I've heard a lot of talk about "taking out" Saddam Hussein. Just this morning some Congressman was yammering on NPR, talking about plans that will "allow us to take him out." I've even heard a lady at my church say "we should take out Saddam."

I don't think you should use the first person to talk about "taking someone out" unless you are actually capable of doing the taking out. I'm thinking about when I taught karate in college. Not that sissy Tae Kwon Do, mind you -- this involved gloving up and hitting people, versus dancing around them like a drunken gypsy. I remember an obnoxious student who would bully the less experienced students he sparred. One day I could tell that he was really bugging my instructor.

"Do you want me to drop him?" I asked quietly.

My instructor thought about it for a second. "Yep."

Hello floor, goodbye attitude. See, it was acceptable for me to use the first person, because I knew I could do it myself. I would never talk about dropping, say, Chuck Norris, because I can't. And I certainly wouldn't say "we" should take out Saddam Hussein. Now my brother-in-law the Navy SEAL, he can say "we" all he wants, because he knows how to kill people. The lady at my church? Not so much.