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In order that we might all raise the level of discourse and expand our language abilities, here is the daily post of "Word for the Day".malapropism \mal-uh-PROP-iz-uhm\, noun 1. An act or habit of misusing words ridiculously, esp. by the confusion of words that are similar in sound2. An example of such misuse. Example sentences:At 15, Rachel, the whiny would-be beauty queen who "cares for naught but appearances," can think only of what she misses: the five-day deodorant pads she forgot to bring, flush toilets, machine-washed clothes and other things, as she says with her willful gift for malapropism,...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. mortgage foreclosure filings in August hovered near July's record high despite broad efforts to keep borrowers in their homes and will probably rise for another year, according to a report released on Thursday. Filings -- including notices of default, auction and bank repossession -- dipped 1 percent last month from July's all-time high and were up 18 percent in August from the same month a year earlier, real estate data firm RealtyTrac said. "The pipeline of early stage foreclosures and delinquent loans is still probably going to overwhelm the system's ability to quickly modify" terms...

Spurgeon's Morning & Evening - September 10 -------------------------------- Morning Devotional "And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him." - Mark 3:13 Here was sovereignty. Impatient spirits may fret and fume, because they are not called to the highest places in the ministry; but reader be it thine to rejoice that Jesus calleth whom he wills. If he shall leave me to be a doorkeeper in his house, I will cheerfully bless him for his grace in permitting me to do anything in his service. The call of Christ's servants...

During Kargil, Pervez sent me to N Korea, got 200 missiles: A Q Khan Lalit K Jha Posted: Thursday , Sep 10, 2009 at 0509 hrs Disgraced Pakistani nuclear scientist A Q Khan has said his country was short of anti-aircraft missiles during the 1999 Kargil War, so General Pervez Musharraf sent him to North Korea to purchase 200 missiles. In an interview to Pakistani Urdu TV channel Aaj News — its translation has been obtained by Secrecy News of the Federation of American Scientists — Khan said: “In 1999, Gen Musharraf sent me along with Gen Iftikhar, who was...

SAN DIEGO -- Becoming governor next year will be a daunting challenge for California's Republican insurance commissioner, but Steve Poizner has surmounted other obstacles, as when he volunteered to teach without pay in an East San Jose high school. After he sold, for $1 billion, one of the technology companies he founded after moving to California from Texas, and after serving as a White House fellow, he walked into San Jose's school district office, explained that he graduated No. 1 in his class at the University of Texas, earned a Stanford business degree, and now wanted to teach American government...

...Before he addressed the so called “public option”, the President spoke of what he called “bogus claims” from radio and TV hosts and some politicians. He summarily dismissed the idea that there would be “panels of bureaucrats” with the power to deny coverage to seniors. He insisted that illegal immigrants would not be covered under his plan. Finally he insisted there would be “…no Federal dollars… used to fund abortions” and that “Federal conscience laws will stay in place.” As to the last claim, the Pro-Life community has already begun to expose the misinformation it contains. As to concern over...

The Butterfly Nebula from Upgraded Hubble Explanation: The bright clusters and nebulae of planet Earth's night sky are often named for flowers or insects, and NGC 6302 is no exception. With an estimated surface temperature of about 250,000 degrees C, the central star of this particular planetary nebula is exceptionally hot though -- shining brightly in ultraviolet light but hidden from direct view by a dense torus of dust. Above is a dramatically detailed close-up of the dying star's nebula recorded by the newly upgraded Hubble Space Telescope. Cutting across a bright cavity of ionized gas, the dust torus surrounding...

Sept. 1 was the 70th anniversary of Hitler's blitzkrieg into Poland and the beginning of World War II. Fifty million people died. Western Europe was devastated. Eastern Europe was more thoroughly devastated and subjected to communist tyranny that for decades seemed invincible and a threat to the Free World, which remained armed and vigilant. Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt emerged from that war as legendary heroes who saved our civilization. Almost immediately, there were skeptics. Some claimed that both were responsible for the war. Some claimed that Roosevelt provoked the Pearl Harbor attack and failed to notify our doomed soldiers...

New York Times managing editor Jill Abramson has admitted that the paper was just a tad slow in covering the scandal of Van Jones, the Left-wing extremist and 9/11 “truther” who had to resign as Barack Obama’s “Green Czar” after his revolting past was exposed. Here’s Abramson’s risible explanation for the fact that her colleagues didn’t get round to covering the scandal until after Jones resigned: The Times was, in fact, a beat behind on this story. Why? One reason was that our Washington bureau was somewhat short-staffed during the height of the pre-Labor Day vacation period. This is not...

Armies of N.Korean Kids 'Were on Stand-By for Clinton' When former U.S. President Bill Clinton took off from Pyongyang in early August after winning the freedom of two American journalists, he left 40,000-50,000 North Korean children and juveniles despondent. North Korean leader Kim Jong-il had prepared a special performance of the "Arirang" mass calisthenics show for Clinton, which was to be attended by an audience of 100,000 Pyongyang residents, North Korean sources say. Kim reportedly asked Clinton three times to watch the show, but the former president changed the subject each time. On the day, the 40,000-50,000 children and juveniles...

Treasury Department officials have yet to say whether they will appeal on Ohio judge's ruling that their 2006 asset freeze against an Islamic charity violated the group's due process rights. Treasury officials accuse KindHearts for Charitable Humanitarian Development of taking over fundraising for Hamas in the United States after the government forced the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF) to shut down in 2001. That action was upheld by a federal judge in Washington, D.C. HLF and five officials subsequently were indicted and convicted of illegally funneling more than $12 million to Hamas. The freeze of KindHearts bore...

What's 16-17 million uninsured among 300 million Americans? Apparently not much to President Barack Obama, who slipped a not-so-subtle change to a statistic he had cited previously different during his Sept. 9 address to a joint session of Congress. The president pointed out there are "more than 30 million American citizens" who are having difficulty obtaining health insurance (emphasis added). "We are the only advanced democracy on Earth - the only wealthy nation - that allows such hardships for millions of its people," Obama said. "There are now more than 30 million American citizens who cannot get coverage. In just...

The words "you lie" will live in infamy for Joe Wilson, the overheated Republican Congressman who shouted at President Obama during his address to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday. Beyond criticism and a swift apology, the incident has already provided a fundraising bonanza for Wilson's opponent, Rob Miller, a Democrat and Marine Corps veteran. Miller raised over $50,000 in just a few hours after Wilson's outburst, after activists and small donors flooded his page on ActBlue. Bloggers and readers at Daily Kos, a popular liberal blog, also used the site to instantly create a dedicated fundraising page highlighting...

Who wrote the following: "We must learn to welcome and not to fear the voices of dissent. We must dare to think about 'unthinkable things' because when things become unthinkable, thinking stops and action becomes mindless." A "right-wing extremist" didn't write these words, nor did a cable TV or radio talk show host. Sen. J. William Fulbright, the late Arkansas liberal Democratic senator and Bill Clinton mentor, wrote them in his 1966 book, "Arrogance of Power." The arrogance of power and disdain for average Americans is what fueled much of the dissent expressed in town hall meetings. Growing numbers of...

Democrats beat Republicans soundly in 2008. But they're losing the fight with their current opponent - conservatives on the Internet, radio, and television. It was the wrong battle for President Obama and his party to pick in the first place, but the policy decisions and mistakes made since the Democratic takeover have shifted the battle to even less favorable terrain. Worse still, the fight is only just beginning. The strategy early on in the administration was to mock talkers like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck. Remember the weeks of discussion over whether Limbaugh was the head of the GOP? That...

General Motors Co. Chairman Edward Whitacre Jr. will be the pitchman who starts the automaker's new advertising campaign this weekend with television spots urging people to try GM's new vehicles, a person briefed on the campaign said Wednesday.

The scenario usually plays out this way. A white person says something about a nonwhite person -- a statement perceived as racially insensitive, purportedly reinforcing a stereotype, or otherwise considered racist. "Black leaders" or members of the "civil rights community" pitch a fit and make demands. Off with his head! The offender apologizes, denies that the comment reflects how he "truly feels," agrees to take racial sensitivity courses, grovels and then often ends up losing his job anyway. Recognizing and accepting that sometimes people say silly, stupid, illogical or disagreeable things won't do. Writing someone off as wrongheaded isn't enough....

SNIPPET: "If September is to be governed by presidential instincts and an over-valued view of the role of the United Nations, it may mark a significantly bad turn for American power, particularly economically. And that would inevitably translate into an eventual high surcharge on American security on many levels and in many places." SNIPPET: "Obama's instincts are all wrong on security matters and his bloated budgets (except for Defense, naturally) in times of funding shortfalls combined with massive money printing at US mints have China pushing to replace the dollar as the world reserve currency. And their argument resonates, fueled...

On Tuesday, as children in many places went back to school, the world's most prominent black leader undertook to expand a worshipful cult of personality as part of a systematic effort to achieve absolute power. You may have heard about it: Oprah Winfrey kicked off her 24th season on the air by taking over Chicago's Michigan Avenue for a live show in front of thousands of adoring fans. Oh, there was also that business involving the president of the United States going on TV to urge students to work hard and stay in school. In the end, Barack Obama's televised...

Peter Robinson, the Ronald Reagan speechwriter who gave us "Mr. Gorbachev: Tear Down this Wall," tells a good story about President Reagan at Pointe du Hoc in 1984. Told he was to receive the Croix de Guerre from the French, Reagan said: "That's for bravery. I only flew a desk. I couldn't possibly accept." Fearing a diplomatic embarrassment, Reagan's aides asked for confirmation. They brought back a correction. The President would receive the Legion d'Honneur--for statesmanship. Grinning, Ronald Reagan straightened the overlarge knot of his tie and said: "Well, I can play that role." Indeed he could. Conservatives need to...