Tucker on Ron Paul

A must read. (here)

The Definition of Saw

For those of you who missed it, Mitterola has repetedly said that he saw his father march with Martin Luther King.

The only problem is that his father never did march with MLK.

Now Mittishka has come out with what can only be called a Clintonesque moment.
His defense?

"If you look at the literature or look at the dictionary, the term 'saw' includes being aware of -- in the sense I've described."

In other words, "It depends on the definition of the word: saw"

When this was not received well, he stomped his figurative feet and declared,

"I'm an English literature major"

Uh, yeah. Sure. Good for you, fella.

Well here at the Moon we are nothing if not fair; so without further ado, here are the 28 definitions of Saw (past tense of the verb "to see") found on Dictionary.com

see1 /si/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[see] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation verb, saw, seen, see·ing.
–verb (used with object)

Ready?

1. to perceive with the eyes; look at.

Er... No, this doesn't work; Romney Sr. did not march with MLK, so it could not have been seen.

2. to view; visit or attend as a spectator: to see a play.

Same as point #1. it was not viewed. End of story.

3. to perceive by means of computer vision.

This one is quite funny (to me). Imagine the size of the computer of the day required for this to be a viable explanation?

4. to scan or view, esp. by electronic means: The satellite can see the entire southern half of the country.

See point #4

5. to perceive (things) mentally; discern; understand: to see the point of an argument.

This one is getting closer. He did not see his dad with MLK per se, but he understood that it would have been cool --and politically advantageous.

6. to construct a mental image of; visualize: He still saw his father as he was 25 years ago.

Good, it can be said that he constructed the mental image.

7. to accept or imagine or suppose as acceptable: I can't see him as president.

Please, no.

8. to be cognizant of; recognize: to see the good in others; to see where the mistake is.

Hmmm, I am starting to see where the mistake is.

9. to foresee: He could see war ahead.

How do you use the conjugation "saw" to mean foresee... let's call this one N/A

10. to ascertain, learn, or find out: See who is at the door.

This one again relies on fact. If they never marched together, they could not be seen together.

11. to have knowledge or experience of: to see service in the foreign corps.

I feel like I am repeating myself. If they never marched together, the requisite knowledge does not exist.

12. to make sure: See that the work is done.

The point of the statement was undoubtabley to make sure something was done, it was to plant the perception of greatness without regard for truth. It sounds good and is believable without relating to truth. It is truly truthy... er... it has a high truthiness factor... (I miss Colbert as well)

13. to meet and converse with: Are you seeing her at lunch today?

Again, even in past tense, this relies on actual facts not "figurative" ones.

14. to receive as a visitor: The ambassador finally saw him.

Er, no.

15. to visit: He's gone to see his aunt.

Not this one either...

16. to court, keep company with, or date frequently: They've been seeing each other for a long time.

As in, "He has been courting the truth for a while now, but it is not serious."

17. to provide aid or assistance to; take care of: He's seeing his brother through college.

N/A

18. to attend or escort: to see someone home.

A real stretch... The comment, if well received, could see him victorious... No, still not applicable.

19. Cards. to match (a bet) or match the bet of (a bettor) by staking an equal sum; call: I'll see your five and raise you five more.

Fun, but no.

20. to prefer (someone or something) to be as indicated (usually used as a mild oath): I'll see you in hell before I sell you this house. He'll see the business fail before he admits he's wrong.

This one strikes me as a bit funny. He'll use a bizarre parsing of a simple verb before he sees himself admit he fabricates stories for political advancement.

21. to read or read about: I saw it in the newspaper.

No, he didn't.

22. to have the power of sight.

N/A (well unless you mean in the religious sense... but is that good?)

23. to be capable of perceiving by means of computer vision.

See point #3

24. to understand intellectually or spiritually; have insight: Philosophy teaches us to see.

Ding, Ding, Ding, I think we have a winner. He understood, intellectually, that his father was with MKL in spirit. Er... is this really a justification for suggesting that you saw an event?

25. to give attention or care: See, there it goes.

Too easy.

26. to find out; make inquiry: Go and see for yourself.

Perhaps he should have.

• 27. to consider; think; deliberate: Let me see, how does that song go?

Think? Consider? Deliberate? Not likely, there are people to torture, wars to fight, money to spend.

28. to look about; observe: They heard the noise and came out to see.

It, quite simply, was never observed.

—Verb phrases

-- I have omitted these as there is no suggestion that a verb phrase was utilized.

Okay, my point... well, "humans are crazy" might be the best point that comes out of this. Who is crazy? Mitt? Well, maybe but he is the leading candidate in a campaign to preside over the US of A.

To quote Pogo, "We have met the enemy and he is us."

Citation:

American Psychological Association (APA):

saw. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Retrieved December 21, 2007, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/saw

Chicago Manual Style (CMS):

saw. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/saw (accessed: December 21, 2007).

Modern Language Association (MLA):

"saw." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 21 Dec. 2007. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/saw>.

Is America Ready For a President who Doesn't Watch Football OR Baseball?

Forget the standard, "Is America ready for a black president?" or even, "Is America ready for a woman president?"

For those of you who missed it: whilst Mitterola was parsing the word "was" in an effort to get out of a lie he has repeated so many times he appears to have convinced himself it is true he uttered the following.

"When we say I saw the Patriots win the World Series, it doesn't necessarily mean you were there."

Patriots? World Series?

We might not want a religious test for those who would lead the US of A, but how about a simple test of American-ness?

Or perhaps the country would be better off forgetting such matters and choose someone who will take the oath of office seriously and protect the constitution above all else.

if you suspend your disbelief you can see that what I said was sort of close to the truth so I am in the clear... Right?

I miss Jon Stewart.

Hello??? This has to be one of the great blunders of the campaign. The party of torture is about to be led by a man that inaccurately parses the word, "saw" --as in, to cut up the truth. How is this preferable to a leader that parses the word, "is" to defend a blow job?

"I 'saw' him in the figurative sense."

I see... So you saw him in your mind's eye? It was the sixties, lots of people were seeing things with their third eye...

"The reference of seeing my father lead in civil rights," he said, "and seeing my father march with Martin Luther King is in the sense of this figurative awareness of and recognition of his leadership."

Your honor, please ask the witness to answer the question, "Did you see this event occur?" This is insane.

"I've tried to be as accurate as I can be," he continued, smiling firmly. "If you look at the literature or look at the dictionary, the term 'saw' includes being aware of -- in the sense I've described."

This sounds like the literary equivalent of a tax loophole. I lied, but then looked up my language in the dictionary, and if you suspend your disbelief you can see that what I said was sort of close to the truth so I am in the clear... Right?

"I'm an English literature major," he insisted at one point. "When we say I saw the Patriots win the World Series, it doesn't necessarily mean you were there." (He meant the Super Bowl, of course.)

There are so many things wrong with this I will leave it for another post

Every Candidate Failed a Basic Test

I could not believe my ears when I heard the democratic candidates on stage say that the president is sworn to protect the USA from aggressors as well as the constitution. This is patently false.

Here is the oath that the president swears:

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.

Note that this is not abridged.

If given the choice between defending the constitution or defending against conflict, the president is sworn to defend the constitution.

The framers of the great experiment that is the USA were very clear, the constitution is worth the lives of some of its people. (I recommend giving Thomas Paine a quick read)

Have these people never heard the phrase, "Give me liberty or give me death"?

Almost every candidate failed the test (to be fair, they didn't know they were taking a test --too bad)

Arrgghhhhhh...

Where's that Plymouth.

Ever Seen a Solar Flare

Very Cool.
Click here for the NASA video.

Loonie breaks through $1.10 US

And Kudlow still insists it is healthy and that inflation will NOT follow. He's either smokin' something, dumb as a box of rocks or a shill for someone...

Too early for a Plymouth. Or is it?

Today's Toles

Check it out:
Click here.

And Fox News is Playing the Violin

On a partisan press

Let me begin by stating my position clearly.

I hate the partisan press.

In the political world the press needs to hold the government's collective feet to the fire. It is a staple of democracy and a tradition that goes back at least a couple of millennia.

Fox news drives me crazy.

In totalitarian regimes the first thing any dictator does is take control of the media. It is no co-incidence that we believe that the Russian people are completely behind Putin. Putin controls the media.

Why would any newsman in a free society blindly tow the party line?

There is no good answer.

Some results of this in no particular order:

1. People in general do not believe the press,
2. People with partisan viewpoints only watch the news that espouses their point of view giving them a very narrow view of the country,
3. People are more comfortable with the info the get from the Daily Show than from the evening news, and
4. The government gets away with untold evils.

(Send me your additions and I will repost a more complete list next week)

One of my favorite anecdotes

A local and recently elected politician could not wait to deal with the press. You see, the incumbent who was thrashed in the election was vicerated by the media during his entire term. The new representative took this to mean that the press was clearly on his side and would be a great asset during his term.

He was wrong. His vivisection by the local press began with his first decision and he openly wondered where all his friends had gone.

Integral part of the democratic process

The press is an integral part of the democratic process, that is why it has a special place in the bill of rights.

When an administration runs amok and rips up the constitution it is the press that is supposed to step in (remember watergate?) and expose the crimes.

Why?

Well, those under the command of the administration cannot always be counted upon to act in the interest of the people. The press is NOT under the command of the administration and must, yes must, hold the governments collective feet to the fire. If they don't the system fails.

They haven't, and the system has failed.

Disagree?

Don't think the system has failed?

The USA is actively engaging in torture. By doing so they are collecting flawed intelligence and making unilateral decisions based on it. The green back has fallen 50 percent. Inflation is about to grip the nation.

And Fox News is playing the Violin.

Time for a Plymouth... er make it a double.

Only One of the Men Running has Balls

Finally someone is standing up in the house and taking the administration to task.

Note: this is important, there is a big difference between speaking to the press and standing up in the house and making such a declaration.

"In all of this, Vice-President Richard B. Cheney has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as vice-president and subversive of constitutional government, to the prejudice of the cause of law and justice and the manifest jury of the people -- injury of the people of the United States. Wherefore Richard B. Cheney, by such conduct, warrants impeachment and trial and removal from office."

Breitbart.tv video here.

Added Note: The Republicans actually got on side with sending this to debate --they must have seen a way to embarrass the dems. But, the dems decided to send it off to the judicial review graveyard. To bad the party doesn't have Kucinich's balls.