Archive for the ‘News’ Category

Nothing to Sneeze At

Sunday, June 6th, 2010

Perhaps you could pass me the kleenex,
But not due to my need for clean specs,
They are needed for fears,
And mopping up tears,
Finding out we are LAST on the “greendex.”

Honesty

Saturday, June 5th, 2010

I know you may find it distressing;
The silence this blog’s been expressing,
With the spill uncontained,
Making jokes has been pained,
I find it all too damn depressing.

Take That!

Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010

The Kentucky Senate, with authority,
Passed with much more than majority,
A bill ‘gainst Rand Paul –
That ironically called –
Out his views as part of a “minority!”

You’ll never believe this. Work… yes actual employment, has re-entered my life and quite simply got in the way of keeping on track. I realize 7 days have passed between the June 1 entry and this one for June 2. As in the past, I shall make up this gap by leaps and bounds. Thank you for your patience, humble readers.

A word about how to read my limericks: If I end a phrase with a dash (“-”) it means that the line is meant to be read as if it were attached to the next line. Normally, for instance, there is a pause between lines in a limerick. When I use a comma at the end of a line, one should allow for the rhythmic rest, as it were. With a dash, the first syllable of the next line takes the place of that rhythmic pause. Try it out with the last three lines above — don’t take a breath and don’t “rest” or pause. You’ll see that the rhythm picks up speed and drives towards the final line.

Remember

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

Right now we are all being schooled:
Government is just big oil’s tool…
But let us recall,
As disaster enthralls,
Which party most loosened the rules!

This is Growing Old

Saturday, May 29th, 2010

In humanity’s lust for “black gold,”
We forget that we’re being sold,
The true cost is hid,
Of life we’ll be rid,
And disaster’s a bitch to behold.

All Comparisons Inside

Friday, May 28th, 2010

Unlike Exxon BP folks weren’t drunk-caught.
The size of their leak still debunked lots.
But I have to proclaim,
There’s no more fitting name –
For all efforts to stop it than “junk shot.”

The Toiling of the Bell

Wednesday, May 26th, 2010

Is your blood beginning to boil?
As leak-stopping tries have been foiled?
The real culprit here,
For those who can hear:
We must break addiction to oil!

Directionless

Sunday, May 23rd, 2010

Like a strong punch to my solar plexus,
Felt their actions no matter how feckless,
When regards education,
It’s an aberration,
What they can call textbooks in Texas.

Stuffed

Thursday, May 20th, 2010

If there is a lone defining theme,
Of the Democrats’ bill-passing stream,
From Healthcare to Finance,
It’s more than just slim chance,
They pass over pie for the cream!

Meaning they don’t pass anything really meaningful… Mandated health insurance without an affordable public option… Financial Reform without the Volcker Amendment… How do we get corporate influence out of government?

City on a Shill

Wednesday, May 19th, 2010

There are statements that never get old,
Like “The Greatest Story Ever Told,”
But this one must win it:
“One born every minute,”
Which of course means those who buy Beck’s Gold.

Saul

Tuesday, May 18th, 2010

To me the thing that casts a pall,
On this primary day rather small,
Is not Arlen Specter,
That party defector,
But the fact that Kentucky chose Paul.

Adrift in the Private Sea

Sunday, May 16th, 2010

If any should wear a disgraced look,
I nominate gladly this ace crook:
Nixing your concerns,
For profit returns;
I mean the CEO of Facebook.

Fix your Facebook Profile in 2 Minutes

Greed is the Creed

Saturday, May 15th, 2010

This business sure showed a devotion,
To the dollar and not to the notion,
That there should be safety,
Instead proving hasty;
I’m talking of bastards TransOcean.

Here are three things worth knowing about Transocean:

In 1999, Transocean moved overseas, leaving its headquarters in Delaware to incorporate in Switzerland (which is bordered on all sides by land) to dodge U.S. taxes. As a result of its move, the company reduced its tax burden by 50%.
Just yesterday, Transocean cited an 1851 law in a court filing requesting that its liability be limited to $27 million. Transocean claims the law in question limits the total liability of maritime operators to the cost of the vessel that sunk. It has already collected hundreds of millions in insurance.
Deepwater Horizon was one of 35 Transocean rigs sailing under the flag of the Marshall Islands, known to have weaker safety standards than other nations.

Missed Statement

Friday, May 14th, 2010

Not meaning to come across whiny,
How big a leak can be called “tiny?”
BP’s Tony Hayward,
His rational wayward,
Should be kicked out, post-haste, on his heiny.

In an bullish interview with the Guardian at BP’s crisis centre in Houston, Hayward insisted that the leaked oil and the estimated 400,000 gallons of dispersant that BP has pumped into the sea to try to tackle the slick should be put in context.

“The Gulf of Mexico is a very big ocean. The amount of volume of oil and dispersant we are putting into it is tiny in relation to the total water volume,” he said.

Has anyone else noticed that every attempt BP has tried to contain the leak has involved some way to “collect” the oil? Do they only see dollar signs and not environmental impact? From the large “dome” that they attempted to lower over the leak (which had a way to bring the leaking oil to a collecting vessel overhead) to today’s attempt to plug a smaller pipe into the leak (that will only capture around 85% of the leaking oil), BP has been concerned only with trying to get at whatever oil they can.

Maybe it’s time to start thinking about shutting the WHOLE THING down. How about blowing up a 1/4 mile of the sea floor? Perhaps the rubble will contain the leak. Maybe they should drop 1,000 tons of concrete onto the leak. STOP TRYING TO CUT YOUR LOSSES, BP. Get it done.