September 18, 2004
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SATURDAY POEM I ADMIREBush Vets
After World War II
some Japanese soldiers
remained hiding in the jungles,
in underground tunnels,
subsisting on roots and rats.
lost warriors
curiosities to us Westerners:
but now, 30 years
since Nam we have
lost warriors
of our own: BUSH VETS,
like endangered Owls,
spotted now and again
in Hawaii or the Northwest,
clambering through the underbrush,
scrambling from sight,
solitary figures,
stooped, shaggy-haired, foraging
for food; packing .45s
and combat knives, waiting,
patiently waiting,
for the war to begin again.
I stumbled on a site called Poets Against the War and was just stunned to find this wonderful poet whom I’ve never read. Let his bio speak for itself:
Michael Estabrook
55 years oldA medievalist at heart (and by training), disappointed (though reconciled) with the modern world, particularly with the materialism and mercantilism bludgeoning life, smashing our brains into the ground, our hearts into dust. I’m still hoping to find a true and meaningful “cause” in life, other than scratching out my pale poetic murmurings like trying to write in hardened concrete. But I need to find my “cause” pretty soon before I turn to dust myself.
You can read more of his poems here.
Deep Thought: I’m telling you, just attach a big parachute to the plane itself! Is anyone listening to me?!
Today I am grateful for: Sugarfree coughdrops
Guess the Movie: “She’s my daughter! She’s my sister! She’s my daughter! My sister, my daughter. She’s my sister and my daughter!” Answer: Chinatown, 1974.
Winner thenarrator
Polls today Kerry 211/Bush 327. Follow-up on cell phone issue (see yesterday’s blog): “Now getting back to Breslin’s column, in theory he is right that pollsters will miss people who have only a cell phone, but of the 169 million cell phones, most have a land line as well. It is estimated that 5% of the population is cell only. And most of these don’t live in battleground states. And then an effect occurs only if cell-only users differ from land line users in their political preference. Thus the error introduced by missing the cell-only customers is probably smaller than the error introduced by missing the overseas voters. But it is there and in a close election, it could matter. Here is Zogby’s response to Breslin’s column. Robert Landauer wrote a good piece on the accuracy of polling is his Aug. 31 column. Worth a look.”
End of Day 8:41 pm
+ = Really nice day with my grandkids. Bought them school sweatshirts. Watched Freaky Friday. Helped my grandson with writing a paper for school.
- = Xanga just crashed when I tried to post this. We’ll see if it does it again.
Comments (9)
Chinatown
And let me explain how the “missed phone” theory is huge. Not one of my sons friends (all over 18, all registered voters) have land-lines. Two thirds of the people I meet at my job have no land-lines. Huge swaths of urban America have no land lines. The 5% number is radically wrong because it presumes “unanimity of households” in the first place, and purity of neighborhood political trends for another. Neither of which is true. Plus, who is missed in land-line calls? (and calls blocked by called ID?) Young, poor, mobile, intellectual, college student, techno-advanced. That’s lots of key groups, all of whom differ from “traditional polling trends.” This is how these same pollsters (“The Conservatives will win, no doubt about it”) got it so wrong in Canada this summer. They missed a huge percentage of urban vote which went Liberal, and the entire youth vote (much of which went NDP and Bloc Quebecois).
great poem too
You are my political guru. You always shed light.
That is such a great poem! So true, so true, so true. Thanks for posting it.
Wow, I thought the polls were closer than that – or is that close? I don’t know too much about politics.
The War Veterans of this world and of this nation have important things to say and it is far, far too often that their voices are consigned to the margin. I see, more and more Veterans for Kerry signs in the least likely places and one Veteran stands each morning hereabouts, rain or shine, over the freeway overpass with his sign. Many Veterans are speaking out despite attempts by the Right Wing propaganda machine to divide and silence them.
Thank-you for giving Voice~
Peace~
oh, my gosh, you are so sweet! thank you for the kind words.
i have no intention of dropping my therapist in case you were wondering. i think she’s awesome and we have a good rapport going. it’s just this realization that the relationship is so one-sided, you know? it just feels weird to experiencing such a relationship.
There’s a line something like that in Chinatown, I think?
greetings fellow Oregonian
your Bush Vets poem is heavy duty
I like it