ID: 125305
Date Added: 2009-01-01
Date Modified: 2009-01-01
Illinois & Obama
document
Hunter Gray
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document 12 of 55
Photo by Thomas Gray Salter. A half century of community organizational activism... We cannot run away from the Winds of Challenge and Change. We have to take History and ride with it. Always ahead, always toward the Sun. And always aware that Democracy is natural and, given half a chance, it will always flourish. We have big fish to fry and we're going to have to do it in our own home-grown skillet -- over a long-burning fire from the timber of our own forests. Bear's Lair
This piece from today's NYT ( Tough Calculus for Blagojevich on Senate Appointment) is a reasonably good roundup of the "Illinois situation." From the outset of his involvement, I've expected Roland Burris to be seated in the US Senate. How much of a tangle that'll entail remains to be seen -- but I suspect it'll be sooner than later. Although Obama has given his imprimatur to the no-Burris position of Harry Reid et al., the reasons to seat Burris -- personal record, legal, political -- are strong. Reid has a history of "talking tough" and then retreating.
One of the dimensions troubling me is Obama's role in this. Injecting himself into the situation in a partisan fashion on behalf of the ostensible position of the Senate Democrats may have seemed the most tactically advantageous way to proceed, but it's now questionable that that will cut much ice in some quarters that Obama has heretofore seen as solidly impressed with him. My immediate thought is that he's never shown any degree of personal loyalty in a fire-fight. It may have been one thing to separate himself from Rev Wright and follow up with the excellent Philadelphia speech on race relations in this country -- but the second time around he trashed Wright badly. Burris has a clean record and has been Obama's friend and supporter -- and his selection as Obama's Senate replacement is legal.
And though Obama has commented,as president-elect on a number of things, he has said nothing on the Gaza tragedy. Taking such matters as his reversal on FISA, the appointment of "safe" Cabinet members who are mostly not noted for their commitment to meaningful and positive change, his recruitment of Rev Warren re the inauguration -- all of this and more raise increasingly fundamental questions about Obama's backbone and principles. He may be, among other things, 'way too certain of his invincibility.
The boundaries between pragmatism and opportunism can be cloudy. The great American student of pragmatism, William James, always pointed out that pragmatism had to reside within the context of morality and decent principles.
In the mountains of Eastern Idaho
Nialetch / Onen
Hunter Gray [Hunter Bear]
Robert Gately responds:
Dear HunterBear,
We are in awe of this world wide web that connects us in such a meaningful way. To hear your morning thoughts, activity's is a blessing beyond belief and I would add my voice to those who believe that we are destined to be connected by whatever means be it smoke signals, mirrors, telephones or Yahoo. Yahoo !
Spyder Woman arrives in a twist of wires. Her ancient wisdom informs the morning and we awake to HunterBears assessment of what religion really means....Faith, poor peoples opium, Hope, rich peoples schemes, Charity, a free mans means.
Earlier I went out to take a piss, bleed my lizard as it were, and heard some down canyon Owls who-who-ing. I wondered of there prey, I hoped not the silver fox we saw on the road last night but a fat old jackrabbit ready to go into the fog you speak of. Then, as I start to write you a pack of coyotes start to yip an bark outside in the dark. Then the light rain starts to pittie patter on the roof of my old motor home....Merry Xmas, Bob ! Your cool.
It would be such a delight to sit by the fire with you, and, as we use to say, "Cut Up the Universe" do due diligence on the culture the Kids are inheriting, enjoying our sameness, they're difference. Alas, with the price of gas we must forgo this pleasure and trust Spyder Woman to keep us connected....Our connections run deep, Mine Mill, Dr. King, Sycamore Canyon, Arizona, our home base as it were.
>From your post this morning I feel surrounded too by the closeness of Family, yours that you share gracefully with me. I can smell the bird in your oven, the coffee that's warming your soul and awakening the mind to putting the future into type...What more could we ask for on this Christmas 2008 ?
With best wishes, always,
Bob Gately
The Homer ILV, Independent Living Vehicle is now on-line.
http://blog.homers4u.com Lets hear what you think....
Sam Friedman responds:
Dear Hunter, Bob and all,
I heartily concur with your wishes of good will and good rebellion to all.
This morning I woke up to one of the world's recurrent deep joys--having Tibbles asleep next to me radiating relaxation. I am sure that many of you had similar joy today.
After reading Hunter's and Bob's notes, I went to my 1500 page file of my poems and did a search on "holy" to see what came up. In addition to several places where I use the term ironically, there were several where I use it in a way that I think has deep meaning for many of us here.
I paste an example below.
happy season, happy years to come!
sam
Holy NASEC, April 28, 2001
Note: NASEC is the North American
Syringe Exchange Convention
As the band played on,
and needle exchangers danced
a spirit of holiness pervaded our tables
and the smiles of the chatterers,
the maturity of a movement grown holy
through the pains of our errors,
through losing friends to the virus,
some deaths due to our errors,
some caused by our love,
but many prevented,
many
prevented,
more and more, many prevented,
our errors transcended
through arguments extended
to respect and deep friendship;
so we chat and we party,
a roomful of doers,
of queers, straights, and junkies,
a roomful of saints transcendent and holy, purveyors
of points despite the fangs of the power,
purveyors of needles through decades of plagues.
Reber Boult responds:
Hunter knows "of no tribal religion that contains the concept of hell." Perhaps you folks heard National Public Radio's report a few weeks ago on the fundamentalist mega-church preacher in Tulsa who suddenly lost most of his congregation and organization and consequently lost his church to foreclosure. Seems that he, a pretty intellectual guy, had decided that the trouble with Christianity is its belief in Hell. So he preached there is no Hell and, voila!, the congregation disappeared. Is it too much of a stretch to say that indicates that hate or fear or war or something like that is essential to most Christians' belief systems?
For many more pieces by Hunter Gray click to his Bear's Lair Library here in mytown. And perhaps save /hunter/ to your favourites or desktop and visit regularly.
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document 12 of 55
A half century of community organizational activism... We cannot run away from the Winds of Challenge and Change. We have to take History and ride with it. Always ahead, always toward the Sun. And always aware that Democracy is natural and, given half a chance, it will always flourish. We have big fish to fry and we're going to have to do it in our own home-grown skillet -- over a long-burning fire from the timber of our own forests.