El Toro, El Toro, Wherefore Art Thou El Toro? Poem by Luke Easter

Well, it is actually located on the west coast of the United States,
Not Columbia, Peru, Brazil, Venezuela, Calgary or Iraq but wait,
In America the Beautiful someone is allowing deadly toxic waste?
And the construction of, “A Great Park” for a city over that place?

Question? Are they conveniently building a cemetery right next door?
Better make that two because the body count will be a whole lot more,
A park is a place of family gatherings, little league baseball, much joy,
Two council members raised eyebrows, Christina Shea, Dr. Steven Choi.

Does the phrase, “informational awareness” mean to overlook the fact?
That this former Marine Corp Air Base used to dump & bury such crap,
How does a day-1 proposed budget of $243 million shrink to a scant 19?
I’m no Einstein but a difference of $224 million is certainly lots of green.

Over $40 mil was spent on a design to replace runways at this former base,
However, just computer delet that plan for now & just leave them in place,
So, now I wonder who was related to the company that created the design?
Hey, I know, while checking out the site toxic fumes clouded their minds.

A scene comes to mind about drinking water from the Erin Brockovich flick,
Swallowing contaminants, even breathing that air can make you deadly sick,
And, “remediation of all that soil” doesn’t mean long stem roses will bloom,
We do not use the Mayan Calendar but, this time it is easy to forecast doom.

Salem-News team writer Roger Butow along with local mom Nicole Wright,
Are united in equal camaraderie against this ill advised development to fight,
A proposed recreational haven where children and families may joyfully go,
And, “it’s going to take fifty more years to clean up” is a mystery to Nicole.

Hey! We are not flying this plane without wings & neither is she the only mom,
No matter how many articles it takes voice your concerns @ Salem-News.com,
The Great Park project and associated agencies are very positive but so is HIV,
I don’t know about you, I desire neither that or deadly waste to reside inside me.

Irvine City Council & citizens heard things about El Toro that were grim at best,
Why is the council majority along with developers ignoring results of their test?
Countless numbers of unpronounceable stuff but I can say TCE, PCE & benzene,
Along with many heavy metals and Agent Orange that alone tells me it is mean.

The Base Relocation & Enclosure Coordinator claims to know nothing of U-235,
Little as 15 lb can be used to make an atomic bomb it’s not for keeping us alive,
This person never heard of that person as the research or study somehow is lost,
In the meantime, it is the innocent bystanders who have to pay the deadly cost.

How in the world can any department or corporation consciously seal your fate?
Lost in these discussions is the reason for America & creating the United States,
Understand that many projects like this succeed, so how can we make them fail?
Like the recent Ohio Cuyahoga County Corruption scandal, follow the $$$$ trial.

Is it time to resurrect Saddam Hussein and do away with democracy?
From the very least, during his reign of terror there was no hypocrisy,
Either that or give these so-called leaders a lesson or 90 in diplomacy,
What’s the single most important thing as an elected official? Honesty!

w/Tim King