Muses on Sainthood

Inspired by a conversation between myself, a devout atheist, and one of my closest friends, a Catholic priest.  We were laughing about the catholic Church’s almost indecent haste to make the last pope a saint, a process called ‘beatification’.  This is the afterthought!

I made a complaint,

Said I would faint

If, they ever made me a saint.

You can imagine how surprised

I was to be canonized

As I thought I was done

With miracles, by me, at none.

I am trying not to mope

That I never made it to be Pope

But could you thus allow

That I am now holier than thou!

I do think it would be

Nicer to have a street, named after me.

Saints; as you well know,

Come and then they go.

Plaster statues appear in the store

And then are replaced by more

Not that there any saints fewer

It’s that the market is for the newer.

With the latest batch of holy relics

Reducing me to hysterics

But if my name was on a sign

The stars might not align

But people would see it every day

Even if only trying to find their way

And somebody might just think,

Before they took their daily drink,

“I wonder who was that guy?”

As they passed on by.

I guess a statue would be fine

More dramatic than a sign

But then pigeons crap on your head;

They have no respect, for the dead.

© Michael Rocharde, March 27, 2011

The Nature of Friendship

What is your definition of ‘friendship’?  The dictionary has many different definitions but, to me and the people that I call friends, it is a state of mutual affection where either party is always available to help the other out in case of any emergency or even just somebody to talk to.   There are no conditions on that friendship, no time limits.  It is simply, ‘If you need me (for any reason), I am here and you only have to call.  If it is an emergency, I will drop everything to help you.  The only payback I expect is for you to feel and do the same!”  Friendship is a two way street; both parties have to make an effort.  That doesn’t mean that you have to be in each other’s pockets or in constant contact; it just means that you make some kind of effort to stay in touch.

In today’s world, there are, unfortunately, very few people who one can truly consider to be a friend.  Most people we, collectively, know are either casual or very casual acquaintances who it is ‘fun’ to meet up with once in a while and who, at one time or the other, you will drift away from, either from geography, or from the oldest reason in the book, lack of contact.

Many people cultivate ‘friends’ who they think can be useful to them, socially, politically or economically and they like to be able to drop names.  In my life, I’ve met many rich and/or famous people and I’ve had some terrific conversations with them because I’ve been generally interested in talking to them, not using them to get ahead and they knew it.  I’ve even become friends with some of them but I’ve always made a point of not taking advantage of them or their situation; that means paying my share of the bill when we go out to eat and not asking for anything that would change the nature of the relationship.  If somebody does me a favor, I make sure to say ‘thank you’ and to do something for them in return, not because I feel obligated but because I want to let them know that their ‘friendship’ is appreciated.

If you are reading this and you are rich or famous, here is an important tip that will serve you in good stead.  Friends are not ‘yes, men’ who will tell you that everything you do or say is great and right.  True friends will disagree with you and tell you that you are wrong.  And when somebody does that, take it into consideration and re-think your position; you may well find out that you are, in fact, wrong!

If you go through life without deep friendships, you are missing out on much of the joy of life!  There is nothing more fun than sitting down at dinner with close friends and just having a wide ranging conversation on different subjects, discussing and exchanging ideas.  Just because you’re friends doesn’t mean you have to agree on everything.  For example, I am an atheist and am quite outspoken about my disdain for religion and, yet, two of my closest friends are a Roman Catholic priest and a nun.  We accept each other’s point of view and we tease each other.

That brings me to another point.  You can’t have friends if you are judgmental or disapproving about their life or their choices; it’s their lives and you have to support them and if you can’t say something nice, then say nothing at all!  If you truly disapprove of them, then disassociate yourself because you’re not a friend; you’re simply not in tune with them and they deserve better.  You also can’t pretend to be a friend and then behave as if the other party is insignificant or too much trouble.

If you have a ‘friend’ who mostly behaves like you’re a casual acquaintance or that they’re doing ‘you a favor’, or is often in a bad mood then they aren’t a friend and nothing you can do or say, will change that.  Don’t waste your time on or with them!  (If you looked deeper into that person, you would find somebody who knows people for a short time only before those people get fed up and move on; they will never realize that they are the one who is causing it!)  Remember the old saying “With friends like that, who needs enemies!”

If you have a ‘friend’ who likes to gossip, especially about other people that you know, avoid them like the plague.  You can, safely, bet your life that they are talking about you behind your back to the same people that they were gossiping about with you.  Gossips are generally mean-spirited and love to cause trouble, often claiming knowledge when they have none and trying to spread dissent.  They do this because they, themselves, have extremely low self-esteem and see their role as trying to bring everybody down to that level.

If you have a ‘friend’ who says your important decisions are bad, they might be right but, more likely than not, they are just jealous of what you are doing and want to put doubt and fear into your mind.  They are themselves so fearful, that what you are doing is beyond their comprehension, and they want to stop it somehow in any way they can.  (When we made the decision to move to France, we knew who our real friends were because they all said ‘Great, go for it!  The ones who tried to dissuade us are the ones we don’t talk to any more).

If you have a ‘friend’ who is fundamentally mean-spirited, jealous and unhappy with low self-esteem, you will find yourself being drawn into their misery and all of their problems will end up becoming yours, because you will try to help where no help is possible, and your efforts (or kindness or compassion) will be seen as a sign of weakness by that person, and they will despise you for it; it is their nature and they cannot be any other way.  If you surround yourself with enough of these people, then you will become like them.  Negativity is a very strong force; it is, to quote  George Lucas, ‘the dark side’!

If you have a ‘friend’ who is constantly bragging about how great they are or how much they have, beware!  This type of person has extremely low self-esteem and is constantly looking for people to boost them up by agreeing with them.  Whilst a healthy dose of ego is almost always required to be successful in one way or another, people with huge egos are only ever thinking about themselves.  And, people who only think about themselves don’t make good friends at all; they just gather in flocks and pat themselves on the back.

If you have a ‘friend’ who meets any of the above criteria, they will suck the life and energy out of you like a vampire, and, for a while, you will let them do it, making excuses for them, because you just don’t want to believe that people are like that, but they are!  They are not, and never will be, a real friend to you, or to anyone.  At best, they will be an acquaintance and when they disappear, like ships passing in the night, you can be sure that they will lay the blame for it squarely on your shoulders.  After all, they are perfect, so how could they be the cause.

We all lead very busy lives and time flies by but you have to, somehow, find time to maintain friendships otherwise they will just wilt and disappear.  There is nothing more guaranteed to give somebody a ‘warm and fuzzy feeling’ than a phone call from out of the blue and a voice saying ”I was just thinking about you and …” Friendship and procrastination are sworn enemies by the way.  If you think of somebody, don’t say to yourself, I’ll give them a call next week, because next week will come and go and you’ll have other things on your mind.  Pick up the phone there and then!

If you value people and friendships, you will have a richer life.  Families come and go; children grow up and move away and often, the dynamics of a family lead to disagreements and conflict.  You can’t choose your family but you can choose your friends.   If you choose wisely, you’ll be a happier person and isn’t that a better way of living!

The Climate of Fear

I read an editorial in the International Herald Tribune recently which recounted a medieval legend where a traveller met up with Fear and Plague who were headed to London where they intended to kill 10,000 people.  The traveller, who must have been a very brave man or a complete fool, asked Plague if he intended to do all the killing.

 

Plague replied “Not a chance.  I’m only going to kill a few hundred people at most.  My friend, Fear, will kill the rest!”

 

This struck me as a very appropriate story for our times where America has become so fearful of everything that the country is almost paralyzed by it.  Republicans, in particular, are obsessed with it and wield it as their only weapon as, indeed, it is the only weapon they have.  Their ideas on government and the way that the country should be run are so idealistic and impractical that the only chance they have of getting anybody to listen to them is to cloak those ideas under the spectre of fear.

 

If you think that I am exaggerating, you only have to look at the dynamics of politics today.  It is, as far I can see, virtually impossible for Republicans and Democrats, at any level, to have a civilized discussion about the issues and the merits of each side.  Republicans will defend their views to the death and seem incapable of balanced thought because they, as a party, are ruled, and paralyzed, by fear.

 

In the halls of power, i.e., Washington, D.C., Republicans are the bullies.  They shout, scream and threaten until they get their way and, when they don’t, they pout publicly, and with moral indignation, saying that nobody listens to them.  To anybody with a shred of intellect and free thought, they are completely irrelevant but, unfortunately, a very large percentage of the population are, themselves, so paralyzed with fear that they will clasp at any straw, no matter how ineffectual.  Those who have intellect and free thought who support the GOP philosophies are those who have everything to gain by them, i.e., corporations and the wealthy.  Unfortunately, due to an utterly ridiculous and stupid Supreme Court decision, these entities can now weigh in financially to any degree they wish to influence the process and instill more fear on the populace.  Who wouldn’t spend $100 million to make $1 billion?

 

I love the GOPs moral indignation because it is so contrived and baseless and has no morality attached to it whatsoever.  How can anybody with any kind of moral compass go to the mat and threaten the entire country if the rich don’t get their tax breaks extended.  They know, as well as you and I, that the rich don’t need any tax breaks; most of them have more money than they could spend in several lifetimes, while the country is wallowing in debt and people are suffering.  Those are the people who need help not the ones who have their own jets and extravagant mansions in different places.

 

Democrats, especially those in Washington, need to develop a spine.  They are the same people who were bullied as children and never fought back.  Now, as adults, they react in exactly the same way as they did back then and bullies get their power from weakness.  Of course, there are notable exceptions, Anthony Weiner from New York and Alan Grayson from Florida, both of whom are not afraid to, publicly and loudly, call out the GOP on their lies and obfuscations.  But unfortunately they are few and far between.

 

I have great admiration for President Obama; he inherited the worst possible mess from the morally bankrupt Bush administration and he’s had to dig the country’s way out of it.  By any, impartial, observer, his legislative achievements and successes have been truly impressive but many of them have been overshadowed, and sometimes completely forgotten, in the constant hue and cry from the far right.  I am, however, disappointed in his poker playing ability; he doesn’t seem to recognize a bluff when he sees one and if he had stood firm against many of the GOP demands, they would have been the ones who folded.  In life, as in poker, those who have the most guts win out over those with bluster and nothing collapses faster than a bully who is stood up to!

 

© Michael Rocharde, January 30, 2011

michael_rocharde@me.com

The Day Democracy Died!

A Tale of Corruption and Greed

This is a tale, in part
About the rise of a powerful little fart
Who With a brain smaller than my thumb
Can truly be said to be dumb.
Being born into a whole heap of money
Didn’t stop him being a dummy.
Daddy groomed him for the top
Saying “He’ll not be working in a shop,
The White House is the game we play
And Dubya will be there one fine day
But first my time will come
As I need my day in the sun!”

So Daddy made his run for the house in white
It took him two tries and quite a fight.
He found this man with a devious mind
Karl was his name and he was quite a find.
Dirty tricks was the game he played
And a presidency, those tricks it made.
But only four years did it last
Before Daddy’s reign was past;
The economy had tanked and turned to shit
And the people had thrown a fit
But Daddy wasn’t willing to let go of the prize
And said to Karl, “My boy will rise”

“You have eight years, Karl, to make this right;
We are going to win that fight.
My boy’s my boy and he does have heart
But he’s not all that smart.
My blood runs through his veins
So there is no end to the pains
You must take to get him where I’ve been;
It is what I have foreseen!
We have friends, as you well know
Who will come up with all the dough
You want or will ever need
So there is no act or deed
You should not do
To force this miracle through.”

“I’ll need some help with this case;
We have to put a human, sympathetic face
On this over-privileged dumb ass kid
Who’s fucked up everything he ever did.
He’ll need a strong right hand
To help him rule this great land
And who can get him to follow where we lead
No matter who has to die or bleed.”
“I know just the man. His name is Dick.
He’s ruthless and he’s very slick.
He’s doesn’t play fair
And has connections everywhere!”

So they talked to Dick and he said “Fine.
I can get your boy to toe the line.
On anything that we need to do
I’ll say the word comes from you.”
They shook hands on that fateful day
Intending to turn Democracy away.
And to bleed the country dry
Was what they were going to try.
Complex plans were put into place
While Dubya gazed off into space
And thought of all the booze he would drink
If it wouldn’t cause such a stink!

So Karl said to Dubya, “I know it sounds odd,
But you must be a man of God.
You must go to church and pray
And mention Him every day
And I can guarantee that if you do
The religious nuts will vote for you.
They’re so absolutely thick
That they love this god fearing shtick
And if they think you speak his word
You’ll get their vote and no matter how absurd
The things you say or do
Those mutts will love and honor you!”
And Dubya replied “Are you sure of this?
Won’t I be taking the piss
After all I’ve been a bum and a drunk
And in every job I’ve had, I’ve stunk!”
“Trust me, Dubya, we know you’re a fool
But the god freaks will drool
If you take his name in vain
And make God your campaign.
We’ll bring Him along for the ride
And get all the idiots on our side
And when all is said and done
What matters is we won!”

So first in 2000, they showed the door
To first name Al, last name Gore
They cheated, cajoled and lied
And corrupted the Supreme Court beside
And when all the counting was said and done
It showed that Dick and the prick had won
And when the lawyers showed up with their writs
They were treated like a bunch of twits
By a woman with the morals of a tramp
Who strutted like a vamp.
Denied time to recount the votes
They were soon at each other’s throats
And soon the dirty deed was done
An election stolen and not won.
The rest of the world looked on in dismay
As Dubya prepared for his inaugaration day.
Meanwhile big business rubbed its hands in glee
At all the profits they could foresee
For they had landed a big fish
To grant their every little wish
And soon they would have even more
All they needed was a war
And perhaps, with a little luck,
An oil rich country (or two) they could fuck!

And the first few months; they were a little rough
But the times were about to get tough
For plotters schemed and planned
An attack on this, our homeland.
And on one terrible September day
Those devastating plans were put into play.
Four planes were hijacked and then flew,
by Muslims who could barely do.
With amazing, astonishing, unbelievable skills
These Arabs who had grown up in the hills
Guided those planes into targets so hard
That an earthquake would them not have scarred.

The world watched and stomachs turned
As planes crashed into the towers and burned
We saw bodies falling through the sky;
Maybe it was a quicker way to die
Because in minutes, the twin towers fell
To those human missiles from hell.
Thousands died that September morn
And a new world was born
As Dubya sat in a kindergarten school and froze.
While any normal man would have rose
To lead a country in its time of need
Dubya wondered who had really done the deed.

The blame was shortly laid
After all money was to be made.
“Get Osama” came the strident cry
Of voices from on high.
“He’s in Afghanistan, hiding in a cave
Let’s invade the country and be brave
And we’ll make the Taliban go away
So we can run our pipelines through this way.
There’s lots of money to be made
And sure, some people to be paid
But we’ll rape this country through and through
Before the piper gets his due.”

And so the troops were deployed
America, after all was not to be toyed
With and we had been hurt real deep
But was what we were about to pay too steep.
In Afghanistan the troops scoured the land
But could not lay a finger or a hand
On the target in their mind
For they were always too far behind
Osama and his band of men.
Was somebody tipping him off when
The troops would be in his face
So he could leave that dangerous place.

The Taliban; well they were soon gone
They hadn’t been all that strong.
But Osama, no sight of him was ever seen
It was if he had never been
How could a man as distinctive as he
Still be wandering around free?
Thousands searched all around
Covering a lot of ground
But with no Osama to find or kill
There were voices muttering on the Hill
“We need something new; we need more oil
Let’s bring Iraq to the boil!”

“We need a reason to attack
This country called Iraq.
Let’s claim that they have WMD
And that we cannot let it be.”
And the UN said “No, that won’t do.
Arms inspectors will give us the clue
We’ll take the time and be fair
And If there’s something there
We’ll have them dump it all
And if they try to stall
Sanctions is what we’ll impose
And their assets will be froze.”

But Dubya was a determined man
Of Saddam, he was no fan
And he would not be Iraq’s foil
Not while they had all that oil.
False intelligence was presented
And links to Al Qaeda represented
And Powell made a case for war
At the UN, on the delegates floor.
But what Powell didn’t know
Was all the evidence was for show.
The decision had been made
The US would invade.

It wasn’t long before the new war began
The Iraqi army fought briefly and then ran.
Saddam blustered and then fled
As his country and its people bled
There were no WMD but we were at war
And the warmongers cried for more.
Profits is the name of the game they play
They play it night and they play it day
They don’t give a damn about me or you
We just die to see their plans through.
Wanting more money than they could ever use
They want the power to abuse.

And soon Dubya put on a flight suit to say
“We have won the war this very day.”
But, as usual, he was completely wrong
For the insurgency was real strong.
Thousands of troops were about to die
Due to greed and a whopping lie
And the people started to complain
But came the familiar refrain
“Democracy is what we’re here to push
And I’m George W Bush
On a holy mission given to me by God.
Why would that be so odd!”

And Karl said “This is such a great scam;
Dubya has become the great I am”.
“Yes,” said UberMeister Dick
“He really is a stupd prick
And he’s as dumb as a post
But now is when we need him most.
The Democrats are gaining ground
And there’s an election coming round.
We’ll call them liberals as if that’s wrong
And we’ll convince the people all along
And when election day comes to pass
We’ll ream their democratic arse.”

“Tell me, Karl, how much do you need
I have friends enamored by greed
We may not be able to rig this one
But something has to be done.
Don’t make it look like a fix
Come up with some dirty tricks
And if you can capture the religious right
It will help to win the fight.
We’ll get Dubya to take most of the heat
He’s not smart enough to know he’s beat
His Daddy knows the score
And exactly how profitable is this war!”

“But what about this man, Michael Moore
He’s got a movie that’s anti Bush and anti war.”
“Sure, he’s a problem” said the VP
“But it’s America, the land of the free
And though you and I know that’s a crock
We can’t just punch his clock!
We’ll spread the word that he hates this land
And a lot of rednecks will make a stand
Shouting down every word he speaks.
What with the morons and the god freaks
We’ll turn him into a lousy traitor
And shut down Moore, the berator.”

And another election year came
And Dubya played his god game
As Karl had instructed him to do
And they played the game through
To the end, knowing the fix was in
The voting machines were coming up thin
On democratic votes placed
And thousands of eligible voters displaced
By any means and means most foul
And nobody heard the howl
As Democracy died on the vine
In this most awful time.

In his second term, Dubya made a pledge
“I have earned political capital and an edge.
Now I’m going to use it to help my friends
Achieve their despicable ends.
And if people die, well that’s just the breaks
Because we won’t be putting the brakes
On this war that’s going so well
In a country that has been turned to hell.
There’s lot of money to be made

Out of this enterprise and escapade
And who am I to stop what’s going on
Even though people say it’s wrong!”

Big business prospered and prospered more
They had been given the key to the door
It was their time of unremitting greed
Though they had more than they would ever need.
Pension plans were raided and corporations went broke
While the raiders disappeared in smoke.
Lives were ruined each and every day
While the profiteers and warmongers made hay.
And nobody could understand why
Gas prices were rising so high
As were the oil companies stakes;
They really needed those tax breaks.

And in the middle of all this war and stuff
Times and the economy became very tough.
Jobs became scarce and hard to keep
And employers treated their people like sheep.
“We’ll work you into the ground;
There’s lots of people hanging around
Who’ll be glad to do the job you don’t want to do
So if you complain, consider yourself through.
And vacations now; they are a thing of the past
If you take them, you won’t last
And then you’ll be out on the street.
Do I need to repeat?”

And things got worse and worse
With economic conditions more adverse
Insurgents killing US soldiers every day
Soldiers who were not given any say
In what they were ordered to perform
In the name of so-called reform.
And the profiteers thought it funny
As they greedily counted all their money
And laughed about all the things they could do
With the money stolen from us and you.

Meanwhile Congress voted money for the fight
And then spent it on things not right
With special interests reaching out its greedy paws
Grabbing money meant for the wars
And though many knew what was going on
The right were too damn strong
Controlling the media and the courts
And influencing people’s thoughts
Not that many of those could actually think
About more than their next drink
Or whether they would get laid that night
Or end up in a bar-room fight.

Right wing bigots spread their nasty lies
About all the people they despise
Take Rush, now there’s a bloated fool
It’s amazing he doesn’t drool
With all the Oxycontin he takes
On his mouth, there are no brakes
And the drug induced venom spills
For his self-gratifying thrills.
Hannity’s another piece of shit
On the surface he’s a hit
But if you could see inside his soul
It would leave you cold.
The networks lay claim to integrity
While rampant with their own hypocrisy.
Is it or could it be NBC
That happens to be owned by GE
An arms company or didn’t you know
And if you watch their show
You’ll think the war is the place to be
Because that’s what they want you to see.
Murdoch is another ruthless man
Of Fox, only right wing bigots are a fan.
Watch it if you want to know what’s really going on
As what they tell you is invariably wrong.

And so spread the climate of fear
The end of liberty was almost here.
The media made it all sound so bad
Terrorism was the latest fad
And if we wanted to sleep safely at night
We should let the government fight this fight
With daily warnings
Coming like early mornings
The terror spread its wings
Just one of those unfortunate things
That makes it all so much worse
Could it be any more perverse!

So, the die has been cast
With truth coming in a distant last
But there are a few good men
To whom integrity and honesty are a friend.
HBO has the inimitable Maher
Pushing the 1st Amendment so very far
And with considerable smarts
His sardonic wit darts
And skewers those who should be shot
For patriots and honest men they are not.
Comedy Central has The Daily Show
That’s Jon Stewart if you didn’t know.
Another brilliant and funny mind
He could be called unkind
For the stupid things people say and do
And which he brings to you.
We delight in his infectious grin
That comes from deep within
When he finds a perfect mark
He becomes the perfect shark.

And now our tale is almost at its end
We are a country round the bend
Where the voice of reason
Is labeled to be treason
And where our government’s position
Is so often based on supposition
And rarely on a fact
While politicians backtrack
And so often prevaricate;
Perhaps we should call this ‘BushGate’.
Truth is what the media says it should be
And we should be glad that we are free
The Right have laid their claim
And left the Liberals with the blame
For all the things that went wrong
While big business sang its deadly song
Truth; it is but a memory now
And war is the sacred cow.
I hope I live to see the day
When all this greed and hatred goes away.

© Michael Rochard All Rights Reserved

The Two Parties

Where Democrats have a soul,

Republicans have a hole,

A deep limitless void!

Could they be a Droid,

A machine with no heart

And, ultimately, not very smart?

 

Democrats fight for the meek

While Republicans hate the weak.

Democrats empathize

Republicans despise.

Republicans are full of spite

And thrive on fright.

 

Democrats want to help the poor

Republicans want to show them the door.

Republicans want you until you’re born

And then not until your heads are shorn

When you sign up so you can die

To promote and protect another lie!

 

Republicans claim to believe in God

And yet it seems rather odd

That they will lie and cheat and steal;

Depending on how they feel

On any given day;

And trample those in their way.

 

Republicans were bullies at school

It’s where they learnt how to rule

And it’s really a disgrace

Nobody punched them in the face

And it’s even more absurd

That we take them at their word.

 

Democrats put their feet to the fire

Of the Republican ire

But they won’t stand up and fight

Fearful of the Republicans might.

I think it would be really fine

If Democrats grew a spine!

 

© Michael Rocharde, November 29 2010

 

She’s SP-ecial!

Vicious bitch

Scratching Publicity itch;

Self Serving,

Undeserving!

Lies with Impunity;

Expects immunity.

Says whatever;

Truth never!

Radical Views

Makes news;

Trailer trash

Gives me rash;

Wants power

So people cower.

Full of greed

No need!

Full of hate;

Likes to berate.

Is disgrace

To human race!

Thinks she’ll run

Have some fun;

God help us all

After inaugural ball!

 

© Michael Rocharde, November 2010

 

Tax Cuts

Let’s get out our axes

And cut those damn taxes

Let’s give the rich more

And less to the poor

After all, aren’t the needy

The ones who are greedy!

They are thriving

With the rich barely surviving.

 

It’s such a shame;

Who can we blame?

Politicos at the corporate trough!

Will they ever have enough?

Is this thing we call Democracy

Anything more than idiocy

Where the louder you speak

Makes you strong not weak!

 

I was a huge fan

Of Obama, the man

Who, against the odds, won the Presidency

And took up residency

In the White House

Where he became a mouse

On all the things that matter

Because he caved in to the chatter.

When you have the people on your side

You don’t have to abide

By what the other party lives by;

You don’t even have to try

To win their approval or their votes

Just give them their fur lined coats

And show them the door;

We, the people, didn’t want them any more!

 

But Obama listened and lost his way;

We’re all paying for that every day!

Fox News spews and spreads its lies

Laughing at Democracy as it dies

And when it is completely dead

And the US is totally in the red

And there isn’t a single job in sight

Just a long endless night

The rich will rub their hands in glee

Because money and power is all they see

And they simply have not a clue

What money means to me, and to you.

For us it’s not a way of keeping score

It’s just keeping the wolf from the door

And when this overarching greed

Prevents families from being able to feed

There’ll be a revolution coming

And the rich will have to start running

To safe havens and tax exempt places

Where their fat and bloated faces

Won’t have a price on their head

“Wanted, preferably dead!”

 

What has this once great country become

Where those who run

Forgot that they serve

The people that observe

Not corporations intent on their bottom line

Whose ethos is to define

The dialog that is said and heard

No matter how absurd.

If it wasn’t so incredibly sad

It would not be so bad

But thank God I’m old

And can be outspoken and bold

And as for the young

Their song is already sung.

There is no future, there is no hope

And all we can do is try to cope!

 

© Michael Rocharde, December 4, 2010

 

Comeback

It is strange that those who you despise

Are so eager to fall for your lies

And as you lay claim after outrageous claim

Declaring Obama is to blame

For the mess your party put us in!

Your credibility should be so, so thin

But the fools who listen to your word

Don’t think ‘How absurd!’

But swallow it absolutely whole

And praise you as you play your role

Of reasonable men of integrity

Doing it with fake sincerity

As you try to crawl back into power

Hour after hour after hour.

 

You, sirs, collectively, are a disgrace

An affront to the human race

All you think about is your greed

Not what your citizens need.

We don’t have to prove

That when your lips move

You’ve simply told another lie

Which you’ll do until you die

For it’s the only way you can thrive

While we, the people, struggle to survive.

 

But, in truth, it’s not your fault

That you know nothing other than assault;

That you are bereft of ideas that are good

And that your heads are solid wood.

And, yes, you are to blame

For having not an ounce of shame

But it’s the fools who put you there

Who don’t have the sense to care

Or the eyes and sight to see

That you jump around with glee

When another lie is taken as the truth

By gullible people and frustrated youth.

And when all is said and done

You’ll have had your fun

While the country rots away

On the basis of your say.

How do you sleep at night

After joyfully spreading fright?

If you, somehow, have a soul

I suspect it’s black as coal

And I think it will be really swell

If, indeed, there is a hell

And I’d love to be able to observe

You getting what you deserve!

 

© Michael Rocharde, November 2010

Oh, that Cheney!

Oh, that Cheney

He is so, so zany

Maybe a teeny bit insaney!

 

Perhaps he’s just mad

Instead of plain bad

Really, rather sad

 

He hates you;

Hates me too

Should we boo?

 

I hate to be unkind

But I think he keeps his mind

Up his behind.

 

Halliburton wanted more

Cheney gave them war

Big, really big score!!

 

Does he love the thrill

Of the long distance kill

As he sips from his still?

 

Who is this man

With hardly a fan

For his diabolical plan?

 

He wielded a big stick

Made a lot of people sick

No wonder they call him Dick!

 

Now he sits at home

Most likely alone

On his throne.

 

He had that made

Guess who paid

While he played?

 

He has not a single regret

For the enormous bet

That he played and we met.

 

He thinks we’re all wrong

That we sing the wrong song

While he wields the devil’s prong.

 

Oh, that Cheney

He is so, so zany

Maybe totally insaney!

 

© Michael Rocharde, February 2009

Message to the GOP

Dear John Boehner et al

Do you mind if I call you Pal

Because it’s really clear

That the things you hold dear

Have not worked

As you, your responsibilities shirked

And I believe it is true

That you don’t have a clue

Or an idea that is good

And you believe that you should

Oppose any plan

Put forth by a democratic man.

 

Tax cuts are your thing

It’s the only song you sing

Still rivers run deep

And you walk as if you sleep

Convinced you were born to rule

And that we, the public, are a fool

To follow any other path

Thus encurring your wrath.

Elitist is what you, collectively, are

But your ideas are below par

What you seek

Is not to please the meek

Who have little voice

In which you, thoroughly, rejoice

With principles that are bad

Choosing ones that are sad

And which caused your rule to fail

And your supporters to wail

But what is hard to understand

In this struggling land

Is that you still think you have a say

And will have your way

While we, the people, made our voices heard

By rejecting you and your absurd

Party 

With which we are heartily

And forever sick

Of your carrot and the stick

Approach to everything we hold dear.

 

Your party rules by fear

And by bluster

Which will, no more, pass muster.

We will not listen any more

About your core

Values as they are wrong; 

It’s time to sing a new song.

 

So, John Boehner

I don’t think I can be any plainer

Be a man

Lose the never-ending tan

Think before you speak;

Perhaps take a week

Before you stand in front of those you serve

And try, for once, to observe

The contempt in which you are held

With which you were, already, felled

Now is not the time

For you and your party line!

 

It is easy to see

That you may not agree

With your President’s plan

And not be an Obama fan

But what have you to gain

By prolonging the pain.

Step out of the limelight

Get out of our sight

Unless you have something to say

That is worthwhile today.

 

History tells us that revolutions start

In more than a little part

From the excesses of the rich

Who have to scratch that itch

To have more than they need

By any name that is greed.

You and your party have few friends

You’ve made no attempt to make amends

For the mess you’ve got us in

And your excuses; they are thin

And when we need to be efficient

You and your kind are deficient

So perhaps there’s a lesson here

It’s time to be sincere

And now you should bend

Your climate of fear is at an end.

 

© Michael Rocharde, February 2009