I am a little worried about this so-called war on terrorism. It seems to me that this administration is using this "war" as an excuse to do whatever they please. If, indeed, this is a war then why are the 564 people being held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba not prisoners of war (POWs)? As POWs they have rights under the Geneva Conventions (see Convention III Article 4), as "detainees" the Bush administration claims that they have no rights.

Also, under the Constitution we are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Yet, Attorney General John Ashcroft has arrested hundreds of what amounts to the "usual suspects" * on immigration violations. These people just happen to be Arabs or Muslims. The administration may be arguing that the Constitution does not apply to non-citizens but if Americans were being held in foreign prisons because they might commit a crime in the future there would be a huge outcry.

Anyhow, my point is that if they can do this now, what will stop them in the future from doing similar things to the rest of us.

My beloved Phillies have fought back to reach the .500 mark. After a terrible start and spending most of the season in last place, they are 44-33 since June 1 and now only behind the Braves in the NL East, although they are 18 games out of first. The reality of a post season for the Phillies is not likely this year but they have been playing good ball lately. Can't we just pretend that April doesn't count?

Sleep is still eluding me. I can nod off on a transit bus in the middle of the afternoon but I can't fall asleep in my bed. The good thing is that I have been more productive lately. I fear that I am starting to look and and sound like Ellen Feiss, although I find her hilarious in that spot.

Last weekend we went to a Pennsylvania Dutch Festival which, as it turned out, had nothing to do with the PA Dutch. I got there expecting to see lots of Amish baked goods and jellies and quilts. Instead, it was table after table of middle aged chubby white women selling cutesy knick knacks and jewelry.

A whoopie pie or slice of pumpkin roll or homemade pie is what I was looking for. But, there was only one table manned by Amish or Mennonites out of the 200 or so.

Of course the Peruvian panpipe players were there. They are at every county fair and flea market I have ever been to. People must actually buy their CDs.

Portrait of a Burger as a Young Calf
by Peter Lovenheim

Listen to an excerpt HERE

"In Germany they [the Nazis] came first for the Communists, and I
didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the
Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came
for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a
trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak
up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that
time no one was left to speak up."

-- Pastor Martin Niemoeller, 1946.

See: "Camps for Citizens: Ashcroft's Hellish Vision"

I hope that Ashcroft doesn't consider me an enemy combatant now. :)

BBC Coverage


Ashcroft at a press briefing in front of the statue "Spirit of Justice" before he had a $8,650 drape installed to cover the bare breasted figure.

On a lighter note, you can listen to:

The Potato Ball Incident

Why are you reading this?

I don't know what to do. The northeast in the fall usually makes me feel good...College football, apple cider, harvest festivals, crisp autumn nights...but then comes what seems like six months of grey , cold winter.

The problem now is that I have thought about it too much. Any suggestions?

Sunday morning, 8:55 I am awakened by the comforting sounds of a leaf blower. What is wrong with people? I give up.

I am thinking about hitting the road. I am just sort of spinning my wheels here so what the hell. I want to take some clothes, my laptop, some CDs and get in the car and go.

For some reason I am thinking of Denver. I don't know why. Maybe it's like a Jack Kerouac thing.

I am still contemplating this...I should decide by the end of the week.


Oh yeah....HELLO Europe!

I heard this on The Writer's Almanac today:

Poem: "The Iceberg Theory," by Gerald Locklin from The Iceberg Theory (The Lummox Press).

The Iceberg Theory

all the food critics hate iceberg lettuce.
you'd think romaine was descended from
orpheus's laurel wreath,
you'd think raw spinach had all the nutritional
benefits attributed to it by popeye,
not to mention aesthetic subtleties worthy of
veriaine and debussy.
they'll even salivate over chopped red cabbage
just to disparage poor old mr. iceberg lettuce.

I guess the problem is
it's just too common for them.
It doesn't matter that it tastes good,
has a satisfying crunchy texture,
holds its freshness
and has crevices for the dressing,
whereas the darker, leafier varieties
are often bitter, gritty, and flat.
It just isn't different enough and
it's too goddamn american.

of course a critic has to criticize;
a critic has to have something to say
perhaps that's why literary critics
purport to find interesting
so much contemporary poetry
that just bores the shit out of me.

at any rate, I really enjoy a salad
with plenty of chunky iceberg lettuce,
the more the merrier,
drenched in an Italian or roquefort dressing.
and the poems I enjoy are those I don't have
to pretend that I'm enjoying.


Listen

1. Meetings are mostly useless and unproductive.

2. Why do people sit in circles on the lawn?

3. Frisbee?

Next week at this time the campus will be overrun with freshly minted undergrads. They travel in packs for the first week or so. The girls in their low-rise faded jeans and the boys in their $70 Abercrombie & Fitch t-shirts all trying to fit in. After a week they usually find new friends and try to ditch their old ones.

And me? I just try to stay out of their way.

Yes, I really am this boring. No, really I am. :-)

Well, I am just trying this to see if it works. I really don't have anything to say right now.