Postcards from the Imagination

In response to my July 12th letter, my republican Congressman writes:

Dear Ms. Heatter:

     Thank you for taking the time to contact me to express your thoughts regarding presidential advisor Karl Rove. It was good to hear from you, and I regret any delay in my response.

     I appreciate your taking an interest in this issue. As you may know, in July 2003, syndicated columnist Robert Novak published a column identifying former Ambassador Joseph Wilson's wife Valerie Plame as a CIA employee. The Justice Department has launched an ongoing investigation seeking to identify Mr. Novak's source in order to determine whether or not administration officials have violated the Intelligence Identities Protection Act.

     Additionally, in July, Time Magazine released information obtained by correspondent Matt Cooper while he crafted a follow up story on Novak's column. Some media sources have suggested that Mr. Rove may have acted improperly when questioned during Cooper's inquiry. I understand and share your concern with this issue and agree that any and all officials involved in improper or illegal behavior should be disciplined or prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. At the same time, I firmly believe that as an elected official I have an obligation not to judge such matters prematurely and am hopeful that further investigation will lead to a just and equitable outcome.

     Again, thank you for taking the time to get in touch with me regarding this issue. Please do not hesitate to do so in the future regarding other matters of importance to you.

Sincerely,

.......................
Member of Congress

I'd love to see how this particular member, who was first elected in 1994, responded to similar letters regarding the Clinton administration. I'll bet they were far less temperate. I really should write another letter noting the difference between Fitzpatrick's criminal investigation and the obligation Congress has to investigate possible ethical and/or employment-related violations in the White House. Not that I overestimate the weight of my correspondence, but I feel obligated to participate in, as opposed to merely complain about, our democracy--which democracy neccessarily limits (or is at least supposed to limit) the power of any individual voice.

Posted by Ginger at 10:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I feel bad that I've not blogged in a few days. Getting the first issue of the review online was exhausting and my head has felt a little empty in the aftermath. I'm happy to see it out there--particularly because of the all the positive feedback--but there's also a mild funk which accompanies the 'end' of any project. Of course, this isn't an end so much as a beginning, but try telling that to my psyche! I plan to cure myself of any residual funk by getting started on the second issue tonight.

As far as my reading life is concerned, I just (finally!) finished Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children.  What. A. Book! An epic to be savored slowly, but well-worth the time. If you are not yet familiar with the extraordinary life and times of Saleem Sinai, I highly recommend acquainting yourself.  In order to extend the pleasure just a little while longer, Seth and I are having Indian for dinner tonight (after all, the book ends with a remarkable chutney.) Hopefully we'll find all good things baked into the naan!

Posted by Ginger at 05:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

It is our great pleasure to announce the inaugural issue of The New Hampshire Review, featuring:

New poems by Cynthia Huntington, C. Dale Young, Dan Beachy-Quick, Timothy Liu, Peter Campion, Jon Davis, Jonathan Fink, Steve Mueske, Naomi Feigelson Chase, Philip Fried, John Pursley III, Ravi Shankar, David Biespiel, Lesle Lewis, Clay Matthews, Robert Phillips, and many more...

Reviews of Jack Gilbert’s Refusing Heaven, Richard Siken’s Crush, Simon Armitage’s Shout, Lavinia Greenlaw’s Minsk, A.R. Ammons’s Bosh and Flapdoodle, and others...

Artwork by Layne Jackson and Eric Armusik.

Plus: easily accessible audio versions of more than half the poems in the issue!

Like PBS, The New Hampshire Review does not charge a fee or carry advertising. Rather, we have established a reader-supported Contributors Fund through which we hope to provide our each of our poets, reviewers, and visual artists with a small honorarium.  If you like the work in this issue, please consider making a donation to the fund. All donations will go directly to our contributors at the end of the quarter.

Lastly, we are now accepting submissions for our second issue, due out in October. Please see our submission guidelines for details.

Virginia Heatter
Editor-in-Chief

Seth D. Abramson
Poetry Editor

The New Hampshire Review
P.O. Box 322
Nashua, NH 03061-0322
www.newhampshirereview.com

Posted by Ginger at 09:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

The blog will likely be pretty quiet for the rest of the week. With The New Hampshire Review set to debut on Saturday my focus is necessarily elsewhere.  A few quick notes...

Jonathan Safran Foer's Everything Is Illuminated was an extraordinary read--wonderfully imaginative, surprisingly complex, and genuinely moving. I highly recommend it.

Today strikes me as a very sad day in American history. It was without a doubt Karl Rove who urged the President to announce his Supreme Court nominee last night. It was also undoubtedly Rove who selected the nominee. Make no mistake, the nomination of John Roberts is all about political strategy. Because he's only been a judge for two years he has virtually no record with which Senate Democrats might challenge him. Yet conservatives know they can count on him to represent their interests and agenda once confirmed. And at only fifty years-old, he'll likely continue to represent their interests for at least the next twenty-five years.  Unless he put his penis somewhere it didn't belong I doubt he'll face any real opposition.

Meanwhile, the Turd Blossom may have successfully engineered his own (temporary) political survival. And will the mainstream media fall for it? Of course they will. It's as transparent as the run-up to the Iraq war, which they also fell for. Hook, line, and sinker.

Posted by Ginger at 01:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

"Even allowing for deep discounts on the $29.99 release, "Half-Blood Prince" still easily generated more than $100 million in revenue. It's not only the richest opening in publishing history, but tops the combined estimated take for the weekend's top two movies, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "The Wedding Crashers."" (Link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8608578/)

Though I've not yet read the series myself (so much to read, so little time), this news makes me happy and hopeful.

Right now I'm about one hundred pages into Jonathan Safran Foer's Everything is Illuminated which Seth picked up on a recommendation from someone out here in the blogosphere. Thank you, whoever you are. At one point last night I was laughing so hard I could barely catch my breath.

The wedding, by the way, was a blast. My feet are still sore from dancing!

Posted by Ginger at 07:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

The past couple days haven't offered up anything interesting to blog about. I started a new temp job on Thursday--part-time mornings through August in the accounting department of a firm that does restaurant computer systems. Basically, I sit in a cubicle and process invoices. As part-time jobs go it's not bad. The AR department is very small and everyone seems nice enough.  There's no customer service involved (thank the gods!) and I'm pretty much left alone to do my work. Bonus: everyone is dressed way down for the summer, and even the boss wears jeans to work most days.

By contrast I'm trying to figure out what the heck to wear to a wedding this afternoon. The ceremony is at 2 o'clock at a church in Andover, but the reception starts at 6 o'clock and is being held at a swanky Boston hotel. I should know this stuff cold, having worked at a bridal salon last summer, but frankly I'm clueless. Everything I've seen online recommends one thing for afternoon weddings, and another thing for evenings. Hopefully my procrastination doesn't bite me in the ass, as I've not yet shopped for whatever I'm going to wear. I'm just waiting for the stores to open. Did the Greeks have a goddess for getting dressed? If so, I'd like to pray to her for help in finding a cocktail-type dress that's also appropriate for church AND flatters my size-12 figure.

I warned you I had nothing interesting.

Posted by Ginger at 08:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The latest spin from the Republican party regarding the Karl Rove story is that nobody outside of Washington really cares.

New Hampshire Republican Party Chairman Warren Henderson was quoted in an article in today's Washington Times (reprinted at the RNC's web site) as saying, "I don't get the sense that anybody is talking about Karl Rove up here."

Apparently Mr. Henderson doesn't read the state's conservative paper-of-record,the New Hampshire Union Leader, whose LEAD EDITORIAL is entitled "Rove vs. Wilson: Blame game over Plame name"!

David Gregory was right. This is ridiculous.

Posted by Ginger at 03:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This was snapped today. That's right, today.

Posted by Ginger at 02:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Howard Fineman's "The physics of unaccountable power" is a must-read. Says Fineman, "Several media, political and Washington vectors intersected to create an explosive Rove Reaction." Those vectors include 1) the main stream media's regrets over it's pre-Iraq War coverage: "there has been a lot of soul searching in the so-called Main Stream Media (MSM) over its performance, or lack of performance, in the months leading up to the American-led ouster of Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq." 2) the iron fist with which the Bush administration attempts to control press relations: "George Bush’s theory of press relations is pretty straightforward: Control the message with military precision, and never waver." 3) the amount of unaccountable power invested in Karl Rove: "He is The Architect, at least according to George Bush. He talks to reporters only if and when he pleases, and under the conditions he demands. How to call him on a carpet, ANY carpet?...This is how." 4) Because this is not campaign season, the MSM is less afraid of seeming partisan: "It’s the second term. Think Clinton and Monica."  5) Fox vs. the rest of the media: "By dividing the press corps into Red versus Blue — and talking only to the Red — administration strategists are inviting attacks from one side." (Link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8562223/page/2/) 

Posted by Ginger at 01:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I sent the following letter to my Senators and Congressman today. When I send letters via True Majority I usually get a form letter in return detailing their position on the issue--a "You spam me, I spam you" kind of thing. I'm curious to see if and how they respond to this one.  If you are moved to write your own representatives, and would like to use any or all of this letter feel free.

Dear [Senator/Congressman],

     As one of your constituents I urge you to call for and/or support a Congressional investigation into the leak of classified information by the White House in the Valerie Plame affair. Though Press Secretary Scott McClellan has explicitly denied Karl Rove's involvement in the leak, we have recently learned that Rove told Time Magazine reporter Matt Cooper on July 11, 2003 that "Wilson's wife" worked for the CIA. Because the name of "Wilson's wife" was a matter of public record, and easily accessible via a web search, her position at the CIA, and not her name, was the significant revelation.

     If, in fact, Rove's ruthless attempt to discredit a critic of the administration rises to the level of a felonious breach of national security, the American people have a right to know. We also have a right to know whether or not President Bush knew about Rove's actions, and if so when he knew.

     Contrary to RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman's characterization of the matter as a "partisan attack on Karl Rove," the implications which flow from these allegations are of the utmost seriousness, and representatives on both sides of the aisle must demand a thorough investigation. To do otherwise would be to privilege party loyalty over the interests of the American people.

Sincerely,
Virginia Heatter

Posted by Ginger at 05:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yesterday Scott McClellan insisted no less than eight times that the White House would not comment on the ongoing investigation of the source of the Valerie Plame leak.  But today, the Republican National Committee issued a press release entitled, RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman Statement On The Partisan Attack On Karl Rove. !!!

Addendum: When Scott McClellan was asked about the Rove matter during today's White House press briefing he replied, "I don't think we should be pre-judging the outcome of any investigation at this point."

2nd addendum: John Kerry and Hillary Clinton call on President Bush to fire Karl Rove. If these two are willing to put themselve out there the case against Rove must have legs!

Posted by Ginger at 01:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

     According to Media Matters, a Google search would have revealed the name of "Wilson's wife."

     In a July 11, 2003 email to his Time bureau chief (three days before Robert Novak 'outed' Plame) Matt Cooper wrote, "that Wilson's trip had not been authorized by "DCIA"—CIA Director George Tenet—or Vice President Dick Cheney. Rather, "it was, K[arl] R[ove] said, wilson's wife, who apparently works at the agency on wmd [weapons of mass destruction] issues who authorized the trip." (Newsweek)

     The trip, for those of you who may not have been following the story, was fmr. Ambassador Joseph Wilson's February 2002 trip to Niger to investigate claims that Iraq was interested in acquiring uranium there. Wilson found no evidence to support the claim, but that didn't stop Bush from repeating it in his January 2003 State of the Union address. "The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa." Turns out the documents on which that information was based were forgeries, and most of the intelligence community knew it. On July 6, 2003 Wilson wrote an op-ed piece for the New York Times in which he claimed, "Based on my experience with the administration in the months leading up to the war, I have little choice but to conclude that some of the intelligence related to Iraq's nuclear weapons program was twisted to exaggerate the Iraqi threat." Eight days later the identity of Wilson's wife, an undercover CIA operative, was publicly disclosed by columnist Robert Novak.

     Bottom line: Clinton lied about a blow job while testifying in a civil matter and was IMPEACHED. Bush lied to Congress and the American people in order to garner support for a war in Iraq, and when Wilson took him to task for it, the White House ruthlessly tried to discredit him--going so far as to illegally disseminate classified information. That Bush & Co. have suffered no consequences for their actions to date is OUTRAGEOUS.

Posted by Ginger at 10:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I was very busy this weekend with The New Hampshire Review, thus the silence. The release date for our first issue is July 23rd, and I'm incredibly excited about it. Much more to come as we get closer to that date.

Today, your mission is to go watch reporters from the big three networks take Scott McClellan over their knees and whoop him hard for comments he made regarding Karl Rove's (non)involvement in the Valerie Plame affair. Link: rtsp://video.c-span.org/60days/whpb071105.rm.

You can also read about it in the New York Times. (With thanks to Josh Corey for the link.)

I wonder if any of this will force the Times to reconsider the decision they made recently to tack to the right in their news pages?

And where the hell is Robert Novak these days? How is it he's not sharing a cell with Times reporter Judith Miller?  Or rather, why isn't he sitting in jail instead of Miller, who "never wrote an article about the affair..." (NY Times).

The White House is in a real pickle here, because there's simply no way they can abandon Rove. Oh, the secrets that man can tell if they hang him out to dry! That's why Scott McClellan can't stand by earlier statements in which he said the source of the leak should be fired.

Anyway, if I sound gleeful it's not because I like the corruption or drama. It's because this administration is guilty of so many wrongs for which it has not been held responsible--most significantly the illegal and immoral war in Iraq. After the last election it became clear that nothing short of an impossible-to-ignore scandal was going to remove this blight from power, and perhaps this is the beginning of the end for Bully Conservatism.

Posted by Ginger at 06:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

You Are an Espresso

At your best, you are: straight shooting, ambitious, and energetic. At your worst, you are: anxious and high strung. You drink coffee: anytime you're not sleeping. Your caffeine addiction level: high

Posted by Ginger at 08:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Rather than post the text, I thought I'd read one of these voiceless drafts. It's called Our Cassie Opines.

Posted by Ginger at 10:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Now that I'm back on the poetic bandwagon again, I've driven it straight into the brick wall of voice. In the past few weeks I've written roughly five poems. Today, I printed them all out and had a look at them as a group. Unfortunately, I don't hear my voice in any of these drafts. Nor do I know what that voice sounds like. I only know it's not there in the poems. Realistically it probably won't turn up in the next poem, or the one after that, or even the one after that--and the only thing I can do is write through it until my voice finally arrives. That will take some discipline.

It's amazing how clumsy I feel in the face of a blank page, particularly because I do as I've been instructed to and read, read, read--constantly and competently. It's not helping my writing as much as I thought it would. I don't believe it's harming it, but somehow I thought I'd have greater control over language by now. Words are slippery as fish these days--and the small ones are the worst. Little silver poem fish which refuse to break ranks with their schools.

Posted by Ginger at 09:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Via Seth, who definitely does not act like he's thirty-one...

Posted by Ginger at 07:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

     I picked up a pristine hardcover copy of Charles Olson's Selected Poems for $12 at Tim's Used Books in Provincetown. Just reading Creeley's preface has sparked the beginnings a poem which will probably keep me busy most of the day.

     The fireworks were nice, though I remember being more knocked-out by them last year. It was probably just me. I was exhausted by nine o'clock last night. An almost predictable (and definitely too tedious to blog about) series of mishaps set us back by several hours after we'd skimped on sleep to get an early start. I napped on the beach, but only long enough make myself groggy. Yet for all that, we had a wonderful time. Generally I'm not the materialistic sort, but I do envy those lucky folks who can afford a summer home near the ocean.

     Does anyone else daydream about assuming a pen name to write crappy romances or detective stories that pay the bills? Or porn perhaps? Porn is easy enough to write, and someone must be making a living off it. In my daydream I spend a few hours a day "working" and the rest of my time reading and writing what I love. I never have to use an alarm clock, or commute, or wear make-up, or struggle against my natural tendency to arrive fifteen minutes late. My bank account isn't bottomless, but there's usually enough for dinner at India Palace and maybe just one more book. I do Europe on a budget, but I do it at least a couple of weeks each year. The rest of the summer I spend near my mother ocean.

     So what's your daydream?

Posted by Ginger at 01:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

If I had more time I'd probably write a lengthy post about the unhappy state of American politics on this Independence Day: the retirement of Sandra Day O'Conner and the upcoming Supreme Court nomination fiasco, the recent revelation that Karl Rove may well be the source of the Valerie Plame leak, the Downing Street memo and why this President ought to be impeached, etc.

Instead we're off to the Cape for some much needed R&R. We're spending the day on one of the quieter mid-cape beaches, then heading up to Provincetown for dinner and fireworks. We couldn't ask for better weather--sunny with high temps in the mid-70's. I'm bringing along Durs Grünbein's Ashes for Breakfast which I picked up at the Barnes & Noble near Fenway Park yesterday. Seth lucked into a couple of free tickets to the game, and we stopped by the bookstore afterward. I lucked into two of Gerald Stern's collections, American Sonnets and Last Blue in hardcover on clearance for $3.98 and $4.99 respectively! Seth's parents gave me a gift card for my birthday and I spent the remainder of it on the Grünbein, and on Sartre's Nausea and Octavio Paz's Double Flame, both of which were recently recommended to me. I spent the first half of the card on Jorie Graham's Overlord, which I've nearly finished and will likely re-read immediately. It's that good. Also, Milan Kundera's Laughable Loves, which was excellent, despite the unrelenting misogyny of some of its characters. Finally, Ezra Pound's A B C of Reading, which I'm about 3/4 of the way through and much enjoying. I've been really fortunate, both to have been able to purchase so many wonderful books, but also that they've all been real hits. Nothing languishing on the bookshelf regretted or unread.

Have a safe and Happy 4th everyone!

Posted by Ginger at 09:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I thought I'd take my apartment-dwelling self down to the park to enjoy the nice weather and a good book. What an adorably naive idea. The park was overrun with noisy families. Why can't children--little boys in particular--play without shouting commands at one another? Some things can be tuned out, but the unceasing aggression in those boys' voices was more than I could bear.

We're thinking about going down to Provincetown for the July 4th fireworks. It will be a nice change of pace.

Posted by Ginger at 03:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I spent two hours registering with a temp agency this morning for summer employment. Typing test, software test, interview, etc. I'm a human clerical dynamo. And yet there's no guarantee they'll be able to find me something--which is depressing. The language of business is a desert: corporate center, knowledge economy, skill set, pay scale. Arid to the core, and colorless. The landscape of business is all facsimile: cubicles for rooms, fading prints for art, fake hibiscus. And the populace? False-shouldered suits, nude pantyhose, stage make-up. Shudder.

Posted by Ginger at 11:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)