Time to Cut the Crap Out of Leaks: Part II

So earlier, I wrote about one of the dumbest phrases (and a confession to a crime technically). Well, here we go again. Read this phrase and see if you would agree with my conclusion.

These officials said the 75-year-old Domenici intends to make a formal announcement on Thursday in his home state. They spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid pre-empting the six-term lawmaker.

Umm...yeah, what was that again? They don't want to "pre-empt" the lawmaker, but didn't they just do so? Hello? How the heck does that work? "Well, we're spilling the beans, but since we are anonymous, it ain't like we're spilling the beans, see?" What the what? Didn't the guy's announcement just, I don't know, get announced?

Sometimes, when you just read articles, you have to wonder if reporters even have the same language as the rest of us. I mean, crikey, when you compare English as spoken in the U.S., U.K., and Australia, it is a heckuva lot different than the English spoken by the nutjob reporters. What the heck? Did the reporter turn of his brain or something? (Well, that assumes that reporters occasionally actually USE their brains. Not necessarily.)

So, to the lawmaker, sorry about your luck. Fire the anonymous bastard! Do it, even if he would be laid off next year anyway. Just idiotic!