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

How will we pay for it?
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
12 Jan 2022
🖨️ Print Article
How will we pay for it?
M. Wuerker POLITICO Universal Uclick

                                                                                            How will we pay for it?

How will we pay for it?
How will we pay for it:
59 missile shooting spree—
$110, 000 a pop?
Mother Of All Bombs?
A boondoggle bomber?
800 bases in faraway places?
States with more warheads than congress members? A modern-medieval torture
chamber on foreign soil? A weapons lab disguised as an apartheid state?

How will we pay for it?
How will we pay for it:
Surgical strikes on hospitals—
renaming babies Collateral Damage?
Orders to “Light ‘em up!”?
Lethal gifts dropped on wedding parties?
‘Taking out’ other nations’ generals?
Swapping strongmen for wrong men?

How will we pay for it?
How will we pay for it:
Drinking water juiced with jet fuel?
Freedom to breathe blue-black air?
Fracking fluid flavored springs?
Freedom of fires gorging themselves year round?
Freedom of floods to wash away labor’s fruits?

It’s not neurosurgery or rocket science—
and I’m no genius but— I know-I know
I know-I know-I know-I know-I know-I know…
I know-I know-I know-I know-I know-I know…
Tents, tarps, cardboard mattresses—cancer,
Diabetes, tooth decay are one way we pay—
Feel free to fill in anything I’ve missed…
 

© 2022. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.

Former forklift driver/warehouse worker/janitor, 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: https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-town-criers-big-tooth-fund

PayPal: paypal.me/towncrierRNT

Military Industrial Complex

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


Related Stories

Biden has Money for War, but Not for the Poor
Danny Haiphong, BAR Contributing Editor
Biden has Money for War, but Not for the Poor
23 March 2022
Joe Biden and congress have plenty of money for the military industrial complex, but only austerity for the people.
US War Lobby Fuels Conflict in Russia, Ukraine, and Syria: Ex-Pentagon Advisor
Aaron Maté
US War Lobby Fuels Conflict in Russia, Ukraine, and Syria: Ex-Pentagon Advisor
12 January 2022
A former senior advisor at the Pentagon confirms what was obvious to those who pay attention.
Raytheon’s Raven caws “War—Evermore!” Not wind beneath Negroz wings…
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Raytheon’s Raven caws “War—Evermore!” Not wind beneath Negroz wings…
29 September 2021
Afghan Crisis Must End America’s Empire of War, Corruption and Poverty
Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies  
Afghan Crisis Must End America’s Empire of War, Corruption and Poverty
01 September 2021
The U.S.

More Stories


  • International Court of Justice Ruled that Uganda Must Pay $325 Million in Reparations to the Democratic Republic of Congo—But What About U.S. and UK?
    Jeremy Kuzmarov
    International Court of Justice Ruled that Uganda Must Pay $325 Million in Reparations to the Democratic Republic of Congo—But What About U.S. and UK?
    25 May 2022
    The US backed Ugandan government is responsible for looting the Democratic Republic of Congo's resources. They owe a debt but the crime was carried out with help from the US and UK governments and…
  • Revolutionary Cuba Delivers Marching Orders To The US Left To Defeat Imperialism For All Humanity - Are We Listening?
    Jacqueline Luqman
    Revolutionary Cuba Delivers Marching Orders To The US Left To Defeat Imperialism For All Humanity - Are We Listening?
    24 May 2022
    The author reports on her experiences with the May Day International Brigade in Cuba.
  • US Meddling in Colombia’s Election, Warns Left-wing Vice Presidential Candidate Francia Márquez
    Benjamin Norton
    US Meddling in Colombia’s Election, Warns Left-wing Vice Presidential Candidate Francia Márquez
    24 May 2022
    The top vice presidential candidate for Colombia’s May elections, Francia Márquez, called out the US government for meddling in the electoral process. The left-wing activist criticized the war on…
  • Why Are Colombian Election Candidates Auditioning in Washington?
    Roger D. Harris
    Why Are Colombian Election Candidates Auditioning in Washington?
    24 May 2022
    Colombian vice presidential candidates recently appeared at a Town Hall in Washington. The US is determined to exert control, especially over political parties seeking independence and sovereignty…
  • Summit of the Americas: US Policy of Exclusion Undermines its Own Hegemonic Aspirations
    Frederick Mills and William Camacaro
    Summit of the Americas: US Policy of Exclusion Undermines its Own Hegemonic Aspirations
    24 May 2022
    The U.S. decision to exclude Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela from the upcoming Summit of the Americas confirms that the old Monroe Doctrine is alive and well in Washington. But these efforts inevitably…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us