The Tin Foil Hat

It didn't behave
like anything you had
ever imagined. The wind
tore at the trees, the rain
fell for days slant and hard.
The back of the hand
to everything. I watched
the trees bow and their leaves fall
and crawl back into the earth.
As though, that was that.
This was one hurricane
I lived through, the other one
was of a different sort, and
lasted longer. Then
I felt my own leaves giving up and
falling. The back of the hand to 
everything. But listen now to what happened
to the actual trees;
toward the end of that summer they
pushed new leaves from their stubbed limbs.
It was the wrong season, yes,
but they couldn't stop. They
looked like telephone poles and didn't
care. And after the leaves came
blossoms. For some things
there are no wrong seasons.
Which is what I dream of for me.

~mary oliver

The World Trade Center towers as I remember them...

Nixonland: America's Second Civil War and the Divisive Legacy of Richard Nixon, 1965-1972. by Rick Perlstein

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars


What I remember best about the time chronicled in Nixonland was the front page cartoon headline of Madison's underground newspaper at the time - I think it might have been Kaleidoscope. It said: America Elects Asshole...

I recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand current American politics. Nixon was more than just a crook. He understood and exploited the resentments of the White lower and middle classes. It's the same strategy we see now in the McCain campaign.


View all my reviews.

I heard this news today from a friend who was in Knoxville's Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church during the shooting there last Sunday July 27th.

Diane and I were both there, and were the east side of the sanctuary where the gunman entered and were only a few feet from the people who were shot. At this point two have died, including our good friend Greg McKendry. Others, several of whom are not members of our church, but were visiting that day are seriously injured. Fortunately the gunman was restrained by members of the after shooting three rounds. It could have been so much worse if not for the heroism of some of our friends who were in position to stop him before he reloaded the gun. Physically we are both fine, and in time with support from others, many of whom were also there, we will recover and be stronger from this experience.

Diane and I have been active members of the TVUUC since we joined in 1991. We initially went to find a place of non-dogmatic religious education for our son Ben in a part of the country where Christian fundamentalism is often the norm. It is a common motivation for many people who join TVUUC. Here we found a loving and progressive community, with a congregation involved in doing good works in the world and in caring for each other.

Diane has chaired the annual church auction a few years and been active in the art gallery. She also organizes a monthly dinner and a movie night for women in the church called "Women's Table." I have served on the board, chaired the annual canvass to raise pledges for the next years budget, taught Sunday School and have been involved a various design projects for the church, including the church logo and sign used as a backdrop for the international press covering the shootings.

Both of us are very proud of our church. In the 1906s TVUUC played a leadership role in the civil rights movement in Knoxville. We have been an anchor for KIN, an interfaith organization here as well. Unitarian Universalists were the first to ordain women ministers and to hold union ceremonies for same sex couples. In recent years we have strived to provide a church home for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people in our community. We also have host a monthly coffee house for GBLT teenagers. Too often these youth are at risk for suicide, especially in a culture where they are openly persecuted. TVUUC has also been involved in efforts to improve reading skills at an inter-city elementary school and to prepare meals at a homeless shelter. Being associated with this church community has made both of us better people both in our outward deeds and inner lives. The website is: http://www.tvuuc.org.

The day following the shooting we have learned that the gunman left a four-page letter in which he wrote that he targeted TVUUC , "because of its liberal teachings and his belief that all liberals should be killed because they were ruining the country, and that he felt that the Democrats had tied his country's hands in the war on terror and they had ruined every institution in America with the aid of major media outlets." He also targeted gays and blacks in his letter. The FBI should certainly prosecute this as a hate crime.

The day following the shootings Diane and I attended a 2 hour counseling session for a group of people from our church - most of whom were there. It was healing - and a candlelight service followed, with the President of the UUA Reverend William Sinkford presiding. At the end, the children lead us in singing the song "Tomorrow" from the musical "Annie Jr." - which was cut short by the gunman. Some of the recent blogs about the event have been critical of us for presenting a musical as part of a church service. One of the things we love about Unitarian Universalism is that we allow people to find religious truth in many places ­ including Broadway musicals. Being able to do so is essential religious freedom. The service, in which compassion was expressed for the gunman himself was a beautiful response to an act of hate.

Both Diane and I are so proud of our community but also aware that standing for what is right in the world comes at a cost. This experience has strengthened our resolve to affirm life and continue down this path, as part of this loving community.

We appreciate the phone calls and emails we have received from many of you.

Love, Beauvais

Beauvais had this to say of Greg McKendry, the man who stepped in front of the gunman and drew his fire to protect everyone else:

Greg was a generous soul. We’ll have to make up for his love and good energy in this world...

Let's get started today.

There is a circle in Hell waiting for Fournier.