20160912 (end)

http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/22521climate-disruption-
dispatches-with-dahr-jamail

Ordinarily you won’t find me

Among the End-Timers, those

White bearded dudes in robes

Carrying hand lettered signs

On sticks warning, “Repent. 

The end is at hand.” But today

After reading Dahr Jamail’s

Latest Climate Disruption

Dispatch in Truthout I’ve

Had to consider seriously

Whether that is my calling.

I’ve long feared I’m playing

Cassandra in my little portion

Of the earth and its children.

I’ve spoken up at church to

Alert people that the day to

Do something serious about

Climate change has passed

And that our only course is

To huddle with our children

And pray that when the end

Comes, it comes quickly. For

We have ignored corrective

Action for far too long. We have

Set the stones rolling downhill—

Our matches have ignited the

Unquenchable wicks and there’s

Little to do but tick off the few

Remaining seconds of our 

Inglorious reign on the planet—

Those congressional wizards

Maintaining God has promised

Never again to destroy us by

Flood, notwithstanding. No, 

It will be fire this time. No 

Question of whether the world

Will end in fire or ice, for ice,

However nice it may suffice,

Will all be melted never to form

Again. No snowflakes to land

And disappear on our youngsters’

Tongues, no snowballs to topple

Warm wool headgear as we rush

To get into schools and away from

Wintry blasts. If we rush at all it

Will be to get into air-conditioned

Cars, buildings, homes momentarily

Safe from the new locusts who

Will be busily devouring every

Plant from bud to leaf to stem

To root. The universe may have

Some populations who survive,

Having avoided cooking their 

Own planets, who come here to

Marvel over our cinder, much 

Like we today visit Pompeii

And wonder, “What were they

Thinking?”—to live so close to

Imminent danger, to risk family

And future. They can be forgiven.

They had little to warn them—no

Movies of lava flows, no geology

To rank-order the likelihood of 

Their demise over the centuries.

But we have it all. Warnings piled

On warnings from every science

From every school. As we go

About our business let us pray

It comes quickly.

c. J.S.Manista, 2016

20160904 (aspire)

Dr. Jill Stein, 2016 Presidential Nominee of the Green Party. Haven't heard of her? No surprise. Avoided by the MSM Dr. Stein will likely not be on the debate stage at Hofstra College either. The debate commission is comprised of only the two major parties who will take no guff from the Greens.

Peggy, my partner in protest, Ms 

Kacerek, suggested we attend

A Green Party Rally last Friday

In Cuyahoga Falls to see Dr.

Jill Stein, the party’s 2016 

Presidential nominee. we had

Tried to see her several weeks

Earlier at David Ellison’s office

In Ohio City but she and Cornel

West were meeting elsewhere

With local media and they 

Thought that more productive

Than meeting with fifty or so

Devotees. Compared to the 

Estimated billion dollars of

Free publicity given Donald

Trump, Dr. Stein, so often 

Snubbed, couldn’t pass it up. 

A similar rumor buzzed around

The Falls gathering but at 8 PM

She strode confidently into 

The auditorium eager to rouse

Two hundred party faithful and

Some like me just curious. Having

Heard in the prior hour various

Green lesser lights, all of whom

Lacked the moxie for polished

Public speaking, I welcomed

Her spirited stump speech. She 

Is a woman of striking physical

presence. When she opened

The floor to questions I raised

My hand quickly. The director

Pointed to me  but one of the earlier

Speakers seated a couple rows

Ahead mistook the signal for him.

We both rose and he began

Talking. They pointed again to

Me as soon as he finished.

“Dr. Stein,” I spoke loudly, “when

You are elected president . . .” 

(Crowd broke into wild cheers)

“You will need people to help

Govern. Not only your cabinet 

But sympathizers in the legislative

And judicial branches to get anything 

Done. Who will those be, and

Will announcing them now add

To your credibility as a serious

Contender?” She smiled 

That I had motivated those

Attending and referred me to

Her website list, a “Shadow 

Cabinet,” of potential occupants, 

Then proceeded to name several

Well known activists and stated

How each would help her agenda.

Later I told Peggy I felt egg 

On my face for not knowing more

Of her web content. Home again

I looked them up and was as 

Disappointed by the list as I’d 

Been by the amateurism of the

Earlier Green speakers. I knew

A few of those named: Leah Bolger, 

Defense; Ellen Brown, Treasury; 

Medea Benjamin, State. But Tim

DeChristopher as “Emergency 

Climate Action Coordinator” 

And Lee Camp as ”Commissioner

For the Comedic Arts”?  It compared

With Click and Clack’s staff of

Car Talk: Seat Tester, Mike Easter; 

Lawyers, Dewey, Cheatham, and Howe.

Although activists are sincere

And capable people in their own

Right, a government needs more 

Of those drab bureaucrats who 

Can get things done. Just as

Grass roots organizations

Eventually develop articulate

Spokespeople, the Green Party will

Have to recruit for competence in

Managing change over fiery

Commitment to seeking change

Before they’ll inspire enough

Confidence in the electorate to 

Put them in office.

c. J.S.Manista, 2016

20160903 (future)

US Labor Day - day off, sweet corn, hot dogs, burgers, military displays, and recruiting

Yemen any day - US-made cluster bombs blew this child's arms off and charred his body
 

I wasn’t supposed to be here

This weekend for the annual

Cleveland Air Show which

Prominently features aerobatics

By US Navy flyers in F-18s.

I was to have left town the day

After closing, traveled west

For a week with Loki and 

Sophia in the cab of a small

U-Haul with the X-B on a 

Trailer behind. We’d have 

Been there a week by now 

And I’d know a little better

How my life would be for 

Its last years. None of us

Manistas make it to 80

And I’m counting on my

Genetics to play true to form.

But the “best laid plans

Gang aft aglee” and now

After a bit of moping (as I

Am so prey to bitter birds)

I've finally cheered enough

To resume writing, dieting,

Philosophizing, and reading.

As for the books Andy tells

Me I’m making a big mistake

Reading Angela’s Ashes while

Any bit depressed. “So the

Irish drank and were poor

And suffered,” he said, “No

Reason for you to go through

It if you’re feeling bad already.”

Maybe not. Can’t really explain

What draws me to these poor

When the world is full of so 

Many others and nobody seems

To care to count them. Not just

As a total—but to count them 

As people, not in this country

Nor where we’re daily 

Bombing them. Yeah, I know

We can say we’re currently not

Bombing anybody. We’ve got

Proxies to do it—Saudis in

Yemen, and word is we’re

Helping both sides in the 

Syria/ISIS melee blow each

Other to kingdom come. And

Nobody cares. Last year on

The Labor Day weekend I

Went to a corner on East 9th 

And passed out handbills 

About our drone programs where

We're daily killing God

Knows whom or how many

In the war on terror (WOT).

When the light turned red I

Could do a little bit about

Obama’s Killer Tuesdays when

He reviews files and decides

Who they should assassinate

The next morning. Or I’d tell 

Them about how pilots who

Sat at the video screens in New

York and Nevada playing Blast-

A-Bug for twelve hours are

Reporting PTSD from explosions

Halfway around the world

Because they had no assurance

They were killing enemies

And not enemies’ children.

Maybe next Labor Day I’ll be

Too busy thinking of my own

Three granddaughters to worry

About the people our nation

Is terrorizing, maiming, and 

Killing somewhere too far 

Away for people to care.

But I doubt it. As long as I’m

Alive enough to think and to 

Write, they won’t be

Forgotten.

c. J.S.Manista, 2016