The Nixon Rule

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN JUSTICE

The Nixon Rule

 

“When the president does it, that means

it is not illegal.” Richard Nixon

 

Are we prepared for what follows?

 

If the president is granted blanket immunity

for official acts even beyond his term as

president, what is to stop the next president

from purging the body politic of enemies and

adversaries alike?

 

If the next president is the man of Mar-a-Lago,

the purge will be immediate and revenge

will be ruthless.

 

The Department of Justice will be the president’s

personal hit squad, formulating a hit list and

taking all who oppose him out by all means

necessary, legal and illegal.

 

The Proud Boys could be deputized to the

dirty work of punishing demonstrators and

standing guard over voting precincts.

 

Truth Social could be declared the official

state media and all other media could be

sued out of existence by draconian bans on

slandering our dear leader.

 

There is no end to the damage our dear

leader could do to our democracy.

 

It is easy to lose democracy.

It is hard to get it back. 

 

Notorious MTG

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Notorious MTG

 

They love her in the Kremlin

She’s as sweet as she could be

Her loyalty is steadfast

The best they’ve ever seen

She puts it on the line

She’s crude, loud and mean

Vladimir says she’s fine

Marjorie Taylor Greene

 

One day she’ll fly to Moscow

To meet her only friend

But he will only laugh at her

With a message he will send:

You were a useful idiot

There is no more to say

No one really likes you

It’s just a game we play

 

So Marjorie is alone now

No one to hold her hand

No one on the phone now

To say they understand

Nobody really cares now

What Marjorie says or does

She’s no longer in the loop

There is no Marjorie buzz

 

Justice Denied

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN JUSTICE

Justice Delayed

 

For those who consider him a fool

He knows how the game is played

Maybe he faked his way through school

But justice denied is justice delayed

 

There are many ways to push back time

His lawyers know how it’s done

A thousand documents at deadline

This is how their cause is won

 

They don’t have to escape the blame

They don’t have to win on the law

They just have to delay the game

It’s a monster made out of straw

 

You’d think we would have learned

Our patience and nerves are frayed

Play their game and you might get burned

For justice denied is justice delayed

 

Don’t look now, it’s turned around

We’re on the other side

Looking in and wondering how

Justice delayed is justice denied

 

The Unbiased

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN JUSTICE

 

The Unbiased

 

Are you now or have you ever been

a member of the MAGA army?

Are you now or have you ever been

a Joe Biden sympathizer?

 

If there is anyone in this nation

who has not made up their mind

about the two gentlemen representing

their respective parties in the coming

presidential election who are they?

Where have they been for the last

half century and beyond?

 

Have you ever watched a television show?

Have you ever read a newspaper?

Have you ever voted in an election?

Have you ever considered voting?

Have you every pledged allegiance

to the flag of the United States of America?

Have you ever considered what that means?

Do you believe in the rule of law?

Do you believe in democracy?

Do you know what that is?

 

If there is anyone in this fair land

who can answer no to all these questions

their lack of bias speaks of ignorance

or an astounding level of disinterest

 

In either case they should not sit

in judgment on anyone in any case

whatsoever

(Note: Jury selection for Trump's NY trial begins.)

The Irony

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

The Irony

 

A change in the Oval Office promises

To bring a purge of the government

A purge of the FBI

A purge of the people’s house

A purge of the electorate

A purge of American citizenship

Just like the Red Scare of the fifties

 

The irony is:

This time the Reds will be doing the purge

This time the litmus test requires

An alliance to the Beast of the East

A betrayal of NATO

The abandonment of Ukraine

 

They call it America first

But it is Russia calling the shots

They call national patriotism

But it is loyalty to an adversary

They call it the voice of the people

But the people fall silent

In shock and awe

 

What have we done?

How can we make amends?

 

It is far easier to lose a democracy

Than it is to gain it back

 

The Greatness of the Don

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

The Greatness of the Don

 

No one but the Don

Could have proven with such certainty

The abject failure of public education

 

No one but the Don

The Don and only the Don

Could have demonstrated the failure

Of representative democracy

 

No one but the Don

A genius in his own mind

Could have proven beyond doubt

The ignorance of the masses

 

We may point the finger of blame

At a myriad of random factors

A convergence of the planets

An alignment of the stars

The flaws of a two-party system

The folly of the Electoral College

The corruption of the body politick

A spell of mass delusion

Yet the truth remains:

No one but the Don could have

Brought the message home

 

The choice we now face is whether

To confirm the greatness of the Don

Or return to the greatness of America:

The ideal, the hope, the dream

 

Sympathy for the Devil

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: TRUMP

 

Sympathy for the Devil

 

A man in the oval office

Who fell under Vladimir’s spell

Expresses admiration for Adolf

Paving a dismal road to hell

 

He will surely throw Ukraine under

Taiwan has cause to worry

Russia will charge like rolling thunder

NATO should arm in a hurry

 

One step away from seizing power

A power he will not surrender

Unless we rise in the final hours

The people as the last defender

 

He has sympathy for the devil

And this devil has a name

The dictators of the world unite

The ones who have no shame

 

In Praise of Autonomy

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

In Praise of Autonomy

 

When our former president

Who shall not be named

Gives praise to a foreign autocrat

He should be ashamed

 

Viktor Orban of Hungary

Is a cruel and ruthless leader

Whose crackdown on democracy

Should terrify every reader

 

A man who praises dictators

Is telling us too much

Unless you want dictatorship

This man is out of touch

 

He proclaims himself above the law

All glory to his self

If you dare to oppose him

He’ll send you straight to hell

 

We’ll lose our treasured freedom

To speak out in dissent

One day we’ll simply wake up

And wonder where it went

 

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.)

Worse than Buchanan

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Worse than Buchanan

 

Worse than Buchanan

Worse than Franklin Pierce

His defenders were none

His opposition remained fierce

 

Buchanan, Pierce and Fillmore

Paved the road to Civil War

As colossal failures to the union

You could hardly ask for more

 

Historians know the value

Of a president’s true worth

They chose our number 45

As the nation’s very worst

 

He betrayed our democracy

He failed to build his wall

He divided all Americans

As he fulfilled treason’s call

 

His followers stand by him

Despite his fatal flaws

His ego and his ignorance

His defiance of the law

 

No one could be worse than him

He’s as bad as it gets

Will the nation have him back again?

Who knows? Place your bets

 

Dissatisfied and Angry

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

Dissatisfied and Angry

 

If you ask them how they are

And how they expect to be

They’ll tell you that they’re fine

But they’re dissatisfied and angry

 

It doesn’t matter how they feel

It doesn’t matter what they think

The last election was a steal

They don’t like the color pink

 

Joe Biden is just too old

Their man is older too

But their old man is angrier

And angrier will do

 

Don’t tell them they are wrong

Don’t tell them they are fools

They’ll just sing a country song

And they never liked the schools

 

They’re dissatisfied and angry

Like almost all their friends

This time if there’s enough of them

Our democracy may end

 

The Border

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: IMMIGRATION

The Border

 

They had a chance to defend the border

They chose a spectacle instead

They impeached a civil servant

Turning justice on its head

 

They take their people for fools

Who believe anything they’re told

They think obstinance will rule

But their act is getting old

 

They did nothing for the border

Just to give their boss a chance

They push for chaos and disorder

Every time they take a stance

 

This is the way they’ll govern

They will not do anything

When an election rolls around

They’ll do a dance and sing

 

We hate them just like you do

Nothing else really matters

The rich are getting richer

Fat cats are getting fatter

 

Trump to NATO: Drop Dead!

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

Trump to NATO: Drop Dead!

 

He doesn’t know our history

And frankly does not care

The future is no mystery

We’re caught in Putin’s lair

If Donald wins the White House

We’d better say our prayers

Before we lay down to our beds

For Trump will say to NATO:

Drop dead!

 

He loves the world’s dictators

From Erdogan to Xi *

He finds them most appealing

As he considers what will be

An American dictator

Would lead a new alliance

Democracies not welcome

A new Europe in defiance

The world will long remember

The day the Donald said:

Dear NATO: Drop Dead!

 

* pronounced She