Your patriotic duty

I want to again encourage my readers to support the NAMI Campaign for the Mind of America. Heaven knows we need it. Even President Bush might benefit according to Lawrence O'Donnell of The McLaughlin Group.

See The McLaughlin Group from 9/23/05 in which O'Donnell asserts that Bush's comparison of Hurricane Katrina to terrorism is a clear sign of his deteriorating mental state.

So whether it's recognizing a good cause, empathy, guilt, or just acknowledging your patriotic duty to help your poor addled president; please click on the link below. You will at least get the Savant out from behind his computer and showing his face in the light of day and you will definitely be doing some good for those who, unlike Bush, often have a difficult time speaking out for themselves.

Thank you.

Weather or not

Fate seizes but, rarely, it grants.
We're so tired of the Bush song & dance
That we hope he takes heed
And chooses to lead
And with Rita, he'll get a new chance.

Missed ya lie!

Brother Kenya and his eagle eyes
Left me no other choice than revise.
Now with hardly a trace
Of egg on my face
I have captured the pullet surprise.

Wow! Thanks to Elisson for selecting my photo caption (in limerick form, of course) as the winner in his recent contest.

The last time I won something was in seventh grade when the prize was The Heritage of the Cleveland Indians record album featuring veteran sportscaster, Jimmy Dudley.

YAP - Yet, Another Plea

No limerick today. Just another plea for support. This is NAMI's primary fund raiser of the year and, though there are many worthwhile causes seeking support in the wake of Katrina, we must not neglect those that still need our help. Maybe you have a neighbor, co-worker, or family member (I do) who is trying to cope with mental illness. Or maybe, like me, you have worked in the field of mental health. (What! You thought I earn a living doing this?). Please consider walking in your local event, if you have one, or make a donation (no matter how small) to someone who is walking. (Am I such a bad choice?)

For this week ONLY, I will send a signed copy of my chapbook, Four-year Funk, to all readers who sponsor my walk with a donation of $10 or more. Click the NAMIWalks link below for more information on this very worthwhile cause. Or check it out with charity evaluation links below.

The Campaign for the Mind of America is a multi-year effort on many fronts to promote investment in recovery and to prevent the abandonment of yet another generation of Americans with mental illnesses to neglect and hopelessness. The Campaign highlights the need to build a comprehensive, efficient system to screen, evaluate, diagnose and treat mental illnesses at every stage of life.

NAMI is a 501(c)3 charity and any donation you make to support my participation in this event is tax deductible. NAMI has been rated by Worth magazine as among the top 100 charities "most likely to save the world" and has been given an "A" rating (better than the American Red Cross, CARE, MDA, or Farm Aid to name a few) by The American Institute of Philanthropy for efficient and effective use of charitable dollars. NAMI has also been given 3 out of 4 stars by The Charity Navigator for short-term spending practices and 4 out of 4 stars for long-term sustainability.

The cruelest caption

'Fraid my lastest verse can only be found at Blog D'Elisson in the comments.

Let them eat pork rinds

She could dictate voluminous tomes
About building survivors new homes.
Barbara Bush has decreed
That, for people in need,
Nothing's better than living in domes!

What I'm hearing, which is sort of scary, is they all want to stay in Texas. Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this is working very well for them."

Barbara Bush in an NPR radio interview, after visiting with Hurricane Katrina evacuees in the Astrodome in Texas, 8/5/2005

Maybe Dubya plans on appointing his mom to lead the Urban Homesteading Act initiative?

Bush Promises a Massive Rebuilding of Gulf Coast
Los Angeles Times, 9/16/05

The bittersweet truth

"Stupid is as stupid does" - F. G.

'Til Roberts becomes the Chief Ump,
His answers are likely to stump.
'Nless we bite, you can bet
We won't know what we get.
He's choc'lates and we're Forrest Gump.

Roberts Resists Specifics in Senate Session
By Nina Totenberg, NPR, 9/13/05

Dubya's Disaster Relief

Recognizing his ratings are dire
Mr. Bush plans that FEMA rehire.
To Brown: "Hold your horses;
You've not the resources-
Need a fireman to put out that fire!"

Career firefighter named new FEMA director
San Jose Mercury News, 9/13/05

Biting the hand that feeds, again?

Yesterday, when my limerick appeared
In the paper, the feeling was weird.
Why is it the Press
That gets to profess
Who's worthy to be blogosphered?

Blogosphere Cleveland
Compiled by John Campanelli, The Plain Dealer, 9/11/05
[sorry, no link, so instead I link to BFD's discussion of this column]

We have nothing to fear but FOTA

[FOTA (Fear of the Alternative) was taken from an article written by Fareed Zakaria for NewsWeek in February of 2002, How to Save the Arab World. I use the concept with different meaning here]

Recyle Alert!
(reworked limerick from a previous post)
I have reworked one of the first limericks from my original website to commemorate the 4th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

The evil of Mohammed Atta
Cannot be discerned from the data,
For facts often lie,
Beliefs go awry,
And the Truth doesn't fly on errata.

But the heart may eventually find
What is already known in the mind:
No matter the fear
To which they adhere,
True believers are all of a kind.

So after four years we remember
Events of that day in September.
That innocence lost
Was part of the cost,
Burns on in our hearts like an ember.

Katrina's become the new headline;
Her survivors are queued in the bread line
But, still, if you squint
To read the fine print,
It says, "Life always comes with a deadline."

Uncertainty from 9/11 lingers over generation
By Barry Petchesky, The Charlotte Observer, 9/11/05

Money talks - LS walks!

Yes, he's frequently pitching the talk -
So as not to be called for the balk,
October the 1st,
Neither forced nor coerced,
The Savant will be walking the walk.

But he needs your support for this worthy cause.

Click on the NAMIWALKS link below to sponsor me.

As a special offer to the loyal readers of this blog, I will send a signed copy of the Limerick Savant's chapbook, Four-year Funk, to anyone who donates $15 or more as a sponsor. The chapbook is a beautiful handmade collection of past limericks, and it sports a three color silk screen cover. It is sure to become a collector's item (dust collectors, that is).


The Campaign for the Mind of America is a multi-year effort on many fronts to promote investment in recovery and to prevent the abandonment of yet another generation of Americans with mental illnesses to neglect and hopelessness. The Campaign highlights the need to build a comprehensive, efficient system to screen, evaluate, diagnose and treat mental illnesses at every stage of life.

Kanye believe it?

We know Dubya could just bust a cap
In his ass for the hurricane flap;
But it's Kanye's belief
FEMA's feeble relief
Means that Bush should be takin' the rap.

Which "rap" deserves to be heard? You be the judge:
[N.B. - You will not get a Supreme Court nomination whichever you pick]

Kanye West on NBC or Michael Brown's FEMA pap

NBC Deletes Rap Star's Remarks on Telethon
By Matea Gold and Scott Collins
Los Angeles Times, 9/4/05

Rising tide of criticism

How much agony could have been spared
Had we only been better prepared?
Should the Poor and the Black
Seek relief from Iraq,
Where it seems like our government cared?

That being said...
How You Can Help: Donate Now
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Alabama Governor’s Emergency Relief Fund
Please mail checks or money orders to:
Alabama Governor's Emergency Relief Fund
P.O. Box 1523
Montgomery, AL 36102
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Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation
Please mail checks or money orders to:
Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation
1201 North Third Street, Suite 7-240
PO Box 94095
Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9095
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Mississippi Hurricane Relief Fund
Please mail checks or money orders to:
Mississippi Hurricane Relief Fund
P.O. Box 139
Jackson, MS 39205
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Or click here for TTLB's aggregator of Katrina charities

Critics Say Bush Undercut New Orleans Flood Control
By Jim VandeHei and Peter Baker
Washington Post, 9/2/05