July 29, 2008

July 21, 2008

June 21, 2008

June 10, 2008

June 9, 2008

  • To Kathy: A poem

    As the bee does love the clover,
    So I love you.

    As the raven loves the aerie,
    I love you.

    As the roses love the sun,
    So I love you.

    And when my life is over,
    My race run,
    I shall only love you more.

June 2, 2008

May 23, 2008

May 19, 2008

May 15, 2008

  • Human rights? Don’t ask me

    For openers, talk to a  very ugly fellow known as Ramprasad.  He is one of India’s 160+ million  Untouchables.  He is ugly because some of his “superiors” threw acid in his face after he dared to fish in a pond reserved for the upper-caste.

    Or talk to one of the scores of men, past and present, who ended up on Death Row in America, convicted of  crimes they did not commit.  (By an odd coincidence, these men are all poor and black.)

    Or talk to one of the thousands of eastern European women who were kidnapped and sold to work as prostitutes.   Or one of the many children in Thailand who serve as sexual toys for rich tourists. BTW, there are more slaves in the world now than there were in 1850.

    Here’s a real tough one–find one of the many people thrown into the secret CIA  jails because some grey faceless government  man thought they were a terrorist.  (In case you hadn’t noticed, the Patriot Act has rendered the Bill of Rights null and void.  If you doubt this, read the act–and be appalled.)

    In point of fact, there are NO inalienable human rights. To paraphrase Robert Anton Wilson, freedom is what you can get away with.

    That said, it should be pointed out that we are endowed by our creator with two great gifts–life and free will.  In a truely civilized society, these gifts would not be taken away  by any means or for any purpose.  They would be held sacred.  This is not so because-at least in our contry–our fearless leaders are men and women who claim to worship God, but really worship money and power.

    And because most of us–yes, you and me, gentle reader–are complacent, ignorant, and fearful.

April 28, 2008