Republican Subterfuge [was Whilst]

Mon Jul 19 03:08:22 UTC 2010

DAD:

You and I seem to be soul mates.

Every once in a while I try to think of a principle or ideal the Republicans
support that I don't despise, and haven't succeeded yet.
A principle or ideal the Republicans give hypocritical lip-service to is
another matter.

I thought that it was peculiarly appropriate that the strip club Michael
Steele's underling took his favorite Republicans to was one that featured
bondage and discipline.  A taste for B&D would explain the remarkable
cohesiveness of the Republican members of Congress in opposing anything
Obama supports.

Is it true, do you think, that most of Pope Rush's listeners are middle aged
men who were concussed in Peewee League football?  I think that the NEH
should fund a study, or perhaps the NFL, now that it admits that concussions
might be bad for you.

GAT

George A. Thompson
Author of A Documentary History of "The African Theatre", Northwestern Univ. Pr., 1998, but nothing much lately.

----- Original Message -----
From: "David A. Daniel" <dad at POKERWIZ.COM>
Date: Saturday, July 17, 2010 7:52 pm
Subject: Re: Republican Subterfuge [was Whilst]
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU

> Below is part of a private exchange between Bill Palmer and moi, for the
> edification of anyone who would be edified.
> DAD
>
> Subject: Republican Subterfuge [was Whilst]
>
> Ah, you are skirting, here, the principles of the Danielian Axiom of Human
> Metamorphosis. First formulated while the formulator was having what can
> only be described as a who's-on-first conversation with a brainless twit
> from the IRS, and then perfected over some forty years of observation
> around
> the world, the Danielian Axiom of Human Metamorphosis states that:
>
> Any time a human being is elected or appointed to government service,
> his
> brains turn to shit.
>
> This also applies, to a greater or lesser degree, to those who aspire
> to
> elected or appointed government service.
>
> I know, I know, I must have just offended like three-quarters of the list
> who are/have been/know someone dear in government service. But if you
> think
> about it, and if you examine your heart of hearts, you will know it is
> true:
> working for the government changes the way your brain works, and not
> to the
> good.
>
> So, yes, to your point, Republicans and Democrats alike are subject to
> the
> Danielian Axiom of Human Metamorphosis. But, I contend that
> Republicans are
> the true villains because they are ideologically false.
>
> As you point out, a Republican will preach to you about family values
> and
> then get caught in a public bathroom/with a hooker/picking up
> boys/etc. A
> Republican will preach to you about small, controlled, balanced-budget
> government, then send the deficits into the stratosphere. A Republican
> will
> preach to you about individual liberties, and then tap your phone/hack
> your
> computer/requisition your library take-out records. A Republican will
> preach
> to you about the evils of homosexuality, then take off on a vacation
> with a
> male prostitute. Et cetera and so forth. So this, in, admittedly, very
> brief
> summary, is why I figure Republicans are the worst of everything
> moral/ethical.
>
> Democrats do the bad stuff too but are much less likely to be hypocritical
> about it. A Democrat who gets caught with a hooker has probably gone on
> record saying it should be legal (or has at least not published tirades
> against it). A Democrat will be more likely to (i) vote for gay rights
> and
> (ii) be openly gay. A Democrat is much more likely to say, "Well, yes,
> we
> are going to have to raise taxes", while the Republican says, "Read my
> lips:
> no new taxes" - and then we get new taxes. Democrats tend to get themselves
> into political trouble - and/or not get elected in the first place - because
> they are more inclined to tell it like it is, especially when "like it
> is"
> is bad news. If you see what I mean.
>
> My conservative friends say I have a different belief system from theirs.
> That is incorrect. Correct is: they have a belief system, I do not.
>
> I have a "let's think about it" system. This system is (i) fairly
> typical of
> many Democrats I've encountered and (ii) one reason Democrats are a less
> cohesive block than Republicans. You get a few hundred Democrats (ex:
> congress and senate) sitting around thinking about stuff and they are
> going
> to come up with lots of different conclusions. Republican don't think;
> they
> knee-jerk react. This is why, for example, Republicans are virtually 100%
> against abortion, whereas Democrats are split and tend to waffle on the
> issue. In fact, this is why Democrats, as a party, tend to waffle in
> general: they (we) think too much.
>
> Looking for linguistic relevance here, lest anyone wonder, we have:
> use of
> language to fool people, and the greater likelihood of Republicans to
> use it
> thus.
> DAD
>
> If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Bill Palmer [mailto:w_a_palmer at bellsouth.net]
> Sent: Saturday, July 17, 2010 3:21 PM
> To: dad at POKERWIZ.COM
> Subject: Re: Re: Whilst
>
> Dave,
>
> Excellent catch on the "during"...just exactly the kind of weasel wording
> I'd expect on someone of his ilk.
>
> Republicans, to me, are totally as crass, dishonest, corrupt, philandering,
> and whatever else, as Democrats.  I don't think this sort of thing is
> a
> respecter of party affiliation.  But what's amazing, in the best example
> ever of a Charlie Brown/Lucy holding the football routine, Rep's will
> call
> themselves "family values", and all the synonoms, and people buy it...no
> matter the David Vitters, Larry Craigs, Foley (in FL), ad nauseaum.
> Countless examples still have not demonstrated to the "values" voter that
> Republican doesn't necessarily mean saint.
>
> Bill
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "David A. Daniel" <dad at POKERWIZ.COM>
> To: <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Sent: Saturday, July 17, 2010 1:22 PM
> Subject: Re: Whilst
>
>
> >
> >
> > And did you notice he said he was a Marine "during" Vietnam, not
> "in", as
> > misspoken by that guy in Massachusetts (don't remember his name and
> don't
> > feel like looking it up). I wonder if that was part of a cascade effect,
> > or
> > if he goes around saying "during" normally. I thought the rifle was
> cute;
> > no
> > use wasting a thousand words when one picture will do. OTOH, he
> said, "we
> > are Republicans, so we are better than that." I've always found
> > Republicans
> > to be the worst of everything moral/ethical. But I guess he doesn't
> think
> > so. (I thought he said 5 billion. No?)
> > DAD
> >
> >
> > If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf
> > Of
> > Bill Palmer
> > Sent: Saturday, July 17, 2010 1:59 PM
> > To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> > Subject: Re: Whilst
> >
> >
> >
> > [OT] Linguistics aside, it's just a very arresting commercial. I don't
> > know
> > about y'all, but I certainly do want a well-armed ag commissioner in
> my
> > state.
> >
> > Since I'm already off-topic, $5 million seems like a pretty picayune
> > budget
> > for the ag commissioner in a  state like Alabama.
> >
> > And another thing (since Dale brings it up and includes dog tags in
> his
> > campaign graphic, and as a retired military officer I can say this ...we
> > have gotten to the point that
> > military veteran = selfless saint, personification of honor and virtue.
> > Military personnel come out of the human race like everyone else. (Still
> > though, I wish more members of congress & the administration would have
> > served, so they would have some idea of the effects of their actions.
> >
> > My apologies for the rant.
> >
> > Bill P
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "David Wake" <dnwake at GMAIL.COM>
> > To: <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Sent: Saturday, July 17, 2010 11:16 AM
> > Subject: Re: Whilst
> >
> >
> >>
> >
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > ---
> >>
> >> Listen to the way this guy from Alabama says "why".
> >>
> >> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQdTgkY321s
> >>
> >> Sent from my iPhone
> >>
> >> On Jul 16, 2010, at 20:20, Tom Zurinskas <truespel at HOTMAIL.COM> wrote:
> >>
> >>> ---
> >>> ---
> >>> ---
> >>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> >>>
> >>> I looked up "whilst" in the "MacMillan Dictionary for Children" that
> >>> I just bought (I'm collecting dictionaries).  It does not contain
> >>> the word "whilst".  Only "while" and that in verb form as well.
> >>> (Does whilst have a verb form too?)
> >>>
> >>> Interestingly every word that starts with "wh" is given a first
> >>> pronunciation of ~hw and a second of ~w (except those pronounced as
> >>> ~h, as in who).  I never hear ~hw in USA.  I don't say ~hw so that
> >>> may have something to do with it.
> >>>
> >>> Imagine "whoa" as "hwoa"
> >>>
> >>> Tom Zurinskas, USA - CT20, TN3, NJ33, FL7+
> >>> see truespel.com phonetic spelling
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> ----------------------------------------
> >>>> Date: Fri, 16 Jul 2010 17:11:25 -0300
> >>>> From: dad at POKERWIZ.COM
> >>>> Subject: Whilst
> >>>> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> >>>>
> >>>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> >>>> -----------------------
> >>>> Sender: American Dialect Society
> >>>> Poster: "David A. Daniel"
> >>>> Subject: Whilst
> >>>> ---
> >>>> ---
> >>>> ---
> >>>> ---
> >>>> -------------------------------------------------------------------
> >>>>
> >>>> A while ago, TZ and somebody - don't remember who - had a tiff
> >>>> about whether
> >>>> Americans say whilst. TZ was saying they do not. I agreed (quietly
> >>>> - I
> >>>> didn't write anything) at the time, thinking it mostly a Britism.
> >>>> Well,
> >>>> immediately thereafter I started hearing whilst all over the
> place on
> >>>> American TV shows. I thought: hmph. But then I thought: a lot of
> >>>> writers for
> >>>> US TV are Brits and Canadians as are many actors in the US. So
> >>>> maybe there
> >>>> was dialect leak going on, with American actors saying Brit/
> >>>> Canadian-written
> >>>> lines, or Brit/Canadian actors saying whilst and not knowing
> >>>> they're not
> >>>> supposed to. I was satisfied with that hypothesis until the other
> >>>> day I was
> >>>> watching CNN and the interviewee, the District Attorney of some
> >>>> Podunk
> >>>> county in Ohio, said whilst. So now I'm in a funk and don't know
> >>>> what to
> >>>> think. Maybe he is another sleeper spy who missed the ESL class on
> >>>> while/whilst and thus gave himself away, like when Tony Franciosa
> >>>> said
> >>>> loo-tenant instead of leff-tenant and gave himself away as not
> >>>> being a Brit.
> >>>> DAD
> >>>>
> >>>> ------------------------------------------------------------
> >>>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >>> _________________________________________________________________
> >>> Hotmail has tools for the New Busy. Search, chat and e-mail from
> >>> your inbox.
> >>>
> >
> http://www.windowslive.com/campaign/thenewbusy?ocid=PID28326::T:WLMTAGL:ON:W
> > L:en-US:WM_HMP:042010_1
> >>>
> >>> ------------------------------------------------------------
> >>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >>
> >> ------------------------------------------------------------
> >> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
> >
> >
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > ----
> >
> >
> >
> > No virus found in this incoming message.
> > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
> > Version: 8.5.441 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/3011 - Release Date: 07/17/10
> > 06:35:00
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> > No virus found in this incoming message.
> > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
> > Version: 9.0.839 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/3011 - Release Date: 07/17/10
> > 03:35:00
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ----
>
>
>
> No virus found in this incoming message.
> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
> Version: 8.5.441 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/3011 - Release Date: 07/17/10
> 06:35:00
>
> No virus found in this incoming message.
> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
> Version: 9.0.839 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/3011 - Release Date: 07/17/10
> 03:35:00
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org