Nassau County's Loss

When I first heard the news about the controversy over the Nassau County, New York poet laureate position on Monday, I have to say I was extraordinarily angry. The county was poised to name Maxwell Corydon Wheat Jr., it's first poet laureate. But Monday, a county legislative committee voted 6-1 against Wheat when they learned of his 2004 book titled, "Iraq and Other Killing Fields: Poetry for Peace."

Peter J. Schmitt, Republican legislator voiced is objection because he felt that Wheat's book condemned the troops fighting for America in Afghanistan and Iraq. Democrat Wayne Wink was the lone legislator who voted to uphold Wheat's nomination.

Since that time, families too have squared off over the issue. But there has been support for Wheat, even from families who have members serving in Iraq.

Linda Geremia, of South Setauket, NY who has a son serving believe the committee did the right thing.

Nicole Lundin, who lost a son recently however saw not contradiction between supporting the troops and opposing the war. Nor did Elaine Brower, who has a son who served there last year.
And Mary Ann Kochman, also with family in Iraq suspected politicians were more concerned with political cover than with poetic excellence.

I've grown a little less angry over this. The reality is that many people see it for what it is. Short sightedness and as Ms. Kochman put it running for political cover. I believe it was Plato who said,"Poetry is nearer to vital truth than history."

What is sad to me is that Wheat seemed to be an excellent choice. He has written for many years on the natural beauty of the Nassau County region. The people in there will truly miss an opportunity.

There are I suppose always going to be the likes of Peter J. Schmitt, (recipient of my thumbs down award for the day) who are hell bent on defending that which is indefensible. No one I know disrespects the troops and I know precious few people personally who believe this war was ever justified. These young men and women were called upon to serve and (aside from a small handful) have preformed in very difficult circumstances honorably. But they were not the architects of this mistake. The best support was as Americans can give them is to return them safely to their families as quickly as possible.





Sources for this post: here and here

Next they'll blame the weather on us....

The poet may be used as a barometer, but let us not forget that he is also part of the weather. ~Lionel Trilling

I really like this quote and I am not exactly sure why. As we start the week, a few other annotations....

• “I have nothing to hide." is one of those reassurances that is right up there with, "I am not a crook." Sorry Alberto, it isn't working for me.
• Very intriguing site to involve teens in poetry.
• Robert Peake discusses an interesting phenomena - Poetry 2.0?

A few searches that must have disappointed...

I noted from my stat service that the following searches brought people to my site:

• super hero sex
• super hero nude pose
• super hero other personality

I suppose these will not likely be repeat visitors.

My quote for today is from Emily Dickinson - "Behavior is what a man does, not what he thinks, feels, or believes."

Charles Bernstine takes a look at National Poetry Month. (here) Is it too one dimensional? As much as I believe NPM is a significant vehicle for promoting our art, I have to concur that it focuses on mainstream poetry and this reflects poorly on the art of poetry as a whole.

Thursday thoughts....

I'm not into reality shows. Why they have not caught my fancy I can't say. Perhaps it is due to the stark reality we live in day to day. I mean if we could vote Bush off the Island, I might start to get interested.

Are you aware that we are burning $9 billion a month on the Iraq war? That's $108 billion a year. Any thoughts as to how much longer this could go on? Who is going to pay for this war that was an expensive lie to the world? It is not in any fiscal budget. Our children will be paying for this for years to come. Not only financially, but in loss of credibility around the world. Our foreign policy has become a joke.

The war in Iraq has not made America any safer. If anything, it has fanned the already existing flames of hate among some in the Middle East. Bush is the best recruiter extremists could ever have.

Mid-Week Pulse Check

• George W. Bush
• Dick Cheney
• Michael Brown
• I Scooter Libby
• Donald Rumsfeld
• Carl Rove
• Alberto Gonzales
• Lt. Gen. Kevin C. Kiley
• Maj. Gen. George W. Weightman
• Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey

Is the entire Bush Administration Ethically Challenged or what?

)()()(

There are Tulips peeking out of the loam in my front yard.

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Day Four - I Still Hate Daylight Savings Time.

Bush seeks 8,200 more troops for wars - Yahoo! News

Bush asked Congress on Saturday for $3.2 billion to pay for 8,200 more U.S. troops on top of the 21,500-troop buildup he announced in January.


More troops, more tax dollars, more death to propagate a war based on lies to the American People.

They Took AN Hour Away From Me

And They Couldn't Wait To Do It..... :(