The FBI couldn’t find Osama if he was running a falafel stand outside of the Hoover Building!

EminemsRevenge on June 28, 2007 at 5:05 pm

It doesn’t “beg the question.” It raises the question, possibly, but “begging the question” has a specific rhetorical definition.
I wish someone would start getting this right. Especially persons with advanced degrees.

Doc Washboard on June 28, 2007 at 5:39 pm

Doc,
You said, “I wish someone would start getting this right.” That means you only want one person to get it right, but you failed to specify for whom your request is intended. Is that what you meant, or did you get it wrong? If you did get it wrong, don’t you think it would be extremely petty for someone to point it out?

stevecanuck on June 28, 2007 at 5:59 pm

The scuba scare reminds me of the bomb the IRA fitted to the bottom of Lord Mountbatten’s yacht which blew him to a different Kingdom.

code7 on June 28, 2007 at 6:03 pm

A few years back on Rush Limbaugh they were talking about what kind of things people could look for to indicate preparations for terrorist attacks. The example was noted about pre-9/11 terrorists wanting to learn how to fly, but not land, airliners.
One of the callers said he would look for people enrolled in scuba classes, who wanted to learn how to go down, but not come back up. It was pretty funny at the time. Now I wonder…
The FBI has been infiltrated by some of the bad guys, and there are some there who are too interested in how that would look to “the Bureau” and their own careers if that ever got exposed. Anyone not familiar with the Sibel Edmonds case may wish to learn about it, but it is only one case; there are more. The FBI needs to be cleaned up.

Yankee Doodle on June 28, 2007 at 7:07 pm

Well, stevecanuck, no. You’re wrong. As an English teacher, it’s part of my job to spread the gospel of getting this stuff right. It’s my mission. If you feel that it’s your mission as well, then go to it, buddy. I won’t call you petty.
As to your other point: wrong again! When I say that I wish somebody would start getting it right, I mean exactly what I say: somebody. Anybody. I’d be happy–well, happier, at any rate–if at least one person would learn the difference between “begging the question” and “raising the question.” It would be a start.
Then I’ll move on to the problems with using “disconnect” as a noun and “impact” as a verb.
You’re 0 for 2, there, stevecanuck, but don’t let it worry you. You’ll get the snark thing down one of these days.

Doc Washboard on June 28, 2007 at 7:38 pm

EVERYONE,STEER CLEAR OF THE SEA! ARIEL THE BURQA/KAFFIYEH MERMAID IS PLOTTING TO STRIKE A SEA JIHAD AGAINST THE WESTERN SWIMMERS! SWIM TO THE CLOSEST SHORE BEFORE YOU GET CAUGHT IN SHIEK URSULAH’S TENTACLES!!!!

Jew Chick on June 28, 2007 at 7:59 pm

Doc is spreading something – but it sure ain’t the gospel!

CarpeDiem on June 28, 2007 at 8:15 pm

So, “someone” means the same as “anyone”. Interesting.

stevecanuck on June 28, 2007 at 9:45 pm

stevecanuck:
Do you seriously believe that your pathetic attempts at snarkiness will have any effect on me? It’s not going to happen, my friend. I teach seventh graders–people for whom sarcasm is the only accepted mode of communication. Your attempts at irony bounce off me like bullets off Superman’s chest.
At the risk of seeming like some kind of obsessive/compulsive, you will find me beating the “begs the question” issue into the ground at the links below–and, you’ll notice, I’m nonpartisan about it.
http://minx.cc/?blog=86&post=224391
http://www.sadlyno.com/archives/6277.html

Doc Washboard on June 28, 2007 at 11:56 pm

Dear Doc,
This isn’t 7th grade. It is a political blog. I suggest you concentrate on your students’ grammar. Indulging your obsession/mission on this point simply comes across as petty and ‘trollish’.
“Great wisdom is generous; petty wisdom is contentious. Great speech is impassioned, small speech cantankerous.”
Chuang-tzu, On Leveling All Things
(369 BC – 286 BC)

WillPower on June 29, 2007 at 2:18 am

Washboaring, get over yourself.
Everyone around the Great Lakes, keep your eyes open.

John Cunningham on June 29, 2007 at 2:46 am

I can appreciate Doc’s grammar daggers without getting offended.
His points explain why I could get a “C” in English and an “A” in creaive writing, two different types of communication. I like to throw in extra letters like the English, which is another type of communication, humour.

code7 on June 29, 2007 at 6:37 am

There will be no scuba terrorists, because Muslim Arabs are afraid of water / baths.

cankelz on June 29, 2007 at 10:11 am

I think someone needs to lighten up, and I don’t mean just anyone.

stevecanuck on June 29, 2007 at 3:17 pm

A few years ago I was on a charter dive boat at the So.Ca. Channel Islands. There was a group of unfriendly, arrogant Middle Easterners who, it appeared, were taking their “final exam” open-water dives. They all acted like they HAD to be there for some reason, rather than experiencing the normal enjoyment and excitement of this experience. Every time I’ve recollected this event since then, I’ve kicked myself for not taking photos, license numbers, etc.. This is just one more brutal reminder that I should have done just that.

Toa on June 29, 2007 at 9:28 pm