Learning These Words Can Help YOU! - Private Tutoring

Learning These Words Can Help YOU! BobbiM May 6, 2014 Have you ever read a book in which the vocabulary was so elevated you could barely understand what was going on?  I have and I wanted to quit on the second page.  Learn these words and that is less likely to happen. Dearth; n. A scarcity or lack of supply. During the war, there was a dearth of food storage. Diminutive; adj. Very small; tiny. (Diminutive is occasionally used as a noun. It refers to anything that is small or the name given to suffixes on words that indicate smallness. For example, the suffix let is a diminutive. When it is added to a noun, it indicates a smaller version of that noun, such as a booklet or starlet.) She is a diminutive baby, weighing only 4 pounds. Infinitesimal; adj. Immeasurably or incalculably small. I never thought wed be able to study the infinitesimal nucleus of an atom, but with new technology, we can. Insignificant; adj. Of little importance or power. My problems seem insignificant when compared to others. Small and not important. The scratch on the paint was insignificant and the owner of the house didnt make us repaint it. Lilliputian; n, adj. Noun: A very tiny person or thing. Compared to the tall basketball player, the children were Lilliputians. Adjective: Small or trivial in size. The Lilliputian house was perfect for the small family. Not important; petty. The discussion was Lilliputian in the midst of the emergency. Meager; adj. Scarce in quantity or extent; in short supply. After camping for two weeks, we had a meager supply of food. Deficient in richness or fertility. The soil was meager and so the crops barely grew. Minuscule; adj, n. Adjective: Extremely tiny; very small. She used a minuscule amount of frosting on the cake so as to not overpower the people who ate it. Noun: Small, ancient, cursive script. The minuscule writing was hard for me to read. Lowercase letters. A term for lowercase letters is minuscule. Minute; adj. Exceptionally small or insignificant. The way he looked at me seemed minute but my friends told me it was significant. Characterized by precise and close scrutiny. I did a minute inspection to make sure they had cleaned properly. Mite; n. A very small sum of money. To a widow, a mite may seem like unto a large sum of money to others who have more. A very small creature or object. The small child was a mite compared to the big football players. Negligible; adj. Not considered important enough to be worth bothering about; insignificant. The problem was negligible to me, but to the woman next to me it seemed to be important enough for her to cry about. Scintilla; n. A minute amount; barely a suggestion; just an inkling or a spark. For a moment I had a scintilla of hope that he loved me, but then I came back to reality. Trifling; adj. Of trivial or nonsensical importance; not important and easily dismissed. His trifling plan was impossible to make a reality. Trivial; adj. Of little significance or importance; concerned with trivia or inconsequential information; commonplace. I know many trivial facts but I blank on the important ones. Ample; adj. Of a large or great size; fully significant, even more than enough. There is an ample amount of love for you here. Behemoth; n. Something that is enormous in size and/or power. The giant was a behemoth that terrorized all the towns nearby. Colossal; adj. So enormous or gigantic that it seems to defy belief. The colossal monument blew me away. Copious; adj. Containing or yielding plenty; bountiful in amount or manner. I have a copious amount of corn from the harvest. Gargantuan; adj. Of enormous size, quantity, or volume or capacity. I thought Id never climb the gargantuan cliff leading to the path. Humongous; adj. Gigantic or extremely oversized. I was so hungry I ate the humongous pizza. Immeasurable; adj. So vast or limitless in size that measurement is not possible. My love for him is immeasurable. Incalculable; adj. Impossible or too great to be calculated or resolved. Incalculable damage came after the hurricane. Infinite; adj. immeasurably great or large; having no limits or boundaries. The teacher displayed infinite patience even though the students were rude and restless.

Shedding Light on Dark Money

Shedding Light on Dark Money Credit: IStock Photo/ Ricardo Reitmeyer Follow the money. Its a phrase made famous by the 1976 film All the Presidents Men, which was about the journalistic efforts of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein in exposing the Watergate Scandal. That simple phrase is no less important today than it was in the 1970s, as the U.S. Supreme court decision in the Citizens United case allows corporations to pour untold millions into political ads through PACs (political action committees). However, these Super PACs are required to disclose their donors, and their money is much more easily tracked. Dark money, a term that rose to popularity thanks to Mother Jones, is another threat to political fairness and transparency altogether. It refers to the money not only spent by super PACS, but by organizations known as social welfare groups, which are tax-exempt organizations (as long as they are in the interest of promoting the general welfare, whatever that ridiculously vague wording means) that do not have to disclose political expenditures. Apparently, promoting the general welfare means these non-disclosure groups can spend a whopping $28.5 million (or roughly 90%) on advertising related to the November presidential election matchup. Much of this advertising is also being directed to media markets in crucial swing states such as Ohio, Iowa, and Florida. As millions of Americans are preparing to vote in the upcoming elections, its vitally important that people not only hear what potential candidates have to say, but who they are saying it on behalf of. As this Pro Publica article details, these social welfare groups are spending even more money on TV advertising than the dreaded, but better covered by the mainstream media, Super PACs. The ambiguous standing of these organizations has created a locked box for the super-rich to make untold amounts of political advertising contributions. These organizations register with the IRS under the pretense that they are not politically motivated, but as many journalists are finding out, these non-profits are violating their status with the IRS and making waves in political advertising. And as news outlets are finding out, much of this independent ad money is being spent in favor of Republican candidates, or on negative ads aimed at President Barack Obama. Via www.i.politicomments.com Another problem with following the dark money down the political corruption rabbit hole, is that many organizations do not have to disclose their expenditures until well after the elections. Politics moves too quickly, and the IRS   simply cannot keep up with the thousands of organizations engaging in this kind of political fraud. It will be well past November 6th by the time these tax returns can be scrutinized by the IRS. The corruption is ongoing, and due to the flimsy wording in the U.S. tax code, the corruption will be difficult to stop. So what can be done? Is there a way for the common citizen to help fight secrecy and corruption in the political process? Democracy should be determined by the people, not by the people with untold fortunes. Thankfully, ProPublica has a way for you to help. They have begun a Free the Files campaign, which aims to involve the public in unlocking files from TV stations buying political advertisements, in order to find out which non-profits are spending where, and for whom. The FCC helped to lift the veil on dark money expenditures by forcing TV stations to publish online the records of political ad buys. Before this decision was made, the only way to get at these files was by visiting the station in person, an exhausting, time-consuming process. Transparency and fairness are vital components of any good democracy, and money is being spent in these elections in unprecedented amounts. These advertisements are seen by millions of voters nation-wide, many of them completely unaware of the hidden machinations that lie beneath. We can follow the money and take back the election for the common citizen, we just have to find it first.