wright or wrong

did hilary clinton start the reverend wright controversy? she should be ashamed. or was it john mc cain? he has plenty to be ashamed of... bill moyers hosted jeremiah wright on his pbs talk show a couple days ago and showed clips from the "offensive" sermons. the sermons were not offensive ~ i have said much worse... they were inflammatory, they were righteous, but they were not hateful, unamerican, or lunacy. the man himself presented as very intelligent and compassionate. he was a good preacher. he was literate (besides the bible) and charitable. he may come from a place of anger (a result of the american history of slavery and racism) but it was not blind anger nor illogical.

one sound bite the media has embraced is wrights comments on aids as a government engineered disease to decrease the undesirable and surplus population. an indictment of our media is that no one has mentioned the fact that this idea did not originate with wright. theories such as this have been around since the 1980s and have some plausibility. the media never researched the history of the theory to understand where wrights ideas come from. he is not a lunatic, he just has an unconventional point of view. like einstein or (insert your favorite revolutionary here).

charlie rose hosted a panel on his pbs show last night to try to understand reverend wrights impact on america and the presidential election. it was inadequately stated that right or wrong reverend wrights words are not barack obamas thoughts and it is a shameful example of dirty politics to try to tie them together. and a shameful example of the stupidity of the american public to believe it. no one blames hitlers mother for the holocost.

barack obama who started the campaign as a light and hope has turned into a politician. his disowning of reverend wright was a brillant and necessary political move that should clear up this problem and alleviate the damage. it was however not a brilliant nor necessary spiritual move. while reverend wright could have behaved with a little more dignity and charity when this situation came to a head (and i think in retrospect he will wish he had taken the higher road), the great flaw, the great disappointment, the great tragedy is that obama put politics before loyalty and friendship. a good man abandoned a good man for the "higher good".

the making of the candidate (think robert redford) that is barack obama has also caused him to back pedal on issues like the war. he had been opposed to the war. now, pope benedict and ted turner are the only ones who do not waffle on this. and im not voting for the pope.

now you see why im not political ~ the whole process is full of politicians!

earth day

happy earth day! happy birthday hadley (my little monster)! elizabeth has gotten off the sofa and is cleaning the kitchen cupboards. im sure shell be back to napping soon. im writing bad checks to pay bills (its kinda fun!)... and we are going to do more cleaning in the garage and make spiritual remedies and maybe a little work on the art projects. then i will visit dorothy for a bit before going off to have dinner with my daughter. that is how my earth day is planned. maybe sitting in the garden for a few minutes. and leaving some food for the fairies. i already recycled and feng shui-ed this morning... its a beautiful day in these times of war.

http://blesstheworld.com

papas got a brand new bag

pope benedict came to america, specifically the united states of america, this past week and i have to give him a lot of credit for showing up here and addressing the current issues. im not a fan of religion and have little time for medieval irrationality, but the last pope stopped coming to the usa because of the protests. he was afraid. and that was long before the sex with young boys issue blew up in the churchs face. the last pope went repeatedly to mexico where his popularity was a slam dunk. but protests in america (the usa) over keeping the church in the dark ages ~especially by the catholic nuns~ were too awkward for him. and the sex with young boys issue was always swept under the altar cloth. unlike his predecessor, pope benedict showed up in the united states and addressed the churchs responsibility for the sex with young boys issue. he was brave. he was forthright and clear. and i think he helped a lot of people in their healing processes. if only he would wear a fashionable hat and dress, something from this century, something fitted... maybe then he could be sold to the american (lapsed) catholics like obama is to the american youth. clothes make the man. and the bag makes the outfit.

make wood, not war

tomorrow is earth day. and i havent heard from al gore. isnt that always the way? once they steal the recognition for all your hard work, they dont even know you. i bet if i ran into him on the street in front greens he would put his hand up and say no autographs. well im not bitter! much! but it would be nice to get a phone call once in awhile. tomorrow is also hadleys birthday. my darling monster of a daughter. she will be seven. going on thirty. she had a party on saturday ~ a small party ~ she didnt want any kids from school BECAUSE SHE SEES THEM ALL THE TIME. there was the requisite jumper. there was the requisite pinata. there was the requisite crying. everyone had a lovely day with a view of the ocean. yesterday i cleaned a small area of the front part of the garage and sold eleven boxes of great stuff to a junk dealer. and hauled about as much back into the house... i will take progress any way i can get it. at least when it comes to cleaning up my stuff. re-using is the best recycling. today i am paying bills, running errands, getting details out of the way so i can go forward into my week. onward ecological soldiers! make wood, not war! plant a tree, save the world.

for peace shirts: http://royanthonyshabla.com

morrisey

i had lunch with morrisey this weekend. we knew each other from when i lived in london many many years ago. it was a big secret, this lunch, very hush hush. we ordered in from his hotel room. and it was pleasant and comfortable. we talked about our projects and working together. my art, my poetry, my life ~hasnt changed much in the last ___ years. although maybe they have become more refined... the style, the subject, the intent is who i was and who i am. my current writing, my current painting... is all work i was doing (way ahead of my time) when i was younger. my life seems to cycle in spirals through my art.

the same with morrisey. he sounds as good as he did with his early bands and his recent work is immediately recognizable as his own. the new work still incorporates his style of repeating a lyric line with different musical emphasis... i did mention to him that i thought his post punk lack of succintness in his lyrics was dated (i think thats why he wanted the meeting... but i shouldnt have said it so succinctly...) and maybe we could collaborate on something fresh and sharp... it was good to see him but we parted without defining a project.

tina at busters wants to talk to me about producing my short play.

and karen in florida is working on getting some closure to some of my short films.

all in all, a good few days without picking up a paintbrush or pencil!

ellen

i was supposed to have dinner with ellen on monday night but she blew me off. ellen degeneres. she hardly even danced with me! and no parting gifts. but she did know the words to all the hip hop songs so she was participating in reality. i like that.

the tibetians are staging a rebellion ~ or at least the white people in san francisco are staging a rebellion for the tibetians, stopping the olympic torch, protesting the olympic games held in china. ted turner said he didnt support a protest of the olympic games because it is through sports that much goodwill is done. thus, the goodwill games. and i see his point. at their purest, the olympic games are a beautiful expression of the human experience. but then there is politics and lack of humor to spoil everything! and religion.

i do think there should be a boycott of china. they sell toothpaste with antifreeze in it. they sell dishes with lead in them. they really dont have a sense of humor. but this country of inertia would never place economic sanctions on anything so important to our walmart economy... so we smile and forget.

maybe ellen couldnt make dinner with me because she was trying to get the chinese to laugh a little. if anyone could, it would be her. im sure she was doing something to save the world. otherwise why would she give up the pleasure of my company?

politicos

friday is the 40th anniversary of the death of martin luther king. blacks, americans, and humans in general lost a great example of what is it to be a man in the world. i hope everyone takes a moment to remember him.

now that my busy season is over i am busier than ever!

last week was a trip to palm springs for art... before and after last minute feng shui consultations.
this week was taxes and art and antiques... before and after last minute feng shui consultations.

next week is the ellen degeneres show... and feng shui! no wonder i never get any writing or art done! but maybe ellen will dance with me. that would make for quite a week!

ted turner was on charlie rose a few nights ago. if he were running for president, thats whom i would support! i, who have no interest for politicans, would support ted turner.

politicians say what they think you want to hear. or they convince you to think you are hearing what they want to say. but it mostly small-minded nonsense.

ted turner says what he wants to say and doesnt care what anyone thinks. and what he wants to say is that war is bad business and ecology is of utmost importance. all without trying to appease anyone. of course i would support him. no nonsense. no religion. no politics! and no fear.

if all politicians could be so clear, i might not have given up on the whole enterprise!