# Did Schwarzenegger compose a "Fuck You" acrostic in a veto letter? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 28, 2009, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-schwarzenegger-compose-a-fuck-you-acrostic-in-a-veto-letter/515469 "2009-10-28T16:34:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![SecondJudith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@SecondJudith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecondJudith)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-schwarzenegger-compose-a-fuck-you-acrostic-in-a-veto-letter/515469/61 "2009-10-29T00:21:25Z")
The “My goodness!” in the spokesman’s comment makes this about twenty times funnier. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-schwarzenegger-compose-a-fuck-you-acrostic-in-a-veto-letter/515469/62 "2009-10-29T00:36:56Z")
Of course it was intentional. Anyone who thinks it isn’t probably thinks OJ got a raw deal in Vegas. You’d have to be a complete Canadian to miss this message’s intentional nature. The interesting question is whether Schwarzenegger did it himself of a staffer slipped it past him. I personally think it is funny. Yeah, it’s an old high school trick, but it’s the best thing to come out of Sacramento since Herb Caen. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-schwarzenegger-compose-a-fuck-you-acrostic-in-a-veto-letter/515469/63 "2009-10-29T00:41:13Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > Of course it was intentional. Anyone who thinks it isn’t probably thinks OJ got a raw deal in Vegas. You’d have to be a complete Canadian to miss this message’s intentional nature. The interesting question is whether Schwarzenegger did it himself of a staffer slipped it past him. I personally think it is funny. Yeah, it’s an old high school trick, but it’s the best thing to come out of Sacramento since Herb Caen. Racist. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-schwarzenegger-compose-a-fuck-you-acrostic-in-a-veto-letter/515469/64 "2009-10-29T00:53:02Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > Racist. Quebecois ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-schwarzenegger-compose-a-fuck-you-acrostic-in-a-veto-letter/515469/65 "2009-10-29T00:58:30Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > Quebecois The gravestone I cited in post #2 is actually in Montreal, though I’ve yet to invest the hour or so in going to look for it. ---
**Author:** ![SentientMeat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@SentientMeat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SentientMeat)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-schwarzenegger-compose-a-fuck-you-acrostic-in-a-veto-letter/515469/66 "2009-10-29T01:14:44Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > Here is the [letter in question.](http://gov.ca.gov/pdf/press/2009bills/AB1176_Ammiano_Veto_Message.pdf) That is brilliant. I never thought an Austrian would have such a sense of humour. Maybe they’re _all_ misunderstood. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-schwarzenegger-compose-a-fuck-you-acrostic-in-a-veto-letter/515469/67 "2009-10-29T01:17:51Z")
> [@SentientMeat](#): > > That is brilliant. I never thought an Austrian would have such a sense of humour. Maybe they’re _all_ misunderstood. That’s a black hole I am not going to peer into. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-schwarzenegger-compose-a-fuck-you-acrostic-in-a-veto-letter/515469/68 "2009-10-29T01:24:33Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > That’s a black hole I am not going to peer into. Thank you, J.W. Price. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-schwarzenegger-compose-a-fuck-you-acrostic-in-a-veto-letter/515469/69 "2009-10-29T01:25:59Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > Thank you, J.W. Price. Don’t get it. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-schwarzenegger-compose-a-fuck-you-acrostic-in-a-veto-letter/515469/70 "2009-10-29T02:43:16Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > Don’t get it. Hitler and Kissinger. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-schwarzenegger-compose-a-fuck-you-acrostic-in-a-veto-letter/515469/71 "2009-10-29T03:36:58Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > Hitler and Kissinger. But who is J.W. Price? The only thing I could find was some old photographer who died before either was born. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-schwarzenegger-compose-a-fuck-you-acrostic-in-a-veto-letter/515469/72 "2009-10-29T04:10:16Z")
How the hell should I know? You’ve got as much access to Google as I do. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-schwarzenegger-compose-a-fuck-you-acrostic-in-a-veto-letter/515469/73 "2009-10-29T04:13:11Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > How the hell should I know? You’ve got as much access to Google as I do. Ok well that’s the part I didn’t get. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-schwarzenegger-compose-a-fuck-you-acrostic-in-a-veto-letter/515469/74 "2009-10-29T05:26:03Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > But who is J.W. Price? The only thing I could find was some old photographer who died before either was born. With the “black hole” comment I thought you were making a joke about Dallas politics. John Wiley Price is an African American local politician from Dallas, who, depending on how you lean, is either a hero to his district or a race baiting opportunist. Last year, or earlier this year, at a Dallas Commissioners meeting a white commissioner referred to Price’s office as a “black hole” where papers were sent and were never heard from again. Price took offense to this and demanded that the other commissioner apologize for using a “negative” term given that the board is made up of a diversity of people. Type in “John Wiley Price” in youtube and you can see a clip of the incident. Odesio ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-schwarzenegger-compose-a-fuck-you-acrostic-in-a-veto-letter/515469/75 "2009-10-29T08:23:05Z")
Whether it is intentional or not, it will be one of the most remembered veto letters in history, if not the most. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-schwarzenegger-compose-a-fuck-you-acrostic-in-a-veto-letter/515469/76 "2009-10-29T08:31:31Z")
Arnie was going through his Terminator’s-eye menu of possible responses: POSSIBLE RESPONSE: YES/NO; OR WHAT?; GO AWAY; PLEASE COME BACK LATER; FUCK YOU, ASSHOLE; FUCK YOU Either that, or someone with Al Jaffee’s talent with the [MAD Magazine fold ins](http://lambiek.net/artists/j/jaffee_al/Jaffee_off.jpg) came up with that one for him. ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-schwarzenegger-compose-a-fuck-you-acrostic-in-a-veto-letter/515469/77 "2009-10-29T09:37:42Z")
Obviously intentional, can’t believe anyone here seriously considers otherwise. As to who composed the message (Arnie or a staffer) and how much Arnie knew etc. well, we just don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![SentientMeat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@SentientMeat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SentientMeat)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-schwarzenegger-compose-a-fuck-you-acrostic-in-a-veto-letter/515469/78 "2009-10-29T09:58:20Z")
> [@Sam Stone](#): > > I’d agree with mswas that it would be kind of awesome if he did that intentionally, but I don’t think there’s good evidence for it. Although I will say that starting the second paragraph with ‘Yet’ is a little abnormal and could be seen as being done intentionally. I just think there’s a very good chance it was accidental. That particular 7-letter sequence has a (1/26)[sup]7[/sup] chance of occuring randomly - roughly 1 in 8 billion. Counting a ‘space’ as an extra letter and requiring it to appear at the 5th position decreases the chance to 1 in 282 billion. No matter how many letters he writes in his lifetime, the chance is still not ‘very good’. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-schwarzenegger-compose-a-fuck-you-acrostic-in-a-veto-letter/515469/79 "2009-10-29T10:55:27Z")
> [@SentientMeat](#): > > That particular 7-letter sequence has a (1/26)[sup]7[/sup] chance of occuring randomly - roughly 1 in 8 billion. Counting a ‘space’ as an extra letter and requiring it to appear at the 5th position decreases the chance to 1 in 282 billion. > > No matter how many letters he writes in his lifetime, the chance is still not ‘very good’. It’s even a bit lower than that – the letters aren’t going to be randomly distributed in a sample of natural text, so you’d have to account for that; the figure given by the cryptologist somewhere upthreat, ‘5.5 in 1 trillion’ (or about 1 in 180 billion), does that, but he merely took the relative frequency of letters appearing in a text and mashed them together – he should have taken the [relative frequency of _first_ letters](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letter_frequencies#Relative_frequencies_of_the_first_letters_of_a_word_in_the_English_language) (how much do I love wikipedia? All that much!), which makes the figure come out to roughly 1 in 487 billion. However, that still leaves the space unaccounted for, which probably isn’t that well modelled being treated as just another letter – what we’re really looking for is the likelihood of a paragraph break occurring at that point, which will probably be significantly higher than 1 in 26, seeing as paragraphs are generally shorter than 26 lines. In fact, after the fourth line there is perhaps the most likely place for a paragraph break to occur in a short note like this – [this site](http://www.poynterextra.org/eyetrack2004/main.htm) mentions about 45-50 words as an average ‘medium’ paragraph length, which would be around 4 lines of 15 words, or 3-4 sentences, if you’re not as long-winded as I am; so that’s maybe low single-digit odds of finding the break exactly there. But still, that easily means we’re in the low trillions for the odds of this happening by chance – in other words, no way in hell was that a coincidence. * * * Man, I’ll really do any old crap for a few minutes of procrastination… :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-schwarzenegger-compose-a-fuck-you-acrostic-in-a-veto-letter/515469/80 "2009-10-29T12:04:39Z")
> [@SecondJudith](#): > > The “kicks the can down the alley” turn of phrase is incredibly stilted. My vote: intentional and hilarious. That’s the one that got me as well. That phrase is so clunky that it had to be deliberately used. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-schwarzenegger-compose-a-fuck-you-acrostic-in-a-veto-letter/515469.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-schwarzenegger-compose-a-fuck-you-acrostic-in-a-veto-letter/515469.md?page=5)