Tuesday Miscellany

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Yes, I know that it is supposed to be Miscellany is supposed to be on Monday, as it was yesterday, but more miscellaneous items have cropped up . . . 

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Readers Write . . .

I am retiring the above image, hardly anyone writes with a pen and paper anymore and certainly not in respect of Bytes, it's always been electronic.

The new image will be:

Notice that it's also gender neutral, as was the original image with the pen.

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A message from Phil A in Pennsylvania (PA from PA, PA squared):

I certainly do not agree with Tim. His opinion most definitely does not represent all Americans. I would have gladly signed up for another four years of President Obama, a president who put country first time and time again only to be stonewalled time and time and time again by the Republicans in Congress simply because they decided they would not approve of anything he proposed (going so far as to not even consider President Obama's Supreme Court nominee merely because they could). For many of us here in the US, Trump is a complete nightmare of a human being and a complete buffoon as president. The stress level is extremely high in this country and it gets worse every day when there are more lies (now being referred to euphemistically as "alternative facts") and more bizarre posturing from the White House...... UGH!

Aside from that, thank you for the Daily Bytes -- I love receiving them every day!

Warmly,

Phil A 

Thanks, Phil.

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Speaking of "alternative facts", does anyone remember the White House Press Secretary Ron Zeigler during the embattled Nixon years?

I wrote about poor Ron in a previous Bytes and you can read it at:

http://bytesdaily.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/footnotes-to-history-ron-l-ziegler.html

Ron was obliged to give White House statements to the press and the consensus is that he didn't do too badly in the difficult times of Watergate, protests, the Vietnam War and Nixon as his boss.  He is remembered, however, for the press conference where he gave a statement that was at odds with what had been given in previous statements.  Asked about it, he replied "This is the operative statement. The others are inoperative."

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It's a bit sad, though, that Trump's senior adviser Kellyanne Conway, tasked with defending her boss and upholding the assertion of White House press secretary Sean Spicer that the Trump inauguration crowd was the biggest ever, chose to do so by presenting what she referred to as "alternative facts". "You're saying it's a falsehood. And they're giving -- Sean Spicer, our press secretary -- gave alternative facts," she said. NBC interviewer Chuck Todd replied "Alternative facts aren't facts, they are falsehoods." 

All she would have had to say was "Well, we have a different view on the size of the crowd. Our observers tell us it was one of the largest ever." 

Now she'll probably be remembered for her contribution to the Englsih language. How many of us have wished we could have expressed something better or taken something back.

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Some more ambigrams ;