Posts tagged as:

President Obama

AUDACITY: boldness, courage

December 22, 2011

Three years ago the term audacity moved from the obscure to the common with the publication of then-Senator Barack Obama’s book, The Audacity of Hope.  It was a declaration of intention on the part of Obama to establish an era which put away negativity and embraced hope.  His premise in the book was seen as [...]

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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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INDECISIVE: unable to be clear; wandering around amidst the options

November 17, 2011

The phrase currently in use in the media is flip-flop.  If it doesn’t appear at least once a day in an article in the major newspapers and on TV, there is something wrong.  It is not only a word that refers to cheap, casual footwear; it is also a jargon term meant to describe a [...]

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COMPULSORY HEALTH INSURANCE: Ohio says “no”

November 10, 2011

Most of the voting on Tuesday went well for the Democrats around the country.  But in Ohio a resolution to put the issue of rejecting compulsory health insurance on the ballot passed.  It is only a symbolic vote at this point, but it signals a rejection of a significant part of the President’s Health Care [...]

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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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BENIGN PRAGMATISM: a non-aggressive way of using theory and practice compatibly

October 1, 2011

  A recent article about President Obama referred to him as one who practices benign pragmatism.   It is a perfect term to describe someone who employs a method without it becoming a weapon. That article to which I referred, by Former Governor Mario Cuomo, makes the point that Obama and President Lincoln share a similar [...]

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PRAXIS: action, not just theory

September 17, 2011

A friend of mine was studying for her doctorate in theology at Boston College and kept talking about praxis.  I went for the longest time pretending that I knew what she was talking about before I took the time to look it up and discovered that it is a very important word which describes the [...]

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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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INDECISIVE: a state of being incapable of making a decision

August 19, 2011

When someone is frozen and unable to make a decision, they are said to be indecisive. It is a state which carries with it great anxiety and stress, particularly if the person is at a point of needing to make a clear decision in order to resolve an issue.  Being indecisive is not a matter [...]

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