“If” These Banned Words Offend You, We Apologize!

The good folks at Lake Superior State are at it again, helpfully recommending words and phrases to be banned, like “maverick,” “game-changing,” “monkey” (as a suffix) and so forth.
All those words and phrases are on Lake Superior State University’s annual List of Words to Be Banished from the Queen’s English for Mis-use, Over-use and General [...]

Top Ten Things We Won’t Miss from 2008

This is the time of year for best and worst lists, so let’s go. Some of what we didn’t like and won’t miss about 2008.
#10: “White people won’t vote for black candidates.” Spoken in various forms by literally hundreds of pundits, candidates and surrogates. Good riddance to invidious “Bradley effect” references and intentional distortions [...]

This Space Intentionally Left Blank

Okay, back from a short flight northward over the holidays.  Regular blogging activities will resume soon.  In the meantime, here are some highlights from harder working bloggers:
VBDems reports that Will Sessoms will be an out-of-touch Mayor who governs from his business office at TowneBank.  Here’s Sessoms in his own words:
Meyera and I do things differently. [...]

Merry Christmas!!

And may all your Christmas dreams come true in wide-eyed childlike wonder.

Virginia’s Letter to Santa Claus

In 1897, an eight-year-old’s girl’s famous letter asking for confirmation of Santa’s existence appeared in New York’s Sun newspaper. The phrase, “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus” entered our lexicon.  One hundred and eleven years later, we still believe in Santa.  
We wonder, though, if the Commonwealth of Virginia were to write a letter to [...]

Bush Legacy: The Buck Stops Over There

Do you recognize this man? He was running for President in 2000, arguing we shouldn’t be involved in nation-building. That we should be a humble nation. Oh yeah, and the solution to political apathy in America? Leaders should tell the truth.

OOOOOPS!
Here he is 8 years later, blaming the [...]

Dear Santa

The Virginian-Pilot reports how local elves help answer those letters to Santa.
Among the requests for Wii’s and iPods and American Girl dolls was  this simple plea:
Dear Santa,
Please can you come on this Sunday, because on this Tuesday, my dad has to go back to Iraq.
I’m sure he did.

Like Pheasant Season in South Dakota

When are these untold stories of Hurricane Katrina going to be investigated?

The USS “Poppy” Bush: Not Ready for Prime Time–Yet

It’s a tricky thing, naming important public buildings or ships after living personages. It can come back to bite you. Just ask the folks who named a highway rest stop after Idaho Sen. Larry Craig, or the kids at Rod Blagojevich Elementary School. Not to mention the irony of naming a prominent [...]

Ugh!

Okay, we were all ready to deplore the ongoing temper tantrums by otherwise sensible people over President-elect Barack Obama’s inclusion of Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at the inauguration, to counsel restraint and wisdom and judgment, to urge Obama supporters to pick their battles. Obama is facing many uphill struggles, and everything can’t [...]