Archive for February, 2010

A Limerick For Lamar

Sunday, February 28th, 2010

As Steve Benen points out, we’ve already tried incrementalism. Nonetheless, Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) keeps asserting that Congress can’t pass major legislation and should instead do things in bits and pieces.

Of course, Lamar and his fellow Republicans would say and do just about anything to prevent Democrats from passing comprehensive health care reform.

Lamar has earned himself a limerick:

A Limerick For Lamar
By Madeleine Begun Kane

Incremental reforms are the best,
Claims Lamar in support of his quest.
Sweeping change is too hard,
Says this Sen. to retard
All our health reform progress. Quelle peste!

Now Playing On My Other Blog

Saturday, February 27th, 2010

If you’d like a short break from politics, here’s what you may have missed on my other blog:

* Are Health Studies Making Us Sick?

* My latest limerick writing prompt: A Miss-Misunderstanding

* Feeling Silly … And Sore

Ode To GOP Stimulus Hypocrisy

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

It’s getting hard to keep track of all the Republican “trash and cash” Recovery Act hypocrisy. But Steve Benen has a stimulus hypocrisy update, and I have a limerick:

Ode To GOP Stimulus Hypocrisy
By Madeleine Begun Kane

“The stim bill was bad. Voted no,
Cuz it won’t the economy grow.”
That’s the GOP rant
As they privately chant,
“Now give me more stimulus dough.”

Now Playing On My Other Blog

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

If you’d like a quick break from politics, here’s what you may have missed on my other blog:

* My commentary and limerick about Olympic men’s figure skating: Thin-Skinned Evgeni Plushenko Skating On Thin Ice?

* My Limerick Ode To Valerie Harper, including a review of her Broadway performance as Tallulah Bankhead in Looped.

Dear Obama, Enough With The Voltaire!

Thursday, February 18th, 2010

I don’t know about you, but I’m getting really tired of this line frequently used by Obama and other pols: “America can’t afford to let the perfect be the enemy of the good.”

Obama usually uses this Voltaire paraphrase as an excuse to disappoint progressives yet again.

The original Voltaire quote is “The perfect is the enemy of the good,” translated from the French, “Le mieux est l’ennemi du bien.” (The literal translation actually should be, “The best is the enemy of the good.”)

This brings me to my latest double limerick:

Dear Obama, Enough With The Voltaire!
By Madeleine Begun Kane

There once was a guy named Voltaire,
A Frenchman whose wisdom pols share.
They say, “Perfect, though fine,
Is hardly divine
When it blocks the essential. So there!”

Dear Obama, this line is just guff —
An excuse for not doing enough.
So instead of excuses,
Fight right-wing abuses.
Voltaire is annoying. Hang tough!

Now Playing On My Other Blog

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010

If you’d like a quick break from politics, here’s what you may have missed on my other blog:

* You can participate in my latest Limerick-Off here, by writing your own limerick to my communal first line.

* You can read Romancing The Stoic, my humor column exploring the adventures of a romantic man married to a romance-impaired woman (me).

* Then there’s my latest NYC comedy club review, including my limerick ode to standup comic Ted Alexandro.

* My latest limerick bitching about winter.

Senator Bayh, Buh Bye!

Monday, February 15th, 2010

Senator Evan Bayh (Pretend-Dem-Indiana) has announced that he won’t seek reelection this year. The conserva-Dem’s stated reason? Partisan gridlock is blocking progress.

While this is being viewed as a huge loss for Democrats and a great pick-up op for Republicans, I sure won’t miss Blue Dog Bayh. His so-called moderation and his unrelenting push for compromise with uncompromising Republicans has been a large impediment to passing progressive legislation.

And that brings me to my latest limerick:

Senator Bayh, Buh Bye!
By Madeleine Begun Kane

Sen. Bayh will not run again. Why?
Cuz there’s “not enough progress.” How wry!
He says partisanship
Is the cause. Here’s a tip:
Our problem is DINOS like Bayh.

Palin’s Runny, Run-On Sentences Finally Explained

Sunday, February 7th, 2010

When I first saw these hilarious photos and video of Sarah Palin’s palm-written Tea Party crib notes, all I could think was:

Notes on your hand,
Notes on your hand,
Lookin’ like a fool
With your notes on your hand.

Sorry, I watch way too much American Idol.

But relying on a cheat-sheet on your left hand during a friendly Q & A session is rich, coming from a woman who disparages President Obama’s (fictitious) inability to speak without a teleprompter.

This brings me to my latest limerick:

Palin’s Runny, Run-On Sentences Finally Explained
By Madeleine Begun Kane

Sarah Palin comes armed when she speaks
With crib notes on “hand” for sneak peeks.
Guess she’d better not wash
Before speeches. Oh gosh,
I sure hope that those scrawls ain’t antiques.

Now Playing On My Other Blog

Saturday, February 6th, 2010

It’s the biggest football weekend of the year. Which is why I have a really bad case of the Super Bowl blues on my other blog.