What We Could Use Here is a New Mark Twain

Standing in the freezing
Talking about cops –
and bribes
and how they can be taken
or not

From Senegal to Santa Clara

The language changes
only.

If we were doing that here – where-
All you needed to know how to ask
Was how to let him pay your fine
“for you” –

(If you, of course, paid him
not a bribe – but to pay the fine
‘for you’)
and in their dollars a 20 will do…

Not here, where civilization
has taken root

Bred its spawn

The simple offense (victimless) will take
a year (or 2) of your time

of compliance
with their game
of justification
of their cost
in your
personal
dollars.

But hey – this aint no
global police state
it’s just everyone
conforming
to the rules

to the degree it
pays for the cops
who collect the
money
for the tickets
and those who need
the funding
they
provide…

Not about protecting
the people
not about keeping the
law
but about
extracting the dollar
for the law
that needs
money.

Kinda like the banks
taking mortgages
on over inflated
values
to sell to
investors
at over inflated
prices
so everyone could
lose
but
them?

unless you happen to be
a county hiring out
jail space

to the feds for
“illegal immigrants/terrorist suspects”
at cut rate savings
compared to
federal
institutions…

big bucks in that
I hear.

Mark Twain where are you
when we need
you most?