Vocabulary In the News : Governor Haley Barbour Pulls the Plug On a 2012 Presidential Run

25 April 2010 - It appeared certain that Governor Haley Barbour of Mississippi was going to throw his hat into the ring and seek the Republican Party nomination for President of the United States in 2012. He had lined up an official May 2 announcement that would be following by a fly-around to several states winding up back in Jackson, Mississippi for a huge fundraising bash. He even lined up a campaign manager. However, to the surprise of his backers, Barbour announced on Monday that he was pulling the plug. One of the reasons he gave for his decision to not run for the presidency was that he couldn’t offer with “total certainty” a commitment to endure the crucible of a presidential campaign.

VOCABULARY:

to throw one’s hat into the ring: to enter a political race as a candidate; to announce that you intend to compete for something (This expression comes from the early 19^th century when boxing was very popular. If anyone wished to challenge a boxer, he would simply throw his hat into the boxing ring.)

to line up: to organize or prepare things for an event or a series of events

to wind up: to end something (Here, Barbour would finish his fly-around the country in Jackson, Mississippi.)

a bash: a party or a celebration

a backer: a supporter (the verb is ‘to back’)

to pull the plug: to stop an activity (It is used especially when money is no longer being provided to allow an activity to continue. A plug is what is connected to the electrical socket in the wall to make our appliances work. If you remove it from the wall, electricity is no longer supplied and the appliance stops working.)

a crucible: an environment that is very dangerous, difficult or exciting

Cartoon : Creating a New World

Political cartoon by Rick McKee of the The Augusta Chronicle in Georgia and published on 21 November 2010.

Clear-cutting is the act of cutting down all the trees in an area. The deforestation of the Brazilian rain jungle is caused by clear-cutting.

If you set up a new business, you start and put it in place. The cartoonist is criticizing how the government set up by the Founding Fathers has been turned into a massive, oversized one.

The government, as most of our Western governments, have run up massive debts! If you run up a bill or a debt, you owe someone a lot of money. With the arrival of winter, we run up our gas bills as we heat our homes more and more.

The cartoonist also criticizes the moral state of the country. He believes that Americans have embraced immorality of every kind. If you embrace a new belief, an idea or a new way of life, you accept it completely.

According to the cartoonist, the embrace of immorality has led the country to devolve into godless socialism. Devolve is the opposite of evolve and has the meaning of deteriorating and degenerating. The cartoonist also expresses the global opinion of Americans concerning socialism as being godless. A form of governance that is considered to be immoral and atheistical by a large part of the American citizenry.

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 : The Washington Times (Front Page from 01 November 2010)

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

• ‘Rhetoric heats up in homestretch, Partisans fire up troops for trench warfare’ – We often talk about political rhetoric during electoral campaigns or political debates. Rhetoric is the art of studying and the skill of using language effectively to persuade and convince the listener. It can also be used to describe language that is elaborate, pretentious and insincere. Now that we are in the homestretch, this rhetoric is becoming more intense. This expression is a sports term often used to describe racing. Well, political campaigns are referred to as races and thus such sports terms apply! If in a race you are in the homestretch, you are in the last turn of the racetrack heading towards the finish line.
• Now that we are getting to the end of the race, the partisans are firing up the troops, i.e. the voters for trench warfare. In other words, they are trying to motivate and inflame with enthusiasm the voters to come out and vote for them. It’s a fight to the finish and it will be a difficult and dirty one, just like trench warfare. World War I is the best example of this type of war!
• ‘GOP takeover would tighten gridlock on financial relief’ – A takeover is the act of taking control, management or responsibility for something, particularly when talking about power in a nation or in a business. The article states that if the Republicans takeover Congress, Obama’s plan for financial relief would face gridlock. This term is used to describe traffic that cannot move on the motorways because of some sort of problem. In political terms, it means a complete lack of progress. With Republicans in control of the House of Representatives, they are expected to block Obama’s political agenda causing gridlock.

Cartoon : Sleazy Attack Ads

Political cartoon by Nate Beeler of The Washington Examiner in Washington, D.C. and published on 27 October 2010.

Sleazy is anything that is dirty, dishonest and very unpleasant. For example, a sleazy politician is one that is dishonest and immoral. If you entered into an unpleasant, dirty area of town which might be high in criminal and/or sexual activity, you might call in a sleazy area of town.

In this cartoon, the cartoonist shows a voter who is trapped and desperate because he is overwhelmed by sleazy attack ads on television being aired by the various political campaigns.

Want to see some of them? Go HERE!

Cartoon : Selling Snake Oil

Political cartoon by Steve Breen of The San Diego Union-Tribune published on on 21 October 2010.

In next week elections, Californians will be voting on a proposition to legalize marijuana use for recreational purposes in the state. According to recent polls, most voters in California favor the proposition.

The cartoonist is critical of the proposition and mocks the arguments being used to support the proposition. He believes that supporters are simply selling snake oil. The term refers to any product or thing that is questionable, exaggerated, or useless but the salesman is trying to make you believe it is good.

Pot is the slang or street term for marijuana.

Cartoon : Prove It!

Political cartoon by Nate Beeler of The Washington Examiner published on 12 October 2010.

Americans love to see conspiracies and this political cartoon mocks that fact. There are those on the left side of the political spectrum who believe that President George W. Bush orchestrated the attacks of 11 September 2001. Those who believe he planned and organized the terrorist attacks are called ‘Truthers.’

On the right side of the political spectrum, there are those who believe that Obama wasn’t born on American soil and thus not constitutionally eligible to be President of the United States. They are called ‘Birthers.’ These ‘Birthers’ believe this because Obama’s birth certificate has been publically released.

The latest conspiracy was invented by Obama and others at the White House in an attempt to scare voters away from Republicans in the elections. The Chamber of Commerce has recently come under attack by the White House because they oppose Obama’s political agenda. They have now been accused, without any evidence or proof, of accepting foreign money and using that money to fund political ads for Republican candidates.

The White House has been accused, even by many on the left, of misleading the voters because they completely invented the accusation. If you mislead someone, you make them believe something that is incorrect or not true.

Note: You see two other caricatures next to that of Obama’s. The caricature with “Joe” represents Vice President Joseph Biden and the caricature with “Axe” represents David Axelrod, a top political advisor to President Obama. Both of these men participated in the misleading message.

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/

Cartoon : The Elephant In the Room

Political cartoon by Rich McKee of the The Augusta Chronicle in Augusta, Georgia published on 14 October 2010.

"Elephant in the room" is an English idiom for an obvious truth that is being ignored or goes unaddressed. The idiomatic expression also applies to an obvious problem or risk no one wants to discuss.

It is based on the idea that an elephant in a room would be impossible to overlook; thus, people in the room who pretend the elephant is not there have made a choice. They are choosing to concern themselves with tangential or small and irrelevant issues rather than deal with the looming big one. (Wikipedia)

Read more at : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant_in_the_room

This political cartoon concerns the upcoming midterm elections in November in which the Dems (short for Democrats) are in trouble. According to all the polls, the GOP (Grand Old Party..aka the Republicans) will retake control of the House of Representatives and possibly the Senate. The Republicans are represented in the cartoon by their official symbol, the elephant, thus the “elephant outside the room.” The Dems are represented by theirs, the donkey.

Cartoon : Democrat vs. Republican Debate

Political cartoon by Chuck Assay of The Colorado Springs Gazette published on 08 October 2010.

Updated: If you place your cursor over some of the words, the French translation will appear in a popup window. Not all the words with a translation are in bold so you’ll have to explore the text.

In this conservative cartoon by Chuck Assay, you see the two major political parties represented by the donkey and the elephant.

The Democratic donkey was first associated with President Andrew Jackson back in 1828 when his opponents called him a jackass. Jackson later decided to officially adopt the image for his presidential campaign because it represented a strong-willed animal. If you are strong-willed, you are determined to do something you want to do, even if others don’t want to do it. The donkey was made famous by political cartoonist Thomas Nast who used the donkey in his cartoons to represent the Democratic Party. If you ask a Democrat today why the donkey is their official symbol, they will say it represents intelligence and bravery.

The Republican elephant was also created by Nash when in one cartoon drawn in 1874, he drew an elephant running away from a donkey dressed in a lion’s skin. On the side of the elephant there was written “The Republican Vote.” Ever since, the elephant has become the symbol of the Republican party. If you ask a Republican today why the elephant is their official symbol, they will say it represents strength and dignity.

The above cartoon was drawn to represent the debate between the two warring parties in this election season. The Democratic donkey candidate states with pride that he voted for Obama-Care and the stimulus bill. The term Obama-Care refers to the healthcare reform that was voted on by the Congress and signed into law by Obama this year. It is very common in American politics to invent new words for the political reforms or agendas of presidents such as in the economic reforms of President Reagan which have ever since been called Reaganomics.

The Democratic donkey calls the Republican elephant a wacko which is what you call someone you think is crazy or very strange. It comes from the adjective wacky which is synonymous for funny or silly. He continues by accusing him of wanting to take away Social Security and Medicare. In the United States, Social Security has nothing to do with healthcare but with retirement and disability. To read more, go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Security_(United_States). Medicare is a social insurance program providing healthcare to people 65 years or older. To read more, go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicare_(United_States).

He then accuses of him liking polluters and greedy businessmen. If you are greedy, you want more money, things, or power for yourself.

After that he calls him a heartless, skirt-chasing, money-grubbing warmonger who will do great harm to the planet. Someone is heartless, they don’t feel or show sympathy or kindness. In politics you have a lot of famous skirt-chasing politicians such as Bill Clinton. You’ll also find a lot of money-grubbing politicians who constantly want money and try to get as much as possible. President Bush was accused of being a warmonger which is a name given to someone who encourages or advocates aggression or warfare towards other nations. Whenever you cause injury, damage or other problems to something or someone, we say that you do them harm.

In the end, the moderator ask the Republican for his response who simply says, “I’m not him.” The Republican is then carried away in great support by the voters. This political cartoon describes the current political mood in the United States where Republicans are expected to retake control of the House of Representatives and possibly the Senate when Americans vote in national elections on 2 November. It’s not very popular to be a Democrat right now.

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.

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

Vocabulary In the News : 4 November 2009 – The Record (Hackensack, New Jersey)

Visit the newspapers homepage at: http://www.northjersey.com

The top headline of Wednesday’s front page from concerned Tuesday’s election results for the state of New Jersey. New Jerseyans went to the polls on Tuesday to elect a governor as well as other state positions. If you go to the polls, you go vote at polling station you are registered at.

The race between incumbent Governor Corzine and Republican candidate Chris Christie was very close but in the end, Christie managed to sway the majority of voters in his favor. To sway literally means to swing move gently from side to side but it can also mean, as in the front page headline, to influence or change someone’s opinion. You could also say that Christie’s campaign and program for New Jersey held sway (to hold sway – irregular verb) over the voters of New Jersey. Another way of saying this is that the voters fell under Christie’s sway and elected him governor.

Read more at: http://www.northjersey.com/news/governorsrace2009.html

In an opinion article also found on the front page, the author states that the GOP (Grand Old Party – the other name for the Republican Party) is rudderless no more. A rudder is a flat piece of wood or other material in the back of a boat that is moved to change the direction the boat travels. Idiomatically, if we say a group or organization is rudderless, we say that they lack a clear aim, purpose or direction. The GOP in New Jersey now has the governorship in a state that is traditionally a Democratic bastion and is no longer rudderless.

Read more at : http://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/political_stile/State_GOP_is_rudderless_no_more.html