In 1946, George Orwell said that political language "is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind."
About 40 years ago, a herd of reporters gathered in a Democratic politician's office for a casual, off-the-record Q&A session. However, the only "Q" the reporters were concerned with that day was the war in Vietnam and why the United States was still involved. They kept pressing the politician for a definitive answer, something they had tried to do repeatedly in the past to little avail. The members of the press would finally get their answer when the politician whipped out his whoopee stick, pointed to it and proclaimed "This is why we're in the Vietnam!"
"Sith, get one of your boys to cross the Mekong. Bring back a couple of shopping bags full of pot."
"I am become Death, destroyer of worlds."
Monday marked the 43rd anniversary of the death of Robert Francis Kennedy, the 64th attorney general of the United States and one-time presidential candidate who was gunned down in the kitchen of the Ambassador Hotel only hours after locking up the pivotal California Democratic primary.
Recently I was watching an interview of Dave Chappelle, who has faded from the public consciousness after fleeing the burdens of being an American cultural icon.
Sometime today, Willard Mitt Romney will unveil what has been one of the worst-kept secrets in American politics as he formally announces his bid for the Republican nomination for president of the United States.
Impending doom arrived May 21, 2011.
This isn't even fun anymore.
When Gov. Rick Scott announced his budget proposal in February, the word "education" was notably absent from the political event. And when he did roll out his education budget proposal, it called for slashing already underfunded public schools by more than 10 percent.
I gulp a frosty mug of Pabst, wink at Gerry and ask, "Hey Hank, when are you going to start serving blacks in here?"
Another day, another Student-Government-wants-to-quash-the-opposition-claim.
Since assuming office in January, Gov. Rick Scott has taken every step possible to pander to corporate interests at the expense of Florida's working class.
Of all the words and phrases that have been tossed around by pundits and politicos in describing the Obama presidency, which have included everything from Kennedy-esque to closet Quran worship, the one that never really stuck was "political miscalculation." While the Obama administration has been consistently hammered, fairly or not, for its stances relating to domestic and foreign policy, it was thought difficult, if not impossible, to find a chink in the armor of its political foresight. Its ability to navigate the tides of perception and political consequence within its own base come as no surprise given the president's education in a Cook County political system that forces those involved to think three steps ahead with one eye forward and the other peering over their shoulders.
"Wait ‘til you try this. You won't believe it."
Do you ever wake up in the morning, look in the mirror and declare to the world how remarkably awesome you are?
In the wake of one of the most dysfunctional and ego-driven legislative sessions in state history, our state's Criminal-in-Chief and Voldemort stunt-double Rick Scott announced earlier this week that the efforts from his Hollywood-haired, Reagan-idolizing minions to hack away at Florida's budget didn't quite go as far as he would have liked.
As I was placing my weekly necessities on the conveyor belt at Sweetbay one morning, I glanced at the magazines begging for my attention in front of me. Of course, I noticed the emaciated, indeterminate women on the covers and was forced to wonder, "Are these people even real?" Actually, with today's photo manipulation, they often are not.
Gov. Rick Scott needs to go. In his first few months of office he has single-handedly killed the best opportunity this state had for economic development and job growth, further destroyed our education system, attempted to balance the state's budget on the backs of our middle class and much more. Or should I say so much less? He is the most corrupt American politician since Boss Tweed and is twice as creepy looking. Like Tammany Hall, he needs to be eliminated. The high-speed rail would have brought about 24,000 jobs to our state, one of the hardest hit states by the recession. It also would have marked an economic and technological step forward. Scott opposed and effectively slaughtered the rail for pure petty politics.
In a clumsy attempt to salvage its ever-decaying name, the Roman Catholic Church released a letter Monday assuring the world that despite its proclivity for maneuvering through tripwires of legal culpability, it's willing to play ball when it comes to its darkest secret.
Solutions by The State News
