Chad (according to wikipedia) refers to paper
fragments created when holes are made in a paper, card or similar
synthetic materials, typically computer punched tape or punch
cards. Sometimes chad has been used as a mass noun or as a
countable noun, and the plural is commonly either "chad" (as in "a
pile of chad") or "chads" (as in "the multiple hanging
chads").
Chad were made infamous in the highly contentious 2000 United
States presidential election where many of Florida votes used
Votomatic punch card ballots. Incompletely-punched holes resulted
in partially-punched chad, where one or more corners were still
attached, a hanging chad, dimpled chad or pregnant chad - where all
corners were still attached, but an indentation appears to have
been made. These votes were not counted by the tabulating machines.
When a chad is not fully detached from the ballot it is described
byvarious terms corresponding to the level of indentation. The
following
terms generally apply when describing a four-cornered
chad:
- Hanging chad are attached to the ballot at only one
corner.
- Swinging chad are attached to the ballot at two corners.
- Tri-chad are attached to the ballot at three corners.
- Pregnant or dimpled chad are attached to the ballot at all four
corners, but bear an indentation indicating the voter may have
intended to mark the ballot. (Sometimes pregnant is used to
indicate a greater mark than dimpled.)
Chadd refers to a formally un-employed neophyte
cacher who in a few short months managed to place over 349 caches
and find over 1100, truly a testament to his determination and of a
rotten economy.
Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney(born January 30,
1941) served as the 46th Vice President of the United States from
2001 to 2009 in the administration of George W. Bush. He briefly
served as Acting President of the United States on two occasions
during which Bush underwent medical procedures.
In early 2000, while serving as the CEO of Halliburton, Cheney
headed then-Governor of Texas George W. Bush's vice-presidential
search committee. On July 25, after reviewing Cheney's findings,
Bush surprised some pundits by asking Cheney himself to join the
Republican ticket. Halliburton reportedly reached agreement on July
20 to allow Cheney to retire, with a package estimated at $20
million.
A few months before the election Cheney put his home in Dallas up
for sale and changed his drivers' license and voter registration
back to Wyoming. This change was necessary to avoid allow Texas'
presidential electors to vote for both Bush and Cheney without
contravening the Twelfth Amendment to the United States
Constitution, which forbids electors from voting for someone from
their own state for both President and Vice-President. Cheney
campaigned against Al Gore's running mate, Joseph Lieberman, in the
2000 presidential election. Cheney, who had been typecast as being
aloof during most of the campaign, was remarkably lively during his
visit to Chicago, where he rode the L, danced the polka, served
attendees kielbasa with stuffed cabbage and addressed a cheering
crowd.
While the election was undecided, the Bush-Cheney team was not
eligible for public funding to plan a transition to a new
administration. So, Cheney opened a privately funded transition
office in Washington. This office worked to identify candidates for
all important positions in the cabinet. According to Craig Unger,
Cheney advocated Donald Rumsfeld for the post of Secretary of
Defense to counter the influence of Colin Powell at the State
Department, and tried unsuccessfully to have Paul Wolfowitz named
to replace George Tenet as director of the Central Intelligence
Agency.