Dithyramb
Noun
Latin from Greek, early 17th century
A wild choral hymn of ancient Greece, especially one dedicated to Dionysus.
A passionate or inflated speech, poem, or other writing.
Example: My energetic dithyramb on the stupidity of trickle-down economics fell flat at the Ronald Reagan Glee Club meeting.
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This is Sen. Ted Cruz giving something of a mea culpa to talk show screed Tucker Carlson over the senator’s frequent description of the January 6, 2021 Capitol Hill insurrection as a terrorist attack. It’s obvious Cruz is terrified of faux journalist Carlson who always gives the same expression a puppy does when it tries to understand what you’re saying. Of course, puppies are way cuter – and often far more intelligent – than Carlson on his best day.
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“I have come to the realization that my relationship with YouTube is dysfunctional.”
Sen. Rand Paul, announcing he will stop posting videos on the popular platform
Paul dubbed it part of his “exodus from Big Tech” and has accused YouTube of partisan censorship.
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“The establishment will never love you, Ted. You know, you can bend over and bend a knee for them, but they’re just not going to love you.”
Rep. Matt Gaetz, to Sen. Ted Cruz for calling the events of January 6, 2021 a terrorist attack
“Twitter is an enemy to America and can’t handle the truth. That’s fine, I’ll show America we don’t need them and it’s time to defeat our enemies.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, reacting to Twitter suspending her account for repeated violations of their COVID-19 misinformation policy
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“More of you voted in that election than have ever voted in all of American history. Over 150 million Americans went to the polls and voted that day. In a pandemic. Some at great risk to their lives. They should be applauded, not attacked.”
President Joe Biden, during a speech on the first anniversary of the January 6, 2021 terrorist attack on the U.S. Capitol
“To think that the violent protesters who attacked the Capitol, our seat of democracy, on January 6 was just tourists looking at statues – it’s insane that anyone could watch that on television and believe that’s what happened.”
Gov. Larry Hogan, (MD), about right-wing views of the January 6, 2021 attack
“But we have to – we have to acknowledge the reality of what happened that day. And what’s challenging for us is that we are both victims and witnesses to the crime on our country.”
U.S. Rep. Annie Kuster (D-NH), on last year’s U.S. Capitol attack
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“If I’m remembered for having done a few good things, and if my presence here has sparked some good energies, that’s plenty.”
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“If one has no sense of humor, one is in trouble.”
“There’s no formula. Keep busy with your work and your life. You can’t become a professional mourner. It doesn’t help you or others. Replay the good times. Be grateful for the years you had.”
“Get at least eight hours of beauty sleep, nine if you’re ugly.”
“I like those touches of chivalry that are fast disappearing. If I sound old-fashioned, it’s because I’m as old as I am! But it’s just polite.”
“People say, ‘But Betty, Facebook is a great way to connect with old friends.’ Well, at my age, if I want to connect with old friends I need a Ouija board.”
“Mind your own business, take care of your affairs, and don’t worry about other people so much.”
“Friendship takes time and energy if it’s going to work. You can luck into something great, but it doesn’t last if you don’t give it proper appreciation.”
“I have no regrets at all. None. I consider myself to be the luckiest old broad on two feet.”
“It is important that you not believe your own publicity. Be grateful for whatever praise you receive, but take it with a grain of salt.”
“You can always tell somebody by the way they put their hands on an animal.”
“I just make it my business to get along with people so I can have fun. It’s that simple.”
“I’ve always liked older men. They’re just more attractive to me. Of course, at my age, there aren’t that many left!”
“Does desire melt away with age? I’m waiting for that day to come.”
“I’m a health nut. My favorite food is hot dogs with French fries. And my exercise: I have a two-story house and a very bad memory, so I’m up and down those stairs.”
“Everybody needs a passion. That’s what keeps life interesting. If you live without passion, you can go through life without leaving any footprints.”
“Laughter keeps everyone feeling wonderful.”
“Best thing about being in your 90s is you’re spoiled rotten. Everybody spoils you like mad and they treat you with such respect because you’re old. Little do they know, you haven’t changed. You haven’t changed [in the brain]. You’re just 90 every place else. Now that I’m 91, as opposed to being 90, I’m much wiser. I’m much more aware, and I’m much sexier.”
“In my head, I’m the ultimate cougar. Animal lover that I am.”
“My mother always used to say, ‘The older you get, the better you get. Unless you’re a banana.’”
“Butterflies are like women — we may look pretty and delicate, but baby, we can fly through a hurricane.”
“I’m a big cockeyed optimist. I try to accentuate the positive as opposed to the negative.”
“Animals don’t lie. Animals don’t criticize. If animals have moody days, they handle them better than humans do.”
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“No matter how hard the past is, you can always begin again.”
Buddha
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“Let’s be naughty and save Santa the trip.”
Gary Allan
“I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.”
Maya Angelou
“In the old days, it was not called the Holiday Season; the Christians called it ‘Christmas’ and went to church; the Jews called it ‘Hanukkah‘ and went to synagogue; the atheists went to parties and drank. People passing each other on the street would say ‘Merry Christmas!’ or ‘Happy Hanukkah!’ or (to the atheists) ‘Look out for the wall!’”
Dave Barry
“It’s always consoling to know that today’s Christmas gifts are tomorrow’s garage sales.”
Milton Berle
“Christmas is a baby shower that went totally overboard.”
Andy Borowitz
“The main reason Santa is so jolly because he knows where all the bad girls live.”
George Carlin
“Christmas, here again. Let us raise a loving cup; Peace on Earth, goodwill to men, and make them do the washing up.”
Wendy Cope
“Thank you, Stockings, for being a long flammable piece of fabric people like to hang over a roaring fireplace.”
Jimmy Fallon
“A lovely thing about Christmas is that it’s compulsory, like a thunderstorm, and we all go through it together.”
Garrison Keillor
“There are three stages of man: he believes in Santa Claus; he does not believe in Santa Claus; he is Santa Claus.”
Bob Philips
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Independent journalist and human rights defender Pham Doan Trang was sentenced to nine years by The People’s Court of Hanoi on December, 14 2021. She was arrested in Ho Chi Minh City on October 7, 2020, and charged under Article 88 of the 1999 Criminal Code which criminalizes “making, storing, distributing or disseminating information, documents and items against the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam.”
Trang is the author of several books that address women’s rights, LGBT issues, environmental concerns and land rights. In 2019, Reporters Without Borders awarded her a Press Freedom Prize in recognition of her impact. Her work on the Liberal Publishing House helped it receive the prestigious Prix Voltaire award in 2020 for its continued coverage in spite of risks and dangers of reprisals.
Trang was held in isolation from the time of her arrest until October 19, 2021, when she was finally allowed to meet with one of her lawyers after having been denied access to her family and legal representation for over a year.
Foreseeing her own arrest, she gave instructions ahead of time for fellow activists to take advantage of her imprisonment to negotiate for more freedom in Viet Nam, and to “advocate for the others first, then me.”
In The Vietnamese, a journalists’ magazine Trang founded, her “final statement” from her trial has appeared today reads, in part:
“In a democratic society, if a citizen writes something or responds to interview questions from foreign journalists regarding matters the government doesn’t want to hear, what would be the civilized response? The most civilized response would be for the government to do nothing because a civilized person knows how to respect the opinions and interests of others.
“In a less fortunate situation, if a government has authoritarian tendencies and finds what the citizen says unacceptable, then it could simply write books or articles to rebut that citizen, or even boldly reach out to the foreign press to arrange an interview in which a government representative expresses his/her viewpoint or responds to the citizen in-kind.
“But the Socialist Republic of Vietnam does none of this. Instead, it chooses to respond in a more vile, foolish, and heinous manner, imprisoning its citizens simply because they write works or respond to interviews with foreign journalists.”
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