Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

State of the Union—or state of Capitalist decay?
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
12 Mar 2025
🖨️ Print Article
Donald Trump State of the Union
Photo: ABC News

“Every man for himself
and the devil take the hindmost.”

Something’s soothing, lobotomizing, about the snotty
Voice flooding from Fox-boxes. Something’s
Lobotomizing about an ignorant comedian coming to
Kill—but bombing—yet, still killing …

Something’s soothing about Jumping Jack Fascists—
Springing up at every absurd utterance and
Thunder of rattling rubbish. Their hand bones
Fracturing from clapping so damn loud—so long …

Something’s soothing about Jumping Jack Fascists
Springing up like they got the Holy Ghost! Fits of
Ecstasy applauding poor people used as props—
Mascots—human shields for class war’s unpopular policies

Something’s soothing about Jumping Jack Fascists
Springing up, sane-washing a lipsticked pig. And face-
Lifting lies about capitalism’s impossible promises to
The People …

Forked tongue tour de force— False from beginning to
End. 1hour, 40 minute Mussolini masterpiece. Il DOGE
Smashed Dr. Goebbels’ Guinness Book of Records for
Orwellian wizardry: misinformation/disinformation/1/2 truths/big lies.

Barren make believe desert. Echo chamber of hollow mockery—
Hypocrisy, humbuggery/thuggery, treachery, treason, truth-less-
Ness and alternative facts where up is down. Bad’s good. Worse
Is better. Woke's worrisome/and straw’s spun orange into fools gold …

Leaning in, listening to bosh-laden blizzards of fabrications—
Falsifications— bleached bone white lies—but not eating the
Dogma does cause trauma. Trauma of two car crashes;
Three boxing matches; And four NFL and hockey games …

Blitzkrieg! Warp speed war on the working-class—
Moving fast! Breaking things! Things shoe leather, steel spines,
Blood and grit won working people long, long ago.
Things we long to make more muscular, more robust. And for all …

© 2025. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.

Raymond Nat Turner is a NYC poet; BAR's Poet-in-Residence; and founder/co-leader of the jazz-poetry ensemble UpSurge!NYC. You can Vote for his work at GoFundMe and PayPal.

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles? Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


More Stories


  •  Creating Ownership, Equity and Income for College Athletes
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
    Creating Ownership, Equity and Income for College Athletes
    25 Aug 2020
    “College sports is a highly exploitive system where predominantly Black players in football and basketball generate all the income, but the only group that isn’t positively impacted is the families
  • Free All Political Prisoners – and Say Their Names!
    Glen Ford, BAR Executive Editor
    Free All Political Prisoners – and Say Their Names!
    19 Aug 2020
    It is righteous and correct to say the names of victims of police violence, but we must also “Say the names!” of our living political prisoners.
  • Freedom Rider: “Feet to the Fire” and Other Lies
    Margaret Kimberley, BAR senior columnist
    Freedom Rider: “Feet to the Fire” and Other Lies
    19 Aug 2020
    When the Democratic Party ends its charade of a primary process and spits out the person most closely aligned with neo-liberal policies, the gas lighting begins.
  • Trump is Wrong, Joe Biden is not the “Radical Left.” He is an Enemy of Humanity
    Danny Haiphong, BAR Contributing Editor
    Trump is Wrong, Joe Biden is not the “Radical Left.” He is an Enemy of Humanity
    19 Aug 2020
    Both candidates are jockeying for who can best gaslight the U.S. public into remaining loyal to one side of the two-party corporate duopoly or the other.
  • Biden’s Philly Headquarters Rents a Fence to Stop the Poor People’s Army
    Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    Biden’s Philly Headquarters Rents a Fence to Stop the Poor People’s Army
    19 Aug 2020
    Cheri Honkala tells Ann Garrison that the Biden campaign headquarters threw up a rent-a-fence when they heard the Poor People’s Army was coming.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us