Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Politicians looking at things


Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan was on the radio the other day talking about misuse of alcohol; during his interview he used the phrases "we will be looking at", "that will be looked at" and "I am confident that is being looked at" at least 18 times: I would have continued counting but instead I ran from the kitchen with my head in my hands. For sheer fingernails-down-the-blackboard irritation this comes top of the list, for this week at any rate.
In my little world, "Looking at" something means precisely that: looking at it. It doesn`t mean anything is going to be done, necessarily. So can I assume that if a politician continuously says that whatever it is is "going to be looked at" that this is as far as it will go? I can see these guys taking out the file, looking at it, and putting it back on the top shelf again, before heading out to RTE where they can smugly announce that this issue "has been/is going to be/ was looked at". Or better still, if they ask some trainee in the office to simply stare at the file back on the desk while they are on the air, they can cheerfully pronounce that this issue is "being looked at". Hurrah!
While I`m on the subject of Politicians, I would have thought Trevor Sargeant, former leader of the Green Party, would have made it his business to learn the correct pronounciation of the word Nuclear.
In Woody Allen's 1989 film Crimes and Misdemeanors, the Mia Farrow character says she could never fall for any man who says "nucular."
It`s almost as annoying as the misuse of the word "Presently" .
End of rant (for now)

1 comment:

Jonathan said...

Spot on. Par for the course for this government really... doing anything but make a decision, and then make shite ones.