The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #132499   Message #4084112
Posted By: leeneia
19-Dec-20 - 01:23 AM
Thread Name: BS: Language Pet Peeves
Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
In this video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_sYUN5p-ks

we see Michael Flynn, a Trump hanger-on, saying "He [Trump] could put military capabilities in each of those swing states and basically re-run an election in those states."

I'm not going to address the evil of this. I'm going to point out the weasel words "military capabilities." What are these capabilities? They're armed fighters, weapons, drones, spy equipment - equipment to injure, kill and intimidate Americans.

There's a word for that language trick - it's called nominalization.

(Good thing our military hates his guts.)