Some cynics, though, say that it is futile to make arguments for good policy.
The IRS made reasonable attempts to collect from the transferor or it would be futile .
It proved futile, though, as Keane strode through to wrap it up late on.
Across the top two thirds of the painting is the futile advance by the Confederate forces.
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The healthcare system provides many futile and unpleasant treatments to patients before they die.
Reluctant to go out, Rousselot said he felt feverish and nauseated, but his excuses were futile.
When I received the press release for the stove, I realized that resistance was futile.
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It would be futile for the government to even try employing so many people.
Telling a terminal patient to keep up the fight isn't just futile, it's cruel.
But at least he has accomplished one thing with this futile struggle: a higher profile.
Under those circumstances, additional mailings to the same unworkable address most likely would have been futile.
At this point, I recalled a long-ago futile effort to unclog my junk e-mail account.
And it appears from the outside that things even got a little futile at these meetings.
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Who should pay the tab for those who want futile care at the end of life?
Paul Krugman, a prominent commentator, recently argued that deficit reduction was economically sensible but politically futile.
The road map has already proven a futile and potentially dangerous diversion from that path.
Unfortunately this was futile, leaving me with no other alternative but to reach out to you.
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If cities indeed develop organically along certain lines, pushing them onto another track may be futile.
Faced with what looked like a futile battle, many European investors sold out at a loss.
The government accused the PCS of "pushing for futile action" which would damage public services.
The Greenwich Police Department's efforts to attach the crime to Tommy Skakel had proven futile.
Futile, because if people really want medicines, they can easily get hold of them.
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Reversing the overly pessimistic jobs report is as futile as trying to unring a bell.
Sensing the futile fight ahead, lawmakers folded and the amendment was withdrawn with unanimous consent.
Judging by that standard in a first-day test, SoundCloud's "Related" feature is too often futile.
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In other words, amid the matrix of Haiti's macro-catastrophes, your own daily striving often seemed futile.
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It is tempting to put time-limits on such a venture, but that would be futile.
Hospital doctors told the inquest in Chelmsford attempts to resuscitate her would have been "futile".
Even here where restoration is futile, Uzbeks are busy righting minarets and retouching Koranic script.
Under these circumstances it is futile to call Dr. Mahathir to give evidence in this trial.
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