Posts tagged as:

Congress

DECLARATION OF WAR: one country’s announcement of military action against another

December 7, 2011

Perhaps the most humbling and frightening thing the President of the United States can do is to sign the document declaring war against another country.   It is not an act which creates war, as much as it is an act declaring a state of war to be in effect.   Something has to have precipitated the [...]

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BUYER’S REMORSE: a feeling of dissatisfaction with a product after purchasing it

November 26, 2011

A number of commentators have expressed the idea that the American public has buyer’s remorse after electing Barack Obama to the Presidency.   Their point is that he promised great things and has not delivered on them.  They remember his campaign as being one filled with hope, promise, and vision, but that since becoming President he [...]

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HEDONISM: the belief and practice of making pleasure the greatest good

November 16, 2011

Of all the heavy eaters in history, certainly Henry VIII, King of England, is regarded as the most flagrant.   If there is anyone who demonstrated the principle of Hedonism, it was he. His banquets … or even his daily meals … were sumptuous, making those at The Outback look tiny by comparison.   It is said [...]

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RECOVERY: a transitional stage following a crisis

November 7, 2011

Given my history of hospitalizations over the past year or more, when I hear the word recovery my mind moves directly to the recovery room.  It’s that very important location in a hospital where you are moved for a temporary stay directly after having surgery or some other procedure.  The main reason they take you [...]

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BALKANIZE: to divide an integrated body into smaller, competing, ineffective groups

September 9, 2011

While the word Balkanize makes a specific reference to a geographic region the use of the term has expanded to be applied to any large organization that is divided into smaller entities.   Many, if not most, times the act is undertaken to weaken the power of the larger body. I have seen the term used [...]

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ANXIETY: apprehension about an uncertain future

September 7, 2011

I love the television ad for Traveler’s Insurance which features the dog who worries about the security of his favorite chewing bone.  The accompanying song, Trouble , is by Ray LaMontagne, whose voice is perfect for the theme of the ad. The dog attempts a variety of options for securing the bone, including placing it [...]

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INTRANSIGENT: refusing to agree or compromise; uncompromising; inflexible

July 25, 2011

Having spent the past week in the hospital I’ve had plenty of time to watch the unfolding, folding, and repeat unfolding of events surrounding the debt limit crisis.  It is a crisis, incidentally, no matter how it is masked by those who talk about it.   I don’t know about you, but as one who is [...]

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RESOLUTE: determined

July 1, 2011

Sometimes you just can’t win. For the past several weeks the Republicans (and some Democrats) have been critical of the President for being soft on decision-making at a time when strength is needed.  Even after his powerful decision to eliminate bin Laden, the political climate has called for severe criticism.   It’s clear that this is [...]

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ACCOMMODATE: to make room for

March 29, 2011

For the most part we are all familiar with the story of Jesus of Nazareth, whose parents traveled to Bethlehem, only to be turned away at the inn.  There was no vacancy available that night; the owners of the inn could not accommodate them.  However, when pressed with the urgency of the situation, the owners [...]

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DISABLED: Challenged to discover new ways to function

July 26, 2010

Today is the observance of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, one of the most humane pieces of legislation to take place in the past fifty years.  With its passage and signature of the President the hundreds of thousands of people with disabilities in this country achieved full stature of citizenship and a [...]

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