Ms. Bones shuts herself
behind the coffin doors
of her fast lengthening shadows.

As the light
in her righteous comments
start to recede...
the chickens of her soul
come home to roost.

A night-smile appears
on her shadow lips;
she sips her soup
of hypocrisy
before dining
on her bellyful of words...

recycled
into stinking
actions; flushed
and perfume-sprayed
as she wakes up
into another day
into another light
launching
her shadow nets.

It has been a fantastic evening, and the moon's glow can't hide it's beauty from me. It's heavenly.
My love
tonight, tomorrow,
and every day
I breathe,
~ Kate

#1 That's impressive, Irvine. Must apply to us all in some way, I suppose.

Perhaps you are the exception, dear Kate.

Rules are fragile, Sir Ed, exactly because

they were meant to be broken like everything else.

.

Hey you-know-who!

Liz I must see!

me2watson@yahoo.com

A bit apprehensive, I am!

Please understand. Your bud, Keith

"Must apply to us all in some way, I suppose."

Of course it does, Ed

Certainly my experince. There are no exceptions. Certainly NOT kate.

But Kate is gentle and self-righting, Irvine.
Could it be that a great Child is labouring to be born?

"Kate is gentle and 'self-righting'"

I suppose you mean "self-correcting." It sure is a great attribute. Or the single most important attribute to set an example. I don't know about a "Child" who would grow up to be great, but a child sure is ready to be born, to a pristine mother.

I would like to see the "Chopra Center" link placed at the top of this Blog... would be nice.

During all the dark nights and all the bright days.
We fall into a pattern that repeats itself all the time.
We live and oscillate between growth and decay.
A cycle of happiness and sadness which we call mine.
Someone lives to take and someone lives to give.
Someone wants order and another wants spontaneity.
Someone wants to die and someone fights to live.
We fight, we play, we cry, and we love, and want love.
It all seems so important to the living.
And, it all seems so unimportant to the dieing.
We attach to the living, and we detach from the dieing.
Oh God, is it about bonding or unbonding, which is the lesson.
The very good dies by the hands of the very bad.
Oh God, does your seemingly detached attitude give us the lesson.
If the lesson is about detachment then we’ve all been had

Yea, I know, it needs work, but you guys inspire me to at least try. ~Kurt~

Yo Kurt
I like it, as is. IB seems to inspire people in many ways.
There are great poets and writers here that can give you some pointers. Visiting IB has exposed me to more poetry than the whole rest of my life. It is still a mystery to me how someone can have such a grasp on words and they're meanings to create so moving an art form.

I look forward to reading more.

derek

Thanks Derek, I'll check it out the Ib site.

When I woke up this morning
You were on my mind
Yeah, You were on my mind
Love on my spine
Forces pen to hand
To consummate
Or give me a feakin' pill
Either way --what difference?
Loving a being of many names,but no form...sound familiar?
That's weird-ed out
Like water looks like clouds
But only when it rains

In analysing love, the object of love, the action of loving, and the one who enjoys it are all the same One. It is only time that drags it all out into separate parts.
Well what is is. If I had a few hundred bucks for black eyeliner and mascara, I really would look like Liz. I'm not kidding! Just give me the Cleopatra outfit and you'll see.

Can I try?

In this oasis of detached, yet thoroughly loving understanding
I spoke my views today,
And because they did not agree
With the vast majority
Here on intentblog
I was told to flee...
As in, "get lost", "leave us be"
Our gentle ears cannot be sullied
by one harsh word against our hero,
It is all part of our gentle, yet intellectual, superior IQ
stance...
And so I leave Ye all
Exiled from the intellectual round table
My punishment: think of what unity means...
Agree with us or agree with us...
A sphynx-like riddle
Of such complexity
Perhaps Buddha under his tree
Could solve it.

Mieke, et al.. I have recieved today, my copy of Mieke's poetry book featuring my digital art!! It looks fantastic Mieke!! I love it!! I will send Cindas to her tomorrow, so she should have it by next weeks end.

Very nice, glossy paper, the text in various colours matching the designs.. brilliant MIeke!! You did a wonderful job in layout, etc!!

I am so grateful to you Mieke... for using my digital art.. the designs you chose for each poem, matched so perfectly with each other!! I totally loved the design you chose as the cover!!

I am very happy with these results!! : )

much love,
North

A day late and a dollar short, #4. Darn if I don't have a headache today. Got to go now.
Yours,

There is a giant, that we keep,
and like keepers of the deep,

we lock it up, with keys;
and use it, as we please.

It bends us down, on our knees,
when we realize, the giant,
never sleeps.

By: DD Sonnenburg (10/22/2004 at 11:17pm )

-----

The eternal flame, which keeps my heart on fire,
is my only desire.

I release my burdens there;
and my fears, and wants disperse;
within the Blessed purse......

DD Sonnenburg - 9/16/2004 at 10:15am

---------

OH PASSING MOON!

The night is dark, as morning moves in for its daily eventful promise of ascending light.

The moon quickens its pace around the globe, offering spotlight to dancing stars, along the way.

Billions of twinkling stars in unison peek;
through a wispy and clouded sky;
for the beckoning sun and moon,
dance at twilight...

Always right on time.

There is warmth in the room, and a humid taste of filtered smells from the days cooking place.

And a savoured moment, blesses my face;
as an anticipating pang of hunger finds its place.

Blankets strewn upon the bed, showing that someone tossed, any deep slumbering, was lost.

As twilight exposes its first hint
of a dark, indigo blue;

the birds sleep silent under another,
passing moon.

By: DD Sonnenburg(-6-5-2005-3:43-am)

-------------

As the night loses its majestic turn;
the black of its realm fades to a lighter hue;
and makes me want to reach,
and touch its blue!

Oh the gift of restless sleep;
is to watch endless time peak;
to change the night to day;
where on this night, I was to play;
the part of witness,
to the timeless display.

By: DD Sonnenburg-6-5-05-4:09am

Love, North/DDS

AmbaSteve.. I sent you an email on how to order Miekes book. Thanks for supporting our dream Steve...we greatly appreciate everyones interest in our creative pursuit for happiness. : )

for anyone else interested, you can order the book from here:

http://www.calbona.nl/documents/120.html

much love,
North

Can someone show me where the stages/responses are in the Upanshads?

http://www.singingfool.com/Music/Video/AN_APPRENTICE_OF_SATAN/T00037357.htm

#7 "I suppose you mean "self-correcting." It sure is a great attribute. Or the single most important attribute to set an example. I don't know about a "Child" who would grow up to be great, but a child sure is ready to be born, to a pristine mother."

No, Irvine, I meant self-righting, as in the rubber duck in my bath-water! With 'great,' I intended ubiquitous.
I do like/agree with your take on a pristine mother, who, of course, was a pristine child herself once.

For anyone who would like to show support with the Dalai Lama you may go here to sign the letter to China:

Avaaz.org

LOSE THE FEAR

From the first tender shoots
to the very last drop of my love
I’m ready to go anywhere
Ready to lick every flame
I’ve lost the fear you see
of burning my tongue

Where intimacy is found
you’re a little god
& you like it that way
Whatever you do you’re forgiven
Is it you? Oh yes
You blow the dead leaves away

I know mirrors can get down right
ugly when you can’t stand
the sight of the one
who’s doing the looking
but why can I no longer seem
to think straight around you?

The dance is getting hotter & hotter
I can feel myself giving in
like the rest of your catch
I just can’t help it in fact
I’m beginning to like the feeling
I’m not you are

~~Steve Toth~~

dear Bonnie,
I pray for the peace of Tibet,
and for freedom to be bestowed upon all who live in repression.

Five years ago today, America entered into the Iraqi invasion. President Bush claimed Iraq possessed 'weapons of mass destruction'.

and five years later,
America is still there,
even after the lie(s) of BushCo have been exposed.

I am remembering a special young man, Andy Aviles, who lost his life on April 7, 2003 - and the family who continues to miss him.
with love,
~ Kate

Edmund
its a windy day
the branches can't hold their tender young-uns
but we're in luck,
I have a rake...

come jump in
~ Kate

Hi Kate

I was thinking about you several nights ago, I was watching the moon set and it was just hanging there so close.

I pray for peace with you.

Love
bonnie

John McCain talks about wasteful spending...earmarks...

is this dude going senile? what is about the 12 thousand millions dollars going down the toilet each month in iraq? that is really smart spending isn't it?

Liz is what? Some 75 years young--minus 25, and that leavz***

$300? If that's what it takes to make your face(:~)geeezzz!!!

Diamonds are forever, says who?
Dollars are too short.

me2egyptonized

So tired of American race-trophy of their own ego. Race against humanity.

---

This is the race!

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen
This is billy mckloski from palm springs reporting for nbc sports of
America
Twenty seconds to the start of the thirty-first formula race on a hot
Sunny afternoon here in california

On the fast lane of the street I'm driving
Sometimes, somewhere, I'm arriving
Every day and every night

Why?
I need this race!

Count on me I'm gonna win the race
Count on me I'm gonna win the race
Room-dah-bee-boom the whippering dong
Room-dah-bee-boom the whippering dong

Shut the door keep down to south
Shut the door keep down to south
Shut the door keep down to south

Race in my head!...

Rhetorical tools reflect 3 Democrats' legal talents

Globe Staff / December 31, 2007

MUSCATINE, Iowa - As lawyers, all three leading Democratic presidential contenders are formally trained in the art of making a case. As they appear before audiences around Iowa this week, their distinctly different legal backgrounds - and their unique styles of thought, logic, and language - are beginning to show in their final pitches to voters.

John Edwards, a career trial attorney before running for the Senate, practices a courtroom-style summation that rouses listeners to use their vote to deliver justice.

Hillary Clinton, who practiced mostly corporate law at a Little Rock firm, approaches her speeches as a dealmaker: itemizing a list of goals and demands and then explaining what it will take to realize them.

Barack Obama, a constitutional scholar, reiterates his rivals' arguments and tries to expose them as logically unsound.

...

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/12/31/rhetorical_tools_reflect_3_democrats_legal_talents/

The Clinton Library just released her several thousand papers of White House Schedules, and there are going to be many interesting things in them, in days to come.

One of the first thing reported was that Hillary was in the White House on the Clinton Stained Blue Dress day(when Lewinsky had multiple oral sex in the White House just rooms away from the first Lady, and months later she stood by Bill and claimed that Lewinsky allegations were a vast right wing conspiracy.)

Another one shows she helped Clinton Administration on NAFTA by praising it in a conference. Its clear that she was more interested in getting her Health Care plan done before tackling NAFTA, but that doesn't make the case that she was did not support it.

Clinton Schedules Vague But Lead To Evidence of NAFTA Lie

http://liberalvaluesblog.com/?p=3048

For the more non-Olivia like cerebral thinkers:

Racial Idealism vs. Racial Realism: Obama and the DLC

Barack Obama's speech in Philadelphia eloquently displayed how the Obama and Clinton campaigns are divided by race idealism versus race realism.

Combining the statesman's calm cadences with the reverend's passion, Obama delivered what was arguably the crispest, most important delineation of U.S. race relations by a presidential candidate since Abraham Lincoln gave his House Divided speech.

In response to the ongoing racial pyrotechnics seen most recently in the controversies surrounding Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama's former pastor whose racial denunciations from his Chicago pulpit have drawn criticism, and Clinton-backer Geraldine Ferraro who sparked controversy after saying, "If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position," Obama used his abundant rhetorical gifts to advance the cause of race idealism. His speech tried to weaken the relentless pull of our racial past on our electoral present by pointing to a post-racial future.

"This nation is more than the sum of its parts," he declared before a very racially mixed crowd of supporters sitting and swooning in Philadelphia's National Constitution Center. "We may have different stories, but we hold common hopes." The elevated responses in the Constitution Center seemed to simulate the paintings of children and adults of various ethnicities dancing in a circle as they rise from the ground.

In stark contrast to Obama's strive-for-higher-ground idealism is the boots-on-the-ground march of the pre-eminent practitioners of racial realpolitik: the Clinton backers of Washington's Democratic Leadership Council (DLC).

Caught between the current reality of an electorate that's still mostly white and a primary process that reflects stunning demographic shifts, the racial politics of the Clinton supporters in the DLC reflect a strategic decision to consolidate their white base. Viewed from this vantage point, the DLC's re-engineered appeals to white racial solidarity preview the new politics of the white minority era that looms on the racial horizon.

More than any other political machine in this very tense political moment, politicians affiliated with the DLC have developed policies and made statements that reconfigure racial politics beyond the Southern Strategy -- appeals to white voter fear and anxieties with anti-black policy proposals that successfully transformed the once Democratic-leaning South into a Republican stronghold -- that still defines much of the Republican racial realpolitik. DLC affiliates have more or less formed a beeline to make racial comments appealing to white voters as an unprecedented racial reality has come upon America: white minority status.

DLC operatives seem to recognize how quickly the political process is moving past the black-white racial politics towards a Sunbelt strategy targeting a more diverse and demographically different country, increasingly concentrated in the sunny southern states stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Like Obama, the DLC recognizes and anticipates the inevitable domination of the electoral college by Texas, Florida, California and other states heavily populated by Latinos and Asians.

Among the most recent comments and policy proposals by DLC affiliates reflecting the Sunbelt strategy are: the Geraldine Ferraro statement; the strong support for the anti-immigrant policies of the very punitive, anti-immigrant STRIVE Act by Rahm Emmanuel and James Carville, an enforcement-heavy immigration reform proposal which many Congressional Hispanic Caucus members have said will increase racial profiling; the anti-immigrant ads used by DLC Chair Harold Ford during his Senatorial bid in Tennessee; DLC stalwart Bob Kerrey's claim that Obama attended a "secular madrassa"; the numerous racially-charged comments made by former DLC leader Bill Clinton, and, of course, Hillary Clinton in the course of her own campaign.

These most recent statements and policy proposals by DLC affiliates reflect the DLC's insights into the post-Southern Strategy, post-Dixiecrat moment. This vision was developed by several of the mostly southern founders of the DLC who, in their zeal to combat the GOP successes with white voters through the Southern Strategy, rejected the affirmative action and other "identity politics" in the Democratic party to return to the old white identity politics.

Asked about the statements by Ferraro and other DLC affiliates, DLC's press secretary, Alice McKeon, declined to make a statement. Asked if Ferraro was affiliated with her organization, McKeon answered, "I'm not prepared to say anything about that right now."

Longtime DLC critic and editor of the Black Agenda Report, Bruce Dixon, sees in the ratcheting up of racial politics in this primary season the DLC's aspirations to make Democrats more competitive against the GOP. "The historic position of the DLC is that they want to compete for Republican voters and corporate dollars," said Dixon. "Their support for the SAVE Act, the racial attacks on Obama are rooted in this desire."

Dixon has for many years also questioned the relationship between the racial statements and policy proposals of DLC members and the major funding it receives from corporations and from foundations like the Bradley Foundation, a philanthropic organization which gave the Progressive Policy Institute, the DLC's think tank, over $200,000. Bradley Foundation also has a long history of giving money to organizations and individuals dedicated to decimating civil rights like Charles Murray, author or the controversial Bell Curve who still supports thoroughly baseless racial ideas like the belief that there's a correlation between race and intellectual capabilities. "The Clintons, Rahm Emanuel and the DLC have to say these (racial) things because their corporate sponsors need a segmented and divided workforce," said Dixon. "They can't possibly do anything else."

Yet, given the chronic inflexibility of politicians of all stripes to articulate the real problems of race in the United States, Obama's race idealism may, in fact, mark the beginning of, as he promised, real change. Charles Murray himself noted this on the National Review website after Obama's speech. "As far as I'm concerned, it is just plain flat out brilliant--rhetorically, but also in capturing a lot of nuance about race in America," he wrote. "It is so far above the standard we're used to from our politicians."

Race idealism, who knows, may very well carry the day beyond the primaries and the general election.

--Roberto Lovato

Hi Mieke, Donna!
Your book arrived just now. What a beauty! The choice of colours especially in which the poems are written is simply superb. So are designs. I relish its very touch.

A couple of lines from one of its poems almost sent me to samadhi...

"It is not this it is not that
It is a truth we always had
Because we all are born with it
During our life we tend to forget."

And there are many more like these.

Thank you and Love to both of you, Harb

A thorough essay by Chris Weigant on Race and politics in American daily life in the context of Obama's speech:

Race Is Not A Black And White Issue

http://www.chrisweigant.com/index.php/2008/03/19/race-is-not-a-black-and-white-issue/

Chris Weigant is a political commentator. As “Tom Paine” Chris wrote the book How Democrats Can Take Back Congress in 2006, which (while obviously dated now) still has a lot of good advice for Democratic candidates today.

Blessing Harb, and thankyou!! Mieke did a fantastic job on layout, colour-text choices, and each design she chose to display with her poem, matched so perfectly. I was quite impressed. The book feels very nice in the hands too!! : )

I am leaving soon, to go walk to the post, and mail Cinda her copy. From there, to my Moms to show her our creation; which I am positive will put a great smile on her face, and a dance in her heart...

much love to you Harb, to Mieke...and to all at IB..whom reach for their inspiration with and through others...as we are so very connected, as Miekes poetry so profoundly points out. : )

North

Dear North, dear Harb,

Thank you for your inspirational contribution to this beautiful book of being in Spirit.

The three of us have been drawn towards each other since the beginning of this Intentblog.

Many of the contributors here are in this same spirit and those who have received a copy of this booklet are one of the now evolving co-creator groups established in a crystal clear energy that is becoming available for the collective.

Let the Aquarian Age begin!

Here is the message I received today in the form of a poem:

Have sent my poetic message around the world

Have created nodes connecting

In simple language the truth is told

In colourful words blinking

Sat here immersed in the book

Knowing that You also had a look

We All sat in a circle of communion

Of true and unmitigated union

Felt was being lifted up in the air

Made a somersault with much flair :)

Spreading my wings across

The Uni Verse, the Logos

With immense ease landed on my feet

Filled with gratitude in ONE heartbeat

This Spring coincides with major festivities All
Over the World.

Happy Celebration of Life to ALL

Mieke

Memo: Senator Clinton's distortion on NAFTA, part of a disturbing pattern

Senator Clinton made her “opposition” to NAFTA a cornerstone of her Ohio campaign. There was only one problem: she wasn’t telling the truth to Ohio voters. Misrepresenting your position and carefully parsing your words when you don’t think you’ll get caught are the hallmarks of the kind of politics that Barack Obama is running to change. That’s the kind of politics that led us into war in Iraq and gave us a tax code that lets those with offshore investments pay a lower tax rate than the average working family in Pennsylvania.

It’s about trust.

Working Americans are looking for a President who will be consistent in standing up for American workers—and have the integrity to be consistent in his or her views. Senator Clinton has failed that test: though she now rails against NAFTA on the campaign trail, her records as first lady show that she actively lobbied for NAFTA’s passage.

Thousands of pages of Hillary Clinton’s White House schedules released yesterday show that she was one of the administration’s top proponents of NAFTA, attending at least four meetings to advocate for its passage.

That was then. Now that she’s running for President, Clinton has changed her tune. Less than a month ago, Clinton said at a debate that “I have been a critic of NAFTA from the very beginning. I didn't have a public position on it, because I was part of the administration, but when I started running for the Senate, I have been a critic.”

Really? Attendees at the 1993 NAFTA briefing where Clinton served as the closing act say that she was “totally pro-NAFTA and what a good thing it would be for the economy.”

American workers are already facing the uncertainly of a changing economy. The last thing they need is another President who changes views when there’s an election coming up.

“A CRITIC OF NAFTA FROM THE VERY BEGINNING”?

Clinton Said “I Have Been A Critic Of NAFTA >From The Very Beginning.” Clinton: “You know, I have been a critic of NAFTA from the very beginning. I didn't have a public position on it, because I was part of the administration, but when I started running for the Senate, I have been a critic.” [Democratic Debate, 2/26/08]

Clinton Said That NAFTA Was “Negotiated Under President George H.W. Bush And It Was Passed During My Husband’s Presidency. But I Was Always Uncomfortable About Certain Aspects Of It, And I Have Always Made That Clear.” Clinton on her position: NAFTA was “negotiated under President George H.W. Bush and it was passed during my husband's presidency. But I was always uncomfortable about certain aspects of it, and I have always made that clear.” [AP, 2/26/08]

Clinton: “I Had Said That For Many Years” That We Should Fix NAFTA. Asked how she would “fix” NAFTA, Clinton responded, “Well, I had said that for many years, that, you know, NAFTA and the way it’s been implemented has hurt a lot of American workers. In fact, I did a study in New York looking at the impact of NAFTA on business people, workers and farmers who couldn’t get their products into Canada despite NAFTA. So, clearly we have to have a broad reform in how we approach trade. NAFTA’s a piece of it, but it’s not the only piece of it. I believe in smart trade. I’ve said that for years.” [Clinton, AFL-CIO Debate, 8/7/07]

Clinton Campaign: “Clinton Has Been Voicing Serious Concerns About Trade Agreements For Years.” In response to criticism of Clinton’s trade stance, Clinton’s spokesperson said “Senator Obama must have been talking about himself because as recently as 2004, he was saying the United States should pursue trade deals like Nafta. The fact is that Senator Clinton has been voicing serious concerns about trade agreements for years.” [NYT, 11/18/07]

THE RECORD: NAFTA MEETINGS IN THE WHITE HOUSE

NOVEMBER 10, 1993: Clinton Served “As The Closing Act During A Briefing On NAFTA, The Trade Agreement She Now Assails.” Clinton served “as the closing act during a briefing on NAFTA, the trade agreement she now assails.” According to her schedule, at 11:30 am - 11:45 am Clinton did a “NAFTA briefing drop-by” with approximately 120 expected to attend and Clinton concluding the program. [ABC News, 3/19/08; Clinton Schedule 1993, p. 1375-1376]

Ø ABC: Two Attendees Said “It Wasn’t A Drop-By It Was Organized Around Her Participation” And “Her Remarks Were Totally Pro-NAFTA And What A Good Thing It Would Be For The Economy.” “Two attendees of that closed-door briefing, neither of whom are affiliated with any campaign, describe that event for ABC News. It was a room full of women involved in international trade. David Gergen served as a sort of master of ceremonies as various women members of the Cabinet talked up NAFTA, which had yet to pass Congress. ‘It wasn’t a drop-by it was organized around her participation,’ said one attendee. ‘Her remarks were totally pro-NAFTA and what a good thing it would be for the economy. There was no equivocation for her support for NAFTA at the time. Folks were pleased that she came by. If this is a still a question about what Hillary's position when she was First Lady, she was totally supportive if NAFTA.’ That first attendee recalls that the First Lady's office in the East Wing put together ‘the invitation list, who was invited authorizations and all that stuff.’ And what is this attendee's response to Clinton today distancing herself from NAFTA? ‘For people who worked hard to pass NAFTA and who support the importance of markets opening for the economy in the long term, they're very upset. A number of the women who were there are very upset. You need to have some integrity in your position. The Clintons when Bill Clinton was president took a moderate position on trade for Democrats. For her to repudiate that now seems pretty phony.’ Recalls a second attendee, ‘they were looking for women in international trade who supported NAFTA. Senator Clinton came by at the end. And of course she asked for our support and help in passing NAFTA.’ Women who attended that event, the second attendee says, have been incredulous to see Clinton distance herself from the trade agreement as she campaigns today. ‘They're all saying, ‘What's this all about?’ We all heard it firsthand.’ She says Clinton isn't being honest with voters today.” [ABC News, 3/19/08]

AUGUST 9, 1993: Clinton Attended Back-To-Back Meetings On NAFTA. According to Hillary Clinton’s schedule, she attended a NAFTA meeting that was tentative with the President at 5:10 pm and a NAFTA/Health meeting with the President at 6 pm. [Hillary Clinton Schedule 1993, p. 885]

OCTOBER 5, 1993: Clinton Attended Meeting On NAFTA. According to Hillary Clinton’s schedule, she attended a NAFTA meeting that from 10:30am-12am. [Hillary Clinton Schedule 1993, p. 1159]

MEET ME IN OHIO!

Clinton Criticized Obama For Sending Out A NAFTA Mailer And Said “I Have To Express My Deep Disappointment That He Is Continuing To Send False And Discrediting Mailings With Information That Is Not True To Voters Of Ohio. … It Has Been Discredited. It Is Blatantly False And Yet He Continues To Spend Millions Of Dollars Perpetuating Falsehoods” And Added That Newsday Had Corrected The Record About Her Views On The Agreement. Clinton: “We’ve been drawing contrasts in this campaign, and I think that's important for voters so that they know where we stand, what our records are, what it is we will do as president. Today, in the crowd, I was given two mailings that Senator Obama's campaign is sending out, and I have to express my deep disappointment that he is continuing to send false and discredited mailings with information that is not true to the voters of Ohio. He says one thing in speeches and then he turns around and does this, and we have consistently called him on it. It has been discredited. It is blatantly false and yet he continues to spend millions of dollars perpetuating falsehoods. That is not the new politics that the speeches are about. It is not hopeful; it is destructive. … This mailing about NAFTA, saying that I believe NAFTA was a, quote, boon, quotes a newspaper that had corrected the record. We have pointed it out. The newspaper has pointed it out. Time and time again, you hear one thing in speeches and then you see a campaign that has the worst kind of tactics reminiscent of the same sort of Republican attacks on Democrats. Well, I am here to say that it is not only wrong, but it is undermining core Democratic principles. … Enough with the speeches and the big rallies and then using tactics that are right out of Karl Rove's playbook. This is wrong, and every Democrat should be outraged because this is the kind of attack that not only undermines poor Democratic values, but gives aid and comfort to the very special interests and their allies in the Republican Party who are against doing what we want to do for America. So, shame on you, Barack Obama. It is time you ran a campaign consistent with your messages in public. That’s what I expect from you. Meet me in Ohio. Let’s have a debate about your tactics and your behavior in this campaign.” [Clinton Press Conference, 2/23/08]

NEW EVIDENCE CONTRADICTS PREVIOUS MEDIA REPORTS

Obama’s Attack On Clinton’s NAFTA Position Is, “Most Observers Say, Misleading.” “As the 2008 campaign shifts to economically hard-hit states like Ohio, so too do the topics of political debate. This week, Sen. Barack Obama's campaign has attacked Sen. Hillary Clinton on trade, arguing that she was once a supporter of the North American Free Trade Agreement that contributed to the loss hundreds of thousands of American jobs. ‘A little more than a year ago,’ an Obama mailer reads, "Hillary Clinton thought NAFTA was a 'boon' to the economy.’ The piece goes on to argue that the New York Senator is ‘changing her tune’ now that she's campaigning in the Buckeye State. The attack is, most observers say, misleading. The "boon" line, a paraphrase lifted from a September 2006 Newsday article, has yet to be confirmed as an authentic quote. But, more importantly, the mailer misrepresents what former Clinton administration officials and biographers say was Hillary Clinton's long-held opposition to the legislation.” [Huffington Post, 2/14/08]

Mickey Kantor Said “Hillary Clinton Was One Of The Great Skeptics” Of NAFTA. “’In August in 92, we had to make a decision,’ Mickey Kantor the former U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Clinton adviser, and free trade advocate recalled for the Huffington Post. ‘President Clinton had to make a decision as governor, whether or not he would support [George H.W. Bush's] NAFTA, and of course he did... Hillary Clinton was one of the great skeptics in the discussion as to whether he should do. So she was always skeptical beginning in 1992 and onward.’” [Huffington Post, 2/14/08]
David Gergen Said Clinton “Was Extremely Unenthusiastic About NAFTA. “I was actually there in the Clinton White House during the NAFTA fight and I must tell you Hillary Clinton was extremely unenthusiastic about NAFTA. And I think that’s putting it mildly. I’m not sure she objected to all the provisions of it but she just didn’t see why her husband and that White House had to go and do that fight. She was very unhappy about it and wanted to move on to health care. So I do think there’s some justification for her camp saying, you know, she’s never been a great backer for NAFTA." [CNN, 2/25/08]

Is anyone else here sick and tired of aliased hecklers and trolls destroying conversation, debate and bonhomie at Intentblog?

If you are -- and you care enough to take action -- -- please email me. Click on the Typekey icon to the right of "hqquinn" at the bottom of this comment, to get my email address.

love, h

Morning News

From the New York Times:

The speech Senator Barack Obama delivered Tuesday morning has been viewed more than 1.6 million times on YouTube and is being widely e-mailed. While commentators and politicians debated its political success Wednesday, some around the country were responding to Mr. Obama's call for a national conversation about race.

Religious groups and academic bodies, already receptive to Mr. Obama's plea for such a dialogue, seemed especially enthusiastic. Universities were moving to incorporate the issues Mr. Obama raised into classroom discussions and course work, and churches were trying to find ways to do the same in sermons and Bible studies.

... On the Internet and in many areas of the traditional news media, such a discussion was already taking shape. Some four million people watched Mr. Obama's speech live, and it is now the top YouTube video.

The speech has stimulated passionate discussion on scores of blogs of varying ideological tendencies, and an article about the speech in The New York Times has provoked more than 2,250 comments.

... St. Edward's University in Austin, Tex., is in session this week, and at Zak Fisher's speech class Wednesday, Mr. Obama's speech was discussed and analyzed, both for its content and as an example of persuasive and eloquent public discourse.

"We thought it was unprecedented," said Mr. Fisher, a philosophy major. "We had never heard a politician be so open to the issue of race.

::
::

From USA Today:

A new genus of flower has been introduced into the 2008 presidential race. It's a cross-pollination of disenchanted, moderate-to-liberal Republicans and the movement that is Barack Obama's campaign.

Obamacans is what some people call them.

The list of prominent Republicans crossing party lines to endorse Obama is, so far, short but interesting. Susan Eisenhower, granddaughter of the late president Dwight Eisenhower, tops it. Former U.S. senator Lincoln Chaffee of Rhode Island is on it, too.

... CNN.com reported that 70% of Republicans they surveyed who voted in Virginia's primary cast their ballots for Obama.

... "The best of candidates are not always in one party," says Clarence E. Hodges [deputy assistant secretary of State under the elder Bush's administration]. "The most moral candidates are not always in one party."

... More than two years ago, as the buzz on an Obama candidacy was growing, I interviewed former senator Edward Brooke, the first black person to be elected by popular vote to the Senate in the nation's history. Brooke, also a Republican, gave Obama his blessing and unintentionally foretold the Obamacan trend.

"I think he's a very formidable candidate," Brooke said. "He's a Democrat and I'm a Republican, but that doesn't matter to me."

::
::

From Bloomberg:

Barack Obama is picking the University of North Carolina to win the national college basketball championship, John McCain was working on his tournament bracket last night in London and Hillary Clinton told reporters she needs to check with her sage, Bill Clinton.

..."Even with the rigors of a presidential campaign, there is time for March Madness," said Jen Psaki, an Obama spokeswoman.

... Obama, 46, made his picks on a flight yesterday from Fayetteville, North Carolina, to Charlotte after Reggie Love, a campaign staffer who played on Duke University's 2001 national championship team, passed out brackets on the plane.

A proficient basketball player himself, Obama has made a campaign habit of pre-election games after playing with friends on the day of the Iowa caucuses, which he won, and passing up a game on the day of the New Hampshire primary, which he lost.

"It really relaxes him," said Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, a regular participant and Obama backer. "We don't talk politics. We just play ball and get a good sweat in."

::
::

From the Erie Times-News:

Barack Obama has an edge in Erie when it comes to another measure of the Democratic nomination campaign.

Obama's campaign headquarters in downtown Erie is up and running, signing up volunteers, selling campaign buttons and registering voters.

At Obama's headquarters, which opened Sunday, five staff members are working out of the former Two Friends Italian Market, 25 E. 10th St., which is part of a parking garage complex. Two Friends consolidated its two downtown businesses and is operating out of 827 State St.

Signs on the windows announce Obama's headquarters and, inside, a large American flag is draped in a space where cooks once took orders.

Andre Horton, chairman of the local Obama grass-roots movement, said the headquarters is a central place where people can get information, register to vote and volunteer. "And it's visible. It gives our campaign a more visible presence," he said.

It's also a central dispatching station, from where staff members go to visit the region's universities and other locations.

::
::

From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

Ashley Baia is officially a footnote in political history.

No matter what else she goes on to achieve, she'll be remembered, in part, as the 9-year-old girl Sen. Barack Obama spoke of Tuesday near the end of his landmark speech on race in America.

The little girl who ate mustard and relish sandwiches for a year.

"I'm a field organizer and I get to be a part of this," said Ms. Baia, 23, of Venice, Fla., yesterday at Obama headquarters in East Liberty. "So, every day is pretty great in general."

Being mentioned in what some predict will be one of the most remembered speeches in American political history, is just icing on the cake, she said.

"It's a cool thing," said Ms. Baia, quite unassuming and Bohemian prep in her khaki pants, green-and-white striped Oxford shirt, tan pullover V-necked sweater and flip flops. "I just think of my story as just my story. ... I don't feel my story is any more important than anyone else's."

... Ms. Baia, in Pittsburgh since March 12, will be here through the April 22 Pennsylvania primary, registering voters wherever she can find them -- universities, high-traffic areas, bus stops, cafes, even a St. Patrick's Day parade featuring Mr. Obama's opponent -- and training volunteers to run phone banks, build precinct teams, and simply spread the word.

... After graduating from the University of South Florida, she joined the Obama campaign in June 2007 and since then has racked up more than 30,000 miles on her black Dodge Stratus, which she calls "Bessy," organizing for the campaign in South Carolina, Alabama, Texas and Mississippi before arriving in the Keystone state the day after the Mississippi primary.

... "I'm happy to be here and take part in this," she said. "To be in this moment in history."

"Is anyone else here sick and tired of aliased hecklers and trolls destroying conversation, debate and bonhomie at Intentblog?"

I..I..I!

Several times in the past I offered an olive branch to ruths, bonnies, kates, diablos and olivas of the intentblog, but alas, they chose not to take my offer.

"If you are -- and you care enough to take action..."

Yeah...go on a "strike" at intentBlog (or rather boycott it,) just like some Clinton supporters did at DailyKos -- the largest and highly reputed progressive liberal blog -- the other day.

Daily Kos:

Al Giordano, on the laughable Clinton-supporters "strike" of this blog:

"There was always something incongruous about the self-proclaimed “Hillary Bloggers” trying to use Daily Kos for their purposes. DKos has been defined as a meeting ground not for every Democrat, but for the kind that wants to change the party to be more grassroots oriented, adhere to a 50-state strategy, stop the war in Iraq, and blunt the influence of lobbyists, PACs and the neoliberal Democratic Leadership Council (DLC). That’s the glue that has always held the DKos community together and made it so large and strong.

Given that candidate Clinton is a member of the DLC, voted to authorize the war, accepts federal lobbyist and PAC money, clearly thinks that a lot (if not most) states “don’t matter,” and epitomizes a 1990s style top-down form of doing politics, it’s no surprise that for all of 2007 Clinton never exceeded 11 percent support in the monthly Daily Kos users straw poll."

I would add one more item to the list above -- this site has also been hostile to the corrosive consultant class that gave us our timid and weak party until Howard Dean shook it up in 2004.

Now I'm willing to stipulate that on the consultant front, there's likely not much difference between the Obama and Clinton campaigns (I don't know if it's true, but I assume it is). But on everything else, Clinton fails the test of the guiding principles of this site, and of my first book, Crashing the Gate.

Clinton isn't just a member of the DLC, she's in their leadership. Obama, by the way, repudiated the organization three times (it's a great story, which I tell in my forthcoming book).

Clinton hasn't just rejected a 50-state strategy, she has openly attacked it. CTG has a great quote from former Virginia Governor and future senator Mark Warner on this very topic:

"The Democratic Party is in the upswing in the Mountain West and the South, in places like Montana and Virginia, because Democrats there have made a serious effort to compete for votes everywhere, rather than make a nominal effort to be an "also-ran" outside the Democratic-density areas. As [former Virginia Gov. Mark] Warner asks, how many more times will the Democrats run presidential campaigns where they abandon thirty-three southern and western states and "launch a national campaign that goes after sixteen states and then hope that we can hit a triple bank shot to get to that seventeenth state?"

Well, given Obama's map-changing 50-state mindset, it's clear that the answer to Warner's question is "one more time" if Clinton is the nominee, and "never again" if Obama is the nominee.

Clinton didn't just vote for the Iraq war and refuse to apologize for it, she voted to give Bush the same authority on Iran.

And if we want to talk about which party is the most grassroots-oriented, it's no contest. We've seen it in the caucuses, we've seen it in the netroots, and we saw it in the Iowa county convention this Saturday. The party's activists are busting their butts for Obama, while Clinton's campaign is counting on low-information Democratic voters selecting Clinton based on little more than name ID.

But I could deal with all of that, really, if Clinton was headed toward victory. I see this as a long-term movement, and I've always expected setbacks along the way. Clinton isn't the most horrible person in the world. She's actually quite nice, despite all her flaws, and would make a fine enough president.

If she was winning.

But she's not, and that's the rub.

First of all, the only path to victory for Clinton is via coup by super delegate.

She knows this. That's why there's all the talk about poaching pledged delegates and spinning uncertainty around Michigan and Florida, and laying the case for super delegates to discard the popular will and stage a coup.

Yet a coup by super delegate would sunder the party in civil war.

Clinton knows this, it's her only path to victory, and she doesn't care. She is willing -- nay, eager to split the party apart in her mad pursuit of power.

If the situations were reversed, and Obama was lagging in the delegates, popular vote, states won, money raised, and every other reasonable measure, then I'd feel the same way about Obama. (I pulled the plug early on Dean in 2004.) But that's not the case.

It is Clinton, with no reasonable chance of victory, who is fomenting civil war in order to overturn the will of the Democratic electorate. As such, as far as I'm concerned, she doesn't deserve "fairness" on this site. All sexist attacks will be dealt with -- those will never be acceptable. But otherwise, Clinton has set an inevitably divisive course and must be dealt with appropriately.

To reiterate, she cannot win without overturning the will of the national Democratic electorate and fomenting civil war, and she doesn't care.

That's why she has earned my enmity and that of so many others. That's why she is bleeding super delegates. That's why she's even bleeding her own caucus delegates (remember, she lost a delegate in Iowa on Saturday). That's why Keith Olbermann finally broke his neutrality. That's why Nancy Pelosi essentially cast her lot with Obama. That's why Democrats outside of the Beltway are hoping for the unifying Obama at the top of the ticket, and not a Clinton so divisive, she is actually working to split her own party.

Meanwhile, Clinton and her shrinking band of paranoid holdouts wail and scream about all those evil people who have "turned" on Clinton and are no longer "honest power brokers" or "respectable voices" or whatnot, wearing blinders to reality, talking about silly little "strikes" when in reality, Clinton is planning a far more drastic, destructive and dehabilitating civil war.

People like me have two choices -- look the other way while Clinton attempts to ignite her civil war, or fight back now, before we cross that dangerous line. Honestly, it wasn't a difficult choice. And it's clear, looking at where the super delegates, most bloggers, and people like Olbermann are lining up, that the mainstream of the progressive movement is making the same choice.

And the more super delegates see what is happening, and what Clinton has in store, the more imperative it is that they line up behind Obama and put an end to it before it's too late.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/3/17/12417/1285/527/478498

#35-Mieke.. expressed so very delicately as per your usual soul's dance from the heartphone!! I am in awe of your keen awareness of the connectiveness we all are embraced with.

My poetic contributions, coming to my mind at this moment:

--

Sometimes the yearning,
surpass's my desire
to reach, and touch
the peaceful fire.

Sometimes, the passion
for the art-scape
takes over my fashion,
and the cost is the surrender!

Sometimes, the greatest satisfaction,
is not just soothing our personal passion,
but sharing the creative wholeness of this,
is the successful key,
for sharing the bliss!

Love,
North

Lol, North :), rhyming further:

And so it is!

Love, Mieke

IW, you wrote:

"Several times in the past I offered an olive branch to ruths, bonnies, kates, diablos and olivas of the intentblog, but alas, they chose not to take my offer."

And what would be the need of an olive branch, if you hadn't made war?

You indict yourself. I agree with you.

"the peace reflecting
in the abundance
nature shows
standing in the power of awareness
one certainly knows
how to appreciate and accept
its beautiful gown
of colors ranging
from green to orange
to dark red and brown"
~ MVP

Thank you Mieke, and North for sharing the gift of words and pictures! It is a treasure.

with love,
~ Kate

Hi Heather,
I had to leave so quickly from NYC in January. I thought of you while I was there. The sites and sounds of the city are part of the Big Apple 'allure' :)

love,
~ Kate

Blessings to you Kate! I am so glad you enjoy the visual and written treasure of DDS and MvdP!

May the Weekend of Easter, be a Holy Unity of Oneness for you and all, in the Faith.

Through Him,(God)
With Him,(Jesus)
In Him..(You)

Love,
North

Thank you dear Kate,

Am very happy you consider it a treasure and found something in it that we both share :)

The way you describe nature is worth a poetry book in itself.

Spiritual visual poetry will become trendy.

Wish you a very good festive weekend in beautiful nature.

With much love to you,

Mieke

Is it dumb to offer an olive branch, Irvine?

I want the whole tree. I see our similarities.

Please consider the word 'whole' carefully.

Thank you.
Ed.

Dead limbs are not much of a sacrifice.

.

If you clip and trim my living stem,

I'll suffer the fruitless offering.

.

I'm with you, Heath. UT misses the style and flair of yesterday.

Then again, I've hogged this joint enough over the last 2 years now.

Good to see you, Sis! And a Good Friday to you, too!

.

I've yet to receive my copy, but hopefully it'll be here when I return Sunday.

Postponing the inevitable keeps me from having a premature response,

if nothing else. Excitement is a building block of pleasure, Mieke and North!

.

My Lord has arisen, if ever

there was the light of day.

Take your rightful place

beside royalty's finest.

Crown the day, Love.

Thank you, Easter.

Sincerity is a

sure thing.

.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

I'm off to K.C. for some family fun.

Luvz and hugz, Keith

Have a pussy willow, Keith, :-)...all the way from England and a shared Easter greeting to you and family.

ps. spoof addy?

One more thing before I go, Ed.

I have an authentic willow branch

that was made into a dream-catcher

for me by a Native American.

It hangs over my headboard,

and last night it caught...

(speaking of gaps and willow de wisps)

Hi Keith,

If there is no postal delivery to-day because of the festive holidays, the book will arrive at your place next week I suppose.

You wouldn't have had time to read it now anyway :)

Wish you a delightful long weekend with your family.

Love, Mieke

Whether it was the full moon or something I ate, I don't know.

It is seldom, if not rare, for me to have a so-called vivid dream.

The 'risen one' who came to me early this morning was an old friend.

Now, even 'old' must be seen in context. For LIVE and IN COLOR

is what Ray appeared to be, and I knew I was awake and dreaming at once!

(For Ray had 'passed over' this last Valentine's Day.)

It was a short, badly re-membered moment or two...

and in what seemed to be a short amount of space, I was awake for real,

wondering how two places could appear in one mind at one time.

Which part of me projected this one, and which part of me witnessed the action,

I cannot be for certain...left or right...this or that.

Ray didn't speak, but he did look in my eyes.

With a smallish grin of recognition, he then watched me 'pass away'.

So...I'm back/coming/going/gone all the time. Aren't you?

#46 Spiritual visual poetry will become trendy...

Mieke this is exactly what my son Harpreet said on seeing your book today. He liked it very much and said it will be the trend now...

Harb

Nothing emmulates love more, than the action of united love. The more I wander through our book Mieke.. the more I feel I see me. I see you. I see all of us as "one motion" of devotion to Self's empowerment over ego-self.

Harb, we must not let the new trend down, right Mieke? We must continue our journey; as a path is beneath our feet; which destiny put the three of us upon almost 3 years now, this spring... the cover digital art design I created for our book... is aptly entitled: The Beginning

And another door of doubt(for me) closes. : )

Easter Blessings to those Celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus this Holy weekend; which houses itself in our heart and is emmulated through our action of selflessness.

Love,
North

just dropped in to thank Mieke and North for their wonderful gift.

I received the book today and it is superb!

North, your talent cannot be denied, the pictures are so interesting and unique...great work!

Mieke, "To move in stillness
Is a wonderful basis
For peace inside

And stillnss in movement
Puts all you thoughts aside"

great poems..form ONE who KNOWS thy SELF!

the stillness within...like swimming in an ocean of peace...even in the most hectic of times...

Thank you, again, North and Mieke for you very generous gift. A donation to the Make a Wish Foundation is in the mail in honor of two very creative artists!

have a great Easter weekend, everyone...ruth

Good Friday to All

Mieke and North,
The book came yesterday, but my husband collected the mail and gave it to me this morning. A perfect gift for Good Friday. Thank you both for sharing the gifts of your amazing talents.

In celebration of the Resurrection

And then...it starts anew again
When you start walking back from the middle
Wondering how it all could ever have been
Such a riddle
And with that wisdom gained
All that is, still remained

Gifts are flying round the world today and that's an amazing jive. :)

Love
bonnie

I am going to take a 48 to 72 hrs break, and urge other inteBlog particpants to control their urge to post political stuff, especially that pertaining to charecter assaination, judgements of a chracter or subjective bias related to transference and inherent dislike of a person.

You may not like someone or something, be opne to tolerate, respect and accept differning perspectives. Others have different life's experince than you, tehrefore there is no way any politican can satify similarily every individual.

You might like a movie, or an actor and rate his/her acting highly while others may differ in their tastes, the critics may differ as well, but we should not be so narrow minded as to not understand this.

It in hearing to others perspectives and expanding our awraness without judgement that we can have a better grasp of the unfolding drama and appreciate things for what they really are.

Well, my frineds, i am going to take a break, and please controlyour urge torant even in the wake of somebreaking news and coverage from the msm. Accept folks you are not well informed in politics, better stick to spiritual discussions.

take care...

Bonnie, can you kindly accept that you posted as TheShadow? Thanks.

Ruth, can you..oh well,

take care.

Irvine,

Don't leave us for long--life is not complete without a pebble in my shoe or the occassional thorn in my side.
Have a good day, Olivia

Easter is early this year.
Easter is always the 1st Sunday after the 1st full moon after the Spring Equinox (which is March 20).

This dating of Easter is based on the lunar calendar that Hebrew people used to identify passover, which is why it moves around on our Roman calendar.

Based on the above information, Easter can actually be one day earlier (March 22) that is rare.

This year is the earliest Easter any of us will ever see the rest of our lives!

And only the most elderly of our population have ever seen it this early (95 years old or above). And none of us have ever, or will ever, see it a day earlier! Here's the facts:

1. The next time Easter will be this early (March 23) will be the year 2228 (220 years from now). The last time it was this early was 1913 (so if you're 95 or older, you are the only ones that were around for that).

2. The next time it will be a day earlier, March 22, will be in the year 2285 (277 years from now). The last time it was on March 22 was 1818 So, no one alive today has or will ever see it any earlier than this year.

Interesting!

Ruth..Bonnie!! It is with deep gratitude, Mieke and I share our gifts of creativeness as gifts with those, we have come to know personally here at IB. This is the natural way of nature; and being we are nature's creatures.. to give, is a human inheritance to each other..and the passing; is in your giving to your favorite charity.

Some pics must be seen bigger, so I will post them now and again for your viewing pleasure.

The way to which our book has inspired others; so too, has it again inspired us... ((wink))

Kate..that is so profound.. like a suspended animation of time evolving; I wonder what universal motion would cause such a long pause between early Easter?

We know so little of the unknown; and it is exciting being a part of such ancientness as time..

Love,
North

Irvine,

Kindly accept that I(being 'uninformed or more accurately in this case, uninterested) did not even know what a sock-puppet was until being accused of being one by you.

Kindly accept my thanks though for a better understanding of others' frames of reference that I too not engage in false presumptions or accusations without attention to circumstances.

Kindly accept my well wishes and that we all kindly accept peace and love over all other options.

With kindest regards,
bonnie

well, I tried to upload the waterfalls in a seashell one.. to no avail.. pc-system-slow

You'll see in the close-up how well matched it is with Miekes poem for it..whenever I"m able to upload it.

amazing eye, Mieke! : )

Love,
North

Hi Harb, hi North,

That is a great compliment of Harpreet, Harb :)
Thanks a lot!

There are of course trendsetters.

For instance Dan Brown with his illustrated version of the “Da Vinci Code”, which takes you in word and pictures on a journey of a spiritual nature, leading you into the Louvre museum in Paris and to several churches and environments in France and England/Scotland.

And his other very famous spiritual illustrated book: “Angels and Demons“, with pictures of Rome,Vatican City, Sistine Chapel, etc. etc.

This is also a sort of virtual travel. Next version of it might be the 3D virtual museum worlds, that I already made a few of.

So Harb, if you intend to write another book, you know what has to go in it :)

Hi North,

Well, if we really are going to discuss Harb’s theory in a “reasonable” attempt to unite Eastern and Western vision in a philosophical and spiritual way, lots of inspired designs and poems may enlighten the new book. So this could become a whole adventure in itself :)

If Harb agrees? :)

And if a group of people from the East and the West seriously would try to achieve this intention, imagine what a wonderful inspirational and spiritual wisdom could be written together.

Well, dreaming on lol

Love, Mieke

Dear Ruth, dear Bonnie,

Thank you so very much for your appreciation :)

So happy you both have found something in the poetry book that resonates with you specifically :)

Have a wonderful Easter/Spring weekend!

Love, Mieke

Hi dear Kate,

This Spring coincides with major festivities All
Over the World. Just heard from Harb they are celebrating the Festivity of colours or Holi in their country India at the moment.

Synchronistically our colourful book arrives at his place :)

Therefore one might carefully talk about perhaps a New Beginning all over the world?

After all, people all over the world cherish the same dreams and desires, no matter how narrow or broad the boundaries.

Well it would be great to think something really really New could be happening and be created by ALL of US.

Love, Mieke

Here is the link to the pic-hosting site image of one of the designs accomanying Mieke's poem entitled "Reflection"

I had made an error; it is not shell-scape; it is a leaf-scape.. lol See? Has to be seen in the larger view! lol

http://xs125.xs.to/xs125/08125/theleaf2.2675.jpg

I am always open to possibilities of the creative kind, Mieke!

I'd been trying to figure out what texture the book feels in my hands, because I love the feel; and it came to me that it is the feel of polished stone.. smooth..cooling : )

Mieke, are you going to do a copy of our book in the Dutch language? That too, is a possibility for you..

love from the heartphone,
North

Wow North, beautifully expressive picture, especially enlarged!

I could do another book with all the pictures enlarged, so they could fit on the left side of the page and the poems on the right side, in the Dutch language :)

Yes is a very good challenge too. For both of us!

I discovered a few days ago from whom I have received this gift of rhyming lol: from my grandfather who wrote his whole lifestory in rhyme.

In Dutch they have a nice saying for this:

"Rijmen en dichten zonder je hemd op te lichten"

Now go and try that sentence in a translation machine.
Am very curious what you get for instance in English :)

Love, Mieke

Billary...for once...can show some class by stepping aside and put an end to this long, bitter campaigne...

but that would happen when hell freezes over!

bill richardson endorsing the right man and the next prez of the united states today is huge...billary's campaigne is now on life support...it's time to pull the plug...damn...

Mieke, there is such depth in the picture, I just had to enlarge it for all to see how it so very much fits with the poem...

That is so amazing your Grandfather wrote his life's journal in rhyme. Rhyming is a very big part of my poetic preference as well, as it is almost like a matching song...

I visualized what you mean to print the art on one side of the page and the poem on the other; I believe this is what you expected with this one too? but, looking at the book, it may be difficulty for the printer, as the designs would interfere with the other side of the page.. could be tricky to do? But I"m sure the publisher/printer might have a solution?

well..I am happy with our book, your layout and choice of text colours, and the keen eye for choosing matching designs to your poems. You probably have more of my older designs than I do, as over time, I get so many play art nobody ever sees, that I must delete, delete, delete! lol

Also, I must mention there are two art pictures in the book, which are not mine!!

Picture with Poem: Life

A picture I used with designs never used; but Mieke chose it as it was appropriate to the poem. : )

Picture with Poem: Reflection

The top picture, with the bird is not mine. Again, a picture shared between me and Mieke, which she saved, and chose as appropriate to the poem..

All other designs are mine, excluding only Mieke's heartphone logo, all the poems are Mieke's writings. : )

I do not want confusion on anyone thinking those 2 designs were mine.. Perhaps MIeke, we can mention this in the inside back of the book, if reprinted, as I don't want to appear to be committing a wrong ownership to them, which could make me/us liable...

It is early evening; and I had the nicest walk and visit with an old friend, sharing coffee and childhood stories, now 40 years past..

The whole town was shut down in honour of Good Friday, only 2-3 stores in town open!!

Much to do tomorrow.. more walking in the sunshine..in minus zero temperatures... winter goes out like a lion! : )

knowing that any day, spring will hit; and suddenly temperatures rise so quickly, one is never really prepared for it physically!! : ) Though anticipated, spring is a renewal..thing.

It is real nice, that daylight savings passed, as now it is lighter out until going on 8 at night!! Hurray... safe walks after dinner, dishes, sweeping again.. lol hurray!!

My windowed houseplant which hangs; is filled with buds opening at different stages. They are called either: Jerusalem star, or Star of David... the lady whom gave me the slip to start my plant, wasn't sure.

The hanging plant has short, thick leaves, a bud looks 7-segments. when opening, each segment comes down hanging on its own string..at the end of each string, is a star-shaped flower with a crown of pinkish in the center!

It's the most beautiful flower I've ever seen.. so delicate... a cluster of 7 stars..on it's own stringlike dangler. I often find myself standing bent, neck crooked up looking at them.. never seen anything like it.

Profoundly, the buds look like they will be fully opened, by Easter Monday... or Sunday(wink!)

Love,
North

Gooooooooood evening all you IB-ers!
It's Happy Friday and this is WWUR-Here broadcasting once again from the high peaks of the Adirondacks, the land of Hiawatha's Wooing - well, was he Iroquois?
At any rate, that was "This is it, Make no mistake where you are, this is it" by who knows, who cares.
Spring is once again here according to those infallible astrophysicists, it's so cold maybe they've got clouds in their eyes, glaucoma, nearsightedness; well darn, just too many variables for me to count, but hey! let's go with it and say Love, too, is in the air.
Oh, a request from Sherry.
She said privately that she wants to apologize to that special someone for acting like a 4th grader in her not-knowing stage of development - her words, not mine.
Her request: Gregory Abbot singing "Girl, I've been watching you, from so far across the room now baby. I'm glad you picked up on my telepathy, oh baby" - it's titled Nobody's Gonna Shake You Down.
Let it rip, folks!
And Have a Great Weekend!
Remember, just as conspiracy paranoia is the inverse of Omnipresence, delusions of grandeur the inverse of Omnipotence, so too is Bliss the inverse of "What kind of crap is this?".
Hope the psychologists are listening.
Sing it Greg!

Mieke.. all Calbona need do is add this additional text:

Picture in Poem "Life"
Image: pixelpoke.com

Picture in "Reflection"
iImage: unknown artist

These additions to those two pages are necessary directly under each image so as to not be liable of unintentional infringement. : )

I hope you don't mind the post-editing.. : ) and I mention it here, as I could not possibly post the 2 image credits to all whom received the book.

And, it is a good publishing lesson for us both, and others out there, with interests to publish their collective inspired..creativiteness.

much love to all... even those whom dispute the action of love, unconditional...like psychologists.

brain doctors, live in boxes of ancient-schooled theory. Outside their appropriately labeled "boxes" they cannot accept the possibility of mutant, or rare neurosis, such is what is found, in the conditioning of the psychologist's own egoic neurosis stimuli...(wink)which is not studied enough in my humble opinion.

(blink!)

Love,
North

OH dear..

"did I say that out loud"? (about brain-doctors)

))blush((

Mieke, think our new book to have begun. I will send you my theory in simple in poems and you will ask questions on it if any, again in poems and keep the whole colletion in a suitable way. Alongside you may send the collection in parts to North to prepare designs whenver she feels like it. Our book will be ready within a year. let us begin this experiment. My first couple of poems will reach you today.

Harb

where are u?

hi there Diablo!

Dear Harb,
will you share some of your poems, a ... sneak preview,
here at IB?

love,
~ Kate

hi katie,

Happy Easter!

did u go for a walk tonight... girl? damn!

hey D,
how did you know ;)
(the moon is so bright, it's fantastic, and the air is just right - the coolness refreshing against my skin and gentle breeze on my hair)

I did some Easter shopping and found my favorite chocolates (which I am going to share!)

Happy Easter, dear Diablo

~Kate
(ie)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxVsdS887HA

If you're Hillary Clinton and you've just been caught in a "whopper," the only thing to be grateful for is that it's Good Friday and people are distracted. How bad could this story be for her? When you tell the American public you faced gunfire, and it turns out all you really faced was a little girl with flowers - well, that's as bad as it gets. When you dramatically say you made a journey that was too dangerous for the President, only to have it revealed that he made the same trip two months earlier - and that your teenaged daughter was by your side - that only makes it worse.

And there's video.

If they wanted to, the networks could juxtapose video of Sen. Clinton's dramatic recitation of the battle with this clip of that sweet eight-year-old on the tarmac with a bouquet. The question is: Will they want to?

Just this week Sen. Clinton said that she landed in Bosnia under "sniper fire," adding: "There was supposed to be some kind of a greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base." Clinton used to tell Iowa audiences: ""We used to say in the White House that if a place is too dangerous, too small or too poor, send the First Lady."

And her 16-year-old kid?

This latest deception is documented in detail in the Washington Post by a reporter who was there. The paper awards her statements "four Pinocchios," a rating they reserve for political misstatements they describe as "whoppers."

"Whopper" (Merriam-Webster): "An extravagant or monstrous lie."

Comedian Sinbad's now-famous response to Sen. Clinton's claims was to say, "What kind of president would say, 'Hey, man, I can't go 'cause I might get shot so I'm going to send my wife...oh, and take a guitar player and a comedian with you.'" He added, "I think the only 'red-phone' moment was: 'Do we eat here or at the next place.'"

As is often the case these days, the Clinton campaign responded to this observation by sticking to their story, and even embellishing it (in this case, with colorful details about running for cover under fire). That could turn out to have been a catastrophic mistake -- but that, as with so much in American politics, depends on the media and how they choose to handle it. They've saturated us for nearly two weeks with video of Rev. Wright, who as it turns out didn't say anything more extreme than what other candidates' spiritual advisors have said. Will this flap get the same attention? It remains to be seen.

Sen. Clinton's other honesty problem this week came with revelations that, while she claims to have been an internal NAFTA critic in the administration, she actually gave several presentations in favor of NAFTA at the time it was passed. But, to be fair, this may not be a deception. People are often called upon to advocate for decisions in public that they opposed in private. The NAFTA controversy suggests other concerns, such as: If she were such a vehement critic, and the administration backed it anyway, how important was she? And, how can she claim credit for the good deeds of her husband's administration and yet take no responsibility for its problems?

Still, Clinton's handling of the NAFTA question certainly raises concerns. Especially troubling is her campaign's work to spread rumors of Obama sending back-channel messages to the Canadians suggesting their anti-NAFTA rhetoric was all talk - when, according to a high-level Canadian source, her campaign had done that.

But it is the Bosnia whopper that remains the high-profile, easily documented embarrassment. Will the media run with it? It's hard to tell. Despite the Clinton campaign's PR-driven argument to the contrary, press coverage has tended to favor both candidates at different times. Right now Jim Vandenhei and Mike Allen at Politico are saying that the media's pushing a false narrative in favor of Clinton in order to promote the sense of an ongoing "horse race," arguing that her chances of taking the nomination are actually far less than has been reported.

That makes sense -- not because the media's "in the tank" for Clinton or Obama, but because a protracted race serves its own interests. By that reasoning, it's very possible they'll downplay a story like this. Why? Because it could end her candidacy once and for all. That would give the media one less story to cover.

In the end, maybe one lie shouldn't matter. Perhaps this doesn't reflect on how Sen. Clinton would govern. In our political system, however, it does matter ... but only if the media choose to make it matter. Had Obama been caught in a lie of this magnitude, his campaign might well be over. Had McCain been caught in a similar lie, however, the press would probably have hidden it (the same way they edited video of his recent Al Qaeda/Iran gaffe).

For me, the real subject of this story isn't the candidate who told an outrageous lie. It's the fact that our media holds unprecedented power. They, and the decisions they make about this story, may well decide whether Sen. Clinton's candidacy will survive.

UPDATE:

Several Hillary Clinton supporters have noted an update to the WaPo piece that includes this statement from Lissa Muscatine: "I was on the plane with then First Lady Hillary Clinton for the trip from Germany into Bosnia in 1996. We were put on a C17-- a plane capable of steep ascents and descents -- precisely because we were flying into what was considered a combat zone. We were issued flak jackets for the final leg because of possible sniper fire near Tuzla. As an additional precaution, the First Lady and Chelsea were moved to the armored cockpit for the descent into Tuzla. We were told that a welcoming ceremony on the tarmac might be canceled because of sniper fire in the hills surrounding the air strip. From Tuzla, Hillary flew to two outposts in Bosnia with gunships escorting her helicopter."

The last time I took a flight I was told what to do in "in the event of a water landing." But if I said I had survived a crash landing on water, would I be telling the truth? Hillary provided a vivid description of having to run from sniper fire. It was a complete falsehood.

From Wikipedia: "Lissa Muscatine was a speechwriter and the communications director of former First Lady Hillary Clinton. Currently, she is a speechwriter for Senator Clinton's campaign for the presidential nomination, and is one of her closest advisors ..."

It requires enormous suspension of disbelief to accept the idea that Hillary brought her 16-year-old daughter too a place that was considered "too dangerous for the President" and exposed her to live sniper fire. Do those pro-Hillary commenters really believe she did that? If so, they should be concerned about her judgment.

I continue to be astonished at the willingness of Clinton supporters to elide, obfuscate, tolerate, condone, and defend behavior from their candidate that would provoke their outrage if it came from anyone else.

RJ Eskow at HuffPo

Remember the "3 A.M. ad"? Casey Knowles, the little girl featured in the ad, does...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXmYVRIpu2w

Senator Obama's passport breached... Three times!.....State Department acting sketchy?

Hmm.

Here's a poem for Passportgate by Musician/Actor/Filmmaker Paul Hipp
at paulhipp.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2wwSob1G_c

"Today, Barack Obama criticized John McCain for mistakenly saying that Iran was sending aid to al Qaeda in Iraq, which is not true. And afterwards, President Bush told McCain, 'Don't worry about it. I didn't know that either.'"

---Jay Leno

>>

"Vice President Dick Cheney also paid a surprise visit to Iraq. And Cheney is very popular in the Middle East. I mean, he flashes them that nice, warm sneer and they just go crazy. In that part of the world he is known as Lawrence of Arrhythmia."

---David Letterman

>>

"Are you getting a little more excited about the presidential race now? ... Remember when it was 140 people running for president and you didn't know who they were? Now we're down to three. And the latest is Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain. They've all been arguing, claiming that they're the most qualified person to answer the White House phone at 3am. McCain said, 'I'm the most qualified, because I'm usually up at that hour peeing anyway.'"

---Conan O'Brien

>>

"This week, on the liberal website Daily Kos, a civil war has broken out. Clinton bloggers are...protesting what they feel is an abusively pro-Obama environment. Apparently, they were getting the crap hoped out of them. I read all 1,258 angry comments. Folks, I love when Democrats spend all their time in anonymous Internet feuds. Anything to keep them off the 'Casual Encounters' section on Craigslist."

---Stephen Colbert

Will Rush Limbaugh Be Indicted for Voter Fraud?

http://www.alternet.org/democracy/80392/

Apparently he (fraudulently)helped Hillary win in Ohio and Texas, and Mississippi 99% of the White republicans who made (85% of)12% of the total Democratic primary voters, voted for Hillary.

*Richardson Endorses Obama, Calls Him "Once-in-a-Lifetime Leader"

"Richardson's endorsement may be the beginning of a concerted push to pressure Clinton to acknowledge that she has fought a tough campaign but has come up short, that the race is over, and that it's time for her to recognize that our nominee for President will be Barack Obama."dkos

>>

*Bill Clinton Wants Two People Who Love Their Country...and Obama Isn't One of Them

Via atrios, Bill Clinton, after waxing poetic on the friendship between Hillary and John McCain despite their differences on the issues:

"It'd be a great thing if we had an election where you had two people who love this country, who were devoted to the interest of the country and people could actually ask themselves who is right on these issues instead of all this other stuff which always seems to intrude on our politics."

Leaving aside the irony of Bill Clinton talking about "stuff" intruding on our politics, what in the hell was he thinking? Tearing down Barack Obama with rightwing talking points while praising John W. McCain is showing devotion to the interest of one thing and one thing only...and it's not our country.

>>

*The Politico is ahead of the curve with the traditional national press on the state of the contest for the Democratic Presidential nomination:

"One big fact has largely been lost in the recent coverage of the Democratic presidential race: Hillary Rodham Clinton has virtually no chance of winning."

...The real question is why so many people are playing. The answer has more to do with media psychology than with practical politics.

...That's right, reporters and editors are unable--or unwilling--to report the race accurately because they're having too much fun, and maybe even making too much money.

Now, people like ruth would pounce on Obama's words; "she is a typical white woman." as being immature or irresponsible if not racist. I don't know if its their low intellect or their inherent bias. Read on...

A Round of Applause for Chris Wallace

No, that is not a typo. It isn't often that I praise Fox News anchors, but this is noteworthy. Earlier this week, Barack Obama gave the most important speech on race in America in more than 40 years. The surprisingly frank speech was meant to open the door on race relations and peel back some of the deeply embedded layers that continue to divide us. After all, if we can't talk about it, we can never get past it.

Unfortunately, many Republicans and conservatives saw this as an opening for a full-fledged attack. Their not-so-subtle racist comments are often prefaced with "Obama is talking about race, so why can't we?" Never mind that Barack Obama's speech and subsequent comments are aimed at healing a divide, not widening it. So, when Obama was asked about his grandmother, he replied that she was a "typical white person" and then went on to explain in thoughtful detail what he meant by the remark. But, of course, Fox News played the clip --- over and over again-- cutting it off after he says "typical white person" and railing against him, accusing him of making a racist statement. This went on for 2 solid hours on their morning show before they turned to Chris Wallace for a promo of his Sunday show. Chris surprised everyone on the set, and I imagine a good deal of their audience, by tearing into the anchors for their biased coverage of Obama's comment. See the clip here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiIK8jh3ZCE

Well done Chris Wallace. We are capable of having a mature discussion on race relations and I applaud you for going against the grain on your network and rejecting the obviously biased coverage. Maybe there is a little of your old man in there after all.

And the reaction from the Obama campaign? Fair and balanced. They manage to praise Chris Wallace and scold Fox News all in the same breath.

"We appreciate Chris Wallace for doing his job as a tough but fair journalist on a network that has been deeply irresponsible over the last week in its unrelenting and sensationalistic coverage of Senator Obama.

Senator Obama gave the speech he did on Tuesday because he believes that Americans are ready for a thoughtful, mature discussion about race, and are hungry to move past media-generated controversies that distract from the struggles they face in their everyday lives.

If Fox News wants to play clips of the same offensive sound bites every day from now until November, that's their right, but that type of coverage does a disservice to their viewers and to a nation that is facing serious challenges that merit thoughtful and honest reporting."

I can understand why Fox News doesn't want to talk about the crappy economy their Republican cronies created. Or the disaster of a war they have been enthusiastically supporting, while bin Laden roams free and extremism spreads. But, let's hope they get back to the issues, rather than trying to create controversy and stoke the racial fires. I understand we are talking about Fox News here, so I'm not holding my breath. But, you never know....stranger things have happened. In the meantime, I offer a polite golf clap for Chris Wallace. Well done sir.

by Scout Finch at dKos

Mieke, Kate, North, here is a symbolic beginning. How is it lol.
*****

One Long Divine Song

****
Introduction
****

Far in India
A Man called Harb
At age 28
Asked himself
A few questions great

Who am I?
What is the universe?
How it runs?
What is in it
Man's fate?

Then he 'saw' at age 38
As the Man so his universe
As his universe so the Man
They run alike
And perfectly relate.

*****

Far in a beautiful land
Called the Holy or Holland
A woman called Mieke
Had at age 34
A vision similarly grand

She met Harb
At Deepak's Intentblog
They shared the visions
And decided to write
About them hand-in-hand

*****

Still further
In the cold Canada
There lived Donna
Master of giving spiritual visions
A digital persona.

She too agreed to go along
And produce a masterpiece
Embellished with inspired designs
Capturing the visions
In one long Divine Song

(Further I will write in emails to Meike)