Yogi Berra was a catcher for the New York Yankees for almost my whole life from birth to my days in college. While he was a great baseball player, he was equally great with one-liners. One of his one-liners was, "It's déjà vu all over again." At first glance, it seems an obvious oxymoron. However, if you think about it, it is applicable to life. I often use Yogi's one-liner with my family, friends, and in writing.

When Barrack Obama emerged upon the national scene, it appeared to me another example of "déjà vu all over again." When I was in college and graduate school, Bobby Kennedy had emerged as an American icon especially regarding civil rights. Even before the Democratic Party nominated Obama as its nominee for president, I knew that he would be elected president. That same feeling of social change that ran in the veins of millions of Americans in the 60s ran in the veins of millions of Americans when Obama became our 44th president.

The Lioness Roars....

Enter Elizabeth Warren, the lioness, and "It's déjà vu all over again." It is interesting to see the déjà vu parallels between Obama and Warren. They are both liberals. Both of them are honest to a fault. Neither is afraid to speak the truth regardless how the chips might fall. Obama ran for president after two years in the Senate. While Warren has been in the Senate for two years, she has stated that she is not a candidate for president; I would be willing to predict that she might run in 2016. Obama was the first black president, and Warren could be the first female president. Obama ran against McCain without any trouble. Warren would be running against an even lighter weight Republican opponent. "It's déjà vu all over again."

Added to the déjà vu issue is the clairvoyance one. Clairvoyance is from the French clair (for clear) and voyance (for vision). Warren and Obama both possess clear vision. This is a video clip of Warren expressing her clairvoyance regarding last year's spending bill, which protected Wall Street and the big banks like Citigroup. Elizabeth Warren, the lioness, roared against the attempt to gut Dodd-Frank by voting against the $1.1 trillion spending bill. Some at Citigroup dissed Dodd-Frank. She concludes with her loudest roar, "I agree with you, Dodd-Frank isn't perfect-it should have broken you (Citigroup) into pieces."

In addition, Warren uses both déjà vu and clairvoyance when she states the comparison that she and Teddy Roosevelt share. Warren saw beyond what many people saw Teddy Roosevelt doing. Roosevelt was not merely a trustbuster breaking up monopolies and giant trusts because of their economic power. Roosevelt was a trustbuster to defend our democracy from the giant trusts. Warren, a century later, is concerned about the political power of the big trusts such as Citigroup.

My suggestion is that, when the lioness roars, we need to listen and take heed. The lioness has roared, "Enough is enough." Fortunately, Elizabeth Warren is a mighty lioness when she roars. Back in the 60s, Bobby Kennedy was a lion that roared also. As Yogi Berra said, "It's déjà vu all over again."

This video clip of Elizabeth Warren's entire speech against a 1.1 trillion dollar spending bill in the Senate:

An Old Man and His Grandson

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02/20/15