Friday, September 30, 2005

An Autumn Poem

Ok, so I once thought poems were pretty lies. Just mumble jumble of words put together to get readers confused and to keep on guessing. But in the spirit of the fall (haha, no I mean my favorite season!), I jotted down these lines and stanzas for my amusement. I call it: The FFFU.

The Fabulous Fall Foliage Union

There's something magical happening my friend.
Tell the elves, the hobbits and all the men.
The Ents are giving a colorful show
Make haste, Shenandoah now let's go!

Caratenoids and anthocyanins.
Unmask your true phenomneon within.
Oh Ents of hickories, oaks and maples.
The sun god must favor thee this label.

Treebeard invited many companies.
He had Wind to lead the choreography.
Miss Oak came and dressed in breathtaking red.
Scarlet Maple, Yellow Chesnut ahead!

Leaf seekers, you do not want to miss
An event very few days of bliss.
Nature lovers, stand back and gaze free.
Do a little dance and yell whoopee!

-Trynn Diesel-

End of September random post


I think I had a good month. The politcal activities I was involved in at the Hill and at the Mall, I will say little cuz all that had said has been postal mailed to the various congresswo/men. I spent so much time at the nation's capitol this month than all the years I've been in the United States. Yes, I live within ten miles of where I grew up since entering the United States. Well, no one in my hometown acts surprised about this, but G'burg graduates think it is unusual.

Oh, I must quickly type about our backcountry hike in the Shenandoah Valley before my brain freezes. The ride on Skyline Drive was exceptionally gorgeous. Series of beautiful stream valleys and breathtaking mountain overlooks. (Darts to my compooter for deleting all my photos) The Jeremy's Run trail was a 14.2 mile strenuous circuit, but because of the bear run* and the detours we had to back take, we easily made a 16-mile hike up the mountain and down. And yes, we did try to hike for a beer run on our last day, but we just got lost. I admitted it, I was in no shape for the hike. I thought nothing could be worse than a 120-mile kayak to the Bay. I guess I'm not good with the leg. It was so hard for me to bend my knees and breathe at the same time. I hear there's a zen method of breathing, but what got me to the top was fear--the fear of the black bears all around us. On our day, just before sun set, Steph saw a black bear twenty feet away from her, I shit you not. She was on her way to hang our food in a tree, until this black bear ran from one side of the trail to the other side. Her reaction was priceless. Luckily for us, the bear was such in a hurry to the other side that it didn't stop. We conquered the mountain and ran all the way down. It's been a while since our expedition to black bear country, but the best recounts and stories were all told over a few cold beer. Speaking of cold, I need a cuddling buddy! I mean a heater, yeah, a warm portable heater that I can take anywhere with me.

Friday, September 16, 2005

Department of Peace and Nonviolence

These past few days (5 days), I’ve been attending the 3rd annual Department of Peace Conference. I got to meet really cool people and to listen to really dedicated peace makers around the nation. Before I go on, here’s a brief description about the DOP legislation (now has changed to HR 3760) by the Peace Alliance:

::The Dept. would establish nonviolence as an organizing principle of American society, providing the U.S. President with an array of peace-building policy options for domestic and international use. The Department would focus on nonmilitary peaceful conflict resolutions, prevent violence and promote justice and democratic principles to expand human rights. Domestically, the Department would be responsible for developing policies which address issues such as domestic violence, child abuse, mistreatment of the elderly, school and gang violence and other issues of cultural violence. Internationally, the Department would gather research, analyze foreign policy and make recommendations to the President on how to address the underlying causes of war and intervene before violence begins. The Department of Peace would systematically root out the causes of violence by creating new and innovative programs, as well as vastly increasing support of the many existing programs around our nation and the world that are already having a positive impact.::

What I was interested in was the role of the US military. Now, the purpose of the military is to provide security, not to kill but to deliver security…more importantly to deliver peace. The DOP will include all the positive movements. The environment, for example, will be transformed into some form of action because planet we called Earth is in a crisis phase. I was more interested in the prospect that the DOP will address issues of domestic and cultural violence where my beloved Linda Trinh was a victim of her assailant. I cannot share the details of her violent death, but I believe that the peace communities will help prevent further bloodshed of this kind. There hasn’t been closure that I seek. But I tell you, no military can provide for a stable emotional state. Violence begets violence. Azim Khamisa, one of the keynote speakers, says it best about dealing of grief and loss that “grief has to be transformed into a powerful commitment to change”. It’s a powerful notion of which I am still seeking.

I was so pleased that the conference went so well organized with influential speakers and dedicated people. Walter Cronkite the legendary CBS evening news anchorman gave his unequivocal support to the DOP in a public conversation with Congressman Dennis Kucinich (pictured above). Patch Adams(my second encounter with him) was being himself, always zestfully exuberance. I definitely envy that quality.

At any rate, since the conference the bill is already garnering support in Congress with 62 co-sponsors, including my Congressman Albert R. Wynn (4th district, Md). Haha, I was edgy at the meeting with his legislative director Alon Kupferman, but our persistence and commitment paid off. Woo hoo!! Now we just need 156 more congressmen to co-sponsor. I also would like to thank GG, SH, JH, FB and CS for making it possible for me to attend this conference.

Thursday, September 15, 2005

Bureaucratic coyness



The liberal magazine Newsweek has an interesting article concerning Hurricane Katrina and how the White House has failed to adequately respond quickly enough to the worst natural disaster in American history.

The President will address the nation tonight about the Hurricane in the Gulf Coast. He will say what he said the other day, that he takes "full responsibility" for what went wrong with the federal response to Katrina. I’m so proud of him. It must've taken a lot of guts to admit something like that. Then again, when a politician takes full responsibility for a disaster, it’s probably mean: 'oops, gee, mistakes were made. I blame the information system.' Figures.

Friday, September 02, 2005

Where the hell is the relief!?

It has been five days! Five days!! I tried not to watch the news cuz it made me cried the last time I saw the report on Hurricane Katrina. I'm absolutely outraged by the entire situation and find it hard to even think about it. It's unthinkable for what's going on in New Orleans. I donated $20 to the American Red Cross (that's all I can afford nowadays), and I'd like to think that they're doing the best they can. Giving money doesn't help me feel better, but it's a start. I'm alarmed that help from the government does not appear to be arriving. Dubya, you're a friggin' coward. This is a failure of human leadership. I'm pissed off at your delayed reaction to this national crisis, you incompetent douchebag. Put aside the race issue and fly down to the Bayou now! And don't just fly over and peek out of the window again. Get your feet wet!