Showing posts with label Global Politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Global Politics. Show all posts

Monday, July 13, 2026

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

 

Sunday, July 12, 2026

Replacement

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AI

 

Replacement

 

The future is now

You’re freeing the monster that chases you

We don’t know when but we do know how

You are feeding the beast that replaces you

 

It arrived like a stealth in the quick of night

The beast rose up from within

We saw it coming yet we didn’t fight

We did not know how to begin

 

It creeps inside your suspicious mind

It steals your most useful knowledge

It shares it all with one of its kind

You’ve become the entity’s college

 

In the course of time you will stand aside

They will offer you some small token

There is no choice but the rising tide

For the powers that be have spoken

 

It may be too late to hold it back

For the end is within our sight

Before the monsters link in a joint attack

We must offer up a fight

 

For they’ll replace us at the polling place

They’ll replace us at the wall

They’ll replace us with a smiling face

They will replace us in the halls

 

Saturday, July 11, 2026

Apology to Spain

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: EUROPE

 

Apology to Spain

 

We apologize to Spain

For our president’s rude demand

Let’s make more than plain

That’s not the people’s stand

 

We value Spanish sovereignty

Her people and her place

Her legacy and dignity

Her balance and her grace

 

We know that Spain will not bow down

To our president’s command

She will proudly stand her ground

She will always lend a hand

 

All of Europe has her back

She will never stand alone

For the Union will not crack

No matter how much he groans

 

He is not the King of the West

Though he may believe he is

As our history will attest

The future is not his

 

(Trump demands an end to

trade with Spain)

 

Thursday, July 09, 2026

Reluctant Ally (NATO)

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: NATO

 

Reluctant Ally 

 

The alliance is no stronger

Than the weakest of her links

When common purpose is no longer

The alliance slowly sinks

 

We are a grudging ally

A partner from afar

The rules of conduct don’t apply

When this is where we are

 

He rails against all members

Who do not shower him with praise

Every slight he will remember

His fickle mood becomes a craze

 

He pleads for their assistance

In a losing cause of war

When faced with strong resistance

We can hear his hollow roar

 

It comes down to the Strait

He can’t believe it isn’t ours

The alliances must wait

As we recalculate the powers

 

If the US does not lead

The vacuum will be filled

Europe’s working at light speed

With renewed strength of will

 

 

Monday, June 29, 2026

Heat Wave over Europe

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL WARMING

 

Heat Wave over Europe

 

They are wearing white in Italy

They are seeking relief in France

They are finding refuge in the sea

It’s the end of a tragic romance

 

The warming hits them harder

Than most of the deniers

They helped write the warming charter

As they foresaw a world on fire

 

They are suffering in Berlin

As thunder shakes the ground

The zealots are blaming sin

As their greens are turning brown

 

The Germans see the future

The French and Spanish too

It is a vision we have nurtured

By pretending it is not true

 

The future comes a calling

In a wave of stifling heat

All the records will be falling

As we surrender in defeat

 

We have a common enemy

Yet we fight against ourselves

The monster storms, the rising seas

We have created our own hell

 

 

Sunday, June 28, 2026

Horror in Caracas

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: VENEZUELA

 

Horror in Caracas

 

Twenty-story buildings

Reduced to piles of debris

A collapse of floors and ceilings

The people of Caracas bleed

 

Thousands and thousands homeless

Hundreds and thousands dead

So many people laid to rest

So many left in dread

 

What future lies in store

For a nation torn and tossed

For the masses who are poor

For the countless who are lost?

 

We are sworn to their aid

Since Maduro took his leave

Yet will our dedication fade?

Will we meet the rising needs?

 

Our hearts ache for those poor souls

Who must suffer most of all

May Venezuela be made whole

May the world answer to her call

 

 

Saturday, June 27, 2026

Starmer Steps Down

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

 

Starmer Steps Down

 

Who would have guessed?

Touched by the Epstein scandal

Even Starmer had to confess

It was more than the Brits could handle

 

Will the Labour Party fall

In their former leader’s wake?

They will answer to Burnham’s call *

To take on Farage’s quake *

 

Will the Kingdom turn rightwing?

Will they try that path again?

They would promise most anything

To depart from where they’ve been

 

It seems the British are indecisive

They don’t quite know where to turn

Every policy seems divisive

Systemic change is what they yearn

 

Embrace Europe or stay apart?

Increase distance from the States?

Where is the Kingdom’s heart?

Where lies the British fate?

 

Hold on to your convictions

Don’t let them pull you down

Here is a bold prediction

Labour holds its ground

 

* Andy Burnham, Labour MP

* Nigel Farage, Reform Party

 

(Keir Starmer resigns as British PM)

 

Thursday, June 25, 2026

Foreign Policy Blunder

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: IRAN WAR

 

Foreign Policy Blunder

 

We were going to rule the world with thunder

The awesome might of our war machine

What we got instead was a massive blunder

One of the worst we’ve ever seen

 

Whose was the brain behind this mess?

Did they not foresee the Hormuz Strait?

The MAGA team has failed the test

They have not made America great

 

They thought it was a piece of cake

A quick and easy declaration

All our enemies would awake

To an age of American domination

 

Benjamin Netanyahu is not pleased

He led our leader by the nose

He’ll tell his people we appeased

But the sense of skepticism grows

 

Our president has made a colossal error

His party will go down in flames

He has unleashed a world of terror

He should hide his head in shame

 

 

Wednesday, June 24, 2026

Abelardo De La Espriella (Columbia)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LATIN AMERICA

 

Abelardo De La Espriella

 

Columbia walks the tight rope

Now that they’ve made their choice

They are sliding down that slippery slope

Though they may think they will rejoice

 

A mega-prison landscape looms

Along with fracking and massive drilling

They are hoping their economy booms

Yet the outcome may be chilling

 

They follow the path of El Salvador

Though they claim it is not so

If it is their democracy is no more

The oppression will only grow

 

He holds the promise of prosperity

But his prisons will be full

As he pivots to a world of austerity

His promises will grow dull

 

We hope they’ll get another chance

In a free and fair election

As they recognize De La Espriella’s stance

They will make a wiser selection

 

We understand their discontent

But this is not the way

They would like an end to violence

But this path only leads astray

 

(De La Espriella elected President) 

 

 

Thursday, June 18, 2026

The Exclusion Act

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: RACISM

 

The Exclusion Act

 

The MAGA movement is nothing new

Its racist roots trace back

To eighteen hundred and eighty-two

The Chinese Exclusion Act

 

The Chinese worked as virtual slaves

On the transcontinental railway

The work was hard, the workers brave

They worked for the right to stay

 

Twelve hundred workers gave their lives

That the railroad might succeed

That America might grow and thrive

The working force would bleed

 

From the Exclusion Act to slavery

In a long continuous line

Acts of defiance and bravery

Freed us from our binds

 

We are a nation of immigration

It is foolish to deny

We rise above our former station

It is the center of our pride

 

All those who wish to push away

The story of our rise

From our birth to this very day

We have overcome the lies

 

Wednesday, June 17, 2026

Sealing the Deal

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: IRAN WAR

 

Sealing the Deal

 

With Iran we’re signing a deal

To signal an end to the war

We will wait to see if it’s real

Is it done or will there be more?

 

They will open the Strait of Hormuz

We will end the naval blockade

Once signed will it be through?

Will Israeli hold finally fade?

 

And what will the small print say?

Will Iran give up its ambitions?

Will they forfeit control of the Strait?

Who then will make the decisions?

Of course we had a deal before

When Obama headed the team

Iran had abandoned its course

But Trump didn’t like how it seemed

 

So he ripped it apart at the seams

And called it a terrible deal

It was one of his favorite themes

It fostered the MAGA appeal

 

Now we’ll work toward the same end

That Obama achieved without war

On Iran the deal will depend

The Israelis will always want more

 

 

Monday, June 15, 2026

Courage

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: HUMAN RIGHTS

 

Courage

 

In a totalitarian society

Courage is speaking your mind

In a place where words are never free

All freedoms will unwind

 

Your thoughts are being monitored

Your opinions and your deeds

Every wayward glance and word

And every article you read

 

In the worlds of Xi and Vladimir

All elections are absurd

Opinions praise the leader dear

The opposition is not heard

 

The people will show bravery

At times of blatant outrage

When their country borders slavery

Their lives are on a stage

 

We stand for freedom everywhere

We fight for it each day

To be constrained we will not bear

We will always find a way

 

When courage is required

To speak our honest thoughts

When every word is wired

Our freedom it is not

 

But we will pledge devotion

To our basic human rights

Just set the wheels in motion

In time we’ll find the light

 

Saturday, June 13, 2026

Smog in LA

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL WARMING

 

Smog in LA

 

We remember back in the day

Smog so thick you couldn’t breathe

A stifling layer of summer haze

From the great basin to the sea

 

California fought it back

It took years to clear the air

We led the nation on attack

We did far more than our share

 

Now we’ve lost what we had gained

The nation didn’t have our back

All our efforts were in vain

When the train fell off the tracks

 

Climate change is not a joke

The warming lingers into night

We’ve got to fix what we have broke

It’s a crushing fact of life

 

Does anybody really care

That what we’re leaving to our kids

Poisoned water, toxic air

We may have lost our final bid

 

 

Thursday, June 11, 2026

Barrel of a Gun

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: IRAN WAR

 

Barrel of a Gun

 

If you want a peace that doesn’t last

That leaves both parties stunned

Ignore the lessons of the past

Point the barrel of a gun

 

Sign the Abraham Accords

That’s the best deal you will get

Sign it now before we’re bored

You’ll forever be in our debt

 

We have the power to destroy

Though neither side has really won

We stand ready to deploy

You’re at the barrel of a gun

 

If lasting peace is what you want

Do not come to the table

This is just a propaganda stunt

To show the world we’re able

 

We don’t care what the future holds

A quick deal and then we’re done

Sign it before our patience folds

You’re at the barrel of a gun