Word: questionably
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Humans have expended a great deal of intellectual energy over the past few thousand years trying to understand the morality (or amorality) of seeking pleasure. Most of philosophy begins with the question of what defines the (or a) good life. But what if the answer to what makes us happy comes down to how much of a particular chemical is circulating in our brain at any particular moment...
...answer to the latter question is, yes. Although dopamine may be crucial to making decisions about future pleasure, too much of it might distort those decisions. A surplus of dopamine is at the root of addiction, for instance: Cocaine, for one, works in part by preventing brain cells from reabsorbing dopamine that the brain has released in connection with pleasurable sensations. And once the brain has learned to like cocaine, it causes all kinds of self-destructive behavior to satisfy its cravings...
...Dodd's bill was always cast as intentionally forward-leaning; even top aides and Administration allies said he wanted to start with an ambitious bill and scale it back from there. The question now is how far back that will be. Republicans say they are prepared to agree to something before the Christmas break, but only if Dodd dials back some of the more aggressive elements of his bill...
...first met Hancock at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. He was assisting the U.S. Olympic Committee media officers. Like so many other journalists, I leaned on Hancock to secure scarce credentials to the big events. At the Beijing Games, I called him one afternoon with some inane logistical question. He answered my call while sightseeing, taking a well-deserved break from the Olympic grind. I offered to leave him alone, but he wouldn't hear of it. Hancock stopped in his tracks and talked me through the issue...
...court to enforce his decree. University of California law professor Rory Little, a former Justice Department prosecutor and chief of appeals, called the order a "bombshell." "This is like exposing the tip of a huge iceberg that nobody knew even existed," he told TIME. "It's a fascinating question: Do the courts even have the power to do this? Where does it leave things procedurally? Where can the Administration appeal? I think there are five or six lawyers in the [Solicitor General's] office scurrying around right now trying to figure out what to do with this...