Buying the Presidency

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

Buying the Presidency

 

With the blessings of the Court Supreme

That lifted limits on contributions

Elon Musk has bought the White House

Along with all its institutions

(which he may ban from existence)

 

He pumped a fortune into propaganda

Without restrictions on content

He won a seat at the table of power

Now we’ll discovery his intent

(we can be sure it isn’t pretty)

 

Will the president sit him down

And attempt to put him in his place?

We’ll find out about his ego

Will he tell him to his face?

(and what a face it is)

 

I’m the richest man on earth, he’ll say

And I’d hate to tell you twice

If I want rice for dinner

By God, we’re having rice

(he brought his own chef)

 

You may think you have the power

But there’s not much you can do

If you’d like a talk with Vladimir

My office will approve

(and so the story goes)

 

(Musk puts up 750 million to elect Trump)

 

The Irony

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: MAGA

The Irony

 

The irony of Make America Great Again

Is that they hate America

They hate everything America stands for:

 

Democracy

Rule of law

Institutions of civil society

Peaceful transfer of power

Free and fair elections

The right to vote

The right to protest

The advancement of freedom

A nation of immigrants

To welcome with open arms

No one is above the law

 

You can say they were duped

You can say they knew not…

But this time it was clear as fresh water

This time they absolutely knew

They understood and embraced it

To the principles of the nation

To the founders and defenders

To the keepers of the dream

They delivered a straight message:

F*** you!

 

Mourning in America

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Mourning in America

 

The majority* of Americans

Have made their feeling clear

The rest of us are mourning

For the nation we hold dear

 

We cannot deny the mandate

Unlike the opposing side

We’ve lost our democratic state

Now we’re forced to take a ride

 

Down the autocratic lane

Where brutes and tyrants live

So begins the tyrant’s reign

That history will not forgive

 

It is mourning in America

And all around the world

The once proud democracy

Into the void was hurled

 

We will not give up hope

We’ll rise to fight again

We’re facing a daunting slope

With a deep desire to win

 

* Plurality

Erosion of Democracy

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Erosion of Democracy

 

We do not lose democracy overnight

It erodes gradually over years

We watch it happen without a fight

It does not arouse our deepest fears

 

They strip away our voting rights

They degrade our vote with gerrymander

They push our protests out of sight

They diminish our side with candor

 

The wealthy buy our fourth estate

They take control of our information

They beat us down and call it great

Say goodbye to our once great nation

 

Our corporate mobsters have the power

Awarded by the Court Supreme

Some will applaud the final hours

The death of the American dream

 

Will we rise from our deep despair?

To gain back what we have lost

There are far too many who do not care

Bend the knee to our new boss

 

The Unseen Hand (of Oppression)

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WORLD DEMOCRACY

The Unseen Hand

 

The unseen hand of intimidation

Belongs to the brute of the Kremlin

His presence felt in most every nation

Like a force of voting gremlins

 

They promote stories with clever lies

The truth is altered and deformed

They provide their guilty alibies

They invade like a closing storm

 

From Austria to the Slavic states

From Wisconsin to the Hague

The unseen hand has found its place

Like the scourge of a Russian plague

 

Democracy is on the run

Most everywhere we turn

We cannot rest until it’s done

Let the flames of freedom burn

 

Do not give in, do not despair

The alarm has been sounded

We are rallying the free and fair

On the principles that were founded

 

In ancient Greece and modern Rome

The bricks of our foundation

Democracy has found a home

In the best of civilized nations

 

The Common Good

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

The Common Good

 

There is something deeply disturbing

About the state of our democracy

When so many of our citizens

Are tempted to autocracy

 

We will never have to vote again

That is exactly what he said

Our democracy has flown away

Say goodnight and go to bed

 

In the morning when we wake up

Our once great country tis of thee

Is no longer of and by the people

And the people are no longer free

 

We had a long and storied run

But the wealthy spoiled the pot

The filthy rich took all the power

And let the republic rot

 

We neglected it for far too long

We let the wealthy have their way

Now that they’ve bought all branches

We will no longer have a say

 

It is for the common good they say

And for the benefit of very few

It is far too late to make a change

There is nothing more we can do

 

The World Awaits

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

The World Awaits

 

With bated breath the world awaits

The end of our republic?

The christening of a new age?

The rendering of fate

 

The raging propaganda wars

Everywhere across the globe

Misinformation in full force

Attacking the frontal lobe

 

We do not know what to believe

Our eyes and ears mislead us

The information we receive

Is what they choose to feed us

 

But people have a seventh sense

We carry it deep inside

It is our last and best defense

A human override

 

There are evil forces everywhere

We will fight them back again

As long as people know and care

The evil will not win

 

Sympathy for the Nazis

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: TRUMP

Sympathy for the Nazis

 

He wanted to be a dictator

The generals stood in his way

They knew he was a sympathizer

They still know it to this day

 

He told them plain and clear

He thought Hitler had it right

With an iron fist he ruled by fear

They were strong and bold and white

 

He’s not hiding his proclivities

Or they are hidden in plain sight

He doesn’t bother with civility

He loves a crooked fight

 

He has sympathy for the Nazis

And the man who led them all

He killed six million Jews with ease

Before the Axis took the fall

 

Do not give this man the power

To turn this nation on its head

He would march us to the final hour

Just to see his ambitions fed

 

Second Grade Politics

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN POLITICS

Second Grade Politics

 

Remember back in second grade

I know you are but what am I?

The habits that we made

I could never tell a lie!

As you lied through your teeth

I swear on the holy book

As I live and breathe

Don’t look, don’t look!

 

I know you are but what am I?

The only thing is winning

Look your accuser in the eye

Hypocrisy is grinning

Who stole my piece of pie?

We learn to cheat and steal

I know you are but what am I!

How did that make you feel?

Not good. Can we go back?

No but you can make amends

Get your life back on track

And that is how the story ends

I cannot tell a lie

I know you are but what am I?

 

Myth and Message

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Myth and Message

 

Jobs are up, inflation is down

The market is up, crime is down

Wages are up, interest is down

 

Yet the Don says it’s a disaster

And the Don is the people’s master

We believe what we want to believe

Though we know we are being deceived

 

The Dow is at an all-time high

But the poor folks feel they’re suffering

We may not know or understand why

Because all our news is buffering

 

Look around and use your head

America is running strong

You’re deliberately being misled

The naysayers are all wrong

 

And yes they’re handling the hurricanes

And no they’re not stealing money

Look it up before your interest wanes

If it weren’t tragic it would be funny

 

Gender Gap

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Gender Gap

 

What is it about men?

Do we not believe our eyes?

We see clearly where we’ve been

All reason would belie

We should not go back again

When we know the reasons why

 

And yet here we stand

It is far too close to call

A woman against a man

The woman standing tall

The man without a plan

Except to build his wall

 

It is the Us against the Them

How else can we explain?

A flower against a stem

A mind without a brain

Our nation we’d condemn

To a horror filled refrain

 

Will we stumble into night

Or awaken in the day?

Will we finally make it right

Or watch it all wash away?

Will we keep it in our sight?

Hold on come what may

 

Tony Soprano

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Tony Soprano

 

Tony Soprano was a solid man

For a mob boss

So he smacked a few guys

They was asking for it

So he whacked a few guys

They deserved to be whacked

 

I get it

 

Tony Soprano was an engaging character

He didn’t take crap from nobody

He valued loyalty above all

He liked a rigged game

As long as Tony got his share

They all got along fine

But if somebody steps out of line

All bets are off

You might get smacked

You might get whacked

 

I get it

 

What I don’t get and never will

Is why so many of us

On the bottom of the mob ladder

The suckers and losers

The ones who get whacked

Why so many of us still want

Tony Soprano for president