Ramping Up The Bullshit

I always get a kick out of political language, the purpose of which, George Orwell once opined, "is to make lies sound truthful, and murder respectable."

I once worked at a television station whose general manager was quite charismatic ... until you were no longer in the room. It's amazing how different one can be from his fellow man. He was the type of guy who often said things like, "as we move forward" at the end of a sentence. I'll always be the kind of guy to just end the sentence.

Certainly I tell some seemingly never-ending stories. Just ask Gatsby; I can talk forever without a point in mind. But when it comes to simple conversation, who needs the bullshit? Why not just be honest so people have only what you're saying to be pissed about? When you lie, you're telling people you think they're dumb enough to believe you.

So it's all about the spin, then. To wit:

Here in Louisville, Ky., just a few weeks ago, the head honcho of Churchill Downs said the Kentucky Derby, more than a century old, finally reached a sponsorship that will now require broadcasters to say something like, "Yum! Brands presents the 132nd running of the Kentucky Derby." Of course, when a deal like this is not "a predicate of money," as Churchill CEO Tom Meeker claims, the terms of the agreement always seem to be left private.

"We haven't sold out to Yum! Brands," Meeker alleged. "We're trying to create a relationship that is a win-win relationship at various levels for the sport, for the community and for brand extension."

1) Maybe the sport wins because there's now more money in it. Well, that's almost accurate. Despite the presumably several-million dollar windfall, the purse for the actual race does not increase.

2) How does the Louisville community win? I seriously would like to know.

3) And brand extension? Isn't that poli-speak for "this IS, indeed, about money?

This rant is nothing new. For some reason this afternoon, I just can't shake the thought of that charismatic general manager who made sure to remember everyone's first name when he began his job. It was as if he was saying, "They'll like me," but once he got a taste of the aristocracy, he reverted to his nature and the proletariat saw right through it, just as it usually does with the liars who call themselves politicans.