Tag: Lily Beth Baker

Now the POTUS has triggered guffaws

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“When I read that Donald Trump tried to make a joke about Susan B. Anthony (letting almost everybody know that he didn’t know anything about her), I could almost hear a collective exasperated sigh coming from educators worldwide. And, actually, I was amazed that he wasn’t familiar with Ms. Anthony — after all, her image does grace a U.S. dollar.”

Trump’s ‘jokes’ are clue: We need to see his grades, not tax returns
Diana Renstrom, Opinion, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

 

 

Now the POTUS has triggered guffaws
when he played at supporting the cause
of women who knew
this fool has no clue
who Susan B. Anthony was.

© 2017 Lily Beth Baker

 

Is the Donald beholden to Putin?

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“It is not Putin who is desperate for a deal but Trump. His administration has run up hard against the realities of the US Constitution. No matter how much swagger and bombast you have, you must abide by the law, otherwise the courts block you. And you can’t pass legislation without Congress.”

Trump needs Putin more than Putin needs Trump
Edward Lucas, Opinion, CNN

Is the Donald beholden to Putin?
Well intelligence agents are rootin’
for proof of connection
from before the election
to those Russians that Putin keeps shootin’.

© 2017 Lily Beth Baker

 

“Repeal and replace” hit a glitch (5-link limerick chain)

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“Anti-poverty advocates insist there is evidence that not helping the poor will hurt in the long run. Olivia Golden, executive director of CLASP, the Center for Law and Social Policy, notes that the Trump administration wants to shift money from low-income Americans to spend more in areas such as defense, security and law enforcement.”

Advocates Say Trump Budget Cuts Will Hurt the Country’s Most Vulnerable
NPR

 

Graphic by Rafael Barker

“Repeal and replace” hit a glitch,
So it’s on to the next scheming pitch.
Keep an eye on the facts:
TrumpCare or TrumpTax,
His deals always favor the rich.

© 2017 Colleen Anderson

Though his deals always favor the rich
and he savors the ole bait and switch,
he’s no longer in Oz;
so this wizard that was
looks for help from a turtle named Mitch.

© 2017 Susan E. Eckenrode

With help from a turtle named Mitch
and a cabinet itching to ditch
every benefit gained
for the poor and untrained,
our democracy’s coming unstitched.

© 2017 Mary Boren

With democracy coming unstitched
and America seeming bewitched,
we hope that soon reason
will rout out the treason
so we’re no longer trapped in betwixt.

© 2017 Lily Beth Baker

When we’re no longer trapped in betwixt,
Perhaps we can get some things fixed:
the roads and the bridges,
The ACA glitches,
And Citizen’s United licked.

© 2017 Lynn Degen

 

 

Forty-five tried his art of the deal (2-link)

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“Forget about the little shit,” Trump said, according to multiple sources in the room. “Let’s focus on the big picture here.”

The group of roughly 30 House conservatives, gathered around a mammoth, oval-shaped conference table in the Cabinet Room of the White House, exchanged disapproving looks. Trump wanted to emphasize the political ramifications of the bill’s defeat; specifically, he said, it would derail his first-term agenda and imperil his prospects for reelection in 2020. The lawmakers nodded and said they understood. And yet they were disturbed by his dismissiveness. For many of the members, the “little shit” meant the policy details that could make or break their support for the bill—and have far-reaching implications for their constituents and the country.”

Inside the GOP’s Health Care Debacle
Politico Magazine

 

 

Forty-five tried his art of the deal
but Republicans finally got real:
No way to hold ’em,
know when to fold ’em.
Then rename ACA, snag a steal.

© 2017 Lily Beth Baker

Just rename ACA, snag a steal.
While pretending you aimed to repeal
and replace was a lie
that you knew would’t fly,
there’s no shaming of souls that can’t feel.

© Susan E. Eckenrode

 

 

Trump Dump

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“JUST HOURS BEFORE House Speaker Paul Ryan held a press conference to sell his health care overhaul legislation — using a PowerPoint presentation mocked for misrepresenting basic facts  — he was doing something he’s much better at: fundraising.

The two things were related. The Thursday morning breakfast fundraiser he attended was hosted by a lobbying firm working to unwind the Affordable Care Act on behalf of health insurance company Blue Cross Blue Shield, one of the big winners of Ryan’s proposed legislation.”

Paul Ryan Fundraised With Health Insurance Lobbying Firm Just Before His PowerPoint
The Intercept

Now he claims it’s the Democrats’ fault
that the Paul Ryan plan came to naught.
Of course that’s not so,
some Republicans know
what a goat-rope their ignorance has wrought.

© 2017 Lily Beth Baker

The goat-rope their ignorance wrought
is exposed as a devious plot.
The corporate buy-in
of Speaker Paul Ryan
reveals what a lemon they got.

© 2017 Mary Boren

Power of the Pen (3-link limerick chain)

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“While some social media posts I have read have expressed panic about the end of journalism in the Trump Era, I would rather focus on lessons from Journalism 101 to navigate this new age.

Those lessons include the following:

  1. Credibility matters and it is the only currency a journalist has
  2. Seek to tell the truth boldly and fearlessly
  3. Challenge untruthful and incomplete statements (especially on social media)
  4. Errors happen, so seek to correct or clarify them quickly
  5. Be relentless and never stop asking questions

The Trump Era will be a test for journalists not just in challenging the president but also in persuading the public that it matters.”

The challenge of the press in the Trump Era
David Plazas, The Tennessean

 

 

If they come to their senses in time,
Then perhaps they can lessen the crime
born of ignorance and greed
that created the need
For the shift toward a new paradigm.

© 2017 Susan E. Eckenrode


Make that shift toward a new paradigm
but we cannot just turn on a dime;
since much damage is done,
when that new day’s begun,
we’ll be facing a long uphill climb.

© 2017 Lily Beth Baker

We’ll be facing a long uphill climb
in the work of removing the slime
from the Liberty Bell,
but the muses compel
a resistance in rhythm and rhyme.

© 2017 Mary Boren

 

Green Cheese and Other Fantasies (3-link limerick chain)

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“However, despite what Levin says, no source alleges Obama personally ordered phone wiretaps or any other form of surveillance. The closest some get is alluding to possible FBI requests for a warrant to monitor Trump associates amid their investigation into improper Russia-related activity.”

Did Donald Trump invent claim that Barack Obama tapped his phone?
Politifact

 

From the mouth of our nation’s buffoon,
who “reads about things” and real soon
he can show us for sure
(as he sifts through manure)
that Obama surveilled from the moon.

© 2017 Susan E. Eckenrode

Yeah, Obama surveilled from the moon
while he munched on a cheese macaroon,
’twas that same shade of green
that is frequently seen
from trump’s perch on the penthouse in June.

© 2017 Lily Beth Baker

From his perch on the penthouse in June,
where those twitstorms are carelessly strewn,
may he cower in dread
as The Truth rears her head
and erupts in a raging typhoon.

© 2017 Mary Boren

 

Behold POTUS #45

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For those whose views may differ from his own,
he’ll cast aspersions on their intellects.
No argument one makes is ever shown
consideration. Never circumspect,
he digs his heels in deeper, hides his head
in ignorance, ignoring ever more
accepted truths for fantasy instead,
while bragging he will make our country soar.
He doesn’t shun adhominem attacks
and even one’s appearance is fair game.
He voices his opinions like they’re facts
and always knows exactly whom to blame
for all the ills that plague the nation now.
And he alone can fix them all, somehow.

© 2017  Lily Beth Baker

Image Source

 

With the White House a rolling disaster (3 link limerick chain)

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“When Republicans imagined having a president of their own and control of Congress, they thought it would be a nonstop string of legislative achievements and improvements to government, bringing an inspiring new era of efficiency and effectiveness that showed Americans what the GOP was really capable of.

That is not quite how things are working out.”

Why is the Trump presidency such a rolling disaster?
-Paul Waldman, Opinion, The Washington Post

 

With the White House a rolling disaster,
each policy more horse’s-assed-er,
Republicans worry
and frantically scurry
to cling to a crumbling pilaster.

© 2017 Mary Boren

As they cling to a crumbling pilaster,
our Ms. Liberty wishes they’d asked her
to reiterate
how this country was great
up until oligarchists sneaked past her.

© 2017 Susan E. Eckenrode

Long before oligarchists sneaked past her,
claiming power and wealth as their master
she stood for us all
to answer her call
and no other republic surpassed her.

© 2017 Lily Beth Baker

 

 

Wondering whence came the leak? Here’s a clue …

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“Trump’s eldest son tweeted or retweeted 26 posts about the report by 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, thanking MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow for revealing that Trump paid $38 million in federal taxes in 2005, slamming the media as ‘#fakenews’ and boasting about how his father’s tax rate compared to that of other prominent politicians.”

Donald Trump Jr. is really happy about his dad’s tax returns
Politico

 


While his daddy is screaming “No fair!”
Donnie Junior’s ecstatic that there
was a tax return leak
allowing a peek
at the one year he paid fair and square.

© Susan E. Eckenrode, 2017

Yeah the one year he paid fair and square
and it’s leaked– gee, I wonder from where?
Distraction’s the game,
no matter how lame.
Is there really no tack he won’t dare?

© Lily Beth Baker, 2017