The Way I See It!

Words, Sayings, and Definitions Part2

Posted by Randy Hollenbeck on June 4, 2011

Culture, Logic, Words

Justification

Function: noun

1  :  the act or an instance of justifying

2  :  something that justifies; specifically  :  a legally sufficient reason or cause (as self-defense) for an act that would otherwise be criminal or tortious

3  :  the affirmative defense of having a legally sufficient justification —compare EXCUSE

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Justification

Rationalize 

verb, -ized, -iz·ing. 

–verb (used with object)

1. to ascribe (one's acts, opinions, etc.) to causes that superficially seem reasonable and valid but that actually are unrelated to the true, possibly unconscious and often less creditable or agreeable causes.

2. to remove unreasonable elements from.

3. to make rational or conformable to reason

to invent plausible explanations for acts, opinions, etc., that are actually based on other causes: He tried to prove that he was not at fault, but he was obviously rationalizing.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Rationalization

Neocon - Neoconservatism

Neoconservatism in the United States is a branch of American Conservatism that is most known for its advocacy of using American economic and military power to promote liberal democracy in other countries.  The movement emerged during the early 1970s among Democrats who disagreed with the party's growing opposition to the Vietnam War and had become skeptical of the Great Society's welfare programs.  Although neoconservatives generally endorse free-market economics, they often believe cultural and moral issues to be more significant, and so have tended to be less thoroughgoing in opposition to government intervention in society than more traditionally conservative and libertarian members of the Republican Party

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoconservatism

Ivory tower - lifestyle or place of retreat detached from that of ordinary people

First used in English in about 1911, this is a direct translation of the French tour d'ivoire coined by the poet and critic Sainte-Beuve in his poem Penées d' Août (1837).  He used it to describe his fellow poet Alfred de Vigny's seclusion in a turret room and de Vigny's preoccupation with inspiration unconnected with practical matters.

http://users.tinyonline.co.uk/gswithenbank/sayingsi.htm