Galileo

Galileo Galilei--

Physicist, mathematician,

Astronomer, philosopher--

You angered the Roman Inquisition

And later the Pope and Jesuits as well.

Your scientific observation

That the earth moves around the sun

Was considered a heretical revelation!

Spreading ideas "contrary to scripture"--

A risky endeavor and path to take--

Guaranteed life imprisonment

Or a gruesome burning at the stake.

Under pressure you recanted:

"The earth doesn't move around the sun."

They say that under your breath you muttered,

"And yet it moves." You lost, yet won.

Though you lived under house arrest

For years until the day you died,

Your scientific contributions

To benefit mankind cannot be denied.

It's sad when dogma and ignorance attempt

To force dissenters into compliance.

It's sadder yet that in this century

Too many people still ignore science.

Our thoughts aren't shaped from cookie cutters;

Beliefs don't all fit the same mold.

Praise to the thinkers who soar to great heights

And break authority's stranglehold.

Praise to those who dare to defy

Petrified positions or views--

Who challenge our mind-set and open our eyes

To truth and awareness, despite jeers and boos.

(12-28-14) By Bob B

Santa Caught Speeding?

Christmas Day! It's hot off the press.

I cannot believe what I am reading.

There in bold headlines and all in caps:

SANTA CLAUS PULLED OVER FOR SPEEDING!

Is it possible for Santa's sleigh

To exceed the maximum miles per hour?

Might that have a little to do

With all of his horse-…or reindeer-power?

The policeman asked for his driver's license.

A driver's license for Santa? What gives?

Don't cops know that such trivialities

Are unnecessary where Santa lives?

What about vehicle registration?

Also missing on Santa's person.

"Oh, oh," I thought. "He's going to have problems."

But keep on reading: things only worsen.

When asked if the red in his cheeks resulted

From tipping the bottle, Santa said, "Stop.

You must be kidding, for you ought to know

That Santa has NEVER touched a drop."

The policeman asked him to walk a straight line.

Shaking with laughter, the plump man replied,

"I can't EVEN see my feet.

I couldn't walk a straight line if I tried!"

The cop threatened to search the sleigh,

Which, Santa said, would be all right.

"But once you start," he added with a  grin,

"You'll find it's going to take you all night."

A witness heard Santa quietly mutter,

"It wasn't such a good idea

To take that alternate route. Good grief!

Where have I landed? In North Korea?

You know, you're putting me way behind schedule.

If I don't hurry, I'll be in big trouble."

Santa pleaded with the man in uniform,

"I need to get going on the double."

So Santa got off with only a warning.

We're lucky he wasn't hauled off to jail,

Which would have forced Mrs. Claus

To have to come up with money for bail.

(12-25-14)

"Gee Whiz! Santa Sucks!"

"Mommy says that Santa won't be visiting this year.

She says it is because I have been bad.

She always seems so angry and upset 'bout everything.

She always says, 'I'm going to tell your dad.'

"Just because I broke my sister's iPad yesterday:

I only wished to see if it could float.

And then I blew it once again when we all horsed around

And I spilled grape juice on her favorite coat.

"Last week I broke Mommy's Royal Copenhagen plates.

She said to me, 'That really takes the cake!'

But I don't understand because she didn't even use them.

It's stupid to collect things that can break!

"A month ago my daddy bought a brand new fancy car--

The old one, he said, was 'obsolete.'

Boy he really blew his stack one day when he found

My chocolate candy melting on the seat.

"My brother had a new flat-screen TV in his room.

He proudly called it 'state of the art.'

I kind of knocked it over, though, while playing with my friend.

Yeah, I know:  I wasn't being smart.

"If Santa has been watching me my chances will be slim

Of getting that expensive baseball glove.

But if you ask me, I think that it really sucks that Santa

Does NOT believe in unconditional love!

"I'm the victim here, you see. That is what I am.

I try to my best year after year.

If Santa wants to play that way I hope he gets my message:

Tell him he can stick it in his ear!

Yep!

Tell him he can stick it in his ear."

(12-22-14) By Bob B

¡Viva Cuba!

Ah, Cuba--cousin of the Americas--

Estrangement really does you no good.

Unless our worlds can come together,

You'll keep being misunderstood.

Vibrant land of son and mambo,

Habanera, rumba and danzón,

Let your music and your spirit

Conquer fears that are overblown.

Moros y cristianos… ¡Caramba!

Yuca, ajo, cebolla: Divine!

Your culinary flavors thrill me:

Just one taste, and I'm on cloud nine!

With Vietnam and China we gladly

Swept past differences under the rug

And established diplomatic relations

With little resistance and barely a shrug.

To you we turned our backs and let

Our differences fester and further divide us.

When we cave in to spite and resentment,

We can't see how hard feelings misguide us.

As unnecessary barriers fall,

Let's open up travel and trade

And end the ineffective embargo--

A punitive measure and worthless charade

That hurts only the people and not

The Communist government that we mistrust.

The PEOPLE are Cuba--NOT the Castros;

That is a point to remember--a must!

And so, Cuba--cousin of the Americas--

Let's be optimistic and hope

That major changes and better relations

Lie completely within our scope.

By Bob B (12-19-14)

Madness Has No Holiday Spirit

Madness Has No Holiday Spirit

By Bob B (12-17-14)

Our holidays here are no guarantee

That sadness and suffering will not pay a visit

To some part of this mixed-up world.

It's incomprehensible. Tell me, what is it

That drives killers to massacre children

At a school in Pakistan? Can't we expect

Our schools to provide a haven of safety

That murder and violence cannot infect?

Two years ago at Sandy Hook

A slaughter occurred for a different reason.

Madness cruelly and completely ignores

The spirit of any holiday season.

The mind obsessed with revenge is dangerous--

So is the mind poisoned with rules,

Haughty morals and warped "truths"

That cater a dastardly feast for fools.

Does irrationality rule the world?

Explanations seem a futility.

Kindness, goodness, and fairness must balance

With crazed minds and hateful hostility.

Safety itself is an illusion--

A wished-for notion; a deceptive disguise;

A mental construct that placates the hopeful,

Tricks the unwary, deludes the unwise.

When religion stifles and doesn't expand

And open the seeker's heart and mind,

The world becomes a hollow place--

Scary and threatening, cold and unkind.

By Bob B (12-17-14)

What Else Is New?

Strum your guitar and sing along!...

When the Republicans control our Congress,

What will that portend?

Good news for the rich; bad for the poor.

What else is new, my friend?

We hope that our leaders support the people.

Of course, that will depend

On how much YOU "support" your leaders.

What else is new, my friend?

It's sad how people use their religion

To allow them to defend

Their right to take away rights from others.

What else is new, my friend?

To avoid a government shutdown some members

Of Congress will not bend

From socking it to the hard-working people.

What else is new, my friend?

People point out that our economy

Is certainly on the mend.

Of course, the President receives no credit.

What else is new, my friend?

The damage that Congress can do to the people

Is hard to comprehend.

But they've screwed us before and they'll do it again.

What else is new, my friend?

To help maintain our infrastructure,

That means we have to spend.

To some people that's anathema.

What else is new, my friend?

Apathy among the American voters

Is a continuing trend.

No wonder we’re stuck with numbskulls in Congress!

What else is new, my friend?

A man over there holds a sign that says

The world is going to end.

That's been said for 2,000 years.

What else is new, my friend?

What else is new?

What else is new?

What else is new, my friend?

By Bob B (12-12-14)

Incredible!

It's amazing how many people respond

To something right before their eyes,

And instead of believing the ugly truth,

They choose to believe in a litany of lies.

When torture's no longer an act of depravity

But a tactic that people support and condone,

Our moral standing in the world suffers.

That's something we ought to bemoan.

The mistreatment of people and the cruel infliction

Of pain on prisoners aren't petty slights.

Can we hold others to higher standards

If WE don't respect human rights?

Some say the times call for desperate measures.

That's a cop out--a rationalization!

Or "Terrorists themselves are brutal and cruel":

Another excuse; an absurd incantation.

In dealing with terrorists who would do us harm,

Humane standards must preside;

Otherwise, our character becomes

Less like Jekyll and more like Hyde.

Torture is not a thing to gloss over.

It's NOT a tactic the media should make light of.

A strict adherence to honor and values

Is a goal that we should never lose sight of.

Do you ever wonder who sits around

And designs the techniques of torture that we see?

I don't know, but whoever it is

Has to be a sick S-O-B.

By Bob B (12-11-14)

Call It What It Is

Step right up, folks!

Take a look around.

See all the strategies

Your CIA has found

To help "protect" you;

To make you feel safe.

They don't worry

If their tactics make you chafe.

The Senate Intelligence

Committee Report

Mentions waterboarding,

And, NO, it's not a sport.

Sleep deprivation--

Does that really work?

It wouldn't take long

Before you went berserk.

Rectal re-hydration

Doesn't sound like fun.

It sounds like an enema

With a water gun.

Ice baths--brrr!--

In zero degrees.

Try to imagine

That brain freeze!

Isolation rooms!

Trouble would impend

After being locked there

For days on end.

Small box confinement--

That would cause some grief.

You couldn't even stretch out

To get some relief.

How about being

Slammed against the wall

Or threatened with death

Until you start to bawl?

Each "enhanced

Interrogation technique"

Causes pain and suffering

And sounds pretty bleak.

Let's just call them

What they really are:

They're all forms of torture

And they go too far.

There appears to be no evidence

From connecting all the dots

That the tactics stopped

Imminent plots.

I thought that we

Were better than that.

All attempts to justify

Such tactics fall flat.

We have the right to protest--

The right to make a fuss.

I guess more laws are needed

To protect us from us.

By Bob B (12-9-14)

Questions

If someone dies from an ILLEGAL chokehold

At the hands of the police,

Shouldn't the policeman responsible stand

Before a justice of the peace?

If a man is brought down by an illegal chokehold--

The use of excessive force--

Is that an act that we as Americans

Can rightfully endorse?

If the police suspected that you were selling

Untaxed cigarettes, too,

Do you think they'd also rough you up

And apply a chokehold on you?

Regarding the death of Eric Garner,

Was brutal force the cause,

Or was his death, as Rand Paul suggests,

Due to taxation laws?

If someone causes another's death

Does he deserve immunity?

Or better yet should he have

A license to kill with impunity?

Isn't it ironic that a man is killed

When stopped by the police for selling

Untaxed or unlicensed cigarettes--

Hardly that compelling!--

And yet there are hundreds of thousands of people

Who every year resist

Paying the appropriate taxes they owe,

And they get a slap on the wrist?

No country's perfect, but shouldn't we still

Seek a means whereby

We can perfect our current system?

Shouldn't we even try?

By Bob B (12-4-14)

Spin Masters

It's a shame how the right-wing news

Takes a current event

And twists and spins the story

In efforts to misrepresent

The true motives behind

People's protestations.

Instead, the commentators

Spew rank accusations.

A case in point is Ferguson.

The Fox News spin denies

Existing systemic injustice.

My! What a surprise!

“Grievance industry leaders,”

“Racial racketeers,”

And “racial arsonists” are spreading

“Propaganda” and fears.

Such a spin on the issue

Ignores the problems at hand,

And the disenfranchised people

Remain in no man's land.

Anything to deflect

The viewers from the truth…

To see through the crafty tactics

Doesn't require a sleuth.

To ignore the people's expression

Of frustration, anger, and grief,

And to call it "victim mentality"

Is utterly beyond belief.

Granted, there have been troublemakers

Who've deviated from the path

Of peaceful demonstration

And incurred the people's wrath.

Vandalism and looting

Are wrong; but let's not forget

That issues of inequality

Have not been solved as yet.

Instead of feeding its viewers

Gossip and mindless chatter,

Fox News should focus on facts

And real situations that matter.

By Bob B (12-3-14)

Black Friday Madness

At five a.m. the doors swing open.

The throng of shoppers lined up at the store

Pushes and shoves and jabs and elbows

Its aggressive way through the wide-open door.

Once inside, the crowd scatters

This way, that way, in chaotic motion.

The store clerks gasp, feeling like islands

Surrounded by a raging ocean.

"Oh, no you don’t!" one woman shouts

At another woman clutching a box

Containing the last flat-screen TV.

"Hands off; it's mine!" the other one squawks.

A mad tug-o'-war ensues

As the two women grapple to claim what's theirs.

An onlooker who is knocked down in the skirmish

Shrieks, "What a sorry state of affairs!"

All through the store, items are flying.

The store resembles the scene of a battle,

OR, perhaps, a giant herd

Of loud, thundering, angry cattle.

A man stops to pick up something

He dropped--perfume, a gift for his wife--

And is trampled by the surge of shoppers.

The poor guy nearly loses his life.

One bold shopper with her canister of pepper spray

Threatens to douse the belligerent crowd

Until she is tackled by security guards

And is escorted away, cursing out loud.

Announcements blare from the loudspeakers:

"Shoppers' special on aisle three."

Suddenly, the rivers of shoppers change course

As the curious hope to get something free.

In the background, Christmas carols playing

The hopeful messages of joy and peace

Are drowned out by the ear-piercing din

That sounds like the honking of thousands of geese.

"I want my mommy," a whiny child cries.

"What do you want for Christmas: a dolly?"

Asks Santa, losing his last bit of patience

And doing his best to try to act jolly.

The chaos never ceases to wane

As the shoppers vie for the best shopping deals.

One man rushing to grab the last smart phone

Slips and falls head over heels

And slides into an obese grandma,

Sending her sprawling into some shelves

Of decorations, all of which go flying.

The injured lie covered with reindeer and elves.

Endless lines at the registers await

The exhausted shoppers. You're closer. Hurrah!

The woman in front of you then needs a price check.

No, that can't be! That's the last straw!

Another day of Black Friday madness.

Would that it could be over! But no.

You've barely started; that's store number one.

You have four more stores to go!

(11-30-14) By Bob B

Identity Crisis?

Are we facing an identity crisis?

America has some soul-searching to do.

Our land of diversity must reexamine

Itself from multiple points of view.

Recent protests in Ferguson, Missouri,

And across our vast country all show

That ignoring the needs of the people creates

A powder keg that eventually will blow.

The unrest is not about one incident:

A policeman's shooting of Michael Brown.

We must examine the larger picture

To see what it is that's weighing us down.

Too often we allow problems to fester

Instead of lightening the heavy load

By addressing important matters directly

Before they dangerously explode.

Minimizing issues of human rights

Won't make problems disappear.

Injustice and inequality have continued

To plague our country year after year.

Are we so caught up in our little lives,

Limited by rumors and petty complaints,

That we're unable to hear the cries

Of those who are burdened by society's constraints?

Are we isolated in our busy worlds,

Seeing but NOT paying attention

Because of indifference? Our lack of caring

Leads to greater misapprehension.

Perpetuating myths, applying labels,

And prejudging others on each person's part

Will keep our country from moving forward.

Efforts to change must come from the heart.

A hardy, earnest, honest dialogue

With innovative suggestions for change

And our desire to work together

Should not be completely out of our range.

The road to freedom has potholes and bends;

Lest moving forward get out of control,

The road must be kept in good repair

And we MUST keep our eyes on our goal.

When we ask ourselves who we are,

What is the answer? You make the call.

Are we a nation with privileges for some,

Or a nation with liberty and justice for all?

By Bob B (11-28-14)

Substance and Style (A Song)

Substance and style!

Please give me

Substance and style.

Where would we be without

Substance and style?

What a great goal!

It's something that I'll

Strive to achieve--

I hope without guile.

I'll even walk

That extra mile

For a balance of substance and style!

Substance without style

Falls flat on the spot.

It's colorless and lifeless,

And it happens a lot.

You can observe it

In all types of art.

The critics just love

To tear it apart.

Substance without style

Numbs the senses;

It's one of art's

Major offenses.

It's plodding, vapid,

Shoddy and cheap.

AND what's more,

It puts you to sleep.

(Refrain)

Substance and style….

Style without substance

Suggests that there's flair,

But since there's no substance,

There's not much else there.

It's sequins and fluff--

A simple façade.

Its raison d'être

Is just to defraud.

Style without substance

Bores us as well.

Pretentious and phony,

It sounds the death knell.

Artists beware:

Stay out of the trap.

And don't come crying

If your work is crap.

(Refrain)

Substance and style….

Substance and style,

When balanced correctly

With grace and finesse

And circumspectly,

Will give your creation

The oomph it should need

To capture your audience.

Therefore, take heed.

Substance and style

Should stimulate the brain,

Titillate the senses,

And, yes, entertain.

Let's hope we encounter

At least once in a while

A work that has

Substance and style!

(Refrain)

Substance and style….

By Bob B (11-24-14)

It's About Time

It's about time someone took action

On comprehensive immigration reform.

The President made an executive decision,

And, oh, my goodness: Look at the storm!

Having neglected immigration issues

For a number of years--while they had their chance--

The do-nothing legislators failed to act

And then dared the President to take a stance.

"King Obama," some Republicans say,

"Has torn asunder the Constitution."

The "tyrant," they add, "through imperial actions"

Will incite anarchy and revolution.

The President has "poisoned the well,"

Some critics say, which sticks in my craw.

The politicians should get off their duffs

And work together to pass a law.

But no, they'd rather complain and blame,

Attack, accuse, spread ill-will,

And threaten legal action or impeachment--

Everything BUT work on a bill.

Some of the Republican lawmakers are behaving

NOT unpredictably or mysteriously.

It’s incredible that they don’t seem to care

Whether the people take them seriously.

The focus is keeping families together

And assuaging fears of deportation

Of many undocumented immigrants

Who experience daily intimidation.

I agree that our system is broken

And has been broken for many years.

We need a smart and humane solution:

Not one based on bigotry and fears.

The initial step in immigration reform

Leaves the lawmakers now with a task:

Reasonable laws and a path to citizenship.

Would that be too much for us to ask?

By Bob B (11-21-14)

A Beginning Is Often an Ending

A beginning is often an ending;

An ending is often a beginning.

Sometimes winning is losing;

Sometimes losing is winning.

Bad can come out of good;

Good can come out of bad.

Something that makes one happy

Might make someone else sad.

Though giving is better than receiving,

Sometimes receiving is giving.

Living leads to death;

Death contributes to living.

Bliss to some is ignorance;

Ignorance to some is bliss.

To one a miss is a hit;

To another a hit is a miss.

Sometimes we laugh when we cry;

Sometimes we cry when we laugh.

A bold move to you,
To me might be a gaffe.

A lie can sound like the truth;

The truth can sound like a lie;

Some people seem very distant,

Even though they're nearby.

You have to know to ask,

And you have to ask to know.

We need the earth, yes?

Does it need us? No!

By Bob B (11-19-14)

Heaven's Catch 22

Enjoying the afternoon paper,

A man sat in the park.

He hoped to finish reading the news

Long before it grew dark.

A stranger holding a Bible

Broke the man's concentration

By asking, "Sir, are you concerned

About HEAVEN and your salvation?"

The man folded his paper

And calmly said, "I'll say this:

Going to heaven depends on with whom

I'm sharing the eternal bliss.

"Will Pat Robertson be there?

And Michele Bachmann, too?

I suppose that includes Ted Cruz and Paul Ryan."

The stranger said, "Hope so; don't you?"

"What about Rick Santorum,

Wayne La Pierre with his gun,

Palin, Boehner, Hannity, and Gohmert?"

"Wouldn't THAT," asked the stranger, "be fun?"

"Will the Koch brothers be there?

Fred Phelps and also Karl Rove?

Lindsey Graham and Cheney and Falwell?"

"You bet," said the stranger, "by Jove."

"If all of those people are going there,

And Rush Limbaugh shows up there as well,

That isn’t MY idea of paradise;

Give me a ticket to hell."

By Bob B (11-18-14)

The Things I Should Have Said

The things I should have said in the past,

I didn't know how to say.

The things I want to say right now,

Constantly eat away

At inculcated inhibitions, which

Stifle apt expression

Out of the fear of uttering

A possible indiscretion.

The things I couldn't see in the past

I "see" much better now,

Such as the deep and powerful connections

Of the where and why and how.

Although there is a current diminishing

Of youthful visual acuity,

One doesn't need perfect vision

To penetrate ambiguity.

The things my ears could hear in the past

No longer sound the same.

Listening with the ears of experience

Completely changes the game.

To see with the ears and to hear with the eyes--

What a challenging perspective!--

Instead of being stuck in a pattern

That's sadly ineffective.

The things I knew so well in the past

I know right now even better.

Strict adherence to worn-out ideas

Proves to be a fetter.

If knowing is truly becoming, that means

The immeasurable range of our knowing

Is tied to our experiences and is

A direct result of growing.

George Bernard Shaw said youth

Is wasted on the young.

But maybe it's better for us to consider

Our youth as merely a rung

On the amazing ladder of life that we

Haven't ascended for naught.

We're lucky we've made it as far as we have;

The alternative's an unpleasant thought.

Knowing what I know and seeing what I see,

I'm forced to speak my mind,

Lest my silence be misconstrued

As agreement, which I find

Would contradict what I have learned

And what experience reveals.

Moreover, I can't justify

Abandoning my ideals.

(11-16-14) By Bob B