Shame On U.S.

 

I can't help but be ashamed we haven't done our part

Taking in more refugees from wars they didn't start.

People fleeing terrorism, bombings, drone-strikes - death.

U.S. should be helping more...  I wouldn't hold my breath.

Even though the chaos in the region can be traced

Back to wars we started, that's a fact we haven't faced.

We have a responsibility.  Don't like it? Tough.

Yes we send a lot of AID but that is not enough.

Less than fifteen hundred refugees accepted here.

Europe's seen 360,000 just this year.

U.S. must take its fair share of desperate people, too.

Short of war - again - it is the least that we can do.

Make the Deal

Rabbi Arthur Schneier meets this month with Alan Gross, right, at the Cuban jail where Gross is being held. (Photo/forward.com)

Alan Gross, a man who worked for USAID,

Still sits in a Cuban jail (the Castros say that he

Tried to build a private network; therefore, he's a spy)

Five years later he's still there; we have to help the guy.

There are rumors Cuba wants to try and make a trade;

Swap him for the Cuban 5.  I hope the deal gets made.

True the Cuban 5 were spies, but I am pretty sure

Gross's actions inside Cuba weren't completely pure.

5 are down to 3 men who've served 16 years in jail.

Send them back and rescue Gross, who's looking very frail.

Whether he's a spy or not is not important now...

Only thing that matters is we bring him home somehow.

Egypt - Just Say No

Egypt sentenced journalists to 7 years in jail

Despite lacking any evidentiary trail.

Claimed that they were working for the Muslim Brotherhood.

We'd planned on resuming aid; now, I don't think we should.

To be fair, I didn't think we should have anyway.

These men aren't the first the government has locked away.

Al Jazeera's journalists may have to serve some time;

Hundreds of Egyptians received death for the same crime.

General el-Sisi, who is now the President,

Isn't someone we should send a single, U.S. cent...

Led the revolution, seizing power in a coup,

Calling for the deaths of leaders that he overthrew.

Journalists are under threat and so there's no free press.

Why on earth would we go wading in to such a mess?

Egypt's military's doing fine without our aid.

If we really want to help we ought to foster trade.

Syria - What Do You Do When All of Your Options Suck?

(Photo/Slate.com)

Assad's using Sarin gas - or so it would appear.

Evidence, they're saying, isn't absolutely clear.

Assad told the UN they could look but changed his mind,

Indicating he's afraid of what they're gonna find.

President Obama said that gas would cross a line;

(I guess bombing your civilian population's fine)

John McCain, and others, say that line has now been crossed

Thus, we have to arm the rebels, never mind the cost.

You can't guarantee which way a well-armed rebel aims.

When it turns to civil war, guess who the region blames.

I think, first, we need to get the Russians on our side.

Only way to do that is to prove Assad has lied.

Give AID to the countries where most Syrians have fled;

Make sure they have shelter, clothes, and water - that they're fed.

Prove guilt beyond shadow of a doubt before we start

Interfering as a country tears itself apart.