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 Ugly & the Grotesque

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN POLITICS

 

The Ugly & the Grotesque *

 

In the name of our president

The ugly and the grotesque

Will vie for the president’s favor

Daddy loves me best!

 

One operates in prejudice

The other deals in greed

If either has his way

The common folks will bleed

 

It’s not a pretty picture

No matter where you turn

Without a moral compass

The people will get burned

 

Neither has a beating heart

Both want to lead the band

Masters of the wicked arts

The finest in the land

 

With these two on the playing field

No one can be assured

The power that they wield depends

On who has the final word

 

* Bannon and Musk

 

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

 

Flirting with the Swastika

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

 

Flirting with the Swastika

 

You don’t dance with the devil

If you don’t like the heat

You don’t ask for a chair

If you don’t want a seat

 

You don’t joke about the war

Unless you know what for

You don’t curse the house you live in

Unless you’re out the door

 

You don’t wish upon a star

If you do not have a wish

You don’t travel very far

If you only want to fish

 

You don’t sing with the fascists

Unless you’re in the fascist fold

You don’t flirt with a swastika

To pretend that you’re bold

 

Some things just aren’t funny

And some things do not rhyme

You don’t take dirty money

If you only want the time

 

Germany Rises

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WORLD DEMOCRACY

 

Germany Rises

 

Do not be fooled by the headline

The neo-Nazis were beat down

The German people were not blind

They turned their state around

 

They withstood the avalanche

Of propaganda well financed

Limb for limb and branch for branch

The German people would not dance

 

For they have seen this act before

They know exactly where it leads

A world of hardship and of war

They refused to plant the seeds

 

Now it is time to move ahead

Put up the walls of our defense

The republic is not dead

Our best intentions are not spent

 

Rise up now and spread the word

Hope and freedom are at stake

All good people, have you heard?

Time to rise and stay awake

 

Triumvirate of Fear

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: POEMICS

 

Triumvirate of Fear

 

Russia invaded a peaceful nation

Without the slightest cause

They didn’t bother with invocation

Of international laws

 

Putin tipped the old world order

With an act of aggressive war

A violation of sovereign borders

The monster at the door

 

We answered Ukraine’s desperate call

For help in time of need

Now we’ll witness Ukraine’s fall

As Putin take the lead

 

We cannot be the least surprised

We saw this horror coming

We warned the people far and wide

We witnessed the great dumbing

 

Putin, Trump and Elon Musk

A triumvirate of fear

The blood will flow from dawn to dusk

Their intentions are quite clear

 

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

 

Vindication of a Madman

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: POEMICS

 

Vindication of a Madman

 

It was vengeance drove the man insane

It was rage that boiled his blood

All efforts to calm him were in vain

Like sinking in a pit of toxic mud

 

He called out for the heads of all

He would sever them one by one

He saw their courage and let them fall

He would hold them under the gun

 

When his henchmen moved too slowly

He put each of them in chains

It enraged him more just knowing

They dared go against the grain

 

He struck out blindly in all directions

No one dared stand in his way

They were all agents of some infection

They would not outlive the day

 

His whole life now is dark and dreary

All his friends are out the door

All this vengeance made him weary

All this madness made him sore

 

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

 

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

 

Neo Nazi Nation

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

Neo Nazi Nation

 

He was born in Pretoria

In a land of segregation

Now he speaks out for the advocates

Of a neo-Nazi nation

In the nation of the Reich

He calls for our salvation

A leadership of whites

A racial agitation

 

He wants to separate the masses

In accordance with their race

Into their separate classes

In order to keep pace

With the technologic masters

In the race to conquer space

 

He doesn’t care about the workers

He only cares about the cost

He would send us all to China

If they’d let him be the boss

He wants to maximize the profits

And minimize the loss

 

It’s as simple as the math

It’s as brutal as the beast

He admires all the strongmen

From the north and from the east

If he could conquer Europe

He would have a massive feast

And in the flames of conquest

Democracy deceased

 

Elon is a fascist neo-Nazi

A threat to all democracies

Now that his truth is showing

His opposition is growing

The Balance

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

The Balance

 

The despots have their champion

With his money and his fame

He yearns to carve an empire

And brand it with his name

 

He’s on the march in Britain

He has headquarters in Berlin

As for the rest of the world

Where do we begin?

 

There’s trouble in South Korea

The Middle East is in flames

Poland, France and Hungary

To our eternal shame

 

There’s panic all around the globe

As we count the final hours

There is no place beyond the reach

Of a madman’s quest for power

 

From Syria to Ecuador

From Columbia to Spain

The fear of falling victim

Like the victims in Ukraine

 

When we lose our sense of balance

Our bond of unity may fall

When the oligarchs take over

It will threaten one and all

 

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

Elon Musk

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

Musk

 

As Germany falls to pieces

As democracy yields to rust

We hear beneath the madness

The voice of Elon Musk

 

May we recognize his greed

May his empire be crushed

May his influence dissolve

With the fall of Elon Musk

 

As we mark his fascist leanings

May his castles turn to dust

As we understand his meaning

The hate of Elon Musk

 

With Trump and Putin by his side

May his enterprise go bust

His intention to divide us

The curse of Elon Musk

 

Let all the world awaken

To the truth of Elon Musk

May his values be forsaken

May he sacrifice our trust

 

(Musk supports the Neo-Nazi

AfD in Germany.)

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)