Trump Opens Mouth and Inserts Foot...Again

Donald Trump loves the spotlight.

Too bad he can't apply his filter--

If he has one, that is. Or is

His sense of reality that much off kilter?

An amazing thing about him is how

He can stick his foot in his mouth

And not even realize he's doing it.

Example? Take our friends to the south:

When announcing his presidential run,

Trump decided to use that time

To say that Mexico sends to America

Mainly drugs, rapists, and crime.

So NBC and Univision

Have severed ties with Donald Trump

For his thoughtless insensitivity.

The man got a well-deserved kick in the rump.

Donald T. still thinks he's correct,

And despite the billions he has acquired,

This time it's actually somebody else

Who gets to say the words, "You're fired!"

(6-30-15) By Bob B

Landmark Decision in Rights

The United States Supreme Court

Announced a landmark decision today--

A decision affecting many Americans:

Trans, bi, lesbian, and gay.

The decision involves the right to marry

The person one loves: a basic right

Held by the majority, but one for which

Other Americans have had to fight.

Until all Americans share the same rights,

We’re not all equal and remain divided.

Denying others the equality they deserve

Reflects ideas horribly misguided.

Some people wonder why Court justices

Have taken here a position as promoters

Of a decision that some critics feel

Should be made by American voters.

Consider, however, if civil rights,

Equal education, and the right to vote

Had been put to the majority, then chances

For exigent changes would have been remote.

The recent decision celebrates love,

Unity, family, inclusion, and respect.

The rights of all are what this nation--

Indivisible--must protect.

Don't bring forth out-of-context

Verses of hell and abomination.

Muffle the words of ugly hatred,

Self-righteous bigotry, and misinformation.

Instead, let's support everyone

In building relationships; let's not destroy

The chance for all to participate

In a right that most Americans enjoy.

(6-26-15) By Bob B

It's Official!

It's official: the Nightly News

Has a NEW permanent anchor.

Lester Holt has replaced Brian Williams.

(Let there be no rancor.)

I liked Brian Williams as anchor;

I did and I still do.

It's just that he stuck his foot in his mouth

And took a big bite of his shoe.

Williams will cover breaking news stories

On MSNBC.

Let's hope he can keep his stories straight

(Between you and me).

Good luck, Lester. We wish you the best;

Just mind your p’s and q’s.

We do not want you to be fired

From our Nightly News.

(6-25-15) By Bob B

Let a Poem Speak

Let a poem speak its thoughts;

Maybe it will stir you,

And maybe turn you upside down.

Perhaps it will spur you

On to see a new perspective--

Be its disagree.

Or let it be a guide to help you

Question what you see.

Let it take you to distant places

Or calmly walk you home.

Let it fall like a heavy weight

Or dissipate like foam.

Let it tickle, let it jolt,

Even though it may

Rip you out of your comfort zone.

But, hey, that's okay.

For all the right and honest reasons,

Praise or criticize it;

And for right and honest reasons,

Like it or despise it.

A poem quietly lies in abeyance

Until it's being read.

The reader brings a poem to life--

Raises it from the dead.

(6-24-15) By Bob B

Merle and June at the Nudist Camp

Merle and June needed a break

From their Midwestern town.

Inundated with sales and receipts,

Both were starting to drown.

After years without a vacation,

June found an ideal

Vacation spot at a mountain resort,

And the price was a steal.

Ah, finally, to be one with nature!

To sit on their behinds!

To escape the intolerable prairie heat!

To put work out of their minds!

During their drive, Merle said, "Dear,

This trip should calm your nerves."

He couldn't see the fear in June's face

As he sped 'round the mountain curves.

Once they were settled in their cabin,

June's calm turned out to be brief.

Staring out the window she shrieked

"What?" in disbelief.

"Merle," she said, "On the path out there…

I tell you, I could have sworn

I saw a man and woman walk by

As naked as the day they were born!"

Grabbing her glasses to read the brochure,

June had to squint

To see that it stated "nudist camp"

In very, very small print.

More nude couples sauntered by

With body parts a-dangling.

"Bite the bullet," she said to poor

Merle whose nerves were jangling.

"Lock up all of our clothes in our safe

So no one can purloin 'em.

It states right here: No Refund, so

If you CAN'T beat 'em, join 'em."

So au naturel Merle and June

Enjoyed the fresh mountain air.

Then Merle got a mosquito bite

On his…well…you know…down there.

They started to feel a bit more relaxed

After sitting and sipping

On a few cold drinks and realized

They'd never gone skinny dipping.

Merle learned in the cool mountain lake

That he was a quick reactor:

Walking back to the shore he complained,

"Blasted shrinkage factor!"

Walking around unclad was fine--

With that they had no disputes.

But dining felt a little bit strange

In their birthday suits.

Swimming, golfing, hiking, riding,

And sunbathing were all fun,

But they burned parts of their bodies that

Had never seen the sun.

Burning his bum wasn't part of the plan,

Merle had to admit.

For three whole days it curtailed activities

Because he couldn't sit.

After two weeks of mosquito bites

And sunburned rumps they set

Off on their journey home from a trip

The two would never forget.

So, what lessons did they learn?

Being a nature lover

Is fine and dandy, but next time they'll do it

With some sort of cover.

And to feel the wind blow on them

Could put their mind at ease;

But they also learned that parts of the body

Don’t need to feel a breeze.

(6-23-15) By Bob B

I'll Be a Broken Record

I'll be a broken record;

I'll be a pesky fly

And keep asking questions--

Keep asking, "WHY?"

WHY, after thousands of shootings,

Are we still having fights

Interpreting our nebulous

Second Amendment rights?

WHY are we constantly told

That there's simply no way

To loosen the very tight grip

Of the intransigent NRA?

WHY do some believe

That fewer will be harmed

Or killed by a violent miscreant

If MORE Americans are armed?

WHY don't gun owners find

That fine-tuning the laws

To protect ALL Americans

Is a worthy cause?

WHY does it fall on deaf ears

Whenever the public demands

Ways to keep our guns

Out of the wrong hands?

WHY does it seem to be only

In America that we find

This love affair with guns--

Where guns are so enshrined?

Until we see some changes

And answers to questions WHY,

I'll be a broken record;

I'll be a pesky fly.

(6-22-15) By Bob B

How I Love a Circus!

Oh, the excitement! Oh, the laughter!

Watch the clowns as they juggle and bumble.

Surely you've heard: the circus is here.

Enjoy their gags as they prance and stumble.

Forget the bears, the tigers and lions;

Forget the horses, the chimps and baboons.

THIS circus is one of a kind

And consists entirely of clowns and buffoons.

As one silly clown tries to compete

With all of the others, the rest follow suit.

They toot their own horns and boost their own egos,

And then they fall on their faces, to boot.

In one ring stands tired Ted C.,

Whose wit and wisdom are both very sparse.

Whenever he opens his mouth to comment,

We can't help but laugh at his uninspired farce.

In another ring Ben C. performs,

Loudly proclaiming there should be no rules

Constraining the military during a war.

There's a leader for a ship of fools.

Over there is the clown Mike H.,

Who blames the gays for the country's ills

While he plays the religious victim;

This type of clown gives you the chills.

Bobby J., who talks "complete nonsense,"

Never fails to make us quake

With laughter. Whenever he opens his mouth

We laugh so hard till our stomachs ache.

Look to the right and see old Don T.

With the grumpy face and big hair and all.

Watch out! He'll try to buy your attention

With his tumescent ramblings and caterwaul.

Whatever you do, don't miss Scott W.

His clownish antics belittle and mock.

He's an artist at tricking the public;

Observe him as he turns back the clock.

What do you know? There's clown Rick S.

Watch him pontificate, blather, and kowtow.

Denying rights for some of his audience,

He sits on his throne, holier-than-thou.

Intrigued by all of the pomp and publicity,

Other clowns keep joining this circus.

It's going to make for humorous enter-

Tainment as we watch how they work us.

What a spectacle! What a show!

All of these clowns--their jokes, their gaffes…

This one is guaranteed to be

A multi-ringed barrel of laughs.

(6-21-15) By Bob B

Death in Charleston

More victims of gun violence

Sadly lost their lives this week

As a man with a weapon quietly entered

A South Carolinian church to wreak

Havoc on worshipers meeting together--

Nine people who happened to be black,

Studying together in a place of refuge

And never expecting a violent attack.

We mourn the loss of nine more Americans

To a racist monster with hate in his heart.

How could anyone commit such an act
That tears so many lives apart?

The murder suspect--a twenty-one-year-old--

Has clothing with racist symbols and sayings.

He also attacked the worshipers with abusive

And racist language at the time of the slayings.

If he were Muslin, he'd be a "terrorist."

African-American? He'd be a "thug."

But, no, he's just a "troubled soul,"

Many critics say feeling smug.

Fox News commentators, of course,

Give the shooting their expected spin:

"It's an attack on Christians," they say.

Do they know what country they're in?

NRA members blame Pastor Pinckney.

They typically blame the victims when

They should be looking at sensible ways

To stop such bloodshed from happening again.

Read the names of the victims below.

Think of their contributions, their lives,

Their children, relatives, mothers, fathers,

Close friends, and their husbands and wives:

Sharonda Coleman-Singleton

Rev. Clementa Pinckney

Cynthia Hurd

Tywanza Sanders

Myra Thompson

Ethel Lee Lance

Daniel L. Simmons

Rev. Depayne Middleton-Doctor

Susie Jackson

President Obama is amazed that our nation

Could tolerate such violence considering how far we

Have advanced. But such atrocities

Make me wonder: How advanced are we?

(6-19-15) By Bob B

How Do You Trump This?

Real estate developer Donald Trump,

At his presidential launch event,

Apparently paid people to attend

To fill the seats. Money well spent?

Standing there at the lectern, Trump

Gazed at his audience, expressing his awe.

"There's no crowd like this," he said.

"Thousands" of people are what he saw.

It was more likely a couple of hundred,

And sources say that many were paid

Fifty dollars a shot, we hear--

That's fifty dollars if they stayed.

The "crowd" wore T-shirts and carried signs

And applauded the man. So Trump now embarks

On a campaign resembling a P-R exercise,

And furthermore, he's getting low marks.

Is it illegal to pay attendees?

No, just little bit funny. Why?

Well, because it makes one wonder

How many votes he intends to buy.

(6-18-15) By Bob B

Recipe for a Colossal Mistake

Come up with at least two trillion dollars

(And let your infrastructure go to pot).

Manipulate intelligence and lie

To your people. Wait! I almost forgot:

Mock and scorn dissenters and those

Who disagree with your goals and plans.

Drum up support from your allies and "friends"--

The ones you think are your biggest fans.

Be willing for hundreds of thousands to die

And for millions of people to be displaced.

Hire mercenaries to do dirty-work;

Cast a blind eye to abuse and waste.

Be sure to support inept leaders

That further tear that country apart.

And be proud that you've given the country

That lies in ruins a brand-new start.

Don't forget to torture the captured,

But don't call it "torture," call it "enhanced

Coercive interrogation technique."

Ah, the people will be entranced!

Now you've got the perfect place

For insurgent groups to terrorize.

Watch as people's suffering increases

Right before your very eyes.

Regarding all of the people responsible,

Don’t hesitate to cut them some slack.

Instead of taking them to task,

Give them a kindly pat on the back.

There you have it--what is called

A Recipe for a Colossal Mistake.

Avoiding such a nightmare would be

A wonderful thing for everyone's sake.

(6-15-15) By Bob B

My Daddy's Becoming a Lady

My daddy's becoming a lady--

A lady with panties and bras

And high heels and gowns. Wherever she goes,

She's greeted with loud oohs and ahs.

Just wait until you see her!

(You see, she's no longer a him.)

She tells me that what she's going through now

Is something like a "prelim."

At first I thought: No more baseball.

But when we sat down for a chat,

She said that being a lady won't mean

That she can't still swing a bat.

What do I miss about Daddy?

The smell of his clean aftershave.

I'm still getting used to her Prada and Dior--

To her lipstick and permanent wave.

She's really very pretty;

And I like her name: Marianne.

Everyone says she's much better looking

As a lady than as a man.

Tina, well, she's got two daddies.

Juan has a dad but no mom.

Susie's got two--mommies that is.

They met on something-dot-com.

There are all kinds of families;

We don't all fit the same mold.

Love is what matters, and that's what we have.

And when you have that, you've struck gold.

Some people don't understand it.

They find Daddy's change too bizarre.

"Relax!" I tell them. "You live your life,

And let people be who they are."

Some people ask Daddy why

He didn't change long ago.

I'm glad that he waited because can't you see?

I wouldn't be here then. So…

I won't say good-by to Daddy.

He's still here though he's a she.

No matter what happens, I know for sure

That she'll always be there for me.

(6-13-15) By Bob B

Really, Justice Scalia?

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia

Gave a commencement address.

And yes, it was nice of him to appear

At the ceremony; nevertheless,

When he spoke to the graduating class,

I wonder if there were some sneers

When he said that we've been around

For at least 5,000 years

And that challenges humans faced back then

Weren't different, one could say,

Or even worse from the many challenges

That we are facing today.

Your number there, Justice Scalia,

Is off by a tad.

Math must not have been your thing,

For your math is really bad.

Multiply 5,000 by 40

To get a number that's sound--

The number of years that Homo sapiens

Indeed has been around.

If I could, Justice Scalia,

I'd do whatever it took

To give you something that you could use:

An excellent science book.

(6-9-15) By Bob B

Good-by, Bruce! Hello, Caitlyn!

Caitlyn Jenner appeared
In an Issue of VANITY FAIR

In quite a provocative pose,

With a flowing head of hair.

Bruce Jenner's no more--

She's going to be Caitlyn now,

Having gradually made

The transition from man to frau.

Getting nose adjustments,

Along with a tracheal shave,

Facial feminization,

And breast augmentation is brave.

Whatever else she did--

And that's her business, as well--

She's escaping the lie

In which she had to dwell.

Many will not understand

Caitlyn's personal quest

To be her authentic self--

To face what she's repressed.

Her coming out as a woman

Is fine, but give me a break:

Her coming out as a Republican?

Now THAT is hard to take!

(6-2-15) By Bob B