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:: Thursday, August 26, 2004 ::
Cut It Out or We'll Send In the Sensitive Warriors
With Sen. Kerry’s promise to fight war sensitively, students of spinspeak must now move the word “sensitive” from the spin phyla gooeytalkto the phyla mushmindspeak.
In its original definition in natural philosophy, sensitive meant being receptive to external stimulation such as heat, light and noise as opposed to being dead. Over time the word assumed its more poetic meaning of being delicately aware of the feelings and attitudes of others.
The politically correct gendarmerie subsequently increased the degree of “delicate awareness” to the irrational point where prompt common sense action has become all but impossible and “sensitive” has become badge-of-honor class gooeytalk.
The new, vote-grubbing concept of sensitive war takes the word “sensitive” into the boob realm of comfy contradiction, grouping it with such mushmindspeak as humane hanging, painless fishing, free health care and no-loser school sports.
:: James Baar 8/26/2004 09:14:00 AM [+] ::
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:: Tuesday, August 24, 2004 ::
Etymology of nuancespeak
Widespread use of the word “nuance” by the Kerry Campaign to explain what to the common sense mind looks like clear contradictions, flip-flops and fuzzball revisions is a classic case of language corruption.
Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary defines “nuance” as a “subtle distinction or variation…a subtle quality…a nicety.” The word comes from the Middle French nuer “to make shades of color.”
It has never meant the opposite of what someone said or did last month or last year, let alone yesterday.
On the other hand, the Kerry Campaign may be justified in its polluted use of “nuance” after all. According to Webster’s the word is not only derived from the MF nuer but also from the MF word nue meaning “cloud.”
:: James Baar 8/24/2004 12:49:00 PM [+] ::
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