drat fink

a real kick in the pants

if only we could
rewind the clock
for with each tick
it only mocks

like drops
upon the windowpane
it rolls on down
unless in spain

but lets be plain
you cant decamp
there is a flame
but no magic lamp

or faeries wand
to fend off decay
just anarrowed sign
that reads "one way"

vietnumb

"A team of scientists is providing new evidence confirming the devastating legacy of America's chemical weapons program in Vietnam -- a legacy which officials in Washington continue to question."

woodenward

"Maybe it was inevitable that time, fame, and money would tame the aggressive reporter who broke Watergate--transforming him into a stenographer of the Washington establishment who breaks only the news the reigning powers want broken. And, to be sure, there is some value to Woodward's current role. But that doesn't mean that we shouldn't call Bob Woodward's reportage what it really is. "When [the public] hear[s] ... Bob Woodward say, 'Well, according to informed sources,' what should they know about those informed sources--not the identity, but the quality of the information, the agenda or lack of agenda of the leaker?" Russert asked Woodward on Sunday. "Well, only when the opposition has a story is it called a leak," Woodward responded. "When we have a story, it's called aggressive and thorough journalism." That may have been the case thirty years ago. But with Woodward these days, it's definitely a leak."

your anchor banker

"Second, there is the Sunday Talk Show Anchor. These Sunday shows have evolved into crucial rituals of democracy in which elected and appointed officials expose themselves publicly to whatever form of humiliation the anchor and a couple of colleagues may devise. (Verbal humiliation only, so far—although CBS is said to be working on an interesting variant.) The Sunday Anchor must embody all the nation's conflicting feelings about those who exercise power over us. Contempt, deference, and bonhomie must all be on display simultaneously. NBC Meet the Press anchor Tim Russert's gift for saying, in effect, "With all due respect, Senator, you're a lying bastard. Bowling next Tuesday?"—and not any physical resemblance, which is slight at best—is why so many Americans compare his role in our national life to that of Britain's late queen mother."

word count

"That's what the offer of a "state" with no defined borders, powers, or timetable (and no right to be represented by its present leadership) is. It isn't even a bone thrown to the Palestinians. It's a picture of a bone. Bush's father was notorious for confusing the photo op of a thing ("Message: I care") with the thing itself. The son, too, seems to think that his words are equal to deeds. A month ago, when he was asked about progress in the Middle East, he noted with pride, "I gave a speech right here in the Rose Garden on April the 4th that said parties have responsibilities. … I've talked about a vision of two states." Congratulations, Mr. President. You've done it again."

family affairs

"But democracy is being eroded more by money and its power than by skilled semantics. For want of insights and data often unobtainable from the corporate media, the public opinion vital to US democracy has trouble remaining vigorous and informed. Many politicians are themselves part of the national economic elite, and others depend on that elite for campaign funding. History tells us that America overcame kindred problems in the Progressive era a century ago. The national will to do so again, however, is hardly clear."

steel your face

my buddy

"PROVIDENCE -- Vincent A. Cianci Jr., the charismatic mayor who has dominated the city for nearly three decades and is widely credited with its revival, was convicted yesterday on a federal racketeering-conspiracy charge for running a criminal enterprise from City Hall."

ashen

smoke
heat
passion darkly
revealed

kiss the girls
where the heart is
a ruby in paradise
divine secrets

love is like...
someone like....
eye of the beholder
til death do us part

next generation
natural born
double jeopardy
sisters

our friend
normal life
space ghost
a time to kill

cuffs
high crimes
farewell
blackout

olive drab

sorry for the histronic
hysterical phonics

its a simplistic heuristic
without a splash of tonic

and contrition towards inhibition
is nothing short of chronic

as the target slips within range
the sensory blips become demonic

while the radar waves are spinning
the bombadier on his plans he just sits

in the hangar in the cockpit
he measures out his splits

but the colonels and the generals
are giving each other fits

cant decide if its time for world war 3
or a case of mixolplix

dont you flyboy
way up high
in your shiny new machine

whats the use
of all that training
waiting for lights to turn from red to green

then the call came
but you complain
that you havent got the nerve

pull the choke chain
throttle back
instead of liftoff
shake and swerve

down the runway
constructing models
that have never been and never will be built

aborted mission
no transmission
you cant whirl
if you wont even tilt