The Secret State

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN POLITICS

 

The Secret State

 

You put him in power

To get rid of the fat

The useless abusers

Not the harmless bureaucrats

They said they would rid you

Of the secret, deep state

The unelected elites

That control the nation’s fate

 

Now look who’s in charge

Every minute and hour

They’ve taken up residence

In the executive tower

They make the decisions

They pull all the strings

They sound the alarms

Just to see if they ring

We had no deep state

But now that we do

They’ll tear down democracy

The joke is on you

 

Social Security?

Medicare and Medicaid?

Just wait til you see

The plans that they’ve laid

Environmental protection?

Who cares about that?

Get rid of it all

They’ll just call it fat

Educating the poor?

The ones who can’t pay

Throw it out with the trash

And call it a day

Freedom of speech?

The right to exist?

They’ll answer to that

With a hammer and fist

 

Is this what you wanted?

Nobody cares

In the politics of war

Everything’s fair

 

The Silence

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: PROTEST

 

The Silence

 

They have silenced the voice of America

The voice of freedom and human rights

They have silenced the voice of Americans

As if we’ve given up the fight

 

The fight for progress and democracy

Against oppression and autocracy

The right to decency and civility

Without regard to one’s ability

 

They have silence dissenting voices

With a threat of retribution

They would eliminate our choices

Intimidation is their solution

 

They have silenced former presidents

The free media and the press

Mass oppression is in residence

The right to march the streets in protest

 

We will not give up the fight

We will retain our defiance

We’ll demand our civil rights

We will never yield to silence

 

Revenge and Retribution

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

Revenge and Retribution

 

Have you no shame?

Your pledge of retribution

Beyond a simple blame

Shames the institution

That upholds the rule of law

A solemn vow of fairness

A crude and ugly flaw

An absence of awareness

So heartless and so raw

You take the final straw

 

You, sir, are a disgrace

Beyond all comprehension

An actor out of place

Far too dark to mention

A man without a heart

A fool without a soul

You’re tearing us apart

Destroyer is your role

You are a piece of art

Destruction is your goal

 

We don’t know what you think

Are you really such a tool?

We fear a missing link

Or are you simply cruel?

Do you want to be remembered

As the worst who ever ruled?

The one and only member

The one who bears the name

The last of burning embers

The man who has no shame

 

The Arrogance of Wealth

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

The Arrogance of Wealth

 

He thinks himself the Uberman

The one who knows it all

He bought the patriotic brand

In the rise before the fall

 

The arrogance that money buys

Beyond what he deserves

That leads to countless boastful lies

An ego beyond words

 

He’s certain he’s the smartest man

Who ever roamed the earth

No one could ever understand

How much his money’s worth

 

He is the king of everything

The lord of all he sees

His smile can make the morning sing

His touch can cure disease

 

So don’t you ever doubt him

He knows beyond all knowledge

We can’t do it without him

We’re kinders to his college

 

Democracy is Dead

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

Democracy is Dead

 

Democracy is by and by

Racing swiftly to the grave

Its founding always was a lie

The people were enslaved

 

Where were you on that solemn day

When the dream was put to bed?

Did you hear our vaunted leaders say

Democracy is dead?

 

Did it catch you by surprise?

Did you think it was enshrined?

You couldn’t see through all the lies

All the planets realigned

 

We warned you it could fall

Without a strong defense

We were up against the wall

We warned you what it meant

 

So now we are consigned

To a life under the gun

We’ll have to toe the line

The oligarchs have won

 

The Imperial President

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN POLITICS

 

The Imperial President

 

He wants it all

There is nothing too great

And nothing too small

To dissuade him of wanting

Control of it all

 

He wants Manhattan

He wants Brooklyn too

He wants a hotel in Moscow

To see him through

 

He wants all of Canada

He wants Greenland too

If you think he’s joking

He wants a piece of you

 

He will not be stopped

By any laws of man

He owns the Supremes

To carry out his plan

 

He has warned his enemies

Just get out of his way

If you have a problem

He’ll deport you today

 

Tech Kings

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN POLITICS

 

Tech Kings

 

Zuckerberg wants the money

Elon wants the power

Bezos wants monopoly

It’s the Trump and techno hour

 

King Donald on his throne

Looking smart and looking pretty

While Elon waves his magic wand

Creating chaos in the cities

 

They will not yield to anyone

Do not get in their way

If you want a piece of the action

How much do you have to pay?

 

The tech kings are in charge now

They control the flow of information

They tell us what to think and say

The world is their creation

 

They’d like us all to settle in

And not kick up a fuss

If you become a problem

They’ll put you on a bus

 

You’ll end up in Guantanamo

For a fully paid vacation

They’ll bend your mind to reason

Til you join the techno nation

 

An American in Munich

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

 

An American in Munich

 

He is not loud and brash

Like the despots he admires

He has no zealotry or flash

He pretends to put out fires

 

But he hides an evil motive

Beneath his tortured rationale

He promotes an ugly votive

To raise his fascist nationale

 

He appeal for lack of reason

To the enemies from within

In Munich it’s known as treason

As if we don’t know where they’ve been

 

The despots are his allies

He has no sympathy for friends

He doesn’t hear the warning cries

That our alliance is at an end

 

We know he does not care

Where Europe goes from here

It’s clear he does not share

What Europe holds most dear

 

(JD Vance lectures Munich officials

on accepting the far-right parties.)

 

Constructive Action

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

Constructive Action

 

Constructive action is the fruit of knowledge

So the wise ones say *

Without knowledge we are wandering

Through the open fields of play

 

It is not enough to know

It is not enough to worry

Let your true feelings show

Whose favor would you curry?

 

We are our greatest enemies

We block the way of progress

To sit and feel a sense of ease

To fail our nation’s test

 

Americans will always rise

When our republic is in danger

From foreign or domestic spies

Our “leaders” or wealthy strangers

 

It’s not enough to shake our heads

To grimace in despair

To scoff at something someone said

To know it is not fair

 

So raise your hand and take a pledge

To vote each chance you get

Our virtue balanced on the edge

Our courage must be set

 

Let those who can take to the streets

Let others form alliance

Take hands with everyone you meet

Resistance and defiance!

 

* Chinese fortune cookie

 

(for John Miles)

Tesla Falls

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN POLITICS

 

Tesla Falls (Ode to Elon)

 

Sales of Tesla fall in France

The end of a green romance

The same holds true in Denmark

Where sales have lost their spark

They’ve lost their wonder in Berlin

In the Netherlands they cannot win

Tesla falls across the sphere

Wherever they can see and hear

The end of Tesla drawing near

They’ve seen it and they fear

 

They do not welcome autocrats

Who flaunt their rabid power

Those billionaires and greedy cats

Who build their faulty towers

The oligarchs and fascist pigs

Who flaunt their Nazi loyalties

Who celebrate at fascist gigs

As if they’re fascist royalty

 

So take your piles of dirty cash

And toss them down a hole

They’ve tired of your act at last

A man who lacks a soul

 

DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN POLITICS

 

DEI

 

Diversity is not a vice

White people are not oppressed

Here’s a little sound advice

Diversity drives success

 

Equity is not a sin

It literally means fair

Where does common sense begin?

Is there something in the air?

 

Inclusion is the way to be

The best that we can do

As anyone can plainly see

Engaging many points of view

 

We know what this is all about

And merit is not it

Rage against but have no doubt

The reason for this fit

 

They want us all to place the blame

On the people they don’t like

The darker ones by any name

The ones who are not white

 

(Trump bans DEI in government.)

 

Separation (Church and State)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Separation

 

The wall dividing church and state

Is crumbling into dust

From the land of pluribus unum

To in God we all must trust

 

Whose God?  Only mine

What book?  The book divine

Take down the walls of separation

We are a Christian nation

 

To hell with our first founding

The founders got it wrong

We have a religious grounding

We were Christians all along

 

The church will be our only voice

There can be no other way

The others will not have a choice

The church will rule the day

 

We’ll all be better off somehow

No one can disagree

All will sing in harmony

One ship upon the sea

Nullification (14th Amendment)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Nullification

 

If the president can nullify the constitution

With the waving of his pen

Erase the founders’ contribution

Just how can we pretend?

There is no constitution at all

 

If the president by his decree

With the power of the gods and fate

Can tell us what the law will be

Then the constitution of the United States

In all its vaunted majesty must fall

 

If the Court upholds this grievous act

To expose our constitution’s flaw

Then they become political hacks

Without regard for the rule of law

Then they’ve betrayed us all

 

A person born in freedom’s land

Is a citizen by entitled right

He should not fear to take a stand

Or hide or from the law take flight

All citizens stand brave and tall

 

(Trump negates birthright citizenship

by executive decree.)

 

A Slow Descent

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

A Slow Descent

 

Democracy does not die easy

It begins by forgiving acts of betrayal

It begins by selling influence

It begins by casting doubt

It begins by creating a great divide

The US against the THEM

It proceeds by a thousand cuts

Each one a compromise

A demeaning of the others

A rewriting of history

It begins by convincing people

That elections are unnecessary

That the ruling class knows best

That the richest of the rich

Are the smartest of the smart

The fairest of the fair

The wisest of the wise

We have begun that slow descent

Into rule by aristocracy

The end of our democracy

Unless we wake up

 

The Oligarchs

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

The Oligarchs

 

The oligarchs are taking over

Let the people stand aside

The wheel of power grinding slower

The nation must abide

 

The oligarchs are everywhere

Every branch is in their hands

They own the water and the air

Maybe now we’ll understand

 

When we failed to limit money

As they bought our politicians

They all thought it kind of funny

When they fed us superstitions

 

They bought the way we worship

They bought the news we get

Just listen to their news clips

The propaganda field is set

 

The oligarchs are taking hold

Of every means to power

The takeover is crass and bold

They own the media towers

 

Don’t say we didn’t warn you

We informed you loud and clear

Our democracy will mourn you

As they magnify our fears

 

The Mandate

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

The Mandate

 

The people have spoken

In the language of the electoral college

A victory for the party of Musk

The party of Trump

The party of Vladimir Putin

 

A rejection of the party of tomorrow

That never finds its way to today

The party of hope that never finds reality

The party of old-timers

The party of promises

The party of Old Joe and Nancy

The party that talks a good game

But never quite delivers

 

A rejection of the party in power

That transcends all other factors

An affirmation of discontent

Throw all the bums out!

 

Through mass media propaganda

Gerrymandering and unlimited funding

The party of rage and discontent

Steamrolled the electorate

Toppling all branches of government

Including the people’s house

By the very thinnest of margins

 

There is no mandate here

Or if there is

It is a mandate of confusion

It is a mandate of negation

It is a mandate that waits

For the next chance

To say No again

 

The Split

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: TRUMP DAZE

The Split (Trump v. Musk)

 

The overlords are splitting up

Before they’ve had a chance

To drink from the victory cup

To celebrate the great romance

Of MAGA and the billionaires

Who grabbed the rings of power

The old school lords now sit and stare

While the tech lords seize the tower

 

The split is like a major quake

A divide that only grows

When will the chosen leader wake

The people want to know

And whose side will he take?

The side of Musk or that of Bannon?

What difference will it make?

Could we toss them in a canyon?

 

There’s trouble everywhere you look

They don’t know what to do

No one wrote it in their book

Take either side you lose

One side will give you wealth

Beyond your wildest dreams

The other made you president

Now how much does that mean?

 

So take a peek at history

See how this story ends

It’s really not a mystery

There’s nothing left to spend

You cannot close the great divide

You cannot right this wrong

When you choose to stand with one side

It’s the last note of your song