From the category archives:

POLITICS

CYBORG: a person whose functions are aided by electronic devices

February 1, 2012

At least five times in the last 90 minutes I have heard commentators say something about the cyborg that occurred in the Florida primary.  I was sure that someplace along the way someone would stop and define the word, but, alas, it was used and then passed over as if everyone in America would know [...]

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CLASS WARFARE: the struggle for political and economic power carried on between capitalists and workers.

January 31, 2012

The term class warfare is actually a term created by Karl Marx and used by Marxists to describe the way in which the elite pound on the lower classes in society.  It is amusing, therefore, to find the words being used in today’s political dialogue by Republicans (primarily) to describe the way in which they [...]

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STRIVEN: to have pursued something with energy and tenacity

January 25, 2012

The marathon runner crossing the finish line is the most vivid illustration of someone who has striven.  After months and months of training and preparation, the runner puts the last effort of a 26.2 mile, grueling race behind (him) and thrusts his body across the line, sometimes collapsing, having given his last ounce of energy [...]

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PRESIDENTIAL: having the demeanor one expects in a U.S. President

January 24, 2012

I forced myself to watch the Republican Debate from Tampa last night.  It wasn’t quite the circus it’s been with a stageful of potential candidates.  Now that it’s down to two major contenders and two pretenders it’s a more manageable scene.  That’s not to discount the importance of Ron Paul and Rick Santorum, who I [...]

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CULL: to remove flawed or unwanted items

January 22, 2012

In the past few days Republicans have been said to be about the process of  culling the ranks of prospective candidates for their nominee for President.   It may well describe the process of sorting out the field, but I doubt that cull is a good word to describe the process. Cull is a term used [...]

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NEWTISMS: not so profound comments from the Republican contender

January 18, 2012

    This won’t take long. The news this morning is full of reports about potential Republican Presidential Candide Newt Gingrich and his comments about the way the President is handling the Iran threat situation.   In strong, blatant criticism, Gingrich declares that the President is dangerous, the most dangerous President of the United States he [...]

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DEBATE: a formal contest in which the affirmative and negative sides of a proposition are advocated by opposing speakers.

January 8, 2012

It always bothers me when a word gets brutalized and loses its accurate and helpful meaning and is replaced by a more popular meaning.  That’s especially disturbing when the new meaning denigrates the original purpose of the word. A current example of my point is the word debate.  It is a word with a long [...]

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SUBSIDIARITY: needs are best served by institutions closest to individuals

January 7, 2012

When I first saw the title of journalist Michael Gerson’s article in The Washington Post this week I was tempted to pass it by.  “Rick Santorum and the return of Compassionate Conservatism.” Somehow I just didn’t have the stomach to endure another appeal to the Bush-era thinking that there could be such a thing as [...]

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HAMMER AND TONGS: to pound something with excessive effort

January 3, 2012

It was Andrea Mitchell who said it on TV the other day.  “Mitt Romney is going after Newt Gingrich with hammer and tongs.”   I knew immediately what she meant, and, I suspect, so did 99% of those watching the news show.   But it was the first time I remember stopping and asking myself, “What does [...]

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IDEOLOGY: the body of belief that guides in the establishment of policy

December 30, 2011

At the top of the State House in Providence, Rhode Island, stands the statue of “The Independent Man.”   It is a revered statue that symbolizes the ideology employed at the time of the establishment of the state.* Roger Williams and his followers came to the land to be known as “The State of Rhode Island [...]

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