By VictorM: Conservatives have perfected the use of language for political gain. We all know about catch phrases like "tax relief" to mean "tax cuts", "fair and balanced" to mean "our view of the world", "no spin zone" for "any lies necessary", etc.

The latest one I detected is the use of the word "encouraging" to reflect their assessment of the "surge" in Iraq (examples here, here, and here). "Encouraging" is a good word because it promises nothing, delivers nothing, but can't be easily disputed. So, how do we in the real world know what that means? Let me explain with an example.

I want to be a billionaire. That's right, a BILLIONAIRE. Two weeks ago, after I paid all my bills, I had $347.25 cents in my checking account. Yesterday I got my paycheck, and after I paid my bills, I now have $375.32 in that account. Relative to my goal of becoming a billionaire, conservatives would define my financial situation as "encouraging" (totally disregarding the fact that my variable rate mortgage has now increased my monthly payment by around $300 and I won't be able to keep my house).

(Note: No real dollars were harmed and no one of my family will be living on the streets as a result of this made-up scenario)

Labels: encouraging, framing, surge

By Michael Hirsh: The British are leaving, the Iraqis are failing and the Americans are staying—and we’re going to be there a lot longer than anyone in Washington is acknowledging right now... what few people seem to have noticed is that Gen. David Petraeus’s new “surge” plan is committing U.S. troops, day by day, to a much deeper and longer-term role in policing Iraq than since the earliest days of the U.S. occupation. How long must we stay under the Petraeus plan? Perhaps 10 years. At least five. In any case, long after George W. Bush has returned to Crawford, Texas, for good.

Labels: Iraq war, Michael Hirsh, occupation, petraeus, surge

By Bill Maher, talking about George Bush and the surge: The people in Iraq don't want this. The people in America don't want this. The Iraq Study Group doesn't recommend it. The Democrats are against it. Most of the people in his own party are against it, even though many of them wouldn't say so out loud. But George Bush, he knows better. That is a kind of arrogance that is very hard to swallow at this point, especially when it's costing this many lives. Even the pope -- remember he said something bad about the Muslims a few months ago? The infallible pope came out and said, "Geez, my bad. That came out wrong. I didn't mean that." Yeah, the pope can say he's sorry, but this recovering alcoholic from Midland, Texas, he can't even say he's wrong.

Labels: bill maher, George Bush, pope benedict, surge

By Rude Pundit: It is the plaintive sigh of thousands, millions of men every day, faced with the spam deluge that promises them penis enlargement... It's a simple desire: "Just a little more, maybe 15 or 20% bigger, and all my problems will be solved"... But it's got nothing to do with your game building up to the deliciously anticipated sound of the unzip. It ain't gonna make you funnier, better looking, or rich... The ludicrous debate over whether or not to have a surge of U.S. troops in Iraq is being approached with all the wishful thinking of any man who has ever received his package of peter pills in the mail... This ain't golf, although the rich executives running our country would like to take a mulligan. Because, see, you have to fuck a partner with the [penis] that you have, not the [penis] you might want.

Labels: Bush, Iraq war, penis enlargement, surge