Ayn Rand Paul

If you watch Wheel of Fortune you are familiar with this category:

Before & After: Introduced on February 27, 1989. Consists of two phrases, names, etc. combined by a word that ends the first and starts the second (e.g., WHEEL OF FORTUNE COOKIE, which combines "Wheel of Fortune" and "fortune cookie"). Perhaps to make the answer structure more obvious, most Before & After puzzles in the late 2000s have the connecting word on its own line if possible.

The category popped into my mind along with the title of today's blog post as I watched a video, which my friend David sent to me this morning, and which I share below.

If you ignore the crude language (the narrator is Steve Shives, after all), and if you do not dismiss Shives out of hand because he is an avowed atheist, I believe you might find it interesting and perhaps even understand why it led to this blog. 

I believe there is a solid Before and After link between the author and the would-be future leader of the free world. It is a divisive, self-serviong philosophy based on greed. Ironically and perversely, it is the philosophy which now drives the agenda of the once-proud Party of Lincoln. This should give pause to any thinking American, especially those who habitually vote Republican.

If the back end of the Ayn Rand Paul link secures the GOP nomination, wins the 2016 election, and moves into the White House, average Americans might well find themselves appearing on Wheel of Misfortune where all the prizes automatically go to the contestant with the most cash.

Thanks for the video, David.

Sunday Funnies 140810

The Sunday Funnies word of the week is viral:

vi-ral |ˈvīrəl|adjective1 of the nature of, caused by, or relating to a virus or viruses.2 of or involving the rapid spread of information about a product or service by viral marketing techniques : a viral video ad.DERIVATIVESvirally adverb
Whether good or bad, spreading or failing to spread, these cartoons and associated comments on viral matters should evoke a range of responses, mostly negative. Among them, thoughtful readers of this blog may also find a chuckle or two.

1. Viral Ignorance - raison d'être and an example

Some political and religious "leaders" rely on the proliferation of ignorance. Wrapping themselves in the flag, the Bible, or both they whip the ignorant into a frenzy to shift attention away from their self-serving, divisive agendas. Like a real virus, viral ignorance mutates rapidly making it difficult to eradicate. 

One current mutation promotes a paranoid, anti-immigrant agenda. Leaders of the rabid-right feed their paranoid and ignorant base an insidious stream of unfounded fears about a real virus, ebola, which does not spread easily. They spread their lies on FOX "News" with a chaser of artificially sweetened tea.

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2. An Iron Dome Protecting Weaponry

The NRA has successfully cultivated viral ignorance to shoot down any and all attempts to enact reasonable gun-control legislation. In the meantime, gun violence has spread to epidemic proportions in America. 

The potency of viral ignorance becomes clear when one realizes that even James Brady, press secretary for the right-wing's ersatz saint, Ronald Reagan, was unable to dent the shield the NRA has erected around its self-serving, wholly fabricated, interpretation of second amendment rights.

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3. Benign Viral Payload

The structure of a typical discussion on Facebook is shaped by the DNA of the social media virus. 

Been there! Done that! Will probably do it again.

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4. Malignant Viral Payload

Inside an often jewel-like protein coat, a malignant virus carries a snippet of DNA. This snippet carries the sum and substance of the virus's lineage. The virus injects this material into the healthy cells of a host organism turning them into factories which produce copies of the virus. The infected host can become very sick and may die. 

Like malignant viruses, some politicians display a pleasant countenance yet carry a virulent payload containing the essence of an ideological lineage based on hatred and divisiveness. As they smile and claim to care about the country, they inject their ideological DNA into the population, turning infected individuals into factories which spread the malignant strain. The infected country can become very sick and it may die as its social and governmental structures succumb to anarchy.

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5. Mutation Misadventure

Once based on facts uncovered by serious investigation, charges that a President has misused his powers in ways which endanger the the nation he has sworn to preserve and protect have mutated through a flirtation with frivolity to outright political farce.

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6. A Rogues' Gallery of Malignant Viruses

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7. The Greed Virus - invasive, malignant, difficult to eradicate, but lucrative

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8. Antiviral Resistance

Through mutation, viruses can develop resistance to once effective treatments. Willful ignorance serves the same function for politicians promoting a toxic ideological agenda.  

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9. Spontaneous Remission 

One can only hope that malignant, political and religious viruses are predisposed to follow this pattern.

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10. Quackery

Vaccines and proven treatment protocols can be affective against many viruses. Often, however, treatment requires an infected individual to endure unpleasant side effects. 

Seeking an easier path to health, many individuals turn to the nostrums offered by charlatans promoting snake oil cures via the airwaves.

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11. Viral Notoriety

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12.  Embracing the Viral Concept

 

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Sunday Funnies (Overflow Edition) 140806

The Sunday Funnies phrase of the week is caught in the act:

This week brought an overabundance of excellent comics and cartoons on the chosen theme. As a result, I was caught in the act of publishing a special midweek edition of Sunday Funnies on a Wednesday.

Enjoy!

1. If they were capable of telling the truth...

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2. Isle bet they'll get their just deserts. (I like pun-ishment with clichés.)

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3. I believe that's Auntie Social sitting by the gazebo.

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4. Helen's clandestine, terpsichorean adventure comes a cropper.

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5. Dr. Cliff is such a cutup.

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6. Conservative Humor - see oxymoron

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7. The officer has that glazed look in his eyes.

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8. Tonight in Area 51 - Dancing With The Stars (see #4 above)

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9. It's not the designer baggage one might expect a Pope to carry.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/things-didnt-pope/story?id=22840539#7

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10. Ranger Smith, Miscreant

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11.  Defensive Weapons - see oxymoron

Note to political leaders: If you give someone a gift, you cannot dictate how it can and cannot be used. You control only the giving part of the transaction.

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12. This one's quite a stretch.

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Standing Awkwardly In An Ill-fitting Suit

We've all heard people say, "I'll sue you," and I'm sure you're aware of the recent news stories proclaiming, House Grants Boehner Authority to Sue Obama. However you may not realize that both statements, while colloquially acceptable, are logically and legally inaccurate.

How so?

Allow me to bring a bit of jurisprudential and linguistic clarity into your life.

sue (soo) v. sued, su·ing, sues v.tr. 1. Law a. To petition (a court) for redress of grievances or recovery of a right. b. To institute proceedings against (a person) for redress of grievances. c. To carry (an action) through to a final decision. 2. To court; woo. 3. Obsolete To make a petition to; appeal to; beseech. v.intr. 1. Law To institute legal proceedings; bring suit. 2. To make an appeal or entreaty: "I sue for grace, and thou deny'st me" (Francis Quarles). 3. To pay court; woo. [Middle English sewen, from Anglo-Norman suer, from Vulgar Latin *sequere, to follow, from Latin sequi; see sekw-1 in Indo-European roots.] su'er n.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Diversionary Note: the original meaning of the word persists in many words and explains why a man who pursues a woman asking for her hand in marriage is called a suitor, who is courting her.

In the legal sense, I cannot sue you or anyone else whom I believe to have caused me injury or loss. Likewise, the House of Representatives cannot give John Boehner authority to sue the President.

A person who suffers injury or loss does not sue the person who caused the injury or loss. He or she (now known as the plaintiff) must sue a court, asking it to institute proceedings against the other party for redress of grievances.

In civil law such suits are quite common and occur over all manner and size of grievances. In disagreements involving the federal government, however, a plaintiff must have standing in order for a court to take up the case. This means that the plaintiff must possess:

The legally protectible stake or interest that an individual has in a dispute that entitles him to bring the controversy before the court to obtain judicial relief. 

Standing, sometimes referred to as standing to sue, is the name of the federal law doctrine that focuses on whether a prospective plaintiff can show that some personal legal interest has been invaded by the defendant. It is not enough that a person is merely interested as a member of the general public in the resolution of the dispute. The person must have a personal stake in the outcome of the controversy.

Whether Mr. Boehner and the GOP-controlled House of Representatives have standing has yet to be determined. One might reasonably assume and hope that arguments over differences in political philosophy do not constitute grounds for granting standing in federal court.

Recent decisions by the Supreme Court, however, may have altered the definition of of standing just as they have changed the scope of first amendment rights. Consider this Jen Sorensen comic:

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It now appears likely that the size of a plaintiff's bank account may determine whether standing is granted. If this is so, and given the wealth of the newly-minted "people corporations" created by the Roberts court, the only standing average citizens can expect will be found in unemployment lines and soup kitchens.

Sunday Funnies 140803

The Sunday Funnies theme of the week is pachyderm paroxysm:

pach-y-derm |ˈpakəˌdərm|
nouna very large mammal with thick skin, esp. an elephant, rhinoceros, or hippopotamus.DERIVATIVESpachydermal |ˌpakəˈdərməl| adjectivepachydermatous |ˌpakəˈdərmətəs| adjectivepachydermic |ˌpakəˈdərmik| adjectiveORIGIN mid 19th cent.: from French pachyderme, from Greek pakhudermos, from pakhus ‘thick’ + derma ‘skin.’
par-ox-ysm |ˈparəkˌsizəm|nouna sudden attack or violent expression of a particular emotion or activity : a paroxysm of weeping.• Medicine a sudden recurrence or attack of a disease; a sudden worsening of symptoms.DERIVATIVESparoxysmal |ˌparəkˈsizməl| adjectiveORIGIN late Middle English : from French paroxysme, via medieval Latin fromGreek paroxusmos, from paroxunein ‘exasperate,’ from para- ‘beyond’ +oxunein ‘sharpen’ (from oxus ‘sharp’ ).

Q: Why did I choose pachyderm paroxysm as the theme of the week?

A: The despicable behavior of today's Republicans makes me sick.

1. The Horns of a Dilemma

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2. Pachyderm Prevarication

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3. Pachyderm Prevarication Personified

When you have nothing to say that's worth listening to, try self promotion.

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4. Even fake news makes more sense than anything Ms. Palin has to say.

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5. At the GOP Bookstore

Going Rogue is very popular among the illiterati. They call it The Thrilla from Wasilla.

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6. The GOP-controlled House could use a mother like this.

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7. Let the punishment fit the crime.

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8. How about the same punishment for criminal intent?

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9. Ernie has a BS degree from the Louie Gohmert School of Obfuscation.

Rumor has it that the Comedy Channel wants to start broadcasting Congressional investigations.

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10. Rump Grump

The tramp stamp mockery doesn't upset a Republican nearly as much as having the source of his ideas exposed. After all, that's the secret hiding place where he keeps his head in order to avoid reality.

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11. Don't believe 'em when they talk about their cherished, "conservative values."

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12. A Cure for Pachyderm Paroxysm

Medical Note: This remedy is a Wii bit drastic, but quite effective. A side benefit is the eradication of the vector for Fox "News" malaise.

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