Came across this poem today. Good stuff.

Bad Intelligence

by Tony Hoaglandis

the reason the Chinese orphanage was bombed

It wasn't a stray piece of lint on a bombsite,

or the spastic movement of a twenty-year-old jet pilot

leaning forward to inspect a zit in a cockpit mirror.

No -- someone had pulled the wrong map from the top-secret filecabinet,

had given the map to someone else in office Z-13,

who had circled the wrong building with lavender ink,

and passed it on,

and when the smoke rose from the successfully-demolished target

and the other kinds of fallout began,

the error had already been given a name by the damage-control guys,

which the radio announcers were murmuring over the airways,

and it was: Bad Intelligence.

Hearing it on the radio, driving to work,

I think, Yes, Bad Intelligence: that's what has guided me most of my

life.

Like the lesson I got from my mother: Anticipate betrayal:

measure out your love in teaspoons, so you will never lose

more than you can easily afford.

Or the other one, about how a worried _expression on your face

proves you are a Thoughtful Person;

Or the one about despising weakness.

Bad Intelligence. Bad intelligence

is why Candace always dated guys with snake tattoos.

Why the homeless woman said, "God will take care of us."

Bad intelligence is what tells the fat man in his kitchen

there might not be anything to eat tomorrow.

It's not that we are stupid,

but that we go on doing stupid things because we learned

never to believe the simple answer

never to rearrange the words in the sentence.

We're like the beautiful bodies of humankind, as drawn by William

Blake:

muscle-bound in chains, gorgeous but imprisoned,

sealed in the caverns of the you-know-what -- Bad Intelligence.

So it goes creeping through the tunnels of the blood

And it covers our lives like mold on bread, like fog

which seeps out through a crack in the human head.

Telling you to never to apologize,

telling you to count your wounds

and nurse your evil in the dark --

I too followed the instructions I received from ghosts.

I bombed people with my love or hate,

then claimed it was an accident.

But then it was too late. Bad intelligence:

choices made someplace far away.

Words heard through earphones and repeated.

And little people far below

getting ready to suffer.

I'm entitling this email:



Ignorance Runs Deep!



I never ceased to be amazed by how ignorant some people and groups can be. They disguise their hatred with modicums of statements that claim their rights have been violated, yet they only respond to some imaginary right, some fantastical violation. I was in California a few years back and I did a series of shows for the Sacramento Unified School District. Overall, there was such warm reception by those people. I love that district! At least during the time I was there, I felt they desired to move beyond mere tolerance, entering a world which embraced true diversity, celebrating inclusion.



Nevertheless, during one of my trips to that school district, there were some disgruntled parents who heard that I portrayed a football player who is gay. Now anyone who has seen my show will realize that what I'm about to say is hysterical. These parents caused a big raucous in that school district, because they felt that by someone mentioning the word "gay" or "homosexual" it was equivalent to the promotion a social agenda. (As I write this, I'm trying not to laugh). They did not want their children to have to be subjected to this infiltration. Are you kidding me? Seriously, do people truly believe that one's orientation is a social agenda? Are there not gay and lesbian children in our schools who struggle with these issues? Have I not been to schools where gay children have committed suicide? Is not being called "gay" a commonplace derogative slam against kids? Do not kids who are suspected of being gay or lesbian being chastised, beaten, and murdered? Have you not heard of Sakia Gunn (http://www.geocities.com/youth4sa/sakia.html)

and the many others who have been forgotten? Was it not King who said, "That all of God's children . . . will join hands and sing in the words of that old Negro Spiritual, 'Free at last! Free at last! Great God Almighty! We are free at last!'" Is not my show about making everyone feel safe, whether gay, hetero, or transgender; whether African, Latino, European, Middle Eastern, Native, or Asian; whether Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Wican, Hindu, or Buddhist; whether male or female; whether right-handed, left-handed, or ambidextrous? Is not my show about Inclusion, of saving every life, of not ignoring the forgotten, of not loving all? And please don't make a mockery of God by stating that you love the sinner but hate the sin . . . you insult the very sacrifice that is the foundation of your faith. In street level language, "I ain't talkin' bout sexual behaviors. I talkin' bout feelings. I talkin' bout the people who feel rejected by different segments of society. I talkin' bout hypocrisy. That's what I'm talkin' bout."



But what has set Mykee off? Well, it was this article that was written some time ago which made reference to these parents bringing a school district to court under some fallacious charge, and the mighty, pompous lawyer who's never seen my show. Here's the link:



http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/10/232002d.asp



I tell you, it's enough to drive a sane boy crazy!!!!



And I ain't even sane . . .



I guess these people who disguise their hateful agenda, calling it morality or godliness are best summarized by Christian singer-songwriter Larry Norman:



“Cause I’ve been in your churches and sat in your pews, and heard sermons on just how much money you’ll need for the year.

And I’ve heard you make reference to Mexicans, China men, niggers, and Jews

and I gather you wish we’d all disappear.

And you call yourselves Christians, but really you’re not . . .”



Larry Norman, Right Here In America

The annoying Papa strikes again. Getting her to smile is a piece of cake. All I have to do is let her see my face . . . and . . . whamo! She cracks up. Who said being funny lookin' or forgetting your meds does not have its advantages?
Picture Dis Homey

"Somehow we never seem to want to know why tyrants and patriots share the same row."

Rebel Voices, "Price of a Country"



I think about Tsunami. How tragedy is all around us at all times. How within this instant we think we are immortal. How the laws of Life remind us: we are not. How the outpouring of pain has moved millions to act, to pray, to salve.



Then I think about Iraq. Why are we still there? I think about the senselessness of it all. I think about our poor troops. I think about how Tsunami ripped lives apart. I think about giant bombs of "peace" ripping civilian lives apart. I think of the insurgents. I think about the pain they cause. I think about Sadam. I think about George. I think about Osama. I think about how "we never seem to want to know why tyrants and patriots share the same row."



Then I think about my baby, wanting her to live in a world without countries, without borders. If Tsunami teaches us anything, it teaches us that we are all connected. Droplet by droplet. Flood by flood. Life by life. Blood by blood.



I think of Tsunami and the tsunami within all of us . . . within the shores of my soul.

My friend Shannon. Taken years ago at a party. I just find this picture extremely alluring. I am captivated by it.
Picture Dis Homey

"When the winter wind blows cold upon my window, and the mood that I'm in is darker than the deep blue sea . . ."



Patty Larkin, "Winter Wind"



Feeling dark today.

Sad. Reasons unknown. Unsafe? Hurt? Distrustful?

Cold comfort within my own head.

Perhaps sleep, perchance to dream.



More later . . .