Attempted Coup

Look at the ways--the despicable ways--

That Trump tried to achieve his coup

By pressuring officials in Georgia

With a repeated turn of the screw.

 

First, a ballot signature audit

In Cobb County. All was fine.

Next, he pressured Governor Kemp--

This time also crossing the line.

 

He wanted Kemp to do something

To which Kemp raised an objection--

To push for a legislative session

To change the results of Georgia's election.

 

That didn't work, and so Trump called

Georgia's secretary of state

To pressure him to do his bidding

In hopes that he'd step up to the plate.

 

He asked Raffensperger to "find"

Enough votes so that he could win.

Of course, Raffensperger declined.

To him, cheating would be a sin.

 

So then Trump asked the U.S. attorney

Of the state of Georgia to make false claims

Regarding election fraud, another

One of Trump's deceitful games.

 

That attempt also failed,

So Trump tried to weaponize

The DOJ to pressure Georgia

By sending a letter full of lies--

 

A letter written by Jeffrey Clark,

One of Trump's toadies and partners in crime.

Once again, Trump's efforts failed,

But people say it came close this time.

 

An election worker, Ruby Freeman,

Was the following target, for she

Was accused of election fraud--

Accused unjustifiably.

 

Both Freeman AND her daughter

Have been harassed and threatened as well.

Because they wouldn't support Trump's lie,

Their lives have become a living hell.

 

In January, Trump told his thugs

To march to the Capitol, and when

They did, utter chaos took place,

And we all know what happened then.

 

Georgia was merely one state among many.

But Trump even now continues to plot,

And even though his coup attempt failed,

The next time he tries, it might not.

-by Bob B (12-11-21)

Holy Cow!

What a shocking change of course!

Based on all that we have seen

Happen during the past few years--

Especially since 2016--

 

The far Right has gone off the deep end.

Who in the world would ever have guessed

How radical it would become?

The very idea is hard to digest.

 

Republicans loathed the USSR

And thought the Dems weren't hard enough

On the autocratic regime.

It was crucial for us to be tough.

 

The Soviet Union is no more,

But Russia STILL is autocratic.

Putin rules with an iron fist.

Freedom there is problematic.

 

Dissidents are killed or jailed.

The unfree press is run by the state.

Any threat to Putin's power

Is something he won't tolerate.

 

Russia annexed Crimea and now

Is threatening to invade Ukraine--

A country that we promised to help

Defend, much to Russia's disdain.

 

NOW we hear Republicans

Praising Putin for what he's doing--

Praising the dictatorial tyrant--

When instead we should be booing.

 

Why defend Ukraine? ask some

Of the Fox News commentators.

It looks as though they have become

Putin regime collaborators.

 

Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham

Are Russians assets. That's for sure.

The nonsense that they spew on TV

Is comparable to cow manure.

 

To put it plainly, to put it simply:

Vladimir Putin is NOT our friend.

He just cannot wait to see

American democracy end.

 

Putin's delighted as he watches

The effects of his disruptive charade.

It thrills him even more to watch

American ninnies come to his aid.

-by Bob B (12-9-21)

Another Statue Toppled

For twenty-three years, overlooking

The I-65 In Tennessee,

A 25-foot statue stood--

A statue portraying infamy.

 

The figure was Nathan Bedford Forrest,

Riding a horse, and who, by the way,

Was a Confederate general

And founder of the KKK.

 

The lawyer for the man who killed

Martin Luther King created

The statue, which was hideous.

It's ugliness couldn't be overstated.

 

Surrounded by thirteen Confederate flags,

The statue stood for twenty-three years.

On Tuesday this week the statue was toppled.

Most people will shed no tears.

 

The property owner, Bill Dorris,

Claimed he wasn't a racist. Why?

Because Blacks had worked for him.

All we can say is, Dorris, nice try.

 

But listen to this: He also said

That it was good to be a slave

Because the enslaved were given job

Security from cradle to grave.

 

What the…?

 

Dorris died in 2020;

However, racism isn't gone.

If we're going to end the scourge,

We must confront the issue head-on.

-by Bob B (12-8-21)

They've Sent in the Clowns

Gosar, Greene, Gaetz, and Boebert°

With their painted smiles and frowns,

Represent--along with some others--

Our present-day congressional clowns.

 

They have no interest in legislating.

Obstructionism is what they embrace.

They thrive on phony culture wars

To raise money and rile up their base.

 

To QAnon, M.T. Greene

Has apparently sworn an oath.

To believe that nonsense, one has to be

Stupid, not all there, or both.

 

Obstructionist par excellence,

Matthew Gaetz joins the whiners.

Yes, he's the one who's been

Accused of having sex with minors.

 

Anti-Muslim hatred is what

Lauren Boebert loves to spew.

She thinks carrying a weapon in Congress

Is the appropriate thing to do.

 

Paul Gosar, whose siblings can't

Even stand him, thinks it's cool

To spread Trump's big election lie.

It's hard to find a bigger fool.

 

And don't forget his violent posts.

He claims that they are merely jokes

And laughs them off, heedless of

The fires of violence that he stokes.

 

These four clowns, unfortunately,

Are dangerous and not at all funny.

It's difficult to understand

How anyone could give them money.

 

If there were a big top out there,

I would say, "Save a space for them."

Since they are not suited for Congress,

A circus would be a better place for them.

-by Bob B (12-8-21)

°Representatives Paul Gosar (AZ), Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA), Matt Gaetz (FL), Lauren Boebert (CO)

Worst NIghtmare

Tell me: What is your worst nightmare

If you’re a parent? I bet I know.

It's something that parents didn't have to

Worry about years ago.

 

You send your child to school and say,

"See you this afternoon," and then

A mass shooting occurs, and you NEVER

See your child alive again.

 

THAT's a parent's worst nightmare,

Which happens here in the United States

More often than anywhere else,

For the gun lobby dominates.

 

If your children are safe and sound,

Count your blessings, and while you do,

Weep for ALL the parents out there

Who haven't been as lucky as you.

 

In all the world, it's only here

That gun extremists are in control.

How many more of our kids will die

Before the fanatics achieve their goal?

 

So what will you do to stop the madness?

Sit on your hands and let it continue?

Or will you ACT to finally end

This nightmare? Do you have it within you?

 

We shouldn't have to live like this.

People are being murdered while we

Let the killings continue by

Responding with our apathy.

-by Bob B (12-4-21)

Update on Santa (Arctic Poem Part IV)

We know that Santa has been distraught.

For years he's watched as the climate has changed.

People who say that it's not a problem

Are, in his words, slightly deranged.

 

Now he has an additional worry:

The worldwide spread of COVID-19.

He says that people who lie to the public

About the virus are downright obscene.

 

"It makes no sense," he said with a sigh,

"NOT to be more realistic

About acknowledging what works.

The answer is relatively simplistic.

 

"Mask-wearing happens to be

A proven means to keep us from harm.

The vaccine's metaphorically

And literally a shot in the arm.

 

"The elves and Mrs. Claus and I

Have gotten our COVID boosters, and so

While conditions were bad last year,

This year I've been raring to go.

 

"But now there's yet ANOTHER variant.

Omicron they call it, and I

Fear that as the virus spreads,

More people are going to die.

 

"It really hurts me when politicians--

Who ought to be talking more about giving--

Say instead that there are some

Things that are more important than living!"

 

Wiping a tear from his eye, he added,

"You know, something is truly amiss

When people embrace false information.

Ignorance isn't always bliss.

 

"For a better, more compassionate world,

And especially for the sake of our youth,

My wish is that more and more

People will take stock in the truth."

 

He paused for a moment, then he asked,

"Do you think it would be too shocking

If I placed a COVID test

In everybody's Christmas stocking?"

 

He stood there quietly, deep in thought.

I said good-bye and took my leave.

Hmmm. I wonder what ol' Santa

Has in mind for Christmas Eve.

-by Bob B (12-3-21)