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A George Bush Joke is No Laughing Matter

(IS IT THEM - OR US?)

 

Dick Cheney's
insane he's
got war on the brain
and Rice isn't nice
(tho' she's black),
and there's Rumsfeldt too
and the whole nutty crew
that made up George Bush's weird pack.
But though we would jeer
at their antics, I fear
that our satire has well missed the mark -

It's pretty sick fun
when we see what they've done
to the women and kids in Iraq.

 

We abhor

'Shock and Awe',

chant "It's Not a Just War"

but stopped short

at the thought

of rebelling

and so, on T.V.,

hour by hour could see

our War Machine bombing and shelling,

and we felt pretty lame

saying "not in our name"

and the question we now face is stark -

as the dust clears away

what can you and I say

to the women and kids in Iraq? 

 

Author notes

Placards and marching from A to B was never enough - there should have been mass civil disobedience to stop the liars from launching this war.

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Comments

1 - 26 of 26

  • Shahrazad
    June 23

    Edit | Reply
    Powerful stance. I read this a couple times to soak it all in. I liked the variety of rhyme and non rhyme.... really cool poem. I think more people should read it.

    Good job- Thanks for the great read
  • judyjudyjudy
    June 1

    Edit | Reply
    Right on. Let's hope different names and faces will change things.

    Good luck in the contest.


  • xFeatherLettersx
    May 20

    Edit | Reply
    This seems like rap song to me O.o

    -However funny poem, not many people are happy with our government anyways.

    cute

    -Thank you for your entry, Angi Terese
  • ecrivain01 silver member
    May 20

    Edit | Reply

    You're absolutely right ...

    and all the naysayers in the world can't change that. Bush is scum of the worst order, and anybody who still supports him after all the horrible things he's done is probably insane.


  • Mark Rickerby gold member
    May 7

    Edit | Reply
    Sorry, I like your writing, but don't agree that America is the bad guy in this war. Islamic fundamentalists are the nazi's of our age, bent on world domination, determined to bury all "infidels" in a sea of nuclear fire, and they must be stopped. Iraq is as good a place as any to start. We've created a flash point there and they're all flooding in to collect their 72 virgins. The world is better off without them, and America and its allies will prevail over these lunatics in dirty pajamas.

    What we can say to the women and children of Iraq is that they're still better off than they were under that looney bird Hussein, and as soon as we get done slaughtering more of the radical Islamists who are responsible for most of the civilian deaths in Iraq, Iraq will be a island of prosperity in a sea of tyrannies. It's just too bad Patton isn't still around. He would drop kick that little Iranian Howdy Doody right out of our atmosphere, too.


    • jimmy20johns gold member
      May 16
      Edit | Reply
      Hi Mark. Sorry I've been so long in replying to your comments. The truth is that I did begin my reply at the time but have long since grown so weary of setting the record straight on this issue that, frankly, I just couldn't do it yet again. However, as I've already said somewhere below, I was actively involved in opposing Saddam a long time ago, when both the U.K. and U.S. governments were actively supporting him, so am no apologist for that obscene tyrant. Having said that, his regime was at daggers drawn with religious fundamentalism (thus the hostility from both the Iranian and Saudi religious regimes) and, in fact, Iraq produced more female graduates than any other Middle Eastern country. It was the collapse of his regime which opened the floodgate of religious barbarism which has since swamped that country.
      As to my poem, I was in Baghdad during the first 'Gulf War' sheltering with Iraqi families from the British and U.S. blitz of the city and found it difficult to know what to say to the mothers hiding there. Let me say this, the kindness and hospitality shown me by them while my countrymen were bombing us was heartbreaking because I knew only too well how an Iraqi would have been treated in London or New York if Iraqi planes were bombarding those cities.
      But, enough - just to say I appreciate your compliment on my piece which is, in fact, a criticism of those who were opposed to the war but didn't do enough to actually stop it being launched.

      • Mark Rickerby gold member
        May 16
        Edit | Reply
        Jimmy,

        While it is true that more women were being educated in Iraq under Hussein for a time, I don't think it's accurate to blame the liberation on ending that trend. Consider this excerpt from an article at http://alternatives-international.net/article170.html (an anti-war website) -

        "From 1958 to the 1990s Iraq provided relatively more rights and freedom for women and girls than most of its neighbors. Created in the 1920s and, as a Islamic state, initially adhering to interpretations of Shari’a, Iraq became a republic in 1958. At that point the government legislated power away from the Shari’a courts over many aspects of women’s lives.
        Even after Saddam Hussein became president in 1979, at war with Iran and unsparing with political repression, women’s access to education and to waged labor continued to grow — mainly because the expanding economy increasingly demanded their labor. Throughout, however, women’s legal rights and social and economic position teetered in an uneasy relationship with tradition: the overarching importance of the traditional patriarchal family, reli¬gious ideologies, and norms of family “honor” and reputation. As the conflict with Iran wore on, these traditional ideas regained some lost ground; Hussein looked for allies among conservative Sunni religious groups as well as tribal leaders, and women’s rights and freedoms began to contract. This trend gathered momentum during the 13 years of United Nations’ sanctions."

        I also don't agree that Americans or Brits would treat an Iraqi poorly if Iraq had been able to bomb us. Even after 9/11, there were no widespread attacks on Saudi's in the U.S. I also know many Iranians/Persians and none of them have ever been victimized or insulted because of what that little Howdy Doody who is running Iran now says or does. Once they're here, they're Americans. Except for the occasional ignorant dipshit, most Americans and Brits are the most tolerant people on earth. So I'm sorry, but I don't know who you're thinking of when you say, "I knew only too well how an Iraqi would have been treated in London or New York if Iraqi planes were bombarding those cities."

        I know what you mean about being tired of debating this war. I am, too. It does get tiring but silence, as always, is the worst enemy. Thanks for your polite response. Have a good weekend.

        Mark

        • jimmy20johns gold member
          May 16
          Edit | Reply
          O.K. Mark, let's agree to differ. Let's also agree that in times of peace (including times when there are sporadic terrorist attacks) America and the U.K. can be tolerant places for minorities but in war (and I remember W.W.I and the blitz) it's not quite the same thing. However, however, however you and I aren't going to change things unfortunately. Although you're right too in that silence is a no no. Cheers mate, jimmy

          • Mark Rickerby gold member
            May 16
            Edit | Reply
            No argument there, Jimmy. It's a spotted history, at best. We can only hope the average American has improved somewhat since the Japanese internment camp days, and hope that what Abe Lincoln said is not true - that politics can change, but human nature never does.

            Have a great weekend, my friend.

            Mark
  • Yvette Champ
    April 28
    Edit | Reply
    Dear Poet, all I can say is Bravo!


  • Shassidy
    April 27

    Edit | Reply
    This is a great piece! I really like the flow and rhyming in this, it makes it fun to read and it also makes the piece powerful. My favorite part is "It's pretty sick fun / when we see what they've done / to the women and kids in Iraq." and "so the question we now face is stark - / as the dust clears away / what can you and I say / to the women and kids in Iraq?" I like those parts because they are powerful and they get the reader thinking and they also connect with each other, making the ending to the two stanzas both really powerful. The title is inventive as well and it reflects the poem well, so great job with that. Great job and good luck in the contest!

  • IT Refugee
    April 25

    Edit | Reply
    I thought this to be a very sharp and insightful write. The criticism you got below, I think, was totally unfair. It's like they didn't even read the thing to the end. The whole second part is clearly about us, and our impotence at stopping the madness.
    Can we stop the next one?


  • Sagerider
    April 23

    Edit | Reply

    You have to be there

    “It's Tommy this, and Tommy that, and 'chuck 'im out, the brute,' But it's 'Savior of his Country,' When the guns begin to shoot!”
    Well written though misguided. I know the lads are following the Rules of Engagement.


    • jimmy20johns gold member
      April 23
      Edit | Reply
      Hi. Thanks for the comment - but it seems I haven't made myself clear in this piece which, far from being a criticism of the military, is actually intended to be a criticism of those (like myself) who, opposed to the war being launched, merely protested and then watched the human disaster unfold. We could and should have done more to prevent it. Thus the subtitle "Is it them - or us?". Ah well, I must try to be clearer. Cheers, jimmy

  • Zoe2007 gold member
    April 21
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    Good poem . Thanks for entering

  • Rheea gold member
    April 20

    Edit | Reply
    well we shall send you I say to the people and let you talk to to all the terrorists and Saddam Hussein wanna bes
    remember him? and others who would come up just like him ah there are your baby killers... and see if any thing but your head comes back.. get in to todays reality much to say but you will put me on ignore lol is the way you brave people fight. so think what you like I am so tired sending our wonderful best to defend fools who mock them.and then the rest of us live with the aftermath of war for the rest of our lives while fat cats like you just get richer and spout liberal fools agendas on things you know nothing about.


    • jimmy20johns gold member
      April 20
      Edit | Reply
      Hi Rheea. Of course I wouldn't put you on 'ignore' for your opinion. But you have me all wrong, mate - apart from being a working class guy (certainly no "fat cat"), I was actively opposing Saddam long before people like yourself knew or cared that he existed (I produced false Iraqi passport stamps for those he persecuted to get them out of his clutches) and when your government and mine were SUPPORTING him. Likewise, I was with the international Gulf Peace Team in Baghdad when it was being bombed by Bush senior and, in fact, have done two years in the British Army myself. But if you really think that Bush and Blair acted out of compassion for a foreign people and found torture etc abhorrent - then think again, my friend.

  • Pollycheck silver member
    April 20

    Edit | Reply
    Thank you for entering my military contest. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but I really don;t see what this has to do with the military. It is just a Bush bash.

    • jimmy20johns gold member
      April 20

      Edit | Reply
      Hi. You're right - I've withdrawn my piece which, while knocking Bush and co., is actually a criticism of those who, claiming to oppose the war, weren't prepared to do what was necessary to actually stop the calamity from happening.

  • earth monkey
    April 20
    Edit | Reply
    yeah I agree, these people suck.


  • deedee37
    April 20
    Edit | Reply
    This is an awesome version of the truth of today. i really enjoyed it. Keep it up.


  • urapns66
    April 20

    Edit | Reply
    good write, could use some work but good job none the less try to work on your flow and i think you could really do some great things.

  • cricketjeff gold member
    April 17

    Edit | Reply
    Fan-bloody-tastic!!!
    I've not seen you in this mode, and I like it.

    And Blair was as bad
    And Gordon Brown's mad
    They sexed up the papers to fit
    The lies aren't the thing
    About which they sing
    Or the country they dropped in the sh**
    The crew we have got
    Are not all that hot
    They are liars and scoundrels and fools
    It is not like the rest
    Would be up to the test
    But maybe they'd break different rules


    • jimmy20johns gold member
      April 21
      Edit | Reply
      Mate, you're a whizz
      at this poetry biz -
      it's a blast
      just how fast
      you can rap it:
      I post up a rhyme
      and, in double-quick time,
      you come back with something to cap it!

      By the way, my piece seems to have ruffled some fur. You might find it interesting to look at the comments. jim
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