Incomplete pass[ive]: Bill Belichick rejects the Presidential Medal of Freedom

Incomplete pass[ive]: Bill Belichick rejects the Presidential Medal of Freedom

Donald Trump proposed to give New England Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Belichick’s statement declining the honor twists, turns, and lies down passively like a quarterback about to be sacked by the defense. A bit of background. Belichick is part of the holy trinity of New England football, along with…

The rare nested triple passive, courtesy of the US Supreme Court

The rare nested triple passive, courtesy of the US Supreme Court

In a one-sentence ruling, the Supreme Court of the United States rejected the Trump administration’s plea to overturn the election result in Pennsylvania. But what a sentence! The background: U.S. Representative Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania filed a document to overturn the decision of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and nullify the election result in Pennsylvania, where…

The 10 mistakes in CrossFit’s “apology” for the racial insensitivity of CEO Greg Glassman

The 10 mistakes in CrossFit’s “apology” for the racial insensitivity of CEO Greg Glassman

Greg Glassman was CEO of Crossfit, a fitness system that is affiliated with many gyms. He shared insane and racially insensitive conspiracy theories on a call with gym owners — and then the company issued a rambling and ineffective statement to justify itself. Glassman’s now out the door. The statement is practically a case study…

As you read news, be hyper-aware of passive voice headlines
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As you read news, be hyper-aware of passive voice headlines

The New York Times tweeted this over the weekend: At this moment in time, there are hidden stories in the choices that headline writers write. An active voice headline tells who did what. Two of these headlines are passive. A passive voice headline tells what happened, but hides the who. Minneapolis: A photographer was shot…

The Equifax $125 settlement is yet another lie

The Equifax $125 settlement is yet another lie

Two years ago, Equifax blamed an “application vulnerability” for a “cybersecurity incident” that exposed personal data of 143 million consumers. Last week, it agreed to pay $125 to any affected person who asks for it. Unfortunately, that’s another lie. Here’s what it says on the Equifax Breach Settlement site: Welcome To The Equifax Data Breach…

Flaming idiocy in the passive voice in Ridgefield, Connecticut
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Flaming idiocy in the passive voice in Ridgefield, Connecticut

Somebody did something dumb in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Here’s the text of a post from the town’s official Facebook page: There as been an incident in town that we want make citizens aware of. A RHS baseball game at Governor Park was delayed due to weather conditions on the field this morning. A poor decision was…

Wow Air shutdown shows why “you’re screwed” is passive voice
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Wow Air shutdown shows why “you’re screwed” is passive voice

Without warning, the Icelandic airline Wow Air has suspended all its flights while seeking additional financing. There is no better illustration of how companies use passive voice to evade blame than its message to passengers. By writing in the passive voice, Wow Air makes it sound as if this is some unfortunate and unforeseen circumstance…