Now, More Than Ever.

With the country in the midst of The Great Depression 2.0, now, more than ever, it is a time to carefully consider the way one presents one's products or ideas. Regardless of if you are personally affected by/aware of/slightly inconvenienced by today's harsh economic climate, it may be necessary to acknowledge the overall downturn or at least to cast a terse, pitying glance at the unwashed masses struggling daily to provide for the fundamental needs of themselves and their families in order to get them to listen to what you are saying/selling. In that vein, I'd like to let you know that now, more than ever, is a great time to use the phrase "Now, more than ever" to get your point across. Observe the many applications of this most powerful of empty phrases:

If you're Century 21, you might use this phrase at the end of your television commercial to try to get people to use your agents to buy houses:

On the other hand, with the credit crunch and the reduction in job security, now may also be a good time to rent and save instead of buying right away and taking on long term financial liability. One of the country's largest apartment managing companies is adding 1360 beds to its portfolio. According to its CEO, "Now more than ever, housing is a real concern . . . but by combining our 50 years of student housing management experience with AHF's quality properties, we are able to offer . . . an affordable option to ease their housing concerns."

Reuters.com, Campus Apartments Adds 1,360 Beds to Its Management Portfolio

And while we're on the subject of renting, the Cleveland Plain Dealer's theater critic would like you to know that he thinks "we need 'Rent' now more than ever."

Cleveland.com, "Original Cast Member Adam Pascal Returns as 'Rent' Makes a Stop at Cleveland's PlayhouseSquare"

We can all agree that charity and community service will play a crucial role in getting us through these turbulent economic times, but which charity to choose? Now, more than ever, is apparently a good time for Kiwanis, Goodwill, Habitat for Humanity, The United Negro College Fund, and, for some reason, PETA.

In the political arena, it is certainly possible to use the phrase to advance your far-left political agenda as columnist Tony Norman does in his March article, "Stop the drug war now, more than ever."

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "Stop the Drug War Now, More Than Ever"

While on the other side of that coin, one could use the phrase to justify the idea of strip searching children for drugs in public schools. According to the National School Boards Association (quoted in Wednesday's USAToday), "Now more than ever, schools are in the forefront of addressing dangers to our youth, including their growing abuse of prescription drugs."

USA Today, "Strip Search Review Tests Limits of School Drug Policy"

And speaking of prescription drugs, now (more than ever) is a good time to ask more questions about prescription drugs, according to ABCnews, Drugs.com, and the chick who wrote 'Prescription Drug Coverage for Dummies'.

According to a February edition of Forbes, business schools want you now more than ever.

Forbes.com, "Business Schools Want You Now More than Ever"

And once you're there, why not get the hell out of the country and wait for this whole economy thing to blow over? If you ask the folks over at the Center for Global Education, now more than ever is a good time to study abroad!

Globaled.us

But it's not all fun and games and business school; there are serious issues at hand! The April 3rd Dallas Morning News wants you to "Support Texas parks, now more than ever."

Dallas Morning News, "Editorial: Support Texas Parks, Now More than Ever"

Just a week later and 250 miles to the north, a columnist over at the Tulsa World wants us to realize that "parity [is] needed now more than ever in women's basketball," which seems to me to be dubious at best. Rather than more parity in women's basketball, I would argue that now more than ever, we need less women's basketball.

Tulsa World, "Parity Needed Now More than Ever in Women's Basketball"

Shawn at the Smithsonian's WNBA exhibit this past January. Stay strong, buddy!

And speaking of dubious statements, as of March 2009, there was at least one blog that claimed people like AOL now more than ever, which is a company that I didn't even know still existed.

Readwriteweb.com, "AOL: People Like it Now More than Ever"

But the big question at hand is how to fix America and now more than ever there are more ideas than ever on how to accomplish that. According to a Wednesday article on Insurance News Net, we need tax reform now more than ever.

Insurancenewsnet.com, "USA Needs Tax Reform Now More than Ever"

In the same vein, Sean Hannity's legions of teabaggers claim that "What we need now more than ever is individual responsibility and personal freedom."

WOWT.com, "Papillon Tax Day Tea Party" (comments)

On the other hand, maybe it's our convoluted patent laws that are really sinking this country. According to an April 1st article in The Oregonian by David Karlson now (more than ever) is the time for patent reform!

The Oregonian, "Patent Reform: Now More than Ever"

On yet another hand, Wednesday's New York Times seems to think that "many [Americans] may feel they need a vacation now more than ever."

The New York Times, "Getaways that are 'Guilt Free'"

Of course a vacation won't do you any good if your vacation spot of choice is destroyed by North Korean nuclear missiles, which is why according to Heritage.org, we need missile defense now more than ever.

Heritage.org, "The Need for Missile Defense: Now More than Ever"

But why bitch about taxes and personal responsibility and vacations and missile defense and all that other stupid worldly nonsense when you can take your problems straight to the top? The same day as the Insurance News article, the Delmarva Media Group posted an article on their site claiming that "America needs God's help now more than ever."

Delmarva Media Group, "America Needs God's Help Now More than Ever"

But why go all the way to God when you need only consult with his surrogate here on Earth? I am of course talking about Lou Dobbs, whom (according to In These Times magazine) we clearly need now, more than ever.

In These Times, "Lou Dobbs, Now More than Ever"

In fact, the fine folks over at Loudobbsforpresident.com's message boards are convinced that now, as opposed to ever, is an excellent time for the Dobbsian ascendancy to begin.

However, the Dobbs-haters out there are equally convinced that this is in fact a particularly poor time for Dobbs and Dobbs-related activities. According to David Brooks over at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, "... it's worth pointing out now more than ever that Dobbsianism is fundamentally wrong."

Seattle Post-Intelligencer, "Lou Dobb's Immigration Message is Winning"

So whether you are pro-home buying or pro-home renting; whether you are anti-drug war or pro-high school strip searches; whether you are pro-Dobbs, anti-Dobbs, or Dobbs-neutral; now, more than ever, is a time for bullshit, because I don't know about you, but I'm with now. Ever stinks; screw ever. Now is more than ever and now will always be more than ever. Support the troops in these trying economic times, with these gas prices, because the surge is working, there's hope in the air, and yes, yes we can pull ourselves up by our bootstraps or whatever other straps we may have handy. Or perhaps the straps of a neighbor. What's important is that Osama Bin now is more than Osama Bin ever and we need to cast off the shackles of ever before we can truly taste the sweet fruits of now. I leave you with these words: 9/11. Now, more than ever.

Note: each of the 27 links in this post will send you to a page with the phrase "now, more than ever" on it. After clicking on the link, use CTRL+F and type "now" in the search field to find the specific text on the page where the phrase is used. Thanks for reading.