Not connected directly to language, I felt compelled to submit the following to punctuate Word's recent thread though hope you will forgive a slight tinge of politics

And while I love my country, in this day and age of Extreme Political Correctness I would hope not to be excoriated as grossly unpatriotic:

Beliefs of WMD’s in Iraq persists, AP Aug 7, 2006: “Did Saddam Hussein’s government have weapons of mass destruction in 2003? Half of America apparently thinks so, a new poll finds”

In a country where half the population also believed that Saddam was responsible for 9/11 while half were sure that the White House knew about the 9/11 attacks in advance and didn't do anything...

...most still believe in psychic healing and extrasensory perception, half of us think there’s a Devil and Hell while half believe in astrology, still another half believe in space men and UFO’s and more than half believe in ghosts...

...half of us believe the First Amendment “goes too far,” and bulk of us believe cancer is a disease that strikes at random and cannot be prevented...

...we learn just recently that “...55% of 1,000 adults surveyed said children should be taught creationism and intelligent design....” (time, Aug. 15)

So it’s not hard to understand how Bush was elected by a bare plurality.

And no, for those readers who did vote for him, it’s not the same half every time

How many of these delusions, do you think, are a result of the US media? Or is the media simply reflecting popular thinking?

quote: Bush was elected

Let's avoid political debate, shall we?

fitz: Sorry just couldn't resist