RESOLVE NOT TO REVISE

On Wednesday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will present his May REVISION. 

It is not a revise. 

Nor has it ever been.

Revise, according to the Free On-Line Dictionary – in complete harmony with Funk & Wagnall’s, Webster’s and the venerated OED – is defined as: 

1. To prepare a newly edited version of (a text). Or: 

2. To reconsider and change or modify.  I have revised my opinion of him. 

Most significantly, revise is a VERB. It is an action. 

And while the governor has a resume littered with action hero roles, the revised spending plan he will present on May 14 is still a REVISION. 

A REVISION, returning to the grail of the Free On-Line Dictionary, is a NOUN. It is defined as: 

1. The act or process of revising. 

The May REVISION is the end product of the governor and his aides’ revisalization of their initial January budget. 

Interestingly, the synonym for revise cited by the Free On-Line Dictionary is the word “correct” And although a VERB, the definitions of correct seem a fairly good description of what Schwarzenegger’s Department of Finance has been up to during the past four months. 

To correct is: 

1. To remove the errors or mistakes from. 

2. To indicate or mark the errors in. 

2. To punish for the purpose of improving or reforming.  (See Legislature) 

4. To adjust so as to meet a required standard or condition. 

Please revise the nomenclature of the May REVISION accordingly. 

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