Thank you... for communicating truth without dragging me through the mud. You critique Trump in the same way John Huston communicated sex in the Bogart Helpburn "African Queen" boat scene.
I recently ran across a subtle point of language in watching a short video from Love Furry Friends, a Ukrainian dog rescue organization. (It's one of my favorite YouTube genres.) This particular video was about a kitten. Once the little creature was secured, the caption said the rescuers were checking the area to make sure there was "no one else."
At first, that phrase struck me as odd in reference to a cat. Then what seemed odder was that it had struck me that way. Why did I think "no one" should refer to humans? Would I have said "no other kittens"? Probably.
Diversions from common idiom that appear in the English of people who are not native speakers often illuminate what is not really logical in our linguistic conventions.
Appreciate the algo that placed Sue Ann Nivins and her unself-conscious use of he paired with everybody under your gimlet eye.
Resders might appreciate “A Digression on a Word”. The Word is man. The topic is prolonging the use of man as a synecdoche for man and woman. Jacques Barzun made a civil and civilized case, in From Dawn to Decadence, that there are four reasons to do so: “…etymology, convenience, the unsuspected incompleteness of ‘man and woman,’ and literary tradition.” He then explains his point of view.
When the language police pull out their rule book on Sue Ann’s use of he Professor Barzun can provide a ready rejoinder.
The misuse of the word genocide is a subset of the general use of hyperbole to attach a very very bad word to whatever you are arguing against, to, as opposed to the use of constructive criticism, get over by the inflammatory power of the word;
The events of the Holocaust were so uniquely cruel, racist, and evil, that it should be reserved for exactly that, the wonton murder of individuals only because of their ethnicity. I wouldn't apply it to the Red Terror or Russia's war on Ukraine. It is at the level of rounding up some racial group you hate putting them in cattle cars and gassing them to death. That level of unfathomable evil should be reserved for things like the Hutu slaughter of Tutsis in Rwanda.
I am quite critical of Israeli conduct in the war and Netanyahu in particular, and I think he might fairly regularly be guilty of violating humanitarian conduct in warfare, as well as ignoring settler violence on the West Bank. We should question our support for Israel if they do not meet at least the level that the US army pursues in these matters. There is always a balance between the needs of an army to conquer an enemy and the well being of the civilian community, and at a minimum we, as Israel's leading military provider, need to ascertain where Israel is in that balance. Every army will cross the line occasionally and violate humanitarian codes, but my question, before I could support further offensive military aid, is does Israel do that routinely and have low standards for humanitarian concerns.
There are reasons for names. Penn(sylvania) Station was named to distinguish it from the competing (New York) Central Station when railroads were titans of travel and profit. Now they are both eviscerated hulks of a forgotten age. As such, naming either of them "Trump" hardly seems inappropriate.
On patriotism and the supposed manliness of one Don King Trump…I have been saying this to any and all of my former friends turned diehard “Trumpers” parroting the laughable line The Don is a “Fighter”…I calmly look them in the eye and tell all of them red mad hatters that if you were caught in the line of fire by the enemy with Donnie from Queens, the condo salesman would immediately have your back, literally, and be in the rear, with the queers with the gear…because Donald J Trump would rather see you shot down on Fifth Avenue and his conscience would not bug him for a second…leave aside what character The Trump Bible Salesman would make like in the Parable of the Good Samaritan
Scari Lake lives up to her nickname…as it will forever dismay me how many a moral compass The Don has broken…as the disgrace to my beloved state all but unzips her mob bosses fly on camera for all the world to see with her bug eyes for Trump. But B.D.E. really stands for Big Richard head emergency when Scari lake walks into the room. And god what an fing coward Ron DeSantis is sucking up to The Don to conquer the red neck vote that still pollutes Floridas Everglades.
Don’t forget ever single lost soul in Aaron Rupers video should be ousted from the political scene for eternity when Trumpism finally hits the end of the yellow brick road and The Don is fully exposed for the mobster, I mean monster Tony Soprano in the flesh…all his willing henchmen, capos and high class call girls must pay and all the Senators of Rome, I mean The Dons Duma need to be thrown out to…
Did Sarah Palin find Jesus…no, she just kept losing in court (unfortunately) and at the ballot box office (!?). I will have nothing but respect for her to repent and atone by condemning The Don, publicly…but everyone still placating the mobster deserves to disappear form the public scene for…forever
Sorry for my yang to your ying is still beautiful Jaywalker, I am mad as hell and cannot take Livimg in Trumpistan anymore. GOD HELP U.S. Gotta run on. Thanks for taking my rant. Peace through superior mental firepower
Here's a handy guide to understanding current events. There was a character in Superman comics--Bizarro Superman. Without a long,boring explanation,the basic premise is that everything in Bizarro World is the opposite of our world. Considering some of the elected leaders we now have,many of our relationships with former allies,what's being taught in colleges--it's easy to follow my point.
A great deal of pro-Trump apologetics amounts to painting him as the opposite of what he clearly is. Most of the rest is holding his faults to be virtues, or at least assets - in particular, his contempt for rules and norms.
Thank you... for communicating truth without dragging me through the mud. You critique Trump in the same way John Huston communicated sex in the Bogart Helpburn "African Queen" boat scene.
👍
I recently ran across a subtle point of language in watching a short video from Love Furry Friends, a Ukrainian dog rescue organization. (It's one of my favorite YouTube genres.) This particular video was about a kitten. Once the little creature was secured, the caption said the rescuers were checking the area to make sure there was "no one else."
At first, that phrase struck me as odd in reference to a cat. Then what seemed odder was that it had struck me that way. Why did I think "no one" should refer to humans? Would I have said "no other kittens"? Probably.
Diversions from common idiom that appear in the English of people who are not native speakers often illuminate what is not really logical in our linguistic conventions.
So true, so true. Thx, Carol.
Appreciate the algo that placed Sue Ann Nivins and her unself-conscious use of he paired with everybody under your gimlet eye.
Resders might appreciate “A Digression on a Word”. The Word is man. The topic is prolonging the use of man as a synecdoche for man and woman. Jacques Barzun made a civil and civilized case, in From Dawn to Decadence, that there are four reasons to do so: “…etymology, convenience, the unsuspected incompleteness of ‘man and woman,’ and literary tradition.” He then explains his point of view.
When the language police pull out their rule book on Sue Ann’s use of he Professor Barzun can provide a ready rejoinder.
That student in Greenwich was, at any rate, hip to something most Americans still aren't: Porsche is indeed a two-syllable word.
The misuse of the word genocide is a subset of the general use of hyperbole to attach a very very bad word to whatever you are arguing against, to, as opposed to the use of constructive criticism, get over by the inflammatory power of the word;
The events of the Holocaust were so uniquely cruel, racist, and evil, that it should be reserved for exactly that, the wonton murder of individuals only because of their ethnicity. I wouldn't apply it to the Red Terror or Russia's war on Ukraine. It is at the level of rounding up some racial group you hate putting them in cattle cars and gassing them to death. That level of unfathomable evil should be reserved for things like the Hutu slaughter of Tutsis in Rwanda.
I am quite critical of Israeli conduct in the war and Netanyahu in particular, and I think he might fairly regularly be guilty of violating humanitarian conduct in warfare, as well as ignoring settler violence on the West Bank. We should question our support for Israel if they do not meet at least the level that the US army pursues in these matters. There is always a balance between the needs of an army to conquer an enemy and the well being of the civilian community, and at a minimum we, as Israel's leading military provider, need to ascertain where Israel is in that balance. Every army will cross the line occasionally and violate humanitarian codes, but my question, before I could support further offensive military aid, is does Israel do that routinely and have low standards for humanitarian concerns.
There are reasons for names. Penn(sylvania) Station was named to distinguish it from the competing (New York) Central Station when railroads were titans of travel and profit. Now they are both eviscerated hulks of a forgotten age. As such, naming either of them "Trump" hardly seems inappropriate.
On patriotism and the supposed manliness of one Don King Trump…I have been saying this to any and all of my former friends turned diehard “Trumpers” parroting the laughable line The Don is a “Fighter”…I calmly look them in the eye and tell all of them red mad hatters that if you were caught in the line of fire by the enemy with Donnie from Queens, the condo salesman would immediately have your back, literally, and be in the rear, with the queers with the gear…because Donald J Trump would rather see you shot down on Fifth Avenue and his conscience would not bug him for a second…leave aside what character The Trump Bible Salesman would make like in the Parable of the Good Samaritan
Scari Lake lives up to her nickname…as it will forever dismay me how many a moral compass The Don has broken…as the disgrace to my beloved state all but unzips her mob bosses fly on camera for all the world to see with her bug eyes for Trump. But B.D.E. really stands for Big Richard head emergency when Scari lake walks into the room. And god what an fing coward Ron DeSantis is sucking up to The Don to conquer the red neck vote that still pollutes Floridas Everglades.
Don’t forget ever single lost soul in Aaron Rupers video should be ousted from the political scene for eternity when Trumpism finally hits the end of the yellow brick road and The Don is fully exposed for the mobster, I mean monster Tony Soprano in the flesh…all his willing henchmen, capos and high class call girls must pay and all the Senators of Rome, I mean The Dons Duma need to be thrown out to…
Did Sarah Palin find Jesus…no, she just kept losing in court (unfortunately) and at the ballot box office (!?). I will have nothing but respect for her to repent and atone by condemning The Don, publicly…but everyone still placating the mobster deserves to disappear form the public scene for…forever
Sorry for my yang to your ying is still beautiful Jaywalker, I am mad as hell and cannot take Livimg in Trumpistan anymore. GOD HELP U.S. Gotta run on. Thanks for taking my rant. Peace through superior mental firepower
Hi Jay:
I worked in Greenwich in the 1990s and was always surprised how often you would
see media and political celebrities out and about doing what we all do. Shopping,
filling their gas tanks or just chatting on the sidewalk. I made a comment to one
of them while standing in line at a bakery that the high school was beautiful. She
smiled at me and said sarcastically, "You know in Greenwich we have just two types
of students. Exceptionally bright or poor test takers." Then she winked. I still smile
at that encounter.
Hugh Donohue
Great! Thx, Hugh.
Here's a handy guide to understanding current events. There was a character in Superman comics--Bizarro Superman. Without a long,boring explanation,the basic premise is that everything in Bizarro World is the opposite of our world. Considering some of the elected leaders we now have,many of our relationships with former allies,what's being taught in colleges--it's easy to follow my point.
A great deal of pro-Trump apologetics amounts to painting him as the opposite of what he clearly is. Most of the rest is holding his faults to be virtues, or at least assets - in particular, his contempt for rules and norms.