9/11/2001, a re-run
On Living and Dying
Of all the images of nine-eleven
that are burned into my mind,
none are as desperate as those
of the souls who chose to leap
from the doomed towers
to certain destruction on
the streets below them.
Their last few seconds
falling, an allegory of our
lives. And as they say on
many a trip, ‘getting there
is half the fun' ‘relax and
enjoy the journey'
For falling isn't fatal, although
no one has survived the sudden
stop at the end yet.
And aren't we all falling,
all of the time, into the
hands of a loving God?
David Blaine [7:01 AM]
Setting Things Straight
As a follow up I need to state that Friday Colin Powell addressed the issue of the genocide in Sudan. Whether it is out of the administrations true concern for the people in Sudan, or whether it is out of political pressure from the election campaigning, I'm glad it isn't being ignored.
David Blaine [6:57 AM]
Genocide
Ethnic cleansing in Sudan continues with no acknowledgement from the U.S., the U.N. or almost any Western nation.
While John Kerry calls for action, Bush's administration keeps it's collective head in the sand. Why?
Let's just say if your car ran on sand, we'd be in Darfur fighting right now. Yes, I'm really that simple minded.
Are you that thick?
David Blaine [10:22 AM]
Fall Fell
Geese are heading south, but there will still be some warm weather left this fall.
Indian Summer
Old dog Autumn’s festive foliage started to fall
Deciding to get down with the grass in a solstice dance
Not linger on the limb, weary of such whim
Yet while crisp cool nights portend cooler still to come
Southern fronts slip up to kiss on occasion and tease
The old man into thinking winter might be held off another while
The warmth melts his weight
And the clothes of the season no longer fit
Like a fat man less fifty pounds, wearing his old suit
It hangs on him as if he wore his father’s jacket
Looking much too old and much too large
Desiring to try and get into the tight pants of summer
If only one more time
And chase that temptress, but knowing
Winter won’t be kept waiting forever
And perhaps it is better if summer is left a memory
And this old man autumn keeps his dignity
David Blaine [4:04 PM]
Spin Doctor
The U.S. presidential campaign is showing, once again, the stupidity of our citizens and the arrogance of our politicians. For me, I'm disgusted with both camps. Neither will stand up and address the problems before us.
Bush is now outlining all he wants to do in the next four years, better health care, more jobs, and education is to be a priority.
He is silent about why these haven't gotten any better during his first four years. He is also silent about his not so hidden agenda to push a religious based government to the fore.
Kerry has let things slip. He hasn't been as vocal about what he would like to do for America, how he would do it, and why Bush is wrong for America.
Both sides continue to argue about service records from thirty years ago. If I were Bush I'd keep it up, after all, Bush is winning, it's to his advantage to keep Kerry back on his heels. Kerry needs to realize that Americans are smarter than this, he doesn't need to keep addressing his service record, or Bush's.
Here are some things for you to consider. Bush says that Kerry is indecisive, keeps changing his mind, whereas Bush is decisive and bold. A spin doctor might point out that Kerry is open minded, willing to re-examine the situation as changes occur, is willing to re-assess prior decisions and make new decisions in the light of new evidence. The same spin doctor might point out that Bush is pig headed, closed minded, unwilling to listen to any evidence contrary to his beliefs, and in a word, Bush is intransigent.
Bush keeps hitting Kerry over the head with his voting record regarding the war in Iraq. Kerry should be pointing out that if we had gone to war with our allies instead of alienating them, we would have not only won the war, but probably won the peace by now as well.
Someone needs to address the fact that the entire world outside of the U.S. is watching to see if Americans are going to re-elect this leader that they all hate so badly. Once they see how we decide, they will decide how they feel about us as a people. Right now if you ask most people outside the U.S., they will tell you they love the U.S. and American's, but they hate our government. We can't go on trying to live in a bubble. We have to conduct ourselves as members of a world society.
And Kerry needs to quit doing photo ops windsurfing and acting like a young Hugh Heffner.
David Blaine [8:11 AM]
Welcome to the Elite
This is not an "I told you so". I would never be that cruel. Still, I have to point out that the recent events of terrorism in Russia, both the crashed airliners and the massacre at the school, and the recent kidnappings of French citizens, have thrust the issue of terrorism into a new light. No longer the exclusive problem of the United States, terrorism is now being used against any government with a disenfranchised minority, or, in Frances case, any government who has offended a such a group abroad. This kind of violence is almost a class warfare, and it isn't easy to declare one side all right or the other side all wrong. All countries need to come together not only to battle terrorists, but to develop humanitarian efforts to address legitimate complaints of minorities around the globe. That seems like a good project for the United Nations, if that organization can ever be demonstrated to work.
David Blaine [7:53 AM]