10/17 - International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
~~ Sleeping Rough
Today is the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty Bwahahaha. Not if the US has anything to say about it or anything do do with it. Afterall, our entire sanctions regime is intended to create poverty and suffering in the populations of the target countries, of which there are many, and our economic model is predicated on there being massive numbers of impoverished here at home. Very simply put, It can't happen here (Zappa's maxim).
I'll return to that in a bit, but first a word about Black Poetry Day. Today is Black Poetry Day, so I'll include a poem here writtin at the age of 17 by the great Langston Hughes entitled
The Negro Speaks of Rivers
I’ve known rivers: I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins. My soul has grown deep like the rivers. I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young. I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep. I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it. I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln went down to New Orleans, and I’ve seen its muddy bosom turn all golden in the sunset. I’ve known rivers: Ancient, dusky rivers. My soul has grown deep like the rivers.
I know that I did promise to return to the subject of Poverty and the Eradication thereof, and hence I will more or less do so, in my own fashion. I have not the reach, the grasp, nor the hubris to even consider seriously addressing global poverty. I will, however, aspire to the efficiency of the multitaskers by letting Mr. Langston Hughes address the subject here in these Untied States in my stead:
Let America Be America Again
Let America be America again. Let it be the dream it used to be. Let it be the pioneer on the plain Seeking a home where he himself is free. (America never was America to me.) Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed— Let it be that great strong land of love Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme That any man be crushed by one above. (It never was America to me.) O, let my land be a land where Liberty Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath, But opportunity is real, and life is free, Equality is in the air we breathe. (There's never been equality for me, Nor freedom in this "homeland of the free.") Say, who are you that mumbles in the dark? And who are you that draws your veil across the stars? I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart, I am the Negro bearing slavery's scars. I am the red man driven from the land, I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek— And finding only the same old stupid plan Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak. I am the young man, full of strength and hope, Tangled in that ancient endless chain Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land! Of grab the gold! Of grab the ways of satisfying need! Of work the men! Of take the pay! Of owning everything for one's own greed! I am the farmer, bondsman to the soil. I am the worker sold to the machine. I am the Negro, servant to you all. I am the people, humble, hungry, mean— Hungry yet today despite the dream. Beaten yet today—O, Pioneers! I am the man who never got ahead, The poorest worker bartered through the years. Yet I'm the one who dreamt our basic dream In the Old World while still a serf of kings, Who dreamt a dream so strong, so brave, so true, That even yet its mighty daring sings In every brick and stone, in every furrow turned That's made America the land it has become. O, I'm the man who sailed those early seas In search of what I meant to be my home— For I'm the one who left dark Ireland's shore, And Poland's plain, and England's grassy lea, And torn from Black Africa's strand I came To build a "homeland of the free." The free? Who said the free? Not me? Surely not me? The millions on relief today? The millions shot down when we strike? The millions who have nothing for our pay? For all the dreams we've dreamed And all the songs we've sung And all the hopes we've held And all the flags we've hung, The millions who have nothing for our pay— Except the dream that's almost dead today. O, let America be America again— The land that never has been yet— And yet must be—the land where every man is free. The land that's mine—the poor man's, Indian's, Negro's, ME— Who made America, Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain, Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain, Must bring back our mighty dream again. Sure, call me any ugly name you choose— The steel of freedom does not stain. From those who live like leeches on the people's lives, We must take back our land again, America! O, yes, I say it plain, America never was America to me, And yet I swear this oath— America will be! Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death, The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies, We, the people, must redeem The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers. The mountains and the endless plain— All, all the stretch of these great green states— And make America again!
Should you have made it this far in life without reading the man's works, go do so, you won't regret it, and if you have, maybe re-read a few and contemplate them well. Starting with Let America be America Again-
On this day in history:
1604 – Kepler's Supernova was observed in the constellation of Ophiuchus.
1713 – Russia defeated Sweden in the Battle of Kostianvirta in Pälkäne
1771 -- The premiere of Mozart's opera Ascanio in Alba
1781 – British General Charles, Earl Cornwallis surrendered at the Siege of Yorktown
1814 -- Eight people died in the London Beer Flood, declared an act of god
1907 -- Marconi's company began the first commercial transatlantic wireless service
1933 -- Albert Einstein immigrated to the US
1956 -- The first commercial nuclear power plant opened (in England)
1961 -- Paris police massacred up to 400 Algerian proesters.
1973 -- OPEC imposed an oil embargo sanctions against several Western nations
1989 -- The Loma Prieta earthquake hit the greater S.F. Bay Area and CA Central Coast
2018 – The recreational use of cannabis was legalized in Canada.
Some people who were born on this day:
“Don't be seduced into thinking that that which does not make a profit is without value.”
~~ Arthur Miller
(strangely enough, I just discovered the following: “More Weight -Giles Corey-”
― Arthur Miller, The Crucible)
1909 -- Cozy Cole, a topsy turvy kind of drummer
1912 -- Jack Owens, singer, songwriter and pianist who starred on Don McNeil's Breakfast Club
1915 -- Arthur Miller, playwright and screenwriter
1918 -- Rita Hayworth, actress, singer and dancer
1923 -- Barney Kessel, guitarist and composer
1933 -- The Singing Nun
1934 -- Rico Rodriguez, trombonist
1941 -- Earl Thomas Conley, singer, songwriter and guitarist
1946 -- Michael Hossack, drummer
1951 -- Shari Ulrich, singer, songwriter and violinist
1953 -- Joseph Bowie, trombonist and bandleader
1956 -- Fran Cosmo, singer, songwriter and guitarist
1958 -- Howard Alden, guitarist
1958 -- Alan Jackson, singer, songwriter
1968 -- Ziggy Marley, singer, songwriter, guitarist, and voice actor
1971 -- Chris Kirkpatrick, boy band boy
1984 -- Randall Munroe, author and illustrator, writes must-read web comic xkcd (at xkcd.com)
Some people who died on this day:
Any religion which will sacrifice a certain set of human beings for the enjoyment or aggrandizement or advantage of another is no religion. It is a thing which may be allowed, but it is against true religion. Any religion which sacrifices women to the brutality of men is no religion.
~~ Julia Ward Howe
(Methinks that Ms. Howe, in criticizing certain religions, has completely redefined the word, so that now we need a new word for "religions as we know them")
1586 -- Philip Sidney, courtier, poet, and general
1806 -- Jean-Jacques Dessalines, a leader of Haiti's revolution,
1849 -- Frederic Chopin, pianist and composer
1887 -- Gustav Kirchhoff, physicist and chemist; Whoa black body, bam de lam.
1910 -- Julia Ward Howe, poet and songwriter
1972 -- Billy Williams, singer
1979 -- S. J. Perelman, humorist and screenwriter
1991 -- Tennessee Ernie Ford, singer and actor
2007 -- Teresa Brewer, singer
2008 -- Levi Stubbs, singer (4 tops)
Some Holidays, Holy Days, Festivals, Feast Days, Days of Recognition, and such:
International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
Black Poetry Day
Today's Tunes
Loma Prieta y'all. (yeah, it's our fault, we know)
Mozart
Cozy Cole
Jack Owens
Barney Kessel
Rico Rodriguez
Michael Hossack
Shari Ulrich
Fran Cosmo
Howard Alden
Alan Jackson
Ziggy Marley
Chopin
Billy Williams
Levi Stubbs
Ok, it's an open thread, so it's up to you folks now. So what's on your mind?
Cross posted from http://caucus99percent.com
Comments
Wow, thank you so much, a lot to digest and think about.
now I have something to read that is essential. I feel almost ashamed that, so foar, I had not to sleep rough.
May be I add: Let Germany never be so german again.
Ok, I try to enjoy the squirrels (they are brownish here in my neighborhood).
Sleep softly, not roughly, otherwise I lose my mind. Great music.
Thank You, again.
Good morning mimi, thank you for reading
and for the feedback. May you never have to sleep rough. Glad you enjoyed the music.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
So, where will we shoot our kamikaze drones? /nt
one hopes nowhere and not at all. n/t
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Loma Prieta - no fault of my own
Re: Tallest peak in the Santa Cruz mountains ..
But seriously, I know this is in reference to the shaky quake of 1989.
Loma Prieta Earthquake
Thanks for the 4 Tops!
Part of the Bay Bridge went down too.
Traffic was totally fubar for over a year. I took to riding my bicycle everywhere, all the time, for all purposes and generally made as good or better time than the cars and trucks. I even had occasion to cross the bay on one of the undamaged bridges and got a sort of perverse pleasure out of the fact that, as I struggled up the ascending side, I was still passing the standstill traffic.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
5:04
rode that one out real close to ground zero, and definitely in the wrong place. Pacific Garden Mall, entrance to the "arcade" hallway that Clint Eastwood ran through in Sudden Impact. Sat there at a table 25 years later on the anniversary trying to piece together what was what until realizing we were at the very same remodeled spot, under the corner of the St George, which exhibited cracks around it's second floor after we were done shaking beneath it. The pane of glass next to us shattered. it was a bad spot. immediately knowing dead people occurred in that instant. 5 or 6. we were not in the very worst places, thankfully.
Good afternoon Kelly, glad you rode it out ok.
I was afoot, roughly corner of College and Claremont in North Oakland.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
My wife and I
were watching the ball game from Candlestick, lounging around the living room of our place in Waltham, MA, when it hit. We watched the carnage unfold over the next couple of hours, and remarked to each other "I wonder how people could possibly live out there knowing that that was coming?".
Be careful what you say in these circumstances. 6 weeks later, I was informed that my job still existed, but that it was now located in Mountain View, CA. So we moved out to the peninsula before the aftershocks had completely settled. Lived out there for a quiet 15yrs, during which there wasn't much for the peninsula, just the odd shimmy here and there on the Alum Rock. Then my wife was informed that she still had a job, but it was in Denver.
We didn't say a damned thing about *that*. Still waiting for that shoe to drop...
Twice bitten, permanently shy.
well, you don't really know for sure that it's coming,
and when it does, you don't know whether it'll be a 3.4 or a 4.2, or what. You get inured to them, as I'm sure you now know. We get lot's of high 2s and low 3s where we are now, and you sort of routinely play "whatcha think?" My back had gone out and I had to take several short walks per day. My girl-friend and future wife came up to walk with me and then watch the game, so we were afoot on College watching the buildings do the hula hula and then wound up glued to the TV just like you.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Great lineup of songs!
Thanks for the music this rainy, cold Monday morning here in Santa Fe. The Langston Hughes poem was a powerful reminder of what has always been but hope for the future. Hope a good week is ahead for all!
Life is what you make it, so make it something worthwhile.
This ain't no dress rehearsal!
Good morning jb. Thanks for reading.
Glad you liked the music and sorry 'bout that weather.
Be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Your photo
is heartbreaking, el. Yellin is practically demanding unemployment numbers reach new levels, and that will solve all of the economy's woes. Doesn't do much for the unemployed, ya think?
It will be rainy today, and we are forecast to have cool temps through Wednesday. It is nice. But then, I am not homeless.
Take care, friend!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Ahh, take care yourself. Thanks for reading.
Glad you have nice weather, we have cool to chilly, but still no water from the sky.
be well and have a good one.edit: corrected take yourself to take care yourself, which was intended
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
So today will be all full of "where were you in '89?",
'cause if you were in the Bay Area, you sure as shit remember. Still, quakes don't chase you, and it's not an annual thing like hurricane season or tornado season.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
When the MSM follows its marching orders what you see and
what you don't see.
Good morning humphry. No surprise there the
msm is just one of the government's propaganda departments.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
This is more in line with the subject of today's essay.
Au contraier, this is "America" and, according to
Langston Hughes, always has been for some
be well and have a good one
edit, corrected title line
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
There are a lot of people
sleeping rough in Denver. We lived downtown for a short time when we were nomads after our house burned. The place we were staying was right in the pricey part of town by the Performing Arts Center, and I counted 40-50 people every night within eyeshot (2-3 blocks) of there. There was always a pissing match every night for the prime spots on the gratings over the old steam tunnels, where you could stay warmish with only a layer of cardboard over the top. The lucky ones have spots in the bankrupt Aloft hotel that Denver has taken over as a shelter, and boy, do the folks with million-dollar highrise condos in that neighborhood love *that*.
If you go further north up near the Denver Rescue Mission, the rough-sleeping numbers are into the hundreds, North Cap Hill and Civic Center Park are pretty much the same, and all the little grassy areas along the Platte River and the highways hold another several hundred. Snow's gonna fly soon, and they will still be there, again this year. There's also a little camp that has grown down here in south suburbia near the Ridgegate light rail station, as folks have figured out that they don't enforce fares anymore so that they can ride down here for free. I assume that a lot of the other light rail stations are seeing the same thing. The Denver homeless population is easily into the thousands, and we are a very small big city.
Society is truly falling apart, and I don't see it getting better. We came close to joining them after the fire, so there but for the grace of Gawd...
If you are homeless, don't come to Denver. It is going to get freakin' cold here this winter, and stay that way for many months, and there is no safety net whatsoever. People routinely freeze to death, without any note taken, every winter...
Twice bitten, permanently shy.
Afternoon UFS. Always sad to hear of those
living in the wild in cold climes like a Denver winter.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
An abundance of stories
of 'homeless in the USA'. Another sign of breakdown...the numbers of homeless seem to be rapidly increasing just over the past couple of years.
From a piece in Rolling Stone;
https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/long-covid-homeles...
I wonder who is trying to "scratch the surface" Certainly not our government.
Thanks for the OT el. My internet connection appears and disappears randomly, but I want to listen to some of those musical selections you posted ...here's hoping.
good afternoon rand. Good case of not understanding
the problem.
If we cared about our people, and cared for them, understanding would be an afterthought, as it is, their well-being and survival is the afterthought.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
So true
, about "not understanding". The convenient thing about "scratching the surface" is you can look very busy for an extended period of time without having to do anything substantial about actually solving the problem. Perhaps that academic from Brown was speaking tongue in cheek, "scratch the surface' implies a superficial effort. We can investigate this problem with a superficial scratch forever. Vote for us in November though.