American clocks, which have been on standard (approximately true solar) time since November 3, are to be twisted an hour forward at 2 AM in the night between Saturday and Sunday, March 8 and 9.
Department of Language Curiosities
A euphemism (Greek eu-, “well,” and phêmê, “speech”) is a word or phrase intended to make something bad seem good.
Maybe alethism, from alêthê, “true,” could be our term for the translation of a euphemism into what it really means.
“Daylight Saving Time” is a euphemism for an officious rule that “saves” no time and causes inconvenience and uncertainty. The alethism suggested by George Lovi is “Daylight Displacement Time.”
DOGE, or Department of Government Efficiency, is the euphemistic title for an agency created to destroy other agencies and thus fund tax cuts for the wealthy, benefit polluting corporations by erasing regulations, get rid of air traffic controllers and nuclear-safety inspectors, end support for medical and other vital research, overlook discrimination against minorities.
An alethism might be Department of Greed Encouragement. Other suggestions welcome, but not too obscene.
Doge already had sinister overtones from its well-known use in history, as the title of the heads of the republic of Venice, some of whom were dark characters. It’s the Venetian dialect form of Italian Duce, “leader.” Mussolini was Il Duce, to put him in parallel with Germany’s Fuehrer.
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This weblog maintains its right to be about astronomy or anything under the sun.
Sometimes I make improvements or corrections to a post after publishing it. If you click on the title, rather than on ‘Read more’, I think you are sure to see the latest version. Or, if you click ‘Refresh’ or press function key 5, you’ll see the latest version.
If the government was actually doing its job to rein in corporate excess through responsible oversight, then there would be a case for being careful in downsizing so as not to remove checks on abuses by corporations. Unfortunately, a much more accurate characterization of the relationship between the US government and the largest corporations is one of regulatory capture and the government therefore protecting predatory corporate behavior. The revolving door between the Pentagon and huge defense contractors is one example that results in astonishing waste and is one of the causes of the wars we start (look at the stock price of all major defense contractors such as Lockheed Martin, Northrup Grumman, and Raytheon when a new war starts ~ it’s great for shareholders).
Even worse is the revolving door between pharmaceutical companies and the FDA / CDC / NIH / etc. For decades our government “health” agencies have done nothing but create a safe space for pharmaceutical companies to sell deadly drugs to people, with only the occasional perfunctory fine to interrupt an otherwise steady stream of billions in profits as Americans’ life expectancy declines despite paying more for health care than almost every other country.
The fact that there are some parts of the government still performing important functions in a responsible manner does not change the fact that our bloated bureaucracy still warrants intense scrutiny that is long overdue.
Today the group Patriotic Millionaires emphasized the point that the amount owed to the government by wealthy tax dodgers is at least a trillion dollars, and DOGE is laying off the accountants who work to recover it. They also point out how Musk’s companies stand to profit.
Daylight is saved. In June the daylight that would have occurred between 4:30 and 5:30 AM when most are still in bed is saved until 7:30 to 8:30 PM when most can take advantage of it.
Charles Rudolph’s argument has some credibility for a few weeks around summer solstice. But not for eight months from the end of winter until the middle of autumn, as currently enforced in the US.
More fundamentally, we simply don’t need the government to change the clocks twice a year. Long before “daylight saving time” was adopted during the first world war, people got up earlier in the summer and later in the winter. If we stay on standard time year round, businesses, schools, and local government agencies could make better decisions about when to start work during the different seasons of the year than everyone being forced to follow an irrational federal mandate.
DOGE purpose is to get rid of gov “workers”? who sit around doing nothing while taking our tax money!!!
The “nothings” they were doing were essential to nuclear power safety, air traffic safety, medical science breakthroughs, sewage spill prevention, response to famines and other world disasters, and the reputation of the US.
What is your experience with government employees? How many have you had direct interactions with? Do you take any prescription medications, do you get water or sewer services, do you drive? Undoubtedly all of these activities involved the efforts of many government workers. Like any workplace some may be more efficient that others, but to claim that all of them do nothing is inaccurate.
You’re equating the acronym DOGE with the Venetian leader’s title that hasn’t existed for over 200 years? That’s drawing an embarrassingly long bow.
Making a connection from the modern acronym, for which he has a particular distaste, to a historic word with negative connotations seems not only appropriate, but quinissentially “Guy-like” in both style and spirit.
Trump and Elon are considering ending Daylight Savings Time. Elon says it is costly and inconvenient.
I wrote a letter in 2019 explaining why DST should be abandoned. I sent it to Marco Rubio (who wrote the Sunshine Bill), and also sent copies to my representatives in Congress. I’m going to mail it again to my representatives and to Trump.
I urge your U.S. readers to do the same. They can copy and paste my letter, then sign it and mail it to the president and their own representatives . The letter can be be found in your blog titled “Lurch Forward an Hour”
https://www.universalworkshop.com/2019/03/08/lurch-forward-an-hour/
Yes, the text of Rick’s letter is in the Comments to that post. It is an excelletnt concise 3-point summary of the case for returning to permanent Standard time. Worth copying and keeping for use at other opportunities.
I updated the letter to persuade the businessman side of Trump. The first sentence of my letter is in Bold font.
President Donald Trump
1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Washington DC 20500-0001
In Regards to: Uniform Time Act / Standard Time verses Daylight Savings Time
Dear Mr. Trump:
I recommend abandoning Daylight Savings Tine and keeping Standard Time year – round. I have read that Elon Musk is also of the opinion that using Daylight Savings Time is an inconvenience and it is costly.
I offer the following reasons for abandoning Daylight Savings Time.
* It doesn’t really save time. Its like cutting the tail off a dog, glueing it to his face, and saying you made the dog longer
*Construction workers and other workers would rather have more daylight in the morning, when energy is higher
*Using standard time year-round would standardize time for all the municipalities located in their respective time zones, making it easier to schedule meetings and teleconferences resulting in a more robust Gross National Product. Currently, Arizona does not use DST; they are only on the same time as California 5 months of the year
*Falling asleep is more difficult when daylight is abnormally long in the evening. Well rested citizens are more productive, which also increases the GNP. School children would also fall asleep faster – their bedtimes often occur during daylight in May and June when using DST.
*DST makes the understanding of time by children harder to grasp, thereby hindering their learning of reality. During DST, high noon (when the sun is highest) would be at 1 PM rather than noon. Likewise, 12 midnight is not in the middle of the night.
*An argument for DST is that there is less crime during daylight hours, so more daylight at the end of the day would reduce crime. But I contend that the best way to reduce crime is to have more jobs via lower taxes and a balanced budget, rather than simply legislating time on clocks.
*Setting opening and closing times of outdoor attractions is more difficult when using DST. For example, in March and September there are about 12 hours of daylight, so a national or state park should be open from 6 AM to 6 PM, but with DST the hours would be 7 AM to 7 PM, which is harder to remember.
*Skin cancer might also decrease with year-long Standard Time. It’s easier to remember to avoid sunlight between 10 AM and 2 PM rather than between 11 AM and 3 PM.
*DST complicates the work of astronomers and air traffic controllers. The Earth is divided into 24 time zones based on 15 degrees of longitude per time zone. Astronomers designate the tine of astronomical events using Universal Time, which is the time in Greenwich, England. Astronomers in other parts of the world then adjust this time to the time zone where they live. For example, if there is an eclipse of the moon at 11 PM Universal Time, then those in New York would look for the eclipse at 6 PM. With DST, New York astronomers have to subtract only 4 hours from Universal Time, even though New York is 5 time zones behind England.
*Ham radio operators are also inconvenienced when using Zulu Time.
*Likewise, DST also complicates calculations for international air travel and space travel.
In summary, it’s just common sense to stay on Standard Time year-round.
Sincerely,
Richard Scheithauer, D.C.
Lorain Chiropractic Center, Inc.
Didn’t you previously call DST “Daylight Shifting Time”? It’s an accurate description and fits with the euphemistic abbreviation.
I went to the “Stand Up for Science!” demonstration here in San Francisco yesterday afternoon, one of dozens around the US. Moving speeches from scientists, including Stanford Nobel laureate Carolyn Bertozzi, early career scientists and students, and people who are alive today because of federally funded medical research. The crowd was spirited and engaged. The shortest and best sign I saw: “Healing Not Stealing.” Most obscure: “Tesla? More like Edison, you poser.” My sign said, “Firing meteorologists won’t stop climate change.”
I don’t have a rewording of the newspeak neologism DOGE, I just want every American who believes that our government should obey the constitution, laws, and court rulings to renounce this abomination.
Department of greater evil? Department of glib excuses? Department of gross excess?
Brilliant, David! Worth passing on.
How about “Despicable Oligarchs Ghosting Everyone”
Let’s not forget the euphemistic phrase that the US “supports democracy and freedom,” but what it actually does is pay right-wing terrorists in other countries to carry out coups to overthrow their democratically elected governments, like what it did in Ukraine, Iraq, El Salvador, Vietnam, Georgia, Mexico, Phillipines, Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti, Greece, Iran, … ad nauseum.