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addict
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There is, however, more than one way to interpret his "and not a moment too soon" comment. Another interpretation is the welcome end of any "lame duck" period. Regardless of politics, this often looong-seeming period from early November to mid January after a new president has been elected is finally over. During this period, it seems like not much can be done effectively, the new policies people voted for cannot get started, odd pardons are issued, etc. Whether you like the change or not, sometimes you wish they could just get on with it. ;-) To the issue in general, it seems that the three things that people talk about the most are politics, religion, and sex thus there are a great many words associated with these things and a great many interesting quotes in these areas. To come up with a theme every week and to come up with an interesting quote containing a random word every day while keeping a perfect balance between all possible views or only quoting "safe" sources seems like a daunting task indeed, but I have been enjoying the words rather than keeping score of which side(s) are ahead in the quotation score.
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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Myr thank you for that evenhanded post
two: Of course, how embarrassing, I should have reread your post, my speedreading capabilities notwithstanding
By sheer coincidence, with apologies to all who decry the political post in WS, following is a pertinent message I receive this morning containing email from angry right-leaning buddy Jim and thoughtful left-leaning Darrel with my replies (***) hinting perhaps my own inclination [Sky being my very excellent left-leaning No. 2 Son]. In my own defense however, it does have to do peripherally with language--discussing the term "cohere"-- and was prompted by a piece by Anu
...keeping in mind that it's email, and that messages are therefore in reverse order
On Jan 19, 2009, at 12:46 PM, Jim wrote:
In this day of men running to whoever will say what their itching ears long to hear
O"Bama flings random shit against the wall and goes with what will cohere.
Change? tsk.
********Very poetic Jim
From: Dale Hileman <dalehileman@me.com>
Date: January 20, 2009 8:00:38 AM PST
To: Darrel
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--cohere
On Jan 19, 2009, at 3:37 PM, Darrel wrote:
Dale,
The piece [below, from Anu] does not seem too overstated, slanted or otherwise overboard. I haven't read any of Obama's writings as of yet but, based on the speeches I have heard, I would bet they would be much better reading than anything coming out of the Bush league.
***No question about that but I too must admit I haven't either. [I get my major reading material at garage sales so it will be a couple of years yet]
I have read/heard many statements far and away too sweet and rosy about what will come from an Obama reign. I can somewhat understand this super-optimism as it has been a long time since we had a President that didn't make most literates cringe when our leader spoke.
***Agree, to hear GWB speak I was always embarrassed for our country: "This case has had full analyzation and has been looked at a lot" or "I am against hard quotas they basically delineate based upon whatever" or "The suicide bombings have increased, there's too many of them" and pertinent to recent events, "There's nothing more deep than recognizing Israel's right to exist. That's the most deep thought of all. I can't think of anything more deep than that right"
Bush was an embarrassment to all who were not tied up in the concept that "our guy won"; had he been a Democrat, the right would have been all over his light weight intellect. I feel sorry for George as I truly believe he still doesn't understand how dim he really was/is (for a President of the U.S. that is.)
*****Strangely enough I had much the same reaction. But it proves in a democracy we get what we deserve. Perhaps I should not Fwd this message to Jim. Note to Sky: Darrel Jim and Jim are two of my most interesting corespondents coming respectively from the left and right
Obama will not embarrass us in front of the world; he may make choices about governing that many will find wrong but no one will say he made up his mind early because it was too much work to fully understand the issues or that his advisers made the choices for him...
***We shall see, let us hope
*****Darrel
**Dale
----- Original Message -----
From: Dale Hileman
To: Darrel ; Jim
Sent: Monday, January 19, 2009 8:04 AM
Subject: Fwd: A.Word.A.Day--cohere
*******As the country's most resoundingly unpublished writer I was especially interested in the clip below, thus solicit you guys' reactions, especially Darrel (Left) and Jim (Right)
*********My own reaction, for what it's worth, which might not be much, was all in favor of Obama, impressed as I was by his audacity and coherence but my estimation dropped a notch when he switched from public to private campaign funding though voted for him anyhow and leaning slightly to the right in matters fiscal, another notch after it was too late after he endorsed the huge giveaway identified by the euphemism, "bailout" [ergo, language related]
*********Look Fwd to hearing from youall--best regards--Dale
Begin forwarded message:
From: Wordsmith <wsmith@wordsmith.org>
Date: January 18, 2009 9:10:30 PM PST
To: dalehileman@me.com
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--cohere
Tomorrow Barack Obama will become president of the US, and not a moment too soon. This week we'll feature words from Obama, words from his books, speeches, and interviews.
Unlike most politicians, who hire ghostwriters, Obama writes his own books. He's a gifted writer. Reading his words you can see his thought process. He's not one who sees the globe in black and white. He has lived outside the US and has been exposed to other cultures. He realizes that just because someone has a different set of beliefs, just because someone looks different, doesn't mean he's wrong -- sometimes there can be two ways to do something and both can be right.
Obama is to be commended for his accomplishments. We've come a long way in this country. But we still have far to go before we can call ourselves truly unbiased. Real progress will be when any capable person can have a fair chance at winning the highest office, even someone who happens to be, say, a black gay vegan atheist woman.
Anything is possible... but don't hold your breath.
cohere
PRONUNCIATION:
(ko-HEER)
MEANING:
verb intr.: To be united; to work or hold together.
ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin cohaerere, from co- (together) + haerere (to stick).
USAGE:
"I learned to slip back and forth between my black and white worlds, understanding that each possessed its own language and customs and structures of meaning, convinced that with a bit of translation on my part the two worlds would eventually cohere."
Barack Obama; Dreams >From My Father; Times Books; 1995.
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. -Martin Luther King, Jr., civil-rights leader (1929-1968)
***Myr, speaking of politics and sex, my own thought for the day: ...and I hear he was quite a stud, too
dalehileman
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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you want apolitical linguistics? our newly inaugerated 44th president is actually only the 43rd person to be president: link - joe (no nit picked before its time) friday
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Carpal Tunnel
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President Obama's inauguration speech contains an error that may well be of linguistic origin. He said: "Fourty-four Americans have now taken the Presidential oath". That is false. Obama is the 43d American to take the Presidential oath. Obama's slip is probably due to the fact that he is accounted the 44th President. Oh, for goodness sake, what an ace in the whole, I fail to understand this. ( can one explain these mathematics to a dummy? )
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Carpal Tunnel
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Grover Cleveland served two terms non-contiguously; i.e., he was both the twenty-second and twenty-fourth President of the U.S.
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Carpal Tunnel
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And Warren said that this would be the forty-fourth transfer of power. Also not true. The transfer of power is counted by the number of the out-going president. George Washington did not come into the office through a transfer of power.
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member
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And Warren said that this would be the forty-fourth transfer of power. Also not true. The transfer of power is counted by the number of the out-going president. George Washington did not come into the office through a transfer of power. Faldage is only partially correct. Actually Washington did come into office via a transfer of power; but it was a transfer effected by a "constitutional" change. There were "presidents" before Washington but they were only "presidents of congress" under the Articles of Confederation and not a President of these United States. Therefore the power of administration was transferred from the congress to Washington. The "presidents of congress" under the Articles of Confederation were little more than parliamentary moderators. I think it was John Hanson who was the first such "president." The postal service issued a stamp honoring him a decade or so ago.
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old hand
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a president who found it nearly impossible to extemporaneously put together a coherent sentence that did not contradict itself. It truly made me cringe at times. ahh but you mustn't misunderestimate the man!  Seriously though, and this is not a political comment, but a comment on the mass media, George Bush is not an intellectual pygmy, despite his various gaffs. This is an unbiased view. I am no fan of his administration, which I think will be judged by history as one of the worst ever, and if I were an American would not have voted for him, so it's not a case of being pro-Republican in saying this, but of being fair to the man. I think he has had a raw deal by the mass media, who have put him in the box labelled "buffoon" and edited their footage accordingly. The facts speak otherwise - he reads widely, has a higher than average IQ, and by many accounts from those who have met him is a charming and likeable man. Perhaps he really is dyslexic, since many of his speech errors appear to be typical of reading words or letters in the wrong order. And he did make some real blunders. But the TV media and press could make the most intelligent man in the world look like a moron if they put their mind to it and thought it would sell advertising.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Here is a list of the presidents of the Continental Congress.
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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But the TV media and press could make the most intelligent man in the world look like a moron if they put their mind to it and thought it would sell advertising. Would not bet my hat on that. The other way around yes, that has been tried often enough with reasonable succes.
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