Tonight's debate?

Will the debate scheduled this evening between Barack Obama and John McCain still take place. As of this Friday morning, it's still uncertain. Many observers think it would be foolish for John McCain to miss it while claiming that it's more important to work on the financial mess that we're all in. But it's only a 90-minute debate, and both men have jets that get them places very quickly. Something doesn't seem right here. The Republican Party is very good at playing tricks in order to win elections. Is this a political trick?

trick = an attempt to fool, to cheat, or do something with a negative result. �

asleep at the wheel

Capitalism in America gets a black eye with the recent housing crisis and the impact it has had on banking institutions. Someone was asleep at the wheel and not paying attention closely enough. Now we will all suffer the consequences for many, many years to come. It's all incredibly embarrassing.

asleep at the wheel = This is an expression we use in English to say that someone isn't doing his or her job properly. If you are asleep at the wheel of a car or a truck, you will crash. �

Bush is a loser.

Does anyone want to talk about the spectacular failure of the Bush administration over the last eight years? It's so hard for me to believe that Bush was elected as President in the 2000 election, yet eight years of our national nightmare bear witness to the facts. Now there's a banking crisis. Just add that to the list of failures while he's been President. And what will come next?

Almost everyone I know wants Obama to be President. We should be so lucky. The Republic Party is very good at winning elections. It's just about the only thing they're good at.

Keep your fingers crossed! �

Telling the Truth

Today I'm asking my intermediate level students to discuss these questions:

1. What is the difference between a fact and an opinion?

2. When you want to find out if something is a fact, where do you go? Name at least four sources for factual information.

3. When you hear someone repeat a lie, what is your response?

4. How do you know when someone is telling you the truth, whether it's on TV, in a newspaper, on the radio, or in person? �

You can post one or more responses to these questions.

There

Here are more examples of how to use "there":

There's a lot of water in his basement.

There are many reasons to save energy.

There isn't a baseball game on today, is there?

There aren't any more potatoes in the pantry.

There are many special days marked on the calendar. Tomorrow is one of them. It's the seven-year anniversary of the attacks on the U.S. in New York and Washington. September 11 is always a somber reminder of how much the United States and the world have changed. In the back of everyone's mind remains the fear that another big terrorist attack will happen somewhere in the world and the consequences will be tragic. Perhaps over time this threat will go away, but right now it feels as if it will be with us for quite awhile. �

There

Below is a video for "there." This one word is very important because it introduces things, people, and ideas. Many of my students forget to use "there" when they speak English. Don't forget to use it! It usually appears at the beginning of the sentence.




Students should use a notebook with my website and write out answers by hand. Some have asked me why they can't type answers into quizzes. It's because I want you to write instead of type. Writing helps to improve memorization. Clicking is not a good way to remember something. After you have written your answers in a notebook, you can review what you have learned. Be sure to put the date into your notebook at the top of the page.

John McCain and the G.O.P.

So now the general election is underway with the end of the Republican National Convention in St. Paul. It will be between the old way of doing things and the new way of doing things. John McCain and his party represent what is old (and isn't working very well); Barack Obama represent what is new and has tremendous potential to turn our country in a positive direction.

Well, that's what I think.

G.O.P. = The Republican Party in the U.S.
G = Grand
O = Old
P = Party

This is another way of referring to the Republicans.

A New Approach

I'll be using my website to teach English in a more structured manner than I have been following lately. If you know someone who needs a lot of help in learning English, now is the time for that person to sign up on my homepage: www.learnamericanenglishonline.com

Beginning learners might find this approach to be useful, but intermediate learners might also benefit when they review things that they haven't studied in a long time. There are a lot of little errors that students make when they forget basic English.