When Donald Rumsfeld was secretary of Defense, he coined some phrases about knowledge that apply far beyond military matters.

Two unrelated news stories on the same day show the contrast between government decisions and private decisions.

One of the painfully revealing episodes in Barack Obama's book "Dreams From My Father" describes his early experience listening to a sermon by the Reverend Jeremiah Wright.

Those who regard government "entitlement" programs as sacrosanct, and regard those who want to cut them back as calloused or cruel, picture a world very different from the world of reality.

We could definitely use another Abraham Lincoln to emancipate us all from being slaves to words. In the midst of a historic financial crisis of unprecedented government spending, and a national debt that outstrips even the debt accumulated by the reckless government spending of the previous administration, we are still enthralled by words and ignoring realities.

One of the sad and dangerous signs of our times is how many people are enthralled by words, without bothering to look at the realities behind those words.

When people in Washington start creating fancy new phrases, instead of using plain English, you know they are doing something they don't want us to understand.