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Me#1You#10
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Joined: 06 May 2004
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 Posted: Fri Nov 23, 2007 9:09 pm Post subject: a la Kerry: The swiftboating of the English language |
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On a day noted for gastronomic overindulgence, Dave Weinbaum sees a parallel in "journalism's" linguistic overindulgence ...
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a la Kerry: The swiftboating of the English language
By Dave Weinbaum
Nov. 23, 2007 / 13 Kislev 5768
You’re a swiftboater, I’m a swiftboater, everybody’s a swiftboater. The all encompassing phrase for any political zapping; real, potential, or imagined, has been funneled into one label, swiftboating. No longer used much as a noun, this verb has become overused to the point of triteness and acceptance as appropriate English.
Language is the child of overused slang
Ain’t that the low-down!?
For the record, a review of who and what actual swiftboaters stood for is in order.
They took umbrage when fellow swiftie, Sen. Kerry, decided he was going to run for president as a gung-ho war hero. Kerry based this premise on his four-month tour in Vietnam as a junior lieutenant. You remember his response as the presidential nominee at the 2004 Democratic Convention, “John Kerry, reporting for duty,” while saluting the cheering throngs.
Quoting from their website, www.swiftvets.com, “Swift Vets and POWs for truth has been formed to counter the false “war crimes” charges John Kerry repeatedly made against Vietnam veterans who served in our units and elsewhere and to accurately portray Kerry’s brief tour in Vietnam.”
They wrote “Unfit for Command” to truly depict that history. Many think it cost Sen. Kerry the presidential election.
Of course, the real reason Kerry lost was his incompetence at politically handling the accurate accusations of the Swifties.
Ex-Sen. Democrat Bob Kerrey of Nebraska advised John Kerry to fess up to mistakes as a young and zealous man and apologize to the veterans he had so blithely libeled. If Kerry had fessed up, we’d be calling him Mr. President and dealing with his re-election. His honor wasn’t beseeched as much as his dishonor was revealed.
That being said, after trying for deferment as a student in Paris failed, he did enlist in the Navy and did serve in Vietnam. His failure to humble himself in light of his mistakes revealed a character flaw that most Americans found untenable in their elected leader.
As friend and interviewer, Don Imus asked after Sen. Kerry asserted that the Book, “Unfit for Command,” was a “pack of lies” if he had read the book. Kerry answered with a feeble “No.”
The result? A new word has thrust itself into our vocabulary; swiftboating.
Bill Clinton is trying to protect his wife from being swiftboated. Obama is attempting to avoid swiftboating by the Clinton political machine.
Congressman and veteran John Murtha swiftboated Marines by accusing them of murder in Iraq, then refused to apologize when they were exonerated. Now that’s some piled on swiftboating.
New York Times Columnist, Frank Rich, accused Karl Rove of swiftboating antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan. Wonder whether he followed up the swiftboating delivered to Sheehan as a result of her banishment from meeting with the Democrats version of the Queen, Her Highness, Hillary Clinton?
I went to a silent auction, but a mime got all the good stuff
Man, I’m getting tired of this bastardation of the English language. How are we to expect our aliens, legal or otherwise, to learn English if we keep reinventing it?
For me, I’m going to hang with my bobos while the world contemplates the ginormous telenovela being portrayed in America today.
For all I care, the pols can all flex-cuff themselves while ingesting bobos and sing themselves to sleep with their crunk.
I’ll be snacking on my agnolotti while I google research for my next article about Yellowcake and its andropause effect on the male population.
Then I’m going to climb into my abaya and chill for the Thanksgiving Holiday.
Put that in your viewshed and avoid the smackdown!
(Thanks to Reader’s Digest, Word Power test on new words in the dictionary, December ’07 issue, for totally destroying the veracity of my computer’s spell-check. Hey, while you’re in there, look on page 158 top right, Dave Weinbaum.)
Rolla resident Dave Weinbaum is a regular contributor of one-liners and commentaries to many regional and national publications and Web sites, including the Reader's Digest, National Enquirer, Forbes, and is a regular pundit for the prestigious www.jewishworldreview.com . Readers can reach Dave at dwquote@prodigy.net. or his website www.daveweinbaum.com
Jewish World Review |
HT: Rolla Daily News |
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Deuce
Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined: 19 Mar 2005
Posts: 589
Location: FL
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| Posted: Sat Nov 24, 2007 1:12 pm Post subject: |
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Me#1
Best article I've read yet on 'swiftboating'.... but then, of course, I'm a cynic. And he got away without using 'the real definition' that we use, and still got the message across!!! I just got thru watching the CNN Special 'Broken Government, Fighting the VA', but I'll go find that thread, so don't respond here, where CNN crunked the VA, Army, Military, VFW, et al)....Great find!
Deuce |
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