"Divide and Conquer" is a well-honed American political skill used for everything imaginable, from dismantling entire countries or regions, to keeping all dissension silenced. In this fragmented world, as Gerard Donnelly Smith puts it, "diversity becomes crowd control." One need look no further than the antiwar movement to see a fractured, ineffectual group whose support is merely funneled to the (pro-war) Democratic Party. If you don't believe it, read Gilles d'Aymery's thorough analysis. Then, if you're still convinced that America's constitutional democracy gives the power to the people, see what Philip Greenspan reveals about the Founding Fathers' intent. Suffice it to say, they'd be quite proud of the current administration's actions and the dismantling of the Bill of Rights... That said, Carol Warner Christen has some somber thoughts on power and the powerless that will leave you begging for a bit of humor, which Peter Byrne provides, albeit sardonically, on the US military's ongoing power shuffles in Iraq.
Martin Murie steps into the poetry corner with a vivid illustration of a rich culture turned into roadside artifacts; Guido Monte paints a picture of forgotten sounds, world walls, and grateful memory; and Marie Rennard elicits the memories of a mother's heavy-hearted love. The nature of friendship and poetic collaboration is the topic of Adam Sisman's riveting biography, The Friendship: Wordsworth & Coleridge, reviewed by Charles Marowitz, and Peter Byrne gives us a tour of Dublin's Irish Museum of Modern Art, where politics and art converge. Finally, our editor's blips explore contrasting lifestyles, from the kindred souls of Jim Stiles and Martin Murie, to the inhabitants of Richistan and the roadways of America, where we stubbornly cling to our precious way of life. Your letters question whether Swans has returned to sanity or become a mouthpiece for the duopoly -- read this edition and send us your feedback.
As always, please form your OWN opinion, and let your friends (and foes) know about Swans.
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Gerard Donnelly Smith: The Insurgent Word: Fragments
Fragmentation succeeds in separating news from reality, law from ideology, turning like-minded into factions, and insulating leaders from the will of the people. More...
Gilles d'Aymery: A Rudderless, Co-opted Antiwar "Movement"
The American antiwar movement as currently packaged is led by mostly white middle-class people funneling votes to the Democratic Party, which is as pro-war as the Republicans. To be viable, the antiwar movement must start with new, preferably minority, leadership and exert a nondenomination force against pro-war politicians. More...
Philip Greenspan: The Founding Fathers' Fraud
Contrary to the mythology of democracy, America's Founding Fathers represented the power elite, not the power of the people, and they would be very proud of the ongoing dismantling of the Bill of Rights and the return to a highly centralized government. More...
Carol Warner Christen: Tangled Web Of Life Or Worse
Life in the technology age is a tangled web of competing forces, power struggles, unchecked egos, and rampant spending that may just cause America to keel over. More...
Peter Byrne: Walking The Dog
An ongoing conversation on the ongoing quagmire in Iraq: another General is out, a new Admiral is in, the strategy is revised, and it's time to walk the dog again. More...
Martin Murie: Artifacts
Worked stones actually create images of stone age times. More...
Marie Rennard: Sundays In Hope
A poem for a mother's love and protection of her daughter from the stones that made her own heart heavy. More...
Guido Monte & Francesca Saieva: Polyhedron n.3: Moenia Mundi
A 'polyhedron' of linguistic blending, by Saieva and Monte, between forgotten sounds, world walls and grateful memory. More...
Charles Marowitz: Adam Sisman's The Friendship: Wordsworth & Coleridge
A review of Adam Sisman's book on male bonding, the ups and downs of poetic collaborations, and the lives and works of Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth. More...
Peter Byrne: New Art And Imperialism In Dublin
Art, anti-imperialism, and the Dublin Fusiliers join forces at the Irish Museum of Modern Art. More...
Gilles d'Aymery: Blips #52, from the Martian Desk
"It is to be expected that we will run out of fossil fuels before we run out of optimists, who are, along with fools and madmen, a renewable resource."
—Dmitry Orlov, August 15, 2006
A few selected tidbits that landed on our editor's desk, from a most-appreciated courtesy subscription to Jim Stiles's Canyon Country Zephyr, whose June/July volume features another kindrid soul, Martin Murie; to a peek at life in Richistan; sticker shock at the gas pump and worn-out solutions to rising energy costs; and some musings along the path between church and Wal*Mart. More...
Differing opinions on socialism, the Green Party, and Kosovo's future; a first-hand account of the undermining of the antiwar movement; and has Swans returned to sanity or become useful idiots to the duopoly? You decide (and let us know). More...
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