I'm  not a grammarian by any means.  I didn't know the word 'pleonasm' until I read it in this entry.  (Thanks for the intro.)  I also (as is probably already apparent from my comments here) don't write in a very reader friendly, clear, and straightforward manner.

Still, for what it's...

Likewise, if one could make an ad featuring someone who had been aborted explaining how they'd wished they'd been alllowed to live and develop into someone who could enjoy life and have an opportunity to contribute to society, that might be a good prolife ad.

I'...

William  K. Wolfrum, I only bring this up because your comment dealt with public perception, naivety, and the susceptibility of low information voters,  You wrote that, "Should the correct argument come to the SCOTUS, Roe v. Wade will be gone and abortion will be made illegal in the U.S."  This...

I struggle to see where Orlando was "schooled." She qualified her point, and linked to the prominent person that made them. Nor was she wrong in the numbering of the commandments. As for the thread itself, this is one of the reasons I rarely comment on my own blog posts. Unless I've truly...

Well at least I'm in good company. It seems that you are correct when it comes to...

What a wacky thread this has turned out to be. I do think that you got a bit schooled Orlando, on everything from the facts of the case to the superbowl schedule to the order of the 10 commandments. Not that I would have done any better.

Personally, I don't see how Mrs. Tebow's ad matters...

Look, face the facts, Wolfie:

Muslims have genies, and know how to use them.

Good point, Genghis. My brother-in-law did the legwork of trudging through the online medical literature and, because he was off work on sick leave, he had plenty of time and motivation to do a thorough job. Not even the most dedicated specialist knows -- much less has time to research from...

I hazard to guess that your brother-in-law is part of a small percentage of effective self-diagnosers. The majority likely blame vaccines, artificial preservatives, fluoridated water, and UFOs. My grandmother succumbed to cancer some years ago after her homeopathic doctor warned her that the...

What do you make of the claim that financial regulatory reform will be what will cause him to formulate a more all embracing economic philosophy (if he's ever going to do so)?

Orlando wrote, "the argument insinuated by the story is that other women should not choose abortion, regardless of the circumstances, because they might be depriving the world of a child who may grow up to be extraordinary. That's as ridiculous as it is offensive... it is offensive that the...

the idea that the cost of an e-book is similar to the cost of a physical book is inexplicable to me. perhaps one could argue that the publishers must engage in some upfront investments to manage, store and secure their digital content, but as you point out, we are talking about miniscule amounts...

D, it's a pleasure to read you again. Your writing is always lucid and interesting, and you add such breadth to this blog.

As a new member of the publishing industry as well as a new Kindle owner, this is an issue of personal interest to me. I think that the pricing issue isn't as clear...

Questioning someone's truthfulness is not the same thing as calling them guilty. Lou Dobbs questioned whether Obama was born in America after he'd released his birth certificate and after he'd been elected because Lou Dobbs is a sore loser.

This commercial hasn't aired yet and the story...

Perhaps. But it is offensive that the story implies that one baby grew up to be a superstar and therefore no woman should have an abortion because of the chance that she'd be depriving the world of an extraordinary person. Maybe that's not Ms. Tebow's intention, but it is certainly the intention...

I like the controversial aspect of your piece, but i think it would have been possible to discuss the issue without implying that mrs. tebow may have been lying. yes, you merely posed the question, but i would agree that engaging in this kind of 'guilt by implication' tactic while discussing an...

Sorry. I looked that one up and the list I found had it as ninth. How was I to know that religion is inconsistent?

It's called bearing false witness. But the point I was making is that Catholics number the commandments differently. Nine is about coveting your neighbor's wife. Ten is about coveting his goods. Eight is about lying.

Anyone who is taught the 10 commandments know that it refers to lying, but it also refers to making false witness, which coincidently is what the author of the blog article is doing.

Hey, Obama's got a dog, too. The parallels are just mind-boggling, aren't they?

Yes, I read that too. And had the story told by Mrs. Tebow implied that her life had been in danger, I might have found it relevant. Her story, however, implies that the medication she had to take to cure the illness would have irrevocably harmed her fetus, not her. There is nothing in the code...

Get a clue, take a history lesson, YOU weren't enslaved by anyone, YOU are...

Get a clue, take a history lesson, YOU weren't enslaved by anyone, YOU are just using the fact that your ancestors were enslaved By whites as a crutch AND your ancestors were sold to the whites by their own people so get over it!

Wait, which part of Jesus is between the husband and wife? I'm confused…

Someone needs to point out to Chuck that sodomy includes oral sex, be it cunnilingus or fellatio. The vast majority of straight men would find themselves castrated, methinks.

Someone other than me, of course.

I will call wights anything I please, and especially those no-good barrow wights. Totally in the lamest tier of Tolkien monsters.

Thanks.

I should make clear that by "think," I mean "absorb a bunch of advanced policy ideas from the Brookings Institution, etc." Because that's the kind of "thinking" I expect political leaders to do, in the main: evaluating policy ideas rather than building them up from scratch.

Difficult questions need easy answers. I like it. Is the corollary true as well?

So why can black guys say the n word and call wight guys other names now what do you say to that.

Thumbs up + 3 stars for this one.

Hey! That's "unclean uncircumsized Amalekite" to you!

WTF?

Rowan: I missed your reference to ketchup as one of the three secret ingredients to save a dish.
A southerner knows that is true, no matter how déclassé it may be. It neutralizes tomato acidity with, dare we say it, sugar and is therefore of value.
Years ago, when I was a student...

Japanuck. ...

Hey... I'm onto something here.... This could work....

Frack.

Ack.

No, you're allowed to use epithets if the people described really are inferior. It's in the Geneva conventions somewhere.

FYI I'm pretty much back in NYC these days, but that's a story for another blog post. Sorry to deprive you of Philly-bashing opportunities.

You know what this country needs? Short non-derogatory ethnic nicknames--like "brit," "ruskie," and "canuck." How much easier would it be if we could write the N-word instead of "black guy" or worse, "African-American?" Oh, to be able to write "jap" instead of "Japanese person" or "wop" instead...

In general

I do sometimes wonder if new people leave these exchanges saying stuff like, "But National Geographic said Eskimos were always so POLITE."