Abagadro: Wow, I didn't realize I "wrote" for several publications that have printed my letters to the editor.

It's a simple progression of events:

1. You write something.

2. They publish it.

Notice that it does not say he WORKS for NRO--just that he wrote something for them and they actually published it.

I would compliment them on their willingness to cross the aisle, but the letter is so whiny and asinine I imagine they couldn't wait to get it into print.

sigdiamond2000: what - aside from the opening "Dear Right-Wing People" - is whiny and asinine about the letter?

For me I think the pinnacle is the accusation that the rest of the world is racist because one of SNL's producers, who was African-American, died recently but didn't get the coverage John Belushi did.

Well, I never heard of this producer, but unless she was a young, internationally famous star of TV, movies and music all at the same time and died suddenly in the midst of a drug scandal at the height of her career, I call bullshiat.

sigdiamond2000: So I "write" for the Detroit Free Press because they've published a couple classified ads that I wrote?

No, but the posting guidelines do ask that headlines be shortened as much as possible, so I'm seeing "writes for NRO" as a legitimate way to shorten "writes a letter to the editor of NRO and has it published" or the classic boring passive-voiced "is published in NRO."

Even if he did it as a freelancer, you could say "writes for" NRO without necessarily implying he's employed there.

I could apologize for any confusion, but as I contended in a similar thread last week: This is Fark. Feel free to parse any given headline to death; I will in turn feel free to take all of this just as seriously as it deserves: Namely, not at all.

But I certainly don't want to spoil YOUR fun. Please, by all means, argue away. Burst an artery; go for it. It's your life.

Oh, and here's my own favorite GB reference: "Someone with your qualifications would have no trouble finding a top-flight job in either the food service or housekeeping industries."

The CraneMeister: I'm seeing "writes for NRO" as a legitimate way to shorten "writes a letter to the editor of NRO and has it published"

Oh, almost forgot: Every word I wasted with a granular description of Franken's relationship with NRO, or lack thereof, was one I couldn't use to finish the Ghostbusters quote.

Pick yer priorities; I have mine.