Letters to the Editor
Anonymust
Published Letters: 2031 Editor's Choice: 74
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It somehow seems appropriate
[Read the article: The warped reality of our media stars]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]...that this discussion would turn to, and on, language, since we use it to describe reality. Or to warp it.
When the torture issue was first rearing its ugly head (sorry, a cliche), I spent some time looking it up in the OED, and one of the entries was specific to language, i.e., twisting it to other purposes... which is exactly what BushCo, Gonzales, et al were doing in order to justify their need for more "options."
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3. fig. a. To act upon violently in some way, so as to strain, twist, wrench, distort, pull or knock about, etc.
[snip]
b. To ‘twist’ (language, etc.) from the proper or natural meaning or form; to distort, pervert. Also with into.
1648 W. JENKYN Blind Guide i. 8 To torture Scripture for the defending of his errors. 1682 DRYDEN Mac Fl. 208 There thou mayst..torture one poor word ten thousand ways. 1789 J. MOORE Zeluco I. ix. 80 What he said was excusable; to endeavour to torture it into mutiny would be absurd. 1803 VISCT. STRANGFORD Camoens' Poems Notes (1810) 127 It is surprising that this idea has not been more ramified and tortured by the English metaphysical poets of that school. 1840 POE Tales of Mystery (1905) 365 An unredeemed dreariness of thought which no goading of the imagination could torture into aught of the sublime. 1869 BALDW. BROWN Chr. Policy Life (1880) 281 There might be a sentence here and there which might be tortured to bear that meaning. 1956 E. H. HUTTEN Lang. Mod. Physics vi. 232 It is possible to torture almost any statement into the logical form of an implication.
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Frankly... thank you for that example
[Read the article: The warped reality of our media stars]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I'm another Nero Wolfe fan, though I haven't read any in ages. What a classic description of Wolfe.
I must confess, though, that "contact" does not offend me as much, perhaps because I was already using it as a verb before I knew it was intended to be a noun. In fact, that scene might even be where I learned it.
Impact and task, though, are such obvious bureaucratic jargon. I don't remember ever hearing of so many people tasked with so many things they weren't capable of doing until this administration, which might be another reason I react to it. It also has such a strange sound used that way. Can't you just picture a supervisor with a whip?
[I understand that a new writer has picked up the Nero Wolfe series, with the blessings of Stout's daughter... ]
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How about "across" the pond?
[Read the article: The warped reality of our media stars]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]must be quick... I have to catch a train, but I think NLacey is on to something. First thought: perhaps there is the possibility of publishing videos on Salon of GG and others? Small newscasts.
Then I wondered what was going on with Al Gore and his involvement with young people and the Media. So I googled:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Al+Gore+broadcasting+youth&btnG=Google+Search
and, wouldn't you know, he's taking a DIY television "revolution" to the UK:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/frontpage/story/0,,2032528,00.html
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on PBS news being boring... not today!
[Read the article: The warped reality of our media stars]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I think it was somewhere further up this thread that someone suggested the news on PBS is boring. Sometimes it is... but I'm not sure that boredom is a fair criticism. For a news program.
Apparently, viewers of the Lehrer NewsHour rank right behind those who watch the Daily Show and Colbert Report in being well-informed, i.e., ahead of NPR (but I listen to it, too). Of course, they're all ahead of the viewers of any network news in providing information, and, needless to say, Fox, whose viewers rank dead last.
I mention the NewsHour because they just finished their coverage of Virginia Tech for today, including the convocation (Bush was a speaker), and concluding with Nikki Giovanni (poet/activist and VTech professor). I think she was last-- lots of applause-- including from GWB. I couldn't help but think that he probably does not know what she thinks of him (and may not even care). But he might have heard some subtle clues in her wide-ranging speech, something like a poem, but very rousing oratory. She was not at all subtle when I heard her speak last month at a Library event. When she called him by name, more than once, while holding him to account. To resounding applause.
Before she came on the screen I was wondering how much his presence there had cost the community. The lines to get in were (reportedly) hours long. Was that just because of added security? Because of the tragedy or for GWB? We often criticize him for not attending any of the military funerals all over the country, and one of the reasons he gives is his desire to not cause a disruption. But I guess it is probably a lot easier to attend a funeral when no one can say you were the reason for it.
Now, I'm wondering what, if any, excerpts other news programs will show. No cable here. I would be intereted to hear about CNN or MSNBC, etc.
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Editing GWB (or not) is a slippery slope
[Read the article: Compassionate conservatism]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]It's pretty hard to separate the strands of Bush's (mis)pronunciations and his accent. And considering that he was born in Connecticut, attended northeastern prep schools and colleges... come one! the accent is a put-on. He exaggerates it for effect, as part of his persona. In fact, he probably likes it when reporters drop his Rs.
What gripes me is when reporters clean up his language and make him sound more "articulate" than he actually is, e.g., that time when he was trying to say dissemble, but said disassemble instead. Most reporters just cleaned it up without saying anything, but not all of them. I actually wrote and complained about it, because the two meanings made a difference in that case. And to increase the absurdity, Bush was offering a definition of dissemble the whole time he was saying disassemble. How do you just ignore something like that?
First, you're putting in his Rs... and Gs, but before you know it, you're cleaning up his syntax, word choice and grammar. Have any other presidents ever received as much remedial editing as Bush has? I really doubt it.