Benghazi Ad Infinitum

Certain House Republicans

Have become addicted

To a Benghazi conspiracy theory.

With what are these guys afflicted?

Trying to squeeze blood from a turnip,

These leaders have shown us ways

To stretch an investigation

Over 700 days.

This one's been the longest

That we've seen in the States.

Don’t the Congressmen

Have enough on their plates?

And seven million dollars!

Is that money well spent

After seven inquiries
Into the incident?

Some have admitted that

The investigation's no more

Than a way to discredit Clinton--

To give her a real what for.

To claim that the team is bipartisan

Would be saying a bit much:

The Republicans on the committee

Were basically out of touch

With the Democratic members,

Who mentioned their distress

At seeing the report only AFTER

It had gone to the press!

Gowdy and his cohorts

Have been obsessed with pursuing

A way to pin on Clinton

Evidence of wrongdoing.

There's nothing new or different

From the findings of previous reports.

The poor relentless bloodhounds!

Are their lives so out of sorts?

How many more millions

Do we have to waste?

The nonsense they've fed us leaves

A horrible aftertaste.

(6-30-16) By Bob B

Scammers

I'm so tired of scammers!

There are so many around!

For every situation,

A scammer is to be found.

There's the email message

From a "friend" stuck overseas

Whose money has been stolen--

Who needs your help, please.

Have you received the phone call

Saying that you're in big trouble

With the I.R.S. and insisting

That you must pay on the double?

Computer hackers will take

Your PC hostage and say

That you'll lose ALL your computer

Data unless you pay.

What about being a winner

Of a contest? All you must do

Is forward them some money

And they'll send the "winnings" to you.

If you by chance get a call

From "Microsoft" or "Dell"

Saying your account's in danger,

Tell them to go to hell.

Scamming probably reaches

Far back into history.

The demise of the Neanderthals

Might not have been a mystery.

Did early Homo sapiens

With carefully planned persistence

Scam neanderthalensis

Out of its earthly existence?

If scammers had put their know-how

In a positive direction,

We could say, "Three cheers

For natural selection!"

But, no, we're stuck with scammers--

A problem that clearly shows

That if we want to survive,

We've got to be on our toes!

(6-29-16) By Bob B

The Awakening

Under the sprawling Bodhi Tree,

Siddhartha sits with his primary vow:

How to alleviate suffering

In this world--here and now.

Suddenly, Mara appears--

Mara the tempter--with his sinister grin.

Siddhartha stays calm and unafraid

And graciously welcomes the tempter in.

Offering supernatural powers

Around which the human ego revolves,

Mara observes as Siddhartha sits,

And every thought of power dissolves.

Mara then offers his beautiful daughters,

Hoping Siddhartha yields to temptation.

In silence the unperturbed seeker

Shows the depth of his aspiration.

Growing furious, Mara calls up

Armies of demons of fear and desire.

They surely should stir Siddhartha's

Deep anxieties and inner fire.

Siddhartha merely gains greater insight

Instead of succumbing to Mara's ploys.

Mara departs in a rage, leaving

Siddhartha in a calm, quiescent poise.

After six days a Buddha "awakens"

As the traces of night start to disperse.

From looking into his innermost nature,

He's seen the face of the universe.

(6-28-16) By Bob B

Radhika

Radhika grew up in a poor Indian village.

She, her parents, and siblings faced droughts

Famines, diseases, and monsoons; sporadic

Good times were always clothed in doubts.

A gentlemen came to the village one day

And offered Radhika a job as a maid.

Oh, how exciting! A job in the city--

REAL work, for which she'd be paid!

Once in Mumbai, Radhika was led

To a hovel where she was brutally raped

And beaten and moved to a windowless room

At a brothel from which few girls escaped.

The poor young girl--eleven years old--

Learned very quickly how cruel life could be.

Her daily dream was to make her way home,

As soon as she found a way to flee.

Having lost years of her youth, Radhika

Escaped and went home at the age of sixteen

To parents who cast her out of the house

For being "sullied," for not being "clean."

Not knowing which way to turn--

With defeats piled on top of defeats--

Radhika returned in desperation

To the city, where she worked in the streets.

All over the world "Radhikas" exist--

On many levels, in many degrees.
Abuse and mistreatment cross all borders,
For cruelty is a worldwide disease.

(6-26-16) By Bob B

48 of 49

Forty-nine bodies lay in Orlando

Morgues waiting to be promptly claimed,

Which forty-eight families did.

One, however, was too ashamed.

One body lay unidentified--

Alone, rejected, day after day--

Because a stone-hearted father

Objected to his son's being gay.

So intransigent, so consumed

By his intolerant, cherry-picked views,

A father preferred to leave his son lying

In a cold morgue. Heart-breaking news!

After the horror of the nightclub massacre,

Adding insult to injury that dad

Showed the capacity of the human heart

To lack compassion. How very sad!

Extended family of the young victim

Later convinced authorities to release

The body into their care, so now

The abandoned son can rest in peace.

For years did the son have any support

From his dad, or was it too much bother?

One thing we know without a doubt:

The son deserved a better father.

(6-25-16) By Bob B

Charlotte Corday, 1793

When Charlotte Corday arrived in Paris,

She had only one thing on her mind:

To rid the world of Jean Paul Marat--

The veritable scourge of humankind.

Leaning toward the moderate Girondins,

Corday despised the Jacobin stance

Of killing opposers of the Revolution

And terrorizing the people of France.

Marat incited the Jacobin furor

With his deeply radical point of view.

Corday also blamed him for causing

The September Massacres of '92.

After journeying to Paris from Caen,

She found a shop, purchased a knife,

Wrote some words to the "friends of peace,"

And then set out to take Marat's life.

Imagine Marat in his bathtub writing--

An awkward position to find oneself in

When seeing guests; however, he suffered

From horrible sores all over his skin.

Corday spoke of an uprising

And provided names at Marat's request.

Then she took out the six-inch blade

And plunged it into the "monster's" chest.

Apprehended, tried and sentenced,

Corday drew some attention when

She asked to have her portrait painted.

(They milked the media even back then!)

Marat became a martyr--a man

Who'd caused innocent blood to be shed.

His body was marched through the crowded streets

While Charlotte Corday lost her head.

To save a hundred thousand lives

By killing one was Corday's goal;

But Marat's death wouldn't stop

The Terror, for more heads would roll.

Corday claimed she was acting alone

When choosing a course of action to take.

Unintended consequences

Often follow decisions we make.   

-by Bob B (6-24-16; 2-7-18)

In LOVE We Trust

How incredible it would be--

How inclusive, how fulfilling,

How thoughtful and compelling,

How ennobling, how thrilling,

How embracing of people all over,

How respectful, how caring,

How auspicious, how prudent,

How given to kindness and sharing,

How all-encompassing,

How miraculous, how smart,

How encouraging, how beautiful,

How full of compassion and heart,

How wholesome, how magnanimous,

How honorable and just--

If only our national motto could be

Stated simply, "In LOVE we trust"!

(6-23-16) By Bob B

Leaving Millions Behind

Television lost an icon
Back in twenty sixteen--
Someone who enjoyed being
A TV network queen.

Televangelist Jan Crouch

Left this world in May.

I wonder if she's hobnobbing now

With dear Tammy Faye--

The two together, hoping to be

In somebody's good graces,

With streaks of tears and makeup flowing

Down their shiny faces.

I doubt Jan has her pink-tinged

Cotton candy wigs

And scarlet gowns with puffy sleeves

And other fancy digs.

She won't need her private jet

Or homes in numerous states

Or millions a year in income if she's

Behind the pearly gates.

Hundreds of thousands in meal expenses

Won't do her much good

Wherever she has ended up,

In all likelihood.

Neither will her Newport Beach

Mansion serve her now.

(Did Paul leave her his Bentley when

He took his final bow?)

She also had to leave behind

Her doggies--sad to see--

And THEIR hundred thousand dollar

Luxury RV.

I guess we should be happy that

For a couple of generations

She could get enjoyment from

Contributors' donations.

(6-22-16; 2-18-18) By Bob B

Hostage Situation

It happened again, but we're not surprised:

The Senate voted down gun control measures.

The threatening of politicians has been

One of the NRA's greatest pleasures.

Clearly, our legislators have been

Taken hostage by the NRA,

Which watches for any opposition

And then swoops down like a bird of prey.

All of us are under the control

Of the organization, like it or not.

Listen sometime to the leaders' hateful

And bigoted speech; it's a lot of rot.

Pretending to be defenders of the rights

Of ALL Americans and our nation,

The NRA refuses to support

Sensible gun control legislation.

The organization preys on Americans'

Deep-seated insecurities and fears,

And turns a cold shoulder to carnage and massacres,

To suffering families, to grief and tears.

I wonder if the leaders had lost a loved one

In a massacre, would they change their tune?

Or are they too dazzled by their fantasy

Or thought of living out their own HIGH NOON?

Unfortunately, we're bound to see

The brutal deaths of more and more folks

While at the same time the NRA

Spreads its Second Amendment hoax.

(6-21-16) By Bob B

On Keeping One's Head in the Right Place

We've progressed in many ways:

We know the earth's not flat.

But killing in the name of God?

Now how absurd is that?

They say we have a developed brain,

But when you hear the news, it

Is pretty clear that many people

Don't know how to use it!

I know it's wise to try to find

What makes others tick.

But sometimes--darn!--it's difficult

To put up with their shtick.

To give the benefit of the doubt

Sounds very fine,

But there's a dangerous point at which

People cross the line:

Killing others just because

They don't think like you

Has to be a blatantly

Stupid thing to do.

All over you can find wise people--

In every nook and cranny.

You'll also find many a fool

Whose head is up his fanny.

(6-20-16) By Bob B

Grieving with Orlando

A weary calm settles this week on Orlando

As loved ones filled with sadness do their best

To grapple with their state of numb perplexion

As shooting victims are being laid to rest.

Funeral parlors schedule visitations

Of those whose lives so abruptly ended.

Families and friends unite in grief,

Their lives temporarily suspended.

A church bell tolls forty-nine times

As mourners fill the city with candlelight.

Some of the injured who manage to be present

Are scarred by memories of the dreadful night.

A makeshift memorial of cards, flowers, wreaths,

And flags honors those who lost their lives.

Despite the pain and anguish of the mourners,

A clear, powerful sense of love survives.

Some services will be held in tandem

For loving couples who together died.

Other services will be held in private

By grieving families who are horrified

That members of the Westboro Baptist Church--

That vicious, fiendish, ruthless congregation

Of heartless hatemongers--might appear

To inflict cruel pain and degradation.

Sometimes hiding behind the mask of religion

Hatred manifests itself until

Believers are moved to action, mistakenly

Thinking that they're carrying out God's will.

As we mourn, we pause to contemplate

The President's words so kind and aptly spoken

When he met with the victims' grieving families

And told them that our hearts, too, are broken.

Totally beyond our understanding

Is the depth of other people's sorrow.

May the love that they receive today

Help to mitigate their pain tomorrow.

(6-18-16) By Bob B

We're Your Friendly NRA

"In case you're wondering who we are,

We're your friendly NRA.

We work hard to fight against

Anyone who gets in our way.

"Feeling lost and insecure?

Feeling hopeless or dejected?

Come on down and buy your gun.

Your spirits will be resurrected.

"What? You want a handgun? Pshaw!

A handgun's just a sissy toy.

An assault weapon is what you need

To make you feel like a really big boy.

“The thought of guns everywhere

Titillates us to the core.

We can’t describe the ecstasy
Of having more and more and more!

"Your Congresspeople love to stick

Their hands into our bulging pockets.

Call it a little tit for tat--

Just keep us off your legal dockets.

"Our fearless leader is Wayne LaPierre.

With every gun sale he's elated.

Some say he prevaricates;

We say truth is overrated.

"Gun manufacturers,

You scratch our backs, we'll scratch yours.

We'll make sure that all can access

Weapons that are made for wars.

"Certainly our Founding Fathers

Knew what they were doing when

They envisioned assault weapons

In the hands of all brave men.

"Join our 'well regulated

Militia' here in the United States.

We don’t like our beloved Second
Amendment to undergo debates.

"We are doing all we can

To weaken all gun safety laws.

Please don't mention violence;

Every system has its flaws.

"We subscribe to firearm freedom--

A genuine right that's everyone's.

Here's one way to look at it:

Religious liberty for your guns.

"We’ll take anybody's money

To channel to a gun-worthy cause--

Even if it's Russian rubles

And maybe breaks a couple of laws.

"'Life, liberty, and the pursuit of guns'--

That's our motto, simple and clear.

Gun grabbers had best beware:

The NRA will persevere.

"So now you know who we are:

We're your friendly NRA.

Stockpile now and pay for it later.

Guns in any form make our day."

(6-17-16) By Bob B

Sick Minds

To show the extent of their Christian love,

A couple of preachers have nothing but praise

For the killer who massacred forty-nine people

In the Orlando club frequented by gays.

That forty-nine "pedophiles" were killed,

Roger Jimenez* thinks it's great.

Pedophiles? Doesn't he know

That most pedophiles are straight?

"It's a tragedy that more didn't die,"

The preacher added. Such hateful remarks!

A preacher in Arizona also

Made some comments creating sparks.

Steven Anderson**--from the city of Tempe--

Was just as cruel in his reflections.

(I wouldn't be surprised if the murders

Gave these two sick scoundrels erections.)

Anderson's happy that "predators"

Were killed in the recent shooting spree.

The preacher doesn't realize

That the real predator here is he.

They might read their Bibles and talk to God,

But neither preacher is on the level.

In fact, if they're talking to anyone,

They're probably talking to the devil?

I guess it shows that even a fool

Can be a preacher if he's so inclined.

It also shows that the minds of these two

Are just as sick as the killer's mind.

(6-14-16) By Bob B

*From Verity Baptist Church, Sacramento, CA

**From Faithful Word Baptist Church, Tempe, AZ

Pants on Fire!

After the nightmarish massacre in Orlando,

Clinton repeated her urgent demands

For the United States to keep dangerous

Weapons out of the wrong hands.

To her the matter is common sense.

She put it simply. That was it.

Trump, on the other hand,

Had his usual hissy fit.

His boldface lies about Clinton resurfaced:

She'll confiscate your guns, he said.

She plans to abolish the Second Amendment.

Trump has more lies than hairs on his head!

Each hyperbolic attack

That issues forth from his piehole shows

That innuendo, misinformation,

And vindictive attacks are all that he knows.

A man in his sixties going on eight

Can be a real pain in the rump.

A virus infects the Republican Party--

A virus known as Donald Trump.

(6-14-16) By Bob B

Outrage!

Mass Shooting in Orlando, Florida!

Don't tell me it's happened again.

The question of seeing more mass shootings

Is not a matter of IF, but WHEN.

Currently, fifty-three have been injured,

While forty-nine people have been shot dead.

How do you fathom such an atrocity?

I can't get the horror out of my head.

The Governor said to pray for the victims.

Well, it's a little too late for some.

He ought to say pray that people

Come to their senses and deal with how come:

How come people can let their hatred

Push them to such an extent that they spill

Innocent blood, and laws make it

Easy for such miscreants to kill?

Hate crime? Domestic terrorism?

Or maybe the work of a radicalized thug?

Maybe a little of all three?

Just don't pass it off with a shrug.

The father said his son had been angered

From having seen two men kissing.

To shoot up a nightclub based on that

Shows that he had some marbles missing.

Such incidents also show

The power of ignorance to hurt and malign.

Despite the efforts of humans to rise

To greater heights, some are mere swine.

(6-12-16) By Bob B

On Bondage

On watching a remake of Roots I wondered,

How can mankind be so cruel?

We boast of our human status; however,

Whom are we really trying to fool?

What gives people the right to own others,

To treat them inhumanely, to beat them,

To whip them and separate them from their families,

To brutally rape and cruelly mistreat them,

To deprive them of their basic rights,

To kill them for trying to run away?

The enormity of such a blemish

On humanity still haunts us today.

How far did the practice go back?

Did early humans living in caves

Manage to round up other tribes,

Subjugate them, and make them their slaves?

Workers in many countries still toil

For very little--a pittance--for some it

Involves working in pitiful conditions.

If they're not slaves, they're not far from it.

But there were slaves in the Bible, you say.

Yes, along with killings and slaughters,

Stonings, beheadings, stabbings, beatings,

And a drunken Lot who slept with his daughters.

What causes mankind to be so cruel?

Economics? Money? Greed?

A darkness in the human heart?

An insecure ego? Something indeed.

Before we act so mighty and proud,

Let's put everything in perspective.

Undoing the results of thousands of years

Of slavery should be a major objective.

(6-12-16) By Bob B

Which Direction?

Two presumptive presidential candidates--

Trump, whose rise is still a mystery,

And Hillary Clinton on the other side,

Who, by the way, has made history--

Are vying for the esteemed office

Of President of the United States.

Just think: only five months left

Of wild political campaigns and debates.

Political speeches are…well…

Political speeches; nevertheless,

When both candidates speak one hears

A world of difference in what they express.

One speaks for hours and says nothing;

His favorite words are "great" and "tremendous."

He's given to nasty, childish tantrums,

And his name-calling is utterly horrendous.

He knows little of world affairs.

His racist comments are beyond the pale.

His rhetoric divides us and tends to appeal

More to the fears of the angry white male.

The other candidate's more inclusive;

She speaks to us all--from the poor to the rich.

She honors people of different beliefs.

Her dreams for America aren't a sales pitch.

Her nitpicking critics cavil and carp

And love to find fault with her every decision.

However, she keeps her eyes on the future

And doesn't resort to contempt and derision.

We must decide come November

The type of nation we want at last:

A kind, unified one moving forward,

Or one that repeats mistakes of the past.

(6-11-16) By Bob B

Judging the Judge

Trump's newest controversy

Is to have a federal judge

Removed from presiding over two lawsuits,

And from his position he won't budge.

He says that the judge is "Mexican"

And can't be impartial in his case.

Here we go again with Trump

Attacking someone's ethnicity or race.

Judge Curiel was born in the States,

And yes, he's of Mexican descent.

But Trump makes him out to be

A vengeful hater, or malcontent.

The judge has had a great reputation

With accolades from left and right.

Yet Trump with his racist innuendoes

Is always trying to pick a fight.

Is Trump bereft of understanding?

He keeps repeating, "I'm building a wall,"

As if those simple words have become

His protective coverall.

It's hard to hear Trump’s remarks

And NOT find them among the basest.

And yet the man blithely insists:

Oh, no, he's not a racist.

If his presiding judge can't be

Hispanic or female--that won't sail--

Muslim…the range narrows…Let's see…

Then who? Ah, a wealthy white male!

(6-4-16) By Bob B

A Peaceful Approach

Violent disruptions at political rallies:

Not my cup of tea.

Sometimes the candidates egg people on.

That's upsetting to see.

Bernie Bros and Trumplodytes

Have a right to their views.

But peaceful protests would seem to be

A better tactic to choose.

A wiser use of their time would be--

And something to further their cause--

To work very hard to overturn

Voter suppression laws

And other forms of injustice that eat at

Our democratic core

And clearly should be anathema here--

Something we ought to deplore.

Speaking one's mind in a civil way

Can still let freedom ring.

It helps to revisit the teachings of

Thoreau, Gandhi, and King.

(6-3-16) By Bob B

The Con

"You want to make money? If that's true,

Have I got a proposition for you!

Sign up for my investment school.

Hesitating would be uncool.

"All my instructors will bestow

The best education on you. I know;

I picked them myself. They're tremendous.

My courses without a doubt are stupendous.

"What, you don't have money for food?

You won't get far with that attitude.

You can increase--it's not very hard--

The credit limit on your credit card!

"In fact, in order for you to buy

More seminars, we'll show you why

Obtaining and using more credit cards will

Build your self-worth. How's that for a thrill?

"To satisfy your innermost cravings

For elite courses, don't you have savings?

If courses require too large an amount

Of money, use your retirement account.

"For 35,000 dollars, behold:

A seminar-package that shines like gold.

Can't afford it? Come on, don't tarry.

Those words aren't part of my vocabulary.

"The bottom line is I will for sure

Make you a wealthy entrepreneur.

This is a pathway to wealth and success.

What we want from you is a "yes."

"I guarantee your life will be greater.

You know the drill: buy now, pay later.

All you have to do is sign

Right here on the dotted line."

(6-2-16) By Bob B

Said the Pot to the Kettle

Donald Trump hates scrutiny.

Hmmm… What is he trying to hide?

Under normal conditions his comments

Would be political suicide.

Trump, a man who relies on the press,

Called a questioning reporter a sleaze.

The dishonest press lies, he added.

That should stir up his devotees.

With 76 percent "false" ratings--

From partial untruths to "pants on fire"--

He is NOT one who should call

Anybody else a liar.

His M.O. is to say the press lies

Whenever he feels he’s under attack.

If that's not a pathetic case of

The pot calling the kettle black!

(6-1-16) By Bob B