"Those irritating verbs-as-nouns"

The author of this article seems more open to them — in writing, please note — than I think advisable in preaching. Thus, I normally (and strongly) caution my students against using them from the pulpit, mostly because the ear does not pick them up very readily, especially the ears of the elderly. But I certainly agree: they are irritating!

Don't feed the panic about budget "sequestration"

First of all, I sure wish people in the media would use nouns to function as nouns (e.g., "sequestration"), instead of forcing verbs into the service of nouns; "sequester" is not a noun. Get a dictionary, people.

Secondly, I'll worry about budget sequestration when it impinges on something that resembles reality. That it does not yet do so is made abundantly clear here. Read it and weep. Read it and laugh. Better yet, read it and cultivate an attitude of "don't care." (See? Don't verbs sound terrible as nouns?)