Including Iraq, etc.

Jack and Jill

Jack and Jill
Went up the Hill
To beg for something safer
Jack fell down
Blood all around
And Jill died crawling after

Up Jack got
He, badly shot,
Remembered in the paper
Empty stares
Thoughts and prayers
We mourn the dead tenth grader

They call B.S.
Children address
This homegrown bloody terror
Endured in school
Just so you'll
From tyrants slightly safer

Stop the guns
The deadly ones
That leave our children slaughtered
The tyranny
You fear is thee
Killing our sons and daughters


Stop killing our sons and daughters.
Stop. Killing. Our. Sons and Daughters.

(Placed in public domain. No rights reserved.) 

Commentary

Green, Brown, or Tan

I am Sam.
Uncle Sam.
That Sam I Am.
That Uncle Sam.
I do not like that White House man.

Do you like green, brown, or tan?

I do not like them, Uncle Sam.
I do not like green, brown, or tan.

Would you like them here or there?

I would not like them here or there.
I would not like them anywhere.
I do not like green, brown or tan.
I just don't like them, Uncle Sam.

Would you like them were they housed?
Would you like them thrice deloused?

I do not like them in a house.
I do not like them thrice deloused.
I do not like them here or there.
I do not like them anywhere.
I do not like green, brown, or tan.
I do not like them, Uncle Sam.

Would you loan them a small box?
Would you feed them bagels? Lox?

Not in a box.
Not even lox.
Not in a house.
Not thrice deloused.
I would not feed them here or there.
I would not feed them anywhere.
I would not help green, brown, or tan.
I would not help
Any man.

 

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Commentary

‘The Senator Be Embezzling’

A fascinating tale of a state Senator's experience in prison after conviction for obstruction of justice related to violation of federal campaign laws. He's smart, educated and white, thrown into federal prison, full of men exactly unlike him. It's a kind of expose of prison life in the US and well worth the read.

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/09/mag-prison-smith-213098

Commentary

Sam Harris's 'Riddle of the Gun'

On his blog, Sam Harris has posted a powerful commentary on guns. His position is not readily pigeon-holed as pro or anti gun, but rather he concedes certain realities and necessities with his customary rationality, logic and clarity. I find myself not always comfortable with his conclusions and positions, but I am nevertheless in essentially complete agreement.

I've chosen one paragraph from his commentary which seems to me right to the point:

Commentary

No proof of citizenship? You must be natural born!

The issue of Obama's eligibility to be US President is unlikely to end with the recent release of his long form birth certificate.   Already suggestions of forgery abound on the net.  Or a problem shift:  doesn't matter where he was born because his dad wasn't American.

So, I thought, how would I prove that I am a 'natural born' citizen?  

Commentary

Blood Libel

When someone yells 'fire!'
In a crowded theater
And people react
And people get hurt
The person who yelled
Should
At least
Feel sorry about yelling

Commentary

James Forestall

James Forestall.  The first US Secretary of Defense.  Died from a fall from the 16th story window of a psych hospital.  Some (many) say it was suicide.  He was being treated for depression after being fired as Secretary of Defense by Truman.

Commentary