Peace

Fresh with the blood of Van Jones dripping from their jowls, the bullies have sunk their teeth into Kevin Jennings and have their eyes on Carol Browner, Cass Sunstein, Steven Chu, Mark Lloyd and John Holdren. Having no bounds to their rhetorical violence - neither truth nor respect nor civility, they feed upon each other's lies and distortions.

My teacher urges me to see the wounded eight year old child in these (expletive deleted), all I see are middle aged bigots. Cultural warfare will find us all wrestling in the mud but there comes a time to take a stand.

This is for me
my friends today
And my friends tomorrow.
I think being mean stinks!
I won't watch someone get picked on
Because I am a do something person
not a do nothing person.
I care
I can help change things
I can be a leader
In my world there are no bullies allowed.
Bullying is bad
Bullying bites
Bullying bothers me.
I know sticking up for someone is the right thing to do
My name is Jim Tarvid
And I won't stand by
I will stand up.

Matthew 5: 44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
  45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

You see, praying for divine intervention in Iran is a lot like praying for rain. When God doesn't intervene (and clearly He does not intervene in the starvation of children, the homelessness of people in our neighborhoods and a host of other "evils") we have a problem.

There are tactical reasons for prayer. One is to find an understanding of how things are here and now. We may get help from others, but more often than not the answer comes from within.  

Strategically, the reason for prayer is change within ourselves. Lord knows we are not a "perfect" lot but we are what we've got. If we look hard enough, we will find the sunshine and rain and with a little luck smell the flowers.

The State in Iran is like Babylon, Rome and even Washington. Like States everywhere, power rules in favor of the few and against the interests of many. The only "weapon" we have is strengthening ourselves and empowering others.

Peace be upon you.

Jim

Note: the quotation within are linked to the program Sword.

To my brothers and sisters in Iran, I bid you Peace.

To my brothers and sisters everywhere, I bid you Peace.

Salaam

A WOMAN’S PACE

While fishing on the bank’s of Reed Creek,

Watching the cloud’s playing hide and seek.

All the trees were dressed in their summer flare,

Not knowing the time of day, so not wanting to care.

It was like the fish already knew.

I was there to catch a fish or two.   

Then down went my line, clean out of sight,

As this fish put up a big fight.

And I was taking the fish off the hook,

I was thinking this is a job for a man, not a cook.

While flopping and slipping in my hand,

I realized I had to yell for my man.

So as this fishing story ends.

A woman can still have many trends.

Without upsetting a man’s place,

She can keep with-in an even PACE.

                                                            BY : LOUISE V. JONES©

I'd woken early, had my first cup of coffee, watched the sunrise over the lake in Fairfax, gotten another hour of sleep, had my second cup of coffee and wandered out to a glorious day wearing my Obama cap when I found a black guy under an aging Chevy van and an Hispanic guy speaking anxiously. I had no agenda and the sound of Spanish is pleasant to me so I listened in.

We're eight years into the 21st century. I was going to wait until advanced old age to compare this century with the 20th century, thus annoying the bejeebers out of my poor grandkids, but I have some free time this afternoon, and I'm not the most patient woman in the world. In this new millennium we have made several great advances--several laudable improvements in the human condition--but darned if I could think of one. Let's start off with the big changes; the really salient and vexing issues.

In the New Millennium, we have fewer crackers in a box. Last century, to save on packaging, there were boxes full of crackers. I'm old enough to remember these. I swear to God: you opened the box and reached about half an inch down and took hold of a cracker. Now, to save on crackers, and to fool consumers and fill landfills quicker, a box a foot tall might contain 15 crackers. Soon it will contain 6 1/2 crackers, and we will be expected to believe that this is due to "product settling during shipment." Price: $4.99 plus tax.

You, you're not aware
That we're aware
Of your despair
Don't show your tears
To your oppressor
Don't show your tears

CHORUS:
Try not to cry little one
You're not alone
I'll stand by you
Try not to cry little one
My heart is your stone
I'll throw with you

Isam:
'Ayn Jalut where David slew Goliath
This very same place that we be at
Passing through the sands of times
This land's been the victim of countless crimes
From Crusaders and Mongols
to the present aggression
Then the Franks, now even a crueller oppression
If these walls could speak,
imagine what would they say

For me in this path that I walk on
there's only one way
Bullets may kill, bones may break
Still I throw stones like David before me and I say

I was born in the early days of World War II. My father came home from the Pacific 6' 1" tall and 109 pounds. His brother came home from too many missions over Germany and never quite became whole. My wife's father did not return from France. One of my neighbors left his jaw in Europe.

I do not believe in the utility of force nor a just war. I do believe that we must remain connected to those deployed so far from home for they are a part of us and we must make every effort to remain "whole".

I will spend Memorial Day with friends, friends on the path to understanding, and reread the words of a high school student from Sierra Leone, Amanda Bradley, who knows the horror of war and the yearning for peace more intimately than I.

Explaining subtlety is an admission of failure. My blog on Jimmy Carter contained nine references, eight of which were examples of newspeak. One, AlJazeera, was an appeal to understanding and a rejection of categorical imperatives. The fault lies not in Jimmy Carter, but in the way we talk about and understand the "War on Terror".

I am going to make it easy this time, Osama bin Laden is the quintessential example of a "terrorist". The call to kill civilians in the fatwas of 1996 and 1999 fit the definition of terrorism. And so what does that imply?

In the current mindset, the solution is simple - kill him. And if you can't do that,  kill everyone who espouses him, kill everyone who shelters him, and if all else fails kill everything he says.

Mortimer Zuckerman writing in the US News and World Report said "Former President Jimmy Carter, acting out his stubborn, self-righteous moralism and his stunning vanity, persists in legitimizing terrorism." Aljazeera says "Give Peace and Jimmy Carter a Chance". Michael Craft, a former senior adviser in the State Department added "Mr. Carter's well-publicized meeting plans amount to rewarding terrorists..." Congressman Eric Cantor said "It is shocking that a former president of the United States would sit down and speak with a terrorist kingpin like Khaled Mashal.This type of meeting will only be misconstrued in the region as a sign of legitimacy for Hamas terrorism,".

It is important to put a face on the terrorists. If we are going to spend $3,000,000,000,000, potentially destroying the US Economy, making us safe from these individuals we ought to get to know a few.

One of them is a guest of the State of Virginia in the Northern Neck Regional Jail - Sami Al Arian. Upon his arrest in 2003, Attorney General John Ashcroft announced a major victory in the "war against terrorism". After a prosecution costing $50,000,000 resulting in zero convictions, the Department of Justice secured a plea bargain agreement which would result in Sami's deportation.

He is still here.