some can barely put Food on the table. For less than the price oF a hamburger, you can provide Thanksgiving dinner for someone here at the Little Rock Compassion Center. That’s a full plate of turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy with all the trimmings, along with pie and coffee, for only $1.69. Any extra funds you send beyond our Thanksgiving needs will care for the hungry and homeless this year.
please join us, and encourage someone this Thanksgiving.
helpline 296-9114
lrcompassioncenter.org
W O RDS
Boths a crowd “In Pennsylvania, outside Pittsburgh, Republicans defeated Democrat Mark Critz in what was one of the year’s most expensive races, with both sides spending a combined $13.7 million.” “Tux and Xedo are a brother/sister pair that were bottle-raised from 5 days old. Both are nearly identical with black and white tuxedo markings and deep amber eyes.” Avoid redundancy and confusion by not overusing both, whether dealing with candidates or kittens. In the first example, make it “... with the two sides spending a combined $13.7 million”; in the second, substitute “They” for “Both”. The first is an example of journalistic negligence too, I suspect. If one side spent considerably more than the other, as probably happened in this case, the reporter should have proceeded to give the amount for each. To do otherwise implies that the two sides are equally culpable. Reporters do that a lot, trying to appear objective, but often the attempt only misleads their readers. Opposing sides are not always equally at fault. They weren’t at Pearl Harbor. The Japanese might say that the opposing sides weren’t equally at fault for what happened at Hiroshima either. “McConnell took the studs when it was suggested that he should work with the president.” I saw a mention of “took the studs” by The Word Detective the other day, and it took me back. My father
used that expression, but I haven’t heard it in years. The Dictionary of American Regional English says that DOUG “studs” in this case SMITH dougsmith@arktimes.com is “a fit of stubborn opposition, balkiness,” usually appearing in the phrase “take [or took] the studs.” DARE says the expression is found mainly in the South, and gives this example: “We was doin’ all right till ol’ Deacon Jones took the studs, but it ain’t no more use talking no more tonight.” DARE does not explain the origin. Stanley Johnson saw a newspaper column in which “something was described, a new trend of some kind, perhaps, as ‘hovering’ into view. That is of course wrong. The writer meant something was approaching, probably gradually. Things that hover are already where they are going. It occurs to me that the writer had some unconscious recollection of the somewhat nautical phrase ‘hove into view,’ ‘hove’ being the past tense. I don’t remember ever encountering the present tense. ‘Heave into view’ sounds like something that should be confined to the bathroom.” Some years ago, I heard a lady just back from vacation talk about riding on a Hoovercraft. Only hours later did I realize what she meant.
WEEK THAT WAS
It was a good week for …
3618 w. roosevelt, little rock Food For the hungry We provided more than 137,000 free meals to hungry people in our community last year.
saFe shelter More than 44,000 nights of shelter were provided to men, women and children last year.
a new start Spiritual growth, education, and our job training programs open doors for a new, clean start in life.
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NOVEMBER 14, 2012
HEALTH CARE, WOMEN’S RIGHTS AND OTHER DEMOCRATIC IDEALS. Barack Obama was elected to a second term in the White House, turning back a Republican who vowed to revoke the Affordable Care Act, defund Planned Parenthood and move the country closer to a plutocracy. ARKANSAS REPUBLICANS. They are now in the majority in the Arkansas legislature. DRINKERS. Voters in Benton, Sharp and Madison counties voted to allow the sale of alcohol and Springdale voted to allow booze to be sold on Sunday. TAKING THE LAW INTO ONE’S OWN HANDS. An unidentified bystander fired away at fleeing robbers at a Little Rock bank Monday, hitting, fortunately, only the bumper of a car he thought was the getaway car. It wasn’t. Police were able to arrest the robbers without the help of Trigger. CRYSTAL BRIDGES MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART. The Bentonville museum
ARKANSAS TIMES
celebrated its first anniversary by releasing attendance figures since Nov. 11, 2011: 600,000.
It was a bad week for … MEDICAID IN ARKANSAS NOW. It appears state revenues will fall short of existing needs for Medicaid support by about $140 million. MEDICAID IN ARKANSAS TOMORROW. The new Ayn Randian legislature is likely to spurn new federal dollars to expand Medicaid. PEOPLE IN PAIN. Voters rejected a ballot measure that would have legalized medical marijuana in the state, but only by a 51 percent to 49 percent margin. THE PULASKI COUNTY ASSESSOR’S OFFICE. The county Board of Equalization lowered the office’s appraised real-estate values by $2 billion, lowering the values of 5,052 properties and making other corrections. The $2 billion was more than half the rise in values determined by the office. For many homeowners, this would be in the “good week for” category.