Quotable Quotes

[sear]

Again Donnie Jr manages to prove that he's one of the short bus kids

"What I want to know is how did Dr. Jill Biden miss stage five metastatic cancer or is this yet another coverup???"~ Donald Trump Jr. #1,480

According to this source there are five stages of a tumor: zero through four.

So perhaps Junior is struggling with the complexities of single digit arithmetic. - OR -

Perhaps the lesser Trump refers to the sixth stage, which by medical standard is "stage five", thermal ambience. Or as Rush Limbaugh phrased it, "... has assumed room temperature."
I miss you Rush. But if I ever see you crossing the street, I'll gun it anyway, even if only for nostalgic comfort.

 

[Shiftless2]

So perhaps Junior is struggling with the complexities of single digit arithmetic ....

Don't think so - figure he just doesn't know what the title "Doctor" means .....

 

[sear]

"Don't think so - figure he just doesn't know what the title "Doctor" means ....." S2 #1,482

DTj isn't alone.

Many words in common use in the Americas can be traced to languages of aboriginal inhabitants.

The word "vegetarian" is from the Oglala Sioux, meaning "bad hunter".

Our word "doctor" is from Ojibwa, meaning "rub some dirt on it". BUT !

DTj is on to something. The slippery Democrats called Dr. Biden "the First Lady". But even the president admitted she was the second.

 

[Shiftless2]

Actually the word "doctor" originates from the Latin word "docere," meaning "to teach." Initially, in the Middle Ages, "doctor" was used to describe scholars and teachers, particularly those with advanced degrees and the ability to instruct others. Subsequently the title was co-opted by MD's among others. So the question that should be asked is "Are MD's Doctors?"

 

[sear]

Actually the word "doctor" originates from the Latin word "docere," meaning "to teach." Initially, in the Middle Ages, "doctor" was used to describe scholars and teachers, particularly those with advanced degrees and the ability to instruct others. Subsequently the title was co-opted by MD's among others. So the question that should be asked is "Are MD's Doctors?"

OK
So the absurdly false information in #1,483 lacked the intended comedic twist.
In that case: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vegetarian

"Are MD's Doctors?" #1,484 [1]

Thanks for the MD / PhD rivalry S2. I'd wondered when we'd get around to that.

What’s in a name? Well, in some cases, a name will contain an error, a misunderstanding, or a mislabeling. Historians have long noted that the Holy Roman Empire was not holy, nor Roman, nor an empire. The Battle of Bunker Hill was actually fought on Breed’s Hill. And the Pennsylvania Dutch are in fact of German ancestry. For such cases, we have the term misnomer, which can refer both to the use of an incorrect or inappropriate designation (as in “it’s a misnomer to call an orca a ‘killer whale’”) or to the designation itself. Regardless, there’s no mistaking the source of misnomer: it comes from the Anglo-French verb mesnomer (“to misname”) and ultimately has its roots in nomen, the Latin word for “name.”
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/misnomer

It is a fundamental error to expect modern English words to bear meanings, definitions identical to their ancient Latin origins.
The Philosophy 101 example, such words as "objective" (literally from ancient Latin: thrown upon), and "subjective" (from ancient Latin, thrown under).

Ancient Latin is considered a "dead" language. There is no ancient Latin term for an MP3 Player.
Modern English is recognized as a living language *. When English lacks a specific word it adopts it from another language, "reservoir" an example from French.

BUT !
English is a complicated language, leaving many of those that speak it to be life-long students of it, and scholars of English to be rare.

* https://www.merriam-webster.com/wordplay/new-words-in-the-dictionary

[1] There are MDs in 2025 that know more than those that met the original definition of "doctor" before Watson or Crick, or Salk or Pasteur were born. The context by which we measure ability "to teach" is dynamic, fluid. Kudos to those that care enough about English to analyze it, & help maintain its purity.

 

[Shiftless2]

The first time I heard the statement "Are MD's really doctors" was long after I'd finished grad school. It was a half page article in one of the major US papers (either the NYT or WSJ - long time ago so I don't remember which).

And until recently I've never given the matter a great deal of thought - since I left academia I don't use the title that often. But once Biden was elected we started hearing people going on about her "fake title". I usually just tell them to go down to their nearest university, wander thru the halls, and read the names on the doors. Then point out that unless it's a med school it's a given that very few, if any, of the individuals whose doors are labelled "Dr." are MD's.

That said, in a prior life my secretary always answered my phone as "Dr. Shift's office" and I did have one acquaintance who was an MD and was bothered by it. She would always make some sarcastic comment about Dr ... when she called me.

 

[Shiftless2]

"The days of 'woke' are over... The days of that crap are over in this country. We're going to have law and order." ~ Trump

"I think wokeness and DEI and cancel culture is starting to exit the building, and we can thank President Trump for leading that charge once again. I call him the dragon slayer in that regard, because he just came and slit the throat of DEI and wokeness." ~ Kid Rock

That said:

 

[sear]

"The first time I heard the statement "Are MD's really doctors" was long after I'd finished grad school. It was a half page article in one of the major US papers (either the NYT or WSJ - long time ago so I don't remember which). S2 #1,486

Newspapers generally include the same number of pages each publication. When they have no sensational material: THE MARTIANS HAVE LANDED! THEY JUST KILLED A GUY !
they fill the journalistic void with "Are MD's really doctors", pre-written articles with shelf-life measured in decades, or centuries.

"That said, in a prior life my secretary always answered my phone as "Dr. Shift's office" and I did have one acquaintance who was an MD and was bothered by it. She would always make some sarcastic comment about Dr ... when she called me." S2

Wilson explained that it's our DNA that's issuing the marching orders, individuals do what's necessary to proliferate their own genes.
A layman might then ask, if so, why do bees sting, if to sting is suicidal.
Wilson's answer, bees are clones, descended from a single queen. When a bee stings & dies, it's to promote the survival of the hive, and the queen's (& thus his own) genome.

This may help explain rivalry, though sibling rivalry, even among identical twins may leave a question mark. [?]

Not sure. BUT
with my own credential, a questionably obtained high school diploma I have no toe in the rivalry doorway. HOWEVER
even if not intended, the scenario Dr. Shift describes above is not merely a compliment. It is indisputably sincere, as a fawning compliment may indicate ulterior motive.

When developing computer chips one of the engineers PhD hit an obstacle and muttered, I should have gotten an MD. I replied, - so you could make people take their pants off ? -
I'd hoped that would cheer him up a little.

 

[sear]

"The days of 'woke' are over... The days of that crap are over in this country. We're going to have law and order." ~ Trump

... said the only president in U.S. history to wage bloody insurrection against his own government.

"I think wokeness and DEI and cancel culture is starting to exit the building, and we can thank President Trump for leading that charge once again. I call him the dragon slayer in that regard, because he just came and slit the throat of DEI and wokeness." ~ Kid Rock

- odd -
My impression right or wrong is that entertainers tend to embrace the rainbow, because their constituency is the public, and to segment the public is to diminish their own fan-base, and thus their own success.

"Kid Rock and Ted Nugent make music for people who know precisely how much Sudafed they can get for a stolen catalytic converter." $1,488

Because catalytic converter thieves are allergic?
to legitimate employment?

 

[Shiftless2]

Sudafed contains pseudoephedrine which is used in the manufacture of crystal meth.

 

[sear]

"Sudafed contains pseudoephedrine which is used in the manufacture of crystal meth." S2 #1,490

- It's not a "War Against Drugs", it's a martial usurpation of Liberty, a War against the People. -

 

[Shiftless2]

139K views · 2.9K reactions | Oh_ we know_ Marge ⁉️ | MeidasTouch Network

Oh_ we know_ Marge ⁉️.

www.facebook.com

 

[Shiftless2]

“Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect.” — Frank Wilhoit

The way MAGA conceives of due process, free speech, ... is really born out of this privileged thinking that rights and freedom are only a guarantee to them and those they approve, and NOBODY else!

 

[sear]

“Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect.” — Frank Wilhoit

You are a buffoon Frank. Under the guise of lambasting the pseudo-cons you collude with them.

Mr. Wilhoit: pseudo-cons seek / exploit the prestige, the nobility, the credibility of true conservatives by claiming to be. They are not.
And you ennobling them by taking their bait exposes you as gullible, dim-witted, uninformed / disinformed. If you can't say something true, shut up.

"...the magnificently misnamed "neo-conservatives", are the most radical people in this town [Washington DC]" George Will /ABC-TV This Week July 16, 2006

The way MAGA conceives of due process, free speech, ... is really born out of this privileged thinking that rights and freedom are only a guarantee to them and those they approve, and NOBODY else!

There's a big difference between free speech, and cheap talk.

"No right is absolute.
Conversely, no government authority is absolute." lawyer, law Professor and former ACLU head Nadine Strossen

 

[sear]

“God has, in fact, written two books, not just one. Of course, we are all familiar with the first book he wrote, namely Scripture. But he has written a second book called creation.” Sir Francis Bacon, sometimes called the father of the scientific method

Thanks Frank.
Based on that, for those that wish to consult with the almighty, which should the wise agnostic choose?
- An artifact? A bound volume of books listing print information inside the cover? Or
- a living museum of Creation conspicuously without significant artificial component?

Those that wish to get closer to God can ride a bicycle, stroll through the forest, swim in a lake or river, enjoy fresh air.

 

[Shiftless2]

Those that wish to get closer to God can ride a bicycle, stroll through the forest, swim in a lake or river, enjoy fresh air.

 

[sear]

"You can't just say there is a god because the world is beautiful. You have to account for bone cancer in children." Fry #1,496

Yes. It's but one of countless examples of bias confirmation common within the religion bidness.
That's not impiety against God. To the contrary, it's reverence for the truth, and disdain for those that falsely claim to promote the truth for weekly $donations into their collection plate.

sen·tient (sĕnshənt, -shē-ənt, -tē-ənt)
adj.
1. Having sense perception; conscious: "The living knew themselves just sentient puppets on God's stage" (T.E. Lawrence).
2. Experiencing sensation or feeling.
[Latin sentiēns, sentient-, present participle of sentīre, to feel; see sent- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.

Morgan Freeman rocks.
A boating man, I gather.

 

[Shiftless2]

 

[Shiftless2]

"With this bill everybody's going to have a lot to go home and brag about." ~ Speaker Mike Johnson, on tax bill passed by House on Thursday

 

[sear]

#1,498

Progeria? Their feet don't reach the floor.

"With this bill everybody's going to have a lot to go home and brag about." ~ Speaker Mike Johnson, on tax bill passed by House on Thursday #1,499

"everybody"
Republicans and Democrats alike.
- Republicans for providing overwhelming support for Trump's plutocracy.
- Democrats for opposing it.

The sheeple have demonstrated underwhelming resolve regarding principled governance and the conservative preservation of U.S. traditions. BUT !
If they / we snap out of it in time for the mid-terms, we can expect a blood bath for Republicans.

TBD would the Democrats then be able to salvage constructive governance from the smoldering rubble left by the MAGAs? Quite a challenge!