Sarah Palin 'believed Queen was in charge of British forces in Iraq'

[Joe Republic]

Oh, so she wanted to have a conversation with the Queen.  Totally different.

[Joe Republic]

By the way, this has officially become a J. J. thread now, hasn't it?

[they don't love you like i love you]

By the way, this has officially become a J. J. thread now, hasn't it?

J. J.'s devotion to defending things that can't be defended by any facts or logic is kind of inexplicable (see also Joe Paterno or the Bradley Effect nonsense). If some unpopular figure to people on the forum claimed the sun rose in the west and set in the east, we'd probably end up with a multi-page thread with him explaining either how they were probably just misinterpreted or how they could be considered correct in a sense.

[Joe Republic]

Sigh.

That post would've been an absolute direct hit if anybody else but you had said it, BRTD.

[Mr. Taft Republican]

>.< Why won't she leave America alone and go hunt wolves or something?

[J. J.]

Oh, so she wanted to have a conversation with the Queen.  Totally different.

An open dialogue with the Crown, would make sense.   If I wanted to talk to Elizabeth II, I wouldn't use the word "dialogue."

Sorry, but it takes more than a little bit of morphing to change "continue to have an open dialogue" with the Queen (presumably meaning the Crown), into "Queen was in charge of British forces in Iraq."

[Filuwaúrdjan]

'The Crown' is a formal term that is archaic in everyday usage.

[J. J.]

'The Crown' is a formal term that is archaic in everyday usage.

And it appears in my less than 30 year old college textbook.

If you use the term "the government," what is generally meant by that?

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

'The Crown' is a formal term that is archaic in everyday usage.

And it appears in my less than 30 year old college textbook.

I didn't know you share a college textbook with Sarah Palin.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

And it appears in my less than 30 year old college textbook.

I would expect formal terms to appear in textbooks. They have a habit of doing that.

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Either the government of the day in a political sense, or central government in general (including civil service functionaries).

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

You mean it's not really Her Majesty's Armed Forces?

No they aren't, in the sense that she has no control over when and where they are deployed. Palin was mistaken about this very basic point, and while it may be fine for the Mayor of Wasilla, Alaska to be unaware of the role that the monarch plays in the government of one of America's most important allies, it's not at all fine for the Vice President of the United States to be unaware of this.

Actually it is "Her Majesty's Armed Forces," though the person of the sovereign has no role in policy:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Armed_Forces

I think Palin meant to say "the Crown," i.e. the government of the day (the politicians supported by a plurality of the Commons) that exercises the royal prerogative.

The woman's a doofus...accept it and move on.

I think that is a difference between an American misusing the terminology (which still makes her a doofus, BTW), and an American thinking Elizabeth II is the political leader of the UK who makes policy.

I can remember a post from one your fellow countrymen, er, excuse me, "mates," Hugh, about "gridiron."  I've never heard American football called that by anyone in the US, but that didn't make him an idiot for using the term wrongly ("gridiron," can refer to the field on which the game is played).

And "mate," has a very different connotation that how you would use it.  That doesn't make you an idiot either.

BTW - I never use the word mate.

[J. J.]

And it appears in my less than 30 year old college textbook.

I would expect formal terms to appear in textbooks. They have a habit of doing that.

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Either the government of the day in a political sense, or central government in general (including civil service functionaries).

In the US, "the government" almost never refers to the "government of the day."  It refers to all aspects of the governing body, down to the local level and would include low level civil servants, like the clerk at the Department of Motor Vehicles.

I think Palin just used the wrong word.  And yes, she should be criticized for that, but let's morph it into 'Queen was in charge of British forces in Iraq.'

[Filuwaúrdjan]

In the US, "the government" almost never refers to the "government of the day."  It refers to all aspects of the governing body, down to the local level and would include low level civil servants, like the clerk at the Department of Motor Vehicles.

o.k.

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Or we could just ask the Antique Monk.

[Јas]

Kudos JJ - I think it's safe to say that your work in this thread will secure you a nomination for Best Trolling this year.