LINES OF THE DAY

". . . But the past does not exist independently from the present. Indeed, the past is only past because there is a present, just as I can point to something over there only because I am here. But nothing is inherently over there or here. In that sense, the past has no content. The past -- or more accurately, pastness -- is a position. Thus, in no way can we identify the past as past." p. 15

". . . But we may want to keep in mind that deeds and words are not as distinguishable as often we presume. History does not belong only to its narrators, professional or amateur. While some of us debate what history is or was, others take it into their own hands." p. 153

Silencing the Past: Power and the Production of History (1995) by Michel-Rolph Trouillot

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Catching Up -- Trying To, Anyway

Plus el V's flying off on the 6th to Barranquilla, Colombia for their annual jazz festival. It's a great gig, and he's staying a couple of extra days to poke some more into Cartegena.
The meetings we were to have this week have been postponed due to Irene, as well as the first rehearsal for Las Vidas Perfectas. They're postponed even more so because the Barranquilla trip.

The jazz festival means lucky el V will miss the 9/11 mess. Not only the relentless sanctimonious drumbeat of terrorism rhetoric, but the horrors of having both Obama and dubya in the city on the same day. Anytime a POTUS is here it ties up eveything else. Dub, loathing NYC, spared us most of the time, but O is here a lot, playing footsies with Wall Street. Which, as you know Barbara, isn't that far from where we live, and certainly the ground routes there and back are part of our territory. These are the same routes the observers who will be hording themselves down to Ground Zero for the hypocritical performances will take, coming and going.  9/11 is going to be a local gridlock disaster.

9/11 imprisons me in my apartment again ....

Now for some perspective on our impending local gridlock 'disaster' --


Upstate and Vermont are having an awful time, and in New Jersey too, flooding is still on-going. As we have learned over and over again because so many people we know and to whom we are close have suffered hurricane and earthquake disasters, and many of them have suffered enormously -- the worst of these disasters is after the storm is over.  At some point people begin suffering too from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

I suffered nothing personally. Yet, last night I dreamed all night about being in a hurricane. All of the dreams featured my new! improved! sooperdooper flashlight that we never needed. A lot of the dreams were set in Cuba. Hurricanes have become a personal terror because we have so many near and dear who live where hurricanes are constant dangers, including the Caribbean and I’ve heard so many of their horrible experiences now, for years. Not to mention the earthquake in Haiti that affected so many people we know personally, not to mention everyone else in that island victimized by capital and history.

This is the Post Climate Change New World Order, as proclaimed by bush1, as implemented by bush2, as explained by Yours Truly:

Federal government has no place in disasters, whether warning and providing preparation assistance before the disaster happens, rescue and assistance during the disaster, and after, for rescue, assistance, clean-up and financial aid. This is the function of private insurance.Also, taxes must be raised on the 40% of the population that is poor, lower and mid middle-class because these groups are not paying their fair share.

Except for paying for everything most of us are of no consequence to our government, that exists to defend and expand the rights and conquests of the corporations around the globe, which is the only function of a government.

The big September national observance of labor day, in honor of people working is replaced by 9/11, Terrorism Day.

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