pomes of buddy don: In Our Fear

In Our Fear

The US Constitution broke the mold –
The first to replace monarchy with laws,
A document as brave as it is bold
For which no fear should change a single clause.

Yet terrorists use horrendous actions,
In hopes they can fill all of us with fear,
For only in our overboard reactions
Can their evil intentions persevere.

For they would cower the home of the brave –
And curtail rights in the land of the free –
Convert our land to tyranny’s poor slave:
Those ruled by fear can have no liberty.

Our forefathers gave fortune, lives and fame,
To secure freedom at such grievous cost –
If we should lose it, who deserves the blame?
Or in our fear will we know what we’ve lost?

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pomes of buddy don: The Craven

The Craven
(with apologies to Edgar Allen Poe)

Once upon a newsday showing on TV the pundits glowing
Over many a quaint and curious question from us all –
While I viewed it nearly sleeping, frustrated almost to weeping
At the strange responses coming, coming like a newsy scrawl
That was scrambled, jumbled, jangled till I could not read it all
“Perhaps,” I thought, “the font’s too small.”

Ah, distinctly I can see it: Alfredo, he wished to flee it,
Dodging the interogation like it was a funeral pall –
Senators, they sought an answer, but the AG was a dancer,
Dancing round the questions asked him like a tumbler on a ball,
Hiding honesty he owed us, with the words we hate to scrawl:
Quoth the craven, “Don’t recall.”

These two words he kept repeating, like a lost lamb bleating, bleating,
As if wolves were threatening to beat and eat him in a brawl –
Could there be no truth inside him? or no laws to stand astride him
As he showed the world a strain of pure unprecedented gaul?
Or were we to sit and gaze, amazed and yet still held in thrall?
Quoth the craven, “Don’t recall”

One could write a thousand verses and not cover all the curses
That our very founding fathers would so horribly appall –
Did they risk their reputations, lives and fortunes in creation
Of our nation just so such evil misfortune could befall
Us in a time of war, a time when good men should stand tall?
Quoth the craven, “Don’t recall.”

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pomes of buddy don: The Freedom We Held Dear

The Freedom We Held Dear

The British couldn’t do it though they tried
When thirteen colonies were all we were –
We would not let the fear of death decide
Which form of government we would prefer.

And in this land of partisan extremes
Even the civil war could not rewrite
The liberty and freedom of our dreams
For though divided, fear was not our plight.

Nor could the powers of last century –
The Nazis and the Soviets and more –
Divert us from our place in history
Or sacrifice the rights that we adore.

And yet in six short years through use of fear
We’ve given up the freedom we held dear.

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pinions of buddy don: ifn ye bleeve that

thays a bridge over in brooklyn that mayhap ye dun herd bout. tiz a beeyooty. heres a pitcher of how it looks whenever yer jes steppin onto it ...



member them prossecutin atturneys that wuz fired? twuz jes fer performants. ifn ye bleeve that, ye kin buy that bridge.

tiz a good bridge, with views of the statchew of liberty way off in the distunts, witch i aint sayin liberty gittin so small aint no metafor fer nuthin ...



them same prossecutin atturneys wudnt fired on a counta pallticks, nor fer not heppin them publicans win eleckshuns by investigatin voter fraud whar thay wudnt nun, witch thats a nuthern ye need to bleeve ifn ye wonta buy that bridge.

but that bridge is wurth it! ye kin see how tiz useful fer carryin traffick from brooklyn over to man hattan or vice uh versa ...



n corse, dint alberto gonzalez have nuthin to do with the firin of them atturneys neether, on a counta how hes a grate atturney general of these here united states, witch i real eyes the list of thangs ye gut to bleeve is long.

but tiz a grate bridge ye kin buy ifn ye kin jes bleeve it all. ye git grate views of famus bildins into the bargain! that thar woolworth bildin, fer instunts, witch tiz a worl class beeyooty ...



corse, karl rove dint have nuthin to do with firin them atturneys on a counta everthang he duz is pure pallticks n thay wudnt nuthin pallitickull bout them firins, witch ifn ye bleeve everthang up to now ye wood shorely bleeve that since ye wood bleeve innythang.

sides that, tiz a bridge that brangs folks frum all over, even film makers ...



finely, it goes without sayin that mr bush dint have nuthin, i reepeat, nuthin to do with it. not atall nohow. noway.

that bridge is well cunstructed, even bettern sum lies that sum folks tells, n taint lackly to fall apart n i have herd ye kin git it fer about a hundert dollars, ifn ye kin bleeve ...



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pitchers tuck by buddy don: shine the lite on liberty

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pomes of buddy don: It Is Not Stomach

It Is Not Stomach

The enemy's emboldened still (would someone tell Bob Gates?),
Our use of free speech will not make him bolder.
If exercise of liberty is what he denigrates,
Must we allow our Bill of Rights to moulder?

We do not seem to understand you can't kill an idea
With all the weapons man has yet devised.
How contradictory to think of war as panacea –
For shock and awe just leave us more despised.

The terrorists have no set number that we have to kill
Until terror's cruel practice is no more –
For terrorists are made when demagogues claim it God's will
To use the Devil's arts to practice war.

To win we must take higher moral ground: that's everything–
It is not stomach that we lack but Gandhi, Christ and King.

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pomes of buddy don: We Were the Great Republic

We Were the Great Republic

We were the great republic – we were free –
Governed by law and not the whim of man –
A shining beacon was our destiny –
The best democracy since time began.

No one could be arrested without charge –
Imprisoned on suspicion, nothing more –
With speedy trials, convicted or discharged –
We were presumed not guilty – but no more ...

For now the president simply proclaims
A citizen's a danger to our nation –
After which he never clears his name –
Instead he suffers harsh interrogation.

The man who swore he'd guard our constitution
Has gladly signed its writ of execution.


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pomes of buddy don: What Good Is Freedom?

What Good Is Freedom?

Once we were known as the land of the brave
A great people proud to die or live free.
But magnified fears, a tsunami wave,
Convinced us to rewrite our own history.

Instead of brave people, who fear only fear,
We've become cowards who fall for sound bites.
The fighting's for those who must volunteer
Meanwhile let's rewrite that old bill of rights.

For what good is freedom from six feet under?
What good is freedom with terrorists near?
Our president's voice, it rings out like thunder
To scare everyone each election year.

We thought our ideals were manna from heaven,
Now we forsake them as pre-9/11!

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song parodies of buddy don: America?

America?

My country, 'tis of thee
Land of security, with thee I fear!
Land where my fathers quail
Scared that death might prevail
Liberty has to fail – life is too dear!

My native country, you,
Land where fearmongers spew embellished threats!
We love thy guns and tanks,
For bugged phones we give thanks –
Freedom's for left-wing cranks – have no regrets!

Let rock songs make the list
Give their meanings a twist, sweet right-wing song
Make all things fit our view
Whether they're false or true
Long as we can construe as right what's wrong.

Our father's God, you see,
Demands security – He wants us scared!
Long may your spin produce
Panic that can induce
All of us to turn loose rights we once shared.

My country, 'twas of thee
Sweet land of liberty, for thee I cry
Where freedom once was deemed
Worth more than death, esteemed
Fair price for all we dreamed would never die.


i writ thisn after readin that book name of How Would a Patriot Act by Glenn Greenwald. whut happend to a land founded by folks that wood give up life fer liberty?

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pomes of buddy don: Whom Shall We Trust?

Whom Shall We Trust?

Whom shall we trust to protect and preserve
Our way of life and our constitution,
If the executive, sworn to conserve
It, uses its power for retribution?

Will it be congress to balance and check
Assertions of powers never defined
To let the president's statements reject
The clear intent of the law he just signed?

Or will the courts stand up to proclaim
That even the president must obey
The laws of the land and the very same
Ideals that he vowed never to betray?

Or will we trade cheap our sweet liberty
For the false promise of security?


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pomes of buddy don: Or Would That Be Classified Too?

Would That Be Classified Too?

How many plots have we identified
How many bombings obstructed?
Were the plots local or were they worldwide?
And how many have we abducted
And jailed without true judicial review?
Or would that be classified too?

And how many terrorists have we bagged
In casting our nets so wide?
How many evil-doers have we snagged?
And were they indicted and finally tried
In courts, whether legal or kangaroo?
Or would that be classified too?

How has the Patriot act been abused
To target the presidents foes?
And how do we know if it's ever been used
To threaten those who oppose
Whatever the president wants to pursue?
Or would that be classified too?

Are our votes counted?
Our voices heard?
Do we even matter?
Or is it absurd
That we the people believe we do?
Or would that be classified too?


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pomes of buddy don: You Need Not Be Proved Guilty

You Need Not Be Proved Guilty

You need not be proved guilty to sustain
More troubles than you ever could expect –
For if the president should ascertain –
From phone records he claims he may collect –
That your calling patterns might contain
Suggestions that you might just be suspect –
You could lose the few rights you think remain
And be thrown into prison to protect
Your fellow citizens, for to be plain
They cannot risk the chance you might defect!

Such is the price we pay if we neglect
To keep the president's power in check.

pomes of buddy don: The Bee and The Weevil

The Bee and The Weevil

Some folks compare Bush to Richard Nixon
In terms of arrogance and power lust,
But Bush's nasty habit of affixin'
Signing statements to the laws he doesn't trust
Shows that in terms of presidential evil
Nixon was the bee and Bush the weevil.

full disclozure: i voted fer richard nixon in my furst chants to vote, 1972. i wuz verr disappointed at whut cum after that, but the differnts twixt the two publicans is this: when the publick wuz shown the depth of nixons presidentchull violayshuns, he had the good sense to resine. bush is differnt: he brags about the laws he intends not to execute, not to uphold, but to brake. whenever he duz that, he violates the oath he tuck to uphold the constitushun.

i am hopin that arlen specter kin be this generayshuns howard baker ("What did the President know and when did he know it?"). but i fear he will be brung under the wheel lack ever other publican. i pray fer a patriot to emerge frum amung them publicans, but seems lack we only git partisans. we will see whuther arlen specter cums thru on this: Hearing vowed on Bush's powers; Senator questions bypassing of laws.

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pomes of buddy don: He Is a Crook!

He Is a Crook!

Oh ours is a land of laws, not of men,
Our freedoms fixed by our constitution
And our bill of rights, which we will defend
To the death – be there no substitution!

Yet though we spend more than all other states
Combined on our military machines,
We live as though we were in desperate straits
As if we could be blown to smithereens!

Is there an army, alliance or state
With power enough to invade and win?
No, Sir! For our freedoms to disintegrate
The attack would have to come from within.

And there is the danger, be not mistook,
For our leader admits he is a crook!

pomes of buddy don: They Hate Us For Our Freedoms

They Hate Us For Our Freedoms

They hate us for our freedoms as I'm sure you've heard us say –
So why not make them hate us less by taking some away?
Especially since by doing so, with luck we might detect
The dangerous among the very folks we must protect?
Trust us, we were guided by the very best intentions –
So what if we defied some constitutional conventions?

The fact is we did nothing that should be called "malicious"
By spying on our citizens to see who is suspicious.
We needed to hear what was said whenever someone talked –
We would have asked to change the law but Congress might have balked!
And why should we reveal our hand to some top secret court
Whose judges might not understand this is no easy sport?

Our enemy is not a state – our war can have no end –
If civil rights are in the way, they'll simply have to bend!

pomes of buddy don: two vues

one vue

If we cannot violate
The constitution we defend,
How can we annhilate
The enemies who wish to end
Our liberty inviolate,
Our rule of law and not of men?

I am the president, you see,
The law's for others, not for me.

nuther vue

The Constitution is a piece of paper, after all.
You could frame a replica and hang it on your wall.
You could treat it as you would the relic of a saint
Could pray to it or worship it, there would be no complaint.

But if you are the president of these United States
You made an oath: article two, section one, clause eight.
From that there is no hint that you could be beyond its reach
Your charge is to defend it; if you don't, you get impeached.

i wunder witch vue will win? i know witchn orta.

songs of buddy don: Watch What You Do

Watch What You Do

You better
Watch what you do
Cause they could be watching you
Big Brother
Big Brother

You Better
Watch what you view
Cause they could be watching too
Big Brother
Big Brother

They can
Watch what you say
And who you say it to
Watch who you call
And who is calling you

That's right!
It's legal!
Big Brother!

You better
Watch what you do
Cause they could be watching too
Big Brother
Big Brother

You better
Watch what you read
Cause it might be a lead
Big Brother
Big Brother

They can
Watch what you know
And what you choose to buy
Watch where you go
With their own private eye

That's right!
It's legal!
Big Brother!

You better
Watch what you do
Cause they could be watching you
Big Brother
Big Brother