Famous Sayings #155 — ‘Sacred Cow’

July 1, 2019

This pre-meeting ritual of singing the company motto has become our boss’s sacred cow. It’s impractical, time-consuming, and annoying, but he will hear none of it.

Cows are honored during Gopastami, a “Cow Holiday” held yearly in India.

Sorry for being late with this post (I try to post on Sundays), but here is a term that should be familiar to most people.

Chances are you have heard this term uttered by a comedian or someone else who is controversial or iconoclastic. Whenever someone mentions a “sacred cow,” you know they have offended someone, or they are referring to someone who they feel or say is being overly sensitive. But why use the term sacred cow? Let’s first delve into the meaning of that term.

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John McCain Is Ailing, but He Can Be Fairly Criticized

Sen. John McCain addresses the audience at the 129th National Guard Association of the United States General Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Aug. 25, 2007. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill) (Released)

This past week, many Americans heard or read some said news about Arizona Sen. John McCain. The six-term senator, a war veteran and former POW, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer. He had to be hospitalized because doctors found a brain tumor.

McCain had the tumor removed completely, but he had the same form of cancer that killed Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy and Bo Biden (former Vice President Joe Biden’s son). The prognosis is not good for Sen. McCain, who is 80 years old.

After this news came out, there were people on the left and the far right who went after McCain and said he deserved this illness. I would never wish that on anyone.

On the other hand, it is fair to criticize McCain’s Senate votes, past and present.

In particular, McCain made a key vote in order to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (A.K.A. the ACA or “Obamacare”). I want to share my thoughts on this development. Let this serve as a prelude to a deeper discussion of health care in the United States.

Famous Sayings: #57 — ‘The Truth Will Set You Free’

April 14, 2017

Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.

Since Easter Sunday is approaching, I thought I would look at a biblical quote that also has many secular uses. As it turns out, this phrase has been varied so much that the quote above is only a variation.

While many other Bible verses have secular uses, and some may have origins that predate the Bible itself, I kind of find it odd how this expression morphed over the centuries. What makes this expression so special? Let’s first look at the context and other uses.