The word of the day for April 25, 2007 is “prorogue” — transitive verb 1 : DEFER, POSTPONE. 2 : to terminate a session of (as a British parliament) by royal prerogative. : intransitive verb : to suspend or end a legislative session.
In Georgette Heyer’s The Great Roxhythe King Charles II uses prorogation on a fairly regular basis. Granted the man had great provocation. Plots and counter plots abounded then as now. The parliament at that time was still divided as to whether they wanted a commonwealth or a king, but they did bring him back from exile. Then they refused to support him monetarily in the style to which he wished to become accustomed. Therefore Charlie made side deals with anyone he thought might come up with the cash. This did not endear him to the public.
This sounds so familiar in the light of what is going on today. We are led to believe a thing or a situation is as advertised. Our representatives get a bill of some sort before congress and vote it in so it looks like they are doing something about it—but they don’t vote in any funding. After reflection they usually insisting on such strict accountability that the proponents of the bill either have to come up with new and more convincing proof, or they have to drop their schemes. I leave it to the reader to discern to which situations I refer.
The quote for today is from Mason Cooley (b. 1927), U.S. aphorist. City Aphorisms, Fifth Selection, New York (1988):
To postpone unpleasantness is human; to forget it is divine.
;^) Jan
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