Cooking the Books

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: TRUMP

 

Cooking the Books

 

If you don’t like the message

Kill the messenger

If you don’t like the numbers

Cook the books

 

Pretty soon you’ve got no messengers

Pretty soon there are only sycophants

Bobble headed yes men

Afraid to tell the truth

 

The war is lost, your majesty.

Off with his head!

Your program is a travesty.

Take a pill and go to bed!

 

He’s a mob boss not a king

He rules by fear and terror

If he wants to wear a ring

You will be the ring bearer

 

What kind of man is this?

To tell us how we feel

He may tell us this is bliss

But we know it isn’t real

 

(Trump fires head of the

Bureau of Labor Statistics)

 

The Nordic Front

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: UKRAINE

 

The Nordic Front

 

Putin made a fool of our president

Laying on the authoritarian charm

But he signed a deal that delivered

To Kiev most critical arms

 

Funded by the Nordic front

Sweden, Denmark and Norway *

We hope that Russians feel the brunt

Before their attentions stray

 

America will not take the lead

All of Europe will do their share

We no longer feel a pressing need

The burden now is theirs

 

But the Nordic front is next in line

If his thirst is not contained

Poland, Hungary, Liechtenstein

May begin to feel the strain

 

For now it is a regional war

Confined to former Soviet states

But victory leads to desire for more

Wake up before it’s too late

 

America will be left behind

With a leader who is sleeping

And a congress that is nearly blind

May leave the whole world weeping

 

* and the Netherlands

 

Putin and Xi

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

 

Putin and Xi (and Modi)

 

Putin meets with Xi

The monster of the north

Meets the beast of the east

What does it mean going forth?

 

The invasion carries on

As the monster stakes his claim

The whole world knows he’s wrong

We will not forget Ukraine

 

Kiev expresses fear

That America will refrain

That the end is drawing near

But we won’t forget Ukraine

 

Ukraine would be the first

But it would not be the last

Nor would it be the worst

Another war would come to pass

 

Thanks to Putin and to Xi

The end of human rights

A massive loss of dignity

Democracy in plight

 

Now Modi joins the fray

On the wrong side of the line

From the republic he will stray

To lead his nation in decline

 

 

Defending Democracy

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

Defending Democracy

 

Defending democracy is a fulltime job

It cannot be taken for granted

Its enemies will cheat and rob

Make sure your staff is planted

 

They’re coming after the voting place

They’re sending out their brutes

They’ll make it hard to win the race

They’re thugs in designer suits

 

They’ll attack anyone who opposes them

From the powerful to the local mayor

They’ll rip you up from root to stem

If you ask them, they don’t care

 

Stealing the vote is an old tradition

On both sides of the aisle

Every voter must now take a position

Is democracy still in style?

 

The right to vote is no longer given

The Supreme Court gave it away

We must be grim and hardline driven

To keep what our founders gave

 

Winning our Nation Back

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN POLITICS

 

Winning our Nation Back

 

Remember who you voted for?

Is this what you demanded?

We ought to show you to the door

You should be reprimanded

 

Soldiers on the city streets

A steady increase in inflation

Scorn for everyone you meet

An authoritarian nation

 

They’re ruling with an iron fist

There is no law and order

We’re breathing in a toxic mist

Fixation on the border

 

They’re finding ways to fix the vote

To steal the next election

They’re hiding guns beneath their coats

It’s heading that direction

 

If you want to take our country back

Please know it won’t be easy

Their train is sliding off the tracks

They’re brutal and they’re sleezy

 

So get ready for a vicious fight

They will go to any measure

They don’t believe in doing right

Brutality gives them pleasure