Subject: So you too can understand.........

Bush Explains Medicare Drug Bill -- Verbatim Quote Submitted on 2005-12-13
16:35:14

WOMAN IN AUDIENCE: 'I don't really understand. How is the new plan going to
fix the problem?'

Verbatim response: PRESIDENT BUSH:

'Because the -- all which is on the table begins to address the big cost
drivers. For example, how benefits are calculated, for example, is on the
table. Whether or not benefits rise based upon wage increases or price
increases. There's a series of parts of the formula that are being
considered. And when you couple that, those different cost drivers,
affecting those -- changing those with personal accounts, the idea is to
get what has been promised more likely to be -- or closer delivered to that
has been promised. Does that make any sense to you? It's kind of muddled.
Look, there's a series of things that cause the -- like, for example,
benefits are calculated based upon the increase of wages, as opposed to the
increase of prices. Some have suggested that we calculate -- the benefits
will rise based upon inflation, supposed to wage increases. There is a
reform that would help solve the red if that were put into effect. In other
words, how fast benefits grow, how fast the promised benefits grow, if
those -- if that growth is affected, it will help on the red.'

So . . . does anyone out there have any idea what the President of the United States was saying? I don't think one sentence or one thought is completed. That, btw, is often a sign of Alcohol Brain Syndrome. Check it out.

Although my mother was an English teacher and I was raised with "correct grammar" and constantly exposed to new vocabulary, I have learned more about the English language trying to teach it to Spanish speackers than I could ever have imagined. For those of us who are fascinated by words, their usage, their origins, and the culture that creates them, check out this interesting site: http://www.takeourword.com/index.html