marketing

TransRectal UltraSound makes voters cringe
its acronym repels both Blue and Red
a candidate from way beyond the fringe
went with a logo that links TRUS with TED
"tin ear"'s too faint a term for such a gaffe
from a campaign aspiring to our trust
at best,  evokes uncomfortable laughs
more likely, it forebodes his bid's a bust
who chose the senator's inapt design
were they sincerely working for the creep
 it's totally ok for one to whine
the image strikes uncomfortably deep 
 Joe Voter would be wise to take a pass
on candidates so keen on up-the-ass      

getting a head

Bill Rehnquist loved Ted Cruz as his law clerk
fresh out of LawSchool and eager to please
 'though everyone acknowledged he's a jerk
he started every morning on his knees
a clever tongue for arguing the law
found other uses in the judge's bed
and no gag-reflex guarding his tight craw
empowered Ted to give exquisite head
the senator from Texas has no friend
but as a Christian he's learned to act meek
the ones he loves will love him in the end
because he's learned to turn the nether cheek
he scored the clerkship in his Law School crop
insisting that the Justice be on top  
    

enlightened

the vault of heaven makes a guy feel small
our planet's dwarfed by even local things
a rock that's scarce worth anything at all
when set against the scale of Saturn's rings
Polaris only tells us how we spin
and which horizon's blotting out our sun
but gives no hint of how one might begin
to understand how cosmos had begun
Fraunhofer lines put bar-codes on the stars
and--once you've compensated for red-shift--
you know not only what, but where they are
and needn't feel entirely adrift
sir Isaac Newton taught us to parse light
to peel away the mysteries of night

cutting losses

as Aeroflot goes on the auction block
Bashar Assad knows he'll be on his own
no further rubles to reset his clock
his patron's broke and he's in this alone
a foreign war keeps voters pacified
but trying that too often would be rash
the hungry peasants can't subsist on pride
and empires fall when they run out of cash
the fracking boom has pushed crude oil's price down
while Russia has no other revenue
this Assad fling's a night out on the town
he can't afford while other bills are due
when Moscow sneezed, Damascus caught a cold
and allies bought for cash are cheaply sold

Justice

Ruth Bader Ginsburg danced at Nino's wake
as Bernie's revolution hits its stride
a nation ponders what it's gonna take
to turn the One Percenters' plans aside
whom would a confirmation battle serve
as we work through this strange election year
the Court Supreme's exposed as the raw nerve
that nauseates a People wracked with fear
abortion and corruption in the dock
as "Citizens United" and "Jane Roe"
decisions that some love but other mock
are only law because the Court says so
a five-four court is suddenly four-five
'cause Ginsburg proved the toughest judge alive

flexible

"me too" she chirps, wherever Sanders goes
whatever plank he claims, she wants to own
the general may bring on other foes
but 'til then, Bernie bears the brunt alone
tomorrow, she may sing another tune
and she'll have all the arguments in line
what she espouses now may change by June
she holds no creed invariant with time
a changing world needs leaders one can trust
the Ship of State needs iron in her keel
to keep its bearing despite storm and gust
who know what to push past, 'cause it's not real
as mutable as she is erudite
the Clinton logo forebodes she pulls right          

rudderless

when Kissinger formed policies of State
no whiff of virtue shaped the calculus
conflating war with peace and love with hate
when such deceit could buy an edge for us
our national repute was built on lies
the world knew there was nothing we held dear
but people were convinced that to seem wise
we had to cultivate an age of fear
his protege defers to one who's strong
she orbits him in each phase of her life
as deaf as Hegel to absolute wrong
as sure that there's a profit where there's strife
no moral compass keeps her steady helm
when she thinks she deserves to rule the realm