George Will once described the phrase "That's Not Unmeaningless" as "My Favorite Triple Negative."  In the spirit of clarifying some of the dishonest drivel that passes for political discourse these days, I offer here a brief sample of my favorite less than meaningful expressions and brainless blather. People's Democratic Republic This is perhaps the most (or is it the least?) unmeaningless phrase of all – the grand-daddy of all political newspeak.  This is a widely used example of that rare linguistic species, the "Triple Oxymoron."  It has been favored by communist dictatorships throughout the world since the early 20th century, as in The People's Democratic Republic of China, Vietnam, Korea, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Yemen, Laos, the Congo, and so on. A slightly more honest variation is the extremely rare "Quadruple Oxymoron": People's Democratic Socialist Republic.  These at...(Read Full Article)