Destroyer of Democracy

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Destroyer of Democracy *

 

Destroyer of democracy thy name is Trump

Like a junkyard dog that lives in a dump

You bark at everyone you see

You tell yourself they’re just like me

 

You look in the mirror and call out Scum!

You see yourself in every bum

You saw the news and said It’s true!

But that’s not something I would do

It must be someone else instead

Let’s turn the whole thing on its head

 

I am the King of all I see!

And that includes democracy!

I’m not the man they say I am

And if I am who gives a damn!

 

* Trump calls out Biden

 

Shame of the Nation

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Shame of the Nation

 

To the shame of this great nation

And the electoral college scheme

We elected a golden-haired buffoon

With the power to end the dream

 

We now stand on the very threshold

Of a brutal authoritarian regime

All because we were confused

Between the party and the team

 

And so we voted for an ego

Who thought he was a mighty king

To the cause of his almightiness

Without pause he would do anything

 

Yes we voted for a senseless monster

And we might vote for him again

Just to witness his unhinged revenge

In the event that he should win

 

Say goodbye to our democracy

Say farewell to all our laws

As everything must now conform

To his divine and vicious cause

 

Ineligible

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: TRUMP

Ineligible

 

It is insufficient that he openly

sympathized with white supremacists

 

It is insufficient that he neglected a

global pandemic

 

It is insufficient that he stood with

the international enemies of democracy

 

It is insufficient that he pressured a

foreign leader to serve his political cause

 

It is insufficient that he served a foreign

adversary in degrading our allies

 

It is insufficient that his only legislative

accomplishment was a tax break for the

corporate elite

 

It is insufficient that he profited

from holding high office

 

But when he called for, organized and

incited insurrection he became ineligible

for the presidency

 

Redemption

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: TRUMP

Redemption

 

They say he is redeemed

He was a man of sin

But he has bowed before the lord

He is not who he has been

He has yielded to temptation

But now he stays the course

But you cannot have redemption

Without remorse

 

He acknowledges his sins

But that was in the past

Would he do it all again?

How long would it last?

He pleads for his redemption

Now that justice is on course

But you cannot have redemption

Without remorse

 

He is obsessed with vengeance

His mind is filled with grief

He is willing to show sorrow

But it defies belief

The threat of years in prison

Is a powerfully moving force

And you cannot have redemption

Without remorse

 

The Pledge (America)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

The Pledge (Equality for All)

 

America!

Never have you woven such a tale

A man so brazen and so craven

All tests of credibility would fail

 

America!

We have chosen crooked men before

The epically immoral and amoral

But never one so twisted to the core

 

America!

You will survive this horrible attack

There always has and will be traitors

But the people rise to fight it back

 

America!

Your history is one of moral compromise

Genocide and slavery and liberty denied

In time you’ve learned to be more wise

 

America!

Bow your head in mortal shame

We should have known he was a snake

Take a vow to never say his name

 

America!

We stand as one and fight for you

You are the greatest hope of humankind

We pray your cause is just and true

 

America!

We work so that your honor will not fall

For everyone who pledges to your flag

For liberty justice and equality for all

 

Thirty-Seven Counts

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Thirty-seven Counts

 

Thirty-seven counts of federal crime

Not a single one is treason

Many counts of misconduct

Many more of malfeasance

 

When will he be brought to bear

For inciting a mob to violence

For organizing a coup d’état

The highest of all offense

 

He made a fool of government

He used us to make money

Some laughed at his buffoonery

But it was never really funny

 

Now he must go to trial

To stand before judge and jury

If they want to convict him

They’d better do it in a hurry

 

Thirty-seven counts of negligence

Thirty-seven counts of losing

Counts of hiding evidence

Does he still find it so amusing?

 

The Arraignment

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

The Arraignment

 

Lord knows it took a while

The squeaky wheels of justice turn

The former leader goes to trial

The flames of payback burn

 

The man no one could ever touch

Who always skated ‘round the law

His confidence was way too much

His manners much too raw

 

But time runs out for everyone

The proudest and the best

The slumlord’s spoiled little son

Did not survive his latest test

 

He can’t believe what’s going down

How can this world be so unfair?

I’m the man who sold this town!

Sorry Donald, no one cares

 

Therefore I Won

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

Therefore I Won (Ode to the Don)

 

I was winning; therefore I won

  You must wait until it’s done

  The song’s not over until it’s sung

But I was winning; therefore I won

 

Do not be a fool my friend

The race is run until the end

There is no trophy to be held

Until the enemy is felled

 

But I was winning; therefore I won

  A greater folly cannot be known

My wife, my daughter and my sons

  In time you will atone

They all agree I am the one

  The truth comes when you’re alone

Who never loses, always wins

  It is a long and sorry tome

Losing is a sin

 

I was winning; therefore I won 

MAGA

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

MAGA

 

Madmen and grifters arise!

Politicians in disguise

The mother of all gargantuan asses

It cuts across all classes

Muse of ghoulish antebellum gardeners

Saddle up and hop on pardners

Morons and goose-steppers act

White is right and that’s a fact

Meddling awful greasy antagonists

All eyes drawn to our protagonist

Moping in agreement, groaning ascent

The mood is up, the mind is bent

As modern ancients gain anxiety

A scourge upon our whole society

Milling arachnids give us answers

It spreads like a malignant cancer

Maudlin associates in Greater Antilles

The very thought gives me the willies

Make it all go away

We don’t need them today

 

Accused!

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR:  POETRY OF POLITICS

Accused!

 

Mr. President: You stand accused!

 

Of summoning the power of state

To overrule the will of the people

And overturn a free and fair election

 

You stand accused!

 

Of undermining our democracy

With every breath you take

With every false declaration

With every truth you forsake

 

You stand accused!

 

Of enticing military officers

Gutless leaders and public officials

To undertake a graceless coup

A betrayal of epic proportions

In plain broad view

 

You stand accused!

 

Of disgracing the office you hold

The empire you once led

And the party you still lead

You’ve bled it till it’s dead

 

You stand accused!

 

Of inciting militia and gun owners

To violence on the streets

A rebel force to rise

To take and give their lives

So that you may gather riches

In schemes that you’ve devised

 

You stand accused!

 

Of abandoning all reason

Of betraying all principle

Of shaming the heart of shame

And tainting your family name

Now until the end of time

You’ve only yourself to blame

 

You sir stand accused!

 

How do you plead?

Guilty! Guilty!

And guilty again! 

 

(regards to Emile Zola)

 

GO BOLD! DEFEATING TRUMP IN 2020

--> JAZZMAN CHRONICLES:  DEFEATING TRUMP

THE PRAGMATIC PATH TO DEFEAT IN 2020

By Jack Random

“I think the base of the party wants bold leadership right now, and they might start wondering why the Speaker of the House and the party leader is spending time attacking progressive members. And down the road, they might start wondering what other House leadership might look like.” 

Waleed Shahid, Justice Democrats

There is a war going on within the Democratic Party, pitting the young and dynamic Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez against the elder Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.  It might surprise diehard Republicans that the woman they have vilified for the last three decades represents the moderate voice of the party. 

If we have learned anything from history it is this:  Today’s moderate is tomorrow’s conservative.  The future belongs to the young, the bold and the progressive. 

Say hello to a brave new world, Nancy Pelosi:  Your time has passed.  Yes, you made a point that I made four years ago by paraphrasing Trump’s motto:  Make America White Again.  But when the best you could do in response to Trump’s racist attack on four new members of the House is an invitation for the White House to join you in immigration reform, your time has passed.  You come up short.  You stand in the way of badly need change. 

The resolution of the internal Democratic Party conflict in favor of Ocasio-Cortez is as inevitable as the finality of the third act.  That same conflict is playing out in the selection of a candidate to oppose Donald Trump in the coming presidential election.  On that the future of the republic, the free world and the planet depends on a wise and astute resolution. 

The conflict is between the moderates who have governed the party virtually unrivaled since the election of Bill Clinton and the true progressives who have always been the neglected heart and soul of the party.  The moderates have always argued that the time’s not right to stand up for principles.  We have to be rational.  We have to be willing to bend, to compromise and to work with the other side.  The true progressives always counter:  If not now, when?  We’ve played your game too long.  We’ve waited for meaningful, fundamental change too long.  The time is now!  The people are yearning for change!  Then we give way.

The American electorate is as rational as a caged beast.  The political class repeatedly struggles to make sense of that which does not make sense.  Why did working people vote for Ronald Reagan?  Reagan did more than any other single president to destroy the middle class by eviscerating trade unions in America.  Did workers understand this?  Did they act rationally in assuring the demise of their children’s future? 

Did the American electorate act rationally in electing George W. Bush to not one but two terms in office?  After he had revealed himself a front for the neocon war machine led by his vice president, the people rewarded him with a mandate to continue the destruction?  After he came as close as any leader could to triggering a worldwide depression, who’s to say we would not have given him yet another chance?  After all, he seemed a good old boy. 

Democrat Bill Clinton did more than any other president to close the gap between conservative and liberal, Republican and Democrat, by selling out the fundamental principles of his own party.  Clinton transformed the Democrats into a party of Wall Street with a conscience on social issues ensuring that the people would have even less of a choice than they had before.  Still, the people rewarded him with two terms in the White House. 

It can be argued that the two-party system has offered little choice in selecting a president.  It is undeniable that the Electoral College and systemic corruption often allow for rule by the minority but it does not follow that Americans are rational in casting their votes. 

Reagan represented government of the rich, for the elite and by the privileged yet he is worshipped to this day by ordinary Americans who still remember the iconic leader as their man.  George W. Bush should never have won a first term no less a second and Bill Clinton is still held in high regard among old-line Democrats. 

Americans are not rational.  We are as a group unpredictable and instinctive.  We choose presidents like we select salad dressing:  We stick to what we know and trust unless something catches our eye.  If we’re born Republican we vote Republican unless someone gives us a compelling reason to change.  If our parents voted Democrat we vote Democrat without regard for the issues.  It’s a team sport and we inherit our allegiances. 

Choosing a president according to the law of electability is doomed to failure and always has been.  Donald Trump stole the last presidential election from a field of Republican has-beens and Hillary Clinton because he offered something completely different.  Like Bernie Sanders on the other side, he stood out.  Like a rock star on a stage with folk musicians, he commanded the spotlight.  Rationally, he didn’t stand a chance.  But Americans were and remain sick of the standard politician.  No one believed a word Clinton spoke because she didn’t believe it.  She played out the script without passion or conviction.  Trump called bullshit and with a little help from his friends in Moscow and the Electoral College he took down the political establishment and stood it on its head. 

Four years later we are walking down the same tired path that gave us the least inspired choice from a field of uninspired choices: the path of pragmatism.  The argument goes:  We don’t really care what the candidate stands for as long as he or she can knock Trump around and send him back to Manhattan to face the wrath of justice.  When you start with a false premise, a series of false conclusions follow:  Hillary Clinton lost and Hillary Clinton is a woman; therefore a woman cannot beat Donald Trump.  Trump is a backlash to a black president; therefore only a white candidate can beat Trump. 

These are profoundly wrong conclusions founded on a desperately wrong premise. 

Allow me to play the pundit for one slim moment:  Donald Trump will beat back a pragmatic candidate like a dirty old rug.  Pragmatism is the great compromise.  It is neither left nor right.  It lacks passion because it has no principles or values to guide it.  Pragmatism is afraid of words like socialism, radical and leftist.  A pragmatist trembles at the slightest hint of criticism.  Pragmatism is afraid to call a racist a racist.  A pragmatist follows every statement of substance with a qualifier:  We have to address climate change as the crisis it is but we have to do it in a way that doesn’t damage our economic interests.  We have to get out of Afghanistan but we must protect our strategic interests. 

If it sounds familiar it should.  Kamala Harris wants to withdraw from Afghanistan but “in a responsible way.”  [1]

Former VP Joe Biden supported the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan but now wants us to believe he will end those conflicts.  Biden favored the Trans Pacific Partnership though he insists he supports Fair Trade.  His current positions are as clear as mud, suggesting a strategy of triangulation if not obfuscation.  He doesn’t want you to know what his positions are; he just wants you to trust him. 

Biden opposes Medicare for All because it will spell the end of Obamacare.  He doesn’t seem to realize how badly Obamacare has failed to control the costs of healthcare.  He wants us to know that our taxes will go up but it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that if you eliminate a trillion dollar industry – the health insurance industry – ordinary people will save a great deal despite a raise in taxes. 

Senators Cory Booker and Amy Klobuchar deliver the progressive positions on trade policy and universal healthcare but when push comes to shove they tend to fall back:  Don’t let perfect be the enemy of the good.  [2]

We know.  We understand.  We didn’t let “perfect” stand in the way of Obama’s retrograde compromises on trade (Trans-Pacific Partnership), healthcare (he didn’t even propose the public option) or the longest war in American history (Afghanistan).  We didn’t let “perfect” get in the way of nominating Hillary Clinton.  The progressive left is famous for compromise.  It’s what we’ve always done.  Maybe it’s time we tried something new. 

If you really want to lose to Donald Trump again go down that middle road.  Say goodbye to an army of activists eager to walk precincts and work the phones for a candidate they can believe in.  Nominate a moderate and he’ll be back-stepping from the first debate to Election Day. 

That’s the day we lose.  Again.  To Donald J. Trump. 

If you want to win, nominate someone who possesses the courage of her convictions.  Nominate someone who will call a spade a spade and a Trump a Trump.  Nominate someone who is not afraid of words.  Nominate someone who will fire back when fired on. 

There’s still plenty of time for a candidate to emerge from the pack.  There’s still time for those who have flirted with moderation to find stronger ground.  I’m waiting.  America is waiting.  We don’t want another four minutes of Donald Trump – no less four years. 

Stand up for the people!  Stand up for impeachment!  Stand up for Ocasio-Cortez and the Justice Democrats!  Stand up for Fair Trade, an end to stupid wars and universal healthcare. 

Stand up and you will be amazed at how many of us stand ready to follow. 

Jazz.

1.  Rachel Maddow Show, January 23, 2019.

2.  The People’s View.  “Enemies Among Us:  An Open Letter to Those Attacking Senator Cory Booker,” January 15, 2019.

TRUMP, COHEN & MANIFORT: IT'S ALL ABOUT THE MONEY

JAZZMAN CHRONICLES IN THE AGE OF TRUMP

THE CARDINAL LIE:

A SELF-FUNDED CANDIDATE

By Jack Random

“By self-funding my campaign, I am not controlled by my donors, special interest groups or lobbyists.  I am only working for the people of the U.S.!” 

Donald J. Trump, Facebook September 5, 2015

Does anyone still remember the promise Donald Trump gave when he first announced that he would run for the highest office in the land?  It was one of a number of points that actually seemed to make sense:  Why elect a rich man?  Because he doesn’t owe anything to anyone. 

Like so much of what Trump said or promised, it was not true.  It was always a lie.  From the very beginning Trump solicited contributions from the elite of the Republican Party.  In the beginning he did not get contributions from the elite because they didn’t want him to be their candidate.  After he clinched the nomination, however, they fell in line and Trump’s promise of self-financing became the lie it had always been. 

Trump spent an estimated $66 million of his own money on the 2016 campaign.  According to Open Secret, he had twelve corporate donors of one million or more.  The largest by far was the giant hedge fund firm Renaissance Technologies at over $15 million.  Other big donors included the professional wrestling organization McMahon Ventures, Disney, real estate broker GH Palmer and assorted corporate entities in finance, entertainment, banking and gambling. 

In typical pay-to-play fashion at least six big time donors were rewarded with executive appointments, including restaurant executive Andrew Puzder, Secretary of Labor (since departed), wrestling magnate Linda McMahon, head of the Small Business Administration, charter school promoter Betsy DeVos, Secretary of Education, TD Ameritrade’s Todd Ricketts Deputy Commerce Secretary, Steven Mnuchin of Goldman Sachs, Secretary of the Treasury, and billionaire investor and Bank of Cyprus executive Wilbur Ross, Commerce Secretary. 

This is not how you drain the swamp.  This is how you populate the swamp with the vilest creatures on earth. 

As of July 2018 Trump had raised $88 million for his 2020 campaign.  While most of it came from small donors – the self-flagellating fools known as Trump’s base – large donors (over $100,000) included Texas banker Andrew Beal, real estate baron and Kushner partner Stanley Chera, Los Angeles real estate baron Geoffrey Palmer and casino executive Cherna Moskowitz. 

Whatever you otherwise think of Donald Trump, his campaign is not and never was self-financed or free of obligation to big-time donors.  In fact the evidence suggests that Trump and family run the White House as a money-generating operation.  Those who wish to curry favor or buy a few minutes with the leader of the western world are encouraged to stay at one of the president’s luxury resorts.  Big time donors might get a round of golf with the Donald at one of his championship golf courses. 

In the first year of his presidency, according to a report by Public Citizen, no less that 64 politicians, interest groups, corporations and entities affiliated with foreign governments spent hundreds of thousands at Trump properties.  Foreign entities included Malaysia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.  Domestic entities included the coal magnate William Koch, a private prison corporation and the Chamber of Commerce. 

The Donald told the nation he divested interest in his company and business interest, handing control to his sons and promising not to discuss business with them for the length of his presidency.  We are compelled to take his word for now.  The Trump real estate empire sold over $35 million worth of properties in 2017 to anonymous buyers – that’s right, anonymous buyers.  How is that even possible? 

Those who have dealt with Donald Trump as a businessman know that he’s always been a con man and a hustler.  He’s gamed the system for all its worth as a casino owner and real estate developer.  His son-in-law Jared Kushner is sitting on one of the worst investments in recorded history: 666 Fifth Avenue – a tower of offices bought at the peak of the real estate bubble. 

It is not a coincidence that no American banks will loan Kushner or the Trumps money – even those who contributed to his campaign.  If they were ever held to account on their properties they might find themselves in bankruptcy court once again. 

Is it possible they would attempt to use the power and prestige of the White House to pull out of debt and turn a profit?  There is nothing in their history to suggest they would not.  There’s a lot to indicate they fully intend to make as much money from Donald’s accidental presidency as they can.  Never waste an opportunity. 

If Trump goes down -- and I am among those who believe he will – it will probably not be the Russian spymaster connection but his life-long crooked financial dealings.  There is a reason Trump attempted to draw a red line for the Mueller investigation:  Stay out of the family finances.  It is not by coincidence that Mueller hired a team of experts in money laundering and corporate fraud – Trump family specialties.  It is why Mueller successfully subpoenaed records from Deutsche Bank – one of the few institutions to work with Trump and family.  The German bank has reportedly loaned Trump’s real estate ventures hundreds of millions of dollars, while extending generous lines of credit to the Kushners. 

In 2014, long before anyone considered the man a serious politician, Trump bought a couple of golf courses in Scotland and Ireland for $79.7 million, an estate in Scotland for $12.6 million, a winery in Virginia for $16.2 million.  Trump’s confidential adviser, sketchy attorney and sometimes fixer Michael Cohen sold four buildings in Manhattan at three times their buying price three years prior.  Cohen appears to have used a shell company for the deal. 

The deals are shady for a number of reasons:  First, Mr. Trump went on his spending spree during a global real estate crash?  He was reportedly buried in debt so where did the money come from?  Second, why did Trump use Cohen and a shell company to sell his Manhattan properties, who was the buyer and why did they overpay? 

Trump and company suffers from an apparent duck problem.  He covers his deals with layers of deception, fake companies, false names and unnamed investors.  If it looks crooked and walks crooked, it probably is crooked. 

According to former Treasury agent John Cassara:  “Real estate is a big issue for money laundering.  It has been for a long time.  If you’ve got a condo or a shopping center or a golf course…the authorities aren’t going to look at that.  Once you see property, it’s assumed that’s good, that’s a legitimate investment.” 

Why did you think the Kushners and the Trumps went into the business?  It was a natural fit.  In a strange way I feel sorry for Paul Manafort and Michael Cohen.  They’re the little guys.  The two-bit cons who got caught up in the big boy’s game.  They’re the guys who are supposed to take the fall.  Layers and layers of big money deniability protect the Trumps and the Kushners.

In the end it will not even matter whether Trump conspired with the Russians to game the American election.  It will only matter that our president is a crook.  He has made a great deal of money over a great length of time by nefarious means.  He has engaged in money laundering, fraud, tax evasion and who knows what other financial crimes. 

If he didn’t want us to know about it, he should not have run for president.  If he didn’t want to be exposed, he should not have won the presidency.  In his heart of hearts, I think the president knows as much.  He wasn’t supposed to win. 

Jazz.

“The real reason Donald Trump self-financed his primary campaign,” Vox, 18 July 2016. 

“Six donors that Trump appointed gave almost $12 million with their families to back his campaign and the party” by Matea Gold and Anu Narayanswamy.  Washington Post, 9 December 2016. 

“$88 Million and Counting: Trump Amasses Huge Head Start for 2020 Campaign” by Kenneth P. Vogel and Rachel Shorey.  New York Times, 15 July 2018. 

“Trump Properties Earned a Fortune from GOP and Foreign Governments During President’s First Year: Report” by Grace Guarnieri.  Newsweek, 16 January 2018. 

“Point of View: Regarding the Trump-Russia probe, follow the money” by Jennifer Rubin.  Palm Beach Post, 12 January 2018. 

“Want to Bring Down Donald Trump? Follow the People who Follow the Money” by Rebecca Gordon.  Tom Dispatch, 30 April 2018. 

“If Trump is Laundering Russian Money, Here’s How it Works” by Garrett M. Graff.  Wired, 11 May 2018.