Political Steno BriefsWell, happy fall, ya’ll! 

Yeah, I know it’s been forever since you’ve heard from me, but summer just kicked me in the rear. I had an evening schedule, and that kind of put my personal schedule out of kilter. But I’m back to morning shows now and I love it. Now in the evenings I can sit in front of the couch and veg out in front of the TV like everybody else.

Over the summer, I think I’ve become an expert on the 2016 election. I can tell you what dirt they’ve dug up on Hilary, why they think Donald Trump is still in, and who’s leading in the latest Quinnipiac Poll, CNN/ORC Poll, or any other poll they care to cite. Seriously, who do you know that can name every person running for the 2016 presidential election? This girl!

In captioning I’ve learned briefs are my friends. A news story can clock in upwards of 260 WPM or higher. When they’re throwing names at me, I need all the help I can get. Thus, I was forced to come up with a lot of political briefs. They’ve saved my fingers (and my rear) too many times to count.

The Candidates:
Donald Trump = DR*UFPL
Chris Christie   = KRO*EUS
Jeb Bush            = J*EB
Ted Cruz            = TR*UZ
Carly Fiorina    = KA*RF
Rand Paul         = RA*UL
Scott Walker    = SWA*UL
Marco Rubio    = MAO*UB
Rick Perry         = RA*ERP (yeah, I know he dropped out, but they still bring him up)
Bobby Jindal    = BA*UJ
Ben Carson      = BE*RBG
John Kasich      = JA*EUS
Mike Huckabee= M*UB
Hillary Clinton = H*NT
Bernie Sanders= B*RNZ
Joe Biden           = JOEUBD (Not running, may not run, but a lot of people want him to)

I know there’s about 50 more people running for president, but they’re low level as far as the media radar goes. They’re rarely mentioned, so I just write them out when they come up. But if someone suddenly breaks out and rockets to the top, I’m sure I’ll come up with one and I will share it with you 🙂

General Political Terms:
Politics             =PLOBGS
Politician         =PLEUGZ
Candidate       =KPAND
Campaign        =KPAEUN
President         =PR*EZ
President of the United States        = PRAO*UNS
2016             = TWEUBGT 
GOP              = G*OP
Democrat   = D*EM
Republican = R*EP
Primary       = PROEUPL
Governor    = GOFR
Senator       = STPHAR
Democratic= DRA*BG
Bipartisan  = BA*RPB
Commander in Chief  = KMOEUF
News Conference   = NO*NS
Press Conference    = PRO*NS

What they Talk About: (The condensed version)
Veteran      = SRERNT
ISIS               = KWRAOEUSZ
Al Qaeda    = KA*ED
Boko Haram = BRAEM
Benjamin Netanyahu = BAO*UFPG
Netanyahu = NAO*UFPG
Terrorist     = TO*EURS
Terror          = TROR
Israel           = SWRAERL
Homeland Security = HOEUPLDZ
Country      = KRAENT
Hamas         = HAUMS
Islam            = SLAEM
Islamic         = SLAEK
Muslim        = SL-M
Infrastructure = FR-KT
Combat        = KAUBT
Boots on the Ground = BO*EG
Syria              = SA*ER
Syrian            = SA*ERN
Saudi Arabia = SAURB
Budget            = BUFT
Hostage          = HOFT
Jihad                = JAD
Foreign Policy = FR*P
Radical              = RALD
Extremist         = STRAO*EMS
Policy                = PLOEULS
Vladimir Putin = SRAO*UP
Accountable     = KAOBL
Accountability  = KAOBLT
America              = MAERK
American            = MAERN
Military              = MOILT
Education          = JAEGZ
Immigration     = KBRAEUGZ

There you have it, the state of American politics as it relates to steno.

Court Reporting and Captioning Reference Books:

Brief Encounters: A Dictionary for Court ReportingBottomless Book of BriefsTop 1,000 Briefs and Top 1,000 Words: Two Invaluable Lists for the Stenography Student or ProfessionalBriefs Encountered: A Searchable Database of Briefs And Phrases for Court Reporting [CD-ROM]Medical Briefs: A Dictionary of Medical Briefs And Phrases for Court Reporting (2 Volume Set)