Tyler's Turn Blog http://tylersturn.powerblogs.com/ This is a place for John Tyler Connoley to post pieces that are shorter than the essays at http://tylersturn.com en-us 2009-11-20T02:11+00:00 Powerblogs is Ending http://tylersturn.powerblogs.com/posts/1258682897.shtml The Powerblogs website, which hosts this blog, is going out of business as of November 30th. So, I'm moving to blogger.... John Tyler Connoley 2009-11-20T02:11+00:00 The Powerblogs website, which hosts this blog, is going out of business as of November 30th. So, I'm moving to blogger.

For the time being, I'm double posting everything, but soon you'll only be able to read my blog here.

]]> Another Poem http://tylersturn.powerblogs.com/posts/1258682542.shtml I recently had a reason to go through my old poetry, and I found this poem, which I wrote in 2001. It had potential but wasn't quite working. So I took... John Tyler Connoley 2009-11-20T02:11+00:00 I recently had a reason to go through my old poetry, and I found this poem, which I wrote in 2001. It had potential but wasn't quite working. So I took some time and revised it, and I'm finally happy with it (well, as happy as any writer can be with his own work).


for one who feels he has the voice of an ant

I have seen ants
marching
in columns
across a road
in Africa
where a war raged —
these men against those men,
those men against these —
but every man
stepping aside
for the steady line of army ants
unaware of tanks
or guns
or men with rifles.

And after,
I have looked
to see
the bones of a snake,
overcome by the slow
garrison
moving in unison —
each too small
to matter —
together
swallowing the serpent.

]]> Prayers against Poverty http://tylersturn.powerblogs.com/posts/1256236680.shtml Last Saturday, during the day, Rob and I took the Second Class bus from Oaxaca, where we were vacationing, to Teotitlan del Valle, an artist community about twenty miles outside the... John Tyler Connoley 2009-10-22T18:10+00:00 Last Saturday, during the day, Rob and I took the Second Class bus from Oaxaca, where we were vacationing, to Teotitlan del Valle, an artist community about twenty miles outside the city. In Teotitlan, we had a very expensive lunch -- touted by friends as the best in the valley -- and after we got back, we spent the afternoon walking through the huge, real market that surrounds the second-class bus station (as opposed to the less-real-seeming markets in Oaxaca City, which appear to be mostly for tourists and wealthier Oaxacans). The contrast between our lunch in solidly middle-class Teotitlan, and the cramped alleys of Mercado Abastos couldn't have been starker.

When we got back to our five-star hotel, we saw that the "movie star" was back from her day as well, because her body guards stalked the lobby in baggy shirts and earpieces. In the splendidly manicured courtyards, two brides in hundred-thousand-peso dresses were getting their pictures taken in the perfect late-afternoon light. And that night, as I lay in bed surrounded by the rooms of a former convent now filled with wealthy Mexicans and Europeans, I thought a lot about the extreme contrasts in Mexico between the rich and the poor. I also admit I despaired a little at the enormity of the problem of poverty -- and felt guilty at my participation in it -- even as I prayed for for the welfare of the people I'd literally bumped into that day at the market.

Then this afternoon, as I caught up on email, I discovered that many other people were meditating on world poverty that night. October 16th to 18th was designated by the United Nations as a time for "a global call to action against poverty" called STAND UP and TAKE ACTION. A friend belongs to a religious society that had committed to pray at 9pm on Saturday night in every time zone "for the wellness of all impoverished," and she emailed me an invitation to join in the prayers.

I'm still overwhelmed by the poverty I witnessed in Oaxaca, but I also believe in the power of prayer (especially if its part of a plan that includes further action). And I'm glad I was able to participate in my friend's prayers, even if I did it inadvertently.

]]> A Poem I Wrote Recently http://tylersturn.powerblogs.com/posts/1249160400.shtml ... John Tyler Connoley 2009-08-01T21:08+00:00 To my godson, who is three

Dear boy, dancing in your room
in socks and nothing else,
while your mother downstairs reads the news,
would that I could keep you
from eating of the tree
of knowledge.

Would that you remain
innocent of disease,
perpetually ignorant of your own creeping death,
happy as a clam
in socks and nothing else.

Not that I won't rejoice
at your dissertations and degrees,
your first crush on a classmate,
your wedding in the rain.
Not that I don't dream
of long talks about religion, and philosophy, and literature.
I cherish already the confidences we'll keep
when your anger at your mother boils over
and your Uncle Tyler is there to listen.

I only dread the day you eat
and know your death,
the embarrassment on your face at twelve
when you read this poem, and think of little you
dancing
in your socks and nothing else.]]> I Have a President http://tylersturn.powerblogs.com/posts/1226159607.shtml This morning in the shower, I was thinking about a letter I wanted to write to President Obama. (I write a lot of letters to my representatives in government.) Then I... John Tyler Connoley 2008-11-08T15:11+00:00 This morning in the shower, I was thinking about a letter I wanted to write to President Obama. (I write a lot of letters to my representatives in government.) Then I reprimanded myself, "He's not your president yet. You already have a president." However, in that moment, I realized this is the most important change for me this week. After seven years of non-representative government, I finally have a president again.

Early on in his administration, George W. Bush made it clear that those who did not stand with him on policy were dead to him. "You're either for us, or you're against us." Peace activists and liberals were beneath his concern. Those he deemed terrorists were below subhuman and not covered by human rights conventions. Those in same-sex marriages, of course, needed to be written out of the constitution.

When we learned of the secret torture prisons and the wire tapping, my Republican friends couldn't understand why I was so upset. Those measures are only for bad guys. But this president didn't believe he was president of all of us -- and I knew I was one of the non-constituents.

Under the Bush administration, I could easily imagine a future in which homosexuals or peace activists or any number of un-Americans were rounded up. With Bush it wasn't really much of a leap, particularly since it was clear he didn't think he was my president. "You're either with us, or you're against us."

That's why Obama's acceptance speech brought tears to my eyes. He seems to really believe that the President of the United States of America represents all of the states. I know I'll disagree with him on policy, but I also know he'll be my President, and not just president of the "real Americans." Compare Bush's assertion that you're either with us or against us to this paragraph from Obama's acceptance speech on November 4th:

It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled -- Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.

Come January 9th, for the first time in eight years, we will all have a president again.

]]> Has Anyone Told Sarah? http://tylersturn.powerblogs.com/posts/1224972968.shtml As John Connor's son, I was a little taken aback by the RFP from the Pentagon titled "Multi-Robot Pursuit System." According to this document, the government is looking for someone... John Tyler Connoley 2008-10-25T22:10+00:00 As John Connor's son, I was a little taken aback by the RFP from the Pentagon titled "Multi-Robot Pursuit System." According to this document, the government is looking for someone to "develop a software and sensor package to enable a team of robots to search for and detect human presence in an indoor environment."

They want packs of robots designed "to search for and detect a non-cooperative human subject." Yes, you read that right!

I'm calling Dad. He needs to get on this.

]]> The Sky Is Falling! The Sky Is Falling! http://tylersturn.powerblogs.com/posts/1222356088.shtml The worst thing about John McCain's silly idea to suspend his campaign until an economic package is hammered out is that it's adding to the panic. Remember the story of Chicken... John Tyler Connoley 2008-09-25T15:09+00:00 The worst thing about John McCain's silly idea to suspend his campaign until an economic package is hammered out is that it's adding to the panic. Remember the story of Chicken Little? In that story, Foxy Loxy uses the panic generated by Chicken Little to get everyone into his den for dinner. And in a crisis, McCain is proving to be another Chicken Little (or maybe George W. Bush), running willy-nilly right into Foxy's den.

As Rep. Mike Pence (R-Indiana) said, "I must tell you, there are those in the public debate who have said that we must act now. The last time I heard that, I was on a used-car lot."

Or, what about Reason Magazine: "If we're talking about restructuring the next couple of decades worth of financial rules, the discussion probably ought to take as long as, I don't know, all the good conversation that went into passage of The PATRIOT Act or something."

Incidentally, Reason is 40 years old this year, and well worth a subscription.

]]> Why (U.S.) Capitalism Doesn't Work http://tylersturn.powerblogs.com/posts/1222286651.shtml Those who prefer a well-regulated, European-style economy are gloating these days about the meltdown on Wall Street. It would be easy to assume that the events of the last few weeks... John Tyler Connoley 2008-09-24T20:09+00:00 Those who prefer a well-regulated, European-style economy are gloating these days about the meltdown on Wall Street. It would be easy to assume that the events of the last few weeks are proof-positive that capitalism simply doesn't work.

However, the current debacle reminds me of GK Chesterton, who said, "The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried." Same could be said for capitalism.

The basis of capitalism is that it taps personal greed as a means to achieving the ends of proper distribution of goods and services. Capitalism works because most people are ultimately selfish. However, for the system to work, the selfish capitalists must face the consequences of bad decisions. Risk, not the Fed, is the proper regulator of a free market.

The problem with the United States is that the government always steps in and takes away the risk. Everyone knows this, so there's no reason not to overextend. The same is true of the way we distribute land. Build wherever you want! Spend however you want! The government will rebuild your house if a hurricane washes it away, and buy off your bad debt when the NINJAs can't pay.

This is not a free market. It's a free lunch. And, someday, someone will have to pay for it. Looks like someday soon.

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