A newcomer (And I know he's a newcomer because he dared question me) by the name of Tewar writes: hmmmmm... Well, dear sir, are you sure about gassing Shiites? Wasn't it the annoying Kurds that got your attention first, and you showed them your love by gassing 'em ? Just wondering ...
Look, I've gassed a lot of people in my time, and I can't possibly be expected to keep track of every last ethnic group I've tried to eradicate. Nor do I keep score on who got gassed first or second or last or most often or in a particular year. Precise record keeping in such matters can only serve to get you in trouble further down the road when the world's crybabies start whining about ethnic cleansing, genocide, and other such nonsense. I mean, look at Slobodan Milosovich, or whatever the hell his name is. His ass is rotting in a jail cell at the moment.
Well, okay, so is mine. But that's NOT my point. My point is that keeping score of who got gassed ahead of who is unnecessary.
Or is it "whom got gassed ahead of whom?" English is so frikkin' complicated, it's ridiculous. And don't even get me started on the differences between "effect" and "affect."
----------Marshall Ramsey, The Clarion Ledger
