No you can't and don't change on my account

When I was a kid I had a gofer gig on my way home from school. I would get coffee for the men who worked at a gas station and their friends who would gather at the mechanics' break and talk. Like a lot of Boston area Micks, the discussion would be political.

These men were high school grads at most. All of them voted Democrat. The arguments they had were on a higher level than anything I've heard from college grads, whether in person or on radio or TV in the last couple of decades. I suspect this is because the parochial school system of that day was superior to the winter camp that college has become now.

Most of the current campaign, whether Democrat or Republican has been the retailing of twaddle to the American people. The most embarrassing thing I've seen has been the Will.i.am silliness. Just keep chanting "change" and "yes we can" that will give it some meaning. Om me padme om. All the people who appeared in that are not sharp enough to realize they marked themselves as primitives.

Reflecting on all this, I've come to the conclusion that the only purpose to elections is that unlike some other countries we don't change governments violently. We select candidates with little rhyme or reason and then vote and go on.

The current campaign has caused an addition to the Short Dictionary of Politics.

Change: 1. Old, To transform or convert. 2. New, Politically, whatever you want it to mean.

Now more on elections and how they are sold by the candidates. If you saw Mrs. Clinton's Christmas message (see below in case you missed it), where she promised everything except a Merlot Maintenance Program for those of us who don't need methadone (and she might have hooked me with that) you can see the justice of our dictionaries definition of her party.



Democratic Party: American cargo cult masquerading as a political association.

Mrs. Clinton has inspired us to steal from H.L. Mencken, "Every Election is a Sort of Advance Auction Sale of Stolen Goods" and we distill it thus

Election: Auction in advance of stolen goods.

H.L. wrote this in either the twenties or thirties of the last century. Plus ca change and you finish it.