/> WHAT WILL BE . . .© Farming is Falling, Effecting Food and Family © Be-Think: March 2005

Thursday, March 31, 2005

WHAT WILL BE . . .©

What will be the next detractor, distracter?
What will divert our attention and
What will we attend to . . .

What will we avoid?
What do we not wish to know, to think of, and
What will attract our attention next?

Will next be related to Schiavo,
A reaction to Schiavo,
Actions taken with thanks to Schiavo,
Distractions from Schiavo,
Or fractionalizing the effects of Schiavo.

Next as it relates,
Temple News, Americans Should Not Decide Life or Death of Others
CBS News Poll, Keep Feeding Tube Out,
March 23, 2005 - CBS Poll, THE SCHIAVO CASE As actions,
Miami Herald, Much Legal Debate About Action Taken by Congress, Viglucci and Lebowitz
As distractions,
Maureen Dowd discusses, "DeLay, Deny, and Demagogue"
Or as fractionalizing.
San Francisco Chronicle, Schiavo case widens divide between Congress and courts, by Bob Egelko
Atrios, offers “It was fitting that reporters were in danger of outnumbering pro-life supporters"
Daily Kos, “Republican Backlash Against DeLay?” By Armando

May Terri Schiavo find peace and serenity. Written on the morning of her passing and stated with sadness for diminished dignity.

Saturday, March 26, 2005

SCHIAVO, SCHIAVO, SCHIAVO, WITH A TOUCH OF SURVIVORS ©

On this, the week of March 21, 2005, there is much madness. There is madness in the message, madness among the masses, and madness in what we are missing.

Mass media, and public media are in a frenzy; each is covering the Schiavo situation in greater depth than any other story. Those that study the media and the message note that the networks have devoted more airtime to this narrative than those covered in the past. This saga dominates; in the last five days, each of the twenty-two minute news programs has devoted a full sixty-minutes to this accounting.

We the people are absorbed in words of wisdom. There are words of warning, words of woe, and of course, there are those words that tout the need for living wills. We are speaking of death, of dying, of deliverance and yet, we are barely speaking of dropouts [or a number of other important subjects.]

If you desire A Loving Perspective on Pain and Passing you may wish to reflect upon,
Making End-of-Life Decisions for a Mother

Continue reading "SCHIAVO, SCHIAVO, SCHIAVO, WITH A TOUCH OF SURVIVORS ©"

Monday, March 14, 2005

WHEN DO TWO WRONGS MAKE A RIGHT? ©

As a child, my grandfather taught me that two wrongs never make a right. I have honored that wisdom throughout my life and I still do. I thought that everyone did. However, after hearing yet another report on how this Whitehouse produces political propaganda, presents it to the public as though it were objective news, and then justifies the practice, I wonder.



At a recent press conference, Whitehouse spokesperson Scott McClellan was given an opportunity to discuss the ethics of this. He declaratively offered, “The informational news releases that you're referring to are something that have been in use for many years. It goes back to the early ’90s.” Trusting this to be true, NBC correspondent Andrea Mitchell reiterated the claim, stating that the Clinton Administration was the first to engage in such questionable antics. Nonetheless, she added, “the Bush Administration has spent a quarter of a billion dollars on public relations, mostly for videos,” and apparently, this is “double what Bill Clinton spent.”



While speaking of the policy, neither of these comments addresses, what for me is the truer issue of “right” [otherwise considered admirable and amenable] or “wrong” [otherwise considered cruel and corrupt]. These proclamations seem as childish games. First, they hopscotch; then, they move from that game onto another. Mr. McClellan begins on the square marked “two wrongs make a right.” He then jumps to the equally childish box titled the “blame-game!” Ultimately he lands solidly on “Follow the leader.” Ms. Mitchell, on the other hand, is playing “Gotcha,” and “Can you top this?”


Continue reading "WHEN DO TWO WRONGS MAKE A RIGHT? ©"

Monday, March 07, 2005

THE FIRST OFFICIAL DATE © [CHAPTER TWO]

It was now the morning of April 17, the day of the first “official date.” On this night, I was going to formally meet with the man that I met two evenings earlier, the man that introduced himself to me at a local restaurant. Let us call him Gary.

Hours and hours before my date with Gary, a friend of mine was planning to come over just to chat. The friend coming to my home on this day was, and I assume still is, male. He was a male friend, however, he was not a boyfriend, nor was he a best friend. Actually, he was barely a friend; he was merely a person that I was becoming familiar with. The man coming to my home for an afternoon of conversation was not as the “best friend” that Gary’s spoke of in our first conversation. You may recall that the first time Gary noticed me, he was dining with a person that he called his “best friend.” The friend that was coming to my home that morning was not a person that I “slept” with. I mention this for it seems significant now. Later, I would discover that Gary regularly “slept” with what he was calling his “best friend.”

The friend that was coming to my home was not a person that I would ever want to be more than a “friend.” He was not one that I would wish to “sleep” with, to snuggle with; he was not one that would bring me a sense of solidarity. He was and would never be more than a platonic partner. Even if we were closer than we were in that moment, the man visiting me during daylight hours was not a person that excites me in a special way; he was not infinitely interesting to me. His interests were not as intellectually broad as I prefer. For long ago, even as a young child, I knew that I needed a well-used and brilliant brain. I knew that I needed an animated, vibrant, empathetic, and enthusiastic energy to feel whatever it is that creates a connection.

At least I knew that much of myself. I knew my preferences, my desires; however, at this time in my life I did not realize that I needed, wanted, and desired more than a powerful mind, more than a liveliness, more than a mere sense of compassion. I had no thought of what was truly essential before I was able to feel a deeper, more genuine, and healthy connection. I could not imagine what was to come. I had no idea of what I would learn; nor could I conceive of how this person, Gary, this story, would change my life. I did not even know why I was going on this date; and this is what I was saying all that afternoon.

[Chapter Two in a series.]

Wednesday, March 02, 2005

THE APPLE OF MY EYE! ©

You are the Apple of my eye; the Apple that I look at lovingly, and often,
For it is on you, that I rely.
You connect me to myself, to the “me” within me, my self, and I.
Never once, in all these decades have you belied what I believe.
You are a work of art.
Your design, your ability to drag, to drop, to do all playfully, is as I value.
You are friendly, fun, and help me to fulfill my deepest dreams,
And to think that your creator was hoping to make you more amicable,agile, and able.
You give, you receive, you accept my gentle strokes,
And yet, I know that these can never show the appreciation that I truly feel.
You are the Apple of my eye, you are my Macintosh, and I thank you so much for being you!

In homage to Jef Raskin, the Man that Made the Mac, and inspired others to make all computers, friendlier. He passed away last weekend.

You may listen to another remembrance of Jef Raskin on All Things Considered.