A "Blank Check for Billions"? Huh?
By Erick Posted in Congress — Comments (10) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
It's not secret that the MoveOn guys are dim bulbs. I mean, i've met tulip bulbs smarter than the MoveOn crowd. But, I had no idea they were really this dim.
"Americans elected a Democratic Congress in 2006 to end the war in Iraq. A blank check for billions in war funding moves us in the wrong direction," said Nita Chaudhary, Campaign Director on Iraq for MoveOn. "Majority Leader Reid and the Democratic leadership should hold the line they've drawn: no war funding without a timeline to end the war.”
It seems to me you can have either a blank check or you can have a check for billions. You can't really have a blank check for billions because it would no longer be a blank check if it had a dollar figure on it.
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A "Blank Check for Billions"? Huh? 10 Comments (0 topical, 10 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
Good catch. That's a somewhat tortured metaphor.
On the one hand, she wants to say that the mandate given to Bush by Congress is unlimited and without accountability - the metaphorical "blank check." (Which is true. The administration has all the discretion here, ceded to it by Congress.)
On the other hand, what's actually being given is a set amount of money, accurately said to be in the billions.
Unfortunately "check" denotes an amount of money, which makes the metaphor contradicts itself.
"We're giving Bush billions to do whatever he wants" is the more literal, and more elegant, way to phrase this. The metaphor defeats itself.
______________________________
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
-Thomas Paine: The American Crisis, No. 4, 1777
of an acquaintance that said he positively identified a UFO.
as long as it's signed but the Pay To line is blank.
I'll be happy to fill in the rest.
one trillion dollars, it requires two signatures."
Envisioning when all that is Left is the Right.
"We're fierce, we're feminist, and we're in your face!!"
If it sounds cool, say it. I blame Jesse Jackson...or maybe Dr. Seuss.
we're fat and frumpy.
Envisioning when all that is Left is the Right.
Nita was thinking of blank minds, deeply ingrained, second nature to the shepherds who guide the liberal flock.
"a man's admiration for absolute government is proportinate to the contempt he feels for those around him". Tocqueville