Charles Earle Funk’s book “A Hog on Ice & Other Curious Expressions” explains that long in the past the knuckle was the knee or elbow. “Thus ‘to knuckle under,’ meaning to submit to—or acknowledge oneself defeated by—another, carries back to the time when one knelt before one’s conqueror in token of submission…” I think references in other sources to putting the knuckles of the hands on the ground as you kneel in front of the conqueror make less sense.
Author Archives: RF_Alum
The Arab Spring Has Become the European Flood
The Arab Spring was the hopeful term for a new beginning when there were anti-government protests and uprisings in the Middle East. I recall universal media support to the decision to provide air support to the rebels fighting Gaddafi’s forces in Libya until he was captured and summarily executed. The Obama Middle East foreign policy, which included the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq and killing Gaddafi, has contributed to in a virtual flood of refugees out of the Middle East to Europe. One reporting site records that there are “…nine civil wars now going on in Islamic countries between Pakistan and Nigeria. This is why there are so many refugees fleeing for their lives. Half of the 23 million population of Syria have been forced from their homes, with four million becoming refugees in other countries…Some 2.6 million Iraqis have been displaced by the Islamic State—Isis…”
From a USA Today article, “A record 522,124 migrants and refugees have arrived in Europe by sea this year, the International Organization for Migration said Tuesday. The number is more than double the previous high set only last year. Of the estimated number of migrants who made the hazardous journey by sea, 388,000 arrived in Greece and 130,891 in Italy. They hail from countries that include Syria, Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan and Bangladesh, the IOM said. Last year, 219,000 migrants and refugees escaping war and poverty sailed to Europe.”
Many of the images of the flood of refugees are of women carrying or leading children to a safer place. However, many of the images are of young men who are of “military age.” My question is how many of them are Isis who are taking advantage of the situation to infiltrate receiving countries to create mischief or terrorism?
I would be curious whether President Obama thinks his Middle East policy has been a success. .
Pantywaist
Bill O’Reilly used this as his word of the day in one of his recent shows, and he said something to the effect that it merely referred to clothing babies once wore and was not an insulting term. The dominant theme from an internet search is that it is “…a mild slur, meaning someone who is weak; a sissy. It is almost universally applied to men.” The term originated with the clothing of babies “…in one piece suits, a shirt and pants with snaps or buttons around the garments’ middles to allow easy access to diapers.” It was a “union suit” if it had long pants or a “pantywaist” if it had shorts. It might be called the trademarked “Onesie” today. Regardless, the consensus (and I often think things determined by consensus don’t turn out to be all that accurate) is that the term “…is an insult, so should be used with care.”
College Scorecard
We have commented previously about the problem of student loan debt. One web site says that 69% of graduates from public and nonprofit colleges in 2013 had an average student loan debt of $28,400 per student, which was two percent higher than 2012.
I read recently about a government-managed web site that allows comparing the costs of colleges and decided to check it out. I struggled a bit at first with getting to a comparison of Colorado State University with Colorado University, but I persisted and saw that CSU costs $15,303/year and CU $21,249. CU wins with a 69% graduation rate versus 63% for CSU. CU also wins with a $48,000 annual salary versus $44,300 annual salary (I’m assuming for graduates). I was disappointed that the same information came up when I entered a four-year Bachelor degree in Computer sciences instead of searching for any field of study.
The “Institute for College Access and Success” site is easier to use and has more information. The home page has a map that allows you to scroll to see average debt per state. For example, there are 56% of Colorado students who have debt averaging $24,520. Click on the state and it takes you to a listing of all of the universities. It reveals that the Colorado averages are skewed by the fact that there are slightly more than 4,000 cadets at the U.S. Air Force Academy who have no debt because there is no tuition.
Attack on Coal Mines
The mining of coal in Colorado came under attack when WildEarth Guardians sued advocating that the environmental review for operating the Colowyo mine near Craig, Colorado did not consider the impact on global warming. “The Interior Department’s Office of Surface Mining Reclamation Enforcement issued its decision…five days before court-imposed deadline…” The review “…found that the burning of coal at the nearby Craig Generating Station would have ‘insignificant impacts’ on national greenhouse gas emissions and moderate impacts on emissions in Colorado. It also noted that only 20 acres of the 809 acres to be mined under the original permit still remain untouched.”
The ruling was good news to the 220 people who are employed at the mine, but the issue is a stark reminder of how far the environmental movement will go to shut down any generation of energy by any means other than solar and wind. Similar law suits have been filed against other coal mines, including the Trapper Mine near Craig and other mines in New Mexico and near the Montana-Wyoming border.
I find it frightening that some who are advocates of the dangers of global warming are willing to accept economic devastation of people who make their living providing the fuel that generates the energy that supports our lives. A smart friend has calculated that there would be an insignificant impact on global temperatures if the United States stops the use of all energy-producing methods that produce carbon dioxide emissions. (He allows for each of us to continue generating carbon dioxide in the breath we exhale.)
The friend posted a previous thoughtful and informative commentary on global warming. Part of what he wrote was that, “One of the major problems with the concept of global warming is, if it is caused by Man, the potential remedies could be catastrophic to society. If we were to stop using fossil fuels, our society must change drastically. It is only a dream that solar and wind power can replace fossil fuels. There are some political facts that are “inconvenient truths.” The three major CO2 producers are China, the U.S., and Europe, in that order. China has recently agreed to consider curbing their fossil fuel use in the next few decades. America has cut back significantly on the generation of CO2, but will have a real problem going much farther.”
Perhaps the environmental groups, such as the one who has been filing the lawsuits against coal mines, have discovered ways to heat their homes, drive their cars, power their computers, and recharge their cell phones without completion from the masses who aren’t as smart. There is no doubt that there will be severe energy restrictions if the only “allowed energy” is from solar and wind. Perhaps some antinuclear activists will be willing to consider nuclear if energy isn’t available to recharge their cell phone batteries?
Sinister
I’m deviating from expressions because I find the etymology of the word interesting. It refers to being left- handed, and both of our children are dominantly left-handed. The root of the word sinister is the Latin sinistra, which refers to being left-handed. Left-handed evolved over time to mean evil, threatening, or unlucky. It has also been considered as meaning the person has been touched by the devil. On the other hand (so to speak) another web site explains, “There is something righteous about the right hand: it is supposed to point in the right direction and do everything right.” I’ve not noticed that our children have suffered any more than other left-handed people who have to deal with right-handed tools, etc., and I noted in sports that being left-handed (and left-footed in soccer) was an advantage.