Watch Yourself!

Julian Assange, Wickileaker,
Bent on spilling U.S. secrets.
Truth he claims to be a seeker
Though it means more U.S. caskets
Shipped from far-flung mountain battle,
Full disclosure’s price to tattle.

Gathering

Thanksgiving starts my every day;
I’m grateful for the glow of dawn.
From nothingness I’ve one more stay
Before my time on Earth is gone
To dwell upon our mystery
That won’t explain our history.

Keep On Chillin', Papa!

Pope Benedict at last allows
That condoms have a needed use—
Just one, but ample to arouse
Conjecture that maybe he’ll loose
Twin rules for spousal dalliance:
Fidelity and abstinence.

The Letter and The Spirit

In recent years the IRS
Has been a much more friendly place.
Although it still can dispossess,
It does so at a slower pace.
Before it raids your bank account,
It tells you first the owed amount.

Plan XXX

What’s your preference, scan or pat-down,
By new touchy-feely screeners?
Sister Regis used her worst frown
When we joked about our wieners,
Now called junk, which men don’t like stroked.
Women, neither, like their breasts poked.

We Owe It To Ourselves

It’s bad enough when MasterCard
And Visa call, and then lament
That they must tell us we are barred
From borrowing another cent.

But what if China rings us and
Apologetically bemoans
That we at last must understand
It cannot make us further loans?

I'm Lovin' It

If we ban alcohol for kids
So they won’t drink themselves to death,
Or enact statute that forbids
Their scrambling their brains on meth,
Or even smoking nicotine,
Why not what makes them look obscene?

The Shakespeare in All of Us

We shrug off chats if folks don’t yell
While riding on a crowded bus.
But even whispers over cells
Bring out the very worst in us.
Why is this? Cornell research found
We share with playwrights common ground.

Suffer the Children

At the movies, don’t yell fire.
Not a chance that it’s judged free speech.
Don’t shed all of your attire
On the sidewalk. It's a big breech.
First Amendment rights don't include
Sins like these no longer argued.

Central to Our Well-Being

Woe is me but no use whining
At the way the public’s spoken.
Sooner, find a silver lining,
Even though my heart’s still broken:
From now on Obama cannot
Leave the GOP to do squat.

Rush to Misjudgment

President Obama timid?
In a snobbish manner, rigid?
Too slow to hit the campaign trail
To help his Democrats prevail?
One he wouldn’t told him, Shove it.
True to form he rose above it.
Aloof or even ill at ease?
The answer’s no to all of these.