I.

Read
the newspaper
an exercise in circular
scepticism
all you know is what you hear
how do you know
who’s lying?
how do I know you’re not lying?
do I lie to myself
just to create a point of view?

II.

Are you wealthy, attractive?
I might assume
you’re telling the truth
unless someone equally
reputable
of a different persuasion
gets the jump
on your public defamation

in this new light
you’re probably lying

III.

“Cuts in food programs for the poor are getting support in Congress
as an alternative to President Bush's idea of slicing billions of
dollars from the payments that go to large farm operations.”
(Congress May Cut Food Aid, Not Farm Aid By LIBBY QUAID,
Associated Press, March 12, 2005)

Are they putting us on?
this is a Karl Rove production

a compassionate conservative, his cake
and the eating thereof
barely registered
a blip
a marketer’s send-up
the sound
of shit
being swallowed

IV.

President and Mrs. Bush
received a $30,858 tax cut
on their 2003 tax bill

The 2003 real median household
income in America
was $43,318

At what point
does a $31,000 windfall
for a high ranking government official
responsible for tax legislation and federal budgeting
not smell like conflict of interest?

The Outstanding Public Debt
as of 13 Mar 2005 at 06:24:54 AM GMT is:
$7,756,706,463,674.82
and growing at a rate of $2.31 billion per day
since September 30, 2004.

At what point
does this type of budget management
begin to look competent?

V.

Do relevant omissions within this poem
unfairly skew its perspective?

03/13/2005

Posted on 08/22/2005
Copyright © 2026 Jim Benz