DC United

speaking of spreading democracy...
...bob herbert has a good column here about DC's ongoing problem with political respect. because it's a district (as opposed to being a state) it is afforded no representation in Congress. and herbert brings up a very good point: while bush touts democracy as the current reason (well, one of a few) why we must "stay the course" in iraq, he and his cadre have worked very hard to keep it from happening in washington, dc. why? i dunno...maybe because it's primarily a democratic party oriented area (what with all of those pesky minorities and whonot) with half a million people? and considering that one electoral vote is two too many these days? and one extra representative or senator could be enough to tip the scales against him on a close vote or veto override?
i dunno.
the idea that the district should be kept from government representation, because it's the seat of power and should thusly be protected from partisan leanings is a joke. what i don't know is if these residents get to vote in the presidential primaries. hopefully, they do. all i know is that they have no voice in the senate or the house of representatives.
let's give them one. just one. then maybe they'll shut up and go back to shooting each other over whether they should get to own concealed weapons like all good americans.

Jumpin' Jive

now, just what the hell is going on here?
over the past few months i've been witnessing the word "jive" used in countless web blogs, political commentaries, quotes from politicians and even in newspapers to describe situations where a person's actions don't conform to a person's words or stance on something.

example: bush's claim to be a uniter doesn't jive with any single thing he's done since he came into power.

when , in fact, the word to be used is "jibe". jibe originally was a term used at sea. it was a nautical term.

example: To turn a boat to take the wind on the other side, with the stern going through the wind. Unless the jibe is controlled, the boom will bang over and the sudden change of forces can cause momentary loss of control.

it, also, is a word used to describe consistency (or lack thereof).

example: agree with, as in: His alibi doesn't jibe with the testimony of eye-witnesses.

jive is slang for describing swing blues music. it is, also, used as a dismissive term when one person thinks another is handing him a bunch of bullshit.

example: BB King sings "My momma says she loves me, but she could be jivin' too".

only the urban dictionary has crossed the word "jive" over into sharing the same meaning as "jibe". and it's the fifth definition on the list.

but i guess it's the buzzword du jour and no one has the time to look into its etymology. we all know that politicians don't. and we all know that most political columnists won't.

think before you use the word. because jive don't jibe with jibe, it's just jive.