We the Dems must show full solidarity
To counter the loathsome barbarity
Of Republican stances,
Whose fright’ning advances
Account for this lack of hilarity.
Archive for the ‘Free Speech’ Category
For Republicans, Free Speech Is In The Ear Of the Hearer
Thursday, April 22nd, 2021Headline: “G.O.P. Bills Target Protesters (and Absolve Motorists Who Hit Them)”
Punish protestors (those who hate Trump)
And it’s fine if cars give ’em a bump.
Drive ’em all out of town.
Even run ’em all down.
That’s the GOP creed on the stump.
Trump Booed At World Series Game Five (Limerick)
Tuesday, October 29th, 2019I couldn’t resist writing a 2-verse limerick about Trump’s ball game boos:
Donald Trump’s unaccustomed to boos;
He’s protected from anti-Trump views.
But a ball game affords
No shelter from hordes
Of folks who don’t follow his cues.
The World Series (Game Five) featured booing
And “lock him up!” chants — worth-pursuing —
All directed at Trump
Who sat on his rump
And glowered, free speech his undoing.
Be Careful What You Ask For (Limerick)
Wednesday, January 13th, 2016I’m amused to see that the rich Republican beneficiaries of ‘Citizens United’ are rather unhappy these days:
“Major GOP donors and fundraisers are wondering whether they’re wasting their money on super-PACs.”
“It’s ‘free speech!’ Let us spend to the max!”
The Supreme Court said “yes” to those hacks,
To the GOP guys
Who thought this was wise:
Buy elections with billionaire PACS.
Having gotten the ‘right’ they demanded,
Any SuperPAC donor who’s candid
Says “My giant transmittal
Of bucks bought me little!
What a waste! Why was ‘free speech’ expanded?”
Weep For The Wealthy (Limerick)
Monday, April 7th, 2014Weep For The Wealthy (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane
Though the wealthy will publicly cheer
As campaign regs get knocked on their rear,
Some privately groan:
“No limits?” they moan.
“Buying pols is becoming too dear!”
Note from Mad Kane: Although I concocted that quote, it may be closer to the truth than you think. Here’s The Weekly Standard’s Bill Kristol, who argued on ABC’s This Week “that not every wealthy donor will embrace the outcome of the McCutcheon case, because they may now be obliged to give more:”
“All the donors I know hate this decision, of course,” he said. “This used to be a very good excuse to say to a candidate, ooh, I’m maxing out, I just can’t help your campaign.”
Free Speech Gets Pricey (Limerick)
Thursday, April 3rd, 2014Free Speech Gets Pricey (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane
Remember “one person, one vote?”
Now “one dollar, one vote’s” what they wrote;
Yes, the U.S. Supremes
Favor money — in reams,
As the rich grab free speech by the throat.
Thanks to the New Yorker’s John Cassidy, for inspiring this limerick with his acerbic comment about McCutcheon v. FEC:
But Wednesday’s decision, once again a five-to-four ruling, represented another significant step away from the antiquated principle of “one person, one vote” toward the more modern, and utilitarian, notion of “one dollar, one vote.”
Supreme Priorities (Limerick)
Wednesday, April 2nd, 2014If you thought the Citizens United ruling undermined democracy, brace yourself: The Roberts court has made things even worse with yet another controversial 5-4 decision in McCutcheon v. FEC. Assaulting campaign finance reform once again, the Supreme Court struck down the aggregate limits on how much an individual can contribute to candidates, parties and political action committees.
As Ari Berman astutely observes:
The Court’s conservative majority believes that the First Amendment gives wealthy donors and powerful corporations the carte blanche right to buy an election but that the Fifteenth Amendment does not give Americans the right to vote free of racial discrimination.
Supreme Priorities
By Madeleine Begun Kane
The Supremes freed the wealthy to buy
Politicians — an endless supply.
Seems “free speech” means “free spending,”
While “voting rights rending”
Isn’t something they care to decry.
Unfair Censorship Of Plame’s Fair Game
Thursday, October 25th, 2007The defendants in Valerie Plame Wilson’s lawsuit against the CIA for censoring her book, Fair Game, had better hope she never gets to trial. I say that because I’ve heard her interviewed several times, and that woman will make one hell of a witness.
Moreover, asserting national security, in order to censor material that’s already in the public domain, sure sounds like revenge censorship to me.
And that brings me to my latest haiku:
Plame’s book censored by
Bush blackguards, who black out truths
Already revealed.
(You can find my Traitorgate song parody about Valerie Plame’s outing here.) [tags]Valerie Plame Wilson, Outing CIA Agent, Fair Game, Plame Censorship, Plame Lawsuit[/tags]
The GOP’s In For A Rudy Awakening
Thursday, June 21st, 2007As a long-time New York City resident, I’m amused by Rudy Giuliani’s candidacy. And I find it ironic that Rudy doesn’t dare brag about the one thing that might appeal to people put off by his pro-choice, pro-gay rights positions — Giuliani’s aggressive stance against free speech.
But understanding irony has never been Rudy’s strong suit. For instance, he’s unlikely to appreciate the irony underlying his running as the security-candidate, after Newsday outed him as a greedy windbag who was forced to drop-out of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group because he was too busy giving lucrative speeches to attend ISG meetings:
The GOP’s In For A Rudy Awakening
By Madeleine Begun Kane
He’ll protect us–that’s Rudy’s motif.
But his claim must defy all belief:
Cause when push comes to shove,
Major wealth’s his first love.
He’s the ISG Drop-Out-In-Chief. [tags]Rudy Giuliani, Security President, ISG, Iraq Study Group, Newsday, New York City, Pro-Choice, Pro-Gay Rights, Free Speech, Security Candidate, Greedy Windbag, Lucrative Speeches[/tags]
Bush’s Language Police Foiled By Bush/Cheney Expletives
Thursday, June 7th, 2007Remember the time Dick Cheney told to Senator Leahy what he could do to himself on the Senate floor? Remember the time George Bush was overheard wishing that someone could get the Hezbollah “to stop doing this [expletive deleted]?” Well, a federal appeals panel remembers and cites these incidents as a basis for shutting down the F.C.C.’s anti-fleeting expletive crusade.
It’s deliciously ironic, don’t you think? And it’s haiku inspiring too:
Fleeting expletives
Uttered by Bush and Cheney
Stymie censorship. [tags]FCC, Bush expletive, Cheney expletive, FCC Censorship[/tags]
Dems Pull Bush’s Chain
Sunday, March 25th, 2007Dems Pull Bush’s Chain
By Madeleine Begun Kane
The Congressional Dems reached a deal.
No, it isn’t ideal, yet I feel
It’s all right—a first step.
Stop this war? Dems said, “Yep!”
As for reining in Bush, they said, “Heel!” [tags]Congress Humor, Iraq War, Spending Bill, House Bill, Rein In Bush, U.S. Troops Readiness, Veterans’ Health and Iraq Accountability Act, Strategic Redeployment, U.S. Troops[/tags]
Why I Don’t Hate My Hate Mail
Tuesday, February 27th, 2007Why I Don’t Hate My Hate Mail
By Madeleine Begun Kane
There are folks quite averse to my verse.
In their emails, perverse, how they curse!
But I never will fret
Over hate mail I get:
This is freedom, for better or worse. [tags]Hate Mail, Political Verse, Angry Email, Political Anger, Freedom Humor, Free Speech, Free Expression[/tags]
Ode To Odious Corporate Personhood
Monday, January 25th, 2010There’s nothing funny about the U.S. Supreme Court’s activist ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. Overruling long-held precedents, it gives corporations free rein to buy political influence, all in the name of “corporate personhood” and “free speech.”
Nor is there anything funny about the hypocrisy of self-described anti-judicial-activism Republicans who laud this calamitous decision.
And, alas, there’s nothing funny about this limerick:
Democracy’s Demise?
By Madeleine Begun Kane
Justice Roberts and co are unbound,
Driving precedents precious aground.
Yet Republicans cheer,
And the sobs that we hear
Are the sounds of democracy drowned.
********
Lance Mannion managed to extract some humor from this judicial travesty.
Tags: Campaign Finance Reform, Citizens United, Corporate Personhood, Democracy, First Amendment, Free Speech, Justice John Roberts, Legal Verse, U.S. Supreme Court
Posted in Campaign Humor, Constitution Humor, Constitutional Crisis, Democracy Humor, Election Satire, FEC Satire, Free Speech, Hypocrisy Humor, Judiciary Satire, Law Satire, Legal Limericks, Political Commentary, Political Limericks, Political Verse, Supreme Court | 3 Comments »