dec⋅i⋅mate [des–uh-meyt]
-verb (used with object), -mat⋅ed, -mat⋅ing.
1. to destroy a great number or proportion of: The population was decimated by a plague.
2. to select by lot and kill every tenth person of.
3. Obsolete. to take a tenth of or from.
I’ve heard a lot of talk around Olympia and throughout the rest of the state about how proposed budget cuts are going to “decimate” crucial state services.
Huh. On the one hand, that’s an incorrect use of the word.
“Decimate,” in the modern sense of the word—referring to destroying a nonspecific but great proportion of—really only applies to the killing of people. Of course, one could apply it to any object in the more technical and archaic form of the word, but in that sense, “decimation” only means to reduce by 10-percent, whereas in reality many state services will be cut by much more than that.
But on the other hand, “decimation” is perhaps the perfect word to describe our impending budget cuts, at least in terms of its Latin origin:
Decimation (Latin: decimatio; decem = “ten”) was a form of military discipline used by officers in the Roman Army to punish mutinous or cowardly soldiers. The word decimation is derived from Latin meaning “removal of a tenth.”
A cohort selected for punishment by decimation was divided into groups of ten; each group drew lots (Sortition), and the soldier on whom the lot fell was executed by his nine comrades, often by stoning or clubbing. The remaining soldiers were given rations of barley instead of wheat and forced to sleep outside of the Roman encampment.
Later today the new revenue forecast will be released, and the budget gap is only expected to widen. Unless they also consider the revenue side of the equation, legislators will soon embark in earnest on the process of decimation: determining who gets stoned to death and who merely loses their food and their tent.
Wow, Goldy scared me good with this post. Yeah, we must increase taxes or thousands of people will die. Reducing spending it kind of like the holocaust!
Wow Goldy…is the sky really falling??
What a drama queen.
Gregoire overspent foolishly in good times.
Now that times are bad, she is reluctant to cut because she is beholding to the State Employees Union.
Goldy, you talk about ““decimate” crucial state services”. Defining “crucial state services” is obviously a judgment call. What is “crucial” Goldy?? I would say it is “crucial” if someone’s life were at risk. Not much of that in the budget.
It’s more like charitable things to do are at risk. Sheesh.
Hey, tell Gregoire to fire 1/2 her office staff and reduce the salaries & benefits of those who remain by 20%. Then come to the table. To date, she has done NOTHING SIGNIFICANT. That ain’t me talkin’ Goldy…it’s Gary Locke and Locke’s former Budget Director.
Gregoire has foolishly and irresponsibly failed to make any significant cuts. TALKING ABOUT IT isn’t doing it Goldy.
Hence, the crisis is much worse today than when she increased spending in the face of a deep recession AND subsequently failed to make significant cuts several years ago.
This Budget crisis is self-inflicted Goldy. Blame Bush all you want…it won’t sell and isn’t honest. Gregoire made a series of bad and irresponsible decisions…plus has procrastinated, mistaking motion and yakking for real action.
Goldy,
You certainly acknowledge that the state took in very slightly MORE revenue in 2008 v 2007.
http://dor.wa.gov/Docs/Reports.....able04.pdf
Right now the problem is overspending against PROJECTED revenues. That means cuts.
Cuts that reflect the actual revenues.
From the next national spelling bee (probably won again by a home schooled kid)…
dec⋅i⋅mate
Can you use it in a sentence please.
“Obama and the democrat controlled congress are trying their best to decimate America.”
d-e-c-i-m-a-t-e
Correct
(applause)
As far as stoned to death, NOW (national organization of women) hasn’t even issued a statement about the muslim guy in new york that beheaded his wife. The chance of NOW speaking up for those women that get stoned to death is laughable.
As far as those losing their food and tent, invite them to stay with you. Just think, if all the liberals that pretend to care about the poor actually took personal responsibility for someone imagine the CHANGE that would result. Some homeless guy can now have a positive role model like goldy show him how to make better choices in life. Oops, goldy was a bad example. But you get the point… Actually do something instead of waiting for the government.
dec⋅i⋅mate
Wouldn’t that also apply to students at college?
“Many students come in with the conviction that they’ve worked hard and deserve a higher mark,” Professor Grossman said. “Some assert that they have never gotten a grade as low as this before.”
…
“I think putting in a lot of effort should merit a high grade,” Mr. Greenwood said. “What else is there really than the effort that you put in?”
“If you put in all the effort you have and get a C, what is the point?” he added. “If someone goes to every class and reads every chapter in the book and does everything the teacher asks of them and more, then they should be getting an A like their effort deserves. If your maximum effort can only be average in a teacher’s mind, then something is wrong.”
That’s something I always look for when hiring professionals. I don’t care how competent they are at their job, after all I can have a second surgery to remove the doctors cellphone, I only concern myself with those that try really hard.
But the part I don’t get is why students feel they are working hard. The professors are not paying the students to study, the students pay the professors to teach. That would make the students the employer and the teachers the employee. Why aren’t the professors working hard to earn their paychecks.
When students aren’t being educated about as something basic as this, how can they succeed in life. Well, besides voting democrat and waiting for the free handouts.
5 MS
You’re a little late to the party. So “NOW hasn’t issued a statement about the muslim [sic] guy in new york [sic] that beheaded his wife.” What is it that you want from them, a condemnation of Islam? Because I’m pretty sure that’s why YOU singled out this case. Is the guy guilty? Has he been tried and convicted? Hint on the second question: no.
Perhaps now isn’t the time to condemn that man, who by our sacred national principles should be considered innocent until proven otherwise beyond a reasonable doubt.
Perhaps we should instead condemn the violence against women that so many Republicans seem content to ignore daily? The violence, for example, against the one in five women who will experience rape or attempted rape during their college years.
Or the average of three women murdered every day in the U.S., about one-third of whom are killed by an intimate partner.
Or the 4.8 million intimate partner-related physical assaults and rapes experienced by women every year.
Oh wait, NOW already has.
5 MS
Let’s see. I could take someone in and feed them and clothe them and that one person would be better off.
OR, we could elect Demcrats and help MILLIONS of people and have Marvin pay for it!
I pick #2.
The Republican position is ridiculous. Right now, they say don’t raise taxes because times are hard. Cut them instead.
When times are better, they say cut taxes because we have revenue over and above expenses.
Is there a recession? Cut taxes. Is business booming? Cut taxes. Do we need stimulus? Cut taxes. Is excessive economic expansion threatening inflation? Cut taxes. Did it rain? Cut taxes.
It’s a good thing we stopped listening to them.
6 MS
Yes, we’re all quite aware of exactly how important competence is to conservatives.
Correct. Why don’t you?
But if the millions of obama voters each helped out a family, the problem would be solved.
Of course. Given the choice you picked not to help people and then you wanted others to pay for what you wouldn’t do.
The perfect stereotype of a liberal.
@6 “That’s something I always look for when hiring professionals.”
That one was good for a laugh.
Two former juvenile court judges in Pennsylvania are facing up to 7 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to tax evasion and wire fraud charges.
The two judges took $2.6 million of kickbacks from a private prison company in exchange for sentencing kids to long terms for minor offenses. They sent over 2,000 children to the company’s jails.
For example, a 14-year-old girl served 11 months for slapping a friend during an argument, under conditions so harsh she was hospitalized 3 times during her incarceration.
This is why you don’t contract out government functions like dispensing justice to the for-profit private sector. Another example of morally bankrupt GOP privatization policies.
8. Daddy Love spews:
You are a funny spinner. The FACT is Gregoire increased spending in the face of a recession knowing and admitting it wasn’t sustainable.
YOU want to increase taxes rather than undo the irresponsible fiscal mismanagement.
Maybe Cynical the Narcissist will take a moment and tell us again how he’s a real Christian and we’re not. That’s always good for a laugh. Cynical – nearer to God than thee.
I see Puddy almost stood up to manoftruth’s racist bullshit last night. Almost.
Another Republican bites the dust. Headed to the slammer for nine years. A fraud and a tax cheat. Geez, Cynical told me that only Democrats are tax cheats.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....03481.html
Of course, he’s a good Republican Christian, just like Cynical.
Hey Steve, you didn’t understand his argument at all.
At all.
@8 The Republican position is ridiculous. Right now, they say don’t raise taxes because times are hard.
———–
Republicans? Gregoire led the way on this very issue throughout her campaign, stating very clearly that raising taxes during a recession was a bad idea and that she would never do it.
You placed her in office for her sound judgment and leadership, and now you’re second guessing her when things get a little rough?
With friends like you . . .
Time to get on board, Daddy, and show some mettle.
Daddy Love and mettle?
Polar opposites!
For those who are short of memory cells here is another installment of the PuddyHistory Lesson system. Let’s see the truth on taxes and “decimation”…
Compare: http://seattletimes.nwsource.c.....h05m0.html
to this link http://horsesass.org/?p=7631
PuddyHistory Lesson complete.
You already posted this old link in another thread.
Is this the best you can do?
Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA) – Looks like libraries and goodwill stores are getting decimated by Harry The Nose Waxman
Marvin–
Steve cannot differentiate between the relevance of some citizen and Obama Cabinet Appointees. Steve’s a PINHEAD!
New info on Gregoire Budget disaster…it’s now over $8 BILLION ans she has done absolutely nothing of value!
http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.....162369.asp
What a disaster.
Gregoire increases spending in the face of a recession KNOWING it’s not sustainable.
Then is paralyzed as the deficit continues to climb.
Now she sits silently as the Legislature schemes tax increases that Gregoire claims she opposes during a recession.
Reprehensible.
KLOWNS love to talk…just like the Viaduct…pissing away BILLIONS rather than do the right thing and make decisions or cuts.
Decimation: CNBC Reporter Rick Santelli from the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange:
“I tell you what, I have an idea,” Santelli shouted. “The new administration is big on computers and technology – how about this, President and new administration? Why don’t you put up a Web site to have people vote on the Internet as a referendum to see if we really want to subsidize the losers’ mortgages, or would we like to at least buy cars and buy houses in foreclosure and give them to people that might have a change to actually prosper down the road and reward people that could carry the water instead of drink the water.”
That sounds good in principle…
The reality is obama and band of tax cheats knows much better than the common folks how to spend someone else’s money.
How about the Mexican analog to decimation, at least as practiced by Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón against defeated rebels? Instead of killing 1/10 of the people and leaving 9/10 of them alive, you select 1/10 of the people by lot, keep these folks alive, and kill the other 9/10 of the people.
Steve why weren’t the democrats prosecuted, for tax evasion, instead they get thier lil hands slapped, and dumb asses like you keep voting them into office.
This country is on it way to the septic tank and it is libturds like you that just float by to see if you can raise a stink.
All this could possibly prove is that there are two sets of rules, one for republicans one for democrats.
$8.3 BILLION Deficit and Gregoire continues to sit their like a deer in the headlights making insignificant cuts and flapping her jaws about how bad things are.
Who is going to be held accountable for mismanaging & subjecting the State Retirement Fund to excessive, ill-advised risk???
No one??
My investment adviser told me a couple years ago it was totally irresponsible of the State Pension Fund Board to get into Hedge Funds and other high risk investments. Now the shit has hit the fan.
These Pension Board members are POLITICAL APPOINTEES…so where does the buck stop??
With the Washington State DEMOCRATS who appointed these KLOWNS and failed the taxpayers with a lack of Legislative oversight.
When you have a bunch of LEFTIST PINHEAD KLOWNS who are engaged in sideshow after sideshow dicking around with fixing the porch WHEN THE WHOLE DAMN HOUSE IS ON FIRE!!, this is what you get.
Idiots.
Hold them accountable.
Vote HELL NO on all tax increases and right-size State Government.
People who say “decimate” usually mean “devastate” — to make like a waste.
IMO
Cynical,
HAs village idiots will have a hard time rejecting Gregoire and her moronic Legislature and Senate boneheads. They voted for them, told us the “adults” are in charge. Well these “adults” made this mess with profligate spending.
Since HAs village idiots like taxes, they should bend over and open their wallets to their massas.
See how simple that was to explain?
Can you say decimation? D.e.c.i.m.a.t.i.o.n
Puddy–
It’s hysterical that these KLOWNS can sit there straight-faced and truly believe Gregoire has zero responsibility of these mess…when she and her KLOWNmates have the friggin’ checkbook.
For Gregoire to increase spending and PUBLICLY ACKNOWLEDGE it isn’t sustainable and then stand there with her finger up her ass while things predictably turn to shit….yup, she sure is doing a great job!
These KLOWNS are so blinded by winning elections, they cannot stop for a 2nd to read the writing on the wall.
Gregoire is in charge and responsible! PERIOD.
The buck stops with her. She is not a victim. She KNOWINGLY increased spending in an unsustainable fashion in the face of a recession….and allowed the State Retirement Fund to be irresponsibly mismanaged too.
What a clusterf*ck.
Democrats are like rappers… crimes only enhance their resumes. Marion berry, cold cash jefferson, etc.
That is funny stuff Marvin, But so very true. I knew there was a reason, Wasn’t sure that they all wanted to be rappers but I think you have answered my question.
That should be the next cartoon in the washington post. It would be hillarious.