On Showing Sarah the Door

Hey, Sarah Huckabee Sanders,

Now you know how others feel

When they go to a restaurant

And aren't allowed order a meal;

Or when they visit a business from which

They're turned away--for goodness' sake!--

Because the owners flatly refuse

To bake them a wedding cake.

Take a walk in the shoes of others,

Sarah, instead of pontificating

And parroting the president's lies

Without even hesitating.

Unfortunately, you have chosen

To back an agenda, vile and hateful.

You can hardly expect that those

Who suffer from it are going to be grateful.

Displaying a bit of empathy

Would make you sound a little smarter

And more caring, unless you prefer

To play the put-upon victim or martyr.

-by Bob B (6-29-18)

By Doing Things My Way

(To be sung to the melody of Frank Sinatra's "My Way")

Despite all that you hear,

I'm doing great; I'm number one now.

My made-up "truths" endear

Me to my base; we're having fun now.

My ranting and my raving show that mine's not the small fry way.

You'll win…you'll win much more by doing things my way.

I wish the FBI

Would stop investigating.

They know too much. That's why

It is all so aggravating.

I never liked a wuss who would take the humble pie way.

No, I am much more ruthless doing things my way.

I've told some lies, once in a while…

Well, every day, but that's my style.

My Congress boobs have got my back. At the right time we'll attack.

I plot and scheme for my regime by doing things my way.

Putin's my friend, oh,

And Kim Jong Un and I are buddies.

Merkel and Trudeau?

My goodness, they're such fuddy-duddies.

All I have to do is just display my evil eye way,

And I'll get what I want 'cause it is my way.

I am the law; that's plain to see.

And very few are smart like me.

I will say what comes to mind, and I don't care if it's unkind.

A little greed helps you succeed when doing things my way.

Yes, do things my way.

-by Bob B (6-26-18)

The D.T. Playbook: Ch 3 (Immigration)

Start a humanitarian crisis.

Separate families at the border.

Remind people that immigrants

Are very low in the pecking order.

Continue with a counter program.

Keep repeating hundreds of times

How immigrants are dangerous

And also the cause of so many crimes.

Then reverse the order that

Separates the families so

You can pretend you care immensely

(Even though it's just a show).

Blame the Democrats all along

For causing all the injustice and pain.

Say they all want open borders--

That they are the ones who are inhumane.

After bombarding the people with

False "facts" on immigration,

Their tolerance for cruelty

Will grow. The power of demonization!

The frequent use of negative words

Will help to galvanize your base.

Make them insensitive

To basic rights; then play your ace.

Send to the border the First Lady.

Give her a tasteless jacket to wear

So she can add more controversy

And callousness to the whole affair.

Have your conspiracy theory friends

And harpy friend appear on the news

To brainwash viewers so more and more

People will start to share your views.

Encourage your sycophants in Congress

To parrot your buzzwords hour after hour,

And you'll be well along the way

To having what you want: POWER.

-by Bob B (6-24-18)

"I REALLY DON'T CARE, DO U?"

Melania must not care

About the hullabaloo

Over her jacket that said

"I REALLY DON'T CARE, DO U?"

She should know that people

Perchance could misconstrue

Why her jacket says

"I REALLY DON'T CARE, DO U?"

A lack of sensitivity

Of course came shining through

When she chose to wear

"I REALLY DON'T CARE, DO U?"

Going on a mission

Is not the time to debut

A jacket that has the words

"I REALLY DON'T CARE, DO U?"

Her callous motivations

And what she chooses to do

Sound just like her husband's

"I REALLY DON'T CARE, DO U?"

If she married Donald

For money--if that's true—

It's her life, her choice.

"I REALLY DON'T CARE, DO U?"

When he's sent to prison

And she cries out, "Boohoo!"

We’ll say to one another,

"I REALLY DON'T CARE, DO U?"

-by Bob B (6-22-18)

Heart-Wrenching

How much more of this can we take?

How can people stand idly by

While major atrocities are being

Committed and STILL turn a blind eye?

Parents are still being separated

From their children at our border.

The Trump administration is

Ruthlessly carrying out the order.

We hear the children cry for their mami,

Cry for their papi, and what do we do?

We put them in cages and tents, heedless

Of all of the pain they are going through.

Secretary Nielsen has tried

To justify the hardline position,

Blaming the victims and giving excuses

As to the importance of the mission.

White nationalist Stephen

Miller must be jumping for joy

As he achieves his goal: provoking

Anybody he can annoy.

AG Sessions cites the Bible

To find support for his devilish deeds.

At the same time, authorities

Are confiscating rosary beads.

John Kelly is all for it.

He thinks being cruel is fine

When you badly need a deterrent

To keep people from crossing the line.

Spineless Republican members of Congress

Worry about offending Trump's base.

Dragging their feet on the issue, they

Don't care if they're a disgrace.

Meanwhile, the suffering

Continues. Children--traumatized--

Are innocent victims. This is what happens

When human rights are compromised.

-by Bob B (6-19-18)

Four Seniors

Recently, four seniors

Didn't don their caps and gowns

And walk down the aisle as did

Seniors in other cities and towns.

These four seniors' lives were cut short

In the city of Parkland in February.

While their classmates reveled, they

Slept somewhere in a cemetery.

These are just four who have died

In shootings across the country this year.

And though there's been talk of change,

Definite action remains unclear.

Sure, some lawmakers

Have said, "Look! We're getting tough,"

And passed some minor legislation.

But baby steps are NOT enough.

At least more candidates

Now are NOT afraid to say

In campaign ads in many states,

"I'll stand up to the NRA."

Meanwhile the NRA hopes

That memory loss supersedes

People's desire for swift action.

Complacency can grow like weeds.

Remember that we need more

Than just a prayer and a simple "Amen."

We need to unite, to act, to vote.

Never again means never again!

-by Bob B (6-18-18)

Where Are We Now?

Where, pray tell, are we now?

How far have we progressed?

Have we covered our ears so we can't

Hear the cries of the dispossessed?

Have pages been ripped out of history books

So that the people cannot see

The struggles that many undertook

To help to set all people free?

A nation "indivisible,

With liberty and justice for all"

Can benefit at times from a self-

Evaluative overhaul,

Or maybe from a look in the mirror

To see whether the image displayed

Truly represents the picture

Of freedom meant to be conveyed.

Through irreconcilable differences,

Have we now become divorced

From hopeful ideals that early on

The shapers of our nation endorsed?

Are we sincerely looking within

Our hearts to make a "more perfect" nation,

Or are we more consumed with drawing

Attention to the standing ovation?

Are we shutting the door to the soul

Of America and walling out

The power and strength that forms the basis

Of what this country is all about?

Let us not be blindsided

By rogue forces that hope to succeed

In weakening what makes us strong,

Only to relish watching us bleed.

-by Bob B (6-16-18)

Joining the Cult

Senator Bob Corker* refers

To what has become the scary result

Of blind devotion to Donald Trump.

He calls the movement a GOP cult.

It's easy to join the cult if you

Don't mind sacrificing free will.

Getting out of the cult is another

Story; that will take some skill.

Members lose their sense of self

When they join the Cult of Trump.

When Trump says "Bow!" they all bow;

When he says "Jump!" boy they jump!

Cult members in Congress have

Handed legislative power

Over to Trump, their supreme

Leader before whom they cower.

Regarding constitutional

Authority: will it last?

Or will it suffer a slow death

And thus become a thing of the past?

All the Leader has to say

Is "They are wrong and I am right,"

And followers agree en masse.

Not to agree would be impolite.

Effusive praise and allegiance must go

To the Leader who is all-about-me.

He says he knows what's good for you.

Woe to you if you disagree.

It used to be that presidents

Worked for the people, but we have found

That currently with the Cult of Trump,

It's the other way around.

How many more will drink the Kool-Aid?

Who else will fall under Trump's spell?

Remember Jonestown? In the end,

Things did not go very well.

-by Bob B (6-14-18)

*Republican Senator from Tennessee

The Real Enemy

The president tweets once again,

Displaying that urge that he can't suppress.

Furious, he writes that our nation's

Biggest enemy is the press.

Since he prefers his fantasy world,

His total unease with the truth is striking.

A state-run media, like North Korea's,

Would probably be more to his liking.

We watched as Trump met with Kim,

And though he lavished praise nonstop

Upon the leader, the most important

Thing to him was his photo op.

What makes us shine is not the fiction

That Trump and his minions perpetuate.

Instead it's the hard, investigative

Reporting that makes this country great.

If Trump were really seeking the truth,

A little advice couldn't be clearer:

To find the real enemy of the people,

He merely has to look in the mirror.

-by Bob B (6-13-18)

Farewell, Marco Antonio Muñoz

Crossing the Rio Grande in May,

A Honduran man with his wife and his son

Sought asylum, only to find

Their struggles here had barely begun.

Taken to a processing center,

The family learned the disheartening news:

They would have to be separated.

Having no say-so, they couldn't refuse.

Farewell, Marco Antonio Muñoz.

Some say, "We warned you time after time."

You came for help, and look what happened:

Seeking asylum became your crime.

A CBP° spokesman said that Muñoz

Became "combative" and started to yell.

What parent wouldn't in that situation?

Muñoz was moved and locked in a cell.

Authorities checked on Muñoz often

Not expecting what lay in store

For them in the morning, for one of them found

Muñoz lying dead on the floor.

"Self-strangulation and hanging" they say

Were what caused the father's demise.

Would he be holding his son right now

Had conditions been otherwise?

Farewell, Marco Antonio Muñoz.

Some say, "We warned you time after time."

You came for help, and look what happened:

Seeking asylum became your crime.

AG Sessions feels zero tolerance

Will separate the wheat from the chaff--

That Trump believes in the rule of law.

Mr. Sessions, don't make us laugh!

Others have suffered a similar fate

As a result of our cruel demands.

Our leaders will offer their justification,

But they still have blood on their hands.

Farewell, Marco Antonio Muñoz.

Some say, "We warned you time after time."

You came for help, and look what happened:

Seeking asylum became your crime.

-by Bob B (6-12-18)

°Customs and Border Patrol

The Time Is Now!

Where were you when people marched

For rights, for justice, for science, for peace?

Our growing apathy or insouciance

Will only make the tensions increase.

What were you doing when in the distance

Dark clouds were taking form?

Couldn't you see the flashes and hear

The thunder from the approaching storm?

Had you somehow forgotten the great

Importance of reading between the lines?

Had you divested yourself from the need

To pay attention to warning signs?

When ideology becomes

More important than people, we're doomed.

To what degree depends on how much

Propaganda is consumed.

When cancer cells invade the body,

If we hope to stay alive,

We must make the body a place

Where the invader cannot thrive.

Shame on us if we don't act.

Shame on us if we allow

Democracy to crumble around us.

Mobilize! The time is now!

-by Bob B (6-11-18)

Tell Me It Isn't True!

No! Tell me it isn't true!

Tell me that Trump didn't say

That Russia should have been attending

The G7 summit yesterday.

Alas! It's true. We have it on tape--

A message from our commander in chief,

Which caught off guard our loyal allies,

Whose jaws dropped in disbelief.

What a return of investment for Putin,

Who's made no effort to rectify

Conditions that got him ousted from

The summit in the first place! Why

Doesn't Trump understand

How clearly transparent his actions are?

(That's the kind of president

You get when people lower the bar.)

It appears that Putin is dictating

American policy once again.

He loves seeing a rift between

The US and its allies. But then,

Collusion during the presidential

Campaign is one thing. What takes the prize

Is watching Trump collude with Russia

Right before our very eyes!

-by Bob B (6-9-18)

The D.T. Playbook: Chapter 2

The D.T. Playbook: Chapter 2:

Alienate your allies and friends.

Then sidle up to strongmen

Leaders, pretending to make amends.

Impose tariffs on your close allies.

Oh, yes, and don't forget

To stupidly suggest that they

Could possibly be a national threat.

Countries that were threats in the past

Might be scrambling head over heels

To make what in the future for you

Will be lucrative business deals.

Overlook the fact that your

Dictator friends have a score

Of D minus or F on human

Rights violations heretofore.

Although you and your allies have

Supported one another for years,

Let them know that you support

Countries that will give you cheers.

Keep ignoring foreign involvement

In past elections. Instead attack

People in your own system.

Tell them faith is what they lack.

Don't forget: distractions, distractions.

Always keep confusion brewing

So people have a tough time seeing

What kind of damage you are doing.

Finally, keep repeating words

And phrases over and over. Create

The illusion that your strategies

Are going to make the country great.

-by Bob B (6-8-18)

How to Do It According to Pruitt

As scandal after scandal envelops

The head of the EPA--

Scott Pruitt--let's hear what

He might have to say:

"Having my aide do personal tasks…

That wasn't bad, was it?

Personally, I believe

That everybody does it.

"A condo deal from a lobbyist…

Sure, it might've been sweet.

So I like to travel first class--

Why am I taking heat?

"Circumventing the White House

To give my aides huge raises.

Whoever has a problem with that…

Well, they can go to blazes!

"A 43,000-dollar soundproof

Office telephone booth

Will give me secrecy to make

More deals; and that's the truth!

"Fifteen hundred dollars for a set

Of pens is not a waste--

Especially when you know your friends

Have expensive taste.

"It isn't easy to rollback so many

Environmental rules.

I can toss out many more

If I have the right tools.

"Special deals with a lobbyist…

Come on: give me some slack.

Can't you see that we are only

Scratching each other's back.

"Millions spent on a massive security

Detail? Don't you agree

That it makes sense to go all out

To protect someone like me?

"So what if I'm the target of

Thirteen investigations.

I'm still helping the industries

And ending regulations.

"The president says I'm doing a great job.

I am not on my own.

Damn the environment; full speed ahead!

Let my motto be known."

-by Bob B (6-7-18)

The Ongoing Farce

Going after football again,

President Trump, feeling miffed,

Challenged the Philadelphia Eagles:

Mess with Trump and vengeance is swift.

Some of the team didn't want to

Attend a White House event, and so

Trump UNinvited the team

And had his own flashy show.

Criticizing the football players,

Trump--who seldom gets it right--

Said that they were insulting our troops.

How he LOVES to pick a fight!

Attempting to show how patriotic

He was, Trump--man of sharp tongue--

Wanted the National Anthem AND

"God Bless America" to be sung.

Standing in front of the military

Choir, Trump sang along.

What's funny is he showed he didn't

Know the lyrics to either song!

-by Bob B (6-6-18)

An Epitaph for Democracy: 2084

The students examined their holograms

Suspended before them in mid-air.

The colorful images always gave

Their history lessons added flair.

"You can see countries where," said the teacher,

"Democracy at one time flourished--

Before the form of government

Became weak and undernourished.

"Voting was once considered a right--

Not a privilege for only a few.

Multiple demands destroyed

The system once thought tried and true:

"Manipulation by greed and power,

Proliferation of lies and scams,

Thought control and disinformation,

And leaders who were merely shams

"Undermined the people's freedom.

Clueless people were led astray

By cunning voices persuading them

To stupidly vote their rights away.

"Often people's myopia

Can undermine their common sense.

Doesn't it make you wonder how

So many people can be so dense?"

Maybe I've gone too far, he thought.

I want them to think, to question. But when

Word reached the authorities' ears,

No one saw that teacher again.

-by Bob B (6-5-18)

A Mother's Lament

"Son, Son, where are you now?

Is someone rocking you to sleep

And singing you a lullaby?

Who wipes away the tears when you weep?

"I came here not for free hand-outs.

Nor did I come to this country to steal

Jobs that most people don't even want.

It's to your mercy that I appeal

"For safety for my children and me--

Safety from living in constant fear.

Surrounded by death, we took a chance

And fled a gang that started here.

"We haven't sneaked across your border;

We're patiently standing at your gate.

Why do you see us as criminals

And look at us with distrust and hate?

"When you ripped my son from my arms,

You criticized me for crying.

Who is watching him and his sister?

Uncertainty is terrifying.

"Daughter, Daughter, where are you now?

Do not worry about your mother.

Do not fear the shadows at night.

And please watch over your little brother."

-by Bob B (6-3-18)

Perverting the Power of Pardon

Perverting the presidential power

Of pardon isn't hard to do

When you're Trump and the FBI

Happens to be your bugaboo.

Corner a rat, and it will attack.

Corner Trump, and he'll lash out.

Take your pick of how many

Institutions he will flout.

It's easy to see that when you have

So many crooks and thugs in your nook,

Observers will start to conclude that you--

Surprise!--also look like a crook.

Trump: the great manipulator.

Watch how he begs, steals, and barters.

Watch how proud he is at how

He can create victims and martyrs.

Arpaio, Libby, D'Souza and others--

Some convicted of the same

Crimes that people surrounding Trump

Might be charged with. What's his aim?

If Trump's people maintain their silence

And keep investigators guessing,

After they've served their master well,

The dangling pardon will be their blessing.

Another attack on our judicial

System is Trump's current M.O.

A pardon a day keeps trouble away

In Trump's daily reality show.

-by Bob B (6-1-18)