OJ

The Mueller Report is out--at least

We've seen the version that's been redacted.

Was anyone really surprised

At how the president reacted?

Trump's first reaction was

That he had been exonerated.

Not so fast, Mr. T!

There's no reason to feel elated.

First of all, obstruction of justice

Runs through the detailed report.

Trump and friends ignore those findings--

One more thing they choose to contort.

In our current culture of lying

Coming all the way down from the top,

One can find little hope

That all the lying's going to stop.

Trump's lackey, AG Barr,

Lied to the American people as well.

Of course, we've known all along

That he has a bill of goods to sell.

Now to add insult to injury,

Trump has come up with a solution:

Fighting congressional oversight

And tromping all over our Constitution.

Trump is defying subpoenas from Congress.

He's telling his people to do it, too--

Telling them to break the law.

So now what will Congress do?

Obstruction of justice appears to be

For Donald Trump a major M.O.

As he defies our basic values,

It's scary to see how far he'll go.

The cancer continues to spread in the White House.

It must be removed. Otherwise,

American democratic values

Will wither before our very eyes.

-by Bob B (4-25-19)

Impeachment's in the Air

(Can be sung to the tune of Frank Sinatra's version of "Strangers in the Night")

Impeachment’s in the air.

Just look around.

People everywhere

Can hear the sound

Of justice coming forth

In Washington, D.C.

Investigations must

Keep on advancing.

Watch as Donald Trump

Keeps on dancing.

Yet we all know there

Is no guarantee.

Impeachments in the air, and Trump has lost it.

Impeachments in the air.

Up to now we have put up with a lot,

But now we're NOT.

"It's politics!" some will shout,

But principle's what it's about.

When more become aware

Of Trump's obstruction,

They will not declare

It's a production

And say that it's not fair.

Impeachment's in the air.

…

"It's politics!" some will shout,

But principle's what it's about.

Congress, if you care,

Then don't be snooty.

Please do not despair.

Just do your duty.

That's his cross to bear.

Impeachment's in the air.

La, la, la, la, la…

-by Bob B (4-23-19)

Death Threats

The current president's rhetoric is

A cause for great alarm.

His words have the potential to cause

Other people harm.

Now a woman in Congress is

The focus of his abuse.

Once again, for his behavior

There is no excuse.

According to Trump, the congresswoman

Doesn't understand

Real life; what's more she

Deserves a reprimand

For words he took out of context.

He placed those words beside

Images of 9/11,

When nearly 3,000 died.

In such tweets, the president

Exposes his usual role

Of being a cold, hate-mongering,

Vicious Internet troll.

Real life? Ilhan Omar

Fled Somalia when

A bloody civil war tore

The country apart, and then

She spent four years in Kenya

In a detention camp, waiting

To seek refuge in the U.S.,

Her hopes never abating.

She did not have wealthy parents

To pamper her with cash

And give her millions of dollars to

Make a societal splash.

Now she's getting death threats--

Something that's not rare

When people hear a president

Who really doesn't care.

It seems as though by hurting others

Is how Trump feels fulfilled--

As though he doesn't care if his words

Cause someone to be killed.

This exploitation of anti-Muslim

Sentiments has to stop.

We expect much more from

The person at the top.

-by Bob B (4-18-19)

Who Cares?

Who cares if the earth becomes

Uninhabitable in so many years?

Who cares if the Antarctic

And Arctic ice disappears?

Who cares if worldwide

The ocean's coral reefs are dying?

Who cares if extreme weather

Around the world's intensifying?

Who cares if coastal areas

Become flooded as sea levels rise?

Who cares if we must see

The rain forests' tragic demise?

Who cares if methane's released

From melting Arctic permafrost?

Who cares if global chaos

Causes countless lives to be lost?

Who cares if instability

Causes huge worldwide migrations?

Who cares what we leave

Behind for future generations?

Who cares if temperature

Extremes "cook" parts of the earth?

Who cares if crops fail

Because the land's of little worth?

Who cares if our warming planet

Allows for a greater spread of disease?

Who cares if the temperature

On earth rises a few degrees?

Who cares who suffers from

Particle and plastic pollution?

Who cares if leaders fail

To seek a climate change solution?

I care! We all should.

This is the only home we possess.

Complacency is dangerous.

Heed the call of the SOS!

-by Bob B (4-16-19)

The D.T. Playbook: Chapter 6 (Defiling the DOJ)

Defrauding the public isn't hard

When you're one of the Trumps.

The president is especially good

At duping his loyal chumps.

So, after Trump fired James Comey,

He fired AG Sessions.

Those two firings were just a part

Of the president's indiscretions.

Next came Matthew Whitaker--

A Donald Trump lackey--

As acting AG, and whose background

Was--let's say--a bit tacky.

Now AG Barr is there

To willingly play his part

And show how he and Trump are both

Connected heart to heart.

Barr's recent appointment has

Very clearly shown

That the president has managed

To get his Roy Cohn.

Keeping Congress from seeing the full

Mueller report, Barr

Acts LESS like a fair AG

And MORE like a czar.

Flouting the rule of law, Trump

And Barr, political hacks,

Can end up doing a lot of damage

Behind Americans' backs.

Now Barr has mentioned the word

"Spying." It never fails

That Trump's appointees tend to go

Completely off the rails.

Making Trump a victim only

Satisfies his base.

Trump and Barr don't care whether

Their actions are a disgrace.

Now the tinfoil-hat group can say

"All the acrimony

Toward Trump is a nasty plot."

What a bunch of baloney!

Our leadership has never been

So chaotic. Never!

Elections, they say, have consequences.

Boy do they ever!

-by Bob B (4-11-19)

You Won't See My Tax Returns

(Can be sung to the tune of "Here Comes Peter Cottontail")

"You won't see my tax returns.

So what if you've got concerns.

You are never going to get your way.

"Though I talk transparency,

It does NOT apply to me.

You can ask but I will not obey.

"I've got Mick Mulvaney,

And he has got my back.

I don't cave to pressure;

I will never crack.

"So you won't see my tax returns.

You can stick all your concerns

Up a dark place where the sun don't shine.

"No, YOU won't see my tax returns.

Just how much a president earns

Shall remain a secret, which is mine.

"I don't care if they resort

To laws, then we'll end up in court.

All I have to say is 'Make my day!'

"Business ties with Russia

And other countries, too,

And how I make my money

Are NO concern to you.

"So…

You won't see my tax returns.

Anyone who knows me learns

Very quickly I do things my way.

"Everyone has things to hide.

Cover-ups are justified.

My returns won't see the light of day.

No, my returns won't see the light of day."

-by Bob B (4-8-19)

Being in the Now

The past has disappeared, and yet

It's all a part of this moment somehow.

The future hasn't occurred, but it

Is nonetheless tied to now.

The essence of what we were before birth

And also of what we'll be when we're gone

Eludes those who want to explain

An existential phenomenon.

Humankind's greatest attempts

To clarify life's mysteries

All fall short of certainty.

Is there one who truly "sees"?

Time and being are inextricably

Woven together. How sublime!

Time cannot be separated

From being, nor can being from time.

Why spend time--if that's the case--

Speculating on hocus-pocus?

Finding one's authentic self

Ought to be one's major focus.

Fight the waves and you might be

Swept away in the undertow.

Dive into the river of life

And let yourself go with the flow.

-by Bob B (4-4-19)

Watching the Breath*

All was still on the temple grounds.

The sun softened the morning haze

While birds playfully pranced about,

Enjoying the warmth from the sun's gentle rays.

Morning meditation ended.

The master excused the monks to do

Their duties. A novice stayed behind

To ask for a private interview.

"I understand," he said, "that it's

Time for us to do our chores,

But I have an urgent problem.

Can we speak behind closed doors?"

They entered the dokusan chamber where

Regular interviews took place.

The novice closed the door to the chamber.

There they sat, face to face.

The novice said, "I don't know

What to do. I'm bored to death

With daily meditation sessions.

I'm SO tired of watching my breath!"

The master nodded his head and replied,

"Bored, you say. Hmmm. I see."

He stood up, walked to the door,

Turned and said, "Come with me."

He led the monk to the river's edge.

There he grabbed him by the head

And held it under the rushing water

Until the young monk’s face turned red.

The novice squirmed and flailed his arms,

"I am going to drown!" he thought.

When the master freed him, the monk

Gasped for air, feeling distraught.

Admitting that his strategies

Were such that some would disallow,

The master said to the monk, “Tell me:

Are you bored with your breath right now?"

-by Bob B (4-1-19)

*An old Zen anecdote retold here in verse