Obbligato is one of my favorite musical words. The Harvard dictionary of music says "[It.]. Obligatory, usually with reference to instruments (violino obbligato) or parts that must not be omitted; the opposite is ad libitum. Unfortunately, by some queer misunderstanding or thoughtlessness, the term has come to adopt the meaning of a mere accompanying part which may be omitted, if necessary. The consequence is that one has to decide in each single case whether obbligato means "obbligato" or "ad libitum," the chances being in favor of the former meaning in the case of early music; of the latter, in more recent pieces."

So obbligato means either a required or an optional part! I see another word that is taking on the opposite of its real meaning. The word "literally" is often used in conversation, in the media and in print to mean "figuratively." It is such and annoyance that someone has started website to publish instances of "literally" being used incorrectly: for example, from a sportscaster, "The Giants literally put a bullet in the heads of the Eagles." Check out many other examples at www.literally.barelyfitz.com.

President Jimmy Carter is once again in the news. There are so many who go on the attack at the mention of his name. Immediately a din of protest, slander, often profane, arises to attempt to drown out his words before they can be heard. I listen to him. I find that he cuts through political rhetoric with a scapel of truth. His words are shocking, the biggest shock being that the same words are not being said by others. Today he takes on Israel when no one else has the courage. He was so profound on Meet the Press that Tim Russert abandoned his usual tactic of interrupting guests and actually let him answer questions. At one point he gave an impromtu essay about how to work for peace in the middle east. I could only think of the intellect of the man. How could he pull so much together so cogently in answer to a question by a TV commentator? The answer is, he is brilliant, he has studied the problem his whole life, and not needing anyone's approval, he is not afraid to speak the truth. Take every opportunity to read President Carter, to listen to him speak, to contribute to the Carter Center, and to learn from perhaps our most learned leader.

Unlike "obbligato" and "literally" President Carter uses words and they have clear meaning.