An Angry Man

An angry man,

An angry face—

Stern and grave,

A man so base.

Our president,

Or is he king?

A face like that

Sends us fleeing.

Congress Should Not Ignore Giuffe's 'Suicide'

It is unusual if an autopsy was not conducted in the death of Virginia Giuffe. Cover-up? Yes, it makes you wonder if there was one. It is said she committed suicide, but did she -- or was she murdered?

Virginia Giuffe, who worked at a spa at Trump's Mar-a-Lago, is a key in the Epstein case. That was long years before her death. Her knowledge of the Epstein case has not ever been fully revealed.

There has been no report that an autopsy was conducted following her death in April. The Western Australia Police simply said preliminary findings indicated her death was “not suspicious.” Her father, Sky Roberts, has publicly questioned the suicide ruling, suggesting someone “got to her.”

Congress should not be stepping away from this. It should not be ignoring it. It has a responsibility to determine what happened. 

Another Explosion in the Epstein Case

 Another chapter in the ever-extending saga of Jeffrey Epstein exploded today as President Trump acknowledged that Virginia Giuffe worked for him at his Mir-a-Lago Spa. Trump says Epstein stole Giuffe from him and that was part of the falling out between the two.

But this is where things get interesting: Epstein allegedly committed suicide. Giuffe also allegedly committed suicide. Guess that's just a coincidence. There is very good evidence that Epstein did not die from suicide, but was murdered instead. Giuffe? The evidence is not as close, but there is enough to make you wonder. Giuffe supposedly walked in front of an oncoming bus. 

That should be investigated. Talk to the bus driver. Check for other witnesses. Was there an autopsy? What bones were crushed? What blunt trauma was there?

Giuffe's lawyer says there are big questions that need answered. Giuffe's father, Sky Roberts, says he doubts it was suicide. 

 

Evidence

Evidence is all you need—

Just evidence.

And look how much you've got!

There's enough evidence

That someone ought to rot.

Not just one medical examiner—

I tell you, there were two.

They say it was murder—

Someone snapped Epstein's neck in two.

Murder, then—it was murder!

And there's more evidence than that.

It's not simply something

We're pulling out of a hat.

The guards fell asleep—

Both of them.

They should have stayed awake

And watched over him.

And how convenient is this—

His cellmate was moved

Just before Epstein was killed.

That took away a witness,

So the beans could not be spilled.

No fixture was in the ceiling,

So he couldn't have hung from that.

By now, I think you're smelling

There must have been a rat.

 

We Need to Know, My Friends

Was it murder, not suicide?

Was it murder, my friend?

How did Epstein die?

How did he come to his end?

Did he hang himself?

Or was he strangled by foul hands?

We need to know the truth—

We need to know, my friends.

A Conversation with a Gun

I don't like the gun. Even if it had all the virtues ascribed to it -- and it does have some --I do not like it. It was created to send people to their death, and that is what it does. I simply refuse to "make nice" with what I view to be a mostly evil-inflicting tool.

But, we are on talking terms -- me and the gun -- and yesterday it interviewed me, just to tie down where our relationship is at. Ours is a strained relationship, and it was just trying to make things better between us.

Gun: What is our relationship -- where do I stand with you?
Me: We don't have a relationship. Never have. We might be on talking terms, but we are not friends -- at all.

Gun: Do you mind me asking some more questions, just to find out what it is you don't like about me?

Me: Not at all. Fire away. You are always firing away; I don't think you'll have any problem now.

Gun: You know there is no way you can get rid of me, don't you? Not with the way Americans feel about guns.

Me: I know. It's very unfortunate, but we can't get rid of guns because there are too many people who honestly like you. Americans have been trained up from their childhood that you are part of their Constitutional rights. They have been taught that they need the gun to protect their families and to ward off tyranny. There would be an uproar -- an outright uproar, outrage and revolt -- if we got rid of you.

Gun: Do you think police officers use me to go around killing people?
Me: That might be a little much. Most police officers are good people, and don't do that.

Gun: I mean, any at all --  are there any police officers killing folks when they shouldn't?

Me: Of course. Our police officers are cut from the fabric of the general public. Bad people exist. That part of society doesn't disappear just because you are hiring a police force. The gun that can be misused by a common criminal can be misused by a police officer.

Gun: Do you think I'm to blame for mass murders?
Me: The mass murder and you are partners in crime. Nothing makes it so easy to kill a large amount of people very quickly than you do. When it comes to mass murders, you are the weapon of choice. 

Gun: Even though you don't like me, I've got my friends -- lot's of them. And, if more people were lovers of guns, I could stop all the home invasions, all the mass murders, all the times women are assaulted walking down the street. I alone can do these things. I, alone can save our country. People know I'm great. They know I'm good and that I do nothing but good. You know that, too, don't you? You just won't admit it.

Me: Spare your sanctimony. You might have some good characteristics, but you overstate them. Yes, there are times you step in and save people, but there would be fewer assaults to begin with if it weren't for you.

Gun: What do you mean by that? There would be less, and you know it. The more of me, the better. Spread me around. Go out and buy a gun. The more of me there is, the more good I can do.

Me: No. Just the opposite. The fewer times we see your face around here, the better. We speak of the proliferation of the gun, and of how the more people who have it, the more times it will be used. It's true. It's simple arithmetic. But, the term "thick as thieves" is what you're all about.

Gun: You're making me mad, and we all know what happens when I get mad. You better say you're sorry. 

Me: That's the other thing about you. You empower anger. Yes, I know what you do when you get angry -- you kill people.

Gun: That's just me helping. When someone makes you mad, I can help. I can put them in their place. And, if both have guns, I can help them both.

Me: Might makes right, then. Is that what you're saying? The guy with the bigger weapon wins the war. All you do is escalate things and make them worse. If one person has a gun, the other goes to get one. Everyone knows that when two people get mad at each other, they start swinging at each other. If they just had their fists, it would just be a fist fight. But if guns are present, it becomes a gun fight. 

Gun: Just one more thing. You know I'm a patriot, don't you? In fact, I'm the ultimate patriot. Everyone who uses me flies a flag. Can't you make that connection?  My friends are the true lovers of freedom in this world. You know that, don't you? If you really loved freedom, you'd go out and buy a gun too.

Me: You'd have me believe that, if you could. To me, though, a patriot and a good guy isn't someone who tries to associate themselves with goodness by waving a flag. Death isn't freedom. If you're saying I can't be a patriot unless I have a gun, I'll just defy you and be a patriot anyway.

The Work of Ghouls

Do not sign on with genocide.

Do not sign on with hate.

Do not think what's wrong is right.

Do not walk through that gate.

Israel is wrong—as wrong as can be—

To kill so many souls.

Let's not condone the killings,

Nor join the work of ghouls.

 

I consider the settling of this valley (the Salt Lake Valley) and how some say it was a fulfillment of Isaiah 35:1, which speaks of the desert blossoming as a rose. And I consider that if this is true, then the settling of my hometown, Rupert, Idaho, was also a fulfillment.

There stands a plaque in Rupert proclaiming, "The Desert Blossoms." The area was considered a desert. A river ran through it, but diverting water from it would not serve many. It took what was then modern technology, hydroelectric dams, to make it possible for water to be pumped and canaled to the farms. The timeliness of the technology is attested to by Rupert High School being the first all-electric high school in the nation. Even, then, there was a limit to how many people the water could serve. But when the Snake Plain Aquifer was discovered in 1947, it opened the area to more settlers. The government then invited military veterans to farm the land. My dad and mom won a farm in the drawing and became part of the largest homestead farming project in the nation. Dad and Mom had been parade marshals in Manassa, Colorado, for the Pioneer Day and now, this short time later were pioneers, themselves, opening up new land as America was going through some of its last expansion.

The Minidoka County project (Rupert area) became the largest homestead project in the nation. I've always joked that that kind of makes Rupert the New York City of rural areas.

Anyway, an area that was desert, covered with sagebrush, is now one of the noteworthy agriculture developments that our nation has had. It was once uninhabited. It once was solitary. (It still might be considered, "solitary," depending on how you take that word.) That it lacks natural water is testified to by the fact a strip of land next to my father's farm remained in sagebrush right up past the year Dad sold the farm.

So, would all this be a fulfillment of the prophecy in Isaiah 35:1"The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose."

 

 

 

 Discovery

Discovery, discovery, discovery—

It could sure get Trump in trouble.

If he wants to sue AOC,

His trouble could be double.

And now he's suing The Wall Street Journal—

There will be a discovery for that as well.

Damning evidence concerning Epstein

Will be found in great detail.

 

Has Congress Lost Its Senses?

In times like this, it seems we should be able to call our congressional members into the office and ask them what in tarnation they are thinking. How can they slash health care to the tune of causing 51,000 annual deaths annually? How can they run up the deficit and place us in "debt slavery?" How can they create the largest transfer of wealth from the rich to the poor in U.S. history? How can they axe climate change measures at the very moment weather catastrophes are killing so many in Texas and other places?
Have our congress members no conscious? 

They call it a Big, Beautiful Bill, but it is the biggest disaster in America's history.

 

 

In the Hand of a Thief

A gun in the hand of a thief

Is an accomplice in the act of a crime.

And I don't think that's good,

And I don't think that's fine.

Take the gun from the man,

Because he's only a thief.

Take it away from him,

Or he'll only cause grief.

 

We Go to Sinaloa

We go to Sinaloa,

Down in Mexico,

Home to the hombre,

Home to the amigo.

We rest on its golden beaches—

Mazatlán is known for them.

We ride upon our surfboards;

On the waves, we skim.

We gasp at the Baluarte Bridge,

One of the highest on Earth,

And at the rock carvings—

They, of such worth.

We join in the festivals,

Dance with the people.

On Sunday, it's church,

And the beauty is the steeple.

We learn of the farmers

And how advanced they are.

Some of the world's best

Are in Sinaloa, by far.

But against everything great,

There is much that is not.

Drug cartels are entrenched,

And bloody battles are fought.

The people of Sinaloa

Also face the tariffs of Trump,

And that could put the farmers

Deep in a slump.

All the way down

To Sinaloa, we go.

We learn of their challenges

Along with things worthy of show.

Bless the Sinaloans

Bless the people of that land

Bless and protect them

Under God's hand

 

Down Comes Colbert

Another enemy taken down,
Another enemy laid to rest.
Donald Trump is clearing house,
Donald Trump is clearing out the press.

Stephen Colbert was always an enemy—
Never had a kind word for Don.
Always ridiculed the president,
Always he picked at what was wrong.

CBS tumbles—
Brick by brick, the station is taken down.
It lays at the feet of Donald Trump;
Freedom of press, he doesn't want around.

Another enemy taken down,
Another enemy laid to rest.
Whenever you criticize Donald Trump,
What happens next is clear to guess. 

 

 

 

 

 

Politics is the worst thing by which to elect a person. Elect them for their virtues, not their corruption.

 

 

 

AOC Might Well Be Safe

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez might be safe on this one. Hopefully, she can evade a multi-million-dollar lawsuit from Donald Trump after saying, “Wow, who would have thought that electing a rapist would have complicated the release of the Epstein Files?”

Right-wing Republicans pounced on the statement. Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) responded, “Even under the ridiculously lenient standards of NY Times v. Sullivan, you’ve managed to incur defamation liability. Wow.”

But would Trump sue if doing so risked further accusations that he appears in the Epstein Files? Attorney General Pam Bondi now claims the files don’t even exist—but do they? It seems strange that investigators would pursue the case without assembling a list of individuals Epstein allegedly accommodated with underage girls.

And might Donald Trump be one of those clients? One wonders.

Ocasio-Cortez (better known as AOC) need only play this card, daring Trump to enter a courtroom where he might potentially be implicated in Epstein’s client network.

Let me know if you'd like to soften the tone, add citations, or adapt it for a specific platform. It’s a bold piece—well-structured and provocative.

Evil Questions

Don't ask me a question like that —
What kind of evil person are you?
Don't question the things we've done;
You're wicked through and through.

Trump doesn't like hard questions,
The press has come to learn.
And if they ask a hard question,
He sends them off to Hades to burn.

War’s Downward Spiral

War’s downward spiral—
Watch it, watch it,
As it takes humanity down the drain.
Bodies litter the ground,
And blood leaves its stain.

The stakes go up and up,
Desperation on both sides.
The horror is so inhumane—
Some prefer their own suicides.

War is the art of killing,
And as the war goes on,
It gets worse and worse—
Death and dying all day long.

Chemical warfare,
Torture and rape...
No longer humans—
The two sides become primate.

War spirals downward and down,
With genocide and starvation,
With the fear it will reach
Nuclear bomb detonation.

Simple war isn’t good—
No war ever was.
But the longer the war,
The wider the jaws.

Insanity, insanity,
To not sue for peace.
This madness, this madness
Has got to cease.

 

Stand with the Forefathers

Can we just stand with the Constitution,
Instead of standing against it just to be standing with Donald Trump?
Stand with the venerable document, the glory of our land—
And just give Trump the bump.

Stand with 1776 and our forefathers of old.
Don't be so enamored by 2024 and the new president.
Stick with George Washington and James Madison—
Not the current White House resident.

There's always a way, always a hope,
Always a will to win.
And to fight for Trump is to fight against the forefathers—
So please don't do that, my friend.

 

Tyranny's Flag

Justice flies a flag.

Freedom does the same.

But when tyranny flies a flag,

It's just a game.

Follow the Trump flag, if you will—

Follow it, if you're a fool.

That banner of tyranny will have your allegiance

If your eyes are covered with wool.

Couch Wins

Couch wins—
Always does.
Pizza and Doritos,
And Heineken for a buzz.

Our man sits there on the couch,
Watching a sex-dripping show.
Where do you think his life's going—
Where do you think it will go?

He sits there in the night,
Crumbs and spilled beer staining the cushions of the couch.
And he becomes the definition
Of a person who's a slouch.

Freedom is Only

Are America's freedoms only for Americans—
Those born upon our sands?
When others come begging,
Do we slap them away with our backhands?

The freedoms of our nation—
Not for one and all?
Not for those from foreign countries—
Not for them at all?

“You have no right to freedom
When you reach our shores.
You're only free to go back home—
We'll deport you by the scores.”

Freedom, freedom, freedom...
Isn't for those coming from abroad.
Freedom is only for us—
We won't give you that nod.

The Rights of the Rich

The rights of the rich,

The rights of billionaire barons,

Are nothing about giving,

And nothing about sharing.

The rights of the rich

Are to keep all the money.

They earned it—they keep it,

They keep all the sweet honey.

Don’t tax them. Don’t charge them.

Don’t lean on their wealth.

The only welfare they’re concerned with

Is their own jolly good health.

American Cattle

Cattle drive—
Keep all the cattle in line.
Don't let any get away.
Get them all to the slaughterhouse—
Don't let any of them stray.

These are American cows;
They are all me and you.
And we're headed for the slaughterhouse
Before the day is through.

 They, the Builders of Our Nation

They, the builders of our nation—
What nation will they build?
Will it be as good as promised?
Will it be as good as billed?

There are those of us who doubt.
There are those of us who fear.
We look at the current builders of our nation
And know they will not take us there.

To Make It a Beacon City, Do the Things That Will Make It a Beacon City

    I wrote and posted this six years ago:

  Do we look at scripture and suggest that Utah might become a place where all nations will come? I wonder, if we were to want to help bring this to pass, what would we do to bring the world to the Salt Lake Valley?
  That passage in Isaiah, where it says that in the last days, "the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains," does it not end with, "and all nations shall flow unto it"?
  I don't know that it is doctrine -- this belief that Isaiah 2:2-3 is speaking of the Salt Lake Valley -- but, it is certainly a common belief among the people, whether official doctrine or not.
  In our modern world, much of the travel -- when you are going from one nation to another -- is by airplane. So, if you are to have all nations flowing unto you, many of them are likely to be arriving by plane.
  If you were to want all nations to flow unto you, then build the things that bring the air passengers, do the things that will cause all the world to fly into Salt Lake City International Airport.
  Maybe they will come naturally. Maybe they will come simply because the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is here, simply coming to see it, to learn its ways.
  But, I see no wrong with planning. I see no wrong in laying plans to make this valley the world's beacon city. Planning is a plus. Sometimes, goals aren't achieved unless you make the plans that get you there and do the leg work that allows your goals to be achieved.
    So, the world's visitors largely travel by airplane in these latter days? And, surrounding our airport we have a vast stretch of undeveloped land? In all the time since Brigham Young arrived here, the land to the west has gone undeveloped. Such a happenstance; Such a fortune. Has ever a city thought to place the things that bring visitors right next its airport? Convenience, they call it. Location, location, location.
   Decide who you want to attract, and built the things they will come for. Tourism? Surely, surely so. All of the world's visitors are tourists, of sorts. But, sort them out. Just as Las Vegas attracts one set of tourists and Branson a little different set, set your sights on who you want.
  Maybe you just want to attract them, and then let them hear your message once they arrive. If so, make the Salt Lake Valley the home of sporting tournaments, hobby festivals, and conventions. Have the facilities necessary, and go after the gatherings of bird-watchers, chess players, fiddle players and all else. Invite associations to have their conventions here, and create your own events. No reason Salt Lake City needs to wait for the United State Chess Federation to bring a tournament here. It can set up its own chess tournaments.
   And, quilting gatherings, and horseshoe tournaments and model train confabs.
   The scripture says the latter-day location will be "exalted above the hills." Why not seek to make this area a place the world comes for commerce, and government, and education?
   One possible idea is to make this a place where issues are discussed. Bring in authorities and experts and politicians and scientists to discuss the world's issues and needs. Bring in, as well, the common people for similar discussions and studies. Make it so convenient to come and participate that all the world comes. Have it so convenient that they can fly in one day, and take a walk or a shuttle to a symposium just to the west of the airport -- and then fly out that very same day. No taxi or hotel required. The price of your airfare is the price of your visit.
   Say a news story breaks -- as it did this past week -- suggesting that one of the most effective ways of fighting greenhouse carbons is to plant trees in every spot worldwide that you can. Bring in the experts who are suggesting this. Invite a few Congress members. Invite other experts. Invite in those who do not believe in climate change. Have them all sit down and discuss the proposal. Have a large auditorium (separated from the stage by bullet-proof glass to protect the participants) where public from around the world can come in and listen and perhaps even offer input.
   Utah can become a place where governing matters are weighed. It can become a beacon city in so many ways. But, becoming a city such as I've described is not likely to happen unless you plan it to happen.

In Utah, There Is This Controversy Over Water

In Utah, there is controversy. It's dry. Little moisture is being released from the sky above. The governor seeing the problem, has asked the people to fast and pray for rain. 

And in that setting, there comes an editorial from the Salt Lake Tribune. Seventy-five percent of the water is swallowed up by agriculture concerns. Seventy-five percent! 

"We could let every lawn turn brown, every golf course and park dry to a crisp, drink imported beer instead of water and wash our clothes in turpentine and we would have only a tiny impact on our water situation," says the editorial

I am not among those who think it wrong to fast and pray. Appealing to God is a worthy thing. I try to remember the outcome the last time Gov. Cox asked us to pray. If memory serves, it seems we did get the moisture we petitioned the Lord for. 

Still, the Tribune is correct. We do live in a desert. Agriculture is necessary for the survival of the planet, but that doesn't mean every place on earth is suited for farming. We should be wise enough to realize Utah might not be such a place. Thanks to the Trib for the solid nudge that direction.

I appreciate the editorial pointing out the old adage: 

“Pray as though everything depended on God; act as though everything depended on you.”

All I have said leaves one important fact undiscussed: As LDS people, we have been taught that the desert will blossom as a rose. That is scripture (Isaiah 35:1). It is prophecy. Does it apply to Utah? I think it does. Does it mean we should go ahead and cultivate the land and trust the Lord to supply us with water? Perhaps, perhaps.

 In 24 Hours

In 24 hours ending on July 1,
Almost a thousand soldiers were killed.
These were Russian soldiers,
And that much of their blood was spilled.

Bless the human beings,
Those of every land.
We mourn and cry in anguish
When they're buried in the sand.

Nine hundred seventy lives were lost,
Nine hundred seventy laid in their graves.
War is diabolical,
And those who bring it on are knaves.

Russia has a president—
Vladimir Putin, you know.
He's responsible for all these deaths,
Responsible for every soul.

 The Gun Wears a Badge

The gun wears its own badge
And that isn't the way it should be.
The gun thinks it's the sheriff,
And the bullet, its deputy.

The man with a gun administers justice,
Or the justice as he sees.
But he can't see what's right and wrong,
Because he can't see through the trees.

He pulls the trigger and calls it just—
He lays a person down.
He thinks just because he has a gun,
He's the sheriff in that town.

But trigger-happy sheriffs,
Who suppose the gun is a badge,
Often don't do what's right—
That never was their pledge.

So if a gunman comes a-calling,
And he thinks he is the law,
Tell him to get out of here.
Tell him to withdraw.

They March Them Home

They march them home—
The immigrants.
Turn them out,
Hiss at them and shout,
Scorn, condemn, and flout.

But there is another march
Awaiting the immigrants:
The march into Heaven.
Heaven’s gates will welcome them;
They are God’s diadem.