moon eclipse 

this loss of face 

so brief 

____________________

Published in Haiku in English, Daily Haiku Selection, Mainichi Japan, June 14, 2011

tsunami 
the dark and cold side 
of the moon 

moonless sky 
only sleet and rain 
on the window 

harvest moon 
the street corner loses 
its panhandler 

evening tryst 
she smiles on seeing 
the moonrise 










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*For One Single Impression, Prompt: Love

haloed moon
another icon this Lent
to stare at 









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*For One Single Impression, Prompt 108: Aura

waning moon
dad's stories missing
a few Easters 

moonlight 
on cold bedsheets 
Valentine's 

Haiku 111909

children's games
autumn moon seeking
cloud cover

Haiku 110709

campfire tales
hunter's moon crossing
our lake






For One Single Impression, Prompt 88: Shift in Time

Haiku 110309

the full moon
framing bare treetops
church icons

Haiku 081909

the tree carries

Converse rubber shoes

a crescent moon

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Recently, we read the following:

Star Tribune: “Obama goes on offensive in support of health care plan, saying critics using 'scare tactics' “ by Philip Elliot (Associated Press)

“Braced for a fight he never got, President Barack Obama went on the offensive in support of his health care plan Tuesday, urging a town hall audience not to listen to those who seek to 'scare and mislead the American people…'

“Retooling his message amid sliding support, he addressed some of his remarks to a vital and skeptical audience: the tens of millions of people who already have health insurance and are generally satisfied with the care they get.

“He said the overhaul is essential to them, too, contending it is the way to keep control in their hands. Obama said while government bureaucrats should not meddle with people's care, bureaucrats at insurance companies should not, either...

“He singled out the charge that the Democratic health care legislation would create "death panels" to deny care to frail seniors. Former Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin has said the Democrats' legislation includes "death panels" that could deny care.

“Obama declared that a provision that he said had caused the uproar would only authorize Medicare to pay doctors for counseling patients about end-of-life care, living wills, hospice care and other issues, if the patients wanted it...

“He also disputed the notion that adding a government-run insurance plan into a menu of options from which people could pick would drive private insurers out of business..."

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And we thought:

...This is exactly what President Obama should be doing on a regular basis. He should leverage his credibility to periodically re-assure people. He should help outline the benefits of his proposed health care program to make it easier to digest. He should meet critics’ outright lies and scare tactics head-on.

After all, he did have a 3-million-vote majority that rejected McCain and his fellow doomsayers. And Palin – who has been mislabeling doctor counseling as “death panels” -- she and her ilk are only credible to those who lack critical thinking and can’t debate intelligently -- or at least, coherently -- like herself.

Change is difficult. Positive change is more difficult because of the unknowns. It's difficult to shed the old that one has gotten used to, with its flaws and all. But the worst we can do is to do nothing at all...



a contemporary haiku and current events blog. occasional notes on [and pokes at] nature and society. and some of their maddening stuff…like the economy finance capital mergers energy health care insurers jobs retirement politics government congress courts conflicts united nations human rights lennon peace culture mores education alienation religion erving goffman artifacts history social change twitter scientific method sports travel environment wildlife carbon footprint global warming earth...

Haiku 071809

bugs watch
the lamp grow brighter
waning crescent

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Recently, we read the following:

Associated Press: “GOP senators weigh options in Sotomayor's wake” by Jesse Holland

"Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor won her first public pledge of support from a Republican senator Friday, after a smooth performance at her confirmation hearings that has placed her firmly on track to become the high court's first Latina and the first Democratic-named justice in 15 years.

"Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., announced that he would vote for Sotomayor, calling her 'clearly qualified to serve on the Supreme Court,' after four days of Judiciary Committee hearings in which he said she showed 'a judicial temperament.' Lugar, who previously voted to confirm Sotomayor to her current spot on a federal appeals court, was just the first of what is expected to be a number of Republicans who back Sotomayor….

"The GOP's leader at the confirmation hearings, Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama has said he has no interest in stopping or even delaying Sotomayor's confirmation vote as the country's 111th Supreme Court justice….

" 'Your judicial record strikes me as pretty much in the mainstream of judicial decision-making,' said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. Added Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.: 'You have, as a judge, been generally in the mainstream….'

"Sotomayor's hearings were as much a prelude for future Supreme Court fights as a battle over the judge herself. Republicans criticized Obama's assertion — made before nominating Sotomayor — that he was looking for a justice with 'the quality of empathy,' and an earlier statement when he was a senator that some decisions depend on what's in a judge's heart…."

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And we thought:

….Whatever’s in Sotomayor’s heart, her presence in John Roberts’ Supreme Court will remake the latter. The dialectics will change….

Haiku 031409

bare trees
casting moon shadows
black and white movie

***************

Recently, we read the following:

Associated Press: "China's premier defends policies on Tibet, ignoring questions about massive security buildup"

"China's premier offered an unqualified defense Friday of his government's policies in Tibet, ignoring questions about a massive security buildup in the Himalayan region…. Thousands of police and paramilitary soldiers have been patrolling and manning checkpoints across Tibet and Tibetan-inhabited regions in western China in recent weeks, ready to head off any repeat of wide-scale anti-government demonstrations.

"Tensions have spiked ahead of two key anniversaries this week: the 50th anniversary of a failed Tibetan uprising that sent the Dalai Lama into exile and Saturday's one-year anniversary of violent anti-Chinese riots in Lhasa that sparked the largest protests in decades….

"Asked whether the massive security presence pointed to failings in Beijing's policies, Wen said: 'The situation in Tibet is on the whole peaceful and stable. The Tibetan people hope to work in peace and stability'…. "

***************

And we thought:

.... The Chinese premier also conveniently ignored questions about documented human rights violations against indigenous Tibetans. Is this the way to handle contradictions with other nationalities? "End the occupation! Free Tibet!"....