Right, I'd almost forgotten why I can't be a real jounalist. Like my identical twin cousin from England, George:
There are three televisions in the newsroom. Everytime he opens his mouth, sibilant whispers echo around the walls at low volume. "Weapons of mass destruction." "The world has also tried economic sanctions." "His own people." "Tough, immediate requirements." "Military conflict could be difficult." "We will plan carefully." Then applause. "That is not the America I know." "Security for the people of Iraq." "Using murder as a tool of terror and control." "America speaks with one voice." "The time remaining for that choice is limited." "May God bless America."
Calling out "Bingo!" in the midst of that probably wouldn't be appreciated. And I expect hisownpeople had been gassed, and hearing that phrase does trigger the Murdering Rampage of Rampaging Murder.
No, best I forgot about Bush's speech and missed it. I expect Mourning Edition will broadcast the lowlights later.
Marketplace just mentioned that weapons' manufacturer stocks may not be a lucrative short-term investment, as a longer war might divert funds from buying new toys to maintenance and paying the troops. What a waste. Don't they realize my portfolio is much more important? Wait, that's right, I don't have one.
Bush didn't try to say nuclear, did he? Just weaponsofmassdestruction?
Could point out Orwell's Politics and the English Language again:
As I have tried to show, modern writing at its worst does not consist in picking out words for the sake of their meaning and inventing images in order to make the meaning clearer. It consists in gumming together long strips of words which have already been set in order by someone else, and making the results presentable by sheer humbug. The attraction of this way of writing is that it is easy. It is easier--even quicker, once you have the habit--to say "In my opinion it is a not unjustifiable assumption" that than to say "I think." If you use ready-made phrases, you not only don't have to hunt about for words; you also don't have to bother with the rhythms of your sentences, since these phrases are generally so arranged as to be more or less euphonious. When you are composing in a hurry--when you are dictating to a stenographer, for instance, or making a public speech--it is natural to fall into a pretentious, Latinized style. Tags like "consideration which we should do well to bear in mind"or "conclusion to which all of us would readily assent" will save many a sentence from coming down with a bump. By using stale metaphors, similes and idioms, you save much mental effort, at the cost of leaving your meaning vague, not only for your reader but for yourself.
But as usual, no one important was listening the first time.
Besides, Uncle oSAMa himself wants the deed done. Who am I to Refuse and Resist?
Uncle oSAMa link found at Warblogger Watch, while looking for another Orwell quote I vaguely remember the cheerleaders for Holy War taking out of context and transforming into another prepackaged rhetorical device. But I got discouraged, and gave up. Really should work on that passionate intensity thing. . .
Was just listening to the lowlights on NPR. I'm afraid he did indeed try, and fail, to say "nuclear".
I'm so glad I didn't listen. I recently inadvertantly taught my older son the word "jackass" and i'm currently attempting to unteach him.
It's bad enough that the two year old walks around saying "You Are DUFUS!" all day. I would not even want to think about what lovely words they would gleen from my Bush Speech verbal feedback.
Worst of all...they might start saying NOO-CUE-LERRR.
ARGH! (it's enough to make a mama cry.)
Hatehatehatehatehatehatehate
My daughter has learned a few undesireable terms from driving with me, but I think that had I listened in last night she'd only ahve heard repetition of a more acceptable term she's quite familiar with already: 'frustrated.'
One of my cousins' kids' first word was "dammit." I'm still dying to know whether they wrote that down in the baby book or whether they waited until some other, more appropriate vocabulary choice came along before they recorded something in that "first word" spot.
but he creates fun words like "embetterment"
and based on the lowlights...didn't the speech sound almost exactly the same as the Afghanistan speech last year? We're only after [insert evil man here]. We have no problem with [insert brown people here]. We hope to "embetter" their lives.
love it. I'm joining the war efforts right now. I need to embetter myself.
or butter myself.
Whichever gets me hot sex on a platter.
*blink* *blink*
i was doing fine until Jason started buttering himself. then i forgot what i had to say, completely. i'll pretend i didn't see anything, and wander off nonchalantly.
Self-butterment is an entitlement. I myself frequently indulge in self-lardatory practices. Like Jason, I find no one else will lard me, so I must do it myself.
However, no one is required to watch, and in fact, I actually prefer privacy.
. . . what is it with you people today?
Karin, I had to turn the radio off. The man could be reading a grocery list, just the sound of his voice sets me teeth on edge.
Jason, we should all strive to embutter each other.
That one was Dru's fault, too.
Well you all just go right ahead with your embutterment. I'm just not sure that embutterment is actually an activity that good Muricans (if you need a translation too bad) should be participating in. Thus I shall avoid it at all costs.
Michelle, that's fine.
Just send Belinda alone, then.
And I think Belly's cover of "It's Not Unusual" is better'n the Tom Jones version. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, at least.
Hey, I thought we were all reveling in our anti-Murican sentiments here. At least, I thought that was what Dubya and the DuToits thought. Maybe I'm wrong.
We don't really need the tone y'all just put into that 'MAYbe?', either. ;)
Uh huh. If I'm not playing then Belinda didn't get to play. No Dr. Belinda for you all.
I'm sorry. At this moment, I have all the posts on the 'recent posts' marquee except in this thread. So I gotta go for it. It won't last with VASpider out there lurking, but still, I gotta go for it.
No. You really don't.
You're starting to make me nostalgic for the iron-fisted Stalinist dictatorship that was the WEF.
Let's not start with the historical re-enactments already, eh? The place has only been gone a few days.
Always nice to start a brand new day with tolerance and friendly welcome at the website you enjoyed so much the day before.
It's your site and you can be an asshole if you want to, Aaron.
Seeya.
Darren, if you can find a copy of the Pink Issue of Bitch magazine, there's a long roundtable discussion of MWMF's admissions policy.
Determining why I mention this, in this context, is left as an exercise for the student.
While I'm fairly certain I've just been comprehensively dissed, I admit, your dissing was more civil than my petulant, snarky response. So I apologize. I'd just woken up and wasn't fully conscious, nor in a great mood.
Anyone who can blow someone off with that much obscure wit is worth reading, even if, clearly, I've worn out my welcome on the posting boards. So if my voice isn't heard, don't worry; I'll still be reading, I just don't have much to say about Native American poetry or Japanese art films.
And Gaiman's MIRACLEMAN rocked, but BUFFY last night was the first big disappointment of a season that was really giving me hope, prior to this. Still, Faith is supposed to be coming back, so all cannot be lost.