№ 627: Making Amends (Modern Library edition)

Melvil Dewey's name stripped from top librarian award

The American Library Association will rename the Melvil Dewey medal in recognition of their co-founder’s racial discrimination and sexual impropriety

MAKING IT BETTER, ASIF (June 27)

Must we demote Dewey Decimal?

Must his name be dismissed

simply because the man was a “racist” —

albeit “races” do not exist.

Let us call him “exclusionist”,

a term that seems more polite.

Although it means the same exact thing,

it does not sound quite so white.

As for his dealings with lady librarians —

who I presume were all of them Aryans:

while such behavior was entirely improper

a lady back then would not dare call a copper

if a hand strayed or a comment were made

for fear of how she’d be portrayed

in any resulting police report

and, heaven forfend, it end up in court.

Today men behave like meek little lambs

and Dorothy Parker is Queen of Siam*.

—————————————

*“Oh, life is a glorious cycle of song, a medley of extemporanea, And love is a thing that can never go wrong, and I am Marie of Romania.”
― Dorothy Parker, Enough Rope

№ 626: Worthless Thousand Words

Photo of Drowned Migrants Captures Pathos of Those Who Risk It All (Paywall)

The bodies of Óscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez and his 23-month-old daughter, Valeria, were found in the Rio Grande on Monday. Credit Julia Le Duc/Associated Press

IZEENUTING, US (June 26)

Pictures of children

dead on the border

should be unlawful,

they make us feel awful.

Why can't they die

back in the jungle

or in the slum

where they come from?

If I had my wall

thirty feet tall

you'd never have to

see them at all.

[updated 6/27/2019, 1:30 am]
—————————
Tip of the hat to N.I.S. for (sort of) suggesting this subject.

№ 625.1: EXTRA! No Soft Soap (and a blanket denial)

Trump official: detained children do not need soap and blankets – video 

Email subscribers click here.

DISNEYLAND (June 25)

Kids, we all know, love being dirty.

Especially if they are poor.

And if they’re poor

they are totally used

to having to sleep on the floor

which is usually dirt

and therefore concrete

to them must seem a holiday treat.

And as to blankets,

they don’t need those

in summer in Texas

they don’t even need clothes.

Providing tooth paste?

A total waste.

We're talking baby teeth

in the first place.

Food? They need some,

I get your gist.

We do give them gruel

like in Oliver Twist.

Really, good grief,

this “news” is fake.
If we cave on this
next thing they'll want cake!

№ 625: What's It All About

TELLME, WY (June 25)

We try to work out what it all means —

see Bogart in re “a hill of beans” —

get lost amidst the comings and goings,

interrupted incessantly by distressing hormones

which misdirect, confuse, confound and deceive

making it hard to even conceive

or discover a purpose for this damned circus

other than NATURE craves more of the same

and keeps all of us — everything! — playing her game.

The need to breed is a non compos mentity

and “love” is a case of mistaken identity.

№ 624: Donald And Bill (two of an unkind?)

QUESTION MARK, AR (June 24)

Why do our two political factions
have such decidedly different reactions

to Bill Clinton's and Trump's. . .“sexplorations”?
Some of Trump’s victims held high social position,

while Clinton’s targets were mostly down-market.

With Clinton some said (when not “huntin’ squirr’ls),

“Kip yer dang hans offa r gurls!”

With Donald, these same say, “I doan kere diddly-squat.

Rich snooty bitches disuved wot they got!”
Others who call Trump's behavior outrageous
see Clinton's as simply “somewhat disadvantageous”,
not at all relevant to who he is
and certainly none of Congress's business.

This difference, I think, gives us a dictum:

you don’t see a crime if you don't like the victim.

№ 623: I Read The News Today, Oh Boy

Is it true climate change will cause the end of civilisation by 2050? (Paywall)

In the worst case, “the scale of destruction is beyond our capacity to model, with a high likelihood of human civilisation coming to an end.”

COMING TO (LEAVING?) YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD SOON (June 23)

Civilization, you say, is collapsing?

By which you must mean this thing

we are perfecting to expedite killing

every last living, ill-conceived being.

So, who — exactly? — thinks this a disaster?
Surely not those who expect a hereafter
on angel wings with God to sing to.
What — on Earth? — would THEY care to cling to?

We, creatures of clay in the image of God,

may have — finally! — this time shot our wad.

Five prior extinctions have kept the world pruned.

Details on sixth at six! Stay tuned.

Email subscribers click here.

№ 622.5: EXTRA! More Scattered (Tattered?) “Thoughts” On Kavanaugh's Treason (does he even REALLY like beer?)

Supreme Court Reaffirms Rule Against Racial Bias in Jury Selection

Justices vote 7-2 to overturn murder conviction of black defendant in Mississippi 

Writing for the 7-2 majority, Justice Brett Kavanaugh said the “extraordinary facts of this case” required the court’s intervention. . .

Mr. Flowers, then 26, had worked at the store, but no physical evidence tied him to the crime. District Attorney Doug Evans, theorizing that Mr. Flowers killed the four victims in revenge after being fired, prosecuted him all six times.

OH HOW COULD YOU BRETT, MS (June 21)

Why should a DA

have to go wilty

because a black man

might not really be “guilty”?

If he's not guilty

explain the fact

that the defendant

appears to be black!

Justice delayed

may be justice denied,

but we know just as well

God is on white DA's side.

Just look at his pictures.

He’s bathed in light.

With Aryan eyes

Of course God is white.

And yet there are idiots who

say God is an A-rab

or God is a Jew.

And though this may

generate flak,

it is damned certain

GOD CAN'T BE BLACK!

God is white.

God is perfection.

The “reveal” in Israel?

GPS misdirection!

One thing 

we are totally sure of,

God’s native land

is northwest Europe.

That’s where He began.

That’s where He planned.

The Garden of Eden

was, in fact, Sweden.

For, though now Socialists,

and, therefore, vermin,

Swedes in the old days

were actually German.

№ 622.4: EXTRA! With Justice Thomas In Descent

Excluding Black Jurors in Curtis Flowers Case Violated Constitution, Supreme Court Rules (Paywall)

“Equal justice under law requires a criminal trial free of racial discrimination in the jury selection process,” Justice Kavanaugh wrote.

Justice Clarence Thomas dissented. He said that Mr. Flowers was plainly guilty...

IMPEACH BRETT KAVANAUGH, MS (June 21)

Mississippi prosecutors must not become lax
and let juries deal with only facts.
A clear Poitier slap in the face
of Mississip's hist'ry on matters of race.

№ 622.3: EXTRA! Bans Of Sanctimony Announced

US Christian group admits error in petitioning Netflix about Good Omens

The protest group will now redirect its campaign against the ‘evil’ and ‘offensive’ adaptation of Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman’s novel to Amazon, which made it

DETAILS, DE (June 21)

There is a book which mentions the devil
which we think ought to be banned.
It also features witches and sorcerers
and other things Christians can't stand
existing which yet keep persisting
and our holy order continue resisting.
A text with such things is not reliable,
we, therefore, demand banning the Bible.

[corrected 6/21/2019, 5:55 pm]

№ 622.2: EXTRA! Won Ton (Wanton, One Ton, Wantin') Bibles

Trump’s tariffs on Chinese goods could lead to a Bible shortage in the US

Publishers say that if Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs of 25% or “much higher”...kicks into effect...Bibles will be made much more expensive in the US.

The overwhelming majority of Bibles in the US are printed in China, according to Christianity Today. China also became the world’s largest Bible publisher in 2012, according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua.

UNFORESEEN CONSEQUENCES, June 21

China has ripped off our jobs and technology.
Now in addition they've swiped our the theology?
Why is it always we give, they take.
What's next, will they steal our bew-ti-ful cake
claiming Trump gave it to President Xi.
(Another mistake by a talentless rookie.)

[updated 6/21/2019, 2:57 pm]

№ 622.1: EXTRA! Bombs Away (NOT!)

Trump: ‘In No Hurry’ to Confront Iran

President Trump said he called off a retaliatory military strike on Iran just 10 minutes before its planned start. . .

ON SECOND “THOUGHT”, June 21

Lesser gods can't recall their lightning strikes.
I've just shown I'm one who can
turn round a bomber and unlike Obama
I'm a natural born U.S. citizen.

No meteor or other invader
would dare create a Chicxulub crater.
Not while Donald Trump is in charge.
The universe knows who's the new sheriff in Dodge.

[updated 6/21/2019 1:20 pm]

№ 622: Let By God Be Bye God (a solution)

Krypton Finite, June 20

God is not omniscient

nor even proficient.

I suspect
Dunning-Kruger Effect.

They say God made the world — 

which is (I guess) possible — 

then took the position

of not being responsible

for all of the bother

and all of the fuss,

so all of the messes

are down to us?

A weak alibi.

Not even pig swill.

I mean, after all,

who gave us “free will”?

And if it's “free will”

that makes things go rotten

I'm sure we agree

we're misbegotten

and that our maker,

who I needn't name,

is a ball breaker 

and solely to blame.

“True believers”

do not have the guts

to look God in the eye

saying, “Listen, you putz.

WTF were you thinking,

you egomaniac,

with this idiotic

universe hack,

where in order to live

you have to kill.
(Is that the way

you get your thrills  —

making all things compete

to breed and eat?)

“And, pardon me,
herbivores are no exception,

since plants also demonstrate

some sort of perception

and a sort of will

for they, too, kill
with alacrity
and seeming impunity

given the time
and opportunity.

“In the beginning
when it was just you —
endless time on on your hands
with nothing to do,
did you think to yourself,
‘Why does nothing adore me?
Why not create creatures
who'll grovel before me?’

“Or did you do

everything only
because you were alone

and feeling lonely,

wanting a friend —

or something like that?

Maybe next time,

just get a cat?”

№ 621: Who Is Donald Trump?

FREUDVILLE, June 19

Though he lays claim to “a very big brain”,
this “stable genius” is all weather vane.
Instead of democracy in his giant noodle,
there are “ideas” brutal and feudal.
He knows might makes right. He can't read or write.
And despite his boasting, he's not over bright.

Of what he is not, add to your list
IN CAPITAL LETTERS: capitalist!
A real capitalist can acknowledge defeat.
A real capitalist does not always cheat.
(And real capitalists know how to eat.)
A real capitalist, unlike Donald John,
does not think and act like a Mafia don,
seeing the law as something you play with. . .
anything's “legal” that you get away with.
With truth, Donald has little to do,
he truly believes, “I say it, it's true.”

That said, Trump's end would be by many sadly lamented.
By those who are dazed, damned, dozing, demented.
By those who would welcome a Cæsar's authority —
and they, today, are a worldwide majority.

№ 620.1 : EXTRA! Reparations

Ta-Nehisi Coates revisits case for reparations, five years after landmark essay

Coates, who wrote famed Atlantic piece about financial recompense for descendants of slaves, to testify alongside Danny Glover

IN CONGRESS, June 19

Okay, I say, let us have reparations
to undo all evils of past generations.
First, of course, we must deal with slavery,
but we must not ignore all other knavery.
Those few Native Americans we've left alive,
need more than casinos in order to thrive.
And women, regardless of race or of class. . .
Are they owed anything? YOU BET YOUR SWEET ASS!

Anyone genetically male and European
owes everyone something, albeit
themselves being low-caste plebeian.
And even within not-a-continent Europe
they all owe each other, that you can sure of.
The French owe the English, the English the Dutch.
The Dutch know they owe somebody. (And hope not much).
The Spanish owe everyone, except a few.
So do Germans, Slavs, Norsemen. And the Celts too!
All Europeans can be taken to task.
Except, perhaps, maybe the Basques.
Is it just other people we rightly owe?
Wherever else can we payments bestow?
What of other animals? What about plants?
Gilbert and Sullivan's sisters, cousins and aunts?
Would I be wrong or maladroit
to point out historically ALL victors exploit?
And always have. And always will.
And never have — EVER HAVE! — settled their bill.
If everyone's PERP and everyone's VIC,
I do not see how we settle this quick.

But if we decide payback's required
I, too, have a claim that has not expired.
I am, I believe, owed most of all
since I am over five percent Neanderthal.
So Homo Sapiens — white, black, brown, yellow, red  — damn it
return what is mine and get off my planet!

All joking aside,
they do make a case,
but fact is acting
will make things worse.
Justice postponed
IS justice denied.
BUT what “JUSTICE”
is just hard to decide.
We will never see
(few have ever tried),
we are in THIS together,
NO ONE exits alive.

[updated 6/19/2019 9:15 pm]
[updated 6/19/2019 9:30 pm]
[updated 6/19/2019 9:45 pm]

№ 620: What Happened To The Tots (sort of an answer to question posed by Noël Coward c. 1955)

PAINED PARENTHOOD, June 18

Telling children stories that end
“and they lived happily ever after”

does not prepare them, I think,
to live on the brink of ne'er ending disaster.

Better to say, “Sometimes they laughed,
sometimes they cried,
and after a while all of them died.
There is, by the way, no ‘ever after’.
That sound you can't hear. . .
canned sitcom laughter.

“Life has some good points,
though it will disappoint you,

leaving you empty. . .so

forgo expectations or set them low.

“And leave lots of room
for more doom and gloom,
both of which are
(always) safe to assume.”

Email subscribers click here.

№ 619: A Christian Perspective On Donald Defective

BOMBS AWAY IN GILEAD, June 17

You want the truth?
Simple and short.
Electing Donald
gave us the courts.

Our God is perfect
and perfect Trump ain't.
But we aren't Catholics,
we don't need a saint.

Assured new judges
are clones of Scalia,
we 'll tolerate (briefly)
the Ave Marias.

Far better that than
a Hillary squealer,
some young RBG screeching
Hava Nageela.

That is the reason,
despite all the bumps,
until the Rapture,
Donald is trump.

№ 618: Liberal Incivility (or having it both ways)

HERE AND NOW AND THEN, June 16

Hypocritical liberals have been known to neglect
one aspect of knee-jerk political correctness.

When they mention the president they get a thrill

pointing to proofs he’s mentally ill.

They do not feel (at all) ill at ease

speaking of his disabilities —

his movements arthritic, his brain syphilitic,

his need for treatment psychoanalytic.

(Unfair. Though true. Still, I say, too critical.)

Sarah Sanders, they smirk, dresses sloppy

while providing FAKE media hilarious copy.

Kellyanne’s cool chick look they ridicule shrilly,

insisting she's too old and looks awfully silly!

Which, I must say, is simply mean.

Though she’s 52, she looks like a teen

smartly dressed up as a Trump hotel tart.

(Except for the wrinkles, she could play the part.)

They love how Mnuchin is such a goof

and Pence’s Puritanism is easy to spoof.

And poor Wilbur Ross, who they love to scold.

If only because he’s stupid and old.

Her Highness Ivanka and Eric and DJ

on late night TV are constantly harried.

(To say nothing of Jared — unrelated
by blood, he's merely married.)

Desist, I say, all you sniveling Liberals.

Try to be nice. Try to be civil.

Turn your cheek and be meek when Donald attacks.

Do not mind him. Be kind. Do not hit back.

Whatever we do, he'll continue amiss,

while I with my quill will write rhymes like this.

№ 617.1: EXTRA! Che Sera, Sarah

DEPARTURE LOUNGE, June 14

Sarah Sanders decided it wise
to retire when she ran out of lies
to tell the the Trump Empire,
his rabid fans who remain gullible.
Which is why, I surmise,
they find him lovable.

This, I suppose,
is how it had to be.
We already miss
Ms. Huckabee.

[updated 6/14/2019 8:36 am]

№ 617: Light To Rife

END OF THE LINE, June 13

Why, if I may be so bold as to ask,

do Evangelicals believe it their task

to fix the world they say their God created?
If God made it, it is — by definition! — without defect,
exactly as you would have to expect 

unless you consider God somewhat overrated.

They say God created the Devil.

(Let's pretend the Bible is on the level,

not old nonsense long ago antiquated.)
Therefore, it must follow in equal portion

that God also created abortion

and stuff and procedures to which abortion's related:

diaphragms, condoms, day after pills —

quick picker uppers to clean up sperm spills,

lest feminine Dems require all men be castrated.

If this purported God hasn't retired

and if He/She really required

every egg-sperm combo to be propagated,

being perfect and powerful, I would have thought

(S)He'd have come with something less fraught

than this packet of nuts who say women, when impregnated,

lose their rights, have no say come what may

and must birth a baby — who cannot be gay! —

and those holding otherwise must publicly be flagellated.

Do these über Christians see God as weak,

needing their help, requiring their pique,

or are these pipsqueaks Biblically uneducated?

The Bible is said to say all sorts of things.

(Some likely say it says pigs have wings.)

But on abortion consistent opinion is not unequivocally stated.

Therefore, I say, “Right-to-Lifers, away!”

Nor that I think this will end the affray

until an asteroid hits and the planet's depopulated.

                          *     *     *

Oh, thrice blest blast bring us perpetual peace,

freedom from Gods, laities, priests.

Pray tell, how soon before this can be consummated,
with everything living in a instant incinerated?
Evangelical lust for dominance will at last be sated
when this inadequate planet's completely obliterated.

№ 616.1: EXTRA! Trump On Kellyanne Illegal Actions

Government watchdog: Trump aide Conway should be fired for political comments

EVERMORE FETID SWAMP, June 13

All White House workers follow the law.

Except when it is inconvenient.

Or when they think the law has a flaw.

In either case I lean toward lenient.

FAKE Newsers make the mistake and assump-

tion that voters can tell truth from chatter,

forever forgetting what I say is Trump,

and therefore mere details don’t matter.

№ 616: Free Will Loop Riddle

SPIRAL, June 12

IF we cannot choose to be left or right handed

how can we choose to be

EVEN pretending to be open minded

has more than a hint of seek and you’ll find

IT in this instance is unreasoned insistence

we’re immune completely to FATE has no meaning for thinking beings who can choose either fork when we come to an

we’re immune completely to CIRCUMSTANCE enhances our chance to choose any fork when we come to an

IF we cannot choose to be right or left handed. . .