Yes. Or not been born. At least California is now providing Nancy Pelosi and Kamala Harris and Adam Schiff instead of just schmucks like Nixon and Reagan and Schwarzenegger. Yech.
This week left me beyond disgust. When one barters with the devil, or his toads, McCarthy should realize one always gets burned. But his desire for what he perceives as power; what he appears to either not realize, or not care ( because in all honesty..he's as bad as the toads, so whatever actions they'd take, in the end he'd likely be in lock step) is that he GAVE any power he thought he had ..away, freely. These actions, these choices, will have for their constituents at least, unintended consequences. ( Think about Medicare, Social Security, safety net programs & so forth)
Aside from that, I've never read that poem, or portion of, before. But I have to agree...well done. And I agree, that life is freakin' hard; the moments of true joy far less than its hardships & difficulties. Yet, I am grateful for every day I have on the planet; because even though it gets harder to "effect redo's " as we age, we still have the opportunity to, each & every day. The opportunity to start over, offer love to one another, to begin the masterpiece we thought we'd have accomplished by 30, be forgiven or offer up forgiveness to someone who's in need, or to write our perfect poem or story. Every day...every day...
Be well . I wish you & your family peace over time, as you grieve the loss here of a wise & loving, good man. There appear to be so few these days. You all had a true gift, as did he in the acknowledgement by you ( and I'm certain so many others) of the treasure he was...
McCarthy ass kissing tRump on the anniversary of the January 6th insurrection was disgusting, nauseating and beyond the pale. What a weak pathetic man. Great piece as always.
When someone passes on, I prefer not to use the word “died”, they still live on in every life that they touched. Your father is still alive in the house he built, in all the hearts of his family and friends, and the way he touched countless other people’s lives. He will live on in you, Greg. And in all of us who appreciate your various ways of communicating with us. He has left his mark. Thank you for all you do for us and we stand by you through your grieving.
As for the circus and the clown, what a spectacle. They’ve been telling us for months how they were going to use their time while in power. Hopefully, enough people are sufficiently aware of their real goal. The concept of “woke” scares them so much because they would rather use words to mask what they are really doing. Fear is their greatest tool. Don't give in to it.
Greg such a beautiful essay for Sunday morning! I wish more people would read something besides social media posts! I continually ask my grandkids what they are reading and their answers is I don’t like to read 😱! I still buy them a book for Christmas and birthday! 🙄 But seriously where have the serious conservatives gone? George Will is still around. Is there a William F. Buckley around? Hope you’re on the mend and may your dad’s memory be a blessing for you and yours. 🙏
I think reading is done differently now. The beauty of poetry is that it lends itself well to the social media age. Poems are usually short enough to easily read in one sitting, sometimes more than once.
There may be serious conservatives, but there are no serious Republicans. They are extinct. GOP today are either dodo birds or just dodos.
Great piece, Greg! As Gail (Chicago) says, your father lives on in the lives of those he touched. My dad passed on in 1997 at 64, and there are few days that go by that I don't think of him. I am back living in the house he lived in, to take care of my mom, and there are STILL reminders of him 26 years later. He lives on, as will your dad.
One could actually TASTE the schadenfreude this week, as the House of Representatives turned into a very bad circus. Kevin McCarthy, who is not, as far as I can see, even qualified to be a congressman, did EXACTLY the same thing Trump did -- refused to acknowledge and respect the results of an election. Except McCarthy did it 14 times before he finally squeaked through. The self-debasement necessary to keep going back for more was embarrassing to the United States. Of course, our current gaggle of Republicans doesn't care about that, or the party, or the country. They only care about wielding power for the sake of power. Not even SIX of them could be bothered to care about the country enough to elect Hakeem to the position of Speaker, no, they see it as far better to make sure that they, and only they, have the power of the gavel. It is, of course, a hollow victory. Gaetz, Boebert, Biggs and a few other traitors will be co-speakers of the house for two years. Thankfully, there are still guardrails in place to slow them down, but if McCarthy puts one foot wrong, he's out of there. He whored away everything that gives the Speaker power and doesn't seem to care as long as he can sit in the big chair. There really is no bottom to these people.
Thanks, Steve. I appreciate that. Good on you for taking care of you mom.
I don't know what to make of these lunatics running the asylum. I really don't. I just hope the insurrectionist wing isn't a growing enterprise.
Kevin just wanted the physical office, the actual gavel, the entry on his Wiki page. There's more to the job than that, as he will, or maybe won't, figure out.
While we're at the (somewhat qixotic) mission of promoting poetry as a hedge against the kind of bomb throwing we witnessed during last week's house speaker fiasco, don't overlook the now forgotten Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Once the English-speaking World's most widely read poet, his work was roundly dismissed as too syrupy and sentimental. Glossy in its easy lyricism, for those who read carefully and thoughtfully, though, his work has a undertone that deepens their dimension. His mission was to make our at the time new, revolutionary nation one of poetry readers. Have a deeper look, Greg, and contact me is you want to explore a little.
Selecting just one specific poem is a tricky matter, Greg, but let's keep the dialogue going, maybe by email. My address is <pzolbrod@gmail.com. For now, let's see if this works. I'm going to try here pasting part of an email exchange I'm having with a friend about Longfellow. If this doesn't work, email me and see what develops that way. Here goes:
Thanks for the message, Debbie. I'm sorry you had trouble locatihg the exact edition of Longfellow's poems. but that isn't necessarily essential. Best is any edition where the poems appear sequentially. Once your copy arrives, I recommend starting out page by page with just a handful, perhaps as bedtime reading. You'll find them easily accessible, pleasant to read because on the surface they are just that, and often apparently syrupy on the surface. That's why he was so roundly dismissed by modernist critics and fellow poets, especially post-war WWII, when global outlook darkened, especially with the advent of the so-called atomic age. Nor did the nostalgia in his poetry endear readers back then. The thing is, however, that often there's a subtly questioning undertow in many, subdued all the more by the melodic lyricism that marks almost all his work and makes it so enjoyable up front. For that aspect of his poetry however, I recommend simply enjoying how they sing. If you go through a small handful with each reading, you'll see what I mean.
Remember that Longfellow's lifespan began with Lincoln's. As a deeply thoughtful man mindful like his good friend Emerson of what living in a highly revolutionary new republic meant, but also troubled by the growing divisiveness of the slavery issue, he feared for the union the way Lincoln did. At the same time he shunned confrontation as something of a pacifist. That's why he wrote "Paul Revere's Ride" as his muted warning to the nation to act in its own interest. In that light you might want to flush out Jill Lapore's essay, published some dozen years ago in an issue of "American Scholar." I'll bet if you google <Jill Lapore, Henry WadswortH Longfellow, and Paul Revere's Ride>, you'll find it a more, compelling essay that ferrets a little deeper beneath the glossy surface of the poem's lyrical gallop.
When I watched the Youtube show Friday night and I was thinking of you and your father and the memorial. Certain it was a long hard week and glad you had a Manhattan and new glass to enjoy it from. It's times like that you just need a drink.
I am very worried what is coming the next few years. Guess Obama was just too much of a smarty pants for this country so we now are proud to wear our ignorance and stupidity with pride. It is very depressing. It's times like this I will definitely need a drink.
It isn't the antidote, certainly, but it helps keep us sane. At least, it works for me. Sometimes...
Education matters!
Hakeem Jeffries:
BA, Political Science, SUNY Binghamton, Graduated with High Honors
Masters in Public Administration, Georgetown University
Law School, NYU, Magna Cum Laude, Served on Law Review
Kevin McCarthy:
BA, Marketing, Cal State Bakersfield
MBA, Cal State Bakersfield
We know who is better qualified and it is not Kevin McCarthy.
Not even his marketing degree worked for him this week! HA!
Ha!
We would all be in better shape if Kevin had just stayed in Bakersfield.
Yes. Or not been born. At least California is now providing Nancy Pelosi and Kamala Harris and Adam Schiff instead of just schmucks like Nixon and Reagan and Schwarzenegger. Yech.
This week left me beyond disgust. When one barters with the devil, or his toads, McCarthy should realize one always gets burned. But his desire for what he perceives as power; what he appears to either not realize, or not care ( because in all honesty..he's as bad as the toads, so whatever actions they'd take, in the end he'd likely be in lock step) is that he GAVE any power he thought he had ..away, freely. These actions, these choices, will have for their constituents at least, unintended consequences. ( Think about Medicare, Social Security, safety net programs & so forth)
Aside from that, I've never read that poem, or portion of, before. But I have to agree...well done. And I agree, that life is freakin' hard; the moments of true joy far less than its hardships & difficulties. Yet, I am grateful for every day I have on the planet; because even though it gets harder to "effect redo's " as we age, we still have the opportunity to, each & every day. The opportunity to start over, offer love to one another, to begin the masterpiece we thought we'd have accomplished by 30, be forgiven or offer up forgiveness to someone who's in need, or to write our perfect poem or story. Every day...every day...
Be well . I wish you & your family peace over time, as you grieve the loss here of a wise & loving, good man. There appear to be so few these days. You all had a true gift, as did he in the acknowledgement by you ( and I'm certain so many others) of the treasure he was...
Thanks so much, Bonnie. I appreciate the kind words.
I agree. Beyond disgust. It's abominable. Un-American. People will suffer and die because of these traitors.
McCarthy ass kissing tRump on the anniversary of the January 6th insurrection was disgusting, nauseating and beyond the pale. What a weak pathetic man. Great piece as always.
He just HAD to thank him in the speech, the traitor whose ring, and ass, he kissed. Awful awful awful.
Your father raised an amazing person.
My condolences to you & your family.
Thanks so much, Sandy.
When someone passes on, I prefer not to use the word “died”, they still live on in every life that they touched. Your father is still alive in the house he built, in all the hearts of his family and friends, and the way he touched countless other people’s lives. He will live on in you, Greg. And in all of us who appreciate your various ways of communicating with us. He has left his mark. Thank you for all you do for us and we stand by you through your grieving.
As for the circus and the clown, what a spectacle. They’ve been telling us for months how they were going to use their time while in power. Hopefully, enough people are sufficiently aware of their real goal. The concept of “woke” scares them so much because they would rather use words to mask what they are really doing. Fear is their greatest tool. Don't give in to it.
Thanks, Gail. He is indeed, and thanks for saying so. : )
Our best hope now is that they are too incompetent to do much damage. Which may be true. Bobo is not the brain trust.
Biden's health=red wheel barrow
Indeed! That was on purpose. : )
Greg such a beautiful essay for Sunday morning! I wish more people would read something besides social media posts! I continually ask my grandkids what they are reading and their answers is I don’t like to read 😱! I still buy them a book for Christmas and birthday! 🙄 But seriously where have the serious conservatives gone? George Will is still around. Is there a William F. Buckley around? Hope you’re on the mend and may your dad’s memory be a blessing for you and yours. 🙏
Thanks, Christine.
I think reading is done differently now. The beauty of poetry is that it lends itself well to the social media age. Poems are usually short enough to easily read in one sitting, sometimes more than once.
There may be serious conservatives, but there are no serious Republicans. They are extinct. GOP today are either dodo birds or just dodos.
Great piece, Greg! As Gail (Chicago) says, your father lives on in the lives of those he touched. My dad passed on in 1997 at 64, and there are few days that go by that I don't think of him. I am back living in the house he lived in, to take care of my mom, and there are STILL reminders of him 26 years later. He lives on, as will your dad.
One could actually TASTE the schadenfreude this week, as the House of Representatives turned into a very bad circus. Kevin McCarthy, who is not, as far as I can see, even qualified to be a congressman, did EXACTLY the same thing Trump did -- refused to acknowledge and respect the results of an election. Except McCarthy did it 14 times before he finally squeaked through. The self-debasement necessary to keep going back for more was embarrassing to the United States. Of course, our current gaggle of Republicans doesn't care about that, or the party, or the country. They only care about wielding power for the sake of power. Not even SIX of them could be bothered to care about the country enough to elect Hakeem to the position of Speaker, no, they see it as far better to make sure that they, and only they, have the power of the gavel. It is, of course, a hollow victory. Gaetz, Boebert, Biggs and a few other traitors will be co-speakers of the house for two years. Thankfully, there are still guardrails in place to slow them down, but if McCarthy puts one foot wrong, he's out of there. He whored away everything that gives the Speaker power and doesn't seem to care as long as he can sit in the big chair. There really is no bottom to these people.
Thanks, Steve. I appreciate that. Good on you for taking care of you mom.
I don't know what to make of these lunatics running the asylum. I really don't. I just hope the insurrectionist wing isn't a growing enterprise.
Kevin just wanted the physical office, the actual gavel, the entry on his Wiki page. There's more to the job than that, as he will, or maybe won't, figure out.
While we're at the (somewhat qixotic) mission of promoting poetry as a hedge against the kind of bomb throwing we witnessed during last week's house speaker fiasco, don't overlook the now forgotten Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Once the English-speaking World's most widely read poet, his work was roundly dismissed as too syrupy and sentimental. Glossy in its easy lyricism, for those who read carefully and thoughtfully, though, his work has a undertone that deepens their dimension. His mission was to make our at the time new, revolutionary nation one of poetry readers. Have a deeper look, Greg, and contact me is you want to explore a little.
Thanks, Paul. Thanks for the suggestion. I'm on it.
Is there a specific poem you'd recommend?
Yes.
Good Brodsky poem.
I have read some of him over the years.
His nods to religion has interesting bends and curves.
DC:
A TRAGIC COMEDY
One can only hope their are sufficient Firefighters to put out the Smoldering Darkness of Nation suicide.
Well put, Cal.
Love you and the family who created you, Greg Olear.
[big heart emoji]
Selecting just one specific poem is a tricky matter, Greg, but let's keep the dialogue going, maybe by email. My address is <pzolbrod@gmail.com. For now, let's see if this works. I'm going to try here pasting part of an email exchange I'm having with a friend about Longfellow. If this doesn't work, email me and see what develops that way. Here goes:
Thanks for the message, Debbie. I'm sorry you had trouble locatihg the exact edition of Longfellow's poems. but that isn't necessarily essential. Best is any edition where the poems appear sequentially. Once your copy arrives, I recommend starting out page by page with just a handful, perhaps as bedtime reading. You'll find them easily accessible, pleasant to read because on the surface they are just that, and often apparently syrupy on the surface. That's why he was so roundly dismissed by modernist critics and fellow poets, especially post-war WWII, when global outlook darkened, especially with the advent of the so-called atomic age. Nor did the nostalgia in his poetry endear readers back then. The thing is, however, that often there's a subtly questioning undertow in many, subdued all the more by the melodic lyricism that marks almost all his work and makes it so enjoyable up front. For that aspect of his poetry however, I recommend simply enjoying how they sing. If you go through a small handful with each reading, you'll see what I mean.
Remember that Longfellow's lifespan began with Lincoln's. As a deeply thoughtful man mindful like his good friend Emerson of what living in a highly revolutionary new republic meant, but also troubled by the growing divisiveness of the slavery issue, he feared for the union the way Lincoln did. At the same time he shunned confrontation as something of a pacifist. That's why he wrote "Paul Revere's Ride" as his muted warning to the nation to act in its own interest. In that light you might want to flush out Jill Lapore's essay, published some dozen years ago in an issue of "American Scholar." I'll bet if you google <Jill Lapore, Henry WadswortH Longfellow, and Paul Revere's Ride>, you'll find it a more, compelling essay that ferrets a little deeper beneath the glossy surface of the poem's lyrical gallop.
When I watched the Youtube show Friday night and I was thinking of you and your father and the memorial. Certain it was a long hard week and glad you had a Manhattan and new glass to enjoy it from. It's times like that you just need a drink.
I am very worried what is coming the next few years. Guess Obama was just too much of a smarty pants for this country so we now are proud to wear our ignorance and stupidity with pride. It is very depressing. It's times like this I will definitely need a drink.
Lincoln had less education than Kevin McCarthy.
"I would rather be governed by the first two-thousand names in the phone book than by the Harvard Faculty." Wm. F. Buckley, Jr.
Populists are FAR more egalitarian than Leftists. Lefts are snobs pretending to be egalitarian.