A Middle-aged White Woman's Rap

This came to me in the middle of the night and would not let me sleep until I wrote it down.



This hate congregated pontificated feeding bleeding

into tears fears preachers pounding pulpits. Repent!

Repent your vote, they should take note, Jesus was

a communist and threw out the capitalists and every

one hatin’ on the socialist. They decry it, I want to

scream we already have it and the rich are reaping

the benefits. Classist fascist crashing smashing

white on black on black on white. Thoughts molded

folded wrapped around this chant of freedom, see them,

dying, mothers crying, politicians lying. Not looking for

a savior, just better behavior with some smarts and a

little heart. The lame ducks don’t give a $%&* hiding

their crimes biding their time in the big White House

on the hill.

Amy Goodman Arrested

This really pissed me off! Why was she arrested?

AP photographer, Democracy Now! host arrested

By SCOTT BAUER

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — An Associated Press photographer and a Democracy Now! TV and radio show host were among those arrested at an anti-war march on the first day of the Republican National Convention. Both were released hours later.

Police said Tuesday they arrested 286 people during Monday's event. Most of the estimated 10,000 people in the march were peaceful, but small groups that police said numbered about 200 broke windows, slashed tires and harassed delegates.

AP photographer Matt Rourke was covering the protest when he was swept up by police moving in on a group of protesters in downtown St. Paul. Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman was arrested as she asked police in riot gear about the status of two producers who had been arrested, one of whom she had heard was bleeding. The producers also were released later.

David Ake, an AP assistant chief of bureau in Washington, said he was concerned by the arrest of Rourke, a Philadelphia-based photographer.

"Covering news is a constitutionally protected activity, and covering a riot is part of that coverage," Ake said. "Photographers should not be detained for covering breaking news."

Phil Carruthers, director of the prosecution division of the Ramsey County Attorney's Office, said Monday night that no charges against Rourke were anticipated. Rourke, held on a gross misdemeanor riot charge, was released early Tuesday.

Democracy Now! producers Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar were arrested while they carried out their journalistic duties, Democracy Now! said in a statement. Democracy Now! said Kouddous and Salazar were arrested on a felony riot charge while Goodman was charged with misdemeanor obstruction of a legal process and interference with a peace officer.

All three appeared on Goodman's show on Tuesday and recounted their experience. A video of Goodman's arrest, aired on her program and also posted on YouTube, shows her begging police not to arrest her before being taken away in handcuffs.

Democracy

this is one of my favorite poems! I'm a hugh fan of Leonard Cohen, I thought I would share!

The Tapestry of Women

Wisps of lives
Shrouded under the
Words of men
Whispers begrudgingly
inked on the yellowed
And cracked pages
Of history
And some a burning
Thread, impossible
To deny, distorted,
Stamped with the
Mark of Sinner or
Saint, their very
Nature shackled
In subservience
This is the tapestry
Of women’s history

copyright Sherry Obsheatz

The most Beautiful Suffragette

Her last public words were, "Mr. President how long must women wait for liberty?"

suf·frage /ˈsʌfrɪdʒ/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[suhf-rij] –noun the right to vote in a political election.




Women in history have always held a great curiosity for me, from Cleopatra to Indira Ghandi. The first time I came upon the famous image of Inez Milholland, I was completely captivated; not only by her physical loveliness, but also by the quiet strength and dignity she exuded. In 1913, this delicate beauty astride a white horse catapulted the Suffrage movement to the front pages, eclipsing Woodrow Wilson’s inauguration.

Her family was well known in New York City, her father John Milholland was a newspaper editorialist and a reformer with the NAACP. She was a Vassar graduate and earned a law degree from New York City Law school. Yes, brains and beauty! Starting a vigorous speaking tour across 12 states, she ignited audiences with her emotional and eloquent speeches. Suffering from pernicious anemia, she ignored warnings from her doctor about keeping such a grueling schedule. In Los Angeles, in 1916 she collapsed while giving a speech, dying a few weeks later, November 25th 1916. The 19th Amendment was ratified in April of 1920, giving women the right to vote, four years after her death.

I was just a teenager when I first read her story and I became fascinated with the whole Suffrage movement. I remember seeing a Jay Leno show some years ago, where he was asking women in the street if they would vote for Women’s Suffrage. I was appalled that so many women had no idea what it meant. And it makes me wonder if more young women were exposed to the story of Inez Milholland, she would again ignite a nation




copyright Sherry Obsheatz


There is so much more, read it here: http://vcencyclopedia.vassar.edu/index.php/Inez_Milholland

The Concept is Still Golden

The other night, I was watching a documentary on The Sundance channel called, Off the Grid, Life on the Mesa. I thought it would be about tips on how to “live off the grid.” Well, it wasn’t anything like I expected. I had mixed emotions about the show. My feelings were hammocked between, revulsion for gun toting fringe parasites, to admiration for societal misfits, giving the finger to the rules of society.

They interviewed a man who is a Veteran of the first Gulf War. It was compelling listening to him, because despite the fact he believed our country was a mess. He was willing to go back and fight for it all over again. His reasoning being that the “concept this country was founded upon is still golden.” And I realized I was relating to this Veteran, who was riddled with cancer, living in an old school bus in the middle of the desert in New Mexico.

We all have something that connects us, from the most flamboyant man marching in a Gay Pride parade in San Francisco, to the callused hands of the farmer working his fields in the mid-west, to the soldier in Afghanistan and Iraq, to the protestor in the street. All are a part this vast ocean of differing opinions and views we call America. No matter how fouled up we think this country is and believe me, I think we have a real mess on our hands, we are all linked by a piece of paper, the Constitution. So, no Mr. Bush it is NOT just a piece of paper. It is the glue that holds us all together, because every American still believes, down deep, the concept that built these United States is still golden.



copyright Sherry Obsheatz

Liberty Stands in the Harbor

This is a reworking of an older poem. I always thought there was a bit of romanticism surrounding The Statue of Liberty. Given today’s political climate and how fiercely this country fought for individual freedom. It seems she has become a neglected lover…

Liberty stands in the harbor
Freedoms torch sputtering
In the haze
A war started in her name
And muddied under the boots
Of political gain
Silently she laments for all
Those who have forgotten
What she represents
Defiant she stands, quietly
Whispering words slowly fading

"Give me your tired
Your poor
Your huddled masses
Yearning to breathe free"

To breathe free…

To breathe free…

copyright Sherry Obsheatz

the inscription on the Statue of Liberty

The New Colossus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she

With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

by Emma Lazarus

Fool's Gold

Information panned with
Corporate strainers,
Golden nuggets
Inked and televised,
In its wake
A black trail
Of deceit,
The gold of fools
Some did cry,
But yet, the
Public thirst,
It did slake

copyright Sherry Obhsheatz

The White Rose

I came upon this a long time ago, as I was searching for images of White Roses and I have been wanting to share this for awhile...

The White Rose was a resistance group during Nazi Germany. The group was mostly comprised of medical students from the University of Munich. The members included: Hans Scholl (who was an enthusiastic member of the Hitler Youth Group and quickly became disillusioned, with the ever increasing barbarism), his sister Sophie (the only non-medical student, she majored in Biology and philosophy), also sister Inge Scholl, Alex Schmorel and George Wittenstein, Willie Graf, Christoph Probst and philosophy professor Kurt Huber

They wrote leaflets protesting the brutality of the Nazi Regime and the extermination of the Jews. Hans Scholl coined the phrase "leaflets of The White Rose".

The story is incredibly sad and moving and these students showed tremendous courage. I have often wondered, if I would have had this kind of courage, if I had lived during the rise of Nazism. And seeing the picture below, you realize they were just kids. Would I have the strength to pass this test of fire?

We will not be silent

Learn more about them!

Here is a link to Wikipedia for more info: The White Rose

Recipe For Fascism

2 cups of Apathy
3/4 cup of Patriotism
1 tsp. of Nationalism
1 cup of Corporatism
¾ cup of Militarism
½ cup of Anti-liberalism

Preheat oven to it could never happen here

Mix dry ingredients and add 50 million uninsured Americans, 40 million Americans living below the poverty line, a freshly squeezed Middle Class and a sprinkle of inflation.
Blend until smooth and roll dough into balls and place on greased cookie sheet.
Bake until edges are slightly burned and bitter


copyright Sherry Obsheatz