Tuesday, September 18, 2007
News Buzzwords, shmuzz-words
Posted by Thomas Wheatley @thomaswheatley on Tue, Sep 18, 2007 at 4:32 PM
Watch out, crazy liberals with your buzzwords — That Other Paper's Jim Wooten is on to you. He knows that underneath your bohemian coffee shop exterior you're all secretly wanting to turn the country into a nanny state, masking your intentions with the simple turn of a phrase. From the pen of the Always Right Wooten:
But as with commutes, clean air, sprawl and economic justice — the buzz-words employed to drive public policies preferred by liberals, those who profit from high-density development or more government borrowing — campaigns such as “affordable housing†invite government intervention in ways that may not be warranted. (Emphasis added.)
Buzzwords, Jim? By golly, you're right! After all, how could air ever be "clean" when — even with all the lower emissions and pollution controls — it'll always have germs and all those little nasties flying around in it?
Let's think of some others, WootDawg. A "commute" really is an "extended gathering of motorists." "Sprawl?" Yes, so ugly. How about "homogenous and expansive lifescape experiments?" And "clean air?" Easy. "Diverse molecules."
You guys out there are smart. Any ideas?
Comments (2)
Showing 1-2 of 2
Well yesss... however, the article was about "affordable housing" policy gaining energy from recent mortgage problems--and like ly to be abused the same way "low income housing" was abused in the past--not so much by renters, but by money changers (bond lawyers and slum lords being the lobbyists and fuel for the public program)... all leaving established communities, their schools in tatters wherever they are concentrated. Essentially, his thesis is that a new term has simply been born to replace the old one to "sell" the idea. That's what he considers a "buzz word". He doesn't say this, but I will--the same risk exists for any PUBLIC program that finances or induces "work force housing". It will be fired up and then abused by money changers.
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Very true, waitaminit, and I agree with your summary of Wooten's actual article. I was, however, sniping at his dismissal of actual issues such as sprawl, air quality, and drive times as "buzzwords." The issue of poor commute times and gridlock in Atlanta is hardly something advocates have to jazz up in order to win over supporters.
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