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TheCount.user_id = null; TheCount.embedder = getParameterByName('from_url'); TheCount.referrer = getParameterByName('from_referrer'); TheCount.url = 'http://exchange.prx.org/playlists/373941'; TheCount.logAction({action:'view'}); }catch(e){ if (typeof console !== 'undefined') { console.warn("TheCount// ", e.toString(), e); } } </script> <div class="column span-16 last"> <div class="top-headline"> <h2> Playlist: It's Not What You're Given. It's What You Do With What You Get </h2> <p> <strong>Compiled By:</strong> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/individual_accounts/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> </p> </div> <div class="series-image" style="width:240px"> <div> <img alt=" Credit: " src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/playlist_images/16287/signal-2022-03-31-20-33-33-672-5_medium.jpg" title="" version="medium" width="240" /></div> <div class="credit"> </div> </div> <div class"description-lead"> <div><p>These days, from the intricacies unraveled through the secrets of the human genome to the moral entitlement of any number of religious sects, what you are given is grabbed onto like a brass ring. Turns out though, as the lyrics of the great Maine blues singer Pat Pepin remind us, it's not what you're given, it's what you do with what you get.(https://music.apple.com/us/song/aint-what-you-got/251286315)</p></div> </div> </div> <div class="toggle-playlist-commentary"> <a href="#" class="toggle-notes-link">Hide notes</a> <a href="#" class="toggle-notes-link" style="display:none">View notes</a> </div>  <div id="playlist-container"> <div id="playlist_section_374745" class="playlist-section"> <a name="playlist_section_374745"></a> <div class="playlist-commentary"></div> <div class="playlist-item odd" id="playlisting_102551"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/555098-the-lying-sequence-an-american-s-sonnet">The Lying Sequence, an American's sonnet</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 01:54 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>Hannah Arendt said, “If everyone always lies to you, the consequence is not that you believe the lies, but that no one believes anything at all anymore.” A poem about lies and what they do. </p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_1078436" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/555098-the-lying-sequence-an-american-s-sonnet" target="blank">The Lying Sequence, an American's sonnet</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="5131426" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="114" data-expires="1739972840" data-piece_id="555098" data-token="afbf985dc1030a40fc6399fd86cb8feb" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="PRXTheLyingSequenceASolsticeSonnet"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Lightdarkbuddha_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/966579/LightDarkBuddha_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <div>The Lying Sequence</div> <div>Hannah Arendt said, “If everyone always lies to you, the consequence is not that you believe the lies, but that no one believes anything at all anymore.” <br /></div> <div>I.</div> <div>Lying wears mind and body down from all</div> <div>of the physical contortion involved,</div> <div>bent, forward, back, minds wizened, in tumult</div> <div>when one person makes a choice to resolve </div> <div>feeling deprived by ignoring the truth,</div> <div>an arm twisted behind the back, no one</div> <div>quite sees. We never quite learn how to soothe</div> <div>the broken continuity, undone</div> <div>by seeing the truth tortured,  blown up, hung</div> <div>with deceit, reality left behind.</div> <div>Where has gratitude for finding among</div> <div>fallen leaves, promise, wonders  truth has done.  </div> <div>Breathing ends. When, no one has ever known,</div> <div>exactly, and then it changes to stone.</div> <div>II.</div> <div>The sister's husband forged my mother's name</div> <div>on checks and emptied out her checkbook</div> <div>the day she died. My mother never came</div> <div>back to consciousness, silently death took</div> <div>her, a dead woman who always tried so</div> <div>hard to help her daughter feel richer than  </div> <div>she was. It's always the best time to know</div> <div>the truth about indifference when you can.</div> <div>It's always the best time to look in the eye</div> <div>of the one who assaulted, turn a man</div> <div>in, this man's wife still ignoring his crime. </div> <div>My mother owned her signature, believed</div> <div>deceit is a timeless primitive thief.  </div> </div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>The Lying Sequence, an American's sonnet | 01:54</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/555098", title: "The Lying Sequence, an American\'s sonnet on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/555098' addthis:title='The Lying Sequence, an American's sonnet'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/555098' addthis:title='The Lying Sequence, an American's sonnet'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-555098-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p555098-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/555098/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item even" id="playlisting_102485"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/554248-moral-indifference-how-moral-awareness-is-changed">Moral Indifference: How Moral Awareness is Changed </a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 02:20 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>How moral awareness is shaped by the actions of leaders. “He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps perpetuate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.”- Martin Luther King. </p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_1076696" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/554248-moral-indifference-how-moral-awareness-is-changed" target="blank">Moral Indifference: How Moral Awareness is Changed </a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="5118253" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="140" data-expires="1739972840" data-piece_id="554248" data-token="605f86cd9732c048d976439a59534a36" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="PRXMoralIndifference"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Breathingamericansonnets_small" height="92" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/957067/BreathingAmericanSonnets_small.png" version="small" /> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;">Moral Indifference: How Moral Awareness is Changed</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;">A very well-educated Ivy League graduate, entitled, financially well-off, real estate inheritor, who is just living life experiences an outcome he does not like. Over and over he accuses others as stealing from him so he lies about it, over and over. He incites a situation in which someone dies. Then,a person holds him accountable. That person should be severely punished. Jailed, he says. </span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;">You probably think I'm talking about Luigi Mangione, a very well-educated Ivy League graduate, entitled, financially well-off, real estate inheritor, who planned and is now charged with the murder of the CEO of the largest Health Insurance Company in the country.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;">I'm not. I'm referring to Donald Trump who lied over and over about the 2020 Election results, who called a “love fest” the January 6 Insurrection in which 5 people died, who now says the person should be jailed who tried to hold those inciting it accountable. That person is Liz Cheney, who chaired the January 6 Congressional Committee. </span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;">Moral development is shaped and imitated by exposure to the cultural and interpersonal moral awareness surrounding you. </span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;">I can see where you might be confused. After all, Luigi Mangione, a very well-educated Ivy League graduate, entitled, financially well-off, real estate inheritor, angry about outcomes, justifies someone being killed, self- describes as a heroic icon, is morally indifferent to the same Rule of Law Donald Trump is morally indifferent to. Trump plans to pardon those convicted of January 6 crimes. Tell me the difference between the two. </span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“<span style="font-size: small;">He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps perpetuate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.”- Martin Luther King</span></p> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>Moral Indifference: How Moral Awareness is Changed | 02:20</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/554248", title: "Moral Indifference: How Moral Awareness is Changed on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/554248' addthis:title='Moral Indifference: How Moral Awareness is Changed '>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/554248' addthis:title='Moral Indifference: How Moral Awareness is Changed '>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-554248-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p554248-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/554248/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item odd" id="playlisting_102747"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/558223-the-meaning-of-life-two-poems">The Meaning of Life, two poems</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 02:01 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>And here we are.</p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_1084805" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/558223-the-meaning-of-life-two-poems" target="blank">The Meaning of Life, two poems</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="5177632" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="121" data-expires="1739972840" data-piece_id="558223" data-token="58f25423f5e32a5cb36cb12ecce1c694" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="PRXTheMeaningTwoofLife"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Edgarlibby_small" height="92" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/965579/edgarlibby_small.jpg" version="small" /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The Meaning of Life, two poems</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"How we spend our days is, of course how we spend our lives."</span></span></p> <ul> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">-Annie Dillard-</span></span></p> </ul> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I.</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In the moment, where we are, it all seems</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">smaller, softer, far from what it should be.</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">But that's how life is, the way it flows, teems</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">inside the jar of us, the mortal sea</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">of who we are. No, it is not that we're</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">so  different all the time. All we are</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">is there and who and what is living here</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">not so different, from before, not so far</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">away. Oh, but it's believing it that</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">comes hardest. No one is entirely</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">content that all they have to do is catch</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">their breath, take the next step, trying to be free.</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">What is loud and vibrant, what is vivid</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">easy, life's meaning a gift we give it. </span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">II.</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In the middle of their lives, everything</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">seems to move along as they expected,</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">the day by day, lifting each foot up, stepping</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">into the very next, still connected</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">to the meaning, timelessness, what they had</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">experienced, then tragedy struck or</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">rather everything changed or rather bad</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">things accumulated and more and more</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">of the unpredictable, the cause and </span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">effect hidden, from the well-intentioned,</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">who ignore, as we all do, loss, the sand</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">slipping through the hour glass, never mentioned.</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">There they have it. It is called a life lived,</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">so hard to hold it all, this timeless gift. </span></span></p> </div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>The Meaning of Life, two poems | 02:01</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/558223", title: "The Meaning of Life, two poems on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/558223' addthis:title='The Meaning of Life, two poems'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/558223' addthis:title='The Meaning of Life, two poems'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-558223-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p558223-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/558223/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item even" id="playlisting_102699"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/555511-the-river-as-this-dawn-appears-an-american-s-sonn">The River as this Dawn Appears, An American's Sonnet for This Time</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 01:05 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>Fourteen years ago, The River is Wide series launched on PRX. Watching the river still reassures all will be well.</p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_1079283" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/555511-the-river-as-this-dawn-appears-an-american-s-sonn" target="blank">The River as this Dawn Appears, An American's ...</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="5166721" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="65" data-expires="1739972840" data-piece_id="555511" data-token="291e2b5b6951e77a52c659bc385f0ff9" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="PRXTheriverasthisdawnappears"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Prxcitizensguidetocynicism_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/963867/PRXCitizensGuidetoCynicism_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The river as this dawn appears</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The river as this dawn appears demands</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">suspension of the freezing, each drop of</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">water moving still. Each molecule stands</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">up to it, intrusive cold, come out of </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">nowhere. The change disrupts its simple flow,</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">its dailyness is the necessary</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">business rivers follow. The movement shows </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">us all will be well. Each estuary,</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">the shallow places, filled at their leisure,</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">inside each one a moving sea, within.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The eye can't see, intricately measure</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">what is there, all its timelessness, what's been.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The river's flow uninterrupted now.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Change, though, always comes back our way, some how.</p> </div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>The River as this Dawn Appears, An American's ... | 01:05</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/555511", title: "The River as this Dawn Appears, An American\'s Sonnet for This Time on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/555511' addthis:title='The River as this Dawn Appears, An American's Sonnet for This Time'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/555511' addthis:title='The River as this Dawn Appears, An American's Sonnet for This Time'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-555511-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p555511-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/555511/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item odd" id="playlisting_102645"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/556539-ethical-decision-making-in-2025-part-i">Ethical Decision-Making in 2025, Part I</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 01:04 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>Aspirations for 2025 in a sonnet.</p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_1081378" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/556539-ethical-decision-making-in-2025-part-i" target="blank">Ethical Decision-Making in 2025, Part I</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="5150195" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="64" data-expires="1739972840" data-piece_id="556539" data-token="dc1546135b9acebf10bd669702a3970d" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="PRXEthicDecisionPartI"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Blueandmaggieanna122024_small" height="92" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/961715/BlueandMaggieAnna122024_small.jpg" version="small" /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p>Ethical Decision Making in the New Year</p> <p>Part I</p> <p> </p> <p>They believe they are right in acting as</p> <p>if the right answers are known to them, as</p> <p>if there were only unknowns before, as</p> <p>if when they started thinking, knowledge as</p> <p>their own mere thoughts in their heads appeared, as</p> <p>one truth which happened to masquerade as</p> <p>human creations, which, just because, just as</p> <p>they believe there's some ultimate truth, as</p> <p>all encompassing, is,  can be, fixed, as</p> <p>the best policy to put in place. As</p> <p>if every single word they've uttered as</p> <p>truth could never turn out to be false, as.</p> <p>They may well, in their frenzied law-making</p> <p>discover Truth's not theirs for the taking.</p> </div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>Ethical Decision-Making in 2025, Part I | 01:04</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/556539", title: "Ethical Decision-Making in 2025, Part I on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/556539' addthis:title='Ethical Decision-Making in 2025, Part I'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/556539' addthis:title='Ethical Decision-Making in 2025, Part I'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-556539-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p556539-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/556539/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item even" id="playlisting_102640"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/556540-ethical-decision-making-in-2025-part-ii-an-ameri">Ethical Decision-Making in 2025, Part II, An American's Sonnet</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | :57 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>More aspirations for the New Year.</p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_1081380" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/556540-ethical-decision-making-in-2025-part-ii-an-ameri" target="blank">Ethical Decision-Making in 2025, Part II, An ...</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="5150199" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="57" data-expires="1739972840" data-piece_id="556540" data-token="94fc5d00ccb9db602b2c99a453ac9346" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="PRXEthicsPartIIforNewYear"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Blueandmaggieanna122024_small" height="92" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/961719/BlueandMaggieAnna122024_small.jpg" version="small" /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p>Ethical Decision Making for 2025</p> <p>Part II</p> <p> </p> <p>They are pretending to follow</p> <p>an ethical path. It is a pretense</p> <p>of holding onto dignity, hollowed</p> <p>out, decency, still maintaining a sense</p> <p>of human integrity, upper most</p> <p>in their mind and heart. I want someone who</p> <p>stops the car, goes over to the dog close</p> <p>to the road, who almost got hit, who knows</p> <p>danger does not discriminate between</p> <p>those who have money and those who cannot</p> <p>find twenty-five dollars, but never mean</p> <p>ill will. It's just that their luck ran off.</p> <p>I hope someone will realize when time ends</p> <p>is never measured by what they cannot mend.</p> <p> </p> </div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>Ethical Decision-Making in 2025, Part II, An ... | :57</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/556540", title: "Ethical Decision-Making in 2025, Part II, An American\'s Sonnet on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/556540' addthis:title='Ethical Decision-Making in 2025, Part II, An American's Sonnet'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/556540' addthis:title='Ethical Decision-Making in 2025, Part II, An American's Sonnet'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-556540-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p556540-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/556540/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item odd" id="playlisting_102425"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/333826-who-rules-the-world-in-a-world-where-truth-really">Who Rules the World In a World Where Truth Really Matters</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 09:02 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>In 2007, after the Iraq War began, Truth was traded freely for access to Power. The consequence of today's hemorrhaging of Truth requires more than a new paragraph or additional breath of Journalistic air. We witness a paradigm shift...</p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_670710" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/333826-who-rules-the-world-in-a-world-where-truth-really" target="blank">Who Rules the World In a World Where Truth Really ...</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="5111325" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="542" data-expires="1739972840" data-piece_id="333826" data-token="91f46bbaaf3cffaf442d6694a6aa2df6" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="PRXTwoWhoRulestheWorldinAWorldWhereTruthMatters"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Humblempbnboardmeeting2007_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/961763/HumbleMPBNBoardMeeting2007_small.png" version="small" width="92" /> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Who Rules the World in A World Where Truth Really Matters</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The New York Times has summarized every bone-chilling book-length account of Donald Trump published so far. The analysis fails to capture or even name the disturbingly subtle paradigm shift in each of them.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Here under the subheading “The President and the Truth”, the article begins with “the whompian great Trump untruth” that Trump's inauguration was the largest in history. “Even Mr. Spicer did not believe it, though he had to pretend otherwise,” the article's author surmises.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And in that sentence, if Democracy too has a half-life as all inorganic matter does- you buff nuclear physicists please note you witnessed it being ignored in the New York Times. The utter displacement of conscience and patent collusion with distortion and falsehood for the sake of the ambition to become an appendage of the powerful, fondling at will or whim. Maybe it's the physics of Democracy approaching their moment of nuclear exposure. The consequence of this trading off our obligation to truth demands far more scrutiny than just the creation of a new paragraph.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">An analogous trade of truth for power comes to mind, one which transpired in that sacred cow of journalistic truthtelling- public broadcasting- endorsed, accepted while the journalistic team watched quietly nearby. Right here in Maine distortions of truth travelling incognito among public broadcasting journalists.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In 2007, following the onset of the Iraq War, a Maine Public Broadcasting volunteer producer who always accompanied his traditional jazz program with patois- Maine native patois- was fired. He always included subtly layered criticism of local and world events. No hostility. Some exasperation. And when the George W.Bush Iraq War began, one evening's program began “I don't care for war...” In another, he went on to demean a politician from down South, whose cruelties amasse destruction and loss. The producer had honed his Nazi knowledge bank. He was referring to Adolf Hitler.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Maine Public Broadcasting's Sean Spicer/Lindsay Graham/ Reince Priebus analogue- Charles Beck, the Vice President of Radio and Television programming- censored and then canceled the jazz program. I am referring here to “the humble Farmer”.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">To this day, the entire white Republican-financially dominanat Board of Trustees (donors of over $100000 to the Republican National Committee, Susan Collins and Olympia Snow) vote to support Beck's censorship and firing remains. It was a suppression of truth- their own fondling of an appendage of power who was an appendage of power. It was not a matter of anti-war vs. war-mongering . Humble's firing was a matter of silencing those who speak otherwise about the truth.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span>Then and now, the suppression meant that a different perspective on the Iraq War or any event which may render a more encompassing reality- is not heard- by the young, adolescents, the elderly because of the compliance of the mostly male Republican who feared endangering the political plum they had been given from the low-hanging fruit in a fictitious Paradise known as Public Broadcasting- an appointment to Maine Public's Board of Trustees. It came with a maximum Republican party donation. What possible consequence could follow from a Board of Trustees compliantly reaching their hand out at just the right time to vote to suppress the dislike of war voice and fire he who dares to raise it?</span></span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Sean Spicer- all of the Republicans who now in their written memoire- have completed a “reverse ferret” as the British say- flipping from declaring Donald Trump “unfit” to be President to becoming his ally are no different than the Maine Public Board of Trustees of 2007. They too traded truth to agree to the whim of yet another white male power holder who singlehandedly silenced for not one but two, three or more generations the truth about war. It destroys people,places, lives.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">War is the same testosterone aphrodisiac that has now seduced every Republican office holder and brought a President who openly lies, truth ignored too by a Press Secretary who “had to pretend otherwise.”</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">At the time of the firing of “The humble Farmer”, I wrote an Op-ed called “Who Rules the World and Why It Matters”. Relatives then 3 and 5 years old, had mused about exactly that question,swinging on their hammock an a peaceful summer day, thousands of miles away from Iraq, Afghanistan, flush then with George W. Bush testosterone.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Not now though. The oldest has set his sights on signing up for the National Guard, his act of patriotism. And yes, I hold Maine Public's Board of Trustees accountable for their passive acceptance of Charles Beck's myopic world view. The absence of the possibility of a perspective that says “I don't care for war” was missed by the 3 and 5 and 10 and 15 </span></span></span><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: Perpetua, serif;">and 19 year olds who did listen to the radio back then. That Board's complicity contributed fully- just like Sean Spicer and all those carrying out their own reverse ferrets.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The answer my then 5 year old relative gave when I reversed his question and asked him “Well, who do you think rules the world?”</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;">“<span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span>Kings and queens and Presidents and the news, “ he said then.</span></span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Now, we know the first 3 come and go. But as we bear witness to the truth now hemorrhaging from its own failed immune system, I see an utter failure of one of the rulers of the world from that 5 now 18 year old's perspective. That ruler is the News and. Those who report it who have colluded and almost succeeded in creating a world where the Truth doesn't matter. And any paleobiologist, historian or developing adolescent will tell you- with us or without us- it does.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>Who Rules the World In a World Where Truth Really ... | 09:02</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/333826", title: "Who Rules the World In a World Where Truth Really Matters on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/333826' addthis:title='Who Rules the World In a World Where Truth Really Matters'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/333826' addthis:title='Who Rules the World In a World Where Truth Really Matters'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-333826-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p333826-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/333826/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item even" id="playlisting_102101"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/224023-watch-your-500-pound-gorilla-very-carefully-a-cit">Watch Your 500 Pound Gorilla Very Carefully: A Citizen's Guide </a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 04:17 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p> <br />Not too long ago, I watched a program about a 500 pound gorilla whose owner taught him to sign. That gorilla, all grown up, would move his finger an inch off his massive thigh and the owner immediately recognized it. “Oh, that’s his sign when he’s whispering- kind of like at a cocktail party when you tell someone something from across the room so no one else will know.“ I will acknowledge here that I implied the owner was reading a lot into what the gorilla did. I said, "I would prefer a gorilla- any day- his place or mine- who was more straight forward. After twatching the political landscape, I am reminded: watch the Gorilla carefully.</p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_473150" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/224023-watch-your-500-pound-gorilla-very-carefully-a-cit" target="blank">Watch Your 500 Pound Gorilla Very Carefully: A ...</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="5041069" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="257" data-expires="1739972840" data-piece_id="224023" data-token="a3dc6b001d9181fe80c3adc7ca007281" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="GorillaCorrectedACitizensGuide2017"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="20241016_101129_small" height="92" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/948467/20241016_101129_small.jpg" version="small" /> <div style="text-align: center;">Watch Your 500 Pound Gorilla Very Carefully-<br />A Citizen’s Guide<br />-Susan Cook-</div> <div><br />Not too long ago, I watched a program about a 500 pound gorilla whose owner taught him to sign.   That gorilla, all grown up, would move his finger an inch off his massive thigh and the owner  immediately recognized it. “Oh, that’s his sign when he’s whispering- kind of like at a cocktail party when you tell someone something from across the room so no one else will know.“ I will acknowledge here that I implied the owner was reading alot into what the gorilla did. I said, "I would prefer a gorilla- any day- his place or mine- who was more straightforward."</div> <div>I am now thinking it is important to watch the gorilla very, very carefully, especially in the political realm. These days there are many, many in the political realm who are not straightforward, if not downright cagey.</div> <div>Let's take Senator Susan Collins (Maine) and her role in passing the Republican sponsored Tax Overhaul. "You put your right foot in, you take your right foot out, you put your right foot in and you shake it all about! You do the hokey-pokey then you turn it all around. Let's what it's all about."</div> <div>Gorillas also can do the Hokey-pokey. You just have to watch closely, as they may do it in slow-motion, like Senator Collins did.</div> <div>Here's what she did. She wasn't sure if she'd support the bill in its initial form unless they included a property tax deduction for people who own property, like many working class people don't own. (Gorilla puts right foot in.)</div> <div>Then she said she would support it if she got promises (Gorilla bends backward as if laughing uncontrollably) from the Republican dominated Senators that they would pass legislation "soon" to "stabilize" the Affordable Care Act. Senator Collins you may remember had withheld her vote on prior Republican-sponsored measures to completely decimate health insurance coverage for millions of Americans and thousands of Mainers. (Gorilla takes right foot out.)</div> <div>Then after much hemming and hawing and purely deceptive communication (much like the ambiguity of Gorillas using sign language),  she (Gorilla puts left foot in and shakes it all around) again ambiguously waited. After all, the county Ms. Collins hails from has the lowest median income in Maine. So a tax bill that slams the middle class and then does nothing for the working class who will see Mainecare -Medicaid- and Medicare slashed to cover the enormous tax breaks this bill gives the top 1% of income earners, is not exactly designed for those living in Maine.  (Gorilla takes left foot out.)</div> <div><br /><br />But just before the song ends, the Senator votes "Yes" on a whisper and a tap on the thigh- Gorilla sign language after all.  And she steps and turns around and does the Hokey-pokey and that's what's it's all about.</div> <div>Moral of the story? Forget what I said about my 500 Pound Gorilla. Keep a close eye on your gorilla- locally, state-wide and nationally.  </div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>Watch Your 500 Pound Gorilla Very Carefully: A ... | 04:17</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/224023", title: "Watch Your 500 Pound Gorilla Very Carefully: A Citizen\'s Guide on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/224023' addthis:title='Watch Your 500 Pound Gorilla Very Carefully: A Citizen's Guide '>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/224023' addthis:title='Watch Your 500 Pound Gorilla Very Carefully: A Citizen's Guide '>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-224023-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p224023-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/224023/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item odd" id="playlisting_101877"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/89838-the-bad-guy-view-of-the-world">The Bad Guy View of the World</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 03:41 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>Many six year olds believe that the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. The President of the NRA, is of the same mind, or at least that's what he says. The offensiveness of his use of a child's view of the world to discuss the Newtowne massacre stands beside the reality that many aspects of the real world prove him wrong. Drone attacks, Mahatma Gandhi and the Tarasoff Law that mandates that mental health professionals must inform potential victims of a mentally ill patient with intent to kill all suggest that the President of the NRA (and fast forward to 2022, remarks by Senator Ted Cruz to the NRA) are incorrect. Many things stop homicidal people from killing. </p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_203228" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/89838-the-bad-guy-view-of-the-world" target="blank">The Bad Guy View of the World</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="4994532" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="221" data-expires="1739972840" data-piece_id="89838" data-token="c18815336487571a92b58b14f95895bd" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="TheBadGuyViewoftheWorld"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Protectingthechildrenjpg_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/933095/ProtectingtheChildrenjpg_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" />                                           The "Bad Guy" View of the World<br />                                                        -Susan Cook-<br /><br />Many six year olds believe that the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. The President  of the NRA, is of the same mind, or at least that's what he says. The offensiveness of his use of a  child's view of the world  to discuss the Newtowne massacre  and  the Florida high school murders stands beside the reality that many aspects of the real world prove him wrong. Drone attacks, Mahatma Gandhi and the Tarasoff Law that mandates that  mental health professionals  must inform potential victims of a mentally ill patient with intent to kill all suggest that Mr. LaPierre  is incorrect. Many things stop homicidal people from killing. <br /><br />Oddly,  even the cry for genetic testing of Adam Lanza  who carried out the Newtowne atrocityand all the massmurderers who have followed him  argues against Mr.  LaPierre's belief. After all, if genetic testing found a gene that is linked to killing then all the good guys on earth with guns won't  ever  stop the bad guys with guns.  Adolf Hitler and the many wars in which thousands have died suggest that one bad guy with a gun and one good guy with a gun lead to two bad guys with guns and two good guys with guns and on and on and on. <br /><br />If there is a gene ( and we know that a gene is only  important as a phenotype- that is- how it plays out in the real world) then guns wouldn't help. Gene therapy would. Many geneticists don't  believe there is such a gene in the first place. <br /><br />In our nationwide speculation about what stops one mentally ill person who has been given access to a gun from killing people,  the pharmaceutical industry has been oddly silent. There is always the possibility that  they have a drug on their back burner that stops bad guys from killing, if the drug is prescribed and taken. The pharmaceutical industry already has many drugs that assuage homicidal or suicidal  impulses. They also have psychotropic drugs that carry the potential side effect of intensifying agitation and impulsive aggression. It would be the drug industry's ethical responsibility to tell  us which of their kitchen cabinet of psychotropic drugs has the potential for creating this agitated aggressive side effect in patients.  Doesn't it make sense that before we conclude that every school in the country have its own  arsenal, that we ask about the psychotropic medications that Mr. Lanza and  the young man in Denver and  the one in Tucson, and all the other bad guys who had regular contact with mental health professionals were prescribed? And if impulsive aggression and agitation that some of these drugs have as potential side effects contributed to their behavior that the NRA President attributes to their "bad guy" side?  Isn't that a question we need to ask? <br /> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>The Bad Guy View of the World | 03:41</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/89838", title: "The Bad Guy View of the World on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/89838' addthis:title='The Bad Guy View of the World'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/89838' addthis:title='The Bad Guy View of the World'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-89838-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p89838-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/89838/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item even" id="playlisting_101840"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/544458-the-sixty-second-moral-inquiry-how-do-we-distingu">The Sixty Second Moral Inquiry: How Do We Distinguish the Plagiarism of a Self-serving Imposter from Authentic Shared Purpose?</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 01:01 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>The Sixty Second Moral Inquiry asks questions about the wrong others seem to miss.</p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_1056647" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/544458-the-sixty-second-moral-inquiry-how-do-we-distingu" target="blank">The Sixty Second Moral Inquiry: How Do We ...</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="4983113" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="61" data-expires="1739972840" data-piece_id="544458" data-token="0d65b3c576589517bbbfa7ba6ffb8b6b" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="PRXTHeSixtySecondMoralInquiryHowdowedistinguish"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Flymagnetphoto_medium_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/939415/FlyMagnetPhoto_medium_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The Sixty Second Moral Inquiry:</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">How do we distinguish the Plagiarism of the Impostor</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">from the Authentic Commitment to goodness and shared purpose of others?</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Plagiarism means there for the taking. An Impostor is quick to take words someone else created if it suits her/him. The meaning of the words or respect for those who make them up to apply to certain situations is set aside for the self-promotion of the Impostor. How do we call out the Impostor's plagiarism? Where is the User's Guide to explain what's wrong with plagiarism and self-promotion masquerading as authentic commitment to some valued shared intention?</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p> </div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>The Sixty Second Moral Inquiry: How Do We ... | 01:01</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/544458", title: "The Sixty Second Moral Inquiry: How Do We Distinguish the Plagiarism of a Self-serving Imposter from Authentic Shared Purpose? on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/544458' addthis:title='The Sixty Second Moral Inquiry: How Do We Distinguish the Plagiarism of a Self-serving Imposter from Authentic Shared Purpose?'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/544458' addthis:title='The Sixty Second Moral Inquiry: How Do We Distinguish the Plagiarism of a Self-serving Imposter from Authentic Shared Purpose?'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-544458-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p544458-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/544458/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item odd" id="playlisting_101494"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/539420-hope-is-not-the-thing-with-feathers">Hope Is Not the Thing With Feathers</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | :59 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>This Democracy brings us optimism, change and always, hope.</p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_1046336" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/539420-hope-is-not-the-thing-with-feathers" target="blank">Hope Is Not the Thing With Feathers</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="4914579" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="59" data-expires="1739972840" data-piece_id="539420" data-token="1418ad09e00a18a730d6b80f9a1cbc3b" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="PRXHopeisnottehthingwithfeathers"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Breathing_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/series_images/33623/Breathing_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Hope is not the thing with feathers<br />-Susan Cook-</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Hope is not the thing with feathers. It is</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">not like that at all. Its body is a </span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">visible felt whole, slow, slipping within</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">you, starts the searching, tending with a</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">vigil for its passage back and forth, here</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">there, becoming solid, sculpted from mist</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">rising from marsh grass, water's murmur, mere</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">fluctuations, cast its shivering sheen.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">There it is, a thousand drops of light splayed</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">out, that's all it takes, the weight of nature</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">waking, its thousand tons of motion staid</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">like minutes of fixation, ancient, pure.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Hope is not the thing with feathers, lies curled</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">within each being, thicker than the world.</span></p> </div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>Hope Is Not the Thing With Feathers | :59</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/539420", title: "Hope Is Not the Thing With Feathers on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/539420' addthis:title='Hope Is Not the Thing With Feathers'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/539420' addthis:title='Hope Is Not the Thing With Feathers'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-539420-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p539420-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/539420/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item even" id="playlisting_101725"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/60158-and-always-from-behind-where-women-are-now">And Always From Behind: Where Women Are Now</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 04:00 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>In 2024, the time is now for women to acknowledge how women are discredited by others. And yes women discredit women. All of this contributes to a character ceiling for women which lies much lower than the one men negotiate. The Election for President reminds that targeting women's character - demeaning it- draws no anger or distress from many many women in this country.</p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_142760" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/60158-and-always-from-behind-where-women-are-now" target="blank">And Always From Behind: Where Women Are Now</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="268519" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="240" data-expires="1739972840" data-piece_id="60158" data-token="f59e581515b26a5c8e6b8eedb68f4bb2" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="AndAlwaysFromBehindWhereWomenAreNow"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Mainewomensmarchsusancookpic" height="92" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/465798/MaineWomensMarchSusanCookPic.2jpg_small.JPG" version="small" /> <div>"And Always  From Behind: Where Women Are Now"<br />-Susan Cook-</div> <div>I found  notes I  wrote-not  after I received a doctorate or  jobs at prestigious places.  I wrote them after being  denied jobs that would have been promotions for jobs I was already doing very well, at lower wages, with less job security. </div> <div>Twenty years later, my notes don't qualify as  "sour grapes".  They qualify as the truth. In honor of  this International Women's Day, let us recognize the  ways in which  women are still  discredited. That cultural scion, Shakespeare, started it. They persist today: The Shrew, The Loose Woman and The Sot.</div> <div>When I applied for these job promotions, accusations were  always made from behind. Passive aggression, where one feels the stab in back but cannot see who  holds the knife is acknowledged practice among  4th  grade girls. Among College Deans too. </div> <div>"Feedback" is how women learn what is really going on through what is unsaid: body language and the social signals. </div> <div>Twenty  years ago, I sat down  for feedback   with a woman in a  white suit who leaned against her desk, with arms folded and glared as I asked questions.</div> <div>What happened?</div> <div>"The other person", she said "had  stronger interdisciplinary  teaching and  research  with many perspectives. " "My degree is   interdisciplinary, I've taught interdisciplinary  courses. I've published about interdisciplinary education."  "Yes", she said, "but  the other person had a broader social science background. There really isn't anything else I can say." </div> <div>I gave the Job Reviewers my  teaching evaluations- The average of my overall rating was 3.9 on a 1 to 5 scale, for the 40 courses I had taught.  "But the clarity of presentation  was lower", she said.    "That overshadowed all the other ratings?"  "Well, in your presentation, you might want to do a literature review to investigate the area you are presenting on- rather than present and put it back to the group. Since there is so much work that's been done in this area, you might have wanted to research it." At that moment,  I think,  she remembered that I had written an entire dissertation about the 15 minutes I was given to speak "like I would to an undergraduate class."   "I am struck by the myopia brought to this job process."  "In every area the person was more widely read. You mentioned one book.." And she said, "What stayed with me was when you said, 'and 'The book's premise is  'a happy thought is a happy molecule' [I was quoting Deepak Chopra's  book about mind/body connections, whose work she had not read.] I said "After 2 1/2 hours?" And she said, "Well, the other person was just more well read in all areas- history, political science, etc." And then , she said, "It's done and you should just let go of it. And frankly, you're making me angry." <br /> </div> <div>After 2 years of false promises, and turning down better jobs,  like a woman taking a disproportionate share of responsibility for a job description that said nothing about history or political science, but focused on the content of 40 courses I had already taught, I said , "Well,  I am sorry you're angry."</div> <div>No one told me directly that the shrew, the loose woman, or the sot which weren't me then or now,  limited my reading in political science.   When I asked to look at the job search file, it could not be found. Twenty years later, these kinds of events comprise women's history.</div> <div>Four years  before that,  a woman in a different color suit told me that the job committee thought I might be a shrew.  I had never met the secretaries who made this claim.   When I asked for the student evaluations from  a course I taught later that summer that I knew were excellent,  the Dean couldn't find the evaluations.  They never called the secretaries of  the man who got the job to see if he was  a shrew. Search committees have a hard time summoning  nerve to ask if  a man is " a shrew or loose or a sot." Think Clarence Thomas and Anita Hill here.</div> <div>Women make women's history. The glass ceiling from the  women's museum of aspiration  has been  shattered and replaced by a character ceiling. Behind it, out of site, there are calls of "shrew... loose woman ... sot" from the underground female voice called passive aggression. Shakespeare and Anita Hill were  upfront about it . Women need to be.</div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>And Always From Behind: Where Women Are Now | 04:00</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/60158", title: "And Always From Behind: Where Women Are Now on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/60158' addthis:title='And Always From Behind: Where Women Are Now'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/60158' addthis:title='And Always From Behind: Where Women Are Now'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-60158-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p60158-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/60158/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item odd" id="playlisting_101500"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/539419-an-american-sonnet-to-a-fire-gone">An American Sonnet to a Fire Gone</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 01:20 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>Everything changes, if only we can see it.</p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_1046334" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/539419-an-american-sonnet-to-a-fire-gone" target="blank">An American Sonnet to a Fire Gone</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="4914587" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="80" data-expires="1739972840" data-piece_id="539419" data-token="4323a7e48a5b7a31ad10a30de67347be" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="PRXToaFireGone"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Breathing_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/931455/Breathing_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: small;">To a Fire Gone<br /><br /><em>Epilogue to "Breathing: American Sonnets"</em></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"> </span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;">"<em>Reluctance”<br />-Robert Frost-</em></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>"Ah, when to the heart of man</em></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>Was it ever less than treason</em></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>To go with the drift of things,</em></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>To yield with a grace to reason</em></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>And bow and accept the end</em></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>Of a love or a season?"</em></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: small;">When was it less than treason? But what do</span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: small;">you mean, Mr. Frost? That’s for countries to</span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: small;">feel short-changed by. Loss happens to those who</span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: small;">see the passing on of days, years, one blue</span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: small;">time in life, one breaking, undoing a</span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: small;">treacherous rope they were holding onto,</span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: small;">its deep burn. In the coldest time of day</span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: small;">or night, fires started that you thought grew</span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: small;">larger instead were, licked back into their</span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: small;">own intensity, remained confined on</span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: small;">one small patch of earth. You did not see where</span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: small;">the fire, some time later, died. You were gone.</span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: small;">Big difference, see, between countries resigned</span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: small;">to losing, small unfed fires, gone in time.</span></span></p> <div><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div> </div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>An American Sonnet to a Fire Gone | 01:20</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/539419", title: "An American Sonnet to a Fire Gone on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/539419' addthis:title='An American Sonnet to a Fire Gone'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/539419' addthis:title='An American Sonnet to a Fire Gone'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-539419-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p539419-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/539419/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item even" id="playlisting_101435"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/538645-the-violence-of-denying-reproductive-rights">The Violence of Denying Reproductive Rights</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 05:03 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>Media articles or Judicial discussions rarely if ever include the possibility of domestic abuse toward the child or the mother as risk factors which demand Reproductive choice.</p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_1044743" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/538645-the-violence-of-denying-reproductive-rights" target="blank">The Violence of Denying Reproductive Rights</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="4903217" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="303" data-expires="1739972840" data-piece_id="538645" data-token="2885794c60ec5b43f9dcb0a22e46b1b8" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="PRXTheViolenceofDenyingReproductiveRights"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Mainewomensmarchwomenarewatching_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/930271/MaineWomensMarchWomenAreWatching_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <p style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin-bottom: 0in;">The Violence of Denying Reproductive Rights<br /><em> Published July 27, 2024 Portland (ME) Press Herald</em></p> <p style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin-bottom: 0in;">In Maine, 49% of the homicides that took place between 2020 and 2023 were females who were victims of domestic violence (Biennial Report of the Maine Domestic Abuse Homicide Review panel). As this statistic is made public, we know there is transitory astonishmen<span class="gmail_default"><span style="font-family: tahoma, sans-serif;">t just as</span></span><span class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large; font-family: garamond, serif;"> </span>when the numbers of children dying from abuse or neglect surface from the Kids Count Data Center. Each of these murders- and those identified as consequent to domestic violence quickly fade from the public view and consciousness if not conscience.</p> <p style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p> <p style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin-bottom: 0in;">Find me a media article or Judicial discussion of medical risk to a woman seeking to terminate pregnancy which describes suicidality as the outcome for some women denied reproductive choice. Find me one that points to the risk of murder of a woman or a child by domestic violence as a medical risk. Suicidality of the woman or a real risk that she or a child born out of an unwanted pregnancy will be targets of ongoing or emerging domestic violence are rarely if ever identified as medical risks. Being impregnated by an emotionally or physically abusive partner does not spontaneously prevent continuation of that abuse if a pregnancy is brought to term. An abusing relationship history does not evolve into non-abusive parenting spontaneously. Parenting development is complex. Some traverse the complexity. Some do not.</p> <p style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin-bottom: 0in;">Numbers don't convey the compelling narrative of people's lives or bring the realization that anyone can become one of those numbers.</p> <p style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin-bottom: 0in;">Women (and men) become helpless in violent and abusive relationships. They can feel utter hopelessness impregnated by a partner whose tendencies and history suggest a future as a negligent, abandoning, emotionally if not physically abusing parent.</p> <p style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin-bottom: 0in;">The co-option of female choice means she imay be unwillingly forced to become complicit in society's failure to prevent violence- emotionally or physically- to her or children. Maine's homicide statistics analyzed another way reveal the number of children who have died because of abuse or neglect either before or after Child Protective Service involvement. In 2021, 34 children died from abuse or neglect, 31 in 2022 and 25 in 2023. Between 2021 and 2023, the rate of foster care placement per thousand minor-aged children ranged from 9.0 to 9.6 children . There were 2020 children in foster care in 2021, 2320 in 2022 , 2401 in 2023. These numbers from the Kids Count Data Center are after the fact of deep suffering, that has led to removal of child from high risk home and sometimes succeeds and sometimes does not succeed in preventing more suffering.</p> <p style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin-bottom: 0in;">These numbers are never mentioned in Judicial discussions of the medical risk of denying reproductive rights. Despite the fawning of Amy Conant Barrett or Clarence Thomas or Samuel Alito or any number claiming to value human beings, this society , Maine included, fails to protect child-bearing-age women and children far more often than we ever know. We only learn months and months later amid a pile of numbers. The numbers may include women denied reproductive choice who are in deep, irreversible despair . But that too we never know.</p> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>The Violence of Denying Reproductive Rights | 05:03</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/538645", title: "The Violence of Denying Reproductive Rights on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/538645' addthis:title='The Violence of Denying Reproductive Rights'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/538645' addthis:title='The Violence of Denying Reproductive Rights'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-538645-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p538645-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/538645/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item odd" id="playlisting_101415"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/204101-fake-news-and-the-violation-of-civil-liberties">Fake News and the Violation of Civil Liberties</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 05:55 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>Some years back, Maine Public Radio fired the host of a 30 year popular jazz program, The humble Farmer because he criticized the Iraq War. His criticism of Real News led to Maine Public Radio demanding he sign Guidelines to not make ‘political statements’ on air. He refused. Fast forward several years, and we now see Fake News displacing Real News. A Bangor Daily News reporter who was formerly the Communication Director for Sen. Susan Collins in one particularly outrageous example created his own Fake news to demean me. A complete untruth about Me! Period. Fake news is the scourge of the free press and free speech. But it only ends when ethical individuals call Communication Directors and reporters out on it. In the incident described, explaining the ethical problem in his reporting falls to me. I'll do it. </p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_435037" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/204101-fake-news-and-the-violation-of-civil-liberties" target="blank">Fake News and the Violation of Civil Liberties</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="4899453" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="355" data-expires="1739972840" data-piece_id="204101" data-token="fee14166d17ed7f745f8f3c3890d8dcd" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="PRXFakeNewsandCivilLibertiesViolations"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Screenshot_1-8-2024_103256_exchange" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/929843/Screenshot_1-8-2024_103256_exchange.prx.org_small.jpeg" version="small" width="92" /> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Fake News and the Violation of Civil Liberties: Political Retribution in the form of Fake News</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">-Susan Cook-</span></span></span><br /><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Some years ago, Maine Public Radio fired the host of a 30 year popular jazz program, The humble Farmer because he criticized the Iraq War started in retribution for -stop me if you already know this- the terrorist attacks of September 2001. His criticism of Real News led to Maine Public Radio demanding he  sign Guidelines to not make ‘political statements’  on air. He refused. The Real News that emerged  was that heavy  Republican Donors populated the Maine Public Broadcasting Board of Trustees- 160000 dollar donors who then influenced humble‘s firing. </span></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Fast forward many days, and Fake News is not only prevalent but a scourge of the free press and free speech. But it turns out Fake News has been around for quite a awhile.</span></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Rewind to 2011 and we see Senator Susan Collins’ then Director of New Media Matthew Gagnon responding to my- yes, me- testimony during the congressional Redistricting Hearings. I made the statement that a Maine Legislator was disrespectful of constituents by recording constituent phone calls without their consent or knowledge. In small communities, that means people stop calling and thus have no voice representing them. An asphalt plant had been built on the shores of a pristine lake (and water aquifer feeder for the water source for the Legislator's home town). Mr. Gagnon in his Bangor Daily News column immediately started creating Fake News about me and what happened at the hearing. ‘Susan Cook is a Lunatic‘, he titled it. ‘A rambling, slurring‘ Susan Cook, he went on to say- garbage then and garbage now.  Now Mr. Gagnon admires his Fake News so much that he not only put it on the Internet-it is still there- even after at least one phone call from a police officer and the Internet Service Provider. He was Senator Susan Collins’ hire, still on Susan Collins' payroll as her Director of New Media. He did not know me, was not at the hearing and in his anonymous long-distance Virginia home tapped out his Fake News. It took a certain amount of IT sophistication on my part to identify him, his location and his then- on-the-payroll position with the Fake News supporting Collins.</span></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">New Jersey’s US Attorney General indicted and convicted the staff of Governor Chris Christie because of their Fake News in the form of FakeTraffic Jam Creation. Political retribution violates civil liberties. The rights of those stuck for hours in Faked Traffic Jams were violated because Chris Christie wanted political retribution for a Mayor who criticized him. </span></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />T<span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">he Fake News Mr. Gagnon created after my testimony at the Redistricting Hearing remains part of his media strategy. He later became a talk radio host and more recently tried very hard to generate Fake News about the suicide of a local meteorologist . Mr. Gagnon told the local newspaper that “the investigation of a sexual assault” that had not been shown linked to the suicide of the meteorologist  was worth “some air time”. In other words, creating ‘fake news’ between 2 events that were not linked.</span></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Suicides are always lonely situations. Mr. Gagnon's idea of air-time is to seize a one-sided circumstance- a suicide cannot speak after all- to inflate and amplify two situations with no factual basis. Fake News thrives on anonymity, loneliness and isolation. </span></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Fake news creators like Mr. Gagnon, and the Chris Christies and Susan Collins of the political world who hire them support exploitation of anonymity to deceive. They also violate civil liberties. </span></span></span><br /><span style="color: #000000;"> </span><br />We can hope Attorney Generals make the connection between Fake News and the Violation of Civil Liberties. But some Attorney Generals grasp- first and foremost- Fake News as a tool of political retribution . In states where Attorney Generals are elected- they too can ignore that Fake News violates civil liberties. But that's a true story for another day.<br /><span style="color: #000000;"> </span> </span></span></p> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>Fake News and the Violation of Civil Liberties | 05:55</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/204101", title: "Fake News and the Violation of Civil Liberties on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/204101' addthis:title='Fake News and the Violation of Civil Liberties'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/204101' addthis:title='Fake News and the Violation of Civil Liberties'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-204101-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p204101-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/204101/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item even" id="playlisting_101711"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/194623-this-political-year-of-women-smears-cheap-shots">This Political Year of Women: Smears, Cheap Shots and Character- A Citizen's Guide</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 08:11 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>If you missed the smearing, cheap shots and character assassination against women this year, and one woman in particular, maybe you were cut off from earth-bound communication. This year was ‘proof’ strategies flourish, to undermine the credibility and judgment of women- no matter how many credentials she’s acquired, critical responsibilities she’s taken on or professional advances she’s made. If someone wants to reduce her through name-calling, lie invention, Facebook reputation smearing that she has poor judgment, is a crook, a controlling bitch, a substance abuser, is a 'no filter' big mouth, or indifferent to sexual assault, all they have to do is start saying it. Put it on Twitter, editorialize it in the local newspaper, or post it on Facebook. There you have it. Like a public offering traded on the stock market, the smearing gains value the more it’s traded. It is doesn’t matter if you are Hillary Clinton. Or Madeline Albright. It could be you. It could be me. <br />Stunningly though, permission for smearing and discrediting of a woman- ‘trial by the court of public opinion’ one Party chair called it to justify a smear campaign he actively took part in- ’taking out to the woodshed’ another Party Chair called it- is shored up by gender-bias. Stereotypes that demean women and give others- including men -permission to keep her in her place, discredit her or not trust her are the archetypes summoned by the fury of the smearing. Even though 59 percent of women in this country identify themselves as feminists, there is a blind spot that hides the spontaneous and willing engagement in sexist smearing- if you are a woman -as not feminism. This is what Madeline Albright meant when she said there is a special spot in hell for women who do not support other women. </p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_415982" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/194623-this-political-year-of-women-smears-cheap-shots" target="blank">This Political Year of Women: Smears, Cheap Shots ...</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="1272808" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="491" data-expires="1739972840" data-piece_id="194623" data-token="7f25db9ed3de98cf8683e7d51ed4ea2c" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="SmearsCheapShotsandCharacterAssassination"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Smearscheapshotsandcharacterassassination_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/455191/SmearsCheapShotsandCharacterAssassination_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> This Political Year of Women: Smears, Cheap Shots and Character -Susan Cook- If you missed the smearing, cheap shots and character assassination against women this year, and one woman in particular, maybe you were cut off from earth-bound communication. This year was ‘proof’ strategies flourish, to undermine the credibility and judgment of women- no matter how many credentials she’s acquired, critical responsibilities she’s taken on or professional advances she’s made. If someone wants to reduce her through name-calling, lie invention, Facebook reputation smearing that she has poor judgment, is a crook, controlling, a substance abuser, indifferent to sexual assault, all they have to do is start saying it. Put it on Twitter, editorialize it in the local newspaper, or post it on Facebook. There you have it. Like a public offering traded on the stock market, the smearing gains value the more it’s traded. It is doesn’t matter if you are Hillary Clinton. Or Madeline Albright or it could be you or it could be me. The G-force is heightened when other women take part in it. If you are a woman who criticizes the prevailing regime in this country, that only men become President- you are an attacker. If women join in, it amplifies the case that you are. Stunningly though, permission for smearing and discrediting of a woman- ‘trial by the court of public opinion’ one Party chair called it to justify a smear campaign he actively took part in- ’taking out to the woodshed’ another Party Chair called it- is shored up by gender-bias. Stereotypes that demean women and give others- including men -permission to keep her in her place, discredit her or not trust her are the archetypes summoned by the fury of the smearing. Even though 59 percent of women in this country identify themselves as feminists, there is a blind spot that hides the fact that spontaneous and willing engagement in sexist smearing- if you are a woman -is not feminism. This is what Madeline Albright meant when she said there is a special spot in hell for women who do not support other women. If only permission to smear women was old news. It is not. What is still news is the lack of protest against it by other women. Few labeled what we saw this political year as sexist. Few labeled the women who freely engaged in it- many being paid to do so by through their political jobs- as Not Feminist, Traitors to the Core of Feminist Achievement and Belief, and yes, the progenitors of a return to no reproductive rights, more gender pay inequity, and every other public policy that demeans women‘s judgment and her capacity to choose. Feminist political ideology becomes just so much loose cannon talk and no-filter thinking. You know how women are. Directors of Communication, lofty members of the Judicial branch of Government, - an FBI Director, Attorney General and yes members of the Democratic Party either joined in or couldn‘t really think of anything to say. They said nothing. Where have feminists gone and more importantly why did they go. Sometimes I think it is just a time warp because of all the advancement the women‘s movement has brought and everybody‘s forgotten that the necessary condition for feminism to exists acknowledging that gender makes a difference. I was on a train to the Democratic National Convention and spoke with the leader of a very large Feminist organization. I decried the Democratic Party for openly supporting the Independent man instead of the bright, capable female candidate. ‘It‘s ok, ’ she said. ’He’ll still vote with the Democrats.’ It was not, then, nor is it now ok to ignore the gender of a female political candidate. Femaleness still brings a different voice systematically devalued and overlooked in male-dominated cultures. . Female Genital Mutilation remains a culturally accepted practice in Muslim countries. Women still experience gross economic inequity. Carol Gilligan, the Harvard psychologist, who wrote ‘In a Different Voice-’ openly questioned the exclusion of female subjects from studies used to define human development- from National Institute of Health studies of heart disease to studies of moral development, male experience was routinely seen as equivalent to human. Women’s decision-making about right and wrong is often defined by violations of care for others and one’s self and connection as central to moral awareness. This political year brought back exclusion of women by women . They overlooked gender as a critical political consideration. Carol Gilligan was chosen the first Ms. Magazine ‘Woman of the Year’. She quoted a student of hers who said women become the float in relationship to men-and male culture- the variation in what they think and choose dependent on what males think and choose. Of course, we tend to think women have come a long way from the days when women were humiliated or shamed or bullied into accommodating male beliefs and thinking. I am afraid we have returned to a time when bullying and shaming is the preferred cultural tool for changing what women think. A New York Times columnist editorialized about ‘What Women Lost’ in this political year. I’m not sure that we’ve lost anything. Rather the permission to bully and discredit women has been there all along. This year we had a National stage for it and a male candidate and his team particularly well-versed in pursuing it. And maybe we’ve all just returned to not noticing the women are missing. And women becoming ‘the float’ - bullied, called out as untrustworthy loose cannons and liars, - who change their minds depending on male decisions- like the student Carol Gilligan quoted- that was me - said. </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>This Political Year of Women: Smears, Cheap Shots ... | 08:11</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/194623", title: "This Political Year of Women: Smears, Cheap Shots and Character- A Citizen\'s Guide on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/194623' addthis:title='This Political Year of Women: Smears, Cheap Shots and Character- A Citizen's Guide'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/194623' addthis:title='This Political Year of Women: Smears, Cheap Shots and Character- A Citizen's Guide'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-194623-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p194623-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/194623/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item odd" id="playlisting_101272"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/71497-the-abuse-of-power-department">The Abuse of Power Department</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 03:12 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>A collection of observations from E.B. White, the Brooklin, Maine writer, has been culled by his granddaughter, Martha White. He was once described as a man who never "wrote a mean or careless sentence". That distinction falls to few in good times; during the Iraq War, more fell out of contention. Many saw the invasion of Iraq, as premised on a falsehood: that Weapons of Mass Destruction were hidden there, an evening of a political score tallied by one President, settled in the wrong country. <br />The enormous human suffering and sacrifice of Iraq will leave many granddaughters whose grandparents will never be known to them...</p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_165844" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/71497-the-abuse-of-power-department" target="blank">The Abuse of Power Department</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="345750" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="192" data-expires="1739972840" data-piece_id="71497" data-token="1f9135f119fc7ab1139477ff1318abc4" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="TheAbuseofPowerDepartment"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Breathing_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/series_images/33623/Breathing_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <div style="text-align: center;">The Abuse of Power  Department</div> <div style="text-align: center;">-Susan Cook-</div> <div>The departure of the last American troops from Iraq, thus ends  the Iraq War. </div> <div>Coincident  with this event, a new collection of  observations  from E.B. White, the Brooklin writer,  has been culled by his granddaughter, Martha White. He  was once described as a man who  never "wrote a mean or careless sentence".  That distinction falls to few in good times;  during the Iraq War, more fell out of contention. Many saw the invasion of Iraq, as premised on a falsehood:  that Weapons of Mass Destruction were hidden there,  an  evening of a political score tallied by one President,  settled in the wrong country. </div> <div>The enormous human suffering and sacrifice of Iraq will leave many granddaughters whose  grandparents will never be known to them. </div> <div>E.B. White regularly wrote  The  New Yorker  Newsbreak Department Heads,  in which itemized   life and world events  were placed in  "Departments".   For many, the Iraq War will always belong to  The Abuse of Power Department."</div> <div>Abuse of power is certainly not limited to multi-billion dollar wars.  Anybody in a position to secretly or more flagrantly  hold someone else hostage to a belief, a misdeed or a perverse sense of entitlement  to  physically, sexually or emotionally exploit can take part. Mistruth and, yes, mean, careless sentences in the service of marshalling  the court of public opinion to one side or the other, falls into this department. People are always more interested in what is true but the truth we all know  is easily held hostage and abused by those in power.  The truth-teller can be four or forty. The hostage taker Saddam Hussein, a liar trying not to be found out or a local  newspaper. </div> <div>The Abuse of Power Department is one that our Constitution and Bill of Rights intend to close down. Those documents hinge on the belief that no one person or group can  abuse the rights of others or persecute them for acting on them, no matter how the thick the closed door to the conference room,  no matter how variegated the veins of the special interests leading to the real reason  an agenda is pushed so vigorously. The  documents say nothing about requiring big consequences before  we are awarded their protection. </div> <div>We don't  need to wait for the end of a war to see  or miss  daily opportunities to close down the Abuse of Power Department. White didn't like to leave Maine, once he got here. We don't need to travel all the way around the world before we pull out our pocket version of the Bill of Rights - a department closer if there ever was one- the maker of irrelevance and obsolecence and the best guide for speaking and acting, followed closely by one favored by White,  "A Basic Chicken Guide for the Small Flock Owner."</div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>The Abuse of Power Department | 03:12</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/71497", title: "The Abuse of Power Department on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/71497' addthis:title='The Abuse of Power Department'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/71497' addthis:title='The Abuse of Power Department'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-71497-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p71497-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/71497/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item even" id="playlisting_101129"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/245283-what-do-we-do-me-too-one-for-the-great-americ">"What Do We Do # Me Too?" One For The Great American Wrongbook.</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 02:36 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>Exactly how does Mitch McConnell know what goes on inside a woman's body? For the Great American Wrongbook, possibly sung to the tune from "What'll I Do?", from Irving Berlin's Music Box Revue, performed from 1921 to 1924 at the Music Box Theatre in New York City. </p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_507021" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/245283-what-do-we-do-me-too-one-for-the-great-americ" target="blank">"What Do We Do # Me Too?" One For The Great ...</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="1755171" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="156" data-expires="1739972840" data-piece_id="245283" data-token="ec93eacb0469666b3ceb32d37987327d" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="WhatDoWeDoHashTagMeToo"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Howtobeinvisible_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/551420/HowtoBeInvisible_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">In the Department of Poetic Justice</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">(and The Great American Wrongbook)</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">"What Do We Do, # Me Too?"</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">(sung to the tune of "What'll I Do?")</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">-Susan Cook- </span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">How would he know,</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">he's in his Senate seat</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">and so he's not inside</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">the woman's body when she does not know</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">fertilization's arrived.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">Mitch still thinks he's the one </span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">who decides what </span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">she does.</span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">Mr. McConnell's gynecology</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">did not earn him degrees</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">nevertheless</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">his mind is focused on </span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">a certain <span>female</span> body's recess</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">If we say where it is</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">Morning Edition</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">will not play that word. </span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">So while we are on that topic</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">let us ask</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">just how it comes to this</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">GOP Senators and Congressmen</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">still give themselves access</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">To women's private parts</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">that Terry Gross can't</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">mention on Fresh air.</span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">Mr. McConnell thinks that he knows best</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">just how the zygote fares</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">if it's in residue </span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">from opiods</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">or something else she's used</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">I mean the woman </span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">who was blanked one night</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">Steve Inskeep can't say it on air.</span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">The man and woman made their bodies touch</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">McConnell says he knows</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">exactly if the woman can caretake </span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">a child, or will Mitch care</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">when there's there's a birth</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">a new drug addict</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">neglected. It's just not fair</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">Will Mitch then just say,</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">Republicanly, "Oh, well, not mine to care?"</span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">I shouldn't say</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">it's just Mitch McConnell,</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">Ted Cruz and Rubio</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">and Donald Trump- no surprise- </span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">will control Planned Parenthood</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">as if they know- </span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">what's good-</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">for a woman's body.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">When will they lose their jobs</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">be fired too.<br /> <br />Their decisions grope </span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">women's bodies</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">WE are their victims.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">Hey wake up! Where are you?</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">No more groping.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">Hash tag it's your turn</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">ME TOO!</span></p> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>"What Do We Do # Me Too?" One For The Great ... | 02:36</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/245283", title: "\"What Do We Do # Me Too?\" One For The Great American Wrongbook. on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/245283' addthis:title='"What Do We Do # Me Too?" One For The Great American Wrongbook.'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/245283' addthis:title='"What Do We Do # Me Too?" One For The Great American Wrongbook.'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-245283-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p245283-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/245283/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item odd" id="playlisting_81528"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/289735-death-of-a-paddler">Death of a Paddler</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 06:41 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>Those who sign on for white water rafting trips, fishing and hunting day trips are hoping to find a few hours or so of Great Abandon, an experience the Pandemic has made even more difficult for many Americans to access. Some years back, a River rafting Guide who brought that experience to many passed on. And now so much has changed. </p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_590363" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/289735-death-of-a-paddler" target="blank">Death of a Paddler</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="2245326" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="401" data-expires="1739972840" data-piece_id="289735" data-token="ac45a8b3ffa354f04bd2fb18a3515e30" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="DeathofaPaddler"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Missmoggin_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/623873/MissMoggin_small.bmp" version="small" width="92" /> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Death of a Paddler</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A white water rafting guide died on July 24, some years back,  four weeks after being diagnosed with an aggressive cancer. "Sully" was a white water rafting guide out of the West Branch of the Penobscot slightly northwest of the place where the flow of the East leg joins it to become the Penobscot River. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">When I was told that he died of a very aggressive cancer four weeks after initial diagnosis, my first thought was, "I wonder if he had health insurance." White water rafting guides, registered Maine Guides, commercial fisherman, small family farmers, all the self-employed seasonally based vocations that are the bristling heart and soul that Maine's natural resources offer up, do not have a reliable, affordable health insurance network. Going without means missing medical check-ups.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I only knew this particular guide because he was a guest at a relative's wedding, the groom and his bride, both White Water Rafting Guides. The wedding celebrated every aspect of Maine's outdoors. The vows were exchanged on "Miss Moggin", a lobster boat decorated with white tulle, moored off Pumpkin Island Lighthouse, at the southern end of Eggemoggin Reach. Other wedding guests reached the wedding location on a boat formerly used as an island mailboat which tied up on the port side of the "Miss Moggin" and the "Millie", a smaller lobster boat tied up on the starboard. The officiant, a commercial fisherman, donned his white Captain's shirt, trimmed with gold braid epaulets along with a white dress cap loaned to him for the occasion by the local Fire Department chief. Under blue skies, with a fair wind, over sixty guests on the mailboat, 30 others on the Miss Moggin and 10 on the Millie observed as the couple vowed "to love and cherish" "til' death do us part" noting that "marriage is a vow not to be taken lightly". The bride wore a white, empire-style wedding gown, with beaded bodice and lace overlays. Both the bride and groom wore boat shoes. The Miss Moggin, despite the white tulle, still looked like a lobster boat which the groom's soon-to-be-mother-in-law noted, to no one in particular, “She knows I don't like boats.”</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">At the reception, the couple's engagement with the outdoors was on full display: the two tier wedding cake, decorated with fishing rods, canoes, moose, deer and white water rapids, a collage of the couple with the moose which the bride had shot when she won a permit through the Moose Lottery, with the groom as co-permitee. Several photos of the couple with deer and various fish they shot or caught together were included, along with one photo of a rafting run in which the groom served as stern paddler with the bride paddling at the side. The best man congratulated the groom on sharing his life with a bride willing to lather herself up with fly dope, to walk 2 miles through the woods to fish for trout.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The bride invited the crowd "to party it down". Sully and the white water rafting guides, dressed in their semi-formal wedding attire: water-proof sandals, short-sleeved shirts and dressy water-proof shorts,took her up on it. Their gift to the bride was a bottle of "Hot Damn", a Made-in-Maine liquer. The female rafting guides decided to move away from the stuffiness of the dance floor to the less restrictive area on the top of their table (#11 in the Guest Seating Guide) from which the dishes had been cleared. They were joined , shortly thereafter, by their male rafting guide companions, Sully included. They danced with great abandon until the groom's maternal aunt tapped the dancer closest to her on the ankle, pointing to the table that looked like it might break. "Thank you", she said, and they got down. The party was, one of rafting guides said, "A Ray-jah (spelled R-a-g-e-r). </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Great abandon moves a body through a landscape far different from a cancer diagnosis that ends a life in 4 weeks.Great abandon is what day trippers try to get a taste of when they sign up for a rafting trip. Maine legislators, if they want to insure that young people cultivate careers as Outdoor Crafters of Great Abandon, need to make health care available and affordable to them, maybe even allowing them to buy into the Maine State employees' health plan. Maybe even at the same rate that legislators do. "In wildness is the preservation of the world", Thoreau wrote. He too relied on the expertise of Maine Abenaki guides to craft his trip into the Maine Woods. Someone needs to be looking out to preserve the health and wellbeing of Maine's Outdoor Crafters, who create the rafting, bird hunting, fishing trips, Great Abandon moments for those lacking those opportunities in their everyday lives.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It turns out Sully had moved to Alaska from Maine and found his dream job, calling on his knowledge of the wild,that maybe even gave him health insurance. Twenty years and four new paddlers later, the now very married couple drove to the Forks. They missed the spreading of the ashes but got there in time for the party. </span></span></p> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>Death of a Paddler | 06:41</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/289735", title: "Death of a Paddler on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/289735' addthis:title='Death of a Paddler'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/289735' addthis:title='Death of a Paddler'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-289735-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p289735-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/289735/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item even" id="playlisting_100985"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/250854-political-vengeance-and-the-abuse-of-power-hannah">Political Vengeance and the Abuse of Power: Hannah Arendt's Guide to Totalitarian Behaviors</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 06:29 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>Understanding the abandonment of civil liberties in this country, means looking at behaviors we ignore, passive handouts of yet another fat government job, acting as if the abnormal is normal, banking- literally- on everyone's wish that it couldn't possible happen here. "This common sense disinclination to believe the monstrous is constantly strengthened by the totalitarian ruler himself , who makes sure that no reliable statistics, no controllable facts and figures are ever published, so that there are only subjective, uncontrollable, and unreliable reports about the living dead", Hannah Arendt, author of "The Origins of Totalitarianism" wrote. </p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_517569" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/250854-political-vengeance-and-the-abuse-of-power-hannah" target="blank">Political Vengeance and the Abuse of Power: ...</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="5218069" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="389" data-expires="1739972840" data-piece_id="250854" data-token="ae011a5cb1db82b67780b2821c6fe204" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="PoliticalVengeanceTwoandtheAbuseofPower Hannah ArendtsGuidetoTotalitarianBehaviors"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Nixonszepcartoon_small" height="92" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/919519/NixonSzepcartoon_small.jpg" version="small" /> <p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Political Vengeance and the Abuse of Power:</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Hannah Arendt's Guide to Totalitarian Behaviors</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">-Susan Cook-</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">As we watched resignation after resignation of Trump appointee, during that administration,  maybe the letters of recommendation Presidential candidates have written for applicants for jobs eventually handed out as political favors would be a good character vetting process. Character vetting . How candidates view misjudgements when they recommend someone for the job also tells a lot about the recommender, maybe even more than about the job "applicant". Trump's administration demonstrated that we do not really know how to stop the abuse of power in political office for political vengeance. Despite Hannah Arendt's meticulous analysis in <em><strong>The Origins of Totalitarianism </strong></em>of the mindset demanded by the Third Reich, actions that feed totalitarianism prevail.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">The permission to forget, blocking, barring, demonizing others as a means to an end is one way the Third Reich accomplished what it did.The public disbelief that anyone would deviate so far from the normal and expectable factored heavily in the Third Reich. No one believed they would do such a thing. </span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">Remember Chris Christie. Chris Christie's recommendations about Bridget Ann Kelly, deputy Chief of Staff and Bill Baroni, the head of the New York Port Authority might help us understand his qualifications for higher office. He needed hired hands with shaky memories who if a Bridgegate-kind of scandal came up would forget. This is the one in which Ms. Kelly colluded with Mr. Baroni to lower the number of lanes feeding the George Washington Bridge. Massive traffic jams ensued. Emergency vehicles, children waiting at daycare, time-urgent travel was snarled. Fort Lee, New Jersey, whose mayor openly criticised Chris Christie, suffered the brunt of the consequence, his town the target for that reason.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">One wonders what Presidential hopeful Chris Christie wrote to justify bringing Ms. Kelly on as his deputy chief of staff? </span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">Hannah Arendt describes the beliefs that enhance totalitarianism. On page 436, she writes: </span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: small;"><em>"For a considerable length of time, the normality of the normal world is the most efficient protection against disclosure of totalitarian mass crimes. "Normal men don't know that everything is possible"[and] refuse to believe their eyes and ears in the face of the monstrous just as the mass men did not trust theirs in the face of the normal reality in which no place was left for them. The reason why totalitarian regimes can get so far toward realizing a fictitious topsy-turvy world is that the outside nontotalitarian world which always comprises a great part of the population of the totalitarian country itself, indulges also in wishful thinking and shirks reality in the face of real insanity just as the masses do in the face of the normal world. This common sense disinclination to believe the monstrous is constantly stengthened by the totalitarian ruler himself , who makes sure that no reliable statistics, no controllable facts and figures are ever published, so that there are only subjective, uncontrollable, and unreliable reports about the living dead".</em></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">So, Arendt means writing recommendations for applicants for Communication Director positions whose history includes misquoting, exaggeration, exclusion is part and parcel of totalitaran technique. After all, in the Third Reich, "their real secret, the concentration camps,is shielded by the totalitarian regime, from the eyes of their own people as well as from all others." A Communication Director who masters obfuscation, adding one word which changes meaning, changing the numbers, say the number 3 to "several" so that "no reliable statistics" are available, all are behaviors that lead to totalitarianism.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">All this happens before or sometimes in collusion with the exercise of the "police state", the banning of participation in public activities or from public places,government offices or to the false labelling of someone as a "threat" - those "yellow star" actions usually associated with a totalitarian, civil liberty abandoning government. </span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">Saving civil liberties means looking at behaviors we ignore when we passively hand out yet another fat government job, acting as if the abnormal is normal, banking- literally- on everyone's wish that it couldn't possible happen here.</span></p> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>Political Vengeance and the Abuse of Power: ... | 06:29</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/250854", title: "Political Vengeance and the Abuse of Power: Hannah Arendt\'s Guide to Totalitarian Behaviors on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/250854' addthis:title='Political Vengeance and the Abuse of Power: Hannah Arendt's Guide to Totalitarian Behaviors'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/250854' addthis:title='Political Vengeance and the Abuse of Power: Hannah Arendt's Guide to Totalitarian Behaviors'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-250854-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p250854-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/250854/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item odd" id="playlisting_100994"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/205077-you-scratch-my-back-i-ll-scratch-yours-in-the"> "You Scratch My Back, I'll Scratch Yours" In the Dept. Of Poetic Justice (and Reckoning) </a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 05:08 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>In the Department of Poetic Justice, we offer a poetic tribute to the complex topic of hiring candidates for government jobs who carry heavy political indebtedness. Might be sung to the tune of "Love and Marriage" which was written for a 1955 production of Thornton Wilder's "Our Town". </p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_436974" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/205077-you-scratch-my-back-i-ll-scratch-yours-in-the" target="blank">"You Scratch My Back, I'll Scratch Yours" In the ...</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="4814235" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="308" data-expires="1739972840" data-piece_id="205077" data-token="043653675ef95bdab44274a6cfada03c" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="YouScratch4MyBackIllScratchyours"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Youscratchmybackillscratchyoursprx_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/917587/YouScratchMyBackIllScratchYoursPRX_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <div style="text-align: center;"><strong><br /></strong></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><strong><br /></strong></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><strong><br /></strong></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>In the Department of Poetic Justice (and Reckoning) with lyrics for <br /></strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><strong>the Great American Wrongbook!</strong></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>‘<span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>You Scratch My Back, I’ll Scratch Your Back’which could be sung<br /></strong></span></span></strong></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>To the tune   from "Love and Marriage"<br />from a 1955 production of Thornton Wilder’s  ‘Our Town’</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>-Susan Cook-</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><strong><br /></strong></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>You scratch my back, I’ll scratch your back</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><strong>Julius Caesar didn’t take the right tack,</strong></span></span></strong></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>Handing out some big jobs might  </strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>Help Brutus fix the numbers and do the  math right. </strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><strong><br /></strong></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>One for you and one for me, I guess</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>It’s kindness, a certain specialty, </strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>political repayment</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>In the form of six figure paycheck improvement.   </strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><strong><br /></strong></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>You did my way, I did your way,</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>Surprise, surprise, I’m ready for my payday,</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>Call me clever, greedy,</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>Pick me, I suddenly feel needy.</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><strong><br /></strong></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>Just remember, when you cover</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>my butt, I  certainly will re-consider</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>yours when you’re caught lying, </strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>vote trading,  need some good denying .</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><strong><br /></strong></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>Exculpation, exoneration</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>Pardoning  in any situation,</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>You for me, no matter</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>Who else gets nailed- My checkbook fatter. </strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><strong><br /></strong></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>This is not Ukraine, or Moscow, </strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>Putin territory, where you might go</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>Hoping for some bribing </strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>In Maine, it’s done through legal hiring. </strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><strong><br /></strong></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>Advocacy, conspiracy,</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>Cover my butt, six figures should do that nicely,</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>I’ll advocate so publicly, </strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>for your job with the DEP or chairing public utilities. </strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><strong><br /></strong></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>There are people, who will be skilled</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>negotiating <em>jurisprudence </em>until</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>they're ready to retire. Lifetime</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>appointments if you hire</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><strong><br /></strong></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>Them just after you take office.</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>Let's see what knowledge of the law can offer</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>Maybe not pronto, tout-de-suite</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>your law firm partners will gladly wait for their seat.</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><strong><br /></strong></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>Let's be honest. Take the high road</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>Facilitating, as you take on that load</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>Chairing this and chairing that</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>But don't forget the itchy spot on your own back.</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><strong><br /></strong></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>Permission-er, Commission-er,</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>Half-a-dozen, six of one. I have heard</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>Put your eggs in one basket.</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>Rewarded depending on who gets elected. </strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><strong><br /></strong></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>Chief of staff, hey, turn your back, hey,</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>I got you covered, every night and day.</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>I know you and you know me, </strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>Composting dirt on any adversary.</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><strong><br /></strong></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>Let's see now, the best advisor,</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>find a million dollar salaried devisor</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>of perfect plans, utilities</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>Last time I checked that's where the money's hiding.</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><strong><br /></strong></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>Don't forget the sons and daughters</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>hoping waitressing will soon be fodder,</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>now compost paper resume</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>The new job? Highly Paid Superior Aide. </strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><strong><br /></strong></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>Looking for someone to okay</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>a multi-billion dollar forested way?</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>Put some shiny towers up!</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>Power binging instead of watching Netflix!</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><strong><br /></strong></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>Or instead of Ben and Jerry's</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>Multi-nationally Christmas stockings</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>filling up with pristine Maine.</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>The moose, deer, beaver never in the fast lane.</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><strong><br /></strong></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>Not like David, Ben or who's </strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>the other one- Goliath, all big men</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>who made their mark in history</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>ignoring little people just like Maine's, see</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><strong><br /></strong></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>Multi-million dollar dealers</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>have always taken more than they de-served</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>Before they found what their paycheck lacked</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><strong>the lubrication from scratching someone's itchy back.</strong></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><strong><br /></strong></p> </div> <div> <div style="text-align: center;"><strong><br /></strong></div> </div> <div> <div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><em>This is not Ukraine, or Moscow, </em></span></div> </div> <div> <div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Putin territory, where you might go</em></strong></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Hoping for some bribing </em></strong></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>In Maine, it’s done through legal hiring.</em></strong></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><br /></em></strong></div> </div> <div> <div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Advocacy, conspiracy,</em></strong></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Cover my butt, six figures should do that nicely,</em></strong></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>I’ll advocate so publicly, </em></strong></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>for your job, with the DEP or chair of public utilities.  <br /></em></strong></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><br /></em></strong></div> </div> <div> <div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>You scratch my back, I’ll scratch your back</em></strong></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Julius Caesar didn’t take the right tack,</em></strong></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Handing out some big jobs might  </em></strong></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Help Brutus fix the numbers and do the  math right.</em></strong></div> </div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>"You Scratch My Back, I'll Scratch Yours" In the ... | 05:08</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/205077", title: " \"You Scratch My Back, I\'ll Scratch Yours\" In the Dept. 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Of Poetic Justice (and Reckoning) '>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-205077-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p205077-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/205077/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item even" id="playlisting_79972"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/167234-the-happiness-of-the-human-family-and-its-familiar">The Happiness of the Human Family and Its Familiar Enemy</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 04:45 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>All happy families are alike, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way, Tolstoi wrote as the first sentence in Anna Karenina. The epitaph he chose to precede it , though, is from the Bible, Romans 12 verse 19. ‘Vengeance is mine. I will repayeth, saith the lord.’ There is no family that quite fits Tolstoi’s juxtaposition of these two observations as well as our very large human family because the variations humans find to reap unhappiness in their own deliberate vengeful acts against others seems endless. We witnessed this most recently in San Bernandino. </p> <p>But we have seen these cold deliberate acts disregarding human connection before. They are not new. Remembering might help us acknowledge this couple’s deliberate creation of unhappiness is a familiar enemy of the human family- vengeance- in the same family that Tolstoi said so casually and yes, sometimes, monotonously carries out its happiness. </p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_360207" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/167234-the-happiness-of-the-human-family-and-its-familiar" target="blank">The Happiness of the Human Family and Its ...</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="1029751" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="285" data-expires="1739972840" data-piece_id="167234" data-token="3d8e70dba0e73d0d3693a73fd3623226" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="TheUnhappinessoftheHumanFamily"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Breathing_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/series_images/33623/Breathing_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <span> <p>The Happiness of the Human Family and Its Familiar Enemy</p> <p>-Susan Cook-</p> <p> </p> <p>All happy families are alike, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way, Tolstoi wrote as the first sentence in <em>Anna Karenina. </em>The epitaph he chose to precede it , though, is from the Bible, Romans 12 verse 19. ‘Vengeance is mine. I will repayeth, saith the lord.’ There is no family that quite fits Tolstoi’s juxtaposition of these two observations as well as our very large human family because the variations humans find to reap unhappiness in their own deliberate vengeful acts against others seems endless. We witnessed this most recently in San Bernandino.</p> <p>But we have seen these cold deliberate acts disregarding human connection before. They are not new. Remembering might help us acknowledge this couple’s deliberate creation of unhappiness is a familiar enemy of the human family- vengeance- in the same family that Tolstoi said so casually and yes, sometimes, monotonously carries out its happiness.</p> <p>Please remember the murder by hooded Ku Klux Klansmen of a quiet civil rights supporter Emmet Till in the 1960‘s America. Please remember the Holodomar, Stalin’s deliberate starvation of millions of Ukrainians in the rich fertile farmlands of Ukraine in the 1930’s. Please remember the Nazi Doctors who willingly used concentration camp prisoners as human subjects in cruel sadistic medical experiments. Please remember the Rwanadan genocide in which one million Tutsis were murdered in 100 days by the Hutu majority. There are many many examples of cold indifference to the human consequence of deliberately created unhappiness.</p> <p>A peculiarity of the San Bernadino massacre is that parents of a six month old girl carried it out, deliberately disregarding their connection to her. That peculiarity of the perpetrators might even raise the question of whether the parents alleged motivator Isis, carries such force as to untie one of the human family’s most primitive instincts, to bond with and protect a child.</p> <p>We, after all, worry about the abandonment of a six month old, who by the time they left her that morning would have developed the stranger wariness that attachment brings and now, in her six month old way, knows in her typically human family way, that the most familiar faces, those of her parents, have not come back. These odd parents, concerned enough about the continuity of their membership in the human family to leave a descendant have now out of their vengeance left her alone. One wonders if they were becoming so attached to her and she to them that thoughts of leaving her were becoming- as they do- intolerable- thus pushing them to act soon, before the enormous power that six-month old babies attached to their parents have to keep them close thus rendering parents powerless and unable to tolerate abandoning the child. A six month old’s need for others and their need for the six month old is one of the places the human heart can not withstand pressure no matter where it comes from to leave someone behind. The bond is too powerful.</p> <p>The vengeance of Isis and these terrorists has been seen before . But it has not yet succeeded in undoing the wistfulness of a six month old looking for her lost connection or our acknowledgment of that distress. That, may be, after all what keeps the effortless unfolding of unremarkable happiness in the human family in the first place, a sensibility no vengeance has ever succeeded in doing away with.</p> </span> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>The Happiness of the Human Family and Its ... | 04:45</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/167234", title: "The Happiness of the Human Family and Its Familiar Enemy on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/167234' addthis:title='The Happiness of the Human Family and Its Familiar Enemy'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/167234' addthis:title='The Happiness of the Human Family and Its Familiar Enemy'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-167234-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p167234-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/167234/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item odd" id="playlisting_100878"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/529884-why-women-don-t-tell-part-4-what-the-media-leave">Why Women Don't Tell, Part 4: What the Media Leaves Out</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 08:21 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>Exclusion by the Media of facts about the nature of the exploitation at the center of the Trump trial, and the $130,000 paid to an adult film actress, to silence her, leaves out the grooming she was subjected to, instead casting her as licentious. </p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_1026850" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/529884-why-women-don-t-tell-part-4-what-the-media-leave" target="blank">Why Women Don't Tell, Part 4: What the Media Leaves Out</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="4791597" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="501" data-expires="1739972840" data-piece_id="529884" data-token="d897a41db96868a61dbbd21fd3a752a6" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="PRXMediaLeavesoutExploitation2"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Whywomendonttelltwo_small" height="92" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/917283/WhyWomenDontTellTwo_small.jpg" version="small" /> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">Why Women Don't Tell, Part 4: What the Media Leaves Out</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">In the PBS Newshour Friday night left/right voice section, a substitute journalist, Eliana Johnson from the Washington, DC-based Free Beacon, sat in for the conservative David Brooks.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">The moderator moved the topics along to the Trump Criminal trial. As almost an aside, Journalist Johnson observed that “Stormy Daniels was up there talking about things that are not appropriate to say on this network.”</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">And thus, she (Johnson, not Daniels) presented the perspective which most of the trial coverage has clung to and, by default, to what's been left out. For a second, I wondered if the “not appropriate” she referenced is Stormy Daniels' rape history, the time from age 9 to about 11, when she was repeatedly sexually assaulted by a next door neighbor, who also raped her childhood best friend. When the friend finally disclosed to the school guidance counselor her rape experience, Stormy then known as Stephanie, told him the neighbor had assaulted her- repeatedly. The Guidance Counselor told her she was lying. She just said that, he said, because she wanted the attention her friend began to receive. Ms. Daniels' did not remember this incident until she was vabout 23. The amnesic relationship to abuse and the silencing of disclosure is not at all unusual, any trauma therapist would validate.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">The posture of that Guidance Counselor uniquely and disturbingly parallels- no surprise- the defense attorneys' questioning of Ms. Daniels. It also parallels the trivialization of the sexual exploitation she experienced by the then 60 year old Donald Trump which Eliana Johnson presents- as does much of the media- as trivial- and sees as secondary to her occupation as a stripper and “adult” film actress , “adult” film director and producer. Add to this the designation as “the smart one”, which Trump applied to the then 27 year old Daniels as a pretense for his request to have dinner with her- communicated to her by Trump's body guard. </span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">I read the “liberal” New York Times' supplied transcript of Ms. Daniels' testimony which motivated me to read her book “Full Disclosure”, her second more widely known effort to tell the truth. </span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">I speculate but my guess is Eliana Johnson hasn't read it, what with the focus on the words that can't be said on Public broadcasting. Exclusion of the facts about what really happened to Stormy Daniels means that Eliana and the other journalists collude in ignoring  “grooming”, the hallmark of a predator before the exploitation actually takes place. It shifts the focus to the teller's credibility, the teller's sexualization- your dirty mind- of what is taking place. After all, the predator grooming the object hasn't acted yet on his intention.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">Exclusion of her childhood sexual assault, in this case, leaves Ms. Daniels' to be characterized as the one with the licentious sex life, ignoring Donald Trump's grooming of Ms. Daniels with the offer of a Celebrity Apprentice appearance. Sex as the outcome of her meeting him in his Penthouse Suite was not what she anticipated. After going to the restroom and finding Trump standing between her and the bedroom door, his bodyguard shielding the entry to the suite as he was when she arrived, she describes an episode of derealization. Look it up.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">Eliana Johnson having a pat phrase to the signify the witness with the dirty mouth speaks to the rubric the media has taken on. Yes, the substitution of the word “adult film” actress for “porn star” mitigates the sullying. But it does nothing to tag Trump's grooming as predatory, his baiting with a Celebrity Apprentice appearance. Harvey Weinstein used similar tactics.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">An outcome of this trial could be that the 60-something Trumps of the world- along with the Harvey Weinsteins- would be more easily held accountable. A higher paying job, a good paycheck, a reliable living for someone like Daniels who grew up with a single mother who had to work more than one minimum wage job at a time is- even Eliana Johnson might agree- motivation. For the adolescent Daniels, a Baton Rouge , Louisiana Ballet dancer, and dressage horsewoman who taught riding lessons to handicapped children, her foray as a teenager into “exotic dancer” stripping meant she tripled her income. She testified that her whole life she had supported herself financially. Women earn 84 cents to a man's dollar, which was far lower the early 2000s.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">Left out of the narrative, as well, has been the threat leveled by an anonymous stranger in 2016 in a parking lot to Daniels and her child. This was ultimately what led her to speak about the encounter with Trump, lest her family or she herself be physically harmed.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">An outcome might galvanize the always tenuous feminist collective which the Elianas splice open, often. In “Full Disclosure” and in her testimony, Daniels refers – over and over- to her coworkers- other strippers- as “girls”, no matter how old. There's truth in that too. The Club owners are called men, generally, a reminder of who holds power in the world- those with money or masculinity. Both have been tools to re-assert that power, in the Trump trial, to silence the truth about sexual exploitation under the guise of principled indignation, and they continue to be reasons why Women Don't Tell, but - not for Stephanie aka “Stormy” Daniels- now.</span></p> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>Why Women Don't Tell, Part 4: What the Media Leaves Out | 08:21</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/529884", title: "Why Women Don\'t Tell, Part 4: What the Media Leaves Out on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/529884' addthis:title='Why Women Don't Tell, Part 4: What the Media Leaves Out'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/529884' addthis:title='Why Women Don't Tell, Part 4: What the Media Leaves Out'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-529884-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p529884-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/529884/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item even" id="playlisting_100846"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/69344-is-my-one-marshmallow-better-quality-than-your-two">Is My One Marshmallow Better Quality Than Your Two: You-Know-Who Era Lessons for GEN X, Y and Z</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 02:57 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>Delayed gratification has changed. Social science experiments often mirror cultural values and our best learners absorb them well. They do what the advisor recommends. The children in the Marshmallow study are told to wait before they eat one marshmallow, and they will then earn two. Those marshmallow waiters sit and think, “Oh but the next one will be worth it. “ In the study, those kids who waited went to college, took out student loans, on good faith that they would be able to get jobs with health insurance when they finished. Occupy Wall Street told us that is the wrong lesson. We do not teach kids to ask- “How many marshmallows are there? Why 2? Is anybody getting 3? Show me the whole bag.” These are the questions of our time. Not- “Can you wait for the second marshmallow?”</p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_161452" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/69344-is-my-one-marshmallow-better-quality-than-your-two" target="blank">Is My One Marshmallow Better Quality Than Your ...</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="331605" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="177" data-expires="1739972840" data-piece_id="69344" data-token="232b681a5afe4f17b60588d4e29a3e5e" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="IsMyOneMarshmellowBetterQualityThanYourTwoACitizensGuidetoOccupyWallStreet"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Ismyonemarshmellowbetterthanyourtwo_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/487897/IsMyOneMarshmellowBetterthanYourTwo_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <div>Is My One Marshmallow Better Quality Than Your  Two: A Citizens’ Guide  to "Occupy Wall Street"</div> <div><br />I was at a meditation workshop when the teacher  mentioned the marshmallow  experiment reported on NPR as a reason why these new meditators should stick out the day focusing on the breath, in order to learn to meditate. The children in the reported study who could wait until the experimenter came back before eating  one marshmallow sitting in front of them would get two, while those who wolfed down the first one wouldn't get anymore. </div> <div>Sounds like the myth that if you put $5 in a savings bank when you're 20, it will grow to be $50,000 by the time you retire, compounded interest. Not any more. There are bank “inactivity fees” and by the way- almost no interest in bank savings accounts: all because the financial system says “No, we’re going to get that money away from you one way or the other and pay ourselves with it. ”<br /><br /><br /> Delayed gratification has changed.  Social science experiments often mirror cultural values and our best learners absorb them well. They do what the advisor recommends and wait for the marshmallow.  Those marshmallow waiters sit and think,  “Oh but the next one will be worth it. “ In the study, those  kids who waited  went to college, took out student loans, on good faith that they would be able to get jobs with health insurance when they finished.   Occupy Wall Street says that is the wrong lesson. </div> <div>We do not teach kids to ask- “How many marshmallows are there? Why 2? Is anybody getting 3? Show me the whole bag.”  These are the questions of our time. Not- “Can you wait for the second marshmallow?”  <br /><br /><br />Of course we can wait. It is in the human genome. Manjushree, one of several incarnate Buddhas, it is said, took one breath his whole life. Of course,  we can savor one marshmallow.  But asking where the whole bag of marshmallows is and what a fair share is?   We only ask those questions when those  who took the whole bag and make us wait for two destroy the financial system. For most of us, getting the whole bag is not based on merit  or delaying gratification.  It is based on believing there is nothing wrong with taking the whole bag, or with health insurance companies paying  CEOs multi-million dollar salaries while the entire country ‘s economy goes under because health insurance premiums are unaffordable.  Our children need to be taught to ask where the rest of the marshmallows are and claim the moral  statement: “It is unethical for Wall Street to thrive at our expense.“ And then do something like occupy Wall Street. </div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>Is My One Marshmallow Better Quality Than Your ... | 02:57</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/69344", title: "Is My One Marshmallow Better Quality Than Your Two: You-Know-Who Era Lessons for GEN X, Y and Z on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/69344' addthis:title='Is My One Marshmallow Better Quality Than Your Two: You-Know-Who Era Lessons for GEN X, Y and Z'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/69344' addthis:title='Is My One Marshmallow Better Quality Than Your Two: You-Know-Who Era Lessons for GEN X, Y and Z'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-69344-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p69344-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/69344/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item odd" id="playlisting_100764"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/527891-waiting-for-the-mockingbird-a-citizen-s-guide-to">Waiting for the Mockingbird: A Citizen's Guide to Protecting the Credibility of Those Who Speak Out</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 05:23 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>The possibility that we can all take part in finding out what is true, just by speaking up, can become very uncertain and maybe one day disappear because no one bothers to protect it anymore.</p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_1022976" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/527891-waiting-for-the-mockingbird-a-citizen-s-guide-to" target="blank">Waiting for the Mockingbird: A Citizen's Guide to ...</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="4756302" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="323" data-expires="1739972840" data-piece_id="527891" data-token="fa0400b01a1012b3155a73ec2a9001c5" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="PRXWaitingfortheMockingbird"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Prxtwitterlistone_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/913682/PRXTwitterListOne_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: garamond, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Waiting for the Mockingbird</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: garamond, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">-Susan Cook-</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small; font-family: garamond, serif;">When spring comes, northern mockingbirds used to arrive at a marsh near my house. Sometimes in the night, I could hear one of them singing. They are called Mockingbirds for good reason: first, he’s a robin, then he’s a red-winged blackbird, then he’s a song sparrow. It's hard to tell what his own song is, he has so many that he has heard from others. I don’t know where he goes in the winter but every year I wondered if he'd come back and sure enough, he has not.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small; font-family: garamond, serif;">Maybe the sonar activity of the world's fifth largest weapons producer which abuts the Marsh has something to do with it. I often thought, someone he was waking up would kill him if he didn't stop. Some are very mean when they are woken up.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small; font-family: garamond, serif;">You could plant your seedlings according to the arrival of the red-winged blackbirds out there. The northern mockingbird seemed much less predictable, more vulnerable and now he's gone .</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: garamond, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">A bird can be gone like that but when people hear things they don’t like, the slow withering of the credibility of those who speak out begins. “The inaccuracies in what she said...”, “it is only a small group of loud complainers that are saying these things,”- “he’s just mad because he believes he can do whatever he wants”- all the statements start that gradually, over time, deplete the replenishing of the urge to speak, draining the nourishment we receive when we say words we believe are true, about a wrong we want righted, an injustice that has taken something away from us. It is not a mockingbird that’s gone. The possibility that we can all take part in finding out what is true, just by speaking up, becomes uncertain and is one day gone because no one bothers anymore. No one likes to have their credibility attacked and if someone else is the prime manufacturer of what the truth is, why do it?</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-family: garamond, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It's a dangerous situation. Not too long ago, in my town, the Children's Librarian was fired by the Public Library Director, who knows why. The public outrage about it placed the Library in peril because people did not retreat from finding out the truth both because of the shared ownership of their respect for this gifted children’s librarian and their value of the library. A Mediation agreement to solve the community unrest followed. The Director who did the firing didn't follow it. What is troublesome is that she had a version of the truth that she felt was better than that of anyone else. It happens all the time. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: garamond, serif;">The Northern Mockingbird is gone now, I think. Doing everything possible to disregard other voices, raises an instinctual fear of extinction of voice and credibility. It is not a matter of where one sits on the right to left continuum. Those who manage to enter positions of responsibility in the Democratic party or the Republican party or any staff position of leadership may be just as likely to justify their own actions by disregarding Truth tellers and attacking their credibility (“She doesn't have any proof”). I criticized a Senator recently and compared one staffer's maintenance of a List of Twitter/Facebook users who criticized the Senator to Richard Nixon's Enemies List and McCarthy-ism. The newspaper's </span><span style="font-family: garamond, serif;">Opinion Page (which has a committee vetting process) hasn't published any of the letters I've submitted since. The l</span><span style="font-family: garamond, serif;">egal system is only one venue in which the credibility of Truth tellers is protected. Each of us plays a part in valuing the skill the Northern Mockingbird knows. Those who stumble into positions of influence then exercise every option to destroy the credibility of Truth tellers raise the real possibility that those who spoke out will not be back again. </span></span></p> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>Waiting for the Mockingbird: A Citizen's Guide to ... | 05:23</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/527891", title: "Waiting for the Mockingbird: A Citizen\'s Guide to Protecting the Credibility of Those Who Speak Out on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/527891' addthis:title='Waiting for the Mockingbird: A Citizen's Guide to Protecting the Credibility of Those Who Speak Out'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/527891' addthis:title='Waiting for the Mockingbird: A Citizen's Guide to Protecting the Credibility of Those Who Speak Out'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-527891-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p527891-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/527891/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item even" id="playlisting_79973"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/262637-all-happy-families-are-like-one-another-each-unh">"All Happy Families are Like One Another; Each Unhappy Family is Unhappy in Its Own Way" : The Holidays and Divorce</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 08:12 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>Some holiday recommendations for divorced parents, the American Bar Association and all who re-cast the spell of Santa Claus every year.</p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_539348" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/262637-all-happy-families-are-like-one-another-each-unh" target="blank">"All Happy Families are Like One Another; Each ...</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="1953695" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="492" data-expires="1739972840" data-piece_id="262637" data-token="0c0f06f3a096f1887458c3ca2920a6b3" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="Allunhappyfamilies"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Allhappyfamiliesarealike_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/581859/Allhappyfamiliesarealike_small.JPG" version="small" width="92" /> <p>All Happy Families are Alike; Each Unhappy Family is Unhappy in its Own Way:</p> <p>Some Divorce Holiday Recommendations</p> <p>-Susan Cook-</p> <p> </p> <p>Children know that holiday giving, receiving and sharing does not alone dispell the hostilities of high conflict divorce. "All happy families are like one another; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way" Tolstoi began in <em><strong>Anna Karenina</strong></em> (p.17, 1961. Original 1877) . The traumatic severing of high conflict divorce inflicts an unhappiness different for each child . Bessel Van der Kolk, MD identifies Developmental Trauma as one of its outcomes. Like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder - an array of nightmares, flashbacks, hyper-vigilance, disruptive anxiety and the self-deprecation of depression- are now carried internally by the child. It is one of the most under acknowledged emotional traumas of our time.</p> <p> </p> <p>Lawyers know high conflict divorce litigation is a rainmaker. The 40-60,000 dollar divorce means victory- after all that money is spent- becomes the priority- and often cost to the child uncomplaining but internalizing it all, knowing that intense protest all by itself breaks relationships.</p> <p> </p> <p>After all; hostile divorce threatens the childhood spell that a family never really stops being a family. I use the word spell not to make light of psychological experience- but rather to emphasize the magic of its refuge. My doctoral dissertation research (Cook, S.J. <em><strong>A Sense of Belonging, A Sense of Place: The Child in the Family and the Perspective Taken. </strong></em> Harvard University, 1986. ) included interviews with about 90 children and adolescents about their conceptions of family continuity and attachment. A longitudinal study of children who were between 7 and 11 when I first began the study formed a small, matched sibling subset of the larger project. All children answered questions like: <em>Does a family ever stop being a family? When you're 50 and your sister is 53, will you still be a family? </em></p> <p> </p> <p>Astonishingly, 96 percent of the girls held that a family never stops being a family- even if parents divorce. Seventy six percent of the boys held that view. These particpants were in 1st , 2nd and 3rd grade.</p> <p> </p> <p>The children I studied longitudinally, between age 7 and 11 at time one, were young adults, between 19 and 23, the third and last time. By the third interview, parents of half of the sibling pairs had divorced.</p> <p> </p> <p>The findings were curious, heartening and worthy of a good listen by every divorce judge and attorney. If anything, time made the children studied longitudinally even more a captive of the "spell" of unconditional family attachment.</p> <p> </p> <p>Here is Sam who I talked when he was seven, ten and then at 19.</p> <p>At seven, he told me that family is always a family " because Mom and Dad still remember you and they have pictures of you when you're young and stuff and you will always be a family and even when Mom and Dad die, we'll still be a family because I'll always remember them."</p> <p>Then, at age 10, "We'll still be a family but we won't get in each other's way and well forget about them more, much more...You'd get in touch with them once in awhile, like Christmas."</p> <p> </p> <p>By 19 yrs., 9 months, Sam's parents had divorced.</p> <p> </p> <p>But Sam said, "Even though marriage isn't for life, parenting is. So it's always a family I think no matter how tight they are...no matter how much turmoil is going on,in a certain family, at a wedding or a funeral, everyone would be there....Because it really reasserts who they, who they are. I think like touching base. Like coming home, for me today, I came home. I hadn't been home in awhile and I just sort of lay down where my bed used to be and it was calm, it was soothing, it's protection then you carry that with you. That sense of knowing you always have some place where you can just go and you don't have to look behind your back."</p> <p>A few Christmas or Hanukkah or Kawanza caveats, for divorced parents- made with the mental health of children in mind.</p> <p> </p> <p>Cast the spell over yourself that children - especially girls- hold onto. "You are always a family. And you were once a family. Make what the remembering of this season memorable. Do not let this year be the year the hatred exchanged with your ex- be - who knows- just enough to break that spell and make that family- once and for all- no longer a family.</p> <p> </p> <p>Secondly, for the American Bar Association, please publicly disclose state-by-state the amount of revenue raised by attorney divorce fees- attorney by attorney. There are children who need protection from abusive caretakers. They also need protection from indifferent litigators.</p> <p> </p> <p>Third, the mental health consequences of family dissolution are not Christmas fantasy They are found for real not just in the broken spirits of children torn from caretakers at the US/Mexico border. A 9 year old I interviewed had been taken from her biological mother when she was 3. In a foster home, she had formed a very close attachment to a foster mother. Now 9, I asked if she had a mother. She told me she thought she did but she thought she had died. She brought a torn and wrinkled photograph, of the mother who was not dead but had been denied contact with the child for several years through a detached, distant legal decision by a court appointed guardian who distorted almost all the facts.</p> <p> </p> <p>Any one adult can offer real life examples of the hostility that buries family connection. But just like adults world wide collude in the play therapy of someone named Santa Claus, how about taking on this one- even in the most contemptuous divorce . That once upon a time, there was a mom and a dad... now remember the good parts. and keep your hostilty at bay- if only for a day.</p> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>"All Happy Families are Like One Another; Each ... | 08:12</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/262637", title: "\"All Happy Families are Like One Another; Each Unhappy Family is Unhappy in Its Own Way\" : The Holidays and Divorce on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/262637' addthis:title='"All Happy Families are Like One Another; Each Unhappy Family is Unhappy in Its Own Way" : The Holidays and Divorce'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/262637' addthis:title='"All Happy Families are Like One Another; Each Unhappy Family is Unhappy in Its Own Way" : The Holidays and Divorce'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-262637-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p262637-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/262637/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item odd" id="playlisting_100726"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/527008-it-s-a-grand-night-for-bailing-updated-in-the-d">"It's A Grand Night for Bailing, Updated" in the Dept. of Poetic Justice (and Reckoning). Lyrics for the Great American Wrongbook!</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 02:39 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>We've been humming the tune from Rodgers and Hammerstein's "State Fair", again! "It's a Grand Night for Bailing, Updated! The Evangelical version" which could be sung to the tune from "It's a Grand Night for Singing!"</p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_1021547" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/527008-it-s-a-grand-night-for-bailing-updated-in-the-d" target="blank">"It's A Grand Night for Bailing, Updated" in the ...</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="4750483" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="159" data-expires="1739972840" data-piece_id="527008" data-token="5baa07d186d1a58b12a78bf76219849d" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="ItsaGrandUpdatedNightforBailing"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="008_8_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/912899/008_8_small.JPG" version="small" width="92" /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p>“It's a Grand Night for Bailing Updated”<br />-Susan Cook-</p> <p> </p> <p><em>It's a grand night for bailing,</em></p> <p><em>the writing's on the wall,</em></p> <p><em>and somewhere a bird who is bound he'll be heard</em></p> <p><em>is giving his lawyer a call!</em></p> <p> </p> <p><em>Evangelical nature</em></p> <p><em>requires that they ask:</em></p> <p><em>Could this man be my pastor? They ignore the disaster</em></p> <p><em>he'd be as their daughter's first date!</em></p> <p> </p> <p><em>Evangelicals voting</em></p> <p><em>for You-Know-Who because</em></p> <p><em>they think he's the link between Sin and the Brink</em></p> <p><em>forget that he's currently charged!</em></p> <p> </p> <p><em>When you walk thru the Check-out,</em></p> <p><em>the magazines for sale,</em></p> <p><em>include one you know. It just goes to show</em></p> <p><em>The Enquirer has survived!</em></p> <p> </p> <p><em>There is no room for liars,</em></p> <p><em>Evangelicals agree</em></p> <p><em>at the Pearly Gates, God won't stand there and wait</em></p> <p><em>for Mr. Pecker to be free.</em></p> <p> </p> <p><em>To Role Model is different</em></p> <p><em>than what a pastor does.</em></p> <p><em>Generally speaking, it does not lead to preaching</em></p> <p><em>that he is a morally upstanding guy!</em></p> <p> </p> <p><em>Presidential behavior </em></p> <p><em>can be role modeled too!</em></p> <p><em>That means lying and cheating and expletive deleted</em></p> <p><em>is not what is done with spare time!</em></p> <p> </p> <p><em>Evangelic behavior</em></p> <p><em>is not that different from</em></p> <p><em>what might be expected from a man who's elected </em></p> <p><em>for daughters and sons to admire!</em></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><em>They say “I would not want him</em></p> <p><em>to be my Pastor" yet</em></p> <p><em>his policies are good. Tell us does that include</em></p> <p><em>permission to exploit the women with whom he's had s--?</em></p> <p> </p> <p><em>Refrain:</em></p> <p><em>It's a grand night for bailing!~</em></p> <p><em>The writing's on the wall!</em></p> <p><em>And somewhere the herd who have finally heard</em></p> <p><em>are giving their Lawyers and Pastors a call!</em></p> <p> </p> </div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>"It's A Grand Night for Bailing, Updated" in the ... | 02:39</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/527008", title: "\"It\'s A Grand Night for Bailing, Updated\" in the Dept. of Poetic Justice (and Reckoning). Lyrics for the Great American Wrongbook! on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/527008' addthis:title='"It's A Grand Night for Bailing, Updated" in the Dept. of Poetic Justice (and Reckoning). Lyrics for the Great American Wrongbook!'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/527008' addthis:title='"It's A Grand Night for Bailing, Updated" in the Dept. of Poetic Justice (and Reckoning). Lyrics for the Great American Wrongbook!'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-527008-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p527008-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/527008/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item even" id="playlisting_79974"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/256333-the-thickness-of-the-moral-skin-of-the-us-senate">The Thickness of the Moral Skin of the US Senate: To Be the Catcher in the Rye</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 08:19 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>The thickness of moral skin is sometimes measured in the willingness of its inhabitants to take on the risk of being the catcher in the rye- the one who protects the children running toward danger. The US Senate during the hearings to vet a Supreme Court nominee stepped aside- almost to a one. The spectacle was almost like watching the ingenuousness of Holden Caulfield falling away after encountering the world's indifference- this time right in front of us.</p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_527492" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/256333-the-thickness-of-the-moral-skin-of-the-us-senate" target="blank">The Thickness of the Moral Skin of the US Senate: ...</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="1877873" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="499" data-expires="1739972840" data-piece_id="256333" data-token="6e146e87b66ae6e493205204e69e46db" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="TheMorallyThinSkinoftheUSSenateandOurCathersintheRye"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Catcherintherye_small" height="92" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/570923/Catcherintherye_small.jpg" version="small" /> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">The Thickness of the Moral Skin of the US Senate: To Be the Catcher in the Rye</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span>"You know that song 'If a body catch a body comin' through the rye? I'd like-</span><em>"</em></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span>"It's 'If a body </span><em>meet </em><span>a body coming through the rye'!" old Phoebe said. "It's a poem. By Robert </span><em>Burns."</em></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: x-small;">"I <em>know </em>it's a poem by Robert Burns."</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: x-small;">She was right, though. It <em>is </em>"If a body meet a body coming through the rye." I didn't know it then, though.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: x-small;">"I thought it was "If a body catch a body'," I said."Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around-nobody big, I mean-except me. And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch eveybody if they start to go over the cliff-I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and <em>catch </em>them. That's all I'd do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it's crazy, but that's the only thing I'd really like to be."</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">After Holden Caulfield has this conversation with his little sister, in his sojourn before entering a psychiatric hospital, he calls up Mr. Antolini, the Pencey Prep teacher . "He's the one that finally picked up that boy that jumped out the window I told you about, James Castle. Old Mr. Antolini felt his pulse and all, and then he took off his coat and put it over James Castle and carried him all the way over to the infirmary. He didn't even give a damn if his coat got all bloody."</span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">In the aftermath of the confirmation hearing of a prep school alumnus who left a trail of nightmares and unresolved trauma in the emotional web of one 15 year old, the thickness of the moral skin of US Senate members comes to mind. I'll talk about the 2 from my state since I know most about their moments of moral cowering.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">In 2007, I was interviewed and quoted by a reporter for <em><strong>Current.org ,</strong></em><span> a public broadcasting newspaper. Susan Collins had contributed mightly to the firing of a popular Friday night jazz host who had criticized the Iraq War- in a genial, understated. way Turns out that the Maine public broadcasting Board of Trustees was comprised of members who together gave over $160,000 to the Republican party. I said (look it up) that Mainers would work hard to defeat Susan Collins in her next go-round she being someone who engages in activities that usually get legislators thrown out of Washington. Now, Senator Collins does not like anyone making reference to her pre-marital relationships in her first 50 years of dating eligibility or recreational activities. That off-sides view that Susan Collins endorses about her own past, may explain her minimizing the testimony of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's sexually assaulted victim. Indecent exposure is also illegal. Instead, she insisted his distortions, lies and beligerence toward his 2018 Senate questioners had nothing to do with his judicial temperament. By Collins' side, as she announced her choice, was Maine's recent failed GOP gubernatorial candidate, former DHHS Commissioner Mary Mayhew whose cost-cutting adminstration co-occurred with an almost unparalled number of deaths of children at the hands of their foster, biological or step-parents.(</span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;">https://www.pressherald.com/2018/05/14/letter-to-the-editor-mayhews-dhhs-neglected-maines-children/)</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: small;"><span>Senator Collins usually hires out her thin moral skin and backlash toward those who threaten. Her one-time Director of New Media Matthew Gagnon was a player on the Maine political commentator scene whose willingness to bully has been documented on the front page of Maine's largest newspaper. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: small;"><span>Then there's Maine's other Senator Angus King who ires quickly when anyone calls him out on his - ahem- purchase - when he was governor- of a state-owned oceanfront parcel of land abutting one of Maine's pristine ocean-side state parks. I even a wrote some lyrics sung to the tune from "America the Beautiful" which his purchase decidely was not.The purchase was documented in the Times Record and noted there was no "public bidding" on a piece of property that any one knew would do nothing but increase in value. It is now worth many times what he paid for it by encouraging the right state employee .</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: small;"><em><span>"Oh beautiful for spacious me, for land I'd like to buy,</span></em></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;"><em><span>that borders on state property in Georgetown or nearby,</span></em></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;"><em><span>that suddenly the state of Maine would like to sell to me,</span></em></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;"><em><span>the ocean deep, the price real cheap, what better guy than me?"</span></em></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: small;"><span>The morally thin skin of US Senators created a Brett Kavanaugh nomination and hearing that has left millions of sexual assault survivors in this country with a deep sense of moral betrayal. While survivors are compromised because of the emotional fissures trauma creates, many have stepped forward to disclose, despite the insistent cacophony of shame and the self-doubt that the assault is their own fault. Withstanding that self-blame requires morally thick skin which the moral imperative of the Kavanaugh hearing creates.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: small;"><span>I do not trust Senator Collins or our other Senators- to be- we all hope they might- the catcher in the rye. Only one came to Holden Caulfield's mind- the teacher who carried the suiciding adolescent boy and didn't even care if he got blood on his jacket. Senator Collins and her GOP Senators minimized the belligerance, hostility and denial of his past of a Supreme Court nominee accused - not in a trial- but a job interview. In the wake of that dismissal, many, many sexual assault survivors who the equally morally thin-skinned Lindsay Graham said "have a problem"( hint: are flawed, damaged, mentally ill) will go home and direct the damage toward themselves- in self-harm, self-mutilation, if not suicidality. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: small;"><span>Not one of these Senators can be trusted to be the catcher in the rye- nor can this Supreme Court nominee-. They are far too frightened of getting blood on their jackets or their morally thin skin.</span></span></p> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>The Thickness of the Moral Skin of the US Senate: ... | 08:19</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/256333", title: "The Thickness of the Moral Skin of the US Senate: To Be the Catcher in the Rye on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/256333' addthis:title='The Thickness of the Moral Skin of the US Senate: To Be the Catcher in the Rye'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/256333' addthis:title='The Thickness of the Moral Skin of the US Senate: To Be the Catcher in the Rye'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-256333-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p256333-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/256333/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item odd" id="playlisting_79975"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/156706-it-s-not-what-you-re-given-it-s-what-you-do-with">"It's Not What You're Given, It's What You Do With What You Get: An Antidote to Donald Trump World"</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 05:57 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>Recently, two Washington Post reporters looked at how human beings are valued in Donald Trump world, now, and as he turned the $200000 his father gave him into billions. The values of Trump world are very different from a rural state like Maine where deer, beavers, fish, rare endangered wildlife , serene forests, trucks that work, no traffic and enduring cold, long winters well have special value. There are Maine virtuosos who celebrate the values of rural life. Listening to them is an antidote, to the queasy feeling left in the stomach by the lip-smacking exclusionary greed of Donald Trump world. </p> <p>"It's not what you're given. It's what you do with what you get," the bootstrapping virtuoso blues singer, Pat Pepin, sings. She riffs about free Wal-mart’ overnight parking for campers and RVs , and cherishes her “long-haul trucker”. Another virtuoso is Robert Skoglund, The humble Farmer, whose oldtime jazz radio program is now making its way into New York City radio air waves. Humble’s program was removed from Maine public radio for - I guess you could call it - political insubordination - for criticizing the Iraq War. Humble has all the qualities necessary for a Donald Trump world antidote because humble really does value money, not quantity, but every breathing atom and neutron and ounce of chemical valence on its surface. </p> <p>We hope his listeners will drink deeply of this antidote, the radio detox- for the money culture-the Donald Trump world that’s forgotten that $.99 can be far far better quality than several billion because, as Pat Pepin sings, it isn’t what you’re given. It’ s what you do with what you get.</p> <p></p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_338826" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/156706-it-s-not-what-you-re-given-it-s-what-you-do-with" target="blank">"It's Not What You're Given, It's What You Do ...</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="945513" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="357" data-expires="1739972840" data-piece_id="156706" data-token="5c0e0b0032ea07c55221cc1e50991e6c" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="Itsnottwhatyour2"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Breathing_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/series_images/33623/Breathing_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <span> <p style="text-align: center;"><br />"It's Not What You'reGiven, Its What You Do With Wat You Get: An Antidote to Donald Trump World""<br />-Susan Cook-<br /><br />Two Washington Post reporters recently looked at how human beings are valued in Donald Trump world, now and as he carried on while turning the first $200000 his father gave him into billions.</p> <p>In Donald Trump world, quantity of money takes precedence over quality of money . Thus the welfare tenants of his New York apartments and Mexican immigrants are devalued because they don’t have any money. If he allowed welfare tenants into his apartments, Trump said , “there would be a massive fleeing from the city, not only our tenants but the community as a whole.“ In Donald Trump world, people shouldn‘t get caught. Thus, he said Senator John McCain is not a hero because, as Trump said, he likes people who don’t get caught. The measure of the man is his money, no matter how he got it; the woman, her physical appearance, no matter the cost in self-devaluation or sexual exploitation. After all, he told the reporters, as a young man, he dated often. “These were beautiful women. but many of them couldn’t carry on a normal conversation.“ One might ask, why then seek their company, because in Trump world, the true measure of success is not getting caught -without physical attractiveness, money or by the atrocities of war, or I suppose, a good lie.</p> <p>The values of Trump world are very different from a  rural state like Maine where deer, beavers, fish, rare endangered wildlife , serene forests, trucks that work, no traffic and enduring cold, long winters well have special value. There are Maine virtuosos who celebrate the values of rural life. Listening to them is an antidote, to the queasy feeling left in the stomach by the lip-smacking exclusionary greed of Donald Trump world.</p> <p>“It’s not what you’re given, it’s what you do with what you get” Maine’s bootstrapping virtuoso blues singer, Pat Pepin sings. She riffs about free Wal-mart’ overnight parking for campers and RVs and cherishes her “long-haul trucker” who’s in it for the “long haul” Another Maine virtuoso is Robert Skoglund, The humble Farmer, whose oldtime jazz radio program was removed from Maine public radio for - I guess you could call it - political insubordination - for criticizing the Iraq War. Like Donald Trump world, “humble” values money, every breathing atom and neutron and ounce of chemical valence on its surface, but he goes for quality. On his early American jazz program, humble, immodestly complains about how expensive Goodwill stores have become- what with shirts that used to cost $.99 now going for over seven dollars. And his gustatory taste well satisfied by a can of spaghetti uncooked. Eaten. And then there is his trademark reference to his wife Marsha as “the almost perfect woman” which - raised the hackles of our assertiveness trained Maine feminists who assumed his remarks were drawn from the one to ten scale of physical attractiveness of Donald Trump world. And yes, Donald Trump regaled the days when he observed several “well-known super models” in a fast-track New York night club engaging in let’s say- physical actions on a bench in the center of the room “each one with a different guy”. But, no, “humble” wasn’t referring to a Donald Trump world one to ten rating. When finally asked what would make his wife perfect, humble said, “If I was 19.“</p> <p>And thus an 80 something man valuing a woman in the same way Adam and Eve did is an antidote to the Donald Trump world, which is not exactly like the garden of Eden- even if he was only watching.</p> <p>Recently, The humble Farmer has announced that his radio show is indeed bound for the New York City radio waves. On WFDU at 89.1FM . There we hope his listeners will drink deeply of this antidote, the public radio detox- for the money culture-the Donald Trump world that’s forgotten that $.99 can be far far better quality than several billion because as Pat Pepin sings, it isn’t what you’re given. It’ s what you do with what you get.</p> </span><strong></strong><em></em> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>"It's Not What You're Given, It's What You Do ... | 05:57</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/156706", title: "\"It\'s Not What You\'re Given, It\'s What You Do With What You Get: An Antidote to Donald Trump World\" on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/156706' addthis:title='"It's Not What You're Given, It's What You Do With What You Get: An Antidote to Donald Trump World"'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/156706' addthis:title='"It's Not What You're Given, It's What You Do With What You Get: An Antidote to Donald Trump World"'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-156706-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p156706-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/156706/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item even" id="playlisting_79976"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/276042-it-s-not-what-you-re-given-it-s-what-you-do-with">It's Not What You're Given, It's What You Do With What You Get: My Supermarket Monopoly Game and The Pentagon Budget</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 08:36 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>Fifty-four cents of every federally appropriated dollar goes to the Defense Department budget. Exactly where, the Pentagon auditors find "impossible" to track. Maybe they should hire some Supermarket game auditors to help out.</p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_564638" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/276042-it-s-not-what-you-re-given-it-s-what-you-do-with" target="blank">It's Not What You're Given, It's What You Do With ...</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="2111824" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="516" data-expires="1739972840" data-piece_id="276042" data-token="c644e4c9af66b0eb9d025012914afd0e" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="SupermarketMonopolyandPentagonBudget2"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="0308130851_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/604514/0308130851_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <p><span style="font-size: x-small;">It's Not What You're Given, It's What You Do With What You Get: </span></p> <p><span style="font-size: x-small;">My Supermarket Monopoly Contest and the Pentagon Budget</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: x-small;">In my state, the annual "Shop, Play, Win Monopoly"game, a"Collect and Win" game offering" "over $250 million in prizes and money saving offers" after 3 months of fabulous opportunities at every checkout moment at my local Supermarket is winding down.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: x-small;">Fingers crossed . I finally went through the hours long process of tearing open (along the perforated lines, of course) each potential gold mother lode held in each small folded square (one for each 10 dollars spent) and then placing each individual rectangular stamp (after meticulously moistening the back) on the "Monopoly Board.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: x-small;">The one million dollar cash prize required that you randomly receive 6 certain stamps each with an assigned number (333A1, 334B1, 335C1, 336D1, 337E1 and 338F1) of bewildering complexity.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: x-small;">I knew it would be tough to win that. So I set my sights slightly lower, the $100,000 cash prize maybe with only 5 specifically numbered stamps . </span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: x-small;">In every single category I came up one stamp short with the exception of the One Million Dollar prize in which I came up 2 short. Correction, I also came up 2 short for the $500 Portable Grill and Groceries which I didn't really want. Last year, almost the same thing happened. I won nothing.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: x-small;">But how is it that a supermarket chain presenting the same contest in several states offering 28 different prizes manages to precisely track the distribution of millions of these tiny rectangular stamps and confidently state that 3 lucky shoppers "might" win the million dollars or 250 "might" win the $500 Portable Grill and Groceries? </span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: x-small;">This is in stunning contrast to The Nation magazine's article (November 27, 2018) "Exclusive: The Pentagon's Massive Accounting Fraud Exposed". Independent auditors Ernst and Young and others hired to externally audit the Department of Defense reported it impossible to have a reliable audit because of a completely flawed Pentagon accounting system. The audit request came because The Pentagon for 26 years failed to internally audit themselves despite the 1990 Chief Financial Officers' Act requiring all departments and agencies to reliabily internally audit. Only the Pentagon has failed to comply. Impossible to have a reliable Pentagon audit? So, why doesn't the Pentagon hire auditors who took the same statistics classes the people who design the "Shop, Play, Win Monopoly " game did? In the supermarket game, "impossible" probably means one person getting all the little stamps to win "the Million Dollars" <em><strong>and </strong></em>"the $500 Portable Grill and Groceries" <em><strong>and </strong></em><span><span>the "$30,000 Jet Skis" . Maybe the "$20,000 College Tuition". And, you know, the Supermarket statisticians know exactly the impossibility of one person winning all 4 of the prizes . </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: x-small;">Now, the bookkeepers at the Pentagon have far better benefits and far better salaries. than the Supermarket chain contest makers, let alone the benefits and salaries of the high school kids and young adults who work as baggers and cashiers. But those Supermarket statisticians still figure out these complicated probabilities and get every penny the Federal government levies on the workers in taxes. </span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: x-small;">By the way, The Pentagon receives $.54 out of every dollar of federal appropriations.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: x-small;">It has a 2.7 trillion dollar budget and no one knows exactly where that money goes. </span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span><span>The Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan said at least they tried and the Pentagon didn't think they would pass anyway. That attitude would not be tolerated at my local supermarket chain. They after all track those millions of rectangular stamps and insure that only 75 of the "$7500 Family Vacation" prize will be available. Or have the where-with-all to hire auditors who can. No way will more than 75 people </span></span><em><strong>ever</strong></em><span><span> become lucky winners of that prize- unless- through some miracle in which Pentagon bookkeepers are suddenly cast down the ladder of success and hold jobs at the Supermarket Chain corporate headquarters. And then more Family Vacations then you could imagine going to the unsuspecting shoppers who- it turns out- with the same stroke of Pentagon incompetence have a major lucky day.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Nation article went on to say that years of fraud in the Pentagon books works like this. Quote "When the Dept of Defense submits its annual budget requests to Congress, it sends along the prior year's financial reports, which contain fabricated numbers. The fabricated numbers disguise the fact that the DoD does not always spend all the money Congress allocates in a given year. However, instead of returning such unspent funds to the US Treasury, as the law requires, the Pentagon sometimes launders and shifts such money to other parts of the DoD budget." All of it a violation of the US Constitution. And thus the Pentagon's budget increases every single year.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: x-small;">Congress does not demand that the Pentagon enforce the 1990 Chief Financial Officers Act . Each year, the cost of the military budget goes up and up. </span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: x-small;">Going through the Supermarket Checkout line is very poignant sometimes. Food is our life blood. Sometimes, there's the young mom trying to keep a baby quiet and a 4 year old engaged while waiting to see the cost of all the food piled high in her grocery cart. Food is a largely unsubsidized commodity in this country or at least never subsidized at the $.54 cents of every dollar that the military receives. Until Congress demands that the financial record be set straight, no one knows exactly what the Pentagon spends on what. But you can bet, when military conflict comes, the Pentagon is more than willing to entice the low-paid , no subsidized college tuition - federally taxed supermarket workers- to enlist or - be drafted- to place their lives in the the lottery that every military bloodbath inevitably creates. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size: x-small;">One small correction. I did win won thing this year. A free bagel.</span></p> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>It's Not What You're Given, It's What You Do With ... | 08:36</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/276042", title: "It\'s Not What You\'re Given, It\'s What You Do With What You Get: My Supermarket Monopoly Game and The Pentagon Budget on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/276042' addthis:title='It's Not What You're Given, It's What You Do With What You Get: My Supermarket Monopoly Game and The Pentagon Budget'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/276042' addthis:title='It's Not What You're Given, It's What You Do With What You Get: My Supermarket Monopoly Game and The Pentagon Budget'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-276042-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p276042-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/276042/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item odd" id="playlisting_80054"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/277188-compassion-and-its-blindspots-women-s-turn-for-no">Compassion and Its Blindspots: Women's Turn for No Compassion in Alabama</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 08:09 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>A Buddhist teacher talking about Compassion told the story of the leader ripping open his vein to feed a starving stranger. Bodily acts coming out of compassion to prevent suffering are found in many spiritual traditions. The blindspots in compassion in this society it appears may now prevent recognition of the decision to end a pregnancy as one of those acts. </p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_566569" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/277188-compassion-and-its-blindspots-women-s-turn-for-no" target="blank">Compassion and Its Blindspots: Women's Turn for ...</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="2119542" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="489" data-expires="1739972840" data-piece_id="277188" data-token="3b4076d5e7452316698a5d03c30b4e6a" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="CompassionandItsBlindspotsNewDedicationsofMerit"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Allhappyfamiliesarealike_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/605644/Allhappyfamiliesarealike_small.JPG" version="small" width="92" /> <p><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Compassion and Its Blindspots: Finding A New Dedication to Merit</strong></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong><span style="color: #222222;"><span>I heard a Buddhist teacher talk recently about Compassion, he born in Bhutan. In Bhutan, wealth is measured by Gross National Happiness, not a Gross National Product. There is no military. Hatred, anger and suffering the teacher said are dispelled by compassion. He explained the origin of a Buddhist liturgy that like in any other tradition people will repeat without really understanding its significance. The liturgy recited after a lengthy practice session or teaching goes like this,</span></span></strong></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>By this merit may all obtain omniscience,</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>May it defeat the enemy wrongdoing,</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>From stormy waves of birth, old age, sickness and death,</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>from the ocean of samsara may I free all beings</strong></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>A variation of this liturgy says,</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>By the confidence of the golden sun of the Great East</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>May the lotus garden of the rigdens' wisdom bloom</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>May the dark ignorance of sensient being be dispelled.</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>May we all obtain profound brilliant glory.</strong></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>The merit , he explained, comes from an example set by the ruler of a mythical and beatific country where establishing compassion was the standard by which everyone lived. Some very dark evil carnivorous beings came who had no compassion and because this was a country where killing to eat was not tolerated, they had nothing to eat. They came to the ruler, starving and on the verge of death and asked him to given them food. And the ruler ripped open his vein and gave them blood to save them and from this he created the Dedication of Merit.</strong></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong><span style="color: #222222;"><span>From the beginning of time, war and conflict between men (largely) has been the source of blood sacrifice that is considered noble, patriotic, beyond question as an act of valor. Compassion rarely comes from that. Rather, we are more familiar with body strewn images of the Civil War, World War I and II, the Vietnam War, any war that comes to mind. and the misery of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder so closely associated with those who survive the horrors of war. Somewhere along the line, the ripping open of the veins to feed the starving as an act of compassion to end suffering has been subverted: the patriotic encouraging the blood shed unaccompanied by compassionate intent.</span></span></strong></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>This brings us to the current vitriol surrounding the termination of pregnancies. There is much more beyond conception to creation of compassionate care for the breathing born 40 weeks or less later. This is not a secret. Women know what is not available to the unborn, the deprivations of the unborn in utero that psychological and emotional despair, poor nutrition, poverty, alcohol and opiod use, and abuse of the body of the woman carrying the child creates. Who bears the deprivation of care most significantly, if the infant survives to a breathing birth, is the child.</strong></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>The decision to terminate a pregnancy is the ripping open of the vein like the king in the Dedication of Merit origin- a choice to bear the suffering oneself rather than 40 weeks later pass the deprivation, the abuse, the harm onto a being only able to breath on their own at birth.</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Like the leader, it is an act of compassion in which one bears the consequence ones self. It is only in white Western elite societies that sophisticated medical technology allows survival of some infants after birth that in third world countries without medical sophistication do not never survive.</strong></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>The "merit" that Donald Trump know endorses as a criteria for immigration to this country reifies the White Western elitism seen in births that survive because of sophisticated medical technology and the absence of that "merit" in third world countries.</strong></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>There is no license granted in any spiritual tradition to my knowledge to reserve bodily sacrifice for the War dead. The ruler ripping open his vein to feed those filled with hatred and contempt as an act of compassion is not unlike those ending a pregnancy who openly acknowledge their own inability to provide compassionate care because no mystery here- society or family do not or will not provide the care either. The deprivation of care after birth is passed on after a 40 week gestation period- if a breathing being endures the deprivations. Many do not feel entitled to make the zygote, the embryo, the fetus bear the suffering of the deprivation. Like the Buddhist leader who chose to bear it himself, they choose to bear it themselves and terminate the pregnancy.</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong><span style="color: #222222;"><span>There is a spiritual blindspot in the pronouncements of the Alabama and Missouri governors who pass legislation to ban termination of all pregnancies because- this is no mystery either- they fail to acknowledge "the life" they alledgely are saving needs much much more to survive to a live birth let alone grow to and through a healthy childhood. In keeping with the Dedication of Merit, we could establish a new merit rating for each for these states that pretend to glorify life by assessing these qualities:</span></span></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>-availability of free birth control to all conception-eligible women to prevent unwanted pregnancy</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>-provision of housing, food, medical care and employment at a living wage scale for women during pregnancy</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>- provision of safe, reliable, well monitored child care immediately after birth</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>-Medicaid and Medicare for all</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>- Food stamps distributed without shaming or race-baiting</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>-psychological and psychotherapy intervention widely available </strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>-healthy, safe foster care if a mother cannot provide care</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Men or family may well not be willing or able to provide care. In the United States,society is not- no surprise- our extended family. And for the woman who is victimized, incested, raped, shunned, broke, abandoned, partner-less, or damaged in body, mind and spirit, ripping open the vein, terminating a pregnancy may be the only act of compassion available and she chooses it.</strong></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>Compassion and Its Blindspots: Women's Turn for ... | 08:09</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/277188", title: "Compassion and Its Blindspots: Women\'s Turn for No Compassion in Alabama on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/277188' addthis:title='Compassion and Its Blindspots: Women's Turn for No Compassion in Alabama'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/277188' addthis:title='Compassion and Its Blindspots: Women's Turn for No Compassion in Alabama'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-277188-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p277188-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/277188/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item even" id="playlisting_80171"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/225733-seeing-consequence-before-it-happens-asking-quest">Seeing Consequence Before It Happens: Asking Questions about Children who are Suffering, Noticing the Answer </a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 05:20 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>We know the consequence of indifference.In late 2017, Maine witnessed 3 murders of children: 2 by foster care-takers, one at the hands of the nonbiological partner of the parent and a pregnant parent. Just-like-that. Although we know it was not just-like-that. It was consequence. And we have to say, from the Commissioner of the Dept. of Health and Human Services on down, ours to be accountable for.</p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_475819" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/225733-seeing-consequence-before-it-happens-asking-quest" target="blank">Seeing Consequence Before It Happens: Asking ...</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="1598071" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="320" data-expires="1739972840" data-piece_id="225733" data-token="bf3b1cb8ad369e999f76647ae82f1e4c" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="SeeingConsequence"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="0420105808e_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/520815/0420105808e_small.JPG" version="small" width="92" />  <br /> <div style="text-align: center;"><br />Seeing Consequence Before It Happens: Asking Questions, Noticing the Answer<br /><br />-Susan Cook-</div> <div>In Buddhism, samsara is the Sanskrit word for the endless cycle of suffering: birth, death, rebirth, misery. They poach some of their  agony about this onto "karma" which is regularly misinterpreted to mean "What goes around , comes around." That is a misinterpretation of karma. Karma says, quite simply, there is a consequence from cause and effect. That doesn't mean that we dismiss the possibility of a user-friendly existence. Samsara says, quite simply, "We know."</div> <div>I am reminded of this as yet another child has died in a foster home deemed safe by Maine's Department of Health and Human Services Commissione,  the head of the organization so yes, the karma is the Commissioner's to bear, ultimately. </div> <div>I run out of ideas about how we help people become more vigilant about watching children to make sure they are cared for and not in harm's way.  I say that in the wake of an active and engaged interest in child abuse and neglect that stretches back to 1976. I worked then as a home visitor to children aged 3 or under who were considered "at risk". Bearing witness to parents barely able to provide warm shelter in rural Maine winters and watching children take second place to their parents' inability to see beyond their own needs set me on a path of inquiry. Why do some parents end up in that circumstance?</div> <div>Why?</div> <div>Now, sometimes it seems others deign to ask that question. That it is not for us to ask why but ours to watch when it happens and say the karma lies elsewhere.<br /> </div> <div>I was in a training chock-full of clinicians, guardian-ad-litem (those appointed by the court to assess the best interest of the child), lawyers, judges and state Child Protective officials.<br /> </div> <div>Back then, a child had been murdered by another foster parent, who also had been a child welfare worker. I asked what seemed an obvious question of the Child Protective official. What has changed since the child's death?</div> <div>Vipers don't recoil more quickly than the Child Protective Official did.</div> <div>"Maybe you should tell us what you think should change, " in a tone that even in a cold Maine winter was icy and mocking. </div> <div>I have to say, it was, at that point, that I wondered if there was still any interest in asking "why" anymore.</div> <div>Rather, as time has progressed, care for what happens to children is directed toward the zygote - immediate post conception- or the embryo stage- the first 10 or 8 weeks of pregnancy. Terminating an unwanted pregnancy at that point is now vociferously protested  as indifference to well-being. </div> <div>When a spiritual tone envelops the discussion,  the view becomes even more unambiguous about what is or is not protecting a child.</div> <div>When I told one clinician who was  outspoken about his deep sensitivity to zygote/ embryonic pregnancy, that I worked with children in high conflict families, often with abuse present, he said, "Oh, that's big of you. If you're drawn to that kind of work." I asked myself how an avidly outspoken clinician, keenly sensitive to zygote/embryonic pregnancy could not be drawn to working with children at risk for abuse  in those situations.</div> <div>That is karma. Without being drawn to the consequence of zygote, embryonic, fetal development, labor, delivery, birth, neonatal health, developmental stages, and the context of parental and family care, the karma  may well become indifference.</div> <div>We know the consequence of indifference. Maine now has another child murdered by a foster care-taker. Just-like-that. Although we know it was not just-like-that. It was karma. And we have to say, from the Commissioner on down, ours.</div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>Seeing Consequence Before It Happens: Asking ... | 05:20</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/225733", title: "Seeing Consequence Before It Happens: Asking Questions about Children who are Suffering, Noticing the Answer on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/225733' addthis:title='Seeing Consequence Before It Happens: Asking Questions about Children who are Suffering, Noticing the Answer '>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/225733' addthis:title='Seeing Consequence Before It Happens: Asking Questions about Children who are Suffering, Noticing the Answer '>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-225733-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p225733-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/225733/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item odd" id="playlisting_81058"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/285138-why-women-don-t-tell-part-2-july-20-1969-for-so">Why Women Don't Tell, Part 2: July 20, 1969 for Some Women Means Remembering Violence</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 06:29 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>The 54th anniversary of the Moon Landing reminds some of us that violence toward women and girls is still minimized. </p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_581548" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/285138-why-women-don-t-tell-part-2-july-20-1969-for-so" target="blank">Why Women Don't Tell, Part 2: July 20, 1969 for ...</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="2199292" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="389" data-expires="1739972840" data-piece_id="285138" data-token="d19449ac4fc76f5c8e0b3ef4b5080aab" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="WhyWomenDontTellPart2"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Whywomendonttelltwo_small" height="92" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/862454/WhyWomenDontTellTwo_small.jpg" version="small" /> <div>Why Women Don't Tell: Part 2</div> <div>This Time It is Not the Victim Who Is Silent</div> <div>Everyone was remembering where they were the night Neil Armstrong took his first steps on the moon on July 20, 1969.</div> <div>I was too. That 1969 night, I was upstairs in my bedroom  cowering, full of fear at the family home  where I grew up.  Not fearful for Collins, Armstrong or Aldrin  but for myself.</div> <div>My brother who had beaten me up a few weeks earlier after, drunk, he drove the station wagon off a small dirt road was sitting  in the living room downstairs, drinking. No one else was home and as I came downstairs to see one small step for man, one giant step for mankind, I could see he was very drunk. He was a violent drunk. I had no way of knowing whether he would draw his fist again.</div> <div>I was 17. I had never been beaten up before. I always thought it fortunate that I was able to open the passenger side door and get out .  I was able to outrun him. </div> <div>As I watched the American Experience and Nova programs about the Apollo flights, I was wondering  how many other women and girls on July 20, 1969 were cowering somewhere , fearful that a relative, a boyfriend, a stranger passing them in a subway station late at night would turn and assault them. </div> <div>And on July 20, 1969, as  so many were remembering that night 50 years ago, how many girls and women were cowering that a male known or unknown to them would attack them.</div> <div>Out of all that technology has brought us since then, most men are still stronger than women and certainly physically stronger than girls. And violence against women and girls is still to be expected. The assault, the public shaming and humiliation, the denigration of credibility, the character assassination , the demeaning  and the implicit passivity these are all met with when they are directed at females persist.</div> <div>The President of the United States has taunted. demeaned, and encouraged violence toward  4 women - they are women first-  and few in Congress have spoken loudly and yes- aggressively- spoken out against the violence toward women this President has encouraged.</div> <div>They have instead focused on the correct political rubric- let's see... is it racist or sexist- and um signed  a resolution. A stranger walked by me the other day in a  store the other day and commented " He's going to end up getting someone killed." He took more a risk in saying that to me than Maine's Senator Collins has. She has said nothing against the violence.</div> <div>"We're always going to feel strangers to these men," Eric Sevareid, the television commentator said after the landing. " They will in effect be a bit stranger even to their own wives and children. Disappeared into another life we cannot follow.." </div> <div>But they were not strangers to us at all, nor were the leaders who rushed to congratulate them. They divorced, wrestled with celebrity.  Never corrected the omission of woman kind from the first words spoken. Richard Nixon, who until recently was the least admired President  in the history of the United States, greeted the astronauts as quickly as he could. Just a month earlier, on June 21, 1969, his Vietnam War- it had become his- killed the first boy my mother ever let me go on a date with - in his car By 1974, Richard Nixon had violated every ounce of civil political discourse imaginable- authorizing a burglary at the Democratic National Committee Headquarters. Shifting funds to silence the perpetrators. A pettiness so earthly and easily avoided such that no moon shot could cast a shadow big enough to  cloud the small minded self-serving-ness of it.</div> <div>Eleven billion dollars was spent getting the first men to the moon.  Corrected to present dollars-  it is accurate to say that in the 50 years following the moon landing - eleven billion dollars has not been spent on preventing and solving violence toward women   and girls.</div> <div>As so few condemn the incitement  of violence by this President (Does he mean to drag them back to "where they came from" by their hair? Or at gun point? )  we have to ask why  we tolerate his encouragement of tacit character assassination, attacks on credibility, and oblivion to violence toward women. </div> <div>And we have to ask why in not speaking loudly, vociferously, we tolerate the complicit postures of our Senators and Congress members. Because this time, they are the ones who are silent not the victimized this President is taunting.</div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>Why Women Don't Tell, Part 2: July 20, 1969 for ... | 06:29</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/285138", title: "Why Women Don\'t Tell, Part 2: July 20, 1969 for Some Women Means Remembering Violence on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/285138' addthis:title='Why Women Don't Tell, Part 2: July 20, 1969 for Some Women Means Remembering Violence'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/285138' addthis:title='Why Women Don't Tell, Part 2: July 20, 1969 for Some Women Means Remembering Violence'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-285138-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p285138-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/285138/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item even" id="playlisting_81616"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/290733-as-american-as-apple-pie-domestic-violence-and-t">As American as Apple Pie: Domestic Violence and The Abuse of Power to Tarnish Victims' Credibility</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 09:31 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>An exhibit at the Holocaust and Human Rights Center in Maine called "Finding Our Voices: Ending the Silence of Domestic Abuse" opened just before Domestic Violence Awareness month. From the halls of the US Senate to a poetry reading, readiness to silence the credibility of the accuser persists.</p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_592085" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/290733-as-american-as-apple-pie-domestic-violence-and-t" target="blank">As American as Apple Pie: Domestic Violence and ...</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="2255092" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="571" data-expires="1739972840" data-piece_id="290733" data-token="aa8ee5d8abc1b1c6730c8da958db10ce" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="AsAmericanAsApplePie"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="0420105808_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/624878/0420105808_small.JPG" version="small" width="92" /> <p>As American as Apple Pie:  Domestic Violence and The Abuse of Power to Tarnish Victims' Credibility<br />-Susan Cook-</p> <p>The other day on a radio call-in program, Susan Collins, Maine's Senator, justified her vote for Judge Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court because (she said this) even though she thought something awful happened to PhD Holder and Academic Scholar Christine Blasey-Ford, Susan Collins didn't think it was Brett Kavanaugh who did it. In other words, Susan Collins just can't bring herself to grant Dr Ford credibility. Playing both ends against the middle, this time with Dr Ford's credibility, like she has in the US Senate. At the same time, Susan Collins said that to believe Dr. Ford threatens the entire judicial standard of innocent until proven guilty. What she didn't say is that by automatically granting credibility to a Job Applicant over his accusing victim, she replicates an abuse of power that keeps victims silent.</p> <p>Two of the most agonizing moments for assault victims are when it happens and when the victim discloses. For women, credibility is immediately questioned- with or without professional accomplishment, with or without the scrutiny of a large audience.</p> <p>On men's side, and on the side of Susan Collins who has gained longevity by playing the middle against both ends, is Power and the fact that men require less Proof to back up their statements than women do. We have seen the backwash from men finally held accountable for their abuse of power in the #Me too movement. Many of those men remain "miffed" or staunch in their refusal to take responsibility for the abuse of that discrepancy - financially, culturally, physically, in professional hierarchies ( 80.7 cents for women for every dollar men make). Indeed, many fall back on their reverence for "Power" to justify the reluctance to continue to fight #Me too.</p> <p>The Public Radio host whose host public radio organization distanced themselves rapidly finally published his NOT "Mea Culpa" column, advising the reader to "look what happened to me" over a "harmless flirtation". Discrepancy of power places whoever was on the receiving end of the "harmless flirtation", in a subjugated position. Power interferes with saying "No", further undermined when, as the Pubic Radio host said, "she worked for me but it never happened in the office." He called upon his concern for the powerlessness of children in the NOT "Mea Culpa" piece to explain how he has managed to water down his anger toward #Me too which remember "Look what it did" to him. A negligent out not unlike Susan Collins claiming herself the better judge of what happened to Christine Blasey Ford. The magnitude of the discrepancy in physical power of adolescent boys and adolescent girls is not that hard to fathom.</p> <p>This call-in program preceded the opening of an exhibit called "Finding Our Voices: Breaking the Silence of Domestic Abuse" at the Holocaust and Human Rights Center in Maine, encouraged by Patrisha Mclean, the ex-wife of the singer Don McLean of "Bye, bye, Miss American Pie". He was convicted 3 years ago of domestic violence criminal threatening, criminal mischief and criminal restraint.</p> <p>One of the women in the exhibit, the wife of a man named "Charlie" who took out a gun and threatened to shoot her after she told him she had almost suicided, did not speak for years of the domestic abuse in her marriage. She left, still not disclosing until two years after she left, at 65, 43 years into the marriage. Had she disclosed before, her credibility would be on the line.</p> <p>Many years ago, I was a colleague of the man who physically assaulted his wife for those 43 years. With 3 other Professors, we flew to a northern Maine University to teach graduate students. I taught life span development, always including sections on childhood sexual abuse, abusive relationships and abusive parenting. Those were topics that I had a deep commitment to, and still do. In one of the videos I always showed in the class, the victim said "Sexual abuse is about power. The abuse of power." Thirty three years ago, the reality of incest was not broadly acknowledged. Nor was wife battering or domestic violence. Or child abuse. Or parents who gave themselves license to terrorize or abuse. The college where I taught was sexist. I complained about the job inequities of assigning me to teach 4 courses I had never taught before and The "Dean" clearly made a mental checkmark against me for speaking out about that.</p> <p>No one would have guessed that this quiet man had his own private target when his power was challenged. His wife. And to this day, abuse of power to keep victims quiet persists. The Edna St Vincent Millay Poetry and Arts Festival began a day or so after Susan Collins' radio appearance. It included a Poetry Slam and reading held at night at a local bar. The organizers felt compelled to include a Caveat to poets and artists taking part.</p> <p>"Please be advised. As participants will include people of all ages, please be sensitive to content and language that might be of concern, scare children or trigger trauma."</p> <p>No one wants to scare children or trigger trauma. The accusatory nature of the statement was inflated and not necessary in this context. Even when that was pointed out, the organizer still would not take it off the website.</p> <p>And with it, the perpetrating "Charlies" and the adolescent "Kavanaughs" go about exercising their power. Yet, one more time, those who have experienced trauma will question if they have the power to speak about it or will say it "right" or won't "upset" anyone. Even at a Poetry and Arts Festival. The contributions to the power that diminishes women's credibility are many and varied. From the US Senate, to the dimly lit bar at night, credibility of the victim takes second place to the protective tidings of the powerful. I noticed that a person featured in that video many years ago had signed up for the poetry slam. I made the decision not to take part. I don't know if the person who appeared in the video 33 years ago did.</p> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>As American as Apple Pie: Domestic Violence and ... | 09:31</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/290733", title: "As American as Apple Pie: Domestic Violence and The Abuse of Power to Tarnish Victims\' Credibility on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/290733' addthis:title='As American as Apple Pie: Domestic Violence and The Abuse of Power to Tarnish Victims' Credibility'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/290733' addthis:title='As American as Apple Pie: Domestic Violence and The Abuse of Power to Tarnish Victims' Credibility'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-290733-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p290733-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/290733/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item odd" id="playlisting_82718"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/265885-bannon-s-farewell-an-addendum-i-was-seeing-him">Bannon's Farewell: An Addendum "I Was Seeing Him"</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 02:47 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>Great American Wrong Book lyrics for Mr. Bannon, now that Roger Stone, one of 6 of his former campaign colleagues indicted, is one of 3 now convicted. </p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_545599" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/265885-bannon-s-farewell-an-addendum-i-was-seeing-him" target="blank">Bannon's Farewell: An Addendum "I Was Seeing Him"</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="1995566" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="167" data-expires="1739972840" data-piece_id="265885" data-token="b592371e42f556d282a0548ced4b8e83" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="BannonAddendumFarewell"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Christamscard24_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/588091/christamscard24_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Addendum to Bannon's Farewell. "I Was Seeing Him..."</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">to the tune from "I'll Be Seeing You.."<br />-Susan Cook-</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">I was seeing him, yes </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">it was a minor whim</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">I probably should have stayed home </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">watching re-runs of </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">a certain Cosa Nostra film .</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">I had no idea </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">it was a favorite of his too.</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">I was hard at work helping You-Know-Who.</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">So I guess I'll change my pattern.</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Try to get back to the gym.</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Do a lot more yoga. </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">See if my PC could possibly fit in</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The next space launch they're having</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">maybe Elon Musk could try</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">get it out there- headed straight</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">for Mars, hey, maybe for Saturn. </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Actually, I barely knew him.</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Roger Boulder, was that him?</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The other thing I do not do</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">is send out emails</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">on a whim.</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">I hope you understand emails </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">easily are faked.</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The important things- I say, face-to-face.</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">That was why I saw him briefly,</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">usually at yoga class.</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">He is a big tanner. </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Not my style. Burns my nose too fast. </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">I spend enough time dealing</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">with my allergies to dust.</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">How I got by with no yoga, </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Let's just say, it's now a must. </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Now I won't be seeing him </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">at yoga anymore.</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">It may be a little while before</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">a class offered near him. But more</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">and more, federal prisons opt</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">to have it. Keeps the prisoners calm.</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">No more tanning booths. </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Just downward facing dog.</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">I will not be seeing him.</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">I got my computer cleaned up.</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Gee, I'm sorry that he's hit</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">a road bump. Sort of a hiccup.</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">I don't think back to those days,</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">I secretly admired </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Mr. Mueller. Those head stand shoulders,</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">shout out, Yoga something he has tried. </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <span style="font-size: small;"> <p style="text-align: center;">AND DON'T FORGET!<br />THE ORIGINAL!</p> <div style="text-align: center;">‘Bannon's Pose' <br />A Poetic Tribute to the Departure of Mr. Bannon’<br />To the Tune from ‘I’ll Be Seeing You’</div> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <div style="text-align: center;">https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/213090-in-the-department-of-poetic-justice-bannon-s-fa <br />Susan Cook-</div> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <div style="text-align: center;">Scaramucci didn’t <br />read between the fine lines, <br />called reporters back, <br />still read things in The New York Times,<br />I didn’t ever bother,<br />I never used words like suck or cock.<br />I’m a journalist.<br />You know I just like to talk.</div> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>I am kind of Presidential. <br />I think that came through.<br />Yes I’m allergic to<br />Certain foods, mold, cat dander too.<br />That’s why my nose looked stuffy<br />Kind of red, yes, my eyes too,<br />never got a chance to Photoshop <br />my best side for you.</div> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <div style="text-align: center;">Then there’s Sean Spicer, Reince Pribus ,<br /> they both do<br />A certain kind of yoga pose,<br />I’ll tell you just between us too,<br />I think yoga is liberal , <br />Mahatma Gandhi had his version too<br />Who’d do that kind of thing? <br />Alt-left wingers ok Melania, too.</div> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>There might be a yoga version <br />made with alt-right guys in mind,<br />Politically on target<br />Where you keep your ammo by your side<br />I won’t have that much time,<br />I am not planning to retire<br />I’ll be back at Breitbart,<br />White guys only need apply!</div> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <div style="text-align: center;">Scaramucci may be <br />starting his own studio,<br />Sean Spicer, Reince, maybe even <br />Mitch McConnell  might decide to go<br />And when the class is over<br />Lying in Shavasana,<br />They will all be chanting<br />Three times,<br />What happened,<br />Ohm, Ohm, Ohm, Ohm.</div> <p style="text-align: center;">l</p> </span> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>Bannon's Farewell: An Addendum "I Was Seeing Him" | 02:47</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/265885", title: "Bannon\'s Farewell: An Addendum \"I Was Seeing Him\" on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/265885' addthis:title='Bannon's Farewell: An Addendum "I Was Seeing Him"'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/265885' addthis:title='Bannon's Farewell: An Addendum "I Was Seeing Him"'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-265885-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p265885-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/265885/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item even" id="playlisting_83202"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/294538-love-really-counts-greta-thunberg-s-plea-for-clim">Love Really Counts: Greta Thunberg's Plea for Climate Change Action</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 05:03 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p> Greta Thunberg, in her UN Climate Change speech called on threatened loss of the loved, in her view, the environment to bring action on climate change. If loss of the environment is not enough to change deniers, perhaps loss of the loved will be, just like the grief the loss of loved ones brings to the surface on holidays and anniversaries.</p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_599210" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/294538-love-really-counts-greta-thunberg-s-plea-for-clim" target="blank">Love Really Counts: Greta Thunberg's Plea for ...</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="4922091" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="303" data-expires="1739972840" data-piece_id="294538" data-token="7b8f26c1508db7befdd8b510cae348d8" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="PRXLoveReallyCountsGretaThunberg"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Websitepsychotherapyinmainebanner_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/640984/WebsitePsychotherapyinMaineBanner_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <p>Love Really Counts: Greta Thunberg Calls on Love to End Climate Change</p> <p> </p> <p>Greta Thunberg's address to the United Nations Climate Change Summit sounded like love suspicious of yet more betrayal and imminent disappointment. "We will never forgive you"she said, if these leaders fail to act. Greta accused them of leaving Love behind for the fairytale of perpetual economic growth.</p> <p> </p> <p>The hearts' UPC scan code to distinguish false love from true is not perfect. But its accuracy depends on one premise and one premise alone. Love really counts. And now we bear witness to the  winding and wending path climate change has created into the heart of Greta Thuberg. Where scientific documentation of imminent extinction of koala bears and right whales, the collapse of ecosystems, uncontainable widespread drought and wildfires have not impressed the economically driven, love will. If it really counts, that is.</p> <p> </p> <p>George Bernard Shaw or some other member of the white Western male canon said genius is perpetual adolescence. Adolescence is the developmental proving ground in which love re-discovers and re-invents itself over and over. It is not naive or diminishing to believe love really counts, as Greta Thunberg does but adulthood is the disproving ground where awareness of love's limits are re-discovered: as life's carbon-spewing, coal-fired engine spews along.</p> <p> </p> <p>I am not the first to use the phrase "Love really Counts" but I did vote for it at a Board meeting for a Maine center which offers free services to families who have lost a loved member. The Center for Grieving Children was founded by a dear colleague after his sister died. After all, bereavement is not pathology. It is the human molting of an interior layer of love, taking its own very long time to surface. Even under the best of circumstances, grief never quite goes away. So my colleague, Bill Hemmens founded a place where children and their parents could go to sit together in that long shedding. When time for the Board to find a brief summation of the Center's mission, "Love really counts" came up, I voted for it. It passed.</p> <p> </p> <p>Scientific progress has not eliminated bereavement.Only in its absence after loss of a loved one, does the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder (Fifth version) codify with a diagnosis. Persistent Complex Bereavement Disorder, ICD-10 code F43.21. For a time, we worked on a project to put into print interviews he had done with children who attended the Center. A very young child whose sister had died, told him, in the safe confines of grief acknowledged, "Sometimes in the night when the wind blows, I can hear her crying." And thus a five year old's image resonates with many who have known grief that is both silent and loud enough to wake you from sleep.</p> <p> </p> <p>As Greta Thunberg looks dead-on into the eye of the world's money-driven, we are struck by their absence of grief at the loss of the natural world and the complete lack of reckoning that the death that goes unmourned may be our own. Witnessed oblivion makes those who heard Greta Thunberg, listen, shuddering, because, we know she believes love really counts. Her indignation toward the world's powerful as they come to her generation for hope betrays her recognition of the underlying pathology that makes Denial of Climate Change political fodder. And "sometimes in the night when the wind blows" the deniers may be awakened by what they have not done.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>Love Really Counts: Greta Thunberg's Plea for ... | 05:03</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/294538", title: "Love Really Counts: Greta Thunberg\'s Plea for Climate Change Action on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/294538' addthis:title='Love Really Counts: Greta Thunberg's Plea for Climate Change Action'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/294538' addthis:title='Love Really Counts: Greta Thunberg's Plea for Climate Change Action'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-294538-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p294538-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/294538/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item odd" id="playlisting_85811"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/321512-re-purposing-good-sustaining-heart-finding-truth">Re-purposing Good:Sustaining Heart, Finding Truth During the Pandemic</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 07:32 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>The pandemic has brought much repurposing for good. As the current President comes to Maine for Public Relations at a factory churning out 1 million nasal test swabs a week, let us acknowledge how we have sustained heart and struggled to find the Truth. </p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_649695" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/321512-re-purposing-good-sustaining-heart-finding-truth" target="blank">Re-purposing Good:Sustaining Heart, Finding Truth ...</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="2586104" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="452" data-expires="1739972840" data-piece_id="321512" data-token="af2851fffeb5927f3cc8d480e2b41619" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="RepurposingGoodness"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Bigalsreopening240by240_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/672923/BigAlsReopening240by240_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Re-purposing Goodness-Sustaining Heart <br /><br /> </span></p> <div style="text-align: left;">I read today that Donald Trump is coming to Maine to repurpose the Goodness of the Guilford factory churning out 1 million nasal swabs a week. Repurposing their goodness for his own public relations camouflage. All those workers have set aside their fears of illness and contamination during the Lockdown and gone to work anyway. Trump, meanwhile, minmized the pandemic during February. His appointed CDC Director minimized. Nancy Messonier, director of the CDC National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases in February fully a month after the SARS-Covid19 genome was sent to the CDC was quoted in the Washington Post as "frustrated" about problems with the test kits. The CDC hoped to send out a new version to state and local health departments soon. The article said problems with the first test kits sent were created by a failure of the CDC to follow its own protocal for test development: conducting creation of the test kits in 3 different facilities so that no contamination of the components could happen. The trial test kits sent out showed contamination when test sites used the tests on purified sterile water samples which inaccurately indicated presence of Covid-19 in the sterile water.</div> <p> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Nancy Messonier is the sister of Trump-fired former Assistant Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who suggested his co-workers tape record Trump as documentation of Trump's mental status. The Trump administration was not above threatening defunding or some other vendetta against this Rosenstein relative Nancy Messonier, as early as January and February we know now. </span></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">"Trump," the Washington Post said on April 23, "ignored 70 days of warnings about the Coronavirus beginning in early January. He kept insisting as he did on March 10, that "it will go away. Just stay calm. It will go away." Even the Wall Street Journal stepped up and reported that "Trump was 'furious' after Nancy Messonier warned finally on February 25 that the coronavirus was rapidly spreading and that 'the disruption to everyday life might be severe.' Trump called Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and threatened to fire Messonier. " Vice President Pence the next day was declared "in charge" of the pandemic. Azar too was telling Trump exactly what Trump wanted to hear. </span></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">When we consider the heart Mainers bring to fighting Covid19 spread, Trump's actions to – as ever- repurpose any situation to his own self-serving myopia- borders on sinister. His government has worked against Mainers who in their own good way, like the Guilford folk going to work despite fears, did their part. </span></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">I went to "Big Al's Super Values" recently the first time since March 21 when Maine began closing almost all of its doors and the electronic sign outside changed from "We Have Toilet Paper"</span></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">to "Closed. Saturday March 21 6 PM" to "Reopen?" Big Al has bent with the times, compliance with CDC recommendations required for entry. </span></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The items they sell, "Odd Lot Outlet" all seem slightly more luminous now- not just because the clerks said they have been sanitizing everything. I know they have. Us all in our face masks and face shields, every cookware item, automobile repair assistance tool, toy and coloring book and the fire sale paper and office products from a nationwide retailer who I won't mention by name, all of it seemed brighter. </span></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Yes, a little, just because it was there, even the canary yellow legal size paper. I noticed that because as Maine closed its doors, me running out of paper loomed large. I knew I would soon run out of the 6 for $1.00 small metal clip binders I place around hard copies of my PRX series submissions. For some reason, I thought I'd have enough until the store re-opened. I did run out. I knew I was set with my collapsible portable blanket storage box which serves as my sound and echo-proof recording studio, barring additional disaster.</span></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">And yes, far greater loss has merged into American lives, our country, too, a repository of stunned grief like that of refugees or other trauma survivors. Our roots are newly veined with heart breaking events that have become commonplace. The high school seniors with their drive-thru graduations. Many, many members of this disparate society finding a mask to wear, one a friend made, a relative passed on, or something re-purposed to protect. </span></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">There are the dancers in their apartment hallways now using the confines of their sequestered freedom to roam, as props in choreography. And the children with their crooked elbows resting their chins on hands. The sadness in their eyes while they gaze into computer screens not photo-shopped out.</span></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">We all lose track of time in upending moments, even the usual reliability of time  has changed. Three months in the life of an 8 year old does not have the same duration as that of a ninety year old in an entire life span lived. And the delineation of time, in the stores we visit, in retail, of all things, keeps us from losing hope in an ending. This pandemic gives us a taste of just how debilitating the timelessness anti-aging drugs tantalize us with. </span></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">While Big Al's, his staff, we were all doing our part, good was being repurposed for bad by an administration set on deception. In many countries, lying to please the Fuhrer has been commonplace. There is a way in which leaders repurposing good for bad is timeless. In our masks, staying 6 feet away, we need to recognize it when it decides to visit us where we live. </span></p> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>Re-purposing Good:Sustaining Heart, Finding Truth ... | 07:32</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/321512", title: "Re-purposing Good:Sustaining Heart, Finding Truth During the Pandemic on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/321512' addthis:title='Re-purposing Good:Sustaining Heart, Finding Truth During the Pandemic'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/321512' addthis:title='Re-purposing Good:Sustaining Heart, Finding Truth During the Pandemic'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-321512-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p321512-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/321512/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item even" id="playlisting_86942"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/335245-dept-of-poetic-justice-nate-silver-s-still-counti">Dept of Poetic Justice! Nate Silver's Still Counting All the Numbers! Extra Golf Strokes!</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 07:10 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>No False Equivalence here! The Pandemic. Trillions of Dollars of National Debt! And You Know Whose Extra Golf Strokes! Counting Every One!</p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_673314" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/335245-dept-of-poetic-justice-nate-silver-s-still-counti" target="blank">Dept of Poetic Justice! Nate Silver's Still ...</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="2681175" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="430" data-expires="1739972840" data-piece_id="335245" data-token="167ef937bc8971299187f6f35314d748" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="NateSilversStillCountingAllthenumbers"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Flymagnetphoto_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/684940/FlyMagnetPhoto_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><em><strong>Nate Silver's Still Counting All the Numbers"</strong></em></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">In the Department of Poetic Justice and Reckoning</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">(With lyrics for the Great American Wrongbook to the tune from</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">'It's Beginning To Look Alot Like Christmas'</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">Nate Silver's still counting all the numbers.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">It's that time. It's what he does</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">like post offices sorting mail,</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">delivering snow, sleet or hail.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">Nate Silver's on it. Never fail.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">We're hoping he's got more time to focus.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">There's no football. All that fuss</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">is finally put on hold</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">so we are hoping we'll be told</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">what voters will actually do.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">We're taking a moment to remind him</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">like we did two years ago</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">to call Ellen Langer right up, try</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">a seance, maybe two with Stephen </span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">Jay Gould. They both know.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">When voters pick up the cell phone ringing</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">and they're asked who they will choose</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">the next thing he must require</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">is this answer. Yes, it's dire.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">Will they be mailing in their vote?</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">Kelly Ann Conway has decided</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">a good way to sabotage</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">the abundance of dislike now</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">for You Know What he's called.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">He lives in Washington D.C.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">Cheryl Sandberg creates the conscience</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">for Facebook. Yes, she's not an app</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">but she and Mark Zuckerberg</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">decided to make Truth their act</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">Just click Like on a Facebook Page.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">Just in case you haven't noticed</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">how she and Mark just said "Ok"</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">to posting lies left and right, on Facebook pages,</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">What's the gripe with Russians</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">sharing Voting plans?</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">So what if they're not really voters?</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">Remember US citizens</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">have always had to enroll, prove they live here,</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">Zuckerberg, Cheryl Sandberg,</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">look it up!</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">Nate Silver, I guess, did not have Facebook</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">on his radar, plus Russian hack-</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">ers would not answer calls, </span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">"Are you voting in the Fall?"</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">Til' Paul Manafort said"Hi, it's me."</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">When You Know Who's not on a golf course </span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">spoiling for those who admire</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">the skill of hitting the ball,</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">the little white one so it will fall</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">into a hole with a big flag.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">One of the most disturbing shortfalls</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">of this man's abilities</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">is when he picks up the stick</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">tries to reach it back to hit</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">the little ball off of the tee,</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">There are probably house flies in the suburbs</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">who are thinking while they laugh</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">along with the PGA</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">and Sunday Hackers who would say</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">"Maybe his fly swatter works best?"</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">For accomplishing something that eludes him.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">In this case, to hit the ball.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">Mitch McConnell likely regrets</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">Not just the trillion dollar debts</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">but Trump's golfing embarassment.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">Displaying ridiculous ineptness.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">We're not talking when adhoc</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">he starts making things up to say</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">in press conferences. No, it is the way</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">he pretends he's playing golf.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">To get back to Nate Silver's special forte</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">accuracy, counting skill</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">Though statistics cannot predict</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">Election outcomes that will stick</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">because the ballots must arrive.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">Nate Silver learned that the hard way.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">We know now he's on his game.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">Maybe lovers of golf can save</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">admiration for this game</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">and hire Nate to clarify</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">Exactly how many strokes are taken </span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">by You Know Who after he shakes</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">his golf club above the tee,</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">tries to give it the old heave-</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">Ho to make it move toward that small hole.</span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">Nate Silver can finally help them realize</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">the cost the country now must bear.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">The Pandemic has taken more</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">lives than several major wars.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">And then there's Donald fake golf scores.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">The country has got to hope there's something</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">left when- Syonara- he is gone.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">Yes, I mean living human beings</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">but don't forget the viewers seein'</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">the mockery he's made of golf.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">We're not making falsely equiva-</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">lent. The Pandemic is far worse</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">but give us a little break</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">for Sunday hackers now trying to take</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">socially distant honest strokes.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><br />It's beginning to look alot like Christmas.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">Don't hold your breath. Just check your mail.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">The golfers in every town want Nate</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">counting extra golf strokes You Know Who takes!</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">Something Russians cannot hide!</span></p> </div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>Dept of Poetic Justice! Nate Silver's Still ... | 07:10</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/335245", title: "Dept of Poetic Justice! Nate Silver\'s Still Counting All the Numbers! Extra Golf Strokes! on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/335245' addthis:title='Dept of Poetic Justice! Nate Silver's Still Counting All the Numbers! Extra Golf Strokes!'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/335245' addthis:title='Dept of Poetic Justice! Nate Silver's Still Counting All the Numbers! Extra Golf Strokes!'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-335245-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p335245-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/335245/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item odd" id="playlisting_87123"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/111820-a-citizen-s-guide-to-passion-and-political-gamesma">A Citizen's Guide to Passion and Political Gamesmanship in Democracies</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 06:47 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>The protesters in Ukraine are showing us on a very public stage that criticism free from harassment and ridicule of the actions of public elected officials is or should be what a democracy allows. The protesters in Ukraine, those who we memorialize for their passion and those who stand and testify through their actions remind us that what we have in this country is always up for grabs- if not from foreign threat but from each other. We really do not know how democracy sustains itself here. Speaking up is dismissed as “passion”. Passion is the code word for somebody who doesn’t know that the preferred approach is Political gamesmanship even as it erodes- day in, day out, as we see in Congress and state governments the democracy we live in. </p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_247762" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/111820-a-citizen-s-guide-to-passion-and-political-gamesma" target="blank">A Citizen's Guide to Passion and Political ...</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="635105" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="407" data-expires="1739972840" data-piece_id="111820" data-token="0fc02fff58572152612ad9599b0d0987" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="ACitizensGuidetoPassionandPolticalGamesmanshipinaDemocracy"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Testimony8232011_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/688696/Testimony8232011_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <div>A Citizen's Guide to Passion and Political Gamesmanship</div> <div>-Susan Cook-</div> <div>In 2011, a Congressional Re-districting hearing was held in Maine. The public was asked to testify about a proposed plan to shift 350,000 voters from one Congressional District to another, a plan clearly intended to create a majority of registered Republican voters in one district.</div> <div>And this is what I said:</div> <div>The plan to shift 350,000 citizens from one Congressional district to another represents a disregard for constituents right to participate in this Democracy and indeed disregard for democracy itself. This is more of a disturbing trend we have seen of inflated partisanship at the cost of fairness and balance, more disregard for the voice of citizens.</div> <div>Other examples are the recent passage to eliminate same day voter registration making it far more difficult for citizens to vote, a concern  I have heard throughout the collection of signatures to give participants in our democracy a chance to be heard on their desire for same day registration.</div> <div>The most disturbing example is the fact that the [then] President of the Maine Senate records constituents' phone calls- without their consent and indeed without even announcing... that the call will be recorded. The consequence? Intimidation of constituents so they dare not call.</div> <div>This re-districting proposal is yet another effort to intimidate  voters, to say, we don't like how you vote so we are going to force you to vote for someone else.</div> <div>Sound familiar? Sound like democracy disregarded? You bet. Like Ukraine, like any other country where democracy is not respected- where the consequence of voting is imposition of all possible obstacles- like the elimination of Congressional districts to suit the party in power.</div> <div>Do I have to say it? Shame on you for trying to move 350,000 voters because you don't like the way they voted. Shame on lawmakers who record constituents' phone calls to intimidate them and make them fearful of voicing their views. Democracy deserves our best not manipulation. The people here who speak against moving 350,000 citizens to accommodate your manufactured district deserve far, far better.</div> <div>Fast forward to February of 2014. Upwards of 200 protesters have been killed by Ukrainian police at the Independence Square protest site in Kiev because of their ongoing protest of President Victor Yanokovitch and his efforts to ally Ukraine with Vladimir Putin’s Russia . Yanokovitch has steadfastly refused to follow his promise to ally Ukraine with the European Union.  Upwards of 200 protesters have been killed, protesters who- yes - with passion- no vast political tactics and gamesmanship- who have  very clearly rejected the Putin alliance Yanokovitch proposes.</div> <div>It is not very often we see passion taking the lead over political gamesmanship or rather the two working hand-in-hand. It is not very often that democratic protest is thwarted on the world stage- in such a public way.  More often, another country’s problem with maintaining democracy is their problem. Political gamesmanship is chosen over principle, ethics and values.</div> <div>We  have arrived at the “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” question in this very brief commentary. Here it is, a multiple choice:</div> <div>which statement in my 2011 testimony grew cries of “scurrilous”,  “a personal attack“, “what planet is she on?”,  demands of “Proof! Proof!“, “A Tactic without strategy” and indeed a petition sent to the local newspaper editor by our party go-alongs demanding my resignation from volunteer political office?  Was it- renunciation of efforts to make it harder for voters to register? Was it- disregard for constituents’ right to participate in democracy? Was it  the statement that in Ukraine  if they don’t like who you vote for they will give you someone else to vote fo- that a plan moving 350,000 voters in a state with only 2 congressional districts is kind of like that? </div> <div>Give up?  The statement that was called scurrilous, a “personal attack” was the criticism of the elected public official not his private life- his approach to public duties. The protesters in Ukraine are showing us on a very public stage that criticism  free from harassment and ridicule of the actions of public elected officials is  or should be what a democracy allows. The protesters in Ukraine, those who we memorialize for their passion and those  who stand and testify through their actions remind us that what we have in this country is always up for grabs- if not  from foreign threat but from each other. We really do not know how democracy sustains itself here. Speaking up is  dismissed as  “passion”. Passion is the code word for somebody who doesn’t know that the preferred approach is Political gamesmanship even as it erodes- day in, day out, as we see in Congress and state governments the democracy we live in. </div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>A Citizen's Guide to Passion and Political ... | 06:47</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/111820", title: "A Citizen\'s Guide to Passion and Political Gamesmanship in Democracies on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/111820' addthis:title='A Citizen's Guide to Passion and Political Gamesmanship in Democracies'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/111820' addthis:title='A Citizen's Guide to Passion and Political Gamesmanship in Democracies'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-111820-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p111820-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/111820/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item even" id="playlisting_87307"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/217342-in-the-department-of-poetic-justice-uncle-donald">In the Department of Poetic Justice: Uncle Donald Had a Farm</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 03:05 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>Turning once again to the extensive value of nursery rhyme to bring us deep understanding, which brilliant skilled public servants did Donald Trump ignore as he and Rudy Giuliani birthed The Big Lie? The same ones who went quiet like a clam until they got subpoenaed? </p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_460631" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/217342-in-the-department-of-poetic-justice-uncle-donald" target="blank">In the Department of Poetic Justice: Uncle Donald ...</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="1508215" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="185" data-expires="1739972840" data-piece_id="217342" data-token="0daa6fddf8762f045852525867f1caae" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="UncleDonald2"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Ismyonemarshmellowbetterthanyourtwosecond_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/504384/IsMyOneMarshmellowBetterthanYourTwoSecond_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <div style="text-align: center;"><br />In the Department of Poetic Justice<br />Uncle Donald Had (had) a Farm<br />To the tune of ‘Old MacDonald Had a Farm’<br />-Susan Cook-</div> <div style="text-align: center;"><br />Uncle Donald has a Farm,<br />Got it with your vote<br />And on that farm he had a fit<br />History will note.<br />With a fit fit there,<br />And a fit, fit here<br />Here a fit, there a fit, <br />weekend’s are a big big fit fit.<br />Uncle Donald had a farm,<br />Bought it with your vote.</div> <div style="text-align: center;">Uncle Donald had a Farm,<br />Got it with your vote<br /><br />And yes, that farm is very big,<br />History will note.<br />With a snort snort here <br />and a snort, snort there,<br />Mar-a-largo , <br />snort, snort,  snort  there,<br />Uncle Donald had a farm<br />Got it with your vote.<br /><br /><br />Uncle Donald has a Farm,<br />Got it with your vote<br />Likes to fit his golf game in <br />Every chance he got,<br />With a cheat cheat there <br />and a cheat cheat here<br />Drop a stroke, Move the ball,<br />Who will know he faked it all,<br />Uncle Donald has a farm,<br />Got it with your vote.</div> <div style="text-align: center;"><br />Uncle Donald picked his team<br />Scarramouchi too,<br />Started out with Sean Spicer,<br />But he had to go<br />With a Tom Price here <br />and a Bannon there<br />Comey, Pribus, <br />Prett Bharara, <br />Uncle Donald had his team<br />Fired them you know.</div> <div style="text-align: center;"><br /><br />Uncle Donald doesn’t like<br />People who know more<br />Than he does <br />so what he does<br />Shows them to the door<br />Sally Yates, Michael Flynn, <br />Ethics Smethics Walter Shaub,<br />Michael Short  and Dubke too,<br />All of them have lost their jobs.<br />Uncle Donald doesn't like<br />People who know more.</div> <div style="text-align: center;"><br /><br />Uncle Donald doesn’t see<br />What the problem is<br />Thinks he’s back in New Jersey<br />Hitting a golf tee<br />With the ball up there<br /> and the ball down there<br />Random, Land em<br />Any where there<br />Uncle Donald doesn’t see<br />What the problem is.</div> <div style="text-align: center;"><br />Uncle Donald hired  a <br />Mouthpiece for his staff, <br />tells her what occurs to him<br />No thought of aftermath<br />McEnaney quotes him word for word<br />Irresponsible, absurd,<br />Uncle Donald <br />Hired her<br />Thoughtlessness  what he prefers.<br /><br /> <div style="text-align: center;"><span><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: center;">Kelly Anne has hit the road</div> <div style="text-align: center;">finally figured out</div> <div style="text-align: center;">Adolescents tell the truth</div> <div style="text-align: center;">More than you'll ever know.</div> <div style="text-align: center;">With a "Please Mom quit!"</div> <div style="text-align: center;">Give your kid</div> <div style="text-align: center;">Full attention! Get a grip!</div> <div style="text-align: center;">Kelly Conway hit the road</div> <div style="text-align: center;">Figured something out!</div> </div> <div style="text-align: center;"><br />Uncle Donald had a Farm,<br />Got it with your vote<br />hired some small minded folk<br />Ee-yikes- oh no yikes oh no,<br />With a world threat here<br />Some racists there<br />Here a thug, there a thug<br />Everywhere some sheep dung<br />Uncle Donald had a farm,<br />Bought it with your vote.</div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>In the Department of Poetic Justice: Uncle Donald ... | 03:05</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/217342", title: "In the Department of Poetic Justice: Uncle Donald Had a Farm on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/217342' addthis:title='In the Department of Poetic Justice: Uncle Donald Had a Farm'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/217342' addthis:title='In the Department of Poetic Justice: Uncle Donald Had a Farm'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-217342-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p217342-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/217342/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item odd" id="playlisting_87469"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/340713-in-dept-of-poetic-justice-when-the-saints-see-my">In Dept. Of Poetic Justice "When the Saints See My Receipts" Turbo Tax Tribute!</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 03:58 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>Lyrics for the Great American Wrongbook! Depreciation. Commuting miles. My Old and Trusty Mileage Log. Tax Experts Waiting to Answer! And much much more.</p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_684012" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/340713-in-dept-of-poetic-justice-when-the-saints-see-my" target="blank">In Dept. Of Poetic Justice "When the Saints See ...</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="2733342" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="238" data-expires="1739972840" data-piece_id="340713" data-token="903e9bf5bcbdc170a0562194a034d049" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="WhentheSaintsSeeMyReceipts"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Watervilleenoughisenough1_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/692306/watervilleenoughisenough1_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p>“<span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>When The Saints Find My Receipts”</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong><span>--Susan Cook-</span></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong><span>A Musical Tribute to Turbo Tax To the tune from </span>“<span>When I Paint my Masterpiece”</span></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"> <span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong><span>by Bob Dylan</span></strong></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Oh the sheets that hold </strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>all my deductions</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>MS Works and Excel too</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Spread mighty wide,</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>The rows and columns,</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"> <span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong><span>stretch up high,</span></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"> <span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong><span>toward heaven too.</span></strong></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em><strong>Refrain</strong></em></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em><strong>I sleep calmly knowing my deductions</strong></em></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em><strong>for my taxes clean as they can be.</strong></em></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em><strong>If I've erred, I'll find my redemption</strong></em></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em><strong>I have always kept receipts. </strong></em></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>You’ve got all last </strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>year’s deductions,</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Rental properties, you knew,</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>The nonprofits</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>I give my time to</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>My hourly fee</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Of course you knew.</strong></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em><strong>Refrain</strong></em></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em><strong>Sleeping calmly kmowing contributions</strong></em></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em><strong>to non-profits where they ought to be.</strong></em></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em><strong>Someday, maybe more things will be tax-free</strong></em></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em><strong>Then I'll stop keeping receipts.</strong></em></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>My mileage log</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>is old and trusty</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Audometers </strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>I use to tell</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>The truth to you if I get busted</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Commuting miles? </strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>The road to hell.</strong></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em><strong>Refrain</strong></em></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em><strong>Tax experts are always standing ready</strong></em></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em><strong>Answer any questions I might have.</strong></em></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em><strong>Do I have depreciations?</strong></em></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em><strong>God Bless You! You know I have!</strong></em></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Just goes to show</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Our home computers, </strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Desktops or a laptop too</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Can bust the chops</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>of higher taxes</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Knock down how much</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Federal tax due.</strong></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em><strong>Refrain</strong></em></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em><strong>Of course you always  Will review them.</strong></em></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em><strong>Ask politely let's go through again.</strong></em></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em><strong>You looking hard for one more tax break. </strong></em></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em><strong>For hard earned cash I shouldn't spend. </strong></em></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>The streets where gold </strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Is used for toilets</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Mostly down </strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>In Manhattan.</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>The IRS</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"> <span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong><span>tries to stay on it, hence</span></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>you devised Audit Defense.</strong></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em><strong>Refrain</strong></em></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em><strong>I sleep calmly knowing the deductions</strong></em></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em><strong>for tax I've paid accurate and clean.</strong></em></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em><strong>If I erred I'll find my redemption.</strong></em></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em><strong>When the Saints see my receipts.</strong></em></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Oh the sheets that hold </strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>all my deductions</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>MS Works and Excel too</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Spread mighty wide,</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>The rows and columns,</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"> <span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong><span>stretching  high,</span></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"> <span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong><span>toward heaven too.</span></strong></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> </div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>In Dept. Of Poetic Justice "When the Saints See ... | 03:58</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/340713", title: "In Dept. Of Poetic Justice \"When the Saints See My Receipts\" Turbo Tax Tribute! on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/340713' addthis:title='In Dept. Of Poetic Justice "When the Saints See My Receipts" Turbo Tax Tribute!'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/340713' addthis:title='In Dept. Of Poetic Justice "When the Saints See My Receipts" Turbo Tax Tribute!'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-340713-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p340713-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/340713/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item even" id="playlisting_88622"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/337696-bannon-santa-claus-and-all-that-in-the-dept-of-p">Bannon, Santa Claus and all that in The Dept. of Poetic Justice</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 05:00 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>A lyrical tribute from one Special Viewer observing the 2020 Republican National Convention and a certain Pardon being given by You Know Who! </p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_678397" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/337696-bannon-santa-claus-and-all-that-in-the-dept-of-p" target="blank">Bannon, Santa Claus and all that in The Dept. of ...</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="2802323" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="300" data-expires="1739972840" data-piece_id="337696" data-token="09fba54f39ebfcfff7460a18e509544e" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="BannonSantaClausandallthat"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Yousaytomatoillsaytomato_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/688275/YouSayTomatoIllSayTomato_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <div>Dept. of Poetic Justice! "Fix Me Partner" </div> <div>to the tune from "Here Comes Santa Claus"</div> <div> Lyrics for the Great American Wrongbook!<br /></div> <div>Miss me Partner? Miss me Partner?</div> <div>I'm stuck in this cell.</div> <div>Fix me Partner!</div> <div>Fix me Partner!</div> <div>Clemency might well</div> <div>Clarify I took my cut</div> <div>That software cost so much!</div> <div>Raising money for the wall</div> <div>I thought you said " Go Dutch!"<br /><br /></div> <div>I was watching on my TV</div> <div>Back inside my cell.</div> <div>Didn't think I'd feel too good</div> <div>When you came on the screen!</div> <div>Suddenly it turned around</div> <div>Then I began to feel</div> <div>The last thing on Planet Earth</div> <div>I want is a plea deal!</div> <div><br /></div> <div><br /></div> <div>Hey there Partner! Hey there Partner!</div> <div>I'm a savvy guy!</div> <div>Have been cleaning up my act,</div> <div>No stuffy nose, red eyes!</div> <div>I know right from wrong!</div> <div>I have not lost my strategy.</div> <div>This time there's a little twist.</div> <div>No long jail term for me!</div> <div><br /></div> <div><br /></div> <div>I thought you were on your game</div> <div>I noticed right away</div> <div>You were smiling broadly</div> <div>Making that felon's day!</div> <div>Little episodes like that</div> <div>strike at the viewer's heart.</div> <div>When you're re-elected I know</div> <div>you'll make sure I get my part!</div> <div><br /></div> <div><br /></div> <div>You know I've had lots of time</div> <div>to pray to Jesus Christ</div> <div>or to one who's always caught</div> <div>my eye . His name is God.</div> <div>There is room in the Bible,</div> <div>you know your favorite Book!</div> <div>I know that you don't memorize.</div> <div>Hey, give this part a try!</div> <div><br /></div> <div><br /></div> <div>Matthew, Mark, Luke, then there's John </div> <div>have sections where they say,</div> <div>"Let's let bygones be bygones</div> <div>on Re-election Day!</div> <div>I know that I am paraphrasing! I'm so good at that!</div> <div>I used to own some media</div> <div>where we'd make up the Facts!</div> <div><br /></div> <div><br /></div> <div>Moses said some things I think</div> <div>will certainly apply. </div> <div>How about the one where he says</div> <div>"Do not use my name in vain!"</div> <div>One thing, Donald, you know </div> <div>that I never would deny.</div> <div>I do not use swear words</div> <div>and No, I've never gotten high.</div> <div><br /></div> <div><br /></div> <div>I can't help it if my allergies</div> <div>are acting up! <br />One thing in the jail cell</div> <div>No flowers or trees to smell!</div> <div>The left-wing media has tried </div> <div>to say my stuffy nose</div> <div>is from using weed or alcohol.</div> <div>No, never, one of those.</div> <div><br /></div> <div><br /></div> <div>I'll remind you once again</div> <div>what your special book says.</div> <div>Do not renege on promises</div> <div>you made to me back then.</div> <div>Jesus offered clemency to</div> <div>those who found their way,</div> <div>Specifically, he said</div> <div>"No plea deals</div> <div>with A.G.s or D.A.s."</div> <div><br /></div> <div><br /></div> <div>I hope you haven't started reading.</div> <div>You're not one of those.</div> <div>Kristi Noem said they're elite</div> <div>so-called experts. So!</div> <div>You like to watch TV instead of reading.</div> <div>I get that.</div> <div>So trust me when I fill you in on</div> <div>new Biblical facts!</div> <div><br /></div> <div><br /></div> <div>I will not blow it for you! I will not blow my horn!</div> <div>Cohen Sschmoen! Boltin' Bolton</div> <div>book deals! Now you know!</div> <div>I was making sure Temptation<br /> would not come my way.</div> <div>Simon-Schuster pocket booster</div> <div>Big bucks? I did it  my way!</div> <div><br /></div> <div><br /></div> <div>Here comes Santa Claus!</div> <div>Here comes Santa Claus!</div> <div>Evangelicals</div> <div>believe in him. And so do I!</div> <div>That's why I often chose</div> <div>to act on your agenda so when "24" is here</div> <div>You'll generously pardon me</div> <div>We'll both have a better year!</div> <div><br /></div> <div><br /></div> </div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>Bannon, Santa Claus and all that in The Dept. of ... | 05:00</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/337696", title: "Bannon, Santa Claus and all that in The Dept. of Poetic Justice on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/337696' addthis:title='Bannon, Santa Claus and all that in The Dept. of Poetic Justice'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/337696' addthis:title='Bannon, Santa Claus and all that in The Dept. of Poetic Justice'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-337696-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p337696-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/337696/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item odd" id="playlisting_89020"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/354909-remembering-we-have-already-said-farewell-epilog">Remembering We Have Already Said Farewell: "Epilogue: To a Fire Gone" from "Breathing: American Sonnets" </a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 01:42 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>An American Sonnet to those to whom we have said "Farewell".</p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_709723" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/354909-remembering-we-have-already-said-farewell-epilog" target="blank">Remembering We Have Already Said Farewell: ...</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="2863109" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="102" data-expires="1739972840" data-piece_id="354909" data-token="973f009ace84a4f4ae1458bfcaf8ab44" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="EpigraphtoaFireGone"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Coverprx_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/710387/CoverPRX_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span>From</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><em><strong> "Breathing: American Sonnets"<br /> </strong></em></span><span>by Susan Cook<br />(available from  GulfofMainebooks@gmail.com)</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Epilogue</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">To a Fire Gone</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>After "Reluctance: by Robert Frost<br /><br />Ah, when to the heart of man</em></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>Was it ever less than treason</em></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>To go with the drift of things,</em></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>To yield with a grace to reason</em></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>And bow and accept the end</em></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>Of a love or a season?</em></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: large;">W</span>hen was it less than treason? But what do</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">you mean, Mr. Frost? That’s for countries to</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">feel short-changed by. Loss happens to those who</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">see the passing on of days, years, one blue</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">time in life, one breaking, undoing a </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">treacherous rope they have been tied onto,</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">its deep burn. In the coldest time of day</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">or night, fires started that you thought grew</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">larger instead were, licked back into their</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">own intensity, remained confined on</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">one small patch of earth. You did not see where</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">the fire, some time later, died. You were gone.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Big difference, see, between countries resigned</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">to losing, small unfed fires, gone in time.</span></span></span></p> </div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>Remembering We Have Already Said Farewell: ... | 01:42</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/354909", title: "Remembering We Have Already Said Farewell: \"Epilogue: To a Fire Gone\" from \"Breathing: American Sonnets\" on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/354909' addthis:title='Remembering We Have Already Said Farewell: "Epilogue: To a Fire Gone" from "Breathing: American Sonnets" '>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/354909' addthis:title='Remembering We Have Already Said Farewell: "Epilogue: To a Fire Gone" from "Breathing: American Sonnets" '>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-354909-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p354909-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/354909/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item even" id="playlisting_89893"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/94346-ode-to-mr-roubini-s-west-grand-lake-bass-update">Ode to Mr. Roubini's West Grand Lake Bass Update</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 03:18 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>In Maine, Bass fishing on West Grand Lake is a destination respite for many, including Mr. Nouriel Roubini, the legendary economist who was almost single-handed in anticipating the 2008 housing collapse and world-wide recession. This "Ode to Mr. Roubini's West Grand Lake Bass " is revisited in the wake of the recent change in , let's say, the landscape under the "River of Financial Abundance". </p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_212355" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/94346-ode-to-mr-roubini-s-west-grand-lake-bass-update" target="blank">Ode to Mr. Roubini's West Grand Lake Bass Update</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="2466408" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="198" data-expires="1739972841" data-piece_id="94346" data-token="5e16e776457e1d492fd3e67396e18190" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="OdetoMrRoubinisWestGrandLakeBassUpdated2020"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Fish6client_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/221030/fish6client_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <div style="text-align: center;"><br />ODE TO MR. ROUBINI'S WEST GRAND LAKE BASS REVISITED</div> <div style="text-align: center;"><br />MR. ROUBINI, DO  YOU THINK IT WAS THE WEST GRAND LAKE BASS<br />THAT HELPED YOUR BRAIN CELLS  FORECAST THE 2008 CRASH?</div> <div style="text-align: center;">WHEN YOUR FRIENDS HAD IGNORED THE CREDIT DEFAULT SWAP  DERIVATIVES,</div> <div style="text-align: center;">AND IN 2009, BEGAN TAKING SELECTIVE SEROTONIN RE-UPTAKE INHIBITORS,</div> <div style="text-align: center;">DID YOU GO HOME, OPEN THE FREEZER, REACHING DOWN   PAST  THE CASH,</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> GET OUT THE BUTTER, AND SAY "LET'S HAVE SOME MORE BASS!"<br /><br />LUCKY FOR YOU, SOME BASS STILL REMAINED</div> <div style="text-align: center;">FROM YOUR SUMMER FUN FISHING IN GRAND LAKE STREAM, MAINE.</div> <div style="text-align: center;">WHICH ALL BRINGS US BACK  TO THE VERY BIG QUESTION</div> <div style="text-align: center;">OF INTRODUCING ALEWIVES , NOT YOUR USUAL ECONOMIC REFLECTION.</div> <div style="text-align: center;">PLEASE FOCUS  THOSE BRAIN CELLS ON THE FUTURE AND THE PAST. <br /> TELL US, WILL INTRODUCING ALEWIVES TO THE ST. CROIX RIVER DRIVE OUT  THE BASS?</div> <div style="text-align: center;">IF YOU THINK THAT THEY WILL,CALL A MAINE LEGISLATOR AND TAKE SIDES.</div> <div style="text-align: center;">THERE ARE  EXPERTS THAT AGREE WITH YOU, THE GRAND LAKE STREAM GUIDES.</div> <div style="text-align: center;">THESE ARE THE GUIDES WHO SHOW YOU WHERE TO FIND  BASS</div> <div style="text-align: center;">( OMEGA-3S FOR THE MIND ) SO YOU CAN  MAKE A GOOD ECONOMIC  FORECAST.</div> <div style="text-align: center;">WE KNOW MR. ROUBINI, YOU DON’T HAVE X-RAY VISION TO HELP YOU DELIVER</div> <div style="text-align: center;">AN ASSESSMENT OF THE TOPOGRAPHY UNDER THE 1850'S ST. CROIX RIVER</div> <div style="text-align: center;">BUT IF YOU WERE AN ALEWIVE FACING A 20 FOOT INCLINE</div> <div style="text-align: center;">DOESN'T THAT  SOUND A LOT LIKE THE STOCK MARKET IN JANUARY 2009?</div> <div style="text-align: center;">MR. ROUBINI, THE ONLY WAY FOR THE ALEWIVE IS UP, UP AND UP</div> <div style="text-align: center;">BUT FOR ALEWIVES TWENTY FEET IS REALLY QUITE TOUGH.</div> <div style="text-align: center;">YES, THERE ARE STRATEGIES, YOUR SPECIAL NICHE</div> <div style="text-align: center;">BUT "BUY LOW, SELL HIGH" DOESN'T HELP OUT A FISH.</div> <div style="text-align: center;">DON'T WE ALL WISH, GOVERNOR JANET MILLS HAD YOU ON HER SPEED DIAL?</div> <div style="text-align: center;">WELL, SHE PROBABLY DOES AND CHECKS IT EVERY ONCE IN AWHILE.</div> <div style="text-align: center;">MR. ROUBINI, MANY THINK THE COUNTRY CAN'T MISS</div> <div style="text-align: center;">WITH YOU  ON HER SPEED DIAL AND YOUR WEST GRAND LAKE FISH.</div> <div style="text-align: center;">MR. ROUBINI, YES, THERE ARE THE CRAPPIES AND LITTLE  SMALL TROUT</div> <div style="text-align: center;">(AND NO, WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT HOW THEY WILL  VOTE.)</div> <div style="text-align: center;">YOUR TASTE BUDS ARE NURTURED ON MICHELIN 5 STAR CLASS</div> <div style="text-align: center;">SO THAT MEANS NOTHING  QUITE SUITS YOU LIKE A WEST Grand Lake Bass.</div> <div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />The 2022 Prologue,<br /><br /> Mr. Roubini, time to fire up the grill,</span></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><em><em>Get out your best marinade, put the Allagash on chill.</em><br /><em>Your very best guide in this time of ticker tape upheaval</em><br /><em>is not Bloomberg News or today's Wall Street Journal.</em><br /><em>To keep your title as Dr. West Grand Lake Bass,</em><br /><em>your Omega-3s jumping, still saving our last</em><br /><em>nickels and dollars from going out with the tide,</em><br /><em>go to www.grandlakestreamguides."</em><br /><br /><br /> <div style="text-align: center;"><em>The 2023 Addendum:</em></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><em><br /></em></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><em>Mr. Roubini , there's truth </em></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><em>and then there's fiction</em></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><em>And then there's The Maine Legislature</em></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><em>Which some people  consider an affliction.</em></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><em>Well,  wrap your mind around the latest proposed bill </em></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><em>To eliminate Bass fishing in some rivers</em></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><em> by removing  any  and all existing  restriction .</em></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><em>So any hope we might have that  Novavax executives</em></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><em>Might sneak up to Maine and chow down </em></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><em>on your favorite Omega 3 derivative </em></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><em>Or some from AstraZeneca, Crisper</em></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><em> or  others in the biotech sector,</em></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><em>Or  Biogen  now that everyone's not</em></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><em> referring to it with an expletive.</em></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><em>We might see their stocks  soar </em></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><em>or we might go so far as to say ,</em></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><em>By eating Maine bass, they will salvage</em></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><em> the company’s fiscal</em></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><em>Hope for a 20 percent rise</em></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><em> not only in workplace serenity </em></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><em>But in their  52 week high </em></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><em>reported by none other than Kai Rysdal.</em></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><em>Mr Roubini, the Registered Maine Guides </em></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><em>will make room in the hearing room</em></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><em>So your testimony  insures LD 537 redacted </em></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><em>by Maine’s elected political hackers.</em></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><em><br /></em></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><em><br /></em></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><em>As ever, Mr. Roubini, time to fire up the grill,</em></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><em>Get out your best marinade, put the Allagash on chill.</em></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><em>Your very best guide in this time of ticker tape upheaval</em></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><em>is not Bloomberg News or today's Wall Street Journal...</em></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><em>to keep your title as Dr. West Grand Lake Bass,</em></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><em>your Omega-3s jumping, still saving our last</em></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><em>nickels and dollars from going out with the tide,</em></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><em>go to www.grandlakestreamguides." </em></div> </em></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><em></em><br />-SUSAN COOK-</div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>Ode to Mr. Roubini's West Grand Lake Bass Update | 03:18</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/94346", title: "Ode to Mr. Roubini\'s West Grand Lake Bass Update on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/94346' addthis:title='Ode to Mr. Roubini's West Grand Lake Bass Update'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/94346' addthis:title='Ode to Mr. Roubini's West Grand Lake Bass Update'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-94346-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p94346-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/94346/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item odd" id="playlisting_89894"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/96387-sonnet-for-the-baseball-teams-playing-sweet-carol">Sonnet For The Baseball Teams Playing "Sweet Caroline"</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | :54 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>This is a sonnet for the baseball teams who after the tragedy at the Boston Marathon each played the song the Boston Red Sox play during a game when they score a home run. </p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_216533" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/96387-sonnet-for-the-baseball-teams-playing-sweet-carol" target="blank">Sonnet For The Baseball Teams Playing "Sweet Caroline"</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="518346" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="54" data-expires="1739972841" data-piece_id="96387" data-token="65b5a0e9289203abc3d114e445d2b9d0" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="SonnetfortheBaseballTeamsPlayingSweetCaroline"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Breathing_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/series_images/33623/Breathing_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <div> <div style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>Sonnet for the Baseball Teams </strong></em></div> <em> <div style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>Playing "Sweet Caroline"</strong></em></div> </em></div> <div style="text-align: center;">                 -Susan Cook-</div> <div>Buddhists like to call it spontaneous</div> <div>arising. Buddhists don't "like". They abide.</div> <div>They await the day when the gain for us</div> <div>is staying with what is here now,  a kind </div> <div>of seeing things as they are. So when two </div> <div>men made a bomb, and placed it at the race,</div> <div>killing, stealing legs and arms, Buddhists knew </div> <div>showing compassion, would out distance base</div> <div>and evil fear, the cruelty of the mean. </div> <div>Baseball teams in this country, knowing time</div> <div>arises and dissipates, what is seen</div> <div>is what there is, then played "Sweet Caroline".</div> <div>Boston Red Sox fans knew then we are one,</div> <div>hearts' score humanity, compassion's  run.</div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>Sonnet For The Baseball Teams Playing "Sweet Caroline" | :54</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/96387", title: "Sonnet For The Baseball Teams Playing \"Sweet Caroline\" on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/96387' addthis:title='Sonnet For The Baseball Teams Playing "Sweet Caroline"'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/96387' addthis:title='Sonnet For The Baseball Teams Playing "Sweet Caroline"'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-96387-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p96387-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/96387/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item even" id="playlisting_89949"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/365821-small-an-american-sonnet">Small: An American Sonnet</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | :57 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>In the large, large universe, the mind's eye still sees what it will.</p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_729727" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/365821-small-an-american-sonnet" target="blank">Small: An American Sonnet</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="2966363" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="57" data-expires="1739972841" data-piece_id="365821" data-token="ef1a09c954d1864e35bc73292d68b147" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="Small"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Coverprx_medium_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/749023/CoverPRX_medium_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <div>Small<br /></div> <div>-Susan Cook-</div> <div></div> <div>It doesn't matter how diminished we</div> <div>feel, situated deep deep within the</div> <div>large, large universe, we now know, we see</div> <div>more and more of, its every corner, the</div> <div>source of a revelation, a surprise</div> <div>appearance of something we did not know</div> <div>was there but has been all along. The size</div> <div>of anything is not important, no,</div> <div>changes mostly depend on nothing more</div> <div>than the sun's cast shadow, the patterns we </div> <div>create, in our mind's eye, largeness ignored,</div> <div>the small persistent,  so convincingly. </div> <div>Small, large do not matter in the mind's eye,</div> <div>in its slow watch leaving no place to hide. </div> </div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>Small: An American Sonnet | :57</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/365821", title: "Small: An American Sonnet on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/365821' addthis:title='Small: An American Sonnet'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/365821' addthis:title='Small: An American Sonnet'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-365821-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p365821-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/365821/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item odd" id="playlisting_89954"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/365820-the-discovery-of-light-an-american-sonnet">The Discovery of Light: An American Sonnet</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | :55 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>Thomas Edison and what his light did- understood through an American Sonnet. </p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_729725" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/365820-the-discovery-of-light-an-american-sonnet" target="blank">The Discovery of Light: An American Sonnet</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="2966358" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="55" data-expires="1739972841" data-piece_id="365820" data-token="9f2370cea675353b13b8b7be4d1e3d8b" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="TheDiscoveryoflight"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Breathing_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/series_images/33623/Breathing_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Discovery of Light: An American Sonnet</span></span></span></p> <p>-Susan Cook-</p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Thomas Edison discovered cotton,</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">carbonized, sent out strands of silky light.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The non-believers drove for miles, not in </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">fascination, but in doubt that night sight </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">didn't  require burning  fire first,</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">a kindling so much harder to ignite,</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">the loss of life, from time to time, the curse</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">of other lamps, the tragedy of fire</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">placed too close, times when frightened horses kicked</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">the stable candle, burning hay that brought</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">entire  towns  to ash, the flames that licked </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">up everything, the cost of fire caught.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Some still don't  trust a horse's fear, sudden</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">swaying, still not sure what this  light has done. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> </div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>The Discovery of Light: An American Sonnet | :55</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/365820", title: "The Discovery of Light: An American Sonnet on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/365820' addthis:title='The Discovery of Light: An American Sonnet'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/365820' addthis:title='The Discovery of Light: An American Sonnet'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-365820-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p365820-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/365820/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item even" id="playlisting_89958"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/365820-the-discovery-of-light-an-american-sonnet">The Discovery of Light: An American Sonnet</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | :55 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>Thomas Edison and what his light did- understood through an American Sonnet. </p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_729725" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/365820-the-discovery-of-light-an-american-sonnet" target="blank">The Discovery of Light: An American Sonnet</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="2966358" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="55" data-expires="1739972841" data-piece_id="365820" data-token="9f2370cea675353b13b8b7be4d1e3d8b" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="TheDiscoveryoflight"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Breathing_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/series_images/33623/Breathing_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Discovery of Light: An American Sonnet</span></span></span></p> <p>-Susan Cook-</p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Thomas Edison discovered cotton,</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">carbonized, sent out strands of silky light.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The non-believers drove for miles, not in </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">fascination, but in doubt that night sight </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">didn't  require burning  fire first,</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">a kindling so much harder to ignite,</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">the loss of life, from time to time, the curse</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">of other lamps, the tragedy of fire</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">placed too close, times when frightened horses kicked</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">the stable candle, burning hay that brought</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">entire  towns  to ash, the flames that licked </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">up everything, the cost of fire caught.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Some still don't  trust a horse's fear, sudden</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">swaying, still not sure what this  light has done. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> </div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>The Discovery of Light: An American Sonnet | :55</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/365820", title: "The Discovery of Light: An American Sonnet on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/365820' addthis:title='The Discovery of Light: An American Sonnet'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/365820' addthis:title='The Discovery of Light: An American Sonnet'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-365820-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p365820-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/365820/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item odd" id="playlisting_91347"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/382103-do-good-for-evil-my-grandmother-used-to-say">Do Good For Evil, My Grandmother Used to Say</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 03:28 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>There are many many examples of malice these days. And then there are the opportunities to do good.</p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_759832" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/382103-do-good-for-evil-my-grandmother-used-to-say" target="blank">Do Good For Evil, My Grandmother Used to Say</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="3129632" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="208" data-expires="1739972841" data-piece_id="382103" data-token="2af6cce62a0077a318a3e1470bf0e64c" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="Dogoodforevil"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Grammagrampyrussell_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/746775/GrammaGrampyRussell_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Perpetua, serif; color: #222222; text-align: left;">Do Good for Evil, My Grandmother Used to Say<br />-Susan Cook-<br /></span> <div style="text-align: left;"> <p><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">There's a quote from The Bible I've taken to lately that my father often said my grandmother used. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It's in Romans Chapter12. She quoted the simple, straightforward version. "Do good for evil."</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">That ethic seems reassuring these days. Day after day, there are examples of malice in the world, in our country,  in our state. Does it really require trillions of dollars or a mound of extensive years-long clinical trials to prove the intent of vaccine developers to do good for evil? Does it really require another 15 years of US National Guard members in Afghanistan to prove that the vast majority of the Afghan people see malice not good in what the US has been offering them, calling upon their religion ? </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Perpetua, serif; color: #222222;">I watched a journalist  interview a hospital surgical technician who underwent chemotherapy who now refuses to be vaccinated. They rolled the vaccine out too quickly, she said, and didn't do enough studies first.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Perpetua, serif; color: #222222;">The journalist asked if she thought 600000 people dead from Covid 19 was adequate reason to expedite vaccine development.  The Covid 19 genome was made available to Western scientists in in January 2020</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Perpetua, serif; color: #222222;">At that point, the Surgical Technician  broke into a broad smile. I was struck, at first, by the numbed quality of her response. As I've thought about it, this seems yet another time when good done for evil is perceived as malice.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Perpetua, serif; color: #222222;">The Life enhancing, yes, Prolife core of any ethic lies in doing good for evil,  that too, now stained as Antilife. How can a fierce opposition to a vaccine to do good for evil be seen as Prolife?</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">These are traumatizing times- emotionally numbing, mind- fogging, time bending, anxiety inducing. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #222222; font-size: large; font-family: Perpetua, serif;">We don't have trillions of dollars or access to the high echelons of power. We do have simple acts of  kindness, and as my grandmother said, in our small way, we can do good for evil.</span></p> </div> </div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>Do Good For Evil, My Grandmother Used to Say | 03:28</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/382103", title: "Do Good For Evil, My Grandmother Used to Say on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/382103' addthis:title='Do Good For Evil, My Grandmother Used to Say'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/382103' addthis:title='Do Good For Evil, My Grandmother Used to Say'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-382103-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p382103-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/382103/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item even" id="playlisting_91376"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/185090-the-freedom-to-succeed-and-the-mind-s-eye-one-runn">The Freedom to Succeed and the Mind's Eye:One Runner's Success</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 05:01 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>In Maine, recently, an internationally known annual road race was held . 6338 runners raced. One runner in the group of the first 183 spent a full year- in another state locked up- not for committing a crime- but for having a mental illness. In some states that is still possible. <br />This year he missed the first 100 places in the 2017 Maine Marathon by a few minutes.</p> <p>In order to have success you have to have freedom to succeed. And there are hundreds of obstacles to that - in this country- still touted as the free-est nation on earth. We know it's not always but most of us still hold out having the freedom to succeed as America’s cherished offering . </p> <p>The current political rhetoric ignores that. The anti- freedom to succeed catch phrases of this Presidential election cycle remind us of that. Don’t let immigrants come here. Build a wall. She must be a liar-don’t let her succeed. Don’t trust her. And yes, he’s not fit countered by she’s not fit. I guess it comes down to success being having the freedom to succeed, and then seizing it. Many, many people don’t do that but that’s what this runner did. Where a person finds the motivation let alone - as another runner called it the audacity to hope- that success is still up for grabs- I don’t know. It takes a large mind to see what small minds shut out-and who is shut out. But it has nothing to do with the mind’s size. It has more to do with the mind’s eye- that sees the horizon, like runners see, when they get out on the road, getting out on the road, giving it another go, giving themselves the freedom to succeed, with only 182 others in front of them. It also takes a culture or a country that yes, may hold them back for awhile, but not long enough to take away the freedom to succeed for good. </p> <p></p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_396556" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/185090-the-freedom-to-succeed-and-the-mind-s-eye-one-runn" target="blank">The Freedom to Succeed and the Mind's Eye:One ...</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="1185765" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="301" data-expires="1739972841" data-piece_id="185090" data-token="364c7ddca12a64dde38fbfa38e03a69c" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="Themindseyeandthefreedomtosucceed"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Breathing_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/series_images/33623/Breathing_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <div>The Mind’s Eye and the Freedom to Succeed: One Runner’s Success<br />-Susan Cook-</div> <div>In Maine, recently, an internationally known annual road race was held . 6338 runners raced. An American Olympic hopeful won  this 10 K race. He had fallen short by a hideously small amount of time in the Olympic trials, coming in 5th thus losing the chance for Olympic success. In the 10K, the other 6337 runners ran slower than he did. Only 183 of those who ran raced in less than 38 minutes, 10 minutes slower than the winner. The slowest runner took an hour and 37 minutes to finish.</div> <div>One has to wonder what makes for that ten minute difference between coming in first and 183rd.  After all, 6155 of them ran slower than  they did.  Even so, racing in less than 38 minutes must have like have felt like an extraordinary success.</div> <div>One runner in that group of 183 spent a full year, in another state locked up- not for committing a crime- but- for having a mental illness. In some states that is still possible. Even in states where locking someone up for having a mental illness is legal , the laws still champion the Right of Recipients of Mental Health Services to refuse medication, to not agree to a treatment plan and to not acknowledge a diagnosis.  So this runner spent a year, under lock and key, with no diagnosis, no administered medication and no treatment plan, until, finally, a local judge - with only court-assigned  lawyers to defend the case- gave the runner freedom.</div> <div>Setting someone free meant setting someone free to run. The constraints on running, progress and practice, before, was not time, not motivation, not a gust of headwind or a sudden injury . Literally the constraint was a  lock and key. And so the running began. Meaning that the chance to be one of the top 183 runners was there. Free, for real.</div> <div>In order to have success you have to have freedom to succeed. And there are hundreds of obstacles to that. in this country- touted as the freest nation on earth. We know its not  but most of us still hold out having the freedom to succeed as America’s cherished offering .   The current political rhetoric ignores that. The anti- freedom to succeed catch phrases of this Presidential election cycle remind us of that.  Don’t let immigrants come here. Build a wall. She must be a liar-don’t let her succeed. Don’t trust her. And yes, he’s not fit countered by she’s not fit. I guess it comes down to success being having the freedom to succeed,  and then seizing it. Many, many people don’t do that  but that’s what  this runner did. Where a person finds  the motivation let alone - as another runner called it the audacity to hope- that success is still up for grabs- I don’t know. It takes a large mind to see what small minds shut out-and who is shut out. But it has nothing to do with the mind’s size. It has more to do with the mind’s eye- that sees the horizon, like runners see, when they get out on the road, getting out on the road,  giving it another go,  giving themselves the freedom to succeed, with only 182 others in front of them. It also takes  a culture or a country that yes, may hold them back for awhile, but not long enough to take away the freedom to succeed for good.          </div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>The Freedom to Succeed and the Mind's Eye:One ... | 05:01</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/185090", title: "The Freedom to Succeed and the Mind\'s Eye:One Runner\'s Success on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/185090' addthis:title='The Freedom to Succeed and the Mind's Eye:One Runner's Success'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/185090' addthis:title='The Freedom to Succeed and the Mind's Eye:One Runner's Success'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-185090-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p185090-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/185090/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item odd" id="playlisting_91436"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/384453-the-texas-abortion-ban-vigilante-justice-and-fran">The Texas Abortion Ban, Vigilante Justice and Frankie Valli's Love for Human Connection</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 08:17 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>The Supreme Court decision to ignore the inhumane aspects of the Texas Abortion law reminds us to look to the places where human connection is valued.</p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_763571" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/384453-the-texas-abortion-ban-vigilante-justice-and-fran" target="blank">The Texas Abortion Ban, Vigilante Justice and ...</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="3149753" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="497" data-expires="1739972841" data-piece_id="384453" data-token="3f87e1bd38433d3f8778ff9d3d93ab5a" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="TexasAbortionLawVigialanteJusticeValli2"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Freed_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/748705/Freed_small.JPG" version="small" width="92" /> <p><strong>The Texas Abortion Ban, Vigilante Justice and Frankie Valli's Love for Human Connection</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>-Susan Cook-</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>"Jersey Boys", the emotionally sensuous, tender musical journey of the 1960's-era Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons is now the one remaining 2021 production of Maine State Musical Theater shown to vaccination proving/ masked audiences only. </strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Opening night coincided with the US Supreme Court 5-4 decision to not review the Texas abortion law which appoints and allows citizens to seek vigilante justice against a medical provider or insurance company who is "suspected" to have supported or enabled a woman to terminate a pregnancy. A Vigilante Justice mindset toward women who support or act on Reproductive Choice is not new. Social media "shaming", "outing" if not outright harassment have become commonplace, fostered by Vigilante Justice -types- those who have seized on anti-abortion stands as a chance to fan the moral crevices of their narcissism through anonymous Facebook or other social media posts. That has yet to become a prosecutable crime so it is not surprising that women's privacy again is seen as fair game for assault if not rape.</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>The music of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons was and is a mirror for the moral narcissism of their time. The libido-driven romance of – yes- men and women (adolescents and adults) reckoning with the quest for deep human connection- heterosexually- it seemed- carrying on the myth of "The One" while the fifties and sixties culture around them minimized any of the psychological or physical trauma of the time. The unwanted pregnancies, some terminated by inner city abortionists, the deaths that followed from physical consequences or suicide, the closeted men and women invisible in the cultural edification of heterosexuality, the dismissiveness toward date rape, incest, domestic violence, wife and child battering, the lack of any safe and sound child care options so latch-key children were left as caretakers, 9 years old left to caretake  5 year olds.</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>The Four Season's second big hit, "Big Girls Don't Cry" perfectly mirrors the time's trivilialzation of deep emotional pain:</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><em><strong>"...told my girl we had to break up</strong></em></p> <p><em><strong>...maybe I was cru-you-el...</strong></em></p> <p><em><strong>Shame on you, your Mama said...</strong></em></p> <p><em><strong>Shame on you you're crying in your bed...</strong></em></p> <p><em><strong>Shame on you you told me lies...</strong></em></p> <p><em><strong>Big Girls Do Cry...</strong></em></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Any number of teenage women whose disclosure of an unwanted pregnancy or incest or rape or sexual intercourse were met with (still often are) physical assault, face slapping, shunned exile or abandonment by mothers, fathers, relatives, the circles they might have reached toward. Collectively, the woman's emotional pain became invisible. The shame that Facebook and other social media now profit from in their anonymous posting options allow the Vigilante Justice-types a new means for public shaming through privacy rape. Many Frankie Valli-era teenagers and young women died from the shaming that fueled their drug or alcohol addiction or promiscuity or suicidality. Big girls don't cry.</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Shame is precisely the emotion that the Senior Legislative Aide of Texas Right to Life, Rebecca Parma attempts to generate in an NPR interview when she offers the false equivalence that terminating the pregnancy of a zygote, embryo or fetus which is non-viable outside of the mother's uterus is equivalent to killing a child that even rape or incest do not justify.The 30 or 40-something Rebecca Parma now endorsing Privacy rape by forcing providers to disclose private medical information is as exploitive as the Frankie Valli-era exploitation of privacy then dismissing as "private" incest, date rape, domestic violence and in the case of unidentified paternity, fathers whose signatures and names were left off birth certificates of infants born to single mothers, later left and ignored in foster homes, foundling homes or orphanages. Ancestry.com has now filled in many of those blank signatures. Ms. Parma may not know of any suicided pregnant women or backroom abortion recipients or incested or physically assaulted children. The Texas Abortion law renders them as invisible to her as the privacy rape victims the law targets. A case in point is the non-acknowledgement to her Republican colleagues of the profound impact being born into poverty carries. As early as 1980, the Maine Children's Death Study documented the strongest correlate of child death before the age of 18 as the child's household's eligibility for Food Stamps.</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Tragedy came Frankie Valli's way, too. His 22 year old daughter Francie died of a drug overdose, alcoholism ended his marriage , likely more human suffering than Jersey Boys reveals. But his lyricists and songwriters brought their creative longings to the moral underpinnings of true love: that it could be good, whole and true. In 1967 "You're Just Too Good to Be True" came just six years before Roe Vs. Wade began to unpack the cultural truth around him, in all its human suffering, walkup abortionists and suiciding 20- somethings. Roe vs. Wade began to prevent what had always belonged to women to bear: the ignored suffering of children after birth . Frankie Valli's devoted musical reverence for the deep nourishment of a healthy life-enhancing human connection did not and could not succeed in bringing those to fruition in the ways that Roe vs. Wade has- in far far more ways than Ms. Parma could ever know, despite the Texas license giving her and anyone else permission to invade privacy at whatever cost. </strong></p> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>The Texas Abortion Ban, Vigilante Justice and ... | 08:17</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/384453", title: "The Texas Abortion Ban, Vigilante Justice and Frankie Valli\'s Love for Human Connection on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/384453' addthis:title='The Texas Abortion Ban, Vigilante Justice and Frankie Valli's Love for Human Connection'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/384453' addthis:title='The Texas Abortion Ban, Vigilante Justice and Frankie Valli's Love for Human Connection'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-384453-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p384453-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/384453/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item even" id="playlisting_91811"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/150269-the-conscience-of-anonymity-naming-native-american">The Conscience of Anonymity:Naming Native American Artists</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 05:25 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>I went to an exhibit of Native American basketry recently- made by Maine Penobscots and Passamaquoddies. The reception was as polished as any other art exhibit opening- except in one respect . None of the artists whose work was displayed were named. No brass plate. No calligraphy on an ivory placard. The artists- all of whom- were Maine Indians -were anonymous. With the exception of the one Indian artist whose talk explained the origin and lineage of the art of basket making, none were named- no birth date- no home town- no tribal affiliation. At an exhibit intended to warmly acknowledge, they were excluded by being made anonymous. What is it that lingers when gifted artists of a brilliant tradition are not given the recognition any artist in any art gallery or museum in the country is given- a name? The consequence of cultural anonymity is often indifference . Immigrants arriving at Ellis Island given different names as they left, Jews with their identity papers taken as they board a train, young men first targeted because of race . Making people anonymous makes it easier to hurt them. </p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_325800" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/150269-the-conscience-of-anonymity-naming-native-american" target="blank">The Conscience of Anonymity:Naming Native ...</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="902725" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="325" data-expires="1739972841" data-piece_id="150269" data-token="c4ca76192332c855c480f5950eb71a77" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="TheConscienceofAnonymityTwo"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Conscienceofmikmaq3_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/354371/ConscienceofMikmaq3_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <div>The Conscience of Anonymity: Naming Native American Artists<br />-Susan Cook- </div> <div>I went to a reception for an exhibit of baskets made by Maine Penobscots and Passamaquoddies recently. Made from ash and sweet grass, some cedar, these baskets  held - and hold- belongings - treasures and the more mundane necessities of the day-to-day, made from the near-at-hand in the natural world- into the necessary, into beauty,  strength woven from thin slats of ash ,  gifts made from the freely available.</div> <div>The reception was as polished as any other art exhibit opening- except in one respect .  None of the artists whose work was displayed were named. No brass plate. No calligraphy on an ivory placard.  The artists- all of whom- were Maine Indians -were anonymous. With the exception of the one Indian artist whose talk  explained the origin and lineage of the art of basket making, none were named- no birth date- no home town- no tribal affiliation. At an exhibit intended to warmly acknowledge, they were excluded by being made anonymous.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Native American Indians have so often been anonymous to popular culture, except through stereotype.   The ones history gives names to are those who fought back- and died- or the ones who provided some indispensable service to white men.   Most are anonymous. Not in the graveyards of tribal reservations. I remember walking through one, at Peter Dana Point,   in Maine, one time, and reading  the names- of Indian men whose dates of death subtracted from their dates of birth- for many- meant they died at age 45, 38, 49.  By 2000 the average age of death among  Native American Indians in Maine was 60.  The average age of death among whites in Maine was 74.1 years then. Now in 2012, for whites it is 79.  (https://www1.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/files/nar/nar.htm)</div> <div>I found no current life expectancy data for Maine Native Americans.  I wonder if the 14 year difference still exists.</div> <div>People having and holding each other and their own cultures is a value-  not one always afforded by life. Living life means people may be lost to each through  death, broken relationships,  conflict . There are many Native  Americans lost to each other because names were changed after adoption or foster care or orphanage placement.  Several people in my family- myself included- bear hauntingly similar physical  appearance to Canadian Micmacs at the end of the nineteenth and early twentieth century.  Some forward thinking Canadian photographers captured their images and named them, so  now they’re available for me to compare with  contemporary photos. My paternal grandmother was adopted by a white family in the 1860’s  at age 3 when her mother died of smallpox. If she was, if my grandmother, my father, all of my family carry that Indian lineage, I don’t know. We have their names, nothing like our own.  I am deeply grateful they were all named. It is a place to start. And yes, I admit that a little of my dismay at seeing no names next to the baskets exhibited came from knowing  I wouldn’t be able to wonder if maybe the artist was a distant relative.</div> <div>What is it that  lingers when gifted artists of a brilliant tradition are not given the recognition any artist in any art gallery or museum in the country is  given- a name?  The consequence of cultural anonymity is often indifference . Immigrants arriving at Ellis Island given different names as they left,  Jews with their identity papers taken as they board a train, young men first targeted because of race . Making people anonymous makes it easier to hurt them.  I wonder if that consequence  has  made its mark in the national conscience, the one summoned on holidays, like Memorial Day, or the one we privately guard  in our thoughts before we fall asleep at night or wake too early to rise.  We take from each other the wealth that precedes us- in  art, culture, in the sense of belonging and protection that biological connection offers, when even in honoring art- a name is left out- the simplest  cultural tool, the first joining of people  to each other and all that’s come before. </div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>The Conscience of Anonymity:Naming Native ... | 05:25</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/150269", title: "The Conscience of Anonymity:Naming Native American Artists on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/150269' addthis:title='The Conscience of Anonymity:Naming Native American Artists'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/150269' addthis:title='The Conscience of Anonymity:Naming Native American Artists'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-150269-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p150269-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/150269/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item odd" id="playlisting_91813"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/270253-privacy-rape-the-right-to-be-free-from-exploitati">Privacy Rape, the Right to Be Free from Exploitation and Facebook</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 07:28 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>A recent Fresh Air interview with Heidi Schreck about the Supreme Court recognition of privacy as the premise for a woman's right to control her own body reminds me of a word I've been thinking about. "Privacy Rape".</p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_554013" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/270253-privacy-rape-the-right-to-be-free-from-exploitati" target="blank">Privacy Rape, the Right to Be Free from ...</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="2053691" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="448" data-expires="1739972841" data-piece_id="270253" data-token="bc166824773097c997957f2f889885af" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="PrivacyRape1"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Anitahill6122012_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/596331/AnitaHill6122012_small.JPG" version="small" width="92" /> <p><span style="font-size: x-small;">Privacy Rape, Facebook and the Right to Be Free From Exploitation<br />-Susan Cook-<br /></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: x-small;">I was listening to Heidi Schreck, the playwright whose Broadway production "What the Constitution Means To Me" discusses  "How Women Have Been Profoundly Left Out of the Constitution", as the Fresh Air Heading says. Ms. Schreck talked us through the long arduous constitutional journey from the 1965 Supreme Court Ruling that finally legalized birth control for married women, to legalization of birth control for unmarried women to legalization of abortion in Roe vs. Wade. All 3 of those, decided by Supreme Court justices, all white men, whose premise is that the Constitution protects Privacy. </span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: x-small;">Ms. Schrek brought to mind a term I have been thinking about for some time. "Privacy Rape". </span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: x-small;">It's very clear that the public still doesn't get or perhaps laws and the Constitution still fail to protect Privacy: privacy of personal information, the privacy of the person, the privacy of what people do in their lives. </span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: x-small;">The casual oblivion to matters of privacy was exemplified in a message posted on Facebook by an Executive Director of a major political party directed to a significantly influential political organizer who previously was single-handedly responsible for the election and re-election of hundreds of Democrats from the largest Legislative district to the state Legislation. "We noticed you signed up to volunteer for GOTV. As you know, we've asked you not to volunteer with us anymore. That has not changed. Please don't come into our offices for GOTV." This a post ignoring Privacy violation to publicly shame let alone damage Reputation by an Executive Director giving herself permission to communicate using Facebook. </span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: x-small;">Privacy is and has been better acknowledged by other politicians, Senator Ted Kennedy in particular. He significantly influenced passage of the Health Insurance Privacy and Portability Act which insures that patients are told about the limitations of information sharing, when the patient has not signed a Consent to Release. HIPPA specifically states that psychotherapy notes are off-limits to those seeking to access HIPPA-protected information, their exclusion hopefully the strength of Kevlar. </span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: x-small;">But the use of Facebook to casually exploit privacy (and abuse) is reflected in ongoing public permission to minimize privacy. The platform, after all, has repeatedly failed to legitimize complaints from users about personal abuses and the intrusions Facebook used to capitalize on private material as revenue. </span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: x-small;">Date Rape only became fully acknowledged form of sexual assault after it was given a name. The familiar, the seemingly socially solicitious becoming the sexual perpetrator. The guise of innocence is similarly postured by Facebook users who go onto engage in Privacy Rape or stand passively by as others engage in it too. </span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: x-small;">On Frontline recently, the Vice-President of Social Good at Facebook Naomi Gleit repeated the company's mission in the wake of the company now beginning to own up to the abuse and violence the platform's unique chemical mixture of anonymity and mathmatical exponents. "Bringing the world closer together" by doing good, she said, is the company's mission. Is it all in the past? </span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: x-small;">The quest for closeness through sharing information and listening to others is a human magnet for psychological intimacy. It is a magnet that can spiral into voyeurism and Privacy Rape much as physical touch can descend into Date Rape.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: x-small;">That Mark Zuckerberg's team, the company's beatific Vice President of Social Good and others did not consider that something called Privacy Rape could evolve out of anonymous , mathematical exponent-driven information sharing perplexes. History explains that human exploitation is preceded by social shaming, stigma creation and anonymous permission to ostracize. The isolation of Jews in pograms and ghettos came after generations of social stigmata, all of which gave way to exportation to concentration camps. The same could be said of Native Americans and their forced emigration to Reservations . Well-educated, privileged Facebook executives did not- and probably still don't grasp that their mission to create human connection does not undo the power of anonymity and math exponents. as lubricants of abuse. </span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: x-small;">Like generations before the Supreme Court privacy rulings, Facebook has ignored how their users posts might- and have evolved into- Privacy Rape. Their many, many "This post does not reach the level of abuse" automated replies to complaints echo- the sanctioning of violations of women's privacy- violations of a woman's bodies- violation of the right to privacy. </span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: x-small;">Despite repeated legal volleys- the Supreme Court has not backtracked on the Constitutional right to privacy. The surreptitious succoring of private information that Facebook freely engaged - like generations before them- says the temptations to transgress in secrecy - abusively- persists among the most privileged and innovative. And in the Facebook users who passively stand by as Privacy Rape continues without posting one word to stop it.</span></p> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>Privacy Rape, the Right to Be Free from ... | 07:28</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/270253", title: "Privacy Rape, the Right to Be Free from Exploitation and Facebook on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/270253' addthis:title='Privacy Rape, the Right to Be Free from Exploitation and Facebook'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/270253' addthis:title='Privacy Rape, the Right to Be Free from Exploitation and Facebook'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-270253-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p270253-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/270253/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item even" id="playlisting_92670"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/400064-auld-lang-syne-repurposing-the-bottom-line-to-hea">Auld Lang Syne Repurposing the Bottom Line To Hear For Whom The Bell Tolls!</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 03:45 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>This year, even with its dashed hopes and fear of "deja vu all over again" an abundance of good prevailed. </p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_793044" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/400064-auld-lang-syne-repurposing-the-bottom-line-to-hea" target="blank">Auld Lang Syne Repurposing the Bottom Line To ...</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="3338847" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="225" data-expires="1739972841" data-piece_id="400064" data-token="a22ed9c4aa557b6817552e79f9b3d483" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="AuldLangSyne2021"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Breathing_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/series_images/33623/Breathing_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Auld Lang Syne !</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Repurposing The Bottom Line To Hear For Whom The Bell Now Tolls!</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">-Susan Cook-</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><em>Should old stock options be forgot and not put up for trade?</em></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><em>Curevac, Novartis, Sputnik Five</em></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><em>Oh, right Sputnik's not on our exchange.</em></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><em>Now do not fret. Moderna and German-based Bio N Tech pulled through</em></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><em> and managed to earned good money</em></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><em>unlike what Pfizer, their US partner could not quite do. </em></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><em>For those of you who wonder how vaccine makers gears did shift</em></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><em>to their bank accounts</em></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><em>and  bigger wallets to make sure their profits fit. </em></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><em>Into their pockets to not confuse the world (they are discrete)</em></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><em>their job of saving lives</em></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><em>with good old American Wall Street greed.</em></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><em>And don't forget the home test kits, administered at your leisure</em></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><em>so when you board a New York bus </em></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><em>your weapon will not be your sneeze. </em></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><em>Now for a minute, let's forget Nancy Messonier, the queen</em></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><em>of 2020 Test disasters</em></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><em>like the CDC had never seen.</em></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><em>And put on hold her minimizing so she'd stay employed</em></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><em>the virus which we needed testing for,</em></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><em>the bug we needed to avoid.</em></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><em>So fortunately Abbott, Quidel stepped up to the plate</em></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><em>and gave us Binax, Quick-Vue tests</em></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><em>to check on antigens we've made.</em></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><em>And since we're on the topic, yes, these home tests are great.</em></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><em>Please remember twenty-nine point six,</em></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><em>Abbott's stock increase this year, to date. </em></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><em>Now, no one in their right mind, well, hard times can bring forgetting</em></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><em>this country's favorite sound. </em></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><em>It goes like this: Ca-ching, ca-ching, ca-ching.</em></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><em>Even so, some companies disregard the bottom line</em></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><em>when a crisis comes</em></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><em>(think 3/10/20) they thought of us all the time.</em></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><em>In Maine, some companies said, “We 'll make products that will help”</em></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><em>Protective clothing and face masks, hand </em></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><em>sanitizer, and brand new tests.</em></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><em>Alcohol once used in Maine Spirit Bourbon quarts</em></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><em>was repurposed in a Growler size</em></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><em>to sanitize germs of all sorts.</em></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><em>And Idexx didn't drop the ball, recommissioned Canine tests</em></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><em>to accommodate Covid genomes </em></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><em>found in human nostrils through their tests.</em></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><em>And LL Bean did not bail out on doing what they could.</em></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><em>They made masks, protective shoes,</em></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><em>and gowns. Just their way of doing good.</em></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><em>These times have been exhausting. Yes, we've been raked through the coals.</em></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><em>For some Maine business, the bottom line</em></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><em>listens for whom the bell now tolls.</em></span></span></p> <p> </p> </div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>Auld Lang Syne Repurposing the Bottom Line To ... | 03:45</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/400064", title: "Auld Lang Syne Repurposing the Bottom Line To Hear For Whom The Bell Tolls! on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/400064' addthis:title='Auld Lang Syne Repurposing the Bottom Line To Hear For Whom The Bell Tolls!'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/400064' addthis:title='Auld Lang Syne Repurposing the Bottom Line To Hear For Whom The Bell Tolls!'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-400064-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p400064-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/400064/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item odd" id="playlisting_94336"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/423107-shaming-and-humiliating-by-choice-roe-v-wade-and">Shaming and Humiliating By Choice: Roe v. Wade and Denying Consequence</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 06:13 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>As 6 Supreme Court Justices end Roe v. Wade, shaming and humiliating Pro-Choice advocates becomes the anti-choice strategy.</p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_833200" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/423107-shaming-and-humiliating-by-choice-roe-v-wade-and" target="blank">Shaming and Humiliating By Choice: Roe v. Wade ...</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="3586117" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="373" data-expires="1739972841" data-piece_id="423107" data-token="c2d319c63136722ee9a60c1d52bf632e" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="ShamingandhumiliatingTwo"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Nytimesprochoicepicture_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/791474/NYTimesProchoicePicture_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <div>Shaming and Humiliating Women By Choice</div> <div>Shaming and humiliating have always been behind actions made toward females who do something adverse to the (the male- dominated) status quo. Ten year old girls slapped across the face when they disclose for the first time to an adult that they have been repeatedly sexually abused by another person or adult women standing up to defend women's right to make choices about her body  are examples of targets of actions intended to summon these feelings.</div> <div>At the Planned Parenthood of New England rally I attended,  a man held up his poster of a mutilated face (just enough of face to imply that this photo-shopped image was a baby) . Other protesters went over and held up their signs to block his sign. He eventually put that sign down then held up his picture of a 3 or 4 month old infant. His intention was clear: shame, humiliate and the unsaid about the rally attendees : murderer, torturer with whatever grotesque imagery or distortion he could make.</div> <div>Zygote, embryo or fetal health- and that of a newborn- are - as reproductive rights insist- fundamentally linked to the physical and mental health of the mother. As Gloria Steinem points out, reproductive rights also protect giving birth to an infant at the same time protecting a woman's right to not be forced to give birth against her will.</div> <div>Pro-choice exists for the suicidal woman with an unwanted pregnancy, the pregnant woman in an abusive relationship who knows the physical, sexual or emotional abuse from a partner will not end just because a pregnancy is brought to term and will very likely make the newborn a victim of that abuse as well. Pregnancy does not cure physical, emotional or sexual abuse. The ectopic pregnancy of a woman who will die if the pregnancy continues, all of these are the object of the man who showed up to shame and humiliate. Would he be an abusive, shaming and humiliating father too? His intent at the rally was clear.</div> <div>Shaming and humiliation have always been the back pocket strategy to denigrate women- prostitutes, rape victims (she asked for it), sexually abused children (they're lying), the abused woman who cannot make the abuse end or the woman in a relationship where the cold indifference to her emotional well-being did not succeed in preventing pregnancy. The recourse for women in these situations is limited.<br /><br /> Reproductive choice supporters know each of these circumstances has precipitated many female suicides.</div> <div>If all else fails to denigrate the authentic pain women experience, when an unwanted pregnancy takes place, Ed Whalen, a prominent anti-choice lawyer on PBS “Firing Line” emphasized another “go-to”. Roe v. Wade should be overturned because, he said “Roe was lying. She made it up.”</div> <div>There is explicit gender bias in anti-choice laws. Males who've fertilized a female ova have always found ways to avoid parental obligation. “Ignore the pregnant woman” is one which 23andMe and Ancestry.com are rapidly undoing by uncovering actual paternity of children previously unidentified, born to mothers who by threat or force remained silent. A woman recently discovered her half-sister much to the rage of her 90-something mother .</div> <div>Another way is to present complete indifference to the pregnancy, making it clear that the sole provider of caretaking will be the mother if she carries the pregnancy  to term. Remember women earn 70 cents or so for every dollar men make, a figure which has been much much lower in the past.</div> <div>Threats to the woman by the male if she brings the pregnancy to term are not unheard of,  literally again, forcing her to terminate a pregnancy is also not unheard of.</div> <div>And then there are the stories about the women who brought an unwanted pregnancy to term calling the father to announce the birth upon which the male immediately hangs up the phone, these days the text or email deleted.</div> <div>The man showing up with his grotesque photos carries on that cycle of shaming, humiliating, abusing and precipitating physical and mental illness, if not suicide, with, by the way absolutely no consequence (as there are none for Ed Whalen) for his actions.</div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>Shaming and Humiliating By Choice: Roe v. Wade ... | 06:13</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/423107", title: "Shaming and Humiliating By Choice: Roe v. Wade and Denying Consequence on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/423107' addthis:title='Shaming and Humiliating By Choice: Roe v. Wade and Denying Consequence'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/423107' addthis:title='Shaming and Humiliating By Choice: Roe v. Wade and Denying Consequence'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-423107-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p423107-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/423107/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item even" id="playlisting_95950"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/447319-i-saw-santa-scrolling-through-his-phone-at-nate-s">"I Saw Santa Scrolling Through his Phone at Nate Silver's Polls" In the Dept of Poetic Justice !</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | :00 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>In the Department of Poetic Justice (and Poetic Reckoning)! The Midterm Election results according to Santa's List .</p> </div> no audio file </div> <div class="playlist-item odd" id="playlisting_97054"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/163713-clean-elections-and-the-credibility-of-history">Clean Elections and the Credibility of History </a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 05:44 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>Clean elections protect constituent rights so wealthy individuals or self-serving personal interests or six-figure job candidates don’t exploit the election process - and constituents- to influence elections.This month, on Election Day, voters in Maine will vote on a Clean Elections referendum to fund campaigns of legislative candidates.</p> <p>If those now speaking out about Clean Elections, don’t understand how clean elections protect civil liberties or are communicating out of both sides of the mouth, by disrespecting constituents while making up cute phrases about clean elections, well, that ‘s the historical track record- spoken , written, and available on-line. That does not add credibility to arguments for clean elections and all we're left with to understand why constituents are or are not respected by clean elections legislation is history- which it turns out- is often the most credible of all. </p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_353022" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/163713-clean-elections-and-the-credibility-of-history" target="blank">Clean Elections and the Credibility of History </a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="1000426" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="344" data-expires="1739972841" data-piece_id="163713" data-token="e2cdaaf6af0cba280b9bfbc3dd49ca1d" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="CleanElectionsforMaineHistoryndCredibility"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Cleanelectionswontclean_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/383309/Cleanelectionswontclean_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <div style="text-align: center;">Clean Elections- the Credibility of History</div> <span> <p style="text-align: left;">A Clean Elections referendum to fund campaigns of candidates for public office will be on Maine ballots this month. Both sides have spokespeople who some years back led a fierce negative media campaign against a constituent criticizing a legislator for disrespect of constituents. Spokespeople whose track records don’t respect constituents in the first place doesn’t legitimize clean elections.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">On August 23, 2011, I testified before Maine’s Congressional Re-districting Commission. There were big stakes. The chair of the Redistricting Committee was up for a six figure politically appointed job as head of the Small Business Administration New England Region. The ousted Democratic attorney general wanted a Democrat legislative majority the next year to re-elect her. The Legislature’s partisan staffers and the Chief of Staff for the Second District Congressional District wanted to keep their jobs. None of them wanted districts redrawn so Republican voters held majorities. The usual gerrymandering of redistricting was replaced by fat salary jobmandering.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">There was little or no focus on constituents.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">My testimony protested the Republican proposal to move the first congressional representative out of her own district and Maine’s climate of disregard for constituents - a referendum to eliminate same-day voter registration and a State Senate President who recorded constituents calling him.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">Civil liberties protect critics of public officials from being deemed enemies of the state. All the government-paid job seekers and holders became angry that my “irritation” of the Republican party leader might make the other side less cooperative or create election losses two years later. The party chair gave permission to coordinate a negative media campaign against me for criticizing the legislator. I was defending constituents.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">In 2015, a Clean Elections referendum is here. Supporters say this is not welfare for legislators but fairness for constituents. But the spokesperson for clean elections supporters, Liz Reinholt told the media following my 2011 testimony that I had no proof for my criticism of the legislator, circulated high-tech like that my testimony was an ‘antic‘. Now, she never asked me about my proof- an important Republican warning me that calling the aforesaid legislator about local environmental pollution would result in a recorded phone call- after- I already made that observation. Freedom of the press is helpless to protect civil liberties if the media is not told the truth.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">Then there’s the new spokesperson for the Maine Heritage Foundation. On August 23, 2011, still on Senator Susan Collins’ payroll but just two weeks after leaving his job as her Director of New Media, Matthew Gagnon wrote on his website Pinetreepolitics.com, a series of lies, slandering me about my two minutes of testimony defending constituents. ’She’s a lunatic’ he wrote on his blog. ’Rambling, slurring’… he wrote about my testimony defending constituents on his website. Lies. Not a word from him about constituent respect.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">Last week, the Maine Sunday Telegram quoted Matthew Gagnon as complaining that Clean Election supporters are hypocrites because they take money from the outside sources the referendum will forbid.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">The problem here is not hypocrisy- the problem is no respect for constituents and the civil liberties that aim to protect them- the right to criticize government officials without enduring harassment or public slander as an enemy of the state. Mr. Gagnon’s record of constituent disrespect when constituents exercise civil liberties is there for the reading.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">Clean elections protect constituent rights so wealthy individuals or self-serving personal interests or six-figure job candidates don’t exploit the election process - and constituents. But targeting government critics because someone wants the fat government salaried job does what clean elections are supposed to prevent. It exploits constituents one person at a time.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">If those now speaking about Clean Elections, don’t understand how clean elections protect civil liberties or are communicating out of both sides of the mouth, by disrespecting constituents while making up cute phrases about clean elections, well, that ‘s the track record- spoken , written, and available on-line. That is history which is often the most credible of all.</p> </span><strong></strong><em></em> <div style="text-align: center;"> </div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>Clean Elections and the Credibility of History | 05:44</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/163713", title: "Clean Elections and the Credibility of History on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/163713' addthis:title='Clean Elections and the Credibility of History '>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/163713' addthis:title='Clean Elections and the Credibility of History '>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-163713-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p163713-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/163713/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item even" id="playlisting_97080"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/137536-a-citizen-s-guide-to-voter-fraud">A Citizen's Guide to Voter Fraud</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 05:22 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>Well, we have an enigmatic scandal brewing in my state. Twenty-one ballots- all for a state Senate Republican candidate surfaced inside a sealed ballot box during a recount. In which- before the recount - the Democrat held a slight edge. Now a committee convened by the Republican majority State Senate is to determine if voter fraud happened and who should hold the seat. The naïve assume that only a Republican could do the ballot box stuffing since the ballots would give the Republican a victory. But reality says that winning that one Republican seat would not change the party with the Senate majority and thus leadership power. </p> <p>Perhaps the committee will consider that this is another favored Democratic strategy- or at least one that’s been used before- called immunization- trying to introduce tarnishing- that can be useful later on.- a strategy at least one Democratic lawyer thought “brilliant.” Republican ballots could have just as easily been placed -post election- in the ballot box by Democrats gloved fingers, to embarrass Republicans by making it look like those old anti-voter fraud Republicans were doing it themselves. </p> <p>It would not be the first time a political party used deception to create the opposite pubic perception of what has actually happened. In other words, Democrats creating voter fraud to make it look like the kind of voter fraud only Republicans would commit- since the phony votes would make a Republican win. Some things are more important than winning. </p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_299764" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/137536-a-citizen-s-guide-to-voter-fraud" target="blank">A Citizen's Guide to Voter Fraud</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="801820" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="322" data-expires="1739972841" data-piece_id="137536" data-token="de0dd29e21157c6167e20862d68ec3bc" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="ACitizensGuidetoVoterfraudIfPlagiarismisCreative"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Breathing_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/series_images/33623/Breathing_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <div>A Citizen’s Guide to Voter  Fraud</div> <div>Well, we have an enigmatic scandal brewing in my state. Twenty-one ballots- all for a state Senate Republican candidate surfaced inside a sealed ballot box during a recount. In which- before the recount - the Democrat held a slight  edge. Now a committee convened by the Republican majority State Senate is to determine if voter fraud happened and who should hold the seat. The naïve assume that only a Republican could do the ballot box stuffing since the ballots would give the Republican a victory. But reality says that winning that one Republican seat would not change the party with the Senate majority and thus leadership power. </div> <div>Perhaps the committee will consider that this is another favored Democratic strategy-  or at least one that’s been used before- called immunization- trying to introduce tarnishing- that can be useful later on.- a strategy at least one Democratic lawyer thought “brilliant.” Republican ballots could have just as easily been placed -post election- in the ballot box by Democrats gloved fingers, to embarrass Republicans by making it look like those old anti-voter fraud Republicans were doing it themselves. </div> <div>It would not be the first time  a political party used deception to create the opposite pubic perception of what  has actually happened.  In other words, Democrats creating voter fraud to make it look like the kind of voter fraud only Republicans would commit- since the phony votes would make a Republican win. Some things are more important than winning. </div> <div>Undermining the public trust? You bet. But the same strategy of creating a false public perception was heartily suggested by the Communication staff of the Democrats to tarnish a Democratic officer the Republicans were annoyed with. If the Democratic staff sent damaging editorial letters about the Democrat- who would guess they were the product of the staff of the Democrats? As was said at the time, if the Democrat staff starts  demeaning at the same time as the Republicans, who would know where it came from? The only problem was, the Republicans stopped. The Democrats’ staffers didn’t. </div> <div>Deception of the public trust is on a continuum. Plagiarism-  taking something off the Internet and pretending you wrote it- is on one end. At the other- end is  voter fraud- stuffing ballot boxes. Stuffing ballot boxes to give the perception that only a Republican could  do it is another level of corruption entirely.  Deception corrupts one deception at a time. Even  the one-size-fits-all blanket for covering up deception - the hush job or spousal hush job -this being where the person who knows the most ( or rather can embarrass the most) )is suddenly the best candidate for the job- does not make the corruptive influence of deception go away. </div> <div>In my state, some 20 years ago, voter fraud  and deception of the public trust was committed the old-fashioned way by two staffers climbing in through a state house window during  recount and stuffing ballots with their party‘s candidate in the box. Those staffers had the most to gain if their party stayed in power- their jobs..</div> <div>Let us not forget the immunization called Watergate when burglars entered the Democratic National Headquarters to steal information. Deceptively- yes- but in a straightforward way. They worked for the Republicans. </div> <div>But times have changed . Public relations isn’t just about creating a public image now. The internet allows manipulation of public image to make it look like it came from someplace else entirely. That’s a new level of deception of the public. Like creating the perception of Republican fraudsters who are in fact Democrats who sacrifice the win for -even better- the deceit.  That’s what internet-age communication staffers do.</div> <div>It is just as deceitful. And dishonest as the old Watergate-kind. And just as much de-frauding the public trust and our democracy as ever.</div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>A Citizen's Guide to Voter Fraud | 05:22</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/137536", title: "A Citizen\'s Guide to Voter Fraud on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/137536' addthis:title='A Citizen's Guide to Voter Fraud'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/137536' addthis:title='A Citizen's Guide to Voter Fraud'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-137536-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p137536-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/137536/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item odd" id="playlisting_97081"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/132477-what-the-truth-costs-an-advanced-citizen-s-guide">What the Truth Costs: An Advanced Citizen's Guide</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 11:09 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>When we see the tools of discrediting the truth happily taken on, now or in history- we might say this. The cost of the truth is, it turns out, the truth. </p> <p>I attended a conference recently about “Exploring Women’s Testimony: Genocide, War, revolution, The Holocaust and Human Rights”. After hearing how those things might be connected, it occurred to me hat maybe an advanced Citizens Guide to what the truth costs would be helpful. The truth comes at a high cost but the cost exacted varies from culture to culture, person to person, time, and context. The cost can be measured by its consequence. It can be measured by the intricacy, the arduous effort put into discrediting the speaker. This is what the conference was about.</p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_289535" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/132477-what-the-truth-costs-an-advanced-citizen-s-guide" target="blank">What the Truth Costs: An Advanced Citizen's Guide</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="763839" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="669" data-expires="1739972841" data-piece_id="132477" data-token="8b0fd7f95a454977a4dd7c2cf2318465" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="WhattheTrthCostsAnAdvancedcitizensGuide"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Breathing_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/series_images/33623/Breathing_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <div>What the Truth Costs: An Advanced Citizen's Guide<br /><br />I attended a conference recently about “Exploring Women’s Testimony: Genocide, War, revolution, The Holocaust and Human Rights”. After hearing how those things might be connected, it occurred to me hat maybe an advanced Citizens Guide to what the truth costs would be helpful.  The truth comes at a high cost but the cost exacted varies from culture to culture, person to person, time, and context.  The cost can be measured by its consequence. It can be measured by the intricacy, the arduous effort put into discrediting the speaker. This is what the conerence was about.</div> <div>A notable cost of telling the truth with broad humanitarian consequence came from  Sigmund Freud. In the late 19th century when he was developing his psychoanalytic techniques, he saw many women who were diagnosed as “hysterics” (what would know be diagnosed as an anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder). Almost all, disclosed that they had been sexually abused by a close relative. “Blame was laid on perverse acts by the father” Freud wrote to his confidante. He wrote a paper called “The Aetiology of Hysteria” in 1896 which he also presented at his “local” Society of Psychiatry and Neurology”. His colleagues were unimpressed by what Freud called the Seduction Theory because it implied that sexual abuse of female children was widespread in Victorian culture. Freud wrote “Perversion would have to immeasurably more frequent than hysteria.” A big-wig colleague Kraft-Ebbing called it a “scientific fairy tale”. Some months later, Freud  wrote that he had caved to the opinion of his male contemporaries  and abandoned his theory based  on his previous view that women were telling him the truth. Instead, he wrote  that they couldn’t tell the difference between truth and emotionally charged fiction because what the sexually abused women were telling him was a product of his new concept “the unconscious”.</div> <div>Thus, the credibility of the patient in psychotherapy was handed over to the therapist whose job became distinguishing fact from fiction (or fantasy) rather than accompanying the patient in disclosure.</div> <div>It took many years for psychotherapy to regain in its footing as a process in which credibility and authenticity of of the patient was acknowledged. Michael White the Austrailian theorist developed Narrative Therapy in which re-authoring by the patient of the personal narrative and thus the restoration of the truth of the person’s life is key. But, “passion” or “unconscious feeling”, the vocabulary of the fairy-tale, stirred up in the unconscious had entered the language, the culture. Emotion as coming from a part of the person separate from the part of the person who tells the truth had  been established. The idea that passion was something not compatible with the continuum of truth had begun if not validated by Freud’s work. </div> <div>The cost to the women whose truth Freud abandoned is not known. How many died or spent their lives in institutions is lost to history. Sigmund Freud himself refused to absorb the cost of their truth. He made a theory more palatable to his colleagues in which  women were not believed and the prevalence of sexual abuse in his culture ignored.</div> <div>The cost of telling the truth is unpredictable. It is also dependent on  the time. At the 1964 Democratic National Convention, an all white Credentials Committee held a hearing to decide whether to seat an alternate Mississippi delegation instead of the white delegation the state Democratic Party had elected. The Mississippi Independence party had elected an African-American delegation that reflected the concerns and momentum of the civil rights movement. Fanny Lou Hamer the Mississippi Civil Rights leader testified and told the truth about police brutality toward civil rights protesters and the denigration of African-Americans through racial segregation. She described  her beating at the hands of law enforcement. Before this white prim, proper committee, her testimony was eloquent, compelling, graphic and true. But for those who did not like what she said, the seeds of the stereotype of emotion overtaking truth-telling, a woman with no filter, brassy, attention-seeking, and of course, harkening back to Freud,  possibly lying and thus lacking credibility.</div> <div>Even President Lyndon Johnson was nervous about the truth of Fanny Lou Hamer and promptly called a press conference about a very minor legislative issue, to distract the television network  who then interrupted their broadcast of the Convention and her testimony to broadcast the Presidents remarks. The Credentials Committee voted not to seat the Mississippi Independence Committee and yes, some blamed Fanny Lou Hamer not because she told the truth. She told it too well, with passion.  But she was out-of-turn.  She had too much brass. She was an African-American woman. Looking for attention. The truth’s cost was what Fanny Lou Hamer endured . </div> <div>Passion remains a subtle underground code word in political circles for dismissing someone’s credibility - and to put the brakes on further inquiry of whether or not its true. (Yes, please hearken back to  Professor Freud  to remind us that what  passion really means is the words spoken  may be the prelude to fantasy or fiction).</div> <div>In my state, recently in our revered tourist-enticing national publication Downeast  in an issue  with a cover photo of Martha Stewart (aka convicted felon), they re-published an editorial from a small local newspaper. The editorial appeared over a Labor  Day weekend and was a collaborative effort from the local Democrats, and one miffed independent at the urging of the party chair’s paid staff. There was no claim of authorship . It was after all Labor Day weekend and the usual filters of  “civility” weren’t in place. </div> <div>The editorial denounced the testimony of a Democratic party officer at a Congressional re-districting hearing because she criticized the committee as part of a larger effort to discredit constituents by moving entire voting districts, eliminating same-day voter registration and  exemplified by a higher up operative from the “other” party who intimidated constituents’  by recording their phone calls. The editorial denounced the testimony as an “antic”, demanding her resignation unless she showed proof. The editorial accused her of flouting  conspiracy theories, “unfounded imputations”  “her loose cannon” damaging her party “ by “impugning others”, dragging her party into “a sandbox spat”, “”sullying the discussion with “inappropriate mudslinging.”  All in  these big Ivy League words  (Anybody know what impugn means?) The Editorial demanded her resignation unless she provided “proof”.  The male “higher up” was never asked for proof. </div> <div>It takes  a lot more than proof to undo what the truth costs.  History has shown that the truth’s cost- born for generations- beginning with the sexually abused female patients of Freud and continuing  with the welts and broken bones and scars of Fanny Lou Hamer- has never been paid off simply by providing proof.</div> <div>In the Downeast reprint case, the woman did not resign her volunteer position or show more proof. And sure enough one and one half years later when her tenure in the volunteer officer position ended, the leader of the party extended gratitude  prefacing remarks  by saying “I know you bring a lot of passion to this work…”</div> <div>Clearly, these  3 incidents are in totally different times and contexts. The Editorial and the Downeast reprint intended a bigger consequence then the situation in any way, shape or form warranted. But when we see the tools of discrediting the truth happily taken on,  now or in history- we might say this. The cost of the truth is, it turns out, the truth. If you listen hard enough, you can hear today the consequence of Freud’s  failure to believe his female sexually abused patients, you can feel  Fanny Lou Hamer’s wounds without demanding proof that her scars were a result of beatings from law enforcement.</div> <div>And if you have any questions about the Editorial Downeast Magazine reprinted, you can leave a message, because the person the editorial was written about was me.</div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>What the Truth Costs: An Advanced Citizen's Guide | 11:09</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/132477", title: "What the Truth Costs: An Advanced Citizen\'s Guide on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/132477' addthis:title='What the Truth Costs: An Advanced Citizen's Guide'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/132477' addthis:title='What the Truth Costs: An Advanced Citizen's Guide'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-132477-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p132477-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/132477/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item even" id="playlisting_97867"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/474048-sonnet-for-looking-for-china">Sonnet for Looking for China</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | :59 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>From the Spring 2023 Maine Arts Journal. A poem about grieving. </p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_927219" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/474048-sonnet-for-looking-for-china" target="blank">Sonnet for Looking for China</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="4791609" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="59" data-expires="1739972841" data-piece_id="474048" data-token="9e247065ea9cf7283b6e35bd7267f399" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="SonnetforTwoLookingforChina"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Spring2022_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/849568/Spring2022_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span>Sonnet for Looking for China<br /><br /><em>(Maine Arts Journal, Spring 2023)</em><br /><br />-Susan Cook-</span></span></span></p> <p><span style=""><br /></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span>I am in my garden when I fall on</span></span></span></p> <p><span style=""><span style="color: #000000;"><span>my knees because I remember I can't</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span>find you now. Things that call or that beckon,</span></span></span></p> <p><span style=""><span style="color: #000000;"><span>what walks toward me, has not been you. It can't</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span>be. So, because I remember behind</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span>everything, there is always something more,</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span>I start to dig. People have tried to find</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span>China this way. You found it, I bet, sure</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span>now, of where it is that loss goes, the fall</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span>it brings. I will find it too and when we're</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span>there, together, we will celebrate small</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span>truths. "Woman burrows to China." We'll cheer</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style=""><span>human accomplishment, what cupped hands can</span></span></span></p> <p><span style=""><span style="color: #000000;"><span>do, know what it is we didn't know then.</span></span></span></p> <div><span style=""><span style="color: #000000;"><span><br /></span></span></span></div> </div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>Sonnet for Looking for China | :59</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/474048", title: "Sonnet for Looking for China on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/474048' addthis:title='Sonnet for Looking for China'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/474048' addthis:title='Sonnet for Looking for China'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-474048-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p474048-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/474048/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item odd" id="playlisting_98259"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/79639-credibility-in-business-casual-sexism-wears-a-new">Credibility in Business Casual: Sexism Wears a New Outfit</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 04:46 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>The Republican attack on women, a not- so thinly veiled attack on credibility, the females, that is, is not new. Women, you may remember, require more “proof” that they are telling the truth than men do. Women’s credibility remains the non-credentialed, not appropriately dressed, inarticulate sweetspot where, when hit just right, sexism implants its tendrils and goes viral, its derision entitled, origin unknown, because we are talking about women.</p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_182498" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/79639-credibility-in-business-casual-sexism-wears-a-new" target="blank">Credibility in Business Casual: Sexism Wears a ...</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="401275" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="286" data-expires="1739972841" data-piece_id="79639" data-token="4a8ed0d48e6f46ab39ebfda5b45c6881" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="CredibilityInBiusnessCasualSexismWearsANewOutfit"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Anitahill6122012_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/179778/AnitaHill6122012_small.JPG" version="small" width="92" /> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Much is heard about the "new" Republican attack on women,  a  not so thinly veiled attack on credibility, the females’, that is. Women, you may remember require more “proof” that they are telling the truth than men do. Women’s credibility remains the non-credentialed, not appropriately dressed, inarticulate sweetspot where, when hit just right, sexism implants its tendrils and goes viral, its derision entitled, origin unknown, because we are talking abut women.<br /><br /> Many women don’t realize that today’s war on women’s credibility is like that faced by Anita Hill during the Clarence Thomas hearing either because they now have credentials that they hope protect their credibility or they were not old enough or not allowed to watch that spectacle as it unfolded on national television in the early 1990’s. During the hearings to admit Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court, Anita Hill, an African-American attorney was subpoenaed to testify about the sexual harassment she endured at his hands at his previous job.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I still have my “I Believe Anita Hill” button. Many women don’t. Many men never got one in the first place. The smug confidence that Clarence Thomas evinced during those hearings has metastasized into complete silence, as he now sits on the Court.  He perhaps  now believes he doesn’t have to say anything  to have credibility as he has not said or asked any questions during the oral arguments for something like 6 years.  </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Some believe that blatantly different standards for male and female credibility have gone away. We need go no further than the recent trial of John Edwards for federal campaign law violations for “proof” that sexism’s new  business casual dress does not mean standards have changed. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Criminal law trials are about credibility. The “designer” proof presented by John Edwards that he was telling the truth was this: A video of his nationally-televised appearance lauded as his moment of truth-telling, the “tell-all” in which he stated that he had a brief affair with Rielle Hunter but it had ended and his unethical staffer had fathered her child.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> This “truth telling” explique was presented  to the jury as evidence that the man before them was really not telling the truth then, even though he said he was before a national television audience, but he was telling the truth now. This, strategized his defense team, was, yes, a wardrobe failure in credibility that would now be restored with that ever-trustworthy safety pin- the fact that John Edwards is a man. They knew that would hold up better than the fact that Edwards is a lawyer. One word captures how a woman engaging in such tactics would be characterized: Flighty!</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The Credibility dress standard  is not the same for men and women.  Credibility remains an icon of sexism that presumes that women have to meet different standards of proof than men do.  There are cultural and social questions that we all must ask about the different standards for “proof” that apply to men and women, that are as unfair and unequal now as they were when Anita Hill was subpoenaed to testify about  Clarence Thomas. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">When we ask for proof from men and women, do we ask each of them, equally, no matter what the context, no matter who has been  privileged with the presumptive “truth-teller” status?  When the ” court of public opinion” is courted, really deep down, don't you think you can overlook what she says is true? That what everybody else thinks is better proof?  That any  other truth that she might offer is really just her reaching for a safety pin- when really- there isn’t one big enough to fill the gap?</p> <p> </p> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>Credibility in Business Casual: Sexism Wears a ... | 04:46</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/79639", title: "Credibility in Business Casual: Sexism Wears a New Outfit on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/79639' addthis:title='Credibility in Business Casual: Sexism Wears a New Outfit'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/79639' addthis:title='Credibility in Business Casual: Sexism Wears a New Outfit'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-79639-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p79639-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/79639/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item even" id="playlisting_98507"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/483898-why-women-don-t-tell-part-3-the-cultural-anomie">Why Women Don't Tell, Part 3: The Cultural Anomie that Keeps Violence Toward Women Hidden in Broad Daylight</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 08:36 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>The arrest of a Fifth Avenue architect as the alleged serial murderer of several women brings up the question of whether anyone over that long period of time knew of the man's aggressive and violent underworld life. Did they know and just not tell? Is this yet another example of Not Telling about Violence Toward Women, about the cultural anomie about disclosure- "a lack of moral standards" a "lawlessness" about disclosing about violence toward women? </p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_944760" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/483898-why-women-don-t-tell-part-3-the-cultural-anomie" target="blank">Why Women Don't Tell, Part 3: The Cultural ...</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="4597371" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="516" data-expires="1739972841" data-piece_id="483898" data-token="f523a959483bf1df581a8742f21d1487" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="WhyWomenDontTellPart3fixed"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Whywomendonttelltwo_small" height="92" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/862581/WhyWomenDontTellTwo_small.jpg" version="small" /> <p><span>Why Women Don't Tell Part 3<br /> The Cultural Anomie that Keeps Violence Toward Women Hidden in Broad Daylight</span></p> <p><span style="color: #252525;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>In the 15 or so years since the first woman was murdered by the alleged perpetrator, the now- indicted and arrested Fifth Avenue Architect, didn't anyone suspect or even know this man had violent tendencies? Aggression toward women? Was there no speculation that his wife and children periodically left because of a recurrent aggression no longer suppressed? Some recurrent resurfacing of a pathology? Did no one suspect or even witness events that raised doubts about violence and aggression in the man's life?</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="color: #252525;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>The deaths of these women described only as “prostitutes” as if there was nothing else to say about them, renews fears that this culture's anomie about violence toward women has not gone away or is at least quietly accepted. Anomie, Google says, means “a lack of moral standards, or a sense of lawlessness, or sometimes the anxiety that comes from being in a lawless place.” </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="color: #252525;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Then there is the Anomie about Telling What We Know about someone else's violence and aggression. The arrest of this particular alleged perpetrator hiding in plain sight raises renewed anxiety that cultural acceptance of failing to Tell What We Know persists-Why Women Don't Tell. Surely, someone must have known or suspected this alleged perpetrator's violent side. The Tarrasoff Law would dictate that even healthcare providers disclose to authorities threats of known violence or homicide or committed ones. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="color: #252525;"><span> <span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Sometimes, the most fiercely internalized moral lessons  come from witnessing in ourselves or in others the horrible aftermath of moral atrocities. The next step is to speak out but we know too well that if you see something you very often do not say something. Telling, comes at a cost- a well known cost that many avoid. Our internalized evolutionary tool for bettering the human race by telling- our sensitivity to human pain and suffering  betrays us. There is no telling. The secret is kept. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="color: #252525;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span><span>I am a psychotherapist who for many years has studied and continues to study and provide Trauma intervention. Knowing itself- witnessing- violence- the discovery of the dark truth can be all by itself traumatic. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders V acknowledges hearing about and witnessing violence, atrocious events can lead to post traumatic stress disorder. The frontal lobes- where we plan, decide, our executive skills which lead us through our lives, go offline, as Bessel Van der Kolk writes. Psychotherapist Sebern Fisher notes the neurobiology of a response to trauma may bring fight or flight, tonic immobility, collapsed immobility, an orienting freeze, or loss of consciousness or fainting (the vasovagal response) The human abilities through which we function are hijacked or shutdown completely. All reasons why others don't tell what they have seen, heard or know. </span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><span style="color: #252525;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>There is also plenty of exposure to culturally sanctioned punishment for Telling by the discloser. A shameful example of that punishment if not assassination  for telling is best exemplified by a Washington Post Pulitzer Prize toting- columnist who reviewed in 1997 “The Kiss”, Kathryn Harrison's telling about her father's incestuous acts with her. The words in the book synchronize almost with precision the torturous emotional sequalae of the act of telling about incest and the incest itself. So precise as to bring  chills which they did on my first, second and third reading. The real topic of the Washington Post reviewer Jonathan Yardley is given away by the article's title: “Daddy's Girl Cashes In”. His review explicates how to take down the girl who tells the truth about being the object of violence- physical or sexual- or fearful that violation or victimization has taken or is about to take place. The visual metaphor of Yardley's stance is that of him standing with his heel on the back of Kathryn Harrison's neck- pushing her face, the mind with which she eloquently and painfully found the words to disclose and the lips that mouthed them in mud. “Slimy, repellent, meretricious, cynical”, he wrote. “His seduction of the not-unwilling her. Its essential elements are not graphic sex -- in that department Harrison is coy rather than revealing -- but a revolting mixture of self-pity and narcissism“. “The real act of dishonesty is this shameful book, which exploits the private life of the author's family -- if, by the way, anything herein actually happened as she claims it did...” As if telling about sexual violence is exploiting “family privacy”.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="color: #252525;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span><span>Jonathan Yardley could have served as Consultant for anyone hoping to suppress suspicions about the now DNA-verified suspect in the Gilgo Beach murders. He reminds any perpetrator how to irreducibly discredit Anyone who might Tell the Truth of what they have seen, heard or observed. Yardley even refers to the same geographic area, the “polygon” of the alleged murderer's route writing that salaciousness rather than the atrocity of Harrison's sexual abuse drew readers. “The chattering classes of Manhattan and the Hamptons have homed in on it with the unerring instinct of swine slopping in swill. It is the Flavor of the Month.” </span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="color: #252525;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>If the response to the trauma of hearing the atrocious does not bring shut down, freeze, a loss of conscious willingness to know what we know, our ethical core can be part of the making sense. There's a chance here that the Cultural anomie of Telling about Violence toward women will be uncovered- if it's held up to the light here- broad daylight where it has been hiding all along. </span></span></span></span></p> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>Why Women Don't Tell, Part 3: The Cultural ... | 08:36</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/483898", title: "Why Women Don\'t Tell, Part 3: The Cultural Anomie that Keeps Violence Toward Women Hidden in Broad Daylight on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/483898' addthis:title='Why Women Don't Tell, Part 3: The Cultural Anomie that Keeps Violence Toward Women Hidden in Broad Daylight'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/483898' addthis:title='Why Women Don't Tell, Part 3: The Cultural Anomie that Keeps Violence Toward Women Hidden in Broad Daylight'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-483898-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p483898-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/483898/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item odd" id="playlisting_98914"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/411532-tell-me-how-many-black-seabirds">Tell Me How Many Black Seabirds</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | :56 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>In these times, a poem for the places we find resilience.</p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_813034" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/411532-tell-me-how-many-black-seabirds" target="blank">Tell Me How Many Black Seabirds</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="4791613" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="56" data-expires="1739972841" data-piece_id="411532" data-token="3819acc0051a6dbea1bd5e8cd3589971" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="TellMeTwoHowManyBlackSeaBirds"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Christmas12017_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/779694/Christmas12017_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p class="Standard"><span>Tell Me How Many Black Seabirds<br />-Susan Cook-<br /></span></p> <p class="Standard"><span> </span></p> <p class="Standard"><span>Tell me how many black seabirds</span></p> <p class="Standard"><span>woke up this morning, flew to a high place,</span></p> <p class="Standard"><span>shook off a thousand drops of river, heard</span></p> <p class="Standard"><span>each one, in slow motion, fall, a trace</span></p> <p class="Standard"><span>of where each one began inside. This is</span></p> <p class="Standard"><span>a daily ritual. They celebrate</span></p> <p class="Standard"><span>with such silence, quiet applause, which is</span></p> <p class="Standard"><span>to say, this abundance will tell a (late</span></p> <p class="Standard"><span>sometimes) lie. The absence of chaos, just</span></p> <p class="Standard"><span>drops of water shaken off, lets the heat</span></p> <p class="Standard"><span>from the sun's dependable rays, we trust,</span></p> <p class="Standard"><span>bring heart to any body's weary beat.</span></p> <p class="Standard"><span>Tell me how we remind ourselves to turn</span></p> <p class="Standard"><span>to the deliberate, needing it just now.</span></p> </div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>Tell Me How Many Black Seabirds | :56</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/411532", title: "Tell Me How Many Black Seabirds on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/411532' addthis:title='Tell Me How Many Black Seabirds'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/411532' addthis:title='Tell Me How Many Black Seabirds'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-411532-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p411532-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/411532/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item even" id="playlisting_98999"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/242491-stop-guessing-just-whose-financing-was-used-in">Stop Guessing Just Whose Financing was Used... In the Department of Poetic Justice (and for The Great American Wrongbook)</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 02:01 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>A musical tribute to a certain one hundred and thirty thousand dollars which it turns out a very special You-Know-Who-It-Is did reimburse his lawyer for which had nothing to do with a certain National election in 2016.</p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_501807" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/242491-stop-guessing-just-whose-financing-was-used-in" target="blank">Stop Guessing Just Whose Financing was Used... In ...</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="1726728" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="121" data-expires="1739972841" data-piece_id="242491" data-token="2fec9a369dd2a0c6b8fce76f445b518e" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="Stopguessingjustwhose"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="0308130851_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/564202/0308130851_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <p><span style="font-size: small;">In the Department of Poetic Justice: Stop Guessing Just Whose Financing was Used...</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">(and in The Great American Wrongbook)</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">which could be sung to the melody from "New York, New York"</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">Stop guessing just whose</span></p> <p>financing was used</p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">to pay a certain woman a fee</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">she thought she was due.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">Because now Rudy blows the cover </span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">Michael Cohen discovered,</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">Sarah Sanders, new news for you?</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">Maybe he forgot</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">a bargain he thought</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">he got or maybe that's the only</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">checkbook he ever lost</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">when he hoped we'd elect</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">him, president, neglect to inspect </span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">check memos: "This one's for sex."</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">Now Sarah must spin</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">the spot he is in. Did Rudy call her first</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">to explain the logic she will bring</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">to speaking nationwide</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">saying he never lied.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">You know how lawyers</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">keep clients' hands tied.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">The only thing worse</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">than Mike Cohen's curse</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">if his client spoke up</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">said, Yes he had re-imbursed</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">one hundred thirty thousand bucks,</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">because sometimes his lucks</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">run out or he forgets who he...</span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">Start spreading the news. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">Embarassed V. 2.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">But Mr. Trump will say at least he's telling the truth.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">Unlike the White House Correspondents</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">host, Ms. Wolf made comments</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">embarassed the Constitution and the Bill of Rights too.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">Sarah Sanders might </span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">get her turn next time</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">while Michelle Wolf is exiled,</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">excommunicated too</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">and next year's Nobel Prize</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">for fiction, Sarah Sanders wins one.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">She'll be the Nobel Board's new P.R. hire.</span></p> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>Stop Guessing Just Whose Financing was Used... In ... | 02:01</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/242491", title: "Stop Guessing Just Whose Financing was Used... In the Department of Poetic Justice (and for The Great American Wrongbook) on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/242491' addthis:title='Stop Guessing Just Whose Financing was Used... In the Department of Poetic Justice (and for The Great American Wrongbook)'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/242491' addthis:title='Stop Guessing Just Whose Financing was Used... In the Department of Poetic Justice (and for The Great American Wrongbook)'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-242491-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p242491-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/242491/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item odd" id="playlisting_100633"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/428841-it-s-a-grand-night-for-bailing-in-the-departmen">"It's A Grand Night for Bailing!" In the Department of Poetic Justice (some Lyrics for the Great American Wrongbook) !</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 02:42 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>In The Department of Poetic Justice (with lyrics for The Great American Wrongbook ) , remembering another moment of ex, um disclosure!</p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_844176" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/428841-it-s-a-grand-night-for-bailing-in-the-departmen" target="blank">"It's A Grand Night for Bailing!" In the ...</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="4791617" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="162" data-expires="1739972841" data-piece_id="428841" data-token="e3357d90f1e09e24062ec087724c5e50" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="ItsaGrandNightOriginalForBailing"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Birdcharlotte7312012sixam_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/798667/birdcharlotte7312012sixam_small.JPG" version="small" width="92" /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <div style="text-align: left;"> <div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><br /></em></strong></div> <strong><em> <div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>It's a Grand Night for Bailing!</em></strong></div> </em></strong></div> <div style="text-align: left;">In the Department of Poetic Justice (and Poetic Reckoning)</div> <div style="text-align: left;">with lyrics for the Great American Wrongbook</div> <div style="text-align: left;">which could be sung to the tune </div> <div style="text-align: left;">from Rodgers and Hammerstein's State Fair</div> <div style="text-align: left;"><em>“It's a Grand Night for Singing!”<br /><br /><br /></em></div> <div style="text-align: left;">It's a grand night for bailing!</div> <div style="text-align: left;">The writing's on the wall</div> <div style="text-align: left;">and somewhere a bird</div> <div style="text-align: left;">who is bound he'll be heard</div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <div style="text-align: center;">is giving his lawyer a call!</div> </div> <div style="text-align: left;">It's a grand night for listening</div> <div style="text-align: left;">to who was in the room</div> <div style="text-align: left;">and turned off her phone</div> <div style="text-align: left;">so she so clearly heard</div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <div style="text-align: center;">when You-Know-Who's temper Ka-boomed!</div> </div> <div style="text-align: left;">It's a grand night for calling</div> <div style="text-align: left;">old friends to see if their cell</div> <div style="text-align: left;">is still operative</div> <div style="text-align: left;">not the one where you'll give</div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <div style="text-align: center;">your freedom the final Heave-Ho!</div> </div> <div style="text-align: left;">It's a grand night to make sure</div> <div style="text-align: left;">their cell phone history erased</div> <div style="text-align: left;">if a certain Congressional call</div> <div style="text-align: left;">comes in your way</div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <div style="text-align: center;">your collusion will finally be traced!</div> </div> <div style="text-align: left;">It's a grand night to upgrade</div> <div style="text-align: left;">the memory in your cell phone too</div> <div style="text-align: left;">and isn't it sad when the data you had</div> <div style="text-align: left;">disappears, selfies, texts, calls, </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <div style="text-align: center;">coming from yes! You-Know-Who!</div> </div> <div style="text-align: left;">Maybe it's time to recall</div> <div style="text-align: left;">what made this memory block</div> <div style="text-align: left;">Maybe it's more than you thought!</div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <div style="text-align: center;">Neurological flaws!</div> </div> <div style="text-align: left;">Maybe you actually had,</div> <div style="text-align: left;">maybe (almost) just as bad</div> <div style="text-align: left;">carotid blockage,creating a stoppage</div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <div style="text-align: center;">on Two-Thousand-Two slash One-Six!</div> </div> <div style="text-align: left;">The neck still feels quick thickened!</div> <div style="text-align: left;">At twenty-five she wouldn't know</div> <div style="text-align: left;">his response was impaired, </div> <div style="text-align: left;">no, he was not scared!</div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <div style="text-align: center;">We refer here to Mr. Meadows!</div> </div> <div style="text-align: left;">The Carotid is narrow.</div> <div style="text-align: left;">Without a good serving of blood</div> <div style="text-align: left;">there's a real good chance</div> <div style="text-align: left;">the sign-ni-fi-cance of Cassie's words</div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <div style="text-align: center;">fell at that time on deaf ears!</div> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <div style="text-align: center;">Repeat </div> </div> <div style="text-align: left;">It's a grand night for bailing!</div> <div style="text-align: left;">The writing's  on the wall</div> <div style="text-align: left;">and somewhere a bird</div> <div style="text-align: left;">who is bound he'll be heard</div> <div style="text-align: left;">is giving his lawyer a call!</div> </div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>"It's A Grand Night for Bailing!" In the ... | 02:42</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/428841", title: "\"It\'s A Grand Night for Bailing!\" In the Department of Poetic Justice (some Lyrics for the Great American Wrongbook) ! on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/428841' addthis:title='"It's A Grand Night for Bailing!" In the Department of Poetic Justice (some Lyrics for the Great American Wrongbook) !'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/428841' addthis:title='"It's A Grand Night for Bailing!" In the Department of Poetic Justice (some Lyrics for the Great American Wrongbook) !'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-428841-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p428841-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/428841/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item even" id="playlisting_100649"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/525874-i-see-trees-standing-in-deep-water-from-the-de"> "I see Trees Standing in Deep Water" From The Department of Poetic Justice (and Poetic Reckoning)</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 01:49 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>The town of Brunswick, Maine is set to remove 2/3 of the trees on Maine Street because it is too expensive to work around them as they install new sidewalks. Thus, an American Sonnet about the oxygen trees create as they breath.</p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_1019394" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/525874-i-see-trees-standing-in-deep-water-from-the-de" target="blank">"I see Trees Standing in Deep Water" From The ...</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="4735542" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="109" data-expires="1739972841" data-piece_id="525874" data-token="ad275a9ee6094b8ec49bb873271ba8f9" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="ISeeTreesStanding"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Breathing_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/series_images/33623/Breathing_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p> </p> <div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: Perpetua, serif; color: #222222;">The Town of Brunswick, Maine is set to begin to remove up to 2/3 of the trees on Maine Street (23 trees, according to their website) in order to put in a new not even brick concrete sidewalk. It is too expensive to work around the existing trees, but not to buy a $400,000 armored vehicle for the Brunswick Police Dept, local Gulf of Maine bookstore owner Gary Lawless wrote to his friends.</span></div> <br /> <p> </p> <p><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Here, An American Sonnet. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sonnet 1081<br />-Susan Cook-<br /><br />I see trees standing in deep water, their<br />roots, saturated. They have never had<br />an immersion like this and now they bear<br />vulnerability, standing as they have <br />since growth's inception, since the first seed grew, <br />waiting for just the right temperature, heat<br />seeping in to warm the earth. All we knew<br />of fear changed just then, fundamental needs<br />provided for, the breath of trees to take<br />their careful measure of air we deplete,<br />trees breathing out, the oxygen they make,<br />inextricably tied to fates we meet.<br />The trees don’t know we need them. We depend<br />as they do on breath, theirs, world without end.</span></span></span></p> </div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>"I see Trees Standing in Deep Water" From The ... | 01:49</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/525874", title: " \"I see Trees Standing in Deep Water\" From The Department of Poetic Justice (and Poetic Reckoning) on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/525874' addthis:title=' "I see Trees Standing in Deep Water" From The Department of Poetic Justice (and Poetic Reckoning)'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/525874' addthis:title=' "I see Trees Standing in Deep Water" From The Department of Poetic Justice (and Poetic Reckoning)'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-525874-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p525874-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/525874/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item odd" id="playlisting_100661"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/177696-it-s-not-what-you-re-given-it-s-what-you-do-a-pa">It's Not What You're Given, It's What You Do: A Parenting Guide to Understanding Presidentialism</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 04:52 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>Human Growth and Development textbooks may be the ‘go to’ reference to explain ‘what the hell is going on’ as the new Republican opponent apparent, Mr. Trump has said, in his newest Presidential race. </p> <p>You may remember from your Human Growth and Development class the different kinds of parenting power and decision-making that Gerald Lesser, Diana Baumrind, Carolyn Newberger and others have identified. There’s the egalitarian parent’s power- the child has more influence in decision-making than the parent. Then there’s the democratic parent’s approach to power- decisions are made collaboratively. Finally, entering the room via the gold escalators, just to remind you who brings the bacon home, there’s the absolute authoritarian parent- What Dad says goes. Dad makes all the decisions. If Dad says we’re building a wall, we’re building a wall. Dad divys out praise or shame or warmth depending on whether Dad thinks you need it. Dad’s power, after all, controls the resources- financial, emotional and physical . If Dad thinks public humiliation and shaming is in order- well, this is just what Dad has to do. He doesn‘t have to apologize for injustice, crudeness or even the psychological violence of what he says or does. He is Dad.</p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_381542" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/177696-it-s-not-what-you-re-given-it-s-what-you-do-a-pa" target="blank">It's Not What You're Given, It's What You Do: A ...</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="1120753" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="292" data-expires="1739972841" data-piece_id="177696" data-token="41dd7b08aef1de8b767e2b3fa3dc20f8" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="DadDonald andHisUnlistenedtoChildren"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Breathing_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/series_images/33623/Breathing_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <span> <p>Dad Donald- A Parenting Guide to the 2016 Presidential Race</p> <p>-Susan Cook-</p> <p>Human Growth and Development textbooks may be the ‘go to’ reference to explain ‘what the hell is going on’ as the new Republican opponent apparent, Mr. Trump has said, in this 2016 Presidential race.</p> <p>You may remember from your Human Growth and Development class the different kinds of parenting power and decision-making that Gerald Lesser, Diana Baumrind, Carolyn Newberger and others have identified. There’s the egalitarian parent’s power- the child has more influence in decision-making than the parent. Then there’s the democratic parent’s approach to power- decisions are made collaboratively. Finally, entering the room via the gold escalators, just to remind you who brings the bacon home, there’s the absolute authoritarian parent- What Dad says goes. Dad makes all the decisions. If Dad says we’re building a wall, we’re building a wall. Dad divys out praise or shame or warmth depending on whether Dad thinks you need it. Dad’s power, after all, controls the resources- financial, emotional and physical . If Dad thinks public humiliation and shaming is in order- well, this is just what Dad has to do. He doesn‘t have to apologize for injustice, crudeness or even the psychological violence of what he says or does. He is Dad.</p> <p>In this and many cultures , The Dad persona- and the person assuming it- is given broad license to do what Dad will. Parenting is an innate, developmentally and culturally defined mindset. I wrote an entire Masters’ Thesis about its intricacies. When someone subtly or overtly begins to play ‘the parental power card’ and exercise parental power over you, it’s hard to immediately recognize because - well, we all there at one time. None of us become our own parents- or parents ourselves- until we grow up or had to. Which is part of the reason it has been so hard to hear what Mr. Trump has been doing. He will parent us, or treat us and the problems of this country as if is he were the authoritarian parent yielding his absolute power like authoritarian parents do. And those of us who never rebelled - whether our parents liked it or not- and became our own parents can really be kowtowed. A turning point in human development is telling Dad- up front- “You can’t tell me what to do. “ Or some variation of questioning Dad’s omniscience. That power shift forever more changes human development.</p> <p>This is Donald Dad Trump. He doles out humiliation as needed- he threatens to take the car keys or build a wall- and once he comes down the gold escalator- Dad built that-you know-he will tell Mr. Cruz he’s smart. He will tell Reince Pribus what a big boy he is doing his job as Republican Party chair. And on and on.</p> <p>Great dads are a wonder to behold. My father was a great father. He held leadership positions of influence. He was the President of the Automobile Dealers Association in the state I grew up in the 1950’s- the automobile’s heyday. He knew parenting is also about knowing what you don’t know- and respecting that every child- every child- has something to teach a parent about how to be a parent. And to be President you have to listen to the economist , the defense and state department , the Supreme Court, and the Congress children. And I do not believe Dad Donald gets that not doing that is the end of the house of Dad Donald’s power. Many a three year old has told a shocked parent, ‘You’re not the boss of me.‘ Dad Donald doesn’t remember that .</p> </span> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>It's Not What You're Given, It's What You Do: A ... | 04:52</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/177696", title: "It\'s Not What You\'re Given, It\'s What You Do: A Parenting Guide to Understanding Presidentialism on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/177696' addthis:title='It's Not What You're Given, It's What You Do: A Parenting Guide to Understanding Presidentialism'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/177696' addthis:title='It's Not What You're Given, It's What You Do: A Parenting Guide to Understanding Presidentialism'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-177696-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p177696-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/177696/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item even" id="playlisting_100662"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/229501-in-the-department-of-poetic-justice-what-do-i-owe">In the Department of Poetic Justice "What Do I Owe You? I Thought I Already Paid"</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 02:45 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>Reconciling one man's self-defined Free Trade Agreements (Eeew) is hard to do. A Poetic Tribute to the lyrical dilemma of paying $130000 for something you don't think you should have to pay for because you are fabulous but you are trying to buy someone's silence so you can be elected to a high public office with the support of Evangelical Christians.</p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_481257" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/229501-in-the-department-of-poetic-justice-what-do-i-owe" target="blank">In the Department of Poetic Justice "What Do I ...</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="1621933" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="165" data-expires="1739972841" data-piece_id="229501" data-token="8827aa29d7bf42abc354a839c890a29e" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="WhatdoIoweFairTrade"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Theoldgraymare_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/526171/TheoldGrayMare_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <div style="text-align: center;">In the Department of Poetic Justice: What Do I Owe You? <br /> (The Great American Wrongbook)<br /> to tune of "Getting to Know You"<br /> from "The King and I"<br /> <br /> -Susan Cook-</div> <div>What do I owe you?<br /> I thought I already paid.<br /> What do I owe you?<br /> I do not like to be made<br /> into a shyster. <br /> Your rates were far above<br /> my financial free trade<br /> agreement. My private codeword<br /> for what I should not have to get<br /> a bill for.  That's not fair trade.<br /><br /></div> <div>I am not saying<br /> I did not enjoy time with you<br /> I guess I neglected <br /> to ask the same question of you.<br /> For a couple of hours<br /> (was it longer than that?) <br /> for which I paid, did you realize<br /> that I am a senior- AARP- as well,<br /> discounts  qualify. Couldn't you tell?<br /><br /></div> <div>Don't try to tell me <br /> fifty-five plus you begin<br /> to charge by the hour<br /> instead of counting item  by item.<br /> "Je ne c'est pas"<br /> how your bottom line fares.<br /> I just know when I did real estate<br /> finishing the deal <br /> no matter how long it takes<br /> one price from start till the end.<br /><br /></div> <div>So by those standards no<br /> don't take this wrong but it seems<br /> one hundred thirty thousand, well, <br /> No, you didn't tell me-<br /> there is a difference between<br /> older  fellows who last <br /> I guess you could say. Than those on rapid lunch breaks.<br /> Just like our country, you defer payment<br /> for debt. Who carries that kind of cash?</div> <div><br /> I just don't get it. <br /> President Clinton you know,  <br /> notoriously went out <br /> at lunch time for his quick  runs<br /> in Little Rock. I am guessing he thought<br /> money would cheapen deep love he had,<br /> He made sure no cash would ever changed hands<br /> No paying it forward, <br /> he a liberal man.</div> <div><br /> I'm not a liberal but <br /> I believe there are times<br /> when paying it forward <br /> helps cover the bottom line.<br /> Eventually, the past  <br /> may bring up incidents<br /> when changing the spelling of your name<br /> would help avoid future repayment claims.<br /> You weren't there. Cash was for your doppelgang</div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>In the Department of Poetic Justice "What Do I ... | 02:45</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/229501", title: "In the Department of Poetic Justice \"What Do I Owe You? I Thought I Already Paid\" on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/229501' addthis:title='In the Department of Poetic Justice "What Do I Owe You? I Thought I Already Paid"'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/229501' addthis:title='In the Department of Poetic Justice "What Do I Owe You? I Thought I Already Paid"'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-229501-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p229501-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/229501/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item odd" id="playlisting_100883"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/183502-stochastically-yours-hey-nate-silver-and-amy-wal">Stochastically Yours: Hey Nate Silver (and Amy Walter)! Polls Do Not Predict the Future.</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 08:01 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>The American voting public has become as gullible about Election polls as they are about quick weight loss plans. In Maine, Election eve, 2010, the Times Record newspaper published below page one's masthead, an AP reporter’s article on Rasmussen Reports polls. They showed the Gubernatorial Republican Tea Party candidate Paul LePage polling up. No mention that Rasmussen polls have the highest bias (chance of inaccuracy) of polls and are least respected by other pollsters.</p> <p>Poll bias is measured by a statistic called "stochastic bias". Rasmussen Reports have the highest Stochastic Bias among pollsters- the most biased. At Princeton University, the Stochastic Democracy Group studies this at length . </p> <p>All of this suggests, as we move toward Election Day, we all need to make a collective plea to media outlets to never publish polls without explanation of their stochastic bias. Statistics do not predict the future. They are a mathematical model that explains the likelihood of things that have already happened. Not ones that haven’t happened yet. </p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_393330" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/183502-stochastically-yours-hey-nate-silver-and-amy-wal" target="blank">Stochastically Yours: Hey Nate Silver (and Amy ...</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="1172531" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="481" data-expires="1739972841" data-piece_id="183502" data-token="ae564e954f28d1353f74dfef085abcee" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="StochasticallyYours"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="20200912_150104_hdr_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/695648/20200912_150104_HDR_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <div style="text-align: center;">Stochastically Yours: Loving Your Vote and Ignoring  Poll Seductions - A Citizen’s Guide</div> <div style="text-align: center;">-Susan Cook-</div> <div>The American voting public has become as gullible about Election polls as they are about quick weight loss plans.  In Maine, Election eve, 2010,  the Times Record  newspaper published below page one's masthead, an AP reporter’s article on Rasmussen Reports polls. They showed the Gubernatorial Republican Tea Party candidate Paul LePage polling up. No mention that Rasmussen polls have  the highest bias (chance of inaccuracy )of polls and are least  respected by other pollsters.</div> <div>Poll bias is measured by a statistic called "stochastic bias". Rasmussen Reports have the highest Stochastic Bias among pollsters- the most biased.  At Princeton University, the  Stochastic Democracy Group studies this at length . </div> <div>Now, hold your breath, here. This is the Princeton University Stochastic Bias  Group explanation of what Rasmussen polls do. They over sample for Republicans by "weighting [results]  by self reported party affiliation, using  average party affiliation from Rasmussen polls in the preceding month [replicating previous distortion] which  doesn't remove any over sampling of Republicans which is undoubtedly there. [He] could weight using proportions from polls by reputable pollsters. [He chooses] not to. This is a deliberate effort to bias results." In addition to weighting to make pools look like their sample contains numbers of Republicans equal to the general population, [when it does not], his sample collection is biased by not calling back "no answers" which means he over samples  people who are home a lot. [He]  then adds "definite supporter" to "probable supporter" inflating "definite supporter" results. </div> <div>For those cringing because you don’t know what  Stochastic Bias is, an explanation from a statistics wonk.</div> <div>"...A pollster will be above  the average 50% of  the time and below the average 50% of the time if the pollster is unbiased and the average is unbiased. ..By looking at how individual polls diverge from average polls, we can take the  average of the [pollster’s]  divergence.  If the poll is fair then the average gap will be close to zero.  If this gap is positive then it means on average the pollster reports poll levels of either approval or disapproval above the average poll value for a period.  If  the average is negative  then it means the pollster reported average is less than the polling average .Looking at Rasmussen Reports it is clear that there is something fishy going on.  In 2008,  Rasmussen’s average disapproval rating report [of Obama] was nearly 7 points above those of other polling locations while the approval rating was under-reported by nearly 2 points.  In addition, every poll that [was] put out by Rasmussen  reported 100% of  the time[s] disapproval rates above  the average. This is an astounding number since it is clearly highly unlikely. " </div> <div>In other words, yes, you flip a coin and  heads and tails have a 50-50 chance of coming up. But some days you flip it ten times in a row and it comes up tails ten times in a row.  However, if somebody has ut a tiny drop of lead on one side of the coin, that side will come up more often.</div> <div>Rasmussen has cleverly tied the ridiculous influence polls have to suppress or enhance voter turnout to the numbers he reports.  And there are many naïve media outlets that suck them up like Aedes mosquitoes and the Zika virus. </div> <div>In Maine, in the Governor’s race in 2010,  an article by a  statistically naïve AP reporter was chosen by a newspaper which then put out the “Fire, fire” call above the masthead on Election Eve.  The race was a 3-way. The Editorial Page editor favored the Independent candidate- he had just chastised me for writing about that candidate’s Chinese human rights blind spot. Since the editorial page editor had his own bias toward the Independent Candidate, he was happy to scare the public with a Rasmussen Poll- stochastically biased Rasmussen Poll- indicating that the Right-wing Tea Party candidate just might win and that the Third Party Independent was polling higher thus had a better chance of beating him then the Democratic candidate.  Many Democratic voters, including the advocates focusing on passing Gay Marriage Bills, switched their vote to the Independent. One advocacy group - Equality Maine- sent an email urging their followers to do just that -influenced by corrupted Rasmussen polling data with excessive Stochastic Bias. Because as Rasmussen does, Republicans were over-weighted in his sample thus had greater statistical torque in his poll than they actually did. </div> <div>As we move toward November 2016, we all need to make a collective plea to media outlets to never publish polls without explanation of their stochastic bias. Statistics do not predict the future. They are a mathematical model that explains  the likelihood of things that have already happened. Not ones that haven’t happened yet. There is no reason why the outliers- the events the model says are less likely to happen- won’t. The world works  that way too- unless someone is using polls to make someone do something they would not have done otherwise. Like vote for the Independent candidate which ultimately gave Maine a Tea Party Governor.</div> <div>Pollsters don’t take ethics oaths before they sit down at their laptops or design their sample procedures. The media needs to remember that and dig out their Stochastic Bias Manuals before they publish poll results.</div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>Stochastically Yours: Hey Nate Silver (and Amy ... | 08:01</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/183502", title: "Stochastically Yours: Hey Nate Silver (and Amy Walter)! Polls Do Not Predict the Future. on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/183502' addthis:title='Stochastically Yours: Hey Nate Silver (and Amy Walter)! Polls Do Not Predict the Future.'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/183502' addthis:title='Stochastically Yours: Hey Nate Silver (and Amy Walter)! Polls Do Not Predict the Future.'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-183502-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p183502-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/183502/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item even" id="playlisting_100886"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/179299-big-fish-small-pond-small-fish-big-pond-an-ame">Big Fish, Small Pond; Small Fish, Big Pond: An American Conscience and a Vietnam Remembrance</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 07:06 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>History is written by the Big and the Small. "The Vietnam War" documentary has reminded us that. The Moving Wall, a half scale version of the smooth black granite Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC which names the 58228 who died in that war, chronologically, from the first in 1959 to the last in 1975 does too. It came to Maine last year. I found my first date’s name- John Leo Murdock, who had just turned 20 when he died. I found his name just days after President Obama visited Vietnam and lifted the decades old arms embargo there. We are friends now, in other words. </p> <p>I knew long ago that conscience was a big word, not to be thrown around by political office-holders looking for a brand, a legacy. I think President Obama was sincere in his hope to earn us moral lessons from that war. He too, like my first date ‘Jack ’Mad’ Murdock - my mother didn’t know that was his nickname- was once a small fish thrown into the big pond. Obama became a big fish, big power not small, who never quite put aside his small fish priorities which may be what sustains our conscience after all. </p> <p>I just know I wish I had kissed ‘Mad’ more than once. </p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_384816" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/179299-big-fish-small-pond-small-fish-big-pond-an-ame" target="blank">Big Fish, Small Pond; Small Fish, Big Pond: An ...</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="1500970" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="426" data-expires="1739972841" data-piece_id="179299" data-token="7b446eca91dcc0947d1c3a86f638f590" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="BigFishSmallPondMemorialDayConscience2"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Jackmadmurdoch_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/420288/JackMadMurdoch_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <div style="text-align: center;">Big Fish, Small Pond; Small Pond, Big Fish: An American Conscience and A Vietnam Remembrance<br />-Susan Cook-</div> <div>At a jazz performance, the lady next to me and I struck up a conversation. During World War II, she, a Czechoslovakian, and her family were exiled to Latvia. They were sent to an American-occupied section of Germany at war's end, and lived in Displaced Persons Camps for six years. "Then we came to America", she said. She, her husband and their daughter were there listening to the daughter's boyfriend play saxophone in a jazz quintet. She was, I knew, a woman who knows what it is to be a small fish in the very large pond called the world.</div> <div>Dutifully, as mothers in every pond since the beginning of time have done, she took a sip of her daughter's just purchased martini. Turning in my direction, the mother grimaced as if she had just tasted 1000 proof alcohol retrieved from an ancient civilization where it was a fire substitute. Here was the mother as the forever big fish in the small pond in which her adult daughter still swam in which no martini eludes the mother's discriminating tongue to see how strong the drink.</div> <div>These are the life experiences of which conscience is made, if we remember them: that we are always small fish in very big ponds and large fish in the very small pond of our home, our lives, our communities, our quotidian routines. It is the tension between keeping both in mind at the same time, the remembering the two- going back and forth as we live- that makes conscience available but also elusive to us all.</div> <div>To be in a small pond is to know, if we are lucky, compassion that comes from the indelible ink of human concern, the mother taking one sip of her daughter's martini.</div> <div>And when we are small fish in big ponds, as we always are, conscience brings the indelible imprint of compassion, the do-unto-others-as-you-would-have-them-do-unto-you, and on and on. The inability to do that is what distinguishes having a conscience from not having one at all.</div> <div>It is extremely difficult to hold both in mind.  A small fish can have big fish consequences. Someone called it small power.</div> <div>We have many distinguished office holders who forget that they are both- who abuse the bully pulpit - their big fish status and big fish privilege in ways that have a profound impact on the small fish of the world. The big fish American politician acting very much like it all- the whole democratic process - is his pond now.  The small fish who carry out their personal agendas-without conscience- to keep their own jobs. History is written by the big and the small.</div> <div>Not everyone has the privilege of knowing they are both. Sometimes the events of the time make it impossible to ignore. When I was a 17 year old university freshman, I joined the nationwide student moratorium in protest of the American bombing of Cambodia and the shooting of 4 Kent State students protesting the Vietnam War.  I spent my days writing letters to small Maine newspapers saying that the moratorium was a “question of conscience” because we could not continue to attend classes while thousands of soldiers (almost 50,000 at that point) died in an unfair, unjust war that was never approved by the American public. I know I didn’t know what conscience really meant. I did know that the first boy my mother allowed me to go to the movies with, him driving his 1967 Ford LTD, died in that war, plucked off our local street corner by the Marine recruiter next to our ice cream shop hangout. He died in Vietnam on June 21, 1969, the first day of summer.  So I did know there was a big pond, in my small fish way.</div> <div>I was reminded of that when The Moving Wall, a half scale version of the smooth black granite Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC  which names the 58228  who died in that war, chronologically, from the first in 1959 to the last in 1975, came to Maine.  I found my first date’s name- John Leo Murdock,  who had just turned 20 when he died, found his name just days after President Obama visited Vietnam and lifted the decades old arms embargo there. We are friends now, in other words.</div> <div>I knew long ago that conscience was a big word, not to be thrown around by political office-holders looking for a brand, a legacy. I think President Obama was sincere in his hope to earn us moral lessons from that war. He too, like my first date ‘Jack ’Mad’ Murdock - my mother didn’t know that was his nickname- was once a small fish thrown into the big pond. Obama  became a big fish, big power not small, who never quite put aside his small fish priorities which may be what sustains our conscience after all.</div> <div>I wish I had kissed ‘Mad’ more than once.</div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>Big Fish, Small Pond; Small Fish, Big Pond: An ... | 07:06</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/179299", title: "Big Fish, Small Pond; Small Fish, Big Pond: An American Conscience and a Vietnam Remembrance on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/179299' addthis:title='Big Fish, Small Pond; Small Fish, Big Pond: An American Conscience and a Vietnam Remembrance'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/179299' addthis:title='Big Fish, Small Pond; Small Fish, Big Pond: An American Conscience and a Vietnam Remembrance'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-179299-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p179299-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/179299/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item odd" id="playlisting_100927"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/206846-in-the-department-of-poetic-justice-the-bills-are">In the Department of Poetic Justice: The Bills Are Alive to Get Rid of Healthcare (The song and dance genre)</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 04:00 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>Congress has taken on eliminating affordable health insurance coverage for all citizens. For many, this year is 'anno horribilis'. In the Department of Poetic Justice, we observe possible outcomes of the proposed plans- still in flux- and explore the implications.</p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_440417" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/206846-in-the-department-of-poetic-justice-the-bills-are" target="blank">In the Department of Poetic Justice: The Bills ...</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="1390323" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="240" data-expires="1739972841" data-piece_id="206846" data-token="6f8e00ee0e390349fd7bbb6f82fe2489" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="TheBillsAreAlive"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Dequired_small" height="92" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/482377/Dequired_small.JPG" version="small" /> <div style="text-align: center;"><br /> <div style="text-align: center;">The Bills Are Alive… To Get Rid of Health Care..</div> <div style="text-align: center;">To the tune of ‘The Hills Are Alive’ from the Sound of Music</div> <div style="text-align: center;">-Susan Cook-</div> <div style="text-align: center;"><span><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: center;">The bills are alive to get rid of health care</div> <div style="text-align: center;">with words that exclude </div> <div style="text-align: center;">for a hundred years</div> <div style="text-align: center;">your arthritic knees, your heart palpitations,</div> <div style="text-align: center;">the caratoid plaque</div> <div style="text-align: center;">stopping your blood flow.</div> <div style="text-align: center;"><span><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: center;">Since you’re too young for hip replacements, </div> <div style="text-align: center;">dental implants, colonoscopy, </div> <div style="text-align: center;">you won’t have to think</div> <div style="text-align: center;">about how to pay for them</div> <div style="text-align: center;">unless it’s an emergency.</div> <div style="text-align: center;"><span><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: center;">So what if Mitch McConnell has his hemorrhoids</div> <div style="text-align: center;">Something that just might happen to you.</div> <div style="text-align: center;">Yours are very different </div> <div style="text-align: center;">in his health care proposal</div> <div style="text-align: center;">Itchy butt? Preexisting?</div> <div style="text-align: center;">No surgery for you!</div> <div style="text-align: center;"><span><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: center;">Crisis management won’t effect  you . </div> <div style="text-align: center;">No anxious nights wondering how to pay  </div> <div style="text-align: center;">for Health care. Morticians </div> <div style="text-align: center;">remind you: when you die, </div> <div style="text-align: center;">it’ll be just like you never knew.</div> <div style="text-align: center;"><span><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: center;">There’s a chance all this might depress you</div> <div style="text-align: center;">And your Zoloft has not changed a thing,</div> <div style="text-align: center;">If you start self-medicating, drinking fifths of tequila</div> <div style="text-align: center;">You’re on your own,</div> <div style="text-align: center;">no in-patient  detox for you.</div> <div style="text-align: center;"><span><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: center;">Unless you’ve paid for expensive premiums</div> <div style="text-align: center;">And are insured for two thousand a month.</div> <div style="text-align: center;">Oh Cigna, Aetna, Anthem, Republicans </div> <div style="text-align: center;">in Congress  </div> <div style="text-align: center;">are always there for you.</div> <div style="text-align: center;"><span><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: center;">You aren’t a free-loading Socialist are you?</div> <div style="text-align: center;">You know Donald Trump</div> <div style="text-align: center;">doesn’t like them any more.</div> <div style="text-align: center;">That’s why he’s proposing</div> <div style="text-align: center;">The American Health Care Act</div> <div style="text-align: center;">To kill off those he can’t manage to deport.</div> <div style="text-align: center;"><span><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: center;">Susan Collins steps up pretending </div> <div style="text-align: center;">That she thinks health care </div> <div style="text-align: center;">is a good idea</div> <div style="text-align: center;">Now that she’ll be leaving the Senate ending</div> <div style="text-align: center;">Years of voting down </div> <div style="text-align: center;">health care bills that were completely fair. </div> <div style="text-align: center;"><span><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><span><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: center;">She and her husband, I guess that’s</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> how they’re related</div> <div style="text-align: center;">can get health care in retirement</div> <div style="text-align: center;">You’ve  paid for it for her so very nicely</div> <div style="text-align: center;">With every nickel, dollar, dime </div> <div style="text-align: center;">that she voted to tax. </div> <div style="text-align: center;"><span><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: center;">Next time an obese wealthy  Republican </div> <div style="text-align: center;">-I’m not talking about you-know-who-</div> <div style="text-align: center;">gets Medicare, </div> <div style="text-align: center;">unsurprisingly</div> <div style="text-align: center;">to pay for multiple bypass surgeries,</div> <div style="text-align: center;"><span><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: center;">Just remember to thank us for buying </div> <div style="text-align: center;">The surgical intervention for him . </div> <div style="text-align: center;">Aren’t we kind, </div> <div style="text-align: center;">nice and generous? </div> <div style="text-align: center;">I’m talking about good old me and you?  </div> <div style="text-align: center;"><span><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: center;">The lazy ones who don’t have unions</div> <div style="text-align: center;">Or work at companies just too small  </div> <div style="text-align: center;">to give coverage to their employees </div> <div style="text-align: center;">WTF, why do you keep trying to make </div> <div style="text-align: center;">the Republicans </div> <div style="text-align: center;">Give to you after all?</div> <div style="text-align: center;"><span><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: center;">The bills are alive to get rid of health care</div> <div style="text-align: center;">with words that exclude </div> <div style="text-align: center;">for a hundred years</div> <div style="text-align: center;">your body, your health, your expectations</div> <div style="text-align: center;">That the richest country in the world</div> <div style="text-align: center;">Would  take care of you.</div> <div style="text-align: center;"><span><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><span><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><span><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><span><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><span><br /></span></div> <br /><br /><br /><br /></div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>In the Department of Poetic Justice: The Bills ... | 04:00</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/206846", title: "In the Department of Poetic Justice: The Bills Are Alive to Get Rid of Healthcare (The song and dance genre) on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/206846' addthis:title='In the Department of Poetic Justice: The Bills Are Alive to Get Rid of Healthcare (The song and dance genre)'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/206846' addthis:title='In the Department of Poetic Justice: The Bills Are Alive to Get Rid of Healthcare (The song and dance genre)'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-206846-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p206846-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/206846/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item even" id="playlisting_100939"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/207277-a-citizen-s-guide-to-government-officials-swallowi">A Citizen's Guide to Government Officials Swallowing Uncomfortably and the Chi of Democracy</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 04:10 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>FBI Director James Comey is being queried about whether President Donald Trump asked him to drop the investigation of former National Security Advisor Michael ‘Mike’ Flynn and his contact with Russians to influence the 2016 election. Like the Watergate Hearings and President Bill Clinton's Impeachment Hearing, many find these events uncomfortable. Good feelings may also arise in watching them. It is the flow of the chi of Democracy.</p> <p></p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_441289" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/207277-a-citizen-s-guide-to-government-officials-swallowi" target="blank">A Citizen's Guide to Government Officials ...</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="1394468" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="250" data-expires="1739972841" data-piece_id="207277" data-token="2b553513ad69db04a8522afd12eb214f" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="ACitiznsguidetoSwallowingDifficulty"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Mybestpony_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/483709/MyBestPony_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> A Citizen’s Guide to Government Officials Swallowing Uncomfortably and the Chi of Democracy -Susan Cook- We seem to be returning in this country to what we will euphemistically call ‘Government Officials Swallowing Uncomfortably’. I am, referring to the many visual opportunities to observe this during televised and live streamed testimony from fired FBI Director James Comey. He is being queried about whether President Donald Trump asked him to drop the investigation of former National Security Advisor Michael ‘Mike’ Flynn and his contact with Russians to influence the 2016 election. Now, here at The River Is Wide, we sometimes write a feature called the ’Two and One-half Minute Conspiracy Theory’. But those testifying and all those listening are doing a pretty good job of that themselves. So today we focus on ‘the good feeling’ one might get from watching the Comey testimony. I say this having had such good feelings while witnessing the Watergate Hearings before the US Senate and later the impeachment process of President Bill Clinton for perjury about his extramarital affair with a White House intern. The stirring of the conscience one gets from watching the swallowing discomfort of government officials- elected or appointed- comes from this. It carries the tactile sensation, the neurological motion that indicates that we live in a democracy while a slow, delicate, tender tune up is taking place. This is not unlike the flow of "c-h-i"- the actual spelling is "c-h-i" but the English pronunciation is like the word "Gee" - during Acupuncture. I remembered the chi of democracy stirred when Speaker Newt Gingrich passed in his gavel during President Clinton’s Impeachment Hearings because his marital infidelity was revealed which was soon followed by Robert Livingston's election and rapid resignation as Speaker because of his marital infidelity which led to the rapid rise of the perception of Dennis Hastert as the best candidate for Speaker of the House and his rapid election. Mr. Hastert's past eluded the fact-checkers who, if you were old enough to read newspapers then, were working days, nights and weekends for weeks on end during that Speaker of the House election season. President Clinton was acquitted but the hearings brought disclosure of the marital philandering of many other prominent Republican members of Congress, all of whom voted for impeachment. Publisher Larry Flynt offered a reward for such information. Dennis Hastert was elected Speaker of the House. He now serves jail time for using campaign funds as hush money given to a man who alleged Hastert had repeatedly molested during his wrestling coach career. Some people swallow with difficulty just thinking about acupuncture because of the insertion of thin, thin, thin needles at points in the human body called meridians or "acupuncture points". But those razor-sharp points reach the special point which provokes and smoothes the flow of "c-h-i". And in this case, once the chi of democracy begins to flow, that swallowing difficulty indicates a good thing will begin soon. The opened flow of energy and intention which in a democracy means fairness and justice finding their way. </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>A Citizen's Guide to Government Officials ... | 04:10</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/207277", title: "A Citizen\'s Guide to Government Officials Swallowing Uncomfortably and the Chi of Democracy on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/207277' addthis:title='A Citizen's Guide to Government Officials Swallowing Uncomfortably and the Chi of Democracy'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/207277' addthis:title='A Citizen's Guide to Government Officials Swallowing Uncomfortably and the Chi of Democracy'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-207277-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p207277-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/207277/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item odd" id="playlisting_100980"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/278042-speaking-as-if-they-know-legislators-and-reprodu">Speaking As If They Know: Legislators and Reproductive Rights</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 07:09 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>Legislators in Maine and across the country debate now bills to limit Reproductive Rights. Their limited or completely absent knowledge of the dependence on the pregnant woman's prenatal mental and physical health of the zygote, embryo or fetus becomes clearer and clearer. </p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_568223" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/278042-speaking-as-if-they-know-legislators-and-reprodu" target="blank">Speaking As If They Know: Legislators and ...</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="2128788" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="429" data-expires="1739972841" data-piece_id="278042" data-token="ed97d02ccdb46c00fdf061dee38aa5a0" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="SpeakingBeyondTheirKnowledge"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="0419104230a_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/606816/0419104230a_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>Speaking As If They Know: Legislators and Reproductive Rights<br /><br /> </strong></span></p> <div style="text-align: left;"><strong><strong>I have watched the Nova Program "The Miracle of Life" at least 25 times. I always showed it when I taught Human Growth and Development ("Erection to Resurrection" as a Republican friend called it), Life Span Development and Child Development (at minimum wage as an adjunct or fixed length professor paid half of what the male Chair of the Business Department at the same university was paid). <br /><br /></strong></strong><span style="font-size: x-small; font-weight: bold;">All of my viewings of this film did not unteach me what I learned as an intern observer for one year in one of the first Neonatal Intensive Care Units in a research study of neonates of 28 weeks gestational age. The focus was the impact of this intense 24-hour illuminated environment on their physiology, state and responsivity. From the point of conception to the moment after a live birth, independent of the life of a breathing, living mother, very complex medical intervention is required for possible survival of the nenonate. In the 40 years, since I completed that internship, the earliest gestational age at which a neonate can survive outside of the uterus - with the aid of the most sophisticated medical technology in the world- has decreased by about 2 weeks. The 2015 New England Journal of Medicine study of 5000 premature neonates emphasizes that survival outside of the womb after a live birth remains </span><span style="font-size: x-small; font-weight: bold;"> precarious.<br /><br />Now here is Maine's State Senator Stacy Guerin commenting after voting against a bill LD 1312 which the Maine Senate passed to allow advanced nurse practitioners, physician assistants and midwives to perform some procedures to end a pregnancy.</span></div> <p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>"Sonograms clearly show a beautiful little human, not just a blob of tissue," she said.<br /><br />What Ms. Guerin does not know is that the beautiful human she is referring to - we do not know what gestational age she refers to when she makes these statements- may very well not survive outside of the the uterus without a healthy mother's prenatal experience and extremely complex medical intervention. </strong></span><span style="font-size: x-small; font-weight: bold;">We also do not know how well the ethical code is enforced for Ultrasound technicians who may well give factually inaccurate and misleading remarks when sonograms are made about the presence of "heartbeat". The fact remains that survival outside of the womb is only possible-again with complex medical intervention- many gestational weeks after conception or a prenatal sonogram. As the Maine legislature considers the bill to expand which practitioners can provide gynecologic intervention, the licensing board that licenses ultrasound technicians must also be rigorous in sanctioning ultrasound technicians who distort information given to pregnant women in the privacy of the examining room.</span></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-size: x-small;">And here is another Maine legislator State Senator Scott Cyrway (R- Albion) who voted against the bill. "What would be the difference of us voting for a veterinary to do it? I'm saying that we are looking at life and we need to take this more seriously." Again, we confront the lack of knowledge of legislators who have not read the rigourous licensing and educational and professional standards nurse practioners, midwives and physicians assistants must meet for licensure and how they differ from veterinarians.</span></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-size: x-small;">The debate about terminating a pregnancy frequently excludes any mention about the complete dependence after the point of conception with the mother's life. If the zygote, the embryo or the fetus does not survive during pregnancy, the mother will live. The reverse is very often not true.</span></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-size: x-small;">You would not know that listening to the debate- largely along partisan lines- about reproductive choice. You also would not know that based on the bills- along partisan lines- in Maine in the last 8 years- to deny workers a living wage, to make sure that food stamp recipients- pregnant mothers too- were not allowed to keep more than $5000 in assets. That amount is a two month security deposit on an apartment, an emergency fund or just enough for a used reliable functioning car. You would not know that based on the refusal- along partisan lines- to expand Medicaid to young child-bearing age youth- who instead- left with no insurance- have no access to reliable birth control, mental health care to prevent suicide or self-harm or self-medication with drugs or alcohol.</span></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-size: x-small;">The complete interdependence of the mother's life during the pregnancy with the developing zygote, embryo or fetus is left out in discussions of the "miracle of life" by people who are uneducated about what happens after conception that 40 weeks later leads to a live breathing birth. Without knowledge, discussion of the termination of a pregnancy is reduced to misleading, distorted information from white men, politicians, unethical ultrasound technicians, anti-abortion and religious groups who are silent after a neonate arrives. There is instead ample room for shaming and humiliation- however they can manage it- toward women who see reproductive choice as a moral responsibility, who know this society is not waiting to sustain after a live birth the breathing infant. In Maine, underfunding of Child Protective Services led to complete negligence in overseeing care of at-risk children and deaths of several foster care children. There was- then- limited concern for pregnant women- similar to Alabama's historic lack of compassion toward people of color, now brought to pregnant women.</span></p> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>Speaking As If They Know: Legislators and ... | 07:09</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/278042", title: "Speaking As If They Know: Legislators and Reproductive Rights on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/278042' addthis:title='Speaking As If They Know: Legislators and Reproductive Rights'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/278042' addthis:title='Speaking As If They Know: Legislators and Reproductive Rights'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-278042-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p278042-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/278042/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item even" id="playlisting_101243"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/178990-longing-for-a-poem-getting-mpbn-numbers-instead">Longing for a Poem, Getting MPBN Numbers Instead</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 07:35 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>I hope you’re in the mood for some numbers. Or at least I hope you’re not in the mood for a poem. In Maine, the daily poem we all could feast on for FREE when Garrison Keillor’s The Writers Almanac was aired at 9:00 am on weekdays, 6:00 am on weekends is gone. It has been moved to NOT FREE Maine Classical Radio, an HD radio venture that doe not reach the far parts of this very rural state, is not available in used cars or cars with low tech radios and is only available to those with high speed internet access. In rural Maine that is a wished for acquisition. Cable access is still not available in many places in this rural state. All the ways, The Writer’s Almanac is now available, to Mainers, cost money. They are not free. </p> <p>Maine Public Broadcasting Network seems to have forgotten what somebody wrote as their mission statement on their 2014 990 form, the poetically named “Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax”. </p> <p>‘Maine Public Broadcasting is Maine’s premier independent media resource serving the entirety of Maine..” </p> <p>And on page 2, ‘MPBN is the only statewide Public Media service providing local and national content on the Radio, Television and Online to Maine residents, free of charge.”</p> <p>Thus The Writer’s Almanac is no longer available to the ‘entirety’ of the state nor is it free of charge.</p> <p>Now, I, along with many others, have asked MPBN to place the 5 minute program back on Maine Pubic Radio- their transmitter tower based service. And they have not. One has to ask why? Somebody doesn’t think 5 minutes about important historical events, lives of creative people and others doesn’t fit with the new ‘talk’ format MPBN is striving for? Somebody tired of the poems, not sure what they do for humanity anyway?</p> <p>Ah let us soothe our souls by perusing the 2014 MPBN 990 tax return, to make the ineffable, um effable- like a good poem does. </p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_384189" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/178990-longing-for-a-poem-getting-mpbn-numbers-instead" target="blank">Longing for a Poem, Getting MPBN Numbers Instead</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="1132416" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="455" data-expires="1739972841" data-piece_id="178990" data-token="26da7cc748abc7aced3a7a304e8ea08a" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="LongingforaPoem"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Breathing_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/series_images/33623/Breathing_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <div style="text-align: center;">Longing for a Poem, Getting Numbers Instead</div> <div style="text-align: center;">-Susan Cook-</div> <div>I hope you’re in the mood for some numbers. Or at least I hope you’re not in the mood for a poem. In Maine, the daily poem we all could feast on for FREE  when Garrison Keillor’s The Writers Almanac was aired at 9:00 am on weekdays, 6:00 am on weekends is gone. It has been moved to NOT FREE Maine Classical Radio, an HD  radio venture that doe not reach the far parts of this very rural state, is not available in used cars or cars with low  tech radios and is only available to those with high speed internet access. In rural Maine that is a wished for acquisition. Cable access is still not available in many places in this rural state. All the ways,  The Writer’s Almanac is now  available, to Mainers,  cost money. They are not free.</div> <div>Maine Public Broadcasting Network seems to have forgotten what somebody wrote as their mission  statement on their 2014 990 form, the  poetically named “Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax”. </div> <div>‘Maine Public Broadcasting  is Maine’s premier independent media resource serving the entirety of Maine..”</div> <div>And on page 2, ‘MPBN is the only statewide Public Media service providing local and national content on the Radio, Television and Online to Maine residents, free of charge.”</div> <div>Thus The Writer’s Almanac is no longer available to the ‘entirety’ of the state nor is it free of charge.</div> <div>Now, I, along with many others, have asked MPBN to place the 5 minute program back on Maine Pubic Radio- their transmitter tower based service. And they have not.  One has to ask why? Somebody doesn’t think 5 minutes about important historical events, lives of creative people and others doesn’t fit with the new ‘talk’ format MPBN is striving for? Somebody tired of the poems, not sure what they do for humanity anyway?</div> <div>Ah let us soothe our souls by perusing the 2014 MPBN  990 tax return, to make the ineffable, um effable- like a good poem does.</div> <div>Let us note on  page 2, Schedule A which tells us - no onomatopoeia here- 97.7% of ‘gifts, grants, contributions, membership fees are from the public.  For a 2014 total of 11 million, 747 thousand, and 311 dollars.  Over the last 5 years, those donations equal  58 million, 662 thousand and 322 dollars.</div> <div>The memorable phrase that pops into my mind is ‘Why don’t they listen to us?” ‘Metaphor here- What could be more important than NOT biting the hand that feeds you?</div> <div>To plumb the depths of this complexity we must stare dark and dreary like at the rest of the numbers on the 990.</div> <div>Well, I suppose we could proffer that protecting the salaries, wages and compensation  which equaled 5 million, twenty five thousand dollars on this 990 is high on  their list of priorities.  The four person management team  are paid 602667 dollars to make these big decisions. That‘s 214,000 dollars for Mr Vogelzang, the President and CEO, 139,000 for the Senior Vice President  Alexander Maxwell , 138,000 for Claire Hannan the other Vice president and  110,000 for Charles Beck, the Director of Programming. So surely, they’d like to keep the 11 million in donations coming. Even if it's in rural Aroostock and Washington Counties, where HD radio is not widely available to most people, places where  the median salary is $38,000 and the poverty level is at about 18 percent for Washington County, thirty seven thousand median salary in Aroostock with 20% there living in poverty.</div> <div>They’d like those people to donate too and you know what. I bet they have. But for some strange reason that does not influence the MPBN 602,000 dollar management foursome when it comes  t o keeping programming free and available to the entire state like the now familiar 990 form.says</div> <div>What could be behind this decision to shift the The Writer’s Almanac? Well, the usual way MPBN is broadcast is through transmission towers. You may remember a few years back when the then  MPBN management  planned to shut the Washngton County transmitter off, thinking cable must have gotten to Washington County. It hadn’t. They changed their mind. But the transmission towers are expensive- about as expensive as the 602,000 dollar management foursome. The 990 form falters slightly here in that “Electricity and Towers’ are on one line and maintenance  and repair are on another but suffice it to say the two lines together total 616201 dollars.</div> <div>The 990 shows it is expensive to run a radio and television network.  MPBN has  to pay an out-of-state company called Blackbaud in South Carolina 229285  dollars a year just for their membership- you know who that is-  database management. And 154720 dollars to a Minnesota company to print direct mail pieces. I guess there’s no company in Washington County or Aroostock County they could find  to do that.</div> <div>But the 602,000 MPBN management foursome still- would like their donations. And did I mention have listeners sit quietly by when the 602,000 dollar foursome decides to limit their access to free public radio , take a free five minute radio program  and make it only available to those who can pay for the new technology.</div> <div>I said  I hope you are in the mood for numbers because numbers it is, big ones that  the MPBN 602,000 four person management had in mind when they took The Writer’s Almanac off free public radio. Decreasing reliance on those bothersome transmission towers which have made public broadcasting in Maine  a special gift for a very long time. But the big  numbers the 602,000 foursome had in mind were their own. I wish them poetry instead.</div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>Longing for a Poem, Getting MPBN Numbers Instead | 07:35</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/178990", title: "Longing for a Poem, Getting MPBN Numbers Instead on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/178990' addthis:title='Longing for a Poem, Getting MPBN Numbers Instead'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/178990' addthis:title='Longing for a Poem, Getting MPBN Numbers Instead'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-178990-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p178990-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/178990/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item odd" id="playlisting_101387"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/537106-in-the-aftermath-an-american-sonnet">In the Aftermath: An American Sonnet </a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 01:03 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>Joseph Biden withdraws from the Presidential race.</p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_1041586" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/537106-in-the-aftermath-an-american-sonnet" target="blank">In the Aftermath: An American Sonnet </a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="4889592" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="63" data-expires="1739972841" data-piece_id="537106" data-token="44a056661973ee3e44f7148bdd4f4874" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="PRXIntheAftermathAnAmericanSonnet"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Signal-2022-03-31-20-33-33-672-5_small" height="92" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/927915/signal-2022-03-31-20-33-33-672-5_small.jpg" version="small" /> <div style="text-align: center;">In the Aftermath: An American Sonnet<br /> <br />In the aftermath, the fear's aftermath, <br />there is the settling, the drawing down <br />of a nectar of calm, now,  buckling up wrath's <br />intensity, taken from the lost. Found <br />now, the consequential, the valued stuff <br />we always think might drift away like a <br />moth caught in the wind’s draft. It's just enough <br />to restore us all and finally find the  <br />angle upon which the head can place <br />itself, find solace, as if the sun’s rays <br />shining shield us all now from cold, misplaced <br />night, we need not fear, in the bright of day. <br />When fear is put away,  finally ended, <br />there, still, kindness, its garden well- tended. <br /> <br /> </div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>In the Aftermath: An American Sonnet | 01:03</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/537106", title: "In the Aftermath: An American Sonnet on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/537106' addthis:title='In the Aftermath: An American Sonnet '>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/537106' addthis:title='In the Aftermath: An American Sonnet '>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-537106-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p537106-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/537106/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item even" id="playlisting_101400"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/95023-civil-liberties-for-sexists-the-purity-ball-and-p">Civil Liberties for Sexists: The Purity Ball and Prostitution Laws</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 03:45 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p> Recently, a man convicted of aiding the prostitution of a young woman who was exploited by over 150 men, was given a 3 week sentence. This sentence from a female judge, on her toes not to appear you-know-what, invites men to pimp. Like the right wing conservative Family Research Council director who promotes "Purity Balls" where fathers sign virginity protection clauses with their daughters, the pimp's sentence devalues women's sexuality and their worth. Women, with all their glorious advancement, are still there for the dirtying, still there for male credibility to prevail when big decisions must be made, that is defining what a women is really worth and whether she can credibly make her own decisions, about her body or anything else.</p> <p>For many women, in the world, in this country and in this state, their worth still lies not when they lean in, but when they lean back.</p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_213736" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/95023-civil-liberties-for-sexists-the-purity-ball-and-p" target="blank">Civil Liberties for Sexists: The Purity Ball and ...</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="507013" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="225" data-expires="1739972841" data-piece_id="95023" data-token="1090d9ac09ad5382da9c3846d83f7700" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="CivilLibertiesforSexistsThePurityBallandProstitutionLaws"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Anitahill6122012_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/511805/AnitaHill6122012_small.JPG" version="small" width="92" /> <div> <div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 10px;">Civil Liberties for Sexists: </span></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 10px;">The Purity Ball and Prostitution Laws</span></div> </div> <div>There is such a thing as a "Purity Ball", an event where fathers sign a pledge to protect their daughters' virginity and then throw a  tuxedo/fancy ball gown event to announce it, tuxedo/fancy ball gown events being a grand way to exclude, discriminate and promenade superiority. A field director for the extreme right-wing conservative Christian group Family Research  Council, is a  Purity Ball promoter. The How-To Purity Ball packet costs $90. According to the New York Times, 3 of the man's daughters have written a book called "Pure Women".<br /></div> <div>Before you begin to swell with humanitarian, card-carrying ACLU  pride because you immediately recognize a sexist double- standard, put down your copy of the Bill of Rights. Remember? The amendment to bar discrimination based on gender failed to be ratified. <br /></div> <div><br /></div> <div><br /></div> <div>The double standard for men and women reverberates, if not  thrives, in the legal system, or at least in the case referred to here. There are pure women and there are dirty women and men the most eligible to determine who fits which designation and who will carry a label or consequence for the "dirtying", or a better word, the "traumatizing". Please bear in mind that the childhood sexual abuse of females by men is estimated to effect 2 in 5 women. A  signature psychological consequence for  the victim is a sense of being irreparably made "dirty".</div> <div><br /></div> <div><br /></div> <div>Here in Maine, Mark Strong the pimp who financially supported and viewed through a webcam in his office,  over 150 men sexually exploiting a young woman, was given a jail sentence of less than 3 weeks for his promotion of prostitution. <br /></div> <div><br /></div> <div><br /></div> <div>The newspapers speculate that the young woman, who was sexually exploited by over 150 men, who was physically and emotionally traumatized by being penetrated over 150 times, has now struck a plea bargain. She will spend close to 1 year in jail,  because there are also  the absolutely non-negotiable income tax evasion charges.<br /></div> <div>This is what Mr. Strong's sentence from a female judge, on her toes not to appear you-know-what,  means. It is an open invitation to men to pimp. It is a confirmation of what groups like the extreme right wing conservative Family Research Council endorse, all be it from the other end of the "sexuality and women’s value “ continuum.<br /></div> <div>Women, with all their glorious advancement in the work place and six figure salaries and opportunity to compete with men in every arena, are still there for the dirtying, still there for male credibility  to prevail when big decisions must be made, that is defining what a women is really worth and whether she can credibly make her own decisions, about her body or anything else.</div> <div>For many women, in the world, in this country and in this state, their worth still lies not when they lean in, but when they lean back.</div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>Civil Liberties for Sexists: The Purity Ball and ... | 03:45</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/95023", title: "Civil Liberties for Sexists: The Purity Ball and Prostitution Laws on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/95023' addthis:title='Civil Liberties for Sexists: The Purity Ball and Prostitution Laws'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/95023' addthis:title='Civil Liberties for Sexists: The Purity Ball and Prostitution Laws'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-95023-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p95023-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/95023/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item odd" id="playlisting_101589"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/540066-what-courage-wears-to-bed">What Courage Wears to Bed</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | :53 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>The values of a democracy shared through verse not vitriol.</p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_1047660" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/540066-what-courage-wears-to-bed" target="blank">What Courage Wears to Bed</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="4924068" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="53" data-expires="1739972841" data-piece_id="540066" data-token="92d1f72fc0d8c7cca3efdbaad0e8a582" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="PRXWhatCourageWearstoBed"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Whatcouragewearstobed_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/932615/Whatcouragewearstobed_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">What Courage Wears to Bed<br />-Susan Cook-<br /><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This is what courage wears to bed. In the</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">winter, her robe is thicker than she's known</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">to wear in spring. Yes, it's anathema</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">to my idea, resilience simply goes </span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">without. So many times she's had to change</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">as temperatures are warming, almost hot.</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">She's watched when goodness turned its back, a strange</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">and unpredicted fear that almost caught</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">her but she's not one to fawn or confess.</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">There's nothing to confess to. She just sees</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">it through. She won't dismiss, hand off or dress </span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">down good, as hopeless, circumstantially.</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I want to be much more like her, the dress</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">she wears in fragile moods, her sulkiness.</span></span></p> </div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>What Courage Wears to Bed | :53</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/540066", title: "What Courage Wears to Bed on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/540066' addthis:title='What Courage Wears to Bed'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/540066' addthis:title='What Courage Wears to Bed'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-540066-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p540066-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/540066/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item even" id="playlisting_101595"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/540088-protecting-the-children-american-sonnet-1098">Protecting the Children: American Sonnet 1098</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 01:03 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>It began as a necessity.</p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_1047704" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/540088-protecting-the-children-american-sonnet-1098" target="blank">Protecting the Children: American Sonnet 1098</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="4924182" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="63" data-expires="1739972841" data-piece_id="540088" data-token="3121d1d0388f851710decadaaae6d290" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="PRXProtectingtheChildren"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Protectingthechildrenjpg_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/932635/ProtectingtheChildrenjpg_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Protecting the Children <br />American Sonnet 1098<br />-Susan Cook-<br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Protecting the children began out of</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">necessity. They gave sustenance, bread</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">and water, like needed rain. No doubt love</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">entered in. They knew many dangers fed</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">the flow, the stream each, every small being</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">is placed into, as soon as the breathing</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">in, out begins. They are us, you, me in</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">one drop of water's fall, day's end leaving</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">a cascade of possible harm, behind.</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">But when the glass door slams, the father shouts</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">exploitation of innocence, the mind</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">of a desperate man. There is no way out.</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The needed becomes brittle, not stronger,</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">cannot hold back broken any longer.</span></span></p> </div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>Protecting the Children: American Sonnet 1098 | 01:03</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/540088", title: "Protecting the Children: American Sonnet 1098 on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/540088' addthis:title='Protecting the Children: American Sonnet 1098'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/540088' addthis:title='Protecting the Children: American Sonnet 1098'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-540088-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p540088-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/540088/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item odd" id="playlisting_101825"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/543672-this-is-the-meaning-of-the-crow-s-morning-re-seei">This Is the Meaning of the Crow's Morning: Re-seeing the World is Caring for Us All</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | :53 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>The natural world makes meaning each morning.</p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_1055053" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/543672-this-is-the-meaning-of-the-crow-s-morning-re-seei" target="blank">This Is the Meaning of the Crow's Morning: ...</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="4976485" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="53" data-expires="1739972841" data-piece_id="543672" data-token="e27d979f926c1ded3d19340f54f4fd5f" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="PRXThisisthemeaningofthecrowsmorning"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Frogatohfrogpond1_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/938575/FrogatOHFrogPond1_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">This is the meaning of the crow's morning</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Sonnet 1107</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">-Susan Cook-</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">This is the meaning of the crow's morning</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">caw, the starting, stopping. They fly within</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">the light's river reflection. Their warning</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">comes off as a greeting, a welcoming</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">as if the obligation each day is</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">to bring the outside alive, to distill</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">from silence, Being, all over again, made in</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">us, becoming who we are each day, filled</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">with the inside of us, the mind's eye there</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">in every movement of the river's wake,</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">moving like a minute hand we have dared</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">to hold in the hand's fragile give and take.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">We come each morning merely to listen,</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">come to listen, emptying out old visions.</p> </div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>This Is the Meaning of the Crow's Morning: ... | :53</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/543672", title: "This Is the Meaning of the Crow\'s Morning: Re-seeing the World is Caring for Us All on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/543672' addthis:title='This Is the Meaning of the Crow's Morning: Re-seeing the World is Caring for Us All'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/543672' addthis:title='This Is the Meaning of the Crow's Morning: Re-seeing the World is Caring for Us All'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-543672-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p543672-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/543672/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item even" id="playlisting_101857"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/544611-sonnet-for-robert-tymofichuk-hovercraft-builder">Sonnet for Robert Tymofichuk, Hovercraft builder</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | :58 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>Robert Tymofichuk, a high school science teach built a Hovercraft from salvaged car parts.</p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_1056960" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/544611-sonnet-for-robert-tymofichuk-hovercraft-builder" target="blank">Sonnet for Robert Tymofichuk, Hovercraft builder</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="4984556" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="58" data-expires="1739972841" data-piece_id="544611" data-token="13f4065b7402e2a0142fcf378972b194" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="PRXSonnetforRobertTymofichuk"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Frogatohfrogpond1_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/939639/FrogatOHFrogPond1_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sonnet for Robert Tymofichuk<br />-Susan Cook-</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;">Robert Tymofichuk, you hold the world's</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;">heart and desperation in the fist of</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;">your cordless screwdriver, the metal curls</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;">you shave off salvaged car parts, so the mist of</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;">the Saskatchewan river will rise, cool</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;">any sweat accumulated, hovering</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;">some inches off the surface, your own school</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;">of human persistence, recovering</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;">the bare essentials by believing there</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;">is reason behind everything made on</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;">earth, how two pieces fit together, share</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;">motion, purpose, renourish things feared gone.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;">Robert Tymofichuk, I hope you'll fix</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;">it all. Earth's slowed core, my phone's on-off switch.</span></p> </div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>Sonnet for Robert Tymofichuk, Hovercraft builder | :58</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/544611", title: "Sonnet for Robert Tymofichuk, Hovercraft builder on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/544611' addthis:title='Sonnet for Robert Tymofichuk, Hovercraft builder'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/544611' addthis:title='Sonnet for Robert Tymofichuk, Hovercraft builder'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-544611-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p544611-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/544611/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item odd" id="playlisting_101964"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/546821-sonnet-1111-when-calmness-comes-apart">Sonnet 1111, When Calmness comes apart</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 01:01 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>In times when everything we think is calmness seems gone.</p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_1061486" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/546821-sonnet-1111-when-calmness-comes-apart" target="blank">Sonnet 1111, When Calmness comes apart</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="5014359" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="61" data-expires="1739972841" data-piece_id="546821" data-token="d73b51e49c5449411bfb06bbe2c5c2ab" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="PRXSonnet1111"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Img_20241011_201707_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/943855/IMG_20241011_201707_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p style="color: #222222; font-size: small; font-family: garamond, serif; margin-bottom: 0in;">Sonnet 1111</p> <p style="color: #222222; font-size: small; font-family: garamond, serif; margin-bottom: 0in;">-Susan Cook-</p> <p style="color: #222222; font-size: small; font-family: garamond, serif; margin-bottom: 0in;">On this day the sky is grayest above</p> <p style="color: #222222; font-size: small; font-family: garamond, serif; margin-bottom: 0in;">the trees, resisting still, lost green the cold</p> <p style="color: #222222; font-size: small; font-family: garamond, serif; margin-bottom: 0in;">will bring, the gray detached from blue, the sun,</p> <p style="color: #222222; font-size: small; font-family: garamond, serif; margin-bottom: 0in;">lost too, its rays invisible. I hold</p> <p style="color: #222222; font-size: small; font-family: garamond, serif; margin-bottom: 0in;">to moments when I think of all the things</p> <p style="color: #222222; font-size: small; font-family: garamond, serif; margin-bottom: 0in;">that never stopped, now different than before,</p> <p style="color: #222222; font-size: small; font-family: garamond, serif; margin-bottom: 0in;">acceptance I turn to when what I think</p> <p style="color: #222222; font-size: small; font-family: garamond, serif; margin-bottom: 0in;">is calmness comes apart. There's nothing more</p> <p style="color: #222222; font-size: small; font-family: garamond, serif; margin-bottom: 0in;">to do but wait. I know Time passed invents</p> <p style="color: #222222; font-size: small; font-family: garamond, serif; margin-bottom: 0in;">a life becoming ours, stillness sung</p> <p style="color: #222222; font-size: small; font-family: garamond, serif; margin-bottom: 0in;">transforms us slowly, makes in increments</p> <p style="color: #222222; font-size: small; font-family: garamond, serif; margin-bottom: 0in;">who we have been and who we will become.</p> <p style="color: #222222; font-size: small; font-family: garamond, serif; margin-bottom: 0in;">When small is hard to see the dullest days</p> <p style="color: #222222; font-size: small; font-family: garamond, serif; margin-bottom: 0in;">I watch the sky, persistent in its way.</p> </div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>Sonnet 1111, When Calmness comes apart | 01:01</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/546821", title: "Sonnet 1111, When Calmness comes apart on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/546821' addthis:title='Sonnet 1111, When Calmness comes apart'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/546821' addthis:title='Sonnet 1111, When Calmness comes apart'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-546821-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p546821-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/546821/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item even" id="playlisting_102015"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/547964-i-have-no-intention-of-walking-through-this-earth">I Have No Intention of Walking Through This Earth, Sonnet 1114</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 01:01 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>A sonnet for the blueberry muffins I bought only to find they had travelled thirty two hundred miles in their thick plastic container. </p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_1063818" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/547964-i-have-no-intention-of-walking-through-this-earth" target="blank">I Have No Intention of Walking Through This ...</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="5030700" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="61" data-expires="1739972841" data-piece_id="547964" data-token="e8f3bc32d3a24de148f832ef53ba6a0a" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="PRXSonnet1114"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="20241021_090942__1__small" height="92" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/945659/20241021_090942__1__small.jpg" version="small" /> <div style="text-align: center;">I Have No Intention of Walking Through this Earth, Sonnet 1114<br /></div> <br /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><br />Sonnet 1114</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">I have no intention of walking through</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">this earth and leaving industrial grade</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">plastic to lie in landfills only used</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">to hide the excessive waste we have made</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">out of the earth's abundance we're given.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">I'm fooled too. I buy blueberry muffins.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">Later, I see the distance they were driven:</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">Three thousand two hundred miles, enough in</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">one migratory bird's life to spread seed</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">for berries nation-wide, to bear fruit lain</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">before the children, the weary who feed</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">on plastic bits, succulence of fruit drained.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">Three thousand two hundred miles for food I'd buy,</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">just walking to the farm market, nearby.</p> </div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>I Have No Intention of Walking Through This ... | 01:01</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/547964", title: "I Have No Intention of Walking Through This Earth, Sonnet 1114 on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/547964' addthis:title='I Have No Intention of Walking Through This Earth, Sonnet 1114'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/547964' addthis:title='I Have No Intention of Walking Through This Earth, Sonnet 1114'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-547964-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p547964-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/547964/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item odd" id="playlisting_102215"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/550367-the-difference-between-propaganda-and-verbal-abuse">The Difference Between Propaganda and Verbal Abuse: A Citizen's Guide</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 06:55 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>Why was verbal violence and verbal abuse minimized in the recent election. </p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_1068756" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/550367-the-difference-between-propaganda-and-verbal-abuse" target="blank">The Difference Between Propaganda and Verbal ...</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="5063608" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="415" data-expires="1739972841" data-piece_id="550367" data-token="7dca47ec6f2a6e1e87f0a5cdb5f01ae8" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="PRXTwoTheDifferenceBetweenPropagandandVerbalAbuse2"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="Childlesscatladies_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/950239/ChildlessCatladies_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Difference Between Propaganda and Verbal Abuse</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;">-Susan Cook-</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;">In this country, we lose track of the many ways in which words are used to hold power over people. Verbal abuse in which the sole purpose of words is to hold power over people was rarely identified in the public offerings of the election. Enter Donald Trump whose essential tactic in this campaign was using words to hold power over people. His message held- not because he convinced with facts and evidence. Much of what he said was based on falsehood and a singular lack of evidence, a form of verbal abuse called “withholding”, refusing to give information, fact, intention or feeling.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;">Susan Glaser, author of “The Divider” about the Trump Years refers to his language as “propaganda”, a word that fails to capture how pummeled the public was by his verbal abuse. The observation comes out of the work of Patricia Evans, author of “The Verbally Abusive Relationship: How To Recognize It and How to respond”. I quote her here:</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“<span style="font-size: small;">verbal abuse is a violation not a conflict...In a conflict, each participant wants something different...If we describe verbal abuse from the standpoint of boundary violation, we would describe it as an intrusion upon or disregard of [the public who disagreed] by a person who disregards boundaries in a relentless pursuit of Power over, superiority, dominance by covert or overt means.” “What blinds people most to [verbally] controlling behavior is the belief that the person who consistently defines them truly loves them.”</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;">Verbal abuse is the countering, (constantly disagreeing with no awareness of the other's view), discounting (absolute denial that the abuse victim has any right to his/her thoughts, feelings or experience), verbal abuse disguised as jokes (Puerto Rico as a floating island of garbage), blocking and diverting ( “January 6 was a love fest”), accusing and blaming of outcomes that are outside of the victim's control,judging and criticizing, trivializing of the victim's wants, needs, experience, undermining (Why should I go [the Aisne-Marne Cemetery, near Paris] ? It's filled with losers.” </span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“<span style="font-size: small;">Those marines who died at Beleau Wood as ”suckers” for getting killed”, “She has a Low IQ"), threatening, name-calling,forgetting, ordering, denial and abusive anger we have all witnessed in the last months.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;">In my work as a psychotherapist, words are the medium- helping adults, children and adolescents use them, recognize them in ways which affirm their whole being, their authenticity, experience, thoughts and yes, feelings. Trump is the most sophisticated verbal abuser in this country's history, the first to flagrantly present it as acceptable political discourse with little public or media outcry. Propaganda, Merriam-Webster tells us is “deliberate spreading of ideas, facts or allegations to further a cause or harm an opposing cause.” The media did that for him. Trump's focus was to damage the people at the heart of the election, not their cause. He personalized almost every sentence and rarely spoke in abstraction.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;">Why did so many minimize- “Oh sometimes his words are a little out there”? Dr Bessel Van der Kolk tells us when people are traumatized executive functions go offline- the prefrontal cortex where cause and effect, planning and anticipation, empathic understanding happen- shut down. Recognition of context fails. Minimizing verbal abuse comes from the sad reality that in this culture and in relationships many are verbally abused and paralyzed to respond.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;">Many women in this culture have been frozen into silence by a partner's verbal abuse, a relative, a culture that uses words to hold power over. Numbed. And certainly children in families are often with no notice by others. In this election, as many populaces have been before, many were pummeled and triggered, if not frozen by the verbal abuse we heard everywhere. This was not propaganda focused on a cause. These were words targeted at individuals, groups and ethnicity. This speaker targeting individuals was not unlike many historical or current figures who have used verbal abuse to paralyze- only identified and diagnosed as having deep psychological pathology years later. Often, only in the wake of outrageous crimes against humanity.</span></p> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>The Difference Between Propaganda and Verbal ... | 06:55</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/550367", title: "The Difference Between Propaganda and Verbal Abuse: A Citizen\'s Guide on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/550367' addthis:title='The Difference Between Propaganda and Verbal Abuse: A Citizen's Guide'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/550367' addthis:title='The Difference Between Propaganda and Verbal Abuse: A Citizen's Guide'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-550367-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p550367-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/550367/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item even" id="playlisting_102305"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/551242-bannon-s-new-probation-mojo-in-the-dept-of-poetic">Bannon's New Probation MoJo! In the Dept of Poetic Justice with Lyrics for the Great American Wrongbook!</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 02:41 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>A new tune for a certain Special newly released Someone!</p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_1070538" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/551242-bannon-s-new-probation-mojo-in-the-dept-of-poetic" target="blank">Bannon's New Probation MoJo! In the Dept of ...</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="5075263" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="161" data-expires="1739972841" data-piece_id="551242" data-token="2c72dd8c3c4d014ef47900127c9795a0" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="PRXBannonsNewProbationMojo"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="20240523_073537_small" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/951523/20240523_073537_small.jpg" version="small" width="92" /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">In the Department of Poetic Justice with lyrics for The Great American Wrongbook!</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Bannon's Probation Mojo!</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">To the tune from "<em>I'll Be Seeing You</em>!"</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Yes, I'm out of the Big House!</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I got my Mojo back!</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">And those of you who thought I'd be more humble,</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Hey why would I change my act?</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I have been quite successful.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Impeccable ! Among the best!</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">And my favorite General, he'll clean up the rest!</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">When I was on sabattical,</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I did some forward bends.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I leaned into pranyyama, sinus cleansing which will bring</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">more balanced circulation.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">My nose is no longer red!</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I wasn't snorting coke like all the liberals said.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I don't know where they get off</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">prying into my life. The only time that's justified</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">is when I've had enough</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">of some loud yappy liberal</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">then I take my jacket off.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I'm professional.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I will not take their guff!</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Yes, you know I'll savage you.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Especially if you say</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">something that goes against the grain</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">of what my General says.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">White males are disenmpowered!</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">This is the fight I'm taking on!</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">My probation officer should watch his step!</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I'm a towering figure.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I have been silenced just once.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The January 6 love fest, evangelic manifest!</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Yes, four people died</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">but the most important thing Donald Trump</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">showed how great he would be as King!</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I have a lot of personal reverence</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">for my white male friends</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">and even those I don't know well, I bet they're better than</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">those people from those countries</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Yes, they happen not to be</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">white like us. That's racial justice!</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">What I like to see!</p> </div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>Bannon's New Probation MoJo! In the Dept of ... | 02:41</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/551242", title: "Bannon\'s New Probation MoJo! In the Dept of Poetic Justice with Lyrics for the Great American Wrongbook! on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/551242' addthis:title='Bannon's New Probation MoJo! In the Dept of Poetic Justice with Lyrics for the Great American Wrongbook!'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/551242' addthis:title='Bannon's New Probation MoJo! In the Dept of Poetic Justice with Lyrics for the Great American Wrongbook!'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-551242-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p551242-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/551242/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item odd" id="playlisting_102858"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/560331-something-in-the-starkness-of-the-cold-its">Something in the Starkness of the Cold, Its</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 01:04 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>An American's sonnet. "He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps perpetuate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it,” Martin Luther King, Jr said.</p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_1089115" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/560331-something-in-the-starkness-of-the-cold-its" target="blank">Something in the Starkness of the Cold, Its</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="5201814" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="64" data-expires="1739972841" data-piece_id="560331" data-token="0bfb23820e4bfb6e8aef004a0929abcd" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="PRXInthestarknessofthiscold"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="20250209_140734_small" height="92" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/970727/20250209_140734_small.jpg" version="small" /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">Something in the starkness of the cold, its</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">Something in the starkness of the cold, its</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">persistence in its cruelty, its mastery</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">of holding vulnerability, as its</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">hostage, this fragile body, the last we</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">know of being who we are, the smallest</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">urgency larger than we know and who</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">and what indifference brings. Morning calls. Guests</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">as ever to this day, we witness who</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">this body brings us toward, ourselves at each</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">and every chance. Now the cold takes yours,</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">mine. Even breath in motion cannot reach</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">deep enough to replenish these emptied stores.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">In the coldness of this day, we 're led</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;">more than we know toward famine's daily bread.</span></p> </div> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>Something in the Starkness of the Cold, Its | 01:04</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/560331", title: "Something in the Starkness of the Cold, Its on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/560331' addthis:title='Something in the Starkness of the Cold, Its'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/560331' addthis:title='Something in the Starkness of the Cold, Its'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-560331-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p560331-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/560331/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="playlist-item even" id="playlisting_102897"> <h4> <a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/560533-retribution-two-poems">Retribution, two poems</a> </h4> <p>From <a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide">Susan J. Cook</a> | Part of the <strong><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/series/32002-the-river-is-wide">The River Is Wide</a></strong> series | 02:26 </p> <div class="playlist-commentary"> <p>An American's sonnet</p> </div> <div class="html-prx-player" id="player_1089526" style=''> <div class="instance"></div> <div class="interface"> <div class="deck"> <div class="readout"> <dl> <dt>Playing</dt> <dd><a href="https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/560533-retribution-two-poems" target="blank">Retribution, two poems</a></dd> <dt>From</dt> <dd><a href="/users/63227-theriveriswide" target="blank">Susan J. Cook</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="controls"> <div class="progress"> <span class="time"></span> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="track" title="full" disabled>Track</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="buffer">Buffer</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="seek">Seek</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="playhead">Playhead</button> </div> <span class="duration"></span> </div> <div class="playback"> <button type="button" name="track" title="previous">Previous</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="play">Play</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="pause">Pause</button> <button type="button" name="track" title="next">Next</button> </div> <div class="volume"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="mute">Mute</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="unmute">Unmute</button> <div class="selector"> <button type="button" name="volume" title="bar">Volume selector</button> <button type="button" name="volume" title="handle">Volume level indicator</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="playlist" style="display: none;"> <ul class="setup"> <li data-audio_file_id="5207025" data-derivative="broadcast.mp3" data-domain="https://exchange.prx.org/" data-duration="146" data-expires="1739972841" data-piece_id="560533" data-token="9825fa9092c4a29f855e1c3811241bc0" data-type="audio_file" data-use="prxplayer" title="PRXRetribution"></li> </ul> </div> <div class="summary"> <p> <img alt="20250206_202900_small" height="92" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/production.mediajoint.prx.org/public/piece_images/970139/20250206_202900_small.jpg" version="small" /> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Retribution, an American's sonnet<br /><br /></span></span></p> <p style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><em>"May all beings be well and happy, <span style="color: #000000;">May all beings be harmonious and peaceful,May all have the light,The way out of suffering,the way home, May we each share our bright wondrous nature, </span></em></span></span><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><em><span style="color: #000000;">For the benefit of all beings." Bodhisattva vow</span></em></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-family: Perpetua, serif;">I.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Retribution is inside the body.<br /></span></span><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: Perpetua, serif;">No one sees it, coiled around itself like<br /></span><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: Perpetua, serif;">a snake, unfurling itself, a gawdy<br /></span><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: Perpetua, serif;">combination, necessarily tight<br /></span><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: Perpetua, serif;">by the side, vindictive in its moments,<br /></span><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: Perpetua, serif;">the times when the unhealed injuries are<br /></span><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: Perpetua, serif;">sharpened teeth lashing out. Suffering foments<br /></span><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: Perpetua, serif;">hatred when it's least expected, lies far<br /></span><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: Perpetua, serif;">beneath, everyone forgetting it's there,<br /></span><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: Perpetua, serif;">then it reappears, finally has its day,<br /></span><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: Perpetua, serif;">bursts out fully developed, finally bears<br /></span><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: Perpetua, serif;">consequences when you stand in its way.<br /></span><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: Perpetua, serif;">Retribution gets back at you. Didn't<br /></span><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: Perpetua, serif;">you know? Eternally, how evil's hidden.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">II.</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Perpetua, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The simplest solution is not always<br /></span></span><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: Perpetua, serif;">the most obvious. Instead we flounder<br /></span><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: Perpetua, serif;">about in our complexity, fall, dazed<br /></span><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: Perpetua, serif;">by our trust, each one convinced, the sounder<br /></span><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: Perpetua, serif;">solution is not here, staring us down.<br /></span><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: Perpetua, serif;">The complexity we bring to being alive<br /></span><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: Perpetua, serif;">changes every day. Still, we haven't found<br /></span><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: Perpetua, serif;">a way to be where we are. We contrive<br /></span><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: Perpetua, serif;">the present and miss the single truth best<br /></span><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: Perpetua, serif;">reached for, preventing each small deception,<br /></span><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: Perpetua, serif;">our cognitive intricacies ruthless,<br /></span><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: Perpetua, serif;">stealing from us dawn's kindest reception.<br /></span><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: Perpetua, serif;">There, truth of this breaking light is ours,<br /></span><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: Perpetua, serif;">each minute passed, day by single day's hour.</span></p> </p> </div> <div class="footer"> <p>Retribution, two poems | 02:26</p> <button name="share">Share</button> <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="privacy">Privacy</a> <a href="//exchange.prx.org" class="logo">exchange.prx.org</a> </div> <div class="share"> <button name="dismiss">×</button> <h2>Share this piece:</h2> <ul> <script> var addthis_share = { url: "https://exchange.prx.org/p/560533", title: "Retribution, two poems on PRX"} </script>  <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_twitter' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/560533' addthis:title='Retribution, two poems'>Twitter</a></li> <li class='share-this-link'><a class='addthis_button_facebook' addthis:url='https://exchange.prx.org/p/560533' addthis:title='Retribution, two poems'>Facebook</a></li> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=sysadminprx"></script>  </ul> <h2>Embed on your website:</h2> <textarea id='embed-560533-full' class='piece-embed' readonly='readonly'><script id='prx-p560533-embed' src='https://exchange.prx.org/p/560533/embed.js?size=full'></script> </textarea> </div> </div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <br style="clear:both"/> </div> </div> </div>  <div class="column span-6 sidebar last"> <div class="sidebar-content"> <h3>Average Rating</h3> <div class='jquery-stars-box' id='playlist_373941-rating-box' style='width:200px'><input name="playlist_373941-rating" class="star {half:true}" type="radio" disabled="disabled" /> <input name="playlist_373941-rating" class="star {half:true}" type="radio" disabled="disabled" /> <input name="playlist_373941-rating" class="star {half:true}" type="radio" disabled="disabled" /> <input name="playlist_373941-rating" class="star {half:true}" type="radio" disabled="disabled" /> <input name="playlist_373941-rating" class="star {half:true}" type="radio" disabled="disabled" /> <input name="playlist_373941-rating" class="star {half:true}" type="radio" disabled="disabled" /> <input name="playlist_373941-rating" class="star {half:true}" type="radio" disabled="disabled" /> <input name="playlist_373941-rating" class="star {half:true}" type="radio" disabled="disabled" /> <input name="playlist_373941-rating" class="star {half:true}" type="radio" disabled="disabled" /> <input name="playlist_373941-rating" class="star {half:true}" type="radio" disabled="disabled" /></div><br/> <div class="action-box"> <h3>Actions</h3> <ul> </ul> </div> <div> <h3>Other Playlists by Susan J. Cook</h3>  <ul> <li> <a href="/playlists/366918">Bad Internet 101: Moral Development for Cyberspace</a> </li> <li> <a href="/playlists/370769">Civil Liberties for Lifelong Learners</a> </li> <li> <a href="/playlists/383084">National Poetry Month: American Sonnets and One Ode</a> </li> <li> <a href="/playlists/402835">Poem In Your Pocket Day</a> </li> <li> <a href="/playlists/403314">Poet Susan Cook Poems</a> </li> <li> <a href="/playlists/394886">Roe v. Wade and the Shaming of Women Part 1</a> </li> <li> <a href="/playlists/76887">Susan Cook's Favorites</a> </li> <li> <a href="/playlists/364201">The Citizens' Guides</a> </li> <li> <a href="/playlists/355900">The Department of Poetic Justice (and Poetic Reckoning)</a> </li> <li> <a href="/playlists/373808">The Indifference Diaries</a> </li> <li> <a href="/playlists/285223">The River Is Wide </a> </li> <li> <a href="/playlists/364743">The Sixty Second Moral Inquiry: The Anthology</a> </li> <li> <a href="/playlists/368108">The Two and One-half Minute Conspiracy Theory: Assorted</a> </li> <li> <a href="/playlists/419059">Totalitarianism in Broad Daylight</a> </li> <li> <a href="/playlists/411416">Yoga for Former Appointees of a Certain Someone</a> </li> </ul> <ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="footer" class="column span-24 last small footer"> <div id="footer-navigation" class="column span-24 last"> <div class="column prepend-1 span-4 quiet"> <dl> <dt>Resources</dt> <dd><a href="https://help.prx.org/">Help & Support</a></dd> <dd><a href="https://help.prx.org/hc/en-us/articles/204422780-Station-Membership-Options">Membership Options</a></dd> <dd><a href="/terms-of-use">Terms of Use</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="column span-6 border quiet"> <dl> <dt>Stay Tuned</dt> <dd><a href="https://www.facebook.com/publicradioexchange">Facebook</a></dd> <dd><a href="https://twitter.com/prx"><a href="https://twitter.com/prx">Twitter</a></dd> <dd><a href="https://medium.com/public-radio-exchange">Medium</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="column span-4 quiet"> <dl> <dt>Projects (<a href="/projects">See All</a>)</dt> <dd><a href="http://www.radiopublic.com/">RadioPublic</a></dd> <dd><a href="http://prx.mx/">PRX Remix</a></dd> <dd><a href="http://matter.vc/">Matter Ventures</a></dd>  <dd><a href="/themoth">The Moth Radio Hour</a></dd>   </dl> </div> <div class="column span-4 quiet"> <dl> <dt>About Us</dt> <dd><a href="https://www.prx.org/company/about">What is PRX?</a> <dd><a href="https://www.prx.org/company/about#contact">Contact</a></dd> <dd><a href="https://www.prx.org/company/about#staff">Organization & Staff</a></dd> <dd><a href="https://www.prx.org/company/about#funders">Funding</a> | <a href="/donate">Donate</a></dd> <dd><a href="https://www.prx.org/technology/">Technology</a></dd> <dd><a href="https://www.prx.org/company/news/">Press Room & Resources</a></dd> <dd><a href="https://prx.workable.com">Jobs</a></dd> </dl> </div> <div class="column span-4 append-1 quiet last"> <dl id="contact-information"> <dd style="margin-right:10px;margin-top:10px;"><em>PRX is a 501(c)(3) organization recognized by the IRS: #263347402.</em></dd> </dl> </div> </div> <div class="column span-24 last quiet" style="margin:auto; text-align:center;"> © Copyright 2003-2025 PRX <br/><a href="/terms-of-use">Terms of Use</a> and <a href="https://www.prx.org/privacy-policy">Privacy Policy</a> </div> </div> <script type="text/javascript"> document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 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