The president has
a plebian palate,
call it bad taste,
just a mouth, an orifice
on his face —
fried food galore
and fast food
more and more
and, of course,
no exercise and
obviously no taste.
Saving the nation may
come down to this,
finely cooked
shrimp, muscles and
fresh fish,
Julia Child, butter,
more butter, more butter,
spices and herbs
such as fresh garlic and mint
baked goods, grilled, roasted,
broiled steak, lamb and chicken.
Our determination we will quicken;
we shall drive him
from the White House
with gastronomic
faces of omnivorous flint
and wish him well
after what we all hope
will be a very short stint
as our sub-plebian gastronomic
president without
rudimentary knowledge of
anything culinary eloquent.

The era of Trump is bringing to light more and more anti-democratic machinations that have been going on in billionaire circles and solidifying now with this hapless president and are moving us closer and closer not only to significant threat to our constitutional democracy but the very destruction of that cherished institution.

I have for ever so long taken a middle of the road approach to American economics seeing the need for socialistic checks and balances against the worst instincts of capitalism while affirming our Republican form of democracy and government by constitutional law, but this relentless assault from the radical, economic right within our own country may force me farther to the left, still never a Communist because it is a failed political system and totally anti-democratic with power and ownership concentrated in the state.

The difference between Communism and Totalitarian Capitalism (which is a distinct possibility within our country) is that one puts the power completely in the hands of the state and the other puts the power completely in the hands of the state, which is then completely at the mercy and in the hands of the billionaires, the 1% of 1%, which if you will indulge me, is what has always happened to Communism.

If I can thank Trump-ism for anything, it is providing the opportunity to see what has been going on, unfortunately, for a long time in undermining our democratic republic.

This is from a friend and ever so important :

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jul/19/despot-disguise-democracy-james-mcgill-buchanan-totalitarian-capitalism.

Bob

Mother Teresa’s message was, “Calcutta is everywhere, if we only have eyes to see.”
— Shane Claiborne

(Insert words) is spinning out of control,
a tweeter all a twitter trolling 
            the dark, early morning
                        hours, 
a wedding ring spinning on a bar top,
a five-cent coin spinning on a table top
              bumping a coffee cup, 
                   bouncing off a spoon, 
            sputtering to a stop, 
a copper-head penny on the dirty floor. 
Don’t pick it up; let it rattle;
                                 let it 
                  roar. 
           Walk out the door. 
            Watch out for
the troll tweeting in 
              the dark, early, morning
                           hours. 
Women, sweating and spinning 
               in a spinning class, 
                look out the glass 
   into the dark, 
                 forbidding 
                             morass.

(Insert words) is spinning out of control,
a twitter trolling the dark, early morning
hours, a wedding ring spinning on a bar top,
a five-cent coin spinning on a table bumping
a coffee cup, bouncing off a spoon, sputter-
ing, stopping, a copper-head penny on the
dirty floor. Don’t pick it up; let it rattle;
let it roar. Walk out the door. Watch out for
the troll tweeting in the dark, early, morning
hours. Women, sweating and spinning in a
spinning class, look out the glass into
the dark, forbidding morass.

As an old English major, he wishes 
	he had had more courses in Shake-
speare’s tragedies in order to help 
	explain Trump. Hamlet, the indecisive 
Dane who sees ghosts? Macbeth,
	the victim of his own ambitions and 
blind-sightedness to the villainy of his wife? 
	Lear, the aged victim of his own 
blind-sightedness regarding two of 
	his three daughters’ machinations?
The misguided, insanely jealous Othello?
        Or Trump, the infantile, egomaniacal, 
narcissistic, sociopathic, not to mention 
        delusional and vindictive father of very, 
privileged, careless children? Perhaps this 
        being the most tragic because all the 
others had a flaw which brought their demise 
        but this having no redeeming features to 
go with a flaw and all flaws to go with no 
        redeeming features and so looking to the 
tragedies might be the wrong place. Perhaps the 
        histories and the comedies featuring Sir 
John Falstaff, except that would be such an 
        insult to Sir John, the pal and foil for 
Prince Hal, the outcast to King Henry V, the 
        buffoon of the Merry Wives of Windsor, but 
still one with so much more humor, humanity and 
        lovableness than the self-proclaimed 
Sir Donald. Farce perhaps? Monty Python?

The world is full of careless
people. Where do they all
come from? They don’t care.
Who taught them not to care?
Don’t we, by nature, want to
care and learn how to care?
Where were their parents to
tell them to care about others
and to hold others’ concerns
above their cares? Where have
all the careful (full of care),
caring people gone? Those who
care? Where, oh, where? Where
have all the careful people gone
like the flowers in the old folk
song? Gone to grave yards,
every one?

I read each day of some horror
going on somewhere, and I have
a hard time relating, because

there is a barrage of bad news and
I just become immune to the horror,
until I recall, conjure, relive the two

most horrible events I experienced
and then I shudder, flinch, wince
while I sit in the extremely comfort-

table, leather recliner and then I
wonder if I am supposed to relive
those two horrible things which

make me shudder, flinch and wince
when I’m taking communion in
order to experience anamnésis: the

living remembrance of Jesus’ horrific
death in order to more authentically
get now what went on then. Should

I shudder or rejoice or both? I
don’t want to just pop a piece
of bread and a drop of juice

in my mouth and rush off to
coffee hour but at the same
time I don’t want to be morbidly

preoccupied with suffering. And
then I wonder if such anamnesis
over the headlines and at communion

is for me, the victims, the surviv-
ors, Jesus? I want to care but I
don’t want to keep going back there.

And then I think of the comfort of
the recliner and the ottoman
upon which I place my sore leg

and give it all a rest.

He began to soar
through the roof, better the door —
best — an open door.

You look gorgeous, girl
— such an athletic,
artistic, gorgeous girl.
I’m so fortunate to be
married to you, girl —
a mature woman, who
is a girl to my utterly,
impossible boyish boy
when I, a senior citizen,
look into your beautiful,
girlish eyes.

I am so done with all this violence,
The young man said after his mother,
Visiting from Australia, was shot
Dead by a Minneapolis cop after
She called 911 because she heard
A noise in the alley that frightened
Her. From Australia, the former
Penal colony, where they put away
All their guns – to America, the
Land of guns, where she called for
Help and was shot dead as a door
Nail by the one who was supposed
To help her. I am so done with all
This violence he said. If so, he will
Have to take his mother’s body
Back to Australia on a one-way ticket.