Friday, June 14, 2002

Mickey Kaus points to this Peggy Noonan essay and agrees with her that "Homeland Security" is an awful name. Kaus and Noonan both seem to think there are Nazi overtones to "homeland." I'm not sure I agree about that, but I do agree that "Homeland Security" is awful, and stupid. Kaus is also right that the agency should be called the "Department of Defense" and the current Defense Department should go back to its original name of "War Department." I would go further and push these eminent commentators (and everyone else who would listen) to STOP USING EUPHAMISMS.
They don't fool anyone, you know. You can call it "Public Safety" all you want, but it's still the campus police. I won't even go on with the rest of the stupid list of common and idiotic (and everybody knows they're idiotic) euphamisms. And I don't care who started it, liberals or conservatives ("family values" or "differently able" or "collateral damage"). Just stop. Ok, big time journalists? Call things what they are. People will appreciate you for it.

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