The State of the Union (in B flat)

We don't need you to tell us what the state of the union is, Mr. Obama.
We're living in it.
Maybe you should ask us instead.

You want to know what the state of the union is?
It stinks.
And you can’t blame Bush anymore.
This god-awful mess is all yours, Baby.

What have you accomplished in your first year?
It’s an impressive list.
Here are just a few of the highlights:

1. You’ve escalated unlawful wars in Pakistan and Yemen.

2. You’ve continued the unlawful war in Iraq and you’ve escalated the unlawful war in Afghanistan.

3. You’ve escalated rhetoric to expand unlawful war in Iran, including an official policy of first-strike use of nuclear weapons if we think Iran might possibly be a threat. Maybe. Someday.

4. You’ve refused to prosecute torturers and other war criminals and in so doing have become an accessory after the fact in their crimes.

5. You have claimed the authority to torture, imprison or even murder American citizens upon pronouncing them ineligible for the inalienable rights guaranteed by our Constitution.

6. You’ve continued and expanded the shamefully unlawful and tyrannical practices of indefinite detention and rendition.

7. You’ve facilitated the largest transfer of taxpayer wealth to the elite corporate class in American history. No easy task, that.

8. You’ve increased the already-bloated military budget to even more staggering heights while neglecting everything else.

9. You’ve increased the militarization of law enforcement to the extent that we’ll now have the same trigger-happy nitwits patrolling our streets as we have indiscriminately gunning down innocent people in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

10. And, oh yes, now you’ve apparently invaded Haiti.


People are unemployed.
They’re losing their homes.
They can’t afford health care, and more and more of those troops you and your cronies use once then throw away, are living on the street.
Our roads and bridges are in ill repair, half our kids can’t read and the other half can’t find America on a world map.
Fire/rescue/EMS resources are strapped, the cops are out of control, and the Supreme Court has decided that while Guantanamo prisoners are not “persons,” corporations are.

That’s the state of the fucking union, Mr. President.

And it stinks.

Thanks a lot.



sj