From A Midsummer Night’s Dream:

The dove pursues the griffin; the mild hind
Makes speed to catch the tiger: bootless speed,
When cowardice pursues and valour flies.

Shift around the letters, and it becomes:

Paid fops chid Warren, cut off to divulge the King letter.

Nevertheless, she persisted.

Ah, she has now succeeded to a sublimer podium.

From Love’s Labour’s Lost:

What did the Russian whisper in your ear?

Shift around the letters, and it becomes:

Putin (hard): Iran war!

White House: Yes, sir! – D.

I’m an old-time screen icon who carries it still;
I’m bestowing the property left in your will;
The Commander-in-Chief on the half-Franklin bill;
And conceding a point, or a wish to fulfill.

Who am I?

UPDATE: Riddle solved by Rebecca. See comments for answer.

Civic protest can take many forms. Some choose to march. Others write letters and call their representatives. A few even organize members of their community to ignite collective activism.

But as far as I know, I’m the only one anagramming passages from Shakespeare into snide political commentary and posting it to the Internet.

And so, the struggle continues…

From Richard II:

Or if it be, ’tis with false sorrow’s eye,
Which for things true weeps things imaginary.

Shift around the letters, and it becomes:

I press your ire: Shifty thief tries to win a show fight with “Bowling Green Massacre.”

In this October 2016 TED talk, Shakespearean actor and educator Rob Crisell makes a passionate argument for Shakespeare, for teaching Shakespeare, and for teaching Shakespeare through performance. Whether you’re already with him on these three points or not, it’s well worth checking out:

There’s just something about this play that lends itself well to quoting during these trying days.

From Macbeth:

I think our country sinks beneath the yoke;
It weeps, it bleeds, and each new day a gash
Is added to her wounds

Shift around the letters, and it becomes:

I can’t handle the outrages. It synchs worse and worse.

The needy White House id obeys Putin and a KKK baddie.

Today, I’m sending good thoughts out to the protesters in DC and around the country who are sending a powerful message that the voices of dissent cannot and will not be silenced.

From Macbeth:

By the pricking of my thumbs,
Something wicked this way comes.

Shift around the letters, and it becomes:

Check this:

Trump embodies misogyny.

It’s why women fight back.

I’m a desktop device, but may not be a Mac;
To sequester a prisoner safe from the pack;
When you choose careful words so as not to attack;
And a reason to search so arrests don’t come back.

Who am I?

UPDATE: Riddle solved by Asher. See comments for answer.

Ten years ago today, I started a journey called “Shakespeare Teacher” that hoped to entertain, enlighten, and energize a small but dedicated audience of readers.

The world was different back then. George W. Bush was in the White House, and my dissatisfaction with that reality drove a lot of my early posts. I found myself with a lot to say, and Web 2.0 offered a unique platform to express my opinions and offer my analysis. When Barack Obama took office, I still cared about politics, but my edge became dulled by complacency.

I mostly sat out this past election because it was awful and because I thought Donald Trump could not possibly win. That was a mistake. Now, I find myself once again with a lot to say, but my platform for saying it is no longer what is was. Web 2.0 technologies have taken a backseat to social media, and most of us get our news and analysis folded in with our baby pictures and viral videos. Is there still a place for the Shakespeare Teacher and his twopence? I’m thinking that there just may be, if I can play to my strengths.

I’ve become very aware of the way that language is being twisted and manipulated in politics and society, and I can write about that. New policies will affect education and the arts, and I can write about that. We will see parallels between real life as it emerges and Shakespeare’s examinations of power, and I can write about that. And, of course, I can still entertain with the word games, puzzles, riddles, and anagrams that have come to define this tiny little corner of the Internet for the past decade. I might even write about teaching Shakespeare from time to time.

The Shakespeare Teacher is back. If you’re in, I’m in.

Happy New Year.

When the boss is away, I’m the second who subs;
A bad habit or weakness, like drinking in pubs;
I can clamp down your axles, go work on your hubs;
And the Miami squad that boasts Crockett and Tubbs.

Who am I?

UPDATE: Riddle solved by Asher. See comments for answer.