Rhymes On The Newsworthy Times Royal Wedding

On Friday, April 29, 2011 Prince William and Kate Middleton move down the aisle to be wed at Westiminster Abbey. So many of us here are enthralled over this ceremony and will be up at 4:00 to watch. Why? maybe its that we long for the sense of dignity and grace from our elected leader so lacking since probably the time of George Washington. Sadly even on this best day are current office holder has not one ounce of the grace and dignity and honor exuded by the Queen, who visited Stanford when I was on the Board of Trustees. I was not one of the select few to meet her but from the reports of those who did, her presence in a quiet way filled the room. Prince Charles unfortunately with his adultries cannot hold a candle to the Queen and his wedding gift to William and Kate should be his renunciation of the the throne on the Queen's death. The news and video of Prince William, son of Dianna wading into the crowd shaking hands prompted this: hope you enjoy

A ROYAL WEDDING
A Rose Parade it is not and rain may on the morrow fall
But crowds are now staking places along the Wall
Diane runs through half his genes willing to into crowds mingle
Prince William shaking endless hands to awe and tingle
All the Rose Queen and her court would do is wave
Those Brits who pressed his flesh for a moment to forever save
There will be horses and marching bands
A procession watched by millions in many lands
True, no Badgers or Horned Frogs and no floats of flowers towering into the air
But a royal carriage of history carrying the dreams we all wish to share
Our distant cousins, even if not blessed with Pasadena's no rain shield
Deserve our applause for a true romance of a young couple to be sealed
The Sun now daily sets on the British Empire but not on Friday morn
After the failed marriages the trust in the Windsors now to be reborn
Unlike a President or a Prime Minister, a King must above all place
Honor and integrity and role model high above politics so squalid and so base
A soon king-to-be, an aging Charles should take this hint
And not taint the royal thorn with his kingly stint
The Candle in the Wind in the Abbey will not flicker out
Finally and sadly without her, the Windsor ship seems to be turning about
A two cake wedding and a dress even WikiLeak cannot reveal
Kate and William, may your marriage 60 years from now be the lasting deal!
(c) April 28, 2011 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet

A Tale of Two Women

Neda Soltan was the young woman shot to death by Iranian Police in 2009 during demonstrations against corrupt elections that kept Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in power. The photo of her bleeding to death in the streets has become a symbol of resistence in theocratic Iran. Today the State Department released a report of wide spread human rights abuses in that country. We are portrayed by Iran's leaders as the Great Satan. Iran by us (althogh not as fervently by Obama) as the Axis of Evil. Go back 41years to Kent State on May 4th and you find the photo of Mary Ann Vechio, a 14 year old runaway, screaming over the body of Jeff Miller shot dead by Ohio National Guardsmen seconds before. Maybe it is only the leaders who are the Great Satan or the Axis of Evil, and the youth much more common. Hope you enjoy:

A Tale of Two Women
When will the bearded theocrats ruling with iron hands
Wake up to the revolution that is sweeping their lands?
The youth do not want to put their personal lives on hold,
Waiting for the Hidden Inman to return to the earthly fold
If Caesar and God one seeks to merge
Free expression and thought one must purge
Along with all manner of any earthly joy
Even a girl's walk in a street holding hands with a boy
The Great Satan and the Axis of Evil we are portrayed
Images from which we both in the past have not strayed
Kent State- Images of a screaming young girl with a student dead at her feet
Tehran--Images of a wounded young girl bleeding out in the streets
40 years apart the youth are much closer than one might think
Hopefully the theocrats will see some sanity and blink
As Iranians, especially women, rise up no longer serfs
To regain one's humanity and freedom’s rightful perch.
The Arab Spring that has swept the Arab shores
Where each minor concession brings out the cries for more
Though the men who rule cannot to Western music dance,
If they are smart, they will step aside and let freedom advance.
If not, their days are numbered as the youth will prevail
They will not put up the theocratic tyrants’ 24/7 mental and social jails.
(c) Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet
April 19, 2011

Innovation Secrets

After near threat of government shutdown and days of drama, the remaining 6 months of 2011 how have a budget with a miniscule reduction in expenditures. Better yet it would appear that we are all safer now because Congress will soon take a recess. One the Democratic House members in the debate this morning was bemoaning the loss of innovaation. Here's the Alaskanpoet's take of how to innovate.

Innovation Secrets

As a Stanford grad I have seen the Winds of Freedom blow
The sparks of thoughts in white hot glow
Its HP garage now turning out Googles of ideas
But Stanford or its ilk may not be the only panacea
To the simple fact that with our wages we cannot compete in terms of cost
If not armed with an army of inquiring minds, our children's future will be lost
But like the farmer who eats his seed corn to prevent an early grave,
We are doomed if our government overspends and will not or cannot save
We must also solve the paradox that those whom society most detests
Continue to prosper and climb far above the rest
We cannot follow Dick the Butcher's recipe for success
But we can elect and appoint lawyers far, far less
This should all heed what should be the primary law of the land
We will pass no law so written that a lawyer is needed to understand!
(c) April 14, 2011 Michael P. Ridley aka The Alaskanpoet