It is hard to find humor, irony or politry
in a world stumbling toward disaster,
but midst stories of worsening wars and
bloody ceasefires The Washington Post
reviews a powerful political polemic.
Senator Dorgan’s Take This Job and Ship it
makes the case that “good for the economy�
can be disastrous for ordinary people, and
government should be looking out for citizens,
not corporations […]

Bush bungles some,
botches others, leaves
everything he touches
a big, expensive mess.
Today’s papers cover
Israel, Lebanon, Bolton,
Hezbollah, Baghdad,
and Homeland Security.
Any one of these would
make a poem, but all
at once made me numb.
So you are on your own.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki
addressed a joint session of congress
and spelled out his country’s needs.
He reminded them that Iraq is a
front line in Bush’s war on terror,
but didn’t mention that he’s in charge
of when we can bring our troops home.
According to Bush, until al-Maliki’s
guys stand up, ours can’t stand down.
That makes Nouri the decider’s decider.

Rice flies to Beirut to present a plan,
many days after the war began,
to propose ideas already rejected,
not to discuss what Arabs expected.
She’s wedded to Bush foreign policy:
if war doesn’t work try diplomacy.
Israel thinks they can win with attack,
of course we agree, we’re still in Iraq.

At a news conference in London, today,
the British Prime Minister summarized
plans for Lebanon: “There have been
as you might expect over the past few days
enormous diplomatic efforts to get us to the point
where I hope at some point within the next few days
we can say very clearly what our plan is
to bring about an immediate cessation […]

Senator George Voinovich
single-handedly kept John Bolton
from being confirmed as ambassador to the UN,
so John got an interim appointment.
Now the fuss is over, George will vote for John.
As usual, Ohio’s senior senator asserts himself
to establish independent credentials,
then quietly steps back in line.
He doesn’t seem to notice that Bolton
is even worse behind the scenes than he […]

Lindsey impeached one
Clinton supports another –
man of principle?

Bush loves life until
it’s born. Then he cares about
medical expense.

The fight over stem cell research
tends to pit hypocrites against each other.
Pros think it may cure disease,
but often oppose universal health care as too costly,
though it would prevent more suffering.
Cons believe life is sacred,
but generally favor capital punishment,
though innocent people may be put to death.
Limiting discussion to those with consistent views
might produce […]

Bush has problems in the middle east
the far east and in eastern Europe, but
first he has to deal with real enemies –
the senate, the house and the judiciary.
His swagger slowed to a shamble, he
can’t muster much of a bluster. Though
he would like to get rid of this burden,
he can’t subcontract it to Halliburton.

As Bush shuffled to the G8 conference
crises sprang up behind him like hogweed.
Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, North Korea,
were joined by Israel, Gaza, Lebanon,
and a brand new spat with Russia.
It’s time for the decider to become a fixer.

Four political pros are creating a “civil�
web site, called Hot Soup – supposedly
to suggest a tasty mix of ingredients.
They expect high-toned conversation,
but the subjects likely will be Bush’s
incompetence, prevarication, arrogance.
Since these guys are smart, and hope
to make some money, I suspect the name
is really mean to suggest spice, not nice.

Some say a glass is half full
some say it’s half empty
Bush says it’s a bucket.
He is Mr. T. Everything good
results from his tax cuts,
everything bad from terrorism.
He has the gall to say things
are better because they
aren’t as bad as he predicted.

Pennsylvania’s two term senator struggles
to convince voters they should read a booklet:
50 Things You May Not Know about Rick Santorum.
Unfortunately for rock-ribbed Rick, everyone knows
two things about him – he supports Bush 98% of the time,
and is as close to K Street lobbyists as Tom DeLay.
Fortunately for the rest of us – that should be […]

Abramoff sullied Reed, and Tom Delay.
Sent Safavian to jail and maybe Robert Ney.
And best, left Norquist twisting in the wind.
If he frees Congress from Grover’s grip,
the deficit could disappear at a rapid clip
and land Jack in the liberal hall of fame.

Jamie Rubin, spokesperson
for Clinton’s State department,
offers Democrats a strategy for
victory. In The New York Times
he proposes redeploying troops
to Afghanistan. Don’t debate
what constitutes “cut and run.�
Democrats should propose a
resolution to “go back and win�
the original war on terror.

“North Korea is firing missiles.
Iran is going nuclear.
Somalia is controlled by radical Islamists.
Iraq isn’t getting better, and
Afghanistan is getting worse.”
William Kristol, a leading conservative commentator
quoted in The Washington Post, July 6, 2006.

Whether by strategy or stumble, Bush
has found a way to stick Democrats
with the blame for no immigration bill.
He’ll adopt the House enforcement-only
approach, with a few face-saving “triggers,�
and let them vote it down in the Senate.
They could accept the same face-savers,
but they’re so sure not passing a bill helps
them, they’ll forget it can’t be their fault.

Congress did not declare war,
they authorized the use of military force –
so Bush should stop claiming war powers.
He should also stop calling everyone
who’s phone he taps, or bank records he snoops,
a terrorist based on circumstantial evidence.
By that standard every politician is a crook –
they all take contributions and grant favors,
but bribery and terrorism both require […]