The Word Maverick

Not sure if you guys know this. But there really was a Maverick once upon a time. It's a very American word actually. Here is a bit of history since it is bound to come up in the debate tonight.

In the 1800s, Samuel Augustus Maverick went to Texas and became known for not branding his cattle. He was more interested in keeping track of the land he owned than the livestock on it, Ms. Maverick said; unbranded cattle, then, were called “Maverick’s.” The name came to mean anyone who didn’t bear another’s brand.

Check out these Mavericks:

Sam Maverick’s grandson, Fontaine Maury Maverick:

He was a two-term congressman and a mayor of San Antonio who lost his mayoral re-election bid when conservatives labeled him a Communist. He served in the Roosevelt administration on the Smaller War Plants Corporation and is best known for another coinage. He came up with the term “gobbledygook” in frustration at the convoluted language of bureaucrats.

Sam Maverick’s son, Maury Jr.:

He was a firebrand civil libertarian and lawyer who defended draft resisters, atheists and others scorned by society. He served in the Texas Legislature during the McCarthy era and wrote fiery columns for The San Antonio Express-News. His final column, published on Feb. 2, 2003, just after he died at 82, was an attack on the coming war in Iraq.

So what does this mean class? JOHN FUCKING MCCAIN IS NOT A FUCKING MAVERICK.

Class dismissed. Read the NYTimes for more.