sometimes it is important to parse language precisely
if I say something is "absurd" or a notion is "ridiculous", then, strictly speaking, the claim has not been denied
Since I am not laughing, I conclude that, as might be expected, the White House press officer has a better command of the nuances of the english language than the former CIA director.
It is not that hard to actually deny something.
Oh, and as former CIA officials know, saying "I didn't do it" is not synonymous with "didn't happen" - saying "none of those people told me to do it" and "I don't know anything about it" are not denials either.
Just saying.
- Log in to post comments
More like this
I am often heard complaining that reporters, by and large, are lapdogs, not watchdogs. They sit there day after day, press conference after press conference, and dutifully report what they're told without ever bothering to tell you what they know and we all should know - that what we're being told…
Just to keep you all updated, we learned yesterday that the children's social worker has decided to separate the children, and place them in three homes. Two will stay with the current foster mother, one with one home, and they are seeking a home for one child and the newborn. Since we will take…
I've been a fan of Jason Kuznicki's blog for quite some time now, as should be obvious. But I had never read the essay Without Pain or Fear or Guilt, an essay he wrote about his coming out of the closet, until today, when Lynn pointed it out to me and suggested I read it. My reaction upon reading…
Some of you may know that a publisher contacted me last year about turning a piece of short fiction I'd written from an adult perspective into a young adult novel. There are several reasons I wanted to do this - the first is that in many ways, the young adult fiction market is much more vital than…
There was an Internet meme a while back, about how many 5-year-old fighters one could take on simultaneously. I know naught about the meme but your examples reminded me... individually easy to parse and destroy but the capacity of the Administration, Congress and the Traditional Media (formerly the Fourth Estate but now just a trampy crack-whore) can be overwhelming.
And as we have clearly seen, just because an idea is "ridiculous" or "absurd" doesn't mean some con twit hasn't already thought it up and executed it.