Category: Language Matters
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A Leftist Rehabilitation of ‘Gaffe’
Wrangling over terminology and nomenclature is a good part of what goes on in the culture wars. For he who controls the terms of the debate controls the debate. What I call semantic rehabilitation is one side of this. 'Gaffe,' for example, has a negative connotation. It refers to to a social or political blunder…
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Avoid ‘Lesser of Two Evils’
If you say that Trump is the 'lesser of two evils,' you invite the riposte: why vote for anyone who is evil? Say this instead: "Despite Trump's manifest negatives, he is better than Hillary." And then go on to explain why he is better. Politics here below is not about Good versus Evil. It…
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Word of the Day: Thalassocracy
A thalassocracy (from Greek language θάλασσα (thalassa), meaning "sea", and κρατεῖν (kratein), meaning "to rule", giving θαλασσοκρατία(thalassokratia), "rule of the sea") is a state with primarily maritime realms—an empire at sea (such as the Phoenician network of merchant cities) or a sea-borne empire. (Wikipedia) Example: Putin is now massing troops near Ukraine. Iran is absorbing…
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‘Dog Whistle’ Becomes a Buzz Word
Or rather a buzz phrase. Mollie Hemingway: A dog whistle is, according to Wikipedia, “political messaging employing coded language that appears to mean one thing to the general population but has an additional, different or more specific resonance for a targeted subgroup.” Saying that Hillary Clinton lacks the physical and mental stamina to take on…
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On ‘Over-Represent’
If you fancy yourself clear-thinking, then you ought to be very careful with the word 'over-represent' and its opposite. They are ambiguous as between normative and non-normative readings. It is just a fact that there are proportionately more Asians than blacks in the elite high schools of New York City. But it doesn't follow that…
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Diversity Worth Having
Diversity worth having presupposes a principle of unity that controls the diversity. Diversity must be checked and balanced by the competing value of unity, a value with an equal claim on our respect. Example. One language only in the public sphere makes possible many voices to be heard and understood by all. To communicate our…
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Profiling, Prejudice, and Discrimination
Everybody profiles. Liberals are no exception. Liberals reveal their prejudices by where they live, shop, send their kids to school, and with whom they associate. The word 'prejudice' needs analysis. It could refer to blind prejudice: unreasoning, reflexive (as opposed to reflective) aversion to what is other just because it is other, or to an unreasoning…
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Word of the Day: Razzia
Definition: A hostile raid for purposes of conquest, plunder, and capture of slaves, especially one carried out by Moors in North Africa. Origin: Mid 19th century: via French from Algerian Arabic ġāziya 'raid'. Example: "So by way of repetition, and in the face of paralyzing ennui, we affirm that this act of despicable treachery, this razzia in…
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‘Homegrown Terrorist’
An obfuscatory leftist phrase. And therefore used by Obama the Mendacious. Why obfuscatory? Because it elides an important distinction between those terrorists who are truly homegrown such as Timothy McVeigh and those who, while born in the USA, such as Omar Mateen, derive their 'inspiration' from foreign sources. Mateen's terrorism comes from his understanding of what Islam…
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Libel?
Petula Dvorak, Washington Post, 13 June: "Omar Mateen despised gays in the same way that Donald Trump and too many of his supporters despise Muslims." Why isn't this libel? 'Libel' as defined in the law: 1) n. to publish in print (including pictures), writing or broadcast through radio, television or film, an untruth about another…
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On the Misuse of Religious Language
A massage parlor is given the name Nirvana, the implication being that after a well-executed massage one will be in the eponymous state. This betrays a misunderstanding of Nirvana, no doubt, but that is not the main thing, which is the perverse tendency to attach a religious or spiritual significance to a merely sensuous state of…
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‘Again’ a Racist Dog Whistle? More Leftist Scumbaggery
Some liberal-left idiot is arguing that 'again' in Donald Trump's 'Make America Great Again' is a racist 'dog whistle.' The suggestion is that Trump wants to bring back slavery and Jim Crow. Yet another proof that there is nothing so vile and contemptible and fundamentally stupid that some liberal won't embrace it. If you think…
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‘Redskins’ Update
Apparently, nine out of ten American Indians are not offended by the Redskins name, thereby demonstrating that they have more sense than the typical liberal. This calls for a reposting of an entry from August 2013. Enjoy! 'Redskin' Offensive? What About 'Guinea Pig'? Apparently, the online magazine Slate will no longer be referring to…
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A Mistaken Definition of ‘Political Correctness’ and a ‘Correct’ Definition
One often reads the following definition of political correctness. "Someone who is politically correct believes that language and actions that could be offensive to others, especially those relating to sex and race, should be avoided." Here. Merriam-Webster, Wikipedia, and other sources offer similar definitions. This is not at all what 'political correctness' means when used…