Rerun

Circus: El Gorriaga, Spain. June 2004.
The wind returneth again to his own circuits . . .
The time that has been, it is that which shall be:
and that which is done is that which shall be done.
Ecclesiastes

It's A Start

US lawmakers introduce bill to ease Cuba travel

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Lawmakers in the US House of Representatives have introduced a bill to permit US citizens unrestricted travel to Cuba, according to the Library of Congress website.
The "Freedom To Travel to Cuba Act," which would overturn the 46-year-old US policy strictly limiting travel to the Caribbean island, will be subject to debate after being referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
The bill, introduced by Massachusetts Democrat Bill Delahunt and backed by eight other lawmakers, states that "the President may not regulate or prohibit, directly or indirectly, travel to or from Cuba by United States citizens or legal residents."
Currently US nationals are supposed to request Treasury Department permission to visit Cuba. They are not routinely allowed to spend money in Cuba -- the Americas' only one-party communist state -- creating an effective travel ban.
US President Barack Obama has said he would speak with all foreign leaders in sharp contrast to successive US administrations which have sought to isolate Havana.
But he has offered few details on how far he might be willing to go in reaching out to Cuba.
During his campaign for the presidency, Obama said the Cuba embargo had not helped bring democracy to the island, led by President Raul Castro, 77.
But so far he has said only that he would end some sanctions on Cuban-Americans traveling to the island, and eliminate limits on their remittances to relatives in Cuba.
The neighboring countries do not have full diplomatic relations, and the United States has an economic embargo on Cuba.

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Soupy Bowl

Sitting here trying to watch the Superbowl. Waste. This is the last year for me on this non-spectacle. The game is crashing like a gutted hotel. The only sport here is watching these dim bulbs trying to sell the world a pile of shit in the middle of a depression. Who's depressed? Not me.

And furthermore . . .

By FRANK BASS and RITA BEAMISH, Associated Press Writers

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Banks collecting billions of dollars in federal bailout money sought government permission to bring thousands of foreign workers to the U.S. for high-paying jobs, according to an Associated Press review of visa applications.
The dozen banks receiving the biggest rescue packages, totaling more than $150 billion, requested visas for more than 21,800 foreign workers over the past six years for positions that included senior vice presidents, corporate lawyers, junior investment analysts and human resources specialists. The average annual salary for those jobs was $90,721, nearly twice the median income for all American households.
The figures are significant because they show that the bailed-out banks, being kept afloat with U.S. taxpayer money, actively sought to hire foreign workers instead of American workers. As the economic collapse worsened last year — with huge numbers of bank employees laid off — the numbers of visas sought by the dozen banks in AP's analysis increased by nearly one-third, from 3,258 in fiscal 2007 to 4,163 in fiscal 2008.
The AP reviewed visa applications the banks filed with the Labor Department under the H-1B visa program, which allows temporary employment of foreign workers in specialized-skill and advanced-degree positions.
It is unclear how many foreign workers the banks actually hired; the government does not release those details. The actual number is likely a fraction of the 21,800 foreign workers the banks sought to hire because the government limits the number of visas it grants to 85,000 each year among all U.S. employers.
During the last three months of 2008, the largest banks that received taxpayer loans announced more than 100,000 layoffs. The number of foreign workers included among those laid off is unknown.
Foreigners are attractive hires because companies have found ways to pay them less than American workers.

With God on Our Side

Obama’s inauguration was inspiring, yes. The media, as usual, did its absolute best to make it more so, and quite unnecessarily, I’d say. For as most of us know, Mr. Obama is a genuinely inspiring and charismatic man. And the near-landslide election of an African American to the American presidency is incredible enough; we hardly need Tom Brocaw’s unctuous slathering to remind us of its uniqueness. But when the ass-kissing and the fashion shows and the unfounded comparisons with Lincoln were finally over, I came away with a slightly foul taste in my mouth: the taste of religion being stuffed down my throat. Last I heard, this government’s strength lay in keeping church and state at a distance, yet this inauguration was so full of preachers, prayers, and pious pleas to the Christian god that I began to wonder whether those time-honored 1st amendment strictures had been cast into the fiery pit. George Bush’s belief that he enjoyed a direct line to his maker was responsible for some of the most reprehensible policy decisions in recent history. One would hope that Obama, in spite of his sincere belief in a personal higher power, would keep it between him and his god, instead of requiring the rest of us to join in. Yes, he called for unity among the world’s most contentious religions, and, yes, we need all the help we can get, but where’s the unity in a script that features two Protestant clergymen (one a homophobe), a musical petition to the Christian god to protect American liberty, a mass recital of the Lord’s Prayer (the best known prayer in all Christendom), and, so help me God, an oath sworn on the Christian Bible?

Corrine and Larrybob

Bed, San Francisco. August 2007.
Corrine was less than forthcoming about her extramarital activities
and who could blame her
doing it was one thing, talking about it quite another
that’s why Larrybob was forever loath to inquire
after his wife’s nocturnal whereabouts
he knew he risked a shot to the mouth
or a slap across his lightly bearded face just for asking
like for example the rain-soaked morning she arrived home
panties in one hand, flip flops in the other
you must be freezing, he said
having risen from a fitful slumber to answer the bell
mind yer own beeswax, she’d countered
sauntering to the shower, tracking mud down the hall
Larrybob for his part was civil and obedient
he’d never known a woman like this
she was a wild mystery and in the thrall of that mystery
he was gutless, putty in her hands his father used to say
Larrybob could no more protest her infidelities
than he could defend his own pathetic obsequiousness
he simply loved every inch of this woman and had long ago decided
that he would tolerate any abuse she might see fit
to rain down on his empty head
so long as he could daily inhale her divine scent
so long as he could sleep most nights at her side 

and so long as he could, 

in his dealings with the fair citizens of Farfetch, 

refer to her proudly as the queen of his kingdom

and the light of his life.

it's always always

Sky consciousness, January 2008

beyond the icebound lake
the universe blazes
behind the canvas
a crow cries
the sound of all sounds

the stars between the trees
the trees beyond the stars

in that mountain
this mountain
in these rocks
all rocks
sleeping the life of always

this drop of day is on fire
this is what you are
adrift in the endless dream
in this time
in all time