Vox Populi

On This Day In History
1969: President Nixon calls on the "silent majority."

Quote Of The Day
"And so tonight - to you, the great silent majority of my fellow Americans - I ask for your support."
(President Richard M. Nixon)

My latest read by one of my favourite authors, Neal Stephenson, better known for his science fiction, this is a hilarious, biting satire of modern politics. 

When a spotless senator has a stroke resulting in paralysis and aphasia, the C.E.O. of a major tech company presents him with an opportunity for a new lease on life; a biochip in his brain that provides him with a full recovery plus the bonus of being linked in to instantaneous biofeedback to everything he and his political rivals say and do from a focus group representing the entire spectrum of the U.S. public each time their words and actions are aired on T.V. As the blurb on the back of the book says, 

"Forget issues.

Forget policies.

He's more than the perfect candidate ......

.... he's a special effect."

Blind