The Median Sib

RT and I were watching the news last week, and there was an interview with Harold Ford.  Ford was reacting to something someone had said about his religious faith.  His remarks were peppered with the phrase “My Jesus.”  “I love my Jesus.”  “Don’t question my Jesus.”  You get the idea.  RT and I both were laughing.

Okay, I acknowledge that I don’t know what’s in the man’s heart, and I don’t know him personally.  However, I DO know that it was just about the most fake sounding thing I’ve ever heard.  Maybe he was sincere.  I’m certain he was sincere about convincing people that he has a deeply held faith and appearing shocked, I tell you, SHOCKED that anyone might question him about it.  But REALLY! - saying things like “Don’t question me about my Jesus” and other such statements sounded ridiculous in the context of a television interview.  However, he does silly stuff to get attention.

A few weeks ago he crashed a news conference that Corker had scheduled.  That was the epitomy of adolescent attention-seeking.  When the election results are known Tuesday evening, and if Ford loses, I anticipate some type of temper tantrum from him.  That would fit.

And really, I rather dread hearing the Democrats’ reaction to any race they lose.  Rather than being good sports and admitting that their guy received fewer votes, there will be rants about unfair this and unfair that and stolen elections. They’ll be outraged and rave and whine for ages.  What a bunch of babies. 

And Ford provides a wonderful example of a liberal saying anything to get a vote.  I wonder if he has truly convinced anyone that he is a moderate?

I’ve already voted - for Bob Corker.  However, if I’d not voted and had any leaning towards Ford, the “my Jesus” rant would have been the deal breaker for me.  Corker and Ford both have had negative ads about the other.  At least Corker isn’t going around trying to be something he isn’t. 

Others posting about the election:  Basil’s Blog, Black Five, Michelle Malkin, MVRWC, Peace Moonbeam, Hot Air, Blue Star Chronicles

The Cigar Intelligence Agency has a parable for election day. Make sure you exercise your right to vote - regardless of your party affiliation. However, first read THIS POST. Here’s the first part:

Heaven vs. Hell: A Parable

While walking down the street one day a US senator is tragically hit by a truck and dies.

His soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter at the entrance.

“Welcome to heaven,” says St. Peter. “Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem. We seldom see a high official around these parts, you see, so we’re not sure what to do with you.”

“No problem, just let me in,” says the man.

“Well, I’d like to, but I have orders from higher up. What we’ll do is have you spend one day in hell and one in heaven. Then you can choose where to spend eternity.”

“Really, I’ve made up my mind. I want to be in heaven,” says the senator.

“I’m sorry, but we have our rules.”

And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell. The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of a green golf course. In the distance is a clubhouse and standing in front of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him.

Everyone is very happy and in evening dress. They run to greet him, shake his hand, and reminisce about the good times they had while getting rich at the expense of the people.

They play a friendly game of golf and then dine on lobster, caviar and champagne.

Also present is the devil, who really is a very friendly guy who has a good time dancing and telling jokes. They are having such a good time that before he realizes it, it is time to go.

Everyone gives him a hearty farewell and waves while the elevator rises…

The elevator goes up, up, up and the door reopens on heaven where St. Peter is waiting for him.

“Now it’s time to visit heaven.”

Continued here.

Tiara-Tip to Lord Nazh’s Daily Ramble.

As my regular readers know, my ex-husband, RT, and I recently remarried after almost 9 years of being divorced.  It wasn’t an easy process to get to the point where we felt confident that remarrying would work.  During those nine divorced years we both had other serious relationships, but eventually we made our way back to each other.  Through many and varied tribulations, we rekindled our love, and we’re very happy together now.

I’m working on a piece about ex-spouses who remarry.  If you or someone you know is in that situation and you don’t mind telling me your story or answering a few questions, please let me know. 

I think it’s a fascinating topic - how people who are SO alienated that they divorce each other eventually work their way back to each other. 

A post I wrote on Saturday contained the following statement:

Yesterday I wrote about reading a book entitled Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy.

A reader by the name of “Realist” left the following comment:

“was reading a book TITLED…” not entitled. Two different words.

Really? I’ve seen the word “entitled” used as I used it throughout my life. Typically, I’m careful about the words I use. Occasionally typos happen, and I always go back and correct them when I see them. It aggravates me to see careless grammar, spelling and word choice in any writing. However, I never questioned my use of “entitled” in that context.

Being a perfectionist, as soon as I read Realist’s comment, I began searching for clarification on the proper use of the word “entitled. My first line of investigation was to email my two older “English major” sisters. A quick reply from one reminded me of the comment. Here’s her entire response:

The correct word is titled.

Thanks, but . . . no explanation or discussion. Just that 5-word statement. I wanted an explanation or SOMETHING to back up why “titled” is the correct word and why “entitled” is not. So I went to my Cotillion sisters who provided a variety of opinions and some online resources.

Dictionary.com has the following:

en·ti·tle (n-ttl) Pronunciation Key
tr.v. en·ti·tled, en·ti·tling, en·ti·tles

1. To give a name or title to.
2. To furnish with a right or claim to something: The coupon entitles the bearer to a 25 percent savings. Every citizen is entitled to equal protection under the law.

That didn’t help much with my particular question, but I kept looking. I wanted examples - proof. Below that definition, they had the following from WordNet.

adj 1: qualified for by right according to law; “we are all entitled to equal protection under the law” 2: given a title or identifying name; “the book entitled `A Tale of Two Cities’ [emphasis mine]

Cha-CHING! Answer.com also confirmed the use of “entitled” as I had used it.

verb

1. To give a name or title to: baptize, call, christen, denominate, designate, dub, name, style, term, title. See specific/general, words.
2. To give authority to: accredit, authorize, commission, empower, enable, license, qualify. See allow/prevent.

The verb entitle has 3 meanings:

Meaning #1:give the right to
Meaning #2: give a title to
Synonym: title [emphasis mine again]
Meaning #3: give a title to someone; make someone a member of the nobility
Synonyms: ennoble, gentle

Notice that “title” is listed as a synonym. The conclusion: Apparently, I can write “I read a book entitled Blah-Blah-Blah” and be completely correct in my use of the word “entitled.” SO THERE!

Tiara-Tip to Beth at MVRWC for taking the time to help me research this vastly unimportant word choice.