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Chimpy Goes to Washington
Dec. 15th, 2003 09:15 amRemember an actor turned President named Ronald Wilson Reagan? Among his credits is included a film about a simian which was taught human ethics (Bedtime for Bonzo).
Apparently said simian now resides in the Oval Office, following closely in Mr. Reagan's footsteps. But, gentle reader, you already knew this.
Today, my drive to work was spoiled. CKKQ (100.3 FM, Victoria- my favourite local radio station) wasn't coming in clearly- there are occasional days when it does, but in general the signal isn't strong enough to be counted upon, so KOMO (1000 AM) is my fallback of choice, because their format is all news and traffic reports every ten minutes- really handy when dealing with the intricacies of Seattle rush hour traffic.
Unfortunately, this morning, it wasn't traffic every ten minutes, because Mr. Bush was holding a press conference.
His handlers really need to simplify things for him, because he's a simple chimpanzee, and although capable of speech, he misses some of the finer nuances of the English language.
Today, in speaking to the press, he repeatedly used the word 'commiserate' in a context where his speechwriters plainly meant 'commensurate.' I can't recall the exact context, but i think he was speaking about ensuring that the legal penalties against Mr. Hussein, former head of state of Iraq, were of appropriate severity when weighed against his 'crimes against humanity.'
From dictionary.com:
com·men·su·rate ( P ) Pronunciation Key (k-mnsr-t, -shr-)
adj.
Of the same size, extent, or duration as another.
Corresponding in size or degree; proportionate: a salary commensurate with my performance.
Measurable by a common standard; commensurable.
com·mis·er·ate ( P ) Pronunciation Key (k-mz-rt)
v. com·mis·er·at·ed, com·mis·er·at·ing, com·mis·er·ates
v. tr.
To feel or express sorrow or pity for; sympathize with.
v. intr.
To feel or express sympathy: commiserated over their failure.
As you can see, gentle reader, the two words, although they may sound somewhat similar, are unrelated. They're not even the same parts of speech- one a verb, one an adjective. I don't place high stock in American schools, but i'd expect a university graduate (as Mr. Bush purports to be) to be capable of, if not using the correct word, at least realizing that an adjective isn't the expected verb.
But perhaps his degree was purchased with family money. Still, the error would have been bad enough once- the trip of a Texas tongue from an intended word into one with a similar sound. Repeating it several times- including when fielding a question from the press- made it clear that the speaker had no idea what he was saying.
Social Darwinism in 2004. Higher primates for the White House!
Edit, 11:14 a.m.: The Washington Post has a partial transcript of the press conference available now. Here's one of the contexts of "commiserate" instead of "commensurate":
Apparently said simian now resides in the Oval Office, following closely in Mr. Reagan's footsteps. But, gentle reader, you already knew this.
Today, my drive to work was spoiled. CKKQ (100.3 FM, Victoria- my favourite local radio station) wasn't coming in clearly- there are occasional days when it does, but in general the signal isn't strong enough to be counted upon, so KOMO (1000 AM) is my fallback of choice, because their format is all news and traffic reports every ten minutes- really handy when dealing with the intricacies of Seattle rush hour traffic.
Unfortunately, this morning, it wasn't traffic every ten minutes, because Mr. Bush was holding a press conference.
His handlers really need to simplify things for him, because he's a simple chimpanzee, and although capable of speech, he misses some of the finer nuances of the English language.
Today, in speaking to the press, he repeatedly used the word 'commiserate' in a context where his speechwriters plainly meant 'commensurate.' I can't recall the exact context, but i think he was speaking about ensuring that the legal penalties against Mr. Hussein, former head of state of Iraq, were of appropriate severity when weighed against his 'crimes against humanity.'
From dictionary.com:
com·men·su·rate ( P ) Pronunciation Key (k-mnsr-t, -shr-)
adj.
Of the same size, extent, or duration as another.
Corresponding in size or degree; proportionate: a salary commensurate with my performance.
Measurable by a common standard; commensurable.
com·mis·er·ate ( P ) Pronunciation Key (k-mz-rt)
v. com·mis·er·at·ed, com·mis·er·at·ing, com·mis·er·ates
v. tr.
To feel or express sorrow or pity for; sympathize with.
v. intr.
To feel or express sympathy: commiserated over their failure.
As you can see, gentle reader, the two words, although they may sound somewhat similar, are unrelated. They're not even the same parts of speech- one a verb, one an adjective. I don't place high stock in American schools, but i'd expect a university graduate (as Mr. Bush purports to be) to be capable of, if not using the correct word, at least realizing that an adjective isn't the expected verb.
But perhaps his degree was purchased with family money. Still, the error would have been bad enough once- the trip of a Texas tongue from an intended word into one with a similar sound. Repeating it several times- including when fielding a question from the press- made it clear that the speaker had no idea what he was saying.
Social Darwinism in 2004. Higher primates for the White House!
Edit, 11:14 a.m.: The Washington Post has a partial transcript of the press conference available now. Here's one of the contexts of "commiserate" instead of "commensurate":
QUESTION: The dollar has fallen quite sharply and Wall Street is increasingly worried about the deficit. Will you have a specific plan for reducing the deficit, or will economic growth alone take care of the problem?
BUSH: No, I appreciate that question.
Josh Bolten laid out a plan that will shrink the deficit in half in a five-year period. And that's based upon reasonable growth assumptions. And it's a plan that depends upon Congress to continue to hold the line on spending.
We have a deficit because of, one, a recession; two, a war.
I want to remind you all that I -- in order to fight and win the war, it requires a expenditure of money that is commiserate with keeping a promise to our troops to make sure that they're well-paid, well-trained, well-equipped.
