Your column is a pack of damn lies, a reader wrote to William Safire about a political piece he did in the New York Times. Brushing aside the stern criticism, Safire immediately debated whether it should be damn, the way it sounds, or damned, as the past participle of the verb, to damn. The ed on some words is simply slipping away, he points out. We're seeing more barbecue chicken, whip cream and corn beef. His conclusion: Ears are sloppy and eyes are precise; accordingly, speech can be loose but writing should be tight.
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More than illness or death, the American journalist fears standing alone against the whim of his owners or the prejudices of his audience. Deprive William Safire of the insignia of the New York Times, and he would have a hard time selling his truths to a weekly broadsheet in suburban Duluth.
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Have a definite opinion.
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To know your place is a good idea in politics. That is not to say stay in your place or hang on to your place, because ambition or boredom may dictate upward or downward mobility, but a sense of place -- a feel for one's own position in the control room -- is useful in gauging what you should try to do.
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One difference between French appeasement and American appeasement is that France pays ransom in cash and gets its hostages back while the United States pays ransom in arms and gets additional hostages taken.
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I want my questions answered by an alert and experienced politician, prepared to be grilled and quoted-not my hand held by an old smoothie.
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Decide on some imperfect Somebody and you will win, because the truest truism in politics is You can't beat Somebody with Nobody.
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I think we have a need to know what we do not need to know.
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The first ladyship is the only federal office in which the holder can neither be fired nor impeached.
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No one flower can ever symbolize this nation. America is a bouquet.
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To 'know your place' is a good idea in politics. That is not to say 'stay in your place' or 'hang on to your place,' because ambition or bored...
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The right to do something does not mean that doing it is right.
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Knowing how things work is the basis for appreciation, and is thus a source of civilized delight.
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Is sloppiness in speech caused by ignorance or apathy I don't know and I don't care.
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What we don't need to know for achievement, we need to know for our pleasure. Knowing how things work is the basis for appreciation, and is thus a source of civilized delight.
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Is sloppiness in speech caused by ignorance or apathy? I don't know and I don't care.
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