A Big Objection To A Small Thing

(Via Josh Marshall)

On Friday, 21 of Georgia's 34 Republican state senators _ all Cagle supporters _ signed a letter urging Reed to withdraw from the race, saying his involvement in the Abramoff scandal "threatens to impact the entire Republican ticket."

When did "impact" become a verb? Why is this necessary? What's wrong with saying "harm" or "undermine" or even something as neutral as "affect." I know that I have lots of typos on my blog, but I write it quickly at 7 o'clock in the morning. In a public letter to an important political figure, I would try to get my language straight.

Yes, yes, I know that the English language changes. That "impact" as a verb has come into common usage, and will doubtlessly be in the dictionary before too long. But this just makes me disillusions me about the integrity of dictionaries. My God, I heard "bling" is in there!

Oh, by the way. Ralph Read: Ha ha! Ha ha all OVER you!