English Plus+ News, December 1998 Last week, for the second time
in the 222 year history of the United States a president was
impeached. The lower legislative body, the House of
Representatives, voted to accuse President Clinton of certain
crimes including perjury and obstruction of justice. According
to the U. S. Constitution, the charges are sent to the Senate,
the upper legislative body, where a trial is held and the Senate
votes on whether or not to remove the president from office.
Almost immediately there were calls for some kind of compromise
or plea bargain. Most of these calls were for censure. And that
is where the language problems began. Censure and censor are
similar-sounding and involve some kind of government regulation
or judgment. However, these two words mean something very
different. If you do not confuse them, it will help you follow a
variety of political events more closely. Both words are
politically loaded. I have seen them frequently misused, even by
people who should know better. In