re: #618 Cato the Elder

“General” John Ashcroft?

ROFLMFAO!

Oh, thank you, I haven’t seen that particular idiot turn of phrase in years. Which wingnut site did you pull that off of?

The Attorney General is not a general. Neither is the Postmaster General, or, necessarily, the Inspector General. Though in the latter case he might be.

“General” in these cases is not a rank, it’s a postpositive adjective, i.e. coming after the noun it modifies. Like “la fille bonne” in French. The guy in charge of the Post Office is the general postmaster.

But don’t worry, I once saw Ted Koppel address Janet Reno as “General” on teevee. Laughed even harder then.

Hey. Speaking of former AG John Ashcroft:

During the Vietnam War, he received six student military draft deferments and one occupational deferment due to his teaching work, allowing him to avoid service in the war.