el dia de hoy

something bout the slot-machine god

something bout the slot-machine god gets me. church exacts a price from you and faith is freely given only at funerals it seems. recently ive perused and enjoyed a few articles at killing the buddha. not sure where my faith is these days. somehow know its there. somewhere. lurking kindly and not giving up. the eucharist table and the cushion both seemed like good ideas at one time. at one time when instead of killing the buddha or the christ, i embraced them or sought them out for cures, miracles and a slice of some nice nirvana.

the kids left behind

"no ceo left behind" would seem more appropriate for such an unfunded mandate.

hisd hits the times...or the times hits hisd

I think HISD would have preferred not to have made the headlines of the NY times.

The glowing figures on students who plan to further their education are part of a broad set of statistics Houston school officials submitted to state authorities, figures that painted a wildly optimistic picture of what has been going on in Houston schools over the past few years.

A recent state audit of the Houston schools found vast undercounting of high school dropouts. The figures on college plans suggest that on yet a second measure, Houston put forth data that bear small relation to the hard reality most students face.

french wine and belly dancers

After a hiatus from harpers weekly, I have returned to enjoying and religiously looking forward to this fun and insightful weekly dose. It's become a fun challenge, for me, to find out which story(ies) slipped from my eyes and ears in the past week.

Besides french winemakers enjoying a great harvest and Egypt banning foreign belly dancers, the EPA seems to have done a dance of its own with the Bushites, following a quiet yet aggressive lead.

An internal EPA report revealed that the Bush Administration forced the agency to lie about the air quality in New York City just after 9/11. The agency, which was forced to filter all public statements through the president's National Security Council, had no basis for its claim that the air in New York was safe to breathe.

Hillary joined the fray and expressed her outrage and demanded some information. Dancing with the Bushites these days, however, seems quite popular. Some lead, as is the case with cheney & co. and some follow, as is the case with the EPA. All the outrage and demanding of information from those not doing the dancing, mostly a lot of loud but inept democrats, seems to be falling on deaf ears. Once again, America seems too caught up in its freedom and traffic congestion to even notice and too caught up to care.

rebels reject peace

according to reports, the rebels in colombia have rejected peace talks, as if they were rejecting peace. a peace proposed by who? a peace promised by whom? the government of colombia? what would this peace look like? what would this peace provide and for whom?

3bn dollars a year are provided by the US to support the government of colombia to fight the "terrorists" in the country. even just a year or two ago they were "Narco-terrorists" and two or three years ago it was merely a "drug war". words. words. words. 16 words. 8 words. 4 words. 2 words. how many?

Words matter. Often, that's just a conceit of people in the word business. But it's also true. -joshua micah marshall

rumsfeld in colombia

Rumsfeld lands in Bogota. The purpose of the visit seems to be to celebrate the year of "successes" that the Colombian president Alvaro Uribe has accomplished. One year? How long have the FARC been waging this bloody fight in the mountains? In an interview given to a Brazilian daily, "Folha de Sao Paulo", Raul Reyes, a high ranking military leader of the FARC, stated, "The problem with Uribe is that he only has three meager years to govern and the FARC has all the time in the world. It has been 39 years of struggle. We will take all the time necessary to reach our objectives."

Rumsfeld is in Colombia as a high ranking diplomat (the highest ranking official to visit the country in 2003) to symbolize US support. Bush couldn't make it due to certain prior commitments in the Middle East.

Uribe is desperate for US support and considers his country's situation similar to the one in Iraq in many aspects. Scary. The sad reality is that it is the colombian people and the colombian land that continues to suffer at the hands, greed and dementia of power hungry groups on both the left and the right. The groups who have something substantial to offer to the peacemaking process in Colombia aren't being heard. At least not loud or clear enough.

words matter

The cost of war continues to rise at a rate faster than our cost of health care and education combined. At this rate, almost one million additional public school teachers could be hired for one year.

Words matter. Often, that's just a conceit of people in the word business. But it's also true.

According to Joshua Micah Marshall,
words play a deadly part in the drama of bad policy. Despite the loss of public support for Bush, it is the lethargy of the so called "patriots" that confounds me. Words were used and "America" sang to the tune, locked arms, bought flags (mostly made in china) and fashioned sparkling US flag lapel pins. Words worked. In America, words have always been "used" by those in power. In a post 9-11 world, words are now being "used" in a sad and sick sort of way. The game of fear that terrorists play so well is the game being played by those who are "at war" with terrorism. Again, however, America is too caught up in its freedom and traffic congestion to even notice it's been duped and even sadder, to caught up to care. In that context, words work remarkably well with the most minimal use of the imagination.

bush and energy

The Bush administration plans to open a huge loophole in America's air pollution laws, allowing an estimated 17,000 outdated power stations and factories to increase their carbon emissions with impunity.

bush and energy ...a perpetual mating season...

super mercado el guero

turning left onto main street on the 15 offers a clear view of downtown...any good shot attempt from here, however, would inevitably have to include the loud, yellow sign of super mercado "EL GUERO" where the "lone star wic accepted here" sign never changes but the weekly specials always do...across the street a failed attempt at a pancho and lefty sports bar sits fat and depressed...but the alcoholicos anonimos behind "EL GUERO" keeps on keeping on...reaching out like a faithful cristo rey storefront pentecostal church/with ashtrays...small but strong...showing up, day by day...by day...by day...

combat, military, killing....operations, war...of words..

Bush is revising his statement on the cessation of "combat" operations in Iraq. A war that seems far from being over and very far from being won. Bush, however, need not worry. All is well. America is too caught up in its freedom and traffic congestion to even notice or even care.

When asked about his statement regarding the cessation of combat operations in Iraq, he interrupted, "Actually, major military operations, because we still have combat operations going on. It's a different kind of combat mission, but, nevertheless, it's combat, just ask the kids that are over there killing and being shot at."

A polish "contingent" will be added soon, with the pentagon paying the cost. Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador have all sent troops as well. Not more than 300-400 a piece but their governments form part of the coalition of the willing, even if unwilling.