Word Games and Hypocrisy

   If collusion is not a crime, as the Trumpians insist, how come the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) can file charges against a Texas firm for "colluding" with other firms to limit wages?
   The FTC said a therapist company and two owners have settled charges that they "colluded on rates paid to physical therapists in the Dallas/Fort Worth area."
   “Just as it is illegal for competitors to agree to fix prices on the products they sell in order to drive prices up, it is illegal for competitors to agree to fix wages or fees paid to workers in order to drive wages down,” said Bruce Hoffman, Director of the Bureau of Competition.
   The company involved, Your Therapy Source, as well as its owner and the previous owner of a competing firm, were charged with colluding to reduce pay rates for therapists and that they invited other companies also to collude on the rates.
   The term "collusion" was used regularly in the announcement, but the word "conspiracy" was not.
   Those named in the case have agreed to settle the charges, the FTC said.

   This news comes just a day after Trump supporters, led by lawyer Rudy Giuliani, proclaimed to any news outlet they could reach that "collusion is not a crime."
   So how come when a local company does it the feds jump on the case as illegal collusion, but when the president and his allies agree to do something deceptive and fraudulent there's no problem?
   Can you say "hypocrisy"?

Semantic Antics

   "When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said in a rather scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean -- neither more nor less."

   "The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things."

   "The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master -- that's all."

   -- Lewis Carroll, "Through the Looking Glass."

   Lawyers are word warriors. They will argue definitions and connotations all day, to convince others that an action is or is not legal, acceptable or appropriate.

   It's a prosecutor's job to frame his or her argument in such a way as to persuade the court of someone's guilt.

   A defense attorney, on the other hand, will use the same information and the same or similar words to persuade the court that the client is innocent, or at least to plant sufficient doubt that an offense was committed.

   In their lawyer training academies, they will switch sides in their practice sessions to gain experience in arguing whatever case they are assigned.

   In doing this, they often play semantic games, arguing that a word does not really mean what you may think it means, but means something else entirely.

   For example, what's the difference  between collusion and conspiracy, or compared to conniving, corruption, complicity, plotting, scheming, collaborating, coordinating, or planning to deceive, mislead or defraud?

   To most people, all of these terms imply actions that are at least immoral and potentially illegal. But legally, according to federal law, collusion is not a crime, while conspiracy is.

   What's the difference? Collusion is a secret agreement to do something illegal, such as to deceive, mislead or defraud.  But until and unless that agreement is carried out, it's not a crime. When it is carried out, it's a conspiracy. The agreement is not a crime, but the act is.

   Go figure.

   For most people, the terms are practically synonymous. But politicians currently are using the word "collusion" every day, while avoiding the term "conspiracy."

   Ask two lawyers for definitions of a term, and you're likely to get three meanings, depending on whether he or she is a prosecutor, defense attorney or a disinterested judge.

   Recently, we have also heard politicians insist that investigators "broke in" to an office to seize "secret" recordings of conversations between a lawyer and his client, in this instance the president of the United States.

   Except that investigators politely knocking on a door and showing a search warrant approved by a federal judge is not a "break-in." And when one party to a conversation records the chat, it's not secret and therefore not illegal, even if the other party does not know of the recording.

   Nevertheless, that does not stop the president's supporters from continuing their insistence that their words mean just what they choose them to mean, and that you can't know what the words mean until they tell you.

Double Negatives

   "Don't use double negatives," said the grammar teacher, "because two negatives make a positive."
   "But that's only true in algebra," said the math teacher.
   "And some languages require double negatives," said the French teacher.
   "Sometimes repetition for emphasis is useful," the editor pointed out.

   All this comes to mind as the president of the United States tried to walk back his rejection of the charge that Russia meddled in the 2016 election.
   Recordings of the comment have the president clearly saying, "I don't see why it would be," as he accepted Vladimir Putin's denial that Russia interfered in the election process, overruling the unanimous agreement of U.S. intelligence agencies that it did.
   But after a torrent of outrage from Americans that Donald Trump appeared to be in Putin's pocket, Trump insisted he had inadvertently left out the ending "-n't" from the word "would," so the sentence really should have been "I don't see why it wouldn't be," adding that it was "sort of a double negative."
   Except that in the context of the rest of the statement, this particular sentence makes no sense, and to suggest that the two negatives somehow make a positive makes even less sense.
   Double negatives are common in many dialects of English, and to condemn their use is only to say that some dialects have more prestige than others. But that is a social judgment. Linguistically, all dialects are equal, because they enable their speakers to communicate easily.
   Finally, all this is an example of the standard complaint by politicians, when caught saying something egregiously wrong, of insisting, "What I really meant was ..."
   Doesn't work. Video machines record what you say, and journalists report what you say. If you meant something else, you should have said something else.

The Party's Over

   Watch for signs that the Republican Party in America is falling apart and may soon disappear.
   Already, many GOP officeholders have decided to abandon any bid for re-election, and some incumbents are increasingly saying they oppose many of the actions of their party leader, President Donald Trump. In addition, government officials, including those appointed by Trump, are resigning their positions rather than continue to serve their volatile leader.
   The catch in the problem, however, is the strong loyalty shown by Trump's ever-loyal base of support.
   As he proclaimed during the election campaign, "I could shoot someone in the middle of Fifth Avenue and not lose any voters."
   This high confidence in the loyalty of his supporters, combined with a deep-seated sense of his own invincibility, combine to reinforce his conviction that he can do what he likes without consequences.
   Complicating the issue is the possibility that he is somehow beholden to the Russian government and to Vladimir Putin, perhaps related to his financial dealings with government owned and controlled Russian banks. There have been solid reports that many Western banks stopped doing business with the Trump Organization after numerous defaults on construction loans. As a result, the company began taking out loans from other banks, allegedly benefitting from Moscow's need to find a way to launder money it acquired in other ways.
   It has been suggested that this is one of the things that Putin is using to keep Trump in his pocket, forcing the American president to bend to the Russian leader's wishes.
   In turn, this would explain why the normally boisterous Trump is overwhelmingly courteous in his comments about Putin, even as he boots his criticism of America's allies in Canada, Britain, France and Germany.
   Details of Trump's financial dealings and allegations of money laundering won't fully be known until the president releases his tax returns, something he has steadfastly refused to do.
   It remains possible, moreover, that investigators led by special counsel Robert Mueller will subpoena Trump's tax returns, thus harvesting the evidence to prove the president's involvement with foreign entities.
   In turn, this could lead to criminal and/or impeachment proceedings, based on the constitutional ban on elected officials benefiting in any way from doing business with foreign companies or governments.
   It's called the emoluments clause in the Constitution.
   In addition, there is the Constitutional ban on "treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors," which is grounds for impeachment.
   Already, numerous publications in America are using the T-word in their headlines about Trump's dealings with Putin.
   Meanwhile, the Mueller probe obtained indictments of a dozen Russian intelligence officers charging them with working to invade the American voting system to help elect Trump.
   The next question is, what American citizens did they work with in attempting to push the election to Trump's advantage?
   Stay tuned.
   While waiting, try reading "The Plot to Seize the White House," by Jules Archer; "The Plot Against America," by Philip Roth; and a new volume titled "The Plot to Destroy America," by Malcolm Vance.
   Not to worry, some may say, because such a thing can't happen here.
   Oh, right, that's another book title: "It Can't Happen Here," by Sinclair Lewis.
   The reality is that it very nearly did, and if Americans are not vigilant, it may just happen.
   Fortunately, the nation still has a vigilant and free press to continue warning of the danger, regardless of anyone's bombastic rantings about "fake news" perpetrated by journalists and news media that are labeled "the enemy of the people."

Witch Hunt

He may have a big mouth, but I've got a pencil. -- Pug Mahoney

   The president and his henchmen continue to dismiss the investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 election as a "witch hunt."
   So far, more than two dozen people have been indicted, copped a plea or agreed to cooperate with the special counsel's probe.
   That's a lot of witches.

  The latest pronouncement from the White House is that no Americans on the president's campaign were listed in the indictment of a dozen Russian intelligence agents.
   This is true. No Americans were indicted. This week. Yet. There were, however, others who have been indicted on other charges.
   The question now is, who worked with the indicted Russians in the alleged meddling?
   
   Meanwhile, the president continues to bash America's friends, allies and journalists who do their job of asking tough questions and reporting what the president says and does, especially when his talk and actions conflict with fact and reality.
   When the so-called "witch hunt" finds many witches, it's no longer "fake news." In a free society, the pen is mightier than the sword, and a loud mouth is just that.
   Loud

Geography Lesson

Don't shoot off your mouth before your brain is loaded. -- Pug Mahoney

   During his tour of England, Donald Trump noted today that "I have property in the UK -- Scotland, Ireland."
   That will be news to the people of Ireland, which is an independent nation and has been for nearly 100 years. Moreover, one can argue that technically, Ireland has never been part of the United Kingdom, even though it was controlled by the British government.
   Historically, the UK was formed after the death of Queen Elizabeth I, when her cousin King James VI of Scotland united the two kingdoms, becoming King James I of England as well as retaining his Scottish crown.
   The nation then became known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain. This solved the potential problem of which country would come first in the new name, whether the country would be known as the United Kingdom of England and Scotland, or as Scotland and England. Either way, the Scots or the English would not be happy. So they settled on "Great Britain."
   In any case, Trump does indeed own a golf course in the west of Ireland, where he has been arguing with local zoning officials over whether he can build a wall to keep out the tide.
   But this property is in the Republic of Ireland, which gained its independence after the Easter Rising of 1916.
   Perhaps the current president of the United States should review a little history before going on an official visit to another country.

Civility

Respect cannot be demanded. It must be earned. -- Pug Mahoney

   Courtesy is a two-way street, and the only way it works is when people on the street observe both sides.
   You cannot demand it of others and not return it in kind. Otherwise, you show yourself to be a rude, crude, overbearing bully who does not deserve the civility, much less the loyalty, you expect from others.
   That may sound like someone you know personally as well as a prominent politician who has been in the news lately.
   Interrupting others is always rude, especially in a public forum of major political leaders.
   So if you want civil treatment, be civil. And remember that we are all created equal. In case you have forgotten, that's in one of the founding documents of the American republic.

   When you berate others with a barrage of insults, mockery, abuse and vilification, be prepared for such tactics to be returned. Either that, or you will be ignored as someone not worth responding to, much less dealing with, no matter your rank in government.
   Moreover, you will lose what few friends you may have had, all the way up to the international level.
   For an arrogant, uncivil egoist, to be ignored is a fate worse than defeat.