What Does It Mean to Be Partisan

What Does It Mean to Be Partisan If youre a  partisan, it means you  adhere firmly to a political party, faction, idea or cause. You  likely live in a bright red or dark blue district or state. You  exhibit blind, prejudiced, and unreasoning allegiance and never speak ill of another member of your tribe, according to the standard Merriam-Webster definition. Being a partisan is  the opposite of being a swing voter or independent in politics. To put it bluntly, being a partisan isnt a good thing. So. How can you tell if youre a partisan? Here are five traits. 1. You Cant Talk Politics Without Getting Angry If you cant talk politics with people and still stay friends, youre a partisan. There are no two ways about it. If you cant talk politics without the conversation ending in bruised egos and hurt feelings, youre a partisan. If you cant see the other side of an issue and storm off abruptly from the dinner table, youre a partisan. Seek your inner peace. And understand this: Youre not right about everything. No one is. A synonym of partisan is ideologue. If youre an ideologue, it means youre an adherent to a rigid ideology. You dont like compromise.  And youre probably difficult to talk to.   2. You Vote the Straight Party Line If you show up to the voting booth without doing your homework and pull the lever for the straight-party ticket every time, youre a partisan. In fact, you match the definition of a partisan to the T: someone who exhibits blind, prejudiced, and unreasoning allegiance to a political party. If you dont want to be a partisan, heres a handy guide to everything you need to know to prepare for Election Day. Hint: Vote for the best candidate, not the party. 3. You Watch MSNBC or FOX News Theres nothing wrong with watching MSNBC or FOX News. But lets call it what it is: Youre choosing a source of news and information that supports your world view. If you lean lift, youre probably watching Rachel Maddow on MSNBC. And only MSNBC. If you tilt to the right, youre tuning in to Sean Hannity and FOX, and tuned out the rest. And, yes, if you do this youre a partisan. 4. You Chair a Political Party OK. To be fair, it is some peoples job to be partisan. And those people happen to be working in the political arena. That is, the parties themselves. If youre the chairman of the Republican National Committee or the GOP organization in your hometown, it is function to be a partisan. Thats why you have the job: to support your partys candidates and get them elected. Stated President Harry Truman: There was never a non-partisan in politics. A man cannot be a non-partisan and be effective in a political party. When hes in any party hes partisan. Hes got to be.   5. You Violate the Hatch Act Lets hope things dont get this bad. But if youre a government employee and youre found to have violated the federal Hatch Act, youre behaving as a partisan would behave. The Hatch Act of 1939  placed limits on the political activity of executive branch employees of the federal government, District of Columbia government, and some state and local employees who work in connection with federally funded programs. The law is intended to prohibit taxpayer-supported resources from being used in partisan campaigns; it is also intended to protect civil service employees from partisan pressures from political appointee managers. What does that mean? Well, lets say you work for an agency that is funding at least in part by the federal government. Under the Hatch Act you cant campaign for office or engage in any similar political behavior. Youve got to quit your job first. The federal government doesnt like allocating taxpayer money to agencies whose workers are behaving as partisans. In Defense of Parties and Partisanship Partisanship is the fundamental behavior that allows the two-party system to remain in place in the U.S. And the existence of parties, according to some astute political philosophers, are vital.   The philosopher and political economic John Stuart Mill, writing in On Liberty,  defended partisanship: A party of order or stability, and a party of progress or reform, are both necessary elements of a healthy state of political life.† The economist Graham Wallas also described parties favorably. Something is required simpler and more permanent, something which can be loved and trusted, and which can be recognized at successive elections as being the same thing that was loved and trusted before; and a party is such a thing. And  Moisà ©s Naà ­m, a distinguished fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, has written about the need for permanent organizations that earn political power and govern, that are forced to articulate disparate interests and viewpoints, that can recruit and develop future government leaders and that monitor those already in power. Nonpartisan, Bi-Partisan and Post-Partisan Definitions There are a couple of antonyms to the word partisan, and a relatively new term - post-partisan. What do they all mean? Nonpartisan: This  term describes the behavior of political figures who may belong to disparate factions and parties when they work together on nonpolitical issues, such as raising money for charity or helping with some civic issue in their home state. Bipartisan: This term describes the behavior of elected officials or citizens who otherwise disagree on policy issues and belong to disparate factions or parties when they work together toward a common political goal. Bipartisanship is rare on major issues in modern American politics.  Ã‚   Postpartisan: This term, which has come into wide use since President Barack Obamas election in 2008, describes the work of Republicans and Democrats to reach compromise on policy issue without abandoning ties to party or principals. Post-partisanship has its roots in President Thomas Jeffersons inaugural speech: Every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle. We have called by different names brethren of the same principle. We are all Republicans, we are all Federalists, he said. Obama, a Democrat running for president in 2008, promised to deliver such a postpartisan presidency by embracing Republicans and independents. His remarks resonated among the electorate. I think that there are a whole host of Republicans, and certainly independents, who have lost trust in their government, who dont believe anybody is listening to them, who are staggering under rising costs of health care, college education, dont believe what politicians say. And we can draw those independents and some Republicans into a working coalition, a working majority for change, Obama said. [Edited by Tom Murse]

Being Bad in Spanish is Malo

Being Bad in Spanish is Malo Malo is a common Spanish adjective meaning bad or in some way undesirable. The translation can vary depending on context. Its feminine form is mala, and through the process of apocopation, which is shortening, it can become  mal when it comes before a singular masculine noun. Its usual adverb  form is mal, although the another related adverb form,  malamente, can be used to mean badly. As an adjective, malo, mala or mal can almost always be translated as bad, although other translations may be more suitable depending on the context. The plural forms are malos and malas. Mal-  is also a prefix that typically means bad or undesirable. An example of that would be maleducado, which means impolite, as someone who didnt learn their manners. Mal, Malo, Mala, Malos and Malas Used as Adjectives Form of Malo Spanish Sentence English Translation malo Quiero comprar un coche y tengo crdito malo. I want to buy a car and have bad credit. mala Muchas personas consideran que tienen mala memoria. Many people think they have a poor memory. malo No hay libro tan malo del que no se pueda aprender algo bueno. Theres no such thing as a book so bad that you cant learn something good from it. mal No puedo eliminar el mal olor de refrigerador. I cant get rid of the bad refrigerator smell. malo Hay algo malo con mi telfono? Is there something wrong with my telephone? mala El principal causante de la mala circulacin es la arterioesclerosis. The main cause of poor circulation is atherosclerosis. malas No estoy preparado para escuchar las malas noticias. Im not prepared to hear the bad news. malos Son los jugadores ms malos de la galaxia. Theyre the worse players in the galaxy. mal Los superhroes son un mal ejemplo para los adolescentes. Superheroes are a bad example for adolescents. Mal Used as an Adverb Common translations for mal as an adverb include badly and poorly, although others can be used as well to fit the context. Spanish Sentence English Translation Nadaron mal en el mundial. They swam poorly in the world competition Nuestro equipo estaba mal preparado. Our team was poorly prepared. Nuestros hijos comen mal. Our children eat poorly. Muchos pacientes estn mal diagnosticados. Many patients are incorrectly diagnosed. Mi bebe duerme mal durante la noche. My baby sleeps poorly at night. Estudiamos mal la historia de otros pases. We do a bad job of studying the history of other countries. Mal as an Adjective and Adverb at the Same Time Sometimes mal functions as an adverb in Spanish, such as with estar, but in English may be translated as an adjective.   Spanish Sentence English Translation Algo huele mal en mi casa. Something smells bad in my house. Me parece mal que no vengan todos. I feel bad that not everyone is coming. La ciudad no est mal, pero hay mucho desempleo. The city isnt bad, but there is much unemployment. Mal as a Noun Especially when used with estar, mal sometimes means sick or ill. Hoy yo y mi familia estamos mal, which means,  My family and I are sick today. This sentence can also be translated to mean literally and colloquially understood as feeling sick as in, My family and I feel poorly today. Mal can also be translated to mean evil. In this case, it would need the definite article the, literally translating to the bad, which is the Spanish way of saying evil.