Yes, We Have No Bonanza

by Michael S. Rozeff
by Michael S. Rozeff

The Obama administration (or any administration for that matter) can be aptly described by the titles of the comedy movie shorts made by The Three Stooges.

The Three Stooges made movie shorts with punnacious titles as parodies. Every early short featured the slap-happy antics of Moe Howard, Curly Howard, and Larry Fine (the original team), later manned by Shemp Howard, Joe Besser, and Joe DeRita.

The titles of numerous Stooge productions are perfectly applicable to the Obama team. You would think that they could see 70 years into the future.

Lead off with the double feature "Pest Man Wins" and "Heavenly Daze."

Going from there, "A Ducking They Did Go" might be paired with "Micro-Phonies."

"All the World’s a Stooge" definitely applies.

"Gents in a Jam" might go along with "No Dough Boys" or perhaps "Three Pests in a Mess."

"Monkey Businessmen," "Hoofs and Goofs," and "Mummies Dummies" describe the government circus.

Or, to be more serious, "Disorder in the Court" and "Crime On Their Hands" fit hand in glove.

I especially like this one for the Washington crowd: "Dutiful but Dumb." Or this one: "Idiots Deluxe," after the old Gable movie.

In the same vein, "Blunder Boys" is not bad. So are "Creeps" and "Scrambled Brains."

For all conspiracy advocates, I give you "Malice in the Palace."

Then there is "Bedlam in Paradise" as we are "Gypped in the Penthouse" and "Triple Crossed."

"Even as IOU" can be paired with "Three Loan Wolves," or even "Hokus Pokus." and "Cash is Hash."

One effort had the threesome "Calling All Curs" instead of the police call "calling all cars." This is apt for any new administration that is busy staffing its offices.

Will the administration be "Saved by the Belle?" Can someone identify such a female?

The Obama health care plan will be "From Nurse to Worse." It should be "Dunked in the Deep."

Their short, Yes, We Have No Bonanza, parodied the 1923 tune Yes, We Have No Bananas. It’s apt for Obama, who has no bonanza but says "yes" anyway. As that song told it,

"There's a fruit store on our street
It's run by a Greek.
And he keeps good things to eat
But you should hear him speak!

"When you ask him anything, he never answers ‘no’.
He just ‘yes’es you to death,
And as he takes your dough, he tells you...

"Yes! We have no bananas
We have no bananas today!!
We have string beans and onions, cabBAges and scallions
And all kinds of fruit and say
We have an old fashioned toMAHto
A Long Island poTAHto, but

Yes! We have no bananas
We have no bananas today!"

Surely we can find among this crew "Three Missing Links."

It is my earnest wish that we can say to this team: "So Long, Mr. Chumps" or even "Mutts to You."

March 24, 2009

Michael S. Rozeff [send him mail] is a retired Professor of Finance living in East Amherst, New York.

Copyright © 2009 by LewRockwell.com. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit is given.

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