The poet William Stafford set himself the task of writing a poem a day. When someone asked him what he would do when his poem-of-the-day wasn't very good, he replied "I simply lower my standards." In order to increase output, the bar here is set at a low level - the point of this is to have some fun with current events and politics. I welcome contributions and comments. Now you can also follow Doggerelo on Twitter (@doggerelo). Because of continuing medical problems, I'm no longer able to post a poem-a-day. I'll continue to post poems, but at a reduced frequency, so please stay tuned.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Barney Frank Retires


           
Adapted from photograph
by Bryce Vickmar for NYT
Let’s bid adieu to Barney Frank
The right wing’s bête noire,
The congressman who knows the most
‘Bout banker’s pranks by far.
Fat cats are celebrating now
They’re drinking at the bar.
But they should not relax too much
No matter who they are,
‘Cause Barney’s sworn to give them hell
And fight them from afar.  

2 comments:

Judy Brown said...

Will miss Barney! Hopefully someone as good can take his place.

Anonymous said...

Some of my favorite Barneyisms....

Jay Leno: "If you had to have dinner with one of the following political conservatives, which one would you choose: Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck or Ann Coulter?" Barney Frank: "I couldn’t' do Yon Kipper on this one. I guess of the three, I would take Rush Limbaugh, because it would be very painful and he would come with the painkillers, which he always has."

"At a time of great crisis with mortgage foreclosures and autos, he says we only have one president at a time. I'm afraid that overstates the number of presidents we have. He's got to remedy that situation." --Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), calling on President-elect Obama to play a more significant role on economic issues

In response to a questioner at a town hall meeting who compared Obama to Hitler, Rep. Barney Frank said, "On what planet do you spend most of your time?"

“It is, of course, further indication that a fundamentalist right has really taken over much of the Republican Party, People might cite George Bush as proof that you can be totally impervious to the effects of Harvard and Yale education.”

I'm used to being in the minority. I'm a left-handed gay Jew. I've never felt, automatically, a member of any majority.

The Clinton tax increase - which was an increase in taxes primarily on upper-income people - not only made the tax code more nearly progressive, it preceded one of the most productive economic periods in American life.

The left and the right live in parallel universes. The right listens to talk radio, the left's on the Internet and they just reinforce one another. They have no sense of reality. I have now one ambition: to retire before it becomes essential to tweet.

They appear to have become so attached to their outrage that they are even more outraged that they won't be able to be outraged anymore.

This bill is the legislative equivalent of crack. It yields a short-term high but does long-term damage to the system and it's expensive to boot.

“This is very revealing of the hypocrisy of the NRA, ... They would have the second amendment of the Constitution amended so it would also read 'a well regulated militia being necessary to the security of the people, no housing authority shall buy safe guns.' ”

“Under the Republican provision, you can't do get-out-the-vote efforts if you work in affordable housing, ... There is an extremism here that is not comprehensible except if you know the history.”

Before this learning experience, I had assumed that with regard to programs that sought to help people out of poverty, the political world was essentially divided into two camps: conservatives who opposed these for a variety of reasons, and liberals who supported them.

The Clinton tax increase - which was an increase in taxes primarily on upper-income people - not only made the tax code more nearly progressive, it preceded one of the most productive economic periods in American life.

And I think there is too much bloviating around from politicians.

-Nessie