Recent comments

"Slacktivism" may or may not catch on and last. I wouldn't worry about it too much. Go to <a href="http://www.wordsmith.org">wordsmith.org</a> and subscribe to A Word A Day. It's free. After a few months you'll get an inkling of how many words have effectively disappeared from the English language without any intervention by anyone like Orwell's character Symes. You'll probably find you don't care that much because other perfectly good current words convey the very same meanings. Then too, remember how terms coined with propagandistic intent can backfire -- like "freedom fries." The point is that in the long run the natural evolution of language will give "newspeakers" their comeuppance.

From [http://lautenberg.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=298916 Senator Lautenberg's office]: <blockquote>Sens. [[Frank Lautenberg]], [[John Kerry]], [[Bob Menendez]] and [[Byron Dorgan]] today introduced legislation that will prohibit the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) from using appropriated funds for propaganda and will require the DoD Inspector General and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to deliver reports to Congress within 90 days. The bill is a companion measure to Rep. [[Paul Hodes]]' (D-N.H.) amendment to the House version of the National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 5658).</blockquote> My $0.02 -- setting time limits for the ongoing investigations is important. But I can't understand how adding new restrictions on propaganda -- when there are already anti-propaganda laws on the books that aren't being enforced -- makes a difference.