Maybe I just didn’t pay as much attention in prior administrations, but it seems like since 2021, “let me be clear” has become a verbal tic for everyone in the WH. Maybe because the president has been the least “clear” in American history, about anything.
In a communications/ human behavior continuing education class I learned that starting a sentence with,” let me be clear “, or “ to be honest “, generally means you’re about to hear the opposite and generally untrue statement follow.
I agree. I have composed a mental who's who of "let me be clear" stardom. Many were female but ALL (correct me if I am wrong) were Dems. I can hear them even now, there words splattered indelibly on the country's collective conscience ... unless you had properly anticipated & pumped up your alcohol content in advance. 🍸🍻🍷
Sorry, I agree with you, Sara. It’s grammatically incorrect as written. “Help Walter Kim and me…” is correct. See Walter’s despised Elements of Style by Strunk and (E.B.) White.
I was taught that if you're the subject, "one" to be pedantic, it's "I." If a caller asks for you, for example, you respond, "It is I, Elizabeth." One of my very proper, older friends, whose father had been a noted professor at Cornell, would respond, "it is I, Ruth." I can't imagine "Hello it's I, I've thought about us for a long long time."
Matt wouldn't say, "Me is going to hold blah blah blah" tonight.
Except the sentence everyone is parsing is "Help Walter and me" -- the unspoken subject of the imperative verb tense "Help" is "You" (pl) -- i.e. "You all should help Walter and me." "Walter and me" is the object of the sentence, and "me" is the correct case. You would not say "Help I"; you would say "Help me."
I didn't see that. But in my house, "me" sounded kind of iffy. I know it's Brian and who,me, but I don't think we used that much. My dad was a Harvard English major, so make of it what you will.
If one believes grammars to be prescriptive, rather than descriptive, we can come up with all sorts of illogical and silly rules.
I suggest deploying functional/situational markers as usage guidelines: eg. communicating respect and formality, versus casual and informal. Word order matters as much as case. We might say/write "Help Walter and I compile a list." Or, we might say/write "Help me and Walter compile a list." Both sound "right" depending on the context. No need to get your/our knickers in a twist.
The nominative/subjective form of the pronoun is used because it follows a form of the verb to be ( It's/ it is ). The verb to be is like a big equal sign(=). "Who is there? It is I, Vercingetorix."
These are two different sentences. "Help me" is right. "It is I." This is correct because "I" and "It" are the same person, so the pronoun agrees with the subject. The same for Elizabeth: "This is she."
"Whom cares" is a joke--him cares would be wrong, so we say, "Who cares?"---and this person has the right of it!
I consulted two esteemed, professional, grammarians to put the lid on this:
“Hi, Sera,
The correct form is “Help Walter Kirn and me,” since the verb “help” here has a compound object. The object pronoun is “me.” Again, you can always get it right by eliminating the other half of the compound: “help me,” “help us,” “help him/her.”
We hope this helps. Best,
Pat O’Conner & Stewart Kellerman”
Now, I want to say for the record that I consider Matt Taibbi the most important journalist in America today. I revere his contributions to public discourse, his humor, his untiring devotion to justice and freedom of speech. I consider his skill and imagination as a writer second to no one. We all know that one of the trade-offs of the Substack model is less rigorous editing. To jump on a great writer for a minor error which in no way distorted the meaning would be like criticizing a singer who forgot a word in a song.
I would never have mentioned this at all except that I wanted to shoehorn in my little joke about “whom cares” which was a reference to Taibbi’s own catch of another error earlier in the week.
Russian has an accusative case just like English, and *everything* gets inflected, including proper names. "Help Walter and me" in Russian would be "помогите Уолтеру и мне"
Yes, maybe I’m not well trained in this but Matt and others have said repeatedly that they think Kamala is on Xanax/Valium /antianxiety meds and/or inebriated during many of her public appearances. Thoughts?
It would explain a lot about her affect. I don't know that I buy that she's day drunk all the time, although I'm not ruling it out. But I think there's a lot more people in national politics with drug/alcohol problems than most people would be comfortable with.
I am going to miss the rule making tonight, but I can't wait to join in tomorrow. Laughed (and sort of cried) during the last debate. Matt & Walter, you made the last debate event so much more fun!
the upside of the Dem's "hide-the-Kamela" strategy is that its the first time in years the Democratic candidate hasn't been caught on tape calling half the country deplorable slime and the like. So that's good PR for them, I guess.
Take a shot when Kamala frames her upbringing as that of a ~working class/lower middle class kid from a single parent family in a diverse neighborhood~
Matt, I have to disagree on your characterization of the "new Her" that my former friends are now supporting (still evidently in HRC grief, sobbing into pink hats). The cackling one IS the VP of the U.S. formerly known as a democracy. She's been there for all of the great things she and Joe did for us. Her CA gig only helped to ruin one state, not the entire nation (and other ones as well).
Every time Trump reminds me of the Sean Connery character on SNL I’m taking a shot. When Harris speaks lovingly about all of her accomplishments the shot will come back up.
Trump says
"you wouldn't believe it" or "like we've never seen" - drink.
Harris says
"freedom", "democracy" or "let me be clear" - drink
That’s liver failure inside of 15 minutes.
Irish/Slav master level difficulty
Irish/Slav!
Hahahahahahahaa!
Nice!
LOLOLO
Maybe I just didn’t pay as much attention in prior administrations, but it seems like since 2021, “let me be clear” has become a verbal tic for everyone in the WH. Maybe because the president has been the least “clear” in American history, about anything.
In a communications/ human behavior continuing education class I learned that starting a sentence with,” let me be clear “, or “ to be honest “, generally means you’re about to hear the opposite and generally untrue statement follow.
Did anything that ever followed Biden's verbal tic "No Joke" ever contain a microgram of truth? It was like the worst poker tell ever.
That's not hyperbole, folks! - Good old middle class Joe.
'Hyperbole' is a pretty fancy word, not typically used by the "middle class."
You can make it sound all aw-shucks if you pronounce it "HIGH purr bowl."
Another tell is if the speaker is a politician.
In Harris's convention speech, she actually went there with "you can trust me...". Red flag for the last person you can trust.
You needed a class to tell you that?
What was it Bill Clinton said about not having sex? I forgot how he framed that one.
"I did not have sex with that woman.......Ms. Lewinsky." (wagging finger)
Sounds about right.
Wasn't it Richard Nixon who said "Let me be perfectly clear" so often that it turned into a signature line for comic impersonators like Rich Little?
Hey, I'm serious -- no joke!
Says the patently unserious president whose only joke is his travesty of an administration.
Look, make no mistake, they've go some tics.
Make no mistake. Sounds like an Obama fav.
I agree. I have composed a mental who's who of "let me be clear" stardom. Many were female but ALL (correct me if I am wrong) were Dems. I can hear them even now, there words splattered indelibly on the country's collective conscience ... unless you had properly anticipated & pumped up your alcohol content in advance. 🍸🍻🍷
Bernie said it constantly.
I noticed it first with Obama.
I am so sick of "Let me be clear" and faux uses of the term 'transparency'.
Look, just because I put a wall up behind the window doesn't mean you can't see through the window.
Don’t forget “I’m talking here” or “I’m speaking” hahahah!
"let me be clear"
The Biden/Harris version of "um"
Rule: Trump says “inflation “ drink. Harris says “felon” Valium.
Sounds like a fair start. What word triggers the round of Russian roulette?
“Russia”
Sounds like a John Belushi outcome for most.
those ingredients don't add. They multiply.
OMG, that's death!
Trump says "inflation", Harris drinks.
You assume she isn't playing by that rule all the time?
I assume she is.
Well, actually, it’s “Walter Kirn and me…”
But whom cares.
True, because if you delete "Walter Kirn," you're left with "Help . . . me," which sounds better than "Help I. . . "
Did you read his whole sentence? It is "Walter Kirn and I". Matt is pretty good w/ that grammar stuff!
No, this is the whole sentence:
“Help Walter Kirn and I make up the list for what promises to be a strange and inebriated Trump-Harris debate.”
If you eliminate the word “Help”, then it is correct. See:Twain, Mark; re: lightning bugs.
Sorry, I agree with you, Sara. It’s grammatically incorrect as written. “Help Walter Kim and me…” is correct. See Walter’s despised Elements of Style by Strunk and (E.B.) White.
I was taught that if you're the subject, "one" to be pedantic, it's "I." If a caller asks for you, for example, you respond, "It is I, Elizabeth." One of my very proper, older friends, whose father had been a noted professor at Cornell, would respond, "it is I, Ruth." I can't imagine "Hello it's I, I've thought about us for a long long time."
Matt wouldn't say, "Me is going to hold blah blah blah" tonight.
Except the sentence everyone is parsing is "Help Walter and me" -- the unspoken subject of the imperative verb tense "Help" is "You" (pl) -- i.e. "You all should help Walter and me." "Walter and me" is the object of the sentence, and "me" is the correct case. You would not say "Help I"; you would say "Help me."
I didn't see that. But in my house, "me" sounded kind of iffy. I know it's Brian and who,me, but I don't think we used that much. My dad was a Harvard English major, so make of it what you will.
If one believes grammars to be prescriptive, rather than descriptive, we can come up with all sorts of illogical and silly rules.
I suggest deploying functional/situational markers as usage guidelines: eg. communicating respect and formality, versus casual and informal. Word order matters as much as case. We might say/write "Help Walter and I compile a list." Or, we might say/write "Help me and Walter compile a list." Both sound "right" depending on the context. No need to get your/our knickers in a twist.
As long as you don’t have an “In our house…” sign on your lawn. 😇
One might also respond to a caller asking for one's self,. "This is she," or "he," as the case may be.
M.A. in English says, "It's Walter Kirn and I . . . "
Sixth grade dropout says: (quoting an old Frank Capra film): “If I had choice of weapons with you sir, I would choose grammar”
Dr. Gail is correct: "It's Walter Kirn and I ..."
The nominative/subjective form of the pronoun is used because it follows a form of the verb to be ( It's/ it is ). The verb to be is like a big equal sign(=). "Who is there? It is I, Vercingetorix."
These are two different sentences. "Help me" is right. "It is I." This is correct because "I" and "It" are the same person, so the pronoun agrees with the subject. The same for Elizabeth: "This is she."
"Whom cares" is a joke--him cares would be wrong, so we say, "Who cares?"---and this person has the right of it!
???
I am come to slayest grammar nazis.
I do, and you are correct while Mr. Taibbi is not.
I might gift that one as a colloquialism. The "whom" bit was good as a rabbit-punch for a faux-intellectual (really, faux-anything-serious).
I consulted two esteemed, professional, grammarians to put the lid on this:
“Hi, Sera,
The correct form is “Help Walter Kirn and me,” since the verb “help” here has a compound object. The object pronoun is “me.” Again, you can always get it right by eliminating the other half of the compound: “help me,” “help us,” “help him/her.”
We hope this helps. Best,
Pat O’Conner & Stewart Kellerman”
Now, I want to say for the record that I consider Matt Taibbi the most important journalist in America today. I revere his contributions to public discourse, his humor, his untiring devotion to justice and freedom of speech. I consider his skill and imagination as a writer second to no one. We all know that one of the trade-offs of the Substack model is less rigorous editing. To jump on a great writer for a minor error which in no way distorted the meaning would be like criticizing a singer who forgot a word in a song.
I would never have mentioned this at all except that I wanted to shoehorn in my little joke about “whom cares” which was a reference to Taibbi’s own catch of another error earlier in the week.
Th-th-th-th-that’s all folks!
Sorry-- wrong!! Matt is correct!
Everywhere but in that sentence.
It’s “help Walter and me”
“Me” is the object of the verb “to help”
However, he's writing casually and idiomatically in that sentence, so we give it a pass.
Taibbi claims to be a writer! Maybe it is “I” in Russian grammar?
It isn't.
Нет.
Russian has an accusative case just like English, and *everything* gets inflected, including proper names. "Help Walter and me" in Russian would be "помогите Уолтеру и мне"
Dative case in Russian here, дательный падеж.
First the Adidas track suit, now this! Where's the splashy image of St. Basil's taking over the Racket logo?
if you ever need a litmus test for someones New England origins…it’s when they go to buy liquor at “the package store”.
to be paired with grinders
Kamala Harris fearmongers about Project 2025 is a drink
Someone might need to tell Kamala that she can’t actually play along.
Yes, maybe I’m not well trained in this but Matt and others have said repeatedly that they think Kamala is on Xanax/Valium /antianxiety meds and/or inebriated during many of her public appearances. Thoughts?
It would explain a lot about her affect. I don't know that I buy that she's day drunk all the time, although I'm not ruling it out. But I think there's a lot more people in national politics with drug/alcohol problems than most people would be comfortable with.
If she manages to squeeze in "Excuse me, I'm speaking!!!" to a silent Trump with a dead mic = drain your glass. 🥃
If she does that, we all win. Laughing emoji. BTW. Wouldn't be surprised.
I am going to miss the rule making tonight, but I can't wait to join in tomorrow. Laughed (and sort of cried) during the last debate. Matt & Walter, you made the last debate event so much more fun!
the upside of the Dem's "hide-the-Kamela" strategy is that its the first time in years the Democratic candidate hasn't been caught on tape calling half the country deplorable slime and the like. So that's good PR for them, I guess.
Take a shot when Kamala frames her upbringing as that of a ~working class/lower middle class kid from a single parent family in a diverse neighborhood~
...and two shots if she gets all teary in mock self-pity.
OD tme
Who attended protest marches in diapers!
Joe attends White House briefings in diapers.
When Kamala is speaking:
"let me be clear" or "Let there be no mistake" = one shot
"I'm speaking." DOUBLE BONUS = 2 shots
When DJT is speaking:
"border" = 1 shot
"nanny" or "babysitter" DOUBLE BONUS = 2 shots
As used above the words shot or shots indicate consuming alcohol, not using a firearm
Kammy: "Let me be Everclear." Probably what her team is working on her to avoid.
lol, like
We'll all need new livers under those rules. Supposed to be fun, not life threatening! 🤣
This is why I subscribe to Racket news. Off to the package store!
ME TOO, I drink beer but am off to the "beer store"-might need a case.
Or Beeah Store, as it were
I hope southern Kamala shows up! My fav. I agree “Felon” for Kamala and “communist” for Trump.
Matt, I have to disagree on your characterization of the "new Her" that my former friends are now supporting (still evidently in HRC grief, sobbing into pink hats). The cackling one IS the VP of the U.S. formerly known as a democracy. She's been there for all of the great things she and Joe did for us. Her CA gig only helped to ruin one state, not the entire nation (and other ones as well).
Oh boy, I can hardly wait for 8:00 p.m. Thanks for doing a Monday night show. They're always fun and informative. I'm still voting #KirnTaibbi2024. 🇺🇲
Every time Trump reminds me of the Sean Connery character on SNL I’m taking a shot. When Harris speaks lovingly about all of her accomplishments the shot will come back up.
Good way to prevent alcohol poisoning!