$webpage

I’m back, and I’ve finally set up Gallery. Here are three weeks of my life in photos:

Boulder
New York
Washington, D.C.

Enjoy!

Well, I have a webpage, so I have to comment (or aggregate comments, at least).

You know the Republicans are screwed when James Dobson is railing against them for abandoning values. [Seattle Post-Intelligencer]

But the highlight of the post-election coverage was the French surrendering to American idiom by declaring Bush un canard boiteux. [Le Monde]

In close second, the Brits laud the end of a “disastrous presidency in its most catastrophic adventure”, adding that “it has been the American voters who have at last made this possible. For that alone the entire world owes them its deep gratitude today.” [Guardian] They’ve always been better writers than us.

In other news, Rove’s math was recently proven to be pulled out of Rove’s rear.

The U of A invited us to take a survey about our opinions on how tuition money should be allocated.

Question 5: What financial resources you use for attending the university include? (check all that apply)

Well, apparently someone should use the Writing Skills Improvement Program resource more often.

But it’s okay, because we have a brilliant plan to fix this problem: House Concurrent Resolution 2036, which would amend the Constitution of Arizona and establish English as the official language. “Representatives of the state or a local government would be required to preserve, protect and enhance the role of English as the official language.” The text of the proposed amendment begins:

“Whereas, the United States is comprised of individuals from diverse ethnic, cultural and linguistic backgrounds … ”

American Heritage Dictionary says:

Usage Note: The traditional rule states that the whole comprises the parts and the parts compose the whole. In strict usage: The Union comprises 50 states. Fifty states compose (or constitute or make up) the Union.

Sure, maybe it’s picky to want them to use “comprise” correctly, but if one of the stated goals is preserving English, that wasn’t the best first step. And don’t get me started on the questionable agreement in the description or the missing serial comma.

Anyway, go off tomorrow and vote to add grammatical errors to our Constitution if you like. I have a suspicion that we won’t see a radical resurgence of well-written surveys. In fact, we won’t see much of anything different.

The most profound quote of the election season, from the venerable Karl Rove:

“I’m looking at sixty-eight polls a week and … I add up to a Republican Senate and Republican House. You may end up with a different math but you are entitled to your math and I’m entitled to THE math.”

Oh. He has a different math. That explains a lot about the last few years.

Listen at npr.org.