Sunday, November 26, 2006

literary update....

it's been awhile; of course the GPP is going strong and approaching ninety members in it's first four months of operation, with a few patrons and one lifetime patronage purchased by the State University of New York (SUNY) for their archives, and broadsides being found all over the world by exactly the type of people we hoped would find them: enthusiastic supporters of a great idea and an artistic movement to reclaim poetry for those who need it.

I will have the proofs for my sunnyoutside book soon called Flowers In The Shadow Of The Storm. the book is perfect bound, 64 pages divided into three sections, with hand painted acrylics on the cover and is a kind of poetic "concept album" delving into the metaphor of the storm. david mcnamara has put a great deal of thought and care into the design and it should be a beauty.

I just got word that some of my short poems will be one of Bill Roberts' Bottle of Smoke Press Chapbook of the Quarter releases. it will be called An Essential Misery and should be dandy, as we all know Bill to be a Grand Master of the Printed Word.

lastly, the great poet Adrian Manning and his Concrete Meat Press is going to use some of my stuff in a Single Poet issue of his Concrete Meat Sheet Series. support this dandy writer and his fine press.

I've not forgotten about the New Orleans project, NOR the homeless vets project. things here at The Compound have been a bit mad of late, so we're bearing down and fighting our way out from beneath the detritus of this animal life. more info on those fronts soon.

Thursday, November 16, 2006

credit card bullshit...

this is the Capitalist world we live in, where "free markets" dictate our lives, where corporations are "persons" and where the system is gamed by the companies who become politicians who become CEOs:

TWICE we've paid our credit card bill by electronic wire transfer because the due date was two days away and we knew our mail payment wouldn't arrive. the transfer takes ten minutes. but here's the thing that isn't listed anywhere in your plan: they have to accept the payment for it to credit to your account. and they choose to wait as long as possible to do this in order to charge you a late fee. they waited TWO DAYS both times to accept a payment that cost us ten bucks to make, and moved across the bank lines at the speed of light, literally. and were COMPLETELY intractable when confronted.

is this the kind of world we've built? where the gatekeepers on the phone are smug and gloating at the evil they're doing? where an hourly wage slave for a usurious behemoth is pleased that even though YOU PAID ON THE FOURTH, and the bill wasn't due until the sixth, they didn't accept the payment until the seventh. and tough shit for us.

sure, capitalism. where the rules of REALITY don't apply. they don't tell you it takes two days for them to saunter over to the keyboard and hit YES, the reality is it takes ten minutes, and folks think that is how it should work.

I'm so mad I could freak out. I can't even compose this post right. I can send a fucking letter to goddamn CALIFORNIA and it gets there in TWO DAYS. and any of you capitalist assholes out there who'll say, "well, don't be late. or don't use your credit card. it's THEIR card..." I say BULLSHIT: I wasn't late AND I paid EXTRA to insure that I was ON TIME according to their stated terms; this shell game isn't listed anywhere in there, it's a JOKE of a LIE that it takes that long, they CHOOSE to take that long so they can CHARGE their fucking fee, and they don't tell you about it. we paid EARLY and still got charged because of THEM, not us.

just venting. there is nothing for it but to elect politicians who DO NOT suck the credit card industry wang, who DO NOT support forty dollar late fees based on a cheat, who DO NOT think that a billion dollar corporation is the same as a human being, who DO think that the illusion of corporate personage should be revoked immediately, who DO think that quality of life includes not being taken for a ride by lobbyist fueled, corrupt politicians who come out of the very industry they are now charged with regulating and who DO support campaign finance reform, election reform, interest rate reform, and who understand clearly that it is We the People who have rights under our constitution, NOT huge international corporations that pay little to no taxes here and have no loyalty to any nation whatsoever.

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

a friendly reminder...

THE BILL OF RIGHTS

Amendment I


Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.


Amendment II


A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.


Amendment III


No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.


Amendment IV


The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.


Amendment V


No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.


Amendment VI


In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.


Amendment VII


In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.


Amendment VIII


Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.


Amendment IX


The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.


Amendment X


The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.

Thursday, November 09, 2006

oh yes...

one for the Republicans:

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

again, VOTE!...

...and I figure I can do a lot better than that in Canada, without having to worry about being put in some kind of detention pen, as a dangerous anarchist heretic. Which I am, and I hope to get worse. If it comes down to a 'Which side are you on?' crunch, I think I'll go with the human beings. In clearer terms, I look forward to a split between the Corporate Nazis and the Desperate Freaks, with no middle ground...and, as much as I dread that kind of choice, it seems pretty clear and unavoidable. What do you think?...

Hunter S. Thompson, Woody Creek, Colorado; October, 1968

Friday, November 03, 2006

throw the bums out...

send the lying, cheating, war mongering, fascist bastards a fucking message on Tuesday. these are the assholes we'll be replacing with some folks who have MUCH better plans to actually help our country and not just their cronies and fellow CEOs. and anyway, let's do them like '94, and say "FUCK THEM! THROW THE BUMS OUT!".

even if Diebold won't count your votes, it matters until the Iron Curtain comes down.

and since I missed a Halloween post, here's a little something scary-good:

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