“More than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness.”
Retro Quote – Charlie Chaplin
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Word of the Week – May 14, 2022
Parol
[pə-ROL]
Adjective
Old French, 15th century
Given or expressed orally; (of a document) agreed orally, or in writing but not under seal.
“Parol” is borrowed from the Old French “parole,” meaning spoken words. (In modern French, the plural “paroles” refers to song lyrics.) Both are based on the Latin “parabola,” which is the basis for the English term “parable,” an allegorical tale. In English, “parole” means the release of a prisoner temporarily, or on promise of good behavior. These arrangements are now recorded in writing, but the Old French root “parole” literally means “word.” Dropping the “e,” “parol” is used in the legal context to distinguish information delivered orally rather than in sealed, official writing.
Example: I described much of my previous work experience parol, while on a Zoom conference.
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Political Cartoon of the Week – May 14, 2022
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Funniest Quote of the Week – May 14, 2022
“It’s a body, once you see it, you realize it’s whatever, it’s a boy! I just have to make it not that big of a deal.”
Jesse Williams, about a leaked cell phone video of him in the nude onstage during a Broadway performance of “Take Me Out”
Unedited versions of the clip have been mostly deleted from the Internet. Believe me! I looked for them! All in the nature of hardcore free speech veracity, of course, because I know you – dear readers – want the brutal honesty you’ve come to expect of me. I guess you could also include the fact I’m slowly metamorphosing into a dirty “old” man.
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Worst Quotes of the Week – May 14, 2022
“I think I can speak for myself and other colleagues that align with my policy beliefs — we’ll continue to do our best to make abortion not just outlawed, but unthinkable”
Texas Rep. Briscoe Cain, about the possibility the U.S. Supreme Court will overturn 1973 Roe vs. Wade
Cain is a member of the far-right Freedom Caucus in the Texas State Legislature.
“If you were to take or destroy the eggs of a sea turtle — now I said, the eggs…. The criminal penalties are severe: up to a $100,000 fine and a year in prison. Now, why do we have laws in place to protect the eggs of a sea turtle, or the eggs of eagles? Because, when you destroy an egg, you’re killing a pre-born baby sea turtle or a pre-born baby eagle. Yet when it comes to a pre-born human baby rather than a sea turtle, that baby will be stripped of all protections in all 50 states…. Is that the America the left wants?”
Montana Sen. Steve Daines, arguing that human egg cells should be afforded the same protection as eagle and turtle eggs, in a speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate
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Best Quotes of the Week – May 14, 2022
“The wife of a Supreme Court justice doing what Ginni Thomas did is utterly unheard of in the history of the United States. Justice Thomas, talking about [the] legitimacy of institutions – either the White House or the court itself – he should recuse himself, which he refuses to do, from any case involving the president of the United States and the election.”
Carl Bernstein, condemning Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas for criticizing Americans opposed to the possibility of Roe vs. Wade being reversed
Describing Thomas as “rogue” and “disingenuous”, he added, “There is a real failure of institutions, especially on the Supreme Court, by a rogue justice who would not say, ‘I’m going to step aside.’” Bernstein also noted that Thomas’ wife, Virginia (Ginni) Thomas, had worked to overturn the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
Thomas had given a speech at the 11th Circuit Judicial Conference in Atlanta last week chastising people for “becoming addicted to wanting particular outcomes.” The Court, Thomas said, “can’t be an institution that can be bullied into giving you just the outcomes you want. The events from earlier this week are a symptom of that.”
It has to be noted that, in December 2000, Thomas was among the SCOTUS justices who ordered the state of Florida to stop counting ballots for the presidential election; thus handing George W. Bush the presidency.
“I’m a rape victim myself. And when you realize what’s happened in your life, the trauma, the emotional, the mental, the physical trauma in a woman’s life, that decision ― she should make that decision with her doctor and between her and her God.”
Rep. Nancy Mace, in an interview with CBS News’ “Face the Nation”
Mace added that, while she backs abortion rights and wants to see abortion laws handled at the state level, she would personally only support anti-abortion legislation in South Carolina that has exceptions for rape, incest and in cases where the woman’s life is in jeopardy.
“Is the state of Mississippi going to force those girls and women who have this tragedy inside them to carry the child to term? Are you going to force them to do that?”
Jake Tapper, interviewing the Governor of Mississippi Tate Reeves about the possibility the U.S. Supreme Court will overturn the landmark 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision
It was a Mississippi case that led to this critical moment in judicial history. Tapper also asked Reeves if the state will force mothers to carry a child to term, even if the fetus is detected with “serious or fatal abnormalities that will not allow [it] to live outside the womb,” and in cases of incest.
Reeves argued that abortion procedures overwhelmingly happen in elective cases while incest is a much more uncommon circumstance by comparison. “If we need to have that conversation in the future about potential exceptions in the trigger law, we can certainly do that,” he said.
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Happy Mother’s Day 2022
“They say our mothers really know how to push our buttons – because they installed them.”
Image: Business Today
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Retro Quote – Dave Barnhart
“‘The unborn’ are a convenient group of people to advocate for. They never make demands of you; they are morally uncomplicated, unlike the incarcerated, addicted, or chronically poor. They don’t resent your condescension or complain that you are not politically correct. Unlike widows, they don’t ask you to question patriarchy; unlike orphans, they don’t need money, education, or childcare. Unlike aliens, they don’t bring all that racial, cultural and religious baggage that you dislike. They allow you to feel good about yourself without any work at creating or maintaining relationships; and when they are born, you can forget about them because they cease to be unborn. It’s almost as if – by being unborn – they have died to you. You can love the unborn and advocate for them without substantially challenging your own wealth, power, or privilege, without re-imagining social structures, apologizing, or making reparations to anyone. They are, in short, the perfect people to love if you want to claim you love Jesus but actually dislike people who breathe. Prisoners? Immigrants? The sick? The poor? Widows? Orphans? All the groups that are specifically mentioned in the Bible? They all get thrown under the bus for the unborn.”
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Word of the Week – May 7, 2022
Monopsony
[mə-NAHP-sə-nee]
Noun
Greek, 1930s
Economics – a market situation in which there is only one buyer. From the Greek suffix “mono” meaning “one” and the Greek “opsōnein,” meaning “buy provisions.” Monopsony can be easily mistaken with “monopoly,” but they have somewhat inverse definitions. While a “monopsony” is a fiscal condition in which there is only one buyer of a good or service, a “monopoly” is a situation in which there is only one producer of a good or service. Economic theory proposes that monopsonies can lead to lower wages for workers because they are paid less than their marginal revenue product.
Example: Elon Musk’s recent purchase of Twitter is proof the ultra-rich have been granted a monopsony over the media by the U.S. Congress.
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Video of the Week – May 7, 2022
During the “Netflix Is A Joke” festival at the Hollywood Bowl on May 3, veteran comic Dave Chappelle’s performance came to a halt when a man rushed the stage and attacked him.
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Chief Writing Wolf 