I Dreamed That I Lived in Trumplandia

I dreamed that I lived in Trumplandia--

A land ruled by fear,

Where real power rests

In the hands of the Profiteer--

Where Xenophobia crosses

Its unwelcoming arms--

Where Intolerance spreads

Its despicable charms,

Making scapegoats a target

To bear the brunt of the blame

For much of the country's problems--

Where immigrant-bashing's fair game--

Where people ignore the hungry,

Struggling ones in need

And praise along with the multitudes

The God of Corporate Greed--

Where Hateful Rhetoric spreads

Its cruel, contagious disease,

Crippling Healthy Dialogue

With insidious expertise--

Where sycophantic followers

Grovel before their King

With sadomasochistic

Fervor, awaiting his sting--

Where throughout the land

Inclusivism is feared,

While Exclusivism

Is honored and revered--

Where flowers of Compassion

Are strangled by weeds of Hate

And Hope for greater equality

Suffers a sad, cruel fate.

The more I saw of Trumplandia,

The more I wanted to scream:

Wake me from this nightmare!

Wake me from this bad dream!

(8-31-15) By Bob B

10 Rules for Gaining the Favor of the American People and for Possibly Winning the 2016 Republican Presidential Candidacy

Rule number 1--this one's important:

Be extremely outspoken and crass.

In fact, you'll gain more popularity,

The more you act like a pain in the ass.

The 2nd rule is to be insulting--

Insult everybody you can.

Call other people no good or stupid

And you will impress many a fan.

Rule number 3: be a bully.

Show 'em the stuff that you're made of, and when

That falls short, your crass materialism

Should impress 'em again and again.

Make sure your tone is rude and brusque:

This makes rule number 4.

Remove reporters who ask tough questions

So they won't bother you anymore.

The 5th rule: blast immigrants;

Make them a scapegoat and propose

A plan to stop all undocumented

Immigrants from being the source of our woes.

Rule number 6: criticize women;

Make them targets to belittle and disparage.

Praise traditional matrimony

While you jump from marriage to marriage.

Be narcissistic is rule number 7;

Boast about your wealth and your power.

Self-aggrandizement will get you

Attention (especially if you've got a tower).

Rule number 8: criticize the government

By saying our country is weak; then spew

More invective and suggest that people

Ought to be more vitriolic--like you.

Next, divorce politics from thought:

This rule is rule number 9.

Make generalizations with no explanations

And never admit that you've crossed the line.

Rhetorical excess is rule number 10;

Blow everything out of proportion.

Use grandiose and bombastic ramblings

And people will overlook each distortion.

There you have it: ten clear-cut ways

To show the people that you've got verve.

And those who cast their votes your way

Will end up getting what they deserve.

(8-26-15) By Bob B

To Hillary: Weather the Storm!

Hold on tight! Weather the storm!

Don't let troubles disempower you.

Keep your focus. Stay the course.

Beware of sharks that try to devour you.

Let not the torrents of tempestuous talk

Affect your ability to maintain control.

Don't be driven off course by winds

Of hatred. Keep your eyes on the goal.

Be not distracted by waves of abuse

That brutally beat against your bow

And threaten to end your inspired journey

With powerful force upon your prow.

Ride the waves--the ups, the downs,

The forwards, the backs, the lefts, the rights.

Let your inner strength and stamina

Navigate you through starless nights.

Do not crash into fellow ships

Also caught in the stormy sea.

Watch out for damaging attacks and assaults

Surrounding you in the floating debris.

Beware of pirates; they're out there waiting

To stalk and steal, damage and destroy.

Protect yourself to further protect

The needs of the struggling hoi polloi.

Storms will come and storms will go;

Maintain vigilant command of your ship.

The ocean is a capricious host;

There's NO guarantee of a storm-free trip.

Therefore, be sure to hold on tight!

With your experience, brains, and thick skin,

Though your ship is tossed at sea,

YOU have the fortitude and will to win.

(Therefore, be sure to hold on tight!

Though nights are dark and days are gray,

And though your ship is tossed at sea,

Safe harbor is not far away.)

(8-24-15) By Bob B

Blame

Twenty-nine percent of Louisiana Republicans

Polled recently claim

That the current president--Barack Obama--

Deserves to take the blame

For a bungled response to Hurricane Katrina.

Here they go again:

Wrongfully accusing President Obama.

He wasn't in office then!

When people's logic and understanding

Have so many holes,

It's scary to see what can happen

When they go to the polls.

(8-22-15) By Bob B

Duggar Does It Again!

Irony of ironies: consummate hypocrite

Josh Duggar of TV fame--

The so-called family values activist--

Added more dirt to his name.

We've known he molested his sisters as a teen.

Afterwards what stirred up doubt

Was its suspicious cover-up, BUT

That's what hypocrisy's all about.

Married with children, Duggar's interest

And curiosity in sex ran rife

As he pored over Internet porn

And also CHEATED on his wife!

Now he's asking for forgiveness--again.

Duggar, with your baggage and carriage,

Don't you DARE say that same-sex

Couples are destroying marriage!

(8-20-15) By Bob B

Social Insecurity

Most of the Republican candidates for president--

Almost all of them, in fact--

Ignore the will of the majority of people

Who want to leave Social Security intact.

These earned benefits are crucial

For millions of retired Americans who've demanded

Not only to keep Social Security,

But also to see the program expanded.

Privatization, cuts in benefits,

Or the imposition of other reductions

Are foolhardy ways to derail the program

With these or other deleterious obstructions.

The GOP candidates: do they not know,

Or is it that they really don't care

Whether they represent the majority

By supporting instead the billionaire?

So, instead of speaking for us,

The Republican candidates represent

The wealthy donors whose contributions

Are among the dollars they've spent?

The politically active one percent

Who often think that they're the best of us,

Again want to demonstrate

That THEY know what's right for the rest of us.

(8-19-15) By Bob B

The More NOT the Merrier

Seven point three billion people

On Earth. Yes, that's a lot.

By 2050 that number should swell

By a third. Scary thought!

India's population--they say--

Should surpass China's, AND

Poverty shall increase and food

And water will be in demand.

All of these numbers--all of these babies:

Maybe the people who've spawned 'em,

Ought to learn to appreciate

The value of the CONDOM.

(8-18-15) By Bob B

Wolves in Sheep's Clothing

Watch out! They say they represent

Your likes, your wants, your needs.

Their spurious reasoning sounds convincing;

So what if it misleads.

They claim they're looking out for you--

Protecting your freedom to choose.

Yet they're investing elsewhere, thus,

Protecting your freedom to lose.

Their highfalutin promises

Of justice, pride, and respect

Are cheap façades that cover up

Exploitative neglect.

They boast their record, sing their own praises--

Right before your eyes.

They hope you don't discover that

It's all a pack of lies.

They'll trick you into seeing others

With fearful suspicion and loathing.

Watch out! Beware! Be on your guard

For sly wolves in sheep's clothing.

(8-3-15) By Bob B

Middle Eastern Square Dance: Swing Your Partner

(Refrain)

Bow to your partner, swing her around.

Lift her gently off the ground.

Allemande left and do-si-do.

Trade your partner, and away we go!

The Middle East quagmire--I have to say--

Grows more complicated every day.

Maybe we ought to reassess

What has become a giant mess!

After having destabilized Iraq,

We pulled out despite some squawk.

When in Syria all hell broke loose,

The rebels were out to cook Assad's goose.

The rebels that we supported with glee

Were not who they purported to be.

So ISIS, or ISIL, grew in size

And terror in the region was on the rise.

(Refrain)

Iranian Shiites are fighting against ISIS,

Which makes us nervous and adds to the crisis.

For although Iranian help is needed,

In Yemen the Iranians also proceeded

To assist rebels there, much to the displeasure

Of the U.S., the Saudis, and Israelis who don't treasure

The rising power and influence of Iran

And are very suspicious of the country's game plan.

So, in the meantime ISIS is destroying

Ancient relics and seems to be enjoying

Ridding the "Caliphate" of symbols of "evil,"

With beheadings and slaughter causing more upheaval.

(Refrain)

The U.S. is bombing ISIS, and we’ve seen

That it’s not very pretty for those caught in between.

Who has been supportive or who has been against

Has not been so clear since all this strife commenced.

Both the Saudis and Jordanians themselves

Have been bombing targets. It seems whoever delves

Into the Middle Eastern politics will find

It requires a certain frame of mind

To make any sense of who is fighting whom

And provide explanations for all the doom and gloom.

How can we make this problem disappear?

There’s not an easy solution, I fear.

(Refrain)

Turkey, too, has jumped into the fray,

Complicating matters with the role that it will play.

The Turks hate ISIS, but they also hate the Kurds

And call them terrorists with unkind words.

Therefore, we are once again caught

In a dilemma--another Gordian knot.

We support the Kurds, who fight the ISIS thugs.

I hope that we don't expect any hugs

From the Kurds who are being bombed by the Turks.

Who knows what craziness is still in the works?

Talk about quagmires: whoever might begin one,

It seems as though we always end up in one.

So swing your partner; listen to the fiddle.

Circle left; now come down the middle.

Keep all the dancers in the line of sight.

Now trade your partner and circle to the right.

(8-1-15) By Bob B