One thing that's hard to escape from
Is social media trends.
People encounter them daily
And then share the posts with their friends.

The false information spreads quickly.
The internet boosts it along.
Many susceptible victims
Don't care if the info is wrong.

Quacks and unscrupulous people
Everywhere are to be found
Constantly looking for someone
With whom they can find common ground.

If you're in the market for snake oil
To grow some hair on your head,
You would be much better off
If you saved your money instead.

After the outbreak of COVID
From out of the woodwork we saw
Wackos appear with their cure-alls.
We could see flaw after flaw.

You can find charlatans selling
Cures for cancer and shirk
Any responsible notion,
For all those quick fixes don't work.

A new trend is spreading on TikTok:
Try drinking borax, they say.
Sprinkle a tad in your water;
Your joint pain will then go away!

Borax, a household cleaner,
Has other uses, you see.
Ingest it and you could have rashes
And seizures. No, that's not for me!

Dangerous health fads are out there.
Listen to experts who know
How to avoid falling victim
To someone who causes great woe.

Whatever you do, don't fall victim
To those who can cause you great woe.

-by Bob B (7-22-23)

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)

Donald Trump and Elon Musk--
And this, of course, is no surprise--
Continue to spread misinformation
And hope that we believe their lies.

Now it's about the devastating
Fires raging through L.A.
We are hearing attacks and blame
From Trump and his new protégé.

Musk is blaming the Dems and "wokeness"
And thus is throwing fuel on the flames;
Trump is stupidly misleading fans
By making false, inaccurate claims.

The two men rely on a place
Where lies and misinformation abound:
The Internet--now a perfect
Conspiracy theory breeding ground.

Fact-checking is crucial now
More than ever as Trump distracts
The public with his verbal garbage
And Musk with his alternative "facts."

-by Bob B (1-10-25)

Humankind is young when you
Consider the grand scheme of things.
It's going to be interesting
To see what changes the future brings.

Though some people still have doubts
And find their questions unresolved,
Others are in awe at how
We human beings have evolved.

In certain ways we have seen
Humanity make great strides.
But then again, progress itself
Is questionable. Who decides?

At times it's flabbergasting to see
How little progress we seem to have made.
Are we really advancing when
So many people retrograde?

We take so much for granted about
This precious globe that gave us birth.
Despite the extensive knowledge we have,
We cannot stop destroying the earth.

Our planet has limited resources,
But people behave as though they've never
Been made aware of that and act
As though everything lasts forever.

Too many people reject reason
And place their trust in falsehoods and fiction.
They choose to substitute myth for fact
And fail to see the contradiction.

It's funny…no, it's scary to see
That while we have advanced in stages,
At the same time, many people
Continue to live in the Dark Ages.

-by Bob B (11-11-19)

How could it happen? How could it be
That Marjorie Taylor Greene
Became a member of Congress? She's
The Capitol QAnon Queen.

She said that the Parkland shootings were
A false flag and swore
That laser beams from outer space
Caused wildfires! There's more:

She advocated that violent acts
Be directed toward
Members of Congress. Such offenses
Shouldn't be ignored.

Hilary murdered babies, she said.
How could anyone
Take Greene seriously after
All the tales she's spun?

When racists hear her rants, they all
Swarm around her like flies
Attracted to something I'd rather not
Have to verbalize.

Her anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic
Hate speech abounds.
One wonders how a person could be
As crazy as she sounds.

Greene has given support to the myth
That Trump really won the election.
Her vitriol also helped to incite
The Capitol insurrection.

Many Republicans in Congress
Bury their heads in the sand,
Ignoring the danger that she poses.
Things are way out of hand.

Strange ideas are out there, granted,
But what could be more obscene
Than to have as a member of Congress
A Capitol QAnon Queen?

-by Bob B (1-30-21)

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)

Easterners had to stay up late
To watch the Democratic debate
In Vegas, but we out here in the West
Tuned in early to watch the slugfest.

'Twas bound to happen, but oh, my God:
What a circular firing squad!
Right from the start, the hell raising
Debaters entered with all guns blazing.

Warren attacked Bloomberg with force
For purchasing the election, of course.
Then she attacked the others as well,
Going for the throat and giving them hell.

Amy and Pete, the Midwestern neighbors
Went toe to toe and brandished their sabers.
Biden was stronger this time, but again
He sounded like one of the twelve angry men.

Bernie, well, Bernie is always the same.
He tosses his daggers and shrugs off the blame.
He holds on tight to the aspiration
Of later securing the nomination.

Though Bloomberg indeed has bundles of money,
His boring demeanor is far from sunny.
As a debater, he didn't seem ready
And came off sounding weak and unsteady.

The moderators' questions were not
So wonderful and needed more thought.
The six debaters were fine on the whole,
Although at times they were out of control.

To separate the wheat from the chaff
Is crucial, and sometimes it's good to laugh.
Though some have expressed the apprehension
That we'll end up with a brokered convention,

Whatever happens, we will survive,
And may our final candidate thrive!
What's most important is that we can dump
The current president--Donald J. Trump.

-by Bob B (2-20-20)

THE GOP'S BEEN TAKEN HOSTAGE
As Donald Trump continues to spin
Stories about the presidential
Election that he didn't win.

Republicans have shamelessly caved.
A large percent of them embrace
Trump's Big Lie about the election,
Mainly because they fear his base.

THE CLOWN SHOW IN ARIZONA ENDS.
It was in the guise of an audit
That proved to be essentially
Nothing but a wasteful fraudit.

Costing millions of dollars and taking
Five months for ballot inspections,
It only helped to undermine
People's trust in future elections.

REPLACEMENT THEORY PROLIFERATES,
While the right keeps spreading tales
Of thousands of immigrants coming here
To vote in order to tip the scales.

The fearmongers are not subtle.
In fact, their rants are quite overt.
Spreading lies and paranoia,
They proudly sling their racist dirt.

DEMOCRACY IS UNDER ATTACK
As more info comes to light
Of how Trump tried to overturn
Election results with all his might.

When people in power blur the truth,
Deceive the public, and then retell
History, they're on the path
To shoot democracy to hell.

-by Bob B (9-25-21)

Listen to this: We all know
That Vladimir Putin is not our friend.
When you hear what he's doing right now,
Every hair should stand on end.

Iran and North Korea have both
Assisted in Putin's bombing campaign.
Now North Korean troops
Are helping Russia to fight in Ukraine!

Putin also asked the owner
Of Starlink Satellite if he'd
Not let it be activated
Over Taiwan. The owner agreed.

Who is the owner? Elon Musk,
Who we know has also had
Secret communications with Putin.
Are you upset? At least a tad?

Putin said that his request
Was a favor to China. Oh, well.
But there is more. It is going
To make you wonder, "What the hell?"

Putin asked Musk NOT to let
Ukraine access his satellite
Over the Black Sea area
Where Russia hoped to exert its might.

Musk has contracts with NASA and with
The DOD. Wouldn't you bet
That his close ties with Putin make him
A national security threat?

We've watched as he's turned Twitter into
A huge propaganda machine.
His connections with Trump and Putin
Show which way his loyalties lean.

We have a serious problem here.
Choose to agree or disagree,
But someone assisting our adversaries
Sounds a lot like a traitor to me.

-by Bob B (11-5-24)

Tell me: where's a leader when you need one--
When we have a crisis in full swing?
What we have is hardly what we need now:
Instead, we have a man who would be king.

We know the president's administration
Attended crisis briefings; it was warned.
And yet when people point out some of its failures,
They in turn are pilloried and scorned.

A national emergency requires
That we have all the proper tools at hand.
It requires a coordinated effort
And someone with some know-how in command.

What does Trump do? He puts Kushner in charge;
He wants his son-in-law to run the show,
As if he's an expert on pandemics.
Tell me: what the hell does Jared know?

The willful ignorance of those in charge
Of fighting a deadly virus that knows no borders
Has led to chaos. And sadly some who have spoken
The truth have been given their marching orders.

The states shouldn't have to compete for supplies.
And no one out there should be making a killing
On badly needed medical equipment.
What we see occurring is truly chilling.

By downplaying the crisis at the start,
The president put many lives in danger.
The fact that some have praised his slow response
In fighting COVID-19 is even stranger.

Also, playing favorites isn't right
When doling out necessary supplies.
Patchwork policies aren't going to help.
And most of us are tired of all the lies.

It's hard when the leadership is feckless--
And when there's moral bankruptcy at the top--
For any country to deal with major crises.
When is the nonsense going to stop?

So tell me: where's a leader when we need one?
The one we have leaves much to be desired.
If only this November we will hear
The lovely words, "Mr. Trump, you're fired!"

-by Bob B (4-5-20)

The current coronavirus crisis
Continues to spread worldwide.
Its seriousness is NOT something
People ought to be brushing aside.

And yet at a recent rally, Trump
Called the deadly crisis a HOAX,
Which makes the situation worse
From all the ignorance that he stokes.

Muffling the experts endangers us
Even more as the virus spreads.
The truth-sayers and truth-deniers
Sadly are at loggerheads.

Contradicting our health officials,
The president sees everything through
The lens of his political prospects.
And who suffers? All of us do.

Some say, "Oh, not to worry."
But there is something to bear in mind:
COVID-19 has already caused
More deaths than MERS° and SARS° combined.

We need more tests and honest guidance.
And in the meantime it would be wise
To keep your unwashed hands far
Away from your mouth and nose and eyes.

-by Bob B (2-29-20)

°Other respiratory illnesses caused by coronaviruses

-R v. W and Kansas-

SCOTUS! Oh, my: what a sham!
And boy, are we in a jam!
The ruling it made
On Roe versus Wade
Sets us back fifty years. ****!

With their extremist mentality,
They THINK they're defending morality.
They merely show
What we all know:
That they're out of touch with reality.

The people of Kansas decided
That they will not be misguided.
Women won't lose
Their right to choose,
For reason and sense have presided.

-China-

China is rattling its saber
And hurling more threats at its neighbor.
Taiwan be free?
That just can't be:
A point China loves to belabor.

-Brittney Griner-

Brittney Griner has learned
How easy it is to get burned
In Putin's domain--
A scary terrain.
We all want Griner returned!

Let Russia be struck from your list
Of places to visit. The gist?
People's small actions
Are major infractions,
For justice there doesn't exist.

-by Bob B (8-4-22)

Some folks could take a whole seminar
On whether to use "there is" or "there are."
It's really not hard. That being said,
The basic requirement is thinking ahead.

"There is" and "there are" start a sentence.° Okay?
The subject will follow. The verb must obey.
IF you begin with "there is" as a start,
A singular subject must then play its part.

"THERE'S not a lot of money to spare,"
But "THERE ARE a lot of people who care."
"THERE IS a problem when traffic has slowed,"
But "THERE ARE too many big trucks on the road."

"There is a fly in my soup," you will hear.
"Is" is correct. That should be clear.
But "There are a lot of cracks in the curb."
"Are" here, you see, is the right plural verb.

With multiple subjects some people get thrown.
If YOU find it tricky, then you're not alone.
"There are a woman, a man, and a dog
Crossing the street in the cool morning fog."

But, frankly, I'd say, even better yet,
Remove the "there are," and here's what you'll get:
"A woman, a man, and a dog" (short and sweet,
And right to the point) "are crossing the street…."

"There were drums in the song that we played."
Saying "there was" would be wrong, I'm afraid.
From this example, of course, you can tell
That the rule works with the past tense as well.

"There are two dishes that really stand out,"
"There are a lot of ways to cook trout."
Merely by thinking ahead when you speak,
You can perfect your verbal technique.

-by Bob B (6-18-23)

°Although "there is” and “there are” often start a sentence, they don't have to. Other words, phrases, and clauses can precede them.

1
Watch the Christian nationalists
Trudge across the land--
Quoting from their Bibles,
With the book in hand.
Poisoning the minds of
People as they go.
They won't stop until they make their
Rules the status quo.

Chorus:
Watch the Christian nationalists
Trudge across the land--
Quoting from their Bibles,
With the book in hand.

2
As they watch diversity
Spread in many ways,
They will push their dogma
With the funds they raise.
Say good-bye to equal rights
As they march along.
They think God's on THEIR side, so they
Can do nothing wrong.

Chorus

3
Scorning Jews and Muslims
Is their common thread.
They hope they will vanquish
Foes with lies they spread.
Look into their hearts and you’ll
See through their façade.
Blending church and state, they want
A country ruled by God.

Chorus

4
Folks like Mastriano°
And like M.T. Greene°°
Are among the wackiest
People we have seen.
As they speak their gibberish--
Each deceptive word--
They with their pretentiousness
Can't help being absurd.

Chorus

5
If perchance your lifestyle is
One that they condemn,
You deserve no freedoms if
You don't think like them.
They don't seem to care to
Love and to forgive.
They do not believe in concepts
Like live and let live.

Chorus:
Watch the Christian nationalists
Trudge across the land--
Quoting from their Bibles,
With the book in hand.

-by Bob B (7-26-22)

°Doug Mastriano - far-right gubernatorial nominee in Pennsylvania
°°Marjorie Taylor Greene - far-right conspiracy theorist and U.S. representative from Georgia

A man who lived in a small town
Was having trouble earning his keep.
He went to visit a friend. They dined.
Then he got drunk and fell asleep.

The next morning the friend went away
On business and left behind a note.
However, before he left he'd sewn
A precious jewel inside the man's coat.

When the man awoke, he ate
Some breakfast, dressed, and then departed.
He had NO idea that
His friend had been so giant-hearted.

Leaving the town, the man went looking
For work, which was a struggle for him.
He took on any job he could,
Even risking life and limb.

After a number of long, hard years
Of toil, he happened to run into
His friend who was in town on business--
The friend who was so well-to-do.

On seeing him, the friend was aghast
And asked why he was working so hard.
He noticed the man's frail form,
His sunburnt face, his arms so scarred.

"When I saw you last, I sewed
Inside your coat a precious jewel,"
He said. "If you had discovered it,
You wouldn't have had to work like a mule.

"Here you have been slaving away
Unnecessarily.
Go find the jewel and wisely sell it.
The money will surely set you free."

Ah, at times we’re unaware
Of hidden gifts that we possess--
Gifts that can truly change our lives
And greatly affect our happiness.

-by Bob B (8-17-23)

°From Chapter 8 of the LOTUS SUTRA

In Texas, near San Antonio,
Lived a couple--two great guys,
Phillip and Tony, happily married,
But that shouldn't be a surprise.

Tony was a councilman;
Phillip owned a beauty shop.
All was well till COVID-19,
And then everything came to a stop.

Phillip grew ill and saw his doctor,
Who sent him home with some meds. So far,
His illness wasn't advanced, but soon
He had to be taken to the ER.

Tony also grew ill and tried
To stay home for as long as he could.
When he was rushed to the hospital,
Things were NOT looking so good.

Tony was placed in the room next to Phillip,
Who had been on a respirator.
Phillip's body gave out and he died;
Tony died a few hours later.

Phillip's mother had been living
With the two men, and she, too, came down
With the same virus, and so she must grieve
All by herself in the small Texan town.

Together at Fort Sam Houston, Phillip
And Tony will be laid to rest.
While living, the two men had each other.
At least we can say that they had been blessed.

This is just one of the many sad stories
That COVID-19 has brought to the fore.
Until the virus is under control,
We know for certain that there will be more.

-by Bob B (4-19-20)

A monk, Bhaddiya, was meditating
Long ago in India when
Some other monks heard him exclaim
"My happiness!" again and again.

Assuming that Bhaddiya lamented
The style of life that he had maintained
Before he gave up everything,
Donned his robes, and became ordained,

The other monks went to their master
And told him that Bhaddiya had sunk
Far below the standards required
To be a devout, righteous monk.

"Bring him to me," the master said,
Knowing full well the situation.
The puzzled monk entered the chamber
And bowed to his master in humble prostration.

The master asked, "Bhaddiya, were you
Repeating 'My happiness!' a while ago?
If indeed you were, dear friend,
Is there something that we should know?"

"Master," Bhaddiya replied, "at times
It's hard for me to contain my bliss.
There's absolutely nothing about
My former lifestyle that I miss.

"I was a statesman with power and wealth.
Servants and guards: there were so many.
But reasons to be happy? Well,
I had a hard time finding any.

"Though I had guards, I always feared
Someone would try to **** me and take
All my money and all my possessions.
There was alays so much at stake.

"But now I live in utmost freedom.
I have no fears; I feel…elated.
Never have I felt so happy--
So completely liberated!"

The other monks felt slightly ashamed.
How quickly they had jumped to conclusions!
How easily they had let themselves
Be caught off guard and trapped by illusions!

Bhaddiya had already learned his lesson.
Our ideas--he would confess--
Of what can make us happy can be
Obstacles to our happiness.

-by Bob B (4-30-18)

°An old tale retold here in verse

Bryan Thompson, from Mississippi,
Didn't want to be vaccinated
Until he knew much more about
The COVID vaccine. Thus, he waited.

Caution is understandable,
And many people do not envision
Coming down with COVID. But Bryan
Soon regretted his decision.

He ended up in the hospital
With COVID, and soon he realized
That even though he had been careful,
He probably shouldn't have been surprised.

After some time, he was released.
Back at home he began to complain
About discomfort in one of his legs--
In fact, excruciating pain.

Back to the hospital he went.
There the doctors determined that he
Would have to lose his leg. It was
Amputated below the knee.

Bryan is lucky he's still alive.
He now feels that it was wrong
To hold off getting his vaccination.
He should have known better all along.

Please do not feel Schadenfreude
Or say, "Bryan, it serves you right."
No, be happy he's still alive
To help other people see the light.

-by Bob B (7-30-21)

Alabamian Roy Moore,
Known as the 10 Commandments judge,
And whose reputation a conscientious
Person would certainly never begrudge,

Has been accused of child molestation--
Something that happened years ago.
But such incidents often surface
Many years later, as we all know.

For violating judicial ethics,
Twice he's been thrown off the bench.
His need for wearing a mask of morality
Is a thirst that he can't quench.

He's been quoted as having said
That 9/11 and Sandy Hook
Resulted because of God's vengeance.
His madness is hard to overlook.

He allegedly liked young girls.
At least that's what we have been told.
According to a recent report,
One was even fourteen-years-old.

Of course he denies it (of course he would)
And says it's fake news--a nasty plot
To smear his character. He wants us
To think that he is something he's not.

Alabamian voters, they say,
Will likely still vote for Moore,
And probably would even if
The man had accusations galore.

He speaks into his mic while standing
Before his fans in a cowboy hat.
They would prefer a *******
To--heaven forbid--a Democrat!

-by Bob B (11-11-17)

Hats off to the patriots
Who aren't afraid to testify
In Congress during impeachment hearings.
No one needs to ask them why

They are willing to sit before Congress
And put their reputation on line,
Knowing that they'll be under attack
By people trying to undermine

Their character, virtue, honor,
And solid credibility.
As patriots, they stand tall,
But do so with humility.

Sadly, their words fall on deaf ears
Of many who do not care to hear
The truth about the man at the top--
The self-serving puppeteer.

The patriots have honored subpoenas
And NOT caved in to intimidation,
Despite being the subjects of threats,
Damaging tweets, and condemnation.

They're being grilled to expose something
About which we shouldn't be glad:
The most corrupt administration
The U.S. has ever had.

-by Bob B (11-17-19)

Stop the lies, conspiracy theories,
And gaslighting. Let truth prevail.
Every day we hear another
Radical far-right fairytale.

This year's January 6
Insurrectionists were NOT
Patriots. No, they were thugs,
Carrying out a violent plot.

Police officers testified
At a hearing on Capitol Hill.
Sadly, the four men have been
Forced to swallow a bitter pill.

Officers defended Congress
Against a wild and violent mob.
Understaffed and overwhelmed,
They were merely doing their job.

But many Republicans in Congress
Want you to doubt what you have seen--
To erase the violent images
That flashed across your TV screen.

Officers dealt with severe beatings,
Bear pepper spray, bone-chilling threats,
The fear of being crushed by the crowd,
And horrible racial epithets.

They were threatened before the hearings
And then after the hearings as well--
Vicious, violent threats, as though
They hadn't already been through hell.

And while the hearing was going on,
Republicans--on that very same day--
Met outside to offer support
To the thugs, until they were chased away.

How terribly sick and ironic it is
That some Republicans condemn
The officers who in January
Risked their lives protecting them!

Hopefully, during these hearings,
More information will come to light.
Congress MUST ignore what's politically
Advantageous and do what's right.

-by Bob B (7-28-21)

As more information comes to light,
There's still a growing appetite
For many to think that wrong is right,
And the Big Lie continues.

The followers remain aloof.
Despite no evidence or proof
Of voter fraud, they keep up the spoof,
And the Big Lie continues.

Candidates across the land
Are truly getting out of hand
As ignorance makes a huge demand,
And the Big Lie continues.

The cult leader makes a claim,
Knowing so well it's just a game
And acting without a sense of shame,
And the Big Lie continues.

Unless you pull a ****, it spreads
And soon takes over the flower beds.
So it is with knuckleheads
As the Big Lie continues.

Tend to your garden; don't delay.
Although you must struggle day after day,
With effort you'll make the weeds go away
As the Big Lie continues.

-by Bob B (7-7-22)

"I was like, Wow, THAT is crazy!
He was like, There's no parallel.
I was like, That is SO bizarre.
He was like, Yeah, what the hell?

"So I was like, Why don't people get it?
He was like, They are SO deranged.
I was like, What is happening here?
He was like, Weird how people have changed.

"I was like, I am flabbergasted.
It hit me like a ton of bricks.
He was like, Yeah, that's so strange.
But that's how people get their kicks.

"I was like, Couldn't they see it coming?
He was like, Yeah, give me a break!
I was like, What were they thinking of?
He was like, THAT really takes the cake!

"I was like, What are we going to do?
What will it take to get it together?
He was like, Well, if we do,
Knock me over with a feather."

What's going on with the English language
With the overuse of "like"?
It seems that specificity
And clarity have gone on strike.

-by Bob B (10-19-21)

When we delve into our past,
Stories of odd eccentrics abound.
Of course, you'll find them even today
If you dare to look around.

Have you heard of the Collyer brothers--
Two brothers of strange repute?
Homer and Langley were their names.
Their oddness one cannot refute.

Born in the late 1800s,
The two were only three years apart.
Although they were peculiar,
Both of them were rather smart.

Langley studied engineering
And chemistry; Homer, law.
When the family moved to Harlem,
They lived in a brownstone with ma and pa.

After their parents separated,
The two brothers chose to reside
With their mom and even continued
To stay there after their mother died.

The brothers had a strange compulsion
To collect stuff and even more stuff.
And when that happens, for many people,
There is never, ever enough.

They lived in "nests" that they had made
In debris that was piled as high as the ceiling.
Most of us couldn't comprehend
How the two could find that appealing.

Langley built ***** traps in case
Inquisitive neighbors tried to break in.
People on the outside knew
That something strange was occurring within.

The brothers refused to pay their bills,
So naturally, it came to pass,
That they would have to make do without
Electric power, water, and gas.

The two had 25,000 books,
Mountains of papers and magazines,
Fourteen pianos, two organs--
Surely the most bizarre of scenes--

Baby carriages, bicycles,
Human organs pickled in jars,
Thousands of bottles, cats, banjos,
Chandeliers, and parts of cars.

Homer was found dead in an alcove.
He died of starvation and heart disease.
His matted gray hair hung down to his shoulders
And his head was resting on his knees.

Later, the body of Langley was found,
After a two-and-a-half-week lapse.
Apparently, he had been killed
By one of his own ***** traps.

Over 120 tons
Of junk was removed from the brothers' dwelling.°
Incomprehensible!
And you can bet that it wasn't sweet smelling.

So hoarders beware. Listen to
The wake-up call before it's too late,
Lest you follow the path of the Collyer
Brothers and suffer a similar fate.

-by Bob B (10-24-21)

°Some sources say 140 tons.

The House impeachment hearings show
How the president's cult divides
America, with legislators
Approaching a problem from different sides.

One side calls on oversight
Of presidential abuse of power
And also obstruction, both of which
Are STILL occurring at this hour.

The other side chooses to
Ignore the gravity of the abuse
And tries instead to distract the public
With arguments, lame and obtuse.

They have decided that they'll defend
Their guileful leader at any cost,
No matter how much damage he's done--
No matter how many lines he's crossed.

What a shame, America!
History shows us what can result
When people either choose or are forced
To be a part of a leader's cult.

-by Bob B (12-13-19)

This is the tale of a figure--
One you have noticed by chance--
Who's from the state of Ohio;
He calls himself JD Vance.

He once said Trump was like ******,
But suddenly Trump's now his champ.
Somehow or other the two
Ended up in the same camp.

He's an election denier
And WON'T rest until he defeats
Those who have different opinions.
He CALLS them (oh, horror!) elites!

The country, he says, is controlled by
Childless cat ladies whose aim
Is to make all of us feel
As wretched as they do. Oh, shame!

Hetero parents with children--
Another idea that he floats--
Ought to receive something special,
Which is to get extra votes.

Apparently, Vance thinks our leaders
Can lead only when they have known
What it is like to produce
One or more kids of their own.

(Chorus)
Tell us, please, Mr. Vance,
If you are truly for real.
How many crazy ideas
Do you still plan to reveal?

Vance is opposed to abortion,
Even for ****** or ****.
He thinks that he's pro-life Zorro,
Displaying his sword and his cape.

He says divorce is too easy,
And WE have had more than enough.
But what about violent spouses?
Violent? He would say, Tough.

The firing of all civil servants
Who don’t support MAGA goals
Is HIGH on his shifty to-do list
Once he is at the controls.

President Biden is killing
MAGA voters, says he,
With fentanyl! Oh, my goodness!
Only a fool would agree.

Marriage equality also
Is a big no-no for him.
And slavery's just like abortion!
Vance as VP? Oh, how grim!

(Chorus)
Tell us, please, Mr. Vance,
If you are truly for real.
How many crazy ideas
Do you still plan to reveal?
You and Trump must be looking
For an election to steal.

-by Bob B (7-31-24)

A monk went to meet with his master
And wondered what the sage would say.
"Master," he said, "I'm disappointed;
Today hasn't been my day.

"My mind is very distracted; it's like
A monkey jumping from limb to limb.
My legs ache; my eyelids are heavy;
I fall asleep when the lights are dim.

"Whatever I'm doing doesn't seem right.
I seem to be floundering in a morass."
The master quietly gazed at the student
And calmly said, "It will pass."

A month later the monk returned
To meet with his master once again.
"Master," he cried excitedly,
"I think I've grasped the meaning of Zen!

"Today my meditation was perfect.
I feel so calm; I feel such peace.
My mind is clear, focused and centered--
The way it should be when all thoughts cease.

"It's just like a…I don't know…
A calm lake as smooth as glass."
The master looked at the monk and said
Matter-of-factly, "It will pass."

-by Bob B (6-1-17)

°A Zen story retold in verse

A lion had his eye on three bulls
That grazed in a farmer's grassy field.
Being close together always
Provided them with a safety shield.

The lion longed to capture them
And eat them up with utmost joy,
But due to their strength in unity,
He desperately needed a ploy.

His plan: to whisper damaging gossip
Among the bulls to make them suspicious
Of one another. And we all know
That gossipers can be malicious.

The lion's strategy worked like a charm--
Just as he had anticipated.
Each of the bulls grew to dislike
The others, and thus they separated.

The field was large enough that each
Could graze alone in a different section.
Of course, since they were on their own,
They no longer had the same protection.

Then the lion moved in on the three,
Eating them one by one, which shows
That quarrels among friends provide
Opportunities for foes.

By the way, if the lion
Devoured all three, he HAD to be full.
Can a lion be that famished?
Or do you think it's a lot of bull?

-by Bob B (8-24-21)

°An Aesop fable, "The Lion and the Bulls," retold here in verse

This is the tale of a person
Who always needs someone to blame--
Who's sociopathic by nature.
We will not mention his name.

Every **** thing about him
Is narcissistic and sour.
And yet for millions of people,
He is the man of the hour.

Way back in his early childhood
There MUST have been something constraining.
Did the young child have a nanny
Who offered him poor ***** training?

Constantly seeking attention,
As if to say, "Hey! Look at me,"
He wants to be in the spotlight--
Of course, always for a small fee.

When he moved out of the White House,
Not caring if he crossed the line,
He took with him box after box
Of documents, saying, "They're MINE."

Though classified docs were among them,
That didn't matter to him.
For almost two years he kept them.
Will he pay? Chances are slim.

All of his fans and supporters
Come up with any excuse
To try to protect him, when really
Someone should cook the man's goose.

He'll thumb his nose at the law
And want us to give him a break.
Sociopaths like him
Don't think they can make a mistake.

Currently, he is extorting
The government by making threats
Of violence if he's indicted.
This he does with no regrets.

Well, Mr. Sociopath,
It's time that you pay for your crimes.
And once that happens, let's hope
That we will all see better times.

Yes, Mr. Sociopath,
Look at the damage you've done.
You're good at fooling yourself,
But you cannot fool everyone.
Yes, some might be easily fooled,
But you cannot fool everyone.

-by Bob B (9-1-22)

Months have passed, and now we're in
The very merry month of May,
And much to Trump's consternation,
Stormy° hasn't gone away.

Trump's attorney Michael Cohen
Has also gotten himself in a bind.
Now he's under investigation.
Just imagine what they'll find!

Stormy's lawyer, Avenatti,
After digging was able to unearth
Some pertinent and interesting
Information, for what it's worth:

Millions of dollars have flowed in and out
Of Michael Cohen's LLC.
It seems that access to Donald Trump
Doesn't happen without a fee.

Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg
Deposited a substantial sum,
Along with a few corporations.
A lot of people ask, How come?

Suspicious explanations abound,
Though we are tiring of the charades.
Is Cohen really an all-around expert
At everything--a jack of all trades?

Members of Congress say follow the money.
One says that without a doubt
Shake any tree in the forest of Trump,
And what do you know? a Russian falls out.

More dots are being connected,
Which to Trump must be a ******.
We've had a Stormy winter and spring;
Will we have a Stormy summer?

-by Bob B (5-10-18)

°Stormy Daniels (Stephanie Clifford)

So disgusting: A pesky fly
That hangs around as if to say,
"It doesn't matter HOW repulsive
You find me; I am NOT going away."

Intruding upon our privacy,
It thinks it's so important, so when
We try to shoo the pest away,
It just comes back again and again.

"Get out of our lives!" we want to scream.
"You've been around here FAR too long!"
Then when we think it has disappeared,
We suddenly find that ****! we were wrong.

So persistent at being a nuisance,
It doesn't mind being reprimanded.
Just imagine where it has been,
The things it has touched, and where it has landed.

"What is its purpose," we ask ourselves,
"Other than to cause distress--
To work its way into our lives
And leave behind a major mess?"

It hangs around with similar flies
That seem to have a similar goal:
To leave their disgusting mark on whatever
They touch and try to stay in control.

It has no sense of self-awareness,
So how the hell did it EVER get backing?
When it was more prominent, it
Evaded attempts to send it packing.

Finally, we thought that we
Had shooed the fly away forever.
But, alas, the pest returned.
Flies are more persistent than clever.

How do you rid yourself of a pesky
Fly that refuses to leave the scene?
Acknowledge how big a bother it is,
And then construct a protective screen.

-by Bob B (10-6-21)

If Henry Higgins were actually living,
Certainly, he would be unforgiving
When hearing how English is spoken today.
I can imagine what Henry might say:

"English speakers who massacre grammar
Ought to be thrown into the slammer,
And there in the slammer they should remain
Until they treat English with much less disdain.

"Their usage of pronouns is simply atrocious.
One thing that makes me feel ferocious
Is when they use 'him' when they ought to use 'he,'
Or when they misuse both 'I' and 'me.'

"The past tense of verbs is not hard to learn,
And yet it's a practice that some people spurn.
The past tense of 'string'--the verb--is 'strung.'
The past tense of 'sing' is 'sang,' not 'sung.'

"And then there's the overuse of 'like.'
Has formal English gone on strike?
'I was like…,' 'He was like…,' 'She was like..' ****!
That's even hard to diagram!

"And what about the subjunctive mood?
When speakers misuse it, I come unglued.
'If I was you…' grates on my ears.
'If I would have known…' brings me to tears.

"Some people call it language abuse
And throw up their arms and say, 'What's the use?'
Social media makes it worse.
To some it's a blessing; to me it's a curse.

"Unfortunately, rules are broken
Wherever the English language is spoken.
A language will change. Yes, that I know.
Oh, but it's painful to see it change so!"

-by Bob B (3-27-22)

(This can be sung to the melody of "The Ballad of Davy Crockett," by Tom Blackburn and George E. Bruns.)

All you have to do is show you are a fan
Of Donald J. Trump, and of course you can
Rewrite our history if that's your plan,
While tossing all the facts into the garbage can.
Ashli--Ashli Babbitt--out for a dangerous thrill.

It's too bad her life had to end that way.
But why storm the Capitol that shameful day?
How did she ever get caught up in the fray?
She listened to Trump. What else is there to say?
Ashli--Ashli Babbitt--killed on Capitol Hill.

The members of Congress were terrified.
They had to find a place where they could all hide.
The Speaker's Lobby was where Babbitt tried
To enter but was shot before she got inside.
Ashli--Ashli Babbitt--caught in the undertow.

Breaking in and entering was not very smart.
Incited by her president, she chose to take part
In the insurrection. Watch him kick start
A movement to reward her with a purple heart.
Ashli--Ashli Babbitt--oh, what a tale of woe!

Some want to crucify the cop who shot her,
Saying what he did was nothing short of slaughter.
But look where Babbitt's crazy actions brought her.
Recognizing lies is what someone should’ve taught her.
Ashli--Ashli Babbitt--fell for the president's lie.

Some Trump's supporters are so inclined
To try to persuade his base to be aligned
In making her a martyr, but when will they find
That their cult leader's completely lost his mind?
Ashli--Ashli Babbitt--what a strange way to die.

I think that most of us will have to agree
That you don't have to be a genius to be
Appalled by such attacks on our democracy.
There are consequences. That's a guarantee.
Ashli--Ashli Babbitt--all we can ask is "Why?"

-by Bob B (7-13-21)

You're at a party when--déjà vu--
The music changes from out of the blue.
You might miss a step, but whatever you do
Keep dancing.

Meteorologists predict a storm.
But inside all is comfy and warm.
If you want to stay true to form,
Keep dancing.

All through the evening your friends come and go.
That is the nature of parties, you know.
Your feet might grow tired; even so,
Keep dancing.

Some say life's a party.
At least we can pretend.
We know that at some point
Parties have to end.

You look at the clock; the hour is late.
But your time of departure can wait.
Why leave the party when you're feeling great?
Keep dancing.

-by Bob B (10-17-21)

Trump’s America: sad, sad, sad.
The horrors are quickly coming to a head.
After three and a half ugly years,
See where his failure to guide us has led.

What have we heard over and over--
Hateful rhetoric, thousands of lies?
Democratic values to him
Are merely something to pulverize.

Accountability: what's that?
He's fought it every inch of the way.
His low and demeaning attacks on our freedoms
Were bound to blow up in our faces one day.

"What can I do to rally my base?"
He wonders. "Be as obnoxious as ever.
I can do whatever I want;
I just have to pull the right lever."

To unify the country? No way!
That hasn't been a part of his plan.
We've seen what happens when people elect
A president who's a shifty con man.

His groveling toadies in Congress have lost
Any integrity they might have had.
Their cowardly actions have shown us that if
Trump is toxic, they're just as bad.

"A fish rots from the head down."
We often hear that said, I know.
But with all that is happening here,
The old expression is so apropos.

A virus spreads; people are dying.
To Donald Trump, Wall Street comes first.
It's all about attention and money
For which he has an unquenchable thirst.

We know where his loyalties lie,
And it's NOT with us common people, for sure.
Beneath his pompous bluster lies
A man who's weak and insecure.

Come November we have to decide:
Do we give the tyrant the boot,
Or do we allow him to bring the country
Into greater disrepute?

-by Bob B (6-12-20)

Try to imagine how it feels--
And this does happen, bear in mind--
To be told by another person,
"Sorry, but we don't serve your kind."

Try to imagine what it's like
To hear over and over that you
Cannot enjoy the same rights
That the majority of people do

Because of the color of your skin,
Beliefs, or ****** orientation.
Humankind is crippled by
Despicable discrimination.

You can apply faulty logic
And you can be falsely pious,
Using contrived arguments
To cleverly justify your bias.

Such sophistry comes to nothing.
Falling short right from the start,
It treats humanity with contempt
And reveals a hollow human heart.

What a wonderful world we'd have
If the whole human race
Embraced the powerful idea that
Discrimination had no place!

-by Bob B (8-20-17)

Fiesta is the party cat.
She won't play second fiddle;
Whenever there's a party going on,
She is smack in the middle.

Shrimp cocktail and salmon croquettes--
That's what she prefers.
Don't abandon your plate or else
Fiesta thinks it's hers.

"A lot of cats are skittish," she says,
"And thus they have a bad rap.
I, on the other hand, don't mind
Sitting on anyone's lap.

"Of course, I have an ulterior motive
That guests don't always see.
When I give them attention, there's always
Something in it for me.

"When caviar is served, you'll find me
Walking on a cloud.
I must apply all of my charm
To butter up the crowd.

"I love it when guests rub my tummy
And tickle me under the chin.
When I smell clam dip on their fingers,
My head starts to spin!

"I must admit I have no patience
For guests who shout, 'Achoo!'
And then stentoriously blow their nose
And rudely tell me, 'Shoo!'

"The nerve of them to stifle my pleasure!
For me, goal number one
Is to enjoy each precious moment--
To live means having fun!"

As soon as the dancing begins, Fiesta
Finds a safe location
Far away from dancing feet,
For height is her limitation.

Fiesta waits to hear the hosts
Say, "Let's go to bed.
We can clean up the mess tomorrow."
Then she raises her head.

With everybody gone there's no one
There to scold or berate her.
She can survey each bowl and plate
To see what treasures await her.

"Sally Bowles was right," she says;
"Life is a cabaret!
Why can't my servants put on
A party every day?"

She eats till her stomach is ready to burst,
Heedless of any warning.
Everyone wonders why she is so
Listless in the morning.

-by Bob B (2-14-20)

This is a tale about voting--
Something that we take for granted.
But what we see happening here
Is leaving folks quite disenchanted.

Democracy counts on its voters
To shape it and keep it alive.
If votes are taken away,
How will it ever survive?

After a failed Reconstruction,
Voter restrictions took root
Way down in ol' Mississippi.
Then other states followed suit.

In many states people kept seeking
Unfair ways of promoting
Strategies that were intended
To stop many Blacks from voting.

Imagine: you show up to vote.
You wouldn't get very far
If YOU had to guess the number
Of jellybeans in a jar.

Or let's say that you were forced
To pass an unfair test
Or pay what you couldn't afford.
Those were ways votes were suppressed.

Intimidation became
Another tool that was used
In places where Blacks cast their votes.
That shows how our rights were abused.

Congress had to step in
To pass legislation to take
Biased laws off the books.
There was so much at stake.

But red states now are trying
To make it harder once more
For people of color to vote
With laws that we ought to deplore.

Americans should be united
In helping democracy grow.
However, in order to do that,
Jim Crow laws have to go.
Yes, in order to do that,
Jim Crow laws have to go.

-by Bob B (9-21-21)

Supreme Court justices,
Smiling at autocracy,
Have pounded one more nail into
The coffin of democracy.

Immunity! That is what
They decided Trump should get.
Of course, Trump and his Court lackeys
Are in one another's debt.

Receiving immunity for actions
While serving a term as president
Is dangerous for a person like Trump
Who has an egomaniacal bent.

Giving so much power to him
While he's in office unfairly slights
The rest of us, for such a move
Diminishes the people's rights.

Yes, the rights of the rest of us,
For we have seen how he abuses
The power of the executive branch
To do whatsoever he chooses.

Our founding fathers emphasized
That no one is above the law.
The Court regards our Constitution
With a deprecatory "Pshaw!"

There were dissenters--only three--
Who criticized the Court's decision.
But sadly it is not enough
For three to have a clearer vision.

Treating the president of the country
As though he were a powerful king
Makes me sick, especially when
People sing "let freedom ring."

-by Bob B (7-4-24)

Nonsense from the folks on the Right
Continues to plague us every day.
It's as though we're all on a stage,
Caught in the midst of a nihilist play.

A Texas school administrator
Told her staff to interfuse
Books about the Holocaust
With books containing opposing views!

Here's what that means: if they have books
About the Holocaust on their racks,
Opposing books must be included,
Or Holocaust books must be given the ax.

When going in that direction, people
Are treading on dangerous territory,
For when we talk of the Holocaust,
There are NOT two sides to the story.

Other appalling news: Trump
Is coopting the GOP
By taking it hostage so he can secure
His role as a future nominee.

All Republicans who fail
To push his giant election lie
When they run in future races
Are going to have to say bye-bye.

If they don't obey his command,
He'll tell people not to vote.
That will hurt the Republicans,
And he will just sit back and gloat.

There's something we must understand:
The soul of our nation is in peril.
All it takes is a little poison
To ruin the water that fills a barrel.

-by Bob B (10-16-21)

My dad could be a character.
He often loved to get your goat,
But in a fun or teasing manner
And always keeping his wit afloat.

Very well read and articulate,
He used his humor to be quite punny.
However, when he teased my mom,
She didn't often find him funny.

He could be loquacious with his
Gargantuan vocabulary.
Since he could talk about anything,
The topics, of course, would always vary.

He possessed the enviable
Ability to think on his feet.
To hear him talk at events to me
Was an unforgettable treat.

My mom would listen attentively,
But after a while her ire would spike.
I could hear her softly mumbling,
"******, Warne, put down the mic!"

The use of the word "******" here
I have to admit is rather tame,
For both of my folks could string together
Words that would put a sailor to shame.

No offense to sailors here,
But certainly you know what I mean.
After we left our family
Gatherings there'd be a scene.

"Stop talking politics
At family parties!" Mom would shout.
"And stay away from religion," she'd add.
Of course, I've left the cuss words out.

But Dad was truly a loving man--
Warm, affectionate, and kind.
His liberal outlook on life taught me
To open both my heart and mind.

Twenty-six years ago he died,
And yet so much of him survives:
The love that he had for his family
And the ways that he touched so many lives.

-by Bob B (6-16-24)

The scent of pine wafting through the woods;
The gentle rush of serpentining streams;
Plaintive begging calls from forest birds;
A silvery pool reflecting the moon's bright beams…
Nature's sights and scents and sounds combined
Or on their own can give great peace of mind.

A flower squeezing through a neighbor's wall;
An unattended garden, overgrown;
The sounds of children playing in a park;
A stranger musing on a porch alone…
Wherever we are, we can nonetheless
Be moved in ways that words cannot express.

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 *** 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)

Frankie, the devil-cat, was always
The infamous focus of blame.
Folks said Lucifer would have been
A more appropriate name.

Always in trouble he was! You couldn't
Find a more wicked cat.
If you can name one more evil than Frankie,
I will eat my hat.

Sometimes he would want your attention.
Bah! Attention indeed.
If you pet him, he'd bite your arm
And scratch it and make it bleed.

You couldn't walk across the floor
Barefoot, for if you tried,
Frankie would attack your foot
And bite it until you cried.

He had a strange design on his forehead
Which frightened the local priest.
"Beware!" the priest told Frankie's owners.
"The cat has the mark of the beast."

You might wake up from a peaceful sleep
In the darkness of the night.
Two yellow eyes would be staring at you,
And make you jump up in fright.

"****, **** cat!" you'd yell at Frankie,
And he would yowl and hiss.
When you got up in the morning, you'd sense
That something was amiss.

Your favorite knick-knack would be lying
In pieces on the floor,
And Frankie would stay hidden until
You were no longer sore.

When he was hungry, you wouldn't have
A single moment of peace
Until you filled his bowl with food.
THEN the racket would cease.

When Frankie's owners would leave the house,
It was as though he would boast
That now he could use their luxury couch
As his favorite scratching post.

They never caught him in the act.
A scary thing happened when
A guest who said Frankie should be declawed
Was never heard from again.

Frankie would sit by the window and wait
For other cats to come near,
Then he would scream so loudly that he
Would fill them all with fear.

One day out of meanness Frankie
Started to chew on a wire.
Zap! He was electrocuted.
What a way to expire!

The owners say he's in kitty heaven,
But people who knew him well
Roll their eyes and under their breath
Say, "More like kitty hell."

"Frankie, aka Lucifer:
The meanest cat around!"
Should be Frankie's epitaph
Now that he's underground.

-by Bob B (3-2-24)

In 1777 we hear
Death from smallpox was a fear.
Much to Washington's dismay,
Troops were dying every day.

Sound off: one, two;
Sound off: three, four;
Bring it on down: one, two,
Three, four…(beat)…THREE, FOUR!

Despite the soldiers' expertise,
Most of them died from disease.
Smallpox was a bigger threat
Than dying from a bayonet.

Trying to think outside the box,
The British even used the pox
To cause much greater deprivation
By spreading it through the population.

In Europe there were indications
Of the value of inoculations.
So British troops were free from worry
While smallpox germs unleashed their fury.

Sound off: one, two;
Sound off: three, four;
Bring it on down: one, two
Three, four…(beat)…THREE, FOUR!

Washington said, "This won't do.
If WE don't act now, we are through."
Showing that he had a spine,
He had to lay it on the line:

To stop from being obliterated,
He had all troops inoculated.
That was a major contribution
To the American Revolution.

When lack of knowledge feeds distrust,
Using wisdom is a must.
We know that when sickness thrives,
A shot in the arm can save our lives.

Sound off: one, two;
Sound off: three, four;
Bring it on down: one, two
Three, four…(beat)…THREE, FOUR!

-by Bob B (8-1-21)

ANOTHER INDICTMENT…

Eleven Oath Keepers were
Indicted for the part they played
On January 6 during
The insurrection escapade.

Seen as seditious conspirators,
The coup plotters appeared to be
Eager to use brute force to change
Election results that day in D.C.

During the violent chaos, Trump
Was said to be glued to his TV screen
While call after call came in from people
Asking him to intervene.

Trump's inaction makes him look
Like a co-conspirator who
Condoned the Capitol attack
As a way to carry out his coup.

NICE TRY…

Another conspiracy theory is now
Being spread by our friends on the Right,
Which shows how they love to alter
History through the use of sleight.

They say a man with the last name Epps
Incited the mobs on the sixth. The man
Was a federal agent, they say,
And the brutal attack was an FBI plan.

Nice try, people. Your lies fall flat.
Ray Epps is a Trump supporter--
Not a federal provocateur--
And that makes him an election thwarter.

MASS FORGERY…

Republicans in a number of states
Tried to pull off an election scam.
They forged some docs in efforts to show
That they were the REAL electors. Wham!

They got caught. Let's hope that they
Pay for their crime. But isn't it odd
That they scream, "Fraudulent elections!"
While they're committing election fraud?

-by Bob B (1-14-22)

Christmas 2017
Approaches and Santa is checking his list
To make sure that he is on target
And also to see if errors exist.

"****!" the jolly man exclaims,
And quickly does a double take.
"It looks as though Republicans
In Congress want a big tax break.

"That is good for some; however,
Others will have to lose out for sure.
The biggest benefits go to the wealthy,
While help for the poor is miniature.

"I mean, the poor and middle class.
Most people should understand it's
Hard for me to justify
Helping a few to make out like bandits.

"Tax cuts for the corporations
Will be permanent, but what's scary
Is tax cuts for most Americans
Will only be temporary.

"They always scream, 'Deficit! Deficit!'
At least that's what they advertise.
By 1.4 trillion dollars
The deficit is going to rise

"With this bill! To make up the difference,
Later they'll cause more despair
By making major cuts to Social
Security and Medicare.

"While some will win, millions will lose
Health care if their tax bill passes.
Regarding trickle down, what trickles
Is negligible and as slow as molasses.

"From all that I have seen and heard,
Tax cuts don't create prosperity.
Don't the members of Congress know
Their bill is lacking in popularity?

"I want their holiday to be happy,
But how can I please everyone?
****! Sometimes being Santa
Is really NOT very much fun!"

-by Bob B (11-30-17)

I ran into Tom Turkey today;
It's been a couple of years.
We sat in a local bar together
And drank a couple of beers.

"Tom," I said, "I know quite well
That life has its bumps,
But often when I run into you,
You're feeling down in the dumps.

"Last Thanksgiving had to be
A difficult one for you,
But what is happening this year
That's making you feel so blue?"

"Well," he replied, "you know the day
Is always bittersweet:
It's nice to see people celebrate
But sad to be the meat.

"COVID put a real damper
On last year's merrymaking.
I thought things would improve by now,
But my heart's still breaking.

"Hospitals are under siege.
Cases again are spiking.
In ONE state° 68 percent!
That's not to my liking.

"Unnecessarily,
Many people are dying.
And some people who downplay the virus
Resort to unscrupulous lying.

"It makes no sense whatsoever
When we have the means
To put an end to this horrible scourge
Through safe and effective vaccines.

"Almost as many people are losing
Their lives to COVID today
As LAST year before the COVID
Vaccine came into play.

"Certain counties where vaccination
Rates are super low
Want to send patients to other counties.
To me that's malapropos."

"Tom, I feel your pain," I said.
"I'm amazed as well.
Conspiracy theories and misinformation
Sometimes are hard to dispel.

"Let's hope that more unvaccinated
People will see the light
And work to get this virus under
Control by doing what's right."

"AMEN!" he said, and waddled
Out to catch his cab,
While giving me a cursory wave
And leaving me with the tab.

-by Bob B (11-24-21)

°In Michigan

Move over, Delta virus;
There's a brand new bug in town.
It goes by the name of Omicron
And hopes that it won't let us down.

It loves to travel and it moves fast.
From across the seas it traveled here
To liven up our holidays
And wish us all a fun New Year.

It, like you, likes gatherings,
And it, like you, feels neglected
When it introduces itself
To people who are well protected.

No offense, but we would have
Done quite well without you both--
You with your surreptitious
Ways and your rapid growth.

So here we are--once again--
Listening to an ongoing medley
Of songs played by an uninvited
Guest whose visits could be deadly.

By Bob B (12-19-21)

COVID grifters are quite outspoken
In blasting vaccinations;
They pump voters full of rage
And then rake in donations.

The RNC° has also stooped
To lying about the shot
By telling prospective donors that it's
Part of a "liberal plot."

Why would members of the RNC
Want to be promoters
Of what could sicken, or even worse,
Possibly **** their voters?

The people at Fox News are thrilled:
Segments that they've produced
Regarding anti-COVID mandates
Give their ratings a boost!

People driven by money and ratings
In places where untruths lurk
Disseminate lies while at the same time
They know that vaccines work.

Social media platforms are also
Sites where we can find
The truth about vaccines being
Viciously maligned.

In short, unscrupulous folks all over
Choose to demonize
Efforts to stop the pandemic while they
Make money from their lies.

Before you share that Facebook post
That spreads misinformation,
Be sure the post you're sharing isn't
Complete fabrication.

-by Bob B (9-29-21)

°Republican National Committee