An attack ad worth your attention

The partisan venom, let's shelve

For the moment, while all of us delve

In this criminal's past

And agree now, at last,

That it's Kony in 2012.

The Savant acknowledges the critics of this campaign and recognizes there is more to the history of Central Africa's problems than Joseph Kony and the L.R.A. but the man is an international criminal and is there any justification for the brutal conscription of children as soldiers and sex slaves?

The argument goes that Northern Uganda has been at peace for several years and that the L.R.A.'s influence has declined and that pursuing Kony and his band may only incite him and his followers to further violence. Has that ever been a good argument for letting crimes against humanity and their perpetrators go unpunished?

Yes the video is propaganda and grossly simplifies the very complex problems occurring in the region but if the movement has helped to raise awareness to the point of drawing such criticism it has been successful and maybe this is a model for how to get the public to recognize important issues without George Clooney having to get our attention first.

A 21, [uh] 18,[uh] 15 gun salute!

We must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence,
whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex.
--------– Dwight D. Eisenhower


The Pentagon: Gates tries to nudge it.
His figures don't lie; didn't fudge it.
Will Congress comply?
If they don't, you know why.
Their pork barrel spending: can't budget!

OK so it's "put up or shut up" time for all those fiscal conservatives that have been saying they don't want to burden our children or our childrens' children with with the cost of universal healthcare or alternative energy development or education reform. Let's see how many of them are still eager to ante up for antiquated aircraft carriers, obsolete fighters, and outmoded weapons systems just to fill the pockets of fat cat constituents. Anyone taking bets?

Pentagon chief takes aim at big weapons programs
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates wants to spend
less on elaborate systems and
more on boosting troops and intelligence.
By Julian E. Barnes, Los Angeles Times, 4/7/09

If the shoo fits...

A reporter, expressing his mood,
Made a gesture to Bush that was rude.
Though he took it in jest,
He has been such a pest
It seems fitting, somehow, he got "shoed."

All I can say, after reviewing the video, is "What a lame duck!"

Bush Trip To Iraq Has Sole, Reporter Throws Shoes
Morining Edition, NPR, 12/15/08

It's about f**king time!

Seems al-Maliki sides with Barack
With regard to our troops in Iraq.
That for Bush and his war,
Like a pimp with his whore,
Withdrawal should be on the clock!

Iraq Wants Withdrawal Timetable In U.S. Pact
By Ernesto Londoño and Dan Eggen
The Washington Post, 7/8/08

4K? Not OK!

It’s exactly five years, 1st of May,
I recall hearing Dubbaya say
That our mission was done
With the war shortly won.
Now we’re mourning the loss of 4K.

So it isn’t the billions we pay,
Lack of victory, or the delay;
But the breach of our trust.
When a war is unjust
Even one death is never OK.

U.S. toll in Iraq reaches 4,000
By Alexandra Zavis, Los Angeles Times, 3/24/08

So it ends and begins

Those who seek to be leaders of state
Often meet with a violent fate.
Now, as proof of that fear,
The beloved Benazir
Fell victim to militant hate.

Two Benazir Bhuttos
By Anne Applebaum, The Washington Post, 1/1/2008

What the Dickens?

Good will wishes seem filled with deception
When we choose who's in line for reception.
Let’s remove all the guessing
By invoking Gods’ blessing
On the world as a whole, no exception!

"God bless us, everyone." - Tiny Tim

Whom would Jesus exclude?
By Connie Schultz, The Plain Dealer, 12/18/07

But there's a new Sharif in town!

To his troops, he has bid "au revoir,"
But Musharraf believes he's the star.
So, Benazir Bhutto;
Like planetoid, Pluto;
Still orbits Pervez from afar.

Musharraf says farewell to army
By Matthew Weaver, The Guardian, 11/27/07

Won't get fooled again!

Presidential address preview

As his surge simply slows to a crawl,
Mr. Bush has learned nothing at all.
With his words rearranged,
His solution's unchanged:
He just says "military," with drawl!

Limited Pullout Is Middle Way on Iraq, Bush Will Say
By Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Steven Lee Myers
The New York Times, 9/13/07

Uncle Al (Zawahri) wants you

Now hiring a sober self-starter.
There is no opportunity smarter
Than a job with al-Qaida.
You won’t be well-paid-a,
But can end your career as a martyr!

[Recycle Alert: the above is a reworked version of a limerick posted on the Savant's original website. Plus ca change, la meme chose]

al-Qaida Calls for War Against Pakistan
The Guardian, 7/11/07

I read the news today; oh boy!

I remember the times seemed so rife
With famine, with war, and with strife.
Then that mind-blowing day
Pepper taught us to play…
Yet, today, it's a day in the life.

'Sgt. Pepper': It Was 40 Years Ago Today
Time, 6/1/07

A Tony departure

The Britons have had their full share
Of Iraq and Prime Minister Blair,
So he soon will step down.
But we're left with our clown
And for respite we haven't a prayer!



House Approves Revised War Bill
Two-Part Funding Faces Veto Threat
By Jonathan Weisman, The Washington Post, 5/11/07

Britain's Blair to Step Down June 27
By Danica Kirka (AP), The Guardian, 5/11/07

Mayday! Mayday!

2003 vs 2007

This bill was a head-on collision
Meant to challenge George Bush's decision
To keep us at war.
Congress evened the score,
But have they accomplished their mission?

Bush Vetoes Iraq War Bill on Day of Political Theater
By Brian Naylor, NPR All Things Considered, 5/1/07

Self-inflicted wounds

New rules of engagement apply
Now that Congress is questioning why,
When Bush went to war,
Without bullets or gore,
That Truth was the first one to die.

Panel Hears About Falsehoods in 2 Wartime Incidents
By Michael Luo, The New York Times, 4/25/07

'Round midnight

This timepiece is used to display
Where the nuclear threat stands today.
Please note its advance
Indicates there's a chance
Armageddon's five minutes away!

Doomsday Clock edges toward midnight
Scientists add global warming to nuclear fears
The Boston Globe, 1/18/07

A matter of emphasis

As I ponder the dead and the living
I get caught up syllabically sieving.
For those serving at war
Or the homeless and poor,
Is the stress on the "thanks" or the "giving?"

Our current day of celebration probably owes more to Abraham Lincoln than to the Pilgrims. His proclamation, in the midst of the Civil War, set the tone for our national day of thankfulness and the words still ring surprisingly true.

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION

The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added which are of so extraordinary a nature that they can not fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.

In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign states to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere, except in the theater of military conflict, while that theater has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.

Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense have not arrested the plow, the shuttle, or the ship; the ax has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege, and the battlefield, and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.

No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.

It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans. mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity, and union.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington, this 3d day of October, A. D. 1863, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-eighth.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

By the President:

WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State.

Happy Tha[ng](k)s-'gi-vi[ng]
or 'Tha[ng](k)s- gi-vi[ng]
however you choose to live it

And please take in the following food for thought on this day
A feast of the ordinary
By James Carroll, The Boston Globe, 11/20/06

Be in the heard, not in the herd

Got a grievance that's stuck in your throat?
Want a proven and safe antidote?
Awaken your voice
By makin' a choice
Or mute it by failing to vote!


Proven safe and effective when used as directed.
Best results are obtained by twice yearly administration.
May be obtained over the counter with proper I.D. Some restrictions may apply.

Side effects may include: headaches; confusion; long lines; nausea; double vision;
irritation; feelings of déjà vu; disappointment; and euphoria.
Best when used in combination with a regimen of political activism and community involvement.

We must vote, even if choices aren't choice
By Dawn Turner Trice
The Chicago Tribune, 11/6/06

Embracing our diversity

For bloggers from near and from far,
The blogosphere is the Bazaar.
The concept, ubuntu,
's the wavelength we tune to,
Where others define who we are.

Yes, I know I was mixing my metaphors or, to be more exact, my similes and metaphors. I'm afraid I haven't taken Ogden Nash's literary advice to heart (see Very Like a Whale and don't miss the link to the Byron poem, The Destruction of Sennacherib, which it lampoons).

Not being of Nash's caliber as writer or humorist, I found it necessary to abuse those tools to express my excitement over the discovery of the Bantu concept of ubuntu, "I am because we are." Suddenly, it seemed the perfect way to express my experience of the blogging phenomenon. Ubuntu seems to capture how the blogosphere (I hate that term) has created interconnectedness among many individuals, worldwide, who share their similarities and differences in a generally civilized way through posts and comments on those posts. Maybe that makes us all mixed metaphors of a sort? I know that the longer I do this the more, what was once, a solitary activity has become a conversation.

As often happens, a confluence of events led me to this post. Firstly, I caught the story about ubuntu on PRI's "The World" during my evening commute. Then, I belatedly read about Ronni Bennett's "Elderblogger PhoneCon." Ronni's recap made me sorry that I missed the telephone meet-up but hopeful for the opportunity to participate in January. If only she will schedule part of it during evening hours for those of us for whom blogging has to take a backseat to other duties. Ronni, if you do, I promise a recitation of a limerick composed especially for the occasion. Ronni's conference call and her blog, Time Goes By, in general, voice that spirit of ubuntu that I sense many of us bloggers are striving toward. Thanks, Ronni, for making the world a smaller, closer, and (greenhouse gas emissions aside) warmer place.


The Africa Report
The World, PRI, 10/26/06

No "E" for effort

Kim Jong Il has proved more than a pest
In pursuit of his nuclear quest.
Now, the world, as we know it,
Has changed. If we blow it,
It’s failure; for this is the test.

Diverted Attention, Neglect Set the Stage for Kim's Move
Up until 2001, North Korea's nuclear program was largely
under seal and monitored by the U.N. What went wrong?
By Barbara Demick, Los Angeles Times, 10/10/06

War is hard; peace is simple

There simply can be no excuse
For these countries to not reach a truce.
Either see eye-to-eye
Or let innocents die!
Is the answer that hard to deduce?

Sixty-one years and we still have not learned one of the key lessons of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. See Cowntown Pattie's excellent post for more on that subject.

Israeli Jets Kill 30; No Letup in Militia Attacks
Arab League Ministers Call for Cease-Fire,
But Israel Signals Expansion of Offensive
By Edward Cody and Molly Moore
The Washington Post, 8/8/06