Words have meaning.

[techs]

Here are some interesting questions raised by the controversy over two phrases in the news lately.
First off "unborn child". Unborn child is a phrase commonly used by abortion opponents when referring to a "fetus". Yet, we don't call a 12 year old an "unaged senior citizen".
Funny I don't hear the opponens of calling Iraq a "Civil War" complaining about calling a fetus an "unborn child".

And take the phrase Civil War when applied to Iraq. Wasn't Korea a "war"? It was called that in all the news reports of the time and since. Of course, technically it was a 'police action". Yet, it met the definition of a war and was called a "war" Anyone want to dispute this?
Or how about the "War in Iraq" I saw this everyday on Fox news for the last 3 years. But we didn't declare war. However, I have no problem calling it a 'war' because it meets the definiton of a war. Yet, the War IN Iraq" bothers me. Shouldn't it be the War ON Iraq?
After all America invaded Iraq. We made war ON Iraq.

And just what should the newspapers have reported in the late 1930's during the Spanish civil war? Should they have said "the events in Spain where two parties are fighting against each other for control of the country"? Of course not. It was a Civil War.
And how about the people the people who have a problem calling Iraq a Civil War and are saying just let the news report what is going on there and let ME decide?
Gee, according to their opinion there has never been a "riot" in America. Just tell me how many people were killed, arrested, how many stores were looted (burglarized since looting infers a riot)etc. I'll decide if it was a riot. According to them there should never have been a riot reported, anywhere.
And of course there was no Civil Rights movement in America in the 1960's. There were a bunch of people who felt the government should do something different.
Sheesh.
There is a reason newspeople, for the most part, have actually studied the subject in college. It is to teach them what words mean what.
Otherwise the 1918 flue epidemic would have been "There are a lot of people sick"

 

[fitzov]

Thank you for reminding us that in politics words don't always have their literal meaning.

 

[shira]

Originally posted by: fitzov
Thank you for reminding us that in politics words don't always have their literal meaning.

I think the point techs is making is bigger than that.

We've all heard, "If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck it IS a duck." Well, the "conflict" in Iraq is a duck. The "conflict" started out as an invasion of Iraq - for a variety of invalid reasons - by the U.S. and a few allies. And after the invasion was complete, the "conflict" became primarily the coalition troops fighting against insurgents from outside Iraq - many of them affiliated with Al Qaeda - plus sympathizers within Iraq. But the situation has evolved, and the great bulk of the "conflict" is now Iraqi Sunnis against Iraqi Shiites, fighting for control. Sure, there are still some of those external terrorist elements within Iraq, but that's small potatoes.

The Bush Administration for almost entirely political purposes wants to continue framing the "conflict" in Iraq in anti-terrorist terms - brave Iraqis fighting against terrorists to establish a viable democratic state.

But even if "anti-terrorism" was once a valid description (it wasn't), that terminology is now more than inaccurate - it is a lie. And referring to the "conflict" in Iraq as anything other than a civil war is a lie.

This is about more than simply politics. It is about truth.

 

[Lemon law]

Language always does have its abilities to sugar coat harsh realities---and sometimes to only remedy is to throw the contradiction back at them---when the funeral director tells you your loved one is sleeping instead of dead---ask the jerk how to wake them up so his services are un-needed.---and snappy come backs like this are a good part of why the Greeks made Socrates drink hemlock.

I still remember when I was thinking of changing banks but wanted my cancelled checks back---and was told my checks would be trunkcated---hey I learned a new word I may not be spelling correctly. I still remember the sour look I got when I informed the banker that their responce just trunkcated any chance of me using their bank.---a look that still warms my heart years later.

But sadly we are normally too polite to do this---and get rewarded with more and more use of dishonesty in language.---which is now the ad man's and the politicians stock in trade.

 

[Uhtrinity]

Just like this article states.


quote:

The US government has tweaked its terminology in referring to the nearly 11 million Americans who face a constant struggle with hunger to refer to them as people with "very low food security."



It's all just wordplay

When did the marketing folks take over?

 

[techs]

Originally posted by: Uhtrinity
Just like this article states.


quote:

The US government has tweaked its terminology in referring to the nearly 11 million Americans who face a constant struggle with hunger to refer to them as people with "very low food security."



It's all just wordplay

When did the marketing folks take over?

The US government has tweaked its terminology in referring to the nearly 11 million Americans who face a constant struggle with hunger to refer to them as people with "very low food security." Are they now eligible for anti-terrorist funding to increase their "security'?

 

[daveshel]

Originally posted by: Uhtrinity


When did the marketing folks take over?

1980. When we elected an actor to the White House.

There used to be a maxim, "Saying it doesn't make it so." Eventually, it was replaced with "Image is everything." But by the time image becomes everything, you are left with a symbol that has become more worthy than the thing that it represents. Get used to that and the next thing you know you might support a Constitutional amendment against flag burning.

 

[Genx87]

Budget cuts == Not as big an increase as wanted.

 

[Pens1566]

Originally posted by: Genx87
Budget cuts == Not as big an increase as wanted.

Candidate X voted for tax increases == They voted against a bill with an earmark giving group Y a huge tax cut.

 

[techs]

Originally posted by: Pens1566

Originally posted by: Genx87
Budget cuts == Not as big an increase as wanted.

Candidate X voted for tax increases == They voted against a bill with an earmark giving group Y a huge tax cut.

Leave it to you to find an example that DOESN'T fit. In order for funding to stay the same it must be increased due to inflation. NOT increasing a programs funding by inflation IS a budget cut.
However, when Bush says he INCREASED veterans benefits funding and it DIDN"T keep up with inflation it was a DECREASE.
Nice going, though.
It proves my point. Words have meaning.

 

[Whoozyerdaddy]

Originally posted by: techs

Originally posted by: Pens1566

Originally posted by: Genx87
Budget cuts == Not as big an increase as wanted.

Candidate X voted for tax increases == They voted against a bill with an earmark giving group Y a huge tax cut.

Leave it to you to find an example that DOESN'T fit. In order for funding to stay the same it must be increased due to inflation. NOT increasing a programs funding by inflation IS a budget cut.
However, when Bush says he INCREASED veterans benefits funding and it DIDN"T keep up with inflation it was a DECREASE.
Nice going, though.
It proves my point. Words have meaning.

Heh... first you complain about it, then you do it yourself.

If you spend more now than you did before that is an increase. More is more unless you want to start adding qualifiers and when you do that, you're spinning.

By your example, if your investments didn't keep up with inflation, you shouldn't have to pay capital gains tax.

 

[JD50]

Originally posted by: techs

Originally posted by: Pens1566

Originally posted by: Genx87
Budget cuts == Not as big an increase as wanted.

Candidate X voted for tax increases == They voted against a bill with an earmark giving group Y a huge tax cut.

Leave it to you to find an example that DOESN'T fit. In order for funding to stay the same it must be increased due to inflation. NOT increasing a programs funding by inflation IS a budget cut.
However, when Bush says he INCREASED veterans benefits funding and it DIDN"T keep up with inflation it was a DECREASE.
Nice going, though.
It proves my point. Words have meaning.

LOL, you contradict yourself as much as crazy Dave. You should change the title of this thread to "words mean what I want them to mean"

 

[techs]

Originally posted by: Whoozyerdaddy

Originally posted by: techs

Originally posted by: Pens1566

Originally posted by: Genx87
Budget cuts == Not as big an increase as wanted.

Candidate X voted for tax increases == They voted against a bill with an earmark giving group Y a huge tax cut.

Leave it to you to find an example that DOESN'T fit. In order for funding to stay the same it must be increased due to inflation. NOT increasing a programs funding by inflation IS a budget cut.
However, when Bush says he INCREASED veterans benefits funding and it DIDN"T keep up with inflation it was a DECREASE.
Nice going, though.
It proves my point. Words have meaning.

Heh... first you complain about it, then you do it yourself.

If you spend more now than you did before that is an increase. More is more unless you want to start adding qualifiers and when you do that, you're spinning.

By your example, if your investments didn't keep up with inflation, you shouldn't have to pay capital gains tax.

No. What I said is that words have meaning. And saying its an increase when you have increased by less than inflation is not an increase in the sense of what the words mean to the person hearing it.
If your salary increased by a dollar every year , you wouldn't claim that your salary has increased, just like when Bush said he spent more on veterans benefits than any other President. And then the newscaster points out the increases were below the rate of inflation so in real terms it was decrease.
Bush has complained that the news should just report his press statement that he "increased" veteran benefit spending and not follow up with the statement that the increase was less than inflation.
If you are going to say something it needs to be meaningful. Saying its an 'increase' is not meaningful. Saying a 12 year old is and unaged adult is not meaningful.
Thats my point. Words have meaning.