Thee-Thou and Ye-You

Old familiar singular: thou (nom.), thy/thine, (poss.) and thee (obj.)

Old formal and plural: ye (nom.), your/yours (poss.), and you (obj.)

You can hear this difference in Shakespeare if you listen for it. Sometimes a high rank person will call the lower-rank person thee, while the lower-rank person calls the superior-rank person you.

The familiar/singular/intimate persists in Yorkshire, as tha-thy-(not sure of objective) -- you see it in Bronte novels and others set in Yorkshire, in modern Yorkshire also, and in the immortal ditty On Ilka Moor, where a verse says, "Tha's going to catch thy death of cold..."

Early affected thee (dropping thou) as a statement that they did not care for distinctions of rank, and used thee where you would have been socially appropriate.

I do not believe that people can still be as uninformed as those who are posting on this column. Number one, I have never been a follower of Novak, but I do know that when he reported the facts on Plume, she was in no danger. CIA agent big deal. She had not been out of the country in years and never anticipated to be out of the country. What Americans need to do is look into the facts and not worry about what people are reporting. It almost makes some Americans understand why we are behind China, "we are stupid and believe everything we read." How sad that Americans have fallen into the trap of following every word writers print and never do their own research. TOO BAD, SO SAD

No,
I do not think Libby should have been freed. If Bush merely believed that 30 months is too long to serve for exposing a CIA agent, then he would have shortened it. If, on the other hand, he feared Libby would "sing" before he went in the slam, then letting him go free would eliminate that threat to the White House. And the $250K fine is a joke to the fat cats who bankroll this slime.

In answer to Leonard Lopate's question, about Robert Novak's assertion that Scooter Libby should be pardoned, i think the commutation should be annuled (if that were possible) and Libby should not be pardoned.

Robert Novak's slur of Al Gore because Al Gore ALLEGEDLY didn't come on one Novak's programs seven years ago was over the top and typical of Mr. Novak.

I thought the interview was informative and interesting. Mr Novak is a witness to 50 years of American history. Just because he didn't confirm the lies being told by the left wing and democrat presidential candidates about the Plame fiasco, personal attacks are not warranted. Please save your rage for the people who are leaking gov. secrets and by such are endangering our security!

sigh

why oh why oh why must this horrible excuse for a human being continually be paid attention to by the media? Let's leave him to the dungheap of history where he belongs.

and why do we keep calling him a "journalist"? Aren't journalists supposed to be unbiased? Or at least present an unbiased view? (i.e. reporting...anyone remember what that is?)

and why isn't this man in jail? If this scumbag were a left-winger and he outed a CIA agent he'd be sitting there right now after a torrent of partisan pundits calling for his head on a platter among the screams of "traitor"...yet this idiot walks away scott-free and gets to continue to be interviewed.

It made my skin crawl listening to Mr. Novak. What an awful person. Leonard you are better person than I to sit through a face to face conversation with him.

Peace

pls tell Mr. Novak that the term "welsh" as he used it derives from the outdated characterization of the Welsh people as 'shifty' at best and criminal at worst. (Taffy was a Welshman, Taffy was a thief...?) I won't claim that my feelings are hurt, but i do think it's rude.

Curious what characteristics Mr. Novak believes make a good journalist?

Of all the liars, snakes and dirtbags in Washington, I can't beleive that you would waste precious air time with Bob Novak. This man has already recieved more publicity than he deserves!

Let us leave this petty, vindictive, fraction of a man to slip into well deserved ignominy and insignificance without further ado.

It's difficult to imagine Robert Novak did not understand the damage his outing of Valerie Plame posed to her career, or that he was unaware of the physical dangers a covert CIA operative might face if his or her cover was blown.

It's also hard to imagine Novak had any illusions about the political motives behind his and other reporters being told about Mrs. Plame, and yet he wrote the report that revealed Mrs. Plame's actual status as an agent to the world, initiating one of the most controversial affairs in modern political history.

Some people claim the outing of Valerie Plame was an act of treason. Doesn't his participation in the outing of an agent operating in behalf of the United States betray the very conservative values Novak has represented and spoken for throughout his career as a political commentator.