Month: September 2017

 

Three is the number of catastrophes
Two of them natural and one isTrump made
One is an earthquake near Mexico City
And one is Maria, cat five is her grade

So far o’er one fifty dead in southern Mexico
Winds of Maria now one seven five
Whose storm eye is headed right o’er Puerto Rico
Not much on the island will in-tact survive

Perhaps even greater of import the happening
Pres. Trump addressing the UN Assembly
His bellicose rhetoric many offending
And childish his labeling like at his rallies

Trump threatened Korea, The North to destroy
Should they launch attacks against allies or us
Implied was the launch of a nuclear war
No call for diplomacy, Trump being Trump

Trump also berated Iran’s nuke accord
Implying that that deal the US may dump
In which case we will have gone back on our word
And future agreements no nation will trust

This week we will witness tremendous destruction
Many will die and great property loss
And also our standing among the world’s nations
Will have diminished, an epic lost cause

9/19/17

 

To the Honorable Senator McCain, my dear sir
A proud Arizona Democrat I
But I have admired your ethos so clear
What’s right for the people is where your votes lie

We may disagree on what’s best for our nation
But you, I expect, will vote what you believe
And never succumb to gross forms of persuasion
As Leader McConnell could only conceive

My concern is the Cassidy-Grahm bill on health care
From my point of view it’s the worst of them all
Of its ugliest features I’m sure you’re aware
Whether you’re for them is clearly your call

However, you’ve lectured on Senate procedures
With hearings, debates where all players are heard
But Senator Mitch wants to bypass these features
And jam the bill through sans debate’s ringing words

My question dear sir is now where do you stand
To sully the Senate’s long standing traditions
So President Trump can claim victory’s at hand
Or vote as you did before? That is my question

9/18/17

 

One hundred ninety three, the nations watching Trump up close
Assessing for themselves if he’s for real or just a clown
The US President can’t be ignored-put simply down
He’s still the free world’s leader that the US voters chose

The leaders of these UN nations, meeting in New York
All through the week, will have the chance to cozy up to Trump
To get their measure of the man, to see which way to jump
As though Trump knew, himself, precisely what was next in store

Trump gives his speech on Tuesday, reading TelePrompTer screens
He’ll sound most presidential, saying things they want to hear
But he won’t mention UN dues of which we’re in arrears
And all the world will be awaiting Wednesday morning tweets

No matter what Trump says or doesn’t it will matter not
His staff a classic model of disfunctionallity
And by week’s end the world will know of Trump’s reality
Much less than they had started with, and that was not a lot

9/17/17

 

Some serious things are now going on behind the placid scene
Like raising from the dead the zombie bill: repeal, replace
Essentially the same as was but tweaked so as to glean
Those last few votes of Senate holdouts, tumbling from grace

It’s off-again then on-again it’s Donald’s way of scheming
One cannot trust what Donald says, his mind is always changing
Eight hundred thousand youths in prime are still left out there dreaming
To some day stand as citizens, their futures rearranging

But of concern among all else is Kim Jong-un’s behavior
Belligerence is his response to UN levied sanctions
And Trump’s response to Kim’s response: to do the same, just more
Like idiots, the two of them so ratcheting their actions

You say to criticize is cheap, how might you change this schema?
I say negotiate while strengthening our allies’ air defenses:
With anti-missile missiles in Japan and South Korea
I know that China would object; it would offend their senses

But that would be our leverage: getting their participation
China’s pressure back on Kim to curb his manic ways
And join the others at the table in negotiation
And so avert the destination of the end of days

9/15/17

 

It’s interesting to watch the ebb and flow of politics
One day Trump’s against it, on day next it’s all a go
It matters not the subject just with whom he’s making hits
But when it comes to Dreamers his position is well known

Trump superficially likes the “kids”, Latino trash? Not true
But given circumstances ‘neath the bus he’d throw the bunch
However ‘twould be crowded with Jeff Sessions under too
Trump needs the kids to make a point, Dems dealing over lunch

Mitch and Paul are on the outs; it’s Chuck and Nancy now
The Reps could not deliver on Obama-Care repeal
So now it’s time to test the Dems; he’ll work with them some how
Since, after all he is the master when it comes to deals

The Dreamers, Trump’s most likely route to getting his first “win”
Except for his right-most supporters, who would dare oppose?
These kids by any other test are true Americans
In this case I agree with Trump for other reasons, though

Looking at the larger scene through demographic lenses
Toward kids with backgrounds like the Dreamers we should all take heed
The baby-boomer generation nearly now has ended
It’s more Millennials like the Dreamers that this country needs

9/14/17l

 

Half the population goes to Facebook for its daily news
And Facebook knowingly accepted ads from Russian sources
Ads that were political, one-sided points of view
All meant to sway the voting public, change election’s courses

Sometimes the ads contained within some elements of truth
Sometimes they were just blatant lies all told professionally
So how does one distinguish what is false from what is true?
The answer is: we’ll deem it true if with us it agrees

I offer humbly certain elementary rules of thumb:
If Trump has labeled it as fake, it’s news that you can trust
Accepting what Trump claims as true, just proves that you’ve succumbed
Within your favored bubble things are great until it busts

But getting news from social media’s got to be the worst
It may be most accessible, most favored by the masses
So many people live their hours totally immersed
In social media day and night. It’s how their life span passes

8/13/17

 

 

I pose that prior to elections, you knew not of Bannon’s name
Nor of Breitbart, nor of Mercer recently who’ve come to fame
Bannon ran the far-right Breitbart bank rolled by Bob Mercer’s wealth
Who, incidentally, bank rolled Trump, but this was carried out with stealth

Steve Bannon became prominent as strategist for Trump’s campaign
Then later as Chief Strategist his stature grew as did his fame
Steve was the one insisting Trump make good on all his claims
From ACA repeal/replace to border walls, such shame

Bannon quit his inside job, perhaps, with helpful coaxing
Went back to Breitbart News to dupe the public with his hoaxing
He’ll be Trump’s outer wingman where the gov. can’t interfere
Although he’s out it’s very clear he still has Donald’s ear

On Sixty Minutes Charlie Rose did Bannon interview
Bombastic rhetoric it was, but really nothing new
Steve claims street fighter so to be and Trump’s a fighter too
I disagree. Trump’s not a fighter: bully through and through

Steve’s down on Kushner, down on Ryan, Mitch McConnell two
He wants to run the clock backward to eighteen ninety two
He’s down on “limousine liberals” and espouses nationalism
Ignoring new technologies that will mend Earth’s major schisms

There’s much more to the interview, I recommend you read it
That’s yesterday on CNN or do the Google bit
Steve’s influence on Donald’s deeds remains, still, to be seen
But if the past is prologue we’ll interpret it as mean

9/11/17

 

It wasn’t politics as usual Donald meeting with the leaders
Of our most inconsequential Congress that we’ve witnessed o’er the years
Chuck and Nancy, Mitch and Paul along with Mike and other tweeters,
All were there to start negotiating funds as year-end deadlines near

As such, contention was expected, both sides itching for the fight
Over budgets and debt ceilings, and for Harvey reparations
Also over differences on what are Dreamers’ rights
Both sides ready to do battle, having done their preparations

The Republicans agenda: skinny budget, high-end tax cuts
Fund the ceiling out beyond the looming tough mid-term elections
Worry ‘bout the Dreamers later when six months are nearly up
Meanwhile Democrats felt disadvantaged knowing not Trump’s predilections

But the Trump’s mood was vindictive; he had something up his sleeve
Unhappy, he, with Mitch and Paul for giving him no clear successes
He’d now show them who’s the boss, whose admonitions they should heed
By nodding first to Democrats, ‘twas their proposal he requested

Delighted, Nancy made her move: to fund things just until year’s end
Maintain them at their current rates; we’ve got enough things on our plate
Then readily did Trump concur, a tactic he could comprehend
Just kick the problems down the dates as future fodder for debates

Republicans were all aghast that Trump just gave away the store
They counted on contention to gain leverage for their bills
Trading what they want for what Dems want. Now that will work no more
Trump handed leverage to the Dems. There was no test of wills

Some say Trump acted stupidly, vindictive in his ire
Short sighted in his strategies, politically unwise
But I do differ in my thoughts discerning Trump’s desires
The partisan approach has failed. It’s time for compromise

9/10/17

Ramblings

Here amid the macro news of hurricanes and dreamers
Of North Korean H-bombs and of protest signs and streamers
Of budgets and debt-ceilings
And of options unappealing
Much goes on beneath the surface where we’ll cast our peepers

It’s hard sometimes to keep things straight in these investigations
There is, of course, the FBI and Chris Steele’s revelations
Contained within a dossier
Unverified they like to say
But claim on claim has proven true; so far not one negation

Congressional committees, both Judicial and Intel
Are trying to discredit Steele, his dossier as well
As claim on claim is proven true
Their chairmen don’t know what to do
They have to shield the President against ensuing Hell

As evidence mounts up that Trump, himself, may have colluded
And may have been so doing over years it’s been reputed
As agent of the GRU
Unwittingly but maybe true
If that’s the case Trump’s tenure then would surely be concluded

9/6/17

 

Irma now is a cat Six; it’s well beyond cat five
Sustained winds now one eighty five
Hot Gulfan waters feed it live
Floridians wanting to survive
Have crowded highways leading out
A hundred miles of parking lot
With gasoline in short supply
Some will not make it, though they try

The Interstate lanes heading south
Are nearly empty all throughout
Police should open them hence forth
Except for one, all heading north
Increasing throughput up the state
Reducing those who’ll face the fate
Of Irma’s most destructive force
Whose aftermath will be much worse

And as I watch this on TV
I’m witnessing catastrophe
As though it’s not reality
Since nothing’s happening to me
I’ll send some money for relief
And comfort take in the belief
That I have done what I can do
The rest is really up to you

9/7/17