Goegrafy Div (Spelin subsechton)

You be the judge .........

Geography Div (howdoyaspelthat subsection)

Seems that the folks at Google have figured out the most misspelled word in each state,  Go figure.

Alice in Wonderland Div** (now it begins subsection)

It seems that the editor of the Wall Street Journal has abrogated one of the most sacred tenents of journalism (and I use the word disdainfully in this instance) that is Truth.  Wadayamean you can't call them "lies?"
Didn't Rupert Murdoch tell you what the dictionary sez ??? (or are you simply afraid for your job?)

verb \ˈlī\

Definition of lie

lied

lying

 play \ˈlī-iŋ\

1. intransitive verb

2. 1:  to make an untrue statement with intent to deceive
3. 2:  to create a false or misleading impression

4. transitive verb

5. :  to bring about by telling lies <lied his way out of trouble>

Origin and Etymology of lie

Middle English, from Old English lēogan;akin to Old High German liogan to lie, Old Church Slavic lŭgati

First Known Use: before 12th century

Synonym Discussion of lie

lie,  prevaricate,  equivocate,  palter,  fib mean to tell an untruth. lie is the blunt term, imputing dishonesty <lied about where he had been>. prevaricate softens the bluntness of lie by implying quibbling or confusing the issue <during the hearings the witness did his best to prevaricate>. equivocate implies using words having more than one sense so as to seem to say one thing but intend another <equivocated endlessly in an attempt to mislead her inquisitors>. palter implies making unreliable statements of fact or intention or insincere promises <a swindler paltering with his investors>. fib applies to a telling of a trivial untruth <fibbed about the price of the new suit>

The fact that someone (unnamed in this instance ) is incapable of telling the truth is not a reason to abandon the long history of journalistic integrity.

Oh well, another nail in the coffin of "journalism" as it goes down the rabbit hole.

** 'When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, 'it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.' Lewis Carroll - Through the Looking Glass

Alice in Wonderland Div ** (Oh sh**t, not again subsection)

Donald of Orange today stated that "... the President can't have a conflict of interest."

Just what does that mean ?? .... Can't ?
Normally, it's defined as, " ... a contraction, .... can not."
OK, let's see here, .....

"Can" .............

auxiliary verb, present singular 1stperson can, 2nd can or (Archaic) canst, 3rdcan, present plural can; past singular 1stperson could, 2nd could or (Archaic) couldst,3rd could, past plural could.

1.

to be able to; have the ability, power, or skill to:

She can solve the problem easily, I'm sure.

2.

to know how to:

He can play chess, although he's not particularlygood at it.

3.

to have the power or means to:

A dictator can impose his will on the people.

4.

to have the right or qualifications to:

He can change whatever he wishes in the script.

5.

may; have permission to:

Can I speak to you for a moment?

I kinda like #3 - heh!

 ------------------------------------------and then, there's .........................
"Not"....... [not] 

adverb

1.

(used to express negation, denial, refusal, orprohibition):

You must not do that. It's not far from here.

OK, those are what the dictionaries say. But, how can it be argued ??  Does it mean that the President is a) "unable" to have a conflict of interest ? Or could it mean the President, b)  "may not"  (or in the future tense will not) have a conflict of interest ??
I'll leave it up to the lawyers (thank Dog I decided to give up on that profession years ago) to argue about it: but I'm voting for option "B."

Of course, Donald of Orange won't agree and has even gone so far as to invoke the ghost of Richard Nixon  ... (we know how that ended up, eh?).

No Donald, you CAN'T use the office to promote your businesses, endorsements, children or anything else related to your "business," (I guess that now means your life - get used to it). So, sell all  your shit, tell the kids to get real jobs, get on with raping the country or decide if you want to give the job to Ayatollah Mike.

Of course, I'm old enough to recall the controversy of the meaning of "is."

Oh well .......  maybe the slogan should have been MAKE AMERICA GRIFT AGAIN.

** ** 'When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, 'it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.' Lewis Carroll - Through the Looking Glass

Fear Div

"Be afwaid, be vewey afwaid." e. fudd

Everywhere I drive lately, I'm subjected to the "voice of doom" heralding the latest in "the WAR with ISIS"
So much is being made of the "we got to stop them over there so we don't have to stop them here"meme that I'm wondering why it is that I'm not scared to death and afraid to leave the house.
I think agree with Bill Maher's assessment of the situation.
Most people in this country have no idea of what real terrorism is like.

In 1982, I passed the bandstand in Regent's Park  in London five minutes before the bomb planted by the IRA exploded killing seven members of the band of the Royal Greenjackets. Believe me, for the remainder of my nearly six years in England, my head was on a swivel and things that seemed out of place readily drew my attention.

In 2002, the area surrounding the Great White Theme Park was paralyzed by two men with a rifle for three weeks. People were literally afraid to get gasoline or go outside. To put it bluntly, they were terrorized.

ter·ror

 noun \ˈter-ər, ˈte-rər\

: a very strong feeling of fear

: something that causes very strong feelings of fear : something that is terrifying

: violence that is committed by a person, group, or government in order to frighten people and achieve a political goal

As one can see, terror is both a tactic and a thing - often simultaneous.
Now the Muslim crazies in the Middle East are calling for Muslims everywhere to rise up and kill non-Muslims. C'mon folks...... just how far do you think this would go ? The first time it happens, every mosque within a 50 mile radius of the event will be destroyed and there will be a bloodbath that probably won't work out too well for those followers of Islam .......  and anyone else who happens to look just a little bit different (Sikhs, Hindus, Hari Krishnas and the guy mowing your lawn). Oh well, at least our police are well equipped.

Now, we're being sucked back into the same sandbox where we spent so much blood and treasure introducing the Iraqis to democracy and training them to take care of and defend their own sovereignty. Our training (as military training everywhere does) probably consisted of a good deal of running - which seems to be the only thing the Iraqi troops and their officers seem to have absorbed. I guess maybe throwing (as in "away") probably was learned  also. The people we are so intent on training and helping can't even to stay put HERE.

I have yet to hear any member of any political party mention just how we're going to pay for any of this. I remember LBJ's surtax to help pay for Vietnam, and the Saudis and Kuwaitis kicking a few bucks for Bush the First's New World Order campaign, but so far .....  zilch, nada, bupkis.
I'm sure that somehow President Obama is going to be blamed for whatever happens (win, lose or draw) and the Tea Party will scream about the deficit. There appears to be a lot of political advantage to be garnered.

I'm just sick of hearing the phrases "boots on the ground" and "the Homeland."

Every time I hear some safe, political suit or Flag Officer say "homeland," the only pictures I can conjure up are of the Nuremberg rallies or the May Day parades.

What have we become ?
We have plenty to fear, but these ISIS jamokes are so far down the list that they are barely visible.

Just Sayin'

Geography Div (Appellation subsection)

Finally !!! a little recognition !!!
 Couldn't resist.

Really, it's just an expression div (Alice in Wonderland subsection**)

Ya gotta wonder when the young don't know the difference between the real meaning of a word and the slang definition, eh ??
blow ¹  (bl)

v. blew (bl), blown (bln), blow·ing, blows

v.intr.

1. To be in a state of motion. Used of the air or of wind.

2. To move along or be carried by or as if by the wind: Her hat blew away.

3. To expel a current of air, as from the mouth or from a bellows.

4. To produce a sound by expelling a current of air, as in sounding a wind instrument or a whistle.

5. To breathe hard; pant.

6. To storm: It blew all night.

7. To release air or gas suddenly; burst or explode: The tire blew.

8.

a. To fail or break down, as from being operated under extreme or improper conditions: The furnace blew during the cold snap.

b. To melt or otherwise become disabled. Used of a fuse.

9. To spout moist air from the blowhole. Used of a whale.

10. Informal To boast.

11. Slang To go away; depart.

v.tr.

1. To cause to move by means of a current of air.

2. To expel (air) from the mouth.

3. To cause air or gas to be expelled suddenly from: blew a tire.

4. To drive a current of air on, in, or through: blew my hair dry after I shampooed it.

5. To clear out or make free of obstruction by forcing air through: constantly blowing his nose in allergy season.

6. To shape or form (glass, for example) by forcing air or gas through at the end of a pipe.

7. Music

a. To cause (a wind instrument) to sound.

b. To sound: a bugle blowing taps.

8.

a. To cause to be out of breath.

b. To allow (a winded horse) to regain its breath.

9. To demolish by the force of an explosion: An artillery shell blew our headquarters apart.

10. To lay or deposit eggs in. Used of certain insects.

11.

a. To cause to fail or break down, as by operating at extreme or improper conditions: blew the engine on the last lap.

b. To cause (a fuse) to melt or become disabled.

12. Slang

a. To spend (money) freely and rashly. See Synonyms at waste.

b. To spend money freely on; treat: blew me to a sumptuous dinner.

>>>>   13. Vulgar Slang To perform fellatio on.(if you don't know what this is, look it up for yourself !)

                                                          (thefreedictionary.com)

Really folks, it's just an expression. Be Careful.

** 'When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, 'it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.' Lewis Carroll - "Through the Looking Glass

It's OK, I'm the Governor Div (Alice in Wonderland** section)

One of the things about living here in the vicinity of the GWTP, is (if you're a political junkie) you get to see the scandals of two states and the District ( not to mention that the "national" news is also "local").

Currently Gov Bob McDonnell (R-VA) is being subjected to State and Federal investigations on the acceptance of money from a Virginia businessman. 

I detect a bad smell from the whole thing.    Yeah, right, Virginia law doesn't require the Guv to report gifts made to his family ....... but what kind of father makes his daughter pay for "catering" at her own wedding ?? Hell, did he charge her rent for the wedding venue (the State Governor's residence) ???
When your wife just "gives" you a $6K engraved Rolex, did you think she's been real frugal with the grocery money ???  Then there's her (Mrs Guv) shopping sprees in NYC - - all paid by the same "businessman." I also get a whiff of Mrs Guv's active participation and encouragement in all this (oh well, we all know what Republicans think of women).

The whole thing smacks of the sense of "privilege" that our politicians today seem to exude. Though that sweat smells of corruption.

In case you're unfamiliar with the definition:

¹priv·i·lege /ˈprɪvlɪʤ/ noun

plural priv·i·leg·es

1 [count] : a right or benefit that is given to some people and not to others 
▪ The prisoner's exercise privileges were taken away. [=the prisoner was no longer allowed to exercise] ▪Good health care should be a right and not a privilege.

2 [singular] : a special opportunity to do something that makes you proud 
▪ Meeting the President was a privilege. [=honor] ▪ We had the privilege of being invited to the party. ▪ I had the privilege of knowing your grandfather.

3 [noncount] somewhat formal : the advantage that wealthy and powerful people have over other people in a society 
▪ He lived a life of wealth and privilege. ▪ children of privilege [=privileged children; children from wealthy families with high social status]

4 [noncount] : the right to keep important information private 
▪ attorney-client privilege [=the right an attorney has to keep information shared by a client secret] ▪During the investigation, the President invoked executive privilege.

5 [noncount] Brit : the right to say or do something without being punished for it 
▪ parliamentary privilege

(Merriam-Webster Learner's Dictionary)

I call attention to numbers 1, 3 and 4.  Seen any of that goin' on lately ??? (sure as hell doesn't seem to fit #2, eh ??). How often have you heard a scoundrel hide behind the words, "... but it was legal?" -- Yeah, but it wasn't right.

McDonnell was a rising star for the Republicans (he's term limited and this is his last year in office) and often mentioned as a possible Prez or Veep contender. Guess he should check his watch and see that time's up.

** 'When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, 'it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.' Lewis Carroll - "Through the Looking Glass

Surveillance Div (Spell checker / Alice in Wonderland subsection)

It always amazes me how the misuse of one word can wreck (and sometimes add a bit of humor to) an entire news story. One can't help but wonder if it's an inadvertent misuse or a lack of knowledge.
Consider this a piece (front page center, above the fold) from this morning's WaPo. Did you catch it ??

"It is unclear exactly how British intelligence services linked the Pakistani e-mail address,sana_pakhtana@yahoo.com, to a senior al-Qaeda operative who communicated in a kind of pigeon code to his distant allies." (Italics mine)

I'm sure reporters Finn and Miller weren't implying that the Brits used a shotgun, nets, arrows, highly trained pussycats or a guy passing out poisoned popcorn in Trafalgar Square (the meta-piegon method) to capture, disable, destroy or otherwise intercept the unfortunate avian courier helping out the terrorists. Seems like those clever terrorists were already attempting to circumvent the possibility of electronic eavesdropping by reverting to time-honored methods of communication. The images brought to mind are numerous ...... and the remainder of the story irrelevant.

Here's what we're dealing with:  A homophone is a word that has the same sound as another word but is spelled differently and has a different meaning.

I think what the writers were trying to get convey was the use of a "pidgin code" as in:

pidg·in

noun /ˈpijən/  pidgins, plural A grammatically simplified form of a language, used for communication between people not sharing a common language. Pidgins have a limited vocabulary, some elements of which are taken from local languages, and are not native languages, but arise out of language contact between speakers of other languages Denoting a simplified form of a language, esp. as used by a nonnative speaker - we exchanged greetings, communicating in pidgin Spanish

Years ago, I scored writing samples from high schoolers. Believe me I've seen some pretty humorous and egregious butchery of the English language. I once saw the words "to,"too," and "two" used incorrectly in the same sentence.
Here's hoping the WaPo style manual doesn't cover this one.

** 'When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, 'it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.' Lewis Carroll - "Through the Looking Glass

Winter Sports .... div

There are times during the year when certain bodies of water (or portions thereof) here in the Chesapeake Bay watershed need to be avoided due to a rise in bacteria levels or sewage overflows during and after storms. The incentives to not fall out of the boat (or even roll it) are pretty obvious, eh ?

But with ski season almost upon us, why would anyone strap a couple of pieces of lumber onto the bottom of their legs and let gravity drag them down this slippery slope ??

I guess  a  

sitz·mark

 noun \ˈsits-ˌmärk, ˈzits-\

Definition of SITZMARK

: a depression left in the snow by a skier falling backward

Origin of SITZMARK

probably from German sitzen to sit + English ¹mark(impression)

First Known Use: 1935

                    (h/t Merriam-Webster online)

is better than the "fall forward" version.

Alice in wonderland** div (Clean Coal subsection)

Seems that Willard's event at the coal face was staged.
And here's the best part:
"Our managers communicated to our workforce that the attendance at the Romney event was mandatory, but no one was forced to attend,"  Rob Moore, CFO Murray Energy Company. If you care to listen to the 20 minute interview, it occurs at 6:05. For a quick synopsis see this.

Now, get your Funk & Wagnalls out and look up some of the words :
(Note -- definitions from my mac)

 mandatory |ˈmandəˌtôrē|
adjectiverequired by law or rules; compulsory:wearing helmets was made mandatory for cyclists.• of or conveying a command: he did not want the guidelines to be mandatory.noun ( pl. mandatories )variant spelling of mandatary.DERIVATIVESmandatorily |-ˌtôrəlē|adverbORIGIN late 15th cent.: from late Latinmandatorius, from Latin mandatum‘something commanded.’mandatary |ˈmandəˌterē|noun ( pl. mandataries ) historicala person or country receiving a mandate.ORIGIN late 15th cent. (denoting a person appointed by a papal mandate): from late Latin mandatarius, from mandatum (seemandate) .*******Anyone not conversant with the term "compulsory" ????This appears to directly conflict with the statement, "...no one was forced to attend."Ya got any problem with the word "force" as used in the statement ???  Here's some help; (hint, scroll down to the verb and look at #2)noun1 strength or energy as an attribute of physical action or movement: he was thrown backward by the force of the explosion.• Physics an influence tending to change the motion of a body or produce motion or stress in a stationary body. The magnitude of such an influence is often calculated by multiplying the mass of the body by its acceleration.• a person or thing regarded as exerting power or influence: he might still be a force for peace and unity.• [ in combination ] used with a number as a measure of wind strength on the Beaufort scale: a force-nine gale.2 coercion or compulsion, esp. with the use or threat of violence: they ruled by law and not by force .3 mental or moral strength or power: the force of popular opinion.• the state of being in effect or valid: the law came into force in January.• the powerful effect of something: the force of her writing is undiminished.4 an organized body of military personnel or police: a soldier in a UN peacekeeping force.• (forces) troops and weaponry:concealment from enemy forces | figurative: a battle between the forces of good and evil.• a group of people brought together and organized for a particular activity: a sales force.• (the force) informal a police department.5 Baseball a force-out.• a situation in which a force-out is possible.verb [ with obj. ]1 make a way through or into by physical strength; break open by force: they broke into Fred's house and forced every cupboard door with ax or crowbar.• [ with obj. ] drive or push into a specified position or state using physical strength or against resistance: she forced her feet into flat leather sandals | figurative : Fields was forced out as director.• achieve or bring about (something) by coercion or effort: Sabine forced a smile |she forced her way up the ladder.• push or strain (something) to the utmost:she knew if she forced it she would rip it.• artificially hasten the development or maturity of (a plant).2 (often be forced) make (someone) do something against their will: she wasforced into early retirement | [ with obj. ] :the universities were forced to cut staff.• rape (a woman).• Baseball put out (a runner), or cause (a runner) to be put out, at the base to which they are advancing when they are forced to run on a batted ball: I was forced at second base as the first half of a double play.• (in cards) make a play or bid that compels another player to make (a particular response); make a play or bid that compels (another player) to make such a response:East could force declarer to ruff another spade.PHRASESby force of by means of: exercising authority by force of arms.force the bidding (at an auction) make bids to raise the price rapidly.force someone's hand make someone do something: the exchange markets may force the Fed's hand.force the issue compel the making of an immediate decision.force the pace adopt a fast pace in a race in order to tire out one's opponents quickly.in force 1 in great strength or numbers:birdwatchers were out in force. 2 in effect; valid: the US has over $8 trillion worth of life insurance in force.PHRASAL VERBSforce something down 1 manage to swallow food or drink when one does not want to: I forced down a slice of toast. 2 compel an aircraft to land: the plane might have been forced down by fighters.force oneself on/upon rape (a woman).force something on/upon impose or press something on (a person or organization):economic cutbacks were forced on the government.DERIVATIVESforceable adjective,forcer nounORIGIN Middle English: from Old Frenchforce (noun), forcer (verb), based on Latinfortis ‘strong.’force 2 |fɔːs|nounN. Englisha waterfall.ORIGIN late Middle English: from Old Norse fors .******I'm sure this is the kind of world you really want, eh ?? These people are incapable of telling the truth, let alone even knowing what the words they use mean.

** 'When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, 'it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.' Lewis Carroll - "Through the Looking Glass