DeLayed Action

Republicans say there's no trouble
With leader, DeLay, on the bubble:
"We're changing the rule
And won't that be cool.
Our ethical standards will double!"

GOP Moves to Protect Majority Leader DeLay
The Guardian, 11/17/04

Abandon hope, all ye who enter here

--Dante Alighieri

Whether kidnapped or shot where they fell,
When captives are killed we can tell
What Sherman once noted
And often is quoted:
Suffice it to say, it's all Hell!

It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, more vengeance, more desolation. War is hell.
--William Tecumseh Sherman

Rules of engagement
The Guardian, 11/17/04

Kidnapped Aid Worker Hassan Feared Dead
NPR, All Things Considered, 11/16/04

The last of his Tribe

Adios, Senor Omar Vizquel -
You're the last of a Tribe we knew well.
It was such a short stop
From bottom to top
But you leave as a Giant. Farewell!


Omar's farewell letter
The Plain Dealer, 11/16/04

The New World

The extremists are easily spied
For a trait that they share in their pride.
No matter the name,
They sound much the same
When they claim they have God on their side

"Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side;
my greatest concern is to be on God's side..."
--- Abraham Lincoln

Thanks to Anonymous whose comment in the previous post inspired this one.

Don't change horses on the way to the Apocalypse

The Apocalypse looms ever nearer.
Hear that bell as it rings all the clearer?
For whom does it toll?
Just look to your soul;
Mr. Bush can just look in the Mirror.


London Daily Mirror, 11/4/04

Once upon a time...

Looks like Bush will be claiming the laurel
So we guess that's the end of the quarrel?
It's the same fairy tale
But, this time, it can't fail
Since we're told it has more than one moral.

Issue of Moral Values Trumps other Voter Concerns
NPR Morning Edition, 11/3/04

Trolitcal poupe

They're a troupe of political reps
Lifting spirits like comic adepts.
See demockracy work
With a musical quirk
When you visit the Capitol Steps

Limerick Savant seen with niece at the Capitol Steps
Cleveland, 10/30/04

I quote: "Please vote!"

"If one candidate is trying to scare you, and the other's trying to get you to think; if one is appealing to your fears, and the other is appealing to your hopes - it seems to me you ought to vote for the person who wants you to think and hope."
--William Clinton

There's no graver decision this year
And the choice now is perfectly clear.
When casting your vote,
Don't do it by rote
And please vote from your hope not your fear.

Yes, this limerick is really a chain
Which is something I mostly disdain
But pass on this note
To ten friends who vote
If you do then we all stand to gain

Click the envelope icon below to send this reminder

The carrot vs. the stick
Brian McGrory, The Boston Globe, 10/26/04

Red Sox Reverse

To the psychics computing the odds
That St. Louis would leave us in shards:
We curse the Bambino;
He's dead, so wha's he know?
Guess winning was not in the Cards!

[note: it rhymes if you're from Boston]

YES!!!
Red Sox complete sweep, win first Series since 1918
Boston Globe, 10/28/04

Refuge

Tired of pundits predicting the races
And opinions without any basis?
You'll know where you stand
On this partisan sand
When you visit the Liberal Oasis.

It's about time

It's cheers to those miracle Sox
Who've suffered through years of hard knocks.
But now they give thanks;
Down three to the Yanks,
They finished by cleaning their clocks!

Red Sox want to blast the past
USA Today, 10/21/04

A question

To Mr. Bush:

Have you done everything that you can
To end genocide in Sudan?
You say you abhor
The deaths in Darfur
But you've buried your head in the sand.

Kerry outraged at Bush's 'toothless' response to Darfur
TurkishPress.com, 10/17/04

Is that a bulge in your suit or...

So, was Dubbaya poorly attired
Or did Rove have the president wired?
The bulge in his suit
Is an issue that's moot.
His performance should get someone fired!
(preferably, him)

Bush's bulge stirs media rumours
BBC, 10/9/04

Of a different color

"We must not let our president down;
Stay the course," many say, but I frown.
Things are not as they seem.
Change the horse in midstream?
Yes, I would, if he caused me to drown!

Meanwhile: Being Bush means never having to say you're sorry
International Heral Tribune, 10/13/04

He stood tall

For Christopher Reeve we will mourn;
His stem cell support was well worn.
A true super hero -
While President Zero
Just values a life when unborn.

Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation

Maybe you meant 'fatcheck.com?'

We all make mistakes now and then;
Mr. Cheney, but gosh, you know when
I went to check facts
Your intel was lax
And I knew you'd misled us again!

Factcheck.org's take on the debate

Cheney's 'Factcheck.com' Plug Yields Questions
NPR, 10/6/04

Tuesday's double play:

Santana/Edwards vs. Mussina/Cheney

"We're sittin' on needles and pins
Just waitin' to find out who wins.
No, not the debate!
that don't rate
On a par with da Yankees and Twins."

Baseball vs. debate?
The State, 10/6/04

The decision makes scents

Their research was sure to impress
Though it won by a nose, I would guess.
Now Axel and Buck
Can share the good luck
And enjoy the sweet smell of success

Two Americans Share Nobel for Smell Research
NPR, 10/4/04

Bush's rebuttal

Well, so what if I scowl and I smirk!
Yes, I know; it's a personal quirk!
My brain was a hummin';
A thought could be comin',
And, you know, "it is really hard work!"

Reaction shots may tell tale of debate
Washingtonpost.com, 10/2/04

Of debatable value

To call it "debate" is a sin
For each side will declare "it's a win!"
It's a partisan skirmish
Where truth is a dervish
Caught up in political spin


Voters Chew Over Dissected Debates
Washington Post, 9/29/04

Close the door! You might let in a...

Security Mom Alert

The solution they're likely to craft
For an Army that's so understaffed
Will get a new name.
They don't want the blame,
So our leaders are dodging "The Draft."

It's a place that they don't want to venture
For the fear of severe public censure.
But the final prescription
Could bring back conscription
Cuz it's not just a job it's indenture.


"I would vote for Howdy Doody if I thought it would keep my boys home and safe."
Beverly Coco, mother of two grown sons - CBS

We're Dodging the Draft Issue
By Jonathan Alter, Newsweek, Oct 4 issue

Rain of terror

The south coast is barely survivin'
After weeks, now, of stormin' and strivin'.
With Charley then Frances,
Just what are the chances
This terrible reign ends with Ivan?

Hurricane wreaks more havoc in US
BBC News, 9/17/04

Like Bush, the "memos" may not fly

CBS has the press in a lather
Over truth of the news that they gather
Says Dan, on appeal,
"It's all basically real,
Unless actual proof you would Rather..."

Rather defends 'thrust' of report on Bush service
The Washington Times, 9/16/04

Cellblock: the "it" color for fall

Though Martha is headed to jail,
The Stewart cachet cannot fail.
A nation now waits
To scarf up tin plates
When her Prison Collection's on sale.

Martha Stewart opts for prison
CNN, 9/16/04

Maybe we should elect an optometrist

It's enough with the steel and the flint.
Mr. Bush, let us give you a hint:
You claim it's your mission
To bring a "clear vision,"
So why is it, then, that you squint?



Bush shouldn't accuse anyone of flip-flopping
Statesman Journal, 9/9/04

Banned guns don't save lives;

People, who ban guns, do!


For a decade, we'd brought to a halt
Sale of weapons, used just for assault.
So when Billy or Suzi
Get killed by an Uzi
Please remember the gun's not at fault.

Assault weapons ban to expire Monday
CNN, 9/13/04

Grim prediction

I posted the following image in April under the headline "Is this picture worth a thousand lives?" - an unfortunately prophetic question. Common Ground magazine made it the cover of their July issue and they were kind enough to post my comments on it there:

Art is art and should not have to justify itself. What the viewer brings to the experience always colors the experience. In the tradition of the best of art, your image is neither didactic nor easily interpreted. As a veteran myself, I find the images of my fellow servicemen and women to be both poignant and a tribute to their willingness to serve. What wartime leader would not acknowledge that their "image" is truly built on those that serve at the frontlines? I congratulate you on creating an image whose meaning and motive is not simply discerned, unlike the subject of that image.
- The Limerick Savant

The War President
courtesy of Joe Wezorek at American Leftist


Click image for enlarged view

Fortunate Son

Creedence Clearwater Revival


Some folks are born made to wave the flag,
Ooh, they're red, white and blue.
And when the band plays "Hail to the chief",
Ooh, they point the cannon at you, Lord,

It ain't me, it ain't me
I ain't no senator's son, son.
It ain't me, it ain't me;
I ain't no fortunate one no,

Some folks are born silver spoon in hand,
Lord, don't they help themselves, oh.
But when the taxman comes to the door,
Lord, the house looks like a rummage sale, yes,

It ain't me, it ain't me,
I ain't no millionaire's son, no.
It ain't me, it ain't me;
I ain't no fortunate one, no.

Some folks inherit star spangled eyes,
Ooh, they send you down to war, Lord,
And when you ask them, "How much should we give?"
Ooh, they only answer More! more! more! yoh,

It ain't me, it ain't me,
I ain't no military son, son.
It ain't me, it ain't me;
I ain't no fortunate one, one.

It ain't me, it ain't me,
I ain't no fortunate one, no no no,
It ain't me, it ain't me,
I ain't no fortunate son, no no no,


(c) Creedence Clearwater Revival - Chronicle: The 20 Greatest Hits, 1976 & 1991 Fantasy / Creedence Clearwater Revival - Willie And The Poor Boys, (Original 1969) Fantasy / John Fogerty - Premonition(Live), 1998 Warner / Creedence Clearwater Revisited - Recollection(Live), 1998 Fuel 2000

U.S. Death Toll in Iraq Surpasses 1,000
NPR, Morning Edition, 9/8/04

Another bypass operation

Unlike Clinton, a man it behooved,
Dubya's "surgery" won't be approved.
Even though Mr. Powell
May throw in the towel,
Bush is sh*t if his Colin's removed!

End of the rainbow
The Guardian, 9/6/04

Accept nomination?

How about accepting responsibility?

Ideas aplenty you tossed,
Mr. Bush, but at really what cost?
Tax cuts are no perk
For those out of work.
So, where are the jobs that we lost?

Bush vows to protect America
Guardian Unlimited, 9/3/04

From the GOP convention floor

We don't think, any longer, it queer
That George Bush is a monger of fear.
For what fool would say "nope"
Now to "safety" and "hope?"
So, instead, all the stronger we cheer.

Bush casts himself as strong leader in time of peril
San Jose Mercury News, 9/2/04

Best performance by a tool

Yes, Arnold, I may be a girly-man.
When views disagree, as they surely can,
Some men stay the course
Instead of endorse
Like a big hypocritical burly-man.

GOP flexes muscle
Variety, 8/31/04

Extreme makeover

The Republicans hope their convention
Will bury the bones of contention.
The platform's not new
But, with mod'rates on view,
They will dish up a Bush reinvention.

GOP's opening scene carefully scripted
USA Today, 8/29/04

No child left?

A letter to Mr. Bush from Cleveland:
There's a need, in your deed, you ignore
By focusing just on a "score;"
And any excuse
That permits such abuse,
Mr. Bush, like our children, is poor.

Your "compassion" is simply unkind.
For you can't feed a child's hungry mind
By leaving unfed
His body instead.
Now that's when a child's left behind!

Cleveland rates as big city with highest poverty rate
Ohio News Network, 8/27/04

NB: Mr. Bush made no mention of these census statistics on his visit to Ohio the very next day.

Took the hypocritic oath?

For thinking outside of the box
What compares with those Abu Ghraib docs?
It seems that the medics
Weren't tortured with ethics
Like prisoners were tortured with shocks.

US army medics accused in abuse
BBC News, 8/20/04

Paved with good intentions

Want to feel your political oats?
Well, then put on your hats and your coats
And get in the swing.
State that freedom will ring
While you're hitting the road Driving Votes.