(The following poem can be sung to the melody of "The Major-General's Song" from Gilbert and Sullivan's THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE. Check it out on YouTube. The first STRESSED syllable in each line is the SECOND syllable.)

Trump IS the very model of a modern major autocrat.
He sidles up to despots and we see him do a lot o' that.
He thinks he is a genius who displays originality
And doesn't understand that he is reeking of banality.
He doesn’t like diplomacy and has no grasp of history.
How people can put up with him is really quite a mystery.
He fans the fires of discontent and lives for praise and flattery,
And if he doesn't get them he resorts to verbal battery.

He WANTS complete control to rule the country with an iron fist.
He's NOTHING but an ego-driven maniac and narcissist.
He thumbs his nose at democratic ways and does a lot o’ that,
For he’s the very model of a modern major autocrat.

He scorns the rule of law and doesn't care if he's a criminal.
His instincts for corruption are much more than just subliminal.
He hopes that crypto currency will fill his coffers to the brim
And acts as though he doesn't care about what allies think of him.
He's fired a lot of workers and he boasts that he’s expedient.
His sycophants must fawn on him and prove that they’re obedient.
The gifts and money that he gets affect his greedy attitude.
His favors in return display how he will show his gratitude.

Regarding scientists and experts, Trump will ask, "What good are they?"
Since HE is such a know-it-all, it doesn't matter what they say.
He thumbs his nose at democratic ways and does a lot o’ that,
For he’s the very model of a modern major autocrat.

While more detention camps pop up--there's one now in the Everglades--
It seems that he is trying to distract us from his sexcapades,
For he and Jeffrey Epstein often seemed to be contiguous.
That they were friends was obvious and clearly not ambiguous.
But now that he's in power he will use the DOJ, of course,
To threaten and intimidate his "enemies" with no remorse.
And once he has control of what the media can say to us,
Imagine all the lies that he will force it to convey to us.

How sad to have a president who oozes such hypocrisy
Become the biggest threat we've ever seen to our democracy!
He thumbs his nose at democratic ways and does a lot o’ that,
For he’s the very model of a modern major autocrat.

-by Bob B (8-7-25)

Donald Trump never ever
Likes to be outdone.
Now he's teaching a brand new course:
Autocracy 101.
Trumplicans are fine with that;
Most of them don't care.
They'll bend over with utmost glee
To kiss his derrière.

Instead of working with current laws,
Trumplicans have a solution:
Let Trump do what he wants to AND
Ignore the Constitution.
We can see where their fealty lies;
It's NOT with the law of the land.
It's with their ruler who wants them all
To bow to his every command.

When Trump does NOT like test results,
He fires his physician.
When numbers aren't what he expects,
He fires the statistician.
When he's involved in scandals and doesn't
Like the people's reactions,
He diverts attention with
Conspiracy-based distractions.

If he thinks he is losing votes
And doesn't like the projections,
He'll encourage some of the states
To rig our future elections.
If he objects to certain decisions--
And we know he holds grudges--
He will blast the lawyers and also
Try to remove the judges.

When interviewed, he knows that there
Are people to pacify,
So he has no compunction about
Telling a whopping lie.
Since he can't take criticism,
Companies get two choices:
Settle in court for millions of dollars,
Or stifle critics' voices.

Surrounding him, Trump must have
His loyalists who fear
That they'll be fired if they don't tell him
What he wants to hear.
The truth becomes irrelevant;
"Facts" become invented.
A sentence we hear frequently
Is "That's unprecedented!"

And while he's bringing the country down,
His mind is growing dim.
If he continues to get his way,
Our future will look quite grim.
I always used to enjoy attending
Classes that were fun,
But NOT the one that Trump is giving:
Autocracy 101.

-by Bob B (8-4-25)

Just in case you're unaware,
There are many folks out there
Who sadly have been rounded up
And wrongfully detained.

A president who's unrelenting
And WHO is always circumventing
Laws is pushing cruelty;
In him that is ingrained.

He called his act a state of war
And sent folks to El Salvador
Where many were mistreated; they
Were tortured and abused.

A lot of people living here
Are forced to live in constant fear
Of what the government might do
And methods being used.

Folks are snatched from off the street.
Plain-clothed, masked, and indiscreet,
The "agents" representing ICE
Are really crooks and thugs.

Citizens are targets, too.
If YOU are one, what would you do
If you were stopped and held for hours
Or days? But Trump just shrugs.

Is this what we've come to be?
What happened to the land where we
Believed in rights, due process, and
The vital rule of law?

Republicans in Congress! How
Can they support what's happening now?
Ask them what they think and they
Will merely hem and haw.

The situation we are in--
I mean the color of our skin--
Can put a target on our backs,
As cruel as that might sound.

Don't let silence be your guide.
Be vigilant and open-eyed.
Empty the detention camps
And burn them to the ground.

-by Bob B (7-26-25)

The music is playing; it's NOT "Brigadoon."
But WE can still hear a familiar tune--
A tune that Trump likes when he's hiding his faults.
This one is known as the Trump-Epstein waltz.

Trump is upset and is starting to squirm.
Things are not running so smoothly this term.
He's taking spaghetti to throw at the wall
To see what will stick, and so HE gives his all.

Obama and Hillary Clinton are now
His targets as he tries to show people how
The two were both treasonous. Trump's such a kid!
He blames them for having done JUST what he did!

To serve as another distraction, Trump's team--
Showing how good they can be when they scheme--
Released certain records: the MLK files.
They hope they can lead us off track with their wiles.

Epstein's accomplice, convicted of crimes,
Is sitting in prison. I'm SURE oftentimes
She wonders if she'll die from "suicide," too.
Or will she be pardoned by Trump? What think you?

The lawyers for Trump want to talk with her, so,
A deal might be made, and then THEY’LL let her go.
She'll HAVE to agree that she won't testify,
And IF she must do it, they'll want her to lie.

As Trump rambles on spouting nonsense, it's clear
That his mental issues are now more severe.
He hopes that the mess will blow over; the crook
Thinks IF he wastes time he will be off the hook.

So watch as Trump dances across the dance floor
To music that we have all heard played before.
He LOVES to distract us when hiding his faults.
This time he's dancing the Trump-Epstein waltz.

-by Bob B (7-23-25)

Fifty-six years ago!
For progress, what a boon!
Neil Armstrong, our astronaut,
Stepped onto the moon.

One of the greatest achievements of science
Since the world began:
He called it a "giant leap for mankind,"
And "one small step for a man."

Many of us who were living back then
Watched it on TV
Since it was being transmitted down here
For all the world to see.

However, science skeptics now
Think they're being deceived
And seem to prefer the times when people
Were killed for what they believed.

Humankind is greatly threatened
When people haven't learned
That ignorance is a dangerous thing
And science shouldn't be spurned.

Let's SING the praises, whether or not
You can carry a tune,
Of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin,
Who walked upon the moon.

-by Bob B (7-20-25)

We knew that Jeffrey Epstein was a cad and palled around
With Donald Trump his buddy, and in friendship they were bound.
But after his conviction, Jeffrey Epstein wondered why
Trump would lie and tell the press he barely knew the guy.

Chorus:
Oh, Jeff Epstein! You did not die for me.
But your death they say was suicide, and that's a mystery.

We hear a lot of what the people call the Epstein files.
We know that there is evidence that's stacked in piles and piles.
The AG made some promises, but now she's changed her mind.
It seems that she is nervous and afraid of what we'll find.

Chorus:
Oh, Jeff Epstein! You did not die for me.
But your death they say was suicide, and that's a mystery.

We cannot trust the DOJ since it's been weaponized.
That Trump is in the Epstein files, oh, who would be surprised?
They'll release as little information as they can
And hope that all the furor will blow over. That's their plan.

Chorus:
Oh, Jeff Epstein! You did not die for me.
But your death they say was suicide, and that's a mystery.

Because of what the "Wall Street Journal" wrote, Trump's lawyers say
That he's been "damaged" and they'll sue to make the "Journal" pay.
But what about the girls whose lives were changed forever? Shame
On Epstein, Trump, and other creeps who clearly are to blame.

Chorus:
Oh, Jeff Epstein! You did not die for me.
But your death they say was suicide, and that's a mystery.

-by Bob B (7-19-25)

There is a **** in the White House--
A member of Donald Trump's team--
Who's trying like mad to fulfill
His ideological dream.

Perhaps does the name Stephen Miller
Happen to ring a bell?
If so, then you know the one who
Acts like a demon from hell.

As Deputy Chief of Staff
And often in Donald Trump's ear,
Miller is using his power
To put his plan into high gear.

He didn't like the statistics
That he was hearing from ICE.
He went in ranting and raving.
The numbers, he said, don't suffice.

Criminals are very hard
For ICE to catch and deport.
If that's where they put all their focus,
They will keep coming up short.

Go into places of dining,
Home Depot stores, and fields
And round up the undocumented,
He said. Let's see what that yields.

ICE was met with resistance.
People said, This is a sham.
So Trump deployed the marines
And said, I DON'T give a ****.

Some of Trump's cabinet members
Have ceded a lot of control
To bloodthirsty Demon Miller:
A monster without any soul.

The Muslim ban was his baby.
He's anti-transgender rights.
Foreign policy matters
He also keeps in his sights.

Any diversity practice
For Miller's a target, we know.
As he goes after our rights,
We wonder how far he will go.

Family separation
Of immigrants: his goal for sure.
His cruel and racist agenda
Is very hard to endure.

For someone raised Jewish its odd
To have such a ****-like stance.
But it all makes sense as we watch
The Trump and Miller bromance.

Maybe one day it will happen
That we can all say good-bye
And wish Demon Miller good riddance.
Will YOU be as eager as I?
To wish him good-bye and good riddance,
Will YOU be as eager as I?

-by Bob B (7-14-25)