Happy 2017!

Say good-by to the old year;

Say hello to the new.

Let go of the past and try to recast

A new and exciting you.

Say good riddance to all of your worries;

Start out fresh and clean.

Strive to find peace of mind

In TWENTY SEVENTEEN.

The past year was a messy one

With floods in the Midwest.

Then the ruler of North Korea,

Who has to be possessed

And thumbs his nose at the world and is

Always involved in a tussle,

Exploded a hydrogen bomb, thus

Flexing his little muscle.

LGBT and voting rights

Were both under attack.

Horrible massacres occurred

In Pakistan and Iraq.

In Syria and Afghanistan

Massacres happened as well.

And Jerusalem and Saudi Arabia

Both had a taste of hell.

Record-breaking blizzards made

The East cold and wet.

Scaring the world, the Zika virus

Continued to be a threat.

The water in Flint, Michigan,

Was an ongoing crisis.

Ancient ruins in the Middle East

Were STILL being bombed by ISIS.

The Clinton e-mail "scandal" grew

To ridiculous proportions.

More and more states were killing

Women's rights to abortions.

President Erdogan in Turkey

Cracked down on the press.

In the South China Sea, China

Was causing a lot of distress.

Britain voted to leave the EU.

Obama went to Japan

And visited Hiroshima--

A long-overdue plan.

Russia hacked U.S. computers

And boasted of certain connections,

Making us wonder how much control

We have over elections.

Summer record-breaking heat

Baked many states,

While the media bombarded us

With presidential debates.

The Summer Olympics took place this year

In lovely Rio, but mercy!

It's always hard to pull that off

Without some controversy.

This year we lost some famous people--

Too many to list.

Bowie, Ali, Leonard Cohen

And others will be missed.

(By the way, if memories here

Tend to focus on bad things,

Just remember that life is full

Of both happy and sad things.)

The economy has made improvements;

Unemployment is down.

Some businesses, they say,

Are really going to town.

Many people want to know

How much Donald Trump earns;

The billionaire still refuses

To show us his tax returns!

Fires raged in California.

In Oklahoma the land

Shook from fracking quakes, which

Are getting out of hand.

Protesters demonstrated

Together at Standing Rock

The oil pipeline coming their way.

They gathered round the clock.

Hurricane Mathew slammed hard

Into our eastern coast.

But Glenn Beck's conversion was

What shocked us the most,

Next to the presidential election,

That is. What a surprise!

And to think the unthinkable happened

Right before our eyes!

But say good-by to the old year;

Say hello to the new.

Let go of the past and try to recast

A new and exciting you.

Say good riddance to all of your worries;

Start out fresh and clean.

Strive to find peace of mind

In TWENTY SEVENTEEN.

(12-28-16) By Bob B

There Was a Great Nation... (Part One)

There was a great nation that wasn't that old.

Born when it broke from tyranny's hold,

The land once proclaimed freedom for all.

Who'd ever guess what would befall?

Here's what happened: a billionaire

With rude behavior and flaxen hair

Bluffed his way through an election

And won because of the law's imperfection.

Many voters could not understand

Why others had buried their heads in the sand.

That this outspoken man was the victor

Shocked many an election predictor.

Some said the win was not on the level

And gave the winner no reason to revel.

Whatever the case, this east coast resident

Became the nation's forty-fifth president.

(Many voters held misinformed views

From eating a steady diet of Fox News,

Gorging on pages of Breitbart sludge,

And wallowing in pools of something called Drudge.

They didn't see the signs that were looming

From a candidate NOT at all unassuming.

When demagoguery's alive and well

And one has a bill of goods to sell,

Some people miss the warning alarm.

They fail to imagine how much harm

A person can do to set back the nation,

And they give that person a standing ovation.

False news reports have power to affect

Election results when facts go unchecked,

And when people blindly accept what they read,

Manipulated "facts" do mislead.)

Before the newly elected official--

Whose reputation had been prejudicial--

Received an official swearing in,

He caused many heads to spin.

Posting on Twitter tweet after tweet--

Some of which were not so discreet--

He, on purpose or maybe not--

Depending on your school of thought--

Made many people and nations wary

With tweets that were more than a little bit scary.

To expand the nuclear capability

And disregard the world's volatility

Would be a plan that smacked of insanity

And also would be a threat to humanity.

The new leader just couldn't refrain

From posting such tweets that sounded insane.

Before taking office the leader selected

A team of advisers who truly projected

A frightening image to people who knew

What kind of damage officials could do.

Some appointees had donated huge

Sums to help elect their stooge.

Few had experience in their position,

But that didn't matter since their mission

Was not so much service, but instead

To kill the agency that they led.

One adviser, who stirred up much fear

And had his mouth in the new leader's ear,

Peddled conspiracy theories that made

Him sound like a madman on a crusade.

The country had never seen such a bunch

Of advisers so clearly out to lunch.

The new leader had a connection

With someone for whom he had great affection:

Vladimir Putin, a tyrant who led

A country called Russia, which once was red.

The reasons the two got so tight

Slowly but surely came to light:

The lifting of sanctions, business ties,

How to control people with lies…

The new leader's kids were also expected

To help their dad, who newly elected,

Had to make important decisions

Despite causing rifts and divisions.

(It's hard for a businessman

With a 90-second attention span

And whose thoughts keep disappearing

To make much sense of what he's hearing.)

The newly-elected president,

Who didn't care about time well spent,

Continued rallies from state to state.

The egomaniac couldn't wait

To stand before a cheering crowd

And share his petty thoughts out loud.

"I have a mandate," he muttered,

And falsehoods colored the words that he uttered.

"I'll make this country great again!"

Instead he made many hate again.

He promised to create millions of jobs;

But that was a ploy by him and his nobs.

The crafty plans of this bait and switcher

Would make the poor poorer and the rich richer.

The people would have a lot more to say

After Inauguration Day.

(To be continued…)

(12-26-16) By Bob B

If Your Birth Sign Is Capricorn...

Goal-oriented is what you are.

You are ambitious and highly pragmatic.

Since you rely on structure and form,

It drives you crazy if life gets erratic.

Capricorns, when they are young,

Often appear mature and engaging.

When they reach middle age,

They seem to defy the process of aging.

Since you like to be in charge,

You like both control and authority.

Your willingness to accept

Responsibility is a priority.

As long as you believe that you'll

Succeed, you will persevere.

But know that you can also be

Lazy when your goals aren't clear.

Though out-going and competitive,

One thing that makes you apprehensive

Is a lack of confidence,

Which can also make you defensive.

Wanting to be admired and respected,

You hate to appear ineffective

And weak, and since you fear rejection,

Winning is your major objective.

In fact, so determined are you

To win, that the thought is vexatious

For you to lose, so when you do,

It's difficult for you to be gracious.

You always want to know where you stand,

So you like to plan each move.

Anticipating gains and losses

Helps you to stay in the groove.

Your love of structure applies to traditions;

You have the need to protect and preserve.

Despite your good sense of humor,

Being teased strikes a nerve.

Dedication to duty guides you.

Even though you have the ability

To reason well, worrying

Can put a strain on your tranquility.

When first dealing with others, you

Can be reserved, but in the end

After you give your trust, you prove

To be a loyal and steadfast friend.

Just be careful that you do not

Turn into a workaholic.

Stifled self-reliance can make you

Pessimistic and melancholic.

Because of your hard-working nature,

Mundane tasks are no big deal.

But the loss of self-esteem

Can be your Achilles' heel.

You will accomplish marvelous things

If you can balance work and play.

Let your cautious but warm heart guide you.

Plan for tomorrow, but seize the day.

(12-22-16) By Bob B

Bad News for Santa: Trouble at the North Pole

Santa breathed in the cool night air,

Thinking back on the days of old,

Before the polar ice cap started

Melting. When weather was really cold!

"I barely need my heavy jacket,"

Santa said to himself in dismay.

"With all this ice so mushy and slushy,

How will the reindeer pull my sleigh?"

A polar bear came trudging by,

Emaciated and sour in mood.

Shrinking along with the habitat

Was the bear's supply of food.

"Santa," asked the polar bear,

"Do you know what's happening here?

Something very sinister is

Adversely affecting the cryosphere.

"The temperature's rising on land and sea.

I have to say, this isn't nice.

I don't mean to be punny here,

But we are walking on very thin ice."

"Seabirds, too, are leaving," said Santa.

"And so are ice-dependent seals.

Pressure on the ecosystem,

Is making it hard for them to find meals."

Feeling pessimistic, the bear

Wandered off, shaking his head.

Santa muttered, "Damn fossil fuels!"

And sloshed his way into his shed.

The once-jolly man started to work

On a project in which he seemed engrossed.

Soon he emerged, carrying

A "For Sale" sign, along with a post,

Which he placed on his property.

He sighed, "Talk about regrets.

Why the heck didn't I give

More kids chemistry sets?"

(12-20-16) By Bob B

Ghosts

Ghosts often haunt us--

Ghosts of the past--

Bearing down upon us

Like a winter blast,

Or steadily prodding us

As a constant threat

To see if our response is

Insouciance or regret.

Lurking around a corner,

They're there lying in wait

To test our ability

To circumnavigate.

Appearing out of nowhere

When we least expect them,

They dare us to try

To avoid or reject them.

Though we thought that they

Were buried long ago,

Their recurring visits

Cause more grief and woe.

Sometimes causing panic,

Sometimes causing dread,

They reappear as though

They've come back from the dead.

They take away our breath

Or chill us to the bone

Whether we're in public

Or at home alone.

Sometimes in a nightmare

Or in a crazy dream

We recognize their presence

With a stifled scream.

Running makes no difference.

They're always close behind us,

Or even up ahead;

Somehow they will find us.

Once we stop running

And stand in one place

And grab each phantom

And stare it in the face,

Then and only then

The ghosts disappear,

And we regain our power

And conquer our deep fear.

(12-19-16) By Bob B

Must It Be So Difficult?

Ari was not different to me.

Kids said, "He is Jewish." So?

I thought to myself. What does that mean?

That was long, long ago.

To me he was a classmate, a kid,

A friend, a neighbor, someone who

Played just like the other kids.

What did it matter if he was a Jew?

That was back when people had "cooties."

Do people have cooties anymore?

If people want to dislike others,

They'll come up with reasons galore:

Different religion, different race,

Sexual orientation, gender,

The way we talk, or whether we

Are overweight or overly slender.

People will find someone to fear,

Someone to shun, someone to tease,

Someone to scorn, someone to laugh at

And made to feel ill at ease.

We humans! What a bunch

Of silly, crazy, mixed-up fools--

Intolerant, insecure,

Defensive, uptight, as stubborn as mules!

From generation to generation

The cycle continues as parents tell

Their kids whom to hate and like.

Ah, yes, they teach their children well.

Praise to the parents with open minds

Who teach their kids to love, not hate.

That is the key to break the cycle

Of hatred that we perpetuate.

Loving parents guide their children

In loving ways. These parents show them

The key to understanding others:

To open up and get to know them.

(12-18-16) By Bob B

When Ignorance Goes Running Rampant

When ignorance goes running rampant

And fools run amok,

And the measure of success is strictly

The almighty buck;

When logic and reason become suspect

And fakesters are thought wise,

And people relish living in

A fool's paradise;

When false news is the word of the day

And many people choose

To get their news from stations where ratings

Are more important than news;

When lies masquerade as truth

And facts are seen as perverse,

And the lack of consideration for others

Goes from bad to worse;

When science is known as the enemy

And metaphor as science,

And blind acceptance and misunderstanding

Form a tight alliance;

When bold and brazen ideologues

Make it their primary mission

To push their will upon the people

And crush the opposition;

And when world leaders have the potential

To leave the world in rubble,

And some of the leaders are buffoons,

WE'RE IN A HEAP OF TROUBLE!

(12-17-16) By Bob B

Unscrupulousness

If you practice unscrupulousness,

You will have it made--

As long as you can persevere

In keeping up the charade.

It's very helpful for cutting deals

To give yourself protection;

You'll also find that it comes in handy

For winning an election.

In order to throw the public off guard,

Employ tactics accusing

Others of opting for similar methods

That you yourself are using.

Some call it unscrupulousness;

Some say unscrupulosity.

Whatever the case, the practice requires

A sinister virtuosity.

Many politicians have

Embraced the concept with fervor

And have bamboozled many a slow,

Imperceptive observer.

Who needs to be honorable

When striving to succeed?

The end justifies the means

To those driven by greed

Or an unquenchable thirst for power.

All they have to do

Is bow to the god of unscrupulousness

And watch their wishes come true.

(12-16-16) By Bob B

The Rallies Continue

The Trump thank-me rallies continue

As Trump hops from state to state,

Expecting applause and adulation

From loyal fans who congregate.

Trying to sound presidential

Is a challenge for one ill-equipped

To speak without a teleprompter

And sound articulate when off script.

To Trump press conferences

Are useless, senseless rigmarole.

He is more comfortable

Tweeting and being an Internet troll.

But how he loves his thank-me rallies!

He can stand on the stage and address

All of his vague promises

Without questions from the press.

Cheering crowds of people show up,

Praising Trump's theatricality.

Funny, many supporters share

The man's alternate reality.

(12-14-16) By Bob B

Eighty Thousand

Donald Trump boasts about

A landslide victory in the recent election.

Trump and reality seem to be

Experiencing a disconnection.

Roughly 80,000 votes

Out of millions and millions cast

Determined the winner in the race,

And yet Trump keeps holding fast

To strange and absurd delusions of grandeur

And to a fancy on which he dotes

Regarding his "triumph" over Clinton

And the total number of winning votes.

Even though she received MORE

Than two point five million votes than he,

Eighty thousand in THREE swing states

Won him the presidency.

Eighty thousand. I repeat:

Eighty thousand. That's the size

Of a small Californian town.

That's all it took to win the prize.

As usual, Trump loves to ride

The glory train of Bombast and Bluster,

Refusing to acknowledge that

His victory is really lackluster.

(12-13-16) By Bob B

Selective Hearing

Back in September, certain members

Of Congress learned from the CIA

In secret briefings that Russia had

Very maliciously found a way

Through cyber intrusions, for example,

To take advantage of circumstances

To sway our presidential election

By giving a boost to Donald Trump's chances

Of winning, which would have to be

An unprecedented stunt

By a foreign government

To meddle here. Such an affront!

Mitch McConnell and others chose

Not to believe what they had heard

From the CIA, and consequently

Decided not to spread the word,

Thereby allowing certain factors

To affect our election. Imagine instead

If the Russians had helped Hillary Clinton.

Republicans would have been seeing red!

Trump downplays the news, of course.

Through all of this, one thing is clear:

People hear--unfortunately--

ONLY what they WANT to hear.

(12-12-16) By Bob B

Pay-to-Play

Trump has accused Hillary Clinton

Of having practiced pay-to-play;

Once again, he's taking advantage

Of his supporters' naïveté.

So far, he has appointed SIX

Campaign donors to top positions--

A telling move that ought to cause

Many people to have suspicions.

He took on Wall Street during his campaign,

Which would be a major feat.

Now he is offering Cabinet

Jobs to the economic elite!

Millions of dollars will go to Carrier

To save jobs. But did you hear?

The company wants to automate,

So many jobs will disappear.

The "blue-collar billionaire"

Role of Trump is a scam.

He says he's fighting for workers, but

He doesn't give a tinker's damn.

(12-10-16) By Bob B

The Battle Continues

The first presidential contest

In fifty years--to be exact--

Without full protection of

The badly needed Voting Rights Act

Occurred this year--in 2016.

Fourteen states--we must note--

Had implemented voting restrictions

Making it harder for some to vote.

Trump complained of a rigged election,

Which the media devoured in haste;

But little time was spent showing

The REAL threat that voters faced.

Voting restrictions are plaguing the nation--

Just ONE example of far-right aggression.

The fight for rights continues as we

Fight against voter suppression.

(12-9-16) By Bob B

Draining the Swamp?

Donald Trump's potential appointees

For high positions are quite scary.

Some have dubious qualifications

And border on being reactionary.

General Flynn as Security Adviser--

Conspiracy theory peddler supreme.

Could Trump find anyone else

Whose wacky ideas are more extreme?

Peddling the lie that Hillary Clinton

Was involved with sex crimes with kids,

Flynn has spread outrageous notions--

Notions that common sense forbids.

There's also appointee Scott Pruitt.

What sense does it make to hire

Someone to head the EPA*

Who's a climate change denier?

Some of these people would threaten the very

Institutions they're supposed to serve.

From all of the possible qualified people,

The choice of these strikes a nerve.

For Secretary of Education

Another name for this ship of fools:

Betsy DeVos--an outspoken

Enemy of public schools!

And Ben Carson in charge of HUD?

Someone out there has to voice

Objections to this appointee who

Thinks that being poor is a choice.

To work in his administration,

Trump said he would find the best.

The choices above aren't very

Promising, along with the rest:

Billionaires and generals

Parading before our eyes with pomp.

So that's what Trump meant when he

Said he was going to "drain the swamp."

By Bob B (12-8-16)

*Environmental Protection Agency

If Only...

Friedrich Trump… Heard of him?

Born in 1869

In a small town in Germany,

Not too far from the beautiful Rhine…

Grandfather of you know who…

Left home seeking fortune and glory…

Ran taverns and brothels in

Canada's Yukon Territory…

Returned to Europe in 1901

And found himself a German wife…

Skipped military service--

Who needs such a crimp in his life?--

By taking his wife to New York City…

When they returned to German soil,

News of the draft dodger reached

German officials and made their blood boil.

His actions also didn't sit well

With Prince Karl of Bavaria, who

Wanted Friedrich to be deported.

Friedrich's appeals to stay fell through.

On July 1, 1905,

The Trumps, having been told to scram,

Boarded a New York City-bound steamship.

If only they'd stayed in Germany! Damn!

(12-6-16) By Bob B

Welcome to Trumplandia

Welcome to Trumplandia--

Where truth and falsehood collide,

And voters blindly commit

Political suicide;

Where people vote for a man

Because he "speaks his mind"

And don't care how many

People he's maligned;

Where general politeness

And a thin veneer of civility

Are worn away as bigotry

Finds acceptability;

Where extremist views

Completely transmogrify

The democratic process,

And justice and clarity die;

Where clever speeches ignite

Passions that become scary,

And governing becomes

A concern that's secondary;

Where in the guise of freedom

Of religion, people create

Laws that give them the right

To cruelly discriminate;

Where there's baseless distrust

Of scholarly opinions

And the leader prefers his UN-

Educated minions;

Where equal and civil rights

For which people fought

For many, many years

Sadly come to naught;

Where the middle class

Through clever bait and switch

Are talked into providing

Tax breaks for the rich;

Where facts become suspect.

The leader makes it clear:

Invented "facts" are the only

Facts he wants to hear;

Where freedom of speech is stifled,

And millions do not squawk

When the ones in power

Turn back the clock;

Where people need a scapegoat

And constantly look for someone

To blame and do not think

That they could also become one;

Where values, tolerance, morals,

Compassion, and decency fade

While anger and xenophobia

Are on a vicious crusade.

Welcome to Trumplandia.

America, farewell.

Bemoan the ever deepening

Crack in the Liberty Bell.

(12-5-16) By Bob B