Author: Sabba Rabba

Because Brexit won, Dave Cameron announced that he would be stepping down as Prime Minister.  This leaves the position open for Labor’s Jeremy Corbyn who recently was elected leader of the party by a landslide.  The Labor party was not in favor of Brexit, but Corbyn, himself, is not a Eurocentrist and did not campaign much against Brexit.  Some labor members of Parliament are calling for a no-confidence vote to remove him as leader, but it appears not to likely to happen.

What no one expected
It wasn’t predicted
The polls contradicted
That Brexit turned Exit

So Davy is leaving
And no one is grieving
Since they stopped believing
In where he was leading

His brand of austerity
Choked the economy
Growth was a rarity
Bad for posterity

Labor’s head, Jeremy
An unknown entity
What will the future be?
Lots of uncertainty

6/24/16

Sung to the tune of John Henry

When John Lewis saw that Congress wouldn’t vote
Terrorists could still buy guns
He said I’m sick and tired of this do-nothing House
Gonna make this Congress get it done
Lord, Lord
Gonna make this Congress get it done

Well, John Lewis, he said to the Speaker
Speaker, let’s vote today
That unless we stop all terrorists from ever buying guns
Speaker, you will rue the day
Lord, Lord
Speaker you will rue the day

Well, the Speaker, he said to John Lewis
We will vote on what and when I say
And if it doesn’t please you, just stay out of my way
John Lewis just stay out of my way
Lord, Lord
John Lewis just stay out of my way

Well, John Lewis, he gathered up his caucus
Democrats all come along with me
We will stage a sit-in ‘till they give us a vote
We’ll sit here ‘till they give us a vote
Lord, Lord
We’ll sit here ‘till they give us a vote

It seems ages since they started sitting
They could still be sitting there today
And maybe still be singing, “We shall overcome”
They’ll sit there ‘till they get their vote
Lord, Lord
They’ll sit there ‘till they get their vote

6/24/16

The other night I heard the Kingston Trio singing “Hang Down Your Head Tom Dooly”.  For some reason Marco Rubio came to mind.

Hang down your head young Marco
Hang down your head and sigh
Hang down your head young Marco
Poor boy, you really tried

Tried for nomination
Candidate to be
Campaigned ‘cross the nation
Lost the vote to Trumpledee

Hang down your head young Marco
Gave up your Senate seat
Hang down your head young Marco
Figured you could Trumple beat

Soon you’ll be civilian
Having to do real work
You’ll never gain your millions
Working for some bossy jerk

Hang down your head young Marco
Gone is your easy life
Hang down your head young Marco
Senate life was really nice

What’s that we’re hearing?
Sounds like an old refrain
Is it what we’re fearing?
Rumors that you’ll run again

Hang down your head young Marco
That way you don’t see far
Hang down your head young Marco
Politics is all you are

6/23/16

Bernie, Bernie, there’s no hurry
Take your time and never worry
Hillary will do just fine
Join her when you find the time

You don’t want to lose advantage
Keep the delegates you manage
Make yourself most influential
While the party turns resentful

Push the platform from the right
Toward the left and out of sight
Past where Clinton deems to run
Maybe that is why she won

6/22/16

Notice how glib, with ease
Each of the nominees
Talks the economy

Each sounds so confident
That being President
They set how money’s spent

However, you can bet
No matter who we get
Up goes the nation’s debt

Our wars are never cheap
From Congress not a peep
As o’er the cliff we leap

But really it’s the Fed
What is or isn’t said
That signals green or red

Stock markets rise or fall
Synched with Fed’s latest call
And not economies at all

It ‘s time-spans small or great
That act to regulate
Which factors dominate

When time spans centuries
It is demography
That drives economies

6/22/16

Yesterday, an old folk song with hauntingly beautiful lyrics and melody played repeatedly in my head: ” Where does it lead / This strange young love of mine? / Only heaven and the lilies know …”   I heard this on an old LP-record album  titled “A Man and His Maid” by Theodore Bikel and Cynthia Gooding. This one was sung by Cynthia.  Of course, I had to use it to pattern a poelitic.

What Trumple thinks
That spastic brain of his
Only a psychiatrist might know

His cohorts shrink
From caustic casts of his
To his loyal followers in tow

Play to their ignorance, how it shows
Where’s their intelligence? No one knows

Oh; Oh; Oh
Everywhere he leads them they must go

What Trumple says
That fearless mouth of his
Only feckless followers agree

Boasting his way
His narcissist’s id
Caring not what others hear and see

Plays on our ignorance, you and me
Plays us with arrogance, cleverly

Oh; Oh; Oh

Whither he would take us we must flee

6/21/16

Since I enjoy patterning after famous poems (see ‘When I Was a Lad’, ‘I Am The Perfect Pattern’ and ‘She’s a Liiier’), a blog contributor challenged me to pattern a poelitic after Vachel Lindsay’s ‘The Congo’.  I don’t subscribe to the poem’s racism, but the rhyme and rhythm are marvelous.  

The political news these days is about Republican pledged delegates voting their conscience.  

Big, fat lies over cable news
Foxy views where facts are fables
Words were heard, reported over cable
…Shouted over cable
…Loud as he was able
Like a broken record, he repeated o’er

Trust me! Trust me! Trust me! Trust!

Then I heard supporters mired in the muck
Screaming o’er the airwaves how that they were stuck
Soon at the convention on the saddest note
All the Trumple delegates must cast their vote

…Ugh! Vote for Trumple
…Ugh! Vote for Trumple
…Ugh!

6/18/16

This week of tragedy has indelibly impacted politics.  Mourning was genuine on both sides of the isle.  The Democrats were emboldened to do something about guns, while Republicans doubled down against terrorism.  On this last score it is interesting to note that they did not rally behind their presumptive nominee.  This is nothing short of dire for his campaign.  Juliette, a contributor to this blog, suggested the following article in the Political Scrapbook:  A JOURNALIST WENT TO A DONALD TRUMP RALLY YESTERDAY AND CAME BACK SHOCKED. HERE ARE HIS TWEETS

Don’t you feel sorry for those GOP’s
Who boarded the Trumpledee wagon back when
His party presumed him to be nominee
Who polled pretty even with Hillary then?

That was then, this is now; things have transpired
Things said and done causing backers to fidget
Trumpledee’s tirades, it seems, have backfired
The poll separation is near double digits

Thus, most Republicans are disavowing
Aspersions he recklessly scatters about
While Trumpledee’s tried and true he still is wowing
Other supporters are drowning in doubt

“Be strong and support me, or shut your damn lips!”
That’s the new mantra in Trumpledee fort
“It’s my way or highway; who cares if you flip?”
“I’ll go it alone; I don’t need your support!”

6/17/16

Senator Chris Murphy filibustered, talking on his feet for 15 hours with no breaks even to attend the rest room.  Furthermore, he stayed on topic, gun regulation, throughout his vigil.  Throughout the filibuster other senators (40 all told) joined him in the Senate chamber.  The history making result is that he won.  The Senate will vote on four measures on Monday, two for which he filibustered and two approved by the NRA.

Utah Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox posted his speech on the Orlando shooting on YouTube:        GovSpencer

Filibusted

Chris Murphy, you’ve pulled off a miracle
Convincing the Senate’s implacable
…..Your filibuster of note
…..Shamed the Senate to vote
Now the NRA lobby’s hysterical

Senator John McCain, in a fit of pique said that President Obama was “directly responsible” for the Orlando massacre, since he, Obama, pulled our troops out of Iraq, which allowed ISIS to be formed.  His “facts” are not what I remember.

The Honorable Senator McCain

The Honorable Sen JohnMcCain
Has problems recalling, it’s plain:
…..Who started the war with Iraq?
…..Who gave their top generals the sack
…..Which triggered the ISSL formation
…..And spread terror throughout the nations?
…..And who signed the time-table track
…..To withdraw our troops from Iraq?
I’ll tell you the truth, if you please
Obama’s not guilty of these

6/16/16

This morning at 11:21 in Washington Senator Chris Murphy (D. Connecticut) started a filibuster in the Senate in favor of gun legislation.  Thirty five other senators joined him, including one Republican.  It is now, as I type, 11:30 PM in Washington and the filibuster is still going strong.  To my knowledge, this is the first filibuster that favors legislation, rather than opposing legislation.

Senator Chris Murphy

Chris Murphy, a man of the Nation
We’re with you on gun regulation
…While you filibuster
…The Senate to muster
The votes that would pass legislation

You may wonder how Hillary became so unpopular in the views of so many people, especially checking her actual phenomenal record of accomplishments.  The following article by Michael Arnovitz is “the most thorough, profound and moving defense of Hillary Clinton I have ever seen”.  I picked it up on The Daily Kos:     Michael Arnovitz

Unpopularity

Although Hillary’s margin is gaining
While Trumpledee’s numbers are waning
…Her unpopularity
…With some regularity
Over fifty percent is remaining

6/15/16