20160630 (man of the hour)

Come on, Mitt, take one for the Gipper. Only you can save the GOP from absolute disgrace.

Not a gambling man but I’m

Going out on a limb to wager

The Republican National

Convention to be held here in

Cleveland shortly will indeed

Stun the world. I’m betting 

They as honorable men (mostly

Men) will finally gag up some 

Decency and will dump Mr. Trump.

Whether they, as lawyers skilled

In arcane technicalities of party

Governance or as street-smart

Ward heelers, will come up with

Pitiful excuse or whether they 

Will go for the straightforward

“Even Stevie Wonder can see

This man is not qualified to serve

The nation,” will be up to them

To decide—hanging or electric 

Chair. For it is quite certain by

Now that he is seen as a loser

By all but the most obtuse one-

Issue angry old men who claim

To be attached to what was once

Called the Grand Old Party. The

Monied who run the two parties

Will not risk Trump’s ascension

To the Oval Office. Unlike Reagan

He is not an old man teetering on

The edge of competence, who can

Be molded by aides. They would 

Not be able to control him. They 

Quite obviously can’t control him

Now. When one considers the

Scallywags with whom each party

Has worked in the past, they

Might consider trying it again, but

I think the background powerful

Will not put up with him. Nor do

They want the complication of 

Having to eliminate him if he

Ever gets to the White House.

Certainly there are enough

Realpolitickers in that crowd

Who could have him magically

Disappear from public view

But I don’t think they would 

Use such desperate acts

If they could rid the party of

“That troublesome beast” by

Lesser measures—finding

Him morally objectionable

(As they tried so hard to pin

The tail on Slick Willy). They 

Could use his own words

About sending his numerous

Mistresses to doctors to assure

The sexual safety of liasons.

Or they could finally unearth

His perfidy in business for all

To see so long as they can keep

Their own asses covered. So

What dark horse could they

Dredge up in his stead? Romney

Knows how to lose, and this is

Important because at this point it

Is clear they are going to lose. 

Their choice is to go down in

Flames for allegiance to an

Idiot or dredge up some semblance

Of dignity as they prepare to

Bury the party.

c. J.S.Manista, 2016

20160629 (terrorists)

Doctors Without Borders' hospital in Kunduz Afghanistan, bombed by an American gunship, killing doctors and patients--yet to receive an independent investigation

Krista Stone, my daughter-in-law,

Had posted a night photo of 

Illuminated Instanbul on Facebook

Just a few hours before the world

Shook with the deaths and injuries

Of a terrorist attack at Ataturk, the

Instanbul airport. I wrote her moments

Ago that despite the horror of seeing

Such an event through security 

Camera lenses we must still

Recognize we too contribute to

The body count of these wars.

Our Hellfire missiles and our

Cluster bombs wreak blinding

Energy on their victims as

Destructively as the suicide

Vests of terrorists, perhaps more

So. But we are not exposed to the 

Carnage seconds later through

Sophisticated communications

Networks. I’m sure the Syrians,

Afghanis, Pakistanis, Iraqis, and

Yemenis have such films ready but

Western news media will not 

Receive nor transmit them,

Lest videos of our slaughter weaken

The resolve of the Western powers.

As surely they would much like 

When brutality toward “our side” 

Inflames our fervor for their

Deaths. There should be some

Fair and balanced reporting from

The abattoirs of conflict to allow

Us better to grasp what our war

Dollars are buying. Showing us

Only one side is a propaganda

Campaign to keep the war drums

Beating for the citizenry who are

Paying for it big time with their 

Taxes, and for the unfortunate

Other 1%, with their sons and 

Daughters, who if they return

At all, come back broken in

Body and mind and who often see

Suicide as the only way ultimately

To quell their demons. What of 

Those on the opposite side? 

Surely they see the suffering and

Desire its end as desperately as

We. Or have we rendered them so

Inhuman as not to want anything

Like peace, love, family, and

Brotherhood—children who are

Sound, whole, and entire, who

Can dream of a fulfilling life

As we do for our own? The 

Manuals of war consistently

Point out that dehumanizing

The enemy is essential to enable

Soldiers to kill at the corporals’ 

Bidding. “Fire! Kill the Huns/

Japs/slant-eyes/redskins/Filipinos/

Gooks/ragheads.” Horrifically

The list goes on. Some joke we

Teach our population geography

By simply staging a war there--

Bosnia, Somalia, Grenada. We

Have far too many brave soldiers

And not enough courageous

Diplomats. War is a seductive

Mistress who is never satisfied

With a little killing. All must die—

The losers physically, the victors

Morally.

c. J.S.Manista, 2016 

20160628 (aves liberae)

Starling, I guess. Watch my birdwatchers jump all over me

Rather loud chirping I thought.

I grabbed my trusty bird motivator

(A dusting wick on an extendable

Pole) and went upstairs to check.

I was not inclined to give the

Bird that much of my time, so I 

Simply opened the screens for 

The three front windows and left

It up to avian wisdom to find the

Open windows and freedom. I

Closed the doors behind me so I

Knew they couldn’t get any farther

Than the attic and the second floor

Parlor which opened to the attic.

Retired to ignoring my many other 

Duties requiring immediate doing

And opted for watching the morning’s

Democracy Now! (which I cannot

But remember Kramer’s “Serenity

Now!”). Knocking down a ham,

Swiss, and tomato on nut bread,

It struck me that the bird racket

Had grown worse in the meantime.

Checked email for urgent messages

(Hoping Craigslist would deliver

Another victim for my generous

“Giveaway” pricing), found none,

Picked up the cobweb brush and

Headed upstairs. If you’re any 

Kind of consistent reader you 

Know I’ve had critters—mice

And birds most often—squirrels

Twice, perhaps. Sophia has done 

A superb job of ridding the house

Of mice. I’ve found evidence that

She’s killed a bird or two in her 

Time (feathers suspiciously strewn

About a bedroom floor without

Explanation). With the squirrels

One closes them off in a room

And pleads in English, “Hey

Squirrely-girl, head for this open

Window,” as you deftly poke 

Them from their perch with

Any kind of stick that’s three

Feet or longer. Even when they

Leap out a second story window

They leave no rodent-splat on

The brick patio below, which

Means they survive with four

Sore paws. If you saw my house

You could see where the birds

And squirrels get in. Tree branches

Are very close to the holes in 

The soffits at places where the

Yankee gutters rotted the wood 

Below. There may as well be

A sign for an animal motel

Flashing red neon “Vacancy.” 

They crawl through the rafter

Space and into the attic. If I 

Knew exactly where I’d screen

Them off from within but there

Are so many holes and the critters

Are so small. This time I used 

The cobweb brush to hold them 

Against whatever screen they

Preferred flapping against as I

Wrapped my left hand around

Their tiny bodies (they feel so

Much smaller than they look)

And released them through a

Window where I’d removed the 

Screen. It’s affecting to feel them

Calm down in a gentle grasp.

Your fingertips can sense the 

Hurried heartbeat as you walk

To the window and tell them on

The way that God knows when 

They so much as lose a feather.

I was about to leave but the 

Screeching continued—second

Bird I realized. Same procedure

But I started to think, “Criiter

Motel”? How would they pay?

PayPal, of course.

C. J.S.Manista, 2016