Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Magnificent Verbal Venom: Gerald Warner on the Archbishop of Canterbury

I've said it before and I'll say it again: nobody but nobody can indulge in elegantly expressed rage like the Brits. Torygraph columnist Gerald Warner is on a roll here. Check out his takedowns first of the woolly-brained Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams:
There is something impressive about the capacity of Dr Rowan Williams, “Archbishop of Canterbury” of the Henrician usurpation tradition, to get everything wrong on all possible fronts, secular as well as religious. His latest extravagance, however, in a sermon delivered to the true believers at the TUC Economics Conference, claiming that higher taxes would make the world a better place, is in a class by itself.
Ooooh, MEEEEEEE-OW! And his characterization of the vast British state welfare system:
“Taxation builds a habitat,” drivels Williams, “already, quite properly, through state welfare provision, but potentially in other less familiar ways.” Discuss. On second thoughts, why bother? There is nothing “proper” about a state welfare provision that this year has reached £96 billion, and rising. This juggernaut of state helotry has destroyed marriage, families and personal responsibility.
"Juggernaut of state helotry"! I would absolutely use that phrase in conversation if I thought I could get away with it. As things stand, though, I shall endeavour to use the word "drivel" as often as I can.

2 comments:

Brian J. Dunn said...

I've used the word "drivel" in at least 18 posts, thank you very much.

Mad Minerva said...

It's such a LOVELY word, isn't it?