Tag: Susan Eckenrode

Aiming to Blame

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“Unlike his personal hero, Vladimir Putin, President Trump can’t have his political opponents thrown into prison, shot dead in the street or flung off fourth-floor balconies. In Moscow, Russian soldiers could have herded those women in stupid pink hats into stockades like cows. If a few opinionated heifers got roughed up, well, they asked for it, didn’t they?

 

Instead, Trump was reduced to making excuses for the failure of his farcical Obamacare ‘reform’ by launching impotent attacks against just about everybody in Washington.”

Trump’s desperate quest for someone to blame
Gene Lyons, Opinion, Chicago Sun Times

 

 

 
So the POTUS has steadied his aim
at the culprits he’s sure are to blame
for the health bill’s demise;
yeah, they better get wise,
‘cause his shit-list includes every name.

© 2017 Susan E. Eckenrode

 

There’s a war on this planet

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“For him to tear up every single regulation instituted by President Obama on climate change and for him to say that that will no longer be a concern when they make their decisions, is not just a f*ck you to the rest of this world, but it’s a declaration of war against the actual planet.” – Michael Moore

There’s a war on this planet declared
by a POTUS who’s conscience impaired.
While reversing the gains
he exploits what remains
and insures that no being is spared.

© 2017 Susan E. Eckenrode

Inside Operations

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“The broadening of Trump’s role in her father’s administration is unprecedented by any modern member of a first family.

 

“President George W. Bush, who worked on his father’s campaign, is the most recent parallel to Ivanka Trump, said Kate Andersen Brower, author of “First Women: The Grace and Power of America’s Modern First Ladies” and a CNN contributor.

 

“‘But even he wasn’t sitting in on high-level policy meetings when his father was in the White House. It definitely complicates matters when someone who can’t be fired — aka a family member — is this involved in an administration,’ she said.”

 

Ivanka Trump is making her White House job official
CNN

 

 

See the POTUS, his daughter, her hubby
and their offices, cheerful and clubby.
With more facts to confute
and a country to loot,
watch the Scamalot crew getting grubby.

© 2017 Susan E. Eckenrode

 

 

Distract, Retract, Distract

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“O’Reilly is a skilled media tactician and knows how to shift mass media attention and therefore our conversations in exactly the direction of his choice.

 

In Congresswoman Waters’ remarks during what is known as the CBC’s “Special Order Hour,” with back-to-back speeches on select topics, Congresswoman Waters breaks down this administration destructiveness in name and in number like only Congresswoman Waters can.”

 

The Words From Rep. Maxine Waters That Bill O’Reilly Didn’t Want You To Hear
Ayofemi Kirby, Opinion, The Huffington Post

 

 

 

 

With the media riled by O’Reilly
they were played when he ever so slyly
drew attention away
from her speech of the day
by dismissing Ms. Waters entirely.

© 2017 Susan E. Eckenrode

 

 

As faith in our government shrinks (2-link limerick chain)

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“This weekend marked Pres. Trump’s 8th week visiting a Trump property, but on the trail he said as President he’d never want to leave the White House.”


Trump’s 13th golf course visit in 65 days (video) #insidepolitics, CNN

 

As faith in our government shrinks
And hope for our destiny sinks,
That brazen-faced thief,
Our crackpot-in-chief,
Spends another day out on the links.

© 2017 Colleen Anderson

Yet another day out on the links,
while ole Bannon is serving up drinks
for a toast to the heist,
that poor Spicer has spiced
with a litany of clueless high jinks.

© 2017 Susan E. Eckenrode

 

If the goal is for love to trump hate

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Anger can be a healthy spur to action, but it can also become a deadly worldview that turns every disagreement into a apocalyptic struggle between good and evil, and we always imagine ourselves to be good.

 

The real dividing line in politics is never really between a mythic “good” and “evil,” nor even between “left” and “right.” The real struggle is always a tension between the “haves” and the “have nots.” The question is whether people are getting their needs met and human rights honored. And the truth is, left and right are both complicit in abusing the wretched of the earth as are all who imagine themselves to be standing in the middle.

 

It is human nature, when we witness something as terrible as the Trump administration, to simply rush to the other side of the isle and embrace whatever is there; but will that get us out of our quagmire? Of course, we must resist those policies which hurt the vulnerable, but can we save our world if we become lost in a struggle over who can tell the most persuasive lies? If we all take up the tactics of bottom feeding bullies, will we not also lose what is best in ourselves and become lost in the “fog of war”?


Jim Rigby

 

If the goal is for love to trump hate,
then be wary your words don’t berate
that know-it-all ass
who’s careless and crass
while he’s trolling with bellicose bait.

© 2017 Susan E. Eckenrode

 

 

“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 hugged the wheel while he grinned

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“You’re just careering around on your own, crashing into buildings and losing altitude, growling at the cameras and spewing nasty conspiracy theories, instead of offering a sunny smile, bipartisanship, optimism and professionalism.”

Donald, This I Will Tell You
-Maureen Dowd, Opinion, New York Times

Forty-five hugged the wheel while he grinned
And growled in a game of pretend.
“Vroom, vroom, I’m a trucker
like a real workin’ sucker!
Watch me drive my big rig ‘round the bend!”

© 2017 Susan E. Eckenrode

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

 

 

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