All That … and an Extra Hour Tonight

Halloween, or All Hallows Eve

When fertile imaginations believe

That the division’s elastic

‘Twixt real and fantastic

And who knows what else they conceive?

I hope you enjoy Halloween

When covens of witches convene

A night when I hear it’s

Likely that spirits

And Ghoulies and Ghosties are seen.

Compare and Contrast

I was thinking about those high school reunions again and how much or little some people had changed.

I was so young way back when

Did it show that I’ve grown up since then?

Did I seem mature

Or just insecure

Awkward and shy once again?

A classmate once told me that you could always tell when I was being nasty, because I had a big smile on my face.  Another classmate said I had the best smile in the 9th grade.

I was quiet and often tongue tied

With insecurities I struggled to hide

I had very thin skin

And lashed out with a grin

And my critical sarcastic side.

Speaker of the House

Due to criticism from the far right wing of his party, Speaker Boehner felt he couldn’t get anything done, so he quit.  I never thought that I would regret his resignation, but I may find his replacement even worse.

His position got weaker and weaker

So he gave up his position as Speaker

He got a budget bill passed

Which may be the last

The prospect without him seems bleaker.

As an intellectual leader of the Party of No, at first Paul Ryan said no, no and no.  Now he is saying maybe.

The futility made Boehner resign

Some mystery made McCarthy decline

The Tea Party’s tryin’

To pressure Paul Ryan

To step up to, AND toe the line.

Whoever takes the job is going to have to deal with the ‘we were elected to do nothing except expand defense and our perks, and to starve the rest of the evil government.’ crowd.  

The infighting gave John Boehner scabs

His hot seat is now up for grabs

What he’s leaving behind

His successor will find

Is  - the Tea Party’s a pain in the abs.

The Elephant in the Room

I’ve been ignoring him.  Yes, that one with the 6 or 7 assorted handguns and assault rifles (he left his others at home) and the extra ammo, and the memory of slights and insults.  He fades into the background for a couple of months at a time.  Yeah, that one.

The Gun Lobby and Logic are estranged

Nothing’s new, Nothing’s done, Nothing’s changed

He fires round after round

Leaving dead on the ground

‘It’s not the Gun, It’s the Man, he’s deranged.’

The second amendment has only recently come to mean almost any weapon, almost anywhere carried by almost anybody.  You need a hunting license to hunt game, and that’s a short season, but you can walk into a crowded building any time and people stay ‘stuff happens’ and more restrictions aren’t the solution.  

The Second Amendment’s a mess

Its repeal is probably useless

Gun lovers will cite

A ‘Constitutional Right’ -

They ‘need’ guns to pursue happiness.

Red Ink to Red Votes

In Alabama you need a picture ID to vote, and most people use a driver's license.  To save money Alabama closed a number of DMV offices.  Guess where?

The counties where DMVs were shut
Are mostly African-American, but
Alabama will say
It was the best way
To deal with a steep budget cut. 

I think more people buy guns illegally than vote illegally.  Both gun ownership and voting are constitutionally protected, and yet...

Was it politically and racially motivated?
The counties are minority populated
The Supreme Court has said
Discrimination is dead
So the voting rights act is emasculated.