Paul Elisha

Paul Elisha: Change

Paul Elisha — Tue, 14 May 2013 16:35:00 +0000

This Commentator had decided to devote his essay for today to the two documents which have hung above the desk in his work space, since they were awarded to him, by then Governor Mario M. Cuomo, for his participation and help in achieving major ethics legislation in New York State, on August 7^th, 1987. He was going to note how time and trials had wrought changes, which made these documents less important mementos of prior, experience and would then, perhaps, look forward to another time, for yet another, more important change. This might even surpass what was then achieved, to legislate even more important advances in governmental ethics. Alas, it now appears that this will not occur.

Paul Elisha: This Is A Recording

Paul Elisha — Tue, 07 May 2013 16:29:03 +0000

When Scottish physicist James Clark Maxwell made the invention of the telephone possible, by unlocking the secret of electro-magnetic waves, in 1878, he playfully wrote of its humble appearance--- “Any disappointment was partially relieved, on finding it was really able to talk.”

Paul Elisha: The Unaffordable Loss

Paul Elisha — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 15:41:59 +0000

Paul Elisha: Courageous Voices Needed To Save America!

Paul Elisha — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 16:38:29 +0000

When the conservative-driven hierarchy of the U.S. Supreme Court dared to re-design the framework of corporate essence into a temporal twin of individual human qualities and characteristics, it did so without a schematic of definitive qualifications. As a result, the outcome was essentially left “up-for-grabs.” In American political parlance, that translates into the singular forensic phrase: “To the highest bidder.”

A Bard's Eye View - Djelloul Marbrook

Paul Elisha — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 15:02:01 +0000

April is National Poetry Month. In this edition of A Bard's Eye View, WAMC's resident poet, Paul Elisha, sits down for a conversation with Djelloul Marbrook. They discuss Djelloul's work, Brushstrokes and glances.

Djelloul Marbrook's book of poems, Far from Algiers, won the 2007 Stan and Tom Wick Poetry Prize and the 2010 International Book Award in poetry. He worked for many years as a reporter and editor for newspapers including the Providence Journal, Elmira Star-Gazette, Baltimore Sun, Winston-Salem Journal, Washington Star, and others. He lives in New York s mid-Hudson Valley with his wife Marilyn.

Paul Elisha: Some seasonal thoughts on the new, the old... and how we handle both

Paul Elisha — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 16:00:46 +0000

One of the great unsolvable human mysteries, for this commentator, continues to be how, during the final days of one of the Judeo/Christian community’s most holy observances, leaders and followers of the most diverse political opinions and policies can put them casually aside, for the duration of their respective religious participations. Then, ignore the hallowed words and meanings they’ve mouthed, as they blithely return to the most miserably consequential and unsavory shenanigans, in their games of political one-upmanship.

Paul Elisha: Judeo-Christian Ambiguities, Beliefs and Choices

Paul Elisha — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 16:57:04 +0000

As the various disparate observances approach, which, by some series of absurdities has become a misnomer, now known as Judeo-Christian kinship, this commentator’s memory harks back to his childhood and the question he yearned to ask his biblically astute Grandfather but never dared: “Why is it that at the end of the Passover Seder, at the final ‘Amen,’ does everyone fervently respond: “Next year in Jerusalem!”?

Paul Elisha: No Race Prejudice in America? Take Another Look

Paul Elisha — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 16:34:00 +0000

With the sum of today’s techno-centric capability at unbelievable levels of accomplishment, in this nation, it’s hard to believe that America’s biggest problem is still race prejudice – specifically and sadly, prejudice of Whites against Blacks. As the Nobel Prize recipient for literature, in 1992, Derek Walcott put it: “There are no large issues in America, outside of race.”

Paul Elisha: Time for Adolescent America to Grow Up

Paul Elisha — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 16:40:00 +0000

If we were to compare our nation’s growth to periods, like those of individuals, one might call America’s present period an apt match for – “The Terrible Teens!” There is a definite national attitude of adolescent willfulness displayed by too many individuals, who seem to be straining against the slightest semblance of restraint of any kind. One might describe the prevailing temper as one of national antipathy for any form of control.

Paul Elisha: The 2nd Amendment, Still Fertile for Second Guessers

Paul Elisha — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 17:37:00 +0000

It’s time we stopped dancing around the obvious institutional source of the U.S.