Commonplacing

“Everything one needs to know to use the language clearly, correctly, and even stylishly is available in thousands of places, often free and rarely at a price of more than a few dollars. The nation is full of secondhand bookshops where $15 will get a used dictionary, an old copy of The Elements of Style, and a grammar handbook. Learning to write and speak clear, standard English is mostly a question of will. Some subjects require face-to-face instruction from an expert and hands-on practice under expert supervision. But when the subject is one’s own language, ignorance is a choice.”

Art Scheck, “Old Books, Old Stories,” The Chronicle of Higher Education, Nov. 12, 2009.

“There must be no arbitrariness in what is said. This matters above everything. If names are not correct, language is not in accordance with the truth of things. If language is not in accordance with the truth of things, affairs cannot be carried to success.”

Confucius, quoted in Andrew Higgins and Anne E. Kornblut, “Ties that bind, and labels to keep in mind,” Washington Post Nov. 12, 2009, p. A10.

“Inspired by NYT story of reading a book a day for a year, I hereby commit to reading *tens* of tweets daily for a year.”

Dan Cohen in a tweet about “A Quest to Read a Book a Day for 365 Days”. This is tongue in cheek, of course, because Cohen is a historian. Still, it’s hard to find time to read, which explains the lack of quotes here recently.

“The city is the diplomatic equivalent of the bar scene in the first Star Wars. Its array of trading partners and business interests is a gallery of strange bedfellows.”

Jim Krane writing about Dubai in “American Nuclear Reactors for Dubai, Iran’s Best Friend,” Informed Comment, 8 Sept. 2009.

“Major news organizations need to cover hate the way they once did — as a standalone beat.”

Charles Davis, “Unhealthy silence: Best way to beat hatemongering is to report it,” Columbia Daily Tribune, Aug. 18, 2009

“When you lose Walmart for being too crazy-rightwing, you’re just plain too crazy-rightwing.”

Wisco of Griper News regarding Walmart’s dropping its support for Glen Beck’s show on Fox.

“In order to be fair, we will alternate questions between the badly misinformed, the rigidly ideological, and the actively hallucinating.”

Announcement at a town hall meeting on health care; political Cartoon by Wassermann, The Boston Globe, reprinted in The Washington Post, August 15, 2009, p. A17.

“I don’t find Canadians particularly scary, but I guess some of the opponents of reform think that they make a good boogeyman.”

Barrack Obama displaying his wry humor in connection with health care reform, as quoted by Carol E. Lee, “President Obama: Immigration bill coming this year,” Politico, Aug. 10, 2009.

“There’s a lot of populist anger directed towards Washington, but you know who concerned citizens should be most angry at? Their fellow citizens. ‘Inside the beltway’ thinking may be wrong, but at least it’s thinking, which is more than you can say for what’s going on outside the beltway.”

Bill Maher, “New Rule: Smart President ≠ Smart Country,” Huffington Post, 8/7/2009

“At a recent town-hall meeting in South Carolina, a man stood up and told his Congressman to ‘keep your government hands off my Medicare,’ which is kind of like driving cross country to protest highways.”

Bill Maher, “New Rule: Smart President ≠ Smart Country,” Huffington Post, 8/7/2009 [hat tip]