Government's the Problem

deadline poet

By Calvin Trillin

This article appeared in the October 10, 2005 edition of The Nation.

September 22, 2005

(A Chorus From the Bush Administration Sings Another Republican Sea Chantey)

We weren't impressed with FEMA when we came--
Too set on fitting jobs to skills precisely.
It's loyalty we needed at the top.
We thought a horse show judge would do quite nicely.

'Cause government's the problem, lads,
Americans would all do well to shun it.
Yes, government's the problem, lads.
At least it is when we're the ones who run it.

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About Calvin Trillin

Calvin Trillin is The Nation's "deadline poet." He has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1963 and has written the syndicated weekly column "Uncivil Liberties" since 1986. He has authored many, many books, including Tepper's Not Going Out and Deadline Poet: My Life as a Doggerelist. more...
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