Vote 'til you drop?

So, WalMart has recently backed
Rights of voters, but showed little tact,
In supply and demand,
When they asked to expand
Them by adding a Shopping Rights Act^*.

^*We understand this proposed legislation purports to increase voter access and turnout by mandating that all polling locations be moved to the nearest WalMart. Plus an additional 15% off at the register for those voting a straight Republican ticket!

Voting Rights Finds Friends in Big Business
NPR Morning Edition, 7/27/06

Survival of the twit-test

Geneticists found a solution
For uncovering new evolution.
By measuring genes,
They now have the means
To map an event's contribution.

And armed with this means of detection
They've identified recent selection;
But it still can't reveal
The errant allele
That resulted in Bush's election!

Thanks to George at Brewed Fresh Daily for allerting me to the story. It's worth a read if only for the wonderful evolutionary morph of Stephen Jay Gould.

And the Evolutionary Beat Goes On . . .
By Shankar Vedantam, The Washington Post, 7/24/06

The 3 Rs - Readin', wRitin' & Robbery?

The myst'_y of "whe_e a_e the _s?"
Is hist'_y, the _ogues behind ba_s.
The culp_its we_e caught
But the _uckus they w_ought's
Like a bliste_ that's su_e to bea_ sca_s.

Letter Rs Stolen From Ind. Signs Returned
The Washington Post, 7/22/06

The medium is the massage

How could the Savant resist jumping on the bandwagon



Bush’s German back rub magnified on YouTube
MSNBC, 7/21/06

Lights out in Cleveland

The news is just making me sick
That the Tribe, for a minor league pick,
Extinguished the light.
Might as well say, "goodnight,"
Since Shapiro has snuffed out the Wick.

Wickman era comes to a close
Veteran dealt to Braves; Carmona takes over role
Paul Hoynes, The Plain Dealer, 7/21/06

Ayatollah you "no!"

"The veto is not based on constitutional or legal objections. He is vetoing it because he says he believes it is immoral. Mr. President, you are not our moral ayatollah, maybe the president, nothing more."
-----Tom Harkin (D) Senator from Iowa

Bush vetoed this bill with a grin
That masked his war-mongering twin.
Invoking morality
Just shows, in reality,
What a hypocrite Dubbaya's been.

In First Veto, Bush Blocks Stem Cell Bill
By David Stout, The New York Times, 7/19/06

Gratitude of debt?

Monetarily, given the toll,
We are wondering what is his goal
When Bush cries, "Hurray!"
That, as of today,
We are $300 bil. in the hole?

White House sees smaller federal deficit this year
By Caren Bohan and Tim Ahmann
Washington Post, 7/11/06

Bet it doesn't help

There is no turning craps into heaven
But, for gamblers, could chance tend to leaven
The news of this bill
When, on Capitol Hill,
It passes on 7 - 11?

House Approves Crackdown on Online Gambling
By Kate Phillips, The New York Times, 7/11/06

This is not Mission Impossible!

Inconvenient or not, I implore
You to take in the Truth, ala Gore.
The glacial-ice pace
That our leaders embrace
Fuels a crisis we cannot ignore.

If you haven’t already, I urge you to see the film. It will be mobilizing for those of you that recognize the urgency of the global warming issue and enlightening for those that have been swayed by the corporate spin doctors.

I must admit that the cynic in me (and what part isn’t?) couldn’t help but think about the springboard this movie could be for a "Gore in 2008" campaign. I hope that impression doesn’t obscure the important message about what we are doing to our environment. But maybe if the guy who "was once the next president of the United States" was, I wouldn’t have been writing the following back in 2002.

Mr. Bush has a plan, that is bold,
To stop global warmth, we are told.
The Kyoto Accord
Is completely ignored
To ensure that the plan leaves us cold.

We tried to do our part by walking to the film and, even several weeks into the run, the theater was pretty full for Monday bargain night. I can’t vouch for the ratio of hybrids to SUVs in the parking lot, however. And my critics will remind me how I contribute to the problem with all the "hot air" generated at this blog. I guess I need to go plant another tree.

An Inconvenient Truth (2006)
Directed by Davis Guggenheim
In a theater near enough to walk to

Not so grand slam

What sort of deplorable wonk
Could ignore the performance of Pronk?
His omission, it’s clear,
From the All-Stars this year
Is a Travis-ty. Fans got it wrongk!

Pronk'd: Hafner is overlooked
Indians' DH keeps his sense of humor over All-Star slight
By Phil Rogers, The Chicago Tribune, 7/9/06

Sexy at sixty

[And I don't mean Dubya!]

So much in a package so teeny-
It’s work of a fashion Houdini.
The consummate Gaul!
From nothing atoll,
He conjured the Age of Bikini.



The bikini: Not a brief affair
By Kathryn Westcott, BBC News, 7/5/06

A missile's as good as a mile

N. Korea must know what a shock it
Would cause when they shot off that rocket;
Like risking your life
To sharpen a knife
Inside an electrical socket.

North Korea Test-Fires Seventh Missile
Japan and U.S. Condemn Action
By Anthony Faiola and William Branigin
Washington Post, 7/5/06

Quit blowing smoke!

To cigarette industry folk
Who’d let all the rest of us choke
While claiming “no harm:”
D’ya hear that alarm?
Your argument’s gone up in smoke!

Secondhand smoke debate 'over'
By Liz Szabo, USA TODAY, 6/27/06