Crass and class: A short history of political barbs

One of the most forwarded messages on social media is titled ‘When insults had class’. A sample is an exchange between Nancy Astor, a British MP and the inimitable Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Astor: "Winston, if I were your wife I’d put poison in your coffee." Churchill: "Nancy, if I were your husband I’d drink it." A more bitter exchange between the two quotes Astor calling Churchill a drunk and Churchill calling her ugly.
As anywhere else, politics in Tamil Nadu has had its share of class and crass — mostly the latter. It is not the first time in the history of the state’s politics that below-the-belt barbs have been made by the likes of DMK campaigners A Raja and Dindigul Leoni.
In the 1970s and the 1980s, the DMK and the AIADMK engaged speakers who used vulgar, obscene narratives. At public meetings, generally held late at night in semi-urban areas, these speakers would reel out salacious stories, juicy episodes on the nocturnal activities of rivals, laced with humour and sarcasm, clearly aimed at titillating the audience. Most of the men who gathered at these meetings enjoyed the fare dished out, with their guffaws indicating approval. Women kept away from such events.
These speakers were sometimes more in demand than the senior leaders. On odd occasions, even some women speakers were deployed. In the early days, DMK president M Karunanidhi (Kalaignar) and poet-laureate Kannadasan (Kavignar) would often be engaged in an ugly war of words. Once pushed to the wall, Kannadasan said he would be forced to reveal some "adventures" which he shared with Kalaignar. The next day the DMK asked its speakers not to target Kavignar. When Kannadasan died, Karunanidhi wept inconsolably.
In his early days, Karunanidhi would make sexist remarks. He was said to have compared a file (the one with the red tape, used in government offices) to a petticoat, drawing widespread criticism. Later Karunanidhi took on a more refined role, although there was still the odd-remark against Hindu gods and goddesses. Karunanidhi himself was at the receiving end when it came to sexist remarks. When opposition leaders wanted to know who Dharmambal was (a reference to his second wife, Rajathi Ammal), Karunanidhi came up with the cryptic response: "The mother of my daughter Kanimozhi".
BJP leaders, who today wax eloquent about the need for dignity in speeches, made disparaging remarks about Indira Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, and even called PM Manmohan Singh "impotent".
Chief minister MGR and J Jayalalithaa were targets when opposition leaders referred to his 'Mundhaanai Mudichu' (meaning a knot with a pallu) and the many films in which he acted with a heroine. After three days, when it was his turn to reply to the debate, MGR said: "I have a ‘Mundhaanai Mudichu’, you people are upset that you don’t have such a 'mudichu'". The AIADMK MLAs thumped the desks with an accompanying roar.
DMK founder C N Annadurai was dignified in making a political repartee, whether in Parliament, in the assembly or outside. In a debate on the need for Hindi as the national language because a majority of the people in the country spoke it, Annadurai pointed out that the tiger was the national animal and not the rat whose population ws bigger. Similarly, the national bird was the peacock and not the crow which was everywhere.
Even when he used epithets like dogs, he did it in a suave manner. Where was the need for two doors — the door for the English language as communication was big enough for the dog to go through, and there was no need for a second door to provide for the dog.
When a leader of the opposition hit out at Annadurai saying "Your days are numbered" (he wanted to say that the tenure of the DMK government would end soon, but it came when the CM was fighting cancer), Annadurai didn’t lose his cool. He said, "But my steps are measured".
The verbal bouts between C Rajagopalachari (Rajaji) and communist leaders were also marked by high levels of repartees and quick wit. Once when Rajaji asked communist leader Jeeva why he was talking of the constituency Washermenpet in north Chennai when he usually talked only about the global situation, Jeeva remarked. "At least I have a constituency to talk about" (Rajaji was not elected to the assembly but was nominated to the Legislative Council). The remark drew guffaws in the House, and Rajaji laughed along.
Chief minister Annadurai was reminded of his promise of three measures rice for one rupee, made before the 1967 general elections, and speakers said the people had been cheated. Annadurai said, "Moonru padi latchiyam, Oru padi Nichayam" (Three measures is the goal, one measure is a certainty).
Annadurai was again criticised for introducing a government lottery scheme, as other speakers felt the people would be duped of their hard-earned money. Annadurai said, "Vizhundhaal veettukku, vizhaavittaal naattukku (If you win, the money goes to you; if you lose, the money goes to the state).
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Major Biden, one of the president’s dogs, remains in the dog house, so to speak. Yesterday, he nipped at a National Park Service employee at the White House.

Local experts say he’s likely dealing with social anxiety. It’s a problem that many dogs face in new environments.

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“We love him, we love him a lot and he’s definitely brightened up our lives and he’s probably the best thing. The silver lining of the pandemic for us was getting Copper,” dog owner Danielle Alio Capparella said.

There’s a lot of love for Copper in the Capparella family. But Danielle says while the 7-month-old miniature dachshund is great with her and her husband, he’s nervous with other people and dogs.

“He’ll bark at new people or back away, run towards us or hide between our legs,” she said.

In some ways, Copper is no different than the first dog, Major.

In the past few weeks, Major Biden — President Joe Biden’s 3-year-old adopted German Shepherd — has nipped at least two White House employees.

First Lady Dr. Jill Biden’s press secretary said of the incidents that Major is getting used to his new surroundings.

If your dog is having similar issues there are some things you can do to nip it in the bud.

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“We want the animal to have time to decompress in the home,” said Maddie Bernstein with the Pennsylvania SPCA.

That wasn’t a possibility for Major or Champ, the Bidens’ other dog. They were immediately thrown into a new house with new people and smells.

But Bernstein says giving the dog two weeks to acclimate to their new surroundings could make a huge difference.

“We recommend that the people who take the animal home don’t have people outside the immediate residence coming to meet the animal,” she said.

Knowing your dog’s stressors and what calms them down could also help.

Marisa Sam is the owner of Philly Dog Training. She has two rescues, Super and Muffin, and says social anxiety is a real problem for some dogs in new environments. She says be ready to remove them from that environment.

“Instead of fingers crossed and being sort of tense and uncomfortable for everyone when the dog meets the new person,” Sam said.

And remember, dogs need time to adjust, just like humans.
resident Joe Biden on Wednesday singled out Amazon.com Inc for not paying federal taxes during his address in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as he spoke about raising the burden of taxes on multinational companies and hiking the corporate tax rate.

Biden's infrastructure plan unveiled earlier in the day increases the corporate tax rate to 28% from 21% and changes the tax code to close loopholes that allow companies to move profits overseas, according to a 25-page briefing paper released by the White House. Biden said Amazon was one of 91 Fortune 500 companies that "use various loopholes where they pay not a single solitary penny in federal income tax," in sharp contrast to middle class families paying over 20% tax rates.

"I don't want to punish them but that's just wrong," he said. In response, an Amazon spokeswoman pointed to tweet on research and development tax credits by Jay Carney, the company's public policy and communications chief and a former White House press secretary under former President Barack Obama. "If the R&D Tax Credit is a 'loophole,' it's certainly one Congress strongly intended. The R&D Tax credit has existed since 1981, was extended 15 times with bi-partisan support and was made permanent in 2015 in a law signed by President Obama," Carney tweeted.

After paying $0 in federal taxes for two years, Amazon started paying federal income tax in 2019. This is not the first time Biden has gone after Amazon. In June 2019, he named Amazon and said no company making billions in profits should pay a lower tax rate than firefighters and teachers.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)resident Joe Biden on Wednesday singled out Amazon.com Inc for not paying federal taxes during his address in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as he spoke about raising the burden of taxes on multinational companies and hiking the corporate tax rate.

Biden's infrastructure plan unveiled earlier in the day increases the corporate tax rate to 28% from 21% and changes the tax code to close loopholes that allow companies to move profits overseas, according to a 25-page briefing