Thursday, October 20, 2011

Qaddafi teaches







Farmers We
(by R.P.Edwards)

Live by the sword?
Then prepare for its thrust
"You reap what you sow"
It's a law!
It's a must!
So be careful, your words
And your actions
My friend
For the measure you mete
Will return
In the end

 

 "Make sure your words are sweet.  Because you might have to eat them."  A tickling bit of wisdom from an older acquaintance.  In a roundabout way it has to do with the oft quoted, and oft forgotten words of the wisest of all, "Treat other people the way you want to be treated."

However, the topic this morn is Muammar el-Qaddafi, former leader of Libya. Known for extravagant dress and dastardly deeds; his now spiritless corpse awaits a Muslim (I presume) burial.  And his end, dear reader, proves yet another saying by the one whose words...create worlds; "for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword."

No need to list the dead dictator's detractions (others will excel), let's just say the former tyrant received a harvest he had been cultivating for quite some time.  And, mindful of this, and on a personal note, perhaps "I" should be careful of the "swords" I loose with tongue...and touch.  Yes...speak the truth (another admonition), but its meting medium must be...love.  Yes, speak the truth...in love.  And for this last part, sadly, truthfully, I will need assistance from the love-giver.  For the "truth" must be told, but the hand that holds "this" trembling blade must be held, in turn, by the one that received the nail. The one whose love was shown...on a bloody cross.

 ****



Monday, October 10, 2011

Chris Wallace, NO!!





No, Chris, No!
(by R.P.Edwards)

No, Chris Wallace!
Not you too!
Elitist speak
Reworking “True”
PC believing
“Hope so” facts
Oh, please, Chris Wallace
Oh, please…come back!


Watched a recording of Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace interviewing presidential hopeful, Rick Santorum.  Following are some excerpts (yes, me and a pad of paper) taken from the end of the segment when the good commentator wanted more info on the former senator’s remarks concerning gays in the military.

CW… “Senator, you say sexual activity has no place in the military. Heterosexuals have been openly heterosexuals for centuries in the military without any problem…All that “Don’t ask, Don’t tell;” and the repeal of it does, is say that they are given the same rights as everybody else has had forever.

RS… “The problem is, is that sexual activity with people you are in close quarters with; who happen to be the same sex, is different than having a discussion and being open about your sexual activity where you’re not in that same situation.”

CW… “Are you saying that you think that homosexual gay soldiers are gonna sit there and go after their male counterparts?”

RS… “I didn’t suggest that…”

CW… “You said they’re in close proximity…”

RS… “They’re in close quarters. They live with people. They shower with people. All the things that are involved in living in barracks or living out in the field…unit cohesion…work together in an efficient fighting way…the effect on retention and recruitment of people to live in that environment…it could hurt our ability to put the best fighting force in place…”

CW… “You say, “Don’t inject social policy into the military”… I want to put up a quote for you.”

THE ARMY IS NOT A SOCIOLOGICAL LABORATORY…EXPERIMENTING WITH ARMY POLICY; ESPECIALLY IN A TIME OF WAR, WOULD POSE A DANGER TO EFFICIENCY, DISCIPLINE AND MORALS AND WOULD RESULT IN ULTIMATE DEFEAT.

“Does that sound about right, sir?”

RS… “Roughly, yes”

And now the “Gotcha” moment.

CW… “That’s a quote from Colonel Eugene Householder…in 1941…arguing against racial integration in the military.”

RS… “I figured. I’ve heard similar quotes…It’s very, very different.  The whole gay community is trying to make this the new civil rights act…It’s not the same.

CW… “…It is a fact of your biology…”

RS… “…It is behavioral issue as opposed to a color of the skin issue…”

CW… “We’re going to have to leave it there.”

Phew.  Wrote a lot. Skipped quite a bit.  But you get the idea.  Mr Wallace, whom I admire for his style and substance, on this issue he played the equivalency card; even speaking the “not fact” fact of Homosexuality’s biological determination.  A bit disappointed am I.  But, I believe everyone deserves a mulligan now and then.  Mr Wallace, as Mr Santorum so gently explained; and as much as you may want it to be (for whatever reason), “It’s not the same.”

****

Thursday, October 6, 2011

The Blue Screen






R.I.P.C.
(by R.P.Edwards)
 
Woe is me
My poor PC
The XP
Has
Expired
Old and used
by all
Abused
Prepare
The funeral
Pyre
Adieu
Old friend
The hours
We'd spend
Dancing in
The net
With moistened eyes
At your demise
"No backup"
my
Regret


Yes, yes, the picture of the recently deceased, Steve Jobs, and my PC references don't mix.  However, a few days before the gentleman passed on, my beloved Microsoft product (desktop XP) gave up the ghost.  Thus, I sit on the living room couch tapping away on my 17 year old son's laptop (can I borrow your computer, son?) 

Well, last night, amidst the radio relations of the Cardinal/Phillies game, the death of Mr. Jobs was briefly announced.  I knew he was ill but, obviously, those days are behind him.  Yes, his spirit has gone to a totally different reality. A reality, I hope, that he had prepared for.

You know, the gadgets that Steve, Bill, and their ilk have brought us are truly wonderful, amazing, and such a help.  But, also, they literally eat up--if we're not careful--the most precious commodity of our lives and loves...our time.  I ask you, how many of us are consumed by the keyboard?  How many hours are spent where only eyes and monitors...meet?  How many false and fake fantasies of facebook do we engage in?  And then, like Mr Jobs...we die.

Dear reader, I encourage you and I--as yet another one of us has left this most temporary realm--to step back (a little more than we have) from our electronic toys to engage in the most important interaction of all; person to person. You see, although I know virtually nothing of Steve Jobs' personal life, I dare say, when his life force unstoppably ebbed; as he looked, with faded vision, into his loved ones watering eyes; I dare say his final wish was not for one more "breakthrough" or "cutting edge contraption." No, he probably desired, above all else, a few more moments of tender human intimacy...and interface.  With that in mind, what say that you and I begin to think along those lines.  That we would make it a priority that our personal programming begins...and ends...with the love...of others.

****