Re: Not always joking, it seems

mike weber <fair****tfan@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in 
news:1enpr3tivruio9h4tiffumb8i7tm1krp8j@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Ummm, in the ocntext you made the statement, it's not 
different.
> 
> You said that there was amurder.
> 
> You said that it was a murder, rather than assault or GBH, 
because the
> killer had a gun.

I did not. Get a dictionary and learn the use of it.

> (A) It wouildn't have happened if he didn't have a gun
> 
> (B) But he did have a gun
> 
> (C) It happened
> 
> If all the above are true, then it happened because he had 
a gun.

You could just as well claim it happened because he lived in 
San Jose. However, even though it wouldn't have happened had 
George lived in San Francisco, his living in San Jose was not 
the reason he committed the act. See in particular the 
discussion of the difference between "because" and weaker 
words in the Random House entry.


Merriam-Webster
because 

for the reason that : since <rested because he was tired>

AHD 
because

For the reason that; since.

Random House
Because

1.	for the reason that; due to the fact that: The boy was 
absent because he was ill.
-Idiom
2.	because of, by reason of; due to: Schools were closed 
because of heavy snowfall.
[Origin: 1275-1325; ME bi cause by cause]

-Synonyms 1. Because, as, since, for, inasmuch as agree in 
implying a reason for an occurrence or action. Because 
introduces a direct reason: I was sleeping because I was 
tired. As and since are so casual as to imply merely 
cir***stances attendant on the main statement: As (or since) 
I was tired, I was sleeping. The reason, proof, or 
justification introduced by for is like an afterthought or a 
parenthetical statement: I was sleeping, for I was tired. 
Inasmuch as implies concession; the main statement is true in 
view of the cir***stances introduced by this conjunction: 
Inasmuch as I was tired, it seemed best to sleep.
-Usage note 1. See reason.