Confused about the kerfuffle over the Pa. budget? That’s the point.
Also: Next week, The Angry Grammarian ... live!
Before we dive into politics and language, a quick and fun programming note: As you might know, The Angry Grammarian isn’t just a column and a newsletter — it’s also a musical. And next week, in South Philly, you can hear a sneak preview of a few songs from the musical.
Local author Martha Cooney is hosting Yo Live: A Variety Comedy Show, which will include performances of Angry Grammarian songs, along with the talents of Alejandro Morales, Rebekah Rickards, Cecily Alexandria, Marjorie Fineberg Winther, Claire Holm, Jeff Martin and more.
Saturday, July 22, 7:30 pm at Newbold Exchange (1727 Snyder Ave.). Tickets are free; reserve your spot here!
Excited to see/hear the full musical? Stay tuned.
Back to your regularly scheduled rantings:
You can be forgiven for being confused about Pennsylvania’s budget.
Gov. Josh Shapiro and Senate Republicans have gone out of their way to use linguistic trickery that makes everything hard to understand.
The big sticking point — which gave Senate Republicans both heartburn and whiplash, as they first fell in love and then rapidly fell out of love with our Democratic governor — was school vouchers.
Not that you’re likely to hear anyone in government talking about “vouchers.” It seems everyone, led by Shapiro and Senate Republicans, preferred a continually shifting mélange of acronyms and euphemisms to avoid calling vouchers what they are.
As writing tools go, acronyms and euphemisms are top of the game for obscuring understanding. They’re exclusionary, as they omit meaning for everyone except those in the know.
Read the full column at Inquirer.com.