Tuesday, March 26, 2019

Snow on the Fence




16 comments:

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    1. I found it interesting that the last Iowa poll showed Mayor Pete in third place, behind Bernie and Biden (who hasn't even declared).

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  2. You and me both, Susan. At the very least it signifies increasing name recognition, and that when people learn about him many react favorably. I still don't think he has a snowball's chance in Hades, but I am willing to be surprised.

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  3. Random observation of the day:

    Have you ever noticed that you can replenish something, but never plenish it? It's sort of like how you can be disgruntled or nonchalant but never gruntled or chalant.

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    1. The etymology of English words has vast irregularities. Somehow "plenish" never had what it took to replace the Anglo-Saxon "fill." It is obsolete and dialect, but but one can gruntle--I do it myself. It means to grunt frequently. But the appendage of the prefix is puzzling to me. Nonchalant seems to have been adopted wholesale from French, but I suppose other words derived from or related to the Latin "calere" (to be warm) must exist, although none come to mind at the moment. Another fascinating class of words entered English at different times, by different routes, and consequently with different meanings. Some Latin words entered the Germanic languages in northern Europe, before those peoples moved to Britain; then again by way of French after the Norman Conquest, then again directly from medieval Latin. I can't recall an example, but I know there is more than one. I think my failure to recall some of those factoids is sufficient to regruntle me for the evening.

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    2. "Calorie" and "Caloric" clearly come from "calere."

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    3. This post on FB actually generated a modest discussion thread, which is most unusual for my FB posts.


      John Grondalski: Hmmmmmmmm

      John Hemry: Plenish is a word, though! From Scottish. "To fill up, furnish, supply." It was in use from about 1500 to the mid-1800s. At that point replenish seems to have taken over the meaning of both plenish and replenish.

      David Mirayes: I'm whelmed...

      David Kotschessa Almodóvar: I always try to arrive at work shevled.

      Kerry Elizabeth Thompson: As well you should. :D

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  4. Mom read me a meme from Facebook:

    William Barr reads Moby Dick
    Finds no evidence of whale

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  5. Quartz Daily News reports that the UK Parliament has seized control of the Brexit process from the May government. There will be a series of votes tomorrow on the various alternatives. Beyond the fact that this is a clear signal May has lost control, it's not clear what the effect will be. so far, there is nothing a majority of the MPs have been able to agree on. But with the ball so clearly in the MPs' hands, it's possible this will lead to some sort of "put up or shut up" agreement.

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  6. Mueller Wanted Congress to Decide on Obstruction
    March 26, 2019 By Taegan Goddard

    George Conway: “Mueller isn’t prone to cheap shots; he plays by the rules, every step of the way. If his report doesn’t exonerate the president, there must be something pretty damning in it about him, even if it might not suffice to prove a crime beyond a reasonable doubt.”

    “And in saying that the report ‘catalogued the President’s actions, many of which took place in public view,’ Barr’s letter makes clear that the report also catalogues actions taken privately that shed light on possible obstruction, actions that the American people and Congress yet know nothing about.”

    “At the same time, and equally remarkably, Mueller, according to Barr, said he ‘ultimately determined not to make a traditional prosecutorial judgment’ regarding obstruction. Reading that statement together with the no-exoneration statement, it’s hard to escape the conclusion that Mueller wrote his report to allow the American people and Congress to decide what to make of the facts. And that is what should — must — happen now.”

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    1. Putting thise together: Reasonable people may differ on whether what Trump did meets the legal definition of obstruction of justice. But it certainly doesn't look good -- as we know.

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  7. My fav since college has been ept, which you cannot be, although you can be inept.

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    1. Oh, and don't I know it. I've never been ept in my life. Late teens, early twenty is just about when I too discovered that it was not possible to be ept. Aren't words wonderful?

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