Death knoll for boo-who and boo-whom?

Writers are tortured by grammatical challenges.  Subject-predicate agreement. Dangling participles.    Modal verbs. Collective nouns, and their derivational agreements. Sentence-ending prepositions.  Placement of commas, exclamation points (Inside or outside the closing quotation mark, and I'll let it go at that!)

Rules, Rules Rules.

The latest catalog from The Great Courses is offering a 36-lecture DVD course which (that?) apparently tries to answer its own question: "How did we get from one language to 6,000?" In Lecture 26, it tells us, "you examine the famous Sapir-Whorf hypotheses, which proposes that features of our grammars channel how we think."  I have long enjoyed the rewards of the Great Courses, but this is one I may postpone for awhile.

Hang on.  There is better news from the April issue of The Atlantic.  An essay by Megan Garber removes much of our guilt  about our confusion over who and whom  - a couple of words that have (has?) baffled me for a half-century.  Whom, she writes,  is headed for the graveyard . Good riddance!

Megan is a dedicated researcher who (of course!) has based her conclusion on the impending death of  whom  from a 400-million word Corpus of Historical  American English records.   Using Time magazine as the resource, she noted that the magazine used whom 3,352 times in the 1930s, 1,492 in the 1990s, and a mere 902 in the 2000s.  The way things are going, if she had waited another year or two she might have been able to report zero usage of the dying word  in Time -  or all of the other words that once appeared in a defunct magazine.

So if you have come this far in this exercise, I will take the opportunity to intrude upon the rules in a gender sensitive age that gave us Ms. when a woman's marital status was unknown.

Then we moved on to "he or she" in referring to a man or woman when both sides deserved equal rights to the thought.   But it was awkward  to make that point in such instances as, say, "There were times when he or she wondered whether it was a good investment."

I have a solution:  Replace he or she with (s)he, or s(he).

Time to evolve, folks, which seems to be what so many people are doing these days anyway.

With revisionists, Dubya was the anti-terrorist hero

Now that all of the celebrated dignitaries  were on their best behavior at the feel-good dedication of the George W. Bush library (somehow I don't associate libraries with Dubya), it was left to the revisionist gallery to slam President Obama for security breakdowns that his predecessor would never have experienced.

For example, Rep. Tom Cotton, a right-wing Arkansas Republican, screeched that "in the seven years after 9/11 how many terrorists reached the United States? NONE!"  Trouble is, on that deadly day 2,977 persons died at the hands of terrorists  and when I went back to check record, turns out that it happened on Bush's watch. Oh, I probably should mention that the young terrorists who staged the Marathon attacks were said to have been living in the U.S. for more than 10 years.  That would mean they arrived on our soil during the Bush years.

Then we encountered  columnist Charles Krauthammer's spin, in which he crowed about his man Bush.  "He did not just keep us safe, he created the entire antiterror infrastructure that continues to keep us safe."  Still, he couldn't resist blaming Obama fore letting it all "fall apart".

Folks, this is textbook revisionism.  You can find post 9/11 reports that said warnings of a possible attack from the air were largely ignored. You can access videos in which Bush later said he didn't know the whereabouts of bin Laden and didn't think it was all that important anyway.

But as it's often been said, Why let the details ruin a good story  - or in this case, awfully distorted history.

Next GOP chief: blessed or not a dime's difference?

THURSDAY'S WASH:

Today's book-length profile of Tea  Partyer Tom Zawistowski in the Beacon Journal even overwhelmed the return of Mike Brown to the Cavaliers, who merited no more than a front-page blip directing the readers to the sports page.

The latest threat to the GOP establishment, Zawistowski has decided to offer himself up as a candidate for the chairmanship in a showdown with Matt Borges, whom the party's front office had projected as a replacement for Bob Bennett.  But new concerns about Borges arose among the Party's moral compasses when it was learned that their man owed more than $161,000 in federal taxes.

On the other hand, his challenger, who is from Portage County, said he was urged by local party officials to rescue  the older party from its certain fate.  He has the typical Tea Party profile, including his expressed opposition to the bailout of General Motors.

Enough of that.  I was more interested in the skittish responses to BJ inquiries from two  of the most prominent GOP locals regarding their preference in this historic clash.  County Chairman Alex Arshinkoff said he wants whatever Gov. Kasich and the four state officeholders want, whomever that may be.(Guess!)  And then Lauren LaRose, a Republican central committeewoman and wife of State Sen. Frank LaRose, offered still more perspective on the party's untidy situation.  She thought  the party was "blessed to have two good candidates for chaiman".   But she  thought the better of the blessed  would be Borges as "the best fit to lead our party".  Even with the tax lien.  

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Speaking of Mike Brown, he was replaced by Byron Scott a couple of years ago for not winning a championship with LeBron James on the floor.   So now we have more to add to the Cleveland athletic teams' revolving doors, through which an endless number of coaches and managers come and go.  Mike Brown is now back to replace a fired coach (who replaced him when he was fired.)  Owner Dan Gilbert , however, says Brown, a former Coach of the Year  winner,  should not have been fired in the first place.   Go figure.

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The fallout from some Republican senators who voted against the background check law is getting serious.  Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire has seen her approval rating drop 15 points.  And Sen. Rob Portman is drawing a lot of heat in  the letters I've seen from his hometown area of Cincinnati..  Some of this miscalculation by the Ayottes and Portmans has the taint of  the Iraq invasion apologists like Dick Cheney , who declared the U.S. would  be recognized as saviors in a war that might not last more than a few monthe.  Portman, a positive thinker, says background checks are useless, which is what the NRA says,which is not what 90 pct. of the public says.

On Party of Lincoln dinners and yada yada yada...

Every year, the Summit County Party of Lincoln sets  aside a special fund-raising dinner to honor its icon's birthday. Though quite belatedly, this year's Party of Lincoln event, otherwise known as a Lincoln Day dinner on  Saturday is no different.  As County Party of Lincoln Chairman Alex Arshinkoff declared in the invitation (posted on the Party of Lincoln's web site as "Republican headquarters"), this year's event is a "not-to-be-missed opportunity to celebrate our Republican heritage." Indeed.  He expects that to be accomplished through his two Party of Lincoln guests,  Reps. David Joyce and Jim Renacci.

One of the Party of Lincoln's' heritage dinner highlights is what the chairman has boasted over the years as a watershed poll of Republican Presidential  candidate support. Last year the crowd went overboard for the hapless Rick Santorum, who just happened to be the celebrity speaker for the evening. So there!

Having no presidential candidate that survived the November election, the Party of Lincoln settled on Joyce and Renacci, both of whom find gun control quite distasteful. Which leads me to offer a reasonable alternative to a presidential survey:

How do Alex and all of his guests think Abe Lincoln, felled by a bullet,  would have voted on the background check?  C'mon. Be honest. If possible. 

Brown and Portman: A tale of two senators

As we continue to plumb the depths of fear among Tea Party-NRA-bullied Republicans, you'll find no better contrast than in your Ohio.

Sen.  Sherrod Brown, a liberal Democrat, has cast the Tea Party and the NRA to the winds, twice winning his U.S.Senate seat against conservative Republicans - then incumbent Sen. Mike DeWine and again against Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel, who ran with King Midas, Karl Rove and Wayne LaPierre at this back.

Now we turn to Ohio Republican Sen. Rob Portman, among the most fearful of a Tea Party challenge, who joined the cavemen in the Senate in voting against the background check bill.

Now I ask you , on a scale of one to ten, where do you rank each of these guys on profiles in courage facing the same Ohio voters?

Marathon: Best of times, worst of times

As I spent  hours pinned to the TV coverage of the horrific Marathon event, I  recalled Dickens' "best of times, worst of times'' description of his day.  (Also, "it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness." Also, appropriate!)

On one hand two young men  set out to kill and maim a mass of human beings,  the sort of dehumanized acts that have been  recorded in even greater numbers throughout history.  On the other hand, as the investigation  progressed with an army of law enforcement people risking their lives, it reflected the strength - and wisdom - of a nation with the profound ability to get it right.

A somber President Obama provided the defiant narrative when he said that we would finish the race.

Not everyone will be pleased, particularly those whose  anti-government fervor will  never be staunched.  Unimportant small minds that wanted to convert bloodshed  into their own off-humor;  senators who voted against the background checks supported by law enforcement agencies across the land.  Some of these officers were on the streets of Watertown for several nights trying to insure public safety.

Then, too, there were the politicians with their own personal elitest goals,  who immediately exploited the event to demonstrate the perils of immigration reforms.  No thanks to you in the post-Marathon benedictions,  Sen.  Grassley, as you and some of your colleagues look for a new ideological cave for your thoughts.

On the other hand we salute Adolphus Busch IV, the giant-distillery man who resigned  from the NRA board with a verbal firearm to the NRA:

"I am simply unable to comprehend how assault weapons and large capacity magazines have a role in your vision," he said.  "The NRA I see today has undermined the values upon which it was established.  Your current strategic focus places priority on the needs of gun and ammunition manufacturers, while disregarding the opinion of your 4 million individual  members." 

As for another heinous clue to the worst of times there was Arkansas State Rep. Nate Bell, a Republican, who tweeted: "I wonder how many Boston liberals spent the night cowering  in their homes wishing they had a AR-15 with a  hi-capacity magazine."

Cowering? As in some of  the NRA-bleached folks on Capitol Hill, Nate?

Background vs. backbone: You name it

Now that the defeated background check bill has become an NRA trophy despite 90 pct. public support  and a 54-46 majority in the Senate (without Ohio Republican Sen. Rob Portman's support) , shouldn't we now stop referring to it as a background check and instead call it a "backbone check" for the senators  who voted against it?

The Ohio GOP Version of Cavalleria Rusticana

Oh, those Republicans in Columbus! Here they were sitting around sort of adult-like on  the House Finance Committee to come up with a state budget bill and along came an amendment on something called "gateway sex". Quick to avoid suspicion from the religionists  keeping watch, the Committee voted 20-9 along party  lines to accept the amendment.  The majority, of course, was the team of GOP Rustics who look after everybody's sex life but their own in offering their gateway to the distant past.  .

The amendment, which restricted any mention of  non authorized sex in a school's sex education classes, is even tougher than the one passed last year in Tennessee, where students at least are permitted to hear the word contraception in the classroom. No way would that be possible under the Ohio amendment. But the Tennessee law  does deny hand-holding to students (oh,  for the simpler days when we were all at liberty to play pattycake!)  Will we next  have separate classrooms for boys and girls?

That's not all.  the GOP panel also supported defunding Planned Parenthood.  The other side is outraged by the Rustic cavalry's  obsession with sex, subliminal, simulated or whatever.   Kellie Copeland, the executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice, accused the finance committee  of regressing to the 1950s.   She was being kind.  Actually, it regressed to the Middle Ages, when the church went out of its way to regulate reproductive sex.  Even condemned  masturbation, which is hardly enforceable, don't you think? .

My question, fellow Ohioans:  What the hell does sex education have to do with a state budget?  Nothing at all, I'd say, which is one more clue to how the Rustics are doing  their spring plowing on everything  these days in the Buckeye legislature.

Dolan owners do fine while Cablevision stock sinks

If you're feeling a little pinched on cash these days, you still might not want to sympathize with the owners of Cablevision, the giant Delaware-based  cable TV provider owned by the Dolan family. We all know of Larry Dolan, the owner of the Cleveland Indians.  But there are others in the family who did quite well for themselves last year at the top of the cable system's ownership pyramid while the stock was diving.

The New York Times reported on Sunday that although the company's shares fell to half of their  previous value during an otherwise  strong year for the market, two of the Dolan chieftains personally ended up far beyond the financial curve.

The Times noted that James Dolan, Cablevision's chief executive, "earned $16.9 million last year and  his father, Charles, earned $16.6 million as chairman - an unusually high amount for a chairman who is  not serving  as chief executive".

Furthermore, the Times said, both men received twice as much as they did the previous year while the company's stock plunged to about $16 from  more than $36. (A company source said  that its sale of Madison Square Garden  and AMC Networks  could add maybe $16 dollars to the share price.)

I guess I should add a few other amenities  for the Dolan brothers such as  a full-time chauffeur and car, and access to a  helicopter and jet for personal use.

For all that, you'd think they'd help out brother Larry and buy a team capable of finishing in the first division.

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Considering how short Americans' interest span tends to be, don't you think Marco Rubio is pushing his envelope too far  in his four-year quest for the GOP presidential nomination  in 2016?  He's appearing  more often on TV than the weather reporters   with his advisories on how to guarantee clear skies ahead for the party. Nothing that he says these days is deeply engaging and grows even more boring as he robotically repeats his confusing message on immigration reform  and such.    Talk about overkill:  On Sunday he turned up on seven (!) network news shows, including Univision and Telemundo. If nothing else, thanks to TV's desperation to lamely offer  something politically  new and lively, Rubio may replace John McCain as the Sunday morning news talkers'  darling.

Batchelder: Sadly,the speaker has spoken

No matter how you spin them, these have not been the best of times for Ohio House  Speaker William Batchelder, although you would not know it by the grinning warrior's self-approval rating.  As you may have read, the veteran Repubican pol has taken it upon himself to stonewall  Gov. Kasich's (also a  Republican) proposal to expand medicaid  under Obamacare.

On Sunday, to continue a narrative that has taken hold  since Kasich announced his  budget, the Plain Dealer's two op-ed  political columnists lathered Batchelder's untidy obstruction to the boss in the governor's office.

Wrote Brent Larkin:  "Once again , House Speaker Bill Batchelder played Team Kasich for fools.  In terms of parceling out blame for what happened, Batchelder deserves a ton of it."

Under the headline "Hypocrisy drives House Republicans' opposition to expansion", columnist Thomas Suddes noted that 88 of the 99 House members have taxpayer supported medical insurance, but  "won't let the poor have it, too".
He added:  "Whether Batchelder , who could get Ronald Reagan on the phone, remains 100 pct. in Kasich's corner, is slyly bucking him via proxies, or , as Batchelder can, is out-scheming Machiavelli to vex 'wingers, are open questions."

The wingers, of course, are Tea Party-incarcerated House Republicans who will be up for reelection in 2014.  We suggest Hannibal Lecter is a better model of The Speaker.