Tag: trump

When you’re charting the course you command

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Feldstein thought there was reason for Trump to reconsider his strategy, too. To explain, he cited the old adage :  “Never pick a fight with people who buy ink by the barrel.”

“Ultimately the media does have the last word,” Feldstein said, “including literally writing his obituary when he dies. So there are long-term costs he will face for his approach.”

-Shooting the messenger: how Trump’s media vitriol could ultimately backfire
The Guardian

 

 

When you’re charting the course you command
ascertain that its premise will stand
on a solid rock base,
’cause the wind will erase
all the lines that are drawn in the sand.

© Lily Beth Baker, 2017

All the lines that are drawn in the sand,
irregardless how perfectly planned,
will soon disappear
if an ocean of fear
is allowed to submerge our great land.

© Susan E. Eckenrode, 2017

 

 

Now our country’s adrift and divided

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While we were distracted by Trump, Republicans advanced these 9 terrifying bills
“With both houses of Congress solidly under Republican control, there’s little in the way to stop House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) from sending bills to President Trump’s desk that embody the most dangerous aspects of radical right-wing ideology.” -Resistance Report

 

 

Now our country’s adrift and divided
with its POTUS unfit and misguided.
Deconstruction’s the goal;
kill America’s soul!
with the vision that Bannon provided.

© Lily Beth Baker, 2017

With the vision that Bannon provided,
the pretending Decider decided
that the tantrums he tweets
are the media’s treats
until they’re completely blindsided.

© Susan E. Eckenrode, 2017

 

 

Beware the Distractions

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“THE BIG IDEA: The deconstruction of the administrative state will not be televised.

Donald Trump is eager to look like a man of action, pulling the levers of government and redirecting the ship of state. The president has had a photo op to reinforce this narrative nearly every day since taking office. […] With that in mind, it should speak volumes when Trump does not invite camera crews into the Oval Office to film him taking action. Three recent examples illustrate this:”

 The Daily 202: What Trump didn’t want you to see him signing
The Washington Post

 

Alternative facts,
disguised as reality
encourage those hacks
dispensing banality.
With cyber attacks
distracting democracy,
we’re turning our backs
on silent atrocity.

 

© Susan E. Eckenrode, 2017

 

 

The Trump Pet Calls

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“My master sends me here to take your soul,”
the gnarly, nut brown elf proclaims with glee.
“It is his fervent wish and heartfelt goal
that you will pack your bags and come with me.
I know I’m not what you’d expect to see
on this your dying day, here at your door.
Perhaps you thought God’s grace would set you free?
We checked, He doesn’t want you anymore.
Look here, your name’s the first one on my roll;
‘The Donald didn’t win in Heaven’s poll.’ ”

“My master sees your soul is second rate,
an empty vessel void of love or care.
Your arrogance won’t let you hide the hate
behind whichever mask you choose to wear.
Convincing your supporters you would share
your business acumen… that’s quite a trick!
He’s so impressed with all your Faustian flair
for winning votes with racist rhetoric
and promises you’d make their country great.
You’ve won your just reward, come meet your fate.”

 

© Susan E. Eckenrode, 2017

Image Credit 

Ship of State of Fools

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“Keeping up with the trendy American spirit of categorizing and demonizing in these Trumpian times — and fueled by a great rush of optimism at the moment — I’m launching my own watchdog agency and database to keep up with deception in government.”

What Donald Trump’s America really needs is ‘The Office of Official Lies’
Miami Herald , Fabiola Santiago, Miami Herald

 

 

Each day, the news brings on more din
Who’s the latest Trump crony to sin?
Tillerson? Kellyanne?
Sessions? Pruitt? McMahon?
Let’s make the phrase read, “Out like Flynn.”

© Phil Graham, 2017

 

 

On the Congressional Address

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“It was a restrained performance, which means the media once again salivated over the possibility of a more presidential Trump,” -Seth Meyers

Seth takes a closer look at Donald Trump’s restrained first speech to Congress

 

His momentary presidential air,
enabled by the writers’ hackneyed fare,
has earned him cautious kudos all around.
Until his tweets on twitter feed confound
and leave us wondering if he understood
a single phrase he uttered for the good.
P.S.
We’d understand it for him if we could.

© Lily Beth Baker, 2017

 

Massive Pro-trump Rally in Atlanta

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So they came by the dozens of tens
with their flag waving friends, feeling proud
as they clamored to capture the lens
for a photo that proves they’re a crowd.

 

© Susan E. Eckenrode, 2017

Who needs fresh water that’s clean

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“Our public lands – millions of acres of forests, mountains, rivers, and plains – are a part of who we are. Right now, powerful special interests and their political allies are waging an aggressive campaign to sell off public lands in the west. They want to see our national lands privatized for short-term gain, at the expense of our shared American inheritance. This public land heist threatens hundreds of millions of acres of national forests, rangelands, wildlife refuges, parks, wilderness areas, and historic sites, but it also threatens the fundamental American notion that our public lands belong to everyone.”

protectourpublicland.org

 

Stand Up For Public Lands from Outdoor Alliance on Vimeo.

 

Who needs fresh water that’s clean,
Or parklands and forests of green?
The BLOTUS has planned
To make our fair land
A cold-blooded killing machine.

© Colleen Anderson, 2017

 

Deflection

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“Bannon revealed all, about the reasons behind the president’s curious Cabinet choices. The plan, he said, was ‘deconstruction of the administrative state,’ which he and Trump apparently believe robs people of their independence and hurts economic growth.

So that’s why Trump nominated a labor secretary who wants to replace workers at his fast-food restaurants with robots, an energy secretary who once advocated abolishing the department and an education secretary who doesn’t care much for public schools.”

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News & Observer Editorial

 

 

The mind of a horrified nation
indulges its shallow fixation
on the brazen buffoon
sucking air from the room
twee-twee-tweeting his posts by dictation …

while his cabinet’s poised like a cannon
behind the unscrupulous Bannon.
They’re loaded and lethal,
exceedingly gleeful
about the destruction they’re plannin’.

© Mary Boren, 2017

 

 

On the White House Correspondents Dinner

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“The black-tie dinner, which raises money for journalism scholarships, takes place every spring and is usually attended by the president, journalists, celebrities and Washington insiders. The last president to miss the dinner was Ronald Reagan, who sat out because he was he recovering from an assassination attempt in 1981, although he still delivered remarks by phone.

Several news organizations had already withdrawn from the April 29 event in protest of Trump’s treatment of the media.”
Trump declines to attend White House correspondents’ dinner, CNN

 

 

Most presidents agree to join the roasting
but Forty-five won’t have his ego bashed
by journalists dissecting all his boasting
and fabricated facts that Spicer stashed
to cover any questions thrown his way–
A bully dishes dirt but will not play.

© Lily Beth Baker, 2017