N O RTH
C O A ST
VOL28NO1 50CENTS
T IM E S
EA G LE
‘In a dark time the eye begins to see ’
27th B ’D AY ISSUE
-T H E O D O R E ROTHKE
GEORGE WOODBRIDGE
JOHN Q. PUBLIC: A RAILING k LAMENT
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We’re tired of public meetings and sick to death of talk,
We’ve got a feeling like a mule that’s just about to balk.
Don’t tell us “We, the People” are listened to in this land;
We all know that the power is in the rich man’s hand.
They feed us lies from the White House, and by and by
Top judges are also liars who don’t so much as try
To cover blatant politics in their partisan disgraces;
They leave court in the dark of night to hide their shameful faces.
Elections are for sale, popular vote’s an all-out farce,
It’s back-room deals and all-day spin, and neither can be parsed.
Candidates are managed 'til they’re choked right at the throat;
The media asks no questions and their viewers do not vote.
We’re out of gas, we're out of oil, the very things we use
To make our plastic do-dads, run our cars, and grow our food.
No one’s to blame it seems and yet it’s everybody’s fault
Our country’s broke and vicious, and it’s grinding to a halt.
We’re tired of town meetings and marches through our town,
We’re tired of raised hopes that are consistently knocked down.
Start planning families and stop buying those massive cars;
Throw out the bums, and after that we can try to heal the scars.
-CAROLYN DUNN
(6/30/2006, ASTORIA, OREGON)
JULY 2006