Poem: Q Is For Crazy

Q Is For Crazy
 
Sex traffickers in pizza joint basements
Illuminati are ruling the world
Soros is funding the chaos
And the “fraud” of elections gets called
 
Microchips jabbed in vaccine shots
Bill Gates and Hillary take hold
Hunter Biden conspires with China
Hard to keep plans under fold
 
Nancy Pelosi is a “demon” and “monster”
‘Least according to the videos seen
Antifa surrounds every escape route
But the “truth” will be revealed and foreseen
 
The savior is Q and his scripture
And Trump will sure rise once again
Trust in the “storm” revelation
As the prophesied riddles portend
 
Yep, all of this nonsense is foolish
And believers are lost in their hate
For if reality ever cuts through the rubbish
They will be left to their mind-numbing fate
 
Copyright SGW 2021

Poem: Fascist

 Fascist

There’s a fascist in the White House
With echoes of the past
There’s a fascist in the White House
Treat this election like your last
There’s a fascist in the White House
With an authoritarian calling
There’s a fascist in the White House
His enablers are appalling
There’s a fascist in the White House
A huckster, fraud and liar
There’s a fascist in the White House
A fact and science-based denier
There’s a fascist in the White House
Of pure criminal intention
There’s a fascist in the White House
Narcissist starving for attention
There’s a fascist in the White House
His followers are loons
There’s a fascist in the White House
As well as QAnon buffoons
There’s a fascist in the White House
Lawless to his core
There’s a fascist in the White House
A Putin/Saudi whore
There’s a fascist in the White House
A twittering, empty lump
There’s a fascist in the White House
And a racist; Donald Trump

Copyright SGW 2020

Poem: This Is Not America

This Is Not America

Malicious face of twisted rage

Blindly led to disengage

From fact or logic or reasoned thought

A sense of truth is nary sought

This is not America

Demagogue screams fitful venom

Behold, amassed, the mindless plenum

Fascist bent, tempestuous crowd

Empty slogans, yet shouted loud

Diversity their greatest fear

Boogeymen are always near

Through bigot’s voice and rapist’s mark

Republic’s light will fade to dark

This is not America

Lies, corruption, a swamp of fraud

Spew the hate, buffoons applaud

Tearing down foundation’s core

The GOP, a loathsome whore

In Donald Trump they found their muse

Mendacious scoundrel, perverted views

If this is our road of choice

And scales of justice lost a voice

Then this is not America

Copyright SGW 2018

Poem: Racists' Different Names

Racists’ Different Names

American NAZIs or Ku Klux Klan

No matter the names, they share the same plan

Hatred and evil and bigotry’s hand

Morality missing for all which they stand

Risen from swamps of a racist’s divine

Donald Trump wears the emblem of supremacist’s line

His message is wrapped in the worst we have been

Make American Great Again; our original sin

Through slavery, segregation and violent acts

Indian genocide and anti-immigrant tracts

Always “those people,” lent an image to fear

A small-minded dogma zealots cling to as dear

If you can’t see this evil or sit idly by

Bring a rationalization as deflective reply

Hide behind falsehoods that you wrap to your being

Denying the threat and pretend you’re not seeing

You don’t need the hood or the NAZI salute

Enabling of malice is its own absolute

History will show you as a partner of hate

Sides have been chosen and it is approaching too late

Copyright SGW 2018

Footnote: Inspired by Spike Lee’s “BlackkKlansman.”

Poem: Fascist's Dupes

Fascist’s Dupes

Were you part of the crazed masses of people

Screaming madly, unyielding devotion

As the little man with the odd mustache

Spewed on about the Fatherland first?

Nationalist, fiery rhetoric and pounding fist;

Don’t trust the media beyond the Goebbel’s tools!

Keep out or destroy those not like us!

Were you frothing at the mouth within your hostile, twisted fealty?

I ask this;

Why?

We look at the pictures today;

Those enablers, blind followers, hateful fools;

Cast aspersions on their souls.

But this is not like that.

Except the rule of law is threatened and scorned.

Media is condemned as “enemies of the state;”

Unless Rupert’s state media apparatus speaks.

Brown people are animals!

Refugees are terrorists!

Scientists are lying with their damned facts!

Tyrants and dictators are fawned upon.

The rich and corporatists gobble up any crumbs previously missed or kept from.

Hatred, fear, intolerance, irrationality, fraud, corruption, lies.

Drained the swamp; built an ocean’s cesspool.

We buy it all because, well, lies are easier.

Or our own unmistakable hatred, ignorance and fear feed us.

We will offer excuses or mixed up explanations.

Our cowardice resides in the shadows,

Behind the screaming, chanting, violent enmity.

Someday people will look upon our photographed images,

As the gluttonous, orange mass of vile inhumanity

Stands before us offering the same fascism.

We will be equally stained and shamed by history;

Dupes.

Copyright SGW 2018

Poem: Burr - Misunderstood American

Burr – Misunderstood American

I am not throwing away my shot

Fateful day where aim was true

A shot was “thrown” to much ado

But was that more contrived excuse

Preparatory actions one might deduce

Determined foe who would not relent

Though ample chance was underwent

Hamilton more did instigate

‘Twas Burr who penned to mediate

Slurs sprung forth in Alexander’s wrath

Burr’s cool hand sought other path

I am not throwing away my shot

History makes Burr a shifty fiend

But to strike a deal was how he leaned

A politician, true, with all that hints

No more, no less, men before or since

Rivals conspired to ruin his name

First New York then Virginia same

1800 did not connive to steal

Campaigned for “Jeff” with fullest zeal

He was cast aside by the doubting Thomas

Career was lost, a broken promise

I am not throwing away my shot

Ventured west in a fevered state

But not the traitor that became his fate

Filibuster goal was a common theme

Of Spanish lands many eyes would glean

Though foolish in his ill-laid action

To split the nation was no attraction

His legal mind was marked outstanding

For middling classes sought better standing

And while quite the scoundrel in romantic fares

For women’s rights had fewest peers

Burr was flawed like any man must be

Yet much is lost by history

Reduced to villain by word and song

Lin Manuel, a genius, gets so much wrong

Most profiles writ hold Burr stained quite unfairly

We’ve heard his name but know him barely

He did not throw away his shot/He threw away his shot

Copyright SGW 2018

Footnotes: Based largely on information from Nancy Isenberg’s biography “Fallen Founder – The Life of Aaron Burr.” Repeated line from the Broadway musical “Hamilton.”

Poem: Chui

Chui

Trees are my domain

Resting regally

Surveying horizons

Piercing eyes stare out

Nothing betrays calm

Waiting to spring out

Climb down from my perch

Hunger drives my time

Swalapala graze

Perhaps songura

Nyumbu, with luck

Cunning guides my course

You will not see me

Until I am there

Falling upon you

Did you quite suspect

Though no matter now

Belly full of meat

Again, I lie here

In the branches; high

Simba skulks below

Laughs of fisi range

This branch, sacrosanct

I sneer for effect

Mostly hold contempt

Drift off to sleeping

Dreams of future hunts

Trees are my domain

Copyright SGW 2018

Footnotes: Chui is leopard; Swalapala is impala; Songura is rabbit; Nyumbu is wildebeest; Simba is lion, Fisi is hyena.

Poem: Clusterfuck #45

Clusterfuck #45

Each day brings a brand, new disaster

Or chaos, confusion and con

Awash in corruption and vices

And any; all, sanity gone

One, lone “accomplishment” is counted

A tax scam of epic device

Shifting the wealth of the nation

So the rich gets much more to their slice

Corruption runs rampant in dealings

The Emoluments Clause laid to wreck

Shadiness pervades every action

When a mafia clan has no check

The level of incompetence is astounding

Tweets expose emptiest suit

He will lie and distract to no purpose

But the deceits are his one absolute

“Draining the swamp” was pure artifice

Since replaced by an avowed toxic waste

From economy to environment to diplomacy

The destruction arrives with posthaste

Disgraced to the world in our turmoil

As Trump clings to tyrannical mates

He has traded away our virtue

In collusion, betrayal, dictates

Putin, ah Putin, his favorite despot

With impeachable behavior he’s set

An unbridled, ass-kissing convention

Or is it pee that explains what we get

He is walled by the vilest hatred

Building on bigotry and racism and fear

All “MAGA” conveys in its message

Is his cowardice is proved crystal-clear

Every day seems to pass in disorder

A small, little man run amok

This Trumpian reign ‘be remembered

As a mistaken, unsound clusterfuck

Copyright SGW 2018

Poem: Fools' Day

Fools’ Days

  

Trump supporters

Do they notice?

Today is no different from all the others

Fools are three sixty-five

Butt of the joke

MAGA

Draining the swamp

Tax cuts

Middle class relief

Job creation

Great negotiator

Best people

No collusion

April fools!

Rest of the year, too

Copyright SGW 2018

Poem: Theorize

Theorize

Time is elusive and time is at hand

Absolute reason; chaotic, unplanned

Time imparts theory of fullness in being

Everything, nothing, upon us while fleeing

Time reaches, grasping, for understood thinking

Lost in a moment by reflex of blinking

Time passes surely while time’s made to live

Gone through the spaces of effluent sieve

Time lasts forever in its finite dominion

Withstanding convention or dissenting opinion

Time’s been provided until it is squandered

Lapses unnoticed; continually pondered

Time is cliché yet creative conception

Stands as the rule and recedes from exception

Time knows no boundary can be hoped to transcend

A Big Bang beginning; collapse for an end

Copyright SGW 2014

Footnotes: Inspired by “The Theory of Everything,” a movie about Stephen Hawking. M.A.D. assistance in this writing.

Poem: Random Kenya

Random Kenya

  

Kenya conveys a randomness

People by roadside

Selling wares

Lying prone, asleep

Simply looking to the distance

Walking cattle

Driving long, dusty backroads

To what feels like nowhere

Then, in vast emptiness

A man

Standing resolute

No obvious point of origin

Or destination

But he’s there if needed

Markets spring up

Awash in multitudes

Followed by open, bare roads

Broken down vehicle

A community appears from thin air

Some help

Others tinker

Children gawk, wave, take it all in

Kenya’s randomness is comforting

  

Copyright SGW 2017

Poem: Kenya

Kenya  

An elephant’s power will be felt in its stride

No obstacles standing can divert them aside

Confident swagger in their marching along

Seemingly gentle, yet latently strong

Contrast with the grace of a giraffe’s slender cast

Softness implied as an elegance, vast

Legs to forever and neck stretching high

Trees reaching upward can’t extend to deny

Majestic, the lion, truly king and queens of the plain

Huntress stalks onward toward its prey by restrain

Male lies proudly with mane grandly sculpted

His Highness presides ever surely exulted

Speed of a cheetah feeds exhilaration fast growing

The moment awaits when a hunt’s undergoing

Zebra and warthog, hyena or jackal

Only first truly feel them when they live without shackle

The hooligan baboons as they probe of the camp

You can sniff at the tent, 3 A.M., naughty scamp!

For me it’s the leopard as definitive resplendence

Shoulder blades roll with a gait of ascendance

Or perched on a branch to survey the terrain

Eyes piercing distance with no hint of a strain

The cunning and beauty, and remarkable stealth

As I watch full of wonder I’ve a limitless wealth

  

Copyright SGW 2017

Poem: Resilience

Resilience

Watching the love by intensity’s stare

Struggles and hardships two people might bear

Tragic the turns come upon as they dance

One looks away just as other will glance

Hindrance springs forth too enormous to check

Ship starts to founder ‘till the rocks leave a wreck

Frightened of stigma, betrayal and loss

Frailty’s victims are each weight of their cross

Words left unspoken mark a road ever beckoning

Trail soon lost while the doubt’s ever reckoning

The heart proves resilient for the bond that’s been built

There is always more milk when a glass has been spilt

Copyright SGW 2017

Footnote: Influenced by the movie “The Big Sick.”

Rating the presidency of Barack Obama

In attempting to place Barack Obama historically in a presidential ranking, there are many complicating variables that would not normally be present. I attribute this to the election of Donald Trump to follow Obama into the White House.

Because Trump is likely to be such an extremist, irrational and unqualified train- wreck, there are bound to be Obama accomplishments that are undone. This could include the Affordable Care Act, the Iran nuclear deal and environmental and financial regulations, to name but a few.

A second factor that presents a challenge in grading Barack Obama’s presidency is the Republican obstruction during his two terms. Never before has a president been faced with opposition so severe, extreme and absolute. This was evident to such a degree that Republicans actually opposed their own ideas; the Affordable Care Act being the most obvious example. Opposition to Obama was a virulent reaction to his being black, well-spoken, reserved, and thoughtful, with the racism being at the top of the list.

With these qualifications in mind, I have ranked Barack Obama where I believe is appropriate. I feel that had his successor been Hillary Clinton, or even a rational Republican (which in 2016 was nearly impossible to find), this position would be more historically settled. However, depending on the Trump presidency, and how quickly the pendulum swings back to sanity in the nation in 2018 and 2020, Obama’s place could rise or fall by a few slots.

I rank Barack Obama reasonably high, and believe true historians will as well, for many reasons. However, I would first point out his most obvious failures, shortfalls and missed opportunities.

Domestically, his weak points can be viewed as a product of his early tenure timidity, or faith that he could bring Democrats and Republicans together. This resulted in his providing for inadequate spending to combat the Great Recession (with too many ineffective tax cuts included), relying on Congress to lead the way on health insurance reform (Thus succumbing to the tendencies of men such as Ben Nelson, Max Baucus and Joe Lieberman to significantly weaken the final product, and Republicans to whip up a frenzy of misinformation and lies leading to the creation of the Tea Party), and in not prosecuting anyone on Wall Street for the reckless behavior that enabled the economic collapse Obama inherited.

On foreign policy, Obama’s greatest failings were in his too closely adhering to George W. Bush Administration policies on drone strikes and warrantless wiretapping (I place this in foreign policy due to its terrorism connection). Obama, also, was sometimes too reasonable with the thugs and tyrants in the Middle East and Russia. While I will point to this as a strength, too, drawing lines in the sand (Syria), being too reflective (Russia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, China) and not recognizing the value of at least showing the stick more transparently alongside the carrot, allowed the various strong men in these countries to act without genuine fear of repercussion. Lastly, he, like most all other experts, underestimated ISIL’s rise.

While peace between Israel and Palestine remains out of reach, probably further away than it was when Obama took office, I blame this fully on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli extreme right, Mahmoud Abbas and the weak and cowardly Palestinian leadership, Republican intransigence, and AIPAC.

However, Barack Obama’s successes, while some potentially will be ephemeral, outweigh these weaknesses by a sizable margin, thereby making him an above average to very good president.

While the world exploded due to the Arab Spring, most United States connection to this would be longstanding, dating back to post-World War II. No president could have drastically altered the events that took place. Egypt was a mess because the Muslim Brotherhood and the military both refused to govern inclusively. Iraq fell apart due to Bush policies, Iran’s influence and the Shiite unwillingness to, again, govern inclusively. While I have mentioned Obama’s failings as to Syria, I also believe he wisely did not engage more fully. The American people overwhelmingly opposed the boots on the ground that would have been required, Congress, cowardly, was unwilling to act in any manner, and the reality within Syria showed that the opposition to Bashar al-Assad was incredibly fluid and unreliable. Arming militants could have led to a repeat of the disastrous outcome of arming the Afghani jihadists of the 1980’s.

As such, I view Obama’s Syria policy as limiting the quagmire for the U.S. ISIL was technically an already existing threat – a product of the Iraq War and al Qaeda in Iraq. Iraq itself had no true means of being a success because of their own leadership. Obama got the U.S. out of the sinkhole that Iraq had been as best as possible. The same was true in Afghanistan.

The Obama Administration had clear successes, too. Ties to India grew by leaps and bounds. The failed Cuba policy was ended, with great promise for the future. Despite some serious problems with its Rohingya population, Myanmar gave up a solid measure of its military rule. Al Qaeda was seriously weakened, including the death of Osama bin Laden. There were no significant terrorist strikes within U.S. borders. The open hostility and negative image of the United States internationally, a product of the Bush Administration’s “Cowboy Diplomacy,” was greatly reversed. And, most importantly, despite unprecedented political opposition from Republicans and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Iran Nuclear Agreement was signed. This deal made the world much safer for the foreseeable future and possibly bought Iran enough time to moderate when Ayatolluh Khamanei dies, hopefully soon.

Domestically, the Obama presidency could have been great. Sadly, due to Obama’s early naiveté that Republicans would be reasonable and act in the best interests of the nation, combined with those Republicans intentionally harming the country solely to deny Obama any success, less was accomplished than was possible. I do not put too much of this upon Obama’s shoulders.

The Obama Administration was handed the worst economic disaster since the Great Depression. Unemployment was rising, banks were becoming insolvent, the auto industry was collapsing, and the country was on the brink of disaster. Obama’s steady hand provided enough stimulus to stem the tide. Bailouts to the auto and banking industry, building on what the Bush Administration was virtually forced to begin to enact, saved millions of jobs and prevented a complete economic catastrophe.

Once things stabilized, with the help of an engaged and late-to-the-game, proactive Federal Reserve Bank, unemployment eventually leveled off and actually achieved near complete employment. Obama’s negotiating led to a reversal of some (though not enough) of the Bush tax cuts, resulting in a lessening of income inequality. Towards the end of Obama’s tenure, income growth began to show real signs of picking up momentum. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was created, greatly reducing the risk of further financial fraud and protecting the middle and lower classes significantly.

While the Affordable Care Act, also known as “Obamacare,” has produced incredible controversy, and is far from a perfect piece of law, it’s success is beyond logical question. It did not fully address cost containment, but it did slow the growth of increases. It allowed for a wide array of innovation to make care more efficient and effective. Most importantly, through the insurance exchanges and increased Medicaid enrollment, 30 million additional people received affordable (due to subsidies) health insurance. The plan also had a substantial impact on income inequality by effectively granting raises to people in the lower and middle classes via affordable care, while paying for the care with tax increases on the wealthiest people.

The Affordable Care Act clearly needs tinkering to fix the various problems that any large piece of legislation can lead to. Sadly, the potential for repeal by Republicans following the end of the Obama presidency could undo all these gains and negatively impact tens of millions of people. This is one key area where Republican success would, sadly, negatively impact Obama’s legacy. However, judging by early news from the post-Obama presidency, Republicans appear to have succumbed to the notion of insuring more people. Though all their alternatives will not actually result in this, the change in the tone of the conversation is to Obama’s credit. The best hope is that once Republicans make things worse, the Obama legacy will allow for a second reversal that restores coverage levels and goes further than the ACA.

While some might argue that President Obama did not do enough for the environment – increased oil production domestically, allowing fracking – the truth is his administration did protect vast expanses of the nation and made major efforts to improve auto fuel efficiencies, address climate change globally and shift the country to alternative energy sources.

The Obama Administration was essentially scandal-free. In fact, the only real scandal during Obama’s term in office was Republican attempts to manufacture scandals through countless irresponsible, fraudulent and shameful investigations into, frankly, nothing.

Some might place blame on Barack Obama for the increased national divisiveness. It is more appropriate to place almost no blame on the president. Any disparagement of President Obama for the rancor that grew during, and as a result of, his presidency would be the equivalent of blaming Lincoln for the Civil War. The truth is, as is often the case throughout history, a reaction to economic difficulty, often leads to nationalist excess, rightwing extremism and overt acts of hostility. The rise of the Tea Party, the extent to which the Republican Party became a rightwing, fanatical platform and the eventual rise of Trumpism, is not a reflection on the Obama Administration, or any failings on its part, but the product on an uninformed electorate and misguided rage.

Overall, Barack Obama merits the rating I have given him. Repeal of the Affordable Care Act with an insufficient replacement, or a rejection of the Iran Nuclear Accords, could drop his rating. But the United States was blessed by a thoughtful, responsible, dynamic, and good man, who had a plan of success for the nation. It was not fully attained, and could be undone in many respects. For now, Barack Obama stands as this nation’s #11 president.

Rating the Presidents

Poem: Milk and Honey

Israel changes you. There is a deep, spiritual connection that takes over your soul.

Milk And Honey

Layers of lives past, embrace

Power in God face to face

Hands touching Wall feels the grace

Holiest highs to this place

Extremes doth remain a disgrace

Warmth, loving peace should replace

Float ‘pon the Dead Sea, serene

Walk through Masada’s lost scene

History knows what’s unseen

Too much the hate as routine

More than enough shared between

Caring, the hope I’ve foreseen

Wash away fear to ‘come clean

Killing knows none of God’s gleam

All of these people converge

World’s (main) three religions must merge

I’ve walked ‘long the roads to emerge

Joining of hands one must urge

Beautiful land reemerge

Israel brings forth heaven’s touch

Opening hearts offers much

Copyright SGW 2016