D Minus for Effort

Kellyanne Conjob rushed to defend

Trump's penchant for telling lies.

The repercussions of his untruths

She smilingly tried to minimize.

Her brazenly obnoxious comments

Simply add fuel to the fire

And diminish her credibility

When she bolsters the words of a liar.

Excusing impropriety

Is clearly what she's doing, and yet her

Remarks make him sound foolish when

She says he doesn't know any better.

According to Kellyanne's logic here--

And give her a D minus for trying--

Trump is not telling untruths

If he doesn't believe he is lying.

(7-26-17) By Bob B

Tragedy in San Antonio (Tragedia en San Antonio)

A truck picked them up near the Mexican border

And drove across Texas in blistering heat.

A hundred or more were crammed together

With nothing to drink and nothing to eat.

The big rig rolled down the Texas highway

Heading for San Antonio, they say.

Smugglers would pick up their "cargo" there,

And SUVs would cart them away.

The temperature inside the tractor-

Trailer was over 100 degrees.

The door of the trailer was locked from the outside.

The driver ignored the passengers' pleas.

Chorus:

Farewell, dear friends--queridos amigos.

Were you a father, a brother, a son?

Whatever your motivations, you

All were victims in more ways than one.

When authorities found the vehicle

And opened the door and looked inside,

Eight of the passengers remaining

In the tractor-trailer had died.

Two more victims died in the hospital.

Others remained in a critical state.

Dehydration and heatstroke had been

Cruel agents of their sad fate.

Desperate to find better conditions,

They learned that success is not guaranteed.

Hopes can be dashed and life can be threatened

When you're a victim of smugglers' greed.

Chorus:

Farewell, dear friends--queridos amigos.

Were you a father, a brother, a son?

Whatever your motivations, you

All were victims in more ways than one.

(7-25-17) By Bob B

The Warning

Trump has issued a warning

In his inimitable manner,

Which couldn't have been more obvious

If he had held up a banner.

He said that investigators

Should definitely not peer

Into his financial dealings.

The reason? That's not clear.

Why would such inquiries

Be unjustified?

Hmm. It makes us wonder

What he's trying to hide.

The man has a propensity--

And doesn't give a rap!--

For making himself look guilty

Whenever he opens his trap.

(7-20-17) By Bob B

Greed

How often greed dictates policy

And governs the base and loathsome actions

Of lawmakers making decisions

While fooling the public with clever distractions!

How greed greases the giant wheel

That turns--constantly in motion--

While powers that guide the mechanism

Boldly expect unhindered devotion!

How often greed in the guise of good

Fills the pockets to overflowing

Of crafty manipulators while

The poor struggle, never knowing!

How greed fills the callous hearts

Of those who fail to see the disparity

Between their growing accounts and their

Expenditures that they call "charity"!

How often greed displaces well-

Intentioned efforts to help humanity

In those whose lack of compassion is nurtured

By boundless egoistical vanity!

Watch them bow to the god of greed;

Watch them sing and dance on his altar,

Hoping that he will strengthen their

Resolve should they ever falter.

(7-19-17) By Bob B

The Man Who Cried Wolf

There was a leader who cried wolf

So often that he

Befuddled the people with whoppers running

The gamut from a to z.

The more he cried wolf, the more the leader's

Stories wouldn't stop.

He kept it up and everyone watched his

Approval ratings drop.

The group surrounding him joined in

And cried wolf as well.

In all of that country's history,

There was no parallel.

"Wolf! Wolf!" he'd cry, and his public

Ran to his defense

Again and again, totally

Defying common sense.

Eventually, more caught on;

Skepticism rose.

And fewer people let themselves

Be led around by the nose.

Whether or not the leader believed

His stories would empower him,

Wise folk knew that sooner or later

The truth would devour him.

(7-12-17) By Bob B

Who Is Playing Whom?

World leaders met and Trump,

Who lives in various wonderlands,

Also had a meeting with Putin

And played right into the dictator's hands.

Trump admires Putin--a man

Who bullies targets to do his bidding.

If Trump's not aware that he's being played,

The neophyte has to be kidding.

A man who loves to undermine

Democracy and put down dissent,

Create chaos in the world

And pull the strings of our president,

Maintain control of a criminal state

Where greed, graft, and corruption hold sway,

And jail or kill opponents doesn't

Even deserve the time of day.

Yes, we know that power corrupts

And absolute power, absolutely.

Its hideous effect on a free people

Is something we're aware of acutely.

Does Trump just love the idea that Putin

Controls the country, controls the press,

Surrounds himself with loyalists,

And governs the people with fear and duress?

Not a pretty picture, of course.

Concerned Americans very much fear

That Putin-like threats to democracy

Are showing their ugly faces here.

(7-9-17) By Bob B

Interior Monologue Number 2

"It's so much fun being president

Of a great country like this.

I love it when people sing my praises,

So everyone can share my bliss.

"I can do whatever I want.

The only ones who seem to obsess

About my activities are

What I call the dishonest press.

"My people don't give a damn

About my income tax returns.

My people have faith in me

And listen when I express my concerns.

"I can hire whoever I want.

And what's more I can require them

To pledge complete loyalty to me.

If they don't, I can fire them.

"You can gain so much support

If what you do when critics start pressing

Is cut off access to information.

Confuse 'em all and keep 'em guessing.

"When they bring up a Russia connection

And even suggest the word 'collusion,'

I distract them with tweet after tweet

To make a commotion and cause confusion.

"One of my favorite perks on the job

Is taking all of my paid vacations.

I also love having the power

To cut off any investigations.

"My business empire continues to grow.

Conflict of interest? Bah, that's bunk.

Don't believe it when the media

Say my approval ratings have shrunk.

"All of my success up to now

Adamantly underscores

One of my favorite sayings, and that's

'You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours.'

"And when the people take you to court

For stiffing them or trying to screw 'em,

Use your billions of dollars to pay

Lawyers to help you countersue 'em.

I love to have my fans in Congress

Eating out of the palm of my hand.

We have to merely yell, 'Fake news!'

When something doesn't go as planned.

"Regarding international affairs,

They say I'm awkward and not well versed.

It isn't about the rest of the world;

It's all about America first!

"Any group that gives me money,

Gets my support all the way--

From dangerous climate change deniers

To all my friends at the NRA.

"When my critics complain about

Anything I say or do,

I love to go on TV and say,

'I'M the president; not you.'"

(7-5-17) By Bob B