Thursday, August 30, 2007
Norman Hsu and Democratic fundraising
I wrote a column for Pajamas Media on the most recent campaign finance kerfuffle. It is the first time anybody has paid me to write anything that wasn't attorney work product, so I had to write an "official bio" to go with my nom de plume. Some of you, at least, may be more entertained by that than the actual column.
Or maybe you will just roll your eyes...
8 Comments:
By 
, at
Thu Aug 30, 11:12:00 AM:
Without an at least suggestive connection to the Chinese government, if not more ideally, I don't see this scandal as particularly troubling for the Clintons. They've seen it all play out before. In fact, the real lesson here is that Americans need to realize this is a mere taste of whats coming if they return to power, scandal after dismaying scandal.
Why in the footnote are you described as "middle aged"? Reality aside, I hate that term. Not that I'm sensitive, or anything...
Also, the link to your blog at the bottom of the page doesn't work. There, now you can go back and whine like any other diva writer!
Andrew
By 
Ray, at
Thu Aug 30, 12:45:00 PM:
This whole thing leaves a sour taste in my mouth. Because if it isn't explicitly illegal, it means the guy conned the family out of a good chunk of their savings for campaign contributions.
This brings to mind a bit of speculation, which is possibly a bit out there, but not, I think, entirely out of line. In countries many immigrants come from, when somebody who has a picture of himself shaking hands with the president, comes and asks for a "donation," it may not be wise to say no.
By Escort81, at
Thu Aug 30, 01:21:00 PM:
Congratulations, TH, you got your cherry popped -- you are officially a "writer." You received actual financial compensation for a published work.
It reminds me of the time my late mother received a check for $100 for a four or five page article (with photos) that she wrote that was published in a regional horticultural magazine. It was her first published article, and I think that was one of the proudest moments of her life. That she spent several thousand dollars researching the article (and therefore it was not really a profit generating exercise) did not diminish her enthusiasm.
Your piece was well written and balanced, as we would all expect.
By , at
Thu Aug 30, 01:25:00 PM:
"I don't see this scandal as particularly troubling for the Clintons.".....in that niether of them are even remotely acquainted with honesty, ethics, or the truth I think that this should be particularly troubling to us.
By , at
Thu Aug 30, 03:33:00 PM:
"Some of you, at least, may be more entertained by that than the actual column."
Heh, heh. Boy, I'll say. A Clinton scandal (but I repeat myself) is hardly anything new, but a fresh bio to slice & dice -- yum!
I believe I have found two errors, which, if true, gives me enough TigerHawk Bonus Points to move up from my Silver Membership program to the Gold Membership program. For those of you still on the Silver program, the Gold members get a special login code which displays an extra paragraph at the end of each article, where TH lets off steam and tells us how he really feels about the issue. It's pretty cool.
Okay, on to the bio errors.
Error #1:
"TigerHawk is the pseudonym of a middle-aged executive who lives in Princeton, New Jersey. He is also the founder of the blog of the same name-"
The blog's name is "Princeton, New Jersey"??
Error #2:
A. "middle-aged executive
B. "general factotum"
For those of you scoring at home:
fac·to·tum n. An employee or assistant who serves in a wide range of capacities. - American Heritage Dictionary
You're an "executive" and an "assistant"? And not just any ol' assistant, but a "general" assistant, at that? In other words, a gopher; the 'office boy' who gets coffee for the bosses, makes copies for the secretaries, carries the heavy box of sales receipts over to Sales Audit -- you're that guy and an "executive"?
Much less a "CEO"??
I think not.
Now, personally, I'd be thanking my lucky stars that ol' "Doc Eagle Eyes" only found two errors in my bio. There was one more entry that was really touch-and-go:
"numismatist"
You're off the hook because, technically, it's a word, but it isn't the word most people use. Google it!
"numismatist" = 156,000 hits
"numismatic" = 1,140,000 hits
I'll be expecting that secret Gold Membership login code in my email box any minute now, thanks.
"horse-financier"
After just reading "dog-lover", I read that as "horse fancier", then had to backtrack and read it over again. Have you ever talked about this? Is is done for love of the animal, or the track, or is there a monetary angle involved? Inquiring minds want to know!
BTW, your link on the article works just fine. Whoever mentioned it above might have already had a browser window open, but minimized, and it opened in that. Or lost it in a maze of tabs.
The article was nicely done, given the sordid subject matter, and congrats on landing a paid writing gig. Does...Does this mean you're going to subtly change your writing style?
"As I sip my home-roasted Starbucks™ coffee in my LL Bean Deluxe Coffee Mug™ made with my Braun Model #2500 Coffee-Maker™ and ponder the Clinton/Hsu kerfuffle, I can't help but think-"
You know, like that?
Worried in Florida,
Faithful Reader
By TigerHawk, at
Thu Aug 30, 03:49:00 PM:
OK, Dr. Merc, in order:
1. Error #1 is a very minor example of ambiguity in antecedents. No points for picking on that.
2. Regarding the suppose impossibility of being both an "executive" and a "general factotum," well, all I can say is you will have to trust me. Most people who are familiar with my position at work, including the CEO to whom I report, would agree that I perform both tasks about equally. The usage, however, is correct.
3. Your suggestion that my use of the word "numismatist" was "touch and go" actually costs you points. "Numismatics" is the subject, and a "numismatist" is a person who studies or practices numismatics. It is just like the difference between "philately" and "philatelist," with which I'm sure we are all familiar.
4. Regarding the horses, I contribute financially to the acquisition and maintenance of a number of horses. In fairness, however, my hard-working wife has borne most of the expense.
By , at
Thu Aug 30, 05:30:00 PM:
"Regarding the horses, I contribute financially to the acquisition and maintenance of a number of horses.".....your carbon foot print must be bigger than the goricles!....all of that horse exhaust and all !!
By , at
Mon Sep 03, 11:25:00 AM:
Liberal demacrats have receaved donations from very shadey persons like the CHICOMS and some realy croked persons
