Today's Show: Monday, October 16, 2006
CHANGING THEIR BETS
On today's show, we'll talk with Sherrod Brown, Democratic candidate for Senate in Ohio, about today's New York Times article revealing that the GOP is pulling funding away from his rival, incumbent Mike DeWine.
DANCING WITH THEM THAT BRUNG YA
It's an oldie but goodie underbelly tactic. You've got to give back to the folks who helped put you in office. But who knew the price of loyalty was so cheap?
SECRET SPEAKER SUCCESSION
If the Speaker of the House has to leave his post, who would step into the role? Turns out - it's a secret.
ELECTRONIC VOTING
Still worried about electronic voting? So are we. So is our guest Avi Rubin, professor at John Hopkins University and author of the new book Brave New Ballot: The Battle to Safeguard Democracy in the Age of Electronic Voting.
STAND UP FOR FREEDOM
Watch Rachel's debate with Tucker Carlson at last night's huge ACLU event here.
On today's show, we'll talk with Sherrod Brown, Democratic candidate for Senate in Ohio, about today's New York Times article revealing that the GOP is pulling funding away from his rival, incumbent Mike DeWine.
DANCING WITH THEM THAT BRUNG YA
It's an oldie but goodie underbelly tactic. You've got to give back to the folks who helped put you in office. But who knew the price of loyalty was so cheap?
SECRET SPEAKER SUCCESSION
If the Speaker of the House has to leave his post, who would step into the role? Turns out - it's a secret.
ELECTRONIC VOTING
Still worried about electronic voting? So are we. So is our guest Avi Rubin, professor at John Hopkins University and author of the new book Brave New Ballot: The Battle to Safeguard Democracy in the Age of Electronic Voting.
STAND UP FOR FREEDOM
Watch Rachel's debate with Tucker Carlson at last night's huge ACLU event here.
Rachel at ACLU Conference
Video available on ACLU's site: http://action.aclu.org/conference/webcasts.html#oct15 It was a good debate and, of course, Rachel did us proud. :)
Hey there Bloggeratti  * *
Hey there Bloggeratti :cheese:
* * * * * *
:aar: - la revolución no será televisada
Right back at...
...ya!
;-)
SEIU chief wants to hold
SEIU chief wants to hold Democrats accountable
* * * * * *
:aar: - la revolución no será televisada
My old union
Pre-retirement.
Huzzah! It's about time unions stopped reflexively supporting a candidate out of nostalgia for a party that in reality hasn't been pro-worker for decades.
The DLC: the other Republican Party.
Virginia Senate race
How about this from the Washington Post:
Webb pulls even with Allen
Includes the "newsflash" that northern VA differs politically from the rest of the state (er, commonwealth). Duh.
p.s. Hiya, cs!
Good Evening, Folks!
Just finished dinner. :ahhh: Time to digest and grade papers while catching up with the world.
Two Thank You Notes, Two Grammar Indictments
Thanks to TRMS for the brief thingy on micro-lending last Friday. Really -- thanks.
Thanks to CG for referring to Ole Virginny as the Commonwealth.
Grammar indictment one: Last week, whoever does the copy-editing at TRMS produced on-air text that had the anchor of the TRMS referring to herself as "nauseous." Reminder: if a person feels like throwing up, she is nauseated. If she makes other people feel like throwing up, she is nauseous.
Grammar indictment two: "Commonwealth," in reference to Virginia, Massachusetts, Kentucky, or Pennsylvania, is capitalized. This rule applies to chemists, as well as everyone else.
Now y'all can pound me for being a nit-picky grammar freak. Let the griping and word counts begin. :p
So...
...when people point at me and say "You're nauseous", they're not concerned about my health?
Ah, cap'n
Sadly, yes -- that's what they're saying to you (or about you).
Saying "I think he's nauseous" is pretty much like saying "I think he's vile."
Sorry to break the news. We can only hope your friends don't understand the distinction between "nauseous" and "nauseated." Yeah, that's it -- they don't know what they're saying -- of course that's it.
I dunno
My "friends" are pretty linguistically sophisticated. The bastards.
:-/
Well, buddy...
...I wasn't gonna bring that up. I left you an out big enough to accommodate a tanker, and then you went all confessional on us. If it makes you feel any better, you've never made me feel like barfing. Maybe that's something.
Re: commonwealth vs. Commonwealth
essic, you know me well enough (as much as one can through the blogosphere, anyway) that I too am a grammar freak, and notice things like capitalization. And so I took a pot-shot at VA with "commonwealth". In my Yankee mind, MA and PA, Commonwealths; VA and KY, commonwealths.
And I hope you know me well enough also to know that I'm just playin' with ya. ;-p ;-p
Virginia and Kentucky as "lower case commonwealths"
Don't think I'm not onto you. You're baiting me to engage in one of my embarrassing "loving-daughter-of-the-South" or "lay-off-the-grits-eating-stereotype" rants. Well, it's not working, at least not this time.
(Try me again on another day -- who knows, I may blow a gasket in public again. I hate it when that happens.) :red:
Once the elections are over,
Once the elections are over, it'll be time to hold some Democratic politicians feet to the fire. Unions and progressive Democrats can become a powerblock that steers things in the right direction.
* * * * * *
:aar: - la revolución no será televisada
Peace All!
Is the secret link secret? Or just
broken?
Cui bono
==> Insert a witty comment here <==
Get the News at http://www.theaera.blogspot.com
Maron Double Master Blogger #7
Uh, Rachel?
That page to the succession story brings up an "unable to locate story" thingee.
Oop.
Singsing, that would be Rove
Cui bono
==> Insert a witty comment here <==
Get the News at http://www.theaera.blogspot.com
Maron Double Master Blogger #7
speaker succession
If I remember my civics correctly the only way to choose a speaker (unlike a majority or minorty leader) is by a vote of the full house - so if the speaker resigns or dies there is no speaker until a vote is held and if he/she would be needed to assume the presidency it would go to the # 4 person in line which is the speaker pro-tempre of the Senate - so I don't understand how they could be hiding his successor.
mike w from NY.
Easy
The national GOP leadership, from Shrub on down, has been ignoring the law for five-plus years. No doubt, this is just a continuation of that practice.
Mike, that was what I was taught, about the succession order
But with all the changes the Neocons have done to the constitution, who can actually tell, who would be our replacement President.
But then again, a Signing Statement probably could clean it all up by making MaMa Bush our next President.
Bomar
RE: speaker succession
I think the way it works is that each party caucus nominates their candidate for Speaker, and then the full House votes on them, though it is a foregone conclusion that the majority party's candidate will be the next speaker. So the big secret in this case is whom the House Repubs. have in mind to succeed Hastert.
"The Monster that ate my Vote" (a new cartoon)
Thank you Rachel for covering this topic, things have been too quiet lately with the voting machine issue. Thats why I tackled it as my latest cartoon, see it at my website, new this week;
cartoons with a progressive edge www.whatnowtoons.com
Voting Machines - Could be Hacked?
Why else would Bush Buddy and Rove be so upbeat about the upcoming election.
Bomar
BZZZZ!!
"Grammar indictment one: Last week, whoever does the copy-editing at TRMS produced on-air text that had the anchor of the TRMS referring to herself as "nauseous." Reminder: if a person feels like throwing up, she is nauseated. If she makes other people feel like throwing up, she is nauseous."
nope...
here's the definition:
nau·seous (nôshs, -z-s)
adj.
1. Causing nausea.
2. Affected with nausea.
So nauseous means both causing nausea and being affected with it.
If you want to say that person makes someone else sick at their stomach, it would be more grammatically correct to say "She's nauseating (to them)". Use of nauseous as an adjective correctly would be saying something like "That is a nauseous odor", or "She is a nauseous person" though in all honesty it just doesn't sound right.
Saying "she feels nauseous" is perfectly correct.
I prefer noxious. ;)
From medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/nauseous:
nau·seous (nôshs, -z-s)
adj.
1. Causing nausea.
2. Affected with nausea.
~~"Damned right (I'm an agitator). An agitator is the center pole in a washing machine. It gets the dirt out! That's a good thing!" Jim Hightower (paraphrased)
So...
...I should feel better now?
Cap'n, my cap'n
Should you feel better? I dunno, but I always feel better after I throw up. So maybe, by serving as ipecac to your friends, you're actually helping them feel better.
(Help me out here -- I'm reeeeaaallly trying to make you feel better about this.)
Selected dictionaries
Joy413 -- It's a battle of the sources. I always go with Strunk and White's "Elements of Style." When I showed up for college orientation, they handed me a dorm key and a copy of Strunk and White's. They said I had to pass a swimming test and memorize "Elements of Style" before I would be allowed to graduate. I am easily led, so I complied.
But I'll concede that many grammarians and keepers of the dictionaries (that I disfavor) are giving up on the distinction between "nauseated" and "nauseous," simply because the error is so common (i.e., people don't understand the distinction). Common usage (and misusage) eventually trump real grammar. I'm gonna deny that it's perfectly correct to ignore the difference. I'm going to call it a growing and a barely acceptable usage. But, hey, I still use "farther" for physical distance and "further" for everything else. That's how nerdy I am. If Strunk and White doesn't resolve an issue, I go to the OED (the honking big OED, not the abridged one).
Really, I was just yanking Chemgirl's chain a little and picking at TRMS. Frankly, except when I'm teaching grammar, I don't really give a flying fig about it. And, in all honesty, Chemgirl is as meticulous as she claims above. I was just poking her in the ribs.
Actually...
...as any competent linguist will tell you, there is no such thing as "real" or "correct" word usage, strictly speaking. Languages are living entities which, like any other organism, tend to change over time. What is required for them to function well, then, is not so much rigidly observed form but rather the degree to which a spoken (or written) expression accurately conveys the speaker's (or writer's) intent to the listener (or reader). Thus, while "ain't" may not be acceptable to stodgy old conservative grammarians (and he " ;-) "'d to take the sting out of that), it's perfectly acceptable in common speech. Keep in mind that the modern notion of what is and is not "misusage" is generally a manifestation of but one dialect which is subsequently codified in the relatively new invention of writing--the linguistic equivalent of eugenics, as one might term the process (I hearby propose the term "eugistics", which should make you either nauseous or nauseated). I believe you recognized that, essic ol' pal, when you stated that "Common usage (and misusage) [sic] eventually trump real grammar".
To put it more briefer (ouch!), language is for the most part an unconsciously but undeniably democratic institution; its structure and usage are determined--ideally, anyway--by the majority of those who (or "whom") use it. And being an old socialist, I feel that what the majority wants, within reason, the majority should get.
Or, as Great Beast, Aleister Crowley himself, is often thought of saying (inaccurately): "And you hurt no one, do as thou wilst" (he actually said: "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law"--but that's a whole 'nother story).
The Cap'n on grammar -- and a bonus trivia question
I agree with just about everything you've said. Of course you're right. I have always felt compelled, however, to change "disillusion of marriage" to "dissolution of marriage" on my students' papers. I will continue to do so until most English-speakers have forgotten the difference between the two concepts.
And still, when I write, I usually have to be precise, so I do try to choose my words so that people who do know the difference between "nauseated" and "nauseous" are not chuckling at my expense. In fiction, it ain't such a big deal.
Again, I was picking at TRMS. Nobody speaks as well as he writes. It's danged near impossible, except for those who don't edit what they write (which, of course, makes them terrible writers).
As for "ain't," I believe Shakespeare used it, so who am I to lecture the Bard? There are people from my neck of the woods who think that folks from the remote regions of North Carolina are speaking remnants of Elizabethan English anyway. I reckon it's possible. I don't mind having parts of my speech frozen circa 1600. Fine by me. And, as my fifth grade school bus driver from the NC hills used to yell at the top of his lungs, "If youen don't like it, it ain't my problem."
QUIZ: So, Cap'n, I happen to know you're good at our language. Bill Bryson says there are three words left in English that are made plural with "en" or "n" (a hang-over from the Germanic roots of English) rather than the modern "es" or "s." Bryson is wrong -- I can think of five. But can you name three?
These words exist in modern, generally accepted American and British English, not just the hill talk of the sort that I grew up with, where people really did say "youen" instead of "you all" or "y'all."
(BTW, where I come from, "y'all" can be singular or plural. For the precise, the plural of "y'all" is "all y'all," as in "Why don't all y'all come over to the house for a beer." "Youen" means "all y'all," and "youens" is just plain stupid because it's a double plural, like "feets." Swear to God.) :-)
Latest news from Black Box Voting . Org
10-15-06: Now we're getting somewhere -- Congressional hand counted paper ballots bill introduced in U.S. Congress
Here is the text of the bill, courtesy of Paul Lehto:
Paper Ballot Act of 2006 (Introduced in House)
HR 6200 IH
109th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6200
To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require States to conduct Presidential elections using paper ballots and to count those ballots by hand, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 27, 2006
Mr. KUCINICH (for himself, Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida, Mr. CLAY, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. FILNER, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Ms. KAPTUR, Ms. LEE, Mr.MCDERMOTT, Ms. MCKINNEY, Mrs. MALONEY, Ms. SOLIS, Ms. WATERS, and Ms. WOOLSEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions ... More
From the latest listed article on:
http://www.blackboxvoting.org/
Bomar
Privatized voting in America
These monsters are among us, shredding our democracy in tiny pieces. They have Privatized our vote to the Corporate elite, who, with intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic, regarded this democracy with envious eyes,and slowly and surely drew their plans against us. And early in the twenty-first century came the great deception.
Yes, the Robber Barron's are back, and this time they have locked down the voice of the people with these technological terrors. Now on the eve of what seems to be a democratic victory in the House and Senate, the shadow of these vote eating monsters looms over our greatest hopes for a return to a Jeffersonian democracy.
cartoons with a progressive edge www.whatnowtoons.com
Poking, MO voter ID law, Liberty Sunday
Rachel's got her "poking a sharp stick at the soft white underbelly" segment. essic's got her "poking the ribs of the anal-retentive chemist" deal. :p
Other words-that-aren't-really-words-but-have-become-ones -from-misuse: orientated (oriented) and commentated (commented). Plus, here's one my students are fond of: sublimated (sublimed).
=================
The MO Supreme Court struck down their voter ID law:
The court found the requirement violated several provisions in the state constitution. The court said requiring otherwise legitimate voters to obtain an appropriate ID imposed too big a burden on their voting rights....
The Democratic Party, which helped fund the litigation, was pleased at the result....
The Republican Party, meanwhile, blasted the ruling.
"Today's decision is a direct attack on free and fair elections by activist judges who ignored the will of a majority of Missourians who support the voter identification law," Missouri Republican Party spokesman Paul Sloca said.
Here we go with the "activist judges" crap again. Republican election-year crap #1.
===============
Repub election-year crap #1a:
Freaking "Liberty Sunday", which took place yesterday in Boston:
Conservative religious and political leaders rallied Sunday in opposition of gay marriage, arguing that their rights to religious expression are being threatened.
The event, being broadcast to churches nationally, is part of a larger effort to energize conservative voters before the Nov. 7 congressional elections.
"Here in Massachusetts, activist judges struck a blow to the foundation of civilization — the family," Republican Gov. Mitt Romney, a likely presidential candidate, told an applauding crowd of about 1,000 people, some of whom responded with "Amen."
I'm sick of being used as a punching bag gimmick of the Repubs. I pay my taxes, I obey the laws of the land, I am a proud American. And I'm gay. I want the same rights as everybody else. Period.
Favorite misuses
Yeah, "orientating" is a good one. I am fond of "preventative measures" (instead of "preventive"). The extra "tuh" sound makes a person sound so garl-darn edjeecated.
I also love it when reporters stick microphones in a police officer's face and he suddenly feels he has to use sophisticated words. I saw a cop say something to this effect on the local news one evening: "After jointly surveilling our suspected wrong-doer for a lengthy period of time, we decided to effect a search on his person and apprehended him and discovered that he was (I'm going phonetic for this next word) 'secreeting' marijuana."
Using "secret" as a verb -- I guess I have to live with that. But when he pronounced it "secrete," I was suddenly visualing stems and seeds oozing out of the poor suspect's facial pores. There's an easy way around this problem, like maybe the word "hide."
As for activist courts, stop reading the news and you'll feel better. Sponge Bob is good. Personally, I'm re-reading "Harriet the Spy" (haven't read that since I was six years old) and "Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady." They're soooo much more soothing.
Cartoons
Keith, (What Now Toons),
Your cartoons are great, Thanks.
I really needed a laugh today.
Bomar
Humble request
I very much hope TRMS will consider doing a piece on John Yoo. He's one of those guys you have to understand to get a real grip what the current administration is doing and why it's doing it.
Start here: http://tinyurl.com/yk3whn
This won't get you all the way down the rabbit hole, but it deserves a spot on your iPods. There's more to it than just Yoo's constitution-in-wartime belief system -- think "unitary executive."
Gallaudet revisited
From Today's TRMS:
Students last week shut down their campus for three days. We reported this on last week’s show. They are protesting the new school President, who they do not want to be the President. On Friday night, police started arresting who were blocking entrances to Gallaudet, 133 arrests.
Here’s NBC4 reporting from Washington:
“133 students were arrested Friday night for blocking entrances to campus. The University’s president, I. King Jordan., allowed the arrests, disappointing some student protesters.”
The President of the National Association for the Deaf, yesterday, cut short a vacation in Mexico and showed up in Gallaudet today, to the enthusiasm of the student protesters.
The National Association of the Deaf President that students should NOT have been arrested. Gallaudet is the only University for Deaf students in the country. The protesters, apparently, according to today’s Washington Post, have recently been joined by alumni and by employees of the school.
OK, a few points here. Officially the DC Police are not allowed to arrest protesters. It was Gallaudet Campus security, the Department of Public Safety that hauled each protestor off the line and into police custody.
Thus the notion that Dr. Jordan "allowed" the arrests is misleading. It was he who told the DC Police that the students were "Unlawfully Assembling." It was his employees who carried out the arrests. Essentially, he ORDERED the arrests.
Since the protest began on May 1st, President Jordan, Incoming President Fernandes and GU Director of Public Relations, Mercy Coogan have continually lied and spun to the press, fundementally misrepresenting the opposition. In doing so, they fundementally mirepresent to the public the Gaullaudet community in specific, and the Deaf community in general.
One neat little spin was that, as I wrone on the blog Friday, there were 135 arrests, not 133. Yes, 133 students but one arrest was staff and one was alumnus, Tim Rarus, '89. Important ommissions, as the Administrations official spin is that the protesters are a small minority.
As I told on Friday, the 135 was only the point where DPS and the DC Police quit for the evening. Around 80 more were lined up, ready to be arrested, in violation of official police orders. Hundreds more were cheering them on. The spin that the protest was small and handled, is completely falacious.
The spin that the protest ENDED with the arrests is also ridiculous Protesters returned to their positions after being bailed. Jordan announced the reopening of the campus on Monday, which the protestors agreed to. But for only one purpose, for the Faculty Senate to meet.
Once again, as they did in May, the Faculty voted overwhelmingly No Confidence in Fernandes and for Fernandes to immediately resign. Not only that, they voted No Confidence in Jordan and No Confidence in the Board of Trustees. A Unanimous Voice vote urges the Trustees to return immediately to campus to resolve the crisis.
http://www.nbc4.com/news/10081818/detail.html
Gallaudet arrests an assault on deaf self-determination
Please keep covering the Gallaudet story.
Were the "arresting officers" fluent in ASL? Did the employees who were arresting know sign and have deaf cultural training?
If not, why would Gallaudet employ professional security and not train them effectively?
How is it unlawful for students, faculty, and staff to protest at their own college?
The Deaf Prez Now movement is considered on of the milestones of deaf self-determination:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallaudet_University#Deaf_President_Now_.28...
I worked as a freelancer for Gallaudet University Press for about a year, and almost took a full-time job there. I thought that all college employees were required either to have or obtain sign fluency.
I suspect that there is going to be a tremendous turnout in Washington of deaf educators and advocates and community.
300,000,000 Americans!
Somehow, and on so many levels, this just doesn't get a "hoo-hoo!" out of me. More of a "argh!" in fact.
Guantanamo Woes
Gitmo Better Blues
It takes a village to have an idiot - Actor212
Re: Trivia
Children
The Cap'n must be thinking...
p.s. Dissolution vs. disillusion -- people really confuse these words? Wow. Here's a sentence for you: The chemist was disillusioned by the dissolution of her nonpolar compound in water.
Thinking Cap'n
I try to think at least once a day. The effort doesn't always pay off, though...
How about these
Ox, Oxen
Man, Men
Woman, Women
Some obscure plural words are:
dogma, dogmen
album, alben
thesis, thesen
bacillus, bacillen
Bomar
Mike Malloy Announcement
BIG IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!!!
Now that we have your attention . . . we are thrilled to be able to tell you that Mike will return to the airwaves Monday October 30th at 9PM ET, thanks to the new Nova M Radio Network! We are very excited about this new opportunity to get behind a mic before the November elections. We are confident that many of our former stations will soon pick up the program and that satellite and Internet radio listeners will also be able to hear the Malloy show from coast to coast and around the world! We do not at this time have exact information about podcasting or Internet archives, but will certainly keep you updated on those technical issues as they develop. If you want to hear the Malloy show in your city, by all means contact your local station and ask for it. Or send an email to malloyproducer@aol.com and we'll forward the request to Nova M's affiliate relations department.
We cannot express how overwhelmed we have been with your kind, supportive email, letters, petitions, original artwork, poetry and ballads (!) and other efforts on our behalf. We appreciate each and every one of you more than you'll ever know.
Before the offical return of the Mike Malloy Show, you can get a preview of sorts this week . . . .
Malloy on Jerry Springer
Listen to Mike Malloy as he substitutes for Jerry Springer Thursday and Friday October 19 & 20! Check your local Springer on the Radio affiliates for broadcast times.
As for other news, read this article about Mike in the latest issue of Creative Loafing. Look for more interviews and related press in the near future.
Once again, thank you all so very much for all you have done. Now, lets work together to TAKE OUR COUNTRY BACK from the grimy and fetid clutches of the Flying Monkey Right!!!!!!!!!!!
Link to Mike Malloy's Web Site:
http://www.mikemalloy.com/
Bomar
Trivia Answer
Here's my best shot -- the only five I can think of:
man men
woman women
child children
ox oxen
brother brethren (modern only in religious use, otherwise archaic)
There may be more -- that's all I can come up with.
As for "dissolution" v. "disillusion," I think the malapropism "disillusion of marriage" has a poetic irony about it, with a tinge of Freudian tragedy thrown in as garnish.
Essic. here is what you need to look for
Fifth declensions latin nouns with german to english roots
Bomar