JOHNSTONE

Lindsey Graham's funeral was today, and as I watch all the worst people in the world express their grief at the loss of their dear darling friend, I find myself awash with gratitude that this particular warmonger lived a shorter life than such creatures often do.

Reading by Tim Foley.

It's not just all the war, injustice, ecocide and dystopia that hurts. It's knowing it didn't have to be this way. It's knowing what could have been.

Reading by Tim Foley.

There's a powerful new documentary out called Earth's Greatest Enemy by Abby Martin about the ecocidal abuses of the US war machine, and it addresses the most pressing existential hurdles we face as a species like nothing I've seen before.

Reading by Tim Foley.

There will be times,

oh my child,

when it all seems hopeless.

When the trees all have QR codes

and the bank boys and balrogs

are holding all the cards.

When your refrigerator tells you

"THE IRANIAN PEOPLE YEARN FOR FREEDOM"

and your electric shaver can smell

if you've been reading Parenti.

When you're on a first-name basis

with the police surveillance drones

and your colonoscopy screen

in the exam room

is running ads for Northrop Grumman.

And it is true,

oh my child,

it is true that the machine is mighty

and that its armor is very thick.

It is true that the bank boys

have long fingers

and they are putting marbles

in our minds.

The sky is red,

and the moon has a FOR SALE sign,

and parts of Palestinians

are turning up in our tap water.

But oh my child, do not be daunted,

and oh my child, do not despair.

There are forces within us

the Flock cameras can't see.

There are depths within us

not even the balrogs can reach.

Beneath all the doomscroll addiction psychosis,

beneath all the oceans of trauma and toil,

a creature is stirring

and opening its eyes,

its eyes full of primordial déjà vu,

its eyes full of Big Bang recursions

full of eyes

watching eyes

watching eyes

watching eyes.

It looks at you,

and you meet its gaze.

Everything goes still.

You remember what you are.

Oh my sweet, darling child,

you see it now.

You see that This

could never be contained.

_______________

Reading by Tim Foley.

Basically we've got two choices: we either aggressively denormalize Israel or we watch our society become more and more Israeli.

Reading by Tim Foley.

Israelis are happy for Americans to die for Israel, but they are unwilling to put their own lives on the line for the Zionist project.

Reading by Tim Foley.

One of the dumbest popular narratives you see today is the idea that Zionists persuaded a reluctant Trump to start a war with Iran after he was re-elected, like they were chasing him around going "Would you like to bomb Iran?" like the guy from Green Eggs and Ham while he yelled "Not in a box! Not with a fox!" until he eventually caved in.

Reading by Tim Foley.

Revolutionary optimism is a skill that you learn over time. Like any other skill, it takes practice to get good at it. Like any other skill, it can seem very difficult when you first start trying.

Reading by Tim Foley.

Our culture tells us that you do what you need to do to get the girl, and then once you’ve got her you just sort of coast along taking each other for granted until one of you dies. Because all the stories end before the real romance begins.

Reading by Tim Foley.

They were killed by the oligarchs and empire managers whose decisions sent them to die in yet another middle eastern war based on lies, and who will never lose a wink's sleep over it.

Reading by Tim Foley.