Greedflation

Is it inflation -- or "greedflation"? 
Take Kroger, if you will
Prices shot up 25 percent
That's more than the national average
Now, that's a hard-to-swallow pill

But is it really greedflation, then?
I read how it's mostly not
Some intellect named Mark Kritzman
Said it's mostly Covid spending
That got us in this spot

 
 
A Hotel in Heaven

They have a hotel in Heaven
For all those who don't know if they're staying
They build it just for folks like me
Who between Heaven and Hell are swaying

I checked in the other day
Thought I'd stay just one night
But the accommodations were fabulous
Everything was perfect and right

But, when I went down that next morning
To ask for an extended stay
They said they were all booked up
All the way to the end of May

I swallowed hard
This was hard on me
For the way things were down in Hell
Had prompted me to go absentee

I picked up my saddlebag
And rode my horse down into the valley
And when I reached the bottom
I kept a-going til the underearth was my finale

And so my final rest was there
A flower marks the spot
I'm buried deep beneath the earth
Because Hotel Heaven would have me not


Alternate ending with a happier conclusion:

I picked up my saddlebag
And rode my horse all the way back to Hell
A telegraph was waiting
They wanted me back in heaven
As best as I could tell

I turned my horse back again
And rode fast as I could
And checked back into Heaven's hotel
Just like they said I should

 

Now It Could Burn

Will the work of our founding fathers
Be washed away so quick?
Is the day soon at hand
When our heels we must click?

Almost 300 years
If you count the time freedom has stood
But now it could burn
As if kindling wood

Shocking
 
   I find it surprising that the V.A. hospital in Salt Lake City has canceled, banned, and forbade LDS religious services at its facility.

   I find it even more surprising that those commenting beneath the story almost all agree -- not only agreeing, but taking shots at the right of people to worship as they please. 

   I find it not just surprising, but shocking.

Once-in-1,000-Years Rainfall Hits North Carolina 

North Carolina is experiencing high levels of flooding in what it is said to be a once-in-a-1,000 rainfall. Monday, 18 inches of rain fell within 12 hours in Carolina Beach.

Climate scientists have warned that severe weather events would become more common. Did we listen?

Everywhere

They spread their campaign signs everywhere
Put up billboards everywhere
T-shirts and hats -- everywhere
You could even buy bobble dolls
They sold them everywhere

So when Trump ran for president
It was expected he would win
His chances were so certain
It made him laugh and grin

But a laugh from him
Is a laugh at you and me
He thinks we aren't intelligent enough
All that's rotten about him to see

So, despite campaign signs and billboards everywhere
T-shirts and hats and bobble dolls
Let us not be so foolish as to vote for Trump
No matter how loud he calls 

Calling Utah Power to Repentance

   The Utah Legislature is failing us. While utility rates are projected to shoot up in coming years, the legislature is doing nothing. With charging electric vehicles and other uses expanding, we are running towards a shortage of electricity.

   Now, it is Utah Power's responsibility to ensure our power plants to meet our energy needs, but it is the legislature's responsibility to insist that Utah Power meets its obligation. Trouble is, instead of keeping Utah Power on track, the legislature has been knocking the utility company off track, passing laws curbing the use of sources such as solar and wind.

   The legislature should repent.

If You have Questions about Climate Change, Direct Them to the Future

 
   In Brazil, smoke hangs over the country so thick that it can be seen from space.

   In Shanghai, the strongest storm in 75 years hits the city.

In Vienna, the city is awash in 7 feet of water.

  And dams are bursting and rivers overflowing in Austria, Poland, Hungary, Romania, the Czech Republic, and Slavokia. 

 Much of the severe weather is due to climate change. Any questions? If there are, direct them to the future.

Sex Trafficking with Tim Ballard
 
There are few people on earth as dark and deceiving and wicked as Tim Ballard. Ballard was an organizer and CEO of Operation Underground Railroad (OUR), which purportedly delivered children out of sex slavery.

Do I have your attention? Probably.

I mean, how much more noble of an endeavor can you get than to save children from sex trafficking? So, why am I bouncing the other way, suggesting he is about as wicked as a person can get?

Ballard convinced women to pose as his sexual partners, saying this would allow the child sex trafficking operations to be infiltrated. And, he would persuade the women he connived into having sexual relations with him that they needed to practice, so when it came time, they would be polished enough that it would look real. And, when they arrived at the hotels in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, or wherever, he would suggest that the sex traffickers could be monitoring them, so they should have sexual activity in order to show show they were really involved in such a thing.

The New York Times this past week, after speaking to no less than 10 such victims, carried a story describing the sexual exploits of Ballard. That's right, 10. Should that not be enough witnesses to convict in a court of law? "This guy should be in prison. End of story," says one person in the comment section of the Salt Lake Tribune (which reprinted the NYT arcticle).

This past week, Ballard said there have been "an unbroken string of failures in cases against me.” The world of fools will say that proves his innocence, but the evidence in this article is overwhelming. It's overwhelming, but underwelming to a justice system that hasn't the strength to bring even such a large criminal to justice.

How can a person commit such vile crimes and get away with it?

 
 
If America is to have a Tomorrow

If America is to have a tomorrow
It must weather the storms of today
If our country is to survive
It must get changes underway

Chase away threats of lost freedom
Become more moral in what it does
Become a more peaceful people
A nation and people that loves

Oh land of spacious skies
And amber waves of grain
Do not such things as these
Become a ball and chain

 

Not Much Could I Afford 

I pulled the coin out of my pocket
Anxious to pay my bill
Not much food could I afford
Not enough my stomach to fill

I laid it on the counter
And the clerk just laughed at me
"You couldn't buy a napkin
With just that much money"

So I picked up my quarter
And headed out the door
Wondering if I could ever afford to go back again
To the grocery store

I found myself on 9th Avenue
Begging for a dime
But the passers-by just waved their fists at me
As if I were a man of crime

 
 
Woke

Woke is a democrat
Who cares too  much
He cares about people
Yeah, people and such

Woke is a word 
That says you're a liberal
And that some of the things you want
You want too literal

Like books and migrants
And other silly stuff
Like peace, and love
And not playing rough

Woke is a person 
Who won't wear a gun
And who doesn't mind seeing
A guy's hair in a bun

Woke people 
Believe in DEI
Woke people are sad 
When they see people die

Too many soft-hearted souls
Are among the people who are woke
So we should laugh at them loudly
For they're quite a joke

 
 
Gun of My Choosing

For with a gun of my choosing
And a gun of my choice
To all of my feelings
It soon will give voice

I'll blast out the highlands
And the lowlands too
And I'll commit a mass murder
That's what I'll do

Guns are my pleasure
Guns are my pride
And from shooting up people
I won't be denied

 

World of the Worst

In a world of the worst
Trump is at the top
He's simply very dangerous
Someone we must stop

He can't be elected
That would be the end of us
This is no small matter
It's a major, major fuss

 
 
America's Never had Such a Foe

It's weak-kneed patriotism
To be unsure that Trump is bad
Being lukewarm on a matter like this
Trust me, is very sad

Trials and truth together
Are all you need to know
No patriot should stand behind him
For America's never had such a foe

 

Love Letters

"Love letters to dictator," said the meme
And I thought, How true, how true
People adore this man, they do
They think he's a dreamer's dream

Love letters to a dictator
They're written all the time
On them, they paste their stamp of approval
And they approve of all his crime

 
Volunteers

They asked for volunteers to go to war
And the only ones they got
Were flowers from the fields
'Cause they weren't scared of being shot

 
 
The Cat Pulled the Trigger

The cat had the weapon
The cat had the gun
His little paws were on the trigger
As a visor shielded his eyes from the sun

He took aim at young students
He took aim at presidents
He carved a notch on his gun
For all the college residents

The cat pulled the trigger
It was he who killed them all
His aim was always perfect
So always they did fall

Those who carry guns 
Often think they're cool cats
And so the gunman
Goes rat-a-tat-tats

 
What in Tarnation?

Twice the dictator said it
Twice tonight in the debate
Twice he said he would act as president-elect
For  things that could not wait

Made me wonder
Made me fear
Just what he would do
To shift into that gear

Would he usurp power
Before Jan. 20
Not waiting until the inauguration?
What does it all mean?
What in the tarnation?

I Could Not Understand the Debate

I am unrevokably against Trump, because of all the evidence he will take our freedoms away. That said, I was frustrated in listening to tonight's debate. Who believes wha?. I am a little embarrassed for Kamala, as both of them were pandering and taking stands that say, I'll take whatever position positions me best to get elected.

 

 
Which One?

Kamala did her job the past three years
Trump just spent the time plotting his next insurrection
Which one is better for freedom?
Which one gives it protection?

 
Run and Hide

It's not just the children
It's adults as well
Whose lives are taken by guns

We mournfully cry
When school children die
And the killer turns and runs

But also adults
Whose lives are lost
Are people we care about

Guns are no respector of life
No respector of age
Either one, they'll gladly wipe out

So hide your children
When guns are in play
They shouldn't be going outside

And you, yourself
Must run and hide
Or it'll be your death that's bona fide

 

The Man from Amster

Not always cordial, not always kind
A disagreeable kind of soul
He was born in Amster
Then moved to Clamster
And his heart was black as coal

One day he was walking the streets of Clamster
Looking for someone to fight
He wanted to tell them whatever they were doing
With him, it wasn't all right

But the other guy was bigger than he
And he landed the very first blow
And the man born in Amster
Died in Clamster
As a result of that deadly row

 
 
I Went Walking

I went walking one day
Looking for suicide
Looking into the faces of strangers
For the burdens they carried inside

The bums and alcoholics
I gazed into their eyes
Sometimes I stopped them right in the street
To hear their silent cries

These are the ones who need our love
Yet these are the ones we spurn
Look into their eyes and see for yourself
How much for love they yearn

 
 
The Greening of America

The greening of America
Will that day ever come?
Trees and plants and flowers
Everywhere and then some

Skies so blue and vibrant
Air that you can breathe
No longer so much pollution
No longer must we grieve

It all depends on us
If we want that day
Clear out the carbon monoxide
And harms will go away

 
The Hole

The hole is already dug
Now they just need to push us in
Team Trump has done its groundwork
And democracy will be buried if he wins

Vote for the Demon of Death
The death of democracy
If you're a fool, vote for Trump
But doing so is surely idiocracy

Chicken Little

Look no further than the story of Chicken Little
If you want to know why climate change ain't real
But then if you do want to look further
"The Boy Who Cried Wolf" is the deal

And the ultimate proof that climate change is a hoax?
That would be "The Emporer's New Clothes"
It completely proves their ain't climate change
It destroys it with it's blows

So, three stories that are instructive
They all say you are fooled
And that's all the proof necessary
So accept that you've just been schooled

Science?
Why listen to that?
Not when there are these three stories
We can pull right out of our hat

 
 
Laugh at Others Laugh at others, if it makes you feel good
Tell them how they just weren't raised right
Tell them their parents should have taught them better
Tell them they just aren't too bright

Sometimes those who mock their neighbors and ridicule
Are just too full of themselves
Always passing judgement on others
And putting them on a shelf

All the world needs, is a little love
Love makes things all right
But instead we mock and humiliate
Those who we love to smite

 
I Dispatched Myself to the County Library to Investigate

   Ahh, then, what of these books that are banned from Utah's school? Thirteen of them have been removed from the bookshelves, six of which are by Sarah J. Maas, who to my understanding writes a lot like J.K. Rowling. Would Harry Potter be banned? If not, then why the books by Maas?

   I dispatched myself to the county library to investigate at the scene of the crime. (Forgive me for writing with such a light-hearted tone, but I'm trying to make this interesting, right?) Alas, I returned from my mission with no books in hand. They were checked out, and I will have to wait until they come back in.

   Later this evening, I was told Maas, herself, has said her books are not appropriate for children. Looking to verify that, I searched the Internet, coming up empty.

   But, I did find articles suggesting Maas's books have been criticized for lacking diversity and not being inclusive. That's a strange twist to this whole thing. So, while we are sitting back taking shots at conservatives for banning the books, a good share of them seem to have been banned because it is liberals who do not approve of them.

 

The World has too Many Holsters

The world has too many holsters
Too many guns to draw
Too few people who respect them
Too few who will keep the law

Give them a gun, and they'll fire it
And there goes an innocent life
Sometimes it's an innocent school kid
Shootings are way too rife

Why do we allow so many holsters?
Why do we allow the guns?
Don't we give much value
To the lives of our daughters and sons?

 
If Biden was Disqualified, Surely Trump Should Be

   They pressured Joe Biden off the ticket for perhaps much less. Word salad, as they call it. It's a term used to describe a confused, incoherent rambling. Word salads are especially common in some elderly people with certain mental health conditions or neurological disorders. Does Joe Biden come to mind? 

   Now then, what about Trump? Listen to what he said this week when asked, “If you win in November, can you commit to prioritizing legislation to make childcare affordable, and, if so, what specific piece of legislation will you advance?”

   "Well, I would do that, and we’re sitting down — you know, I was, somebody — we had Senator Marco Rubio, and my daughter Ivanka was so impactful on that issue. It’s a very important issue. But I think when you talk about the kind of numbers that I’m talking about, that — because the childcare is childcare — there’s something, you have to have it in this country. You have to have it. But when you talk about those numbers compared to the kind of numbers that I’m talking about by taxing foreign nations at levels that they’re not used to — but they’ll get used to it very quickly — and it’s not going to stop them from doing business with us; but they’ll have a very substantial tax when they send product into our country. Those numbers are so much bigger than any numbers that we’re talking about, including childcare, that it’s going to take care — we’re going to have, I look forward to having no deficits within a fairly short period of time, coupled with the reductions that I told you about on waste and fraud and all of the other things that are going on in our country because I have to stay with childcare. I want to stay with childcare. But those numbers are small relative to the kind of economic numbers that I’m talking about — including growth — but growth also headed up by what the plan is that I just told you about. We’re going to be taking in trillions of dollars. And as much as childcare is talked about as being expensive, it’s, relatively speaking, not very expensive compared to the kind of numbers we’ll be taking in. We’re going to make this into an incredible country that can afford to take care of its people, and then we’ll worry about the rest of the world. Let’s help other people, but we’re going to take care of our country first. This is about America first. It’s about 'Make America Great Again.' We have to do it because right now we’re a failing nation, so we’ll take care of it. Thank you."

   We can guess the basic message he was attempting to convey: Child care is expensive, but the U.S. will be able to pay for it as a result of his proposed tariffs, since they will take in more money than what child care costs. But what a rambling, confusing word salad he used while trying to explain what he would do with child care. 

   Joe's senior moment got him discharged from running for president. Shouldn't we hold Trump to the same standard?

  

 
'Take My Money'

A commenter (he titles himself "lewandthenews") on a Deseret News story about Donald Trump coming to Salt Lake City for a fundraiser lays it out simple enough:

"Take my money to build the wall that you promised Mexico would build! Take my money to ensure that gun manufacturers can continue to make AR-15s to keep our country safe! Take my money to get rid of Obamacare and never come up with a plan to replace it with. Take my money to make our country great again even though every foreign leader thinks you are an absolute embarrassment. Take my money to pay your legal bills for covering up hush money for your past affairs. Take my money to pay your legal bills for slandering women you sexually assaulted. Take my money to pay your legal bills for taking top secret documents, keeping them in unsecured locations and refusing to give them back. Take my money to pay your legal bills to pay for lying about losing the election and trying to influence people collude with you. Who should I make the check out to? You or the lawyers that you never pay, the contractors that you have stiffed for their work? Tell you what, I'm just gonna hold onto my hard earned money. You know, hard work. Have you ever done hard work Donald?"

 

 
Take Away Their Guns

Take away the guns
Yes, take away their guns
If they were about to shoot someone
And you ripped the gun from their hands
The world would thank you tons

Nothing would be said
No, not a word at all
About violating constitutional rights
That wouldn't be the call

So take their guns away
Now, and do not wait
Why wait until it's over?
Why wait 'til it's too late?

 
 
Russia-Paid Influencers

Out comes a news story
Grave in what it says
Of social media influencers
Who support Trump for prez

Oh, did I mention
One small detail
Russia is paying them
Everytime they tell a tale

Yes
You've got all of this correct
Russia pays for the disemmination
Of lies that have great effect

Go ahead and vote for him
But you can't escape the fact
The Russians are laughing
That their lies have such impact

 
How Did We Get Here?

How did we get here
Where some accept the unfolding dictatorship?
Telling us it's for the best
And they do not joke
They do not jest

How did we get here
Where some deny a dictatorship is coming?
For Trump wouldn't do that
That's a joke, they say
Trump is not such a cat

But here we are
At what could be the end of democracy
Let the reality now sink in
You say it could never happen?
You don't know Trump and his men

 
Guns and Guts

Guns and guts
Just do it
Have the guts to remove guns
Where children play
And red flags arise
Just do it
Have some common sense
Just do it
Just do it
Just do it

Why, Why, Why?

  Charging stations: We need to make a major change. Simply put, it should be as easy for an EV to plug into a charging station as it is for a gasoline car to fuel up.

   It isn't. Not now. 

   No, you might need an app, you might need to type in an account password. Etc.

   Why can't we just pull up, pull out our debit card, and recharge our car? Every other not-too-large purchase takes no more than that. Why do we handicap EV owners when it comes to buying their product? Why must we make it hard on them?

 

The Assault on the Main Media

Why the assault on the main media?
Because those who would overthrow our liberty
Know well
They need our attention in its entirety

Once they have you listening to them
And ignoring the main press
They can spread their lies
Though that's something they won't confess

And so they gain your trust
Make you believe in them
And so if turn from the main media
The chance to keep your freedom is slim

 
Coming at You with Knives

They're coming at you with knives, or just as well
And any lie they can tell, yes, they will tell
Mix in a little truth, but mostly just rant and rave
Now, am I talking of Democrats, or are Republicans so brave?

Go ahead and compare, what the two sides have to say
It's pretty much the same accusations, much to our dismay
Your response might easily be, they're both full of it
But don't bite on that, they want you to take that bit

One of them, just one of them, just might be right
While the other clouds the truth, and keeps it out of sight
Though neither side is perfect, one just might be more so
But you'll have to really study, and keep on your toe

A lie knows how to dress; it wears the clothes of truth
It makes itself look like the truth; it sells that at its booth
I know it takes some study, to figure it all out
But if you study hard enough, there will not be a doubt

 


The Side With No Sides

They always want to know that my politics are
And whether I'm right or left
And if I don't pick the side they want
They suggest I'm mentally bereft

Which side are you on?
They cry at me
What kind of a fool
Might you be?

Well, I'm on the side of getting something done
That's the side I'm on
Problems we got, are problems enough
We need to put them on the run

But instead we sit, calling each other names
That's all be can think to do
And it's high time we put that in the past
It's time to start anew

They once called us the United States
And united is what we were
But these days, it's hardly that way
We're not united, that's for sure

So, which side am I on?
You ask again
Well, it's the side that doesn't have sides
It's the side that we both should be in