My Ancestor : My Great, Great Grandfather

I found this on the internet about my great, great grandfather. I thought it was interesting.

BOEN, Haldor Erickson, (1851 - 1912)

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”The House of Representatives of the Fifty Third Congress” (detail), The Graphic Chicago, 1893, Collection of U.S. House of Representatives

 

 

 

 

 

Haldor Erickson Boen (January 2, 1851 – July 23, 1912) was an American congressman from Minnesota.

Haldor Erickson Boen was born in Sondre Aurdal, Valdres, a traditional district in Oppland county, Norway. Boen immigrated to the United States in 1868 and settled in Mower County, Minnesota. He attended the St. Cloud Normal School in 1869 and 1870. Boen relocated to Fergus Falls in Otter Tail County on January 1, 1871. In 1872 he was employed in the auditor’s office, computing the first taxes levied in Otter Tail County. He taught in the common schools of that county from 1874 to 1879. He acted as justice of the peace from 1875 – 1900. In 1880 he was elected county commissioner. He acted as register of deeds from 1888 – 1892.

Boen was elected as a Populist to the 53rd congress, representing the newly-created 7th congressional district, March 4, 1893 – March 3, 1895. He was unsuccessful in his reelection bid in 1894 to the 54th congress. Boen then became editor of the Fergus Falls Globe and resumed agricultural pursuits in Otter Tail County. He died in Aurdal Township in Otter Tail County and was interred in Aurdal Cemetery, near Fergus Falls, Minnesota. (Wikipedia)

BOEN, Haldor Erickson - Biographical Information

Vocabulary In the News : Politico (Online Article from 15 November 2010)

In January when the new Republican-controlled Congress convenes, California Democrat Nancy Pelosi will no longer be Speaker of the House, the second most powerful position in the US government and second-in-line to the presidency. She appears to have enough votes though from her Democrat colleagues to maintain her leadership position, but as Minority Leader. However some of the more moderate Democrats are unhappy with her maintaining leadership of the Democrats in the House. Since they don’t have enough votes to remove her from leadership, they are attacking Pelosi’s power to appoint lieutenants.

If you appoint someone to do a job, you choose that person. Pelosi, as leader of the Democrats in the House, has the power to appoint the lieutenants. These are Democrat members holding other lower ranking leadership positions in the party and are considered the leader’s ‘enforcers.’

Nancy Pelosi is scrambling to stop opposition from the more moderate Democrat members. This means that she is hurrying and working very hard in competition against these member to maintain her authority. She wants to thwart a Democrat rebellion in her party. In other words, she is trying to prevent or stop this rebellion.

This is seen as the first test of her might (or power) in the new Congress. The article states that she is trying to extinguish the rebellion. If you extinguish a fire or a cigarette, you stop the burning. The rebellion is viewed like a fire that has to be stopped.

To read the article, click on the above image.

Cartoon : A Class on College Tuition

Political cartoon by Chuck Asay of The Colorado Springs Gazette published on 06 November 2010.

In this conservative leaning political cartoon, the cartoonist is critical of the government taking control of the student loan business. It is full of good vocabulary.

You see a caricature of Obama leading a classroom discussing how to make college tuition more affordable. First, what is tuition? This is the money you pay to take a class at a college, university or private school.

The caricature of Obama states that it is skyrocketing and need to be made more affordable. This means that cost of going to school has increased very quickly and become very expensive and so something must be done to lower the price so more people can pay for it. Look at this example of the vocabulary in use: Currently the price of gold is skyrocketing and is become less affordable for those who want to buy gold.

In response to how to make tuition more affordable, one of the students suggests that colleges should compete for students in a free market. He believes there should be more competition. This means that a university should try to attract more students by offering better educational services at lower prices than another university.

Mr. Marx, an illusion of course to Karl Marx, has another idea. He believes that the government (he uses the common term the Feds to refer to people working for the US government) should take over the student loan business because a government is too big to fail (tell that to the Soviet Union!). A loan is the money you request to borrow from a bank for which you pay back over time at interest. If something fails, it is unsuccessful and doesn’t work.

At the end of the cartoon, we see the caricature of Obama asking the class who they think is going to flunk his class. In the case of this class, the first student is going to flunk and Mr. Marx is going to pass. If you flunk a class, you fail the class and do not get a good mark or grade. If you succeed and get the necessary grade or mark to move up to the next class or level, you pass it. Congratulations!

US 2010 Midterm Election Results

This is a congressional district map of the United States since the 2008 elections. All the districts in blue have a Democratic representative and all those in red have a Republican representative. Before the election Tuesday, there were 255 Democratic seats, 178 Republican seats, and 2 vacant seats.

Here’s the new map for the House of Representatives starting in January 2011 when the new Congress is sworn in.

Here are the results as they stand now. The votes for two Senate seats (Washington and Alaska) are still being counted. There are 10 House seats being recounted because the races are very close.

Prior to Tuesday, there were 59 Democratic seats (including 2 Independent) and 41 Republican seats in the Senate.

Vocabulary in the News : The Wall Street Journal (Front Page from 3 November 2010)

Let’s look at some of the vocabulary found in the article titles. If you want to read each article on The Wall Street Journal webpage, click on the each title.

GOP Claims House in Huge Swing, Tea-Party Wave Creates New Dynamic in Washington and the States; Democrats to Retain Senate Despite Drubbing

• A swing is seat that hangs from ropes or chains and moves back and forth which is usually used by children. So you can imagine the illusion here of a swing. In politics, we this word to describe when one ruling party has been replaced by a new one. The term can be used to describe any change in emotion, idea, condition, etc, to another. For example, Spain was a very conservative and Catholic country but there was a swing away from traditional family values when the country allowed same-sex marriage. In Amsterdam, there is a swing in the government position on legalized marijuana which may cause coffee shops to close down in the future.

• A change in political parties in power at a national level can also be described as a wave or even a tidal wave. A wave of course is a raised line of water you find in the ocean or other body of water. Last night a Republican wave swept (past irregular form of ‘to sweep’ – balayer) across the country pushing Democrats out of power.
• The Majority Leader Harry Reid, despite the drubbing the Democrats received by the Republicans last night, surprisingly won his reelection in Nevada. If you received a drubbing, this means that you were severely beaten. This word is believed to have been possibly derived from the Arabic word darb which means a beating, particularly by a stick.

Unaligned Voters Tilt Rightward In Droves

• Voters who don’t identify themselves as Republicans or Democrats tilted rightward in this election. In other words, they favored the particular program or opinion of those running as Republicans. Literally, to tilt means to incline or to cause to slope to one side. For example, these slashes ‘///////’ all tilt to the right.  If these unaligned (or nonaligned) voters had favored the Democrats, we would have said that they tilted leftward. In any case, the election is over and the United States must now move forward and not backward.
• The headline also said that these independent voters favored the political right in droves. If people do something in droves, it means they do it in very large numbers.

How the Rout Was Won : Careful Plans, Timely Wave

• A rout is a term to describe the complete defeat of your opponent in a battle, competition or an election. The word is also a verb. For example, Spain won the FIFA World Cup after having routed the Netherlands.
• If something happens in a timely manner, it happens at the most suitable or proper time.
   

Vocabulary In the News : US Midterm Elections

On 2 November, Americans will vote in national midterm elections to elect the entire House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate. National elections take place every two years in the United States. This year’s elections are called midterm elections because they fall fall in the middle of a president’s 4-year term in office. This Election Day, all 435 seats of the House of Representatives, whose members only have a 2-year term, are up for election. In the Senate, one-third of Senate seats out of 100 are up for election. Members of that body have 6-year terms.

Currently there are 253 Democrat seats, 178 Republican seats and 6 empty seats in the House of Representatives. The Representative from California’s 8th congressional district, Nancy Pelosi is the current Speaker of the House. She is the 60th and first female to preside over the chamber. The Speaker of the House is probably the closest thing that the United States has to a prime minister. The Speaker is the second in line to the presidency after the Vice President and is in a leadership position of the majority party. He or she also works to set the political agenda for their party giving the Speaker a great deal of power. It is the second most powerful position in the US Government.

All polls in the US project a Republican sweep in the elections. This means that the party will pick up seats in a very large number retaking control of that chamber. The polls currently predict that the Republicans will win 212 seats with Democrats maintaining 183 seats. Forty seats are considered tossups. If pollsters say a seat is a tossup, they are indicating that they can’t predict which candidate will win because poll numbers are too close. If Republicans are swept into office in November, the current Minority Leader John Boehner will probably become the 61st Speaker of the House. Mr. Boehner represents Ohio’s 8th congressional district. To be a member of the House, the Constitution requires that the representative to be a minimum of 25 years of age when he is sworn into office.

In the Senate, one-third of that body’s seats are up for election. There are currently 57 Democrats, 41 Republicans and 2 Independents who caucus with the Democrats. If a member caucuses with a certain party, this means they meet with and vote with that party. In effect, this gives the Democrats 59 seats but one vote short of an absolute majority of 60 votes. Sixty votes are need to stop a filibuster by the minority party and to proceed to a vote. In the Senate, there are no time limits to how long a senator may speak on the floor. To stop or delay a proposal known as a bill, a senator can filibuster till the end of debate. In other words, he talks the bill to death. The only way to stop a filibuster, is to have 60 senators willing to vote for cloture.

The Vice President of the United States is also the President of the Senate as written in the US Constitution. Vice President Joseph Biden is the current President. Today, modern vice presidents rarely preside over the Senate except for the swearing in of new members, joint sessions of Congress and to cast a tie-breaking (or “casting”) vote if there is a 50/50 vote. Other than this exception, the President of the Senate cannot vote nor participate in debate. In the absence of the vice president, the Senate chooses a president pro tempore to preside who is usually the highest-ranking senator. The President pro tempore is also third in line to the presidency after the Speaker of the House.

If polls hold true, Republicans will also gain seats in the Senate. The current projection is 49 Democrats, 46 Republican and 5 tossups. If the Senate is divided 50/50, then the President of the Senate’s party retains control. In this case, the Democrats would still have control but with neither party having a 60-seat, filibuster-proof majority. According to the Constitution, a senator must be a minimum of 30 years old when he takes office.

In these elections, Americans are not only voting for Congress, they are also going to the polls to vote for over a million different offices at the state and local level including governors, lieutenant governors, members of state assemblies, local and state judges, local education boards, sheriffs, etc…. Most states will also have referendums and state constitutional amendments on the ballot. Republicans are expected to hold the majority of governorships. Of the 50 states, polls predict 14 Democrat governors, 26 Republican and 10 seats are still a tossup.

This election has been described as an anti-incumbent election because many Americans are tired of the same old politics by what has come to be called the political establishment or the ruling class. This negative term is used to describe that elite group of politicians that have power or authority. In many cases, they have held elected position for a long time. An incumbent is the term used for any outgoing politician who is running for reelection. The anti-incumbent movement has not only targeted Democrats but has also targeted establishment Republicans, many of whom lost in state primaries to a more conservative Republican. If an incumbent is not running for reelection, then the candidates are running for an open seat.

For further election news and to track election poll numbers as they change, go to http://www.realclearpolitics.com/

American Cuisine : U.S. Senate Bean Soup

Bean soup is on the menu in the Senate's restaurant every day. There are several stories about the origin of that mandate, but none has been corroborated. 

According to one story, the Senate’s bean soup tradition began early in the 20th-century at the request of Senator Fred Dubois of Idaho.  Another story attributes the request to Senator Knute Nelson of Minnesota, who expressed his fondness for the soup in 1903.

The recipe attributed to Dubois includes mashed potatoes and makes a 5-gallon batch.  The recipe served in the Senate today does not include mashed potatoes, but does include a braised onion.  Both Senate recipes are below.

The Famous Senate Restaurant Bean Soup Recipe

2 pounds dried navy beans

four quarts hot water

1 1/2 pounds smoked ham hocks

1 onion, chopped

2 tablespoons butter

salt and pepper to taste

Wash the navy beans and run hot water through them until they are slightly whitened. Place beans into pot with hot water. Add ham hocks and simmer approximately three hours in a covered pot, stirring occasionally. Remove ham hocks and set aside to cool. Dice meat and return to soup. Lightly brown the onion in butter. Add to soup. Before serving, bring to a boil and season with salt and pepper. Serves 8.

Bean Soup Recipe (for five gallons)

3 pounds dried navy beans

2 pounds of ham and a ham bone

1 quart mashed potatoes

5 onions, chopped

2 stalks of celery, chopped

four cloves garlic, chopped

half a bunch of parsley, chopped

Clean the beans, then cook them dry.  Add ham, bone and water and bring to a boil.  Add potatoes and mix thoroughly.  Add chopped vegetables and bring to a boil.  Simmer for one hour before serving.

Taken from http://www.senate.gov/reference/reference_item/bean_soup.htm

Cartoon : The Tea Party vs. RINOs

Political cartoon by Henry Payne of The Detroit News in Michigan published on 17 September 2010.

RINO – This is an acronym for “Republican In Name Only.” This term is appearing a lot in the media in the United States and is being used by conservatives critical of Republicans who often support and vote for Democrat agenda. Many conservatives across the country believe it is time to throw out these RINOs and replace them with conservative Republicans. This movement is being led by the Tea Party.

Tea Party – The Tea Party, named after the famous Boston Tea Party of 1773, is a conservative grassroots movement that has become a major force in the current, political landscape in the United States. A grassroots movement is best described as movement by common, ordinary people who become politically involved at a local level in order to support a political idea or a politician. Usually, such a movement does not have a national political structure or leader. In this case, the Tea Party is a coalition of local and state Tea Parties united around a common cause: limited federal government. These activists believe that the federal government is violating the limits of its power and size as defined by the US Constitution. They are protesting out-of-control spending, high taxes and healthcare reform. They want a return to the founding principals as defined by the Founding Fathers.

Tea Party anger is not only aimed at President Obama and the Democrats in Congress, but it is also aimed at RINOs, also referred to as establishment Republicans because they have become part of the “ruling class.” In the primaries leading up to the national elections in November, many RINOs are loosing to more conservative Republicans who are endorsed by Tea Party activists.

An example of this can be found in Delaware, where in last week’s primary, Tea Party candidate Christine O’Donnell beat RINO Mike Castle to be her state's Republican nominee for Senate in November’s national elections. Ms. O’Donnell is the woman represented in the above cartoon.

Cartoon : Feeling the Heat

By Randy Bish from The Tribune-Review from Pittsburg, Pennsylvania published on 24 July 2010

If you are under a lot of heavy pressure, you are feeling the heat. Here are some examples:

 

“Law makers in Congress are feeling the heat from constituents on border security.”

“My boss is expecting my report on his desk tomorrow morning and I have barely started it. I’m really feeling the heat.”

“Due to very low public opinion polls, Democrats are feeling the heat going into elections.”

“President Obama is feeling the heat from Afghanistan.”

“Antarctica is feeling the heat of climate change.”

Background of the cartoon : This cartoon is about Congressman Charles Rangel, a Democrat member of the House of Representatives from New York  and the chairman of the very powerful House Ways and Means Committee. He was just charged with multiple ethic violations by the House Ethics Committee and will soon face a formal hearing to decide his fate. He could be prosecuted and face justice. Mr. Rangel is currently running for reelection which means he is really feeling the heat!

Cartoon : Secretary Vilsack Throws Egg On His Face

By Jeff Koterba of Omaha World Herald in Omaha, Nebraska published on 23 July 2010

In this cartoon, we see US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack throwing egg on his face. In English, to have egg on egg on your face means to be embarrassed or seem stupid by something you’ve done. Look at a few example sentences:

‘I was completely wrong, and now I have egg on my face.’

‘You'll be the one who has egg on your face if it goes wrong.’

‘If the computer problems continue, then the software giant will have egg on its face.’

 

Background of the cartoon : Several days ago a video was released on the internet of Ms. Shirley Sherrod, an official at the Agricultural Department, telling a meeting of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) how she withheld support from a white farmer. The Department of Agriculture quickly fired her for her ‘racist’ remarks. However, not the entire video was originally released. She was in fact telling a story from 24 years ago and she ended up becoming close to this white farmer and learned to see beyond her racism. The US Secretary of Agriculture was forced to admit that they jumped to conclusions and made a mistake in the treatment of Ms. Sherrod and offered her job back. President Obama even called her to apologize for how the government treated her.

 

This story has become national news because race relations has become a huge issue in the United States after it was discovered the Justice Department refused to prosecute members of the Black Panthers, a black revolutionary party, for intimidating white voters from voting at a polling station in the 2008 elections. A former member of the Justice Department came out and testified that these members weren’t prosecuted because they were black.

Cartoon : Saying a Lot Without Saying Anything At All!

By Rick McKee from the Augusta Chronicle in Augusta, Georgia on 02 July 2010.

It is a sheer pleasure teaching English to someone who really wants to learn it! This adjective is used to give emphasis to a noun to give it a greater amount of degree. It has the meaning of ‘extreme.’

Later on, the caricature of Kagan asks Larry King, the interviewer, to grant her a point of personal privilege. If you grant something, like a request, you accord or allow them something.

‘A point of personal privilege’ is a very formal, parliamentary expression usually asked for when a member what to speak out to defend his personal rights, reputation or conduct.

Video Of the Moment / Vocabulary In the News : ‘No Appetite’ for Comprehensive Immigration Reform (taken from Newsy.com)

In his first speech on immigration, President Obama called the system “broken," urging Congress to toughen enforcement of existing laws.

Newsy’s sources: CNN / KSAZ / The Huffington Post / The Guardian / ABC

For a full transcript, go HERE!

Multisource political news, world news, and entertainment news analysis by Newsy.com

to toughen / to toughen up	-	to become more strict, or to make something more strict Example: Due to the current economic crisis, many countries are toughening (up) financial rules.
to be a matter of	-	to be a question of Example: It’s only a matter of time before he realizes the mistake he made.
undocumented (adj.)	-	lacking documentation or authentication; lacking proper immigration or working papers Example: About 60% of the illegal alien population in the US are "undocumented aliens," who are commonly known as "unlawful border crossers," or more properly known as "illegal aliens."
to make a mockery of something	-	to make someone or something seem stupid or useless Example: Ten-year marriage contracts would make a total mockery of marriage vows.
to urge	-	to advise someone very strongly about what action or attitude they should take Example: Environmentalists are urging the US Government to stop drilling for oil in the Gulf of Mexico.
an appetite for	-	to advise someone very strongly about what action or attitude they should take Example: The public’s appetite for celebrity gossip seems insatiable. Synonym: a desire for
mixed (adj.)	-	mixed feelings or emotions make you not certain how you feel about someone or something Example: Teachers have mixed feelings about the use of distance language teaching.
coverage (uncountable)	-	news about something on television or radio or in the newspapers Example: People around the world watched live coverage of the FIFA World Cup on television.
to shine a spotlight on something	-	to give a lot of importance to, to give a lot of public attention to Example: The BP oil spill is shining the spotlight on how dangerous and difficult deepwater drilling can be. Other expressions: to be in the spotlight (= to have a lot of public attention) ≠ to be out of the spotlight
after (prep.)	-	in quest or pursuit of something Example: Participants in Star Academy are seeking after fame. / Some believe that President Obama is going after amnesty for illegal immigrants.
a spin (informal / uncountable)	-	a way of presenting information, especially a way that makes something seem good or less bad Example: Not even the craftiest politician could put a positive spin on this. Other Expressions: to spin a story / a spin doctor (=someone who works in public relations or the media who presents news in a way to promote a particular political agenda, they usually try to make a situation look better or worse than what it really is)
to enact legislation	-	to make into an act or statute Example: With the president’s signature, the new legislation/bill on healthcare reform was enacted into law.
to stem	-	to stop something from spreading or increasing, especially something bad Example: France passed a new retirement policy in an attempt to stem an increasing budget deficit.
misguided (adj.)	-	a misguided idea or action is based on judgments or opinions that are wrong Example: Many people believe that the war in Iraq was misguided. Synonym: unfounded
the purview	-	the area of responsibility or influence that a person or organization has Example: Organizing new training is under the purview of the human resources department.
to put forth (formal)	-	to state or offer an idea, opinion, plan ,etc Example: The French government put forth a plan to reform retirement benefits.
to require	-	if a rule, law, contract etc requires something, you must do that thing Example: Car insurance is required by law in most countries.
to be driven by something	-	is motivated by Example: He is driven by the desire to be the best football player.
to outline	-	to give the main ideas of a plan or a piece of writing without giving all the details Example: The document outlines our company’s recycling policy.
contentious (adj.)	-	causing disagreement between people or groups Example: Abortion in the United States is a major contentious issue.
to take something/someone on	-	to fight or compete against someone Example: The United States took on Ghana at the FIFA World Cup but was eliminated by them.
pandering (from the verb ‘to pander’)	-	this is the act of saying or doing what someone wants in order to please them, even though you know it isn’t right. Example: Politicians do a lot of pandering during election time and really don’t mean a lot of what they say or promise.

 

So, what do you think? Did the president’s speech on comprehensive immigration reform make any progress or was he simply pandering? What immigration reform would you like to see in your country? Please feel free to leave your comments!

Vocabulary In the News : 26 Feb 2010 – CNN Poll: Majority says government a threat to citizens’ rights

Washington (CNN) – A majority of Americans think the federal government poses a threat to rights of Americans, according to a new national poll.

Fifty-six percent of people questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Friday say they think the federal government's become so large and powerful that it poses an immediate threat to the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens. Forty-four percent of those polled disagree.

The survey indicates a partisan divide on the question: only 37 percent of Democrats, 63 percent of Independents and nearly 7 in 10 Republicans say the federal government poses a threat to the rights of Americans.

According to CNN poll numbers released Sunday, Americans overwhelmingly think that the U.S. government is broken - though the public overwhelmingly holds out hope that what's broken can be fixed.

The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll was conducted February 12-15, with 1,023 adult Americans questioned by telephone. The survey's sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points for the overall survey.

**Click on the underlined words in blue for their definitions.**

Interesting quote:

“When the people fear their government, there is tyranny. When the government fears the people, there is liberty.” – Thomas Jefferson

Culture Spot : On This Day . . . 19 November – Happy Birthday James A. Garfield, 20th President of the United States

On this day in 1831, James Abram Garfield was born in Moreland Hills, Ohio. He would become the 20th President of the United States and would have the second shortest presidency in the history of the country with only 199 days in office.

James A. Garfield was a major general in the US Army during the Civil War and later became a member of the US House of Representatives. In fact, Garfield is the only sitting member of the House to have been elected President of the United States.

Garfield’s life was changed at the Republican National Convention of 1880. Just before, in January of that year, Garfield had been elected by the Ohio legislature to become US Senator for the state of Ohio starting in March of 1881. Senator-elect Garfield went to the convention supporting Secretary of the Treasury John Sherman for the Republican nomination. In all, there were 14 nominations for the party’s nomination (this predates the modern primary system). The top three candidates  were former President Ulysses S. Grant, James G. Blaine and John Sherman. Grant, who was president from 1869 to 1877 was seeking a third term in office.

After 35 ballots, none of the candidates obtained the required number of votes to capture the party’s nomination.  Sherman and Blaine along with their delegates decided to look elsewhere and threw their support to a ‘dark horse,’ James A. Garfield. In political terms, a dark horse is someone who is little known and rises to prominence, much like current President Barack Obama. On the 36 ballot, Garfield, who didn’t even go the Republican Convention seeking the nomination, was elected with 93 more votes than Grant. Finally, the convention chose Chester A. Arthur as Garfield’s vice presidential running mate ending the longest Republican Convention in history. Ironically, Sherman, whom Garfield went to the convention to support, was chosen to be the senator for Ohio in the place of Garfield.

In the general election of 1880, the Republican Garfield-Arthur ticket won 214 votes in the Electoral College against the Democratic Hancock-English ticket’s 155 votes. In the popular vote, Garfield and Arthur received only 1,898 more votes. The smallest popular vote majority in the history of US presidential elections. President Garfield and Vice President Arthur were sworn into office on March 4, 1881.

On July 2, 1881 Garfield was on his way to deliver a speech and was shot twice while walking through a train station in Washington D.C. by Charles J. Guiteau who was disgruntled for not being able to obtain a federal post. One bullet only grazed the President’s arm and the other was believed to have lodged itself in the spine. Garfield survived but was bedridden in the White House as he became increasingly ill from infection. The doctors were unable to locate the bullet and Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, devised a metal detector to locate the bullet. Unfortunately the metal-framed bed in which the President lay caused the detector to not function correctly. Such beds were so rare, they had no idea that it was the cause of the metal detector’s deviation.

President Garfield’s infection worsened which weakened his heart. He had constant fevers and severe pains. On September 9, he was moved to the New Jersey shore hoping that the fresh air would help aid the President in his recovery. Unfortunately, on September 19, President Garfield suffered either a massive heart attack or an aneurysm due to blood poisoning and pneumonia from infection. Garfield became the second American president to have been assassinated after President Lincoln. On the same day, Vice President Chester A. Arthur was sworn in as the 21st President of the United States.

Other interesting facts about the 20th President of the United States (taken from Wikipedia) :

• Garfield was a minister and an elder for the Church of Christ (Christian Church), making him the first—and to date, only—member of the clergy to serve as President. He is also claimed as a member of the Disciples of Christ, as the different branches did not split until the 20th century. Garfield preached his first sermon in Poestenkill, New York.
• Garfield is the only person in U.S. history to be a Representative, Senator-elect, and President-elect at the same time. To date, he is the only Representative to be directly elected President of the United States.
• In 1876, Garfield discovered a novel proof of the Pythagorean Theorem using a trapezoid while serving as a member of the House of Representatives.
• Garfield was the first ambidextrous president. It was said that one could ask him a question in English and he could simultaneously write the answer in Latin with one hand, and Ancient Greek with the other.
• Garfield was a descendant of Mayflower passenger John Billington through his son Francis, another Mayflower passenger. John Billington was convicted of murder at Plymouth Mass. 1630.

Read more about President James A. Garfield at:

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

http://jamesagarfield.com/

http://www.answers.com/topic/james-garfield

http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/jamesgarfield/

Culture Spot : On This Day – 17 September

There are two important events in American history that took place on this day.

On this day in 1787, the US Constitution was signed and adopted by the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia after a long, hot summer of intense negotiations among the various state representatives. On March 4, 1789 the government under the new Constitution began operations. September 17 is an American federal observance known as Constitution Day. The holiday was created in 2004 and mandated that all publically funded educational institutions provide educational programming on the history of the US Constitution.

The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union (America’s first constitution) which had been drafted in 1777 and finally ratified in 1781 was the governing document since Independence but unfortunately, it was a very inefficient document. Under this document, Congress (there was only a legislative body and no president!) was powerless to enforce its decisions and was denied the power of taxation leaving the government and military short of funds. It also left Congress in a weakened position when it came to foreign policy and had no means to regulate commerce. Also, due to its inability to tax, Congress could not pay the debts it owed to countries like France and the Netherlands for their assistance in our struggle for independence from Britain.

In 1786, state representatives convened in Philadelphia to discuss changes to the Articles. However after much discussion and debate, it became clear that an entirely new constitution was need creating a federal system of government. Many states were completely against this idea fearing the loss of state sovereignty. After much debate, a document unlike any other governing document in the world had been born. A document guaranteeing a balance of power between state sovereignty and a central federal government. The wisdom of those delegates has left an enduring document and today the US Constitution is the shortest and oldest written constitution in the world, a document very much cherished by Americans.

In school, children memorize the preamble to the US Constitution which is the following:

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

Here’s a funny video from the American sitcom, The Andy Griffith Show, where Deputy Barney Fife tries to recite the Preamble to the Constitution from memory! 

For those of you brave enough to read a good history book on how the US Constitution came into being, I very highly recommend the book The Summer of 1787: The Men Who Invented the Constitution by David O. Stewart (ISBN 978-0743286930)

This has become one of my favorite books in my library!!

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Also on this day in 1814, Francis Scott Key finished his poem “The Defence of Fort McHenry” which would become the words for the United States national anthem “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

The poem was written towards the end of the War of 1812 against the British. Key, along with American Colonel John Stuart Skinner, were guests aboard a British ship to discuss a prisoner exchange. However, the British were about to attack Baltimore and could not let Key and Skinner leave the ship before the attack since they knew the strength and position of the British ships. They could do nothing but helplessly witness the bombardment of Fort McHenry. In the morning, Key went out on deck to see if the fort had successfully resisted the attack. Through the smoke he saw that the American flag still waved over the fort! The Americans held!

This vision inspired Key to write a poem and he intended for the words to fit to the rhythm of John Stafford Smith’s song “To Anacreaon In Heaven,” a song from a gentlemen’s club! The melody with Key’s poem added became known as “The Star-Spangled Banner” and was widely popular throughout the United States. However, the song did not become the official anthem of the US until 1931 with a Congressional resolution signed by President Hoover. Before 1931, the United States never had an official anthem!

The flag that inspired Key can still be seen in the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.

“The Defence of Fort McHenry” (The Star-Spangled Banner)

by Francis Scott Key

O! say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

O! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: 'In God is our trust.'
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Culture Spot: On This Day …. 15 July 1979 – President Jimmy Carter’s “Crisis of Confidence” Speech

Exactly thirty years ago, President Jimmy Carter gave his famous "Crisis of Confidence” speech, also know as the “Malaise” speech. At that time, the United States was also going through a major economic crisis which would also lead to Carter’s defeat for reelection to Ronald Reagan in 1980. Here in a short excerpt from that speech.

To read the entire speech, go to: http://www.usa-presidents.info/speeches/malaise.html

Vocabulary In the News: House impeaches Texas judge accused of sex crimes

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/06/19/U.S.impeachment.judge/index.html?eref=rss_politics

June 19, 2009

(CNN) -- The House of Representatives voted Friday to impeach a federal judge convicted of obstruction of justice while in office

U.S. District Judge Samuel B. Kent of Texas pleaded guilty in February, admitting he lied to investigators about nonconsensual sexual contact with two employees in his courthouse. As part of a plea agreement, other counts alleging sexual misconduct were dropped.

Kent was the first federal judge to be charged with sexual crimes while in office.

He has submitted his resignation, but made it effective June 1, 2010, meaning he would be paid for a year while in prison.

That drew a heated response among some members of Congress, and a House Judiciary Committee task force unanimously approved four articles of impeachment against Kent on the grounds of sexual assault, obstruction of justice and providing false statements to federal investigators.

Before the House vote, Judiciary Committee member Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Virginia, said to House members that Kent collecting a salary of about $174,000 while in prison constituted "an attempt to extort hundreds of thousands of dollars from the American people."

There were no dissenting votes.

The decision on whether to convict Kent will be made by the Senate. A conviction would mean he would lose his seat on the federal bench and his pension.

Kent, who turns 60 this month, was sentenced in May to 33 months in prison and began serving the sentence Monday. He was ordered to undergo treatment for alcoholism while in prison.

An attempt to reach Kent's attorney for comment was unsuccessful Friday afternoon.

President George H.W. Bush nominated Kent, who took his seat on the bench of the Southern District of Texas on October 1, 1990. Kent is the 14th federal judge to be impeached by the House. The last impeachment -- on charges of lying to a federal grand jury -- was of Mississippi Judge Walter Nixon in 1989.

See the post below to understand the impeachment process in the United States.

Culture Spot: Impeachment in the United States

The US Constitution provides for the removal from office of the president, vice president and other “officers” of the United States (e.g. federal judges, justices of the Supreme Court, etc.). The first step of removal is impeachment.

According to the US Constitution, article of impeachment must first be voted on by the House of Representatives. The sole power to impeach is given to the House and may only be done for “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.” Once the House of Representatives votes and approves articles of impeachment, the accused is officially impeached. However, this is only the first step in removal from office.

Next, the US Senate, functioning like a court, tries the accused. Members of the House who represent the prosecution and present the charges in this trial are called “managers.” The senators function as the jury. The accused will be defended by his own lawyers. Before the senators deliberate, they must take an oath swearing to perform their duties honestly and with due diligence.

After hearing the charges, the Senate will deliberate in private and will vote to either convict or acquit. In order to convict and remove from office, a two-thirds majority is required. If convicted, the judgment is filed with the Secretary of State and the official is immediately removed from office.

During the impeachment process of a president, the US Constitution requires the Chief Justice of the United States (Supreme Court) to preside over the impeachment trial, however in the case of the vice president or other official, the Constitution is silent. In most cases, either the president pro tempore or vice president (constitutionally he is President of the Senate) will preside.

Only two presidents have been impeached: President Andrew Johnson in 1868 and President William Clinton in December of 1998. Both were acquitted and not removed from office.

Only 18 federal officials have been impeached in US history including the recently impeached Judge Samuel B. Kent. Before Kent, President Clinton was the last impeached official. For a complete list of federal officials impeached and results of impeachment, go to the link below.

Impeachment can also occur at a state level according to the rules laid out by the constitutions of the individual states. Governor Rod Blagojevich of Illinois was impeached on charges of corruption and misconduct by the Illinois House of Representatives on January 14, 2009 and the Illinois Senate voted unanimously on January 29, 2009 to remove the governor from office and to bar him from ever running for public office again in the state of Illinois.

For more detail on the Impeachment in the United States, go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impeachment_in_the_United_States

See also: Impeachment of President William Clinton and Impeachment of President Andrew Johnson

Photo of the impeachment trial of President William Clinton in 1999 with Chief Justice of the United States William Rehnquist presiding.

Feel free to leave questions or comments by clicking on the comments link at the end of this post!

Podcast: The American Presidency – Theodore Roosevelt

Author: Robert Dallek

In this first lecture in a series touching on how the U.S. Presidency changed during the 20th century, noted historian Robert Dalek begins with his take on Theodore Roosevelt.

Download File - 14.5 MB (right click with mouse and save to your computer)

This is for a higher level (B1+ and above). You’ll also get to enjoy a typical Boston accent in this podcast!

For other podcasts on US presidents, go to: U.S. Presidents Podcast from Learning Out Loud

Culture Spot: Confirmation Process and the US Senate

Cartoon by Steve Breen of The San Diego Union-Tribune published on 04 May 2009

The United States Supreme Court is the highest court in the federal judicial system and is presided by the Chief Justice of the United States and 8 Associate Justices. Justices are nominated by the President and have to be confirmed by the US Senate. Once appointed (désigné), a justice on the federal bench (magistrature) has a life tenure which ends only on his or her death, resignation (démission), retirement or impeachment (procédure de destitution).

The Senate confirmation process for a Supreme Court justice can be grueling (exténuant) and can become quite a political show due to the extreme importance of the position about to be filled. There is one political question that seems to take center stage in every confirmation hearing (audience): abortion (avortement)!

The confirmation process begins in the Senate Judiciary Committee with confirmation hearings where senators on that committee will exam and question the nominee on his interpretation of Constitutional law. Upon conclusion of this examination, the Judiciary Committee votes whether or not to refer the nomination for a confirmation vote on the Senate floor.

The Senate (made up of 100 senators – 2 per state) then proceeds to vote to confirm the president’s nominee to the nation’s highest court. The nominee may face severe opposition in the Senate.  According to the rules in the US Senate, a senator has the right during debate to speak as long as he wishes on any topic he or she chooses. This privilege is sometimes used to delay a vote and eventually kill the question before the Senate. The procedure of “talking a bill (projet, proposition) to death” is called a filibuster. It is also a verb: to filibuster. The filibustering senator doesn’t even have to talk about the subject in question before the Senate; some have read books or even the Bible out loud in order to keep the floor (parole). However, a filibuster can be halted by a supermajority, that is, 60 senators willing to invoke debate closure (clôture).

The cartoon above concerns the resignation of Justice David Souter at the end of June from the US Supreme Court giving President Obama his first opportunity to name someone to the Court. Even though Justice Souter was nominated by President George H. W. Bush in 1990, he ended up being a moderate to liberal judge on the Court disappointing most Conservatives. President Obama’s nomination is not expected to change the political makeup (composition) of the Supreme Court. He is expected to nominate another woman or minority (or perhaps someone who is both such as an African-American or Hispanic-American woman).

Three years ago, George W. Bush nominated Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court after the resignation of Justice Sandra Day O’Conner, the first woman ever to serve on the court. The Judiciary Committee (then in Republican majority) voted strictly along party lines and sent the nomination to the Senate floor. A movement led by Democrat Senator John Kerry to filibuster the vote on the floor failed and Alito was confirmed. Senator Obama was part of that movement to filibuster confirmation of President Bush’s nominee.

Now that Republicans are in the minority in the Senate, some fear that they too may try to filibuster Obama’s nominee to the Court though it appears Democrats will have a 60 vote supermajority in the Senate once a contested election issue in Minnesota is resolved.

The cartoon below describes the driving issue in every confirmation hearing: abortion! It appears that all other questions are secondary. Ever since the 1973 Supreme Court decision known as Roe v. Wade which overturned (faire annuler) many state and federal laws restricting abortion, the abortion issue has divided the nation into two camps: pro-life and pro-choice. Those in the pro-life camp want to see a conservative majority on the Court that will eventually overturn Roe v. Wade and those in the pro-choice camp want to protect the Roe v. Wade decision.

Cartoon by Chan Lowe of The South Florida Sun Sentinel published 4 May 2009.

Who are the 9 Justices of the United States Supreme Court?

Justice	Year Confirmed	Nominating  President	Judicial Leaning
Chief Justice John Roberts (17th Chief Justice of the United States)	2005	George W. Bush	conservative
Justice John Paul Stevens (some say his advanced age may also give Pres. Obama an opportunity to fill his seat on the bench) (only Associate Justice to serve under three Chief Justices & oldest member of the Court)	1975	Gerald Ford	liberal
Justice Antonin Scalia	1986	Ronald Reagan	conservative
Justice Anthony Kennedy	1988	Ronald Reagan	swing vote
Justice David Souter (retiring end of June 2009, end of the Court’s term. Pres. Obama is expected to announce his nominee to replace soon.)	1990	George H.W. Bush	liberal
Justice Clarence Thomas (second African-American to serve on the Court)	1991	George H.W. Bush	conservative
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (suffering from cancer and is expected to retire soon giving Pres. Obama an opportunity to fill a seat on the bench ) (second woman and first Jewish woman to serve)	1993	Bill Clinton	liberal
Justice Stephen Breyer	1994	Bill Clinton	liberal
Justice Samuel Alito	2006	George W. Bush	conservative

The Current Structure of the United States Senate

President of the Senate: US Vice President Joseph Biden, Jr. (former Democrat senator from Delaware)

The US Constitution states that the Vice President of the United States presides ex officio as President of the Senate. He (or perhaps she one day) can only vote if there is a 50/50 tie. Normally, the Vice President doesn’t preside on a daily basis but only on important occasions or if a vote may be tied.

President pro tempore: Senator Robert Byrd (Democrat - West Virginia).

In absence of the Vice President, the President pro tempore of the Senate is the highest-ranking official and may preside over the Senate. He is elected by his peers and by tradition, he is the most senior senator of the majority party. The President pro tempore is third in line to the presidency after the Vice President and the Speaker of the House of Representative.

Majority Leader: Senator Harry Reid (Democrat – Nevada)

Minority Leader: Senator Mitch McConnell (Republican – Kentucky)

There are currently 59 members in the Democrat Caucus (57 Democrats and 2 Independents) and 40 members in the Republican Caucus. There is one unresolved seat from the state of Minnesota due to contested election results in November 2008.