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Go Home Blame It On Inflation

THE SPINE SEPTEMBER 13, 2006

Blame It On Inflation

BY TNR STAFF

Thank you, Jack Shafer... He has written an entire column in Slate about my blog, in which he waxes indignant over my use of "$10 words." One word that offends him is "tocsin." I'd say it's not exactly a $10 item but closer to $5. Then again, with the decline in the value of the dollar, everything foreign, especially vocabulary that originates in the Euro-zone, costs a lot more these days. And it seems my use of foreign words deeply offends him. What can I say? For a populist like Shafer, anti-intellectualism of this kind is de rigueur (oops, there I go again).

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24 comments

Maybe in context "toxin" would have worked better?

- ligedog1

September 13, 2006 at 7:23pm

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is a $10 word?? Maybe because so many folks have jelly in theirs that elaboration upon the type of spine is needed...

- MrCookie1

September 13, 2006 at 7:37pm

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Marty, don't you mean de rigueur? Shafer's a mite ultramontane on teh matter but hardly an irredentist; his style's a too insouciant for my tastes yet it pleases well enough the bien-pensants at whose expense he sups. Oh and Viva El Muerte. James Baker sucks. Hic haec hoc.

- teplukhin

September 13, 2006 at 7:40pm

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why so many French words? And then some Spanish? Please, one Idiom at a time. Myself, I prefer the lilting tones of Wu Chinese when talking shit.

- blackton

September 13, 2006 at 8:02pm

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Just kidding, Marty. I like Jack Shafer-- he can turn a phrase, he doesn't pull punches, he knows his newspaper business-- but you get the impression the man's either slumming or unemployable for some dark reason not to be discussed. A review of some of the offerings of his august publication gives you an idea of its depth and ability to do original reporting: "Today's Papers" [snippets and links to others' original content] "Today's Blogs" [more snippets and links, to amateurs' original content] "Today's Cartoons" "Bushisms" "Doonesbury" These last two are about as lame and tedious as anything in your local Dacron, Ohio Republican-Democrat daily paper. I like their overseas reportage, too: It's grouped under the rubric, "Foreigners." btw, how many languages does Shafer speak?

- teplukhin

September 13, 2006 at 8:11pm

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blackton - that was a gentle sendup using some golden-oldie Martyisms.

- teplukhin

September 13, 2006 at 8:12pm

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Say Martin, Are you suggesting some connection between populists and anti-intellectualsim. If so, what's the connection. If not, why bring it up. Please explain. Stephen from Minneapolis

- src

September 14, 2006 at 1:11am

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Maybe Shafer's just saying that you write like a High School senior trying to impress the Harvard admissions board, Martin. This isn't an entirely superficial criticism; your style is distracting. I don't read your articles or blog posts as often as I would if they were written clearly and concisely.

- ratnerstar

September 14, 2006 at 7:15am

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Well, I read both Slate and TNR. The only thing near-unreadable about TNR (now that the anti-baseball cap wearing guy's gone) are Mr. Peretz long rantings. I am quite happy, as Shafer mentioned, to be able to peruse The Plank sans Mr. Peretz.

- Merrilljen

September 14, 2006 at 10:03am

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I concur with Merrilljen and ratnerstar regarding Marty's writing ability. After reading his blog entries, it becomes clear that his magazine pieces are edited heavily. I pity the poor soul who is assigned that task.

- daeisner

September 14, 2006 at 10:09am

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Free Lee Siegel!

- elfranko

September 14, 2006 at 10:55am

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Lib

- jgb1soc

September 14, 2006 at 11:05am

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L'idiot ordinateur... Lib

- jgb1soc

September 14, 2006 at 11:06am

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It is evident that Peretz and Shafer had some nasty personal business between them and it is an absolute delight to see them trash talk each other. Shafer made a few good points and a lot of needless nitpicking- Judgement instead of Judgment, the absolute nerve, as though anyone anywhere else would have noticed. Or Peretzs cardinal sin of calling it Intelligence Identification Protection Act instead of the "Intelligence Identities Protection Act." The horror of it. But I honestly don't understand so many peoples visceral dislike of Peretz. I understand you may disagree with him on policy issues but I am fairly certain if tomorrow he were to blog using a different screen name on an issue from which he is not easily identifiable practically no one would realize who it was. I honestly detect no Peretz style of writing that people are pretending is in a class by itself (a few so called $10 words do not a style make). Besides, daesner "concurs", why not say agree? and ratnerstar claims Peretzs style is distracting. What the hell does that mean anyway? I thought it meant To pull in conflicting emotional directions; unsettle. Is unsettle bad now? My point is that it is easy to pick apart any writer, that does not make you an editor, or a better writer yourself. I know people may say he might occassionally engage in a little fanfaronade, but I disagree.

- blackton

September 14, 2006 at 1:12pm

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"Bent out of shape from society's pliers, cares not to come up any higher, but rather get you down in the hole that he's in..." (from "It's Alright, Ma") In the Times piece, Mr. Carr quotes Mr. Peretz lamenting the demise of civility in public discourse. That's one topic I would like to read more about in Mr. Peretz' blog, not silly pokes at someone who took a few silly pokes at him. Argumentation is not the same as battle; you can't just point your poisoned barb at any patch of exposed flesh and expect your enemy's circulatory system to spread the poison for you. To succeed, your argument must hit a vital organ. Mr. Peretz, IMHO your posts all too frequently take the easy way out--you get "down in the hole" with your opponents. Your point of view suffers as a result.

- williamyard

September 14, 2006 at 1:43pm

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Are you old enough to remember those TV commercials featuring a blind Coke/Pepsi test? My guess is that anyone with a few years under his or her belt could take a blind - well, not really blind because you'd have to read - test with unsigned posts from the past year. I am pretty sure I could differentiate between Marty's work and the other writers. (though Iraq cheerleaders Kaplan and Wieseltier would separate the men from the boys in this dept). Hey, if TNR wants to sponsor this kind of contest, I'd be glad to help. Be a great way to meet williamyard. I envision a cross between Santa Claus/Edmund Gwen and a butch Truman Capote.

- MrCookie1

September 14, 2006 at 2:41pm

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1. I love you, Marty Peretz. 2. How do any of us learn new words except to read them or hear them in context and then figure them out from there? It's elitist to hoard the words and not use them, because using them lets others know what they mean. And it's patronizing to assume that the rube who doesn't know the word will be disenfranchised or otherwise downtrodden and victimized if you say it, as though he's incapable of learning it.

- psantillana

September 14, 2006 at 2:50pm

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You tell 'em, Marty! Your casual slams demonstrate the elegant ease of prose which can only make lesser lights like Jack Shafer itch with jealousy. I adore the ease with which you dismiss his simian scratchings. -- Speretzattura

- wesson

September 14, 2006 at 3:14pm

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"I envision a cross between Santa Claus/Edmund Gwen and a butch Truman Capote." Hey, I resemble that remark! Regarding Coke and Pepsi, my Sonoma hooker's dad is a bourbon and Coke man. That is, until he recently switched to Pepsi. And to think, not long after, he shook my hand. Has he no shame? I'm amazed he could look me in the eye. Along the ramparts, Peretz, Wieseltier, Siegel et al., their own eyes widening behind their infrared 'scopes, warn of the approaching hoards; meanwhile, we gambol mindlessly beyond the moat. I used to pooh-pooh them their concerns. But when one's hooker's father so easily debases himself--I mean, good Goddess, man, PEPSI??--truly civilization as we know it hangs in the balance.

- williamyard

September 14, 2006 at 3:24pm

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Since the disappearance of good ole Seth Gentry, you have got to be my favorite poster...irreverent...probably soused...smart...and possessed wth a Hunter Thompson like sense of absurd and humor... Fight on...

- MrCookie1

September 14, 2006 at 3:27pm

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"...ratnerstar claims Peretzs style is distracting. What the hell does that mean anyway?" If you find the word "distracting" to be unclear, I'm sure MP could provide a fitting substitute.

- ratnerstar

September 14, 2006 at 6:27pm

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of undue Peretz favoritism, I have noticed he has a tendency to name drop. Libby, Gore, Margo Howard, etc. are all old friends of his. I am sure he does it because he believes it attests to their character, yet I am sure their mothers love them as well. It does not answer such questions as would Gore be a good President? Is Libby guilty of obstruction? Besides, how am I to know that Mr. Peretz himself is a good judge of character or is a good character himself. For all I know it could be the equivalent of Ehrlichman praising Haldeman. Now while I agree with him more than disagree maybe Mr. Peretz is a tyrant to work for, abuser of puppies and winged insects, or maybe he is a wonderful boss, I simply don't know. A few caveats are also necessary, he did mention his friendship with Libby when he is being shunned by nearly everyone, that is what true friends do, I agree with him about Gore, and as to Margo Howard...years ago in the internets infancy I wrote a more than a few letters to different writers, I have only ever recieved two replies. One right after 9/11 from Derbyshire in National Review and he did respond thoughtfully, another was a small quip I thought of after reading a Margo Howard column, one in which I did not even expect a reply (from all the jokes I get from friends I never reply even to them) and yet she was gracious enough to say she was amused by my line. Classy and Courteous is a great combination. Small update: "Michael Walzer. Michael is an old friend, and I wouldn't want to take any credit he deserves away from him" Is this fact truly relevant? Now if Mr. Peretz were to say as testement: I have known Sen. Allen for many years and been to many cocktail parties, and have never heard... not relevant. But if he were to say that Sen. Allen and he have been secretly giving spongebaths to lepers in a sanatorium...relevant(that would certainly wash away many sins). or if he and Sen. Allen have been going to strip clubs every tuesday night and Sen. Allen especially likes the dark skinned strippers because of the great "macaca sex" he has with them... relevant. This name dropping is something I shall keep an eye on.

- blackton

September 15, 2006 at 10:40am

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I visited Shafer's site--first and last time--long enough to see you could go there many times and never encounter an original thought (like you could listen to Limbaugh for hours and... ditto): derivative, "paste and criticize" second rate thinking, like so many (but not all) bloggers. You don't learn anything... and both authors and readers seem to have the attention span of house flies.

- Challenge

September 15, 2006 at 10:17pm

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See, one cookie post agreeing with El Vato de Vertebrae and the others are, if'in you noticed, in response to other posters...

- MrCookie1

September 16, 2006 at 4:54pm

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