The Court Stands

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: SUPREME COURT 

 

The Court Stands

 

He thought the court was his

To do with as he would

But when it came down to this

The court did what it should

 

The struck his tariffs down

Like the power grab they were

He thought he owned this town

To be brief, he was disturbed

 

His mind became unhinged

His faced turned to red

The resistance now begins

To fill his heart with dread

 

The court has finally risen

To uphold the balance of power

By reaching this decision

Justice wins the hour

 

But the battle still remains

Concerning free and fair elections

If the voters are constrained

Their rights will need protection

 

Impunity

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

Impunity

 

“Nothing’s more dangerous than

power with impunity.” 

 

Isabel Allende, Portrait in Sepia

 

 

Nothing speaks of insanity

Nothing could be more extreme

Than a president with impunity

Decreed by the Court Supreme

 

One wonders what they were thinking

On that misbegotten day

When the ship of state was sinking

And they helped it on its way

 

They gifted him immunity

The people did not have a say

They assured enduring disunity

For as long as he would stay

 

So now he’ll stay forever

He will never leave the house

He’s pulling each and every lever

To get his forces armed and roused

 

ICE is his gestapo

Brown Shirts and the Guard

We don’t know where it goes

But we’re sure it goes down hard

 

Our democracy is at stake

She is trembling with desperate fear

Her defenders better stay awake

Or the end times will be here

 

 

Cowards

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN POLITICS

 

Cowards

 

The Speaker of the House

A once revered position

Cowers like a timid mouse

Defending treason and sedition

 

The party of corporate greed

Taking profits for themselves

While the constitution bleeds

They’ve got seats reserved in hell

 

The wicked wealthy oligarchs

Who paid for influence and power

May your kingdoms fall apart

May there come a reckoning hour

 

The corrupted Court Supreme

They’ve tossed away their dignity

While their hands were never clean

They are now the court of infamy

 

The party of the opposition

Where is your urgency of now?

If we were in your position

We would never bend or bow

 

Now’s the time to rise as one

Join the people in the streets

Now is your moment in the sun

Get off your bum and on your feet

 

Seize the moment and the day

I’m not advocating violence

We all have our parts to play

Do not squander it in silence

 

The Cowardly Court

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: SUPREME COURT

 

The Cowardly Court

 

That the Court is corrupt is well known

Justice comes at a high cost

But our doubts have only grown

As the Court seems to be lost

 

They may rule on the rights of guns

They may rule on the Federal Reserve

But on tariffs they seem to be stunned

The high court will bend and swerve

 

As a trade war with Europe unfolds

The cowardly court defers

When it should be forthright and bold

They refuse to utter a word

 

Though the law is exceptionally clear

Tariffs are the business of congress

The Supremes prefer not to hear

Any case that provides a fair test

 

Perhaps they will rule on the Bible

As an appendix to the Bill of Rights

Perhaps they’ll reclassify liable

Or maybe they’ll give up the fight

 

The only thing we know is true

Is that they serve the president’s will

When the president wins, the people lose

Yet they serve in silence still

 

Buying our Democracy

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

Buying Democracy

 

Our democracy is endangered

By a court that has no pride

It has gone from strange to stranger

As the court finds its stride

 

One man gave a quarter billion

To take hold of the White House

Next time could bring a trillion

The threat is beyond doubt

 

But the court has no concern

They are tarred by the same cash

It’s the people who get burned

There’s no need to even ask

 

Corruption is institutionalized

With the blessings of the court

It is not right, just or wise

The invaders guarding the fort

 

Will we surrender our republic

Without raising a rebel cry?

Has the fog grown so thick

That we won’t even try?

 

A republic, old Ben Franklin said

But only if you can keep it

When our democracy is dead

Will we even seek it?

 

 

Defending Democracy

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

Defending Democracy

 

Defending democracy is a fulltime job

It cannot be taken for granted

Its enemies will cheat and rob

Make sure your staff is planted

 

They’re coming after the voting place

They’re sending out their brutes

They’ll make it hard to win the race

They’re thugs in designer suits

 

They’ll attack anyone who opposes them

From the powerful to the local mayor

They’ll rip you up from root to stem

If you ask them, they don’t care

 

Stealing the vote is an old tradition

On both sides of the aisle

Every voter must now take a position

Is democracy still in style?

 

The right to vote is no longer given

The Supreme Court gave it away

We must be grim and hardline driven

To keep what our founders gave

 

Nullification

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: SUPREME COURT

 

Nullification

 

Never did I think I’d see

A Supreme Court so bold and brash

As to nullify the basic precepts

Of the constitution

 

Birthright citizenship

Is not a controversial issue

It is as basic as free speech

As fundamental as the right to vote

As essential as the fourth estate

 

But this court does not believe

In any of these basic rights

This court has granted citizenship

To private corporations

This court has poisoned the very

Heart of democracy with unlimited

Corporate contributions

 

If you were born in this country

Regardless of your race, religion,

Country of origin, monetary status

Or political philosophy

No contingencies or qualifications

You are a citizen and no amount

Of verbal gymnastics can alter

That inalienable fact

 

Beyond birthright citizenship

We now have a Supreme Court

And a chief executive dedicated to

Destroying the foundations of

Democracy in America

 

All Americans should raise their

Voices as one to cry out in unison:

No!

 

Birthright Citizenship

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: IMMIGRATION 

Birthright

 

The corporate supremes have dignified

The idiocy of the administration

The lamest case they’ve ever tried

To the detriment of the nation

 

The 14^th amendment is very clear

There is no modicum of doubt

No matter what you read or hear

We’ve figured this one out

 

They feel obliged to coddle him

The bully in the White House

Though his moral light grows very dim

It’s the case of Doctor Faust

 

He’s sold his soul to the dark one

He can never reverse course

His reality becomes a stark one

He’s the King without a Horse

 

But he doesn’t own the Court Supreme

Though he granted them their power

He saw them bowing in a dream

His awakening waits the hour

 

(SCOTUS agrees to hear the case

against birthright citizenship.)

 

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)

 

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

 

Clarence the Corrupt

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN JUSTICE

Clarence the Corrupt

 

Clarence Thomas takes the honor

As the most corrupt justice in history

His actions, words and rulings

Seem boldly prone to infamy

 

He owes it all to Harlan Crow

To the tune of millions of dollars

To whom he owes allegiance

He should wear it on his collar

 

He’s a very wealthy man

Who does not care how it appears

The end of his subsistence

Is the only thing he fears

 

He was a snake going in

He’ll be a snake going out

That his corruption is severe

Is far beyond reasonable doubt

 

Justice Thomas should resign

He should hang his head in shame

An embarrassment to the court

A disgrace to the family name

 

Symbolic Action

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: SUPREME COURT

Symbolic Action

 

It may only be symbolic

But it sets the record straight

These Supreme Court Justices

Are filled with righteous hate

 

They hate the common laborers

For being who they are

For wanting decent wages

For wanting an affordable car

 

They hate the world of women

For wanting the rights of men

They’ve sworn to have their vengeance

For having to fight for their rights again

 

They hate people of color

For demanding equal treatment

For standing up against brutality

For supporting an impeachment

 

They hate honest journalists

For exposing their corruption

In receiving several fortunes

Yielding to wealth’s seduction

 

(AOC drafts articles of impeachment

against Alito and Thomas of the

Supreme Court.)

 

Foundations of Law

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN JUSTICE

Foundations of Law

 

Justice is the foundation of law

If it is not the law becomes tyranny

Or rather an instrument of tyranny

Belonging to a tyrant

 

When the Supreme Court entertains

the notion of assassination for political

purpose as legal and beyond reproach

we are in grave danger

 

The attorneys for the United States are

too modest in their questioning

They should ask: if the president believes

in his heart and soul that certain justices

of the Supreme Court pose an imminent and

existential threat to American democracy

and the rule of law, could he order their

assassination as an official act without fear

of legal recourse?

 

Case closed. 

 

Insurrection Blues Redux

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: INSURRECTION

Insurrection Blues Redux

 

Want to start an insurrection?

Want to turn over an election?

If you’re Donald Trump you’re fine

If you’re not you’re doing time

 

Asking congress to do their job

Of interpreting the constitution

Is an abdication of their duty:

Delivering just restitution

To a man guilty of treason

The court offers no solution

It goes beyond all reason

It’s a wicked convolution

In a convoluted season

 

You had the duty to decide

The pressing question of the day

Is Donald Trump qualified

Or is that a price he has to pay

For inciting insurrection

Back on Insurrection Day?

 

There are three levels of the law

One is for the rich

For whom the court is made of straw

Another is for the poor

For whom brutality is raw

A third is for the Donald

Whose defiance is in awe

 

The man is guiltier than guilt

The truth is plain to see

The Court is in his pocket

It’s a sad reality

 

(re: Supreme Court V. Colorado.)