AltWeeklies Wire
The Collapse of ObamaCare is Rooted in Unclear Communication
A poll says that 67 percent of Americans don't understand Obama's healthcare plan. I'm one of them.
If Not for a Special Election, English Only Would Have Prevailed in Nashvillenew
It's heartening that the Nashville's progressives seem able to stop daydreaming about love and harmony long enough to run an effective campaign. But not by any stretch is this the dawning of a new day or a crippling blow to intolerance in our city.
Nashville Scene |
Jeff Woods |
01-30-2009 |
Policy Issues
Pain -- and Possibility -- Arise as the Language of Race Decaysnew
The way out of this -- past notions of racial purity and beyond words like "multi-racial" and "other" -- need not be difficult. It will require us to recognize the faulted language we've inherited and consciously opt to ditch it.
Arkansas Times |
Mara Leveritt |
12-11-2008 |
Race & Class
Can a D.C. Charter School Tackle the World's Toughest Language?new
Mary Shaffner, the executive director of Yu Ying Public Charter School, uses the word "trauma" when referring to the students' potential problems adjusting to school. These kids are joining the one in five people on this planet who speak Mandarin Chinese.
Washington City Paper |
Marina Koestler Ruben |
11-13-2008 |
Education
Language Barriers at Texas' Child Protective Servicesnew
For the first year, Baby Raymond lived happily with his family. Then the agency took him away and even though his Chinese-American family fought to get him back, they couldn't find the right words.
Houston Press |
Craig Malisow |
09-23-2008 |
Children & Families
How to Talk to a Tranny (Yes, Even This Headline Would be Considered Offensive)new
Terms commonly used to describe transgender men and women fall into a gray area. Is it okay to call someone a transvestite? How do you determine a transgender person's preferred pronoun -- he or she -- without being offensive?
The Memphis Flyer |
Bianca Phillips |
07-25-2008 |
Sex
Too Many Journalists are Just Genetically Modified Mouthpiecesnew
In 2003, when I was working as an anchor for a San Francisco TV station, newscasters and reporters across the country were asked by the White House to refer to the Iraqi invasion as Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). We were asked to call the war in Afghanistan Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). With press releases in hand, journalists repeated genetically modified words as if their DNA depended upon it.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Leslie Griffith |
06-11-2008 |
Media
Tags: Iraq, War on terror, journalism, media, Afghanistan, language, war & peace, rhetoric, public relations
