Monday
But I'll be sober in the morning
I'm back from a relaxing weekend vacation from both New York and blogging in general. Getting back into the swing of things, a couple of thoughts:
Because the AARP is opposed to Social Security privatization, they are being smeared with the accusation that they're pro gay-marriage. Note both the lack of concern for the truth in making accusations about ones opponents and the use of homophobia as a wedge issue. The people behind this campaign know that some will respond to the bare association with gay marriage with irrational disgust, causing them to switch sides. Remind you of anyone's election strategy? Unfortunately, this indicates that it will work.
Also, a commenter at Unfogged made an allusion to a great Churchill (Winston, not Ward) quote. Churchill had recieved a very critical letter, and he wrote: "Dear Sir, I am in the smallest room of the house and your letter is before me. Very soon it will be behind me." Actually, atribution of this quote to Churchill may be apocryphal, but I'm going to stick with it for now.
I'm confused by the meaning of the phrase, 'on the latch' in the following excerpt, I think it's British idiom but it could just be a phrase I've never seen. "Cordelia had no premonition of tragedy as she pushed open the street door which was kept perpetually on the latch for the convenience of the secretive and mysterious tenants and their equally mysterious visitors." Does 'on the latch' just mean 'open'? That almost works in the context, but doesn't quite go with the repeated mentions of 'mysterious'? Does anyone know?
I'll put together a piece on this weekend's Ethicist column later.
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Because the AARP is opposed to Social Security privatization, they are being smeared with the accusation that they're pro gay-marriage. Note both the lack of concern for the truth in making accusations about ones opponents and the use of homophobia as a wedge issue. The people behind this campaign know that some will respond to the bare association with gay marriage with irrational disgust, causing them to switch sides. Remind you of anyone's election strategy? Unfortunately, this indicates that it will work.
Also, a commenter at Unfogged made an allusion to a great Churchill (Winston, not Ward) quote. Churchill had recieved a very critical letter, and he wrote: "Dear Sir, I am in the smallest room of the house and your letter is before me. Very soon it will be behind me." Actually, atribution of this quote to Churchill may be apocryphal, but I'm going to stick with it for now.
I'm confused by the meaning of the phrase, 'on the latch' in the following excerpt, I think it's British idiom but it could just be a phrase I've never seen. "Cordelia had no premonition of tragedy as she pushed open the street door which was kept perpetually on the latch for the convenience of the secretive and mysterious tenants and their equally mysterious visitors." Does 'on the latch' just mean 'open'? That almost works in the context, but doesn't quite go with the repeated mentions of 'mysterious'? Does anyone know?
I'll put together a piece on this weekend's Ethicist column later.
