כֶסֶף חַטָּאוֹת

St. Paul found it too hard to be a Jew
believing halachah was just p'shat
prescribing everything he ought to do
as if lex talion were what it's not
haftarah Shekelim proffers a key
although the words are plain "tooth for a tooth"
if goat's a unit of mere currency
the literalists stumble past the truth
four entered PARDES, only three came home
one lost his mind, one lost his faith, one died
Akiva, as he came, left b'shalom
as centered here as on the other side
ongoing revelation's in the Word
just don't compel it to say what's absurd

unmoored

since Nixon, presidents have wooed the Press
if not as public servants, then as guys
who have the people's back in this world's mess
and try to not get caught in blatant lies
but Trump believes he's snatched the big brass ring
and gets to dictate what they must report
as though he were their sovereign and king
and they're stenographers who pay him court
for shear invention, Donald takes the cake
ten Orders for each bill the House enacts
no matter all his precedents are fake
inventing worlds of more convenient "facts"
"abyss!" Church warned, "from which there's no return"
but there's scant evidence that voters learn

shir David

"give us a king!" Israelites got loud
so Shmuel picked some guy who looked the part
who head and shoulders over-topped the crowd
heroic in his stature, not at heart
he's not the man to stop the Philistines
incompetent at warfare, and at math
it took his squire who's barely in his teens
to bring to earth their champion at Gath
a tragic segue before Jesse's son
closed out the Age of Judges and its strife
whose darling children knew that he's the One
Mikhal legitimized as eldest wife
failed monarch to unite the tribes and lands
who couldn't find his own ass with both hands

consequences

the Kremlin's machinations bear strange fruit;
the anti-Clinton leaks advanced Trump's case.
This brat, unvested in Ukraine's dispute
turned private profit on the public race.
An ignoramus never seen before--
who barely reads, but types enough to rant--
could arrogantly launch a next world war.
No lawyer's gonna tell him that he can't!
Huge game of chicken, on the global stage
defying China to put up its dukes.
No wisdom modulates his steroid rage;
his stubby fingers itch to launch some nukes.
If Putin's puppet's gone around the bend,
life as we know it may be at its end.

the official story II

Steve Bannon wants the Press to toe his line
like Tass disseminating Stalin's word
he'll issue them opinions to opine
to argue with his truths would be absurd
but that's not how democracy is done
the people need to weigh all diff'rent views
before we can converge on a right one
we need each side laid out, so we can choose
republics die, deprived of a free press
or if dissenting views are deemed obscene
we need a bit of tumult and some mess
free citizens don't bow to the Machine
conformity exalts the fascist state
grim parody of what had made us great

no one ever went broke...

good Trumpsters drool each time they taste the lash
an appetizer of what's coming next
but DNC, obsessed with raising cash
can't grasp that voters rarely think past sex
big donors set their hooks in Howard Dean
the erstwhile champion of the common folk
who's now just one more cog in their machine
disdaining rubes at TownHalls like a joke
the senator from WallStreet never scored
with Independents who eschew Kool-Aid
expensive rallies left them cold and bored
and I'm With Her's not gonna get you laid
the Donald's crowds get loud when he gets crude
perversely eager to get bigly screwed

closed loop

the Swedish terror fiction spewed by Fox
confirmed Trump's expectation of the place
unchallenged, 'cause it fit  his  mental box
about how civic virtue tracks with race
the echo chamber in between Trump's ears
will resonate if struck by the right note
strange orange champion of the  White men's fears
at least that class that register, and vote
American democracy's decline
won't be reversed if not by a free press
but Breitbart's blaring out the Party line
an eager partner in the fascist mess
while Bannon slanders Muslims, Gays, and Jews
Trump face-plants in his own mire of fake-news

epistemic closure

the Swedish fiction broadcast by FoxNews
confirmed Trump's expectation of the place
unchallenged, 'cause it lined up with his views
about how civic virtue tracks with race
the echo chamber in between Trump's ears
will resonate if struck by the right note
strange orange champion of the  White men's fears
at least that class that register, and vote
American democracy's decline
won't be reversed if not by a free press
but Breitbart's blaring out the Party line
an eager partner in the fascist mess
while Bannon slanders Muslims, Gays, and Jews
Trump face-plants in his own mire of fake-news

influence

Steve Bannon murmurs sweetly in Trump's ear
"all liberal fact-mongers are the same
distracting voters from our theme of fear
implying you might somehow be to blame
it's Putin that you ought to emulate
no paper dares insinuate he's wrong
by acclamation, what he does is great
your peasants want their leader to be strong"
Ivanka struggles for her father's soul
convinced he really wants to do what's right
but Bannon exercises more control
the Orders Donald signs, are Steve's to write
when Kellyanne dared to extemporize
she's muzzled for broadcasting the wrong lies

councilor to the deaf

within his sphere, McMaster has no peer
a strategist like few this world has seen
but while McFarland has the Donald's ear
he's merely window-dressing on the scene
inside the WestWing, politics get rough
and Trump hears nothing that's not on TV
he's prone to spinning bullshit off the cuff
and barely rooted in reality
one more adult to sway the Cabinet
that weigh in on Trump's incompetence
a palace coup may salvage something yet
the country's primed to settle for mere Pence
hegemony is always transient
this task's too great for our faux president

shiny hardware

three stars gleam on McMaster's epaulet
the minimum for such a trusted niche
Trump grants an officer (but no mere vet)
the credibility as if he's rich
we'll see if he's allowed to fire K.T.
or if McFarland still commands Trump's ear
if all his knowledge still comes from TV
it's worthless to sit in his inner sphere
strategic thinking might as well be Greek
what can't be laid out on a business card
is wasted on an intellect so weak
just staying unimpeached seems way too hard
no Cabinet, no matter how much brass
can safeguard our republic from this ass

on a Grecian Urn

pink clouds of cherry-blossoms float within a sky of green
as if I've misinterpreted the frequencies of light
as sweet a harbinger of Spring as any I have seen
a Through the LookingGlass effect that some say can't be right
convention links one spectral band to one specific word
but other languages define a wholly diff'rent map
my expectation that you'll understand must seem absurd
between two minds, I can't presume to ever bridge the gap
yet still, I feel compelled to share this vernal scene with you
and trust your inner lexicon to correspond to mine
a vision of such loveliness I must believe is true
what can't be proved deductively must hint at the divine
a sky of green, a cloud of pink, on earth as up above
a poet's faculty's deranged when seasons turn to love

puerile

Trump doesn't listen when a staffer speaks
each memo they prepare's a wasted tree
so some resort strategically to leaks
and hope he'll sop up something from TV
while Tillerson and Mattis compensate
assuring allies he's not wholly mad
he makes new mischief, and they come too late
to sweep up what's been shattered by the lad
too loyal to ignore our empire's fall
they strain to keep Trump focused on the task
but all he seem's to care about's that wall
diplomacy's an awful lot to ask
we've got the moron Mencken'd warned we would
and bought George Orwell's double-plus ungood

sic transit gloria mundi

young Donald had no morals of his own
it's not for him, this so-called 'Golden Rule'
a perfect acolyte to old Roy Cohn
when he got out of Military School
Machiavelli's prince ought to be wise
and learn from everything that went before
but Cohn showed power could be built on lies
and waging each encounter like a war
with Kellyanne atop his noise machine
antagonistic to the open Press
he orchestrates each entrance for a scene
but every exit leaves a stinking mess
the monster at our helm of Ship of State
will bring to ruin much that had been great

wreckage

the Trump administration's going down
before he's even filled a cabinet
who'd want to be advisor to this clown
who'll never listen, or claim to forget
Jeff Sessions' job is gonna be to name
the Special Prosecutor to inquire
just what the Russians did, and who's to blame
does guilt stop with Mike Flynn, or someone higher
what did Trump know? And when? the echoes toll
since Nixon's dirty tricks and Watergate
a chief executive out of control
too self-involved to helm our Ship of State
Fitzgerald sees us heading for the rocks
the man to fill the shoes of Archie Cox

post-truth

chief bullshit artist on the global stage
resents the Media who scrutinize
his rhetoric, his numbers, and his rage
presuming to debunk his cherished lies
a virtuoso cultivating hate
sold voodoo economics to his crowd
and ostracized those who'd evaluate
the vapid message he proclaimed so loud
he won among the half who deigned to show
who felt the system'd given them the shaft
a protest ballot, from those beaten low
a bitter joke cast as they wryly laughed
Mike Pence--with all his baggage--waits on tap
'til we're fed up with Trump's incessant crap

change

Barack Obama'll always compromise
his opening proposal's just a start
but Trump begins by throwing out cheap lies
a con he boastfully describes as "art"
our first Black president retired in peace
and blackmail of the next one seems assured
the war-drums for impeachment just won't cease
against this ass who never keeps his word
eight years without a scandal passed too fast
already, Flynn's been busted by a leak
no one believes that this will be Trump's last
look for a new one with each passing week
two men more diff'rent t'were hard to conceive
we're wishing that Barack would never leave

another's life

Joe Simpson's touched the void, but hasn't died
vicariously, we enjoy the tale
of hauling his ass off that mountainside
where normal actuary tables fail
alone, without support, he had to cope
back down to basecamp where his own tracks led
pursuing Simon who had cut the rope
believing, in good faith, he must be dead
exquisite storytelling makes one feel
experiences by the climber's lights
emotional responses can be real
although you've sat at home, and shunned the heights
mortality imbues this life with zest
but someone else's near-miss--that's the best

Shannon Entropy

I dreamed that you could understand the code that I'd devised
devoid of ambiguity as plain as broad daylight
and anyone who heard or read could look out through my eyes
a sweet, seductive fantasy that helped me sleep at night
I rushed to put it down in ink the moment I awoke
but trains of baggage came along with every word I chose
the clarity was the mirage, and all I clutched was smoke
that through my fingers oozed away and to the stars arose
Retreat! Retrench! at least in math, we share communion pure
that isn't just conventional, transparent to us all

but Gödel interjects to say I must not be so sure

an edifice on such a base in time may also fall
self-organized, dream-words conform to heptametric verse
so somewhere, entropy must grow, within my universe

outlier

if Peter Thiel's psychiatrist spoke straight
he'd tell his patient he's not making sense
his billions in the bank can't compensate
for selling citizens' intelligence
to libertarians, his Palantir's
a gross invasion of our privacy
evocative of Orwell's darkest fears
pariah in the Tech community
in California, gays don't hide from sight
and some rise high within our politics
but few have cast their lot in with the Right
that villifies Jews, Blacks and Arabics
the dissonance is basic and bone-deep
if he were more in touch, he'd never sleep

upgrade

the cheering fans who kept Trump's rallies loud
were hired--we learned too late--to play that part
his oratory never won a crowd
no word of it was ever from the heart
the scalpers took a bath at swearing in
demand for tickets turned out to be weak
Potempkin village only paper-thin
unless they're paid, few come to hear him speak
the power's real, although the man's a sham
some cabinet officials share the weight
but when our president won't give a damn
their fingers in the dike may come too late
when cozened voters show due penitence
we'll trade this gilded ass in for mere Pence

sick

a bold display of his hypocrisy
to curry favor in his daughter's case
Joe Manchin voted Sessions for AG
one scandal blending drugs, and cash, and race
there's no competitor to EpiPen
for now, it owns a corner in its niche
but FDA will license one, and then
the window slams on this scam to get rich
for Bresch, like Shkreli, Healthcare's just a game
in which the goal's to maximize for cash
they never know a patient's face, or name
and think they're being praised when they're called brash
these parasites prey on the nation's health
because they worship at the cult of wealth

house of cards

Mike Flynn's gone first, with Priebus on his heels
the Trump administration's tumbling down
they'd signed on with the "Artist of the Deal"
but left when they discovered he's a clown
will confirmation hearings never cease
his cabinet drains out before it's filled
our senators won't know a moment's peace
until the whole Executive's been spilled
Bill Harrison held office thirty days
a record Trump's unlikely to unseat
but if Roy Blunt's investigation pays
Trump's win may be the GOP's defeat
the voters who hoped Trump would bring us change
are slowly grasping that the man's deranged

designated survivor

the conversations veer when Pence walks in
all talk's of baseball when he's in the room
they strive to insulate him from Mike Flynn
the VP must not share his boss' doom
who engineered the Moscow liaison
who saw a bigger picture than Iran
the deals that mean a fortune to Exxon
imply a bigger plot than just one man
the sanctions Tillerson's so hot to lift
could save the Kremlin's currency reserve
if there were bribes from Putin for this gift
there's ten to life for somebody to serve
the scandal that could dwarf Dick Nixon's tricks
has Mike Pence dreaming he'll be forty-six

dummy

the puppet Putin schemed to put in charge
has proved too stupid to be of much use
obsessed with telling us his hands are large
but nonchalant security is loose
his cabinet's marked by incompetence
few bring experience to serve their niche
Trump delegated vetting to Mike Pence
and only specified that they be rich
at Kissinger's desk, he installed Mike Flynn
contemptuous of threats not from Iran
in lieu of experts, he relies on kin
and trusted Bannon had a larger plan
the judo master slams us to the floor
as Russia wins this round in the ColdWar

Ozymandias

I met a pompous ass with stubby hands
who screamed, you've got to trust in me alone
abandon law, and hark to my command
you're sunk unless you set me on a throne
the proletariat don't understand
they're  fool enough to credit what I've said
I'm only in it for the girls and bling
but Breitbart publishes the lies they're fed
and on his Twitter-feed these words appear:
my name's Narcissus, thrall to shiny things
for democratic values, I don't care.
Nothing besides remains. 'Round his toupé
orangutanish mop of orange hair
the GOP's collapsing in decay

within you, without you

the bird that flew above ben-Uziel
while he was davening went down in flames
although it's blameless, still its death befell
intruding on his focus on the Name
for Hillel, God looks out when he looks in
not somewhere in the firmament above
to localize Him thus would be to sin
'cause surely God is anywhere there's love
two Judaisms in the Rambam's scheme
one for adults, one for those not of age
that God is One's less clear than it would seem
although both sages studied the same page
one God on high's met by the inward gaze
just one more mystery among His ways

the other shoe

Roy Blunt invites Mike Flynn to come and speak
to his Committee on Intelligence
the new administration's up a creek
the only winner looks to be Mike Pence
by undermining foreign policy
in violation of the Logan Act
to testify on pain of perjury
what part of what's alleged's objective fact
the president can pardon many things
but what of felonies himself commands?
our chief executives are less than kings
and Donald's web of lies is out of hand
the Trump regime's already on the rocks
but who can fill the shoes of Archie Cox?

the fault's not in our stars

Orion watches skiers driving home
with Sirius forever at his heel
presiding over Winter's starry dome
as groomers tend tomorrow's playing field
while Scorpio's obscured behind the sun
he gazes on a world in black and white
as soon as the last chairlift makes its run
he's springing up to dominate the Night
come soaring season, he's a lot more coy
just barely getting up as first crow sings
a diff'rent heaven and a diff'rent joy
as mountains dwindle far beneath our wings
so many seem incurious to try
the pleasures of our playground in the sky

hospitality

the Levite's concubine replays Sodom
where hospitality's turned on its head
no matter where the stranger might come from
he'll find no sanctuary in his bed
ten righteous men could justify a town
a sacerdotal mission to the folk
but one would see his ethics trampled down
'til all gets purged in brimstone, fire and smoke
Homeric themes transcend the tongue we speak
respect for strangers grounds society
as much for Israelite as for the Greek
to treat them ill is grave impiety
back home in Ithaka, Ulysses burned
foul brimstone where a stranger had been spurned

Cops of the World

Eight-hundred U.S. bases spread world-wide
project our power over all time zones
that non-state actors on the other side
can't hope to match, together, or alone
our military budget's out of hand
three score and ten years since we've been at war
our leader would have nothing to command
if Congress didn't always budget more
as Eisenhower warned, so it transpired
industrialists write bills and pass acts
the president's a frontman whom they've hired
to guarantee a steady flood of tax
our weapons would all rust were there no ops
so we appoint ourselves the planet's cops

Stephen Miler

Steph Miller tends the gleam on Donald's boots
and gets speech credits, 'though he's awfully young
he out-competed tiers of older coots
by clever ministrations of his tongue
through crafting words that thud like Donald's own
and subtly substituting his own thought
he's carved a cozy niche behind the throne
at least until his subterfuge gets caught
no lawyer tells Trump what it is he can't
the OLC's left scrambling in his dust
imposing rationales for his last rant
asserting it makes sense, because it must
he'd hedge his bets if he had any sense
to hang on when the coup installs Mike Pence

Humpty Dumpty

forgive me, Lord! I've come to like John Dean
he makes sense when the standard pundits fail
he reads the omens and knows what they mean
when power-brokers ought to be in jail
this Trump administration's plumbed new lows
the ties to Moscow'd make Dick Nixon blush
depending on how much the big guy knows
this government could tumble in a rush
it's not the first time we've been 'round this block
this level of mistrust's been seen before
but just four weeks have ticked off the new clock
and journalists are girding up for war
impeachment'd do us all a world of good
if Trump won't do what we all know he should

everywhere, nowhere

the bird that flew above ben-Uziel
while he was davening went down in flames
although it's blameless, still its death befell
intruding on his focus on the Name
for Hillel, God's found by looking within
not somewhere in the firmament above
to localize Him thus would be to sin
'cause surely God is anywhere there's love
two Judaisms in the Rambam's scheme
one for adults, and one for all the rest
that God is One's less clear than it would seem
although both sages studied the same text
one God on high's met by the inward gaze
just one more mystery among His ways

unalloyed disaster

the GoldenBoy who gamed the primaries
by dropping coin on shills to keep it loud
seems disinclined to do the job now he's
stuck at a desk, not playing to the crowd
the honeymoon was cut off hard and short
when airports gagged on Bannon's Muslim ban
as usual, Trump's tied up in the court
contesting what it is he can't, and can
the sociopath's luster soon grows dim
as we glimpse what it is that makes him tick
except for late-nite hosts, we're tired of him
and Kellyanne has long since made us sick
we're almost eager to trade him for Pence
once Congress figures out this guy's just dense

moving forward

Buchanan bathed in use immunity
an innovation Dean'd left on the shelf
absolved, once he'd confessed, to go scot free
as Dean foresaw he'd have to do himself
like magic waters of the river Styx
that turned most arrows Priam's sons could shoot
Dick Nixon's felons and their dirty tricks
were proof against all criminal lawsuit
the precedent's in place to call Mike Flynn
to testify about his Moscow calls
does Sessions think that treason's not a sin?
or--in the end--does he not have the balls?
the dirty tricks that tipped this close-fought race
still cover our republic in disgrace

beshelach

Barak was warned he'd win no glory here
this week, the women get the credit due
commemorated twice, in prose, then shir
twin heroines in arms to every Jew
humiliated, Sisera must beg
a drink of water at a Kenite's tent
Yael gave him first milk, then a tent-peg
and waived the customary one night's rent
his mother waits, the daylight's growing dim
pathetic coda to the Sturm und Drang
there'll be no joyous homecoming for him
but Israelites will dance the whole night long
her hospitality won Yael fame
Devorah's half-forgotten, save in name

hired gun II

Sean Spicer cedes that he's demoralized
to sell Trump's nonsense turns out to be tough
his every utterance gets scrutinized
and all he hears is "it's not big enough"
on policies from bombs, to troops, to fleets
he'd gag the media and feed them lines
but what's revealed in Trump's incessant tweets
is less than policy, and mostly whines

the 25th Amendment points to Pence
who brings a lot of baggage of his own
but shining lights on Trump's incompetence
could clear a path for him to seize the throne
if his career's not utterly a loss
Sean may be sucking up to a new boss

a republic, madam, if you can keep it

Republicans exult in discipline
the Party's will must motivate all acts
to think a private thought would be a sin
as grave as voting based upon the facts
the Sessions confirmation made no sense
he'd spurned his oath to execute the law
but fifty-one said 'aye' if you count Pence
the slimmest margin Congress ever saw
Executive amok has slipped his reins
our Founding Fathers' balances and checks
presume a president who's not insane
and grown-up congressmen who give a Heck
so far, the push-back's only from the press
a slender reed to save us from this mess

the way

Siddhartha, once beyond the palace grounds
encountered Death, and Suff'ring and Disease
convinced a higher answer could be found
he sat to meditate beneath the trees
attachments bind us to the wheel of strife
transcending them deprives death of its sting
but motivation to engage in life
evaporates when one disdains all things
discarding happiness along with wrath
he counseled us to tread the middle way
if only we'd cleave to the eight-fold path
we'd never be morose ('though less than gay)
it's by embracing equanimity
that humans can grow to be truly free

hired gun

Sean Spicer cedes that he's demoralized
to sell Trump's nonsense turns out to be tough
his every utterance gets scrutinized
and all he hears is "it's not big enough"
on policies from bombs, to troops, to fleets
he'd have the media show deference
but what's revealed in Trump's incessant tweets
adds up to infantile incoherence
the 25th Amendment points to Pence
who brings a lot of baggage of his own
but shining lights on Trump's incompetence
could clear a path for him to seize the throne
if his career's not utterly a loss
Sean may be sucking up to a new boss

image-maker II

O'Donnell's taking Bannon to the shed
to show him how he looks to the world's eyes
Svengali crafting half the words Trump's said
and letting Conway fill it out with lies
to write the orders Donald gets to claim
without the input of the OLC
dark vizier ruling in another's name
a cynical stroke of effrontery
apocalyptic sketch of what's to come
is marketed as if he really knows
a satirist suggesting that he's dumb
might tip him off his faux-heroic pose
twin presidents are tempted to invoke
StateSecrets to enjoin the telling joke

image-maker

O'Donnell's taking Bannon to the shed
to show him how he looks to the world's eyes
Svengali crafting half the words Trump's said
and letting Conway fill it out with lies
to write the orders Donald gets to claim
without the input of the OLC
dark vizier ruling in another's name
a cynical stroke of effrontery
apocalyptic sketch of what's to come
is marketed as if he really knows
a satirist suggesting that he's dumb
might tip him off his faux-heroic pose
Trump fantasized he'd earned our deference
but many'd love to swap him out for Pence

useful idiots II

the BlackBloc violence at UCB

will justify reprisals down the line

restricting content for speech to be free

and martial law like back in '69

these might be Trump's agents provocateurs

a false-flag operation to sow doubt

or revolutionaries over-sure

they know what civic virtue's all about

the useful idiots of our new age

whom Lenin praised a hundred years ago

self-righteous in their window-smashing rage

drag all our civil rights arguments low

like so much blood spilt on the killing floor

the first punch thrown provokes a hundred more

useful idiots

the BlackBloc violence at UCB
will justify reprisals down the line
restricting content for speech to be free
and martial law like back in '69
these might be Trump's agents provocateurs
a false-flag operation to sow doubt
or revolutionaries over-sure
they know what civic virtue's all about
in violent encounters, it's the State
that holds the cards and owns the playing field
once conflict comes to arms, it's way too late
the outcome, once in flux is now congealed
like so much blood spilt on the killing floor
the first punch thrown provokes a hundred more

end game

Steve Bannon plays on Trump's incompetence
to seize the helm that guides our Ship of State
a cataclysm that seems fine to Pence
wrapped up in lies as if it's something great
apocalyptic Christianity
discounts all suff'ring in the now and here
insisting we accept as mystery
a god to whom our first response is fear
with certainty befitting of a pope
he intimates he has a secret plan
insisting that our one, and only hope
rests not in God, nor Law, but in this man
four horsemen gallop on a scorched, dead plain
exploiting an electorate in pain

dumb show

if Donald were a man, he'd run the show
dictating legislation off to Mitch
not let the Constitution tell him 'no'
nor let Steve Bannon ride him like a bitch
beneath the bluster, Trump's so insecure
he lets the price-tag dictate what's fine art
he loves his wife 'cause others drool for her
and she assures him nightly that he's smart
an empty man, constructed of pretense
must live with fear we'll notice he's a fraud
forever worrying his tool, Mike Pence
is making time backstage with his hot baud
this emperor struts naked on the stage
as if he were the wonder of the age

faux populist

confronted with his lies, Trump doubles down
as if the truth will bend to suit his will
and now we've handed power to this clown
to execute our laws, make war, and kill
the demagogue our Founding Fathers feared
in their minds, would rise from the toiling class
we got blindsided by something so weird
a military-schooled gold-plated ass
the 25th amendment shows a way
that Donald could be ousted by Mike Pence
the cabinet must find the spine to say
that they're convinced of his incompetence
I fear for our republic in this age
when facts are rubber props, like knives on stage

political salvage

the 25th Amendment's all the rage
as scholars grasp at any floating straw
to save us from the latest Trump outrage
the remedy's untested, but it's law
impeachment needs the House to take the lead
and Ryan hasn't shown such gumption there
but maybe he'd show sense enough to heed
dementia when the VP makes it clear
half-literate, and immature to boot
Trump couldn't organize a paragraph
before he ran, I didn't give a hoot
but now, he'll prosecute me if I laugh
had voters exercised due diligence
we wouldn't now be settling for Mike Pence

survival of the fittest

Bill Hamilton transformed biology
applying maths where few had tried before
the science he leaves to his progeny
now calculates what had been metaphor
to Darwin's doubters, altruism's odd
but Bill made clear, it's all about the genes
no reason one should be invoking God
to understand what good behaviour means
hypotheses get weighed and falsified
advancing the frontier of what we know
and ignorance is left no place to hide
unless you let some old book tell you so
economists don't toss ideas that crash
but in LifeScience, we throw out the trash

process theology

rav Artson warned against apikorsim
and foreign notions of what God can't do
but ends by citing Moreh Nevukhim
on what theodicy means to a Jew
Spinoza's clockwork cosmos seems a bore
celestial choirs don't need another voice
this last Creation offers so much  more
along with Evil, Man's endowed with Choice
Olam haBah's presented to us all
by inner voices weighing shan't and should
Miltonic stories of a Cosmic Fall
are of no use discerning what is good
the world we live in needs both mirth and sighs
that won't be solved by theologians' lies

authority

John Kelly told Steve Bannon to get lost
he holds no rank in this chain of command
a general knows who's boss, and who's bossed
and this is crap for which he will not stand
with Tillerson and Mattis at his back
adults get a voice in this cabinet
to counter Conway's mendacious attack
this fight's one they're not likely to forget
like Gandalf and the Balrog, sword and claw
in combat hidden from the public's eyes
are we to bow to men, or to the Law
relying on stark Truth, or easy lies
democracy costs ceaseless vigilance
and Trump would make our Founding Fathers wince

vayechi

what revelations lurk beside the Nile
once famine's chased him off the fam'ly land
that no one'd thought to teach the youngest child
but Benjamin must own, now he's a man
the figures whom he'd always looked up to
who'd seemed so worthy in his boyish eyes
the elder brothers whom he thought he knew
now show their growth acknowledging old lies
his sons have cousins born beyond the fence
untainted by the plotted fratricide
co-equal with him in inheritance
now haughty Reuben's lost his place of pride
to heal the family after all these years
is worth Yosef's deception and some tears

intramural III

"I don't report to you" John Kelly grumped
and Bannon put him on his little list
for not kow-towing to the will of Trump
and now, we'll see who wields the bigger fist
with Tillerson and Mattis at his back
the case for Kelly's legally quite strong
but Bannon's dog-pack's eager to attack
and Conway doesn't care her "facts" are wrong
a struggle no one's likely to forget
like Andrew Jackson's many years before
the ego clashes in this cabinet
could escalate into a big-league war
the 25th amendment's looking good
once Pence determines Donald Trump's unfit
to organize the putsch he knows he should
to salvage our republic from this shit
my bet's on Kelly when it comes to  knives
each day he waits could cost a lot of lives

intramural II

"I don't report to you" John Kelly grumped
and Bannon put him on his little list
for not kow-towing to the will of Trump
and now, we'll see who wields the bigger fist
with Tillerson and Mattis at his back
the case for Kelly's legally quite strong
but Bannon's dog-pack's eager to attack
and Conway doesn't care her "facts" are wrong
a struggle no one's likely to forget
like Andrew Jackson's many years before
the ego clashes in this cabinet
could escalate into a big-league war
who'll referee when they pull out the knives
this food-fight's apt to cost a lot of lives.

intramural

"I don't report to you" John Kelly grumped
and Bannon put him on his little list
for not kow-towing to the will of Trump
and now, we'll see who wields the bigger fist
with Tillerson and Mattis at his back
the case for Kelly's legally quite strong
but Bannon's dog-pack's eager to attack
and Conway doesn't care her "facts" are wrong
a struggle no one's likely to forget
like Andrew Jackson's many years before
the ego clashes in this cabinet
could escalate into a big-league war
the 25th amendment's looking good
once Pence determines Donald Trump's unfit
to organize the putsch he knows he should
to salvage our republic from this shit
who'll referee when they pull out the knives
this food-fight's apt to cost a lot of lives.

blind seer

Bob Shrum wrote Carter's speeches, but then quit
before his boss surprised the world to win
his anti-Midas touch could turn to shit
whatever campaign he kept a role in
Dukakis just looked dopey in that tank
while Kerry looked the part, but didn't fight
and neither could inspire the file and rank
each lost when voter turn-out turned out light
a ringside seat to watch the game unfold
'though all those losses must have hurt his pride
a hero's anti-epic to be told
of dominating on the losing side
between two candidates, he'll back the worse
the campaign's doomed that shares the Bob Shrum curse

power brokers

'though Clinton bore the old dynastic name
a voice lamenting in the wilderness
refused to front for donors in the game
and pulled no circus stunts to lure the press
her husband'd taught her to triangulate
as if all voters laid on one straight line
but bartering half-measures for their hate
seemed 'bout as likely as water-to-wine
the DNC just jammed it down our throat
a weaker candidate 'cause it's her turn
presuming Independents would still vote
despite their sleight of hand to quench the Bern
the Democrats contrived a way to lose
against a fascist few would ever choose

nativist nonsense

Charles Lindbergh figured Hitler was okay
the German government's not ours to choose
if he would cast their brightest minds away
let someone else accommodate the Jews
Americans adore celebrities
imputing wisdom that they never earned
false idols whom some worship on their knees
harsh lesson that we've somehow never learned
"America! comes First" Trump likes to  bleat
and few remember we've been here, before
but most who claim they're native have to cheat

their ancestors passed through that same bright door

t'would take a fool to slam that Golden Gate
it's immigrants that make our country great