Why Do Good Samaritans Sometimes Have to Die?

Two men recently died from a clash

On a Portland light-rail train.

The two men lost their precious lives

For reasons so insane.

Someone, angry, confused, and deranged,

Entered the car and began

Assaulting two women verbally.

Obviously, the man

Was more than just a pesky nuisance,

For three passengers tried

To intervene because the rantings

And ravings wouldn't subside.

The white supremacist, Islamophobic

Madman yelled in a fury

That Muslims should die. The line between

Safety and danger was blurry.

The three heroes became the target

Of the reprobate.

He stabbed all three, but two of them died:

Victims of cruel hate.

One man was a former vet

And loving father of four;

The other a recent college grad,

Gone forevermore.

Even though we know the answer

We still ask ourselves why

It is that good Samaritans

Sometimes have to die.

(5-31-17) By Bob B

Just Call It Fake News

If you don't like what you hear

And it's hard to reconcile

What your critics say about you

With your particular governing style,

Discredit your critics, call them dishonest,

Berate and revile them. It's no crime.

Say their news is fake. (We know

That some cults do it all the time.)

Just call it fake news.

Tell me, what have you got to lose?

Facts and truth are now passé;

Don't ever let them get in your way.

If your critics hit too close to home--

If they're on to your plans and schemes--

Finding a way to bash the media

Might be easier than it seems.

Get the public on your side;

Play the victim; whine and cry.

Yell, "Unfair treatment!" and you'll

Get their sympathy by and by.

Just call it fake news.

Tell me, what have you got to lose?

Facts and truth are now passé;

Don't ever let them get in your way.

If the scientific reports

Don't accord with what you think,

And the experts' findings and your

Jockeyed figures aren't in sync,

Make the public skeptical

Of scientific ideas, and then

You'll be able to sway the people

With your false "facts" again and again.

Make your own fake news.

Tell me, what have you got to lose?

Facts and truth are now passé;

Don't ever let them get in your way.

(5-30-17) By Bob B

Memorial Day, 2017

The Vietnam vet stares at the wide

Forty-two-inch TV screen.

Every so often he steals a glance

At an article in an old magazine.

He rolls his chair across the room

To look out the window. The sun is shining.

He hears a voice on the TV say,

"Every cloud has a silver lining."

Shaking his head, he wheels himself

Back across the room to see

What is going on in the world.

Elections? Storms? A shooting spree?

Memorial Day parades are occurring;

On gravestones wreaths are being laid.

On one channel hundreds of photos

Of fallen soldiers are being displayed.

Then he hears a news report:

More U.S. troops to Afghanistan.

He sits in quiet disbelief,

Listening to the news anchorman.

Looking down at his lifeless legs,

Again he can only shake his head.

His heart sinks, so he changes the channel

To watch another program instead.

The words, however, continue to haunt him

And echo through his war-weary brain:

"More troops…more troops…"

To Afghanistan? This is insane!

"How can so many commentators

Look and sound so unconcerned?"

He asks himself, over and over.

"In all these years, what have we learned?"

Depressed, he turns the TV off

And sits alone, lost in his thoughts,

His heart racing, his hands trembling,

His eyes tearing, his stomach in knots.

Only those in the battle zones

See what they'd never seen before--

Things that will surely haunt them forever--

The unspeakable horrors of war.

(5-26-17) By Bob B

As Putin Pulls the Puppet Strings

As Putin pulls the puppet strings,

The marionettes all dance.

If the strings are hard to see,

Take another glance.

The marionettes think they are

Real people now.

They think their voices are their own.

They smile and take a bow.

But towering above them there,

The puppeteer controls

The actions of his little friends

And figures out their roles.

So in control of the strings in Russia,

Putin makes it clear:

Show resistance to him and you will

Die or disappear.

Heads of state and businessmen

In countries large and small,

Romp around on Putin's stage.

How he loves them all!

Do they know their puppeteer

Would just as soon combat them?

Don't they see that Putin's laughing

Not WITH or FOR but AT them?

(5-25-17) By Bob B

The Death of Richard Collins III

Bowie State University

Student, Richard Collins III,

Commissioned as a second lieutenant,

Will not graduate. Have you heard?

On the path to serving his nation

In many more ways than one,

Collins' life was quickly ended.

Another mother lost her son.

Standing with friends, minding his business,

Collins--as witnesses will attest--

Was stabbed by a homegrown, racist terrorist--

Stabbed directly in the chest.

Who was the killer? Sean Urbanski,

A current student at UMD,

Also a member of Alt-Reich: Nation,

A truth of a painful reality.

Emboldened by white supremacists

Working in the White House, no less,

Racist groups are on the rise,

Spreading their loathsome hatefulness.

They say that Collins was brutally murdered

Because of the color of his skin.

He was murdered because of hatred,

For hatred is racism's twin.

Resist the scourge of discrimination.

Mobilize--it's never too late--

To extirpate ALL forms

Of ugly, white-supremacist hate.

(5-23-17) By Bob B

On Leg Number One

To distract public attention from

Ongoing investigations,

Trump is on an overseas trip

Cementing international relations.

First stop: Saudi Arabia,

Where President Trump stamped his seal

On a one-hundred-ten-billion-

Dollar war weapons deal--

A deal great for jobs, they say,

And a death blow to the mujahideen.

Basically, it's a huge boost

To the mighty, monstrous war machine.

War crime violations continue

As Saudi bombs frequently strike

Hospitals and markets in Yemen

Causing the number of deaths to spike--

Deaths of innocent civilians including

Children. Children! What's going on?

Jobs so that the war monger

Conductor can wave his deadly baton?

We turn our heads when the Saudis commit

Domestic abuses and NOT in small scale--

While they carry out mass executions

And put women drivers in jail.

No, this isn't the first "deal."

Such deals have happened before.

Money is often the siren luring

Humankind to weapons and war.

This to Trump is a great plus

So he can proudly play the hero.

If anyone is keeping score:

Trump one; humanity zero.

(5-21-17) By Bob B

If Your Birth Sign Is Gemini...(5-21 to 6-20)

Ideas and communication:

Both of those energize you.

Whatever stifles your self-expression

Can dangerously immobilize you.

For you there's always something new

And interesting to be explored.

Two of your biggest fears are

Both routine and being bored.

Your raison d'être could be

Your intellectual curiosity.

You could, on the other hand,

Exhibit an uncontrolled verbosity.

You devour information.

At multi-tasking you're number one.

But if you go too far, you'll be

A jack-of-all-trades but master of none.

Projects, errands, and meetings keep you

Occupied and on the go.

"Variety is the spice of life!"

Is stamped on your portfolio.

Wanting to know everything

About all others can be a plus;

But when other people want to know

All about you, don't make a fuss.

You're extremely adaptable

To changing ideas and situations.

When others can't keep up with you…

Well, that causes complications.

Slow down and keep in mind

That not everyone shares your ability

To store so much information

And thrive on natural versatility.

A constant need for a change of scene--

To which you hold strict adherence--

Keeps you moving. Just be sure

To cultivate perseverance.

Because of your mental dexterity,

It's easy for you to jump through hoops.

Because you're good at networking,

You are comfortable working with groups.

You often know what others are thinking,

And if you're more the extrovert,

At sales you are dynamite,

For you could sell a guy his own shirt.

If your focus is too much on

Mental stimulation, beware:

Others will think you're superficial--

That you are distant and do not care.

Always full of energy,

You're the social butterfly.

You still need time to yourself;

"Freedom!" is your battle cry.

Don't take on too many tasks

So that you leave them all unfinished.

Restlessness and nervousness

Can make you feel drained and diminished.

If you learn how to concentrate

On one thing at a time, you'll find

It's not that hard and helps you center

What could be a distracted mind.

Balancing the mind and feelings:

That's the biggest challenge you face.

Use your insight, wit, and charm

To make the world a better place.

(5-20-17) by Bob B

River of Lies

A river of lies flows from the White House.

Watch as the river widens each day.

Watch as it gains speed and momentum

And all credibility flows away.

The reasons for firing James Comey,

FBI Director, are scattered:

Because of Comey's treatment of Clinton's

Emails? Really, as if that mattered.

Then it was a DoJ

Suggestion that Trump was acting upon,

Adding another story to the

Great pretense phenomenon.

Next in an interview,

Trump sang another song--

That he had really wanted to fire

James Comey all along.

A man whom Trump had praised in the past

Was simply a "showboat," a "grandstander,"

Who'd lost control of the FBI.

Watch the river of lies meander.

We have heard a different story

Having to do with loyalty--

That Comey was fired because he wouldn't

Bow down before the royalty.

Just mention "Putin," "Russia," "hacking,"

"Collusion," and yes, "investigation,"

And the "You're fired!" president

Acts out of desperation.

Has Trump considered telling the truth?

He and his team should give it a try.

If they are going to make up stories,

At least they ought to stick to one lie.

(5-12-17) by Bob B

The Big Swindle

House Republicans just couldn't wait

To annihilate Obamacare.

They swindled the American people,

And now the louses are walking on air.

They've rushed through a disastrous bill

With no hearings and no score.

The message they are sending out

Is one that's difficult to ignore.

Denying essential benefits

Now would be up to the state.

Older Americans also could be

Charged a much higher rate.

The plan for people with pre-existing

Conditions? The cutthroat Republicans gored it.

According to them, you'll be covered.

If, that is, you can afford it!

Millions would lose their health insurance,

But our leaders care not a jot.

That Medicaid would be gutted,

They didn't give a second thought.

Minimum requirements

Won't be a priority.

Those with excellent coverage

Will be in the minority.

The plan is NOT a health care plan.

Listen to their sales pitch.

What it all boils down to is

A huge tax break for the rich.

After voting on a bill

That screws millions of people, they

Had a victory celebration--

A nauseating, sickening soirée.

If this is the best that they can do

To make our lives better, let the truth

Mercilessly come back to haunt them

Next time in the voting booth.

(5-5-17) By Bob B

Praising the Unpraiseworthy

You can tell a lot about

A person by the ones he admires.

Another telling factor is

The people whom he inspires.

Donald Trump, for example,

Praises Putin, a leader who

Has jailed dissenters, squashed human rights,

And done away with opponents, too.

After a questionable referendum,

Which restricts in many ways

Civil rights, the leader of Turkey,

Erdoğan, received Trump's praise.

Duterte of the Philippines--

Authoritarian and leading official--

Has had thousands of people killed

In a manner blatantly extrajudicial.

So that's his way of solving the problem

Of drugs in the Philippines is it?

And guess who wants the blood-thirsty,

Despotic leader to come for a visit?

And then there's the leader of North Korea,

Kim Jong Un. Only a rookie

Would say that the mad, unhinged and murderous

Leader was a "pretty smart cookie."

Trump's had business ties with three

Of the above countries. There's no mistaking.

But does this mean that a Trump Tower

In Pyongyang is in the making?

(5-3-17) By Bob B