Tuesday 17 March 2015

The Putsch

To be clear, the Conservatives in Canada's parliament are every bit as batshit crazy as the Republicans in Washington. The difference is that Stephen Harper runs his government with the discipline of Benito Mussolini and Dick Cheney. Boehner and McConnell on the other hand act like a couple of inept thugs trying to establish  control over the Hole-In-The-Wall gang.

But, as different as these two governments appear, in both cases the result is the same.

The Putsch:

The Koch brothers must be admired
They're relentless, they never got tired
And they mounted a coup
Before anyone knew
That a Pinochet putsch had transpired


Saturday 14 March 2015

Doggerel

Inspired by this snippet from Yeats' Adam's Curse

"A line will take us hours maybe;
Yet if it does not seem a moment’s thought,   
Our stitching and unstitching has been naught."

Proper rhythm and rhyme are the key
To a limerick facile and free 
But my muse is aloof
And the pudding of proof
Is this doggerel now that you ... have before you

Monday 9 March 2015

The Libertarian

This multi-verse limerick was inspired by a recent online 'exchange' over the growing number of U.S. states that are implementing so-called 'Right to Work' legislation. The intent is not to try to sway anyone's opinion about Right to Work or any of the other libertarian agenda items. Rather, it's intended to show that there's very little use debating these issues with someone driven by ideology and not conscience.

He’s a ‘nothing or all’ kind of guy
Gather ‘round and I’ll tell you all why
With each subject he checks
If it seems too complex
Understanding, he won’t even try

Every issue is treated the same
In his cold libertarian game
When he says “Let’s be free”
He means “Me! Me! Me! Me!”
And this selfishness authors his shame

If he thinks there’s a smidgeon of waste
He will act with remarkable haste
Weed it out branch and root
In a headlong pursuit
To have safety net programs erased

If a union appears to have power
He will over-react and he’ll glower
He’ll remove labor rights
Earned through decades of fights
Till the middle class plight becomes dour
  
Then there’s voter ID, oh my god!
Even though there’s no actual fraud
When restricting the vote
He can’t help but connote
His concern is a racist façade

Any governance stirs up his wrath
Despite science, good conscience or math
His approach, you can see
Will consistently be
Throw the baby away with the bath