Political Terms to Know for the 2008 Election L-Z

Bone up on your political jargon with this handy list of political phrases and expressions. While there are many of these, this list may be especially relevant to Presidential Election 2008, so keep an eye out for spotting these concepts as the race unfolds in all its drama!

• Lame duck - This is an elected official who is soon losing political power and is no longer feeling very responsible for his or her actions. Typical lame duck maneuvers are to pull off a string of moves just before leaving, which they never would have done if they had to worry about getting elected again. What will George Bush pull out of his sleeve this December?
• Neo-Luddism - This is a modern movement of opposition to specific or general technological development. Usage: "You don't like stem cell research, the creation of a national broadband network, or computer classes in every school? What a Neo-Luddite!"
• Pressure politics - The use of intimidation, threats, and mass media to persuade politicians that the public demands a particular action. It may be the will of the people, or it may be five kids in their basement spamming emails to make it look like 500,000 angry voters are demanding something. Look for pressure politics whenever any special interest makes a lot of noise about how a candidate's stance on an issue just lost their vote.
• Reality-based - What non-religious voters call religious voters, as opposed to "religion-based". Usage: "No intelligent-design pseudo-science in my kid's classroom, thank you very much; I'd like her education to be reality-based."
• Rubber stamp - The notional tool used by party members to approve anything their party candidate does. The decision to label something right or wrong, depending on which party it came from. Whenever intense polarization exists in a two-party system, look for rubber stamps everywhere.
• Social chauvinism - Fanatical patriotism during a time of war. Us or them! Look for social chauvinism to come up in any discussion of war policy concerning how inferior the other country is to the United States.
• Stalking horse - Aaaah, the subtle approach! A stalking horse is a candidate entered into a race specifically to keep another candidate from drawing too many votes, by splitting the targeted party. Are there any candidates in this race who have been entered to steal popularity from another candidate in the opposing party, while being too unpopular to draw any votes in their own party and hence not damage the front-runner's campaign? Are there any of them aimed at a specific demographic, like Internet users, for instance? Spotting the stalking horse is a fun, but challenging game. Look for single-digit poll numbers, insane amounts of money contributed, and irrational social media hype and silly publicity stunts that together defies all explanation.
• Third rail - From the subway train metaphor, the third rail is the untouchable issue that if any politician touches it, their campaign will be damaged. Gay marriage and marijuana legalization are two of the third rails in this election.
• Useful idiot - This term came into use to describe what the Soviets would have thought of an American Soviet-sympathizer. However, look for it to be bandied about to describe a Liberal-sympathizer in the Republican's camp, or vice-versa.
• Wealth primary - The scramble for campaign contributions by all of the candidates, which, thanks to the inflated cost of campaigning, begins many months before the party primaries select their final nominations. It isn't much good to win a party primary, if you're too broke to campaign after you've been nominated.

I certainly hope this election turns out to be as entertaining and exciting as watching the candidates make their play for the Presidency. We could be in for one heck of a ride!

What is the Green Party?

In the United States, the two-party system has been so all-encompassing of American politics as to nearly obliterate all traces of any other option. Recent criticism has been directed at how the two parties are actually the same one, with words like "Republocrat" and "Demican" used as derogatory names for the two main parties. However, a new party has come onto the scene: the Green Party. This party has been gaining acceptance and slowly getting more news coverage. So what is it, and what does it stand for?

The Green Party is based on the principles of Green politics, a political ideology which places importance on ecological and environmentalist issues, while trying to achieve these goals through broad-media-based, grassroots, participatory democracy and decisions made in consensus. Beyond the mere advocacy of environmental causes, they also advocate non-violence and peace, and social and civic liberties. The philosophy is that these issues are inherently related to ecological, social, and human bodily health.

If you remember the posters back in the sixties that said "War is bad for flowers and other living things", that's part of the point - not just about flowers, of course, but that war is bad for people, nations, and the economy, too. That last claim might seem counter-intuitive, because in the past national economies have surged when they were at war. However, the keyword that doesn't apply any more is "national"; this is the 21st century, where the global economy is the dominant reality. This takes the fact of war between nations down to the same effect that a gang war in your neighborhood would have - sort of.

In fact, the "Four Pillars of the Green Party" explains it better. Ecology is not just a matter of choosing "paper or plastic", but a long-term issue which will eventually require the overhaul of our whole society, as a global community. Social justice looks to stamp out every form of discrimination based on distinctions between class, gender, ethnicity, or culture, preferring instead an egalitarian outlook. Grassroots democracy is participatory democracy, and is embraced by Greens as the only reliable governance model; it is possible to cut the bureaucracy from our government models and run things by direct participation through the communications infrastructure. Finally, non-violence reflects the Green's policy of rejecting violence as a means to overcoming its opponents.

In short, the Green party's core beliefs really aren't that new after all. They borrow heavily from leaders such as Gandhi and traditional beliefs of the United States, such as the Quakers who were here to found this country when it began. Furthermore, the movement is also aimed at helping the United States be a better neighbor to the rest of the world, and enter into a spirit of cooperation with nations founded largely on Buddhist and Hindu beliefs. American Christians who reject the religions and beliefs of "foreigners" need look no farther than Jesus Christ's Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew chapters 5-7 - Green party beliefs are actually Christ's teachings as well, albeit forgotten ones in the United States.

Interestingly, almost every nation on Earth with a democratic system now has a Green party established. They have sprung up all over the globe for the past thirty years, with Canada, Peru, Norway, South Africa, Ireland, and Mongolia all having strong Green parties.

However, the uniquely American culture of hostile xenophobia makes the Green party a difficult thing to establish here. The United States is home to some of the most intolerant groups in the world, with declared wars on races, nations, religions, beliefs, and even the most trivial, inconsequential, and harmless practices. Can a nation filled with angry bigots learn to love and coexist in peace with the rest of the world?

If not, we can always take solace that if the rest of the world goes Green, we don't have to worry about a war. After all, Green is non-violent.

Political Terms to Know for the 2008 Election A-K

Bone up on your political jargon with this handy list of political phrases and expressions. While there are many of these, this list may be especially relevant to Presidential Election 2008, so keep an eye out for spotting these concepts as the race unfolds in all its drama!

• Absurdistan - A satiric term for any country where absurdity is the norm. A funny farm on a national scale. What America may feel like when this election is over.
• Armchair revolutionary - Related to "armchair quarterback" and "weekend warrior". Now that the Internet has given us an easy way to do a lot of talking online without much action, it's a term more relevant than ever!
• Blue rinse brigade - It originated in the United Kingdom to describe the elderly middle-class ladies usually of a conservative socio-political persuasion. But it's ready for adoption in America, where seniors are notoriously socially conservative, fiscally liberal, and retired so they have plenty of time to vote and campaign.
• Bolters - Party members who leave the party for another one as soon as their favorite candidate doesn't win the nomination. Possible usage: "Those Democrats stayed on until they saw Hilary didn't get the Democratic nomination, then they left for the Republican party to go vote for Sarah Palin instead. Those bolters!"
• Bush Derangement Syndrome - The tendency to blame George W. Bush for every single thing that goes wrong; right-wing pundits used it to describe "loony left" members who were apparently so hysterical they thought Bush caused hurricane Katrina. Now that Bush is leaving office with no incumbent to replace him, even the right-wing may catch a touch of Bush Derangement Syndrome.
• CAVE People - C.A.V.E. stands for "Citizens Against Virtually Everything". Specifically people who love anything as long as it's established already, but hate change of any kind. As social questions like gay and women's rights and whether to legalize marijuana or stop the Iraq war come into play, count on a comment or two from the CAVE People.
• Christmas tree bill - A bill that passes through the House and Senate with a lot more unrelated amendments attached than it started with. Typically a small, minor bill, which then gets a new condition such as a favorable vendor or a tax loophole tossed in, and one Congressman after another does this until the bill resembles a tree decorated with ornaments hanging off of it. Also named because it's usually the last bill passed in a hurry before Congress goes home for the Christmas holidays.
• Crony capitalism - Just thought I'd remind you that this term exists. You aren't supposed to think of any companies that happen to be named "Halliburton", who are making a huge profit from the Iraq war while an ex-executive of their company who's still getting money from them happens to be the out-going Vice-President under the President who declared the Iraq war.
• Groupuscule - This is a word borrowed from the french to describe the tendency for the far extremes of a political party to break off into tiny little sub-parties over some minor quarrel or extreme view. Usage: "The Popular People's Front is just a groupuscule from the People's Front of Judea. Splitter!"
• Kleptocracy - A government that increases the personal wealth and political power of the ruling class at the expense of the population. Since you hear "the rich are getting richer while the poor are getting poorer" all of the time, now you can respond with, "What, you think we're in a kleptocracy?"

You may not hear them all during the election process, but at least now you have some introduction to this special vocabulary and you won't be left in the dark.

What are Democratic Elections Really?

Interestingly, the phrase "democratic elections" seems to come up most often in news stories from countries where fair elections are conspicuously absent. They're stories that tell of opposing candidates threatening each other with violence, whole boxes of ballots being thrown out, or scores of people being turned away from voting centers due to their ethnicity or religion.

In cases like those, many who call for "democratic elections" want nothing more than to be able to vote without fear and know their ballot will be counted. They're too busy dealing with immediate problems to look at the nuances of democracy.

At the same time, there are those who even say in countries considered highly democratic, like the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and many Western European countries, elections aren't truly fair. So what exactly does the term "democratic elections" mean anyway?

Free competition: the key to democratic elections
Fair competition and open debate are of the hallmarks of free and fair elections in any democratic country. Just because the ballot has more than one name on it does not mean there's fair competition though. If the ruling powers continually threaten opponents and opponents' supporters with reprisals, open debate is next to impossible.

Free elections are run fairly
Another major issue when it comes to democratic elections is the way the elections themselves are administered. In a fairly run election, all citizens registered to vote can do so without fear or extreme difficulty. An honest effort is made to ensure ballots are counted correctly. In countries just starting to hold elections, part of fairly running things means making sure people understand how to register to vote, where to vote, how to fill out a ballot, and other topics people in long-time democracies consider common knowledge.

No one-shot wonder elections
Democratic elections don't happen just once. In democratic countries, elections re-occur after a set period of time. For general elections, that's usually somewhere between 2 and 5 years. People, public opinion and important issues change over time so citizens are frequently given a chance to change elected officials.

Of course, it's entirely possible to elect a dictator or an elected head of state to turn into a dictator, but once that happens, the country is no longer a democracy. In this case either elections are eliminated or only sham "fixed" elections are held to maintain the farce.

Citizenship and voting rights for all
Giving "adult citizens" the right to vote doesn't mean much if the government refuses to grant full citizenship to a large portion of the population. If women or people of a certain race, ethnic group,  or religion are barred from holding full citizenship and voting, the elections are not considered fully democratic.

Truly fair and democratic elections offer considerable benefits to a country's population. When the majority of adults are free to vote without fear and have the opportunities to change or re-elect officials on a regular basis, the government is far more likely to act for the good of the people. The details of how democratic elections are run can get a little confusing but they are well worth learning about, especially for the voters.

Election News: How to Find Unbiased Election Coverage

Finding elections news coverage isn't too difficult. In fact, even several months before elections, it seems like all you hear about are the candidates and their thoughts on the issue of the moment.

Of course, just because there is an abundance if news on the upcoming elections, that doesn't mean the first thing you come across in the paper or on the TV is really useful, unbiased coverage of what matters most. It is possible to get unbiased elections coverage, but you have to put in a little effort. Here are some tips to follow as you look for elections news.

Don't rely on one source
First of all, no news medium is completely unbiased, no matter how much the editors and reporters want to be. No single newspaper, TV station, or radio station can possibly obtain every single fact and they may accidentally give more coverage to one candidate or one issue than to another. That means even if your preferred news source is usually pretty good about giving everyone fair coverage, you'll get a much better and more realistic view of things if you get your information from several sources.

Look to news media abroad
If you've ever taken a look at the foreign media's coverage of a major event in your country, you've no doubt noticed how different the presentation can be from that of the media at home. Checking out foreign news sources is a great way to get another perspective on things. You don't need to know a foreign language to do it either. Many countries have at least one English language news source (usually a newspaper) with a Web site.

Of course, you'll want to know something about that country's own policies before you take anything in their media as gospel. If they don't have good political relations with your country, they may well write off all the candidates as unqualified. Likewise, they are likely to prefer candidates who have something to offer then in terms of economic or political gains. Even so, browsing through international media can open your eyes to things you may never have noticed.

Avoid soap opera coverage
You know those magazines and TV shows that treat elections like a live soap opera? They focus on the candidate's personal life - their marriage, kids and long-past college years - instead of what those candidates actually plan to do if elected. Sadly, even some relatively respectable news media can fall into this trap because, let's face it, drama brings viewers and ratings. The fact is, though, election news sources like these might be good for a laugh (depending on your sense of humor), but they're not much use when you need straight, unbiased elections coverage.

Check for symptoms of yellow journalism
Even if your favorite news media seem to give good coverage to important elections-related issues and the candidates' beliefs about them, poor reporting on other issues should cast doubt on their elections coverage also. If the rest of the paper or TV show sinks to sensationalism or frequently slip opinions, exagerrations, or inflammatory descriptions into factual pieces, it's a sign their elections news coverage probably isn't up to par either.

Elections news is available in abundance for a good reason. In order to make a truly informed voting decision, you need access to complete, unbiased elections coverage. Choose a variety of high quality media sources to get your information from and you should be able to get all the elections news coverage you need.

Tips for the Upcoming Election: U.S. Voter Registration

If you're planning on voting in the up-coming election, you probably already know voter registration is the first step you need to take to be ready. What you may not know is exactly how and where to register to vote. If you're a U.S. citizen, you may still be a little unclear about exactly who can vote.

The good news is that voter registration is a quick and hassle-free process. Elections are one time the government actually goes out of their way to make things easy for you and ensure a good turnout. If you want to register to vote in the upcoming elections, here is some information you will need.

Who Can Register?
Simple, just about everyone. Any U.S. citizen who will be over the age of 18 by the election date is encouraged to register to vote. However, state laws do vary on this topic. In most states, convicted felons and those deemed mentally incompetent are not permitted to register to vote.

Citizenship is not always required either. Did you know that there are a few locations in the U.S. where you can vote in local elections even if you are not a citizen? If you have a permanent residency, be sure to check out whether or not you can voice your opinion in your local area.

Where to Register
These locations vary and depend a lot on where you live. Voter registration spots differ by state, county, and even city. Although state offices are the traditional locations to get your voter registration forms, more locations are becoming available.

In accordance with the National Voter Registration Act, all kinds of government offices now make forms available through several venues. These include post offices, public schools and libraries, city and county clerks offices (where you get marriage licenses and birth certificates), and even fishing and hunting license offices. The passage of the "Motor Voter" law means you can now get your forms in any motor vehicle (DMV) office too.

Another option is getting your voter registration forms by mail. Just find out which local government office provides them, call and ask them to mail your forms to you. You can fill them out and mail them back, but make sure you allow enough time before the election to get this completed. If you live in Arizona or Washington, you can even register to vote online!

Get Your Card
Now that you've gotten your forms, filled them out and mailed them in, you're registered, right? Wrong. Unfortunately, you are not officially able to vote until you receive your voter registration card. About three weeks after sending in your forms, you should get your voter registration card in the mail. Make sure you have it with you on the big day as you will need show it in order to cast your vote. It is imperative that you allow enough time to receive the registration card before the election. It would be a shame to lose your vote on a technicality.

Sarah Palin: Not Your Typical Work At Home Mom!

If there is one thing Sarah Palin is not it is that she is not a work at home Mom. In this day and age where more and more women are trying to find ways to work from home so that they can spend more time with the kids, Sarah Palin is one step away from uprooting her whole family and moving to Washington.

One of the silliest arguments against her that I have heard is that she has no family values. The argument goes that she is not doing what is best for her family because if she gets elected then she will obviously have less time to spend with her children. What the Liberals don't get, however (and they never will), is the concept of putting your country first. Sarah Palin is in the unique position to serve her country in a capacity that no woman has ever done before. For this opportunity, she is willing to put her family second and I am sure they will be just fine with her stay at home husband in charge.

The new Liberals of the Democrat party don't care one bit about helping this country and in fact are openly embarrassed by it. The Democrats want to know what this country can do for them and not what they can do for the country. They want handouts, freebies, free health-care, social services, and anything else they can get their hands on. What they really want is Canada and socialism.

Sarah Palin is exactly what this country needs right now. She is getting more popular by the minute and has ignited a eyeglass fashion frenzy (where to buy Sarah Palin glasses), has Sarah Palin action figures, the Sarah Palin hairstyle, the Sarah Palin smile, Sarah Palin shoes (where to buy Naughty Monkey Double Dare Red Pumps),  and who knows what else, all in less than a week. If she is not an example to young girls and women then I don't know what is.

John McCain's choice of Govenor of Alaska Sarah Palin is one of the most "crazy like a fox" choices and is revitalizing the Republican's campaign and has every one talking. Sarah Palin could have never run for government office and decided to do what so many other women are doing nowadays: look for work at home jobs. Instead, she decided to see what she could do to make her state of Alaska a better place and she just might end up making America a better place as well.

ELECTION DAY

An election day is the most important day in the life of a democratic nation. It usually comes once in five years. People get an opportunity to elect new representatives if they are not satisfied with the performance of the sitting candidates.

I had the good luck to witness India's ninth general elections. Our area had to elect one representative for the Lok Sabha and one for the state assembly. But there were in all seven candidates in the fray for one Lok Sabha seat and ten for the lone assembly seat.

Distribution of leaflets, appeal from blaring loudspeakers on the moving cars and jeeps, posters and banners, processions and meetings were the usual modes of canvassing. In the last few days there was door-to-door canvassing also. Representatives went from door to door and solicited votes* Sometimes, there were clashes between the supporters of rival candidates and the police had to intervene to restore peace.

The canvassing stopped 48 hours before the election day. Peace was restored. At last the much awaited election day dawned. Voting started at eight in the morning. There were long queues of voters at all polling booths. Voters went in the booth by turn. Each had his name in the electoral roll ticked. His left-hand finger was marked with indelible ink and he was given the two ballot-papers-one for the Lok Sabha seat and the other for the assembly seat. Names of all the candidates along with their election symbols were printed on the ballot papers. The voter went to a secluded corner, stamped the symbol of the candidate of his choice, folded the ballot-paper and dropped it in the sealed ballot box. There were two boxes - one for the Lok Sabha seat and the other for the assembly seat. Voting slowed down after eleven, but picked up speed after four. As the closing time neared, people rushed to the polling booths to exercise their voting rights. There were all types of voters-men and women, young and old, the disabled and the sick. An old man was brought on a stretcher to enable him to caste his vote. India is proud of such politically conscious voters who help to keep the democracy alive.

Polling stopped sharp at the stroke of six. An exciting day was over at last. Now began the guess and expectations and waiting for the results.

Should we have Nationalized Health Care?

The big debate in politics for the last 8 years or so is whether to nationalize health care. Many people feel that heath insurance and health care is a god given right and the government should take it over. The problem with that is that the government is usually a failure at whatever it does. Is the government social security system a success? No, as it will be bankrupt before I have the chance to get any of my money back. Are the government programs to help the poor a success? No, as we have just as many poor people as we ever have had. Does the government do a good job in times of tragedy? I think the victims of hurricane Katrina would answer no to that.

The only thing the government does well is to police the nation and to defend our country. Of course even that will have many people in disagreement. Why then should we ever attempt to nationalize health-care? If the government fails at almost everything it does, why on earth should we hand over the whole health care system too? The United States right now has the best health care in the world and this is evidenced by the fact that many people fly here to have their operations done. If you are in trouble health wise, the US is THE place to get the best doctors and care.

If the health care system were nationalized, finding health insurance for the self employed would no longer be a problem. Whether people had stay at home jobs or worked for big companies, they would have health insurance. That would be a good thing but what would be the quality of that care? Right now, people in Canada and Britain have to wait in line for their health care. Do you want to wait in line to see a doctor? Waiting in line is OK at the supermarket but not at a doctors office or hospital.

It is true that some people have trouble finding quality health insurance and especially self employed health insurance. Health insurance for self employed is hard to get and it is easier to get health insurance if you work for a company that offers it. However, the system works for most of us and we do have the best health care in the world. Why would we jeapardize that? If we did nationalize it, more people might have access to it but the quality would go down. There is always a price and no system that will work for every single person.

The bottom line is that there is no perfect system where everyone will have the best health care at a price they can afford. Nothing in life works that way. America was born by people who wanted to limit the influence of government in their lives. I say, leave things the way they are. We don't want to make them worse!

Homeland Security Camera Get Bigger With The Help Of Communities

If you have ever been curious in regards to what appears as camera housing situated in public places, you may be amazed that a variety of them are part of the Homeland Security camera system network.

Not all of these cameras, and not in all cities and towns are part of it, yet an ever increasing number of cameras that are in existence in the majority of cities are joining forces with different government agencies in their ongoing fight against domestic terrorism.

There have been numerous cities that have installed cameras to maintain close surveillance on big public assemblies, for instance the White House as well as around various national memorials and monuments to help identify difficulties with crowds.

The capability to have these cameras networked together into a much bigger, national type of network is giving the Homeland Security Camera System the ability to grow through the use of extra cameras from communities all around the country.

For people who don't comprehend that this is possible, think for a moment of the internet's availability to access your personal computer from anyplace on the planet by simply signing onto a computer and then going to a website on the network.

Begin at your home network, if there is more than one computer that is connected to internet access by way of a hub, you have the capability of get access to anything on one computer from any other computer, if in fact you have the right authorization.

If for example you have cameras that are connected to a network at your office, then access the work computer from your house, you can then bring up images connected to your work computer from your house. This is a similar system that the Homeland Security Camera system utilizes to add additional cameras and resources onto their existing systems.

Surveillance System Rapidly Growing In Size

Because the infrastructure is already in place in many of the larger communities, it is actually a simply task for the Homeland Security camera computer to connect to the city camera computer and get access to the images of that computer.

Certainly, you have to have permission that is granted by the community for the Homeland Security camera system to take the images from the computer. Safeguards are also put in place to stop the homeland computer from getting any type of control over a communities camera system.

The majority of Homeland Security cameras that are being utilized are not just static types of cameras. There are numerous types that are equipped with accessibility through remote means so that they can pan, zoom and tilt to more effectively monitor people or events that are within viewing range to assist in fighting the possible threat of either domestic or global terrorism.

While there are people that are not comfortable with knowing that the local and federal government can hook into any community that they want with a camera system and snatch up images from anywhere, the majority of people realize the significance of having a constant vigil for the purpose of national security.

To learn more go to Security Camera Software advice and at Hidden Security Cameras tips.

Where Bill proposed to Hillary

Over here in the United Kingdom we sometimes get to see the presidential debates and all the razzmatazz associated with the political system. Whatever people say about the Clintons i can faithfully say that over here in Cumbria many of us are proud of the Clintons. Why? Well in the heart of the Lake District is Ennerdale Water and it was here that Bill proposed to Hillary many years ago.

When you look at the beauty of the lake with its wild shores, rugged hills and rolling mists coming in from the sea then maybe like Bill we can think romantic thoughts and dream of a better future.

Ennerdale, like so many of the other lake district lakes is a deep glacial lake, to be precise 148 feet deep. It is two and half miles long and three quarters of a mile wide.

The water is unusually clear and as there is no road running alongside the lake it is also usually very tranquil.

The Forestry commission own a lot of the adjoining land and this has led to many conifers being planted adjacent to its shores.The Lake also serves as a reservoir for the coastal towns of West Cumbria.

For all you film buffs it is worth saying that the  closing sequences of the movie 28 Days Later (2002), directed by Danny Boyle, were filmed around the Ennerdale area, and include a sweeping panoramic view of the lake.

There is also a local legend worth narrating.In 1810, a large, mysterious carnivore killed hundreds of sheep in and around Ennerdale before it was hunted down and killed. The locals dubbed it the Girt dog of Ennerdale, though it bore the traits of both a dog and a large cat.

For both new and returning visitors to this beautiful area it is worth knowing about Willowbeck Lodge,it provides luxury b&b very close to the lake district.