Reading the NY Times Online Edition Helps Me Look Educated

One of the reasons I like reading the New York Times online edition is the reaction I get when I double-click on a word.

For instance, today's NY Times online contains a piece about how the Bush administration is continuing the legacy of every administration since the 1977 amendment to the Clean Air Act by ignoring the idea of protecting and improving air quality in our National Parks. In fact, our illustrious President is going that extra yard and weakening protections; his toadies in EPA are nearing approval of regulations that would make it easier to build coal-fired plants near parks and wilderness areas without installing pollution controls.

In the sentence ending "his enthusiasm for cleaner air in the parks is not nearly as strong as his fealty to the utilities" I double-click on the word fealty, and it brings up a pop-up window with the following information:

Dictionary

fe·al·ty (fē'əl-tē) pronunciation
n., pl. -ties.

1.
1. The fidelity owed by a vassal to his feudal lord.
2. The oath of such fidelity.
2. Faithfulness; allegiance. See synonyms at fidelity.

[Middle English fealtye, from Old French fealte, from Latin fidēlitās, faithfulness, from fidēlis, faithful, from fidēs, faith.]

If enough of the worlds' English speaking youth read the NY Times and did this periodically, maybe there would be hope for the language, after all.

Pretty Words and Pictures Might Lead To A More Perfect Union

The title is linked to the full text of Barack Obama's recent speech on Ariana Huffington's site. The video is also there, and below.

I will be voting for whatever Democrat gets the nomination. More and more I am leaning a particular way.




What gets me about this campaign is the way both campaign's have been so swift to fire anyone who speaks an offensive truth. I think the speech makes a big step towards saying, or at least hinting, that maybe throwing the baby out with the bathwater isn't really the smartest move we have.

In all the sound clips that I have seen from Obama's preacher, repeated over and over - kind of like Howard Dean's Primal Scream was - I can' help but notice, none of what he said was demonstrably false.

Shame on us for fearing legitimate rage. Bless his heart for speaking to it. Both of them. This speech was powerful, timely, and overdue.

Read it. Listen to it. Live it.