Artful Dodger: My wife would get mad at me and say, "You're doing that on purpose!"

Wife: "Did you fart?!"

Husband: "If you have to ask, it couldn't have been from me."

Iamon lyme: That's not allowed?

Artful Dodger: Preemptive farting doesn't work for me.. I just end up farting twice.

Iamon lyme: I hear that if you laugh too hard you fart. So I always fart first and then laugh away.

Artful Dodger: That's okay. A little laughter is good for the soul... too much laughter not so much.

The Col: I thought you'd say "half-wit" Dodger

Iamon lyme: Sorry, it's more than a chapter ;)

It don't matter who you are, ya can't beat 100% success

A political press agent or publicist employed to promote a favourable interpretation of events to journalists.


This is of American origin and came about during the 1980s, when the need for 'sound bites' became pressing enough to require a new class of publicist to provide them. The earliest printed references are from that period, For example, this from The New York Times, October 1984:

"A dozen men in good suits and women in silk dresses will circulate smoothly among the reporters, spouting confident opinions. They won't be just press agents trying to impart a favorable spin to a routine release. They'll be the Spin Doctors, senior advisers to the candidates."

So, why 'spin'? For the derivation of that we need to go back to yarn. We know that sailors and other storytellers have a reputation for spinning yarns. Given a phrase in the language like 'spin a yarn', we might expect to assume that a yarn was a tall tale and that the tellers spun it out. That's not quite right though. Until the phrase was coined, yarn was just thread. The phrase was coined as an entity, just meaning 'tell a tale'. That came about in the early 19th century and was first written down in James Hardy Vaux's A new and comprehensive vocabulary of the flash language, in 1812:

"Yarning or spinning a yarn, signifying to relate their various adventures, exploits, and escapes to each other."

So, spin became associated with telling a story. It began to be used in a political and promotional context in the late 1980s; for example, in the Guardian Weekly, January 1978:

"The CIA can be an excellent source [of information], though, like every other, its offerings must be weighed for factuality and spin."

From there it is a small step for the people employed to weave reports of factual events into palatable stories to be called 'spin doctors'.

Iamon lyme: His full name is Artful "half page" Dodger

Artful Dodger: "Anyone want to read more of Obama's gaffes? He's got plenty to choose from."

I do, as long as it doesn't take up half the page. Can that be done?

The Col: I doubt that that's true. Although Romney isn't my first choice as he's too much of a centrist. Maybe even a bit left of center. But a vote for Romney will simply be a vote against Obama (who is destroying the US economy).

Silvery Moon: If Romney is elected you're basically getting Bush's economic policies anyway, actually it would be Bush on steroids, economically speaking.The same policies that brought about the economic crash of 2008 revisited

Anyone want to read more of Obama's gaffes? He's got plenty to choose from.

Silvery Moon: Can't be done but Clinton was the only one that didn't produce a deficit. Bush screwed that up in a big way and Obama even more. Fact is, Obama is in a league all his own when it comes to fiscal irresponsibility.

How about Bush coming back as prez?? or Clitton?

Can that be done??

Obama: "The [healthcare] reforms we seek, will bring greater competition, choice, savings, and inefficiencies to our health care system. "

Obama: "Let me be perfectly clear. Israel is s strong friend of Israel's.

Obama: "The time has changed for come."

http://youtu.be/t4-AKcH3eC8

the eloquent obama

I can keep pointing out Obama's gaffes all day long. BTW, when Obama visited the queen he screwed up royally (pun intended). So let me say to you liberals who are thinking you are so clever pointing out Mitt's mistakes. With those kinds of smarts you'd have trouble escaping from a wet paper bag. Obama is the king of gaffes. Even with his beloved teleprompter he screws up.

WaPo Gives Obama 'Three Pinocchios' for Uncle Liberated Auschwitz Gaffe | NewsBusters.org http://shar.es/vmmYP You mean Obama can't even remember the details from his own family?

The Col: .... Sending him to Alpha Proxima then would be a guaranteed win for the Republican party!!

WASHINGTON—According to a newly released USA Today/Gallup poll, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's favorability has surged to 64 percent since he left the country Wednesday for a three-nation overseas trip. "Once Gov. Romney was no longer within the borders of the United States and was instead many thousands of miles away from American voters, his popularity immediately spiked across almost all demographics," said political analyst Mark Halperin, noting that the electorate has been invigorated by Romney's complete absence from campaign events, rallies, and town hall meetings. "It seems that the farther away Romney travels, the more people like him. By the time his plane touches down in Israel, I wouldn't be surprised if his favorability rating isn't somewhere in the high 70s." Experts were quick to note the number remains well below Romney’s historical high of 89 percent, reached in February 2008 when the former Massachusetts governor announced his withdrawal from that year's presidential race

The Col: I see Carl Lewis has the view... "Every Olympics is ready, I don't care whatever he [Romney] said. I swear, sometimes I think some Americans shouldn't leave the country. Are you kidding me, stay home if you don't know what to say."

rod03801: The liberals can't comment on Obama's stellar record and accomplishments. He's empty in that department. So what better to do than point out Mitt's few errors while ignoring Obama's many. It's so transparent.

(V): In his interview with Brian Williams the other day , He apparently doesn't know any of his wife's trainers' names, isn't going to the Olympics, and DOESN'T EVEN KNOW WHEN OR WHAT his OWN WIFE'S EVENTS ARE.

Artful Dodger: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9hZpJp7U3Y

Mitt was talking about how he 'ran' an olympics has rubbed many the wrong way. Including the PM and Mayor of London...

As the Daily Mail reports..."The Republican's most damaging blunder came when he questioned whether his hosts would be able to make a success of the Games, saying: 'It's hard to know just how well it will turn out.'"

This remark later rebounded on him, when Prime Minister David Cameron said: 'We are holding an Olympic Games in one of the busiest, most active, bustling cities anywhere in the world. Of course it’s easier if you hold an Olympic games in the middle of nowhere.""

The Col: Lets just say... .... ... He's got great teeth.

Yep.

The conservative Telegraph said, in a commentary:

“Mitt Romney is perhaps the only politician who could start a trip that was supposed to be a charm offensive by being utterly devoid of charm and mildly offensive.”

The Col: Yeah but does he think we have 57 states in the US?

(V): I was shocked watching the report on all the errors he committed so far.The press is all over him.Mentioning his meeting with MI6 was considered a gaffe of epic proportions.Some say he has come across even more amateurish than Palin.Watching him gives the impression of a man not comfortable in his own skin.

Ol' Mitt is certainly winning friends over here.... NOT!!

Ife he's gonna be ol presiden'te he'd better learn to remember the names of those he's meeting. Being called "Mr Leader" doesn't exactly go down well.

MissDelish: Lightweight doesn't begin to describe me when it comes to drinking. Once I had medication for an injury and the dose was too high and I fell asleep at work. I woke up slurring my speech and they sent me to the ER. They had to cut the pill into 1/4's to get it small enough so it still killed the pain but didn't put me in a drunken stupor.

♥♫βaβyĢіґŁŁє♫♥: I'm a Conservative ;)

Artful Dodger: haha@one too many :)

Artful Dodger: I thought you were a republican?

One thing for sure. When I go vote, I'm going to immediately find Obama's name on the ballot and make sure I know which hole to punch out.

The Col: I just drink a beer. <---me if I drink one two many. One too many is two.

Meanwhile, deep within the bowels of the Obama campaign headquarters...

The Col: I'm sure the CIA could help him to find one!

Iamon lyme: It sounds like you're being ripped off, find a new supplier

Artful Dodger: drugs can be stimulating for a brief moment too.

Iamon lyme: Saw a chart yesterday where there was a slight recovery of US economy and then it took a nose dive (after another stimulus). Like Obama was trying to make things work.

Examples of Tautology

All crows are either black, or they are not black.
The dress cost me $100 dollars.
In my opinion, I think that...
So the organization expects joint cooperation from its members.
This is a short summary of...
They are distributing free gifts!
One after the other in succession...
What is your PIN number (the acronym stands for Personal Identification Number).
ATM machine (the acronym stands for Automated Teller Machine).
Very unique.
To reiterate again.
Please R.S.V.P. (that acronym stands for the French Respondez, s'il vous plait, or, Respond, please).
First priority.
Close proximity.
They decided to return again for a second time to that old ancient house.
3 am. in the morning.
Necessary requirement.
The reason is because.
And etc. (Et cetera is latin for and so on, so now you've got 'and and so on').
CD-ROM disc (The disc part is taken care of with the CD - compact disc.).
Adequate enough.
Today's modern technology.
It is new innovation.
Lonely isolation.
Thanks to their joint collaboration the archaeologists found the handwritten manuscript in the destroyed ruins of the monastery.
Either it will rain tomorrow, or it won't. (logical tautology).
I never make predictions, especially about the future.
I ate a tuna fish sandwich.
The plumber fixed our hot water heater.
Frozen Ice.
The group wanted to climb up to the very summit at the top of the mountain.
Added Bonus.
A wishful start, one might say, but it was certainly a time of surreal dreams.
I made it with my own hands for you.
Me myself personally cordially invite you to the party.
Puzzling problem, isn't it?
I'm having an 'An American Werewolf in London' movie night at my place.
It was his usual, habitual custom to have a bacon sandwich for breakfast.
It's déjà vu all over again.
That is indeed a sad misfortune.
Seafaring mariner.
The wall was marred by a small, tiny speck of paint.
Suspense thriller.
First and foremost, lets begin.
Bits and pieces
All well and good; to all intents and purposes; cool, calm, and collected.
The vast majority.
The vote was completely and totally unanimous.
She herself had written her autobiography of her own life in just two weeks.
Forward planning.
With malice toward none, with charity for all. - Abraham Lincoln.
I upgraded the RAM memory of my computer.
A huge great big man.
Say it over again once more.