not likable enough

each day he wakes, each morning it's the same
his highest talent's to alienate
without a friend or ally to his name 
the senate rallies against him in hate
strange herald for God's kingdom here on Earth
unbending to the rulings of our courts
unlooked for--a Canadian by birth--
he'd be more charming if he had more warts
the party's factions exploding apart
without a centre competent to hold
two candidates with not a single heart
whose only value shared is lust for gold
unless the GOP's intent to lose
it's futile to close ranks behind Ted Cruz       

callous

Katehi doused the kids with pepper spray
who dared align themselves with OCCUPY
she told her cops to make them go away
by irritating nose and throat and eye
the video went viral and went big
the force was grossly disproportionate
the rent-a-cop derided as a pig
and chancellor responsible for it
and now she'd caught obscuring her own tracks
Orwellian control of what has been
the hubris to proclaim what's not a fact
slammed by Napolitano as a sin
a dire example none should emulate
debased an office sworn to educate

human scale II

'though Sophocles saw Fates in everything
Euripides lays all of it on Man
the meanest servant and the proudest king
must lay and execute his own life-plan
a subtle midrash on Homeric texts

dismissive of the creeds of ages past

inevitable as cause and effects

the tragedy's implicit in the cast
a humanist before we had the word
for whom the action all comes from within
unint'rested in what he deems absurd
to blame a deity for mortal's sin
a treasure from the Periclean age
laid bare the human psyche on the stage    

the human scale

'though Sophocles blames Fates for everything
Euripides lays all of it on Man
the meanest servant and the proudest king
must lay and execute his own life-plan
the Golden Age of yore provides his themes
but all the drama's on the human scale
there's no heroic aura to his schemes
and not much room for gods to shape his tale
a humanist before we had the word
for whom the action all comes from within
unint'rested in what he deems absurd
to blame a deity for mortal's sin
a treasure from the Periclean age
explored the human psyche on the stage    

the long game

the Senate was supposed to lend her cred
but Hillary's campaign bombed in '08
and so she joined the Cabinet instead
to get some Press while she was forced to wait
her chairman's now the head of DNC
the SuperDelegates are all lined up
she's dotted every 'i' and crossed each 't'
her arm's outstretched to claim the trophy cup
who dreamt the People nursed another plan
and rather than embrace the status quo
they'd rally to a rumpled, balding man
who doesn't care which way the fashions blow
the coronation plans have hit a glitch
the peasants show no love for WallStreet's bitch

why is this week different?

one week per year, each Jew eats like a priest

no leaven is permitted in his bread

no braising liquid complements the beast

he's got to roast it whole from hoof to head

with staff in hand and sandals on our feet

we pantomime a meal consumed in haste

but stomachs are imploring us to cheat

before the seder gets to our first taste

before we eat, we dwell on lice and blood

and culminate with Pharaoh and his troop

all drowned because their wheels stuck fast in mud

and only then proceed to eat our soup

our sacred play assigns each kid a part

but leaves us to debate hard Pharaoh's heart

evolving hero

in Ithaka, Penelope must guard
against the suitors eating through her stock
while half the gods colluded to retard
the hero on his tropic prison rock
unlike Achilles, he got out alive
when Menelaos sailed home with his whore
he deemed the greatest good was to survive
and wend home to his family from war
Peleides shone bright, but too soon died
and never saw his heir grown to a man
to stand in close formation by his side
each generation hewing to the plan
Odysseus, by epic's end has won
the joy to stand in battle with his son

Dynasties

inequity's a problem for Rousseau
that renders any government a joke
distinctions marking who's high and who's low
pretend we aren't all of us just folk
the Scandinavians have got it right
although on paper they still bow to kings
their titled gentry wield no special might
and none would bend a knee to kiss their rings
but in the States, we've lost our Founders' zeal
as if some families bled bluer blood
and neither with their toe nor with their heel
trod with the peasants on the common mud
we raise aristocrats to be our curse
'though each ensuing Bushling makes it worse

the Aura

Karl Rove opined: if Trump's the candidate
the GOP is slitting its own throat
the party faithful don't embrace his hate
and in November may demur to vote
the down-slate races could swing towards the Blue
and Speaker Ryan could be out a post
our Chief Executive could be a Jew
and RedState dominance could all be toast
the highest negatives we've ever polled
have party bosses trembling in their doubt
the GOP would be out in the cold
if pissed-off voters don't turn out
a party with no vision beyond 'no'
has left itself no forward path to go

not of this world

the Church's coffers burgeon year by year
immortal corporation waxing fat
immune to taxes here and everywhere
a dainty haul from passing 'round the hat
but Francis feels his mission's to the poor
and worries banking bears a moral taint
instead of grasping after ever more
he's more inclined to emulate a saint
some Cardinals are tempted to rebel
unwilling to curtail the way they roll
Ecclesiastic politics are Hell
when Jesuits set budget, tone and goal
his vision moves the world's oppressed to hope
unless his guards assassinate this Pope

above the law

House Speaker Hastert's lawyer dropped the trick
by calling an extraneous witness
to testify that Denny's not a dick
he let the jury stir the sordid mess
what one can testify, the next rebuts
that he's a pedophile seems beyond doubt
a fondler of his wrestler's dicks and nuts
when half the sordid details have come out
a banking violation seems a joke
when he's been violating teen-aged guys
his carcass should be rotting in the poke
at least until the happy day he dies
a trusted teacher's access to our schools
can't be a license to flout all our rules

opportunity lost

the Dean campaign inspired the Left to dream
that no one need be shut out from HealthCare
but Talking Heads DQ'ed him for the scream
anointing someone tall with well-coiffed hair
John Kerry might have been the president
if he'd seen fit to go out and campaign
but he would never let his passions vent
and viewed potential voters with disdain
the hero who'd protested Vietnam'
seemed too aloof to put up the good fight
as if he really didn't give a damn
that all the cov'rage listed to the Right
the second Cheney term gave him more room
to push our planet closer to its doom

FISC farce

our Public Advocate before the FISC
assuages qualms the SpyState's in control
but all the judges know that there's no risk
that anyone will listen to his role
because it's final, our High Court's Supreme
in matters legal it gets the last word
no matter how executives may scheme
a secret FISA court remains absurd
what cannot be appealed must be annulled
no body's answerable to two heads
and Lady Justice's keen sword is dulled
if we accept that Due Process is dead
a Kangaroo Court freed from oversight
discards all laws that aren't "might makes right"

moving forward

participation must mean more than checks
if we're to be real sov'reigns of our state
to back a candidate just for her sex
would leave the helm of policy to fate
the backroom bosses would infantilize
the voters who deserve the leading role
if we surrender, our republic dies
and plutocrats achieve complete control
our nation's wounds will take some time to heal
the Gingrich years have drowned discourse in noise
we've sunk below our grandfathers' NewDeal
in fealty to former leaders' boys
a socialist with ben-Gurion's hair
proposes revolution, if we dare

cahoots

for Hillary, this phase is getting old
she's eager to start sidling to the Right
if Bernie doesn't have the grace to fold
her newspapers will blame him for the fight
the editors know she'll never forgive
and--if she wins--she'll shut their presses down
she knows their weaknesses and where they live
and how to buy opinion in this town
inside the Beltway, she's already won
the headlines are already set in type
but Bernie gives no sign he might be done
he's not susceptible to Clinton hype
the Sanders campaign for the Common Man
must be destroyed to execute her plan

petty tyrant

when Erdogan broke faith with Turkey's Kurds
he tipped his country into civil war
dismissing loyal citizens as turds
who looked for honest service from this whore
the Europeans snubbed his bid to join
the Economic Union of the rich
a metaphoric boot-toe to the groin
provoking him to whine and pout and bitch
he thought himself a new Salahuddin
bold champion of Islam to the West
but Europe's never gonna let him in
until he shows a clean Wasserman test
he loves the Turks (when he's up for a vote)

but still prefers to fuck his poxy goat

winging it II

the Donald's ego's bigger than the yacht
he liquidated in financial straits

he counts a man's worth by the toys he's got
convinced that what is shiny must be great

the latest model ornaments his arm
distracting eyes from his gross stubby hand
and from the rug that keeps his pink scalp warm
embracing not his body, but his brand
he's making it up as he goes along
without a vision for which he would fight
uncaring for the cost of being wrong
because he goes unquestioned on the Right
what fool would trust an army to this man
embarking a campaign without a plan

winging it

the Donald's ego's bigger than the yacht
that he sold off in financial distress
he counts a man's worth by the toys he's got
as if that were the key to happiness
the latest model ornaments his arm
distracting eyes from his gross stubby hand
and from the rug that keeps his pink scalp warm
embracing not his body, but his brand
he's making it up as he goes along
without a vision for which he would fight
uncaring for the cost of being wrong
because he goes unquestioned on the Right
what fool would trust an army to this man
embarking a campaign without a plan

HAL

the Internet-of-Things empowers spies
to penetrate our hedges and our walls
PoliceStates see the prospect as a prize
reducing citizens to helpless thralls
my toaster and my 'fridge don't need to know
who happens to be sleeping in my bed
if we're not free in how we come and go
we've turned the power-structure on its head
the private sphere's not for the FBI
to build their databases and log-books
they need a warrant if they mean to pry
into our lives as if we were all crooks
if we're to be the masters of our fate
we've got to shut this down ere it's too late

process

Americans are scared to talk of "class"
and so we banter visions of the State
no matter that the front-runner's an ass
whose backers only resonate to hate
as if corruption were the only threat
and--were it clean--we'd cheerfully agree
on everything from gun-rights to the debt
and what it means that all  Men are born free
our silence breed dysfunction and mistrust
it's not the way to know another's heart
alliances--if not preserved from rust--
when need is greatest tend to fall apart
so let us calmly reason, you and I
and not embrace each politician's lie

time out

Santorum ran again and crapped out big
there's less enthusiasm than he'd hope
his base defected to a fascist pig
who brags he's way more Catholic than the Pope
his moment's passed, the TV cameras left
they shed no tear for candidates who fail
a private citizen, feeling bereft
no more important than R. Danforth Quayle
self-publishing, he gives vent on his 'blog
explaining why this Pope's off the true path
but trolls just bait him to shriek "man on dog!"
and mock his invocation of God's wrath
the Press ignores him, 'though he's waxing wroth
pathetic in his corner, slick with froth            

what have we wrought?

our Founding Fathers feared a demagogue
could raise the baser sorts against the State
a financier who lives high on the hog
inciting citizens to storm the gate
an Upper House elected for six years
to quell the passions of the mob below
enacting more from wisdom, less from fear
deferring mostly to the status quo
'twas Jefferson foresaw the inbuilt flaw
however slowly, new elites would rise
entrenching their advantages in law
a ruling class entitled, but unwise
so now we face this shouting orange clown
prepared to tear the whole republic down

Tazria

a text about eruptions of the skin
and mothers made unclean for bearing girls
defies a Jew to find the God within
imbuing meaning in an absurd world
evolving ethics face unchanging texts
and strain to find a note that resonates
a sexist lens the thinking mind rejects
persists far past its expiration date
"divrei torah kilshon b'nei adom"
but passing years have changed both tongue and ear
Tazria clunks on Moderns like a bomb
evoking less "amen" than shrug or jeer
our future possibilities are vast
each rooted in rereadings of our past

"likable enough"

Bill cringes watching Hillary orate
although he mustn't let journalists see
she has no shield to turn their barbs and hate
and let's them know she does it for the fee
agree or not, the voters found Bill warm
but Hillary just shovels on dry facts
a politician's craft presumes some charm
that secretary Clinton wholly lacks
unnatural ambition makes her run
without a hint that she enjoys the fight
where Bill made wheeling-dealing look like fun
she'll scream if you once doubt that she was right
he's served two terms, and now serves from the wings
a wife who's shown no talent for this thing

windbag

Trump bluffs compulsively and thinks he's smart
to play the nomination like a game
in which duplicity's extolled as "art"
and only losers have a sense of shame
tomorrow, he might try another tack
alliances dissolve, by whim or force
the wife who kept him squealing in the sack
was counting down the nights 'til the divorce
a changing world demands a steady hand
disastrous wars his rhetoric forebodes
who'll disobey war-criminal commands
were such a man to hold the missile codes
he lies about his wealth and calls it "class"
but clueless minions run to kiss his ass

deeds done in darkness

Fonseca plays the shell-game to the stars
obscuring troves of their ill-gotten loot
they'd show your assets were all earned on Mars
if that would render the tax-burden moot
let legislatures try to levy tax
the A-list deftly duck out on their share
the burden falls upon the Workers' backs
and never on the robber-baron's heir
a billion's quickly hidden overseas
but those who toil to eat can't catch a break
their nest eggs stunted by their bankers' fees
while One Percenters scold 'let them eat cake!'
the game's been rigged by those who drew the board
all profits skimmed into the bankers' hoard

fear-mongers

the Wakefield fraud keeps killing innocents
believing what's once printed must be right
but the retraction cannot make a dent
they've made their minds up and resolved to fight
no reasoned arguments can penetrate
an anti-Vaxxer's victim-narrative
convinced they're saints to stand against the State
as well to carry water in a sieve
the Media are there to entertain
their masters fund them to increas their wealth
and anecdotes of death, or loss, or pain
sell more air-minutes than does Public Health
and now he's got a movie out called "Vaxxed"
as if there weren't such a thing as "facts"

what is

the mystery is we might understand
with minds designed for finding fish and fruits
a universe constructed without plan
inhabited by beings whom it suits
anthropic principles toss what can't be
within our corner of the multiverse
not knowing which parameters are free
and which can change (but only for the worse)
invoking "God" concedes the mind's defeat
hypotheses are made to falsify
the Standard Model--'though it's not complete--
still outperforms old scripture's pious lie
like Goldilocks, we ponder day and night
why it should be this cosmos is just right

ceaseless vigilance is the price

where there's success, there'll be a parasite
extracting profit without making goods
nor services to set the books aright
like Adam Smith conjectured that he should
emergent properties don't need a plan
to build economies, or craft an eye
and no watchmaker, be he god or man
needs speculators, nor a tsetse fly
imbalances in Trade make Nations sick
and unredressed, they'll swirl right down the sink
a Trump or Koch is just a loathsome tick
who'd casually drive us all extinct
rent-seekers should be spurned like lice or fleas
incessant RedQueen's Race against disease

let us make gods in our own image

God has no hands but those we lend the tasks
God has no face but those seen in the street
we fool ourselves with images and masks
that may evoke, but must be incomplete
we sing of "up" but should be gazing in
conceptualizing causes from "out there"
that lead us willy-nilly into "sin"
but they're just gods and castles on the air
the opiate of masses serves the king
who wants to keep us harnessed to his goal
and if we'd only give him everything
he'll free us from the burden of control
no long white beard keeps us infantilized
if once we were adults in our own eyes