Joe's CornPop Story Appears to be True

 
Joe Biden tells this fanciful tale of how he stood up to a razor-wielding gang member named "CornPop. Well, people ridicule him for lying, suggesting the story is all made up. Perhaps they shouldn't. He has witnesses who indicate the story is true. You shouldn't call him a liar if you have no more to go by than to say, That sounds too good to be true. 

To begin with, a newspaper obituary has been found for a William L. "CornPop" Morris. So, it appears such a guy really did exist. He died in 2016 at age 73. That lines up with Biden's story.

Second, folks who lived in Wilmington, Delaware, where it all took place -- people who were there -- are witnessing that it was true. Add to that that there's been someone who investigated it, and found evidence to substantiate it.

The story reflects well on Biden. If this is who the guy is, yes, we should like him. Here's a man of high morals and character. Why should we not want to elect such people?

CornPop

In the legend of Joe Biden
There's the story of CornPop
Joe took him on
CornPop was the bad guy
And Joe played the cop

Mean as nails
Tough as tar
CornPop took to doing whatever he wanted
No one could stop his car

Joe was a lifeguard
He told divers what to do
And you had to wear a baby cap
Or your diving time was through

"Get down off that board"
Joe shouted out
And while CornPop got off the board
You should hear what came about

Meet you outside
Outside the gate
CornPop challenged him
A fight would be the fate

CornPop had some buddies
Ready to bloody Joe
They were carrying straight razors
And the harm that those can do, you know

Joe had a buddy
The mechanic at the pool
He told Joe just what to do
And to keep his cool

The mechanic cut a piece of chain for him
Here, use this in your fight
Tell CornPop he just might cut you
But the chain will wrap around his neck so tight

So Joe walked out to meet him
Meet old CornPop
But he was wise enough to talk down that mean dude
Instead of calling him porkchop

Joe had called him Esther Williams
When CornPop was on the diving board
And so he apologized
In order to reach a peace accord

But I don't apologize for asking you to get off
From diving in the pool
And I'd have to do it again
'Cause, CornPop, that's just the rule

Well, CornPop said, You really mean that?
And put his straight razor away
And that is the story
Of how Joe saved the day

 
Because America Matters

Because America matters
That's why I vote for Joe
I cast my vote for freedom
When these two go toe-to-toe

Joe is part hero
He's done things that are so nice
But Donald's simply not so good
He's just a man of vice

I'll take my vote and cast it
For an American type of guy
And hope dictator Trump fades away
Hope he goes bye-bye

 
 
Go North

Go north, young man
Climate change is telling us
Go north

We've settled out across the land
To Californy we've sallied forth

Phoenix, St. George
Other places too
But the Colorado River
Is a river we've outgrew

Go north
If water is more plentiful
Go north to frozen land
Go north to Alaska
Leave behind the desert sand

Let the Colorado River
Supply our breadbasket farms
70 percent of the water
Is needed for those charms

Let the farmer learn new watering ways
Drip irrigation or whatever else
But let him have what water he needs
To take care of himself

What's left, then, remains for city-dwelling
But be frugal of lush green lawns
Still conserve, still be wise
Don't practice water wrongs

And, when all your water's claimed
Then building moratoriums come about
And force the population
To go out and look about

Maybe it forces you north
Just as far as Montana
But go north, young man
Even if  all the way to Canada

 
Abortion

Ah, but there's abortion
You cannot vote for him
They use it as a shoehorn
To force my foot into a shoe that's too thin

I sometimes wonder if there are those
Who plot this whole thing out
Persuading every Democrat
That abortion is something they can't do without

Then they toss a candidate at us
One with no morals at all
His words and actions scream of tyranny
Ominous signs of our nation's fall

They box us in a corner
Persuade us we have no choice
If we don't vote for their man Trump
Our nation is doomed to abortion and pro choice

Yes, sometimes I think they planned it
Planned it all along
Planted seeds favoring abortion
In those who will hear their song

It doesn't need to be this way
You can stand for truth and freedom, I say
So, I beg you as a candidate
To renounce abortion this very day

 
 
We Should Tip Our Hat

You learn about our presidents
When you learn about their pasts
And the things they did for others
Are things that should really last

For example, take Joe Biden
And one of his first jobs
For you learn about a person's character
By seeing with whom it is that he hobnobs

Joe lived in suburbia
And watched Martin Luther King on TV
And his heart bled for the Black people
And he wished they were more free

Just a high school senior
When he went looking for some work
And he decided he wanted to work among Black people
Believing that would be the greatest perk

The job was at a swimming pool
And all the other guards were Black
And Joe took it as an honor
That they had each others backs

What kind of character
Does it take to seek out a job like that?
It seems we should give him credit
And we should tip our hat

 
Monster from the Deep
 
With apologies
Trump, himself, is the Swamp Monster
He speaks of cleaning out the swamp
Oh, the irony
As the Swamp Monster climbs to the balcony

I saw him down in the marsh
Saw him emerge from the deep
Green slime hanging from his arms
Have you ever seen such charms?

He came into our city
Came into our land
Climbed onto the balcony of America
Creating all this hysteria

I have never understood
The people cheering from the streets
Cheering on the Swamp Monster
How can they worship this dreadful mobster lobster?

Cunningly, we Maintain a System of Havoc at the Border

It's not how many agents you have at the border, not how many officers are watching and and ready to haul you in. No, not at all. Rather, it is the court administrators. It is the number of people you have to process the people in.

Many of the people who arrive at America's borders surrender themselves, probably the good chunk of them do. Seeking asylum, they come to the border in hopes of being "caught," if you can call it that. You don't need to go searching them out to arrest them. They are willing volunteers in turning themselves in. The asylum process is set up that way. So, how many officers does it take to round up people who are volunteering to be caught, who are rushing into the net?

No, the problem doesn't set in until you begin processing the people in. The important number is not how many border patrol agents you have, but how many court administrators you have. That is where the bottleneck is.

Have you ever -- I mean, ever -- heard how many are employed right in our immigration courts, how many people are staffing our immigrant court system? Maybe that is because we aren't recognizing that that is where the bottleneck is, that is where the problem lies. What a rather blind nation we are. We scream about how our borders are being overwhelmed with applicants wanting to come here, then we fail to see how the problem can be solved.

Yes, we should question our collective intelligence.

Now, if you don't want immigrants -- if your focus isn't on separating those who should be here from those who should not, but rather just on keeping them all out -- then your purpose is best served by preserving the bottleneck. Keep the havoc as the order of the day. Chaos at the border creates outrage in the populace. You can stir the people up against people coming to our country.

Politics over justice, is that what you want? Because it's what you've got.

Trump is a 'Bottomless Pinocchio' Multiple Times Worse Than Biden

 
When The Washington Post catches you telling the same untruth at least 20 times, you win a dubious distinction -- the "Bottomless Pinocchio" rating. Joe Biden earned the rating for the first time in 2022 after repeating and repeating the false claim that he traveled 17,000 miles with China's Xi Jinping. 

The Post introduced the rating after a flood of such dishonest statements by Donald Trump. The Post said Trump, at the time it introduced the rating in 2018, had made 14 such statements. No other politician had even made the list.

So those who ride Joe Biden for the absurdity of his 17,000-miles with Xi statement should consider that while Joe has a flaw, Trump's obsession for lying is multiple times worse.

No 17,000 Miles With Xi For Joe Biden

 
By now, it is starting to smell for Joe Biden. A friend gave me a list of "lies" by him. I was sure some of them would end up being flat-out falsehoods. Well, I'm about halfway through the list, and there hasn't been a clunker among them.

Don't get me wrong. I don't find the sin in Biden that my friend does. I am still finding him to be an honorable man -- but a flawed man, the same. I am glad my friend has pointed out his weaknesses. If I am going to support him, I need to know the luggage he brings along.

Today I studied how he has repeatedly said he travelled 17,000 miles with China's Xi Jinping. Biden wants you to know he spent time with Xi, getting to know him, so he has insights into the Chinese leader. But 17,000 miles on airplanes, and in cars, and travelling with him? No, no, no. 

"There appears to have been only one time that Xi and Biden traveled together," says checkyourfact.com. "During the Obama administration, Biden was asked to meet with Xi in China. The Washington Times reported this trip awas 50 miles to a Chinese school."

Biden could have just told it the way it was. He has met a reasonable amount of times with Xi. It's just that marking it in miles traveled with him just doesn't work. He met with him in China in 2021, in the U.S. in 2012, in China in 2013. He met with him in Washington in 2015. Perhaps there were other times, perhaps not.

Joe, just tell the truth. You can make a good case for having met often with Xi, but you blow yourself apart when you claim you've traveled together 17,000  miles.

The Fact-Checking Fried Biden on this One

 
The fact-checkers really came down hard on Joe Biden hard for this one. Not just one, but a bunch of them condemned him. Biden claimed he was arrested while trying to see Nelson Mandela.

"False," concluded Snopes.
"Pants on Fire," said PolitiFact.
"Ridiculous . . . four Pinocchios," wrote The Washington Post.
BBC, CNN, The New York Times and Fox News were among those also who piled on.

Here's the quote (one of them). Biden said this while campaigning in 2020:
"This day, 30 years ago, Nelson Mandela walked out of prison and entered into discussions about apartheid. I had the great honor of meeting him. I had the honor of being arrested with our U.N. ambassador on the streets of Soweto trying to get to see him on Robbens Island." 

Biden was a member of a congressional delegation that went to South Africa in 1976. It appears officials there tried to separate Biden from the Black members of the delegation, allowing him to pass through a gate for Whites only. Biden would have none of it. Perhaps in the whole process, he was locked behind a gate. So, you have him being stopped by police and being "detained," in a sense. 

It is honorable that he stood with his Black friends. It shows principle. But embellishing and exaggerating the story is not honorable, and does not reflect a man who is strict in truth. Perhaps this story -- as much as any -- reflects a flaw in the man. On more than one occasion, he has exaggerated. I believe he has even admitted exaggerating it is a weakness of his.

Biden made his false claim while campaigning in South Carolina, which has a large percentage of African-American voters. Bernie Sanders, who had solid credentials in civil rights (truthfully having once been arrested in a protest) was leading in the race. Biden hoped to gain votes. But he should have kept his story to how he stood with his African-American friends by refusing to go through a Whites-only gate. Did his memory fail him? It had been more than 40 years ago. In his desire to sway voters, did he let his memory trick him? Who knows, but if you make a mistake like that, you are still responsible. Learn to be more careful. Snopes and PolitiFact will come down hard if you are not.

Two more notes: He was slightly off on the name of where Mandela was. It was Robben Island, not the plural Robbens. Second, if he was in on the streets of Soweto, that is more than 760 miles from Robben Island. Something's off there.

 
You'll Do What You're Told

This isn't about winning an argument
It isn't about whether we should be a liberal nation
Or a conservative one
It's about freedom
It's about whether we let the work of our founding fathers come undone

It won't be a choice between liberalism and conservativism
 when the dictator takes over
Freedom is lost and so is ideology
Trump takes takes everything
And gives no apology

It isn't about who can end inflation
It's about America
It's about freedom
It's about a people who will be left with a dictator to lead them

Scoff at Biden and say he's too old
But if Trump wins
From  then on, you'll do what you're told

 
Friends and Mentors

His ties to minorities 
He can cast those claims too quick
Like when he said he was partially raised
With Blacks and Puerto Ricans in the mix

I guess it's the It-takes-a-village-to-raise-a-child theme
Uncle Joe, is that what you mean?

Oh, there weren't many Puerto Ricans 
Where he grew up in Delaware
But I suppose there were enough that some were neighbors
Maybe that is fair

Next up, he says he was "raised in the synagogues in my state"
Now, that's a matter for debate
True, he rattled off the names of rabbis
But some still suggest he's just telling another of his lies

On Greek Independence Day one year
He joked his name was Biden-opoulos, right?
He tied himself to the Greeks
In ways that perhaps were out of sight

It takes a village to raise a child?
Every neighbor a parent of yours?
Really it's not such a bad attitude
To treat all these as friends and mentors

 
Joe Biden and His Tall Tale about Cannibals

Joe Biden seems to think his uncle might have been eaten by cannibals. Yes, that's right. If it seems a little far-fetched, well, it is. But still, I'm not here call him a liar for his belief.

In April, Biden was giving a speech in his family's hometown, Scranton, Pennsylvania. And he told how his uncle Bosie was shot down during World War II. "He got shot down in an area where there were a lot of cannibals in New Guinea at the time," Biden said. "They never recovered his body. But the government went back . . . and they checked and found some parts of the plane and the like."

Later that day, while speaking at the United Steelworkers headquarters in Pittsburgh, Biden again floated the possibility his uncle became lunch meat for the cannibals. "He flew those single-engine planes as reconnaissance over war zones," Biden said, "And he got shot down in New Guinea, and they never found the body because there used to be -- there were a lot of cannibals, for real, in that part of New Guinea."

Experts on cannibalism in New Guinea soon did some shooting down of their own, shooting down the notion uncle Bosie was devoured by cannibals. Yes, some cannibalism might have existed in New Guinea, but the cannibals doing the eating usually selected their enemies for their dining pleasures. And, since the Americans were well known in New Guinea as not being enemies, uncle Bosie wasn't likely to have served up as a dinner entree.

So, Biden was almost certainly wrong. It is a little much to call him a liar for his ill-informed opinion, but those who despise the guy are quick to do so. It makes a great hook for calling him that. Hmm, it's like they are taking the meat hooks to him and saying, "Let this sink into your flesh, Joe. We're going to do some eating of our own." 

Beau Biden Didn't Die in Iraq as Claimed

Joe Biden's son, Beau Biden did not die in Iraq. Joe has claimed he did, and to call him a liar for that.  does not seem so wrong.  Biden once called himself the father of a man who "lost his life in Iraq."

Snopes rates that as false.

"Just imagine -- I mean it sincerely, I say this as a father of a man who won the Bronze Star, the conspicuous service medal -- imagine the courage, the daring, and the genuine sacrifice, genuine sacrifice they all made," Biden said.

Trouble is, it didn't go down that way. Oh, Beau did win the Bronze Star, and he was posthumously given the Delaware Conspicuous Service Cross for "heroism, meritorious service and outstanding achievement." But, he didn't die in the Iraqi conflict. No, he died of brain cancer six years later  at the Walter Reed National Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

Why would Biden have suggested his son died in Iraq? There is no doubt, no question, he knew his son died years later at a hospital here in America. 

According to a story in The New York Times, Biden was shocked after reading what was said in Joseph Hickman's book The Poisoning of America's Soldiers, suggesting those exposed to toxic burn pits in Iraq suffered consequences. Biden became convinced Beau's loss of life could have been due to those burn pits.

"Guys, I'm going to be the biggest pain in your neck as long as I live until we figure out about these burn pits," Biden is reported to have said. 

In a State of the Union address, Biden discussed his concern for the burn pits.

But, for all his concern and reason for believing his son's life was lost due to the toxic burn pits, it is not true that Beau lost his life in Iraq. 

(Note: The information in what I write above is from a Snopes post.)

Further thought: After writing this last night, I woke up the next morning with additional thoughts. We speak of how quotes should be kept in context. Joe said what he said and it is still wrong, even when put in context. But that does not mean context should not be considered -- it certainly should at least be mentioned. When those who attack Biden tear into him for lying, do they tell the whole story? They conveniently leave out the context, just telling as much of the story that fits their purpose. Whole truths are better than half truths. This does not excuse Biden. He, too, should have told the whole truth. He should have said that though his son died in a hospital in America, the conditions that brought his death were brought upon him while he was serving in Iraq. Thus, in a way, it was as if he died in Iraq. Joe mislead his listeners by simply leaving it that his son died in Iraq. 

Did Biden Lie in Saying Wife Killed by a Drunken Driver?

Two days before Christmas. Joe Biden's wife packed her children into the car and went in search of a Christmas tree. She stopped at an intersection, then proceeded through. A large truck came barreling down the hill from the other direction. Her car drifted into the oncoming lane. The truck hit its brakes to stop from hitting her, but not in time. The accident claimed not only the life of Joe's 30-year-old soulmate wife, Neilia Hunter Biden, but that of their precious daughter, one-year-old Naomi.

Word spread through the town that the truck driver had been drunk -- rumors fed by the emergency workers who responded-- but there was no evidence that the driver was in anyway at fault. If he seemed dazed, well, what had just happened would have dazed most anyone. 

Joe did, on at least two occasions, claim the truck driver had been drinking. The family of the driver, of course, was incensed at the charge. Joe, reconsidered, repented, and apologized to the family, dropping his belief and assertion that the truck driver was drunken.

The story is being used to paint Biden as a liar. Along with other claims of his lying, one critic, in outrage, has suggested, "The man is a pathological liar. Pathological liars seem to default to lies, even when it would be easier to just tell the truth. How can you trust a pathological liar with your freedom? No can do."

Biden was wrong. He admitted it. He made peace with the family he had falsely accused. Bless him. Bless the man who drove the truck and his family who suffered the false accusations. But, no, I do not judge Biden a liar based on this. With the emergency workers suggesting the driver having been drunk, and with that being the talk of the town, it is not surprising that he bought into it.

 

Biden Has Known the Storm

Joe Biden has known the storm
Has Trump known the same?
Personal tragedies scar Biden's life
It's not been all glitz and fame

His soulmate wife
Neilia Hunter Biden
Two days before Christmas
Ripped from his heart 
When two vehicles came colliding

The youngest daughter died
In that accident as well
Imagine Biden's grief
And how his tears did swell

His noble older son
Beau Biden, by his name
Lost to brain cancer
Death, again, staking its claim

Hunter? 
The second son he had?
He became lost in drugs
To the disappointment of his dad

And, here's one you didn't know:
Back in 1988
Surgery for Biden, himself
An aneurysm was his fate

A serious complication followed
Pulmonary embolism
And before all was said and done
He suffered a second aneurysm

They say great souls are forged in fire
And while we might question whether Biden is all so great
Great men pass through trials
And this man has walked through that gate

Is this Joseph R. Biden a Plagiarist?

Have we a plagiarist in this Joseph Robinette Biden? Well, do we? 

Let's look into the plagiarism accusations that preceded his dropping out of the 1988 presidential election race. Quick point of interest first: In contrast to Biden now being the oldest president ever, he would have been the second youngest ever had he been elected in 1988. He was famous for his one-liners. For example, Rudy Giuliani was a candidate in that race, and Biden quipped, "There's only three things he mentions in a sentence: a noun, and a verb and 9/11."

Biden became a fan of British Labor Party's Neil Kinnock, and cited Kinnock in several of his campaign speeches. Then, along came a debate in which he used similiar lines about being the first person in his family to attend a university. (Of note, in describing this, I am using pretty much identical language that is provided by Wikipedia. Am I a plagiarist?)

Other revelations also came out: He had previously used language reflective of that of John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy and Hubert Humphrey. One of his opponents, Jesse Jackson, apparently did not find fault. Jackson reportedly called Biden and told him that he, as well, had used the same material from Humphrey.

What did Kinnock make of it all? What was his response?

“Joe is honest, he’s courageous, he’s well-informed and experienced, and most of all, he’s rational, all things that Trump isn’t. One of Joe’s greatest strengths, I think, certainly a natural attribute is that he’s normal. He really is the well-informed guy off the street and in an age when voters are looking for authenticity, he is the real thing.” (Quote from Kinnock taken from an article in The Guardian.)

Also from The Guardian article (it credits Jeff Wilser’s biography, The Book of Joe): Whereas Biden had cited Kinnock on previous occasions, on this occasion, as he rushed through his closing statement, he overlooked doing so. As he sat down, one of his campaign workers leaned over and whispered, "Pssst, you forgot to credit Kinnock." Biden has lamented that if he had just inserted two words ("Like Kinnock"), his whole career would be different.

I forgive Biden for his failure to cite Kinnock. He made a mistake. His history of having cited Kinnock on past occasions lends me to believe he shouldn't be classed as a liar or plagairist based on that incident. People are mortal, and, yes, sometimes they make errors. They guy is 81 years old. Dig deep for dirt and you can find some mistakes. With 81 years of life, yes, you are going to find some imperfections.

But, what of his plagiarizing JFK, RFK, and Humphrey? It would be good if we had the quotes from each sitting side-by-side with those of what Biden said. We don't. Biden responded that "politicians often borrow from one another without giving credit" (again, I'm using Wikipedia language).

I collect famous quotes. Sometimes, when I read a meme with an unattributed quote, I feel whoever said it should have been given credit. So, I try to trace down who said it. Often, I have turned to a website called the Quote Investigator. The Quote Investigator will often say, Well, this guy said that in 1935 (or whenever) and this guy said it in 1941 and this lady said it in 1952 -- each without attribution. So, I do not think Biden is wrong when he suggests speakers borrow from each other without giving attribution.

 

Warning! Warning! Warning!

Warning! Warning! Warning!
But why should you listen now
If you didn't in 2018?
Have you ever been one to listen
To what his words could mean?

China's Xi is "president for life"
Trump said
"Maybe we'll have to give that a shot someday"
A dictator for life?
His own words give him away

It was just a month later
Before another friendly crowd
He said, "I'm not looking to do it
Unless you want to do it"
Now stick that in the quote machine
And go ahead and cue it

Warning! Warning! Warning!
And the warnings are not new
Long ago Trump warned us
Of what he's going to do

 
Sergeant-At-Arms

You will need a way to arrest them
Your political opponents
Someone to go out and get them
Toss them in jail
Is there a way to do this?
Please, do tell

Ah, Anna has a plan
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna
She suggests using the House sergeant-at-arms
Let him be the agent, the agent of harms

Arrest Attorney General Merrick Garland! she cries
He is not complying with our command
And we certainly cannot allow this in our land

Perhaps her proposal will take hold
Or perhaps it won't
But be assured if our nation continues to drift
Towards a dictatorship
It will find ways to arrest political opponents
I think you get my drift

 
Donald Day

Donald Day is every day
He's always in the news
He's on most every network
Whichever one you choose

Donald Day was Thursday
And it'll be tomorrow
But I hope it doesn't fall on Election Day
For that would bring great sorrow

 
Catch Up On The News

Catch up on the news
The news of just the last few days
Three shocking stories
Of Donald in the haze

First, there was Farah Griffin
Former staff worker of his
Reporting how Donald suggested executing
Someone who leaked his biz

Then, there was that great big meeting
Republican legislators, all
We must wonder if in all of history
A candidate ever has had such beck and call

Concerned about a dictatorship?
Well, that was sure a start
They are already clicking their heels
And saluting him so smart

Third event was the CEOs
He had a meeting with them, as well
All the big name companies
For he wants them to also answer his bell

But that meeting didn't go as well
Due to Trump's frazzled mind
Some of them were just not impressed
With how his thought pattern did unwind

Elect this guy, if you will
But the warnings come every day
And an intelligent electorate
Would turn and run away

 

The Level Land

The level land looks like a precipice
To us
So we swing our head in that direction
And begin to shout and cuss

"Dang Democrats!"
"Insane Uncle Joe!"
"Corruption!"
"Look out, lest we fall far below!"

That's what we see
In the level land we're on
We cry, "Danger! Danger! Danger!"
How could we be so wrong?

And as we back away
Delusion in our minds
We backstep right off a cliff
Real as you could find

 

A Raving Madman

A deranged madman is not something we should overlook
Pooh-pooh the thought
Say, Surely you're mistook

The signs are there
And it's only fair
That we should observe them
For a madman running for president
Will surely lead to mayhem

Reckless disregard of the facts
Is something Americans are guilty of
That Trump is deranged
Is something they refuse to even think of

So we await the test of time
And fear the time will come
A raving madman gains the rule
And its too late for us to run

 
Do You Uphold the Law?

If you uphold the laws of the land
You allow the immigrant in
That might come as a surprise to you
But it is not they, but you who have the sin

The law spells it out
It says what they are to do
In coming to the U.S.
What hoops they must jump through

Once across the border
They must turn themselves in
Asking for asylum
And for us to let them in

That's the way the law sets it up
It's the law of our land
And if you force them to do it differently
You make an unlawful command

 
Don't Equate Guns With God

A picture has a Bible
Lying on the table
On top of it lies an automatic pistol 
And we know how guns can be so fatal

The meme-maker has a message
He wants us to know
Just as the Bible is wonderful
The pistol is even so

There are those who spread propaganda
Twisting our values quite around
And equating guns with the Bible
Is not wisdom sound

I'll keep the Bible, for it is part of worship
But the gun was never so
The Bible is for forgiveness
But forgiveness is something the gun doesn't know

I look to the Bible for justice
For it's justice is truly just
But the justice of a gun
Brings death as a must

No, don't equate the one with the other
For I know guns and God are not the same
I know what the meme would have me believe
Yes, I'm wise enought to see what it has as its aim

 
 
Politicians

Politicians will be against them
They will condemn the immigrant
They will ask if they had permission to come here
They will tell you that they didn't

Politicians can be so vicious
Condemning the poorest souls on earth
They will cast them all as criminals
And say they have no worth

Politicians would build a wall
And ship them town to town
They will look at them as dirty, fleabag beggars
Who they don't want around

It will take a people with virtue
People who really care
To turn away the politicians
Instead of the people from over there

Biden was Wrong about his Education -- and I'll Vote for him Anyway

Story has it -- and the story is true -- that Joe Biden made claims about his education that just weren't true.

You've got him on this one, but you had to go back to 1987 -- that's 37 years ago -- and those who tell this story of how he "lied" about his education, conveniently don't tell you the whole of the matter. Biden has not been repeating his claims since, as his critics claim. To the contrary, he has admitted he was inaccurate and has not repeated the claim since. 

Biden didn't graduate in the top half of his class, as he said he did. He had a double degree, but he didn't get three undergraduate degrees, as he said he did. And he received only a partial scholarship, not a full scholarship, as he said he did. 

Bless the guy. In a moment of anger, he failed to recollect his own education and he wrongly exaggerated. But he then realized he was wrong and never repeated those claims. If you think I'm going to vote against him for this, you're wrong. I vote for humans, people who make mistakes. I don't vote for felons who even after their convictions refuse to admit the error of their ways.  

Keep Building EVs, but Pay the Congolese Their Due

   You know, the world is missing out on a chance to lift the Congolese out of poverty. Here we have some of the poorest people on earth, struggling to eke out an existence, and an opportunity comes to lift them from the crutches of poverty.
   And we pass.
   Instead, we jump on the EV industry. We make good note that in order to put EVs on the road, we travel to the jungles of the Congo and subject the children there to child labor. We need their cobalt for our batteries. Two-thirds of all the world's known cobalt is in the Congo.
   And, we need it.
   Children as young as 10. We pay them -- what? -- between $3.50 and 10 a day.
   All in the name of the electric vehicle.
   This is a problem. But I am not suggesting the solution is to quit making EVs. Not at all. We need them to fight climate change. But, yes, we do need to end the abuse of children in the Congo. That the world has turned to Congo for valuable cobalt should be used to deliver the Congolese from poverty. As an international community -- each individual nation, as well as the UN -- should be applying pressure on KCC and the other cobalt companies to pay the workers handsomely.
   Handsomely.
   Whether we blame the greed of the cobalt companies on capitalism or whatever, we, as society, should require the riches of Congo's cobalt to go to the poor who do the mining. 
   Just sayin'. And, I mean it.

 
Sinclair

Sinclair, then
Something called Sinclair Broadcast Group
You might know it better
By the four call letters of it's alphabet soup

KOMO in Seattle
KUTV in Salt Lake City
KBOI in Boise
Or KSTR in Cincinnati 

Sinclair has this trick
It plays it on it's viewers
See, people trust local news
Not to bounce them with fake skewers

Straight up news
Not bent and twisted
They trust the local stuff
As balanced, fair and unassisted

Ah, but ah and ah
I think you ought to know
Sinclair plays with you
It's all just a show

The CEO is a fan of Trump
And told him in 2016
"We are here to deliver your message"
So which way do you think they lean?

Sinclair's been known to mandate
That its stations read scripted spots
Containing pro-Trump content
Yeah, they read that stuff a lot

They've been known to write the stuff
So it sounds like it's coming from the local newscaster's own mouth
Oh, but be so careful
For it's actually venom from a cottonmouth

We hear how Muslim thugs
Force prisoners to read statements saying they're fine
But who would ever imagine
American broadcasters being forced to tow that line?

Trump, of course, loves Sinclair
And has been known to tweet as much
But all I know is that a nation that loses its free press
Well,  it's really in deep dutch

 
The First Method

"The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler
is to look at the men he has around him"
So, let us look at our current "rulers" to see how they meet that trim

Donald Trump, Joe Biden
Which of you does better?
When we judge you by Niccolo Machiavelli's words
Which of you comes out the greater?

I'll leave you to your own judgement
You decide upon your own
But remember that those we surround ourselves with
Are often the same as our own flesh and bone 

 
What Swamp Is There?

Where would be this "swamp"?
And what kind of creatures swim in it?
There are those who want to clean this swamp
And perhaps we should this minute

But I'm going to redefine this swamp
For the swamp I think of is much worse
And too many of us are swimming in it
And it is we who bear its curse

All across the nation
A swamp has taken hold
And the number of people swimming in it
Are a million hundredfold

Our swamp has a name
A name by which it's known
It's called the Swamp of Hate
For there's so much hatred in this zone

If we would clean the swamp
If that's really what we want
Then learn to love thy neighbor
Let love spring from our font

Seven Charging Stations Out of 500,000 Promised is Unacceptable

 
  Who do we blame? Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg? 

   Yes, this is a pretty big scandal. If you haven't noticed, there's a huge number of people who say the reason they won't buy electric vehicles is because there often just isn't a place to plug them in and charge them.
 
   Well, President Biden came along and said, No problem, vowing to build 500,000 chargings stations along our nation's highways. I just said 500,000, didn't I? And how many have actually been built?

   Seven.

   Now, there is some urgency to getting these stations up. You've heard of climate change, perhaps, and how we need to reduce our carbon emissions? Well, Getting these charging stations up and running is a key part of the program to meeting our pollution-fighting goals in time.

   Did I just say only seven out of 500,000 have built. Two years have passed and we only have built . . . seven?

   Call a congressional inquiry, perhaps. Or launch protests at Pete Buttigieg's office. Congress allocated $7.5 billion for this program and seven charging stations in two years is . . .

  Unacceptable.

 

 
No Tax On Tips?

Raise your eyebrow, if you will
When Trump says he will end taxes on tips
He says he'll do it first thing in office
So what do we make  of the words coming from his lips?

The Tax Code can only be changed by Congress
At least that's the way its always been
The Constitution set things up that way
So we ought to stick with what it does intend

Of course, maybe he just means he'll persuade Congress
To make the change in the law
All I know is he wants to control them, too
So how does that stick in your craw?

Raise your eyebrow, on Donald Trump
When he says he'll do away with taxes on tips
He'll need more power than the Constitution gives him
Now there's something with which we must come to grips

We need to remember we're electing a president
And not a dictator for our land
But I don't think he feels the same
For he wants to be a ruler grand

 

Kiss Goodbye

You trust a man with change upon his mind?
Not just minor change
But the framework of our land?

You trust him, but I don't
I'm not for such great tinkering
No, I'm not a fan

It was 1788 the Constitution became our law
It has stood all these years
We've given it all our cheers
Blessed it with our tears
Are you sure we want to knock it off with a saw?

The Trump Man, he's the one who wants some change
Says we need to clean the swamp
And here's what he's got in his range

Career diplomats and long-time workers?
Well, you know who he will go at
The ones who will not be true to him
They will get his bat

"Clean the swamp" is just a way to say
If you are not my loyalist
Then you are in my way
And I just might haul you off to prison
When my great new government has arisen

And we might need to give me more charge
Of the finances of our land
It's in the name of stopping the national debt
But we'll see where else I stick my hand
Don't worry that the Constitution doesn't allow this
Once it's gone, it's not something you'll likely miss

Oh, and I'll need to control all the courts
For you saw what they did to me
Now it's time for me to take over
So kiss goodbye to your long-lived land of liberty

 
Signs of Pride

Look for signs of pride
Pride in our land
Look for signs of boasting
Signs of a wicked band

Look for signs of pride
In the people 
In the candidates who run for office
Even in those beneath a church's steeple

Look for signs of pride
Those who put down the poor
Whether they are on the streets
Or at our nation's door

Look for signs of pride
Is there a boastful candidate
Who says he'll save the nation?
He seeks not just winning
But a coronation

Make America great again?
For that, he says he's the ride
Is this the voice of reason?
Or the voice of pride?

What do we mean by "great again"?
Better than everyone else?
Why not a call to be a humble nation
With a heart that sees those in need and melts?

Good again is all the great we need again
For too much pride is too much sin

 
Arithmetic

It's arithmetic
And I know my arithmetic
Do the math
Just add and subtract
And it'll equal a fact

Vote for Trump
And that's one plus for him
But if you don't vote for Biden
That's one vote we must trim

It's not a wonder 
They labor so hard
To portray Joe as a horrible bard

They skim off votes from his side
While holding on to those of their own
One minus one would be an even match
But one minus zero gives Trump the batch

Our Constitution Will Get The Axe

A post-Constitution America awaits us
If we elect Donald Trump
The Constitution will get the axe
It's neck is being placed on the stump

Project 2025, they call it
And it sets forth plans for the execution
The axe swinging down on the neck
Of our Constitution

A post-Constitution America awaits us
If we elect the Orange One
Vote for Donald Trump
And the Constitution will be finished, killed and done

Rep. John Curtis has some Explaining to Do

I read an article in the Deseret News, which is one of our Salt Lake City newspapers. It's titled, "When it coms to climate change, the world may be identifying the wrong enemy." It quotes my congressman, John Curtis, and Benji Backer, founder of the American Conservation Coalition. 

I am at a loss. I wish I could sit down with Curtis and ask for some explanations. For one, he goes after electric vehicles, saying "they’re not the best environmentally friendly answer.” Nothing like going against conventional wisdom, but when you make a statement like that, you better back it up. Why are EVs not the answer? Are you saying they don't cause more greenhouse gases than do gasoline-powered vehicles? If you make a statement like that, you better explain because what you are saying does not at all make sense. And he points to how the cars in the parking lot are all gas-powered, and mocks a UN official, saying, “I’d be curious to ask him how he got to work in the morning. How he gets around when he flies — because as far as I know, there aren’t any electric planes.” John, that there are no electric planes does not prove a thing. They are working on that technology, but it is not one that we are arriving at in good time, just as carbon-capture isn't being arrived at in good time. Just because electric planes don't work, it doesn't mean we should let Big Oil run hog wild and have their way in all other transportation sectors. And Curtis launches into an argument of how oil is in everything, as if since you can't get rid of them, then that means they are okay. Good logic there, I guess. “I wonder if he (the UN official) hasn’t noticed that fossil fuels are in his cellphone or in his clothing, they’re in his carpet. ... Everything he uses has got fossil fuels.” I would suggest to Mr. Curtis that our cellphones are not causing harmful emissions. My clothing is not emitting harmful emissions. It takes harmful emissions to create them, but they are not blackening our skies from pollutants being emitted from them as we walk around in them. Cars, on the other hand, do have that problem. 

The “fossil fuel industry isn’t the enemy. The emissions are,” says Benji Backer. Okay. Fine. Now, aren't the emissions being generated by fossil fuels? Somehow, that seems to make the fossil fuel industry the problem. Just sayin'. Curtis uses the word "disingenuous" in making his argument. But, frankly, it seems he and Backer are the ones being disingenuous.

We know John Curtis gets nice ampaign contributions from Big Oil. We should wonder if Backer's American Conservation Coalition is at least partially funded by the coal and oil industries. You know what they say -- follow the money.

​

 

Secret Works of Darkness

We should recognize it when we see it
Fight it when we can
Those who hide in darkness
Are walking on our sand

Call it secret societies
Call it dark money
But we should cast some light on it
Make things a little sunny

Would you mind if I brought up some cases
Of people crawling in the dark?
Would you mind if I actually mentioned them?
Naming them's as easy as a walk in the park

How about the 18 folks in Arizona
Who are accused of being fake electors?
What they did, they won't fess up
They were fine with things, until along came the inspectors

How about that dark money group, Securing American Greatness
Collecting funds to help Trump, and fight Biden
While letting all the donors stay a hidin'?

And how about Trump, himself
Paying Stormy Daniels
Hush money to hide his scandal?
Oh, you can find lack of transparency with others
But next to Trump, do they even hold a candle?

Secret works of darkness
They surround this proud and haughty man
There's a path of darkness
If you trace his footsteps in the sand

 
Nature's Way

Nature's way of telling him
That climate change is real?
I don't know -- it was perhaps just coincidence
That the heat forced them to fall and kneel

But down in Phoenix temperatures rose
All the way to 111 degrees
Just as Trump flew in 
To rally his supporters and spread more of his falsies

Eleven
Yes, eleven of them slumped from such great  heat
They had to take them to the hospital
When the heat exhaustion knocked them off their feet

Trump doesn't believe the gases we spew raise temperatures
He doesn't believe in climate change
For his thoughts are different than those of nature's

So, 111 degree temperatures, just when Trump pulls up?
Eleven souls collapsing?
It's as if nature tapped Trump on the shoulder
And told him his game was up

 
The Great Thing About America

The great thing about America is not that we elect good leaders
But that we are allowed to elect those who are not
Freedom is the right to vote however we will
Even if we don't give it great thought

We are free to be foolish
We are free to be wise
But if we mess up
We might run out of tries

Vote for a man who will be a dictator
And he'll take your freedom away
Then you'll no longer have to vote at all
For Trump will be there to stay

 
The Chosen One

"I am the Chosen One," he once joked
And, perhaps a joke is all it was
Just some tongue-in-cheek humor
But it sure caused a buzz

 
False Prophet?

False prophet?
Just as prophesied of old
Do you consider Trump
One of them foretold?

A video made its rounds
Of Trump as a messiah-like figure
There are those of us who thought it blastphemous
But people believed it the same, go figure

"God looked down on his planned Paradise
And said I need a caretaker"
The video then portrays Trump as the one
It couldn't have picked a bigger faker

"God Made Trump"
Is the name of the video that made its rounds
I know this seems crazy
But it's as crazy as it sounds

Then there was the meme of Trump
Walking out of a lion's den
They seemed to compare him to Daniel
A prophet from way back when

They say that Donald is persecuted
And some even suggest
He was falsely accused and tried
And you can guess the rest

A false prophet?
A false prophet in our day?
I don't know what else you'd call him
I can't see it any other way

 
He Brazenly Defied It

America's justice system, can it bow this man? 
He's brazenly defied it
And flouted the laws of our land

Proud and emboldened, he's always been
He's laughed at our courts
Yes, he's mocked them with a mocker's grin

Always above the law, always for lesser souls
Not for him
As Donald, he should never be racked on such coals

But Justice came along, it tapped him on the shoulder
Saying, Game over
And the man of pride was crushed by this very large boulder

 
The Party of Freedom

Democrats are the party of freedom these days
It is Trump who is making a power play
Liberals are standing up for freedom
And it is Republicans who would take it away

They've just one leader
Just one person they'll follow
And they'll follow him to our grave
But the liberals remember Eternal Vigilance
And the flag on our shore that does wave

See the Super Patriot

 
Not my poem. But it's kind of a poem and kinda good. Published in 1969 by Mad Magazine, it has been said to depict MAGA before MAGA was MAGA.

See the Super Patriot

See the Super Patriot.
Hear him preach how he loves his country.
Hear him preach how he hates "Liberals"
And "Moderates" …and "Intellectuals"
And "Activists" …and "Pacifists"
And "Minority Groups"… and "Aliens"
And "Unions"… and "Teenagers"
And the "Very Rich"… and the "Very Poor" And "People With Foreign-Sounding Names Now you know what a Super Patriot is.
He's someone who loves his country While hating 93% of the people who live in it.

 
Reflections Of Megyn

Reflections of society
That with which we've become
When Anthony Fauci spoke of death theats
Megyn Kelly had no mercy
No symphathy
Almost as if, Let him be killed

The morals of our nation are rotting
And the lack of values being instilled

Joe Biden Didn't Just Accept My Money

 
    My experience in donating to the campaign of presidential candidate Joe Biden:

   As I went to make the online payment, some rules came up. I had to check a box with the following statements. To me, they reflect the high standards Biden chooses. He could have just taken my money and pocketed it, without screening out undocumented immigrants and those trying to hide who they were.

   1. I am a U.S. citizen or lawfully admitted resident (i.e., green card holder).

   2. This contribution is made from my own funds, and funds are not being provided to me by another person or entity for the purpose of making this contribution.

   3. I am at least eighteen years old.

   4. I am not a federal contractor.
 
   5. I am making this contribution with my own personal credit card and not with a corporate or business credit card or a card issued to another person.

   My thought? The restrictions on who Biden accepts money from reflect integrity. I'm glad I donated. 

 

Don't Wait

Don't wait
Don't
For harm is being done
TikTok needs to exit
Before the setting sun

Adult content
Was never meant for kids
And TikTok's biggest users
Are not far enough removed from their bibs

TikTok
Just so you know
Has taken over the porn industry
Yep
It's fallen to that low

Said, it is
That TikTok is an arm
Of China's government
And that should give us great alarm

Don't wait
Don't
For harm is being done
TikTok needs to exit
Before the setting sun

 
A New Moses In Our Land?

A new Moses in our land?
Some would say it's so
They see him as a leader
As good as the one so long ago

Leading us back into the promised land
He'll make us great again
To them, he's a modern Moses
So they fall in behind and worship him

Oh, fools we are for believing
A charlatan for a prophet true
A man who would only lead us down
And not into a land with skies of blue

 
Friends

Friends
If you pick Trump
What does it reflect?
The friends you pick reflect on you
They suggest what you are willing to tolerate 
In society
Choose your friends wisely
For they can reveal your impropriety

I Don't Agree with Dershowitz's Saying the Case was Rigged

   I will spare you my putting this into a poem.

   Alan Dershowitz is in the news. He hops on Fox News and says the case against Trump was rigged. You remember Dershowitz, don't you -- one of the most respected lawyers in America. And the Fox New host makes sure the listeners realize Dershowitz is a liberal.

   Yes, and Dersh also served as a Trump lawyer in 2020, so he is not an impartial source.

   When Dershowitz and other Trumpers suggest the case was rigged, how so? It seems to be the argument is that the laws had never been interpreted this way. This was a first. If we want to determine if he was guilty, or if, instead, it was rigged, we would have to read the laws used. What do they say? What does the actual text say? Does the text spell out a felony? At this point, here are some things to consider:
 
   1) It was a grand jury that indicted him. If this was a fixed case, how did whoever was doing the fixing, do the fixing? How did they get to the grand jury? How did they influence them to come up with the indictment?

   2) It was a jury that convicted him. The Fox News host says Judge Merchan, in his instructions to the jury, basically laid out a road map for convicting him. I'm not so sure that is accurate. I remember a news story saying that Merchan instructed the jury that they could not convict the man unless they found his cooking the books was done to increase his chances of being elected. At least one pundit at the time suggested this instruction would make it harder to come up with a conviction. But, I think the judge did the right thing, if that was his instruction. As I understand the case, his cooking the books was but a misdemeanor in and of itself. But if it was done to cover up a felony, such as election fraud, then the it rose to the level of a felony. I am not concerned with whether the law had ever been used this way so long as that is what the law actually said. I am concerned with whether it was a correct way to read the law, that's all. If the law says something, that's it. Enforce it even if you haven't before.

 
Stirred Up To Anger

Anger
Stirring up the people to anger
That has been done
Is being done

In the past
Yes, just the last election
He argued he was cheated out of that which he rightfully won

And now
More
More of the same
The people are being whipped up
To anger 
His words have only that aim

Still Matters to Unpack

 There is still luggage to unpack. Trump was convicted, and that's fine and all, but what of all the people who say the judge was unfair, who say he was biased, who say he was a monetary donor to Joe Biden's campaign? What of Fox News's Jesse Watters saying that everytime the defense raise an objection it was overruled?

Judge Juan Merchan did contribute $35 to Democrat causes in 2020, including $15 toward Joe Biden's campaign. And that was against the law. And an ethics committee did reprimand him for it. 

Watters is wrong on all defense objections being overruled. Objections from Trump's legal team were sustained multiple times and some objections from the prosecution were overruled.

There will be other accusations to unpack, including those against prosecutor Alvin Bragg. One thing to keep in mind, is that if there has been bias in bringing charges against Trump, were the charges valid? If a state of country prosecutor has ever rubbed his hands together in glee for being able to arrest someone, that is one thing, but it does not mean the person is innocent. He still has to go to court and prove the person guilty. It is the witnesses and evidence that convict a person. 

 
Pardon

No, I don't think so
You don't pardon someone for political purposes
Not to appease the public
No, instead you uphold the principles of the republic
Justice for all
All men are created equal
Rule of law
If you commit the crime, you do the time

Healing a land is not about losing your principles
It is about standing up for them
The facts of the case should determine who goes free
Not popularity, position or politics
Don't you agree?

 

Truth is What it's Not

Political warfare, they try to call it
And they come up with this creative word:
"Lawfare"
Political persecution, they label it all
But when you think it through
Their arguments hit the wall

They suggest it's just weaponization of the courts
But if you really look at it
It was nothing of the sorts

It wasn't Hillary, Obama, or Uncle Joe
And it wasn't the DOJ 
But who was up on the stand
Giving their testimony each day?

Stormy Daniels
Michael Cohen
And David Pecker took the stand
And while we don't know if they were Democrats
They weren't sent there by that band

No, these were Trump's associates
The people who knew him best
And if you were to pick someone who knew his crimes
They would pass that test

The DOJ was out to get him?
What are you trying to say?
The feds passed on the case
They looked, and turned away

This was a state case
And Stormy was not a plant
You can argue it went down that way
But it sure is an empty rant

There is no shred of evidence
You create it from whole cloth
The idea someone recruited her
That's false
Yes, an extremely weak broth

Argue it's the way it went down
But truth should have a say
It wasn't Dems out to get him
But his friends who ruined his day

So spin it as the DOJ was out to get him
If that's the best argument you've got
But you'll need to hire a fantasy writer
Because the truth is what it's not