January, 2018

1/1/18
(1,115)
A toast to the First of the Year.
Hold the people who care for you dear.
Reach for the best,
Cope with the rest,
And try to choose love over fear.

1/2/18
(1,114)
This Holiday’s over. Get cracking.
Time to get back to chopping and stacking.
And drilling and spilling,
To make a big killing,
To mine without fining, and fracking.

1/3/18
(1,113)
Forty years, Orrin led from the Right.
Button-down. Very Utah. Uptight.
Issue-wise, him and me
Pretty much disagree.
But at least he was always polite.

1/4/18
(1,112)
So it’s high time for legalized pot.
Statewide, cannabis culture is hot.
Hate to spoil the fun.
It’s still Schedule One.
Light up? Jeffery Sessions says “Not.”

1/5/18
(1,111)
We will leave it to history’s jury
To review the book Fire and Fury.
After Steve Bannon’s blurb
Kicking Trump to the curb,
He sure changed his tune in a hurry.

1/6/18
(1,110)
When the Feds tell the press what to say,
Truth in black and white print turns to gray.
I read machinations
Of past administrations,
Then wonder what’s censored today.

(1/7/18)
(1,109)
This weekend’s Camp David retreat
A Republican brass Meet & Greet.
Job One on the docket –
Pick America’s pocket
While avoiding a midterm defeat.

(1/8/18)
(1,108)
It’s a night that you don’t want to miss,
Full of meaningful self-righteous bliss.
Celebrity causes.
Poignant pauses.
Hollywood gives its mirror a kiss

(1/9/18)
(1,107)
So he says now the Senate’s his goal.
His pardon exchanged for his soul.
I pity our fate
In his vision of “great”
Sheriff Joe, please go back in your hole.

(1/10/18)
(1,106)
To cure our American cancer
We may need a political dancer.
But for all our times burned
I hope that we’ve learned
That a rich TV star’s not the answer.

(1/11/18)
(1,105)
Both sides of the aisle today
Tossed more privacy safeguards away
I find it abhorrent
To spy with no warrant,
And be governed by the NSA.

(1/12/18)
(1,104)
In all today’s headlines we’ll find
That quote – cruel and racist, unkind,
About darker faces
In far-away places,
From that amazing shit-hole of a mind.

(1/13/18)
(1,103)
We were shocked by that quote yesterday.
“Shithole countries”. A sad thing to say.
T’was insulting. No doubt.
But have you read about
All the bombs that helped make them that way.

(1/14/18)
(1,102)
Those airless words a sickened fear instill
A frozen moment then a wash of dread
How many last good-byes were left unsaid
When forced to face that this is not a drill.

For thirty minutes, a lifetime set aflame
Until an errant button push, discovered.
Or by this did some covert act get covered
So hard to know just who or what to blame.

A false alarm but still on high alert.
As life unfolds in new and dreadful ways.
This cursed siren song defines our days
Subjecting innocents to needless hurt.

A tense relief that this was but a test.
Aloha, precious jewel that dots the west.

(1/15/18)
(1,101)
A porn star by name of Alana
Was invited to Donald’s cabana
But a paid non-disclosure
Covered up the exposure
Of this quick game of hide-the-banana.

(1/16/18)
(1,100)
Time for Bannon to go testify
For the Russia probe – who, when & why.
He’s alluded to treason,
And that might be the reason
That his old pal Bob Mercer said “bye.”

(1/17/18)
(1,099)
No word as to when it will start.
This ripping of families apart.
Be on alert, Guapo.
Here come the gestapo.
Our leader has ICE in his heart.

(1/18/18)
(1,098)
Pick a crisis. So many to choose.
Or maybe they’re all just a ruse.
I’m glad Donald’s found
Time for playing a round
And for giving awards for Fake News.

(1/19/18)
(1,097)
Both sides of the aisle are mopin’
Just accusin’ and blamin’. Emotin’.
They’re acting like asses
Over budget impasses.
Shut it down? Didn’t know it was open.

(1/20/18)
(1,096)
Could the Feds have gone beyond the pale
In abusing their right to surveil?
If there’s no problemo
Then release the memo.
Or perhaps just let Hannity rail.

(1/21/18)
(1,095)
One year is down, three to go.
All in all, it’s been quite a show.
So in celebration
They shut down the nation
Are we great yet? From what I see, no.

(1/22/18)
(1,094)
Our Government shutdown’s a mess.
One our President will not address.
It’s beg, borrow and steal.
Playing Let’s Make a Deal!
Vote for Monty Hall for Congress!

(1/23/18)
(1,093)
Politics is a tired old line.
Most folks could get along fine
If we sought a solution
For wealth distribution
Far beyond the world’s richest nine.

(1/24/18)
(1,092)
Larry Nassar had gone past betrayal.
Couldn’t watch as each girl told her tale.
He preyed like a vulture
In Gymnastic culture
I’m sure they’ll just love him in jail.

(1/25/18)
(1,091)
With all the new trends emergent,
A warning has now become urgent:
They’re cheap and they’re handy.
They look just like candy
But kids, please don’t eat the detergent.

(1/26/18)
(1,090)
At Davos, world leaders engage.
Talking commerce and climate and wage.
Our Prez, when he spake,
Dismissed fact as fake,
And was booed on this global stage.

(1/27/18)
(1,089)
Each day, the public court condemns with quickness
The predatory man in all his guises.
That power beyond conscience when it rises,
Where even women justify the sickness.

A greater ill to serve a greater good
A darker path toward distorted goals.
Entitlement to self-appointed roles,
To force the hand if just because one could.

Oh beauty, what dark force seeks to destroy you,
That must corrupt what it cannot create.
What tortured soul exists beneath that hate
That still, without permission, will enjoy you.

Hold fast against the will that seeks to part.
For therein lies the triumph of the heart.

(1/28/18)
(1,088)
Two rich guys named Harvey & Steve
Caused a bevy of women to grieve.
They’re big party donors
With insatiable boners.
There’s the door, guys. It’s time you should leave.

(1/29/18)
(1,087)
The Grammys™ salute best in song.
Where Divas and Punks get along.
Strutting Stars show their tricks,
Even talk Politics.
But this auto-tune thing is all wrong.

(1/30/18)
(1,086)
Tonight, hold on to your seats
As he brags of Remarkable Feats.
Though our Country’s a mess,
His loud, proud address
Will be given completely in Tweets.

(1/31/18)
(1,085)
Unfold the scroll of empty platitudes.
Parade the faces placed to illustrate
That twisted vision of our current state
White-out a year of damaged attitudes.

Then experts, highly paid, dissect the text
For hints of what he did and did not say.
Behind the scenes, what forces put in play.
We watch and wonder. Brace for what is next.

Two visions of our Now starkly diverge.
But still the truth remains, though quite obscure.
Like mushrooms, in the dark, and fed manure,
We will, perhaps, on voting day emerge.

Reject these simple narratives we’re fed.
For each of us to write our own instead.