Famous Sayings #119 — ‘[Every] Now and Then…’

August 26, 2018

Every now and then, I like to enjoy an In-N-Out burger.

I do enjoy these burgers every now and then. To be honest, I’m in the mood for one right now. Original Image by punctuated via Flickr. Some rights reserved.

This should be a quick one because the meaning of the phrase “[every] now and then” is self-apparent. However, the etymology of this phrase is pretty interesting.

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What Does ‘[Every] Now and Then’ Mean?

As you can see by the usage of the phrase, “every now and then” or just “now and then” means “occasionally.” It’s in reference to something that isn’t done every day or very often, if not rare.

There are a number of related sayings which pretty much mean the same thing, including:

• Every so often
• (Every) Now and again
• Ever so often
• Every once in a while
• From time to time
• Once and again
• Once in a while
• Sometimes
• At intervals
• At times
• Off and on
• On occasion
• Once in a blue moon
• Once or twice

I have looked at once in a blue moon before, which means “rarely.” Check that post out if you haven’t before.

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When Was This Phrase Coined?

There were about two sources I consulted that pinpointed the origin of “now and then,” although there might be some contradiction in one.

At the Online Etymology Dictionary, I looked up a few words, including “now” and “then.”

The word “now,” which means “at present” or “immediately,” comes from the Old English word “nu.” It also has Germanic roots.

Certain meanings and phrases connected to the word now are listed:

• The adjective meaning “up to date” was first recorded in 1967.
• The adjective meaning “current” likely comes from the late 14^th
• The saying “now and then,” which means “occasionally,” was attested from the 1530s.
• The phrase “now or never,” likely comes from the 1550s.

However, when I looked at the entry for “then,” this is the information I found:

• The word “then” comes from Old English (banne, bænne, bonne) and has Prot-Germanic roots.
• This page also mentions the origin of the phrase “now and then” was circa the 1550s.

At Answers, the origin of now and then was put at 1550.

At the very least, we can say that the phrase arose in the mid-16^th century.

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Hey, Why Not Talk About In-N-Out?

It has been a while since I’ve enjoyed an In-N-Out burger, but there was a point when I went years (yes, years) without eating from there. I am reminded of this post on Nerdy Life of Mine from a year ago.

Jason Bucky Brooks had gone 1 ½ years without eating from In-N-Out, but I believe I my hiatus was a lot longer.

For those of you who don’t know, In-N-Out is a drive-through burger chain that was founded in California in 1948 by Harry and Esther Snyder. Since 2005, In-N-Out has expanded to six states.

• In 2005, the burger chain expanded to Nevada and Arizona.
• In 2008, it expanded to Utah.
• In 2011, it expanded to Texas.
• The burger chain extended to Oregon in 2015.

If you’re ever in any of these states and like hamburgers, I suggested you give In-N-Out a try. The burgers are awesome, the shakes are pretty good, but the fries are alright.

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Works Cited

Brooks, Jason Bucky. “Let The Games Begin.” Nerdy Life of Mine. 4 Aug 2017. Weblog. <https://nerdylifeofmine.com/2017/08/04/let-the-games-begin/>.

“Every | Definition of Every by Merriam-Webster.” Merriam-Webster. Web. Retrieved 26 Aug 2018. <https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/every>.

“Every now and then | Define Every now and then at Dictionary.com.” Dictionary.com. Web. Retrieved 26 Aug 2018. <https://www.dictionary.com/browse/every–now–and–then>.

“Every now and then – definition of every now and then by The Free Dictionary.” The Free Dictionary. Farlex, Inc. Web. Retrieved 26 Aug 2018. <https://www.thefreedictionary.com/every+now+and+then>.

“every now and then Meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary.” Cambridge Dictionary. Cambridge University Press. Web. Retrieved 26 Aug 2018. <https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/every-now-and-then>.

“Every now and then synonyms, Every now and then antonyms.” Thesaurus.com. Web. Retrieved 26 August 2018. Web. <https://www.thesaurus.com/browse/every%20now%20and%20then>.

Harper, Douglas. “now | Origin and meaning of now by Online Etymology Dictionary.” Online Etymology Dictionary. Web. Retrieved 26 August 2018. <https://www.etymonline.com/word/now#etymonline_v_9846>.

Harper, Douglas. “occasional | Origin and meaning of occasional by Online Etymology Dictionary.” Online Etymology Dictionary. Web. Retrieved 26 August 2018. <https://www.etymonline.com/word/occasional#etymonline_v_31116>.

Harper, Douglas. “sometimes | Origin and meaning of sometimes by Online Etymology Dictionary.” Online Etymology Dictionary. Web. Retrieved 26 August 2018. <https://www.etymonline.com/word/sometimes#etymonline_v_48895>.

Harper, Douglas. “then | Origin and meaning of then by Online Etymology Dictionary.” Online Etymology Dictionary. Web. Retrieved 26 August 2018. <https://www.etymonline.com/word/then#etymonline_v_10728>.

“History.” In-N-Out Burger. Web. Retrieved 26 Aug 2018. <http://www.in-n-out.com/history.aspx>.

“Now and then – Idioms by The Free Dictionary.” The Free Dictionary. Farlex, Inc. Web. Retrieved 26 August 2018. <https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/now+and+then>.

“Now and then synonyms, Now and then antonyms.” Thesaurus.com. Web. Retrieved 26 August 2018. Web. <https://www.thesaurus.com/browse/now%20and%20then>.

“What is the origin of the phrase every now and then.” Answers. Web. Retrieved 26 Aug 2018. <http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_origin_of_the_phrase_every_now_and_then>.

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Progressives: Don’t Turn on Each Other Because of Alex Jones (Part 2)

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey recently talked to NBC News’ Lester Holt about Twitter’s decision to put Alex Jones in a week-long timeout. Twitter’s movements in this arena will have long-term implications, and most of them will be bad for progressives.

In Part 1 of this series, I talked about the fallout from Alex Jones’ dismissal from certain platforms and the effect it has had on progressives. In particular, a fight has been raging about the concept of free speech and whether or not there are limits to it. As a result, a number of progressives have turned on each other, at least in this arena. As the title of these posts suggests, I have a problem with that because progressives need to stick together.

I am also troubled by the way people are going about this argument. While both sides in this debate have valid points, one side has stronger ones, but even people on that side have made a series of argumentative missteps. In sniping at each other, progressives in this fight have subverted their own arguments to a degree.

Now, one is certain: Alex Jones’ banishment is the start of a widescale sweep and things will get worse before they get better. That said, I would like to revisit my thoughts on his banishment and talk about the effect it can have on many others.

Famous Sayings #118 — ‘If You Can’t Take the Heat …’

August 19, 2018

If you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen.

Original image by gordonramsaysubmissions via Flickr. Some rights reserved.

I planned to look into this phrase because it mentioned heat and I fully expected August to be a very hot month. While August is often very hot where I am, July turned out to be a very hot month for me. Last month, I had to deal with a broken air conditioner, and some rooms in my home were hotter than others. It made for some very interesting choices when I had to work on my computer or cook.

Anyway, the heat mentioned in this phrase has at least a couple meanings to it, although it can have a literal meaning in terms of cooking.

Progressives: Don’t Turn on Each Other Because of Alex Jones (Part 1)

Last week, I weighed in on the Alex Jones controversy. In short, I said that I felt that his banishment certain platforms, namely Facebook and YouTube, was justified on the grounds that he violated their terms of service. Since then, the fight waged on, particularly among progressives. That part bothers me, but this situation has opened up a very important discussion about free speech and censorship.

This is going to be a three-parter. There’s a lot to go through, so here is my basic message:

Progressives need to talk this out while remaining respectful to each other. I know that this situation has revealed some people’s inner thoughts and to an extent, it is driven by schadenfreude. However, that is no reason for progressives to get mad at each other.

Also, we need to have an honest discussion about free speech and censorship. It’s important for lefties to get on the same page on this issue because they are their own best advocates.

In that spirit, I would like to reexamine this issue and figure out where I stand on it now. In this first part, I will examine the two sides in this issue — among progressives, of course. In the next two posts, I will look at what I now think about this situation and how we can move forward in this discussion.

Famous Sayings #117 — ‘It Takes One to Know One’

August 13, 2018

“You know what, Johnny? You’re an extremely selfish person.”

“Hey, it takes one to know one.”

This week, we will be looking at a famous saying that has quite of bit of related phrases. I might look at some of them individually in the future, but for now, let’s look at this one that is still in use today.

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What Does ‘It Takes One to Know One’ Mean?

This phrase is pretty self-explanatory, but it can mean a few things, based on how it’s used.

For one thing, “It takes one to know one” can be used as a retort. Usually, when this retort is used, a person using it was insulted. For example, that person could be called an idiot or other stupid, yet derogatory name. They will respond by saying, “You are one also” (“Takes one”).

Sometimes, when someone says, “It takes ones to know one,” they can mean that a person who has certain qualities is more likely to see it (or perceive it) in others. It’s like this Danish phrase: “Tyv tror, at hver mand stjæler.” This means “A thief believes everybody steals” (Wiktionary).

Basically, the person who utters the phrase is calling projection, which puts the spotlight on the person making an accusation. Thus, when someone says, “It takes one to know one,” they are saying that the person accusing them of being a certain way is (also) that way (Ammer).

Other times, albeit rarely, the phrase “It takes one to know one” is used in a playful, complementary manner (“What does”). Here’s an example of a father complimenting his daughter:

Jenny is such a brilliant artist. She takes after her dad. I guess it takes one to know one.

That’s pretty nice. 😊 I like it when the phrase is used in this way, but for the most part, “It takes one to know one” is used in a derogatory manner.

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Where Did This Phrase Originate?

The first clear answer I got to this question was from an old thread on The Phrase Finder’s forums. On May 8, 2002, a user named Nicole asked other users about the phrase “It takes one to know one.” Nicole wanted to know what the phrase meant, if there were other phrases like that one and if the phrase in question was derogative (she spelled it “derrogative”). Four users responded to the thread within a day.

ESC’s post was the most helpful because he cited an entry from the Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings (1996). According to the information posted by ESC, the phrase “It takes one to know one” is often used to deflect an accusation and it implies that only a person with certain traits can recognize those traits in others. The snippet also said that the phrase could have originated around the late 19^th or early 20^th century.

I also found two sources that cited an entry from the American Heritage® Dictionary. According to the entry, the phrase was always meant as a retort to an insult and could date back to the early 1900s.

Additionally, I found out that the phrase like “It takes one to know one” exists in the Gaelic Language. The Compass Rose and GaelicMatters.com websites contained the phrase Aithníonn ciaróg ciaróg eile, which can be translated to “One beetle recognizes another.” However, there was no way to figure out when the phrase was first introduced into the Gaelic language.

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What Are Some Similar Phrases to ‘It Takes One to Know One’?

Remember the most common use of the phrase. In that vein, these are similar sayings:

• “Look who’s talking.”
• “That’s the pot calling the kettle black.”
• “I know you are, but what am I?”

I think that each of these phrases deserves further investigation pertaining to their origins. (And the second one would be a fun art project.)

There is also another saying that is related but takes on a new meaning: “It takes a thief to catch a thief.” I would also like to look at this saying, as well.

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Works Cited

Ammer, Christine. “It takes one to know one.” The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms. 1995, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2003. The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Print. Retrieved. 13 Aug. 2018

“Famous Irish Sayings with Gaelic Translation.” GaelicMatters.com. Web. Retrieved 13 August 2018. <http://www.gaelicmatters.com/famous-irish-sayings.html>.

“Irish Proverbs in Gaelic and English / Celtic Wisdom from Ireland.” Compass Rose Cultural Crossroads.” Web. Retrieved 13 Aug 2018. <http://www.compassrose.org/folklore/irish/Irish-Proverbs-Gaelic.html>.

“It takes one to know one – Idioms by The Free Dictionary.” The Free Dictionary. Farlex, Inc. Web. Retrieved 13 Aug 2018. <https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/it+takes+one+to+know+one>.

“it takes one to know one (phrase) definition and synonyms.” Macmillan Dictionary. Web. Retrieved 13 Aug 2018. <https://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/it-takes-one-to-know-one>.

“It takes one to know one | Define It takes one to know one at Dictionary.com.” Dictionary.com. Web. Retrieved 12 Aug 2018. <https://www.dictionary.com/browse/it-takes-one-to-know-one>.

“It takes one to know one.” Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary. Farlex, Inc. 2017. Retrieved 13 August 2018.

“takes one to know one.” McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. 2002. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Print. Accessed 13 Aug. 2018

“Takes one to know one – Idioms by The Free Dictionary.” The Free Dictionary. Farlex, Inc. Web. Retrieved 13 Aug 2018. <https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/takes+one+to+know+one>.

Titelman, Gregory Y. Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings. Random House. New York; 1996. Print.

Various Authors. It takes one to know one.” The Phrase Finder. Topic Created 8 May 2002. Last Updated 9 May 2002. Online Forum. Retrieved 12 Aug 2018. <https://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/13/messages/1473.html>.

Various Authors. “it takes one to know one.” Wiktionary. Last Updated 1 June 2018. Web. Retrieved 13 Aug 2018. <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/it_takes_one_to_know_one>.

Various Authors. “What does ‘it takes one to know one’ mean?” Quora. Web. Retrieved 12 Aug 2018. <https://www.quora.com/What-does-it-takes-one-to-know-one-mean>.

“What does it takes one to know one mean?” Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2018. Web. Retrieved 13 Aug 2018. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/it+takes+one+to+know+one>.

“Where does the phrase ‘it takes one to know one’ come from?” Quora. Web. Retrieved 12 August 2018. <https://www.quora.com/unanswered/Where-does-the-phrase-it-takes-one-to-know-one-come-from>.

Farron Cousins Was Wrong About Progressives in This July 2018 Video

This is Farron Cousins as seen in a July 21, 2018 video.

This if Farron Cousins as seen in a July 21, 2018 video. Taken via a screenshot.

I have a bone to pick with Farron Cousins. A few days ago, I watched a segment from The Ring of Fire’s YouTube Channel and it ticked me off.

On July 21, 2018, Farron Cousins made this video for The Ring of Fire entitled, “Everyone Is Lying About The DNC Server ‘Scandal.’”

This has got to be one of the worst segments Cousins has ever done. Why? While Cousins insists that everyone who questions the way in which the FBI investigated the suspected hack into the DNC servers, he goes on to show his own ignorance.

• First, Mr. Cousins talks about information found in an article from The Daily Beast, although he doesn’t mention it by name.
• Second, Cousins compares liberals, progressives, and some Democrats who are still skeptical of the Russia Probe to Trump, Trump cultists, and other Republicans. (Nice, because we all have a hive mind, right?)
• Third, Cousins insists that all the people who have questions or reservations about the Russia probe didn’t do the research.

Those assertions Cousins made were not only insulting but wholly dismissive. Of the things I hate most in this world, dismissiveness ranks pretty high. And even if though Cousins is known for his tone, it didn’t fit this segment because it was partly aimed at his own audience, which skews progressive. That said, let me break down why this video was bad in depth.

Alex Jones: Is His Banishment an Issue of Free Speech?

Original image by Michael Zimmermann [CC BY-SA 4.0 ], from Wikimedia Commons

No, Alex Jones’ banishment from a host of platforms is not about free speech, but it has started on interesting conversation among progressives.

Famous Sayings #116 — ‘Too Close for Comfort’

August 6, 2018

While driving on the highway, I was almost hit by a pickup truck that was inches away from more car. The driver failed to signal before passing me, so it was a good thing I looked before changing lanes. That was too close for comfort.

The cast of the sitcom Too Close for Comfort. (Source)

I picked this idiom mainly because of the 1980s show of the same name. However, beyond the obvious definition, the origins of this phrase aren’t as clear.

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What Does It Mean When Someone or Something Is ‘Too Close for Comfort’?

When someone or something is “too close for comfort,” it can mean a few things:

1. A person is near another person, but in a way that invades the second person’s space.
2. A person is near an object, like a moving car, but the space between them is so small that it heightens the danger of a collision.
3. A person is aptly describing another person’s character, disposition, or character in a way that the second person is made uncomfortable.

In each of these situations, someone will feel uncomfortable, if not worried or scared.

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When Do We Often Use This Phrase?

Often, the phrase is used to describe physical proximity. I’ve heard people use it a few times when they had brush-ins with danger, but I’ve occasionally heard when people were referring to marriage.

Of course, marriage is considered the cornerstones of society but carries its own stigma because it supposed to be a lifetime partnership and people come into marriage with high expectations. When people are married (or live together), they learn more about each other and see each other at their worst. That will make people too close for comfort. And as author Stephanie Coontz pointed out, people often feel trapped in their marriages because of how other aspects of their lives are affected.

In an op-ed for The New York Times, Coontz briefly discussed the history of marriage from the medieval period on and explained why people needed to cultivate relationships outside of marriage. At the time, the number of married-couple households hit an all-time low in the United States; such households were a minority according to figures by the Census Bureau. While many people viewed this as troubling news, Coontz saw it as an opportunity for people to step back and contextualize marriage in a way that allowed people to have more fulfilling relationships with friends and family.

While Coontz agreed that marriage allowed people to experience greater and more exclusive forms of intimacy, there was a danger of isolation and disappointment. In some respects, Americans had become too dependent upon marriage for intimacy and friendship and that took away from other relationships. At the same time, the time that people spent with their spouses were diminished by work days and parenthood. The solution would be for people to restructure their social and work lives in order to allow for more time to communicate with others.

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What Is the Origin of This Phrase?

As I said at the top, that is unclear. As I did the research for this post, all I was able to find were a bunch of definitions from the following websites:

• com
• The Free Dictionary by Farlex
• Merriam-Webster
• Cambridge English Dictionary
• The Idioms
• Oxford Dictionaries
• Collins English Dictionary
• Macmillan Dictionary
• Wiktionary

In many cases, at least one of these sites would point toward the origin of the phrase. Alas, none was to be found.

I eventually went to Wikipedia. Despite its inherent flaws, it is a good referencing source. There was a little bit of information about a 1956 song entitled, “Too Close for Comfort.” As it turns out, this song has a lot of versions to it, meaning the phrase might have first gained popularity at that time.

The Wiki page also a few links. One of the links I followed was to the Google Books site. The book in question, To Broadway, To Life! The Musical Theater of Bock and Harnick by Philip Lambert had more information about the origins of the song.

“Too Close for Comfort” was a song written the Broadway musical Mr. Wonderful, which opened on March 22, 1956, and starred Sammy Davis, Jr. The single was released before the play opened and it had numerous versions by then. Besides the version sung by Davis and his group, the Will Mastin Trio, there were versions by Peggy Lee, and Teddi King, among others.

Here is a version by Sammy Davis, Jr.:

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What About the Show?

Too Close for Comfort was a television show that aired from 1980 to 1987 and starred Ted Knight, an alum from The Mary Tyler Moore Show. In his show, Knight played a cartoonist named Henry Rush who lived in a Victorian house in San Francisco with his wife, Muriel, who was a freelance photographer. The house was used as a duplex.

As the story began, the couple’s grown daughters came to live with them. The daughters — Jackie (a 21-year-old bank teller and aspiring fashion designer) and Sarah (an 18-year-old college student) — eventually moved into the downstairs apartment after a transvestite named Rafkin died suddenly.

In the first season, Monroe Ficus, Sarah’s goofy friend, was a recurring character who got on Henry’s nerves. Monroe soon became a permanent fixture on the show and hilarity ensued.

That sounded pretty funny on the surface, but as Noel Murray explained in a long article for The A.V. Club in 2012, a recurring theme of the series was what the writers did to one of the actors. Jim J. Bullock was a gay comedian whose homosexuality was somewhat of a secret to the viewers, but the writers would hint to it by the way they wrote his character, Monroe.

Monroe was portrayed as a wimpy man who got mixed up with an 80-year-old woman, but that’s not the worst of it. This was especially highlighted in an episode of Too Close for Comfort entitled, “For Every Man There’s Two Women,” where it was suggested that Monroe was raped by two ugly women of varying size. Overall, the episode was a shameful reminder of how society and the film industry dealt with homosexuality, sexual assault, and people who didn’t meet a certain standard of beauty.

All these subjects might be too close for comfort.

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Works Cited

“be too close for comfort Meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary.” Cambridge English Dictionary. Cambridge University Press. Web. Retrieved 5 Aug 2018. <https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/be-too-close-for-comfort>.

Coontz, Stephanie. “Too Close for Comfort.” The New York Times. 7 Nov 2006. Web. Retrieved 5 Aug 2018. <https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/07/opinion/07coontz.html>.

Lambert, Philip. “2. Wonders of Manhattan.” To Broadway, To Life! The Musical Theater of Bock and Harnick. Oxford University Press. New York, NY; 2011. Print. Page 40. Retrieved 5 Aug 2018.

Murray, Noel. “Too Close For Comfort, ‘For Every Man There’s Two Women.’” The A.V. Club. 8 Mar 2012. Web. Retrieved 5 Aug 2018. <https://tv.avclub.com/too-close-for-comfort-for-every-man-there-s-two-women-1798230654>.

PM793. “Sammy Davis Jr – Too Close For Comfort.” YouTube. 14 Aug 2013. Video. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7Lcpcu4vew>.

“Too close etc for comfort definition and meaning.” Collins English Dictionary. Web. Retrieved 5 Aug 2018. <https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/too-close-etc-for-comfort>.

“too close for comfort (phrase) definition and synonyms.” Macmillan Dictionary. Web. Retrieved 5 Aug 2018. <https://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/too-close-for-comfort>.

“Too Close for Comfort (TV Series 1980-1987).” Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Web. Retrieved 5 Aug 2018. <https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080299/?ref_=ttpl_pl_tt>.

“Too close for comfort | Define too close for comfort at Dictionary.com.” Dictionary.com. Web. Retrieved 5 Aug 2018. <https://www.dictionary.com/browse/too-close-for-comfort>.

“Too Close For Comfort | Definition of Too Close For Comfort by Merriam-Webster.” Merriam-Webster. Web. Retrieved 5 Aug 2018. <https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/too%20close%20for%20comfort>.

“too close for comfort | Definition of too close for comfort in English by Oxford Dictionaries.” Oxford Dictionaries. Web. Retrieved 5 August 2018. <https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/too_close_for_comfort>.

“too close for comfort meaning, definition, examples, origin, synonyms.” The Idioms. Web. Retrieved 5 Aug 2018. <https://www.theidioms.com/too-close-for-comfort/>.

“Too close for comfort.” The Free Dictionary. Farlex. Web. Retrieved 5 Aug 2018. <https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/too+close+for+comfort>.

“Too Close For Comfort …” Tellwut.com. Survey Created 11 Mar 2016. Web. Retrieved 6 August 2018. <https://www.tellwut.com/surveys/entertainment/tv/95010-too-close-for-comfort-.html>.

Various Authors. “Too Close for Comfort (1956 song).” Wikipedia. Last Updated 6 Apr 2018. Web. Retrieved 5 August 2018. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Too_Close_for_Comfort_(1956_song)>.

Various Authors. “Too Close for Comfort (TV Series 1980-1987) – Plot Summary.” Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Web. Retrieved 5 August 2018. <https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080299/plotsummary?ref_=tt_ov_pl>.

Various Authors. “too close for comfort.” Wiktionary. Last Updated 20 June 2018. Web. Retrieved 5 Aug 2018. <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/too_close_for_comfort>.

News Roundup: What Happened in July 2018?

Hello, readers! It has been so long since I’ve done a proper News Roundup, so I wanted to fix. This time though, we’re going to try something different. Instead of a bunch of big paragraphs, I decided to try to try another format. This is what I wanted to do from the beginning, but it might be more efficient.

You Want to Know What Bothers Me About This Whole Syria Debate?

Here, Howard Dean is seen at a conference for the Liberal Democrats of the United Kingdom in March 2009. Dean, a former Vermont governor, ran for president in 2004 as an anti-war candidate. In 2018, he called Donald Trump a wimp for not pushing for a U.S. intervention in Syria. Dean represents a problem on the left. Image via Flickr by Liberal Democrats. Some rights reserved.

Can we justify bombing Syria and deposing Bashar al-Assad?

Yesterday, I talked about this topic and said once again, that I would not support such an action. I also questioned some of the “evidence” that Assad gassed his own people in April and the motivations of certain forces, like the White Helmets.

Today, I want to talk about the bad arguments I’ve read and heard in favor of a U.S. intervention in Syria. But first, let’s recap.