Archive for the ‘Free Speech’ Category
Tuesday, July 14th, 2026
The fine rep of our nation’s been smashed.
Our economy’s ransacked and trashed.
Constitution’s ignored.
Trump starts wars; then gets bored.
Yet that boor plunders on, unabashed.
Tags: Donald Trump, Republicans Humor, Trump, Trump Wars
Posted in Constitution Humor, Constitutional Crisis, Corruption Humor, Crime, Democracy Humor, Donald Trump, Economy Humor, Fiscal Policy, Foreign Policy, Free Speech, Gender Politics, Government Services, Judiciary Satire, Justice Department, Legal Limericks, Legislation Humor, Money & Finance Humor, National Security Humor, Nuclear Weapons, Political Limericks, Political Verse, Politics Satire, States Rights, Supreme Court, Terrorism, Trump, War & Antiwar Poems, White House | No Comments »
Monday, May 1st, 2023
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.
Tags: Abortion Rights, Birth Control, Book Banning Limerick, Campaign Humor, Donald Trump, Election 2024, Election Humor, Election Satire, Feminism, Feminist Limerick, Gun Control, Gun Laws, Presidential Election 2024, Republicans Humor, Supreme Court
Posted in Abortion Rights, Anti-Semitism, Bill Barr, Birther Humor, Campaign 2024, Censorship Satire, Climate Change, Congress Humor, Constitution Humor, Constitutional Crisis, Contraception Humor, Corruption Humor, Crime, Donald Trump, Economy Humor, Election 2024, Energy Humor, Entitlements Humor, Environment Satire, Family Values Humor, Firearms & Guns Humor, Fiscal Policy, Florida, Fox News Humor, Free Speech, Gay Rights, Gender Politics, Global Warming, GOP Humor, House Satire, Judiciary Satire, Kevin McCarthy, Legislation Humor, Lindsey Graham, Marco Rubio, Mike Pence, Mike Pompeo, Mitch McConnell, NRA Limerick, Political Limericks, Political Verse, Racism Limerick, Religious Satire, Republicans Humor, RNC Humor, Rudy Giuliani, Science Verse, Tax & Budget Humor, Women's Rights | Comments Off on Limerick Ode To Solidarity
Thursday, April 22nd, 2021
Headline: “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.
Tags: Demonstrations, First Amendment, Free Speech, GOP Hypocrisy, Protesters Limericks, Republican Hypocrisy
Posted in Donald Trump, Free Speech, GOP Humor, Political Limericks, Political Verse, Politics Satire, Republicans Humor | Comments Off on For Republicans, Free Speech Is In The Ear Of the Hearer
Tuesday, October 29th, 2019
I 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.
Tags: Donald Trump, First Amendment, Free Speech, Houston Astros, Lock Him Up, Trump Booed, Washington Nationals, World Series
Posted in Constitution Humor, Donald Trump, Free Speech, GOP Humor, Political Limericks, Political Verse, Politics Satire, Republicans Humor, White House | Comments Off on Trump Booed At World Series Game Five (Limerick)
Wednesday, May 23rd, 2018
Headline: “Trump can’t block users on Twitter, federal judge rules”
Poor Trump! How he hates to be mocked
By mean tweets! So he angrily blocked
The accounts of those writers,
Who sued cuz they’re fighters,
And won. Snowflake Donald is focked.
Tags: Donald Trump, First Amendment, Free Speech, Public Forum, Social Media Humor, Twitter Humor, Twitter Limericks
Posted in Constitution Humor, Donald Trump, Free Speech, GOP Humor, Political Limericks, Political Verse, Politics Satire, Republicans Humor, Social Media Satire, Twitter, White House | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, January 13th, 2016
I’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?”
Tags: Campaign Satire, Campaign Spending, Citizens United, Election Humor, Free Speech, SuperPACS, Supreme Court
Posted in Campaign Humor, Election Satire, Free Speech, GOP Humor, Law Satire, Political Limericks, Political Verse, Politics Satire, Republicans Humor, White House | Comments Off on Be Careful What You Ask For (Limerick)
Monday, April 7th, 2014
Weep 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.”
Tags: ABC, Bill Kristol, Campaign Finance Reform, Citizens United, Corporate Personhood, Democracy, First Amendment, Free Speech, Legal Verse, McCutcheon v. FEC, Newt Gingrich, THIS WEEK, U.S. Supreme Court, Weekly Standard
Posted in Bill Kristol, Campaign Humor, Constitution Humor, Democracy Humor, Election Satire, FEC Satire, Free Speech, GOP Humor, Hypocrisy Humor, Judiciary Satire, Law Satire, Legislation Humor, Money And Finance Humor, Newt Gingrich Humor, Political Limericks, Political Verse, Politics Satire, Republicans Humor, Supreme Court | 2 Comments »
Thursday, April 3rd, 2014
Free 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.”
Tags: Campaign Finance Reform, Citizens United, Corporate Personhood, Democracy, First Amendment, Free Speech, John Cassidy, Justice John Roberts, Legal Verse, McCutcheon v. FEC, New Yorker, U.S. Supreme Court, Voting Humor, Voting Limerick, War On Voting
Posted in Campaign Humor, Constitution Humor, Democracy Humor, Election Satire, FEC Satire, Free Speech, GOP Humor, Hypocrisy Humor, Judiciary Satire, Law Satire, Legislation Humor, Political Limericks, Political Verse, Politics Satire, Republicans Humor, Supreme Court, Voting Satire | Comments Off on Free Speech Gets Pricey (Limerick)
Wednesday, April 2nd, 2014
If 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.
Tags: Ari Berman, Campaign Finance Reform, Citizens United, Corporate Personhood, Democracy, First Amendment, Free Speech, Justice John Roberts, Legal Verse, McCutcheon v. FEC, U.S. Supreme Court, Voting Humor, Voting Limerick, War On Voting
Posted in Campaign Humor, Constitution Humor, Democracy Humor, Election Satire, FEC Satire, Free Speech, GOP Humor, Hypocrisy Humor, Judiciary Satire, Law Satire, Legal Limericks, Legislation Humor, Political Limericks, Political Verse, Politics Satire, Republicans Humor, Supreme Court, Voting Satire | 1 Comment »
Monday, January 25th, 2010
There’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 »
Saturday, March 22nd, 2008
Jeralyn over at Talk Left has declared Colorado to be a “Nanny State.” Why? Because its Appeals Court has decreed that Colorado no-smoking laws apply to actors on stage.
(Coincidentally, just last night my husband and I saw an Off-Broadway play during which two of the actors smoked. In fact, we got a second-row contact-high from one of them.)
But getting back to the Colorado judiciary, the court deserves a limerick, don’t you think?
Ode To Colorado: Nanny State
By Madeleine Begun Kane
“No smoking on stage!” says the judge,
Cuz “No smoking indoors!” He won’t budge.
So no matter the role,
There’s a no-smoke patrol.
Soon they won’t let their actors eat fudge.
You can find more of my smoking-related humor here and my theater-related humor here.)[tags]Legal Satire, Judge Humor, No-Smoking Humor, Smoking Laws, Theater Humor, Actors Verse[/tags]
Posted in Censorship Satire, Free Speech, Judiciary Satire, Law Satire, Nanny State, Social Satire | Comments Off on Ode To Colorado: Nanny State
Thursday, October 25th, 2007
The 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]
Posted in Censorship Satire, CIA Satire, Free Speech, George Bush Satire, Media Satire, News Haiku & Senryu, Political Books, Political Haiku & Senryu, Political Verse, Valerie Plame | Comments Off on Unfair Censorship Of Plame’s Fair Game
Thursday, June 21st, 2007
As 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]
Posted in Election Satire, Foreign Policy, Free Speech, GOP Humor, Iraq War Humor, New York Mayors, Political Limericks, Political Verse, Politics Satire, Rudy Giuliani, White House | 1 Comment »
Thursday, June 7th, 2007
Remember 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]
Posted in Constitution Humor, Dick Cheney Satire, FCC Censorship, Free Speech, George Bush Satire, GOP Humor, Law Satire, Political Haiku & Senryu, Political Verse, Politics Satire, Republicans Humor, White House | 1 Comment »
Sunday, March 25th, 2007
Dems 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]
Posted in Congress Humor, Constitution Humor, Democracy Humor, Free Speech, George Bush Satire, GOP Humor, House Satire, Iraq War Humor, Legislation Humor, Political Limericks, Political Verse, Politics Satire, Republicans Humor, Wingnuts | 3 Comments »
Tuesday, February 27th, 2007
Why 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]
Posted in Free Speech, Political Limericks, Political Verse, Politics Satire | 7 Comments »
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 »