tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post5729113707874933731..comments2024-03-06T03:15:58.539-05:00Comments on <b>THE NEW REFORM CLUB</b>: A Letter to Professor John McWhorterHunter Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14961831404331998743noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post-89136790107462283602019-01-16T18:19:48.528-05:002019-01-16T18:19:48.528-05:00Those who make their living with words tend to ove...Those who make their living with words tend to overvalue them.Tom Van Dykehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07121072404143877596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post-68545921325351840382019-01-15T02:05:00.316-05:002019-01-15T02:05:00.316-05:00As an English major from the distant past, I'd...As an English major from the distant past, I'd like to point out that clear writing, correct spelling, and proper grammar only succeeds if the thoughts are equally clear. JMW Turnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09701389717024210449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post-85745428128463524062019-01-14T22:01:40.879-05:002019-01-14T22:01:40.879-05:00If facility with the English language is now a pri...If facility with the English language is now a prime criterion for high office, it's a good thing Barack Obama reached the Presidency when he did. He didn't actually write very much compared to Trump, especially on social media platforms, but his sundry mis-<i>speakings</i> were legion. Probably the creepiest of these was his repeated pronunciation of the word "corpsman" as "corpse-man" on one memorable occasion. No, Mr. President, military medics are <i>not</i> The Walking Dead. Then there was the "54 states" thing, his reference to Austrians speaking "Austrian" - the list could go on and on.<br /><br />In addition to being halting and inarticulate when deprived of a teleprompter and a prepared text, Obama actually <i>was</i> a bad President - a <i>very</i> bad President. Like Jimmy Carter before him, he learned nothing <i>in</i> office and left messes with which the nation will still likely be dealing decades after his leaving office. Trump seems to - <i>gasp</i> - actually be trying, and sometimes succeeding, in fixing things that are genuinely broken.Dick Eaglesonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post-19813392421342114582019-01-14T16:29:34.117-05:002019-01-14T16:29:34.117-05:00"He simply cannot accept—cannot grasp—that in..."He simply cannot accept—cannot grasp—that international diplomacy could possibly require more subtlety than a real-estate transaction."<br /><br />I love this claim. The author probably believes this, which is the problem. The type of real estate transactions Trump has done are far more complex and subtle than this pretender could possibly understand because the author does not want to understand. To understand the grasp Trump has on international relations and the use of power means the author would have to admit how seriously wrong he is about many things, something that egotist could not possibly do.Kenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03628683615904883486noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post-71040515533218310572019-01-14T12:38:01.471-05:002019-01-14T12:38:01.471-05:00I generally like McWhorter, too, have so for going...I generally like McWhorter, too, have so for going on two decades. But I've noticed a pattern among otherwise sane people regarding Trump. <i>Reason</i> magazine is the prime example. Here we have the most mainstream libertarian publication bashing Trump on a daily basis when in fact Trump is arguably the most libertarian POTUS since Silent Cal. Same deal with McWhorter. I can only guess that it's so unfashionable in his social circles to even hint that Trump is having some success so he's reduced to ankle biting about Trump's grammar.<br /><br />Sad!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post-56125754022536732022019-01-14T10:12:10.124-05:002019-01-14T10:12:10.124-05:00David - I'm assuming that's a joke that I ...David - I'm assuming that's a joke that I just don't get. If not, when I bing search 'Truman land war asia' the first page has many links to articles with Korea in the blurb.Elisinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post-10676048826720791672019-01-14T10:04:03.228-05:002019-01-14T10:04:03.228-05:00Truman got us into Vietnam? Did not know this.Truman got us into Vietnam? Did not know this.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14217685051196264841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post-67501781852564551382019-01-14T09:55:07.138-05:002019-01-14T09:55:07.138-05:00Has not history shown that almost all sticking poi...Has not history shown that almost all sticking points in international diplomacy related to "REAL ESTATE"narayananhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03770598590402835653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post-50035076815799433102019-01-14T09:18:08.065-05:002019-01-14T09:18:08.065-05:00Pam: We all have to use spell check. SethPam: We all have to use spell check. SethSeth Barrett Tillmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15597182448693278803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post-82456345499307198692019-01-14T08:34:21.251-05:002019-01-14T08:34:21.251-05:00McWorter: "He simply cannot accept—cannot gr...McWorter: "He simply cannot accept—cannot grasp—that international diplomacy could possibly require more subtlety than a real-estate transaction."<br /><br />Could Professor McWorter equally acknowledge for the sake of argument the possibility that international diplomacy may not require more subtlety than a real estate transaction? And by the way, I'm a lawyer and I've never seen the words "real estate" hyphenated. What does that mean in terms of the professor's ability to appreciate the nuances of international diplomacy? <br /><br />And so, what role does arrogance and hubris play here, because how many million dollar anything has this professor negotiated? Did he negotiate his own real estate purchases, his own employment contract, any contract for anything? Did he write a book about negotiating? Has he had success after success at negotiating? Please don't condescend to me by arguing that grammer and pretty sentence structure should be my compass to pick my president. I'll take courage, resolve, confidence, belief in the Constitutional Republic and the rule of law, and a undying, unflappable view that our country is magnificent in its creation and inception. How about that? <br />Pamnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post-7405844285001114532019-01-14T08:28:57.303-05:002019-01-14T08:28:57.303-05:00I like McWhorter and am a regular listener to his ...I like McWhorter and am a regular listener to his podcast. You are right that he does often say interesting and even courageous things (his take-down of Tai Nahesi-Coates is a must-read). But he's not always interesting and courageous. This essay reveals a failing many academics suffer from--the assumption that sloppy writing or speaking reveals sloppy thinking.<br /><br />This is itself sloppy thinking--that ineloquence is evidence against an idea. <br /><br />This is especially an issue with Trump as he often deliberately appears sloppy in order to trigger people like McWhorter. For instance, I have little doubt that Trump spelled forest with 2 Rs to remind people of Forrest Gump to make people think of low IQs when they think of the CA government.tim maguirehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07717622436074043099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post-61719034033485885902019-01-14T08:13:59.976-05:002019-01-14T08:13:59.976-05:00Could not agree more, Seth. Funny how Trump is us...Could not agree more, Seth. Funny how Trump is using our significant economic leverage to help 'encourage' the Norks, and more importantly, the rest of that specific region to police themselves. Same in the Middle East. More troops and US treasure downrange? Not...<br /><br />Thanks for allowing comments and have a great day!Danimal28https://www.blogger.com/profile/09654013182815324696noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post-24802059056237093182019-01-14T08:11:52.106-05:002019-01-14T08:11:52.106-05:00I concur with your observation on the relative imp...I concur with your observation on the relative importance of skills and the connection of said skills to performance.<br /><br />I'd add one more question -- why can't diplomacy be like a real estate transaction? Two sides come together and after arriving at an agreement, come away better off in their estimates of value. There's enough detail in the agreement to arrive at understanding and certain enforcement mechanisms to ensure compliance.<br /><br />Second -- as to spelling and grammar. I was in the Army for almost 30 years. When I came in in the early 70s, there was a great emphasis on perfection in writing. Later in my career the service noted that for operational units, this emphasis slowed information flow. The Army writing standard was changed to something like "generally free of grammar and spelling errors and easily understandable at the first reading." Or something like that, I can't recall the actual quote.<br />Scotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03485995439245156372noreply@blogger.com