Over the past week or so, it's become common to see the new Solon, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, referred to as "AOC," exactly as if she were as important and notable as other initials-only figures such as JFK and FDR.  In the past couple days, even some conservative writers have fallen for this. This is new horizons in asininity, and a stop needs to be put to it. The stratification of the iconic is pretty clear.  On one layer, we have the last name alone, without honorific or title – "Garbo," "Einstein," "Brando" – those honored being too famous to require anything else.  On a higher level are the first-name icons – "Elvis," "Alexander," and so on.  In the modern world, there exists a level above even this, limited to a handful of world-historical figures, such as Franklin D. Roosevelt.  Whatever one might think of FDR, there is no question of his...(Read Full Post)