In article , "Ed Huntress" wrote:

"Doug Miller" wrote in message
et...
In article , "Ed Huntress"
wrote:

"Doug Miller" wrote in message
.net...
In article , "Ed Huntress"
wrote:

What makes you think he's talking about lying? It sounds like the
statement
says you have to get peoples' attention by focusing on the danger, more
than
you might otherwise do in discussions about the subject. It doesn't say
*misrepresent*, it says *over-represent*.

So instead of "lying" substitute "exaggerating". Not much difference
AFAIC.

It doesn't say "exaggerating," either. All is says is that the story about
danger is "over-represented." But compared to what? One writer says that
Gore meant that getting attention requires a heavy emphasis on the danger
side of the issue. It doesn't say that one should lie about it. It doesn't
say that one should exaggerate the level of the danger.

That sounds reasonable in context, doesn't it?

Apparently you see a difference in meaning between "over-represented" and
"exaggerated".

To me, saying the danger is greater than it is, is exaggerating. Saying that
it's dangerous first and last, and talking relatively little about solutions
in between, would be "over representing."

In other words, it means what you want it to mean.

But I don't know for sure what he meant. The point is, neither do you. And
neither does Larry. What you read into it -- lying or exaggerating -- tells
us only about your own prejudices,

Actually, this tells us a great deal about *your* prejudices, in that you
refuse to accept the plain meaning of the words and instead insist that it is
impossible to determine their meaning.

because there is nothing in that sentence
from Gore that gives any hint of what he meant,

Garbage. _What_he_said_ certainly "gives a hint" of what he meant. In fact, to
those to still subscribe to the antiquated notion that words have meaning
independent of who utters them, what a person says is actually a clear
description, not a mere "hint", of what he means. Apparently, you subscribe to
the "Alice in Wonderland" school of meaning, in which words mean what the
speaker wants them to mean.

except that it should be
"represented" more than something else should be represented.

Pfffft. The plain meaning of the phrase is clear: represented more than it
deserves on its face.


Larry's reaction and yours is a window into your minds, not into Gore's.


Do you also argue over what the meaning of "is" is?

That depends on what you mean by "is." d8-)

Exactly so: the Alice in Wonderland school.