President Obama had a grand time in Europe. He wowed the press, met the queen, gave some wonderful news conferences and got virtually none of the major policy concessions he wanted. But he did do a lot of talking, for what that's worth.Following which are two examples of clunky language that omit the all-important word "terror". Because, you know, how could using the word "terror" a lot be misleading and form a crucial part of the propaganda effort to start a war of choice? It'd be like messing around with a word like "fascism" and who's stupid enough to do that?
And for Obama, that's worth a lot. During the campaign, then-Sen. Obama made it clear that he thought words meant a great deal. "Don't tell me words don't matter," Obama proclaimed. " 'I have a dream' -- just words? 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal' -- just words? 'We have nothing to fear but fear itself' -- just words? Just speeches?"
Give the man points for consistency. He has put rhetorical innovation on an equal footing with policy innovation.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Words! Huh Yeah! What Are They Good Ferds? Absolutely Nothing! Uh-Huh!
Jonah Goldberg:
Has J-Load ever had an original thought?
ReplyDelete~
I'm really thinking about that. Hmm.
ReplyDeletePerhaps you could ask your readers to perform some research for you.
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We can only look at the stuff he scribbles down. How can we know the soaring grandeur of "Cheetos bag empty!" or "Oh oh Mr Poopy here too early again" or even "Thank you Mr. Buckley, may I have another?"
ReplyDeleteHe needs a Dr Johnson to his Boswell.
Johnson to his bowels? What?
ReplyDeleteHere I am on holiday in the Coromandel* and I am reduced to using my sporadic internet access for making inane comments like that.
* NZ equivalent of Deliverance country. If you hear 'Duelling Banjos' then walk, do not run, to the nearest exit.
Alby Johnson and Reg "Knackers" Boswell. Boswell had slighted Johnson at a social function so Boswell followed Johnson around for 2 years tripping him up, squeezing his knackers and lighting his farts.This could wonders for the Doughboy.
ReplyDeleteYou in the Coros good Herr Doktor? They don't take too kindly to strangers there.
Off to Wellywood myself. A better class of dangerous inbred there.
Ah, Easter, when a young man's fancy turns to torture and murder, and eventually zombies.
ReplyDeleteDigby.
ReplyDeleteI just watched one of the most disturbing yet bizarrely entertaining shows I've ever seen on television. It's a Glenn Beck special called "Destined To Repeat(?)" featuring noted right wing intellectuals Jonah Goldberg, Amity Schlaes, and a couple of other fringy authors discussing the connections between Obama and Hitler, Stalin, Woodrow Wilson, FDR and other "progressive" dictators, illustrated throughout with black and white footage of Nazis and concentration camps.
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I'm of two minds about that. It's somewhat nice to see Jonah and Amity there on nut central. It's a more fitting place than NPR.
ReplyDeleteYou in the Coros good Herr Doktor? They don't take too kindly to strangers there.
ReplyDeleteIt could be worse. In fact it's going to be worse. This time tomorrow I'll be in Sydney, then down in Wollongong a few days later. Ah the joys of conferences.
Captcha says 'procrem', but after all, who could possibly be anti-crem?
Captcha says 'procrem', but after all, who could possibly be anti-crem?
ReplyDeletePeople who respect the LAW, hippie?
Teh Great Gazoogle informs me that Judge Bubba already exists.
ReplyDeleteTotal debacle with the trip to Sydney, by the way, which is why I'm back in Wellywood.
Total debacle with the trip to Sydney, by the way, which is why I'm back in Wellywood.Bacling is normally such a draw. Why would any city move to debacling?
ReplyDeleteI have a large pile of line returns right here, only used once, ready for recycling, but Blogger refuses to accept them.
ReplyDeleteWhoa!
ReplyDeleteI have a large pile of line returns right here, only used once, ready for recycling, but Blogger refuses to accept them.
ReplyDeleteLet's see if break tags work.