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Wait, wasn't the sequester going to crater the economy?
A woman pauses to look at flight schedules at John F. Kennedy Airport on February 28, 2013 in New York City.
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We begin with an update, on the federal budget-cutting doom known as sequestration. Remember that? One month ago today, Congress and the president let automatic cuts kick in -- amid warnings of uninspected meat, unsafe flying and worker furloughs.
But here's the thing: didn't happen.
On the eve of sequestration, transportation secretary Ray LaHood warned of air travel "calamity" -- that we'd have fewer air traffic controllers watching the skies. "We have a 30-day window," he said.
That window closes today. Reality?
"I think the control tower at JFK in New York is quite safe," says Teal Group aviation analyst Richard Aboulafia. He says the sequester blade has sliced just a few regional air markets. "I don't think you're going to see any meaningful cutback across the entire system. What you will see is a bit of pain, here and there."
In the meantime, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack warned, pre-sequestration, "there will be disruption" in food inspection, due to furloughed inspectors.
Then, Congress came up with the cash to un-disrupt things.
"It's about as surprising as the fact that Monday follows Sunday." Jack Pitney is a political scientist at Claremont McKenna College. "Whenever there are cuts looming, the bureaucracy will trot out a parade of horribles."
Now, he says, the Obama administration has lost budget credibility. There's now a 'crying wolf' perception.
Thing is, defense analyst Byron Callan at Capital Alpha Partners says, many cuts do hurt. They just take time to bite. Already, two defense contractors have downgraded sales projections due to Pentagon cuts.
"And we continue to see these consolidation efforts and layoff announcements come out of defense contractors as they reposition and resize as well," Callan says.
The point is not that the sky didn't fall. It's that the clouds arrived, and the rain comes later.
I hate it when people use the term "Month" "Anniversary". By definition, an anniversary is a yearly event. With a quick google I came up with this discussion (which I have not dissected) on the topic:
If the word for the commemoration of a yearly event is anniversary, by
analogy the logical word for the commemoration of a monthly event
should be "mensiversary." "Anniversary" comes from the Latin "annum,"
meaning year. (The "versary" part comes from a Latin word referring
to turning.) The Latin word for month is "mensis." Hence,
mensiversary. I've not found this word in any reputable dictionary,
but perhaps exposure in Google Answers can help to put it there. ;-)
"MEN-SI-VER-SA-RY (mèn´se-vûr´se-rê) noun
1. The monthly recurring date of a past event, especially one of
historical, national, or personal importance: a first date
mensiversary; the mensiversary of the founding of Nerstone Pictures.
2. A celebration commemorating such a date.
from Latin: mensis, month + versus, past participle of vertere, to turn."
Nerstone Pictures: Neologisms
http://users.snowcrest.net/larris/nerstonepictures/neologisms.htm
"mensiversary (men-si-VER-suh-ree) noun
The day of the month on which an event occurred in some previous month.
Created by Kat Petersen in a text message. Derived from mensis (Latin:
month) + versus, past participle of vertere (Latin: to turn), in the
pattern of anniversary."
Neologism of the Week
http://uk.geocities.com/neologismoftheweek/past.html
"The second consideration weakening my confidence is that our media
have, in general, shown themselves to be comparably amateurish in the
PR war. On October 11, the mensiversary of 9/11, a news article in the
Washington Post admitted that bin-Laden is winning the propaganda
war."
Independent American Party: A Look at Islam
http://www.usiap.org/Viewpoints/Zgen/ALookAtIslam.html
"Not quite half a year ago, on an Election Tuesday in New York, our
nation's fabric was attacked, the peace was shattered, and the city's
two tallest buildings came crashing down...
People will make much today of the sixth mensiversary of the attacks.
And tomorrow will once again be the day after today."
Life with Jill the Pill: Let's Be Pensive
http://www.jillthepill.net/discus/messages/1/378.html?1000239134
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A charming way of expressing a similar idea is "month's mind":
"MONTH'S MIND, in medieval and later England a service and feast held
one month after the death of anyone in his or her memory. Bede speaks
of the day as commemorationis dies. These 'Minding days' were of great
antiquity, and were survivals of the Norse minne or ceremonial
drinking to the dead."
1911 Encyclopedia: MONTH'S MIND
http://32.1911encyclopedia.org/M/MO/MONTH_S_MIND.htm
"There is an old Irish custom called a 'month's mind' where family and
friends gather about a month after someone's death to celebrate that
person's life."
National Catholic Reporter: Memorial Service for Gary MacEoin
http://nationalcatholicreporter.org/update/maceoin_memorial_schedules.htm
"Many Catholic cultures observe 'month's mind' Masses or yearly anniversaries."
Christ the Redeemer Roman Catholic Church: THE BOOK OF REMEMBRANCE
http://ctrcc.tripod.com/pastor/comment110799.htm
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A fanciful suggestion: "uncianniversary," a portmanteau word I created
from Latin "uncia," meaning a twelfth part, and "anniversary." Since a
month is one-twelfth of a year, a month's celebration could be an
"uncianniversary." I like the sound of it. A bit silly, yes. But I get
that way if I think in Latin for very long.
Hyperdictionary: Uncia
http://www.hyperdictionary.com/dictionary/uncia
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Google search strategy:
Google Web Search: "mensiversary"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=mensiversary
Google Web Search: "month's mind"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%22month%27s+mind
======================================================================
Thanks for a very intriguing question, Cleric. I hope my speculations
on this matter provide a satisfying response to your query, which has
no cut-and-dried answer. Things which are cut and dried are seldom as
interesting as living things that change, grow, and sometimes tread on
your dreams.
Best,
Pink
Clarification of Answer by pinkfreud-ga on 16 Dec 2003 16:57 PST
It appears that Merriam-Webster has taken official note of the trend
toward using "anniversary" in a looser sense. From a newgroup thread
on the subject:
"*Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th ed.:
[quote, from entry "anniversary"]
1 : the annual recurrence of a date marking a notable event; _broadly_
: a date that follows such an event by a specified period of time
measured in units other than years <the 6-month _anniversary_ of the
accident>"
Posted 10 Oct 2003 in alt.usage.english newsgroup
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=lang_en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&newwi...
