Zawahri urges Egyptians to reject "criminal" Obama

By GottaLaff

After all Bush did for Al Qaeda, you'd think they'd be more welcoming to the U.S. of A.:

Al Qaeda's second-in-command urged Egyptians to reject U.S. President Barack Obama's planned visit, seen as a charm offensive toward Muslims angered by his predecessor's policies, and called him a "criminal."

"Obama ... is not welcome in Egypt," Ayman al-Zawahri, an Egyptian al Qaeda leader, said in a recording posted on an al Qaeda-linked Islamist website on Tuesday.

"Does (a group of) people in Egypt, who are raging flames and fuel, hear my cry," Zawahri said reciting a poem composed during the British occupation of the Arab country. [...]

Obama's "bloody messages have been received and are still being received and they will not be covered by public relations campaigns or theatrical visits or polished words," Zawahri said.

"O' Egypt's free, righteous and honorable people and mujahideen; stand united in the face of this criminal."

Obama "came seeking, through ploy, to win what he had failed to acquire in the battlefield. After the mujahideen foiled America's crusader projects in Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia."

Yeah, right, Obama's the criminal. Zawahri is the poetic hero. And oh yeah, BushCo forgot to conquer the evildoers.

"Ode to Huck": My response to Huckabee's poem attacking Pelosi

By GottaLaff

Isn't HuckaPoet a wit? Oh, to be a clever as he is! I wish I could write that well:

The seven-stanza poem, found on the former presidential candidate’s Web site, is called “Fancy Nancy.”

Huckabee calls Pelosi a “ruthless politician” and tweaks the San Franscisco Democrat for her use of a military plane for travel back to her district.

But the heart of the poem is about Pelosi's CIA he-said-she-said:

She sat in briefings and knew about enhanced interrogation;
But claims she wasn't there, and can't give an explanation.
She disparages the CIA and says they are a bunch of liars;
Even the press aren't buying it and they're stoking their fires

Here's the whole thing:

Here's a story about a lady named Nancy
A ruthless politician, but dressed very fancy
Very ambitious, she got herself elected Speaker
But as for keeping secrets, she proved quite a "leaker."

She flies on government planes coast to coast
And doesn't mind that our economy is toast
She makes the Air Force squire her in their military jets
There's room for her family, her staff, and even her pets.

Until now, she annoyed us, but her gaffes were mostly funny;
Even though it was painful to watch her waste our tax money.
But now her wacky comments are no laughing matter;
She's either unwilling to tell the truth, or she's mad as a hatter!

She sat in briefings and knew about enhanced interrogation;
But claims she wasn't there, and can't give an explanation.
She disparages the CIA and says they are a bunch of liars;
Even the press aren't buying it and they're stoking their fires.

I think Speaker Pelosi has done too much speaking;
And instead of her trashing our intelligence officials, it's her nose that needs tweaking.

If forced to believe whether the CIA and her colleagues in Congress are lying;
Or it's Speaker Pelosi whose credibility and career is dying.
I believe in the integrity of the men and women who sacrifice to keep us safe;
Not the woman who has been caught flat-footed, lying to our face.

I say it here and I say it rather clear-
It's time for Nancy Pelosi to resign and get out of here.

Allow me to respond in kind. It's a little something I like to call, "Ode to Huck":

Here's a little story 'bout a man who we call Huck.
A ruthless phony hack who makes me holler "WTF??!"
He harkens back to Nancy's plane rides, a lie that is so old
That even pondering the premise makes my brain grow mold.

He rhymes about Pelosi and all the clothes she wears.
Way to target things that count, like all our woes and cares.
Stocks are falling, wars are waging, BushCo should be jailed.
People starving, unemployment, Rushpublic epic fail.

Yet HuckaPoet stresses Nancy, says she trashed the spooks.
But BushCo trashed our country, and he lied about those nukes.
Pfft, doesn't matter, Huckee says, it's all Pelosi's fault.
But it's BushCo's torture, BushCo's fraud, BushCo's brute assault.

So pay attention, HuckaHack, this isn't Nancy's crime.
It all belongs to culprits drenched in pure Rushpublic slime.

VIDEO: And the winner of the "Ode to Obama" contest is...

By GottaLaff


Ted Newman, a retired teacher and self-described "cowboy poet," musician, and former Army pilot, won an Associated Press contest for writing a poem about Barack Obama's inauguration:

[He] is one of 10 people the AP selected nationally - and the only Westerner - from a contest the news organization was running for poems [...]

Unlike some of the other winning poems, Newman admits his is a bit irreverent and sardonic - an approach he says he takes in his poems and songs that involve politics and political correctness.

"I call it an 'accusatory poem,' " said Newman, a retired middle school social studies and science who has written more than 500 poems and songs that he calls "no hitters because they don't get any attention."

But his inauguration poem, entitled "Plea to the Pres" did get AP's attention from hundreds of entries in its "Ode to Obama" competition. [...]

The AP calls the 10 winners "an eclectic assortment of American wordsmiths" that includes a former poet laureate and a Pulitzer Prize winner."

Their entries are equally varied in tone and subject matter, and Newman's may be the most acerbic.

A National Guard helicopter pilot for 20 years, Newman's poem asks Obama to "be the president our country needs" and levels his accusatory pen against some of the nation's ills.

He ends by saying, "Let's really rearrange the political hypocrisy; keep your word and bring change."

IMHO, he already has.

New Christmas Poem, written by a Marine

By GottaLaff

NOTE: Paddy thought this post might have been a bit misleading, but I assumed that my saying Nick is a Navy guy would differentiate him from a Marine.

I'll clarify just to make sure. The poem was written by a Marine. My former student is in the Navy. He didn't write this, but his mother sent it to me as a tribute to everyone serving in the military, and their families.

ORIGINAL POST:

This poem was sent to me by a friend. Her son was one of my favorite theatre kids of all time, and he is now serving in the Navy. She asked that I share this with a friend, so I chose all of you:

New Christmas Poem

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS,
HE LIVED ALL ALONE,
IN A ONE BEDROOM HOUSE MADE OF
PLASTER AND STONE.

I HAD COME DOWN THE CHIMNEY
WITH PRESENTS TO GIVE,
AND TO SEE JUST WHO
IN THIS HOME DID LIVE.

I LOOKED ALL ABOUT,
A STRANGE SIGHT I DID SEE,
NO TINSEL, NO PRESENTS,
NOT EVEN A TREE.

NO STOCKING BY MANTLE,
JUST BOOTS FILLED WITH SAND,
ON THE WALL HUNG PICTURES
OF FAR DISTANT LANDS.

WITH MEDALS AND BADGES,
AWARDS OF ALL KINDS,
A SOBER THOUGHT
CAME THROUGH MY MIND.

FOR THIS HOUSE WAS DIFFERENT,
IT WAS DARK AND DREARY,
I FOUND THE HOME OF A SOLDIER,
ONCE I COULD SEE CLEARLY.

THE SOLDIER LAY SLEEPING,
SILENT, ALONE,
CURLED UP ON THE FLOOR
IN THIS ONE BEDROOM HOME.

THE FACE WAS SO GENTLE,
THE ROOM IN SUCH DISORDER,
NOT HOW I PICTURED
A UNITED STATES SOLDIER.

WAS THIS THE HERO
OF WHOM I'D JUST READ?
CURLED UP ON A PONCHO,
THE FLOOR FOR A BED?

I REALIZED THE FAMILIES
THAT I SAW THIS NIGHT,
OWED THEIR LIVES TO THESE SOLDIERS
WHO WERE WILLING TO FIGHT.

SOON ROUND THE WORLD,
THE CHILDREN WOULD PLAY,
AND GROWNUPS WOULD CELEBRATE
A BRIGHT CHRISTMAS DAY.

THEY ALL ENJOYED FREEDOM
EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR,
BECAUSE OF THE SOLDIERS,
LIKE THE ONE LYING HERE.

I COULDN'T HELP WONDER
HOW MANY LAY ALONE,
ON A COLD CHRISTMAS EVE
IN A LAND FAR FROM HOME.

THE VERY THOUGHT
BROUGHT A TEAR TO MY EYE,
I DROPPED TO MY KNEES
AND STARTED TO CRY.

THE SOLDIER AWAKENED
AND I HEARD A ROUGH VOICE,
'SANTA DON'T CRY,
THIS LIFE IS MY CHOICE;

I FIGHT FOR FREEDOM,
I DON'T ASK FOR MORE,
MY LIFE IS MY GOD,
MY! COUNTRY, MY CORPS.'

THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER
AND DRIFTED TO SLEEP,
I COULDN'T CONTROL IT,
I CONTINUED TO WEEP.

I KEPT WATCH FOR HOURS,
SO SILENT AND STILL
AND WE BOTH SHIVERED
FROM THE COLD NIGHT'S CHILL.

I DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE
ON THAT COLD, DARK, NIGHT,
THIS GUARDIAN OF HONOR
SO WILLING TO FIGHT.

THEN THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER,
WITH A VOICE SOFT AND PURE,
WHISPERED, 'CARRY ON SANTA,
IT'S CHRISTMAS DAY, ALL IS SECURE.'

ONE LOOK AT MY WATCH,
AND I KNEW HE WAS RIGHT.
'MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIEND,!
AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT..'

This poem was written by a Marine.

Christmas will be coming soon and some credit is due to our U.S. service men and women for our being able to celebrate these festivities. Let's try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we owe. Make people stop and think of our heroes, living and dead, who sacrificed themselves for us. Please, do your small part to plant this small seed.

Thank you, Yvonne. Much love to you and sweet, amazing Nick.