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Today’s word, boys and girls, comes from my favorite of favorites talk show, Left, Right, and Center. Not only does it have actual, well thought out dialog, not only does it have a conservative that I actually can listen to and sometimes (egad!) agree with, but it also has the wonderful Arianna Huffington, who I might have a wee little crush on or something.

Anyway, a great word came up in the latest podcast which I listened to, several times, while on vacation this past week. The word that caught my ear is risible, and given the discourse of public events in the world today, I likely will use this one often.

risible

Laughably ludicrous, in a derogatory, derisive way

One thing that grabbed my attention when this word came up (I had no idea what it meant), is that the moderator of the show, Matt Miller who also was not familiar with the word, asked right there on the show, for the definition. Yay Matt! That lack of erudite ego-centric I-can-do-no-wrong attitude, combined with a rather sophisticated level of political discourse is a hallmark of LR&C, and what, at least in my opinion, elevates it above the rest of the punditry, both on air and online, spouted my those bobble-heads whose risible rhetoric lends a closer eye to their self-congratulatory smugness than actually probing and examining the issues.

But enough of my own spouting. Here’s the transcript for that snippet of the show, the topic being Darth Cheney claiming to not be part of the Executive Branch as a means of evading even a mere sense of accountability from his office:

Tony Blankley: Look, the opening statement by Cheney’s people that he, as it was reported, that he isn’t part of the Executive Branch, sounds risible. As I understand it, and I could misunderstand it, but as I understand it they were arguing a more technical thing that within the Executive Order that authorized certain people in the Executive Branch to have to follow certain declassification procedures, that the Vice President’s Office was not part of the Executive Branch as described for that limited purpose. Now, I have to also say I heard some people from the Vice President’s Office, I think, talk about the Constitution, and if they were talking about the Constitution, it’s nonsense. If they are talking about interpreting an Executive Order, which is purely up to the President to interpret and apply, or rewrite at his will, then they may have a technical argument. But I think at a larger level, it was a political mistake to publicly make an argument that looks so absurd…I mean, he has an office inside the compound. You know…

Matt Miller: It’s sort of a gift to Jon Stewart. Arianna?

Arianna Huffington: Well, it was also a gift to Rahm Emanuel, who did something really smart when he tried to de-fund the Vice President’s Office. He said, “Well, if you aren’t a part of the Executive Branch, why are we paying you?” and I thought it was so smart, I mean, I wish Democrats would do more, sort of, out-of-the-box things like that because it got a lot of play, it focused attention on just how risible, as Tony put it, this claim was, and then it was left to the hapless poor Press Secretary at the White House to try and argue that constitutional scholars are debating whether this is true or not and it is not up to her since she is not a constitutional scholar to tell us what the truth is. So, it was really the low point when it comes to this particular Dick in the White House.

Matt Miller: Bob, what do you make of it, and what does risible mean actually? I mean, I know this is public radio so everyone will know, but what does it mean? Contemptable?

Tony Blankley: Laughable, but there is a derogatory, particularly derisive component to the sound of that laughter.

Matt Miller: Got it. I hope there is someone out there who appreciates that definition besides me. Bob, what did you make of it?

Robert Scheer: Well, I certainly don’t think it is Cheney’s low point….

No doubt. Check out the rest of that show to hear Robert Sheer just go to town on Darth Dick. It’s certainly worth a listen (as is the whole commentary on the Supreme Court decision that seems to clash with Brown vs. Board of Education- very interesting insights brought up in that part of the show as well).

-c

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