| Perspectives on Texas

Lawmakers like to be near home
to celebrate the Fourth,
what with all the parades and picnics —
politicking too, of course.

Naturally there are speeches —
and some pontificate
amidst brass bands, barbecues,
and close calls at home plate.

And so we're all a bit surprised
(though I really don't care, do u?)
to read that certain Senators
are planning to eschew

a standard Fourth of shaking hands
at the local park
to celebrate with Vladimir Putin
and his oligarchs.

Well it's Shelby, Kennedy, Hoeven, Daines
and some lesser lights
along with crazy-eyed John Bolton
who are boarding flights

to jet off to a foreign land
that today stands accused
of fiddling with our elections
so someone couldn't lose.

Not to mention all the poisonings,
Syria, Ukraine,
and a host of other villainies
brief verses can't contain.

So let's remind these Senators
what we stand for here —
we're for liberty for all;
let tyrants quake in fear.

We don't party down with dictators
to mark this holiday.
If you want to barbecue in Moscow
maybe you should stay.

They'll probably give you a dacha,
a nice write-up in Pravda,
and a hamburger and a vodka
on Independence Day.