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Politry Plus
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04.10.07 | 

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Journalism 207

The President’s view of what SCHIP will do,
differs from the bill’s supporters, in almost all respects.
At least that’s what the papers and TV report ―
without a hint of which opposing facts
resemble what the new law says.

Surely there are sources that could tell them and us
what is true and what is not.
There are many to explain the destiny of Brittney’s kids,
the ins and outs of rehab, and who’s entitled
to stolen stuff OJ forcibly reclaimed.

Of course the media says their audience
has more interest in people than in laws,
but I suspect the real reasons go much deeper.
They take Washington politicians at their word,
and devote investigations to show biz personalities,
because celebrities are so much closer to reality.

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28.09.07 | 

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Good News about News

Marvin Kitman extols Keith Olbermann
in The Nation for October 8, 2007 ―
casting sunlight on a breath of fresh air.

Countdown with Keith Olbermann
is the top-rated show on MSNBC,
an undistinguished distinction in numbers,
even with The Nation’s inevitable bump,
but now Keith will have clear superiority
over Bill O’Reilly in audience IQ points.

•
26.09.07 | 

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Purse Strings Have No Power
Unless They’re Pulled

Democrats don’t want to cut off funds for the Iraq war,
but they don’t have the votes to stop it any other way.
Fear of Republican rhetoric has them lost in a fog.

Bush’s new request for money gives them another chance.
The House should pass it, contingent on delivery of a plan
to safely extricate our troops from a war already lost.

Let the Republican noise machine scream and holler.
Our generals say there’s no military solution, and our
diplomats use a private army to protect them in Iraq.

If Pelosi holds out, Bush won’t come to his senses, but
Democratic candidates might realize they’ll look better
declaring defeat before, rather than after the election.

•
12.09.07 | 

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Staying Power

As a child I loved the glass boxes
where you could fish for toys.
I would put a nickel in the slot,
turn cranks to position the claw,
press the “grab” button, and watch
my red car fall back into the pile.

Then I’d beg for another nickel.

Like President Bush, striving to find
something to call “victory” in Iraq,
I would keep trying and failing.

My mom stopped giving me nickels.

•
11.09.07 | 

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New Strategy?

Rush to Failure and
Choose to Lose replace
Cut and Run.

A bumper sticker surge.

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09.09.07 | 

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Let Congress Swim or Sink

We can’t foresee political progress,
or define military victory ― so,
Bush has lost the Iraq war.

If Democrats said that often enough,
Bush’s vague, “we must finish the job,”
would soon sound as empty as it is.

If Congress mandated a return
to twelve month troop rotations,
in every defense appropriation,

and let any vetoes stand, they could
support the troops, and force Bush
out of Iraq, one way or the other.

But if they keep ignoring their promise
to end the war, Democrats should
concentrate on the presidential election.

Who cares who controls Congress?
Our representatives claim the veto
give presidents all the power.

•
04.09.07 | 

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Success Is Where You Define It

The surge is Bush’s answer
to the urge to purge the
failure in Iraq from his legacy.

He wants to delay acknowledging
his inability to meet any of the war’s
objectives until the next election.

That way, in his mind at least,
we’ll be winning when he leaves,
so it will be 44 that loses the war.

In this context it’s easy to see
how he, and those who work for him,
can say the surge is a success.

He can also promise to withdraw
some troops because the progress we
currently see in Anbar province

isn’t due to extra troops. Petraeus
persuaded Sunni tribes to switch sides.
That’s the surge that worked!

•
05.08.07 | 

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To Each His Own

It’s time for the Democratic Congress
to reach out in peace to the president.
Since he is so quick to threaten a veto
they should promise to respect it.

If Bush won’t sign a bill, and Congress
can’t override, they should inform
the nation Bush rejected everything
in the legislation Congress passed.

They should blame him for exercising
“executive privilege.” After all, if it’s
not their job to micromanage the war,
it’s not his job to micromanage laws.

•
27.07.07 | 

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A Different Take

NASA investigators inadvertently
revealed the secret of one of our
rare successes. An honest mistake
told the world how we persuade
smart people to climb on top
of a rocket and go into space:

they’re fueled with liquid courage.

Outraged drunk driving foes don’t
realize astronauts can’t steer or brake,
and rarely see another spaceship,
much less a bike or pedestrian.
Of course, instead of strapping drunks
to seats to escape a tower of fire,

we could send sober computers.

•
16.07.07 | 

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Sending Messages

Tiers of overlapping conversations
fill The Dented Pail Beer and Ale,
but the guy sitting near the blender
still tries to chat with the bartender.

His charm makes daiquiri after
daiquiri take longer and longer
until customers complain and she
scurries to catch up on her work.

He’s grinning at his cell when she
returns and points to his empty glass.
He doesn’t nod or shake, just frowns
and lifts a hand to keep her away.

She fills the blender with ice cubes,
hits the switch. He clamps his hand
over his free ear, glares at her as she
grabs a cigarette and heads outside.

•
15.07.07 | 

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Quick Study

The right wing fear machine knows
it can’t sustain hope for victory
until a new president takes over,
so it drums up concern about Iran.

This creates the new strategy Bush
needs for Iraq: it’s no longer the
front line in the war on terror, it’s
the first line of defense against Iran.

The change from fighting terror to
Iran, WMD detection to prevention
may buy enough time. If it doesn’t,
maybe W can learn one more script.

•
10.07.07 | 

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Mission Creep

In response to Republican senators,
who urge him to change strategy now,
the president gathered his advisors
and decided to change his spin instead.

He will try to convince the country
that he too wants to bring the troops home
eventually.

Since Bush doesn’t seem to have any idea
what is going on in Iraq, perhaps the
commanders in the field could quietly
pull out of Baghdad and concentrate
on training and border protection.

The president probably wouldn’t notice,
and if someone told him, it’s a good bet he
wouldn’t listen.

•
09.07.07 | 

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Clinton Trades Votes for Visas

Hillary was never a shoo-in,
but she certainly had a chance,
until she decided extra visas for
Indians were more important
than jobs for Americans.

The companies saving $12,000
a year on the average worker
probably share the largesse
with politicians who support
their request for more.

Members of her Indian caucus
are also generous, they want
to spend visa fees re-training
displaced American workers ―
presumably to work for less.

•
03.07.07 | 

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Who Says He’s Not Compassionate?

It took a little more than six years,
but president Bush finally showed
a streak of kindness ― he refused
to let a man with the nickname
“Scooter” spend one day in prison.

•
28.06.07 | 

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Helpmate

Sandy is a muted calico ―
tan fur above her eyes and gray
below, flank a white nose.
She has an “I need you” look.

When she purrs to wake me,
I have to get up. She goes out.
I make coffee. Then she returns
to lead me to the bathroom.

During my shower she stares
through the glass door and
meows at the top of her voice.
It doesn’t sound like singing.

I finally decide she’s just a
Democrat, critiquing my work:
“you missed a spot, scrub that
hind leg, get between the toes.”

•
27.06.07 | 

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Bar Play

His shirt says “Al.”
He sips beer quietly ‘til
two young women sit beside him.
They return his smile,
then greet two men.

The couples chatter.
Al counts bubbles.
Finally one woman says
‘’I’ll see you there at eight…”
Her three companions leave.

Al makes an offer.
She nods. They order.
His hands make circles and squares.
She laughs nervously,
touches his arm.

Food arrives for her, beer for him.
She speaks between bites.
He drinks. She asks questions.
He shakes his head.
She stares into space.

He whispers in her ear.
She smiles, pats his cheek.
His arm slides around her back,
pulls her toward him.
She laughs, “Oh, Dad!”

•
26.06.07 | 

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Politics Is Not Polemics

The art of guiding government was
everyone’s job in our formative years.
Today most citizens outsource it.
Some lump it with religion as a subject
not to be broached in polite society.

That’s too bad. If we talked about official
actions we might be familiar with more than
a few topics of personal interest. Political
polarization results from extremists pulling
the parties apart while we avoid the subject.

If people defined topics we might debate
the morality of charging a war to our
grandchildren, not when to withdraw troops,
how to make it easy for citizens to identify
themselves, instead of where to build fences.

Politics could be the key to democracy,
a friendly path to understanding, if we
discussed why we believe, not just what.
It should be practiced by everyone. It’s
too important to delegate to talk radio.

•
22.06.07 | 

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Changing Horizons

A baby thinks about now,
pre-schoolers understand tomorrow,
by kindergarten the weekend comes into view.

Summer and next year are clear to adolescents,
but adults see occasions rather than seasons:
Mary will go to college, in fifteen years.

Middle age sharpens this focus ―
we left after Mary’s graduation,
I’ll go as soon as I get my new teeth.

As we age, tracking time with events eases:
I’ll take a nap this afternoon, after lunch,
I’ll exercise when it gets warm, next summer.

Finally we come full circle,
and only the increments become critical.
We ask, what day is it?

•
17.06.07 | 

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Patriotic Roots

When I was growing up no one laughed
at Detroit. The arsenal of democracy ranked
fourth or fifth among American cities.

Proud to be a major target, we learned
to identify every airplane in the sky
so we could spot the enemy before he attacked.

My home town built tanks, trucks, and planes
from coat hangers, flattened cans, toothpaste tubes,
and tinfoil peeled from cigarette wrappers.

Too young to fight, my friends and I collected
whatever was needed for the war effort
and took it to our front line ― the curb.

Korea and Viet Nam were threats to individuals,
not the nation. Kids didn’t try to help. College and
Canada were acceptable alternatives to the draft.

A volunteer army made Afghanistan and Iraq
possible, but mismanagement of those wars
may have made it unsustainable.

The arsenal of democracy was outsourced,
and all that sprouts from my patriotic roots is
an old fogy who won’t buy a foreign car.

•
06.06.07 | 

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Struggling Strategizer

Bush avoids our judicial system at Gitmo,
undermines the justice department, then
wonders why Putin rejects his criticism
of Russia derailing democratic reforms.

He can’t understand why Putin objects to
our putting missiles on his border even after
assuring him they’re purely defensive ― part
of a system that doesn’t work and isn’t needed.

He’s mystified that no one in Europe responds
favorably to his new interest in the climate.
They must not realize he’s decided to fight
global warming by reigniting the cold war.

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