don't you forget it.

Quote :

"In case you forgot, Barbara Boxer is a senator. The feisty California lawmaker felt the need to remind an Army brigadier general of that fact Tuesday during a hearing before her Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, where the military officer testifying had the apparent gall to call Boxer "ma'am." Brig. Gen. Michael Walsh, with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, was testifying on the Louisiana coastal restoration process in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. He began to answer one of Boxer's questions with "ma'am" when Boxer immediately cut him off. "You know, do me a favor," an irritated Boxer said. "Could say 'senator' instead of 'ma'am?'" "Yes, ma'am," Walsh interjected. "It's just a thing, I worked so hard to get that title, so I'd appreciate it, yes, thank you," she said. "Yes, senator," he responded. "

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/06/18/sen-boxer-chides-brigadier-general-calling-maam/

6/18/2009 1:21:54 PM

If Boxer was GOP, would FNC have ran this story?

6/18/2009 1:25:11 PM

no, but a myriad of other stations probably would. It is really time for the American media to quit hiding behind a bullshit screen of impartiality and adopt explicit editorial stances from which to report the news. I mean, would Brian Williams have bowed to President Bush?

I have more than one axe to grind with Sen Boxer's legislative record, this is just another log on the fire.

6/18/2009 1:34:38 PM

then why don't you grind your axe about legitimate legislative issues. not one woman's desire to be addressed in a particular way. and when a "news" article begins a story using the loaded adjective "feisty" in the second sentence, it's hard to take it seriously. when was the last time you heard a man called "feisty"?

6/18/2009 1:37:00 PM

Barney Frank gets called that all the time.

6/18/2009 1:38:06 PM

touche

6/18/2009 1:39:10 PM

hey look a gay joke! those are so funny!

6/18/2009 1:48:13 PM

Is it a joke if it's absolutely true?

Are you gay soulja?

6/18/2009 2:00:28 PM

"I didn't go to evil medical school for six years to get called 'Mr. Evil.'"

6/18/2009 2:32:25 PM

I'm not trying to be a dick, but it's ax--not "axe." But, yeah, SENATOR Boxer is annoying as shit for a number of reasons.

6/18/2009 2:38:52 PM

axe (ks)
n. & v.
Variant of ax1.

Clown.

And no, you weren't being a dick, just displaying more of that latent small cock drastically need attention syndrome.

[Edited on June 18, 2009 at 2:42 PM. Reason : .]

6/18/2009 2:40:57 PM

axe or US ax
Noun
pl axes
1. a hand tool with one side of its head sharpened to a cutting edge, used for felling trees and splitting timber
2. an axe to grind a favourite topic one wishes to promote
3. Informal a severe cut in spending or in the number of staff employed

6/18/2009 2:41:28 PM

^ DOUBLE POST SUSPEND!

The preferred spelling in the United States is ax. I don't need to look it up.

6/18/2009 2:46:01 PM

Maybe when you were our age that was the preferred spelling.

6/18/2009 2:58:40 PM

Well, I prefer "axe," and will continuing using that spelling in the future.

6/18/2009 3:03:24 PM

If your from North Carolina you spell it axe. That's how I learned to spell, how both my parents spell it, and how my grandparents spell it. I've never seen anyone reference a Hand ax, or Battle ax, or Fireman's ax.

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productList&N=4294961544&Ne=4294967294&Ntk=i_products&Ntt=axe

Notice how each item is spelled?

.....

And back on topic. Boxer is a tool. You don't address anyone like. Why isn't she addressing a General in the United States Army with General or Sir. This type of stuff should be reported, since it gives a good indication of the type of person someone is. One thing I will say, I highly doubt President Obama would flip out if a General responded with "Yes, sir" to him. Hell, I can't think of any President that would take offense to that, and the President is in his chain of command.

[Edited on June 18, 2009 at 3:14 PM. Reason : .]

6/18/2009 3:09:11 PM

Quote :

"The spelling ax is better on every ground, of etymology, phonology, and analogy, than axe, which became prevalent during the 19th century; but it is now disused in Britain."

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ax%2Faxe

I was just trying to help--and I am correct. I shall now take my leave of this.

6/18/2009 3:16:46 PM

Quote :

""You know, do me a favor," an irritated Boxer said. "Could say 'senator' instead of 'ma'am?'" "Yes, ma'am," Walsh interjected."

6/18/2009 3:17:01 PM

hooksaw you're dead fucking wrong. The only thing that matters is what's in use in the language community that's using the word, dipshit.

Seeing as how you're the only one here that thinks "ax" is more natural, you're going to have to accept that you're not right about this. "Axe" is prevalent in NC, at the very least, and as many of us are from NC this is the word we use. Usage determines linguistic fact; how the fuck else do you think words get their usages and meanings, the word fairy?

6/18/2009 3:22:15 PM

^ Perhaps you're right.

Please don't gore my oxe anymore. Just put the issue in a boxe.

I hope I've paid my taxe. I wouldn't want to be laxe.

And don't argue with me--argue with OED.

Now I shall take my leave.

6/18/2009 3:31:56 PM

To reference a particularly hilarious soapbox thread, you people are just turning this into

Quote :

"burpus burpus burpus burpus burpus"

6/18/2009 3:34:44 PM

Quote :

"If Boxer was GOP, would FNC have ran this story?"

No, but Huffington, Kos, and Daily Show would probably have picked it up. This specific issue isn't worth debating about in my opinion, but it does raise the interesting question of the growing cultural gap between the military and their civilian leadership.

6/18/2009 3:39:04 PM

Quote :

"And don't argue with me--argue with OED. "

It's spelled with an e in OED also. You fail again old man.

6/18/2009 3:39:52 PM

^ The initialism "OED" stands for Oxford English Dictionary. Would you make English lowercase?



BTW, someone call The History Channel--they've got it all wrong.

6/18/2009 3:46:16 PM

christ what a stupid thread.

6/18/2009 3:56:53 PM

Quote :

"^ The initialism "OED" stands for Oxford English Dictionary. Would you make English lowercase?"

NO FUCKING SHIT YOU STUPID OLD FUCK

GO LOOK IT UP IN THE

Oxford
English
Dictionary

AND SEE JUST HOW FUCKING WRONG YOU ARE YOU GOD DAMNED NEANDERTHAL

6/18/2009 3:58:30 PM

Quote :

"but it does raise the interesting question of the growing cultural gap between the military and their civilian leadership."

To me it raises the interesting question of how such pedantic douchebags manage to get elected and of the increasing worthlessness of our congressmen (and women).

[Edited on June 18, 2009 at 4:00 PM. Reason : Speaking of pedantic, let's all argue spelling some more. That's mature.]

6/18/2009 3:59:16 PM

because god knows there aren't any in military leadership who insist on being called by their titles.

6/18/2009 4:06:21 PM

^^^ Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, United Kingdom.

Quote :

"The spelling ax is better on every ground, of etymology, phonology, and analogy, than axe, which became prevalent during the 19th century; but it is now disused in Britain."

Ax is "now disused in Britain," which explains a UK dictionary listing "axe."

6/18/2009 4:16:12 PM

Holy shit, you finally admitted you were wrong about something.

Hell just froze over.

6/18/2009 4:17:52 PM

None of you are putting two spaces after you type your periods. I am better than you as a result.

[Edited on June 18, 2009 at 4:39 PM. Reason : hmm... they're there but it doesn't display them]

6/18/2009 4:37:53 PM

Quote :

"None of you idiots are putting two spaces after you type your periods. I am better than you as a result."

I bolded the single space you left after that period, but since it's just a space, you can't see my dramatic emphasis of your undeniable shame.

6/18/2009 4:40:11 PM

^^ One space has been MLA standard for years.

Quote :

"How many spaces should I leave after a period or other concluding mark of punctuation? Publications in the United States today usually have the same spacing after a punctuation mark as between words on the same line. Since word processors make available the same fonts used by typesetters for printed works, many writers, influenced by the look of typeset publications, now leave only one space after a concluding punctuation mark. In addition, most publishers' guidelines for preparing electronic manuscripts ask authors to type only the spaces that are to appear in print. Because it is increasingly common for papers and manuscripts to be prepared with a single space after all punctuation marks, this spacing is shown in the examples in the MLA Handbook and the MLA Style Manual. As a practical matter, however, there is nothing wrong with using two spaces after concluding punctuation marks unless an instructor or editor requests that you do otherwise."

http://www.mla.org/style_faq3

APA, too.

Quote :

"Each mark of punctuation is followed by one space. (Two spaces may follow a period ending a sentence; however, if used the practice should be consistent throughout the paper.)"

http://www2.smumn.edu/deptpages/~tcwritingcenter/APA/APA_Punctuation.pdf

[Edited on June 18, 2009 at 4:49 PM. Reason : ^]

6/18/2009 4:43:34 PM

^You realize you're just proving his point with that post (far better than he could have done alone), right?

6/18/2009 4:46:01 PM

^ I'm not better than anyone--or worse, for that matter. I am honestly just trying to help some that seem to be in need of it.

6/18/2009 4:48:06 PM

...The aforementioned point being (presumably... had I posted it, it would have been my point), of course, that arguing over minor issues of grammar and spelling is largely pointless.

You've even shown us one of the best reasons not to bother with such an argument: That the accepted "official" standards change quite often based upon common usage, therefore we should just take the most natural course of action and let the "rules" adhere to standard practice.

[Edited on June 18, 2009 at 4:53 PM. Reason : .]

6/18/2009 4:53:08 PM

Quote :

"that arguing over minor issues of grammar and spelling is largely pointless. "

Of course it is, unless you have a maturity problem. No joke, agentlion was telling me he caught a segment on NPR about this a couple weeks ago. Said that people that constantly do this really do have issues.

6/18/2009 4:57:04 PM

^^

Quote :

"You've even shown us one of the best reasons not to bother with such an argument: That the accepted 'official' standards change quite often based upon common usage, therefore we should just take the most natural course of action and let the 'rules' adhere to standard practice."

If this were the case, "ax" would be accepted as the proper pronunciation of the word "ask." But this forum is not an academic paper--I get this.

The problem I have is that I believe some of these folks go out into the world and continue the same solecisms I see here. I hope you'll pardon me if I try to correct them. After all, this is the type of thing that begins to lessen the value of our degrees from this institution over time--and we don't need them to be devalued any more than they already have been.

^ If I weren't involved in and concerned about higher education, you might have a point. As it stands, you don't.

And NPR was singing a different tune a couple of years ago (and other times I've listened):

English Is Misused, Abused and Poorly Punctuated

http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=6572655&m=6572656

[Edited on June 18, 2009 at 5:08 PM. Reason : .]

6/18/2009 5:03:06 PM

Quote :

"No joke, agentlion was telling me he caught a segment on NPR about this a couple weeks ago. Said that people that constantly do this really do have issues."

I can definitely see this being true.

I remember something from an intro to psych class (yeah, I know, it's from an intro psych class) regarding various levels of psychological development as they relate to one's views on morality... I seem to recall the second-to-last one (the second-most-developed one) being strict adherence to rules and law. The final one, which was essentially a more abstract view of morality (paraphrased: basically, that people do what's right by them), is supposed to be reached at some point once a person enters adulthood, though some people never do.

...This would seem to support the idea that such pedantry indicates an underdeveloped mind.

Quote :

"If I weren't involved in and concerned about higher education, you might have a point. As it stands, you don't. "

Oh, right, of course. Because as we all know, there's no significant difference at all between the concepts of knowledge and intellect.

[Edited on June 18, 2009 at 5:15 PM. Reason : .]

6/18/2009 5:04:54 PM

Quote :

"christ what a stupid thread. "

6/18/2009 5:05:16 PM

Quote :

"...This would seem to support the idea that such pedantry indicates an underdeveloped mind."

Personally, from hooksaw the unlaid, it just seems to be rooted in a deep desire and need for attention. It really blows my mind how a dude as old and washed up as him gets his jollies by

#1 Feeling like he is lording over a message board for college folks
#2 Actually taking the time to point out grammar errors on said message board

I can imagine just how empty his life is that he goes out of his way to do that.

6/18/2009 5:29:17 PM

I was thinking I should have put this in Chit Chat, but the only real difference between CC and TSB is that CC doesn't take itself seriously.

Quote :

"because god knows there aren't any in military leadership who insist on being called by their titles."

For warrant officers through general, the appropriate way to address a senior is by "sir" or "ma'am". This was just petty muscle flexing. Like boner950 said, "To me it raises the interesting question of how such pedantic douchebags manage to get elected and of the increasing worthlessness of our congressmen (and women)."

6/18/2009 5:32:35 PM

Quote :

" To me it raises the interesting question of how such pedantic douchebags manage to get elected and of the increasing worthlessness of our congressmen (and women)."

Agree. If anything, it shows a disparity between congress and every other American. Who would get offended by someone showing respect to them by saying "Yes, ma'am." gtfo. Titles are used when addressing someone, not answering with yes or no.

I am sure there are plenty of politicians besides Boxer than have this attitude, from both parties. Senators are the worst though, since so many of them have been in for decades.

[Edited on June 18, 2009 at 5:35 PM. Reason : sp]

6/18/2009 5:35:02 PM

^^ Yep. Boxer is so unaware of military customs and courtesies that she didn't even realize the general at issue was showing her the same respect he would any superior.

And I'll share a kind of funny related story that happened to me once. I was the CQ one morning and I get a phone call. The guy on the other end says he's Mr. So-and-So and wants to speak to the CO. I question him a bit and finally he gets pissed and says, "This is Chief Warrant Officer So-and-So and I want to speak to the CO right--goddamned--now!"

I put him through.

[Edited on June 18, 2009 at 5:41 PM. Reason : ^]

6/18/2009 5:40:58 PM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axe

6/18/2009 6:05:33 PM

Quote :

" And I'll share a kind of funny related story that happened to me once. I was the CQ one morning and I get a phone call. The guy on the other end says he's Mr. So-and-So and wants to speak to the CO. I question him a bit and finally he gets pissed and says, "This is Chief Warrant Officer So-and-So and I want to speak to the CO right--goddamned--now!" I put him through."

Thus, proving you were a dumbass when you were younger to.

6/18/2009 6:07:17 PM

^ Incorrect.

Quote :

"TO"

6/18/2009 6:24:19 PM

^^ Correct.

6/18/2009 6:33:59 PM

i find this shallow and pedantic..

6/18/2009 6:36:56 PM

^ well played

Quote :

"Thus, proving you were a dumbass when you were younger to."

I'm no hooksaw defender, but the use of "Mister" by the Warrant Officer corps can be confusing as hell on the phone. That and WOs tend to be either extremely laid back and easy to get along with or full out holy-righteous pricks. There is very little room in the middle.

Not that this is relevant to this thread, but this is a largely irrelevant thread.

6/18/2009 7:20:22 PM