the separation of powers

Baron de Montesquieu theorized the principle of separation of powers, that has been implemented in all liberal democracies since it was first applied in the United States. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

imagine a President with a pen constantly rewriting laws
and no one could stop such overt unconstitutionality?
or what if the executive branch overlooked as loyal minions
made up rules to audit and persecute their political enemies?

how could we all forget about the separation of powers
after such acts of abuse of power became widely known?
when the next election will result in a new administration
that will feel that we have left them sitting on a throne

our government is a system of checks and balances
and so we need to find ways to work together for success
instead of the executive branch resorting to a pen and a phone
to work around our elected representatives in Congress

swing low sweet furlough

Federal Workers Protest Government Shutdown (Photo credit: cool revolution)

soon I won’t have any money coming in
to pay for my mortgage or food or gas
but on the bright side, I can stay at home
and listen to my wife call me a real pain in the ass

I know the President could end this stalemate
with a phone call to Harry and a stroke of a pen
but I wouldn’t want him to have to go out of his way
and to have it appear that he negotiated or gave in

I understand that little squabbles like this
are an important part of the big scheme of things
just like blocking off WWII outdoor memorials
and making sure that this shutdown really stings

and, of course, the country is really divided
over those who continue to want our government to grow
and those who when it comes to big government and spending
think it is long past time that we just said “No”

heaven forbid we would sit down and try to negotiate
or to see if there is any middle ground where we could meet
better to yell like children and call each other nasty names
and to try to make political points by blaming each other in a tweet

in the Nixonian Nation

as I sit and try to scratch an itch
that I just can’t seem to reach
the sounds on the TV remind me of when Nixon
resigned to keep from being impeached

I wonder why those with power become arrogant
and ultimately forget where they came from
or have they always felt they were the elite
and that the rest of us are all just plain dumb?

they make mistakes which are then covered up
with blatant lies instead of being frankly admitted
and then the facts and the truth must be tortured
and twisted while key points are simply omitted

memories become suspect and very selective
and finally the fifth amendment is heard recited
by people who seem to forget the first and the second
but that never, in the end, seem to get justly indicted

our drones are ever circling

Armed Predator drone firing Hellfire missile (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

overhead, our drones are ever circling
with their approved secret list of targets
of course, some innocents may get hurt
but we don’t want to be such silly fussbudgets

as long as I don’t see any drone shadows
cast anywhere close to little old me
I’m just not gonna see there’s any problem
and I don’t want to get my clean hands dirty

but when future smart drones become self aware
and they begin to target for reasons of their own
I’m going to think it may have been a big mistake
to ever put two hellfire missles on a predator drone

looking for a unicorn

English: A unicorn. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

2012 is finally over and it seems we are all still here
of course, that doesn’t mean this is gonna be a good year

I worry for my country’s future and our economic prospects
although, I fear we will deserve exactly what we get

in the realm of USA politics, basically nothing has changed
and all our politicians seem more than a little bit deranged

so, our national debt increases by about 3.82 billion every day
and my 52K share is already 52K more than I can afford to pay

and looking for a good job this year will be like looking for a unicorn
or like looking for a soul mate in the lonely land of the lovelorn

yonder Sherwood green

Robin Shoots with Sir Guy (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

only the good and the carefree men
lived camped out in the forest green
all led by Robin Hood to steal money
from the upper class rich that were all mean

with the proceeds redistributed to the poor
as their just and good fair share
so the wretched jobless knaves humbly knelt
and gave thanks in silent secular prayer

it felt good to be in such a merry band of thieves
and to be on the side of Robin and right
until after many successful years of stealing
and putting up the good and just fight

finally, the evil rich learned their lesson
and gave up all their wealth and evil ways
and joined with us good commoner folk
living free in the forest for the rest of their days

now, like us, yeoman Robin is out of a job
because there is nothing left for anyone to steal
and we all live together in peace in Sherwood forest
and everyone is poor and begging for a meal

look not at the long haired lovely lady

Lady Godiva by John Collier, c. 1897, Herbert Art Gallery and Museum (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

legend says she stood up to her husband
and his oppressive onerous taxation
taking pity on the common people
in such a poor sad state of deprivation

so, the long haired, lovely lady Godiva
went riding naked to protest high taxes
only asking for doors and windows to be shut
to the disappointment of the male masses

as a result of her uncommon action
her husband relented and kept his word
but if the lady were to ride again today
would any modern government be so stirred?

so long, and thanks for all the fish, er, clams

The Causes of The Great Depression / FDR Memorial Site (Photo credit: Tony Fischer Photography)

I fear many more hard years
of high unemployment and increased inflation
and I guess my son won’t find full-time employment
or a decent paying job, anytime soon
the oceans may or may not rise
but all our energy costs certainly will
and who will mourn for our coal industry
now heading for total ruin?

at least four more years
of over trillion dollar deficits
will likely put this country
about 22 trillion clams in the hole
wisely we will invest other people’s money
with hundreds of billion dollars in crony capitalism
so that all the bankrupt clean green companies
we the people, will soon own and control

but I am not in a great depression
by our desired direction towards self-destruction
for I am a scientist and will document and study
our folly and fall with the utmost federal reserve
and perhaps finally we will have the answer
to the political question of the ages
do we the people really get
the government that we deserve?

ode to arrogance

L’arrogance de Gadenne (Photo credit: opa guy)

perhaps my preference for humility is now old fashioned and outdated
for it appears today that a bearing of superiority is more highly rated

when did it come to pass that lofty imperiousness rules the day
and pomposity and pretension became the preferred way to play?

should I now learn to serve at the feet of those better and smarter than I
and become a submissive little serf letting my individual creative spirit die?

when did haughty self-importance become the modern mantra
so that such lordliness is displayed without any regard for karma?

for in my humble opinion, there is no escaping basic cause and effect
as a end result of condescending arrogance what do we really expect?

straw man

Français : Panneau pictogramme marionnette (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

overlook any sad reliance on personal Ad Hominem attacks
for they are so much more fun than dreary bothersome facts

don’t listen to others attempting to explain their point of view
if we can’t agree then everything said is obviously all untrue

laugh at the silly puppet since it was created for such disrespect
leave a little latitude if someone’s no longer dealing with a full deck

we must all join together to defeat the awful, evil straw man
even if misrepresenting and cherry picking become the only plan

and please overlook if this poem seems obnoxious, loud and rude
but losing to one’s own straw man can give one a bad attitude