Category: On Language

CYNICAL

“This cynical stance they took last night — they’re willing to jeopardize 3 million jobs so they could gain some advantage in their war against unions — is appalling,” said Bill Samuel, the chief lobbyist for the AFL–CIO about the Republicans who opposed a Detroit bail out.

 

What does Bill Samuel mean when he uses the word cynical?  This word has at least twelve synonyms.  Did he mean suspicious, skeptical, scornful, or one of the other nine?  I believe it’s all three that I identified.  They are certainly contemptuous (another synonym for cynical) of the unions and the companies in Detroit.

 

When Russia invaded the Republic of Georgia it might have been viewed as cynical. After all didn’t they sneer (another synonym for cynical) at the president of Georgia when his government challenged those breakaway provinces?

 

When Congress was asked to provide aid to the finance industry I was and still remain skeptical of the efforts by Hank Paulson.  I am very pessimistic (another synonym for cynical) about the Treasury department’s efforts to unfreeze the credit markets.   

 

Finally I do love the way David Letterman and  Jay Leno use sarcastic (another synonym for cynical) humor to mock (another synonym for cynical) everything.

 

Is this column too cynical?

INTROSPECTION

It’s about looking into yourself and examining your mental state and your processing of ideas and thoughts.  ABC’s Charlie Gibson interviewed President George W. Bush and we all found that he is either a liar or lacks the capacity to evaluate his decisions.


Two questions that Mr. Gibson asked were answered with the words, “That’s an interesting question.”  Question 1 was “Would you have gone into Iraq if there was no evidence of WMD?”  Question 2 was “Your only 62.  Is there one more thing you want to achieve?”


That GWB has not thought about these two events is utterly astonishing.  But as you listen to the interviews you realize that this man lacks emotion and seems to lack empathy for the millions of people who have been impacted by the Iraq War and the recession.  As to the recession, an unemotional “I’m sorry it happened” suggests that he has no clue of the impact that the current financial crises has had on most Americans.

      

If ever there was a man who represents the devil it is George W. Bush.  If there is a hell, I believe he will go there.

INTERREGNUM

George W. Bush say it’s not so.  James Baker used this word to describe the current condition of our federal government.  According to Webster’s Dictionary it means “a suspension of governmental or administrative functions; period without the usual ruler, governor.”  Paul Krugman described this period as the same as the period after FDR’s election until he took office in March 1933 and also called it an Interregnum but only after the master linguist, William Safire (didn’t he say he was retiring?) used the word in his own On Language column.

 

President Bush is in office until January 20, 2009.  Is he abandoning his duties?  In some ways it appears he has.  Henry Paulson has taken the lead in the Financial Crises.  Then again he did sign a bill the other day extending unemployment benefits and now he is visiting an APEC meeting in Peru where he spoke to many world leaders about trade relations.

 

Lame duck presidents have been a feature of our political system since the founding of this nation.  It is the 21st century.  Perhaps we need to revise the date a new president takes office.

CARPETBAGGER

After the Civil War this term was given to anyone from the North who moved into the South for financial advantage.  It was especially attached to those people who had recently moved to the South and were running for political office.  After the Civil War a carpet covered bag was the popular luggage of the day. 

Today the term specifically applied to those people running for office in a location that is not their historical home.  Local laws do allow politicians to run for office with relatively short residency requirements or none at all.

The most recent and possibly the most flagrant example of carpet bagging was Elizabeth Dole’s North Carolina’s Senate seat.  She is the wife of the former Senator from Kansas, Robert Dole.  Robert Dole is also a former Republican candidate for President.  She ran and won the seat from North Carolina on the contention that she really is a North Carolinian because she lived there as a child and graduated from North Carolina’s Duke University.  Using her mother’s address as her home address she met the state’s qualifications for residency. 

California State Senator Tom McClintock(R) is being forced out of office by term limits.  His district is in Ventura County just north of Los Angeles.  He has always portrayed himself up as a high minded individual unlike those scummy Democrats.  However he does like being a politician.  So Mr. McClintock decided to run for congressional office from a district that the Republican Party views as winnable because there is no incumbent because the man leaving office is a Republican (facing corruption charges).  California legislators must live in the district they represent, but there is no such requirement for House members. So the fact that he lives in Thousand Oaks (just outside of Los Angeles County) is no problem.  Mr. McClintock has won by 644 votes.  According to the Santa Barbara Independent he has actually been housekeeping up in northern California.

Is it any wonder that many Americans are opposed to professional politicians?

VINDICATED

Barack Obama’s comment that his victory in Iowa’s caucuses last winter had “vindicated” his faith in the American people.  What does he mean?

 

This is a very complicated word.  Webster’s New World CD Dictionary offers five possible definitions.

1   to clear from criticism, blame, guilt, suspicion, etc.; uphold by evidence or argument

2   to defend or maintain (a cause, claim, etc.) against opposition

3   to serve as justification for; justify !a success which vindicated their belief in him“

4   to lay claim to or establish possession of (something for oneself or another)

5   [Obs.] a) to avenge b) to punish

 

The second definition is most likely the one that fits Obama’s use of this word.  John McCain saying he has always had faith in his country indicates that he did not check a dictionary for definitions.

 

Sarah Palin’s reaction to the Alaska Legislature’s Troopergate report was that it “vindicates” her.

 

If my son’s phonograph record store is a success his idea for a business will be vindicated. That would be the use of definition number one and three.  Frankly opening the store was a Hail Mary pass to independence for someone who does not like having a boss.

 

My wife’s decision to start a tutoring business was vindicated by her success.  The publishing of a column of mine on the Huntington Post was a vindication of my writing skills.  

HAIL MARY

The Hail Mary or Ave Maria (Latin) is a traditional Christian prayer asking for the intercession of the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus according to Wikipedia.  “Hail Mary pass” has become a generic term referring to any last ditch effort with little chance of success.  It was a term originally used to describe a desparate football play when there did not appear to be any chance of a win near the end of a 4th quarter.  It is believed to have been coined by Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach, referring to his desperation (and Catholic beliefs), for his game-winning touchdown pass in a December 28, 1975 NFC semifinal playoff game.

 

Today it’s any desparate effort to save any situation from becoming a failure. Thus John McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin has been called a Hail Mary pass to rescue his uninspiring campaign.  John McCain’s grasp at “Joe the Plumber” also seems to be a Hail Mary pass.

 

Last ditch efforts to save any situation could be called Hail Mary passes.  General Motors has significantly reduced its R&D budget but has not stopped the development of the Volt, a new all electric car planned for a roll out in 2010.  This appears to be a really desparate Hail Mary pass to save the company.

 

Senator Elizabeth Dole’s, (R) North Carolina,  Hail Mary pass attack on her opponent Kay Haggen as anti-God has to be a real prayer for Mrs. Haggen’s defeat.  It is now reported that Mrs. Dole is even farther behind in the polls.  Was that a message from God?

 

Thus far the ultimate Hail Mary pass for 2008 was Henry Paulson’s proposal for $700 Billion Give Away.  After a rather short fight and no hearings our Congress approved the bailout of all those wealthy Wall Street traders.

SOCIALISM

I thought I might be a socialist until I read these definitions.

 

Webster’s New World Dictionary offers this definition:  

1   any of various theories or systems of the ownership and operation of the means of production and distribution by society or the community rather than by private individuals, with all members of society or the community sharing in the work and the products

2   [often S3] a) a political movement for establishing such a system b) the doctrines, methods, etc. of the Socialist parties

3   the stage of society, in Marxist doctrine, coming between the capitalist stage and the communist stage, in which private ownership of the means of production and distribution has been eliminated: see COMMUNISM (sense 2)

 

I listened to all the commentators and have read a few other explanations of our economy and concluded that I am a student of Adam Smith with two exceptions.  Totally uncontrolled markets can lead to greed and monopolies.  Greed has led this nation to its current situation.  Senior executives of large corporations are earning an average of $4,000 per hour.  These high earnings are reported to be common among Wall Street managers too.

 

One need to go no further than the preamble to our constitution “… to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity…”  In order to ensure domestic tranquility and promote general welfare our nation needs to pass laws that limit the power of a few that would work against our general welfare.

 

This does not mean we need socialism.  It means we enforce what are known as antitrust law in the United States.  From Wkipedia

Competition law, known in the United States as antitrust law, has three main elements:

  • prohibiting agreements or practices that restrict free trading and competition between business entities. This includes in particular the repression of cartels.
  • banning abusive behaviour by a firm dominating a market, or anti-competitive practices that tend to lead to such a dominant position. Practices controlled in this way may include predatory pricing, tying, price gouging, refusal to deal, and many others.
  • supervising the mergers and acquisitions of large corporations, including some joint ventures. Transactions that are considered to threaten the competitive process can be prohibited altogether, or approved subject to “remedies” such as an obligation to divest part of the merged business or to offer licences or access to facilities to enable other businesses to continue competing.

The banking industry has been given free reign in its management.  I and my wife were offered opportunities for new credit cards daily over the past few years.  We accepted two of those offers increasing the number of cards from two to four.  I have read that the average person has 13 credit cards.  Fareed Zakaria pointed out in the October 20, 2008 issue of Newsweek that household debt was $680 billion in 1974 and now amounts to $14 trillion.  Type in the words “there is a silver lining” into Google and you will see that his column has struck a significant cord.

 

John McCain is an adherent of the free markets philosophy that has brought our nation to this economic meltdown.  Barack Obama has avoided taking a position.  Given the philosophies of the Democrats and Republicans I have to anticipate that Barack Obama’s election will bring the needed regulations that will promote our general welfare.  It won’t be socialism.

ETHICS

The issue of ethics was brought to my attention by a community college instructor of mine.  She teaches both finance and ethics classes.  When that teacher brought in two speakers to her personal finance class hawking their services I found myself questioning her ethics.  After all, the students are expecting learning experience not a sales experience.  When one guest speaker came to explain long term health care insurance and bad mouthed Consumers Reports, I suspected the worst.  CR warned about the pitch and offered specifics that matched the speakers pitch.  Wow! I wonder, could the class instructor be receiving a kick back for every student signing up?  I do not know but she is a client of both of her guest speakers.  The instructor apparently has ignored the ethical implications even if there is nothing inappropriate in their relationships.

 

My dentist performed root canal and installed a new bridge in my mouth.  The entire area is still soar and the bridge is uncomfortable.  The bill is $3,500.    I pointed out to him that when my mechanic makes a mistake he refunds my money.  The dentist still wants to be paid.

 

This issue is even more significant in the current race for president.  Smears and innuendo appear to be a stock in trade part of the McCain campaign.  Are some of the concerns raised by McCain legitimate? Yes.  The problem is that the primary focus of John McCain has been smears.  The lack of focus on real issues is conspicuously beyond belief.  Perhaps his slogan should be “Service, Country First, Ethics Last.”

 

The Bill Ayers thing is totally ridiculous.  The Annenberg Foundation sponsored a group that included both Ayers and Obama. This is hardly a terrorist plot and is confirmed by factcheck.org. 

 

Not yet mentioned by the McCain campaign but many of his surrogates is the Reverend Wright issue.  It is a legitimate question when people ask how Obama could not have known about Wright’s views of America.  There is sufficient evidence that Obama did know about those views.

 

John McCain opposed the Bush tax cuts when they were first proposed.  More recently he has given wholehearted support for those cuts and wants them made permanent.  Was that a flip flop or an ethics issue?

 

Finally there is the question of Sarah Palin.  John McCain supports her without question but many highly respected conservatives doubt her ability to hold the position of president.  Isn’t this a breach of ethics for McCain to offer her as his stand in?

The Difference Between Strategy and Tactics

John McCain and Barak Obama argued about the differences in their first debate.  The argument drove me to the dictionary even as the debate continued. Wisegeek.com has a complete write up on the topic.  The answer according to this web site?

 

Essentially, strategy is the thinking aspect of planning a change, organizing something, or planning a war. Strategy lays out the goals that need to be accomplished and the ideas for achieving those goals. Strategy can be complex multi-layered plans for accomplishing objectives and may give consideration to tactics.

 

Tactics are the meat and bread of the strategy. They are the “doing” aspect that follows the planning. Tactics refer specifically to action. In the strategy phase of a plan, the thinkers decide how to achieve their goals. In other words they think about how people will act, i.e., tactics. They decide on what tactics will be employed to fulfill the strategy.

I believe the surge was a tactic not a strategy.  The strategy was the plan to take control of Iraq in an effort to reduce terrorism.  I have posted the question on the wisegeek web site.

Wisegeek response:

“I’d have to say the surge was a tactic, which is what Senator Obama stated.He also talked about looking at the larger “strategic” issues of planning in Afghanistan. Some strategy would necessarily look to tactics. However he demonstrated clear understanding of the differences, which Senator McCain appeared not to. It’s funny how you write a piece a few years ago, and then it becomes relevant again! thanks for your comments!
PS You can find the first 2008 presidential debate full transcript online too, which can prove helpful in fact checking.”