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Posts Tagged ‘semantics’

SEMANTICS

White House Will Replace ‘Bailout’ With ‘Rescue’ And Everyone Will Love It

Tuesday, September 30th, 2008

This is exactly how Hank Paulson envisioned it workingThe White House has been trying to rename the GREEDY WALL STREET MONEY GIFT a “rescue” plan today as a more palatable replacement for the common nomenclature, “bailout.” Now “bailout” is not a very marketable word, sure, so let’s test how “rescue” plays out: “The government wants to rescue Wall Street with billions of dollars in taxpayer money.” Somehow we are still skeptical! So here’s a free advertising tip, White House — avoid this structure: “The government wants to [ANYTHING WITH A POSITIVE CONNOTATION] Wall Street with billions of dollars in taxpayer money.” In fact, “rescue” may be even worse than “bailout” — “rescue” implies some actively exhausting and dangerous double-cover spy mission to Hell on which every taxpayer must embark; “bailout” sounds like you just have to cut a check and be done with it. We suggest they call the package an “iPod,” because everyone will pay for an iPod. [LA Times]


SUPREME COURT

Alito: Almost Qualified!

Monday, January 9th, 2006

CRAWFORD

It’s Really More Like a Savannah. With Protestors.

Wednesday, August 17th, 2005

Salon’s War Room blog draws a line in the brush: It will no longer refer to President Bush’s 10,000-acre getaway spot as a ranch. Over to you, Tim Grieve: MORE »