While our troops strive to fight terrorism and install American-style Democracy in 130-degree heat, the Iraq Parliament has the audacity to take off the month of August, when only 8 weeks remain to meet their milestones (or else what... we'll withdraw?!?). This is appalling -- you must contact your representative and demand something... and you must do it now, for the US Congress also takes off the month of August, to escape the heat in Washington. (It's no coincidence that the report on Iraq is not due till September...) Meantime, a few diehards will take working vacations to plan the war on Iran. It's no joke. While the mainstream media play bits and pieces of Senator Lieberman's ongoing rants about Iran, what we don't hear are the deliberate details on the US Senate debate over the matter. In case you missed the live coverage on C-SPAN, Gilles d'Aymery provides a summary of the Senate's frightening passage of the case for attacking Iran, simultaneously denying it's a war authorization, approved by 97 senators -- debate, indeed. It's as if we have to just surrender to the inevitable and hope that justice will prevail when these Dispensers of Death meet their victims in another time and place, which Charles Marowitz somberly describes in verse.
We keep turning to the Constitution for a modicum of justice, to little avail. There are differing views, in and out of Swans, as to whether it should be scrapped altogether or resurrected; Carol Warner Christen and Philip Greenspan elaborate their views on the matter. It's certainly difficult to turn to the law for help when the bureaucrats are distorting facts to fit policy as Martin Murie explains, or operating in secrecy with full protection of the Courts, as Jan Baughman laments. And once again we are turning our hopes to Ralph Nader, while the Demopublicans à la Markos Moulitsas of Daily Kos and the Establishment media set out to demonize him. See how the game is played, and take the challenge we present to "Kos" as you evaluate the pool of candidates.
Peter Byrne's election reality TV exemplifies the level of discourse that goes into selecting a presidential candidate, the main quality not being intellectual integrity (sadly for Nader). Time to turn off the TV and read: Charles Marowitz, author of The Other Chekhov, shares his insights into Michael Chekhov, The Invisible Man of the Modern Theatre. Guido Monte and Francesca Saieva lend their creativity to the cleanness of the primeval world before human madness intervened. Finally, more Martian blips, from Dennis Kucinich to Al Gore, William Strunk and Phil Greenspan; and as usual, we close with your letters.
As always, please form your OWN opinion, and let your friends (and foes) know about Swans.
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Gilles d'Aymery: Blips #55, from the Martian Desk
"All men make mistakes, but a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong, and repairs the evil. The only sin is pride."
—Sophocles
Two specific tidbits that landed on the editor's desk after watching debates (or soliloquies) on the floor of the US Senate on the subject of the Iraq War and the mad march toward escalating this fatal war to Iran. To say the least, Sophocles' words are not being heeded. More...
Charles Marowitz: Morpheus In The Underworld
A poem for those killed in the ruins of the Iraq War when they meet its merchant of death on the other side. More...
Carol Warner Christen: Current Game: The Constitution 0 -- The Elites 1 (won)
Some thoughts and opinions on the health of the US Constitution, as the People become weaker and the elite stronger. More...
Philip Greenspan: Condemn That Contemptible Constitution
In defense of scrapping the US Constitution, Greenspan compares it to the Universal Declarations of Human Rights, under which people would be empowered to dethrone the elite and impacting policy decisions. More...
Martin Murie: Deciders
Clampdown on environmental scientists and military spokespersons: Whether authorizing the use of depleted uranium, or making life-and-death decisions for our environment and the species that inhabit it, US government bureaucrats are clamping down on science and making secret decisions with utter disregard for their long-term consequences. More...
Jan Baughman: Surveillance Creep
With citizen surveillance on rise and civil liberties on the fall, it's past time to give serious consideration to which US presidential candidate (if any) will uphold the Constitution. More...
Gilles d'Aymery: The Essential Significance Of Ralph Nader
The so-called progressives such as Daily Kos's Markos Moulitsas Zúniga wasted no time attacking Ralph Nader for considering running in the 2008 presidential election, all the while ignoring the pro-war rhetoric of the Democratic Party candidates and hoping to preserve the elite status quo. There are good reasons Ralph Nader is both respected and direly needed. More...
Peter Byrne: Hail To The Chief Nose
Reality TV turns to the US presidential election and the so-called serious politics engaged by candidates and the viewers alike. More...
Charles Marowitz: Who Was Michael Chekhov?
In this age of information overload we are famished for wisdom; perhaps it is time for an acting theorist with the range of Michael Chekhov's innovative techniques to enter the cultural discourse. More...
Guido Monte & Francesca Saieva: Polyhedron n.5: World History
The primeval world cleanness was dimmed by the human domineeringness and madness: today the "father" Occident overpowers the world. More...
Gilles d'Aymery: Blips #54, from the Martian Desk
"Party is the madness of many for the gain of a few."
—Swift, Thoughts on Various Subjects, 1711
A few selected tidbits that landed on the editor's desk, from Dennis Kucinich and the plege he ought to take; to environmental "awareness" through Live Earth concerts with T-Shirts and carbon offsets (all proceeds go to Humanity!); William Strunk's The Elements of Style; and Phil Greenspan's youthfulness. More...
On the irreplaceable Joseph Roth and the pretty neat French; fear of losing control (of something out of control); AIPAC, Freemasons, and Swans perceptive readers; and more on Ron Paul, with lots of love. More...
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