Friday, June 15, 2007
Wilson Case in Georgia
Someone should tell the attorney-general in Georgia to go to hell. I would absolutely not expect anything like justice to come out of Georgia, or anywhere in the south. However, we do need to relieve these people of their power.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Attacks On Academic Freedom
National Project in Defense of Dissent
> and Critical Thinking in Academia
>
>
> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>
> Contact:
> Reggie Dylan: (626) 319-1730
> Matthew Abraham: (773) 682-9322
> Email: criticalxthinking@yahoo.com
> Website: www.defendcriticalthinking.org
>
>
> Opposition Mounts as University of Colorado President
> Calls for Ward Churchill to be Dismissed
>
> In a letter to the Board of Regents,
> University of Colorado President Hank Brown has called
> for the dismissal of tenured Ethnic Studies Professor
> Ward Churchill. His recommendation goes beyond that
> of the faculty investigative committee that examined
> charges of research misconduct; and of the faculty
> Privilege and Tenure (P&T) committee that recently
> heard Churchill's appeal. Gov. Bill Ritter of Colorado
> joined Brown in calling for the firing of Churchill,
> as his predecessor Bill Owens did two years earlier.
> The Board of Regents is expected to make a final
> decision in this case at a public hearing some time in
> July.
>
> A growing number of scholars see CU's
> investigation of Churchill's scholarship as completely
> illegitimate and a dangerous precedent threatening
> dissent and critical thinking in the universities.
> The CU - Boulder chapter of the American Association
> of University Professors (AAUP) has written that "we
> believe that the investigation now is widely perceived
> to be a pretext for firing Churchill when the real
> reason for dismissal is his politics." The
> investigation was launched in the wake of controversy
> provoked by an essay Churchill wrote after 9/11.
>
> Churchill noted in response to Brown's
> letter that "the University had received no formal or
> written complaints about my scholarship when it
> initiated this 'investigation.' All of the
> allegations investigated were either solicited or
> brought directly by University administrators." He
> also noted that "The Investigative Committee charged
> with conducting a 'fact-finding, nonadversarial'
> investigation was chaired by law professor Mimi
> Wesson, who - in February 2005 - had compared me to
> 'charismatic male celebrity wrongdoers' like O.J.
> Simpson, Michael Jackson and Bill Clinton, and had
> already come up with the faulty 'traffic stop' analogy
> the Committee used to justify its conclusions." The
> committee included no American Indians or experts in
> American Indian Studies, and scholars that had used
> Churchill's research in their own work were removed
> from the committee.
>
> The report of the committee hearing
> Churchill's appeal found that Churchill proved by a
> "preponderance of the evidence" that "but for" his
> exercise of his protected first amendment rights, the
> subsequent investigation of his scholarship would
> never have been initiated.
>
> In a recent open letter to colleagues
> around the country Dr. Margaret LeCompte, President of
> the Boulder AAUP Chapter, wrote: "What has happened at
> the University of Colorado makes a mockery of both due
> process and academic freedom protections, AND what
> faculty believe. It is a cruel violation of the
> delicate balance between faculty rights and
> administrative responsibilities. The entire process
> was a sham---imitating the form, but not the intent,
> of due process and fair, objective, scholarly
> investigation."
>
> Two faculty groups that have examined the
> report of the investigative committee claim that the
> report is seriously flawed. In an unprecedented
> action, both have now filed formal charges of academic
> misconduct against the members of the faculty
> committee. The most recent group to do so, made up of
> principally Indigenous scholars from around the
> country and Canada, documented "many instances of
> fraud, fabrication, plagiarism and/or serious
> deviation from accepted scholarly practices" which
> "demonstrate a consistent pattern of deliberate
> misrepresentation intended to discredit Professor
> Churchill's larger body of scholarship." Eric
> Cheyfitz, Ernest I. White Professor of American
> Studies and Humane Letters at Cornell University, has
> found "the Report turns what is a debate about
> controversial issues of identity and genocide in
> Indian studies into an indictment of one position in
> that debate."
>
> The implications of this case go beyond
> the threat to Churchill's reputation and career, as
> serious as those are. The attack on Churchill is seen
> by many in academia as part of a much broader attack
> on academic freedom and critical thinking and dissent.
> Dr. LeCompte notes, "It is not limited to Colorado. In
> fact, it is a test case by the US right wing to
> emasculate faculty rights in US universities."
>
> This is illustrated by the recent denial of tenure
> for DePaul University political scientist Norman
> Finkelstein. Though he was supported by his
> department, Finkelstein was denied tenure after an
> intense campaign spearheaded by Harvard Law School's
> Alan M. Dershowitz, who called Finkelstein "worse than
> Churchill." Many DePaul faculty and others were
> alarmed at Dershowitz's heavy-handed tactics and saw
> them as an attempt to punish one side of a
> controversial debate. Finkelstein said that DePaul's
> decision was based on "transparently political
> grounds" and was an "egregious violation" of academic
> freedom.
>
> Churchill noted in his response to Brown's
> letter that "President Brown, his new VP Michael
> Poliakoff, and Regent Tom Lucero, like Bill Owens, are
> key players in Lynne Cheney's American Council of
> Trustees and Alumni (ACTA). ACTA and similar
> neoconservative groups have received generous funding
> [from] Castle Rock (Coors), Scaife, Bradley and Olin
> foundations to eliminate Ethnic, Gender and Peace
> Studies Programs and to purge higher education of
> those who think critically, challenge historical
> orthodoxy, or otherwise threaten the status quo."
>
> Opposition to this impending firing has
> been increasing nationally, as more and more academics
> recognize the stakes involved in the Churchill case.
> An open letter signed by numerous prominent scholars,
> including Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Derrick Bell and
> Immanuel Wallerstein was published in the New York
> Review of Books in April. Scores of others have
> written letters of support, and there was a recent
> Emergency National Forum in Boulder of academics and
> supporters. The Society of American Law Teachers has
> written a letter arguing against a firing.
>
> Richard Falk, visiting Distinguished
> Professor at University of California, Santa Barbara
> recently wrote: "All of us who value academic freedom
> should now stand in full solidarity with Ward
> Churchill. The outcome of his case at the University
> of Colorado is the best litmus test we have to tell
> whether the right-wing's assaults on learning and
> liberty will stifle campus life in this country. Never
> in my lifetime have we in America more needed the sort
> of vigorous debate and creative controversy that Ward
> Churchill's distinguished career epitomizes. We all
> stand to lose if his principled defense fails."
>
> # # #
>
>
> Signed:
>
> Matthew Abraham - Department of English, De Paul
> University.
>
> William Ayers - Distinguished Professor of Education
> and Senior University Scholar, University of Illinois
> at Chicago.
>
> Derrick A Bell - Visiting Professor of Constitutional
> Law, New York University School of Law.
>
> Timothy Brennan - Departments of English and Cultural
> Studies & Comparative Literature, University of
> Minnesota.
>
> Renate Bridenthal - Emerita Professor of History,
> Brooklyn College, The City University of New York.
>
> Bob Buzzanco - Department of History, University of
> Houston.
>
> Dana Cloud - Associate Professor of Communication
> Studies at the University of Texas (Austin).
>
> Drucilla Cornell - Professor in the Departments of Law
> and Political Science at Rutgers University.
>
> Sandi E Cooper - Professor of History, College of
> Staten Island and the Graduate School, The City
> University of New York.
>
> Richard Delgado - University Distinguished Professor
> of Law and Derrick Bell Fellow, University of
> Pittsburgh.
> Richard A Falk - Albert G. Milbank Professor of
> International Law and Practice at Princeton
> University; Visiting Distinguished Professor (since
> 2002), Global Studies, University of California, Santa
> Barbara.
>
> Seth Kahn - Assistant Professor of English, West
> Chester University of PA.
>
> Rashid Khalidi, Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies,
> Middle East Institute, Columbia University.
>
> Vinay Lal - Department of History, University of
> California, Los Angeles.
>
> Gary Leupp - Professor of History at Tufts University,
> and Adjunct Professor of Comparative Religion.
>
> Henry Silverman - Professor and Chairperson Emeritus,
> Department of History, Michigan State University.
>
> Immanuel Wallerstein - Senior Research Scholar, Yale
> University.
>
> Tim Wise - Author of "White Like Me: Reflections on
> Race from a Privileged Son," and "Affirmative Action:
> Racial Preference in Black and White."
>
>
>
> For more information, contact us at
> (626) 319-1730
> Criticalxthinking@yahoo.com
> www.defendcriticalthinking.org
>
> Or contact any of the faculty listed below to arrange
> an interview:
>
> Matthew Abraham: matthew.mabraha2@gmail.com; (773)
> 682-9322.
>
> Timothy Brennan - brenn032@umn.edu; (651) 228-0965.
>
> Dana Cloud - dcloud@mail.utexas.edu; (512) 471-1947.
>
> Drucilla Cornell - sgkcornell@aol.com; (212) 260-9730.
>
> Seth Kahn - skahn@wcupa.edu; (610) 436-2915.
>
> and Critical Thinking in Academia
>
>
> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>
> Contact:
> Reggie Dylan: (626) 319-1730
> Matthew Abraham: (773) 682-9322
> Email: criticalxthinking@yahoo.com
> Website: www.defendcriticalthinking.org
>
>
> Opposition Mounts as University of Colorado President
> Calls for Ward Churchill to be Dismissed
>
> In a letter to the Board of Regents,
> University of Colorado President Hank Brown has called
> for the dismissal of tenured Ethnic Studies Professor
> Ward Churchill. His recommendation goes beyond that
> of the faculty investigative committee that examined
> charges of research misconduct; and of the faculty
> Privilege and Tenure (P&T) committee that recently
> heard Churchill's appeal. Gov. Bill Ritter of Colorado
> joined Brown in calling for the firing of Churchill,
> as his predecessor Bill Owens did two years earlier.
> The Board of Regents is expected to make a final
> decision in this case at a public hearing some time in
> July.
>
> A growing number of scholars see CU's
> investigation of Churchill's scholarship as completely
> illegitimate and a dangerous precedent threatening
> dissent and critical thinking in the universities.
> The CU - Boulder chapter of the American Association
> of University Professors (AAUP) has written that "we
> believe that the investigation now is widely perceived
> to be a pretext for firing Churchill when the real
> reason for dismissal is his politics." The
> investigation was launched in the wake of controversy
> provoked by an essay Churchill wrote after 9/11.
>
> Churchill noted in response to Brown's
> letter that "the University had received no formal or
> written complaints about my scholarship when it
> initiated this 'investigation.' All of the
> allegations investigated were either solicited or
> brought directly by University administrators." He
> also noted that "The Investigative Committee charged
> with conducting a 'fact-finding, nonadversarial'
> investigation was chaired by law professor Mimi
> Wesson, who - in February 2005 - had compared me to
> 'charismatic male celebrity wrongdoers' like O.J.
> Simpson, Michael Jackson and Bill Clinton, and had
> already come up with the faulty 'traffic stop' analogy
> the Committee used to justify its conclusions." The
> committee included no American Indians or experts in
> American Indian Studies, and scholars that had used
> Churchill's research in their own work were removed
> from the committee.
>
> The report of the committee hearing
> Churchill's appeal found that Churchill proved by a
> "preponderance of the evidence" that "but for" his
> exercise of his protected first amendment rights, the
> subsequent investigation of his scholarship would
> never have been initiated.
>
> In a recent open letter to colleagues
> around the country Dr. Margaret LeCompte, President of
> the Boulder AAUP Chapter, wrote: "What has happened at
> the University of Colorado makes a mockery of both due
> process and academic freedom protections, AND what
> faculty believe. It is a cruel violation of the
> delicate balance between faculty rights and
> administrative responsibilities. The entire process
> was a sham---imitating the form, but not the intent,
> of due process and fair, objective, scholarly
> investigation."
>
> Two faculty groups that have examined the
> report of the investigative committee claim that the
> report is seriously flawed. In an unprecedented
> action, both have now filed formal charges of academic
> misconduct against the members of the faculty
> committee. The most recent group to do so, made up of
> principally Indigenous scholars from around the
> country and Canada, documented "many instances of
> fraud, fabrication, plagiarism and/or serious
> deviation from accepted scholarly practices" which
> "demonstrate a consistent pattern of deliberate
> misrepresentation intended to discredit Professor
> Churchill's larger body of scholarship." Eric
> Cheyfitz, Ernest I. White Professor of American
> Studies and Humane Letters at Cornell University, has
> found "the Report turns what is a debate about
> controversial issues of identity and genocide in
> Indian studies into an indictment of one position in
> that debate."
>
> The implications of this case go beyond
> the threat to Churchill's reputation and career, as
> serious as those are. The attack on Churchill is seen
> by many in academia as part of a much broader attack
> on academic freedom and critical thinking and dissent.
> Dr. LeCompte notes, "It is not limited to Colorado. In
> fact, it is a test case by the US right wing to
> emasculate faculty rights in US universities."
>
> This is illustrated by the recent denial of tenure
> for DePaul University political scientist Norman
> Finkelstein. Though he was supported by his
> department, Finkelstein was denied tenure after an
> intense campaign spearheaded by Harvard Law School's
> Alan M. Dershowitz, who called Finkelstein "worse than
> Churchill." Many DePaul faculty and others were
> alarmed at Dershowitz's heavy-handed tactics and saw
> them as an attempt to punish one side of a
> controversial debate. Finkelstein said that DePaul's
> decision was based on "transparently political
> grounds" and was an "egregious violation" of academic
> freedom.
>
> Churchill noted in his response to Brown's
> letter that "President Brown, his new VP Michael
> Poliakoff, and Regent Tom Lucero, like Bill Owens, are
> key players in Lynne Cheney's American Council of
> Trustees and Alumni (ACTA). ACTA and similar
> neoconservative groups have received generous funding
> [from] Castle Rock (Coors), Scaife, Bradley and Olin
> foundations to eliminate Ethnic, Gender and Peace
> Studies Programs and to purge higher education of
> those who think critically, challenge historical
> orthodoxy, or otherwise threaten the status quo."
>
> Opposition to this impending firing has
> been increasing nationally, as more and more academics
> recognize the stakes involved in the Churchill case.
> An open letter signed by numerous prominent scholars,
> including Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Derrick Bell and
> Immanuel Wallerstein was published in the New York
> Review of Books in April. Scores of others have
> written letters of support, and there was a recent
> Emergency National Forum in Boulder of academics and
> supporters. The Society of American Law Teachers has
> written a letter arguing against a firing.
>
> Richard Falk, visiting Distinguished
> Professor at University of California, Santa Barbara
> recently wrote: "All of us who value academic freedom
> should now stand in full solidarity with Ward
> Churchill. The outcome of his case at the University
> of Colorado is the best litmus test we have to tell
> whether the right-wing's assaults on learning and
> liberty will stifle campus life in this country. Never
> in my lifetime have we in America more needed the sort
> of vigorous debate and creative controversy that Ward
> Churchill's distinguished career epitomizes. We all
> stand to lose if his principled defense fails."
>
> # # #
>
>
> Signed:
>
> Matthew Abraham - Department of English, De Paul
> University.
>
> William Ayers - Distinguished Professor of Education
> and Senior University Scholar, University of Illinois
> at Chicago.
>
> Derrick A Bell - Visiting Professor of Constitutional
> Law, New York University School of Law.
>
> Timothy Brennan - Departments of English and Cultural
> Studies & Comparative Literature, University of
> Minnesota.
>
> Renate Bridenthal - Emerita Professor of History,
> Brooklyn College, The City University of New York.
>
> Bob Buzzanco - Department of History, University of
> Houston.
>
> Dana Cloud - Associate Professor of Communication
> Studies at the University of Texas (Austin).
>
> Drucilla Cornell - Professor in the Departments of Law
> and Political Science at Rutgers University.
>
> Sandi E Cooper - Professor of History, College of
> Staten Island and the Graduate School, The City
> University of New York.
>
> Richard Delgado - University Distinguished Professor
> of Law and Derrick Bell Fellow, University of
> Pittsburgh.
> Richard A Falk - Albert G. Milbank Professor of
> International Law and Practice at Princeton
> University; Visiting Distinguished Professor (since
> 2002), Global Studies, University of California, Santa
> Barbara.
>
> Seth Kahn - Assistant Professor of English, West
> Chester University of PA.
>
> Rashid Khalidi, Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies,
> Middle East Institute, Columbia University.
>
> Vinay Lal - Department of History, University of
> California, Los Angeles.
>
> Gary Leupp - Professor of History at Tufts University,
> and Adjunct Professor of Comparative Religion.
>
> Henry Silverman - Professor and Chairperson Emeritus,
> Department of History, Michigan State University.
>
> Immanuel Wallerstein - Senior Research Scholar, Yale
> University.
>
> Tim Wise - Author of "White Like Me: Reflections on
> Race from a Privileged Son," and "Affirmative Action:
> Racial Preference in Black and White."
>
>
>
> For more information, contact us at
> (626) 319-1730
> Criticalxthinking@yahoo.com
> www.defendcriticalthinking.org
>
> Or contact any of the faculty listed below to arrange
> an interview:
>
> Matthew Abraham: matthew.mabraha2@gmail.com; (773)
> 682-9322.
>
> Timothy Brennan - brenn032@umn.edu; (651) 228-0965.
>
> Dana Cloud - dcloud@mail.utexas.edu; (512) 471-1947.
>
> Drucilla Cornell - sgkcornell@aol.com; (212) 260-9730.
>
> Seth Kahn - skahn@wcupa.edu; (610) 436-2915.
>
Harriet Miers and Sara Taylor from the White House Subpeonaed in Attorney Firings Scandal
This is getting really interesting. It seems the more Bush props up Gonzales, the more it seems the house is going to fall.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Hate Crime In Indiana
Violent hate crime in Indiana... why no coverage?
by feduphoosier
Tue Jun 12, 2007 at 05:54:25 AM PDT
Two young men in Jackson County Indiana said they were so freaked out when 'propositioned' by Aaron Hall on April 12th, that they proceeded to beat the 100 pound, 5'4 man for hours, using their fists, boots, dragging him down a staircase while his head slammed into each step, and then throwing him in a ditch and leaving. Aaron managed to crawl out of the ditch and out into a nearby field, where he died, alone and naked.
Sound familiar? A bit like the story of Matthew Shephard? Then why no coverage outside of Jackson County, Indiana?
feduphoosier's diary :: ::
Is the lack of coverage due, perhaps, to allegations that Hall is gay? Or that no one is sure that these allegations are even true?
You see, the story is even stranger than it appears. Some contend that the young men made up the story about having been propositioned so as to use the 'gay panic defense,' in hopes of getting a more lenient sentence. Apparently the thinking was that exposure to homosexuality is so frightening that well... heck, anyone would go crazy and beat the hell out of a guy for hours, then toss him in a ditch to die.
A number of Hoosier bloggers have wondered at the lack of local coverage. In the interest of promoting this case, I thought I'd bring it out here for your perusal. This is a horrific crime, and while I don't promote the kind of overdone sensationalism (carried on for weeks at a time) evidenced on CNN and Fox News, this man's death should draw some notice. It should serve as a warning, at the very least. Whether Hall was or wasn't gay isn't the point. The fact that the teenagers used this as their defense... speaks volumes.
This from the Bloomington Alternative... one paper that did cover the story:
Crothersville is a town of 1,500, located midway between Louisville and Indianapolis just off Interstate 65 in the southeast corner of Jackson County.
According to the U.S. Census, it is 97.6 percent white, and 75.4 percent of its residents 25 or older have high school educations. The national average is 80.4.
It's not the sort of place that makes big news often. One of the more recent times was in 2005 when a 10-year-old Crothersville girl named Katie Collman was kidnapped, sexually assaulted and murdered.
"Ironically, it was Terry Gray, Garrett Gray's father, who served as the Collman family spokesman during the investigation and court proceedings," the Times reported.
The Collman case was big news. Indianapolis Star-columnist-turned-Internet-blogger Ruth Holliday noted on May 8 that it "had a lot of twists and turns." A search of the Star Web site turns up more than a dozen stories.
Yet the Star has left the Hall murder to the Jackson County media, the never-to-be-trusted Indianapolis and Louisville television stations and bloggers like Advance Indiana's Gary Welsh, who has covered the story in depth and, along with Holliday, has questioned the lack of major media attention.
A search of the Star Web site for Aaron Hall returned zero stories.
On May 3, Welsh, who is an advocate for hate crimes legislation in Indiana, wrote a column titled "Why Won't the Star Cover The Hate Crime Killing of Aaron Hall?" He noted that the paper "has been silent" about the Hall case but that editorial writer RiShawn Biddle argued in his May 1 Star blog that a hate crimes law would not have prevented Hall's murder.
Tags: hate crime, Indiana, murder, media, violence, homophobia, hate, Discrimination
by feduphoosier
Tue Jun 12, 2007 at 05:54:25 AM PDT
Two young men in Jackson County Indiana said they were so freaked out when 'propositioned' by Aaron Hall on April 12th, that they proceeded to beat the 100 pound, 5'4 man for hours, using their fists, boots, dragging him down a staircase while his head slammed into each step, and then throwing him in a ditch and leaving. Aaron managed to crawl out of the ditch and out into a nearby field, where he died, alone and naked.
Sound familiar? A bit like the story of Matthew Shephard? Then why no coverage outside of Jackson County, Indiana?
feduphoosier's diary :: ::
Is the lack of coverage due, perhaps, to allegations that Hall is gay? Or that no one is sure that these allegations are even true?
You see, the story is even stranger than it appears. Some contend that the young men made up the story about having been propositioned so as to use the 'gay panic defense,' in hopes of getting a more lenient sentence. Apparently the thinking was that exposure to homosexuality is so frightening that well... heck, anyone would go crazy and beat the hell out of a guy for hours, then toss him in a ditch to die.
A number of Hoosier bloggers have wondered at the lack of local coverage. In the interest of promoting this case, I thought I'd bring it out here for your perusal. This is a horrific crime, and while I don't promote the kind of overdone sensationalism (carried on for weeks at a time) evidenced on CNN and Fox News, this man's death should draw some notice. It should serve as a warning, at the very least. Whether Hall was or wasn't gay isn't the point. The fact that the teenagers used this as their defense... speaks volumes.
This from the Bloomington Alternative... one paper that did cover the story:
Crothersville is a town of 1,500, located midway between Louisville and Indianapolis just off Interstate 65 in the southeast corner of Jackson County.
According to the U.S. Census, it is 97.6 percent white, and 75.4 percent of its residents 25 or older have high school educations. The national average is 80.4.
It's not the sort of place that makes big news often. One of the more recent times was in 2005 when a 10-year-old Crothersville girl named Katie Collman was kidnapped, sexually assaulted and murdered.
"Ironically, it was Terry Gray, Garrett Gray's father, who served as the Collman family spokesman during the investigation and court proceedings," the Times reported.
The Collman case was big news. Indianapolis Star-columnist-turned-Internet-blogger Ruth Holliday noted on May 8 that it "had a lot of twists and turns." A search of the Star Web site turns up more than a dozen stories.
Yet the Star has left the Hall murder to the Jackson County media, the never-to-be-trusted Indianapolis and Louisville television stations and bloggers like Advance Indiana's Gary Welsh, who has covered the story in depth and, along with Holliday, has questioned the lack of major media attention.
A search of the Star Web site for Aaron Hall returned zero stories.
On May 3, Welsh, who is an advocate for hate crimes legislation in Indiana, wrote a column titled "Why Won't the Star Cover The Hate Crime Killing of Aaron Hall?" He noted that the paper "has been silent" about the Hall case but that editorial writer RiShawn Biddle argued in his May 1 Star blog that a hate crimes law would not have prevented Hall's murder.
Tags: hate crime, Indiana, murder, media, violence, homophobia, hate, Discrimination
Monday, June 11, 2007
Sweet Love
Anita Baker
(Anita Baker, Louis A. Johnson & Gary Bias)
With all my heart I love you baby
Stay with me and you will see
My arms will hold you, baby
Never leave, 'cause I believe
[Chorus:]
I'm in love, sweet love
Hear me calling out your name, I feel no shame
I'm in love, sweet love
Don't you ever go away, it'll always be this way
Oh, your heart has called me closer to you
I will be all that you need
Just trust in what we're feeling
Never leave 'cause baby, I believe
I'm in love, sweet love
Hear me calling out your name, I feel no shame
I'm in love, sweet love
Don't you ever go away, it'll always be this way
No stronger love in this world
Oh, baby no, you're my man, I'm your girl
I'll never go, wait and see, can't be wrong
Don't you know this is where you belong
Sweet, sweet and lovely baby
Stay right here, never fear
I will be all that you need
Never leave, 'cause baby, I believe
I'm in love, sweet love
Hear me calling out your name, I feel no shame
I'm in love, sweet love
Don't you ever go away, it'll always be this way
(Anita Baker, Louis A. Johnson & Gary Bias)
With all my heart I love you baby
Stay with me and you will see
My arms will hold you, baby
Never leave, 'cause I believe
[Chorus:]
I'm in love, sweet love
Hear me calling out your name, I feel no shame
I'm in love, sweet love
Don't you ever go away, it'll always be this way
Oh, your heart has called me closer to you
I will be all that you need
Just trust in what we're feeling
Never leave 'cause baby, I believe
I'm in love, sweet love
Hear me calling out your name, I feel no shame
I'm in love, sweet love
Don't you ever go away, it'll always be this way
No stronger love in this world
Oh, baby no, you're my man, I'm your girl
I'll never go, wait and see, can't be wrong
Don't you know this is where you belong
Sweet, sweet and lovely baby
Stay right here, never fear
I will be all that you need
Never leave, 'cause baby, I believe
I'm in love, sweet love
Hear me calling out your name, I feel no shame
I'm in love, sweet love
Don't you ever go away, it'll always be this way
You Bring Me Joy
Anita Baker
You bring me joy
When I'm down
So much joy
When I lose my way your love comes smiling on me
I saw your face
And then I knew
We would be friends
I was so afraid, but your arms, they'd say 'come to me'
So I'd say to you
"Can we talk for a while?"
You'd say "alright"
When you love me, I smile
I feel your hands and you feel mine
You bring me joy
You bring me joy
Don't go too far away
If I can't see your face, I will remember that smile
But can this be right
Or should we be friends
I get lonely sometimes and I'm mixed up again
'Cause you're the finest thing I've seen in all my life
You bring me joy
My joy, my joy
I believe this is gonna be what you want it to be
I just love you, I just love you, can't you see
That you're the best I've seen in all my life
You bring me joy
My joy... you're my joy
My joy... my, my joy
Thank you, baby, thank you, baby
I just love you, baby
When I lose my way, your love comes smiling on me
You bring me joy
When I'm down
So much joy
When I lose my way your love comes smiling on me
I saw your face
And then I knew
We would be friends
I was so afraid, but your arms, they'd say 'come to me'
So I'd say to you
"Can we talk for a while?"
You'd say "alright"
When you love me, I smile
I feel your hands and you feel mine
You bring me joy
You bring me joy
Don't go too far away
If I can't see your face, I will remember that smile
But can this be right
Or should we be friends
I get lonely sometimes and I'm mixed up again
'Cause you're the finest thing I've seen in all my life
You bring me joy
My joy, my joy
I believe this is gonna be what you want it to be
I just love you, I just love you, can't you see
That you're the best I've seen in all my life
You bring me joy
My joy... you're my joy
My joy... my, my joy
Thank you, baby, thank you, baby
I just love you, baby
When I lose my way, your love comes smiling on me
Save Room For My Love
John Legend
Say that you'll stay a little
Don't say bye bye tonight
Say you'll be mine
just a little of bit of love Is worth a moment of your time
knocking on your door just a little
so cold outside tonight
let's get the fire burning
oh I know, I keep it burning right
If you stay, won't you stay - stay
save room for my love
save room for a moment to be with me
save room for my love save a little
save a little for me
won't you save a little
save a little for me - ohh
This just might hurt a little
love hurts sometimes when you do it right
Don't be afraid of a little bit of pain
pleasure is on the other side
Let down your guard just a little
I'll keep you safe in these arms of mine
Hold on to me - pretty baby
You will see I can be all you need
If you stay, won't you stay - stay
[Save Room lyrics on http://www.metrolyrics.com]
save room for my love
save room for a moment to be with me
save room for my love save a little
save a little for me
won't you save a little
save a little for me - ohh
[pa-ya-pa-pa] - [pa-ya-pa-pa] - [pa-ya-pa-pa] - [da-da-da]
Ohhh come on
Make time to live a little
don't let this moment slip by tonight
you never know what you are missing until you try
I keep you satisfied
if you stay, won't you stay - stay
save room for my love
save room for a moment to be with me
save room for my love save a little
save a little for me
won't you save a little
save a little for me - ohh
save room for love
save room for a moment to be with me
save a little, save a little for me
won't you save a little
save a little for me
Say that you'll stay a little
Don't say bye bye tonight
Say you'll be mine
just a little of bit of love Is worth a moment of your time
knocking on your door just a little
so cold outside tonight
let's get the fire burning
oh I know, I keep it burning right
If you stay, won't you stay - stay
save room for my love
save room for a moment to be with me
save room for my love save a little
save a little for me
won't you save a little
save a little for me - ohh
This just might hurt a little
love hurts sometimes when you do it right
Don't be afraid of a little bit of pain
pleasure is on the other side
Let down your guard just a little
I'll keep you safe in these arms of mine
Hold on to me - pretty baby
You will see I can be all you need
If you stay, won't you stay - stay
[Save Room lyrics on http://www.metrolyrics.com]
save room for my love
save room for a moment to be with me
save room for my love save a little
save a little for me
won't you save a little
save a little for me - ohh
[pa-ya-pa-pa] - [pa-ya-pa-pa] - [pa-ya-pa-pa] - [da-da-da]
Ohhh come on
Make time to live a little
don't let this moment slip by tonight
you never know what you are missing until you try
I keep you satisfied
if you stay, won't you stay - stay
save room for my love
save room for a moment to be with me
save room for my love save a little
save a little for me
won't you save a little
save a little for me - ohh
save room for love
save room for a moment to be with me
save a little, save a little for me
won't you save a little
save a little for me
Sunday, June 10, 2007
XCVII
The absence of good food
Is a sour shame. I dream of a hunk
or a gourd of thick block cheese
delight to taste but nothing is there.
I wish to try rich creams that put a pucker in your mouth
A savour so rich you have to devour your bottom lip in remembrance
To sample good living through good food that makes you want to get up and bounce dance steps off of the goodness of the earth
sharing your world and joy with someone in the absence of a fierce,
agonizing hunger.
XCVIII
Nights
Of
Chaka
Khan
loose
and
moving
to an
energetic
beat
grooving
to your
soul
LXXXIX
My Mother’s Vase
Patterns of Butterflies or
Popcorn, rich and Black like Me
XC
Sweltering heat of a summer night
Pillows blankets ice and a cooler
The grass between my toes in the middle of the park
Whispering crowds feeling the summer breeze coming off of the lake.
XCI
I remember my mother at thirty
I remember my mother at forty with black balloons and cigarette smoke
I remember my mother at fifty
XCII
The Family Cemetery
In between Guernica and the Jewish Cemetery lies
the majesty of our family cemetery. Filled with the
bones of Deramuses and Goodsons and Smiths these
bones, the flesh that once clung to human form,
the sacredness of their names unspoken, combined in unison to provide
the providence for our litany.
LXXIV
Things move here so painfully slow obstacles and sour smells invade and overtake my aims for progress--a successful block at which I fall; chin shudders
and I naturally drown the rhythm of my breathing;
a stifled staccato
where nothing else arises for the use of my humanity.
They tease and torture a moment’s silent movement and then halt to wait Five Ten Fifteen Fifty as the bus sits immobile,
its joints unreachable and glued together by the
steel trade winds of death
while my soul lingers on the edge of eternal bliss
following the blistering path of drumsticks, cymbals, and the movement of tongue
folding back into a throat.
LXXV
Sitting in the rain
under black umbrellas the
raindrops hitting the ground
like the twill of a cymbal
LXXVII
Hot Turkish Tea
pour gently into me
lift your porcelain spout and let it warm against my face before I breathe. Let
me taste the cinnamon, raw between your thighs and play scales up and down your
instrument with my fingers
measure my talents with your shallow breathing
2006
LXXVIII
He knocked on my door about midnight
Feelings flowing freely in expectations of liquor, camaraderie,
and a bonding friendship
We exposed our souls to each other
Came in close and spoke our truths to one another.
He spoke of a girl in Colorado,
His soccer days waned. I bore my soul
To him and love entered the room.
Slowly we express it with a kiss.
Lips to flesh, hands set free
To explore
LXXIX
Poem for Charles
You were sweet to me
And your caress inspired Roses
And lilies of the valley to grow in my soul
Ecstatic and Happy, I drank in the nectar of your good vibes,
Felt your soul lay welcome at my feet to drown myself in the pleasure that from you flowed.
Sweet spirit
Your bright eyes brought
Comfort to my weariness
In return, I gave myself to you, or
At least I tried
To unleash my selfish soul
As I relished the chemistry that sparked between us
That lit up the room spreading bright, new visions
To the darkened corners where I often sit.
LXXX
I sit here in the coffeeshop
Drinking my coke with the cap decidedly off the cup
Embarking upon my sweet potato which makes me feel
Utterly Caribbean. My handwriting decidedly vague, covering
Up and purposefully hiding that which I don’t want seen,
Which is me. Understanding the folly that trips me up- which is life and punishes me
Before the cold exacting words which do not care for me—and as I look into the reflection of the cobalt black I see Billie’s face smiling back at me
Her sparkling eye is my guiding star.
The road is unknown, but the journey will be a spectacular experience,
Understand that fate plays only a deliberate hand, and her skills
And her craft have been sharpened. I see the light shining on her face.
Open up Pandora’s Box, the gift she brings to you will be rewarding.
I understand my fate to be part and parcel of that predestined code,
Which will play out in fugues and adaptations as our humanity wills.
We understand our fate and look upon the receding tide to deliver us safely.
Understand the tides and ride them on with a great hope for oblivion.
Brandon
May 2007
The absence of good food
Is a sour shame. I dream of a hunk
or a gourd of thick block cheese
delight to taste but nothing is there.
I wish to try rich creams that put a pucker in your mouth
A savour so rich you have to devour your bottom lip in remembrance
To sample good living through good food that makes you want to get up and bounce dance steps off of the goodness of the earth
sharing your world and joy with someone in the absence of a fierce,
agonizing hunger.
XCVIII
Nights
Of
Chaka
Khan
loose
and
moving
to an
energetic
beat
grooving
to your
soul
LXXXIX
My Mother’s Vase
Patterns of Butterflies or
Popcorn, rich and Black like Me
XC
Sweltering heat of a summer night
Pillows blankets ice and a cooler
The grass between my toes in the middle of the park
Whispering crowds feeling the summer breeze coming off of the lake.
XCI
I remember my mother at thirty
I remember my mother at forty with black balloons and cigarette smoke
I remember my mother at fifty
XCII
The Family Cemetery
In between Guernica and the Jewish Cemetery lies
the majesty of our family cemetery. Filled with the
bones of Deramuses and Goodsons and Smiths these
bones, the flesh that once clung to human form,
the sacredness of their names unspoken, combined in unison to provide
the providence for our litany.
LXXIV
Things move here so painfully slow obstacles and sour smells invade and overtake my aims for progress--a successful block at which I fall; chin shudders
and I naturally drown the rhythm of my breathing;
a stifled staccato
where nothing else arises for the use of my humanity.
They tease and torture a moment’s silent movement and then halt to wait Five Ten Fifteen Fifty as the bus sits immobile,
its joints unreachable and glued together by the
steel trade winds of death
while my soul lingers on the edge of eternal bliss
following the blistering path of drumsticks, cymbals, and the movement of tongue
folding back into a throat.
LXXV
Sitting in the rain
under black umbrellas the
raindrops hitting the ground
like the twill of a cymbal
LXXVII
Hot Turkish Tea
pour gently into me
lift your porcelain spout and let it warm against my face before I breathe. Let
me taste the cinnamon, raw between your thighs and play scales up and down your
instrument with my fingers
measure my talents with your shallow breathing
2006
LXXVIII
He knocked on my door about midnight
Feelings flowing freely in expectations of liquor, camaraderie,
and a bonding friendship
We exposed our souls to each other
Came in close and spoke our truths to one another.
He spoke of a girl in Colorado,
His soccer days waned. I bore my soul
To him and love entered the room.
Slowly we express it with a kiss.
Lips to flesh, hands set free
To explore
LXXIX
Poem for Charles
You were sweet to me
And your caress inspired Roses
And lilies of the valley to grow in my soul
Ecstatic and Happy, I drank in the nectar of your good vibes,
Felt your soul lay welcome at my feet to drown myself in the pleasure that from you flowed.
Sweet spirit
Your bright eyes brought
Comfort to my weariness
In return, I gave myself to you, or
At least I tried
To unleash my selfish soul
As I relished the chemistry that sparked between us
That lit up the room spreading bright, new visions
To the darkened corners where I often sit.
LXXX
I sit here in the coffeeshop
Drinking my coke with the cap decidedly off the cup
Embarking upon my sweet potato which makes me feel
Utterly Caribbean. My handwriting decidedly vague, covering
Up and purposefully hiding that which I don’t want seen,
Which is me. Understanding the folly that trips me up- which is life and punishes me
Before the cold exacting words which do not care for me—and as I look into the reflection of the cobalt black I see Billie’s face smiling back at me
Her sparkling eye is my guiding star.
The road is unknown, but the journey will be a spectacular experience,
Understand that fate plays only a deliberate hand, and her skills
And her craft have been sharpened. I see the light shining on her face.
Open up Pandora’s Box, the gift she brings to you will be rewarding.
I understand my fate to be part and parcel of that predestined code,
Which will play out in fugues and adaptations as our humanity wills.
We understand our fate and look upon the receding tide to deliver us safely.
Understand the tides and ride them on with a great hope for oblivion.
Brandon
May 2007
Hot Sauce
XCVI
Hot Sauce
When once you are older and the
heat of it you welcome into your mouth
relishing the burning fire that tears
into your tongue and devours your throat
the raw spice in keeping with the flames that stain
the cheeks and produce bloodied faces.
Undone, with the sting of mortality.
Brandon
May 2007
Hot Sauce
When once you are older and the
heat of it you welcome into your mouth
relishing the burning fire that tears
into your tongue and devours your throat
the raw spice in keeping with the flames that stain
the cheeks and produce bloodied faces.
Undone, with the sting of mortality.
Brandon
May 2007
Recent Poems I Have Written
CX
Love be strange to me
withering slithers appear
Falling in my eye
CVII
One Day
One day
I’m going to think
With my hands and fingers
And use my mouth to formulate reason
And the heat encapsulating us will provide
The intellectual energy that steams our thoughts
Romance will season and flavor the electricity
That overtakes our bodies
And for once my body my mind and my soul will be as one
And together with you
CVIII
I am the other
Offended and exiled
Into the interiors of your cities
The interlockings
Of your past
CVI
We
are
all
buses
on busy streets
trying not to
run over anybody
trying to
maneuver
through tight traffic
and too close
calls
trying to
stay afloat and balanced
in an
effort to
move ahead
Brandon
May 2007
Love be strange to me
withering slithers appear
Falling in my eye
CVII
One Day
One day
I’m going to think
With my hands and fingers
And use my mouth to formulate reason
And the heat encapsulating us will provide
The intellectual energy that steams our thoughts
Romance will season and flavor the electricity
That overtakes our bodies
And for once my body my mind and my soul will be as one
And together with you
CVIII
I am the other
Offended and exiled
Into the interiors of your cities
The interlockings
Of your past
CVI
We
are
all
buses
on busy streets
trying not to
run over anybody
trying to
maneuver
through tight traffic
and too close
calls
trying to
stay afloat and balanced
in an
effort to
move ahead
Brandon
May 2007
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