Unsolicited Advice for E.U. Leaders re: Greece

(Image/Courtesy of www.bu.edu)

Greece needs bail-out funds to meet a payment on their loan;

And, if they don't get them, Greeks may leave the eurozone.

They'll be forced into default unless the terms are changed...

Now they're running out of time to get a deal arranged.

The Greek GDP is shrinking - it's down by a third -

Thus, you do not have to be an economics nerd

To see more austerity's unlikely to reverse

Greece's situation and, in fact, could make it worse.

Have to reach a compromise which gives the Greeks the time

To save their economy or you won't see a dime

For, although the Europeans won't be overjoyed,

Can't get blood from stones - nor taxes from the unemployed.

The U.S. Open at Chambers Bay

(Artwork by LeeWybranski.com)

So far, this year's U.S. Open's not a pretty sight;

Putting surfaces look like they're suffering from blight.

Course was once a sand and gravel pit and it still shows

There, but for one Douglas fir and weeds, where nothing grows.

So, despite the lovely views they have of Puget Sound,

I hope - next year - that a better venue can be found...

One where trains don't rumble by it 60 times a day,

One where fairways aren't brown and putting greens aren't gray.

Wishing those participating all the best of luck.

May the sports gods grant that all your golf balls be well struck,

That they not find pot-hole bunkers which require stairs.

But I wouldn't count on it...  The sports gods don't do prayers.

Jon Stewart's Going-Away Present

I still think it's early for discussing candidates

Running to be President of the United States

But I must admit that, when the candidate is Trump,

I cannot resist the urge; I think the guy's a chump.

Is it possible The Donald is so self-involved

He is unaware that those of us who have evolved

Wouldn't let him near the White House, even as a guest?

Donald Trump should stick to doing what he does the best:

Building tacky towers - with their toilets made of gold,

Bragging to the public of apartments that he's sold,

Combing over orange hair that must be plastered down,

Blustering and blathering and acting like a clown.

'though Trump's made Jon Stewart happy for his last few weeks,

(Gaining new material each time The Donald speaks)

Comedy that writes itself but, kinda like Ted Cruz,

This stuff's only funny if we're sure both men will lose.

Kitchen Reno Update - What Were We Thinking?

Kitchen cabinets are coming in in mid-July

But we still have no idea how much the flooring guy

Plans to charge for hardwood we are hoping to install.

Angie's List gives him an A...  I can't agree, at all.

Weeks ago he promised us that he'd submit a quote.

Since then he has disappeared - no phone call... Not a note.

I am losing confidence in my contractor's subs;

Chewed my fingernails so much I've worn them down to nubs.

Nothing else can start until the flooring guy is through.

After him there's still a million things we've got to do.

Kitchen renovations can produce a lot of stress...

Whether it is worth the pain is anybody's guess.

Galileo Is Rolling In His Grave

(Courtesy of/www.jantoo.com)

Centuries of conflict between scientists and priests:

Nature of the universe, if we evolved from beasts,

If God gave mankind dominion over all the Earth,

How it's even possible to have a virgin birth.

Now a new Encyclical gives scientists some hope

That they could be looking at a different kind of Pope.

This Pope studied chemistry before he joined the Church;

Francis is inclined to heed the climate change research.

Planet's getting warmer and a major cause is man.

Scientists don't speak the language of the Vatican;

This time, though, their evidence supports the Holy See

And - on man's poor stewardship of Earth - both sides agree.

Is imperative to change a moral one, or not?

In the end it doesn't matter to the Earth a lot.

If we all continue to befoul the place we live

Neither God nor nature's laws are likely to forgive.

Unsolicited Advice for Gashlies, Tack Heads, and Hynas

I will never understand how any woman falls

For a guy who's serving life behind some prison's walls.

Don't know how you close your eyes and just ignore the fact

That your boyfriend's guilty of a brutal, heinous act.

In New York, Joyce Mitchell helped her boyfriends get away

('though she left them stranded when her nerves began to fray.)

Seemingly, she found their bad boy reputations cool...

They just found a sucker who could smuggle in a tool.

Now the guys are on the loose and she's the one in jail.

I, for one, would say that the relationship's a fail.

May I offer women who write convicts this advice;

Join a dating service.  Find yourself somebody nice.

Confidence Is Not High

(Iraqi troops have been practicing this maneuver for a while.)

President Obama's pledged "advisers" to Iraq;

U.S. troops to train an army which appears to lack

Any will to battle back when ISIL troops advance.

Can 400 U.S. forces change that? Not a chance.

It's not like we haven't trained Iraqi troops before;

10 years we've been trying...  Do we think a few months more

Will instill the spine their army needs to stand and fight?

What makes us so sure, this time, they're gonna get it right?

I don't have some bright idea for how to fix the mess.

Neither does Obama, so we're stuck with this I guess.

Wish I had more confidence but history has shown

When the U.S. gets involved, the problem's only grown.