Month: January 2017

My wife, Phyllis, whom I accompanied on the March wrote her own poem and published it on the Poelitics blog as a comment on this poelitic.

Women by the millions marched the world
Supported by their fathers, brothers, sons
Ensuring that their voices would be heard
The women of the world today were one

Their message, we are you and you and you
No matter color, sex, faith, whom you love
Today marked the beginning, something new
Awareness we’re responsible for us

My wife and I joined in the Tucson march
Our children joined in cities where they dwell
We, with our friends we’re simply doing our part
Ten thousand others marched with us as well

Heed, Mr. President, our message clear
We’re millions strong; together we will act
We’ll act, we’ll act for things that we hold dear
Among your lies know this to be a fact!

1/21/17

 

Yes, yes I watched and listened even as I said I would
I couldn’t help but contrast it with eight short years ago
Obama’s soaring rhetoric, his vision: yes we could
He talked the talk and walked the walk; his humble greatness glows

The post-war era’s ended where the US led the World
Promoting and defending new democracies abroad
Our outlook international, as peace throughout unfurled
Except for local conflicts slow to reach a peace accord

Historically each era spawns a counter-era trend
The Western nations are retrenching, inward looking more
Societies are closing. “We come first; let others fend”
The President’s inaugural speech reflected this in store

But more in tone than substance; absent any concepts new
He labeled problems regional as though they were throughout
And promised he would fix them, never saying what he’d do
The speech, itself was very dark; so’ll be his term, no doubt.

1/20/17

 

The President’s inauguration I intend to view
It’s not about the man or party, nothing personal
It’s not about transitions peaceful, though important too
It is about the office whose uniqueness is historical

As much as Trump is opposite from what I would prefer
And though the Trump election has a cloud that hangs above
He will become our President, for now I do concur
I wish him to do good things for this Country that I love

1/19/17

 

Goodbye to Mr. President, most sorely you’ll be missed
Although no term is perfect, your’s has been exemplary
Accomplishments that you’ve achieved would fill a lengthy list
Although there will be setbacks, temporary, hopefully

Oft times it takes the loss of something or the threat of loss
For citizens to contemplate how much there was at stake
Its absence leaves a hole one can’t replace at any cost
Barak’s endangered legacy they now appreciate

Your message, Mr. President, when you bade us farewell
That in this Country you believe; we’re going to be okay
The next four years may be quite rough, which only time can tell
But we’ll recall all you have done and what you said that day

1/18/17

 

V. Putin on this day convened a conference for the Press
Reporters from most countries of the world
Among his many subjects was one topic that he stressed
He, accusations at Obama, hurled

He first accused Obama of disseminating lies
Implying Trump was illegitimate
But then his major message came somewhat as a surprise
Denouncing BuzzFeed’s article as fake

The BuzzFeed recent article by former agent Steele
Of Britain’s MI6, revealed a lot
It told of Russia’s efforts hooking Trump; as in he reeled
A Russian tactic known as kompromat

Trump stayed in Moscow at the plush Ritz Carlton Hotel
The Presidential Suite was where he slept
And prostitutes the “golden showers” show performed they well
All video recorded, closely kept

The article described all this, revealing plenty more
Trump cited it denouncing it as lies
And so did Putin, stating there’s no reason to record
A billionaire’s perversions by and by

So why did Putin bring this up before inauguration?
It is an Agent management technique
While publicly supporting Trump with righteous indignation
Reminding Trump of videos unique

1/17/17

I want to alert you to the Comments my grandson, Michael, and I have been posting on this blog, poelitics.net  concerning the poelitic, Jerusalem. I encourage you to join the conversation.

MLK Day,

Today we honored MLK; we listened to John Lewis
Who spoke of raising chickens in his youth
And how he liked to sermonize them on behaviors righteous
Which, unlike Congress colleagues, heard his truths

He spoke of Martin Luther King and Selma and the March
Where he was beaten nearly to his end
And how the Selma nuns restored him so that he could march
Across that bridge with MLK again

His message quoted MLK: one’s never to give up
Speak out against injustice that you hear
Let love be unconditional; don’t suffer those corrupt
Be active, run for office, volunteer

John teaches by example; of Don Trump he made the claim
His presidency’s illegitimate
Because of Russian meddling; to help Trump was its aim
Without it, Trump might not have won some states

Don Trump’s inauguration John decided to boycott
By now some thirty colleagues have joined in
And demonstrations anti-Trump will happen all throughout
Our nation’s coastal cities and within

Auspicious Trump’s beginning as the nation’s President
His ratings are the lowest ever yet
His rash behavior these past months has made it evident
His term may be an existential threat

1/16/17

 

Jerusalem, Jerusalem let’s have a dream together
A dream of peace on Jordan’s banks conceived to last forever
Where Israel and Palestine dwell side by side as brothers
Where neither contemplates behaviors meant to hurt the other

But how could such a dream be real, where enmity is rife
Where what one gains the other loses, as it is in life?
Then let’s put that aside for now and seek a new perspective
That specifies the goal we seek; a vision that’s reflective

My vision is two sovereign states where border walls are gone
Where citizens of either state can cross and go beyond
Where Jews can live in Palestine as citizens full fledged
As Arabs live in Israel with equal rights un-hedged

Both states would be democracies with legislative seats
Most preordained as Jewish or as Muslim so to keep
The Jewish state as Jewish and the Muslim state Islamic
Each branch of each state’s government would work the same dynamic

My vision for Jerusalem: it capitals both states
An un partitioned city: citizens of either faith
Are free to settle where they wish except for holy sites
Whose sovereignty remains in tact with all ensuing rights

My dream’s naive I do admit; the obstacles are many
And do I have a cogent plan? Indeed I haven’t any
But I’ll say this, negotiations, hard as are in doing
To be effective in the end, you must know where you’re going

1/15/17

 

Jerusalem, Jerusalem how could we e’er forget thee
That’s been the chant of Jewish people century after century
In every corner of the globe wherever Jews were living
They kept the faith that some day to that place they’d be returning

Now Jews control Jerusalem, it is their nation’s capital
They’re not about to yield on this; on this they are fanatical
The Arabs, meanwhile, claim it’s theirs because of prior conquest
Their Koran teaches once land’s theirs, it always is, no contest

What Israel calls “The Temple Mount”, the site of David’s Temple
Now houses the Al Aqsa Mosque, revered by Islam’s people
They never will capitulate historic sovereignty
This sets the stage for outcomes, most of which we can’t foresee

And into this quagmire came the UN resolution
Which labeled Israel lawless for their West Bank occupation
Including, too, The Temple Mount, with Jewish anger vast
And when the US vote abstained, the resolution passed

This resolution has no teeth nor has it much persuasion
For years the Arab states have been against the Jewish nation
The Jews had counted in the past on vetoes from the States
So what went wrong this time around; what happened here of late?

It’s not a secret Bibi and Obama shared no love
But our support of Israel’s needs were over and above
All past administrations, aiding militarily
To abstain thus, might seem to be an inconsistency

The US has for years supported a two-state solution
It views the West-Bank settlements as counter to that notion
That Bibi keeps pursuing them has been a great frustration
To those before, but mostly so to this administration

The message the non-veto, to the world, meant to convey
The US had grown tired of these Israeli games at play
To say they favored separate states while acting to oppose it
Has brought about Obama’s doubt and Netanyahu knows it

It seems the US makes its case all based on the presumption
That absent West-Bank settlements both sides would have the gumption
To come to terms agreeable with peace throughout both nations
I have my doubts! True peace may take another generation

1/14/17

 

Let’s close the loop, connect the dots on Tillerson and Trump
Remember the parade of men Trump ran before the Press?
‘Twas only for Sec. State were those whom later he would dump
But Trump was bluffing, having chosen Rex for State, I’d guess

Now how did Russia enter in, what role did Putin play?
I’d say he whispered in Trump’s ear that Tillerson’s his man
Five hundred billion bucks all frozen, held in sanctions’ sway
That’s Exxon’s deal with Putin who will grab it if he can

But what’s the hold that Putin has to make Trump do his bidding?
Could it be what we all have heard from Buzz Feed and from others?
It might explain Trump’s attitude toward Russia, so unfitting
Connect the dots, conspiracy; its knowledge being smothered

1/13/17

 

There’s much to write about tonight but first it now appears:
The former British spy named Steele, the one who did relate
On Trump in Russia, BuzFeed’s scoop, has up and disappeared.
I speculate that MI6 has moved him someplace safe

The FBI had told Trump ’bout this dossier that’s out there
They said they hadn’t verified if it was false or true
But Trump, in conference, told the Press the FBI was clear:
It totally was false; but then Trump lying’s nothing new

I must admit I was impressed with Senate Dems last night
Proposing their amendments to the GOP’s first Measure
Toward terminating ACA, ObamaCare, that’s right,
Which made their members vote against each clause that voters treasure

They also broke the Senate rules when time it was to vote
Which meant debating had to cease, just saying yea or nay
By then, past one AM, the Dems loud orally each spoke
To dedicate his nay vote to those harmed sans ACA

1/12/17