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| Home Front: Politix |
| Trailer trash: fightin' mad, want Dubya |
| 2004-10-29 |
| On the face of it, it seems ridiculous that George Bush should have any chance of re-election next week. He is the first president to oversee a net loss of jobs in the US economy since the Great Depression. He has led his country into the most controversial war since Vietnam. Yet he has an excellent chance of winning four more years. The polls are confused, signalling a close contest. At one extreme, Bush has a 7 percentage point lead, according to the Fox News poll; at the other John Kerry has a 3 percentage point advantage, according to the Associated Press-Ipsos survey. How does one of Washington's leading professional political analysts interpret the data? "I have no idea who is going to win this election," Charlie Cook, publisher of The Cook Political Report, confessed forlornly to his clients this week. "I really don't." The betting shops are more emphatic. The punters on the Iowa Electronic Market, an accurate predictor of the outcome since its inception, covering the last four presidential elections, are pricing Bush as the favourite with odds of 60:40. What is Bush's secret? With such a poor record, how can he still be in the race, much less the favourite? The first point to make is that while John Kerry has sought to fight much of the election campaign on the economy, it is not the dominant issue. There is something else preoccupying the American mind: "Nobody asked Abraham Lincoln what the unemployment rate was in 1864, as the Union forces marched to victory in the Civil War," quips Walter Russell Mead, one of America's foremost analysts of foreign policy. The dominant theme of this presidential election, the first since September 11, 2001, is national security. The No. 1 issue of importance to voters is the Iraq war, according to Gallup, and the No. 2 issue is the threat of terrorism. So the two top issues in the minds of the American voter are both national security matters, and here we begin to unravel the mystery of Bush's political resilience. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #44 Mrs D, Jarhead, Doc8404 :) I don't know if I'm related to John Grey. Our families are from Belpre, Beverly, Marietta. I'll sign off with something fellow southeastern Ohioans can appreciate-gotta go, time to "warsh my haid". |
| Posted by: jules 2 2004-10-29 8:51:01 PM |
| #43 Jarhead, The guy lived so long, had so many kids and grandchildren that I think half of all Ohians are related to him. |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2004-10-29 8:16:47 PM |
| #42 They say "Jenghis," I say "Genghis." They say "dowrrar," I say "dollar." Which is it, people, Wade-Giles, or Pinyin? :) |
| Posted by: Asedwich 2004-10-29 8:11:24 PM |
| #41 Tony (UK) - Lol! Hey, that's the only thing I got right - in that teensy-tiny footnote! And only Jarhead thought the main post was worthy of notice, lol! Maybe this is like whispering: if you want people to pay attention, whisper... Lol! I may never post full-size again! |
| Posted by: .com 2004-10-29 7:58:37 PM |
| #40 Jarhead/Jules - New Philly, Waynesburg and Delroy for my kin. If you guys are second cuszzins. . . . |
| Posted by: Doc8404 2004-10-29 7:55:42 PM |
| #39 Hah! - so one of my favourite lines of all time is actually from the Khaaaaan! himself? Nice one! I have it as the ringtone on my mobile, it scares the shit out of me when it goes off "Conan!, what is best in life!!! ...." BTW, I've always pronounced Celt with a hard K, so it's nice to know I'm doing *something* right .com :) |
| Posted by: Tony (UK) 2004-10-29 7:50:54 PM |
| #38 Mrs. D, heck if I know. That part of Oh-hi-ya is pretty close nit, I wouldn't be surprised if Jules and I were distantly related ;) |
| Posted by: Jarhead 2004-10-29 7:24:31 PM |
| #37 So Jarhead, Jules, which of you is related to John Gray, last surviving soldier of the American Revolution? |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2004-10-29 7:19:38 PM |
| #36 Jules, excellent, mine are spread throughout McConnelsville, Coshocton, Zanesville, & Newcomerstown. Mostly farmers, all hill-billys. |
| Posted by: Jarhead 2004-10-29 7:16:23 PM |
| #35 Friday, Binny's back, dude in a dishrag and Oakleys is promising me "rivers of blood", and now I gotta go hope the Redskins' mojo is risin'. Chit. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2004-10-29 6:17:36 PM |
| #34 Comthing tellc me it'c Friday... |
| Posted by: Dave D. 2004-10-29 6:11:15 PM |
| #33 Never that, Sally! I'm ctone-sold ceriouc. Not to mention jonecing for a seizure calad. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2004-10-29 6:09:06 PM |
| #32 Ceafariouc, curely you ject! |
| Posted by: Kalle (kafir forever) 2004-10-29 6:06:37 PM |
| #31 Having said that, two more things: - It's great and normal to have variant pronunciations in various languages, i.e. seesserho and seezarh. My first name is mis-pronounced everywhere except for where I was born -- and I don't care. I know when people call me and that's all that matters. - Ceterum censeo, Mecca delenda est. |
| Posted by: Kalle (kafir forever) 2004-10-29 6:04:56 PM |
| #30 Of source. It's all slear to me now. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2004-10-29 6:04:18 PM |
| #29 veni vidi viKi 'c' in Latin was pronounced 'k' -- it only became 's' or 'ch' in pig latin during the Middle Ages, as well as under German academic influence in the 19th century. Some parts of the Roman Empire did have aberrant pronunciations of 'c', which all educated Romans made fun of. e.g. kikero was the greatest orator in history, and Julius Kaesar destroyed the Republic (hence Kaiser in German), not seezarh. |
| Posted by: Kalle (kafir forever) 2004-10-29 6:02:12 PM |
| #28 .com, And you're still right, he's a ponce |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2004-10-29 12:27:18 PM |
| #27 tw -- Well, I'm guessing it's supposed to be crude and insulting toward Americans, and therefore funny to the SMH's audience. If I weren't above such comments, I'd say it was a lot funnier if you note that the "Uncle Sam" on the leash resembles John Kerry. Fortunately I have too much class for that. |
| Posted by: Angie Schultz 2004-10-29 12:20:40 PM |
| #26 Lol - you're right, Mrs D, heh. He's still a ponce, IMHO. |
| Posted by: .com 2004-10-29 12:17:16 PM |
| #25 As I recall, Le Kerry pronounced it jen-jis, not jen-gis. So he"s just as wrong as all my friends who say geng_gis |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2004-10-29 12:13:46 PM |
| #24 Oops, forgot my closing smiley to indicate snark content. ;-) |
| Posted by: .com 2004-10-29 12:12:45 PM |
| #23 RWV, I lay claim to the title of dilettante. I don't dress well enough to be a fop, and categorically reject pseudo-intellectual. I will not be put in any category that contains Senator John Forbes Kerry, esquire. Angie, I don't understand the cartoon. Is it supposed to make sense, or just somehow be crude and insulting? Besides, I am a girl -- so I get to fight over pronounciation ;-) |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2004-10-29 12:09:16 PM |
| #22 The addition of the "h" to the second g indicates that indo-European rules are being applied. |
| Posted by: lex 2004-10-29 12:09:01 PM |
| #21 I'm proud to say one side of my family still in south-eastern Ohio fits this white-trash patriotic scots-irish stereotype to a tee. Me, too, Jarhead. Marietta. Backbone and honor are at the top of the list of desired qualities for those parts, trailers or not, white trash or not. BTW-Deciding how to pronounce soft vs hard g generally comes down to 1)etymology and 2)how widespread usage of a word is. Genghis has no Indo-European root, correct? If not, why apply indo-European rules? |
| Posted by: Jules 187 2004-10-29 12:06:05 PM |
| #20 tee hee! that cartoon it funny |
| Posted by: lex 2004-10-29 12:05:28 PM |
| #19 Who're you calling a girly-man? Lock 'n load, Angie. |
| Posted by: .com 2004-10-29 12:04:31 PM |
| #18 Let's resolve this. Kill the Mongol too. |
| Posted by: Highlander 2004-10-29 12:03:57 PM |
| #17 Why oh why are youse mugs fighting over pronunciation like a bunch of girly men, when you could be het up over the cartoon that accompanied the article? |
| Posted by: Angie Schultz 2004-10-29 12:00:07 PM |
| #16 tw - Lol! You're right, of course... for Skeery, the point is himself, not anything or anyone else. When I found that the terrific looking Latin phrase, "Veni vidi vici." was pronounced "Weny, weedee, weechy." I was crushed. Just took all the air out of it, lol! My daughter had 7 years of Latin (she's a museum curator and occasional archeology authority) and we both scowled and howled at this travesty. So I just make shit up now, lol! "Veni, vidi, priorificavi." I came, I saw, I prioritized, lol! |
| Posted by: .com 2004-10-29 11:46:31 AM |
| #15 Pronounciation rules are all very well, but English is a language that thrives on exceptions, despite pedants like me. Foreign names are one of the many exceptions. Thus, "Celt" looks like it should be pronounced 'selt', but none the less is pronounced by the cogniscenti with a hard 'k', because that's how the various celtic types (Scotch, Irish, etc) pronounce it. On the other hand, if the cognis. wish to communicate effectively with basketball fans, they darn well better call 'em the Bosten 'Seltics', or they may get hit -- Celtics fans not being known for their patience with heresy. Likewise, to sound truly intellectual, one would give Mr. Khan's name the Mandarin Chinese pronounciation the spelling is attempting to indicate (which came up once in conversation with my Chinese teacher, but which I cannot remember, sorry) instead of the falsely pedantic "Jenghis", even if one is consistent and pronounces the KH with the proper German/Hebrew/Arabic unvoiced gutteral the spelling of the second name appears to indicate. And .com? I would disagree that Kerry is a ponce. He is rather a thoroughgoing pseudo-intellectual, who clearly doesn't know nearly as much as he thinks he does. I suspect he is using the pronounciation he learned in that French boarding school of his because he doesn't know any better. Stupid, too, because to communicate effectively one needs to speak the language of those listening. Clearly, by using his special pronounciation, he is focussing the listener's attention on that one name, rather than on his message. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2004-10-29 11:35:54 AM |
| #14 RWV - None taken - I was laughing throughout! I spoke truly - it was fun and interesting. Though it's obviously not apparent to others (sigh), I was an English major. In their defense, I'll leave the institution nameless, thus blameless, heh - I just don't use Preview to advantage! The "Fucking English" was heartfelt! And I'll still say GenGhis cuz, as you said, only the fops will care, lol! |
| Posted by: .com 2004-10-29 11:33:22 AM |
| #13 .com, no offense intended. Those of us who are Jacksonians by heredity and environment know what you meant and concur. I wouldn't walk across the street to spit on Kerry even if he were on fire. Subsequent posts were not intended in any way to denigrate either you or your post. Like I said, where I grew up only dilettantes, fops, and pseudo-intellectuals worried about pronunciation. What you said was more important than how you said it. Again, sorry. No offense intended. |
| Posted by: RWV 2004-10-29 11:27:14 AM |
| #12 Hey Lex, good to go, Kerry pronounced it right and every one I know pronounces Genghis wrong - wasn't meant to be a line of attack, only that his pronounciation was distinct to most of us that have never heard that pronounciation. Either way screw kerry, he's still a girly-man (that's girly with a "hard g".) |
| Posted by: Jarhead 2004-10-29 11:13:26 AM |
| #11 Lol! What fun! So, um, lemme see if I have this right, heh: The body of the post was okay, more or less, just my tiny, tiny, tiny, footnote rankled? Lol! You guys are real sports! Jarhead - Thx, bro! Actually, I found the original story of that quote here - and was pleased as punch to know we didn't need to credit that asshat, Oliver Stone, lol! Mrs D / lex / RWV - So, um, okay... I understand and accept (heh) your learned posts. Regards the "rules" of English, well, I'll just repeat the closing epithet: "Fucking English." As for Skeery, PONCE fits - regardless of how this little tea party goes, lol! He's a pretentious asshole - and ponce. I'll stick with the G sound because I'm not - and you guys can snicker and point fingers, K? Lol! Thanx for the feedback, it was fun and interesting! |
| Posted by: .com 2004-10-29 11:01:56 AM |
| #10 Hard g as in generation? Sorry, but our young traitor had his pronunciation right. Not a good line of attack. |
| Posted by: lex 2004-10-29 10:57:33 AM |
| #9 Gen·ghis Khan    P   Pronunciation Key  (jnggs kän, gng-) also Jen·ghis Khan or Jen·ghiz Khan (jngz kän, -gs, jng-), Originally Temujin. 1162?-1227. Mongol conqueror who united the Mongol tribes and forged an empire stretching from China to the Danube River and into Persia. In 1206 he took the name Genghis Khan (âsupreme conqueror.â) Usually heard it pronounced with a "hard" g when I was growing up. |
| Posted by: RWV 2004-10-29 10:38:47 AM |
| #8 In most indo-european languages, before the vowels "e" and "i", the consonants "c" and "g" become soft: generation, gigantic, Cicero, ricin, etc. Which is why, when the g preceding an "i" or "e" vowel is pronounced as a hard sound, the spelling rules dictate the addition of an h to the g in order to signify this unusual prononciation. So gen-ghis should be pronounced with a soft g as in generation and then a hard g as per the "gh" spelling. |
| Posted by: lex 2004-10-29 10:22:17 AM |
| #7 Children of Scots-Irish descent were left out of all the Ellis Island retrospectives a few years ago because, as my wife so ably pointed out to me, the first time most of their ancestors saw Ellis Island was on troop ships going the other way. |
| Posted by: RWV 2004-10-29 10:13:03 AM |
| #6 .com, I agree Kerry's speech is affected, if not nearly so much as in 1971, but I must ask you, how do you pronounce giraffe? |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2004-10-29 8:42:43 AM |
| #5 When I think of jacksonian thought I can't help but look at Zell Miller as a modern day embodyment of such. James Webb wrote some good books to, I highly recommend "Fields Of Fire." .com> great post, nice summation w/the pronounciation of Celtic & Genghis. Kerry's little fuck up on that pronounciation is prolly why so many 'Nam Vets distinctly remember his deposition in front of the senate. I believe the Khan quote was lifted by Schwarznegger for the first Conan movie IIRC. Conan's teacher, (actually an old mongol looking guy) said this to him. I'm proud to say one side of my family still in south-eastern Ohio fits this white-trash patriotic scots-irish stereotype to a tee. |
| Posted by: Jarhead 2004-10-29 8:14:20 AM |
| #4 The interesting aspect of being a Jacksonian is that it is, simply, impossible to see conflict any other way. We no more understand the drivel of world hug / appeasers than we do Swahili. We will fight fairly, always by the rules and, in spite of it and whilst our enemies abide by no rules whatsoever, we will nonetheless prevail and kill our enemies, their relatives, their friends, passing acquaintances -- the very essence of their incivility and obscene lives and wipe them out utterly. Oh, and their favorite dog or pony, too. A melding of *Celtic and Berserker and Calvin and Hobbes. No the other Calvin & Hobbes. Don't be dense. __________________________________________________ The following great philosophers, whom we understand with every fiber of our being, summed it up best, IMHO: "Do, or do not. There is no try." -Yoda "That's all I can stands and I can't stands no more." -Popeye Harlod Lamb's book *GENGHIS KAHN: THE EMPEROR OF ALL MEN, pages 106-107: One day in the pavilion at Karakorum he [*Genghis Kahn] asked an officer of the Mongol guard what, in all the world, could bring the greatest happiness. "The open steppe, a clear day, and a swift horse under you," responded the officer after a little thought, "and a falcon on your wrist to start up hares." "Nay," responded the Kahn, "to crush your enemies, to see them fall at your feet -- to take their horses and goods and hear the lamentation of their women. That is best." Agreed. Let's get to it, then. * Note that there are NO fucking J's in Genghis. Say the fucking G you ponce. But Celt is pronounced with a K. Sigh. Fucking English. |
| Posted by: .com 2004-10-29 5:54:44 AM |
| #3 Another great article on "Jacksonian thought". Really cuts to the quick of what America is made of. |
| Posted by: gromky 2004-10-29 4:46:29 AM |
| #2 "Of course, the whole point of a Doomsday Machine is lost, if you *keep* it a secret!" -- Dr. Strangelove |
| Posted by: Sheik Abu Bin Ali Al-Yahood 2004-10-29 3:00:41 AM |
| #1 "Deterrence is the art of producing in the mind of the enemy the fear to attack." -- Dr. Strangelove |
| Posted by: mojo 2004-10-29 2:21:57 AM |