Carolyn McGiffert Ekedahl

Trump's greatest heist

For once, the Chief Thief’s told the truth —

His tone as usual uncouth.

“If you vote me in in 'Twenty-four!

“Your need to vote will be no more!

“Cause then we’ll get the whole thing fixed.”

Democracy forever nixed!

“Dear Christians,” is whom he implored

To show democracy the door.

The Chief Thief’s stolen things before.

The Kamala effect

I’m feeling a feeling unusual;
It isn’t my usual mope.
It’s a curious, happy-type feeling;
The feeling I’m feeling is hope!

It’s because of events quite momentous.
It’s about whom we may now elect.
There’s a shift in our sense of the future.
It must be the Kamala Effect.

At the moment Joe passed the baton,
She was ready to enter the race.
In fact, she seems more than just ready.
She’s setting a vigorous pace.

She seems filled with energy contagious,
Prompting thousands of new volunteers.
The money floods in in the millions.
Her crowds are erupting in cheers.

Can it be that she’ll be the difference?
Can she o’ercome the lead of the Don?
Will this country remain a Republic?
On Harris a lot’s riding on.

So far we’re a party united.
Our differences quenched for a time.
Let’s just get out the vote, make some his’try.
Help Harris to victory climb!

Carolyn McGiffert Ekedahl is the former deputy inspector general for inspections at the Central Intelligence Agency and co-author of “The Wars of Eduard Shevardnadze.”

Dear Joe, you’ve got a choice to make
It’s not easy; there’s no magic.
Be a hero for your wisdom
Or become a figure tragic.

You say you need to keep the job
To finish what you started.
But the job has been ongoing
Since from England we were parted.

We’re a project that’s in progress;
We’ve final victory never caught.
And for every generation
There are battles to be fought.

To make progress with the project
Can’t depend on just one man.
The torch has got to be passed on;
Must go from hand to hand.

George Washington, when he withdrew,
Said t’was time to pass the torch.
He said, like Cinncinnatus,
He’d retire to his porch.

Now its time for you to step aside,
Pass on the team baton.
You must let some other leader
This long battle carry on.

Carolyn McGiffert Ekedahl is the former deputy inspector general for inspections at the Central Intelligence Agency and co-author of “The Wars of Eduard Shevardnadze.”

Crooked justice: a poem

Our rule of law, which we’ve long prized
Disintegrates before our eyes.
Justices who act corruptly
Stop due process quite abruptly.

These justices have cooked up ways
To force indefinite delays,
Thus ensuring Crooked Don
Toward re-election scurries on.

Don’s crimes of course are loud and clear,
Crimes that one can watch and hear.
“The documents I stole are mine!
“Hang Mike Pence? That sounds just fine!”

Our Court Supreme just hums a tune —
“Can it be our Don’s immune?
“Let’s ponder this for several months,
“Then down the field the ball we’ll punt!”

And down in Florida, Don’s Aileen
Is playing games we’ve never seen.
“Special Counsel, what is that?
“Which legal bean is in which hat?”

And so with Don our courts collude
In manner barely cloaked — and crude.
Out in the open for all to see,
They’re toying with democracy.

Carolyn McGiffert Ekedahl is the former deputy inspector general for inspections at the Central Intelligence Agency and co-author of “The Wars of Eduard Shevardnadze.”

Catch and kill

They seemed to have a lot of fun —
Just a game, when said and done.
Pecker’s out there with his mitt
To catch the next big juicy hit!

Some little sin by his friend Don
Will keep his income moving on.
Another woman, another song,
Claims the Don has done her wrong.

He fields the story, pays the bill,
And now the story he will kill.
He’ll be paid back by his friend Don.
Another day, another con.

And why not sling a bunch of lies,
Scandals to hurt the other guys.
Ted Cruz’s father’s a Cuban spy.
His wife with others likes to lie.

Trump and Pecker sure can make
And distribute news that’s Fake!
They smile and rest upon their laurels,
Rotten guys with rotten morals!

Carolyn McGiffert Ekedahl is the former deputy inspector general for inspections at the Central Intelligence Agency and co-author of “The Wars of Eduard Shevardnadze.”

The chief thief's pickles

The Chief Thief lacks the dimes and even nickels
That he needs to extricate himself from pickles
Of the legal sort that have him somewhat harried.
A richer immigrant he should have married!

While he said that he had billions he could beckon,
On needing to produce them didn’t reckon.
And now it seems no one will give him bond,
Afraid that in the end they will be conned!

For years the Don has cheated one and all,
Yet managed to avoid a fatal fall.
Gone bankrupt yes, failed lots, but blest
With systems slow, not speed-obsessed.

Now, once again, for Don, the system works.
Slow rolling all the charges, Kafka’s clerks
Postpone the days of reckoning until
The chances to convict him become nil.

So Donald rolls along his crooked way.
Perhaps some court will finally make him pay.
But, if as jailbird, Chief Thief doesn’t sing,
We may have to deal with Donald as our King!

Carolyn McGiffert Ekedahl is the former deputy inspector general for inspections at the Central Intelligence Agency and co-author of “The Wars of Eduard Shevardnadze.”

Russian Nero: a poem

Vladimir Putin believes he’s exalted —
His rebuild of Empire cannot be halted.
He started out slowly — Abkhazia, Ossetia,
Small, unknown places, like little Transnistria.

He bit off Crimea and eastern Ukraine;
Then his ambition became very plain.
Though he started out slowly, one slice at a time,
Now NATO is building a “Maginot line!”

His bombing in Ukraine is terror of course.
Killing innocents is the approach he endorses.
He squashes opponents — at home and abroad,
Apparatchiks in Moscow just smile and applaud.

He’s a relic of Empire — an Empire fallen.
He’s a KGB thug and a wannabe Stalin.
He arrests those who anti-war sentiments say;
Assassinates those who may get in his way.

This devious, poisonous, treacherous Nero
Murdered an icon, a genuine hero.
He poisoned Navalny, next he’ll go for his wife.
That’s Vladimir Putin, Dictator for Life.

Carolyn McGiffert Ekedahl is the former deputy inspector general for inspections at the Central Intelligence Agency and co-author of “The Wars of Eduard Shevardnadze.”

Colorado versus the court: a poem

They don’t want to do it; don’t want to disrupt.
They fear if they do it all hell will erupt.
Their fears are quite rational, practical too;
Keeping Trump off the ballot would cause a to-do!

Their challenge, of course, what they don’t like to hear ...
Amendment 14, Section 3 is quite clear.
Having sworn to support the U.S. Constitution,
An officer rebelling ‘gainst that institution,
Shall not hold an office of these United States.
What a mess for the Court craven Donald creates.

For the Donald rebelled right in front of our eyes.
He called up his mob — no attempt at disguise.
The Donald just wishes they’d done a bit more.
If given the chance, he would stage an encore.

Oh poor originalists, what do they do now?
The words and intent are their most sacred cow!
Even the “liberals” don’t want to engage,
They all fear the force of the MAGA crowd’s rage?

The prospective decision clearly has them all vexed.
What they need is a fig leaf, a convincing pretext.
Are an office and officer really the same?
Is conviction required to assign any blame?
And so on and so on, the so-called off-ramping.
As onward to victory, the Donald keeps tramping.

Carolyn McGiffert Ekedahl is the former deputy inspector general for inspections at the Central Intelligence Agency and co-author of “The Wars of Eduard Shevardnadze.”

'Another year': a poem

Another year,
And so another year begins.
Wars continue. No one wins.

Hamas-depraved. Israelis-cruel.
No practice of the Golden Rule.

Ukraine deprived of U.S. aid,
By feckless GOP brigade.
Bombs falling on civilian places,
Children dying, tragic faces.
Some bombing may be due to error,
Most of it is outright terror!

The view is bleak back here as well,
Trump’s polling numbers seem to swell.
Donald labels migrants “vermin,”
Nikki gives “What’s slav’ry?” sermon.

As down the hole we seem to spin,
We see another year begin.

Begin again, that’s what we’ll do.
Begin again, our strength renew.
Begin again, renew the fight.
This year, let’s hope, we get it right!

Carolyn McGiffert Ekedahl is the former deputy inspector general for inspections at the Central Intelligence Agency and co-author of “The Wars of Eduard Shevardnadze.”

'Ninety-one and counting': a poem

Ninety-one counts for the Count of Sedition.
Once again he’s blown past all our norms and traditions.
We know for a fact there could be a lot more.
The emoluments clause still hangs out there — a lure.

Alone, Trump’s a liar, a cheat, and a con.
With lawyers and minions, he’s Dangerous Don!
He began with big greed, then craved power. Now fear
Drives him on; he’s not likely to veer.

So stop him we must or the future looks grim.
The “experiment” fails if we again elect him!
There’s only one path now, the path of the vote.
So it’s just about time that we stop and take note!

Stop gnashing our teeth — and worrying our beads!
Nothing is perfect; let’s get out of the weeds!
Once again, there’s one path — and it’s Biden and Harris.
Stop wringing your hands; it’s yourselves you embarrass.

Trump and Biden, both old; yes, and Trump has more hair.
Other than that, how do these guys compare?
Get on the wagon! The wagon must roll ...
This wagon’s our country, its heart and its soul!

Carolyn McGiffert Ekedahl is the former deputy inspector general for inspections at the Central Intelligence Agency and co-author of “The Wars of Eduard Shevardnadze.”

'White Supremacy': a poem

Some said that, with Obama, it was past —
That racism was done. It couldn’t last!
But they forgot our history’s basic twist.
Our origins are white-supremacist.

Our founders, all of European stock,
On superiority assumed a lock;
Considered all but white to be quite savage …
Theirs to control, command, confine — and ravage!

Though slavery’s the major exhibition,
Other tragedies deserve more exposition.
Schools for “Indians,” their culture to erode;
The KKK, the lynchings, and Jim Crow.

No matter what we think or how we act
White supremacy’s embedded; that’s a fact.
For our culture, institutions, and our laws
Were created and designed to serve The Cause.

To get a loan; a house to own; and voting rights
The main condition was: you must be White.
Boys of color get the lecture, “Just behave!
For to the so-called law, you may be prey!”

DeSantis and his cronies make the case:
We must not look this history in the face.
Their purpose is both obvious and cruel —
Have White supremacists regain their rule!

Carolyn McGiffert Ekedahl is the former deputy inspector general for inspections at the Central Intelligence Agency and co-author of “The Wars of Eduard Shevardnadze.”

'Count the Ways': a poem about Donald Trump's indictment

How many ways could Trump mount a coup?
At first, we all thought there were just one or two!
But no, there were many as it turns out.

Number One was the Big Lie. Repeat in a shout,
"The election was stolen by Dems in the night!
Because it was stolen, we’re going to fight."

Number Two: Mount a challenge in every court.
Forget about evidence, just file the tort.
Sixty cases presented, sixty cases just died.
By even the Roberts Court, these were denied!

Number Three: Pressure officials of note —
Raffensburger in Georgia, "Just find me the votes!"

Number Four: DOJ has to quickly declare
That fraud made election counts very unfair!

Number Five: Establish Alternate Slates
Of Electors in all of the Battleground states.

Number Six: Have Hill allies — Hawley, Jordan and Cruz,
Dispute valid ballots, no need for excuses.

Number Seven was key: Mike Pence had the Card.
If he played it just right, it shouldn’t be hard
To throw everything into utmost confusion,
Upend the election, create the illusion
That Trump was indeed the president elected.
But Pence foiled the coup because he defected.

Number Eight: Too bad, they’d have to call in Their Mob.
Just a messier way to handle the job.

Seize the ballots or burn them, thus postponing the count.
So many great ways an insurrection to mount.

Though he failed in these efforts, it clearly is true
He’d have done anything to accomplish his coup!

Now he plots and he plans in his various towers
How to use every means to regain and hold power!

Jack Smith and his team, with luck, may have the key
To preserving/maintaining our democracy!

Carolyn McGiffert Ekedahl is the former deputy inspector general for inspections at the Central Intelligence Agency and co-author of “The Wars of Eduard Shevardnadze.”

'Lucky slaves'

Ron DeSantis has stated, so it must be true,
Slaves were given quite useful vocations to do.
When freed, they could use these nice skills they’d received
To build useful lives, all their burdens relieved!

So let’s give a great cheer for the owners of slaves,
And the good deeds they did for those out-of-work knaves!
The lucky folks, seized so they’d never more roam,
Were much better off than those left back at home.

For those seized, lucky souls, would gain skills, would be trained —
At least those who survived, at least those who remained.
Of the 12 million chained in those lovely ships’ holds,
Perhaps 10 million made it in time to be sold!

From the start of the slave trade — 1525 —
'Til the day Lincoln freed them, many million slaves died.
Almost all slaves, excluding those who took flight,
Would never see freedom or its holy light.

Most slaves were forbidden to read or to write,
But they certainly worked, so DeSantis is right!
Most worked picking cotton, tobacco all day,
While a few lucky souls got to cook, clean and pray.

These lucky slaves lacked all the burdens of life,
Like the need to take care of a child or a wife.
Because a slave’s loves might be sold, sent away,
She could easily focus — just work and obey!

And that’s just what DeSantis demands for today.
“Work hard and be careful, and watch what you say!
“Don't teach of a system designed to oppress.
“Such ideas you’re no longer allowed to express!”

Carolyn McGiffert Ekedahl is the former deputy inspector general for inspections at the Central Intelligence Agency and co-author of “The Wars of Eduard Shevardnadze.”