AMERICAN MOSAIC - November 22, 2002: Elected Sisters in Congress / Question About Madeleine
Albright / Country Music Awards
HOST:
Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC --VOA’s radio magazine in Special English.
(THEME)
This is Doug Johnson. On our program today,
We play some award winning country music ..
.
Answer a listener’s question about formere Secretary of State Madeleine Albright..
.
And report about two sisters recently elected to Congress.
Sanchez Sisters
HOST:
Earlier this month, the voters in the western state of California elected Democrats Loretta Sanchez and her sister
Linda to the United States House of Representatives. They are the first sisters elected to serve in Congress at the
same time. Shep O’Neal has more.
ANNCR:
The parents of the Sanchez sisters came to the United States from Mexico. They raised seven children who all
graduated from college.
Loretta Sanchez was a businesswoman before she decided to enter politics. At first, she was a Democratic Party
candidate for local office, but lost. Then the party nominated her for a congressional seat from Orange County,
California. Orange County is known for its conservative politics.
In a surprise victory, Mizz Sanchez defeated conservative Republican Congressman Robert
Dornan in nineteen-ninety-six. Voters re-elected her in nineteen-ninety-eight and again two
years later.
Linda Sanchez is thirty-three, nine years younger than her sister Loretta. Linda Sanchez
became a lawyer in nineteen-ninety-five. She gained experience in civil rights cases and
employment law. She helped with her sister’s political campaigns in nineteen-ninety-six and
nineteen-ninety-eight. Linda Sanchez worked for two labor unions that represent electrical Loretta Sanchez
workers. She became an active member of one of the unions. She also was a top official with Orange County’s
Central Labor Council.
This year, the Democrats nominated her as their candidate for a seat in a newly-created
Congressional district. Many workers and Spanish-speaking Americans live in the area.
The two sisters worked together to win the support of voters. They also received help from
their mother, Maria Sanchez. She recorded messages in Spanish for local television stations.
She urged people to vote for her daughters.
Linda Sanchez’s Republican opponent criticized the television campaign. However, it was a Linda Sanchez
success. Linda Sanchez won fifty-five percent of the vote. Loretta Sanchez received more than sixty percent of
the vote in her re-election effort. On election night, the sisters held a joint party to celebrate the election results
and their unusual place in history.
Madeleine Albright
HOST:
Our VOA listener question this week comes from Vietnam. Le Thi Bich Tu wants to know more about Madeleine
Albright. She was Secretary of State during the second term of President Bill Clinton.
Madeleine Korbel Albright was born in Czechoslovakia. She and her family came to the United States in
nineteen-forty-eight. She completed programs of study at several American universities. Then she worked for a
Democratic senator from the state of Maine, Edmund Muskie. She later worked for President Jimmy Carter’s
National Security Council.
After President Carter was defeated for re-election, Mizz Albright became a
professor at Georgetown University in Washington, D-C. She also helped develop
programs designed to increase the number of diplomatic positions for women.
Mizz Albright’s ties with the Democratic Party strengthened in the nineteen-
eighties. She served as a foreign policy adviser to presidential candidates Walter
Mondale and Michael Dukakis. And she advised Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton
when he was a candidate for President.
After Mister Clinton’s election, Mizz Albright served as the United States Permanent Representative to the
United Nations. She was a member of the President’s cabinet and National Security Council.
In nineteen-ninety-seven, Mizz Albright became America’s first female Secretary of State. She was the highest
level female official in the history of the United States government. She served as Secretary of State until the end
of Mister Clinton’s presidency.
Madeleine Albright is again a professor at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. She also
teaches at the University of Michigan School of Business. And she is chairman of the National Democratic
Institute for International Affairs. The Institute’s goal is to strengthen and expand democracy around the world.
Mizz Albright continues to speak out about the importance of democracy. She has warned the Bush
administration against being in a hurry to launch a war with Iraq. She says the United States needs to finish its
work in Afghanistan before dealing with Iraq. She also has spoken out about the importance of having support
from international allies. Some people in government have criticized those who question a possible war. Mizz
Albright says it is her duty as an American to ask questions.
Country Music Awards
HOST:
The Country Music Association presented its yearly awards earlier this month. Singer Alan Jackson was the big
winner this year, receiving five major awards. Mary Tillotson has more.
ANNCR:
Alan Jackson had been nominated for ten awards this year. He won his second entertainer of the year award. He
also won song of the year, single record of the year, album of the year and male singer of the year.
This song, “Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning,” was honored
as song of the year and single record of the year. Jackson wrote it after the
September eleventh terrorist attacks against the United States.
(MUSIC)
The members of the Country Music Association named Martina McBride the female
singer of the year. She won the same award in nineteen-ninety-nine. Listen to
Martina McBride’s new record, “Concrete Angel.
”
(MUSIC)
The Country Music Association gave Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn the vocal duo of the year award. The two-
man group has won many awards, including entertainer of the year three times. Brooks and Dunn have had
eighteen top country music hits. They have sold more than twenty-two-million records. We leave you now with
Brooks and Dunn’s recording of “Good Girls Go To Heaven.
”
(MUSIC)
HOST:
This is Doug Johnson. I hope you enjoyed our program today. And I hope you will join us again next week for
AMERICAN MOSAIC -- VOA’s radio magazine in Special English.
This AMERICAN MOSAIC program was written by George Grow and Paul Thompson. Our studio engineer was
Glen Matlock. And our producer was Paul Thompson.
Email this article to a friend
Printer Friendly Version
|