Bell Curve The Law Talking Guy Raised by Republicans U.S. West
Friday, November 03, 2006  "Mistakes Were Made"  Arab
grammarians call the passive voice the majhoul, the hidden or
unknown voice. It is a perceptive name. A speaker can use the
passive voice to say words that sound honest while hiding the
truth and implicating others.  Listen to how Republican
Representative Tom Reynolds cleverly employs the majhoul as he
"apologizes" on TV for hushing up the Mark Foley scandal: "This
Spring, I was told about odd, but not explicit e-mails between
Mark Foley and a Page... Even so, I reported what I had been
told to the Speaker of the House... Looking back, more should
have been done--and for that, I am sorry." Who told Reynolds
about the e-mails? Reynolds is silent. Who should have done
more? Reynolds implies it was Hastert.  Now listen to how
Speaker Hastert weasels his way around the same issue: "I'm
deeply sorry this has happened and the bottom line is we're
taking responsibility." What has happened for which