Jon Carroll Writes
Posted by MEC on February 22, 2008
You read.
Carroll smacks down the Usual Suspects who are stirring up the Obama “plagiarism” pseudo-scandal.
Look, there’s this language we have, called English. There are words in English, and these words are common to all of us. If I say, “I want to change the system,” I do not believe that I am the first person to say it. I don’t care who said it first. The actual point, as we speakers of English call it, is the meaning of the words.
[...]
That’s what writers, including speechwriters, do – they listen and they take notes. That’s not plagiarizing; that’s learning. All of our utterances are based on stuff we heard somewhere else; that’s the mechanism by which language is transmitted. That’s the mechanism by which ideas are transmitted.
Did you steal your language from your mother? Why, you rat bastard, you.
Somebody needs to call Hillary Clinton on the cluephone. When asked about this “scandal” last night, she had no better sense than to answer the question as if it deserved an answer. So of course all the news today is not about the candidates’ positions on issues that matter. It’s all about Clinton falling for “Let’s You And Him Fight”.
Next up: A pseudo-scandal about Hillary Clinton violating the Xerox® trademark by using the name as a generic term for photocopying.
3 Responses to “Jon Carroll Writes”
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Phoenix Woman said
Especially since Hillary Clinton herself stole John Edwards’ “Solutions for America” slogan, to name but one recent instance. Glass houses, Senator Clinton!
joel hanes said
And since Sen. Clinton has (I am told) failed to credit her ghostwriters twice.
It’s good to see Jon Carroll getting some play.
He’s part of my every-morning text diet.
Uneven, but when he’s on his game, he’s simply wonderful.
Let’s see …
I believe I can recommend this
And I think this is funny.
And here’s Jon, two days after 9/11, showing himself more wise and clear-headed than our leaders. Would that we had listened.
MEC said
PW, I agree that Senator Clinton shouldn’t be going there. It says nothing good about her that the plagiarism charge seems to have originated with her campaign and that she didn’t repudiate it when given the chance.
But far worse is the mediawhores’ eagerness to play “Let’s You and Him Fight”.
(I also wish Senator Clinton wouldn’t try to make snappy quips. She doesn’t have the personality for it. Too many people will decide she’s being bitchy, not witty. Ann Richards could carry it off, but Senator Clinton is no Ann Richards.)