Word: givees
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
George W. Bush used to insist that he didn't read polls, and on the off chance that he did, he didn't care anyway. "I don't give a darn," the former President famously said early this year just before the end of his term, when CNN's Larry King pointed to his anemic approval ratings...
...with large inequalities between earnings - and then redistribute wealth with high taxes and benefits. I think we need to do both. To reduce earning differences you need as many different forms of economic democracy as possible. We need to make it a bit more embarrassing for company directors to give themselves huge pay deals and bonuses while holding down wages elsewhere in their company...
...More cynical observers think the answer is rooted in the fact the Reid faces what could be a difficult re-election in Nevada next year. "The reason was clear," wrote Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank. "The attempt would excite his Democratic base in Nevada, which would give him credit for trying even when the plan ultimately failed, as it did this week. But Reid seemed not to have considered, or cared about, the collateral damage: forcing moderate Democrats such as Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas to cast a procedural vote in favor of the public option that could prove ruinous...
...choice but to offer the public option. "He was under intense pressure from the House [which has one in its bill] and the liberals in the caucus to at least make the effort." Also, by including the option, Reid gained a valuable bargaining chip - something he could give up in negotiations to win the votes of more conservative members like Connecticut's Joe Lieberman, an independent who is counted as part of the Democratic caucus, and Nebraska's Ben Nelson...
...tradition altogether, albeit a similarly ancient one. In England, the word wassail - derived from the Old Norse ves heill meaning "be well, and in good health" - came to mean the wishing of good fortune on your neighbors. No one is quite sure when the custom began, but it did give us the song, "Here We Come-A-Wassailing" - sung as carolers wished good cheer to their neighbors in hopes of getting a gift in return. ("A Wassailing" also evolved into the popular "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" - its last verse, "Bring us some figgy pudding" stems from the wassailers...