Those commissioners who have served for more than 10 years should voluntarily step down and allow new people with new ideas to have an opportunity to make a difference.  They should do so in the spirit of democracy and out of a sense of fairness. We would like to thank them for their service and for their energies but it is time for them to do the right thing and step down from their public positions of privilege on the Florence Commission.

The Commission has become too extravagant in its thinking.  They appear to have lost their sense of modesty that was the hallmark of earlier Italian Americans who settled in the Santa Clara Valley, making it a unique place to live and grow. The Valley of the Heart’s Delight brought many Italian immigrants to the region because of its mild weather and the laid-back attitude of its denizens. The Commission needs to find a way to get back to this friendlier tone. Remember why the Florence Commission exists in the first place–to share the values, accomplishments and ideas of Italian culture with the wider public. It was created as a way to exchange and connect between the peoples of both Florence, Italy and Santa Clara County. With a new president going into the White House, now would be a good time to set a new tone that celebrates in an inclusive way the values and diversity of Italian heritage.

The Florence Commission should contribute to the greater good of Santa Clara County by reducing the barriers of exclusiveness that have marked the commission in recent years. The Commission is an excellent resource to train future leaders, especially those who appreciate Italian heritage and culture, for Santa Clara County. The opportunity to learn about how county government functions and operates is very valuable to producing our future leaders and should not be hogged by those who have no interest in anything but themselves.

If the Florence Commission cannot change its attitude, President Matteo Renzi and the Province of Florence, Italy would best be advised to discontinue the relationship with Santa Clara County and find some place else that appreciates and respects the spirit of enlightenment of the Italian Renaissance.

You can contact the President of the Province of Florence, Italy at:

Presidenza della Provincia di Firenze
Via Cavour, 1 – Firenze
Tel. 055-2760212
Fax. 055-218226
presidente@provincia.fi.it
http://www.matteorenzi.it/

President Matteo Renzi of the Province of

Florence, Italy

Columbus Day Committee Part I

Columbus Day Committee Part II

Columbus and Nina Visit Port of Redwood City

Columbus Day Bocce Ball Contest

They think they should not have to endure “inaccurate remarks” about their activities and decisions made on behalf of the county of Santa Clara. Clearly, Commissioner Serpa, the chairperson of the Commission, would love to silence the critics of the Commission. The modus operandi of the Florence Commission under people like Serpa has been to silence those who do not go along with their program. They threaten and intimidate those people who challenge them on ethics and conflict of interest issues. They just don’t get it.

Alas, the Florence Commission demonstrates behavior similar to the Medici Family who ruled over Florence for decades starting in the 13th century. While the Medicis were patrons to artists like Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci and Brunelleschi, to name but a few, they also used their wealth and influence to silence their critics. Many of the old guard on the Commission are not used to being called to account for their actions. They believe that they are entitled to use county resources to promote their private interests when their charter clearly states that they must act in the spirit of serving the public, all of the public and not just some of the public.

If they could, the old guard on the Commission would throw their critics in the dungeon, just like the Medicis did to Niccolo Machiavelli, who spoke truth to power and was rewarded with torture and isolation. This Thing of Theirs, known as the Florence Commission, should try to accentuate the more positive aspects of the Medici legacy.  When they meet for their “workshop”, their so-called “discussion” should include something on how they can change their way of thinking and show respect to the democratic process.  If they want to serve on a public county commission and wear the mantle of commissioner, then they must hold themselves to a higher standard, especially one worthy of the virtues of Italian culture.

I remember when I was trying to serve on the Florence Commission that Gwen Mitchell, the director of the Office of Public Affairs, gave me some ridiculous excuse that the reason that no other winery in Santa Clara County wanted to host Florence Commission events was that they lost money on the events, which is completely not true. They are paid to cover their costs and a small markup. Even if they broke even on hosting these events, the advertising value that a county event generates is worth the effort. How is it that the Guglielmo Winery, in Morgan Hill, is the only one that seems willing to hold events at their winery? I was at the Gilroy Garlic Festival on Friday July 25th and there was a whole tent filled with Santa Clara County wineries, the Guglielmos among them. How is it that none of these wineries want free publicity from Santa Clara County and the press? Why wouldn’t they want to have someone from the Board of Supervisors attend an event on their premises which will generate positive public relations? The Florence Commission must be required to bid out their events to businesses within Santa Clara County. Up until now they have never bothered to notify the public of this. Seems like another CONFLICT OF INTEREST issue for the Florence Commission, something which they have strenuously denied.

As I have said before, the Florence Commission should be spun off from the county and restructured as a private nonprofit organization, similar to the Italian American Heritage Foundation. In fact, Commissioner Marge Valente is also on the board of directors for the Heritage Foundation. And they both exchange favors for donations. In fact, the Florence Commission just approved an expense of $200 for a full-page ad for the awards program for the Italian American Heritage Foundation’s upcoming annual awards event scheduled for August 22nd. The fact is, many of the people who receive awards from the Italian American Heritage Foundation also receive an award from the Florence Commission through its Medici Masked Ball. The Florence Commission is a public government body acting like a nonprofit organization. It’s time to take the mask off of this organization and call it what it is–a private nonprofit organization masquerading as a public government entity. They want to have their cake and eat it, just like Marie Antoinette!

This reminds me. The relationships that the Florence Commission cultivates are entirely too cozy. The most notable relationships, which seem to involve mutual back scratching include the Italian American Heritage Foundation, Santa Clara University, the Guglielmo Winery and the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose, which always seems to host the Medici Masked Ball. These organizations perennially seem to benefit in some form from their connection with the Florence Commission. Me thinks something ought to change. Some kind of oversight is needed. Unfortunately, it’s hard to have oversight when the Office of Public Affairs under Gwen Mitchell goes on trips to Italy with the Florence Commission and has her air transportation and other expenses all paid for. This is another example of an inherent CONFLICT OF INTEREST that affects the relationship that the Office of Public Affairs has with the Florence Commission. The whole thing stinks of sweetheart deal making.

The Florence Commission simply fails to demonstrate any sense of public service in the interest of the greater good for the citizens of Santa Clara County. Everything about this group is colored by the Medici Masked Ball, the biennial fundraiser that takes a decidedly exclusive view of things.  It’s a party that is meant to seek influence and favor. It just isn’t right for this commission to be given political cover by the county. Is it any wonder that we have the same people who seem to remain on the Florence Commission year after year? They are an obstruction to progress. That’s why term limits are necessary, but that doesn’t seem to matter when the Florence Commission can vote to change the terms and reset the clock for themselves.

This sounds a lot like U.S. Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska. The problem with these people is that they have been on these commissions or on these boards or in the United States Senate for so long that they start acting like they are entitled to privilege and favors and that the rules just goddamn don’t apply to them. They somehow believe that they are above it all. Since they are better than you and holier than you, they can do what the hell they want because they can buy their way out of it all.

Another thing, according to the May meeting minutes, the Educational Committee, under Commissioner Wendy Teague (how long has she been on the Florence Commission?), handed out $8,000 in scholarship money to four students, all from Santa Clara University, while no students from San Jose State or Stanford applied this year. It is amazing how Santa Clara University, a Jesuit school which hosts the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics on its campus, has the gall to accept funds from the Florence Commission. Why does a wealthy private institution like Santa Clara University need to take money from a public county political body like the Florence Commission, which is there to advise the Board of Supervisors? The Florence Commission is in gross violation of its own charter. They are there to serve the PUBLIC INTEREST, NOT PRIVATE INTERESTS. How can these people continue to do what they do? Can’t you just hear Marie Antoinette roaring, “Let Them Eat Cake!”? It’s enough to make you toss your cookies.

When is Santa Clara County going to bring back the ETHICS COMMISSION? The last time I checked on the county website, the Ethics Commission was “out of order”. And that’s why the county requires ethics training for all public officials, including those who serve on commissions and other committees. But there’s no Ethics Commission to enforce the required ethics training.  It is time for closer scrutiny of some of these commissions, especially the Florence Commission. Maybe the Florence Commissioners should give an award to Marie Antoinette and Alice in Wonderland. They’ll find the Medici Masked Ball to be a grand time, especially if the cake is never ending and the tea party keeps going and going and going, like there’s no damn tomorrow.

Most people who know Italian Americans know that they are fine people.  Discrimination against Italian Americans is based almost always on perceptions that have accumulated over many decades and which have been disseminated through mass media, which has contributed to a subtle form of mass hysteria.  Discrimination against Italian Americans is more art than science since most people really aren’t sure why they may be tempted to discriminate or even know when they are discriminating.   At this point in history, it just seems like it’s time for a review, to see where we’ve been and where we’re going as a community and as a nation.  As a freedom-loving nation, how can we be free from discrimination if we do not have this discussion?  Do we want to be free from discrimination?  Do we have an Oedipus complex with discrimination, where we subvert freedom in favor of discrimination?  How can we ever be a truly free people if we don’t fight discrimination in all its forms?

It’s unfortunate that Italian Americans live under a shadow of misperceptions that act like a tape worm in the American national psyche. It’s hard to remove this bugger without it breaking off and growing back. It feeds on fear and misinformation but most of all it gets its nourishment from feeding on silence. Speaking up is the best way to starve this worm to death.  As Mr. Patrick Henry once said, “Give me Liberty or give me Death.”  Free us from the tape worm of discrimination or death of our humanity will be our permanent reality.

I really do believe that stereotyping and discrimination against Italian Americans is a problem and that it doesn’t seem to be getting any better. I think we are going to see spasms of discrimination as the Obama campaign moves through to the general election. This might be a good time to start facing down some of these issues. You can see a press release that the Commission for Social Justice of the Sons of Italy put out on the disparaging remarks made by NBC sportscaster about Rocco Mediate by going to my blog: http://cronacaman.wordpress.com/2008/06/19/italian-american-anti-defamation-group-demands-suspension-of-nbc-sportscaster-johnny-miller/

If you want to see what some people call humor or comedy, take a look at this video on YouTube called “Family Guy Speaks Italian”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JhuOicPFZY.  One of the comments posted in response to a protest of this video at this link is “BOOOOO. IT’S JUST COMEDY, YOU MORON.”  I disagree. It seems harmless but it’s nothing less than racism masquerading as a cartoon, the most insidious form of racism and discrimination there is.  It reminds me of the Camel Joe cigarette ads.  They’re meant to seduce young people into thinking that cigarettes are cool and grown-up.  But we know that cigarettes are addictive and deadly. 

If you would like to see my review of a video of a conference on discrimination against Italian Americans held at Seton Hall University in New Jersey in December 2004 called “Anti-Italianism: Discrimination and Defamation in the History of Italian Americans”,  visit this link at Amazon.com: 

http://www.amazon.com/Anti-Italianism-Discrimination-Defamation-History-Americans/dp/B000CR5EFC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1214153039&sr=8-2

My proposal for such a conference would be based on something similar to what Lawrence DiStasi and the American Italian Historical Association, Western Chapter recently did with its conference on Central Valley agriculture. This conference might strike a theme like: Is everything right with Italian Americans in the American landscape? or How far have we come since nonni arrived in America? This would give people a chance to speak out and express in what ways they face discrimination or have noticed discrimination. Italian Americans also  discriminate themselves and a conference of this nature might just as much be a mirror for Italian Americans to look at themselves and seek some behavior modifications.  I don’t think that Italian Americans have come to terms with their true standing in American society. It’s a community that continues to struggle against barriers of acceptance in America.

Some of the “elephant in the room” topics that might be discussed at such a conference could include:

-A segment on the portrayal of Italians in the movies, in print, in law enforcement.

-How is the younger generation dealing with the fallout from the Sopranos? What is their experience in a post-Sopranos world?  How many see “The Sopranos” as an identity for Italian American heritage and culture?

-What forms of discrimination take place, for example, in the job search process and what obstacles exist in the workplace, such as promotions? What about political campaigns? Why does the bias persist?

-What other forms of discrimination do men and women of Italian heritage experience? Do Italian American women discriminate against Italian American men in the workplace and vice versa?

-Discuss the image of Italian names from the point of view of market research, such as word association surveys.

-What can people do to minimize being victims of stereotyping and prejudice?

-How much has changed since our grandparents immigrated to America?

-Are Italian Americans too tolerant of ethnic slurs and discrimination against Italian Americans?

-How significant of a role do North-South origins play in bias between Italian Americans?

-Do Italian Americans need a “Garibaldi” figure to free them from “Village Idiot” syndrome?

-What progress have Italian Americans made as a group?

-Is it possible to settle on a single unified Italian American identity?

-What effects do “discrimination through the act of being ignored” have on Italian American self-esteem?

-Is there a glass-ceiling for Italian Americans?

I’m sure there are many other topics that could be discussed. Questions such as How are Italian Americans perceived? Why are they perceived the way they are? What’s the image of Italian Americans in America? How can this be overcome?

We could probably show the Heather Hartley documentary called “Linciati”, which is about the lynching of Italians in New Orleans in 1893, or the latest documentary by Peter Miller on Sacco and Vanzetti. We could have a discussion on Italian American literature, like “Christ in Concrete”, that describes one face of discrimination faced by Italian Americans. This would be an exploration on the roots of discrimination against Italian Americans. This would be a good chance for people to talk about this taboo subject without feeling like they are alone.

I’m sure there are many people who are feeling conflicted over this issue. Bias against Italian Americans is like a stench that hangs in the air. You think you can smell something but you’re not sure if that’s what it is. Or do we think we are we just imagining this?

I think we need to get people together and compare notes once and for all and calibrate just where Italian Americans really stand in America. How much progress have we really made since nonno and nonna left the Old Country? One of the important things about a conference on discrimination is that people should recognize when they see and hear comments that are discriminatory.  It’s not okay to accept it. It’s vulgar and demeaning and it takes many forms.  My idea for such a conference is to educate and raise awareness of the forms that discrimination takes. It’s also meant to strike down any myths that may actually be out there.  And I think an academic forum is the only way to give credibility to the discussion of such a sensitive topic. It needs to be done in a tasteful way without looking like someone has an ax to grind.  This is a dialog that America, not just Italian America, needs to have in order for it to continue to grow and to be all that it can be as a nation that has been blessed with the type of Constitution that we have.  Destroy the tape worm before it destroys us, the United States of America, which was built on the backs of people from all over the world, especially Italian Americans.

Until we face this issue head on, I think the “Invisible Hand of Adam Smith” will hold Italian Americans back from achieving their true potential.  As Lawrence DiStasi taught us with his superb book “Una Storia Segreta”, the best lesson ever:  Keep No Secrets.

Washington, DC– June 19, 2008 The Commission for Social Justice (CSJ), the anti- defamation arm of the Order Sons of Italy in America, the nation’s biggest Italian American organization, is demanding an on-air apology and the suspension of NBC’s lead golf analyst Johnny Miller after discriminatory statements about Rocco Mediate he broadcast during the U.S. Open on Sunday, June 15.

Referring to Mediate, who was a finalist in the competition, Miller said, “Mediate looks like the guy who cleans Tiger’s swimming pool,” and “Guys with the name of Rocco don’t get on the trophy, do they?” They were aired nationally and then spread worldwide via the Internet.

“If Johnny Miller had made a similar remark about Tiger Woods, he would have been fired,” says Anthony Baratta, national president of the Sons of Italy CSJ. “In 1998, Fuzzy Zoeller lost millions of dollars in endorsements after he jokingly asked Woods, who had just won the Master’s, to request “fried chicken and collard greens” on the next year’s tournament menu.

“And I would remind Mr. Miller that a considerable number of Italian Americans have distinguished themselves in golf, including Gene Sarazen (Eugenio Saraceni), Johnny Revolta, Vic Ghezzi, Donna Caponi, Fred Couples (Coppola) and Ken Venturi,” he says.

Baratta also cites an incident involving broadcaster Kelly Tilghman, reported in the New York Times January 11 article, When an Apology Is Not Enough, which states, “that when Golf Channel’s Kelly Tilghman said that one way for young golfers to stop Woods is to ‘lynch him in a back alley’ . . . her words earned her a two-week, unpaid suspension.”

The article also mentions, “Tilghman now belongs to a group of experienced broadcasters who have paid for their missteps about race, religion or gender, including Don Imus, Michael Irvin, Jimmy (The Greek) Snyder, Steve Lyons, Rush Limbaugh and Ben Wright.”

Baratta and the CSJ have written NBC asking for the same justice, “NBC should suspend Johnny Miller immediately and demand a retraction of his statements as well as an on-air apology to this nation’s estimated 20 million Italian Americans,” he said.

Baratta is urging all concerned citizens to contact NBC at the following addresses:

Email:
nbcsports@nbcuni.com

Address:
Mr. Richard Ebersole
Chairman of NBC Universal Sports & Olympics
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10112

Order Sons of Italy in America

I spoke with Lawrence DiStasi in July 2004 about his book, “Una Storia Segreta: The Secret History of Italian American Evacuation and Internment during World War II.” I was simply amazed that the United States Government was so distrustful of the Italian American community during this period. It’s true that Mussolini and his black-shirted fascists did not help matters but nevertheless, designating over 600,000 Italian nationals and Italian Americans as enemy aliens was a bit much.  It was from the efforts of DiStasi and other Italian Americans that the Wartime Violation of Italian American Civil Liberties Act of 2000 was signed into law by President Bill Clinton.  The Act essentially apologized to the Italian American community for the way that it had been unfairly treated during the war. 

I found my conversation with Lawrence DiStasi to be very inspirational and eye-opening. I believe that it was through this interview that I became more interested in exploring my own Italian heritage more deeply than I ever had before. 

Take some time to watch this interview and hopefully you will learn a few things. At least it will make you reflect upon some ideas that you might not had considered before.

I was very grateful for the opportunity to speak at the event and to share some thoughts about Italian heritage and community. We also heard from Josh DeVincenzi Melander, the grandson of John DeVincenzi, one of the founding members of the Italian American Heritage Foundation. Josh spoke about his vision for a “Little Italy” commercial zone along 13th Street, between Taylor and Jackson Streets, which had once been a neighborhood largely made up of Italian immigrants. The one holdout in this area is the Chiaramonte Italian Market, which was established in 1908 and is celebrating its 100th anniversary.  Times have changed of course and many of the Italian immigrants have moved out and a new group of immigrants have been moving in, many of whom come from Mexico and other points south of the border.  In addition to Chiaramonte’s Market, there is a bocce ball court, which is also across the street from Holy Cross Church, which continues to hold one mass in Italian on Sundays.  So there’s a basis for some optimism that something could grow from here.  Time will tell.

Santa Clara County Supervisor and Chairperson of the Board Pete “Primo” McHugh was at the event and he said to me that he had a great trip to Florence, Italy.  Supervisor McHugh was accompanied on the trip by some of the members of the Florence Commission and Gwen Mitchell, director of the Office of Public Affairs. It’s too bad that there will not be any public record of the Florence Commission meeting that was scheduled for Thursday, June 5th, the first Thursday of the month. Since this meeting is called a “workshop”, there is no clerk from the Office of the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors to take notes on the meeting. The only way to know what was said is if you were present at the meeting as a member of the public to hear what members of the Florence Commission might venture to say about their trip. Of course it will be filled with flattery and pats on the back, one can only imagine. Hopefully we will hear more about this “important” trip in a future meeting when there is actually someone who will take official notes about this official visit with members of the Province of Florence, Italy.

It was nice to see that there were representatives from the various Italian clubs, including the Italian Men’s Club, the American Italian Historical Association, and the Trabia Club.  And to my surprise there were a couple of representatives from the Santa Clara County Florence Sister County Commission who identified  themselves as such. 

The current chairperson of the Florence Commission, Karen Mazzanti Serpa, walked up to me and seemed quite disgusted with my blog and my critical analysis of the Florence Commission. As I have written before, the Florence Commission does not tolerate anyone challenging their decisions or method of operation. Dissent is not a trait that is well tolerated with this group. Anyone who opposes a motion is immediately singled out and the process of isolation begins. The Florence Commission has acted too much like a rubber stamp entity that is commonly found in countries like Russia.

The biggest flaw with the Florence Commission is that it lacks diversity. Almost all of its members are of Italian heritage, and most of them are over the age of 60. There is currently no one on this commission who is not of Italian heritage. They just lost Miles Ito, the last non-Italian on the Commission. And last year they lost Robert Stillerman, another non-Italian who really enjoys Italian culture and who brought a very progressive influence to the Commission. Unfortunately he was treated very poorly by some members of the Commission. It was Mr. Stillerman who pushed to establish the Technology Committee on the Florence Commission, which had six initial members, of whom included Mr. Ito and myself. At this point, however, the committee is down to one person, Commissioner Conrad Russo, a 20-year charter member of the Commission. Of the many problems that face the Florence Commission, one is that this commission does not live up to its stated mission. The Commission spends too much time trying to control what other commissioners think and do. I would say that this group is fatally flawed because of the self-serving mindset that has dominated it from the outset. I wonder if this is what Rod Diridon had intended when he established this commission in 1988 when he was on the Board of Supervisors.

If the Florence Commission can’t show any sense of official leadership and public service that honors the greater good, then maybe it should disengage itself from county sponsorship.  This group wants to have its cake and eat it.  Based on their actions, which speak louder than words, I think this group would be much better off as a private nonprofit entity, just like the Italian American Heritage Foundation or the Italian Men’s Club or the lodges of the Sons of Italy or even the Valle Monte League. The Florence Commission offers an excellent opportunity to give Santa Clara County citizens a chance to serve and learn more about county government. If the Commission could get its pathetic act together, it could set a model for succession planning and stimulate a real interest in Italian culture and heritage among younger members of the Italian community.  But what is just as important is to be able to build up goodwill with those who are not of Italian heritage. Hasn’t anyone read Dale Carnegie’s book, “How to Win Friends and Influence People”? Duhhhhh! 

Wouldn’t it be nice if the various Italian clubs who attended the Festa della Repubblica event at the Heritage Foundation sent at least one representative to attend meetings of the Florence Commission on the first Thursday of the month? These meetings are open to the public and as the Brown Act requires, members of the public are allowed to comment on all agenda items before any votes are taken.  I mention this because the Florence Commission is prone to intimidating people with its private club mentality. The main purpose of the Brown Act is to promote public access. The Act gives members of the public the right to remain anonymous while attending a meeting. However, if a member of the public would like to comment on an agenda item, they are then requested to identify themselves for the record. Wouldn’t this be a great way to practice democracy and to supply ideas to the Florence Commission, which up until now has had the agenda all to itself with almost no input from the public? Here’s an opportunity for Italians from around Santa Clara County to leverage their influence in a positive way that contributes even more to the Valley of the Heart’s Delight that we love so much.  The Italian community needs to realize that it actually has a VOICE at the COUNTY LEVEL.   Here is a county level government body that can express, and to a degree represent, the interests of the Italian community via Italian culture and heritage through the county’s sister county relationship with the Province of Florence, Italy, the symbol of the Renaissance.  It’s up to the other Italian groups and the friends of Italian heritage and culture to get involved.  Unfortunately up until now the Florence Commission has acted like a private club which has had the effect of excluding members of the public from participating and providing input.  By being more inclusive you will expand your influence.  Have more debate and flourish.

As we all know, there is strength in numbers. It’s long overdue for the Florence Commission to start showing some community leadership. It needs to be more inclusive and more public service oriented so that it can credibly function as the advisory body that its charter has authorized it to be.  

The anniversary of the founding of the Italian Republic is a great opportunity for members of the local Italian American community to count their blessings, especially knowing that we have the best of both worlds, namely that we are of Italian heritage and live in America, the land of democracy, opportunity and freedom.

Happy Birthday, Italy and God Bless America.

Poets Kim Addonizio and Susan Browne talk with Frederick W. Marrazzo about the glory of poetry and their CD “Swearing, Smoking, Drinking and Kissing” which combines music with poetry. 

A Poem by Kim Addonizio: Generations

(From the collection “Tell Me, poems by Kim Addonizio”, BOA Editions LTD, Rochester, NY, 2000)

Somewhere a shop of hanging meats,

shop of stink and blood, block and cleaver;

somewhere an immigrant, grandfather, stranger

with my last name. That man

untying his apron in 1910, scrubbing off

the pale fat, going home past brownstones

and churches, past vendors, streetcars, arias,

past the clatter of supper dishes, going home

to his new son, my father–

What is he to me, butcher with sausage fingers,

old Italian leaning over a child somewhere

in New York City, somewhere alive, what is he

that I go back to look for him, years after his death

and my father’s death, knowing only

a name, a few scaps my father fed me?

My father who shortened that name, who hacked off

three lovely syllables, who raised American children.

What is the past to me

that I have to go back, pronouncing that word

in the silence of a cemetery, what is this stone

coming apart in my hands like bread, name

I eat and expel? Somewhere the smell of figs

and brine, strung garlic, rosemary and olives;

somewhere that place. Somewhere a boat

rocking, crossing over, entering the harbor.  I wait

on the dock, one face in a crowd of faces.

Families disembark and stream toward the city,

and though I walk among them for hours,

hungry, haunting the streets,

I can’t tell which of them is mine.

Somewhere a steak is wrapped in thick paper,

somewhere my grandmother is laid in the earth,

and my young father shines shoes on a corner,

turning his back to the Old World, forgetting.

I walk the night city, looking up at lit windows,

and there is no table set for me, nowhere

I can go to be filled.  This is the city

of grandparents, immigrants, arrivals,

where I’ve come too late with my name,

and empty plate. This is the place.

(From the collection “Tell Me, poems by Kim Addonizio”, BOA Editions LTD, Rochester, NY, 2000)

Say what you need to say, Scott McClellan. Say it for the sake of democracy. Say it for the souls lost in the hellish deserts of the Middle East. Better late than never, Scott McClellan. Better to say what you need to say, even if you could have spoken up earlier to stop your American comrades from dying in Iraq, spilling their blood for the sake of all that you said in support of the president, the glorious commander-in-chief. Do you feel foolish that the rest of the world knew about the deception long before you were even a glimmer in the eye of George W and his cohort of co-conspirators? Yes, you were duped and used like a lot of people, not to mention the 4,000+ soldiers who spilled their precious patriotic blood and died in the sands of a desert far away from the homeland of their birth. Yes, manipulation is a good choice of words. That’s what Republican Communists do. They manipulate, intimidate, leak names of CIA agents and use various sorts of propaganda to force others to do what they want. The American Republican Party could teach the Chinese Communist Party a few things, eh Comrade?

Your memoir is confirmation that the Bush Administration is really the Bush Conspiracy. It is a group of good ole boys who have operated like a conspiracy against American democracy, prestige and honor. The American Republican Guard is as dangerous as the Iranian Republican Guard. Both ideologies are dangerous to world peace and stability. At least your memoir will make us think very carefully about John McCain. He has been part of an administration, read MAFIA, that makes The Sopranos look like boy scouts. McCain is now going to have to explain why the American Republican Party decided to adopt the values of the Chinese Communist Party. The Bush Conspiracy moved into the Middle East on behalf of the American oil and automobile industries to ensure that their profits were maximized. Is McCain going to let them down by leaving earlier than his self-proclaimed 100-year pull out date? The Bush Conspiracy has treated the American people like a bug that it has stepped on without a second thought.

Oh say what you need to say, Scott McClellan. Better late than never. But tell that to the mothers and fathers whose precious sons and daughters heeded the president’s call for patriotism to take up arms to fight and protect the homeland against a threat that never really was all that you, the president’s press secretary, a public servant, made us believe it was. Tell that to those whose sons and daughters will never speak again. You had a chance to say it for them before they paid for your lies with their lives.

Say what you need to say, Comrade. But don’t be surprised if we ask you how to say “Long Live the Republican Communist Party” in Chinese.