If this is true, they must be stopped.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Bush administration has launched a "significant escalation" of covert operations in Iran, sending U.S. commandos to spy on the country's nuclear facilities and undermine the Islamic republic's government, journalist Seymour Hersh said Sunday.

White House, CIA and State Department officials declined comment on Hersh's report, which appears in this week's issue of The New Yorker.

Hersh told CNN's "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer" that Congress has authorized up to $400 million to fund the secret campaign, which involves U.S. special operations troops and Iranian dissidents.

President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have rejected findings from U.S. intelligence agencies that Iran has halted a clandestine effort to build a nuclear bomb and "do not want to leave Iran in place with a nuclear program," Hersh said.

"They believe that their mission is to make sure that before they get out of office next year, either Iran is attacked or it stops its weapons program," Hersh said.

The new article, "Preparing the Battlefield," is the latest in a series of articles accusing the Bush administration of preparing for war with Iran. He based the report on accounts from current and former military, intelligence, and congressional sources.

"As usual with his quarterly pieces, we'll decline to comment," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe told CNN.


MY APOLOGIES TO THE SCARECROW AND THE TIN MAN.

You might as well enjoy him, too....

Listening to the blues... an artist who focuses on the lyrics. My favorite combination. He's had 2 CD's since his first, self-titled, but I don't think he's ever done better than this song. I give you,
Amos Lee:






And my review, this time on Epinions. Check it out:


http://www0.epinions.com/content_197524164228

Plastic is a 4 letter word.....

Everyone on earth should see this. It's that important. Send it on if you agree... (Once in the slide show, use the bar on the right side of the screen to scroll through)

http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080506/MULTIMEDIA02/80505016

The Grave HAS GOT TO GO.

So, the real estate market sucks. Nobody's buying houses, and the ones that do sell are deep discounted or slightly wrecked from a foreclosure experience. You think that's bad? Talk to a cemetery....

Excerpt from yesterday's Tampa Tribune....

NEED CASH NOW? GRAVE'S GOTTA GO

Forget burial. Who needs it? More and more Floridians are selling their gravesites and choosing cremation. The economy's just that bad.

Linda Ledesma has joined a small but growing number of people who are selling unwanted cemetery plots. The trend is particularly pronounced in Florida and Texas, that have drawn millions of retirees who have grown more accepting of cremation (editorial comment: About time! Our old European funeral/burial customs are bizarre!) ... others say they'd rather have the money now, to buy gas and insurance and worry about their final resting place later.....

The article goes on to say that it is definitely NOT a sellers market... so perhaps these unwanted and unused plots will be Florida's "greenspace" in decades to come. Macabre, yes. One plot had a sign saying "For Sale By Owner. Never Used.". Love that burial humor.

Florida. It's a trip.

quid

Time to move?

I'm trying to figure out just WHATabout Miami fits me. Scared of hurricanes, already OVER the sweaty Florida summer, don't speak Spanish.... it must be my fashion sense and "inner chic".....

American Cities That Best Fit You:

65% Atlanta 60% Washington, DC 55% Honolulu 55% Miami 50% Austin

Which American Cities Best Fit You?

Where should you live? Check it out at:



http://www.blogthings.com/whichamericancitiesbestfityouquiz/

Leave out the wives....

Susan Estrich, political columnist, had the right idea when she posted:

"A majority of Americans are clearly eager to see a new man at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., but I'd be surprised if the numbers were even close in terms of replacing the first lady. George Bush may have worn out his welcome, but Laura Bush continues to show the tact, decency and good judgment that have made her a popular and rarely criticized first lady. Michelle Obama, guest hosting on "The View," said she was "touched" by the first lady's defense of her and was taking some "cues" from the current inhabitant of the White House on how to succeed in the role she hopes to assume. Cindy McCain would do well to follow Laura Bush's lead, as well.

Michelle Obama gave ammunition to her husband's opponents with her comments at that rally in Wisconsin. But they need to think twice before they use it. Turning the wives into the issue in this campaign is a strategy that will leave everyone covered with mud for no good reason.

We have been to this movie before. In 1992, Hillary Clinton, then in headbands, was the object of more criticism than her husband. From her looks to her law practice to her loyalty to her husband, the former first lady had a bull's-eye on her back, made worse, of course, by her version of the patriotism comments: the explanation that she could have stayed home baking chocolate chip cookies all day but chose to practice law instead, which led to questions about possible conflicts of interest, given that her husband was the governor of the state. At the time, Hillary described herself as a "transitional figure," but it is easy to see Michelle Obama as Hillary without the headband, the strong, powerful, well-educated and ambitious wife of the candidate who some people, at least, find more threatening and less likable than they do the candidate himself. At the end of the day, the point is: So what? People don't vote for vice president, and they don't vote for first lady. If they did, Gerald Ford couldn't have lost, and Ronald Reagan couldn't have won. If the '92 election had been a referendum on who should be first lady instead of who should be president, Barbara Bush would have won it for her team in a walk."

Enough about Cindy and Michelle, and I really don't give a damn about the black and white dress. Let's talk issues. (PS, I would've voted for Betty Ford, Barbara Bush, Liddy Dole, Elizabeth Edwards or Laura. Funny, they all seemed worthy of trust. Tipper left me cold. Teresa Heinz? (nee Kerry)... PULEEZE. -- but all that is machts nichts. How good your 1st Spouse is does not carve you a place in history.)

gasoline rainbows

gasoline rainbows
on black asphalt,
spilled from somewhere
above,
as I am walking home
with a heaving heart


the liquid blue
of my endless ocean,
a fluid and eternal
god
who slips forever
from my searching grasp


a yellow smear
of cannibal cowardice
and the everflowing
fear,
filling in the holes
of the path I must tread


shimmering green
of an envious fire
burning in sunlit eyes,
desire
turned inward
for lack of an outward escape


the royal purple
of my martyrs bruise
and the fractured face of
pain
as I court an impossible aim,
to be a prince among men


and infernal red,
the shade of rage,
burning to the surface of
emotion,
enflamed by the battered heart
who ignites ego’s ambitions


these are the colors
of my combustible heart,
displayed for all to see
on a busy street,
waiting for a spark of sun
to erupt me into action


- j. meredith



I am convinced that in this lifetime I've made the acquaintance of someone whose poetry will one day be famous. I've been wrong before, but from time to time I'll feature a poem by an unknown midwestern writer -- my friend, Jon Meredith.

Longest day.....

You'd hardly know it from the overcast, thunderstormy day we're having in west Florida, but it is the longest day of the year. My activity for y'all is to choose... giving you three "summertime" videos from 3 different eras. Which do you prefer?






From 2006, 2 greats in jazz:




BASED ON THE POLL I RAN... George Benson and Jill Scott with "Summertime" won by a landslide. (1 vote). I eliminated the other 2 and the poll, in the interests of conservation of internet space. Quid 6/28

Retread Poetry

Visited with one of my favorite reviewers on Amazon last night. We'd both loved a poetry volume by Tess Gallagher. This particular reviewer constantly introduces me to new poetry and poetically we "bump" into each other's tastes with a poet we love and didn't realize we had in common.

Our bump caused me to go back and revisit one of my posts from a prior blog. It seemed like only yesterday that I posted it. What a revelation to realize it was over 2 years ago. The best of things is, I can "retread" it hear and enjoy the post all over again. Hope you agree.

MY FAVORITE POET: RAYMOND CARVER

Friendly bloggers have been featuring some of their favorite poets lately, letting me discover them...and so, I add to the pattern. Raymond Carver started with poetry in the '60's, quickly jumped to short stories, where he became famed, lived hard and wrote in the spirit of his own muse, Anton Chekhov. In 1977 he met a poet, Tess Gallagher, with whom he lived and loved for 11 years, until his death from cancer in 1988. Ray was termed a "minimalist" but I prefer to think of him as a writer who did not embrace excess in his work...in the spare longing to be loved, in his words of regret, when he turned back to poetry after his terminal diagnosis. I'll not feature his best and saddest work, "What the Doctor Said" here. Instead, I give you:

LATE FRAGMENT
by Raymond Carver

And did you get what

you wanted from this life, even so?

I did.

And what did you want?

To call myself beloved, to feel myself

beloved on the earth.

THE ATTIC
by Raymond Carver

Her brain is an attic where things

were stored over the years.
From time to time her face appears

in the little windows near the top of the house.
The sad face of someone who has been locked up

and forgotten about.

FEAR
by Raymond Carver

Fear of seeing a police car pull into the drive.

Fear of falling asleep at night.

Fear of not falling asleep.

Fear of the past rising up.

Fear of the present taking flight.

Fear of the telephone that rings in the dead of night.

Fear of electrical storms.

Fear of the cleaning woman who has a spot on her cheek!

Fear of dogs I've been told won't bite.

Fear of anxiety!

Fear of having to identify the body of a dead friend.

Fear of running out of money.

Fear of having too much, though people will not believe this.

Fear of psychological profiles.

Fear of being late and fear of arriving before anyone else.

Fear of my children's handwriting on envelopes.

Fear they'll die before I do, and I'll feel guilty.

Fear of having to live with my mother in her old age, and mine.

Fear of confusion.

Fear this day will end on an unhappy note.

Fear of waking up to find you gone.

Fear of not loving and fear of not loving enough.

Fear that what I love will prove lethal to those I love.

Fear of death.

Fear of living too long.

Fear of death.

When asked to compare how he felt about writing prose (the short story) with poetry, Ray immediately came down on the side of the poem, with this remark:

“The nice thing about a poem is that there is instant gratification.”

................................................and there is. You don't have to worry if anyone likes or understands your poem. You just have to savor it by your own sweet self.

The central force in Ray's life, once he gave up booze, was his love for Tess Gallagher. Tess is perhaps a more accomplished poet, and I include one of my favorites below. She continues to write and to contribute in many ways to the contemporary writers community in the United States.


I Stop Writing the Poem

by Tess Gallagher

to fold the clothes. No matter who lives

or who dies, I'm still a woman.

I'll always have plenty to do.

I bring the arms of his shirt

together. Nothing can stop

our tenderness. I'll get back

to the poem. I'll get back to being

a woman. But for now

there's a shirt, a giant shirt

in my hands, and somewhere a small girl

standing next to her mother

watching to see how it's done.


Ray and Tess. You could start reading now and finish their work sometime next year. What a beautiful legacy.

Lightening up with a little blogthing.... What Planet Should I Rule?

You Should Rule Mars

Mars is a planet that shines brightly and loops wildly around the solar system. You are perfect to rule Mars, because you are both energetic and independent. Like Mars, you seems attractive and bright to others - but you're difficult to pin down. You are a great thinker, but you only think in the present and ignore the future. Full of enthusiasm and inspiration, you are into your own thing... and rather insensitive to others.

What Planet Should You Rule?

Join me!: http://www.blogthings.com/whatplanetshouldyourulequiz/

"Imaginary Friends".... Indeed

Note: Thanks to Kelly for the group picture.

The husband of a friend of mine calls them "Imaginary Friends". (LOL!) They are the people you know online, the ones you may never meet in person. Or perhaps someday, you shall.
Friendships online will be the subject of many writings: fiction, non-fiction and poetry, for years to come. They are the creation of a new age, the new time of the internet when suddenly, you can find someone who has read the same books you have, lived through the same life tragedies, shares the same spirit!

Of course, there is a danger here. Isn't there always?

Your internet relationships -- forget the dangers/spice of internet romance, I'm talking friends here -- have a way of consuming your days and times, perhaps to the exclusion of your flesh and blood friends. The friends that you could see everyday, the ones that you should have phoned, but your phone line was tied up while you were (you guessed it) online to your book club or your poetry group or the parents of children with special needs. Your real friends and family will raise their eyebrows, become exasperated or puzzled when you speak of your imaginary friends.

You'll need to strike a balance.

Future folks will need to keep themselves open to relationships both of the "flesh and blood" and "the words on a screen" nature. The balance of both will allow you to miss a day online (just like you missed a phone call or two) with no regrets, because you were tied up in your "real" life. Not to mention that it will be tempting to "be" someone that you are not, when you are online. Losing sight of the truth of your life, just because the other party may never meet you and learn the truth, well it can be just as despicable, just as dangerous, as a lie told face to face. We all wish for times when we were someone we're not -- but its important not to try to live through those fantasies.

But, try not to approach it with too much reservation!

Because it is amazing, is it not? You've formed fast friendships with Aussies, with folks from West Virginia, with people decades older or younger than you. A citizen of the world and not just your small town or impersonal city -- your ability to learn about and from people has just increased exponentially! They'll know you, perhaps, only by your "handle" or "username". They'll remember your stories and the composition of your family, because they can always go back and check their archives. They won't laugh at you just because you've fallen into use of the term "y'all", and it sounds so funny with a Minnesota accent! And they'll appreciate you for the same, and the support and kindness in the company of strangers who aren't strangers any more.
So here's to the texture and reality of all our "imaginary friends":

Imaginary friends - soupers and others, you have enriched my days in ways I never could have comprehended when I first heard the word, "internet".

I forgot the best part. That's me and 3 of my imaginary friends in a face to face in April, 2008. Known each other for about 6 years, first meeting, and it was like we grew up together. Well, 2 of them are sisters, so I guess they did....but you get the point.

Angelic Voices

Three years ago I had the privilege of attending a Sarah McLachlan concert live here in Tampa. I had killer tickets and went with my friend, Ed. It lives as one of the truly great shows I've seen here in Tampa.

The beauty of YouTube is that it allows you to see "one of a kind" performances, from wherever and whenever they took place. Such is this video (thanks to daviding83!) Loading... from a Philadelphia concert where Sarah had Josh Groban join her for a memorable version of "Arms of an Angel".....

Books of the week....

Books, books, books....I've returned to an old favorite author or two this week....

Catching up with Margaret Maron's southern judge in "Hard Row"...

Revisiting my love affair with Minnesota author Leif Erickson in his newest.. "So Brave, Young and Handsome"

Going to Baltimore with Laura Lippman for her first two mysteries... "Baltimore Blues" and "Charm City".

And staying current with Scott McClellan's "What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception"....even if I do think Scott was pretty much of a wussy. I was tired of reading all the support/attacks on a book that most supporters and attackers have not even read.

I'm also going to try to attempt to track my films each week, and add a quote and a poem I enjoy. Since we already have the marvelous "Imperfection"; I saw two films this week; the DVD version of "I Am Legend"; if you liked it and were a little shattered by it, as I was, you will have a difficult time dealing with the upcoming version of Cormac McCarthy's "The Road". I also caught a second movie on DVD (note to self....go to the theater) that I've enjoyed many times - Kenneth Branagh's "Henry V". A little heavy for a hot summer weekend while others were catching "Kung Fu Panda", I admit...but I loved it!

In my car stereo this week is the inimitable Jack Johnson's "Sleep Through the Static".

And my quote:

"A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices." ~~~ William James

From whence cometh the blog title....

I decided to title this blog,

"Living Imperfectly". The

title arises from

rediscovering an old,

much beloved poem

earlier this month, and

also from the reflection that,

while enjoying this phase

of my life, I probably like the

fact that I can live it imperfectly

...something I rarely allowed

myself to do it the past.

I give you the poem:


Imperfection

I am falling in love
with my imperfections
The way I never get the sink really clean,
forget to check my oil,
lose my car in parking lots,
miss appointments I have written down,
am just a little late.

I am learning to love
the small bumps on my face
the big bump of my nose,
my graying scalp,
chipped nail polish,
toes that overlap.
Learning to love
the open-ended mystery
of not knowing why

I am learning to fail
to make lists,
use my time wisely,
read the books I should.

Instead I practice inconsistency,
irrationality, forgetfulness.

Probably I should
hang my clothes neatly in the closet
all the shirts together, then the pants,
send Christmas cards, or better yet
a letter telling of
my perfect family

But I’d rather waste time
listening to the rain,
or lying underneath my cat
learning to purr.

-by Elizabeth Carlson