The third-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the majority. The second-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the minority. The first-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking.

                                                                                         --A. A. Milne

Rhetoric is the art of using language to communicate effectively. It involves three audience appeals: logos, pathos, and ethos, as well as the five canons of rhetoric: invention or discovery, arrangement, style, memory, and delivery. Along with grammar and logic or dialectic, rhetoric is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. From ancient Greece to the late 19th Century, it was a central part of Western education, filling the need to train public speakers and writers to move audiences to action with arguments.[1] The very act of defining has itself been a central part of rhetoric, appearing among Aristotle's Topics.[2] The word is derived from the Greek ῥητορικός (rhētorikós), "oratorical",[3] from ῥήτωρ (rhḗtōr), "public speaker",[4] related to ῥημα (rhêma), "that which is said or spoken, word, saying",[5] and ultimately derived from the verb ἐρῶ (erô), "to speak, say".[6] In its broadest sense, rhetoric concerns human discourse (wiki)

Tourette syndrome (also called Tourette's syndrome, Tourette's disorder, Gilles de la Tourette syndrome, GTS or, more commonly, simply Tourette's or TS) is an inherited neuropsychiatric disorder with onset in childhood, characterized by the presence of multiple physical (motor) tics and at least one vocal (phonic) tic; these tics characteristically wax and wane. Tourette's is defined as part of a spectrum of tic disorders, which includes transient and chronic tics.

Tourette's is considered a rare and bizarre syndrome, most often associated with the exclamation of obscene words or socially inappropriate and derogatory remarks (coprolalia) (wiki modified)

These two concepts have fused together to create an entirely new form of expression in politics today.

THE COMMANDER IN SHITE

President George W. Bush was elected to office during extremely troubled times. A scandal had besmirched the sanctity of our White House. Obscene things had been going on in the Oval Office and the American People were seeking change and elected to office a man of extreme humility and religious leanings.

If any of you are interested in what George Bush believes spiritually, here it is.  It's from an interview when he was asked about his faith. "Actually, the seeds of my decision had been planted the year before, by the Reverend Billy Graham. He visited my family for a summer weekend in Maine. I saw him preach at the small summer church, St. Ann's by the Sea. We all had lunch on the patio overlooking the ocean. One evening my dad asked Billy to answer questions from a big group of family gathered for the weekend. He sat by the fire and talked. And what he said sparked a change in my heart. I don't remember the exact words. It was more the power of his example... I was humbled to learn that God sent His Son to die for a sinner like me. I was comforted to know that through the Son, I could find God's amazing grace, a grace that crosses every border, every barrier and is open to everyone. Through the love of Christ's life, I could understand the life changing powers of faith. (ie. The Lord was so clearly reflected in his gentle and loving demeanor.)

http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/g/georgewbush.htm

In George W. Bush's First Inaugural, a promise of a new path toward salvation was promised to the American People:

 I am honored and humbled to stand here, where so many of America's leaders have come before me, and so many will follow...

 While many of our citizens prosper, others doubt the promise, even the justice, of our own country. ..   Our democratic faith is more than the creed of our country, it is the inborn hope of our humanity, an ideal we carry but do not own, a trust we bear and pass along...   

This work continues. This story goes on. And an angel still rides in the whirlwind and directs this storm.48   God bless you all, and God bless America.http://www.bartleby.com/124/pres66.html

And I believe that this piety, this shining example of Christian humility became manifest in one short expression of faith rendered by this great statesman:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0NJXoWATcM

And in foreign affairs, George W. Bush was no shirker:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7_p9Q3cZZk

And this new type of rhetoric became part and parcel of what it means to be an American Statesman; something to hand down to our children in cartoon form:

http://www.flowgo.com/funny/13115_bush-said-sh1t.html

OUR FORMER VICE-PRESIDENT; THE REAL DICK

There comes a time when a man must make a stand and the man was Richard Milhous Cheney and the time was 2004:

2004: Cheney is the former CEO of Halliburton, and Democrats have suggested that while serving in the Bush administration he helped win lucrative contracts for his former firm, including a no-bid contract to rebuild Iraq.

Cheney was chief executive officer of Halliburton from 1995 to 2000. He resigned when he became George Bush's running mate.

In response to Cheney, Leahy reminded Cheney that the vice president had once accused him of being a bad Catholic, to which Cheney replied either "f--- off" or "go f--- yourself."   http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/06/24/cheney.leahy/

2004: "That's not the kind of language I usually use," the vice president said in the interview during a campaign stop in Michigan.

"Do you have any regrets?," Neil Cavuto asked.

"No. I said it," the vice president responded.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/06/25/cheney.leahy/

2008: WALLACE: Did you tell Senator Leahy, "bleep yourself"?

CHENEY: I did.

WALLACE: Any qualms, second thoughts, or embarrassment?

CHENEY: No, I thought he merited it at the time and we've since patched over that wound.

Later in the program, Weekly Standard Editor Bill Kristol remarked that he thought Cheney's comments represented "a beautiful statement, really, of justice." "Dick Cheney is going out defending justice in the end," Kristol concluded.

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/12/21/cheney-leahy-bleep/

20120: Former Vice President Dick Cheney says telling Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) to go "f--- yourself" was "the best thing I ever did."

Then Miller cut in to say "I love that move," calling it "one of my favorite stories."

"You'd be surprised how many people liked that," Cheney responded. "That's sort of the best thing I  ever did.

When I contacted the former Vice-President for further comment he noted that:

You are nothing but another one of those f@@cking liberal c*nts who has no respect for what this f^^cking country has done for you and you listen to me you motherf@@@er, if you think you homo fa##ots can tell me what is proper and what is not proper and and this liberal media is filled with nothing but co*^sucking bastards and furthermore f*ck you and f*ck your mother....

At that point my phone lost power. You know you really have to keep these bastards plugged in. I mean how often can you get a former Vice-President of the United States of America on the phone?

But where are the Democrats with regard to this new Turrettes Rhetorical Style?

OUR CURRENT VICE-PRESIDENT:

Biden's pronouncement as Obama prepared to sign the health care legislation last month -- "This is a big F*&%ING deal" -- was broadcast widely at the time, and since then has been repeatedly viewed on YouTube and even turned into T-shirts by the Democratic National Committee (the T-shirts use the abbreviation BFD). http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iR1-_CAhlRTSAXkSNDYZpIiUqMTQD9F88E180

When I contacted our Vice-President he noted that it really was not that big a f^%king deal.

SHITTY SHITTY BANG BANG

Senator Carl Levin went on the attack against the infidels who control between 50% - 63% of our entire economy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLx2Xc1EXLg

No matter what you think of the government putting Goldman Sachs on trial for questionable investment practices, one thing is for sure: They make for excellent theater. In a widely talked-about moment (or rather, series of moments) from the hearings, Michigan senator Carl Levin referred to an e-mail sent by Goldman Sachs executive Daniel Sparks that called a certain piece of business a "sh---y deal." (As National Public Radio put it, it's a six-letter word that rhymes with "pretty.") Levin turned the off-color phrase into a sort of absurdist mantra, and the constant repetition turned a typically dry piece of C-SPAN footage into an oft-spun piece of tape on all of the cable news networks.

http://newsroom.mtv.com/2010/04/28/carl-levin-goldman-sachs/

When I contacted the Michigan Senator he noted that the Hallowed Halls of Congress had just become a shite bucket of card carrying Republican manure spreaders hopelessly lost in the republican bullshit measures to halt all meaningful legislation.

So let's all sit back and breathe a sigh of relief for the new age of Turrettes Rhetoric.

And ya'll have a good m%^$#cking day. Ya'hear!!!