Serving the Social Welfare

(Photo/Courtesy of Mother Jones)

Is our social welfare served through funding dirty ads,

Spending money on elections?  (Not a little...  Scads!)

Or is that political in nature?  I'd say yes;

Putting me at odds with Rove at Crossroads GPS.

Donors to a social welfare group don't have to say

Who they are nor give a reason why they'll, gladly, pay

Limitless amounts of cash to get their guys elected.

Watch-dog groups did "sniff tests."  A foul odor was detected.

Issue driven campaign ads, though they're protected speech,

Urge you towards a candidate...  They're not designed to teach.

That sure sounds political - where speech is also free -

Guaranteed to them...  Without the anonymity.

If these secret Super PACs have got a point to make

I think we should know who funds positions that they take.

Social welfare isn't served by people talking trash,

Not unless we also know who's putting up the cash.

South Sudan - I Wouldn't Call That Tranquil

It may look peaceful, but...  (Photo/Courtesy of usaid.com)

South Sudan's in turmoil when it needs tranquility.

U.N. got the government and rebels to agree;

Hoping it will give the farmers time to plant their crops...

Something that they cannot do unless the fighting stops.

Even if it's tranquil, starving farmers ate their seeds;

Therefore, they aren't able to fulfill the country's needs.

Those who still have seeds to plant will need a lot of luck.

Once they put them in the ground - if war resumes - they're stuck.

They would have to take the chance their crops (and they) will live.

In their struggle to survive there's not a lot of give.

South Sudan is facing famine; future's looking grim

If it cannot keep the peace - and hopes for that are slim.

Let's Go Canadiens?

I have got a history of sabotaging teams;

In the past my silly rhymes have ruined play-off dreams.

Thus, I hope you'll understand when I say something nice

About Montreal's Canadiens and Carey Price.

He has been on fire - stopping every puck he sees -

"Like he's on a mission," which is bad news for my Bs.

P.K. Subban (he's the guy the Bruins love to hate...

Mostly out of envy, because he's been playing great)

Scored, again, on breakaways last night on Tuukka Rask

Who, with a new baby, fell asleep behind his mask.

Series stands at 2 to 1; Game 4's on Thursday night.

If the Bruins lose that one they could still be all right

But it isn't likely.  The Canadiens are good.

Even when the games are played in Boston's neighborhood

If the Bruins cannot find the will to step it up

They are gonna miss their chance to win the Stanley Cup.

Take Back Our Girls

Leader of Boko Haram is threatening to sell the kidnapped girls. (Photo/Courtesy of The Guardian)

Parents in Nigeria are frantic for their girls

3 weeks after Boko Haram swine kidnapped their pearls,

Still not knowing where the pigs who stole their daughters are,

Angry 'cause their President's done nothing much, so far.

He still isn't sure how many girls the rebels took;

Didn't send the army in to help the parents look.

Boko Haram says they took the girls to sell as slaves.

I suspect the terrorists are digging their own graves.

Now they've got the world's attention and the world is pissed

And, unlike the girls they've taken, these guys won't be missed.

I hope Goodluck Jonathan does not make any deals

That exclude a visit from the U.S. Navy's SEALs. 

Benghazi's Smoking Gun

An excerpt of the "TalkingPoints" e-mail on Benghazi that's being called a "smoking gun."

Seems an e-mail that is being called a "smoking gun"

By Republicans (still mad Barack Obama won)

Caused the Speaker of the House to call for a review

Because folks in Congress don't have better things to do.

What it is they hope to prove I still don't understand;

Do they think we should have known what terrorists had planned;

Or has all the furor over this gone on so long

Just because, one Sunday morning, Susan Rice was wrong?

The Putin Doctrine

(Photo/Courtesy of dailymail.co.uk)

Putin is preparing to invade Eastern Ukraine;

Calculating sanctions will be worth the land he'll gain.

Europe doesn't want the Russians cutting off their gas,

Making more effective sanctions difficult to pass.

John McCain believes Obama should send lethal aid;

Which, I fear, could be the worst mistake we've ever made.

That would only give Kiev false hope we'd joined their fight

And they could depend upon our military's might.

That's not gonna happen... Plus, our sending weapons there,

Still won't change the outcome.  It's a fight that's hardly fair.

Most of Russia sides with Putin...  Russia's pretty big;

Meaning Putin wields a club while Kiev waves a twig.

Short of using NATO forces, Putin's gonna win.

NATO doesn't want a war and won't send forces in.

Any lethal aid we sent could only make things worse;

Putin's actions aren't the kind our weapons would reverse.

Dear Mr. President... I've Got Your Back

It's better than an F

In the U.S. Senate, John McCain's been talking smack.

Do not worry Mr. President...  I've got your back.

Just ignore the insults you've been getting from McCain.

No one wants a war with Russia over the Ukraine.

Experts said you've been too weak in foreign policy;

They were asked to grade you...  Sir, you only got a C.

(It's still better than the F your predecessor scored)

You're accused of forging plow shares when you need a sword.

Didn't act in Syria when acting might have helped;

Never mind that, since the days when Romulus was whelped,

There've been wars with roots and causes we don't understand.

U.S. can't impose a peace upon a foreign land.

We could help the refugees who've fled that civil war.

Situation's tragic... 'though we're helping, let's do more.

Send aid to the countries who are in the neighborhood.

This time, when we get involved, perhaps we'll do more good.