dagblog - Comments for "Dumb It Down, Mr. President"

We really could use a goat

William K. Wolfrum — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 16:34:00 +0000

In reply to Flag: (noun) A flaccid goat

We really could use a goat exterminator around here. What are we feeding Mega-Shark, anyway?

Flag: (noun) A flaccid goat

Michael Wolraich — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 14:40:44 +0000

In reply to What does "flags" mean?

Flag: (noun) A flaccid goat

What does "flags" mean?

Orlando — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 09:47:55 +0000

In reply to We use the same program at

What does "flags" mean?

We use the same program at

Michael Wolraich — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 21:16:18 +0000

In reply to A few years back, I was at a

We use the same program at dagblog. It never flags my writing though.

A few years back, I was at a

acanuck — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 20:03:59 +0000

In reply to Dumb It Down, Mr. President

A few years back, I was at a conference/seminar at which journalists from across the continent exchanged ideas about specific challenges they faced. One editor from (let's say) a mid-sized newspaper in the South explained how, after a reporter finished a story, it would be put through a program like a spellchecker. Except that it would not be looking for typos. No, its purpose was to flag words deemed to exceed the reading abilities of the paper's average reader -- which, the editor explained to me, was not very high.

I was horrified. Rather than seeking to raise readers' comprehension skills by forcing them to think (and maybe open a dictionary from time to time), or pushing for the state to raise literacy levels in its schools, the paper's management was simply accepting the lowest common denominator as its standard. That's how empires fall.

You're pushing it with the

Michael Wolraich — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 16:24:07 +0000

In reply to Paul Payack is as dumb as

You're pushing it with the use of simile. Try "Paul Payack is dumb."

Paul Payack is as dumb as

Doctor Cleveland — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 15:34:00 +0000

In reply to Dumb It Down, Mr. President

Paul Payack is as dumb as rocks.

I hope I kept that at the right grade level.

Oh, god. I was hoping this

Atheist — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 14:31:04 +0000

In reply to Dumb It Down, Mr. President

Oh, god. I was hoping this was satire…