My response to Rumsfeld's vocabulary challenge on MTP today.

[barbaraann]

"The lethality is up," Rumsfeld said. "Last throes could be a violent last throe, just as well as a placid or calm last throe. Look it up in the dictionary."

I looked it up and here is what I found on dictionary.com:

1. A severe pang or spasm of pain, as in childbirth. See Synonyms at pain.
2. throes A condition of agonizing struggle or trouble: a country in the throes of economic collapse.


Secretary Rumsfeld, I call on you to admit that you were wrong, that a throe cannot by definition by calm--it can only be violent, i.e. spasmodic or agonizing.

Saying that a throe can be calm is like saying childbirth is painless.

[KlatooBNikto]

1. Rumsfeld in wonderland: words are supposed to mean exactly what

I want them to mean. Don't even think of contradicting me the all-knowing, all insane,Rumcarnac the magnificent.

[Straight Shooter]

2. All the bushies can hit the snooze button and go back to sleep.

If Rumsfeld says so, it must be so, right? Because he says it with such calm assurance.

Idiot prick. x(

[noamnety]

3. He speaks with the vocabulary skills he has

not the vocabulary skills he wants.

[Rose Siding]

4. LAST is the operative qualifier

They are boobs

[Cocoa]

6. here's the definition of "last" for Rummy

http://www.answers.com/last&r=67

last (lãst)
adj.

1.Being, coming, or placed after all others; final: the last game of the season.

[weldon berger]

5. What's with this "dictionary" thing?

That's what Cheney said, too: "Look it up in the dictionary." That aside, "throes" isn't the problem. Call it whatever you like, call it "wyxrblpps"; the issue is "last" wyxrblpps, as in all but finished.

[Cocoa]

7. no, Rummy, you CAN'T have a placid or calm last throe

throe implies violence.

And like everyone else is saying, the key is "last" of course.

[salin]

9. we misunderstand him he isn't saying throes... he is saying

"throws".

I know that doesn't make any sense either.

But when was making sense ever important to key war propogandist Rummy?

[Jara sang]

15. Don't you mean "misunderestimate"?

;)

[salin]

16. well, those in the public that thought "He know more than we do...

there must be wmds and the threat must be eminent or he wouldn't..." Yep they misunderestimated him.

[barbaraann]

8. He's contradicting Cheney!

"If you look at what the dictionary says about throes, it can still be a violent period, the throes of a revolution," he said. "The point would be that the conflict will be intense, but it's intense because the terrorists understand that if we're successful at accomplishing our objective -- standing up a democracy in Iraq -- that that's a huge defeat for them.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/06/23/cheney.interview/

I personally think Rumsfeld and Cheney need to look up "truth" and "lie" in the dictionary because they need to learn the differenc.e

[Beetwasher]

10. I Submit To You The New Verb "To Orwell", on Full Display For All To See

Orwelling at it's, err, "finest"(?).

[barbaraann]

12. That's good.

From now on we need to post that someone from the Bush administration is Orwelling on tv or wherever instead of speaking.

Example:

Bush will be orwelling to the American people about Iraq Tuesday evening.

[deminks]

11. "We can only work with the throes we are given

not the throes that we wish for. We cannot know the throes that we don't know."

:crazy:

I am hoping that the last throes are this administration in jail.

[barbaraann]

13. That is actually uberorwellian.

Rummy is a master of uberorwellian.

[DisassemblingHisLies]

14. The semantics game isn't working any more.

Don't they know to pick & choose their battles? Nitpicking about the already-obvious meaning of "last throes" right before they will have to invent a new meaning for "fixed around the intelligence" isn't going to help them. :evilgrin: