TINNUTS and TANSTAAFL!
Bill Falzett III
February 22, 2008
TINNUTS and TANSTAAFL! It sounds like a German salute, some festive Christmas decor, or maybe something comical and lewd. Not so; there is nothing here about salutations, holidays or metallic genitalia. In this age of sound bites, electronic mail and text messaging, some of you may instead recognize TINNUTS and TANSTAAFL as acronyms. Admittedly though not as common or versatile as the more familiar LOL, OMG and TTYL, TINNUTS and TANSTAAFL are very important and useful acronyms. Let me explain:
TINNUTS, There Is Nothing New Under The Sun. This saying has its origins at least as far back as the Hebrew scripture of Ecclesiastes. In addition to being a summary disclaimer that this article will reveal nothing that someone somewhere has not already thought about or said, TINNUTS is a statement of life on earth in general. Basically it means that no matter what I think, say, do or conceive of, it has already been thought, said, done or conceived of. The only thing I can do is to attempt to make the concept timely by applying it to current events or present circumstances. Lets face it, if the earth is billions of years old, and there was nothing new under the sun when Ecclesiastes was written over 2000 years ago, there certainly is nothing new today. It is a fact, TINNUTS!
TANSTAAFL, There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch. This one has been around for at least 60 years. It basically means that everything has a cost; Anything that appears to be free is not, because someone, somewhere is going to have to pay for it. Try to claim anything that is supposedly free, and see if you don't eventually find there is a cost hidden in there somewhere. Trust me, TANSTAAFL!
The Democrats are offering Change again this election year. Which reminds me of another useful acronym, TMTCTMTSTS, The More Things Change The More They Stay The Same. Once again, TINNUTS, because change is what liberals and progressives are always talking about and working toward. Change is synonymous with liberal and progressive, and the bedrock of the modern Democrat platform. It is also the antithesis of the constancy implicit in conservative principles and traditional values. I cannot think of a better application of TMTCTMTSTS, than to the Liberal Progressive Democrats. A REAL change would be for a Democrat to show up one day offering stability through adherence to the first principles of the Constitution. Either way you look at it, TMTCTMTSTS, or TINNUTS, there is nothing new here, its all the same.
The Democrats are also offering HOPE. I was going to write a clever bit about one Democrat or another being the Pied Piper of HOPE, but guess what? I happened to Google the phrase, and because TINNUTS, I found it had already been done in a blog response to an article by Ralph Nader of all people. Instead, I will say the Democrats are "trumpeting" HOPE in the form of more government programs to provide more "free lunches". News flash: TANSTAAFL! TANSTAAFL, and guess who is going to be paying for those free lunches? The taxpayer, and we know this because TINNUTS! Furthermore, from what I see, the Democrats are unabashedly offering free lunches, buffet style. If the Democrats have their way, the entitlement crowd can pick from an ever broadening smorgasbord of government programs, all at the expense of those of us paying the bills. Don't you people get it, TANSTAAFL!
The Democrats are offering fresh new faces of change, but for my money, TMTCTMTSTS; I recognize it as the same old song and dance. However, my fear is that the Democrats may manage to convince enough voters there is new hope and a truly free lunch at the end of the rainbow. I am afraid that if we aren't sufficiently vigilant, with a Democrat majority in Congress, a Democrat in the White House, and both poised to anoint Federal Judges, we'll all find within a few years our once great country is FUBAR!
Think about it: TINNUTS and TANSTAAFL!
TINNUTS, There Is Nothing New Under The Sun. This saying has its origins at least as far back as the Hebrew scripture of Ecclesiastes. In addition to being a summary disclaimer that this article will reveal nothing that someone somewhere has not already thought about or said, TINNUTS is a statement of life on earth in general. Basically it means that no matter what I think, say, do or conceive of, it has already been thought, said, done or conceived of. The only thing I can do is to attempt to make the concept timely by applying it to current events or present circumstances. Lets face it, if the earth is billions of years old, and there was nothing new under the sun when Ecclesiastes was written over 2000 years ago, there certainly is nothing new today. It is a fact, TINNUTS!
TANSTAAFL, There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch. This one has been around for at least 60 years. It basically means that everything has a cost; Anything that appears to be free is not, because someone, somewhere is going to have to pay for it. Try to claim anything that is supposedly free, and see if you don't eventually find there is a cost hidden in there somewhere. Trust me, TANSTAAFL!
The Democrats are offering Change again this election year. Which reminds me of another useful acronym, TMTCTMTSTS, The More Things Change The More They Stay The Same. Once again, TINNUTS, because change is what liberals and progressives are always talking about and working toward. Change is synonymous with liberal and progressive, and the bedrock of the modern Democrat platform. It is also the antithesis of the constancy implicit in conservative principles and traditional values. I cannot think of a better application of TMTCTMTSTS, than to the Liberal Progressive Democrats. A REAL change would be for a Democrat to show up one day offering stability through adherence to the first principles of the Constitution. Either way you look at it, TMTCTMTSTS, or TINNUTS, there is nothing new here, its all the same.
The Democrats are also offering HOPE. I was going to write a clever bit about one Democrat or another being the Pied Piper of HOPE, but guess what? I happened to Google the phrase, and because TINNUTS, I found it had already been done in a blog response to an article by Ralph Nader of all people. Instead, I will say the Democrats are "trumpeting" HOPE in the form of more government programs to provide more "free lunches". News flash: TANSTAAFL! TANSTAAFL, and guess who is going to be paying for those free lunches? The taxpayer, and we know this because TINNUTS! Furthermore, from what I see, the Democrats are unabashedly offering free lunches, buffet style. If the Democrats have their way, the entitlement crowd can pick from an ever broadening smorgasbord of government programs, all at the expense of those of us paying the bills. Don't you people get it, TANSTAAFL!
The Democrats are offering fresh new faces of change, but for my money, TMTCTMTSTS; I recognize it as the same old song and dance. However, my fear is that the Democrats may manage to convince enough voters there is new hope and a truly free lunch at the end of the rainbow. I am afraid that if we aren't sufficiently vigilant, with a Democrat majority in Congress, a Democrat in the White House, and both poised to anoint Federal Judges, we'll all find within a few years our once great country is FUBAR!
Think about it: TINNUTS and TANSTAAFL!
Print
Email
