The recent poll by CNN shows that broad American support for health care reform is growing. This should encourage those of us who believe that providing access to good health care to all Americans is the right thing to do. These numbers also belie the impression created by town hall

… Read full post »

Frank Rich's take on the Obama presidency is far too negative. Worse, it reflects the cynicism of the media, ignoring positive accomplishment, questioning every motive, seemingly trying to write the script for the impending downfall of Obama. But Obama has been written off before, most notably during… Read full post »

Torture or abuse of any detainee is wrong. But the issue goes far beyond abuse, in the military context.  Prisoner on prisoner abuse is sometimes tolerated in our nation's prisons, even encouraged. When we say we are glad a child molester will be subjected to rape over and over in prison,… Read full post »

reasons why I love Tennessee

and miss Tennessee...

the mountains

down to earth people

who helped me in my recovery 

from homelessness

I fit right in

with my baseball caps

and clunker cars

why I love Tennessee...

Al Gore, Jr. and the late Sr.

why I love Tennessee

Lookout Mountain… Read full post »

My email to the Washington post (write your own!):

The town hall disruptions, at which members of congress attempt to conduct forums on health care reform, are reminiscent of right-wing operatives banging on trailers in Palm Beach County to disrupt vote-counting in 2000. Reportedly, in a number of s… Read full post »

it's a new day

find a new way

love is conveyed

justice is achieved

through action

and carefully considered words

either spoken or written

are included in action

and a borrowed thought:

"Act as if everything you do matters."

William James Read full post »

Each moment is precious.

Sitting in my office, opening the window, letting the sound of the tree frogs and crickets in...the sound they make is like a symphony.

What is it that compelled me to return to my office, to write this down? I needed this opportunity to rest… Read full post »

Senator Graham,

I developed an upper respiratory infection. It turned out to not be strep but a chest cold that is going around. So I got my medicine and am back home to rest. But beyond me, the point is that if I had not had insurance, and if I had… Read full post »

I am asking that broadcast news media, cable news outlets, and networks, please do the United States of America a favor and implement the following:

1) Give us more objective analysis

2) Give us more in-depth reporting

3) Clearly identify commentary

4) Be less adversarial, more constructive

5) Be les… Read full post »

Dear Brian Williams:

Watched most of NBC Nightly this PM. I like your lack of obsession with politics, your ignoring of right wing fanatics, your objective reporting of cash for clunkers, as well as Obama's need to reassure the country that he has no intention of implementing a middle-class tax… Read full post »

I want to thank you for your column on right-wing extremism, and its takeover of the Republican Party. I am a Southern white male who is deeply disturbed by this trend, and yes, a moderate Democrat. But I yearn for the day that we can have a civil debate with responsible… Read full post »

After dental surgery, I contracted some kind of infection, which gradually spread from my tooth, to my tongue. At first, I did not slow down my pace, or take any measures to deal with the situation. In no time flat, my creative production fell to nearly zero, and I found myself… Read full post »

For a long time, I did my creative work alone. Then I started to feel uneasy about my solitary approach. After all, I was writing poetry, lyrics, and political commentary FOR others, why not do this work WITH others, as well.

I have felt for a long time that the stereotype… Read full post »

My email to USA Today:

Why we need public option

All you need is a little empathy

not a dirty word, by the way

I may have picked up strep throat… Read full post »

Excerpt from The Spirit of Taro

Excerpt from the haiku sequence depicting the poet’s two-year experience living and working on the Taro Indian reservation. The name of the tribe is fictitious, but story is true. This is a nontraditional haiku sequence, not conforming to the traditional… Read full post »

(This tribal name is fictitious, but my remarks are based on an actual experience on an Indian reservation in the Southwest. I hope that my suggestions will have application to other settings in which non-Native Americans have come to work, in a helping role, on Indian reservations)

For… Read full post »

The poem and song below depict the period of emergence from the homelessness that I experienced in the late 90s. It is good to recall this period of transition into the light...It takes a good while usually, to move into and out of homelessness--in my case, a full year. Duuring my… Read full post »

Dear Friend,

If you’re like most Americans, there’s nothing more important to you

about health care than peace of mind.

Given the status quo, that’s understandable. The current system often

denies… Read full post »

Email to NBC Today played clip of Glenn Beck calling Obama a racist back-to-back with interview with right-wing author Michelle Malkin trashing Obama. Why does Today continue to give a platform to those (whom I regard as) extreme right? I am emailing you in protest, though you did air some challengin… Read full post »

In some of my dreams, intense feelings of alienation arise. I feel that it is therapeutic for me to write these down and turn them into poems. For example...

In my dream, there is no past and future. I exist dimly, and no one knows me on the inside.… Read full post »

On a Friday conference call with conservative activists dealing with health care reform, Sen. Jim DeMint reportedly said "If we're able to stop Obama on this, it will be his Waterloo. It will break him."

Reminds me of the concept of "slave breaker," very real in our history...for example, in 1834… Read full post »

We need health care reform for the 37 million folks who do not have access, 750,000 in my home state of SC. Let's leave politics out of it, and work for a public option, and yes, seek compromise. It's not so complicated. My adult son (and millions of sons and daughters)… Read full post »

Gradually, I am collaborating more creatively and politically, and making new friends. It is very gratifying to work with others. Kingstree can be a very isolating place; it is possible to find open-minded folks in a small Southern town, but it takes time. Building trust is a tedious process, anyway,… Read full post »

it is important to refocus

from such toxic images

as Palin and Demint

renew the spirit

consider hopes and dreams

exercise creativity

take positive action

each day new

be open to serendipidity

take courage

speak true Read full post »

So many projects swirling around in my head

Need to focus on one or two

the music collaboration

editing my creativity book

Sending out queries

Working on health care reform

Seeking a part time job

It is easy to lose focus in this world

but a few things at the core… Read full post »