Common Abbreviations

Common abbreviations in alphabetical order:
(added as necessary or by request)

08' - the 2008 election
527's - see PAC
ACLU - American Civil Liberties Union
AFL-CIO - American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Unions
AG - Attorney General
ANWR - Arctic National Wildlife Reserve
AP - Associated Press
ASAP - As soon as possible
ATF - Alcohol, Tobacco, & Firearms
AU - African Union
Base - core supporters
Blue - Dem's color, used as a descriptive, i.e. "Blue state"
BTW - By the way
CIA - Central Intelligence Agency
Copy - journalistic material
CREW - Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a liberal advocacy group
D - Democrat; Dem is also used
DEA - Drug Enforcement Administration
DNC - Democratic National Committee
DOD - Department of Defense
EPA - Environmental Protection Agency
EU3 - European Union 3 (Britian, Germany, France)
FBI - Federal Bureau of Investigation
FDA - Food and Drug Administration
FDI - Foreign Direct Investment
GDP - Gross Domestic Product, a common measure of the a country's economy; the total market value of goods and services produced by workers and capital during a given period
GOP - Grand Old Party, shorthand for Republicans
GWB - George W. Bush
HHS - Health and Human Services
IAEA - International Atomic Energy Agency
IMF - International Monetary Fund
INS - Immigration and Naturalization Service
IR - International Relations
IT - Internet Technology
jape - n. a humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter
Majority - political party with control of a freely elected government
Market - an area of commercial activity where goods and services are bought and sold
Minority - a group which can not alone form a majority; also known as the Opposition or Loyal Opposition
MP - Member of Parliament
NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organization
NGO - Non-Government Organization
NOW - National Organization For Women
NPT - Nonproliferation Treaty
NSA - National Security Agency
NYC - New York City, also known as 'the finanical capital of the world'
NYT - New York Times
OBL - Osama Bin Laden or Usama Bin Laden, also known as UBL
OPEC - Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
Opposition - see Minority
PAC - Political Action Committee, also known as 527 groups
PFAW - People For the American Way, a liberal advocacy group
POTUS - President Of The United States
R - Republican
Red - GOP's color, used as a descriptive, i.e. "Red state"
RNC - Republican National Committee
SOTU - State Of The Union
TWSJ - The Wall Street Journal
UBL - see OBL
UN - United Nations
USMC - United States Marine Corps
USSS - United States Secret Service
VPOTUS - Vice President Of The United States
WSJ - Wall Street Journal
WTO - World Trade Organization