Definitions
It has long been my belief that one of the greatest difficulties in modern political discourse is the failure to define terms. Sometimes this is inadvertent and other times it is by design. There are times when one party or the other seeks to redefine a term in order to shape the debate. This is an effective tactic but it, as is predictable, creates considerable confusion. Therefore I intend to define the terms I use in this blog.
The list is starting small and will grow over time. To begin with I am adding words without definitions with the intention to come back and fill in the definitions. I also invite you, my dear readers, to offer your own definitions as well as words to be defined. In this way I hope to make more clear the positions I take. So, without further ado, here begins the list of words, in alphabetical order.
Communism:
Demagogue: A leader who obtains power by means of impassioned appeals to the emotions and prejudices of the populace. In other words, the facts matter less than the desired result.
Economics: The study of the distribution of scarce resources that have alternative uses. (This is from Thomas Sowell’s book Basic Economics which can be found on the reading list for those who are interested.)
Ideology: A set of doctrines or beliefs that form the basis of a political, economic, or other system.
Insurgency: Defined as, 1. The quality or circumstance of being rebellious. 2. An instance of rebellion; an insurgence. The media continue to characterize the enemy in Iraq as an insurgency. It is not. The overwhelming majority or enemy combatants are imported al Qaeda. There simply is no insurgency in Iraq but the media and leftists want us to believe otherwise. They want us to believe that there is broad opposition to the US in Iraq which is fueling this “insurgency.” The reality is the population of Iraq mostly support the US mission and are working to help us accomplish it.
Living Wage: This is the sixty four thousand dollar question. What is considered a living wage? One measure is the “poverty level” as define by the federal government. Even this is fluid because different income levels are required for different geographic locations within the U.S. But the term “living wage” is an emotionally loaded term that ignores the reality of working people because very few people at the bottom of the wage scale have to actually live on their incomes. They are teenagers and young adults with little or no financial responsibility. They are earning spending money and learning to be valuable employees in the job market.
Moderate: The dictionary defines moderate as “Opposed to radical or extreme views or measures, especially in politics or religion.” In reality a moderate is someone who will simply not make up their mind. When it’s one day before an election and a “moderate” still hasn’t made up her mind, there is simply no excuse. There isn’t going to be any new information forthcoming.
Primarily moderates revel in their status as the great undecided. They are given much credit by the MSM by virtue of not being able to take a stand on an issue.
Politician:
Responsibility:
RINO: Republican In Name Only. This is a liberal who runs as a Republican, for what ever reason. Examples include Lincoln Chafee of Rhaode Island and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania. RINOs tend to vote with Democrats and oppose conservative legislation and judicial nominations.
Socialism:
Tolerance: This has become one of the most abused words in common use today. It is defined as: “The capacity for or the practice of recognizing and respecting the beliefs or practices of others.” As used in our PC society today it means much more. Instead of respecting the beliefs of others it now means to give equal value to the beliefs of others, regardless of how repugnant we may find those beliefs.
Utopia: An ideally perfect place, especially in its social, political, and moral aspects. In other words, an impossible place.� Utopian thinkers like Karl Marx envision a society that cannot exist because it depends on people acting in ways that people are not inclined to act.
