Hornswaggler | The culture, the humor, a bit of the sports, not so much the politics, and the workplace distraction
Hornswaggle is an alternate spelling of
hornswoggle, an archaic word that means to bamboozle or hoodwink. I take my
pronunciation from the late Harvey Korman in "Blazing Saddles" --
"I want rustlers, cutthroats, murderers,
bounty hunters, desperados, mugs, pugs, thugs, nitwits, halfwits, dimwits,
vipers, snipers, conmen, Indian agents, Mexican bandits, muggers,
buggerers, bushwhackers, hornswagglers, horse thieves, bull dykes, train
robbers, bank robbers, ass kickers, shit kickers and Methodists!"
I try not to write about politics these days but David Brooks' obtuseness is irresistible. In his May 26 column, Brooks argues that the Republicans should seek a grand bargain on raising the debt ceiling, under which Democrats would agree to Medicare cuts. "In exchange, Republicans should offer to raise tax revenues on the rich."
Have ya been, uh, payin' attention to the, uh, politics in the nation's capital there, David? BECAUSE THAT'S NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN. There's a better chance of Maria Shriver taking Arnold back than Republicans raising taxes on the rich. It's kind of their animating purpose.
The whole thing is premised on the notion that what Republicans really care about is cutting the debt, when what they really care about is cutting taxes on the wealthy and dismantling entitlement programs. The debt just provides an excuse to do it. It's debatable whether Brooks actually believes this false notion or not.
