Goodbye, cruel words: English. It's dead to me.

By Gene Weingarten,
Pulitzer-prize-winning author

The English language, which arose from humble Anglo-Saxon roots to become the lingua franca of 600 million people worldwide and the dominant lexicon of international discourse, is dead. It succumbed last month at the age of 1,617 after a long illness. It is survived by an ignominiously diminished form of itself.

The end came quietly on Aug. 21 on the letters page ofThe Washington Post. A reader castigated the newspaper for having written that Sasha Obama was the "youngest" daughter of the president and first lady, rather than their "younger" daughter. In so doing, however, the letter writer called the first couple the "Obama's." This, too, was published, constituting an illiterate proofreading of an illiterate criticism of an illiteracy. Moments later, already severely weakened, English died of shame.

The language's demise took few by surprise. Signs of its failing health had been evident for some time on the pages of America's daily newspapers, the flexible yet linguistically authoritative forums through which the day-to-day state of the language has traditionally been measured. Beset by the need to cut costs, and influenced by decreased public attention to grammar, punctuation and syntax in an era of unedited blogs and abbreviated instant communication, newspaper publishers have been cutting back on the use of copy editing, sometimes eliminating it entirely.

In the past year alone, as the language lay imperiled, the ironically clueless misspelling "pronounciation" has been seen in the Boston Globe, the St. Paul Pioneer Press, the Deseret Morning News, Washington Jewish Week and the Contra Costa (Calif.) Times, where it appeared in a correction that apologized for a previous mispronunciation.

On Aug. 6, the very first word of an article in the Winston-Salem (N.C.) Journal was "Alot," which the newspaper employed to estimate the number of Winston-Salemites who would be vacationing that month.

The Lewiston (Maine) Sun-Journal has written of "spading and neutering." The Miami Herald reported on someone who "eeks out a living" -- alas, not by running an amusement-park haunted house. The Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star described professional football as a "doggy dog world." The Vallejo (Calif.)Times-Herald and the South Bend (Ind.) Tribune were the two most recent papers, out of dozens, to report on the treatment of "prostrate cancer."

Observers say, however, that no development contributed more dramatically to the death of the language than the sudden and startling ubiquity of the vomitous verbal construction "reach out to" as a synonym for "call on the phone," or "attempt to contact." A jargony phrase bloated with bogus compassion -- once the province only of 12-step programs and sensitivity training seminars -- "reach out to" is now commonplace in newspapers. In the last half-year, the New York Times alone has used it more than 20 times in a number of contextually indefensible ways, including to report that the Blagojevich jury had asked the judge a question.

It was not immediately clear to what degree the English language will be mourned, or if it will be mourned at all. In the United States, English has become increasingly irrelevant, particularly among young adults. Once the most popular major at the nation's leading colleges and universities, it now often trails more pragmatic disciplines, such as economics, politics, government, and, ironically, "communications," which increasingly involves learning to write mobile-device-friendly ads for products likeCheez Doodles.

Many people interviewed for this obituary appeared unmoved by the news, including Anthony Incognito ofCrystal City, a typical man in the street.

"Between you and I," he said, "I could care less."

Moslim Contributions Needed--A Challenge

The people of Palestine need jobs desperately. We challenge Moslims around the world to establish factories in Palestine to produce basic goods and provide employment. Money talks; bullshit walks.

Million Mexican March

Join the Million Mexican March on Ciudad de Mexico this August 3rd and demand an end to government corruption and the creation of jobs so that Mexicans might live in their own country.

Tempest in a Teapot

The U.S. Constitution mandates the separation of Church and State. As marriage is a religious sacrament--a contract between humans and God, the States have no justification for marrying anybody! Though they are free to provide Civil Union Status to any couple whom State Law permits to enter into a contract.
And despite California's Proposition 8, religions remain free under the constitution to marry whomever they wish.

Defusing the conflict in the Middle East

The Middle East conflict can be readily defused if Saudi Arabia and Iran would loan or give Palestine the necessary capital with which to build up light industry. With full employment, Palestine's problems would vanish.
But, SA and Iran much prefer their divisive policy of let you and him fight, so monies that could give Palestineans a better life are wasted on weaponry.

Don't worry; be happy

Many feel threatened by the US Supreme Court Decision to give multinational corporations the same status as U.S. Citizens. But don't worry. The U.S. Defense Department is the principal customer for most of these corporations and they can't afford to offend it.

As I predicted in 2007, A right-wing military take-over(supported as was Hitler's regime by the multi-national corporations)will take place in 2011, and democracy in the US will come to an end.

Impeach Obama

o has not withdrawn troops from Iraq
o has built upa military whose cost had already bankrupted our nation
o has failed to prosecute Bush-Cheney for war crimes
o has failed to open an investigation into the roles of Bush-Cheney in permitting 9/11 attacks to go forward
o has failed to address problems with current health-care system
o has failed to create jobs!!!!
o has failed to seal our borders or develop a rational immigration policy.
He is a Republican.

Bring the troops home

1.Bring all the troops home from both Iraq and Afghanistan.
2.Close all golf courses on all overseas airbases and cut the Airforce budget
3.Transfer all medical personnel (who do not wish to retire) to VA hospitals and hospitals in under-served communities.
4.Transfer all other Naval personnel to the heavily undermanned Coast Guard
5.Transfer all engineering personnel to rebuild America's decaying roadways,sewer lines, bridges and water towers.
6.Transfer remaining service personnel to serve in support of the heavily undermanned Border Patrol
And/OR
7.Provide retraining for remaining service personnel to assist in Step 5.

P.S. Return all Cuban land to Cuba.

Tips for Seniors: I. Health Care

The Proposed Health Care Bill promises many changes in how and how much seniors will have to pay for health care. Here are some tips on how to avoid these changes:


1. Seniors can circumvent the proposed upper limit on co-payments to physicians by simply tipping the physician the amount of your customary co-payment once that limit is reached. To be fair, 50% tip should be given directly to your physician and 50% sent to your insurance company.

2. To continue the gap in prescription coverage once your former life-time limit in coverage is reached, simply send the full cost of your prescriptions to the pharmaceutical company. (In some States it may be possible for you to give the extra dollars directly to the pharmacy.)

3. Opt out of Medicare. $35 a month for insurance is a ridiculously low amount. Insist on paying for private health insurance.

We Can Reduce Classroom Size and the Cost of Secondary Education

With California’s economy in disarray, it appears our State has no alternative than to cut back on expenditures for education. We will need to increase the number of students per class, lay-off well-qualified teachers, and delay the purchase of new equipment and texts indefinitely. Or will we?

What if we were to eliminate one year of high school? Long ago in a distant land, my classmates and I completed our elementary and secondary education in eleven, not twelve years.

Despite the seemingly foreshortened duration of our education, the breadth of our knowledge far exceeded that of the typical graduate of a California High School. We studied 17th Century European History and understood the reasons underlying the amendments to the United States Constitution. We were aware that Columbus already knew the Earth was round and had studied the economic factors underlying the American Revolution. (We also knew the names of many now forgotten cour de bois along with those of the scoring leaders in the NHL.)

We took shop with the result that I am still able to do electrical installations in my home, can change a flat tire, and can even change my rotor and condenser (if only there were such things). Alas, though our nation is in desperate need of mechanics of all sorts, California schools have abandoned their shop programs.

I must admit that in high school I was a B student at best. I spent much of my classroom time indulging in fantasy, counting the minutes till recess, barely enduing the moments that elapsed between lunch and the hour classes were over for the day. If I’d had to attend High School for yet another year, I’d of dropped out for sure. Decades later, in a year spent as a substitute teacher in California schools, I became aware of how many students already have mentally departed.

The 12th year of high school serves no useful purpose or California’s Community Colleges would not demand that all entering students complete a year of general educational requirements. Eliminating the 12th year would free up many teachers for service in the lower grades. It would permit sexually-active and would-be sexually-active young adults to live as the adults they were meant and want to be and not as the kids they no longer are.

But are all students equally ready to progress to adulthood? To facilitate the transition to the 11-year system, I propose we continue with a 12th year for a short period. A High-School Leaving examination will be given at the end of the 11th year. If students pass, they can bid their childhood farewell. If they fail, they must undergo yet another year of incarceration.

The result? When studying can yield freedom, those students who today sit sullen and apathetic (if not stoned) in high school classrooms, will bury their noses in books..

Will there be jobs for the increased numbers of departing students, openings at Community Colleges or the government sponsored trade schools we need so desperately? I have some solutions, but these form the basis of quite another column.

Bush destroys America in Just 8 years

The problem with http://www.truthout.org/video/011809Z is that with so much to report on the destruction of America (its principles and its economy) during Bush Lite's reign of ignorance, we tend to forget that he deliberately ignored for months the advance notice of 9/11 he received from the intelligence agencies of 16 countries including his own.

A radical proposal for Mid-East Peace

Moslems everywhere should stop sending the Palestineans weapons and help them to set up an industrial base instead.

Protocologists downcast

With the advent of the new year, protocologists everywhere are downcast as they no longer have a leader of the free world they can look up at.

The Bush Legacy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eih67rlGNhU&feature=related

CA's Proposition 8: A Tempest in a Teapot

Proposition 8 is irrelevant. Marriage is a religious sacrament. Religions, protected by State and Federal constitions, remain free to marry whomever they wish.

(As both Federal and State constitutions bar States from endorsing religion, states should stop issuing marriage licenses.)

The collection of legal obligations currently associated with marriage can already incorporated in a Declaration of Civil Union. As Proposition 8 affects only the issuing of marriage licenses by the State, Gays in California remain free to combine a religious marriage with a civil union.

The pig got up and slowly walked away

The negative attacks on Obama remind both McCain and Craig Unger (author of House of Bush, House of Saud) of the negative attacks on McCain by Bush adherants in the 2000 primary. As Unger notes on p195, these include assertions that “McCain’s wife had mob ties, McCain had illegitimate children, a “black” child (Obama??), an abortion in his family, .... and opposed breast cancer research.”

The wording changes; the meaning remains the same

The wording changes; the meaning remains the same.

"House Nigger"
changes to
"Oreo"
changes to
"Liberated but not Liberal"

Bush Had No Plan to Catch Bin Laden after 9/11

recall
1. saudi arabians finance attack on twin towers.
2. bush vows to confiscate saudi arabian bank accounts
3. taliban halts growth of poppies
4. bush invades afghanistan (allegedly in pursuit of Bin Laden)
5. poppy growth and opium production resume.
6.http://ipsnorthamerica.net/news.php?idnews=1722
7. bush has yet to confiscate financeers' bank accounts.

Tent cities spring up across the nation!

How about using $700 Billion for building homes for the homeless, plus safe schools, as well as replacing old water towers and sewer pipes. Labor free simply by bring troops back from Iraq to do the work. (Oops, I forgot we pay all those troops and their CEO generals, even if only the generals have post-mission medical benefits.)

The Pentagon Bailout Fraud

See http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/174982/chalmers_johnson_the_pentagon_bailout_fraud