Whoever Came Up With These Names?
I don’t know about you, but I am frustrated by things being called what is popular or agreeable or what sells, rather than what they are.
I don’t know about you, but I am frustrated by things being called what is popular or agreeable or what sells, rather than what they are.
Take for example the USA Patriot Act—the Frosted Flakes of government intervention in our lives. The Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001. Do you ever wonder who comes up with these acronyms? Did they start with PATRIOT and work backwards though the dictionary?
I suppose the Discouraging Useful and Meaningful Bipartisan Overview (DUMBO) Act would not have sold as well a short six weeks after 9-11. So, even though we got the DUMBO Act, we saluted the flag and called it PATRIOT. And the flags, as well as our personal rights, flew.
The original Act (just so no one could accuse us of giving away all our constitutional protections in one f…