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Woty Werner
The word(s) of the year, sometimes capitalized as "Word(s) of the Year" and abbreviated "WOTY" (or "WotY"), refers to any of various assessments as to the most important word(s) or expression(s) in the public sphere during a specific year. The German tradition, '' Wort des Jahres'' was started in 1971. The American Dialect Society's Word of the Year is the oldest English-language version, and the only one that is announced after the end of the calendar year, determined by a vote of independent linguists, and not tied to commercial interest. However, various other organizations also announce Words of the Year for a variety of purposes. American Dialect Society Since 1990, the American Dialect Society (ADS) has designated one or more words or terms to be the "Word of the Year" in the United States * 1990: ''bushlips'' (similar to " bullshit" – stemming from President George H. W. Bush's 1988 "Read my lips: no new taxes" broken promise) * 1991: ''mother of all'' (as in Saddam Hu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Public Sphere
The public sphere (german: Öffentlichkeit) is an area in social life where individuals can come together to freely discuss and identify societal problems, and through that discussion influence political action. A "Public" is "of or concerning the people as a whole." Public Sphere is a place common to all, where ideas and information can be exchanged. Such a discussion is called public debate and is defined as the expression of views on matters that are of concern to the public—often, but not always, with opposing or diverging views being expressed by participants in the discussion. Public debate takes place mostly through the mass media, but also at meetings or through social media, academic publications and government policy documents. The term was originally coined by German philosopher Jürgen Habermas who defined the public sphere as "''made up of private people gathered together as a public and articulating the needs of society with the state''". Communication scholar Ger ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soccer Mom
The term soccer mom broadly refers to an American, middle-class, suburban woman who spends a significant amount of her time transporting her school-age children to youth sporting events or other activities, whether or not they are soccer related. It came into widespread use during the 1996 United States presidential election and over time has come to take on an unfavorable connotation. History The phrase "soccer mom" generally refers to a married, American, middle-class woman who lives in the suburbs and has school-age children. She is sometimes portrayed in the media as busy or overburdened and driving a minivan or SUV. She is also described as putting the interests of her family, and most importantly her children, ahead of her own. The phrase derives from the literal, specific description of a mother who transports and watches her children play soccer. It was also used in names of organizations of mothers who raised money to support their children's soccer teams. The first ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Colbert Report
''The Colbert Report'' ( ) is an American late-night talk and news satire television program hosted by Stephen Colbert that aired four days a week on Comedy Central from October 17, 2005, to December 18, 2014, for 1,447 episodes. The show focused on a fictional anchorman character named Stephen Colbert, played by his real-life namesake. The character, described by Colbert as a "well-intentioned, poorly informed, high-status idiot", is a caricature of televised political pundits. Furthermore, the show satirized conservative personality-driven political talk programs, particularly Fox News's ''The O'Reilly Factor''. ''The Colbert Report'' is a spin-off of Comedy Central's ''The Daily Show'', where Colbert was a correspondent from 1997 to 2005. The program, created by Colbert, Jon Stewart, and Ben Karlin, lampooned current events and American political happenings. The show's structure consisted of an introductory monologue and a guest interview, in which the Colbert character at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Truthiness
Truthiness is the belief or assertion that a particular statement is true based on the intuition (knowledge), intuition or perceptions of some individual or individuals, without regard to evidence, logic, Intelligence, intellectual examination, or facts. Truthiness can range from ignorant assertions of falsehoods to deliberate duplicity or propaganda intended to sway opinions. The concept of truthiness has emerged as a major subject of discussion surrounding Politics of the United States, U.S. politics during the Information Age, late 20th and early 21st centuries because of the perception among some observers of a rise in propaganda and a growing hostility toward factual reporting and fact-based discussion. American television comedian Stephen Colbert coined the term ''truthiness'' in this meaning as the subject of a segment called "Recurring segments on The Colbert Report#The Wørd, The Wørd" during the pilot episode of his political satire program ''The Colbert Report'' on Oc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2004 United States Presidential Election
The 2004 United States presidential election was the 55th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004. The Republican ticket of incumbent President George W. Bush and his running mate incumbent Vice President Dick Cheney were elected to a second term, defeating the Democratic ticket of John Kerry, a United States senator from Massachusetts and his running mate John Edwards, a United States senator from North Carolina. At the time Bush's popular vote total was the most votes ever received by a presidential candidate, a total that has since been surpassed; additionally, Kerry's total was the second most. Bush also became the only incumbent president to win re-election after losing the popular vote in the previous election. Bush and Cheney were renominated by their party with no difficulty. Former Vermont Governor Howard Dean emerged as the early front-runner in the 2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries, but Kerry won the first set of primaries in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Purple State
Starting with the 2000 United States presidential election, the terms "red state" and "blue state" have referred to U.S. states whose voters vote predominantly for one party — the Republican Party in red states and the Democratic Party in blue states — in presidential and other statewide elections. Examining patterns within states reveals that the reversal of the two parties' geographic bases has happened at the state level, but it is more complicated locally, with urban-rural divides associated with many of the largest changes. All states contain considerable amounts of both liberal and conservative voters (i.e., they are "purple") and only appear blue or red on the electoral map because of the winner-take-all system used by most states in the Electoral College. However, the perception of some states as "blue" and some as "red" was reinforced by a degree of partisan stability from election to election — from the 2000 election to the 2004 election, only three states c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Red States And Blue States
Starting with the 2000 United States presidential election, the terms "red state" and "blue state" have referred to U.S. states whose voters vote predominantly for one party — the Republican Party in red states and the Democratic Party in blue states — in presidential and other statewide elections. Examining patterns within states reveals that the reversal of the two parties' geographic bases has happened at the state level, but it is more complicated locally, with urban-rural divides associated with many of the largest changes. All states contain considerable amounts of both liberal and conservative voters (i.e., they are "purple") and only appear blue or red on the electoral map because of the winner-take-all system used by most states in the Electoral College. However, the perception of some states as "blue" and some as "red" was reinforced by a degree of partisan stability from election to election — from the 2000 election to the 2004 election, only three states c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metrosexual
''Metrosexual'' is a portmanteau of '' metropolitan'' and ''sexual'' coined in 1994, describing a man of ambiguous sexuality, (especially one living in an urban, post-industrial, capitalist culture) who is especially meticulous about his grooming and appearance, typically spending a significant amount of time and money on shopping as part of this. The term references uncertainty as to whether a metrosexual is heterosexual, gay or a bisexual man. Origin The term ''metrosexual'' originated in an article by Mark Simpson published on November 15, 1994, in ''The Independent''. Simpson wrote: However, it was not until the early 2000s when Simpson returned to the subject that the term became globally popular. In 2002, Salon.com published an article by Simpson, which described David Beckham as "the biggest metrosexual in Britain" and offered this updated definition: The advertising agency Euro RSCG Worldwide adopted the term shortly thereafter for a marketing study. Sydney's daily ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Weapons Of Mass Destruction
A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or any other weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to numerous individuals or cause great damage to artificial structures (e.g., buildings), natural structures (e.g., mountains), or the biosphere. The scope and usage of the term has evolved and been disputed, often signifying more politically than technically. Originally coined in reference to aerial bombing with chemical explosives during World War II, it has later come to refer to large-scale weaponry of warfare-related technologies, such as chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear warfare. Early uses of this term The first use of the term "weapon of mass destruction" on record is by Cosmo Gordon Lang, Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1937 in reference to the aerial bombing of Guernica, Spain: At the time, nuclear weapons had not been developed. Japan conducted research on biological weapons (see Unit 731), and chemical ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
September 11, 2001 Attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners scheduled to travel from the Northeastern United States to California. The hijackers crashed the first two planes into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, and the third plane into the Pentagon (the headquarters of the United States military) in Arlington County, Virginia. The fourth plane was intended to hit a federal government building in Washington, D.C., but crashed in a field following a passenger revolt. The attacks killed nearly 3,000 people and instigated the war on terror. The first impact was that of American Airlines Flight 11. It was crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan at 8:46 a.m. Seventeen minutes later, at 9:03, the World Trade Center’s So ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States Presidential Election In Florida, 2000
The 2000 United States presidential election in Florida took place on November 7, 2000, as part of the nationwide presidential election. Florida, a swing state, had a major recount dispute that took center stage in the election. The outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election was not known for more than a month after balloting because of the extended process of counting and recounting Florida's presidential ballots. State results tallied on election night gave 246 electoral votes to Republican nominee Texas Governor George W. Bush and 255 to Democratic nominee Vice President Al Gore, with New Mexico (5), Oregon (7), and Florida (25) too close to call that evening. Gore won New Mexico and Oregon over the following few days; but the result in Florida was to be decisive, regardless of how those two states had voted. After an intense recount process and the United States Supreme Court's decision in ''Bush v. Gore'', Bush won Florida’s electoral votes by a margin of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chad (paper)
Chad refers to fragments sometimes created when holes are made in a paper, card or similar synthetic materials, such as computer punched tape or punched cards. The word "chad" has been used both as a mass noun (as in "a pile of chad") and as a countable noun (pluralizing as in "many chads"). Etymology The origin of the term chad is uncertain. Patent documents from the 1930s and 1940s show the word "chad", often in reference to punched tape used in telegraphy. These patents sometimes include synonyms such as "chaff" and "chips". A patent filing in 1930 included a "receptacle or '' chad box'' ... to receive the chips cut from the edge of the tape." A 1938 patent filing included a "chaff or ''chad chute''" to collect the waste fragments. Both patents were assigned to Teletype Corporation. The plural ''chads'' is attested from about 1939, along with ''chadless'', meaning "without oosechad". Clear definitions for both terms are offered by Walter Bacon in a patent applicatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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