The Insurrection Redux

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

The Insurrection Redux

 

The insurrection has not ended

It has simply gone to hiding

If the people are offended

We soon will be deciding

 

The insurrection will be televised

There is no doubt on that

Our history will not be revised

To reflect the latest stat

 

The last one was rehearsal

For the one that’s yet to come

No blockage or dispersal

Come on out and get you some

 

The insurrection will be televised

In all its gloom and glory

We will all believe the lies

We are sticking to our story

 

If you don’t want an insurrection

You had better make it clear

For there will be some defections

As the day of dread draws near

 

The insurrection will be televised

From its inception to its end

We will watch it grow and die

And this message we will send:

 

Go home and take your violence

Go home and take your guns

We will not stand in silence

We will not turn and run

 

Big Tent Party

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN POLITICS

 

Big Tent Party

 

The Democrats are on the run

The “Big Tent” party has failed

It allowed a right-wing charlatan

To run the nation off the rails

 

If you really want a Big Tent

Don’t attack the progressive wing

If you wonder where the voters went

They felt the corporate sting

 

Hey Big Brother, have you heard?

They’re leaving you behind

They aren’t afraid of “scary” words

The people make up their own minds

 

They like what the candidates represent

They like what they have to say

A party that falls short of Big Tent

Can only get in the way

 

Expand your way of thinking

There’s a mountain we must climb

The old party has been sinking

For a very, very long time

 

You’ve been losing all the races

We have lost our peace of mind

It is time to greet new faces

Of a new and fresher kind

 

We need a new unification

Of all parties in opposition

To save this faltering nation

With a new, enlightened mission

 

The Purge

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: DEMOCRACY

 

The Purge

 

Florida pioneered purging the voter rolls

Without it Bush* would have lost

From there the question only grows

This topsy turvy world was tossed

 

They found a way to cull the vote

Using names from a felons list

That they were minorities is of note

If they were white they would have missed

 

The history of the world was altered

By that historic election fact

Our democratic system faltered

We haven’t found our way back

 

There are many ways to beat the system

Our democracy is endangered

There are times when we missed them

The threats could not be plainer

 

When it comes to cheating let’s be clear

It’s nearly always the GOP

With the next election drawing near

We can’t afford to let it be

 

All people should be united

In our belief in democracy

Do not let it be decided

By those smelling of hypocrisy

 

* George W. Bush

 

No!

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: THE RESISTANCE

 

No! 

 

We don’t want you wicked ICE

We don’t want your data centers

Let me give you some advice

Put an end to these adventures

 

You don’t know what you’re doing

You don’t know what you’ve done

You’re flailing and you’re suing

And the backlash has begun

 

We don’t want your dirty prisons

We don’t want your careless cuts

There’s a trail of daft decisions

The decree is open shut

 

We don’t want your lame-brained wars

We don’t want your crypto schemes

We don’t want drilling off our shores

We don’t share your racist dream

 

We don’t want to rig the vote

We don’t want soldiers on the streets

We don’t want to rock the boat

But we won’t march to your beat

 

It is time for you to go

We’ve grown tired of your act

You have lost your golden glow

Cue the curtain, fade to black

 

The Red Scare

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN POLITICS

 

Red Scare

 

A socialist is a communist

The analogy is not fair

You don’t need to be a psychologist

To recognize the red scare

 

They tried it back in the fifties

At that time it worked real well

They tried it again in the sixties

Once again it rang a bell

 

That’s how we got the McCarthy scourge

That’s how we got Tricky Dick

At worst it is a patriot’s dirge

At best it’s a dirty trick

 

If you want to be afraid

Be afraid of the fear mongers

Until your debt is paid

The opposition will grow stronger

 

They’re swimming against the tide

They are summoning the past

Let’s take it all in stride

Their decline is steep and fast

 

Hey buddy have you heard?

We are not afraid of words

Take your tricks and go away

Find another part to play

 

 

Yourself to Blame

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORRUPTION

 

Yourself to Blame

 

When we get the power back

You will hide your heads in shame

You pushed so hard you’re off the tracks

You’ll have only yourself to blame

 

You took in so much dirty money

You didn’t even try to hide it

It’s no longer even funny

All the billionaires confide it

 

You cooked up a thousand schemes

While taking money from the poor

You’ve destroyed the American dream

While kicking migrants out the door

 

When this chapter finally ends

The world will sigh with great relief

Not a soul will defend

The president who was a thief

 

When you take your final leave

A curse will be upon your name

When it happens you’ll believe

You’ll only have yourself to blame

 

 

American Politics

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN POLITICS

 

American Politics

 

Politics is not a team sport

Judge Judy is not a real court

When the fate of the nation’s at hand

It should not be a battle of the bands

 

When Tom Paine spoke so beautifully

Of the times that try men’s souls

Among the founders he did foresee

A nation made less than whole

 

By a ruthless man who would want a crown

Who flattered the people with promises

Of course he would let the people down

He doesn’t mean a word that he says

 

When the founders spoke of tyranny

Of enemies within and without

They foresaw the threats to our liberty

They knew there would be doubt

 

There’s so much more at stake

In the election of a head of state

Than just winning for winning’s sake

It foretells the nation’s fate

 

America the Bold

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN HISTORY

 

America the Bold

 

Let there be a new America

Like the America of old

The one that landed on the moon

America the bold

 

I remember that America

That shining star of glory

The one that welcomed all aboard

The hero in the story

 

We sailed across the vast blue sea

America the brave

We found a land inhabited

And dug them an early grave

 

But we rose above our travesty

We founded a republic

Embraced the nation’s majesty

The tired, poor and sick

 

We fought our share of wars

For purpose good and bad

America the powerful

The best we’ve ever had

 

We rose to meet our destiny

A nation of all kinds

Together we were meant to be

A nation color blind

 

We’ll find our way back home again

America’s been sold

The greatest we have ever been

America the bold

 

America the Gold

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICA

 

America the Gold

 

A Golden Ballroom for the rich

The massive crypto currency grift

An arch of triumph to his glory

A total rewrite of the nation’s story

 

This is not America

This is something sick and strange

This is not America

The very concept is deranged

 

A war for Netanyahu

It was supposed to last a week

Pretending that a lie is true

The prospects growing bleak

 

This is not America

It wears a thin façade

This is not America

The man thinks he’s a god

 

The killing of the daily news

The tampering with elections

Denial of the right to choose

Obfuscation and deflection

 

This is not America

More like a third-world nation

This is not America

It’s a criminal organization

 

 

The Insurrection Act

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN POLITICS

 

The Insurrection Act

 

JD Vance wanted to strike back

Against the protests in Minneapolis

By invoking the Insurrection Act

Deploying soldiers against civilians

Unleashing a bold attack

 

Is anyone lower than JD Vance?

 

Stephen Miller wants to suspend habeas corpus

To facilitate mass deportation

Without the bother of due process

He’d sever the heart of the nation

 

Is anyone lower that Stephen Miller?

 

Donald Trump wants access to the voting rolls

He wants your name and location

He wants control of the next election

He’d betray the core of the nation

 

Is anyone lower than Donald Trump?

 

In nations that do not have basic rights

They don’t bother with habeas corpus

They don’t need to steal the voting rolls

They don’t need an Insurrection Act

Their people have no rights

 

Is this America or some lesser nation?

In the balance, it remains to be seen

 

The Democratic Platform

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

The Democratic Platform

 

In 2026 and two years beyond

What will the Democrats run on?

What will they take to the campaign stump?

 

First and above all else: Erase Trump

From the Golden Ballroom to the southern wall

His name and his deeds, erase them all

 

Next ban the dirty gerrymander

That mortal threat to the democratic way

Let voters deal with the lies and slanders

Let the people have their say

 

In a republic the filibuster has no place

A simple majority should have its way

An end to this senatorial disgrace

 

Let’s finally end these wars of choice

On the myth that might is right

Let the people of all nations rejoice

An end to the infinite fight

 

Then let’s get the cost of living down

We can’t take it another day more

We’d like an occasional night on the town

And a reasonable bill at the store

 

Let all who are able find work today

There’s a job for one and all

Full employment is the only way

To avoid the next economic fall

 

Let’s deliver healthcare for everyone

We tried once but it just didn’t take

Let’s try it again until it’s done

It is time for decency’s sake

 

Then let’s mobilize for universal housing

In a nation as wealthy as ours

 

Let’s end the era of doubting

We can make polutionless cars

 

Let’s refund science for the warming

Let’s prepare the best that we can

We’ve ignored all of the warnings

Let us finally take our best stand

 

The Jim Crow Court

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: SUPREME COURT

 

The Jim Crow Court

 

The Court has nullified democracy

In every way we know

They’ve embraced a white hypocrisy

In the name of old Jim Crow

 

They have decimated voting rights

Now they’ve hit a brand new low

They’ve pushed minorities out of sight

In the name of old Jim Crow

 

From Louisiana to Alabam

They’ve struck a deadly blow

The gerrymander diagram

In the name of old Jim Crow

 

They’re doing what they’re told to do

It’s the court of Donald show

We’ll all be pale before they’re through

In the name of old Jim Crow

 

They’re setting back the racial clock

Our discontent will grow

The Great Society has been blocked

In the name of old Jim Crow

 

Decisive change takes many years

Through sweat and blood and tears

The damage done we’ll never know

In the name of old Jim Crow

 

 

Gutted (Voting Rights Act)

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

Gutted (Voting Rights Act)

 

The age of civil rights is dead

As is the age of civil liberties

The Court Supreme to Trump is wed

We’ll have no more equality

 

We’re moving back in time

We’ve reversed the march of progress

Racial bias is now fine

As long as whites do best

 

We have too many blacks and browns

Enlisted in our government

We have to turn this trend around

This is what the founders meant

 

Of course they had no women

Only rich white men could vote

We’re going back to where we’ve been

Too many blacks will sink the boat

 

You cannot right an age-old wrong

You can pretend it never happened

Minorities never did belong

Make this nation great again

 

Lady Justice should be blind

Democracy should not be

We need to represent all kinds

Not just the white elites