"Most creative people have this thing called negative capability, which is the ability to not become annoyed by what one does not understand. So if you, for instance, have no regard for Jackson Pollock, but are drawn to things like Bob Ross’s landscapes, or Thomas Kinkade’s cabins, or Hitler’s watercolors, then rest assured, you have zero negative capability – which doesn’t necessarily mean that you can’t be creative (the MAGA poet David Lehman comes to mind here), only that you’re making things way more difficult than they need to be."
The Well-Spoken Thesaurus by Tom Heehler, is an American style guide and speaking aid. The Chicago Tribune calls The Well-Spoken Thesaurus "a celebration of the spoken word". The book has also been reviewed in the Winnipeg Free Press, and by bloggers at the Fayetteville Observer, and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
"They say democracy dies in darkness. At least that’s what the Washington Post has been telling us anyway, ever since MAGA rose to power in 2017 – our daily reminder that without a free press to shine its light on wayward politicians, democracy will eventually succumb to bad actors like Trump and his pro-Putin enablers in Congress."
"Dark blue journalism is more insidious and dangerous than yellow journalism because it’s subtle and slick and classy, in the same way that subtle and slick and classy racism is more effective than a mulleted screamer with a pointy white hood and a tiki torch he got on sale at Home Depot. Dark blue journalism is respectable because it’s perpetrated by respectable journalists who probably don’t shop at Home Depot, folks who move with ease in the bluest of circles, like Anderson Cooper, Chris Licht, Carrie Budoff Brown, and Leslie Stahl. Inevitably, in today’s ratings-obsessed newsrooms, for every Scott Pelly or Margaret Brennan or Abby Phillip with the backbone to say no, there’s a Kaitlin Collins with the ambition to say yes, to platform a demagogue in the name of “fairness to both sides.” At least that’s what she tells herself – presumably - in makeup before going on air:"
"Dark blue journalism is going to get a lot of people killed if it delivers the Electoral College to MAGA in November. And the violence won’t start with Seal Team Six knocking on Rachel Maddow’s door. Instead, Trump will follow his Russian mentor’s playbook by giving all the Proud Boys out there the only thing they need - a wink and a nod. These are the kinds of people who would drag a 14-month-old puppy to a gravel pit and blow its brains out for Christ’s sake. These are the kinds of people who would murder 100,000 Ukrainians just to make Russia’s coin-operated grocery carts great again."
"Nuance: for best results apply with sledge hammer."
"If you are your own worst enemy, dont do yourself any favors."
"Most Americans are bilingual and don’t even know it. Because in addition to their native language, they learn at an early age (as did I) to speak “Cliché.” So instead of “acquaint yourself with,” they’ll insist on the more common expression “get to know.” Instead of “think no more of it,” they’ll dumb that down to the insufferable “fuhget about it.” Multiply those two examples by a thousand, and you’ve got yourself a terribly bad case of UAD: ugly American diction."