As the dollar sinks is the greenback government striking back against hard-money entrepreneurism?
Early Thursday morning federal agents from the Secret Service and FBI raided the Evansville, Indiana offices of NORFED, makers of the Liberty Dollar and other alternative 'barter' currencies of which they claim to have $20 million dollars in circulation. The business, owned by Bernard von Nothaus, mints copper, gold, silver and platinum coinage and produces paper certificates with fixed values based on their reserve of gold and silver.…
Article comments
— go to most recent comments76 - gonzo marx
"Blame it on the Republicans and then use it as a pretext to consolidate power."
blame it?
well, who should the mistakes from '00-o6 be blamed on?
who controlled the WH, Senate and Congress ?
who wrote the Policies, both foreign and domestic?
who wrote and approved the budgets and all that GOP pork?
on and on...fuck call it "blame"
assigning Responsibility based on objective and undeniable Facts, that's all
'fess up, take the lumps, and deal with the Consequences of bad decisions...namely losing in '06, and probably losing even more in '08
now, will the Dems fuck up as severely?
if so, toss them out the next round and try again
but mindless partisans on both sides need to stop their fucking whining and take their whippings for fucking up...at least be Honest about blatant mistakes and own up to it, that goes a lot further than having your hand stuck in the cookie jar and trying to look Innocent and say "wasn't me!"
or trying to distract and shift blame to the Opposition using nothing but the big Lie tactics of screaming it loud enough and often enough to fool the sheeple
Excelsior?
77 - Dave Nalle
Gonzo, you seem to endorse the formula of the two major parties taking turns abusing power until the end of time. I'm looking for something a bit better, something along the lines of what the Republicans promised, but actually followed through on.
Dave
78 - gonzo marx
Vox sez - "Gonzo, you seem to endorse the formula of the two major parties taking turns abusing power until the end of time."
nope
i do think that no matter what good Intentions and purity of Spirit there is at the start, time and Power corrupt EVERYONE...so then it's time to toss the bastards out
"I'm looking for something a bit better, something along the lines of what the Republicans promised..."
and folks say i'm a Dreamer...wouldn't have thought you enough of the starry eyed Idealist to buy the Lies...but you were entranced by the shiny Bait
goes to show how some who might otherwise have a decent Mind can get conned/swindled/bamboozled from allowing Desire to overwhelm Reason
try not to get fooled again...
Excelsior?
79 - RJ
"However much you want it to be so, making fun of someone is not a personal attack."
Ad hominem:
Apparently "snarky" wasn't the only word missing from the comment editor's lexicon...
80 - STM
CR: "Stan, why on earth would anyone in their right mind want to go to an island continent at the end of the world that is largely uninhabitable and full of some of the most toxic critters on the planet? The big mistake Britain made was losing Hawaii, which is one of the most beautiful places on the planet."
Ah, you see, you've never been here so you don't know. Ask your compatriot Doc Dread - he has been here.
I agree with you about Hawaii (although it was never really a British colony), but much of Australia looks like Hawaii anyway. It's better though because it's not full of tourists. A half-hour outside of sydney, north and south, and you have many hundreds of kilometres of beautiful, untouched coastline. Even the surf is nearly as good as Hawaii's.
It's heaven on a stick, and the reason I don't live in the UK or the US. I'm always drawn back by the natural beauty of the place.
Even Sydney, which is now one of the world's top cities and a huge place, is unbelievably beautiful.
Think Spain, but stable, well-off, with old democracy and real rule of law inherited from Britain and without all the get-rich-quick developers and package-deal tourists.
81 - STM
And for those who wonder why it is I love Australia so much (Cristopher Rose, mostly), see here and understand why I rest my case. Makes Brighton, Redcar, Blackpool and Southend look a bit sick, eh Rosey??
82 - Dr Dreadful
Hawaii is beautiful, if you steer clear of the southern half of Oahu which has been ruined by urbanization. We Brits may have let the place slip through our fingers, but you've got to like their flag!
And yes, Chris, Australia is indeed a sumptuous place, although you'd never know it if someone plonked you down in a random part of the NSW bush. Not just Sydney itself - which is one of the top five Great Cities (at least in my book) - but places like the Great Ocean Road in the south, Fraser Island and the Great Barrier Reef off Queensland, and Uluru (Ayers Rock, to the unwashed) in the Red Centre.
And that's not even considering Western Australia and the Top End, which I haven't been to yet but will be making a beeline for on my next visit for sure.
Uluru, particularly, is probably the most astounding place I've ever been to. The desert around it pulsates with life, which I certainly wasn't expecting. One morning we went out for a camel ride and a pack of young male dingoes started following the camel train, howling at each other. The guide told us that hardly ever happens. One of those special moments you remember for a lifetime.
And no amount of photos can prepare you for the sight of Uluru itself. It's one of those rare places that can send a tingle up your spine just looking at it. Only other place I've been that did anything like that to me was St Peter's in Rome. (I imagine the Pyramids and Stonehenge would have a similar effect, but I've never been. I hope to remedy the Stonehenge omission when I visit home next month though!)
Bottom line, you can do a lot of travelling in your lifetime but you won't visit many places that feel like home. Australia does, and it's not just because of the hospitality.
So I do know why Stan loves it so much and am slightly baffled as to why so many young Aussies up sticks and move to London, some never to return. I dunno. Must be that whole bush larrikin urge to wander thing.
83 - Christopher Rose
RJ, there is absolutely nothing in your quote about ad hominems that touches upon what I wrote. If you can't tell the difference between making fun of somebody and attacking somebody, you have a lot to learn. It's particularly inappropriate for you to try and lecture ANYBODY on the subject of ad hominems when you are not above making them yourself.
Try letting go of your ego, being a little less pompous and engaging your intelligence. Until then maybe you should confine yourself to the fine art of posting American Rugby scores, which seems more suited to your current deployed skill set.
84 - Christopher Rose
Stan, can't imagine why some crowded beach full of upsidedowners would float your boat so much, but whatever works for you.
There are loads of great beaches and beautiful towns all over the UK so your arbitrary selection smacks more of sour grapes than fair does to me.
Must be lonely living so far from the world and a bit scary living with all the world's most dangerous beasties!
Doc, sure there are things of natural beauty in Oz and I may even pop over for a look one day. Mind you, there's things of natural beauty and wonder to be found all over this planet and no one will ever see them all.
Despite the undoubted beauty in the land of Oz, I could never live there, it's just too far from so many things of interest, on personal, cultural and social levels, a bit like Wales!
85 - Silver Surfer
Spoken like a true member of the great unwashed.
86 - Silver Surfer
And I wasn't just referring to the crowded beach. There are other pictures on the site :)
Obviously, you didn't scroll down.
And according to my Mercator's correctional map of the world, Australia and NZ are at the top, since nobody really knows whether north is actually up and south down.
That also makes Canada, America's hat, now America's undies.
And that small country shaped like a witch taking a dump is WAY down north, right down near the north pole.
87 - Silver Surfer
And Doc, thanks for the support. If you ever move to Oz, you get immediate honorary citizenship.
88 - Christopher Rose
Stan, you're rather grumpy today. First you bait me with Bondi Beach pictures and mocking England.
When I predictably rise to its defense - and say a decent thing or two about your former colony - you conclude with churlishness. What a great advert for the wasteland you are! ;-)
Not surprised to learn you have an upside down map to make you feel better about your distant location. If it makes you feel any better, in galactic terms Earth is pretty isolated too, being found about two thirds of the way out along one of the Milky Way's spiral arms in a relatively unpopulated region of space.
Does that make us all Astralians?
89 - Dr Dreadful
Which is why it's dark at night and the sky isn't filled with so many stars as to wash the world in perpetual daylight. Give it a few million years though.
In the meantime, get some sleep!
90 - Dr Dreadful
And Chris, the most dangerous beastie I've come across in Australia was a hormonally-fraught, decidedly non-native adolescent camel.
91 - STM
Chris, you are a typical moaning pom. First you bait me in that condescending fashion so typical of some of your countrymen, and when I bait you back, you take offence.
Most of the stuff I post about Poms is just a gee-up (Doc worked it out eons ago).
Thin skins and all that, old boy. Truth is, I don't give a crap what you think.
I've lived in both places (you haven't even been here, so you're hardly coming from a position of genuine understanding), and went to school for quite a few years in the Old Dart.
I worked out years ago which place was best.
No offence, and as much as I dearly love the Old Dart, it's not better. Far from it.
But, mate, it's your choice to keep believing that pommy bullsh.t - you have to I guess to be happy in your nation's collective misery.
Musn't grumble, eh?
92 - RJ
"Until then maybe you should confine yourself to the fine art of posting American Rugby scores, which seems more suited to your current deployed skill set."
Awww...I sense some genuine anger emanating from across the Atlantic. Oh, well. Perhaps one day I'll be fortunate enough to reach your high level of enlightenment, and I'll be capable of making such wise and thoughtful observations as:
Fat-fatty-fat-fat-fatso.
Which I believe is pretty much the extent of the deep, meaningful message you are trying to convey in comments #28, #42, and #53...
93 - Dave Nalle
RJ, I think it's telling that only Christopher and Moonraven have been so crass as to make my presumed fatness an issue.
It's not like Christopher has a lot to be proud of in the online beauty contest with this as the best face he has to put forward.
Dave
94 - STM
What you guys have to remember is that Chris has recently moved back to the Old Dart from Spain.
He's swapped sunshine and fun for misery and rain, cold beer and warm pies for warm beer and cold pies, and paella for vindaloo and chips.
That'll be the real reason he's been so narky lately.
Geez, if I ever had to go and live in the old country after living it up in the sun and surf I'd be pissed off as well.
95 - Dave Nalle
Vindaloo and chips actually sounds pretty good to me.
But what I really miss is the mixed grill breakfast I used to get at a little place by the tube stop I took from my flat in Chelsea down to the PRO when last I lived in London. It was fantastic, with a banger and two lamb chops and a couple of eggs and some bacon and a fried tomato, all done together in a pan. Real English food and nothing beats it. Try getting a decent banger in Texas.
Dave
96 - STM
Ah yes, the extra full full-English breakfast. Means you can have three pints of bitter at lunchtime instead of food.
No hold on, beer is food isn't it??
(Dave: your fondness for the mixed grill might be the reason folks are, ah, passing comment about your beef)
The aussie equivalent of that is steak (a dirty big one hanging over the sides of the plate) and eggs, with all the extra stuff.
Still my favourite brekkie.
97 - Dave Nalle
Steak and eggs is pretty standard here in the states. We even had a restaurant chain (maybe still do) called 'Steak and Egg'. Personally I prefer pork chops and eggs.
And yeah, my fondness for breakfast may have some connection to my somewhat inflatd condition, but I'm working on making breakfast my only meal of the day. Maybe that will help.
Dave
98 - Christopher Rose
What amazes and ever so slightly depresses me is the tendency of people like RJ, Dave Nalle and even now Stan to totally ignore what people write in favour of their own subjective views. This is a real weakness of this type of written communication, as it requires more effort on behalf of the reader to understand what someone actually meant with the words they typed, an effort you three clearly don't care to make.
RJ, if it comforts you in some way to think that you made me angry, go right ahead and cling to the illusion. It's so much easier than actually contemplating the possibility suggested.
Dave, you've consistently shown yourself to be the king of Orwellian style doublespeak as you continuously profess yourself to be a fan of facts, information and logic whilst actually being one of the most deeply subjective people I've ever encountered. It's a real tragedy that you manage to maintain this self-delusion.
Your latest misperception is that I made your size an issue. Sure, I mentioned it in passing in comment #28 above, long after you began the rudeness and insults. Since then it's other people that have blown it up in size, if you'll pardon the jest.
Stan, unfortunately you seem to be succumbing to the same tendency. You started the baiting in your comment #49, when you whined about the English beating your lot in the rugby. I've been trying to maintain an element of even-handedness in addressing the distant continent's qualities but you have only managed to notice any hint of criticism. I think you're the one who's clearly a bit touchy on the subject...
You're also wrong as to my location. I don't go back until year's end, when we are moving to within twenty metres of the sea surrounding the Isle of Wight.
I'm really looking forward to it actually; wonderful as Spain is in many ways, there are actually a lot of both practical and social/cultural benefits to spending at least part of the year in England and now we're going to have the benefits of both cultures.
As to "He's swapped sunshine and fun for misery and rain, cold beer and warm pies for warm beer and cold pies, and paella for vindaloo and chips". Even though it's not happened yet, it won't either. I have come to appreciate rain after six years of nigh on continuous drought; I've never really liked those English beers when compared to the ice cold lagers of say Belgium (and at least I'm not in a country where people create dreck like Fosters or the worst "beer" I ever drank, that ode to nothingness known as Budweiser); and I don't eat either paella or chips, although I am looking forward to a decent curry when we're back!
99 - Dave Nalle
Dave, you've consistently shown yourself to be the king of Orwellian style doublespeak as you continuously profess yourself to be a fan of facts, information and logic whilst actually being one of the most deeply subjective people I've ever encountered. It's a real tragedy that you manage to maintain this self-delusion.
Something which you yourself are so deeply mired in that it amuses me every time you try to accuse someone else of it. Sure, I have my biases. But at least I'm aware of them. You're a complex bundle of misconceptions and weird obsessions and yet completely unaware of how out of touch you are with reality. Then you have the gall to try to accuse people of the exact syndrome you labor under. It's bizarre.
As for my 'orwellian style doublespeak', that perception just demonstrates what we've already seen, that you're incapable of telling a complex viewpoint from a contradictory one, and that when someone says something you immediately latch onto just one aspect of it and then run with that, mistaking any future nuances for contradictions and digging yourself into a hole of misunderstanding piled on misunderstanding, driven by an egotistical unwillingness to go back and admit that your initial snap assessment of what someone said was dead wrong.
Dave
100 - Christopher Rose
Dave, your comment above is possibly a classic example of treble speak! Not only do you continue in your depressing habit of ignoring reality in favour of your imaginary version of it, you then compound that by accusing me of doing the same thing. THAT is bizarre!
If you had any modicum of either grace or humour, you'd have simply written something like "Oops, slip of the keyboard, thanks for fixing it Chris" when I pointed out your mildly surprising spelling error instead of initiating this exchange of keyboard blows.
Of course, that would involve you admitting you made a mistake, something that almost never happens with you. It's normal to make mistakes and part of the human condition. I have no qualms at all about admitting mine, it's one of the ways that people learn and grow. You should try it sometime. Google "quotations about making mistakes" and see what fine company you could join!
It's simply not true that you have a complex viewpoint, although clearly you do have some kind of complex. As I've said before - and I think this is the real source of your rancour - I find your political views dated and unrealistic.
As to nuanced, you're the one that rules out entire political philosophies and perspectives as having no value or being outright dangerous, so where is the nuanced approach in that?
Based upon this display of spite and tantrum above, I doubt you could actually repeat back to me here what my perspective is, although I've told you several times when you've hysterically tried to pigeonhole me into one stereotype or another.
The whole of your comment is nothing but a petulant outburst that proves nothing but that the biggest and emptiest vessels make the most noise.
101 - Andy Marsh
Steak and eggs??? Waffle House baby!
102 - Dr Dreadful
It's not like Christopher has a lot to be proud of in the online beauty contest with this as the best face he has to put forward.
Jeez, Dave, have some consideration. I'd just adjusted to you replacing your previous photo ("AAAAAGGGHH!") with that scary high-angle shot. ("AAAAAGGGHH!") Then before I know it we're back to the old pic. ("AAAAAGGGHH!") Then, to add insult to injury, you have to link to the only known extant portrait of our beloved comments editor. ("AAAAAGGGHH!")
I'll have that Valium now, with a Jameson's chaser.
103 - Dave Nalle
Dave, your comment above is possibly a classic example of treble speak!
Not tribble speak? And if it's treble speak, doesn't the third voice negate the second and leave only the first surrounded by distractions?
If you had any modicum of either grace or humour, you'd have simply written something like "Oops, slip of the keyboard, thanks for fixing it Chris" when I pointed out your mildly surprising spelling error instead of initiating this exchange of keyboard blows.
Still harping on that, are we? I responded reasonably by mentioning that I don't use the word often and thus had no idea how to spell it. The problem originated in the fact that rather than just fixing the error or mentioning it to me privately you felt a need to use the mistake as an opportunity to publicly denigrate me with the famous 'snarky' comment.
Of course, that would involve you admitting you made a mistake, something that almost never happens with you. It's normal to make mistakes and part of the human condition. I have no qualms at all about admitting mine, it's one of the ways that people learn and grow. You should try it sometime. Google "quotations about making mistakes" and see what fine company you could join!
The problem isn't that I can't admit to making a mistake, it's that you have to rub my nose in it when I do for no reason other than pure pettiness.
As I've said before - and I think this is the real source of your rancour - I find your political views dated and unrealistic.
And clearly you're never going to understand that fundamental principles of human liberty are not capable of becoming 'dated'. That you treat politics like some sort of trendy fashion show is beyond bizarre.
As for defining your political beliefs, I'll leave that to you to do. It's not my job. Apparently they're the latest and the best, so I look forward to reading your manifesto.
Dave
104 - gonzo marx
so defending warrantless wiretapping is now somehow upholding Liberty?
Orwellian was a fine choice of adjective, imo
Excelsior?
105 - Dave Nalle
Gonzo, it's not complicated. I believe in both principle AND pragmatism. If you're going to stand on principle, then do it fully and absolutely. If you're going to make a pragmatic compromise, then really do what's necessary to find working solutions.
We've been over this before.
If you are going to oppose warrantless wiretaps then you ought to also oppose FISA itself on constitutional grounds. If you accept FISA then you've already thrown out the 4th amendment and opened the door and created a huge gray area. Once you've done that all bets are off, so find some real solutions that work.
Dave
106 - gonzo marx
i don't agree...
whereas i DO have issues with the FISA laws...they DO involve Judicial oversight, and stood as the applicable Law
therefore knowingly violating them indeed comprises definitive "high crimes and misdemeanors" by definition
i'm all for finding a real solution that adheres to the Constitution, but no matter what, one cannot reconcile violating a Law on the Books that has Judicial review in it with any kind of adherence to the Constitution by definition
so much for Principle...add to it the Reason i will only refer to you as Vox and...well, nuff said on that, eh?
i give Credit where due, when you strike upon things accurately...but i also point out what appears to me to be pure bullshit when circumstances warrant, such as my previous comment
this one will go a long way to Haunting all this Administration's Apologists...
and this link provides corroboration to everything i have been saying (from my own experience in the field at telecomunications hub/regen stations) about the indiscriminate nature of both the taps and datamining...
you do often have a decent grasp of the basic Facts, but your slavery to Ideology and partisan bias colors your ability to synthesize and analyze the data properly
but i digress...
Excelsior?
107 - Christopher Rose
gonzo, either you are one of the world's most patient people or you clearly haven't grocked yet that debating with Dave is absolutely pointless. Rather like wrestling mist, there's nothing of substance to get hold of, just endless shapeshifting. His main belief appears to be be in his own infallibility.
108 - troll
..that's the fun of it - he's a tarbaby
109 - Dave Nalle
whereas i DO have issues with the FISA laws...they DO involve Judicial oversight, and stood as the applicable Law
Gonzo, judicial hindsight is NOT judicial oversight by any possible definition.
therefore knowingly violating them indeed comprises definitive "high crimes and misdemeanors" by definition
Here we have to disagree. I don't think it's possible to violate an invalid law.
i'm all for finding a real solution that adheres to the Constitution, but no matter what, one cannot reconcile violating a Law on the Books that has Judicial review in it with any kind of adherence to the Constitution by definition
Sure one can. All one has to do is appeal to the Constitution and reject the constitutional validity of the law and then let the Supreme Court decide. Read up on Andrew Jackson sometime.
BTW, I've never disagreed with you on the indiscriminate nature of datamining or of any of the scanning technology.
you do often have a decent grasp of the basic Facts, but your slavery to Ideology and partisan bias colors your ability to synthesize and analyze the data properly
I'm patient. I figure you (like troll) are not entirely immune to reason (unlike Christopher) and eventually you'll grasp the not terribly subtle difference between slavery to ideology and acceptance that there is a time for both the idealistic and the pragmatic and that neither by itself is sufficient when dealing with the realm of politics. You choose to think in absolutes. I've accepted that doing so just does not work when dealing with the real world.
Dave
110 - Christopher Rose
Dave's closing paragraph above is unintentionally hilarious. In response to gonzo's accurate assessment of his thinking as excessively dogmatic, he gives a seemingly thoughtful answer that simultaneously condescends and misdirects under the guise of reasonableness. Classic Nalleism!
111 - STM
CR: No one drinks Foster's in Australia.
It's cat's piss.
Carlton makes a whole lot of far more palatable beers. Foster's was made for the export market, and lo and behold, does well outside Australia.
Which just goes to show: very few people outside this country, where it's virtually the only style of beer drunk because of the climate, have a genuine appreciation for a good lager.
BTW Chris, you are behaving like a fair-dinkum ponce. What's going on with you these days??
112 - Lumpy
I think it's cute that Chris R. who censors other commentors thinks he has unlimited license to make constant personal attacks on another editor.
But then he's European and I hear they have a problem with inbreeding.
113 - STM
Constant condescending, patronising attacks on anyone who doesn't susbcribe to his own euro-entric views might be closer to the mark.
He's carrying on like a pork chop lately. Did you sit on a cucumber recently, Chris, or was it a sharp rock?
Whatever it is, you've certainly got something up yer bum.
Maybe you need break from blogcritics and a nice long holiday on the Isle of Wight. Oh, wait ...
114 - Clavos
Doc, I'm off to fetch the beer...hurry and get the chairs before Chris gets back!
115 - RJ
"Of course, that would involve you admitting you made a mistake, something that almost never happens with you. It's normal to make mistakes and part of the human condition. I have no qualms at all about admitting mine [cite???], it's one of the ways that people learn and grow. You should try it sometime. Google "quotations about making mistakes" and see what fine company you could join!"
Wow. Now that's "snarky!" ;-)
116 - Dave Nalle
Of course, I can trot out a number of examples with links here on BC of places where I made a mistake and acknowledged it.
All we have to do is scroll up to see Christopher adamantly insisting that:
"Snarky is a relatively new word and not used much at all in Europe, in fact I've never seen it outside of this and a few other websites."
Despite the fact that a form of it is used by Lewis Carroll, and dictionary references trace it to the mid 19th centuries in other sources, and it is described in other dictionaries as being in common use primarily in Europe and England, and comes up with about 2.5 million hits on google, about 10 times as many as another common word Christopher should familiarize himself with - 'pissant'.
So he makes the common arrogant error of assuming a general conclusion from his personal experience and being proven glaringly wrong, of course.
Where is his humble admission of error?
Dave
117 - Christopher Rose
Right, after a lovely, albeit too brief, night's sleep, let's address this glorious harvest.
Again, it's one of those expressions that hasn't crossed the Atlantic as far as I know. I'm guessing there would be quite a lot of potential for causing offence over here.troll: What exactly do you mean by tarbaby? Are you referring to the Uncle Remus story, the Toni Morrison novel or the Marvel Comics mutant? I looked it up and assume you mean the Uncle Remus. According to Wikipedia,
Stan: I think you're being quite the ponce yourself recently. There's a hilarious show on UK TV called "Grumpy Old Men" and I reckon you'd be a natural for it.
I hope even you, if you took a moment, would not really try and make your claim "very few people outside this country... have a genuine appreciation for a good lager" stick. Talk about illusion! I thought you Aussies had a good sense of humour but it seems more like you've just got a chip on your shoulder...
I think it's cute that someone who calls himself "Lumpy" and is well known for their balanced and fair-minded approach would pick on me too. I feel redeemed!
Ignoring your inbred insults, I'd like you to try to explain how having differing perspectives equates to your idea of personal attacks. I'm trying to address Dave's widely commented upon habit of assuming that he is always right and everyone else is wrong.
If you actually took the trouble to follow this conversation from the beginning, you might notice that the interaction began when I teased him about a pretty basic spelling error and he over-reacted and began insulting me.
He likes to do that because he figures I'll get angry and lose my cool. Provoking people and then adopting the posture of reasonableness is one of the little games he likes to play, but I'm not playing.
Clavos: Just so long as it's not Fosters or Budweiser, you'll have a great time. Enjoy!
RJ: Aah, RJ; what are we to do with you? I fail to grasp what point you're trying to make above. I merely described Dave's behaviour and explained that it is okay to make mistakes, to be wrong. And you consider that snarky? Weird.
Dave: Please do then provide us with "a number of examples with links here on BC of places where I made a mistake and acknowledged it". I would really like to see that claim substantiated and will, of course, admit my mistake if indeed it is so.
My understanding is that Lewis Carroll coined the word "snark" in his poem "The Hunting Of The Snark" in 1876. How the word evolved from there to its current, predominantly American, usage of "snarky" seems rather unclear.
However, having spent nearly all my life in Europe, I can assure you that the word has never come up, in either conversation or written exchange, other than in its original Carrollian context.
I feel quite confident in standing by my original assertion that the American "snarky" is not in wide usage over here and that no error has been committed. What is clear is that your assertion that it is in wide use in Europe is another of your misconceived wish fulfillment fantasies.
Rather than confining yourself to a debate, a dialogue of ideas, you couldn't stop yourself from making yet another insulting remark to me, which tells rather more about you than you may have meant to reveal.
Please don't throw me in the briar patch!
118 - Silver Surfer
Bloody hell, couldn't you have just ignored us?
119 - Christopher Rose
Couldn't you?
120 - Dave Nalle
I have to admire your persistence, Christopher. Shows a truly delusional mindset.
Dave: Please do then provide us with "a number of examples with links here on BC of places where I made a mistake and acknowledged it". I would really like to see that claim substantiated and will, of course, admit my mistake if indeed it is so.
Well, it's not easy to track down the actual links out of my 10K or so comments, but as I find them I'll gladly provide them.
My understanding is that Lewis Carroll coined the word "snark" in his poem "The Hunting Of The Snark" in 1876. How the word evolved from there to its current, predominantly American, usage of "snarky" seems rather unclear.
None of the etymological listings associate the word with Carroll's word 'snark' and they mostly connect it to a scandinavian root word.
However, having spent nearly all my life in Europe, I can assure you that the word has never come up, in either conversation or written exchange, other than in its original Carrollian context..
In your experience, which is inherently limited. I've spent more years on the planet living in more countries than you have, and there are still words I encounter that I'm unfamiliar with and I'd never be so arrogant as to assume it couldn't happen again, in fact it has happened once here on BC. My reaction was not to adamantly deny the existence of thw word.
I feel quite confident in standing by my original assertion that the American "snarky" is not in wide usage over here and that no error has been committed. What is clear is that your assertion that it is in wide use in Europe is another of your misconceived wish fulfillment fantasies.
Research on this isn't exactly easy to do. However, if you check urbandictionary.com for the word you'll find a couple of anecdotal examples where the contributors claim that the word is of English origin and mainly used in Canada and the UK.
I then did a search of usage by domain name. The results suggest that it's more Canadian than British, but more common in both than in the US. Among all domain name endings it appears 2.5 million times. However, it appears 450K times in domains ending in .uk and 700K times in domains ending in .ca. Those numbers are so out of proportion to the general distribution of those geographical endings among all domains, that it shows a clear prevalence of the usage of the word among people from those two countries.
In addition, I was not the one who originally claimed that the word originated in the UK or was predominantly used there. You claimed that it was not used there, a claim which was purely anecdotal and which you are clearly unable to substgantiate.
Rather than confining yourself to a debate, a dialogue of ideas, you couldn't stop yourself from making yet another insulting remark to me, which tells rather more about you than you may have meant to reveal.
You might want to take a moment to follow the thread of insults and/or snarky comments to the one which started the exchange. It's the one that's printed on the large beam that's poking you in the eye.
Dave
121 - Christopher Rose
Dave, you're getting sillier with each post. Let's patiently address your daftness bit by bit.
which is later than Carroll's coining of the term. Doing!1. Persistence in rebutting your posts and delusional mindsets are unrelated. Being unable to respond to statements with related answers and delusional mindsets are related. Doing!
2. So you can't actually provide any examples of you admitting to mistakes, never mind a number of them as you claimed you could. Doing!
3. The top result in Google for "snarky etymology" is
4. Everybody's experience is inherently limited; it is entirely irrelevant to my point that you have lived in more countries than I; and I haven't denied the existence of the word, I said I was unfamiliar with it. Once more, an off topic red herring of a response. Doing!
5. Of course the word is of English origin; it was coined by Lewis Carroll. I have been extensively exposed to English language literature, music, poetry, radio and even television and have never experienced any usage of the word snarky before coming across it in recent times on the internet.
Of course that's anecdotal evidence of its rarity, but I'd take my anecdotal evidence over your pointless presumption any day. Doing!
6. I have followed our tragic little exchange and it is clearly obvious to all but the most self-deluded of eyes that you were the one that started the graceless rudeness and insults when your modest little ego was offended by my teasing. It's there for all to see in comment #21 and you've been spiralling in self-justifying but ever-decreasing circles ever since. Doing!
As you're clearly threatened by all this snark related nonsense, here's an earlier, entirely snark free poem by John Donne for you to enjoy:-Doing!
122 - Dr Dreadful
Doc, I'm off to fetch the beer...hurry and get the chairs before Chris gets back!
It's like you and Emmy doing your Three Stooges bit, only with more words.
123 - Dr Dreadful
He's carrying on like a pork chop lately. Did you sit on a cucumber recently, Chris, or was it a sharp rock?
Whatever it is, you've certainly got something up yer bum.
He could be in an even worse mood by the end of tonight's footie action.
The England soccer team, in a typically inept showing, went 2-0 down in their final European Championship qualifier, at home, in a match they only need to draw, against Croatia who have already qualified and have nothing riding on the game.
As of a couple of minutes ago England were back to 2-2, but let's not count our chickens just yet...
124 - Dr Dreadful
Final score: England 2, Croatia 3.
Brace yourselves...
125 - Clavos
I have a client in Split. I just sent him a congratulatory email.