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December 3, 2008 12:53:25 PM CST

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optimism

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6 Stories

Analysis

 Can Phanatics 
 Cheer Up at Last? 

Pessimism a way of life for Phanatics

Wall Street Journal Wall Street Journal Oct 21, 08 10:35 AM CDT
(Newser) - Optimism doesn’t come easy to Phillies fans. “They feel like dogs that have been kicked too much,” one UPenn professor tells Allen Barra of the Wall Street Journal . The Phillies have won precisely one title in their 125-year history, amid mountains of grim collapses. “Phillies history is a birthright,” says one fan. “It's like when you're born you inherit all these horrible memories that you have to drag to the ballpark.” More »

More about:  baseball • Philadelphia Phillies • Philadelphia • World Series • optimism

OPINION

 The Perils of Positive Thinking 

Not just greed, but optimism and can-do led to Wall Street's downfall

New York Times New York Times Sep 24, 08 11:39 AM CDT
(Newser) - “Positive thinking,” the philosophy of self-help books and corporate retreats, has had some negative effects on Wall Street, Barbara Ehrenreich writes in the New York Times . It's popular to blame greed of executives and traders for the current meltdown in the financial markets, but the unbridled optimism and unwillingness to even think bad thoughts espoused by motivational speakers has to have contributed to this predicament, she argues. More »

More about:  credit crisis • Wall Street • executive compensation • bonuses • blindness • philosophy • optimism

We're Down, We're Really Down: Poll

76% of Americans
say country is headed
in wrong direction

CNN CNN Aug 1, 08 7:20 AM CDT
(Newser) - Only 24% of Americans think the country is on the right track in a new CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll. That number is the lowest since 1980. The other times it has dipped below 30% were during Watergate, the Iran hostage crisis, and the economic slump of 1992. As recently as April 2007, 49% were optimistic about the country's direction, CNN reports. More »

More about:  poll • America • optimism • approval rating

OPINION

Obama Speech Plays Well With Euro Pundits

Most praise it, with reservations

Der Spiegel Der Spiegel Jul 25, 08 12:28 PM CDT
(Newser) - Barack Obama’s speech in Germany is drawing the full complement of responses in Europe, from glowing to scowling. Here are a few: He’s “an idealist in the true spirit of the American success story,” writes Gerhard Spohl in Der Spiege l, and aspires to be "something akin to the president of the world.” While bidding good riddance to the arrogance of Bush, Spohl cautions Germans about being swept away. "Let's allow ourselves to be warmed today," he says. "Then we'll take a further look. More »

More about:  Barack Obama • George W. Bush • Germany • Berlin • optimism

OPINION

Keep the Hummer:
Save America's Soul

Yes, it's obnoxious; that's why we need it

Washington Post Washington Post Jul 12, 08 2:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - Sure, the Hummer is more of a "cartoon" than a vehicle, a ridiculously over-the-top gas-guzzling monstrosity. But the unbridled optimism it takes to manufacture it—and to fill up the tank—is what makes it uniquely American, writes Matthew DeBord in the Washington Post . If GM axes it, or, heaven forfend, takes it hybrid, we’ll lose yet another chip off the American soul. It's just too cool to die. More »

More about:  auto industry • General Motors • hybrid car • America • SUV • Hummer • American • optimism

Scientists
Find Eternal Sunshine Spot
in Your Mind

Study: Brain section thinks happy thoughts

Associated Press Associated Press Oct 25, 07 1:04 PM CDT
(Newser) - If you think the glass is half empty, you’re a pessimist—but if you think it’s half full, you have strong activity in your rostral anterior cingulate cortex. That’s the section of the brain, located right behind the eyes, that controls optimism, according to a new study that pulls together new research and confirms old theories such as the “optimism bias.” More »

More about:  depression • brain • neurology • neuroscience • optimism • deep brain stimulation

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