Poetry Prose and Other Words

by Ken Ingham

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Blog 2002

December 25, 2002
Christmas Prayer

Oh Jesus, son of God
Born of the virgin Mary
two thousand years ago

Prince of peace
Purveyor of love and good will

Love and Good Will

This holiday is named for you
This season of excess
Help us to recover

A time
When a child's heart
Could be made to skip a beat
A t the touch
Of a hunk of maple sugar
In the bottom of a stocking
The sweet taste of an imported tangerine
And under the tree, a toy truck
Made by hand from scraps of wood

November 9, 2002
Dear Senators and Reps,

I am writing to ask your help in checking the drift of our nation toward fascism. I am particularly concerned about the Bushmaster's efforts to force a vote on creation of the Department of Homeland Security. The question that needs to be asked is Why? I thought protection of the homeland was why we created the Department of War, latter named Department of Defense. If the DOD can't defend the homeland, why does it exist? If the Bushmaster wants to change the name of DOD to DOHS, that's okay, but please, no new department. I am reminded of that novel Iron Mountain in which the confederate deserter Inman is stalked by a ruthless outfit called the Home Guard. Scary indeed! Remember, this is the administration that wanted to enlist truck drivers as tipsters to report on suspicious behavior. I wonder if driving an eighteen wheeler eighty miles an hour on the Interstate would qualify as suspicious; better they keep their eyes on the road.

It should also be noted that the phrase "Department of Homeland Security", translated into Russian, comes out very close to what was called the KGB.