I was listening to a recording of the vice president today talking about the “overwhelming” evidence of links between Sadam Hussain and Al-queda. I was reminded of the cuban missle crisis (and a great movie about it, called “13 Days” which you should watch because it’s AWESOME) and the phrase “incontrovertable” evidence of soviet missles in Cuba.
Apparently, the definition of “overwhelming” is open to some interpritation these days – or at least as it is used by our government. I think the same phrase was used by Colin Powell when he addressed the UN before we went to war with Iraq. Just to make sure I wasn’t going crazy, I pulled out my dictionary:
in·con·tro·vert·ible: adjective, not open to question
over·whelm·ing: adjective, tending or serving to overwhelm (an overwhelming majority); also : EXTREME, GREAT
over·whelm: transitive verb, 1: UPSET, OVERTHROW 2a : to cover over completely, SUBMERGE b: to overcome by superior force or numbers c: to overpower in thought or feeling
So, incontrovertible: not open to question; overwhelming: tending or serving to cover over completely or upset or overthrow.
I think that speaks for itself, but you can of course draw your own conclusions…
-Keithius
