Miss Wasilla and the English Language

I was checking out Dick Cavett's Blog, which is wonderful if you love Dick like I do, and jumped to an interesting article written by George Orwell about language and politics.

(Thanks to Upper Left blog for the head's up.)

George says:

A man may take to drink because he feels himself to be a failure, and then fail all the more completely because he drinks. It is rather the same thing that is happening to the English language. It becomes ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish, but the slovenliness of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts.

If you've seen transcriptions of Sarah's spoken words, you know what I'm talking about. She's a cat chasing her tail. My cat does this frequently although I try to refrain.

Governor Palin of Alaska will never be able to lead anything ever. I can't really see her house from mine but I worry about my proximity to her state, and the influence that she could have on my existence. I do like king crab and whales.

Some rules to write by:
Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
Never use a long word where a short one will do.
If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
Never use the passive where you can use the active.
Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.

George Orwell's son has published some of his father's diaries as a daily blog. Pretty cool.

Is it just me or does it feel a bit like 1984?