Unbossed and unbought
news and information you can use
Vol. 10 No. 5…Dedicated
to the Dialogue on Race…February 2, 2007
Venue for an Artist
Why Just Ask the Donkey
By Hafiz
Why
Just ask the donkey in me
To speak to the
donkey in you.
When I have so many other beautiful animals
And brilliant colored birds inside
That are all longing to say something wonderful
And exciting to your
heart?
Let's open all the locked doors upon our eyes
That keep us from knowing the Intelligence
That begets love
And a more lively and satisfying conversation
With the Friend.
Let's turn loose our golden falcons
So that they can meet in the sky
Where our spirits belong--
Necking like to
Hot kids.
Let's hold hands and get drunk near the sun
And sing sweet songs to God
Until He joins us with a few notes
From His own sublime
lute and drum.
If you have a better idea
Of how to pass a lonely night
After your glands may have performed
All their little magic
Then speak up sweethearts, speak up,
For Hafiz and all the
world will listen.
Why just bring your donkey to me
Asking for stale hay
And a boring conference with the idiot
In regards to this precious matter--
Such a precious
matter as love.
When I have so many other divine animals
And brilliant colored birds inside
That are all longing
To so sweetly
Greet
You!
About
Me: Hafiz, whose given name was Shams-ud-din Mohummad (c.1320-1389) is
the most beloved poet of Persia. A famous Sufi master, his poetry is enjoyed by
millions throughout the world. This poem comes from The Gift: Poems by
Hafiz the Great Sufi Master: Translations by Daniel Ladinsky (1999).
Rangel's Draft
A black man and veteran, US Congressman Charlie Rangel (D-NY), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, has been trying for a number of years to reinstate the draft. Rangel recently reintroduced his draft legislation, which would, if passed by Congress and signed by George W. Bush, draft all legal United States residents, men and women, between the ages of 18 and 42.
Rangel reasons a draft would relieve recruitment pressure on the military, which he sees as near its breaking point fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He also erroneously reasons, the nation's civilian and military leaders would be reluctant to involve the nation in war, if they knew their children would likely be on the battlefield.
Rangel thinks his measure would
prevent deferments and special privileges received by elites, such as Bush and
VP Dick Cheney, during Vietnam. Rangel is wrong!
The Red Ball Express
The Allied victory over the Nazis in Europe is credited to valiant white Americans, air power and armor. Lost in the glory scenes following D-Day, June 6, 1944, is the heroic exploits of a little remembered group of US soldiers who manned the "Red Ball Express." A story not easy to tell or understand, the seeds of success in Europe were sowed as unintended consequences when the first African slaves came ashore in North America in1619.
Beginning with the Revolutionary, Civil, and Spanish American Wars, placing institutionalized racism in perspective, blacks have distinguished themselves fighting in every major United States military engagement. However, whites, military and civilian, have always disparaged blacks' contributions based on the same racist views of blacks held by white American society. WWI set the stage for the discrimination and disparate treatment blacks endured during WWII.
The War Department used a survey of white officers conducted by the Army War College to develop policies for deploying black soldiers. White commanders decried black combat units. They claimed blacks were deficient intellectually and lacked leadership abilities. They insisted blacks lacked initiative, compared to white soldiers. More important, the War College survey became Courses, at the Army War College for Regular Army officers, such as Dwight D. Eisenhower, George Patton, George C. Marshall, Courtney H. Hodges, Edward M. Almond, and other field grade officers. Army training reinforced institutionalized racism and stereotypes of blacks reflected in white society.
Secretary of War under Franklin D. Roosevelt, Henry Stimson's views speaks volumes. "Leadership is not imbedded in the Negro race yet and to try to make commissioned officers to lead the men into battle -- colored men -- is to work disaster to both." General George C. Marshall, Army Chief of Staff, cited blacks' "low intelligence averages" to justify discrimination in employing, training and deploying black soldiers.
Under the Selective Service Act of 1940, more than 1.8 million blacks registered. A ten percent quota limited the actual number of blacks allowed to serve. Ironically, any black who did not respond to a draft notice was hounded until caught, then sent to prison. Draft boards in cities like Cleveland, Chicago and Detroit waged extensive searches to locate blacks who did not report. During the late 1940s, blacks were imprisoned in labor camps in Jamaica and Leavenworth, Kansas. Between 1941 and 1946, 19 percent of all registered blacks refused to report to their induction boards.
The real humiliation for blacks lies in how the army treated them overseas. Subsequent to training, blacks could not get into combat. Foreign governments and theater commanders refused to accept black troops. No sooner than a black unit arrived in theater, their units were disbanded and transformed into labor units, unloading ships, repairing roads, digging toilets, quartermaster (cooks), munitions handlers and driving trucks. The unintended consequence of trying to keep blacks from proving their worth put some in the right place at the right time. Black soldiers no commander in Europe wanted gave the Red Ball Express access to some well-trained blacks -- dedicated and eager to prove they were soldiers worthy of respect.
Once General George S. Patton's 3rd Army landed in Luxembourg, he raced toward France. Gobbling up fuel, food and ammunition, Patton's rapid advance strained supply lines. Tanks consumed a million gallons of gas per day. Supplies massed in the rear were needed forward. Enter the Red Ball Express, composed almost entirely of blacks at its inception, it remained 75 percent black until disbanded.
At its peak, the Red Ball Express had over 12,000 drivers and 6,000 vehicles carrying 13,000 tons of supplies a day. Facing continued prejudice, discrimination and hostility from white soldiers, the Red Ball Express started rolling on August 25, 1944 and ran nonstop until November 16, 1944. Braving the Luftwaffe, artillery and rifle fire, those intrepid black drivers, maintenance crews and support personnel contributed mightily to defeating the Nazis in France. Showing amazing initiative and an anticipatory knack for keeping convoys rolling, the Red Ball Express gained a reputation for getting the job done, while becoming the most famous support units of WWII.
U.S. Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson and members of the US Senate and House of Representatives passed a resolution honoring those brave unsung black heros who manned the Red Ball Express. They were recognized for ensuring "US and Allied forces had supplies as they swept across France into Germany."
Medgar Evers, who became a civil
rights leader and was assassinated in Mississippi, was a Red Baller.
Singer/actress Whitney Houston's father, Platoon Sergeant John Houston also
served with the Red Ball Express. Sidney Poitier starred in the movie Red
Ball Express. (Sources: David P. Colley's The Road to Victory: The
Untold Story of World War II's Red Ball Express (2000), African
Americans in the U.S. Army During World War II by Robert F. Jefferson and www.ddaymuseum.org/education/redball)
Generals or Civilians: Who's in Charge?
By John Burl Smith
Following the war in Viet Nam, politicians called for civilian control of the Military. Many felt US involvement in Viet Nam's civil war had been driven by generals who wanted to fight a "hot war," after years of shooting words at the enemy in a "Cold War." The rationale was that civilians would reign in a trigger happy brass corp looking for advancement. Civilian control, they believed, would end the revolving-door between the military and contractors, as well as, reduce cost. Consequently, civilians running the Pentagon would put people in charge who would think first about what it would cost the nation in lives and resources before choosing war. Insuring, they thought, that vital national security interests would determine imminent threats.
War in Iraq has proven all these assumptions false. No one could have ever known, as the Bush administration claimed following September 11, 2001, that a president would embark upon a war of choice. That an entire administration would be turned into a propaganda machine to justify invading a sovereign nation which posed no threat to the US. Moreover, that the civilian leadership in the Pentagon, at the behest of the vice-president, would browbeat generals and push them onto their swords until they lied about fighting a war on credit and the prospects for victory under such circumstances.
Unfortunately, everything we could not have known would happen has happened and more. Although he became a politician, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower seemed to be motivated by more than an egocentric notion or a desire to tamper with republican government. He and his peers -- George S. Patton, Douglas MacArthur and Maxwell Taylor -- were the last of a breed. Those generals served the nation when war was what you did when all else failed, not the first option in place of diplomacy. Their loyalty was to the US Constitution, not to a political party. At different times, they paid heavy prices for their sense of duty and honor. Walking a narrow line between a national security stoolie and self-betrayal, they defied orders, they believed were not in the best interest of the nation or needlessly endangered their troops.
Those that followed Eisenhower and that breed have not kept faith with them as generals or politicians. Initiating full integration in the military and sending federal troops to Little Rock, Arkansas to protect black students at Central High, Eisenhower acted to strengthen the nation and to increase blacks' access to public education. The last true Republican, Eisenhower warned the nation about the dangers posed by the military-industrial-complex, under which we are now serfs, supplying soldiers for the "king's" army. Those that have come after him have turned the Republican Party into a sham that hides a religious dictatorship.
The new man in charge of the
Pentagon, Robert Gates said, "Those who oppose," Bush's plan to
escalate the war in Iraq, "are giving aid and comfort to the enemy."
Doesn't this sound like the old guy who just left? Those running the US
government have forgotten who's in charge? The people are in charge! They pay
the bills!
Disgruntled says: George W. Bush went to
Wall Street on Wednesday to tout his "successful" economic policies.
Coming off a record setting year of profits and huge bonuses, some of the
highest paid people in America gave Bush a warm reception. For those less
fortunate, Bush acknowledged, "income inequality is real," and
offered the simplistic solution of more education and retraining for those
displaced by his free trade deals. Obviously, Bush is angling for Congress to grant
him fast track authority so he can enter into more trade agreements. Wall
Street may have applauded the idea, but Main Street booed.
Disgruntled wants to know: A group of
college students organized a private party. Dressed in garbs that screamed black
racial stereotypes, the partygoers had such a grand ole time that someone
decided to post it all on the Internet. Some blacks think the whole incident is
ridiculous and not worthy of comment. Others, particularly the black students
attending this majority white college, think the entire affair is outrageous.
They reject efforts to white wash the event and see it as nothing serious.
Students at the private party see nothing racist in their actions, prompting
one to wonder, is there such a thing as unconscious racism?
Disgruntled
feels: Justified! Beyond conspiracy theories, there are some facts that
can be considered and, after connecting those dots of information, one can draw
realistic conclusions. For example, in the US, money talks, so folks with lost
of it hold sway over our elected leaders. This is especially true when it comes
to their unwavering support of Israel. As the saber rattling over Iran grows
more shrill, we would be justified in looking at the role of Israel and its
powerful US lobby are playing in pushing the US into war against another Middle
East country.
Out from Under Down
Under
Out from under down under may seem a strange statement, unless one has been down under. A reversal of fortunes, arriving in Australia having just lost in a tune-up tournament to, by most standards, a nobody, Serena Williams had to be down. Down on that side of the world is like standing on your head anyway; her tennis game had certainly been upside down since she was last there. Down on her luck, not having won a tournament since the 2005 Australian Open, battling injuries and personal tragedies, ranked eighty-one in the world and at the bottom of everyone's expectations, how could anyone, who has won seven grand slams, "a Serena slam," included, be lower?
Weighted down by court rust, Serena was down in most of her early matches and had to dig out from under unforced errors, blisters and the usual controversy over her attire and accessories. Riding the ups and downs of every swing of her racket, Serena's longsuffering but loving fans were very tentative about watching her play. It had become like watching her matches through a crack in the door or through your fingers as you hid your face in apprehension. Rather than watch, many of us chose to just pray for her instead. Never doubting a moment her ability to totally dominate any of the players she had been losing to, Serena dubbed herself a "dangerous floatie." We knew it was all in her head and it would take a higher power to get it out.
Once one realizes he/she cannot
sink any lower, being down becomes either a rock or a rocket. Lying on her back
after match point against Maria Sharapova in straight sets 6-1, 6-2, it would
seem Serena's career flashed before her eyes. Relishing vindication, after
demolishing the world's number one ranked tennis players, Serena rose above
insinuations and smears of not beginning good enough to reflect the face of
tennis. Giving Sharapova her worst thrashing in a grand slam final, the tennis
world smiled from the other side of its face. Lifting herself up in record
setting fashion from eighty-first to first down under, the door to tennis glory
swung wide open and Serena's adoring fans can definitely see brighter days
ahead. Winning the Australian Open, Serena ranking rose to fourteen in the
world. Look out world, SHE'S BACK!!!! Kudos!! Kudos!!
Mailbox: E-Mails, Faxes and Telephone Calls
Email www.buzzflash.com Was Iraq War a 'Blunder' or Was It
Treason? By Dave Lindorff...Speaker Nancy Pelosi is calling President Bush's
invasion of Iraq a "stark blunder" and says that his new scheme to
send 21,500 more troops into the mess he created is just digging the hole
deeper. I wonder though. It seems ever more likely to me that this whole mess
was no blunder at all. People are wont to attribute the whole thing to lack of
intelligence on the president's part, and to hubris on the part of his key
advisers. I won't argue that the president is a lightweight in the intellect department,
nor will I dispute that Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz and that whole neocon gang
have demonstrably lacked the virtues of reflection and humility. But that said,
I suspect that the real story of the Iraq War is that Bush and his gang never
really cared whether they actually would "win" in Iraq. In fact,
arguably, they didn't really want to win. What they wanted was a war.
Email vikingjohn@juno.com Bush's Rush to Armageddon...By Robert Parry...George W. Bush has purged senior military and intelligence officials who were obstacles to a wider war in the Middle East, broadening his options for both escalating the conflict inside Iraq and expanding the fighting to Iran and Syria with Israel's help. On Jan. 4, Bush ousted the top two commanders in the Middle East, Generals John Abizaid and George Casey, who had opposed a military escalation in Iraq, and removed Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte, who had stood by intelligence estimates downplaying the near-term threat from Iran's nuclear program. Most Washington observers have treated Bush's shake-up as either routine or part of his desire for a new team to handle his planned "surge" of U.S. troops in Iraq. But intelligence sources say the personnel changes also fit with a scenario for attacking Iran's nuclear facilities and seeking violent regime change in Syria.
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