February, 2018

(2/1/18)
(1,084)
In this era of life run amok,
Comes an instance of horrible luck:
A Republican train
Caused one death and much pain
Ramming in to a white garbage truck.

2/2/18
(1,083)
Alleged surveillance abuses
In a memo has Dems blowing fuses.
The contents within,
Bring distortion and spin
And faint longing for pitchforks and nooses.

2/3/18
(1,082)
Was Nunes’ four pages a flop?
Does corruption go straight to the top?
Fear and doubt, not the least –
Was the Mark of the Beast
In the Dow’s 666ty point drop.

(Rounded up from -665.75)

2/4/18
(1,081)
A year ago or more, we said good-bye
And left in tears as our dear Sartaj closed
A simple loss. But more then most supposed.
Accepting still, so many reasons why.

Then, checking out this old but newer venue,
With ramp and bathroom ADA approved
As off to Sacramento our friends moved.
Good food, but not the Love once on the menu.

Just now, a new beginning, unexpected.
A local story, far from world events.
But what this simple moment represents:
A Joy that now too often’s unreflected.

What works transpired far beyond our ken.
On this Great Day, we did go Home again

2/5/18
(1,080)
Elon Musk, a genius with gall,
Selling flame throwers, sturdy and small.
They’re a gift you should bring
To who has everything,
But appreciates nothing at all.

2/6/18
(1,079)
What’s up with the Stock Market drama.
Four figures including a comma.
This precipitous tumble
Won’t make Donald humble.
He’ll just blame the drop on Obama.

Ups and downs of amazing amounts.
Give whiplash to investment accounts.
Causing brokers great pains.
Are these real gains,
Or just what’s called a Dead Cat Bounce.

2/7/18
(1,078)
He bragged of how much he got laid,
And the billions of bucks he’s been paid.
He tweets his rebukes
Loves walls and more nukes,
And now he wants a parade.

2/8/18
(1,077)
With an uptick in toxins and spillage,
Fossil fuels, greenhouse gasses and drillage,
Mr. Pruitt should say
That his new EPA
Is not for Protection, but Pillage.

2/9/18
(1,076)
What crazy thing did Donald do today?
You cannot miss the latest episode!
Or is your mind on Gossip Overload
While suf’ring from the pain of Truth Decay.

The narrow narrative that spins from our “free press” –
A strand that’s knitted by an unseen finger
So fear, despair and doubt are prone to linger
No wonder we buy pills for happiness.

Those at the top don’t bother to respect us.
Avoid their cults of personality.
Don’t feed their ego and their vanity
But focus on the issues that affect us.

To clever, simple memes we’re not indentured.
Dig deep and find the news that has been censored.

2/10/18
(1,075)
Rob Porter’s a pretty nice guy.
All that rumored abuse he’ll deny.
Treated ex-wives just swell, he
Got praise from John Kelly.
But he cannot explain that black eye.

2/11/18
(1,074)
Oh, the problems our planet must face
All the sickness and war’s a disgrace.
With our sad, starving millions,
Elon Musk spends his billions
On launching a Tesla in space.

2/12/18
(1,073)
So Congress is cutting the Net
Of Safety while running up debt.
There’s tax breaks for banks
And money for tanks
But good luck if you’re a disabled Vet.

2/13/18
(1,072)
In life, what ever your station,
Your color, your creed or your nation,
Get out there and play.
Let Le Bon Temps Roulé!
Have a fine Fat Tuesday Celebration!

2/14/18
(1,071)
A coincidence? Not so, I say,
Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day.
A symbolic rendition:
The Human Condition
Being drawn to both pray and to prey.

2/15/18
(1,070)
Too many in power have lied.
Too many parents have cried.
And now, one more time.
You don’t need my rhyme
To say too many children have died.

2/16/18
(1,069)
What drives a man to run towards a danger
And bravely leap into the line of fire,
A sacrifice in serving something higher
A Human Shield, there for friend or stranger.

While we debate our laws and social ills –
A luxury not there for those in grief.
Be still, and pray they someday find relief,
And leave the lobbyists to count the kills.

A day like any other. ‘Til it’s not.
The echoes, trapped forever in those halls
That sad eternal shadow where he falls.
Within us lives the lesson that he taught.

A stranger, yet I feel your family’s pain.
By Grace of God, he did not die in vain.

(Dedicated to Aaron Feis, Scott Beigel, Chris Hixon, and all the victims of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting)

2/17/18
(1,068)
A number of friends are excited
That 13 Russian Trolls were indicted
For a new kind of scare –
Information Warfare.
Has the US itself ever tried it?

2/18/18
(1,067)
With facts and the truth on the line,
For reporters, it’s not a good sign
That in so many cases,
Responsible faces,
When asked for a comment, decline.

2/19/18
(1,066)
It’s Presidents’ Day! Forsooth!
So much change from our Voting Booth!
We’ve evolved from a guy
Who cannot tell a lie
To another who can’t tell the truth.

2/20/18
(1,065)
The Beatles, they sure were quite fun.
And Lennon was my favorite one.
But it’s hard to imagine
He wrote both Imagine
And Happiness is a Warm Gun.

2/21/18
(1,064)
So much firearm-based Invective.
But our view from home can be selective.
Though our concerns are noble,
These problems are global.
Check the Syrian mess for perspective.

2/22/18
(1,063)
The question “why can’t Johnny read?”
Has become “why must Johnny bleed?”
Forget Honor Rolls.
Bring on Armed Patrols.
The Gun Lobby knows what we need.

2/23/18
(1,062)
The days to go? One-thousand sixty-two
As we await the next inauguration.
In rhyme, it’s hard to put the situation.
These wars between, as well within, the Red and Blue.

Our Nation’s youth now march to stay alive
While Patriots dare clutch their weapons tighter
And root for ICE to keep our cities whiter.
Then, daily tweets to help our discord thrive.

The richest see “the makers” and “the takers”
And boldly move to skim more off the top.
Their history shows a greed that will not stop.
How many of our allies are just fakers.

Perhaps our woes are caused by Russian elves,
But still, such damage we do to ourselves.

2/24/18
(1,061)
I don’t write these rhymes as a lark.
They keep me from getting to dark.
But I shouted “hooray!”
When ’twas said yesterday
That the NRA’s jumped the shark.

2/25/18
(1,060)
President Nieto has built his own wall.
It did not have to be very tall
It just says “No way.
We can’t, and won’t pay.
And there’s no room for Donald at all.”

2/26/18
(1,059)
(w/ thanks to London Evans)

A show that is really a honey
Is on Netflix, and called Dirty Money.
If you think you can trust
Those who for power lust,
Meet Santa & the Easter Bunny.

2/27/18
(1,058)
Enough with the Russians, please.
They’re a target we’re hitting with ease.
In truth it would seem
The more scary regime,
The Ruler for Life, is Chinese.

2/28/18
(1,057)
At one store, a stunning new trick:
Among all the guns you can pick,
Theres no longer trifles
With assault-style rifles.
How nice to see Dick’s not a dick.