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        THE TOOL
It was dead of night the massive beetling cloud banks
obscured the federal prisoner,
the incarcerated murderer, bowed, shuffled
out of the door and onto the waiting bus.
Leaving the pale pasted corridors lined with cells
Leading towards another haunted cluster of sad walled desolate buildings.

The corrections vehicle, partitioned between the shackled inmates and grim guards,
Is guarded by two more silent sentinels outside;
the prisoners curious glances are all ignored-
deaf ears, dumb lips, and a mute relentless NO.
and, as if combining sadism to sadness,
his crucifix is roughly yanked from his neck.

Now, as dawn creeps grey over the Eastern horizon,
They traversed a slate collared river;
Sitting in the seat shoulders stooped with years the old man stares outside the window-
His look wistful for a sudden cessation forever from life’s travail,
Painfully he groans, as the bus bounces over a hidden bump.

“Fellow inmates and partners of my sorrows, I bid you welcome.”
The old man quietly comments to another younger fellow convict.
“Be patient just wait, your turn will come too;
It’s been said, life is a fools play filled with sadness,
after youth passes everyone pays the price of admission.”

Irritatedly, the younger convict scowls at the old man.
sneering at him maliciously, he never directly
looks at the old man, as he malignantly replies
“Whoever you are, why don’t you shut the fuck up?”
Keep your pearls of wisdom to yourself.
What makes you think I give a shit?/

Because. what’s happened to me could one day happen to you.
I was subliminally fucked with, with their subliminal technology,
to implant ideas that I thought were my own.
Boy they really had me going, I couldn’t tell what was up from down.
After a while, they pushed me off the deep end –
It was easy, I was young and didn’t know myself..

If only Heaven could roll back time,
I’d sure as Hell know better.
They got me hating, and all emotionally stirred up,
Then it happened, talk about set- up.
They pulled some shit on me, ripped me off,
And then they activated the emotional center of my brain for rage.
Well the next thing I know is I’m mad as hell,
The only thing I can think is to kill!
Funny thing if left alone, I’m laid back.
To make a long story short, I killed this guy,
a so called friend, with his family hiding in the bedroom.
He had a wife and seven yr. old little girl.

I have family who still keep in touch.
They say the little girl was turned into a radical right wing whore,
Just like her mom. Another fucking right wing bitch, the kids now 21 and filled with hate.
Now its two generations going on three.
None of them have any job skills, they just are given any ol’ jobs,
told where to go for vacation, and where to hang out at, and live off the bounties.

Gazing down at his handcuffed hands pathetic,
the gray old prisoner mused for a minute, thinking deeply;
he closed his eyes, with their solemn sad expression,
and said in a anguished voice that surprised
his astonished listener, “Well that’s how I got here
the long story of days gone by, it seems like another life.”

With hoary head his words took giant steps that bridged decades,
discovering things half hidden from public view –
things deliberately hidden from humbler people
and brought the prisoners out of their personal cages of dark and frost;
it spoke to them of what had happened to so many,
the unknown knowing and hidden things exposed.

No name was left out, and they discovered
How desolate was the market of their souls,
and, kindness almost glowed in all those watchful eyes,
and everything they thought they knew was turned to wonder;
the lives they thought they comprehended,
the scenes of diverse homes were woven into one dream.

Forgotten were their pains and sorrows,
as if departed on spirit wings
created by the words of the old man. The prisoners on the bus
listened with open mouths and the guards listen, too.
The oblong waning moon’s reflection keeps pace
racing with the bus on the river’s surface.
A blue wraith pale morning stood trembling,
the hours silently obeying her every command.

In the distance sounds of the city are stirring,
as the sun crests Mt. Hood, day advances blood red!
One guard turns to another, “I’ve never yet heard of a guilty prisoner.”
At the end of the isle stern Duty is solemnly standing;
suddenly, the prisoners are aware of the sounds of the highway,
orders are given and harsh words reply;
commuters begin to fill up the lanes with their cars: the moment has passed.

But the young prisoner sits with eyes burning,
his head is held high. He strives to retain the moment,
however, time waits for no one!
He wants to say something, but isn’t accustomed
to expressing himself with words.
The street hurtles past.

He vainly tries to cling to the flying objects in the window,
to events from his life.
“One more word – explain, please!
How do you know all these things?”
The old man moodily stares out the window.
A guard shouts “Put a lid on it!”.
And, all his words of supplication choke dying in his throat.

       CONTEMPORARY CORNUCOPIA
It was your pleasure to make us timeless.
These frail forms you’ve repeatedly emptied,
Only to fill once more again and again with life.

These modest little instruments you’ve transported
across the face of the Earth, and chosen to pick
out pretty melodies on, each one eternally new.

When touched by your immortal hands, (my quiet keys, still reeds, and
Joyous and serene giving birth to twins
Whose timeless beauty is simply sublime.

Your endless songs come to me
through this pen, paper and computer.
Time crumbles and ages pass, you inundate me
with your infinite ineffable verse.

       PLEASE
Please, stay with me, I beseech you,
beautiful, both inside and out, as you are;
my heart is not times fool:
don’t you see the lessons of the years
etched on my aging face, and
the sadness that wisdom brings?

When Winter’s icy fingers
freeze the blossoming brow of the garden’s flowers
that shine in our yards,
who will reattach the dead leaves
that fall from Autumn colored trees
and are carried brilliant in the wind’s arms?

Ah, if only we still had those old days
when my intoxicated soul
danced with delight at life’s loves,
with what joy and ecstasy
we would welcome the vast vistas of each other’s smiles,
whose charms still nourish these stupid ravaged days!

But now, dear heart,
your look is like the pole star,
which shines its beautiful guiding beacon
to the troubled eyes of sailors
and who guides their imperiled ships
safely to port at last.

Please, stay with me I beseech you;
beautiful both inside and out, as you are;
my heart is not time’s fool:
don’t you see the bitter-sweet love
that our smashed dreams retain, and
the sadness that wisdom brings.

       Ithaca
Democracy’s old voice is silenced.
Echoes resound down darkened corridors
where the oblivion of dead night
reflects from starred water.

Odysseus’ island is born
beneath the celestial blaze.
Turgid currents carry trees and pieces of sky
between the roar of cosmic shores.

God’s gift,
the bees give liquid gold:
hideous time of deformed mutants –
dark secrets.

       MELONS FOR THE FOURTH
In the busy supermarkets melons are arriving,
whole pallets covered with mountains of melons,

oblong eggs and pear shaped Worlds
dark green, or, radiant light strips,

resonant and thumpable,
roll one home in your car,

red and delicious, in the white hot heat
of a sizzling afternoon,

some wedges are heavily laden with their cargoes
of small black seeds, while others are small and seedless;

broken rinds and scattered seeds
adorn plates strewn about

the neglected tables
of these 4th of July celebrators.

       THE HAIR CUT
Now, it was a holy night at the church, mysteriously illuminated the bowels of the building with soft filtered light; and, the secret members in slacks and shirts would clutch their bibles to their breasts, muttering clichés, casting angry glances, clearing phlegm from the throats, or spitting into handkerchiefs, some seated others not.
   When suddenly, among so many high foreheads land locked ovals that lay flat on the back of heads, domes that sat bright and shinning amid close cropped heads that exhaled shampoos and scented conditioners is declaimed a long haired head.
   A tradesman named Larry, wearing sports coat and tie that glinted with a jeweled tie pin stood up and declaimed: “Profanation! There’s a long haired hippie here!”
   “A Hippie!”   “A long hair!” “Kill the subversive!” And the mob pranced with hate and rage on the noisy chairs, while the highest ranking officer bawled out, “where are Sampson and his asses jawbone today?”
   But, the petite bourgeoisie Bill had turned on his lap top, officiated with its secret password and the mission statement for the World Empire, “Quiet!” He bellowed, and then hurriedly began to read, “to torture and extort the citizen John Doe, and if need be murder the villain or induce him to commit an immoral-criminal act, which he will think is his own independent doing.”
   Three dozen pairs of hands reached out from the darkness of the chambers among heavy marching steps. “And, why not pervert, so you can profitably prostitute your children!” mocked John Doe citizen, as he threw himself from a window into the Willamette.

       DRESSED IN SILK
Dressed in a silk nightgown that shimmers and shakes,
she seems to float whenever she walks across the floor,
like holiday helium balloons that a carnival barker makes
dancing embedded in the rhythmic melodies that seem to roar.

As the sad shore upon the edge of darkness,
She is innocent of human hypocrisy and deceit;
as immense as monolithic rocks the breakers,
her heart stands steadfast against the evil duplicity.
Her eyes are tidal pools teeming with life,
and in her mysterious symbolic multi-tiered existence
where arch-type angels merge with archaic voluptuous sphinx.
Where all is jewels and gold and silver and precious stones,
eternal beauty, like the night sky, lovely and loving
radiant the warm beauty of your good soul.

   BREAKING GROUND
Breaking ground
On an Autumn – etched brow,
solitary oak above long bearded-grains
spikes a veteran troop
of grim visaged fronds,
high hairs of sun, wind and rain.

As one who joyously spewed
the golden grained pollen highest –

Blood drops, on dessert fissured ground,
above an undulated blanket,
above crude taunting leaves covering genitalia,
haltingly limps the isolated dweller

ripping open
the thin blue membrane of the sky

celebrating the rites of Sunset
evenings sky scattered in tatters,
and abandoned gods receive empty forms
adorned with flaming flowers and glowing seeds.



                         CANCER
September dawns beneath showers of sunshine
as disembodied voices recede down the street,
a skein of half baked clichés and banal superficialities;
back to a past that means more than all our todays.
A radio blares, the streets are disconcerted.
Faltering footfalls approach and fade away.

Everything is dry and desolate, yards included.
Flies and spiders swarm here, the copse crowns
Bear bird choirs some nest, others don’t.
What destroys empires, corrupted,
is iniquity replete with numbered climactorates.
The brambles encroach, as do the elections.

What a metamorphosis, the old place is unrecognizable now.
Each niche is packed, the streets look bundled,
and entangled crowds jostle as they flow along expressionless as eggs
choking on congestion. The cluttered view is sated,
thoughts balk at beauty. The parks and gardens are exhausted and worn ragged.
And, “Cancer”, is what casts its pall on the teeming scene.

           RUMOR MILL
       Society vs. Individual Independence
   There is a limit to which the majority of society may interfere with individual independence. It is the essential business of good government to find that limit and steadfastly maintain it against any interference. The issues of the day must subordinate temporary expediency for the indispensable good of humanity to be maintained, this is as essential as protection against political dictators.
   In contemporary terms this proposition is scantily covered by the U.S. Constitution. The balance between individual independence and social control is the Achilles heel of modern Democracy, where manufactured consent makes manipulation by a powerful oligopoly a very real danger to Civil Rights. Unfortunately, all that make life valuable for anyone depends on the enforcement of restraints upon the actions of other people. Thus some laws are necessary. The question becomes what these laws should be. Historical precedence proves unsatisfactory because no two ages have answered this issue alike. However, certain universal characteristics do emerge. From Roseau’s social contract on it has been openly recognized that the legitimate mandate of government stem from the people. And, people come together in order to be safe, free and more prosperous. Therefore, the primary function of law should be dichotomous, the protection of a person and a person’s property, and the protection of an individual’s freedom. The societies that have succeeded in sustaining a balance between personal liberty, to the extent it didn’t violate anyone else’s freedoms, and social control have been the most stable and successful experiments in Democracy.
   Unfortunately, these successful axioms of good government are anything but self-evident. Today, too often society is manipulated, usually by reactionary responses to contrived events, into executing the private mandates of the right wing power elite. Instead of acting based on well informed dispassionate processes of reason, people act on vague feelings established in sympathy with others, as they are conditioned by the media. Those who dominate the media control people’s opinion. The practical process which determines public opinion is the widely held belief that everyone should be compelled to act in concert with people who share their opinion and how they think others should behave. The problem is that opinion on any issue, is not supported by reason and/or facts, it is only based on personal preference, and can not count for anything more. Subsequently, if the reason given is only an appeal to emotion or similar prejudices held by other people: it still is merely several people who share a single programmed opinion, and whose weight is no more valid than any other erroneous opinion held by a single individual. To an average person opinion, which is supported so flimsily, will prove perfectly satisfactory. Correspondingly, people’s opinions on what is worthy of censor or what is laudable are affected by random circumstance or deliberate contrivance in regard to controlling the behaviors of others. Primary among these multifarious factors that sometimes shade their reason and always influence their prejudices and cultural biases with regard to social and even misanthropic beliefs is their legitimate and erroneous perceptions of self-interest.
   Whenever there is an oligopoly, a preponderance of society’s norms and morays will emanate from its perceived interests. This was true for classical antiquate, it was true during feudal society, it was true during slavery, and it is true during contemporary society, where the ruling class, out of whose ranks the ruling oligopoly members come, and who feel superior to the subordinate classes. The subordinate class’s servility is based on selfish interests and manifests itself in all forms of base sycophancy and many of the behavioral expressions of hypocrisy. These beliefs, on occasion, have been quite severe and have resulted in tragedies like lynching and pogroms and other forms of intolerance.
   The cultural biases of society are the primary basis of all laws and opinions. It has been left largely unaddressed by the intellectual community, who has left sleeping dogs to their slumbers. However, today society is waking to realize that the power of government coupled with that of the tyranny of the manipulated majority’s programmed opinions are being systematically unleashed without any moral and legal restraints on an unsuspecting public. There is no theoretical foundation and established precedents to limit the erosion of our Civil Rights. And, tolerance for religious freedom has not successfully positively transferred into a general precedence of legal restraint. Presently people in the ruling oligopoly decide this imperative issue based on personal preference. The results predictably have been disastrous, where well organized extremists with unprecedented disproportionate wealth, hence power, are encroaching on the concept of Civil Rights in an effort to condition society to be oppressed, as a means of conditioning society to be economically exploited. The transformation of American labor inputs into a competitive position with third World labor markets is but one example.
   The Rumor Mill believes that the ancient axiom of politics is still true. Tyranny first robs society of its rights and then robs it of its money. And, today we have witnessed society’s rights robbed, after a contrived crack epidemic established the precedence for usurping individual rights, which was then followed by the robbing of its wealth, witness the recent $87 billion dollar Republican party rip off package for aid to oil rich Iraq. The intellectuals who are generally in advance of society have to date been reluctant to apply to unpopular issues the twin principles of equality and liberty, and , rather than align themselves with contemporary heretics and face being attacked themselves have let our freedoms fall victims in the undeclared class war against our Civil Rights.

               RUMOR MILL
           $87 Billion Dollar Rip Off
   Rumor Mill believes that President by fraud George Bush Jr. has requested $87 billion dollars to stay the course and pay for military spending and economic development for Iraq and Afghanistan. Realizing the fact that the US under the Republican party leadership is the World’s largest debtor nation, with an annual budget deficit bigger than any other country in the history of the World, it is appropriate that we now raise certain tough questions. The fact that we are placing our Senior citizens’ financial security during retirement at risk and the fact that the U.S. can no longer afford to educate all its children who qualify to be educated make these questions even more imperative.
   Rumor Mill thinks Afghanistan, has been out of Taliban control for about 2 years. How much longer are we going to have to bleed the American public militarily supporting a puppet government? Why haven’t we established a popular elected government (a government established by a U.N. sponsored and supervised free election) and let them govern themselves, as they will eventually have to do at some point in the future any way? Why must we first do extensive economic damage to our MEDICARE, MEDICAID AND SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEMS before pulling out, which economically we will be forced to do because we simply can not afford to police the World? And, leave Afghanistan in control of a government their resource base can afford to sustain and is compatible with their county’s and culture’s historical experience.
   Rumor Mill believes that in Iraq the situation is even more absurd. It believes that we are watching while America’s citizens are robbed of $87 billion dollars so that some as yet unexposed group can steal from Iraq’s citizens their oil reserves’ revenues. Why must the U.S. develop a country whose per capita standard of living is greater than our own? Iraq has the WORLD’S THIRD LARGEST OIL RESERVES and revenues. Why don’t we use them to pay off our military expenses and pay for developing Iraq’s own country? What has happened to those revenues since the War ended? Who has gotten the billions of dollars we are spending $87 BILLION TO PROTECT? If we are being asked to spend our hard earned money and young people’s lives we have a right to know! Also, what companies are financially benefiting from this expensive give away of American taxpayer money? We should not forget that Iraq was able to rebuild its army under the difficult conditions of our trade embargo, engage in extensive expensive public works project rebuilding the country (after the last war/theatrical production designed to re-elect Pres. bush Sr. and shore up sagging support for Hussein who had just fought a domestically unpopular war for the US against Iran – they were our chief ally in the region then) and plush projects to shore up Husseins’ political base, and still be able to fight another even more expensive war against the US all while Hussein and his family were siphoning off massive amounts of money for his and his families personal use and private investments. IRAQ IS IMMENSELY WEALTHY! Why must the U.S., who can not afford it, pay to economically develop Iraq who can easily afford to rebuild its own country, again.
   The Rumor Mill believes that the Republican policy in Iraq is incredibly stupid. Remember, the U.S. invaded the legitimate government of Iraq, and, we were told by Pres. George Jr. it was because Hussein was seeking to build weapons of mass destruction, an excuse we heard again in a state of the union statement, which was proven to be false. The fact that it was known to be false by Pres. George Jr. before the war and when he made it after was supposedly proven in Congress. And, now we are being asked to prove what was already known and previously proven. The US attack on Iraq was without justification, and caused the US to have to leave the World Court. It explains why the US has failed to find any countries willing to assist us in this shameful act, in spite of extensive efforts to extort and coerce them into doing so. This takes on the character of a burlesque comedy, a very expensive burlesque comedy. Unfortunately, we the people are left holding the bill.

               RUMOR MILL
                 Recycled Youth Gangs
   Locally, Rumor Mill has heard and believes that the radical right is recycling one of their all time worst ideas, of which there are so many to choose from. It is said they are organizing another generation of youth gangs. However, this time there are some significant differences. First, they are either Asian or African affiliated and not just Americans of ethnic/racial extraction. This enables the radical right to justify its extremely expensive efforts at internationalizing its movements and expanding its blatant grab for WORLD POWER. Second, they are no longer lead the gangs directly by right wing field operatives, because that was felt to be to obvious and the radical right’s responsibility would be easily discovered. Third, manipulation comes ,in part, from inside the gangs, with infiltrators who function like FBI operatives did during the 60’s and 70’s. There efforts are assisted by child prostitutes and the usual invasive technologies including the now familiar subliminal technologies that implant ideas for criminal activity, which work in conjunction with the field operatives. Fourth, the gangs still are dealing radical right marijuana. The following has to be true because of the existing invasive technologies, which penetrate into the inner most reaches of homes and allow investigators to see inside houses as if the intervening walls weren’t there. Please reexamine the most recent marijuana cultivation trials, where these technologies became public knowledge and put the independent growers of marijuana out of business. Now any available marijuana comes either from radical right operatives or individuals who are growing it with the duplicity of the radical right, who then sell it, in their firmly established decade old networks. The radical right literally have a monopoly on all illegal activity in this hemisphere. See Previous Issues.
   The Rumor Mill would like you to consider what it believes and thinks is common knowledge, among the circles that know these things. The radical right independent of government has had the invasive technologies for over a decade. They received a bounty of $2,500 per bust, which was an improvement over when they previously were systematically breaking into house around the country once a year and even more frequently on certain targeted individuals. Simultaneously, they were muscling in on the international drug scenes in regions like Columbia (the radical right took over the 2 cocaine cartels and expanded their control by unfortunately adding heroine to their product lines employing undesirable operatives like Noreigo the then Pres. of Panama, who was busted after he attempted to become independent) and N. Mexico. They repeated the process of flooding a country with serious dangerous drugs like the crack epidemic in the U.S. in other countries, like Switzerland, where heroin was used as a means of inducing Switzerland into allowing the investigation of everyone’s private bank accounts, everyone except their own; and India successfully trying to wrestle control of traffic in regions like Kashmir, where heroin was openly being produced. The effort took some strange turns when they even tried to flood Iran, as a means of gaining influence in that country, too. Once again this has been more extensively documented before and you are encouraged to review at your leisure previous essays. The net effect of these effective nefarious efforts was that the radical right gained dominant influence in countries around the World, while establishing a monopoly in the international drug trade. But, fortunately, heavy drug use, except when the radical right flooded a country, has always been a relatively small business on the fringes of societies, thus the radical right’s field operatives were soon running out of business. But, the movement was proving beneficial for political and propaganda purposes, so ways were sought to expand the radical right’s efforts. The idea was made to expand their operations into marijuana, where 75% of middle aged Americans had tried smoking it, as opposed to the ½ of one percent who usually used either heroin or cocaine. The rest is a history of infamy with fraud, extortion, child prostitution, perversion, rape, child abuse and murder becoming standard methods of operation. Lost were concepts like “ we hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal” and “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” . Also, presumed innocence and legal safeguards became things of the past, with subliminal technologies, which were used to establish immoral-criminal ideas in targeted individuals’ minds, in efforts to gain field operatives ever greater sums of money.
   Meanwhile back to our hapless local youths, who were being set up for headlines. Consider if you are trying to grow marijuana, or are a dealer selling marijuana in such an environment are you going to engage in drive by shootings? Why not just put up a neon light? The fact is that no one would behave this way without being deliberately set up. Further, would you engage in acts of violence at school functions like sporting events? And, now we are supposed to believe that these gangs have highschool loyalties, which along with marijuana, was supposed to have motivated the acts of violence – youth street gangs with highschool loyalties?!? Give me a break! It doesn’t get more ridiculous than that. Why not just go into the police precinct station and save the bother. There could not be a better way to get law enforcement officers attention. Rumor Mill believes the whole sordid mess from the house growing operation, to the drive by shootings, to the school violence was shear propaganda. Rumor Mill believes the radical right and the political party they support the Republican Party are still busy slamming public schools, in hopes of furthering their charter schools (see previous essay) proposals.
       Charter schools another bad Republican idea. They cost more money by bleeding money from existing schools to open the charter schools, which duplicates services. Next, they create unfair schools, because they have to be better or why would they be offered. If not then no one would bother to send there children, and if they are better then the majority of children get stuck with inferior educations, which is why they are inherently unfair. It costs more money to provide worse education for the majority of children in an unfair system. Finally, the costs are greater which mean we are confronted with three lousy alternatives; one, raise taxes, two, increase a communities debt burden which costs the most to the communities in the long run but defers having to pay for it right away, and three, spend less money on each student in any given district because of the greater costs the new charter schools represent. All three are lousy choices. Another dumb Republican idea! The motivation for the Republicans is that overeducated workers who are underemployed are dissatisfied, and with Republican efforts at third Worldizing American labor market and mismanaging the US economy into a three year depression with no prospects of relief that is the realistic prospects for approximately 80% of American workers. The next time you go out to eat check out how many waiters are college graduates, or ask your friends and neighbors about how their recently graduated children are doing getting jobs.
   One begins to get an idea why the Republicans might need some unusual help on this issue. The other thing propaganda does is by depicting their new market as violent and participants who engage in it as evil, they protect their money making market. Also, the radical right can then try and justify their own wicked iniquities. Unfortunately, we get distracted from other more important issues. The public is systematically lied to, as a means of justifying oppressive policies that deny the majority of good, hard working people who wish to be law abiding citizens, and who only want to moderately engage in the pursuit of happiness, from safely being able to do so.