulses on Mulberry Street
spinning like the cartoon Taz
and gabbing warp speed words
to anyone who listens
'Bukowski', she says
and I do understand
Tree-Man breaks the saplings off
in Roosevelt park
to fashion a gorilla nest
he will not use
cursing all and sundry
but not in malice
a demented Father Christmas
he gives warped benediction
for the sober
Czecho Father Charlie tells me
there's coke dealers
on the Bowery
'if you get good stuff' he says
'give some to me'
warns Tree-Man not to drink too much
then asks him for a beer
his parish are the sad and lonely lost
who do not ask his help
but get it anyway
his god is love
and I trust him
Bar stool skinner RL Haney
long white hair and cowboy boots
imagine Joe Buck 40 years on
playing Hank Williams / Stockhausen
on an ancient Hofner semi
neither can I but it's true
his Concert of Death
still has people talking
20 years on
on the upper west side
300 million ants it seems
in Chinatown
busy at their business
and a multitude of things
I'll never know about
'you want shoe?
gimme fi dollar'
I did
and they're comfy too
Ray the Broker
laughs at British humour
in the Patriot Lounge
and buys me Jagermeister
while Cydny dances on the bar
with tassels on her tits
her tips alone will pay for college
‘I love this bar’ some country singer warbles
on the jukebox
I know what he means
Drunk in New York
mick moss
Still Howling - the next Generation.
dedicated to Alan Ginsberg
I saw the not particularly bright minds
of my generation
driven to obscurity
red brick Mickey Mouse degrees promised us
interesting world changing careers
but all we got were mortgages
interest rising
Thrust expectantly from the womb
of a post-war black and white
still rationed, once great nation
that shared its greatness
if you were born from the right stock
but we were not
From one room to baby boom, suburbia.
Bevin's babies with national reassurance
blue collars stained white
by the new blue whiteness
of copy-writers' lies
forged in the white heat of technology
gadgets in the ideal home
for the nuclear family
Our optimism shattered by Cuban missiles
and a man on the grassy knoll
while bombs rained down from LBJ
mothers running screaming napalmed
Buddhist monk barbecue
Charlie's brains blown out for the camera
boil in the bag convenience TV tea time
bland horrors daily
Ho Ho Ho Chi Minh
and Che washed up in a Bolivian bath house
while Mao Tse Tung said - Change must come
change must come through the barrel of a gun
Terence Conran made shopping fun
as our habitat degraded
Buy now, pay later, must have, have not
pot bellied, fly blown black babies starved
still - we had the Beatles
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Born with plastic spoons in our mouths
substitute fabric for the modern world
moulded multi-coloured in factories
scream in your grave Henry Ford
any colour as long as it's black
can sit in the back
too much it's a magic bus
They taught us Thomas Hardy and Jane Austen
but not Ken Kesey, too merry a prankster he
for their sensibilities, incensed by DH Lawrence
And yes our servants could have read it
if we had them
but we didn't
We laughed at such absurdities
but raged when they locked up Mick and Keef
who would break a butterfly on a wheel?
the News of the World with no news
but vicars and tarts
prurient where Oz never was
yet still they slammed it
The small minded blinded Mary Shitehouses
of this scandalized post Profumo island
where the pavements of Grosvenor Square
were splattered with teenage blood
where Queer was a dirty word
Where a young milk snatcher rubbed her dry cunt
dreaming of her beefcake bean-counting gurus
Maynard Keynes and Milton Friedman
and the power she would one day wield
in Middle England
Where a nouveau-riche phoney middle class
sold votes for loadsa money
and the right to buy
their council hovels
where joy riders ripped up the night
and raved ecstatically
until the Public Order Act repossessed
the right to dance
Until WE had had enough
of things never getting better
and got THEM out
only to find we'd swapped the same old thing
for a brand new drag
as the 'special relationship' dragged us into
yet another pointless war
Meanwhile beleaguered school Head-teachers
battling against league tables
fake results
for pupils playing Nintendo in class
on mobile phones
where English is reduced to CU L8R
and voting means evicting this week’s moron
from Big Brother
to satisfy the Nations' voyeuristic eye
on LCD TV - that’s ‘lowest common denominator’
Eric Blair turns in his grave
as CCTV on every street
records the pissed up, drugged out
Chavs
descended from the archers
who were dumb enough to go
and stand at Agincourt
And I'm Still Howling
at wounds festering under a Karma Suture
____________________________________________________by mick moss
www.emc2.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk
dedicated to Alan Ginsberg
I saw the not particularly bright minds
of my generation
driven to obscurity
red brick Mickey Mouse degrees promised us
interesting world changing careers
but all we got were mortgages
interest rising
Thrust expectantly from the womb
of a post-war black and white
still rationed, once great nation
that shared its greatness
if you were born from the right stock
but we were not
From one room to baby boom, suburbia.
Bevin's babies with national reassurance
blue collars stained white
by the new blue whiteness
of copy-writers' lies
forged in the white heat of technology
gadgets in the ideal home
for the nuclear family
Our optimism shattered by Cuban missiles
and a man on the grassy knoll
while bombs rained down from LBJ
mothers running screaming napalmed
Buddhist monk barbecue
Charlie's brains blown out for the camera
boil in the bag convenience TV tea time
bland horrors daily
Ho Ho Ho Chi Minh
and Che washed up in a Bolivian bath house
while Mao Tse Tung said - Change must come
change must come through the barrel of a gun
Terence Conran made shopping fun
as our habitat degraded
Buy now, pay later, must have, have not
pot bellied, fly blown black babies starved
still - we had the Beatles
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Born with plastic spoons in our mouths
substitute fabric for the modern world
moulded multi-coloured in factories
scream in your grave Henry Ford
any colour as long as it's black
can sit in the back
too much it's a magic bus
They taught us Thomas Hardy and Jane Austen
but not Ken Kesey, too merry a prankster he
for their sensibilities, incensed by DH Lawrence
And yes our servants could have read it
if we had them
but we didn't
We laughed at such absurdities
but raged when they locked up Mick and Keef
who would break a butterfly on a wheel?
the News of the World with no news
but vicars and tarts
prurient where Oz never was
yet still they slammed it
The small minded blinded Mary Shitehouses
of this scandalized post Profumo island
where the pavements of Grosvenor Square
were splattered with teenage blood
where Queer was a dirty word
Where a young milk snatcher rubbed her dry cunt
dreaming of her beefcake bean-counting gurus
Maynard Keynes and Milton Friedman
and the power she would one day wield
in Middle England
Where a nouveau-riche phoney middle class
sold votes for loadsa money
and the right to buy
their council hovels
where joy riders ripped up the night
and raved ecstatically
until the Public Order Act repossessed
the right to dance
Until WE had had enough
of things never getting better
and got THEM out
only to find we'd swapped the same old thing
for a brand new drag
as the 'special relationship' dragged us into
yet another pointless war
Meanwhile beleaguered school Head-teachers
battling against league tables
fake results
for pupils playing Nintendo in class
on mobile phones
where English is reduced to CU L8R
and voting means evicting this week’s moron
from Big Brother
to satisfy the Nations' voyeuristic eye
on LCD TV - that’s ‘lowest common denominator’
Eric Blair turns in his grave
as CCTV on every street
records the pissed up, drugged out
Chavs
descended from the archers
who were dumb enough to go
and stand at Agincourt
And I'm Still Howling
at wounds festering under a Karma Suture
____________________________________________________by mick moss
www.emc2.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk
Monday, July 23, 2007
just made a new pot of coffee.
addressed the newsletters for the car club.
trying to decide what chore to start on next.
moving a little slow today.
kicked around a few ideas on a poem but nothing
that i really liked, tho i read some really good poems that were submitted to
my work group.
just another monday.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Posted: Friday, July 20, 2007 3:07 PM
Categories: Tehran, Iran
By Ali Arouzi, NBC News Producer
You can tell that Iran is feeling a little beleaguered these days when there are reports that Tehran may be under attack from rodents!
That is what the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported this week, that police had, ahem, "arrested" 14 squirrels on charges of espionage.
The rodents were found near the Iranian border, allegedly equipped with eavesdropping devices, according to IRNA.
When asked to confirm the story, Esmaeel Ahmadi Moghadam, the national police chief, said, "I have heard about it, but I do not have precise information." He declined to give any more details.
IRNA said that the squirrels were discovered by intelligence services – but were captured by police officers several weeks ago.
'Are you serious?'
The reaction to the report on Tehran’s streets was varied – from disbelief to assigning guilt for the alleged infraction.
"No, I had not heard about this, but it does not surprise me, foreign countries are always meddling in Iran," said Hassan Mohmmadi, a fast-food vendor.
Mohammadi asked me if I knew where the squirrels were from, and I told him that I didn’t know. Then he came to his own conclusions. "I bet they were British squirrels, they are the most cunning," he replied.
Meantime, an independent journalist, Sepher Sopli, was not surprised by the idea that another country would spy on Iran, so much as he was dumbfounded by their methods.
"I read this story in the papers and though it was very bizarre; what struck me as odd was that in this age of modern technology, people were relying on squirrels to do their spying," Sopli said.
But, the report was still strange enough to surprise. "That's very funny, but you’re not serious are you?" said Soraya Jafari, a student in Tehran.
Maybe not a first
Espionage not entirely foreign to animals. If true, this would not be the first time animals have been used for military endeavors.
During World War II, Allied forces used pigeons to fly vital intelligence out of occupied France.
More recently, U.S. Marines stationed in Kuwait trained chickens for a low-tech chemical detection system. It’s also well documented that dolphins have been used to seek out underwater mines.
Still, the squirrels that breached the Iranian border carrying sensitive spying equipment must have been nuts.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
ack! before i run screaming into the woods tearing off my clothes to go live with the coyotes i'll explain why.
someone up the street is having a party in their backyard with a live band.
at least i think they are live. this is pittsburgh you know. they might be zombies.
if they are then they have an excuse for sucking as bad as they do!
oh god. they went from a 8 minute version of "i come from the land down under" to "centerfield" and the beat , the drums, ack, i swear, it's the same.
thankfully it lasted less than 8 freaking minutes! oh yeah, another ccr tune.
well, if anyone wants me i'll be in the woods with my new family. the noises they make are more entertaining!
and anyone that knows me knows i don't bitch too much about music, like most anything and anyone that tries but they just fucked up "pretty woman" THAT'S too much to bear!
bye, aaaahhhoooooooo!!!!
Friday, July 20, 2007
fried t.v.s
nope, not an artery clogging fast food.
would that it were!
nah, just found out that it isn't a comcast cable down that had my mom with no t.v.s
working. it was a power surge that fried em!
kills me, she has a computer that is over 10 years old that makes me want to take an axe to it wherever she has me try to do anything on it for her. is that fried?? hell no!
arrrrrrrgh( bangs head on desk. scares cats!)
Poetical Essay by Percy Bysshe Shelley
Extract from Poetical Essay
by Percy Bysshe Shelley
Millions to fight compell'd, to fight or die
In mangled heaps on War's red altar lie . . .
When the legal murders swell the lists of pride;
When glory's views the titled idiot guide
Lost Shelley poem found after 200 years
Extract from Poetical Essay
by Percy Bysshe Shelley
Millions to fight compell'd, to fight or die
In mangled heaps on War's red altar lie . . .
When the legal murders swell the lists of pride;
When glory's views the titled idiot guide
Lost Shelley poem found after 200 years
jokes, jokes, yep, more than one today. (pile o jokes)
Q. What did the penny say to the other penny?
A. We make perfect cents.
Q. Why did the birdie go to the hospital?
A. To get a tweetment.
Q. What did the porcupine say to the cactus?
A. "Is that you mommy?"
Q. What kind of button won't unbutton?
A. A bellybutton!
Q. What kind of ship never sinks?
A. Friendship!
Q. What did the penny say to the other penny?
A. We make perfect cents.
Q. Why did the birdie go to the hospital?
A. To get a tweetment.
Q. What did the porcupine say to the cactus?
A. "Is that you mommy?"
Q. What kind of button won't unbutton?
A. A bellybutton!
Q. What kind of ship never sinks?
A. Friendship!
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
time for another -
(you guessed it)
BLOG THINGY
been too heavy round here today
so:
(you guessed it)
BLOG THINGY
been too heavy round here today
so:
You Are a Mermaid |
You are a total daydreamer, and people tend to think you're flakier than you actually are. While your head is often in the clouds, you'll always come back to earth to help someone in need. Beyond being a caring person, you are also very intelligent and rational. You understand the connections of the universe better than almost anyone else. |
a poem from my friend philip. he sent it into the group
after a chance word or two brought the words to him.
i asked if i could post it and he agreed. thanks philip!
Me, Tom Petty, Sherry Pasquarello and Bob Harris
out of that
cheshire cat
grin
into the great wide open
Tom and myself are hard at work
the skirl of his guitar
on
the airwaves
my song is a mystery born off the lips of a lady
in Pittsburgh
as the three of us craft in discourse of the old Brill Buildings
and in weight
of
the old grey
whistle
test
(from philip)
For information:
The Old Grey Whistle Test was a very popular contempory music programme on BBC 2 TV by a host whose voice was so quiet he earned the nick name "whispering" Bob Harris.
I recently heard Bob reveal in a discussion about the Brill Buildings and Neil Diamong, Carol King and others that the title for the OGWT came out of a myth that all truelly good tunes with prospects of longevity would be those which were picked up by the men who worked on menial tasks within the Brill Building complex and would whistle them repeatedly - the old grey whistle test.
Philip Johnson @ moon a'la monde
http://www.philipjohnson.org.uk
after a chance word or two brought the words to him.
i asked if i could post it and he agreed. thanks philip!
Me, Tom Petty, Sherry Pasquarello and Bob Harris
out of that
cheshire cat
grin
into the great wide open
Tom and myself are hard at work
the skirl of his guitar
on
the airwaves
my song is a mystery born off the lips of a lady
in Pittsburgh
as the three of us craft in discourse of the old Brill Buildings
and in weight
of
the old grey
whistle
test
(from philip)
For information:
The Old Grey Whistle Test was a very popular contempory music programme on BBC 2 TV by a host whose voice was so quiet he earned the nick name "whispering" Bob Harris.
I recently heard Bob reveal in a discussion about the Brill Buildings and Neil Diamong, Carol King and others that the title for the OGWT came out of a myth that all truelly good tunes with prospects of longevity would be those which were picked up by the men who worked on menial tasks within the Brill Building complex and would whistle them repeatedly - the old grey whistle test.
Philip Johnson @ moon a'la monde
http://www.philipjohnson.org.uk
wow, what a night!
we had some sort of freak storm.
trees down everywhere. power lines across roadways.
god!
my mom, well she called last evening. a tree is up against the house. she has no power.
we tried to get up there but every road to there was blocked!
drove for an hour trying different routes. no way.
there was a foot of water on freeport road by the waterworks and they had no power either.
police were everywhere.
aspinwall looked like a tornado had hit it.
just talked to mom. she's o.k. but her oxygen tank that she uses at night didn't work.
she's gonna call her home owners insurance today, bet those companies will
be busy!
hopefully someone from our family will be able to get up to her home today!
and it has started to pour down rain again!
we had some sort of freak storm.
trees down everywhere. power lines across roadways.
god!
my mom, well she called last evening. a tree is up against the house. she has no power.
we tried to get up there but every road to there was blocked!
drove for an hour trying different routes. no way.
there was a foot of water on freeport road by the waterworks and they had no power either.
police were everywhere.
aspinwall looked like a tornado had hit it.
just talked to mom. she's o.k. but her oxygen tank that she uses at night didn't work.
she's gonna call her home owners insurance today, bet those companies will
be busy!
hopefully someone from our family will be able to get up to her home today!
and it has started to pour down rain again!
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
still no ideas for a poem.
i could just kick myself for not dragging my lazy tush
out of bed the other night and writing down the words that
had been arranging themselves inside my head!
aol wouldn't let me log on for over a f'ing hour this morning!
so i swiffered the floors and got enough dust bunnies to make
myself another cat! wonder what i would have named it? : )
i could just kick myself for not dragging my lazy tush
out of bed the other night and writing down the words that
had been arranging themselves inside my head!
aol wouldn't let me log on for over a f'ing hour this morning!
so i swiffered the floors and got enough dust bunnies to make
myself another cat! wonder what i would have named it? : )
Monday, July 16, 2007
"silent look of affection and regard when all other eyes are turned coldly away--the consciousness that we possess the sympathy and affection of one being when all others have deserted us--is a hold, a stay, a comfort, in the deepest affliction, which no wealth could purchase, or power bestow."
charles dickens.
pickwick papers
charles dickens.
pickwick papers
Eighteen Flavors
by Shel Silverstein
Eighteen luscious, scrumptious flavors
Chocolate, lime and cherry,
Coffee, pumpkin, fudge banana
Caramel cream and boysenberry.
Rocky road and toasted almond,
Butterscotch, vanilla dip,
Butter brickle, apple ripple,
Coconut and mocha chip,
Brandy peach and lemon custard,
Each scoop lovely, smooth and round,
Tallest ice cream cone in town,
Lying there (sniff) on the ground.
by Shel Silverstein
Eighteen luscious, scrumptious flavors
Chocolate, lime and cherry,
Coffee, pumpkin, fudge banana
Caramel cream and boysenberry.
Rocky road and toasted almond,
Butterscotch, vanilla dip,
Butter brickle, apple ripple,
Coconut and mocha chip,
Brandy peach and lemon custard,
Each scoop lovely, smooth and round,
Tallest ice cream cone in town,
Lying there (sniff) on the ground.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
going to a car cruise later. it's at a local catholic church.
so far, i've never been struck by lightning when attending.
we'll see today!
we all go for lee because he is a big time member of that parrish.
he and terry never miss mass.
me? there's an ice cream stand right across the road from the church.
nuff said?
so far, i've never been struck by lightning when attending.
we'll see today!
we all go for lee because he is a big time member of that parrish.
he and terry never miss mass.
me? there's an ice cream stand right across the road from the church.
nuff said?
Saturday, July 14, 2007
i went to my nephew's fiance's bridal shower today.
he and marta are getting married next month. they've been going together since high school, about 10 years now.
i got to meet marta's mom for the first time today. she seems like a really neat lady and a lot of fun.
this was one of the gifts to go with a margarita set.
i had never heard if it but marta assured me it's very good.
my friend jim, the jim that tried(bless him) to help me
grown a rose bush(remember?)
he just called. he flew back from england last night.
he was in south hampton, london,derby, trent-on-scott and manchester.
he flies all over the world for business and thinks nothing of it.
me, i've never been far from home and have NEVER flown.
too bad the pk poetry gathering wasn't this past weekend.
jim said i could have flown with him as a companion and maybe i wouldn't
have been so scared(that's a BIG maybe)
i felt bad for jim and worse for janet his wife tho.
she is recovering from nasty shoulder surgery but jim had no choice but to go to england. luckily janet is a take charge capable person.
get better soon janet.
Friday, July 13, 2007
Thursday, July 12, 2007
bravo to abc news and bob woodruff for the
guts to run this story!
this treatment of out vets is shameful at best.
check ot the website for the video.
http://www.abcnews.go.com/wn
Questionable Treatment for Some Iraq Heroes
Veteran Care Under Review as More Than 22,000 Are Discharged With 'Pre-Existing' Personality Disorder, Which Some Say Developed During War
By BOB WOODRUFF, JAMES HILL and JAIME HENNESSEY
July 12, 2007 —
Army Spc. Jonathan Town is back home in Ohio now, but still very much at war.
"When you see bits and pieces of actual people or people bleeding to death or anything, it's very unsettling. It's something you'll never be able to forget. Period," Town told ABC News' Bob Woodruff.
Since his discharge in 2006, Town has not only dealt with the emotional scars of war, but he has also found himself at the center of a national debate on mental health care for veterans as a crowd as diverse as singer Dave Matthews and members of Congress has questioned how 22,000 veterans were diagnosed and discharged since 2001.
Watch the full report tonight on "World News with Charles Gibson" and "Nightline."
In Town's case, the discharge came two years after he was injured in an attack. In the fall of 2004, a 107 mm rocket ripped through his unit's headquarters in Ramadi, exploding two feet above Town's head and knocking him unconscious.
The rocket blast left Town with hearing loss, headaches, memory problems, anxiety and insomnia. For his wounds, he was awarded the Purple Heart.
But when he returned to the states seeking treatment for those very wounds, the Army quickly discharged him, asserting his problems had been caused not by the war but by a personality disorder that predated his military career.
A Quick Way Out
It is known as a "Chapter 5-13" "separation because of personality disorder." The Army defines it as a pre-existing "maladaptive pattern of behavior of long duration" that interferes with the soldier's ability to perform his duties.
In practical terms, this diagnosis means the personality disorder existed before military service, and therefore medical care and disability payments are not the military's responsibility. But some veterans and veterans' advocates have been vocal in their belief that personality disorder is being misdiagnosed in combat veterans.
"A significant percentage of the ones who are discharged with personality disorder truly have it, but there is another percentage that are put out simply to eliminate them from military service. & It's done maliciously or as some sort of a policy," said Russell K. Terry, founder of the veterans' advocacy organization, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.
Since 2001, more than 22,000 servicemen and women from all branches of the military have been separated under the personality disorder discharge, according to figures provided by the Department of Defense.
The military explained the need for this kind of discharge. "Personality disorders that interfere with military service and are incompatible with the soldier staying in the unit, it is usually best for both the soldier and the unit for that soldier to be discharged," according to Col. Elspeth Cameron Ritchie, a psychiatry consultant to the U.S. Army surgeon general.
Servicemen and women undergo mental and physical screenings when they enter the military and again before they deploy. "Either the military didn't see it or they ignored it," Terry said.
"We do histories and physicals on every recruit that comes in, but people may not always tell us everything," Ritchie said.
Veterans' Perspective
Donald Louis Schmidt of Chillicothe, Ill., was being treated for posttraumatic stress disorder after his second combat tour in Iraq. His commanders at Fort Carson later decided he was no longer mentally fit and discharged him with personality disorder.
"They just slapped me with that label to get me out quicker," Schmidt said. He said superiors told him "'Everything will be great. Peachy keen.' Well, it's not."
The discharge left Schmidt ineligible for disability pay and benefits. He was also required to return more than $10,000 of his $15,000 reenlistment bonus, but he said no one explained that to him until it was too late.
"If I didn't have family, I'd be living on the sidewalk," Schmidt said.
"It's not right that they would do this to him after him going to war for us," Schmidt's mother, Patrice Semtner-Myers, said. "They threw him away. They're done with him. He's no use to them anymore so they say, 'We're done. & Thanks for nothing.'"
Schmidt and Town say Army doctors misled them about the consequences of the personality disorder discharge. Town said he was told he would receive his benefits and it would be like a medical discharge, only quicker.
In the course of reporting this story, ABC News spoke with 20 Iraq War veterans who believe they were misdiagnosed with personality disorder.
A Marine who preferred not to be named said, "Most docs won't diagnose you with PTSD [posttraumatic stress disorder] because the military has to treat you for the rest of your life."
After confrontations with his commander, Pfc. David Vann said a psychologist met with him for "10 minutes and said, 'I think you're lying about PTSD. & I think you have [personality disorder].'"
"If they cared about my well-being, they would have tried to fix it. The Army would rather & [sever] all the ties," Army Spc. William Wooldridge said.
The military would not comment on specific cases. Ritchi said, "If there was a mistake that was made, and we're a big organization, it is possible that mistakes were made, that we have the ability to go back and relook at that diagnosis and that discharge."
A Whistle-Blower
On the day he was discharged in the fall, Town met with Jeff Peskoff, a civilian employee in the personnel office at Fort Carson in Colorado, and learned he owed the Army $3,000 to repay his enlistment bonus.
"At some points it looked like he wanted to cry and at some point he looked like he wanted to rip my head off," Peskoff said.
Peskoff, who served 10 years in the Army, including a tour of Iraq, recently quit his job in disgust and is now speaking publicly for the first time.
"If you have a combat tour and you are getting labeled as a personality disorder, there is something wrong. &0133; It's a lie," Peskoff said. "It's a quick way to get rid of that body and bring in another body. And it's a quick way to save money."
In the span of several months, Peskoff said he processed the personality disorder discharges of Schmidt, Town and hundreds of other combat veterans he believed were actually suffering physical and psychological trauma because of the war.
"They [Army officials] are basically washing their hands of them," Peskoff said.
Fort Carson officials declined to talk to ABC News about this story. The Government Accountability Office is currently investigating Fort Carson as part of a larger study of mental health services for veterans.
Fanfare: Issue Hits Dave Matthews Concert
Some prominent people took notice of Town's case after he was profiled in a Nation article earlier this year. Musician Dave Matthews spoke about him at a concert this spring at Radio City Music Hall in New York.
"Fans at the show started talking about it among themselves and then they started collecting money to support Jon Town," Matthews said.
The Dave Matthews Band collected 23,000 signatures on its fan site for a letter requesting that Congress and the Department of Defense look into the personality disorder discharges.
"They're forever changed," Matthews said. "We should look after these kids."
Town's story also inspired 31 senators, including four presidential candidates, to write to Defense Secretary Robert Gates calling for an investigation into the military's use of the personality disorder discharge.
"We are concerned over continuing reports from veterans' services organizations, the media and individual U.S. service personnel that personality disorder discharges have been implemented inappropriately and inconsistently," the letter said.
Sen. Kit Bond, R-Miss., said, "We want to make this something that is widely understood and gain the momentum for necessary changes to the system."
Just today, six senators including Bond and Barack Obama, D- Illinois, introduced an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would temporarily suspend personality disorder discharges for combat veterans until there is a comprehensive review of the current procedures.
Gates and other Defense Department officials declined to speak to ABC News, saying the issue was under review by the veteran care commission headed by Democrat Donna Shalala and Republican Bob Dole.
After all the recent attention focused on Town, the Department of Veterans Affairs recently began treating him and paying disability benefits.
Matthews was asked whether his actions had helped Town. "I think the push, the publicness of the whole thing had some bearing on that, and if it did, it's great that it did. But there are still a lot of other soldiers that need to have the same attention paid on their behalf."
At home in central Illinois, Donald Schmidt is waiting.
Related Links: Dave Matthews Band Petition: http://web.davematthewsband.com/petition/ Iraq War Veterans Organization: www.iraqwarveterans.org Operation Helping & Heal: www.helpingheal.org Veterans for America: www.veteransforamerica.org Veterans for Common Sense: www.veteransforcommonsense.org
Copyright © 2007 ABC News Internet Ventures
guts to run this story!
this treatment of out vets is shameful at best.
check ot the website for the video.
http://www.abcnews.go.com/wn
Questionable Treatment for Some Iraq Heroes
Veteran Care Under Review as More Than 22,000 Are Discharged With 'Pre-Existing' Personality Disorder, Which Some Say Developed During War
By BOB WOODRUFF, JAMES HILL and JAIME HENNESSEY
July 12, 2007 —
Army Spc. Jonathan Town is back home in Ohio now, but still very much at war.
"When you see bits and pieces of actual people or people bleeding to death or anything, it's very unsettling. It's something you'll never be able to forget. Period," Town told ABC News' Bob Woodruff.
Since his discharge in 2006, Town has not only dealt with the emotional scars of war, but he has also found himself at the center of a national debate on mental health care for veterans as a crowd as diverse as singer Dave Matthews and members of Congress has questioned how 22,000 veterans were diagnosed and discharged since 2001.
Watch the full report tonight on "World News with Charles Gibson" and "Nightline."
In Town's case, the discharge came two years after he was injured in an attack. In the fall of 2004, a 107 mm rocket ripped through his unit's headquarters in Ramadi, exploding two feet above Town's head and knocking him unconscious.
The rocket blast left Town with hearing loss, headaches, memory problems, anxiety and insomnia. For his wounds, he was awarded the Purple Heart.
But when he returned to the states seeking treatment for those very wounds, the Army quickly discharged him, asserting his problems had been caused not by the war but by a personality disorder that predated his military career.
A Quick Way Out
It is known as a "Chapter 5-13" "separation because of personality disorder." The Army defines it as a pre-existing "maladaptive pattern of behavior of long duration" that interferes with the soldier's ability to perform his duties.
In practical terms, this diagnosis means the personality disorder existed before military service, and therefore medical care and disability payments are not the military's responsibility. But some veterans and veterans' advocates have been vocal in their belief that personality disorder is being misdiagnosed in combat veterans.
"A significant percentage of the ones who are discharged with personality disorder truly have it, but there is another percentage that are put out simply to eliminate them from military service. & It's done maliciously or as some sort of a policy," said Russell K. Terry, founder of the veterans' advocacy organization, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.
Since 2001, more than 22,000 servicemen and women from all branches of the military have been separated under the personality disorder discharge, according to figures provided by the Department of Defense.
The military explained the need for this kind of discharge. "Personality disorders that interfere with military service and are incompatible with the soldier staying in the unit, it is usually best for both the soldier and the unit for that soldier to be discharged," according to Col. Elspeth Cameron Ritchie, a psychiatry consultant to the U.S. Army surgeon general.
Servicemen and women undergo mental and physical screenings when they enter the military and again before they deploy. "Either the military didn't see it or they ignored it," Terry said.
"We do histories and physicals on every recruit that comes in, but people may not always tell us everything," Ritchie said.
Veterans' Perspective
Donald Louis Schmidt of Chillicothe, Ill., was being treated for posttraumatic stress disorder after his second combat tour in Iraq. His commanders at Fort Carson later decided he was no longer mentally fit and discharged him with personality disorder.
"They just slapped me with that label to get me out quicker," Schmidt said. He said superiors told him "'Everything will be great. Peachy keen.' Well, it's not."
The discharge left Schmidt ineligible for disability pay and benefits. He was also required to return more than $10,000 of his $15,000 reenlistment bonus, but he said no one explained that to him until it was too late.
"If I didn't have family, I'd be living on the sidewalk," Schmidt said.
"It's not right that they would do this to him after him going to war for us," Schmidt's mother, Patrice Semtner-Myers, said. "They threw him away. They're done with him. He's no use to them anymore so they say, 'We're done. & Thanks for nothing.'"
Schmidt and Town say Army doctors misled them about the consequences of the personality disorder discharge. Town said he was told he would receive his benefits and it would be like a medical discharge, only quicker.
In the course of reporting this story, ABC News spoke with 20 Iraq War veterans who believe they were misdiagnosed with personality disorder.
A Marine who preferred not to be named said, "Most docs won't diagnose you with PTSD [posttraumatic stress disorder] because the military has to treat you for the rest of your life."
After confrontations with his commander, Pfc. David Vann said a psychologist met with him for "10 minutes and said, 'I think you're lying about PTSD. & I think you have [personality disorder].'"
"If they cared about my well-being, they would have tried to fix it. The Army would rather & [sever] all the ties," Army Spc. William Wooldridge said.
The military would not comment on specific cases. Ritchi said, "If there was a mistake that was made, and we're a big organization, it is possible that mistakes were made, that we have the ability to go back and relook at that diagnosis and that discharge."
A Whistle-Blower
On the day he was discharged in the fall, Town met with Jeff Peskoff, a civilian employee in the personnel office at Fort Carson in Colorado, and learned he owed the Army $3,000 to repay his enlistment bonus.
"At some points it looked like he wanted to cry and at some point he looked like he wanted to rip my head off," Peskoff said.
Peskoff, who served 10 years in the Army, including a tour of Iraq, recently quit his job in disgust and is now speaking publicly for the first time.
"If you have a combat tour and you are getting labeled as a personality disorder, there is something wrong. &0133; It's a lie," Peskoff said. "It's a quick way to get rid of that body and bring in another body. And it's a quick way to save money."
In the span of several months, Peskoff said he processed the personality disorder discharges of Schmidt, Town and hundreds of other combat veterans he believed were actually suffering physical and psychological trauma because of the war.
"They [Army officials] are basically washing their hands of them," Peskoff said.
Fort Carson officials declined to talk to ABC News about this story. The Government Accountability Office is currently investigating Fort Carson as part of a larger study of mental health services for veterans.
Fanfare: Issue Hits Dave Matthews Concert
Some prominent people took notice of Town's case after he was profiled in a Nation article earlier this year. Musician Dave Matthews spoke about him at a concert this spring at Radio City Music Hall in New York.
"Fans at the show started talking about it among themselves and then they started collecting money to support Jon Town," Matthews said.
The Dave Matthews Band collected 23,000 signatures on its fan site for a letter requesting that Congress and the Department of Defense look into the personality disorder discharges.
"They're forever changed," Matthews said. "We should look after these kids."
Town's story also inspired 31 senators, including four presidential candidates, to write to Defense Secretary Robert Gates calling for an investigation into the military's use of the personality disorder discharge.
"We are concerned over continuing reports from veterans' services organizations, the media and individual U.S. service personnel that personality disorder discharges have been implemented inappropriately and inconsistently," the letter said.
Sen. Kit Bond, R-Miss., said, "We want to make this something that is widely understood and gain the momentum for necessary changes to the system."
Just today, six senators including Bond and Barack Obama, D- Illinois, introduced an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would temporarily suspend personality disorder discharges for combat veterans until there is a comprehensive review of the current procedures.
Gates and other Defense Department officials declined to speak to ABC News, saying the issue was under review by the veteran care commission headed by Democrat Donna Shalala and Republican Bob Dole.
After all the recent attention focused on Town, the Department of Veterans Affairs recently began treating him and paying disability benefits.
Matthews was asked whether his actions had helped Town. "I think the push, the publicness of the whole thing had some bearing on that, and if it did, it's great that it did. But there are still a lot of other soldiers that need to have the same attention paid on their behalf."
At home in central Illinois, Donald Schmidt is waiting.
Related Links: Dave Matthews Band Petition: http://web.davematthewsband.com/petition/ Iraq War Veterans Organization: www.iraqwarveterans.org Operation Helping & Heal: www.helpingheal.org Veterans for America: www.veteransforamerica.org Veterans for Common Sense: www.veteransforcommonsense.org
Copyright © 2007 ABC News Internet Ventures
Gratitude to Old Teachers
Robert Bly
When we stride or stroll across the frozen lake,
We place our feet where they have never been.
We walk upon the unwalked. But we are uneasy.
Who is down there but our old teachers?
Water that once could take no human weight-
We were students then-holds up our feet,
And goes on ahead of us for a mile.
Beneath us the teachers, and around us the stillness.
Robert Bly
When we stride or stroll across the frozen lake,
We place our feet where they have never been.
We walk upon the unwalked. But we are uneasy.
Who is down there but our old teachers?
Water that once could take no human weight-
We were students then-holds up our feet,
And goes on ahead of us for a mile.
Beneath us the teachers, and around us the stillness.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
a conversation at the bar last night about my poetry:
last evening after the meeting at the club most of us were sitting around the bar in small bunches of two or three or four. a friend of mine and i started to discuss some of the poems on this blog that i had written. he was trying to find the people that we both knew in the words i've written.
he found some, found bits and pieces of them but as i explained, some of the poems are the merging of different people, their attitudes, attributes and my observations.
few are of just one individual. there are exceptions. uncle buck was as real as real could be. pudd'n boy and randy are friends of mine. my mom, grandma, pop-pop and dad and some of the rest are real.
some poems came from dreams, asleep or awake. most come from a word or two i pick up on. words on t.v. billboards, books, a crumpled bit of paper i find on the ground.
rocks and trees and the moss on the shingles of the shed...
things, feelings, breathing, life
death.
hope this might give some insight, maybe some ideas to claim and make your very own.
sherry
looks like rain headed here. not as horribly hot.
i started reading , fool's gold, by susan g. wooldridge.
she authored one of my favorite books, poemcrazy.
started kicking around an idea for a poem the other night but(and i should know better by now) didn't get out of bed and write it down!
lost to me now. PHOOEY.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
today is supposed to be the last REALLY hot day for awhile.
i'm still a crispy critter.
steve stopped at the car cruise at dingbat's last night with
a truck full of zucchinis from his garden. really lovely and fresh.
some for me and some for joann and i can't wait til the tomatoes are
ready. nothing like a tomato sandwich with butter and kosher salt!!!!
maybe if it cools off a bit my brain might function better and a poem
will come. maybe my brain won't function any better but a poem will still come! ha!
i'm still a crispy critter.
steve stopped at the car cruise at dingbat's last night with
a truck full of zucchinis from his garden. really lovely and fresh.
some for me and some for joann and i can't wait til the tomatoes are
ready. nothing like a tomato sandwich with butter and kosher salt!!!!
maybe if it cools off a bit my brain might function better and a poem
will come. maybe my brain won't function any better but a poem will still come! ha!
Monday, July 09, 2007
this is my mimosa blooming. it only started to bloom 2 years ago
after it threw off another tree beside it.
the tree trimmers from the local electric company came round last year and were surprised to see it here in pittsburgh.
the blossoms are pink and pale yellow fuzzy things and have a beautifully delicate scent.
Sunday, July 08, 2007
another hot one today. in the 90's.
went to pudd'n and gl's yesterday.
pudd'n's sister was there with her 2 boys. i
(of course)grabbed up the baby(he's 5 months)
and had a great time with him.
he's a sweet, happy, mellow baby.
he actually fell asleep on my chest as i sat and rocked him by the pool even tho pudd'n and randy and cody set off about 600 dollars worth of fireworks!
(and yes, i was way, far away )
(shhhh, don't tell!)
anytime there are babies and animals around i'm happy.
went to pudd'n and gl's yesterday.
pudd'n's sister was there with her 2 boys. i
(of course)grabbed up the baby(he's 5 months)
and had a great time with him.
he's a sweet, happy, mellow baby.
he actually fell asleep on my chest as i sat and rocked him by the pool even tho pudd'n and randy and cody set off about 600 dollars worth of fireworks!
(and yes, i was way, far away )
(shhhh, don't tell!)
anytime there are babies and animals around i'm happy.
Saturday, July 07, 2007
well, my little granddaughter went home a bit ago.
she wanted to water the plants outside and so i turned
on the garden hose for her. she had never used it before but
handled it very well for a 3 year old.
once she got the hang of it tho, she decided it would be grand fun to "water"
me!
not sure if i'll grow past my 5 foot 2, but we had fun and there were big puddles to splash in after i had turned off the hose.
Friday, July 06, 2007
Ode To The Lemon
by Pablo Neruda
From blossoms
released
by the moonlight,
from an
aroma of exasperated
love,
steeped in fragrance,
yellowness
drifted from the lemon tree,
and from its plantarium
lemons descended to the earth.
Tender yield!
The coasts,
the markets glowed
with light, with
unrefined gold;
we opened
two halves
of a miracle,
congealed acid
trickled
from the hemispheres
of a star,
the most intense liqueur
of nature,
unique, vivid,
concentrated,
born of the cool, fresh
lemon,
of its fragrant house,
its acid, secret symmetry.
Knives
sliced a small
cathedral
in the lemon,
the concealed apse, opened,
revealed acid stained glass,
drops
oozed topaz,
altars,
cool architecture.
So, when you hold
the hemisphere
of a cut lemon
above your plate,
you spill
a universe of gold,
a
yellow goblet
of miracles,
a fragrant nipple
of the earth's breast,
a ray of light that was made fruit,
the minute fire of a planet.
Ode To Tomatoes
by Pablo Neruda
The street
filled with tomatoes,
midday,
summer,
light is
halved
like
a
tomato,
its juice
runs
through the streets.
In December,
unabated,
the tomato
invades
the kitchen,
it enters at lunchtime,
takes
its ease
on countertops,
among glasses,
butter dishes,
blue saltcellars.
It sheds
its own light,
benign majesty.
Unfortunately, we must
murder it:
the knife
sinks
into living flesh,
red
viscera
a cool
sun,
profound,
inexhaustible,
populates the salads
of Chile,
happily, it is wed
to the clear onion,
and to celebrate the union
we
pour
oil,
essential
child of the olive,
onto its halved hemispheres,
pepper
adds
its fragrance,
salt, its magnetism;
it is the wedding
of the day,
parsley
hoists
its flag,
potatoes
bubble vigorously,
the aroma
of the roast
knocks
at the door,
it's time!
come on!
and, on
the table, at the midpoint
of summer,
the tomato,
star of earth, recurrent
and fertile
star,
displays
its convolutions,
its canals,
its remarkable amplitude
and abundance,
no pit,
no husk,
no leaves or thorns,
the tomato offers
its gift
of fiery color
and cool completeness.
i wish i could write like this man could.
my god.
rain is over. going to be hot, hot, hot.
the garage flooded a bit, about 1/2 an inch but no damage
just some wet cardboard boxes and a lot of clean up.
thankfully my daughter's place didn't flood tho the
creek almost went over the bank.
so all in all, we have been very lucky compared to a lot of
other places.
the garage flooded a bit, about 1/2 an inch but no damage
just some wet cardboard boxes and a lot of clean up.
thankfully my daughter's place didn't flood tho the
creek almost went over the bank.
so all in all, we have been very lucky compared to a lot of
other places.
friday, a joke for my sister. she's blonde.
Blonde in a Boat.
There was a blonde driving down the road one day. She glanced to her right and noticed another blonde sitting in a nearby field, rowing a boat with no water in sight.
The blonde angrily pulled her car over and yelled at the rowing blonde, “What do you think you're doing? It's things like this that give us blondes a bad name. If I could swim, I'd come out there and kick your butt!”
Blonde in a Boat.
There was a blonde driving down the road one day. She glanced to her right and noticed another blonde sitting in a nearby field, rowing a boat with no water in sight.
The blonde angrily pulled her car over and yelled at the rowing blonde, “What do you think you're doing? It's things like this that give us blondes a bad name. If I could swim, I'd come out there and kick your butt!”
Thursday, July 05, 2007
at the a & p
last night i went to the old a & p to grocery shop
tho it was gutted years ago
and made new into a medical arts building
the same building where i now go
to be poked and prodded and told
things i'd rather not hear
wishing instead to still buy
apples and spice cake with raisins.
i took your car
a big black car tho
it scares me to drive it
and i shake trying to park.
last night i was outside of the old a & p
and the lot was full of big black cars
a dealership worth
but none yours.
panic lay in my stomach
like a wormy apple
or spice cake with juicy beetles
speckled thru like plump raisins.
i was at the old a & p
with no way home because i forgot to lock the door
or maybe you had a set of keys
and i had spice cake lodged in my throat.
this is the one i just work shopped.
my thanks to all of the ones that helped.
i think their input made it a much better piece. sherry
last night i went to the old a & p to grocery shop
tho it was gutted years ago
and made new into a medical arts building
the same building where i now go
to be poked and prodded and told
things i'd rather not hear
wishing instead to still buy
apples and spice cake with raisins.
i took your car
a big black car tho
it scares me to drive it
and i shake trying to park.
last night i was outside of the old a & p
and the lot was full of big black cars
a dealership worth
but none yours.
panic lay in my stomach
like a wormy apple
or spice cake with juicy beetles
speckled thru like plump raisins.
i was at the old a & p
with no way home because i forgot to lock the door
or maybe you had a set of keys
and i had spice cake lodged in my throat.
this is the one i just work shopped.
my thanks to all of the ones that helped.
i think their input made it a much better piece. sherry
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
been trying to rework that poem that i submitted for c&c.
i got some really great advice but i haven't been able to
redo it to my satisfaction yet.
got my hair cut this morning. hooray! short, short!!!!
feels so much cooler now.
then my sister and i went up to our mother's to throw out more old crap.
we cleaned out the entire 3rd. floor we got a mountain of stuffed up plastic garbage bags in a huge pile for the trash pickup. i swear, it's at least 8 feet long and
4 feet high, maybe more!
it was so, so strange going thru all of that stuff. pieces of different decades,
50's, 60's, 70's.
the 80's and 90's stuff is on the 2nd floor of the house still waiting to be gone thru, sorted. this for goodwill or the dav, that for mom to take with her when we get her moved, more trash for the weekly pick up.
i am absolutely filthy from soot and dust and cobwebs and things i don't even want to think about. ugh.
but i had to sit and rest before i could get a shower.
we did have fun pitching bags from the 3rd floor porch down into the yard.
something fun about that even at our ages!
i got some really great advice but i haven't been able to
redo it to my satisfaction yet.
got my hair cut this morning. hooray! short, short!!!!
feels so much cooler now.
then my sister and i went up to our mother's to throw out more old crap.
we cleaned out the entire 3rd. floor we got a mountain of stuffed up plastic garbage bags in a huge pile for the trash pickup. i swear, it's at least 8 feet long and
4 feet high, maybe more!
it was so, so strange going thru all of that stuff. pieces of different decades,
50's, 60's, 70's.
the 80's and 90's stuff is on the 2nd floor of the house still waiting to be gone thru, sorted. this for goodwill or the dav, that for mom to take with her when we get her moved, more trash for the weekly pick up.
i am absolutely filthy from soot and dust and cobwebs and things i don't even want to think about. ugh.
but i had to sit and rest before i could get a shower.
we did have fun pitching bags from the 3rd floor porch down into the yard.
something fun about that even at our ages!
Monday, July 02, 2007
You are a Peace Patroller, also known as an anti-war liberal or hippie. You believe in putting an end to American imperial conquest, stopping wars that have already been lost, and supporting our troops by bringing them home.
Take the quiz at www.fightconservatives.com
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