Waist Deep in the Big Muddy

Wow. Here's a great poem I stumbled across in this old anthology I've been reading lately, it's called "Waist Deep in the Big Muddy" and written by Pete Seeger.

Waist Deep in the Big Muddy

It was back in nineteen forty-two,
I was part of a good platoon.
We were on maneuvers in Loozianna,
One night by the light of the moon.

The captain told us to ford a river,
and that's how it all begun.
We were knee deep in the Big Muddy,
but the big fool said to push on.

The sergeant said, Sir, are you sure
This is the best way back to the base?
Sergeant, go on; I've forded this river
Just a mile above this place.

It'll be a little soggy but just keep slogging
We'll soon be on dry ground.
We were waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool said to push on.

The sergeant said, Sir, with all this equipment
No man'll be able to swim.
Sergeant, don't be a nervous nellie
The captain said to him.

All we need is a little determination
Men, follow me, I'll lead on.
We were neck deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool said to push on.

All at once, the moon clouded over
We heard a gurgling cry
A few seconds later, the captain's helmet
Was all that floated by.

The sergeant said, turn around men
I'm in charge from now on
And we just made it out of the Big Muddy
With the captain dead and gone.

We stripped and dived and found his body
Stuck in the old quicksand.
I guess he didn't know the water was deeper
Than the place he'd once before been

Another stream had joined the Big Muddy
Just a half mile from where we'd gone.
We were lucky to escape from the Big Muddy
When the big fool said to push on.

Well, I'm not going to draw any moral,
I'll leave that to yourself
Maybe you're still walking, you're still talking
And you'd like to keep your health

But every time I read the papers
That old feeling comes on:
We're waste deep in the Big Muddy
And the Big Fool says to push on.

---Pete Seeger

Loving George W. Bush

What a guy, that W. He has singlehandedly (Dick Cheney's hand?) reinvigorated American politics with the most controversial policies since the days of Viet Nam. He's got so many of us riled up over blatant lies and war-profiteering and trying to kill Social Security with his salvation plan, among countless other issues, that we the people are once again a force in America. I'm just amazed at how the crookedest Administration in history is still not getting in trouble for their blatant corruption and scandalous dirty tricks, when there are so many people calling for their heads! What do we have to do to get our voices heard by the Republidrones to shake them up and wake them from their sleepy lemming-like state? It's essential that we instigate change soon, or else the warmongering will continue in the name of "peace and liberty"....and the blood will be on all our hands. We need to show the crooks that we are not going to let them rob us blind with their no-bid defense contracts, Social Security scams, and other ways of stealing from the poor to give to the rich. It's getting so bad now one might think Bush was the Anti-Robin Hood or the Anti-Buddha!

So when is the proverbial poop gonna hit the proverbial fan over Bush foreign policy?

It might start when the world begins to hold our military and leaders responsible for the war crimes committed in Iraq, especially the Iraqi's "9/11" (started on November 9) in Fallujah. And here's some facts about Depleted Uranium, which the US has used in both Iraq Wars to the detriment of ALL soldiers and citizens of that country. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm not an "America hater" and of course I have compassion for the average soldier, but when it comes to these war crimes I believe there must be justice for the victims. The blame should go all the way to the top of the command chain.

I wonder how many of us have considered yet just how many of the Iraqis in Abu Ghraib were not guilty of any crime, yet were "coerced" by torture and shameful degradation. I'm sure we really don't want to know...especially those like Rumsfeld and Gonzales and Bush, who were responsible for shaping the torture policy in Iraq and everywhere else.