Taranto Logic -

Scheiber’s argument regarding Ebola, however, fails even the test of expediency. It amounts to asserting that public officials have to lie to us so that we can trust them when they say there’s nothing to worry about. Incompetence alone is corrosive enough to public trust. If people in authority tell outright lies with the aim of soothing the public, then every reassuring official statement is cause for alarm.

http://online.wsj.com/articles/best-of-the-web-today-honesty-and-policy-1414440460

So Loopy on So Many Levels

Best of the Web Today...

Cartographers Call This ‘Projection’ “Debbie Wasserman Schultz: Democrats Are ‘Expanding the Map’ ”—headline, Breitbart.com, Oct. 23

When either Taranto or one of his readers spring (metaphor alert!) such marvelous juxtapostions such as this, it's like Ed McMahon with Carnac the Magnificent: you know somethings are coming in this segment (or column) that will collide multiple transitive connotations into a verbal Campaign Spot train-wreck video requiring rewind and replay, click the play again button on the YouTube collision, or reread cartography, projection, DWS, expand, map... 

(No, "DWS" is not enough, it is necessary to repeatedly reread cartography, projection, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, expand, map...)

Kevin Williamson explores the VA cloud at NRO.

Red lines...

Patrick Brennan of NRO quotes a State Department official: "We're not going to get into what the consequences would be, other than to say that there's a red line...A red line is a red line."

Does this statement imply that "a red line" is no longer a metaphor? 

A red line is a red line is a red line, and is NOT a "red line"... The inferred metaphor of understanding (by the reporter and almost any other English-speaking person) is mistaken according to the spokesman. Rather, it is a trivial loop, an identity. Consequently, new information is provided -- the administration is unlikely to respond to movement of forbidden weapons, because a red line may be crossed, metaphorically, but the crossed line is only a red line. 

So little parsing, so little time... 

Drudge wink

Drudge does it again:

From TPM:

“I want to be absolutely clear: I accept no responsibility for the actions of a rogue chemist,” Auerbach said, before adding: “At the Department of Public Health, the buck stops with me.”

From today's Daily Caller newsletter (also here):

3.) OCCUPY something else -- Describing himself as a leader of movement that's supposed to be leaderless, Aaron Black told TheDC's Josh Peterson that he is no longer particularly enthused by the Occupy movement:
"'I hope you don’t take that the wrong way,' he said. ”I am the organizing arm of Occupy Wall Street' ... He had time to greet friends and walk around, but on the edge of [Zuccotti Park], Black told TheDC he was frustrated. 'I’m tired of this,' he said, as the clock neared midnight. 'I’m tired of them,' he said, pointing to the remaining contingent of Occupiers in the park. 'I’m tired of them,' he said, pointing to the NYPD. 'I’m tired of this whole #@%&p;?*&@| thing.'"