Thursday, January 16, 2020

Till the earth

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And king Mosiah did cause his people that they should till the earth. And he also, himself, did till the earth, that thereby he might not become burdensome to his people . . . 
Mosiah 6:7

If contending politicians 
would shut up and till the earth,
our nation just might benefit
and have a new rebirth.
The Lord, he loves a farmer;
someone nurturing the seed
that soothes the rugged landscape
and then hungry masses feed.
The husbandman depends on God,
unlike the politician --
who only seems to want to sow
confusion and suspicion.


New Limerick from a story by Spencer S. Hsu.

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Spencer S. Hsu. Washington Post.

Mr. Hsu matriculated at Harvard, but, hey, he was just a young guy, okay?
His many awards would fill a football stadium, and he is currently in the
market to buy one, in case anybody out there has one they're not using right now.
Like maybe the Miami Dolphins . . .
He likes to investigate wrong doing of all sorts, and will often follow people
randomly just to find out what they are up to, the fiends!
He collects cookie cutters and breeds pet peeves in his spare time.


A coalition of 14 states along with Washington, D.C., and New York City sued Thursday to block the Trump administration from cutting off food stamp benefits from nearly 700,000 unemployed people, the first of three such planned measures to restrict the federal food safety net.
@hsu_spencer

In the woeful annals of
ev'ry kind of push and shove,
surely cutting off supply
to the needy makes one cry.
Someday Trump may hungry be;
here's the hope he won't get brie.

**************************



A limerick inspired by a story from Rick Noack

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Rick Noack. Washington Post.

Kidnapped by a band of roving Mugwumps at the tender age of 8,
Noack managed to escape their sinister organization by disguising himself
as a weather vane and applying for asylum at John Hopkins University.
He likes to read the works of Lafcadio Hearn while sitting in the shade of
the Upas tree in his front yard.
He has never taken up knitting as a hobby.
He is the author of the bestselling biography of Mel Brooks, "Bagels in the Belfry."

On Tuesday, President Trump went on a tear over lightbulbs that make “you look orange . . . "
For Europeans . . .  his comments sounded like business as usual. Among Europe’s far-right populists, the fight against a de facto European Union ban on old lightbulbs has lasted years. When the E.U. phased out energy-inefficient incandescent lightbulbs in 2009, it faced a wave of resistance across the continent. As calls to pursue more decisive climate action have mounted in recent months, the lightbulb is once again being held up as a symbol of environmental overreach on both sides of the Atlantic . . . 
@rick_n


The light bulbs you buy at the store
really don't work anymore.
Their glow is so pale,
to read you need braille --
it's all the fault of that Al Gore!

************************



Limerick from a story by Meagan Flynn.


Meagan Flynn. Washington Post.

A graduate of Drake University, where she ducked most of her classes, Ms Flynn
is an accomplished chirurgeon who also happens to dabble in journalism.
Before joining the Washington Post she worked in Texas as a word wrangler
and grammar bushwhacker for several periodicals,
Her background in criminal justice includes a stint as bagman for the Apple Dumpling
Gang, and Two Years Before the Mast.
She enjoys an occasional pine tar implosion and has been known to wash dishes
for homeless Republicans.

ANDREW J. VOLSTEAD
@Meagan_Flynn

He invented Prohibition,
never showing much contrition.
Minnesota born and bred;
drunkards wished that he were dead.
If you drink unto excess,
perhaps some day his name you'll bless!

******************************************




Wednesday, January 15, 2020

God loves all of his children

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"God loves all of His children and has a vision for each of us."
President Russell M. Nelson

Just what the Lord has planned for me
is pretty hard to guess and see.
I guess an angel, full of dread,
will have to come and smack my head.
I'm fat and lazy, old and sly;
I'm not a very righteous guy.
But when the Prophet testifies
that each of us may win the prize,
then I had better wake up fast --
cuz I don't think the slack will last;
have mercy on my frail physique,
and make my spirit less oblique.
I want to serve, but this rude clown
is much afraid he'll let You down . . . 

A Poem Inspired by a story from Laura Reiley.

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Laura Reiley. Washington Post.

Laura Reiley worked hard to get where she is today.
She has a combination of moxie, chutzpah, malarkey,
 and ranasmurfin..
She has won so many awards that they are housed  inside
Yucca Mountain in Nevada, where they glow eerily at night.
She graduated from the University of Virgina, where she
learned how to turn anchovy butter into a Bachelor's Degree.
She can cook anything that voted for Trump -- as long as she
has enough lard.
She has combined her love of horses with her love of
Indian cuisine to invent the curry comb.



AMERICAN RESTAURANTS ARE CLIMBING ON THE PLANT-BASED MEAT BAND WAGON -- ALL EXCEPT MCDONALD'S. @lreiley

Us carnivores must take a stand.
McDonald's is our leader grand.
Steaks and chops and ribs, egad!
We want them red with blood, not plaid
with fibers from a milkweed plant
or tofu, crickets, and the ant.
The Golden Arches stands for flesh
deep fried into a greasy mesh.
Hold your ground, McDonald's, please!
We want no burgers made from peas.
A single leaf of lettuce suits
our lust for veggies and for fruits
If you should bow to plant-based meats
I'll thump myself to death with beets!





Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Poem Inspired by Story from Tim Carman.




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    Tim Carman. Washington Post.


Tim Carman has been a noted food reporter for the Washington Post for the past five years. Prior to that he was a free lance apple polisher for organizations such as The Twinkie Foundation and Anchovies Anonymous.
He received a BA, PDQ, and a BVD from the University of Nebraska, at Kearney (that's pronounced 'Karny,' friend!)
 His awards include Boy Scout citations for bottle cap tossing and a signet ring from the Green Lantern that glows yellow whenever he is in the presence of margarine.
His hobbies include beagles, bagels, and baubles.




"More than a month after McDonald’s introduced its latest fried chicken sandwich — you know, the one that would officially arm Ronald McDonald for a late-entry into the fast-food poultry wars — the product is nowhere to be found outside the test markets of Houston and Knoxville, Tenn.
McDonald’s franchisees are apparently fed up with the delay, according to a recent Business Insider story."
@timcarman


A crew of franchisees one day
set off to find the cause
of why no chicken sandwiches
were in their grubby paws.
They watched as other fast food joints
served patties made of fowl,
while their own Golden Arches
didn't even have an owl.
They sailed the Seven Seas, they did,
and found but little sooth;
plant based meat was plentiful,
but who cared for that truth?
(and that is when the cook began
to drink up the vermouth.)
They blazed a trail through jungles
and they forded rivers wild;
they even entered delis
where the corn beef was high piled.
They checked each nook and cranny,
and they looked beneath the rocks;
they found that kings and colonels
now did watch them like a fox.
(And then some squint-eyed sailor man
did steal all of their socks.)
Ragged and bedraggled much,
the franchisees were sick
of hearing from their customers:
"Hey buddy, where's the chick?"
And so they raided poultry farms
and snatched the birds away.
They ground 'em up in secrecy
and labeled 'em 'gourmet.'
(And though they're mostly feathers
you should see how people pay!)






Wise in their own eyes

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Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
Isaiah 5:21

Wisdom that is lacking faith
is more gossamer than wraith.
Prudence that makes people smug
makes the angels yawn and shrug.
Foresight and true acumen
do not come from mortal men,
but are gifts from God above
given to show his great love.
Never trust the arm of flesh;
trust the Spirit to refresh!