From the monthly archives:

April 2010

OIL SPILL: a crisis no longer waiting to happen

April 30, 2010

The massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and its resulting crisis for the residents of the Gulf Coast is a wake-up call to those pressuring for off-shore drilling. If a similar crisis were to be occurring with a nuclear power plant there would be no excuses for a permanent moratorium on the building [...]

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MENTAL SUMP PUMP: working overtime, but swamped

April 29, 2010

I don’t know what to write about this morning. Oh, it’s not that there aren’t options; I have a fairly long list of words about which I want to comment, and I could pull any one of them and have a go at it.  And there is plenty happening in Washington, Arizona, Afghanistan and elsewhere [...]

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PURIST: one who prefers unadulterated tastes (my definition)

April 28, 2010

I like my coffee black.  It hasn’t always been that way; it was an acquired taste.  Granted, I do drink decaffeinated coffee, but that’s the only variation I will accept.  Flavored coffees or cream and sugar are not on my menu. I like a Gibson every now and then, but don’t even suggest a so-called [...]

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SAVAGE (verb): to attack or criticize thoroughly or remorselessly

April 27, 2010

I’ve avoided the word savage in its noun form for years, ever since I became familiar with the story of James Pendleton Oakerhater. The first American Indian saint in the Episcopal Church’s Calendar of Saints, he was continually referred to as a “savage” who found religion.  It offended the American Indian population…and it become offensive [...]

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EDITOR’S EYE: the ability to catch written problems that will confuse the reader

April 26, 2010

Ever since I began writing this blog in October, 2009, I have been increasingly exposed to the realm of editing.   I was vaguely aware of the profession before then, but of late I have become personally involved as I befriended editors of all stripes and began to hear their stories.  Unfortunately, the primary story they [...]

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PARADIGM CHANGE #3: Adolescence

April 25, 2010

I remember hearing some years ago that the term adolescence was a term invented for the American young person who was transitioning between childhood and young adulthood.  The point that person (name gone in my memory) was making was that only in America could this period have such an obvious manifestation.  Obviously, that isn’t true [...]

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PROFILE (verb): to identify and detain a person based on their racial or ethnic characteristics

April 24, 2010

At one point I lived in one of the wealthiest, most exclusive communities in the United States.  It was elegant.  Huge homes with pristine landscaping populated the neighborhoods, a number with gated walls around them.  There were streets in the community with gates at either end and security guards posted there to protect the famous [...]

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SUPREME COURT JUSTICE: a decision which outlasts the President

April 23, 2010

During the elections of 2008 I wrote at least four or five letters to the editors of local and national newspapers about the issue of Supreme Court nomination.  None of them was accepted for publication.   I was making the point that the consideration of the voters needed to include the understanding that the person elected [...]

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PAY IT FORWARD: the act of extending a kindness to someone after a kindness has been done to you, in hopes that the recipient will do the same to someone else, creating a chain of acts of kindness.

April 22, 2010

Yesterday I was challenged by Julie Roads, my blogger mentor, to participate in a chain of pay it forward.  She had experienced the personal benefit of having received a personal note of best wishes from a fellow blogger and suggested that it would be worth replicating.  She had no way of knowing that I had [...]

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PUBLIC SCHOOLS: a fault in the cement wall

April 21, 2010

I have to admit to being biased when it comes to discussions about the value of public school education.  I lived around the corner from the public elementary and junior high schools I attended.  And the public high school from which I graduated was known for its emphasis on music, drama, and athletics.   It had [...]

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