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G4EBT > POETRY 05.11.07 12:06l 178 Lines 5060 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 716980G4EBT
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Subj: Poetic eloquence of D Rumsfeld
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Sent: 071105/0916Z @:GB7FCR.#16.GBR.EU #:49920 [Blackpool] FBB-7.03a $:716980G4
From: G4EBT@GB7FCR.#16.GBR.EU
To : POETRY@WW
There's no doubt that former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld is an
accomplished man. Not only did he guide the war in Iraq, bringing freedom
and democracy, peace and prosperity, fairness and justice, safety and
security, food and water, to an oppressed people, he's been a pilot, a
congressman, an ambassador, a businessman, and a civil servant.
But few Americans know that he is also a poet.
Until his stunning success in Iraq and in stabilising the Middle East,
winning the war on terror, winning hearts and minds, making the world
a safer and more happy place for all, the secretary's poetry had found
only a small and sceptical audience:
The Pentagon press corps.
Every day, Rumsfeld regaled reporters with his jazzy, impromptu riffs.
Yet few of them seemed to appreciate it and he's been robbed of the
recognition he so richly deserves. But we should all be listening.
Rumsfeld's poetry is paradoxical - it uses playful language to address
the most sombre subjects: war, terrorism, mortality.
Much of it is about indirection and evasion - he never faces his subjects
head on but weaves away, letting inversions and repetitions confuse and
beguile.
His work is truly a dedication to the fractured rhythms of the plainspoken
vernacular. As a master of obfuscation, he's second to none. (Well, maybe
just one).
"Slate" - founded in 1996, is a daily web-based general-interest on-line
magazine, offering analysis and commentary about politics, news, and
culture, with a dash of humour. (well, perhaps more correctly, humor).
Now that the packet police have driven humour off packet, Slate
makes a nice diversion to lighten the day. You can find it here:
http://www.slate.com/
Slate's strong editorial voice and witty take on current events have been
recognized with numerous awards, including the National Magazine Award for
General Excellence Online. The site, owned by The Washington Post Company,
is supported by advertising revenues and doesn't charge for access.
Slate has compiled a collection of Rumsfeld's poems, bringing them to a
wider public for the first time. The poems that follow are the exact words
of the defense secretary, as taken from the official transcripts on the
Defense Department Web site.
The Unknown:
As we know,
There are known knowns.
There are things we know we know.
We also know
There are known unknowns.
That is to say
We know there are some things
We do not know.
But there are also unknown unknowns,
The ones we don't know
We don't know.
Feb. 12, 2002, Department of Defense news briefing
Glass Box:
You know, it's the old glass box at the -
At the gas station,
Where you're using those little things
Trying to pick up the prize,
And you can't find it.
It's -
And it's all these arms are going down in there,
And so you keep dropping it
And picking it up again and moving it,
But -
Some of you are probably too young to remember those -
Those glass boxes,
But -
But they used to have them
At all the gas stations
When I was a kid.
Dec. 6, 2001, Department of Defense news briefing
A Confession:
Once in a while,
I'm standing here, doing something.
And I think,
"What in the world am I doing here?"
It's a big surprise.
May 16, 2001, interview with the New York Times
Happenings:
You're going to be told lots of things.
You get told things every day that don't happen.
It doesn't seem to bother people, they don't -
It's printed in the press.
The world thinks all these things happen.
They never happened.
Everyone's so eager to get the story
Before in fact the story's there
That the world is constantly being fed
Things that haven't happened.
All I can tell you is,
It hasn't happened.
It's going to happen.
Feb. 28, 2003, Department of Defense briefing
The Digital Revolution:
Oh my goodness gracious,
What you can buy off the Internet
In terms of overhead photography!
A trained ape can know an awful lot
Of what is going on in this world,
Just by punching on his mouse
For a relatively modest cost!
June 9, 2001, following European trip
The Situation:
Things will not be necessarily continuous.
The fact that they are something other than perfectly continuous
Ought not to be characterized as a pause.
There will be some things that people will see.
There will be some things that people won't see.
And life goes on.
Oct. 12, 2001, Department of Defense news briefing
Clarity:
I think what you'll find,
I think what you'll find is,
Whatever it is we do substantively,
There will be near-perfect clarity
As to what it is.
And it will be known,
And it will be known to the Congress,
And it will be known to you,
Probably before we decide it,
But it will be known.
Feb. 28, 2003, Department of Defense briefing
Scary guy eh?
I don't know what he does to the enemy,
but he sure puts the wind up me.
Best wishes
David, G4EBT @ GB7FCR
Cottingham, East Yorkshire.
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