nonprofit Poetry's blog

I can never stand the inanity of people "discussing" sprts, blathering about games and players, as if it is something actually important.  I never know what to say to people like this, because I cannot imagine getting through to them.

My professor calls sports "Weapons of Mass Distraction."

My girlfriend always repsonds to sports conversations by bluntly describing to people how there is genocide going on in the would, how we are at war right now, and how un-important football is by contrast.  The gently mentioning what that says about the person.  Read More »

Sorry for the overly dramatic title - I couldn't resist.

But Bernie was attending a National Guardsman funeral in Vermont and suddenly collapsed. 

He fell down in the lobby, while the funeral was still going on.  He was taken to a rest room to collect himself, and eventually was able to walk to the waiting ambulance. 

"I feel all right," he said on the way out. 

Hopefully Bernie will be up and running strong for this fall.  He is currently in the House and is looking to move up to the Senate, replacing current Vermont Independent Jim Jeffords.   Read More »

I'm not sure how up everyone here is on Venezuelan politics and the story of Hugo Chavez, so I'll offer a bare bones history for you.  He was democratically elected, tiwce, and upheld in referendums in between.  First elected in 1999, there was a short lived coup in 2002 that oussted him from power for a few days.  Butt he rebels found he was so overwhelmingly popular that they reinstated him and gave up.  Most believe the US was behind this coup.  Hugo has since come out swinging against Bush and the neo-liberal policies of the US. 

Most recently Chavez announced fears of US official spying in Venezuela.  Last week he named Capt John Correa, a US Naval attache, as a spy passing info to the Pentagon.  Chavez then expelled him from the country.  Read More »

"We've seen some populist leadership apealing to masses of people in those countries.  And elections like Evo Morales in Bolivia take place that are clearly worrisome.  I mean, we've got Chavez in Venezuela with a lot of oil money.  He's a person that was elected legally - just like Hitler was elected legally - and then consolidated power and now is, of course, working closely with Fidel Castro and Mr. Morales and others.  That worries me."

- Donald Rumsfeld

Wow.  You should see the video of this.  You have to hear the disgust in his voice when he says words like "mass of people" and "populist."   Read More »