Max's post said it all, but the number one top talking point to justify the war right now, and to deflect criticism of the WMD scandal, is that the Iraqis are happy and it doesn't matter if we finds WMD's. I don't doubt the sincerity of Max's friend's letter for a second, but it could have been a commercial for the GOP. As such, there will be responses. I don't think glynch was disrespectful of Max's friend in any way and I don't think he was picking a fight. ROCKSS, you seem to be the only one that's mad about it. "Support the Troops, Send Them Home" is not just a slogan. There's more than one way to support the troops. And there are more people every day who are both criticizing policy and the administration and supporting the troops. Many of those people have sons and daughters (and also friends) in Iraq. Max, I hope you get to have that beer soon.
No, you're not. About half the country agrees with you. And about half doesn't. But that doesn't make them "idiots."
but i'd be lying if i said i didn't post it to support his contentions which are not the product of first-hand experiences to me. Good, honest comment, Max. Sets a good tone for the other posters on the bbs-- myself included. I do hope your friend gets back safely.
glynch, in the interest of not derailing another thread by discussing my social life, I'll start one now in the hangout. See you there.
Sorry to disappoint, But I definitely lean toward the right, not so about 10 years ago though. I just wish I could express myself half as well as most of you guys ( and gals ). gylnch & Batman would crush me in a debate..... well maybe if they gave me a day to respond to every argument I could survive. I find the debates in here very entertaining and it seems like the conservatives are out numbered these days.
Sorry SJ. I thought you were making fun of ROCKSS' use of the word 'your' in a post in which he labels glynch an idiot. Well, this is uncomfortable. (j/k... I'm 30 now, so I can barely remember how to spell my own name).
btw MadMax, I hope your friend makes it back safely for that beer... just like I hope my friend, that's probably in trouble w/ the US Army, makes it back safely.
That's why I'm afraid to jump in around here, y'all would eat me alive because of my grammar............btw, that reminds me, how can you teach an old dog like myself correct grammar ? something I can do from home would be nice. S.J.
LOL Mango. For what it is worth, when I noticed the onset of senility I once used google to differentiate between towing and toeing a company line. Since I received hits for both phrases I would love to learn the etymology of the "towing the company line" variant. edit: hey SJ Don't let grammar & stylistics hold you back from joining in the fray... I never know when to use I v me. I am always confused by the term who(m)ever. Maybe we can solicit the time of one learned in such topics... anyone up to teaching SJ and I(me) a bit?
Who = subject Whom = object Whoever teaches this grammar lesson to whomever is a very nice guy. . . whatever.
As requested: <a HREF="http://www.word-detective.com/103001.html">Walk this way.</a> <i>Dear Word Detective: This is something I have noticed several times recently. A presumably literate professional writer or journalist writes that someone is going to be made to "tow the line," meaning to conform, to do what he or she is told. I always thought it was "toe the line." Which is correct? --Melanie Nickel, via the internet. You are. Incidentally, a cynic would say that you presume a bit too much concerning the literacy of professional writers. Ordinarily I have absolutely no use for the dour Grammar Cops who pitch shrieking tantrums over every split infinitive that sneaks into print. But the wholesale embrace of the dangling participle by TV news writers over the last few years is starting to drive me bananas. Sentences such as "After speaking to a group of Boy Scouts, the President's plane took off for Washington" may save precious airtime, but they are also subverting and corroding whatever structural logic the English language ever had. In any case, you are unambiguously correct. The proper phrase is "to toe the line," meaning to conform to stated standards, especially rules of conduct. In a perfect world, for instance, any journalist who implied that Air Force One had suddenly acquired the gift of speech would be given exactly one chance to shape up and "toe the line" before being exiled to the New York Post. "Toe the line" first appeared in the early 18th century, and there are two possible "lines" to which the phrase might originally have referred. One would be the starting line of a foot race, the mark upon which each runner places his or her foot in preparation for the starting gun. The other possibility, which I find more likely, is a line drawn on a ship's deck or a parade ground which new recruits must "toe" as they assemble in formation. I find this source more persuasive because it echoes the connotations of "order" and "obedience" that "toe the line" retains today. It is to a runner's advantage, after all, to "toe" the starting line, but a recruit being ordered to "toe the line" is very quickly learning who is in charge.</i> A similar explanation is found here: <a HREF="http://phrases.shu.ac.uk/bulletin_board/12/messages/697.html">Re: Toe the Line. UK vs US offered origins</a>
Thanks Mango! Thanks Easy! Easy, is your sentence an accurate mnemonic? ie, is it grammatically accurate? Also, can you make an obscene mnemonic? I remember repulsive mnemonics better than clean mnemonics. Fortunately for me... there's a positive correlation b/w my potty-mind and my ability to use obscene mnemonics during the course of my education.
MacBeth wallops Trader_Jorge with a shovel. MacBeth is the Subject who performs the action of the verb "wallops". Trader_Jorge is the Object who, unfortunately, receives the action of the verb "wallops" across his forehead. Importantly, the Object may become the Subject (and vice-versa) and retaliate if another shovel is at hand.
