"Tontine" is a fun word.
ton·tine
/ˈtänˌtēn/
noun
- an annuity shared by subscribers to a loan or common fund, the shares increasing as subscribers die until the last survivor enjoys the whole income.
- a life insurance plan in which the beneficiaries are those who survive and maintain a policy to the end of a given period.
Ancient.
1755–65; < French; named after Lorenzo Tonti, Neapolitan banker who started the scheme in France about 1653.
Nice mouth-feel. And fairly obscure. You who know me know I love obscure words. And you just don't see "tontine" in everyday conversation. Ever.
Except, strangely enough, in the last two days, in two places. Even stranger, from two different Liberal media sources.
The odds of this happening coincidentally?
At least as long as drawing to a Royal Fizbin.
The first "tontine" was on this very blog just two days ago!
And the second?
That was Keith Olbermann. Today:
Olbermann [referring to the New York Times' one last, godawful, drive-by election headline]:
"Win or Lose, Trump Has Already Won.” How about "Win or Lose, Cancer Has Already Won” or maybe the New York Times -- and I assume they're just trolling us now or they have a bet -- a tontine -- as to who gets the Times when everybody else is no longer subscribed. The last subscriber gets the paper. I don't know...
Y'know, Keith, the next time you drop by for a quick read, leave a comment :-)
It don't cost nuthin'.
11 comments:
There was also a Mash episode in which Col. Potter receives a bottle of wine, from his WWI days.
Scavenging.
Olbermann, and others like him, tell themselves that you ought to feel honored, though they do not honor you. Of course, if they did that, they'd be cool. Your existence tells them what they aren't, so they cannot acknowledge it.
In a way, thematically, it looks to me like you're maybe only 2 or at most 3 degrees of separation from a dangerous situation. Though I've been certain Harris will win for months, and certain she will win big for weeks.
Back in 2006, Andrew Sullivan posted something much like a posting by billmon on Whiskey Bar a couple days before. He didn't give his usual hat-tip acknowledgement. Details on request.
Whiskey Bar was a first-rate blog.
You'll always be MY #1!
I missed that on KO’s episode today! Nice catch. Y’know, he and Brother Pierce are buds.
Keep up the good work, Mr Glass
sort of causes pause, when you consider the first amendment protecting the free press in our constitution by our founding of the country.
Fast forward today where media moguls as Murdoch, Musk Bezos and yeas the NYT owning family. Where it is wealth that owns and operates all the major press and decide to manipulate and under educate the People who relied on these entities to provide the information necessary to make educated decisions when we vote for government of ,by and for the people. Where it is of ,by and for the wealthy interests over and at the expense of everyone else.
Tontine, tagine, tangerine, tambourine, tauntaun.
Totally copping someone else's line without attribution is the sincerest form of...flattery?
This is an inside job by Vladimir Putin. Trump did not win this election. This is election interference by the Russians with the full assistance of the republican party. It is time to suspend the election and begin the investigation. This smells like Russia's version of "Pork Chop Hill". They don't believe we will take the actions necessary to stop their interfering in our election. Trump is just a puppet. This is a Russian threat in collusion with the republican party. We must stop this now!
Call me crazy if you like. But this is my first smell test of the seriousness of our national situation. And I mean now, folks.
Tontine - saepe in obscura
Even in law school, where the word maintains a semblence footnote of relevance, tontine contracts are fizzbins referenced only twice over three years. First heard in early September, during class, and again in December when taking the Insurance Contracts' final exam. Even then, the reference is merely to dismiss them as relics long since made illegal, since life insurance contracts that encourage a single person to outlive others significantly undermine public policies adverse to homicide.
Perhaps you give Mr. Olberman too much - or too little - credit. Don't assume he personally uncovered a timely, and obscure, reference as opposed to his writers/researcher who fed him after scouring the most fertile blogs. I also assume the former, but . . .
You should have saved this story and mentioned it on your podcast as something you promised not to tell.
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