Final Word from Thursday, July 19, 2012
Bill Maher is a left-leaning political comedian who is so funny
that even a few conservatives laugh at his jokes. He said he
secretly wants Mitt Romney to win the U.S. election, because
Romney is an ultra-Caucasian Mormon zillionaire. For a
comedian not to want material like that for the next four years,
Maher said, would be like Halliburton not wanting a war. And
we're in a similar position vis-à-vis Miroslav Kalousek. As
responsible citizens, we wholeheartedly agree with Karel
Hvížďala that Kalousek's behavior, vocabulary and choleric
performances demean his office, the cabinet, his party and the
country, and that he should leave public life. But we also seek
out the droll and absurd in politics, and with Kalousek in
banishment or prison, we'd have to shelve all those jokes about
booze, tax waivers and Liechtenstein bank accounts. Life without
Kalousek to kick around just wouldn't be the same anymore.[Czech Republic Richard Nixon finance minister]
Glossary of difficult words
Kalousek is not a crook! - as allusion to Richard Nixon, who famously declared, "I am not a crook.";
zillionaire - an extremely rich person;
wholeheartedly - with complete sincerity and commitment;
ulta-Caucasian - being very white or behaving in such a way (being white is now considered by some people in the U.S. to be a handicap in public life);
to demean - to cause a severe loss in the dignity of and respect for someone or something;
droll - curious or unusual in a way that provokes dry amusement;
banishment - in a place or position of exile or official punishment;
to shelve - to put aside, abandon;
booze - alcohol;
to kick around - Nixon famously said after losing the race for governor of California in 1962 that, "You [the press] don't have Nixon to kick around anymore."