December 21, 2004
A Nomination
You probably thought that I was done with politics, given my hemorrhage of disgust , and consequent disengagement from life force energy , before and after the election. However, there are still stones left unturned, and/or I haven't learned my lesson .
Donald Rumsfeld seems to be under fire recently, by Republicans, of all people, though they are practically the only folk left on Capitol Hill with any firing capacity. It is most puzzling . Are some of them waking up? Evidently they have their underwear in a knot because The Other The Donald used his automatic signature machine to sign condolence letters the families of dead GIs. Kind of the thin edge of the wedge as far as I'm concerned, with over 100,000 deaths in Iraq, but if that's what irritates some about Donald Rumsfeld, it will do nicely. W., ever blind , is still singing his praises.
Here's my proposal, if Rumsfeld is ousted as Secretary of Defense, let's appoint him Poet Laureate . He has created some of the creepiest poetry since Edgar Allen Poe . Some samples below, from a piece by Hart Seely at Slate:
"And so Slate has compiled a collection of Rumsfeld's poems, bringing them to a wider public for the first time. The poems that follow are the exact words of the defense secretary, as taken from the official transcripts on the Defense Department Web site.
The Unknown
As we know,
There are known knowns.
There are things we know we know.
We also know
There are known unknowns.
That is to say
We know there are some things
We do not know.
But there are also unknown unknowns,
The ones we don't know
We don't know.
—Feb. 12, 2002, Department of Defense news briefing
Dakota Literary Commentary: Obfuscation extraordinaire. I think here he is referring to the administration's general policy toward in depth research and fact finding. "We" either know it (as in know it all, or, as in receiving messages directly from God) or we aren't particularly interested in finding out (as in stem cell research, or anything else that requires knowledge or thought).
Glass Box
You know, it's the old glass box at the—
At the gas station,
Where you're using those little things
Trying to pick up the prize,
And you can't find it.
It's—
And it's all these arms are going down in there,
And so you keep dropping it
And picking it up again and moving it,
But—
Some of you are probably too young to remember those—
Those glass boxes,
But—
But they used to have them
At all the gas stations
When I was a kid.
—Dec. 6, 2001, Department of Defense news briefing
Dakota Literary Commentary: Here The Other The Donald refers to the childhood imagery that underlies his strategic plan for the war in Iraq. I remember those machines well. You did alot of manipulating (with toys, not troops) to no avail.
A Confession
Once in a while,
I'm standing here, doing something.
And I think,
"What in the world am I doing here?"
It's a big surprise.
—May 16, 2001, interview with the New York Times
Dakota Literary Commentary: It's a comfort to know that he has the personal insight to ask the question that we have all asked over and over again. What the fuck IS he doing here????????
Happenings
You're going to be told lots of things.
You get told things every day that don't happen.
It doesn't seem to bother people, they don't—
It's printed in the press.
The world thinks all these things happen.
They never happened.
Everyone's so eager to get the story
Before in fact the story's there
That the world is constantly being fed
Things that haven't happened.
All I can tell you is,
It hasn't happened.
It's going to happen.
—Feb. 28, 2003, Department of Defense briefing
Dakota Literary Commentary: We knew that all along too. And he's right, it doesn't seem to bother at least half the people in the US of A and a majority of the media. What, pray tell, is going to happen? A reference to the Rapture?
The Digital Revolution
Oh my goodness gracious,
What you can buy off the Internet
In terms of overhead photography!
A trained ape can know an awful lot
Of what is going on in this world,
Just by punching on his mouse
For a relatively modest cost!
—June 9, 2001, following European trip
Dakota Literary Commentary: He should teach his personal trained ape how to punch on his mouse. Maybe the trained ape would learn something. The reference to overhead photography is probably a subtle, but poetic, allusion to the Patriot Act.
The Situation
Things will not be necessarily continuous.
The fact that they are something other than perfectly continuous
Ought not to be characterized as a pause.
There will be some things that people will see.
There will be some things that people won't see.
And life goes on.
—Oct. 12, 2001, Department of Defense news briefing
Dakota Literary Commentary: Tell us what we aren't seeing? Life may go on for you , Donald, but there are over 100,000 people who have experienced a permanent pause, under your leadership.
Clarity
I think what you'll find,
I think what you'll find is,
Whatever it is we do substantively,
There will be near-perfect clarity
As to what it is.
And it will be known,
And it will be known to the Congress,
And it will be known to you,
Probably before we decide it,
But it will be known.
—Feb. 28, 2003, Department of Defense briefing
Dakota Literary Commentary: Are we talking about Divine Intervention? In my opinion, before we just barge ahead with a plan, someone should know something
And Donald Rumsfeld is not the only artiste in the bunch. Laura Bush has culinary gifts, as evidenced by her collection of holiday recipes .
While I'm at it, so I don't have to think about this administration for at least another week, here's a little something about W.'s Yale club, Skull and Bones .
Photo note: This is an array of rusty May Day baskets .
Photosymbolism for Rumsfeld's poetry. Although the baskets are meant to be beautiful and gay, they are, instead, rusted and contain a message of imminent disaster.