James A. Chamblee
Guest
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 Posted:
Fri Nov 12, 2004 4:37 am Post subject:
The Republican Dictionary |
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http://www.commondreams.org/views04/1110-23.htm
Published on Wednesday, November 10, 2004 by The Nation
The Republican Dictionary
by Katrina vanden Heuvel
At least until the draft comes, progressive Americans will not be
fleeing en
masse to Canada, despite the charming offer of so many compassionate
Canadians to sacrifice their singlehood to save us from the "cowboy"
Bush.
(As the New Yorker 's Hendrik Hertzberg says, the Canadians make us
proud to
be North Americans.)
After all, who is to say Canada is safe from a preemptive strike?
Canada's
leaders are a bunch of socialists hostile to our president just like the
Baathists were, Canada might have hidden stockpiles of WMD, it possesses
a
natural resource-- cheap prescription drugs--critical to our people's
security, and historically-speaking it would be a really bad idea (see
Quebec, Battle of; 1812, War of).
No, alas, we will stay and fight to retake our country from the forces
of
extremism, corruption, and incompetence that have set up shop in the
White
House, Capitol Hill, and K Street. Taking our cue from the venerable
military strategist Sun-tzu, the first stage of this battle is to
understand
our opponents, who are as bold as they are devious.
Nowhere is their deception more in need of debunking than in the realm
of
political discourse, where they have over the last several decades
created a
veritable Orwellian Code of encrypted language. The key to their
linguistic
strategy is to use words, which sound moderate to us but mean something
completely different to their base. Their tactics range from the
childish
use of antonyms, i.e., "clean" = "dirty" to the pseudo-academic use of
prefixes--"neo" is a favorite--to the pernicious (and very expensive)
rebranding of traditional political labels-- "liberal"--as an insult.
We need to break the code by building a Republican dictionary. Here's a
small list I've put together to get us started. Please feel free to add
your
own contributions by clicking here. I'll be publishing more examples in
the
coming weeks.
BI-PARTISANSHIP, n. When conservative Republicans work together with
moderate Republicans to pass legislation Democrats hate.
CLARIFY, v. Repeating the same lie over and over again.
CLEAN, adj. The word used to modify any aspect of the environment
Republican
legislation allows corporations to pollute, poison, or destroy.
FAIRER, adj. Regressive.
FAITH, n. The stubborn belief that God approves of Republican moral
values
despite the preponderance of textual evidence to the contrary.
FAITH COMMUNITY, n. Evangelicals, because they are saved, and hawkish
conservative Jews, because they are useful. Israel is the
bait-on-the-hook
just waiting for God to take that Rapturous bite.
FISCAL CONSERVATIVE, n. A Republican who is in the minority.
FREEDOM, n. What Arabs want but can't achieve on their own without
Western
military intervention. It bears a striking resemblance to chaos.
GROWTH, n. The justification for tax cuts for the rich. What happens to
the
deficits when Republicans cut taxes on the rich.
HONESTY, n. Lies told in simple declarative sentences: "Freedom is on
the
march."
HUMBLE FOREIGN POLICY, n. The invasion of any sovereign nation whose
leadership Republicans don't like.
HUMBLED adj. What a Republican says right after a close election and
right
before he governs in an arrogant manner.
MORAL VALUES, n. Hatred of homosexuals dressed up in Biblical language.
MANDATE, n. What a Republican claims to possess when only 49 percent of
the
voting public loathes him instead of 51 percent.
THE MEDIA, n. Immoral elitist liberally-biased traitors who should leave
Republicans alone so they can complete God's work on Earth in peace and
quiet, behind closed doors.
PHILOSOPHY, n. Religion.
SIMPLIFY, tr. v. To cut the taxes of Republican donors.
SLAVE, n. A person without legal rights, e,g. a fetus.
BONUS DEFINITION: NEOCONSERVATIVES, n. Nerds with Napoleonic complexes.
© 2004 The Nation
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ElaineJ
Guest
|
| Posted:
Fri Nov 12, 2004 7:12 pm Post subject:
Re: The Republican Dictionary |
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|
"James A. Chamblee" <jim-chamblee@mindspring.com> wrote in message news:<4193F8EC.D1617529@mindspring.com>...
| Quote: | http://www.commondreams.org/views04/1110-23.htm
|
Thanks. I'm going to keep this on the desktop for quick reference.
It will remind me to beware the fools who read "Animal Farm" and then
adopted it as a political manual; who read "1984", slobbering just a
little with delight.
| Quote: |
Published on Wednesday, November 10, 2004 by The Nation
The Republican Dictionary
by Katrina vanden Heuvel
At least until the draft comes, progressive Americans will not be
fleeing en masse to Canada, despite the charming offer of so many
compassionate Canadians to sacrifice their singlehood to save us
from the "cowboy" Bush.
(As the New Yorker's Hendrik Hertzberg says, the Canadians make us
proud to be North Americans.)
After all, who is to say Canada is safe from a preemptive strike?
Canada's leaders are a bunch of socialists hostile to our president
just like the Baathists were, Canada might have hidden stockpiles
of WMD, it possesses a natural resource --cheap prescription drugs--
critical to our people's security, and historically-speaking it would
be a really bad idea (see Quebec, Battle of; 1812, War of).
No, alas, we will stay and fight to retake our country from the forces
of extremism, corruption, and incompetence that have set up shop in
the White House, Capitol Hill, and K Street. Taking our cue from the
venerable military strategist Sun-tzu, the first stage of this battle
is to understand our opponents, who are as bold as they are devious.
Nowhere is their deception more in need of debunking than in the realm
of political discourse, where they have over the last several decades
created a veritable Orwellian Code of encrypted language. The key to
their linguistic strategy is to use words, which sound moderate to us
but mean something completely different to their base. Their tactics
range from the childish use of antonyms, i.e., "clean" = "dirty" to
the pseudo-academic use of prefixes--"neo" is a favorite--to the
pernicious (and very expensive) rebranding of traditional political
labels-- "liberal"--as an insult.
We need to break the code by building a Republican dictionary. Here's a
small list I've put together to get us started. Please feel free to add
your own contributions by clicking here. I'll be publishing more
examples in the coming weeks.
BI-PARTISANSHIP, n. When conservative Republicans work together with
moderate Republicans to pass legislation Democrats hate.
CLARIFY, v. Repeating the same lie over and over again.
CLEAN, adj. The word used to modify any aspect of the environment
Republican legislation allows corporations to pollute, poison, or destroy.
FAIRER, adj. Regressive.
FAITH, n. The stubborn belief that God approves of Republican moral
values despite the preponderance of textual evidence to the contrary.
FAITH COMMUNITY, n. Evangelicals, because they are saved, and hawkish
conservative Jews, because they are useful. Israel is the
bait-on-the-hook just waiting for God to take that Rapturous bite.
FISCAL CONSERVATIVE, n. A Republican who is in the minority.
FREEDOM, n. What Arabs want but can't achieve on their own without
Western military intervention. It bears a striking resemblance to chaos.
GROWTH, n. The justification for tax cuts for the rich. What happens to
the deficits when Republicans cut taxes on the rich.
HONESTY, n. Lies told in simple declarative sentences: "Freedom is on
the march."
HUMBLE FOREIGN POLICY, n. The invasion of any sovereign nation whose
leadership Republicans don't like.
HUMBLED adj. What a Republican says right after a close election and
right before he governs in an arrogant manner.
MORAL VALUES, n. Hatred of homosexuals dressed up in Biblical language.
MANDATE, n. What a Republican claims to possess when only 49 percent of
the voting public loathes him instead of 51 percent.
THE MEDIA, n. Immoral elitist liberally-biased traitors who should leave
Republicans alone so they can complete God's work on Earth in peace and
quiet, behind closed doors.
PHILOSOPHY, n. Religion.
SIMPLIFY, tr. v. To cut the taxes of Republican donors.
SLAVE, n. A person without legal rights, e,g. a fetus.
BONUS DEFINITION: NEOCONSERVATIVES, n. Nerds with Napoleonic complexes.
© 2004 The Nation |
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