Mike Bailey is the new opinion editor of the Peoria Journal Star. Before his new appointment he wrote a weekly Sunday column which so far he continues to write. Sunday September 25, 2005 his column was printed in the paper. He basically was discussing a councilman's suggestion that the council investigate regulating newspaper boxes on city right of ways. The following is a quote from that article, "Not only aren't their boxes aesthetically pleasing or revenue generators, but 'they're a safety hazard, too,' he (Councilman Sandberg--my addition) said. 'It obfuscates the visibility at an intersection.' (Hate to be picky, but I think the word is 'obscures,' not 'obfuscates.' Oh well, it's the brave councilman who attempts a word of more than one syllable.)" The two sentences in the parenthesis are comments added by Mike Bailey in relation to the councilman's statement.
Here are my comments on Mike Bailey's comments. First, note that as usual he can't help but take a shot at the city council members in general with his snide remark that "it's a brave councilman who attempts a word of more than one syllable." That comment to me says that Mr. Bailey considers the council members in general to be rather unintelligent. He doesn't say that they grunt one syllable sentences but the comment comes very close to that implication.
I admit that my knowledge and use of the English language is limited. Writing and/or speaking were never my strong subjects--political science was. I have no doubt that while I was a member of the school board I sometimes misused the English language and sometimes did not communicate what I meant to communicate. It has been my experience that is also true for anyone who does a lot of public speaking. We are not reading off of cue cards. That is one reason why I object to the continuing attempts to make Mr. Bush look bad in relation to his public speaking. You can find mistakes by anyone if you look long enough and hard enough--yet I don't remember anyone in the media making fun of Senator Kerry. I however am rather certain he also made mistakes unless he was reading from prepared material. (I refused to use prepared material.) Nobody who does a lot of public speaking without notes is perfect in doing that.
Since I know my extreme limits in English, I tend to use the dictionary quite frequently. I checked the dictionary to see if Mr. Bailey's comment was accurate. I don't believe it is. As I read the sentence, the noun in the sentence is "it." The "it" referred to is the newspaper box. The verb in the sentence is "obfuscates." Mr. Bailey believes the verb should be "obscures" and can not be "obfuscates." My dictionary identifies "obfuscates" as a verb and provides the following definitions: "1 a: darken b: to make obscure 2: confuse." My dictionary further defines "obscure" as a verb meaning "1: to make dark, dim, or indistinct 2: to conceal or hid by or as if by covering...."
Substituting definition 1b in the sentence used by the councilman, the sentence now reads "It makes obscure (or conceals, one of the definitions for "obscure") the visibility at an intersection." As I said, I am no wiz at English. However, it seems to me that that is an acceptable use of the word "obfuscates." It certainly is as valid as using the word "obscures" since it means the same thing basically. Do you think Mr. Bailey owes the councilman a public apology through the newspaper?
I suggested awhile ago that the editorial staff of the Peoria Journal Star read the U.S. Constitution before they write editorials in relation to its content. Do you think that Mr. Bailey should consult a dictionary before he tries to publicly ridicule an elected government official? However, he did say that he "Hate(d) to be picky." The problem is I didn't believe it when I read it and I believe it less now. That is however the way the editorial staff is at the Peoria Journal Star. They are a fine example for the newspaper.
Another quote from the article is as follows: "So you can imagine the hell my life has become between those twin witches Katrina and Rita.
Throw in global warming, Biblical flooding, evacuees/refugees, terrorism...and it's starting to feel like Armageddon." Armageddon is in reference to a tremendous battle in the book of "Revelation" in the New Testament of the Bible. Biblical flooding is a reference to the flood that destroyed all humans except for Noah and his family. My response is that Mr. Bailey has no concept of hell, Armageddon, or the flood. Hell is so much worse than his life at the present that his present life would be considered a time of paradise in comparison. The floods of today don't come close to Noah's flood and never will and I don't think he really believes today is close to starting to look like Armageddon. Do you think he is trying to mock Christians? He is right about one thing though. This world as we know it is going to be ended by GOD. And the United States if it continues on its path of sin without repentance will soon (relatively speaking) perish as we know it. (All definitions are from Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition; Merriam-Webster, Incorporated; Springfield, Massachusetts; 1995.)
Here are my comments on Mike Bailey's comments. First, note that as usual he can't help but take a shot at the city council members in general with his snide remark that "it's a brave councilman who attempts a word of more than one syllable." That comment to me says that Mr. Bailey considers the council members in general to be rather unintelligent. He doesn't say that they grunt one syllable sentences but the comment comes very close to that implication.
I admit that my knowledge and use of the English language is limited. Writing and/or speaking were never my strong subjects--political science was. I have no doubt that while I was a member of the school board I sometimes misused the English language and sometimes did not communicate what I meant to communicate. It has been my experience that is also true for anyone who does a lot of public speaking. We are not reading off of cue cards. That is one reason why I object to the continuing attempts to make Mr. Bush look bad in relation to his public speaking. You can find mistakes by anyone if you look long enough and hard enough--yet I don't remember anyone in the media making fun of Senator Kerry. I however am rather certain he also made mistakes unless he was reading from prepared material. (I refused to use prepared material.) Nobody who does a lot of public speaking without notes is perfect in doing that.
Since I know my extreme limits in English, I tend to use the dictionary quite frequently. I checked the dictionary to see if Mr. Bailey's comment was accurate. I don't believe it is. As I read the sentence, the noun in the sentence is "it." The "it" referred to is the newspaper box. The verb in the sentence is "obfuscates." Mr. Bailey believes the verb should be "obscures" and can not be "obfuscates." My dictionary identifies "obfuscates" as a verb and provides the following definitions: "1 a: darken b: to make obscure 2: confuse." My dictionary further defines "obscure" as a verb meaning "1: to make dark, dim, or indistinct 2: to conceal or hid by or as if by covering...."
Substituting definition 1b in the sentence used by the councilman, the sentence now reads "It makes obscure (or conceals, one of the definitions for "obscure") the visibility at an intersection." As I said, I am no wiz at English. However, it seems to me that that is an acceptable use of the word "obfuscates." It certainly is as valid as using the word "obscures" since it means the same thing basically. Do you think Mr. Bailey owes the councilman a public apology through the newspaper?
I suggested awhile ago that the editorial staff of the Peoria Journal Star read the U.S. Constitution before they write editorials in relation to its content. Do you think that Mr. Bailey should consult a dictionary before he tries to publicly ridicule an elected government official? However, he did say that he "Hate(d) to be picky." The problem is I didn't believe it when I read it and I believe it less now. That is however the way the editorial staff is at the Peoria Journal Star. They are a fine example for the newspaper.
Another quote from the article is as follows: "So you can imagine the hell my life has become between those twin witches Katrina and Rita.
Throw in global warming, Biblical flooding, evacuees/refugees, terrorism...and it's starting to feel like Armageddon." Armageddon is in reference to a tremendous battle in the book of "Revelation" in the New Testament of the Bible. Biblical flooding is a reference to the flood that destroyed all humans except for Noah and his family. My response is that Mr. Bailey has no concept of hell, Armageddon, or the flood. Hell is so much worse than his life at the present that his present life would be considered a time of paradise in comparison. The floods of today don't come close to Noah's flood and never will and I don't think he really believes today is close to starting to look like Armageddon. Do you think he is trying to mock Christians? He is right about one thing though. This world as we know it is going to be ended by GOD. And the United States if it continues on its path of sin without repentance will soon (relatively speaking) perish as we know it. (All definitions are from Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition; Merriam-Webster, Incorporated; Springfield, Massachusetts; 1995.)
posted by Christian Gunslinger at 12:33 AM
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