The Traitor

Now the Swan it floated on the English river
Ah the Rose of High Romance it opened wide
A sun tanned woman yearned me through the summer
and the judges watched us from the other side
I told my mother "Mother I must leave you
preserve my room but do not shed a tear
Should rumour of a shabby ending reach you
it was half my fault and half the atmosphere"

But the Rose I sickened with a scarlet fever
and the Swan I tempted with a sense of shame
She said at last I was her finest lover
and if she withered I would be to blame

The judges said you missed it by a fraction
rise up and brace your troops for the attack
Ah the dreamers ride against the men of action
Oh see the men of action falling back

But I lingered on her thighs a fatal moment
I kissed her lips as though I thirsted still
My falsity had stung me like a hornet
The poison sank and it paralysed my will

I could not move to warn all the younger soldiers
that they had been deserted from above
So on battlefields from here to Barcelona
I'm listed with the enemies of love

And long ago she said "I must be leaving,
Ah but keep my body here to lie upon
You can move it up and down and when I'm sleeping
Run some wire through that Rose and wind the Swan"

So daily I renew my idle duty
I touch her here and there -- I know my place
I kiss her open mouth and I praise her beauty
and people call me traitor to my face

~Leonard Cohen

Your religion(s) are the weird manipulative new age cult of eckankar, Elizabeth Clair Prophet's Summit Light House, and whatever other dogmas you and your partisans (shall we name names?) use in your under-the-radar proselytizing here on DU. By all appearances, your sacrament is a certain cloying hypocrisy whenever you patronize readers from your "exalted spiritual station" behind the mask - as you're doing here with this O.P.

By all means, keep it real sweety.

J

The point of view I've come to is that it's absurd to try to convince others of anything at all. Follow a belief far enough and it cancels itself out. Words fail and people hold to whatever they think will empower them or give their life meaning. So persuasion to what end?

Your opinions change nothing. Niether do mine.

J

A giant among men. A mythic hero. The greatest ever. Greater than Mohammed Ali. Greater than Elvis. Greater even than Curly Howard. George Bush is a god.

That is all.

Is it just me or does this sound like sincere gratitude? I read it to mean the newly elected Dems in congress plan to remember and acknowlesge who, against all odds, put them in power and why.

I'm not sure how Gates will turn out, but the Dem leaders do seem to be taking control of the way things will be framed from now on. I'm more hopeful we might see a refreshing new candor sweep through our government, and a reinspired commitment to our Constitution and Democratic traditions.

In the last six years America has come as near to the fire as it's ever been. They say good comes out of evil. Maybe with all that's happening this is one of the times that's true. Being an optimist, I'm going to say - expect it.


J

If we really are in the throws of an engineered dialectic, then for sure this particular chaos was unplanned for. So now we get introduced to all those unpredictable variables cascading in from that far more complex system outside their manufactured political "realities". Chaos theory trumps Hegelian dialectic -- more than the Bush syndicate or the Neocons could ever anticipate. Mmm. There's something here about..."the best laid plans of mice and men"???

"I wonder if it was possible that Poppy allowed the CIA behavioral engineers loose on junior when he was younger?"
LOL. That WOULD explain a lot, wouldn't it?

J

We've subsidized Israel for decades now in order to use them as a proxy in the M.E. They should earn their keep.

(And for what it's worth, diplomacy might be a new idea worth trying. )

Anyway, the threat, if it is a real threat, is to them. The U.S. simply CANNOT afford to keep launching pre-emptive attacks every time some ideological gangster flicks a booger at us. Militarily, economically, politically and morally, another pre-emptive war of choice would be catastrophic. Bush is insane.

That being said, I think this is really nothing more than Bush mouthing off to Ahmedinejad - posturing for effect - political theater. Mostly harmless.
J

Our boy Roger appears to have woken up. It's hard realizing you've been used, screwed and tattooed by the institutions you've placed your trust in. But maybe he'll change his mind about moving and use his anger to help us get his country back from the corporate piggies.

I sincerely doubt he's the only one whose head is exploding right now.

J

Impeachment is a slap on the wrist. We need our representatives to launch rigorous simultaneous investigations and prosecutions all up and down the bureaucracy if we ever expect to neutralize and eliminate the neocon/bushco leviathan. Chopping off the head at this point won't accomplish the fundamental change we need in the way our government conducts business and carries out policy. Hey, you've seen the monster movies. Those "heads" always seem to have a propensity for growing back...

So, I'm going to give Conyers, Pelosi, et al some latitude here. These are not stupid people and I expect they have a strategy. I'm going to take a wait and see position on this. If they fail to deliver aggressive prosecution of justice and revelation of facts after a reasonable amount of time (I'd say 3 to 6 months) then we start calling for heads.

Of course it's just an opinion but...
You are not alone.
And thank YOU. I'm having a splendid day.

J

As more facts come in about the shift of power in Washington, this analysis appears to fit the those facts pretty well. I am, and have been, cautiously optimistic since shortly before the election, but I don't think we're out of the danger zone by any means. There may still be some serious setbacks on the horizon. We really do need to keep our eyes open and our "volume" set to 10.

There's a school of thought out there. I don't know whether to call it realistic or supremely cynical, but basically it frames "Democracy" as just another opiate for the people; that elections are held as a periodic ritual to give people the illusion of participation while the power brokers continue to jockey for advantage among themselves by shifting the field of play to their advantage whenever possible.

Unfortunately these last years as my "political" eyes have been opened, I've tended more and more toward that view. That doesn't mean though, that I think the principles of our Constitution are a sham. I don't. I really do think they're worth fighting for, and I'm beginning to suspect the real clash of political "realities" is just beginning in America.

Thanks for this post. Good read.

J
K&R

THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND
words and music by Woody Guthrie

This land is your land, this land is my land
From California, to the New York Island
From the redwood forest, to the gulf stream waters
This land was made for you and me

As I was walking a ribbon of highway
I saw above me an endless skyway
I saw below me a golden valley
This land was made for you and me

I've roamed and rambled and I've followed my footsteps
To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts
And all around me a voice was sounding
This land was made for you and me

The sun comes shining as I was strolling
The wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling
The fog was lifting a voice come chanting
This land was made for you and me

As I was walkin' - I saw a sign there
And that sign said - no tress passin'
But on the other side .... it didn't say nothin!
Now that side was made for you and me!

In the squares of the city - In the shadow of the steeple
Near the relief office - I see my people
And some are grumblin' and some are wonderin'
If this land's still made for you and me.

This land is your land, this land is my land
From California, to the New York Island
From the redwood forest, to the gulf stream waters
This land was made for you and me

My impression is that the Dems know they're entering a political mine field now. The neocons are still engaged and capable of causing tremendous damage. I watched Pelosi on CSpan the other night. One thing that struck me about her presentation was how politic and careful she was in her wording, as well as her repeated insistence on a "bi-partisan" approach.

Listen, if you want to avoid conflict, or at least defer it until you're dug in and ready to engage, you don't simply pull out your weapons and start firing as soon as you approach the enemy.

My take on all this is that it's timing and strategy: re-establishing extremely high standards of discourse on Capitol Hill; taking charge of all the processes and channels of "command and control" (legitimate and informal) that have been set up by the Republicans. And once that foothold is fairly established, then letting the piggies do what they do best - take the low road and step into the trap - on the record. Going after impeachment at the outset would stir up the nest too much, as it were, and hamper a real effort to clear out the pervasive corruption that's taken hold of our government. Better to approach a pack of dangerous animals with care and respect if you don't want to do more harm than good to yourself and others.

My faith in the American people (not the system) has been somewhat restored by this week's overwhelming response at the polls. I'm willing to give the Dems a change to run with this. My trust in political authority is, at best, always provisional. But it seems to me Conyers and hopefully the other senior members are all on board with a long term political strategy of some kind. If that's not what's going on, then we'll probably know it soon enough.

So I'm not for impeachment. There are far better weapons in the arsenal for now.

J

The very first thing we're going to do is contribute a large charitable donation to our local terrorist cell front organization, because without their help we couldn't have destroyed the Republican fortress of freedom and democracy in Amerika so easily. After that my wife and I will be celebrating a three-way polyamorous marriage with a transgendered abortionist and pornographer (we know and love) who will be running for congress in our district next term. We'll probably put in some guerrilla training with our local VLWC chapter in preparation for launching the next phase of the War on Christmas.

After that we'll do something about restoring the US Constitution, and our good name with the community of nations, to their integrity. We'll probably end the occupation of Iraq and make reparations. Then we're going to cut through D.C. like the Whirlwind and clean out the corruption, legislating safeguards against future abuse. We might start by initiating probes and investigations into any government fraud, waste, abuse, or high crimes and misdemeanors that may have come to our attention over the last six years. Then we'll prosecute impartially. I expect we'll also take a close look at repealing the Patriot Act and its sequels; repealing the new bankruptcy and imminent domain laws. End corporate welfare and break up the conglomerates. No doubt we'll immediately use intelligence, discernment and innovative thinking to attack the root human causes of global warming and climate change - starting with strict regulation of industry and development, and aggressive tax-payer sponsored R&D programs that will open entire new growth industries based on sustainable technology and renewable energy sources. Somewhere we'll find the time to end the hypocrisy by calling in all covert military and intelligence operations disigned to destabilize foreign governments, and instead set an example to the world by practicing a policy of peaceful diplomacy for all conflict resolution. Then we'll get to revamping the prison system in America too. Legalize pot - grant amnesty to the many thousands of incarcerated victims of prohibition.

I guess to celebrate, we've decided to join the gathering tsunami of good-will that will rebuild the soul of America one step at a time and remake it into an new kind of place - a country and society whose strength lies in its diversity, openness, generosity and fair-mindedness, with opportunity and personal liberty for every member. Yep. I figure we'll be celebrating for some time to come...


Meanwhile, we're going to insist on transparency and truth from our public leadership; participate locally for positive change in our community; resolve to never back down or remain silent in the face of power and abuse, and (why not?) plant some flowers and trees along the way. (That'll really drive 'em nuts!)

J

"Warsaw decided to take part in the war with Iraq on grounds of untrue information which it received from the US administration - former President of Poland Aleksander Kwasniewski has told a German daily."

It'll be interesting to see if this gets any traction in the MSM.

Following the logic here, Kwasniewski is going on record with confirmation that the Neocons exploited not only the American legal and military apparatus but also the assets of other nations to violate international law and prosecute their agenda.

How much Kwasniewski actually knew at the time is up for debate, but this could be a signal others on the world stage might step forward as well with claims and allegations against the Bush regime. With this, you might say the dialog about their criminality officially goes international.

Or this could mean nothing at all...

Don't you love a good cliffhanger?

J