Political Acts As Well…

“Contemplating any business act, an employee should ask himself whether he would be willing to see it immediately described by an informed and critical reporter on the front page of his local paper; there to be read by his spouse, children and friends.”

        — Warren Buffett    Read more »

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A Rare Moment of Self-Awareness?

 “Never have so many gathered for so little.”

  — Gov. Jerry Brown, welcoming reporters to a Dec. 27, 2011 press availability

(It’s a riff, of course, on Winston Churchill’s line about the heroics of Royal Air Force pilots during the Battle of Britain in 1940.)

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Sage Advice from the Oracle of Omaha

“Rule No. 1: Never lose money.

“Rule No. 2: Never forget Rule No. 1”

                                                  — Warren Buffett    Read more »

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Today’s Latin Lesson Is What Everyone in the Capitol Seeks

Quaesitum

“The Solution to a Problem”

(Literally: “That Which is Sought”)    Read more »

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A Word With a Higher, Certainly Broader, Meaning Than It Appears: “Crotcheteer”

“One who fixes the mind too exclusively on one subject.One given to some favorite crochet or hobby.”

— Daniel Lyons’ Dictionary of the English Language, 1898

(Editor’s Note: A “crotchet” is an “odd, whimsical or perverse notion.”  Hence the word ” crotchety” — someone with a lot of crotchets.)

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Today’s Latin Lesson Is How the Senate Rules Committee Meets in Executive Session

Januis Clausis

“In Secret”

(Literally: “With Closed Doors”)    Read more »

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These Might Be Hard to Use During Testimony

Patzer

Merriam-Webster: An inept chess player.

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Pomerium

Merriam-Webster: A narrow strip of land marked off around an ancient Roman town or city and held sacred.

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Pyx

Merriam-Webster: 1. A container in which the consecrated bread of the Eucharist is kept. 2. Used in a mint for deposit of sample coins reserved for testing weight and fineness.    Read more »

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Today’s Latin Lesson is a Type of Argument Never Heard in the Capitol

Ad Hominem

“Appealing to feelings or prejudices rather than intellect. Marked by being an attack on an opponent’s character rather than an answer to the contentions made.”

(Literally: “At the Man.”)

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Don’t Hear This Word Much Anymore: “Sockdolager”

Obscure in origin, although in American use by 1830, the word means “something that settles a matter,” “a decisive blow or answer.” Like a knockout punch.  

A form of the word is contained in the biggest laugh line of the comedy, Our American Cousin:

“I guess I know enough to turn you inside out, you sockdologizing old man-trap.”    Read more »

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Space: The Final Metaphor

Unveiling his “Twelve Point Pension Reform Plan,” Gov. Jerry Brown was asked at an Oct. 27 press conference if less generous retirement benefits necessitate larger salaries for employees. The Democratic governor acknowledged that such was the case but notrd that the salary of an employee can always be reduced in a subsequent year or that employee can be sacked.    Read more »

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