Politics

Opinion | My Weekly "Best Turn-of-Phrase Award"

Vernon Kerr

Oct 12, 2019 — 1 min read

Best Turn-of-Phrase Award

Good rhetoric sometimes makes a point with humor, sometimes with cleverness, sometimes with surprise. When a rhetorical turn-of-phrase hits all three with one fell swoop, it deserves an award. Here is this week’s VernonMilesKerr.com award for Best Turn-of-Phrase:

David A. Graham, writing in The Atlantic

“Earlier this week, White House Counsel Pat Cipollone sent a lengthy rant [the “obstruction letter”] to House Democrats, announcing that the administration would refuse to cooperate with the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump…On Friday, Marie Yovanovitch, the former ambassador to Ukraine who was recalled earlier this year, is giving a transcribed interview behind closed doors over State Department objections. Also on Friday, Gordon Sondland, Trump’s ambassador to the European Union, signaled he would testify as well…
Suddenly the obstruction letter is looking a bit more like a Maginot letter: imposing in theory, impotent in practice.” (emphasis mine)

A Needed Introduction to "Poetry | Farewell to Earth"

In contrast to what he Welsh poet Dylan Thomas (1914—1953) wrote: “Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” I wanted to offer you dear people a more positve and up-to-date

Poetry | Farewell to Earth

Fellow condemned: Can we let down our petty competitive veils for a moment And admit what we have had in common? Yes, we've all had moments of joy that kept us enduring The grief, The failures, The disease, The loss of our senses — of smell, of sight, of

Thanksgiving | Waves of Gratitude

On the day after Thanksgiving I sat in front of our gas log in the dark of early morning, as the valley outside filled with fog and my neighbors' rooftops took on the expected white coating of frost, and I felt grateful for the warmth and for being able

A Fair-Fight

I love how President Biden acknowledged the results of the 2024 US Election and I love his promise to allow a peaceful transition from his Administration to that of President-elect Trump. Much like the "ideal" Christian does, President Biden is "walking the walk" not just "

Best Turn-of-Phrase Award

Read more

A Needed Introduction to "Poetry | Farewell to Earth"

Poetry | Farewell to Earth

Thanksgiving | Waves of Gratitude

A Fair-Fight