For many, probably most, people today’s observance is also a cry of joy about the possibilities represented by (say it!) President Barack Obama. But I personally hope our new president listens to *this* MLK speech tonight somewhere, and maybe puts a podcast of it on his iPod or something. The words still hold, until big changes are made. (Video via SF channel kensonofkevin.)
Not to be all late-boomer about it, but I’ve had the line “Iraq=Korea/ Afghanistan=Vietnam” flash through my mind a lot lately. The first war prosecuted by an amiable fool, the second by the “best and brightest.” Put it on my list of Bumper Stickers I Don’t Want to See.
My journalistic ouevre is not as deep as most. But for ha-has, I did an ego search on Google Books, and found myself cited in more books than I expected (and quoted,too). I irrationally went, “Woot!” I’m also deeply curious what piece of mine falls under “restricted’ content.
Now I have to go back to getting my *own* book to join them there.
by Meta G. Carstarphen, Susan C. Zavoina – Social Science – 1999 – 304 pages
Chris Lombardi, spokeswoman for a group of former servicewomen who say they … top training official as saying possible remedies for the military’s sex …
by Sue Righthand, Bruce Kerr, Kerry Drach – Social Science – 2003 – 216 pages
…that only decisive action by military leadership at all levels can break the
cycle …Chris Lombardi, Correspondent. Women ‘s E-News, New York City THE …
From one of the veterans’ lists I’m on, a cri de couer from Placido Salazar, retired USAF who served in Vietnam:
This Wednesday morning, I heard that DOD/VA were holding Suicide Prevention “hearings” at the most luxurious hotel (Grand Hyatt) in downtown San Antonio. I was able to get there for the afternoon session. I read through the agenda – and heard some briefings, with all the talk focused on seeking help or helping your buddy if he feels suicidal.
Dr. Ira Katz, the VA top-doc for mental health was the last speaker. When he finished, he was trying to rush out the door without taking questions. I yelled out, “Just a minute, I have a question, specifically for Dr Katz.” There were several hundred GIs from Ft Sam present in the auditorium, from PFC to Generals. You could hear a pin drop. I then took the mic and started real soft and mellow… “You know, Dr. Katz, three days ago, I woke up with a high fever, hard cough and severe pain below my rib cage. I went to see my doctor who did the routine and then ordered Xrays, informing me that I have pneumonia and placed me on antibiotics.”
Katz asked, “What is your point?” I replied, “The point is that, in order to treat my cough, the doctor first checked to determine what the root of the illness was. Once he determined the presence of pneumonia, he put me on antibiotics, to treat the cause and the symptoms. I have checked the agenda for these ‘hearings’ and I find FOUR very important words missing entirely.
Dr. Katz, why don’t you tell these young soldiers who just returned from Iraq THE TRUTH . Why don’t you tell them that THE REASON behind their suicidal tendencies, after risking their lives in combat, is a VA-recognized illness called ‘Post Traumatic Stress Disorder’ – known as PTSD, and not “a READJUSTMENT PROBLEM”…. Tell them that PTSD is treatable, but not curable…. And that if they returned with serious PTSD problems from Iraq or Afghanistan, that they should fight for DISABILITY RETIREMENT, instead of allowing the military to kick them out the Base Gate, perhaps to possibly commit suicide or to live on the streets. Tell them that if their PTSD (or mental problem) was ‘pre-existing’, they would not have made it past the recruiter.” I added, “Approximately two years ago, I was allowed to speak at the Congressional PTSD Committee in DC and Representative Bob Filner (House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chair) chastised you on this same subject, but apparently NOTHING has changed…. VA is still trying to evade the truth.”
At that point, Dr. Katz dismissed the audience and came and sat face to face with me and asked, “What do you suggest?” Again, I insisted, why not try THE TRUTH. He suggested that, “More advocates as yourself need to come to DC to light a fire under us.” I reminded him that when he comes to San Antonio, the government pays for him to fly first-class, to stay at the most luxurious hotel, with a generous per diem to pay for his meals. When other Veterans and I travel to Washington, to fight for all our Veterans’ medical care and other needs, which should not be necessary, we have to travel AT OUR OWN EXPENSE – and stay in visitors’ quarters at a military base, five to a room, if we are lucky to find vacancy. I departed by saying, “Besides, why should we have to travel to DC to get a Government employees to do your job, when you guys get paid a couple of hundred thousand dollars a year?”
Are repercussions possible? Let’s hope I don’t have to call you from under a freeway bridge.
I’ve been thinking a lot about vets’ suicide rates from 1812 on — not being able to decide if it’s some sort of tipping point or if, like desertion, it’s important but kind of perpedicular to dissent. Salazar’s letter is all of the above, I think.
The tipping point is coming. I don’t know if it’ll be like the Ron Kovic era above, but I can feel the pressure mounting.
More completely disparate bits, on the same principle as the last.
First — Forget NYPIRG, President Obama was that same rare species as I – a 1980’s college peacenik! Luckily, the snarky press only recently hold of this earnest student article in a Columbia U magazine, whose eager framing of its subjects reminds me of my first tries at that kind of writing.
The issue’s dated March 1983, which empowers me to play that game of “where were you then?” I had just started that internship I mentioned in that NYPIRG post, and probably had attended conferences of that Students Against Militarism group he mentions in the piece. I guess Barack had good reason to fly back to Chicago after NYPIRG. He was in danger of turning out liike me — a writer with an obsession with war and peace, and thus few career prospects.
Second, my other shop has more on that peace village on the Green Line, as well as other news you can use.
And for your video portion, anyone who screamed when Bush denied neglect after Katrina should get a kick out of Campbell Brown ripping the still-president a new one:
Two quick notes so while I crash through my book deadline, one serious, one less so:
I have even less useful to say about Gaza than I had on Mumbai. So I’ll take refuge, as I often do, to the one spot of hope I know of in that part of the world. I remember visiting there in 1990, and I’m always comforted to know that they’re still doing the work – creating a new generation that can, maybe, figure the rest of the shit out. Turns out they’re also speaking out against the current insanity.
The video’s a bit long, but worth it:
If you haven’t put The Smoking Gun.com on your list of sources, you’re missing out. In addition to a full supply of investigative stuff — grand jury testimony, mug shots — It turns out to be the place to go if you want to know more than you thought was out there about the super-short military careers of …
Jack Kerouac, who stopped by in between terms at Columbia during World War II and was discharged as completely out of his mind;
and Jimi Hendrix — who gets discharged for, as TSG, playing too much on his instrument. (The Army charged him for the laundry bills, too!) Which gives me an excuse to put this up – I’d forgotten how amazing it is. Just watch it first, otherwise you’ll only look at his hands.
Recently, I spend four hours transcribing an interview with this guy, who’d privileged me with two hours of his time. The link tells you why he talked to me; below is why you should care.
I defy you not to get chllls, especially if you understand what his title refers to.
The Phoenix Program
by Fred Marchant
Afterwards, the children stood outside
the house of their birth
to witness how it too had to be punished.
When they came of age, they fled to the capital,
lost themselves in the study of history and great works of art,
graduated in swirling carmine robes.
Burdened with a knowledge that murderers
name their deeds after winged deities,
they dream for awhile of claws on the back,
but later they become certain there was
nothing they could have done.
And they are not alone.
It is like this throughout the city.
On each corner you can see them—
leaning as if the vanishing point on their horizon
were other than ours.
They speak quietly only to one another.
They play no instruments, and do not sing.
About once a decade, the zeitgeist reminds me why music matters.
In 1987, I thought one day I’d be attending one of Paul Simon’s famously mellow concerts at Carnegie Hall, and instead ended up blown away by this (though without the African skies above me):
Years after that, I was intrigued enough by this guy to buy some tickets to a concert…
…never knowing he can do anything, and was in the process of turning into this guy.
Both times, I think, the universe was telling me I needed to pay attention. Which is why I can’t stop thinking about my New Year’s Eve discovery, which would not have been one if I’d been paying attention to the NY Times (SIX years ago!) or watching David Lettermnn instead of Leno.
If Joe Strummer and Borat had teamed up to produce CABARET, they might have created something like Wednesday’s headliner at the Electric Factory.
But by the time Hutz’ band arrived that night, complete w/percussionists in hot pants, Rache and I had had our hearts stolen by this Dixieland klezmer band. Listen to this one over breakfast, then come out and listen to them live over vodka.
The Audacity of Race: For many, the election of Barack Obama
“was more than a political victory, it was a personal victory.” But,
as Mattie Francis observes, “We cannot pretend, as I heard some
morning-after political pundits say, that we are ‘a colorblind nation’
at this time in history. This is a myth.” Writing for the Point Reyes Light,
she uses her own interracial marriage and motherhood to examine the
questions of race and identity that will color politics, into the new
year and the new presidency.
If ever there is way for a white girl from the Midwest to comprehend not only intellectually but also
viscerally that race is a social construct with no biological basis, it is for her to give birth to a brown baby. Stephan Thernstrom, a professor of history at Harvard University, said that the United States is the only country in the world in which a white mother can give birth to a black child but a black mother cannot give birth to a white child.
Sniffling on the Stairmaster? A midwinter cold got you coughing
and sneezing? Although doctors and exercise physiologists are mostly
“stumped” and don’t yet have the final word on exercising with a cold,
Gina Kolata of the New York Times points to studies showing it may be
time to sweat it out. Instead of languishing on the couch, read about these two studies,
and maybe cinch up your sneakers instead. One study revealed that having
a cold had no effect on lung function or exercise capacity. The other
found that, even though exercisers and non-exercisers had symptoms for
the same length of time, those who exercised ‘in some cases, actually
felt better.’
If you’re going to exercise, though, take it easy
until you feel better. The consensus from the studies seems to be
that, in most cases, exercise will help ease a cold where there’s no
fever or chest congestion. And you’ll be back to full strength, and
full workouts, in no time.
Modern Love, Modern Healing:
It was “déjà vu all over the X-ray screen.” When Sally Hoskins,
neurobiologist and science educator, was diagnosed with breast cancer
for a second time, she thought she knew what to expect. She planned to
go it alone, no support group. She knew the drill. She thought she
didn’t want the “instant support group” of the other women “all
first-timers” wearing hospital gowns and awaiting their treatments. Accepting another woman’s offer of a Xanax breaks the ice for a conversation, and, much needed support, Hoskins admits. “Yes, I was buoyed in part by my Xanax-filled water wings. But what
really kept me afloat was the one thing I had mistakenly believed I
could do without: the loving care that flows freely among female
strangers even in short-term groups like this one, established within
minutes and disbanded just as quickly, only to re-form with a whole new cast in the next waiting room, and the next.”
Debra Winger is digging in a little deeper:
Debra Winger has taken time away from Hollywood to teach a course at
Harvard, have a baby, write a book, run a farm, and take a handful of
smaller film roles, well away from the public eye. Now, she’s back, and being interviewed by Rachel Cooke about her small role in “Rachel Getting Married.” Of the film, Cooke
says: “Rachel Getting Married has won Winger rave reviews – ‘devastating,’ ‘magnificent,’ ‘too long between films’ – for a part you could miss
completely should you succumb to a sudden urge for popcorn.” Winger plans to keep a sense of perspective, and a strong activist voice as she returns to the screen:
You have to make a concerted effort to keep yourself alive, to be able
to feel pain, to stop yourself from getting distanced from things by
technology. Some 250,000 protestors walked up Broadway to protest the
war in Iraq, and the next day it wasn’t in the papers. But will that
stop me from marching next time? No, I will be counted.”
I didn’t know the video above existed, of my not-so-secret sensei JB.*, so excuse me while I catch my breath. I’ll wait, too. while you catch yours; here’s the heartrending poem he’s declaiming in that Irish-Woody-Allen accent. But that’s not the John Berryman poem I’m thinking about today.
I’ve never been a fan of Dream Song 23, below For the most part, Berryman at his best stayed away from explicit political references. But I’m staring at the Song now for clues, as I try in what I’m writing to evoke for 30 seconds an era I never lived through — wishing I’d never lost that great book The Dark Ages, assigned by my beyond-brilliant Binghamton prof Sarah Elbert.
I also know that I’m relying far too much on the Bayard Rustin phrase that David McReynolds taught me: Bayard spoke, he said, about the era’s rigidity as “a large piece of sheet steel, 50 feet wide and 50 feet tall, and one inch thick – and if you hit that with a hammer at one corner, the entire sheet would reverberate.” (The Dark Ages referenced chronicles how under that steel, subversive elements like jazz and the Beats were gathering, though it makes almost no reference to any of my soldiers.)
Grasping at cultural straws of all kind, I thought I’d try again. After all, Berryman was friends with WWII veteran Randall Jarrell (right) and in 1946 was teaching at Princeton, which like Yale had a front-row seat on the rest of my WWII story.
I know Berryman was spun by Hiroshima, and get the easy Joe Stalin bit, but what else is inside? Please comment on what you see? (You don’t have to be a Cold War baby to speculate.) I do think that the first verse, with its intimation of old-style TV static, comes closest to Rustin’s sheet of steel.
This is the lay of Ike.
Here’s to the glory of the Grewt White—awk—
who has been running—er—er—things in recent—ech—
in the United—If your screen is black,
ladies & gentlemen, we—I like—
at the Point he was already terrific—sick
to a second term, having done no wrong—
no right—no — right—having let the Army—bang—
defend itself from Joe, let venom’ Strauss
bile Oppenheimer out of use—use Robb,
who’ll later fend for Goldfine—Breaking no laws,
he lay in the White House—sob!!—
who never understood his own strategy—whee—
so Monty’s memoirs—nor any strategy,
wanting the ball bulled thro’ all parts of the line
at once—proving, by his refusal to take Berlin,
he misread even Clauswitz—wide empty grin
that never lost a vote (O Adlai mine).
Michael Erard of the Texas Observer had some thoughts about it last year – apparently Ike was about as articulate as Shrub, and he compares all the line-breaking to Ike’s speech. I think Erard doesn’t recognize the purity of JB’s self-created syntax, though his comparison to the great “Mr. Bones” sections is probably apt. Still, what is the poem saying about that sheet of steel and who it silenced? Or should I be looking to the far-greater Dream Song 10 (Ike is 15) for my answer? However things hurt, men hurt worse.
Or as Linda Hirshman noted on the WAM listserv (I’m posting this with her permission):
Rick Warren’s site for educating preachers, Pastor.com, has a long essay on why women should submit to their husbands. Here’s the money line: “The Greek word for ‘submit’ is hupotasso. Hupo means “under” and tasso means “to place in order.” The compound word hupotasso means “to place under or in an orderly fashion.” Paul didn’t dislike women, he liked order! He advocated order in the church, order in government, order in business, and, yes, order in the home.
Then I remembered what gave me hope after that, and decided I was better off pushing this event for tomorrow.
It’s not just a vigil and food drive: it’s us giving notice that Obama better mean what he said yesterday, that they’ll push for a quick repeal of DOMA and eliminatinn of DADT. And we’ll press that case in Washington on January 10th, just before the inaugural. Just in case.
First — Forget NYPIRG, President Obama was that same rare species as I – a 1980’s college peacenik! Luckily, the 
Recently, I spend four hours transcribing an interview with 
Grasping at cultural straws of all kind, I thought I’d try again. After all, Berryman was friends with WWII veteran
Incredible Panic Rules 