My three articles were about the president of the United States (Barack Obama). The president is doing many different things to bring us through this depression. Two of my three articles talked about this and the topics were raising taxes on the wealthy, and taking fundraising trips. The president is also trying to keep himself strong mentally to get the United States through these rough times by practicing his religion which leads to the topic of my third article. The topic of my third article was the prayer breakfast which based on the article he uses to bring up a more humble approach to political debates. During the breakfast he also tries to inspire himself to do what is right for the United States. All of these articles can be compared to reconstruction/civil war times. The way that the breakfast article can be related to the civil war is that Lincoln also practiced religion himself and in the article it actually at one point mentions that when Obama was sworn in the second time he used Lincoln’s prayer book. The way the other two articles related to it was that the people in charge of reconstruction also had to find a way to get more money so they could start rebuilding the South which is similar with how Obama is trying to rebuild our economy today.
Recently, there have been many shootings throughout the United States. One example of these shootings would be the one that occurred in New Town, Connecticut. In order to stop these mass murders President Barack Obama is trying to push more gun laws so that everyone cannot purchase a weapon of this caliber. Some people, like Bruce Willis, don’t think this could have an effect on the amounts of murders. The Vice President, Joe Biden, also agrees with this famous Hollywood actor. To start things off, President Barack Obama is just trying to help make the United States a safer place to live. He doesn’t want everyone to be able to have a gun because, then, more people could be in harm’s way. The main guns being banned are assault rifles like the one included in the New Town shooting. The law states that there must be stricter background checks and that gun owners cannot sell to mentally ill people. This law can be easily compared to the ones back then because many people are for it, but others think it won’t really work too well. People now can find ways to get around the law just like some did back in the day. Just because the President puts a law on it, doesn’t mean that people won’t break it. People break the laws all the time and some don’t even get caught. Back in the day, if they didn’t agree with a law, they just didn’t pay any attention to it.
All of my articles are current events about 2013 and what happened in the 1860's. My articles talk about the presidents, broken politics, and the forgein policy. I think that they serve as a good comarison. As you can see they both have good similarties to now and then.My first article talks about broken politics and how it can be a problem. The second article talks about how Obama could be a reincarrnation of Lincoln, because they are so similar. And lastly my third talks about the foregin policy. What it is, how it works and stuff like that. I think that these are very good articles that are good descriptions and comparisons to now and then.
I think that my articles are all good examples. They all tie in together to help compare the 2 different times, and to talk about the governments and how they changed over years. My articles are good articles and I think they have very good sources and evidence files to help create more information.
My three articles are all centered around the topic of gun control in the United States. This has been a popular topic lately because of all of the mass shootings that have happened recently such as the incidents in New Town, Connecticut and Aurora, Colorado. The main point of debate for gun control is whether or not assault rifles and high capacity magazines should be banned for civilians. It has also been suggested that there be stricter background checks on all of the people who wish to purchase guns. The governor of Colorado believes that there should even be background checks on neighbor-to-neighbor purchases. While there are many people who support stricter gun control policies, there are also many who think that these new laws will have no effect on gun violence. David Keene, president of the NRA, predicts that the gun bills will not be passed because of a difference in opinion between the houses of Congress. These articles can be related to the Civil War era because there may have been some debate as to how much freedom people should have with their guns back then as well. During at least one point in the war, the Union and Confederacy must have been fighting on someone’s private land and the landowner probably would have wanted a gun to protect themselves and their family from the danger outside.
Three articles on politics today, were greatly favoring new stricter gun laws in America. All of the articles used had a specific political point-of-view. The first was the House Democrats on their new agenda on gun laws. The article discusses how hard it is to get the House to take a vote on it, since some very advocate Democrats are worried for their re-election. Even if the House were under Republican rule, it would most likely not even come up to a vote. The second article was on Joe Biden, Vice President, urging the House Democrats to go for the stricter laws on guns, even if it is politically dangerous. He kept on speaking of the Assault Rifle Act in 1994, and how America has changed to accept a newer/ stricter law on weaponry. The last article discusses a SC Senator Republican Lindsey Graham, on how Barack Obama is “cheerleading” for gun reform. With prior knowledge he is a strong supporter of pro-gun laws, he is also a member of the NRA (National Rifle Association). He discusses how Obama’s tactics cannot support all of the House/ Senate.
All articles can be intertwined into the previous history of the Reconstruction Era. After the assassination of Lincoln, it became increasingly more difficult to produce changes in laws. It also resulted in the cession of the South, the Civil War. During the Civil War the North and South wanted to control each other’s rights, this still applies to the Republicans and Democrats fighting to modify gun laws.
My articles also show the dramatic differences in the views of the two political parties when it comes to gun control. This also existed back in the days of Reconstruction and greatly lengthened the time that it took to create laws.
1) http://www.presstv.com/detail/2013/02/08/287913/americans-must-resist-us-policies/ 2) http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/07/us-usa-guns-democrats-idUSBRE9160YN20130207 3) http://www.voanews.com/content/obama_pushes_for_us_gun_control/1597145.html The articles I found were mainly focused around America’s current struggle with trying to get new laws and policies passed. Two of the articles talked about how Obama is trying to push more gun control. It showed how the House of Representatives was agreeing with Obama and proposing a similar idea, but this idea was still not ready to be set into place. The third article that I found said that the only way to change US government policies is by citizens enforcing them. It mainly focused on how hard it was for a government policy or law to be changed once it’s set into place. If citizens voiced their opinions and raised more questions about how things are being run, then government policies would be easier to change or remove. All three articles together were about how difficult it is in today’s government to either get laws or polices passed or changed. Today’s current US government can relate to what it was in the past because it was very difficult to pass or change new laws and policies then also. Between the North and the South and other political parties all having different ideas and opinions, it took awhile for people to agree on something to eventually change their government.
The three articles I found were about both Obama's and Congress' struggle to put new gun laws into practice. The first and second articles talked about shootings that have been occurring and how Obama is trying to enforce gun laws and how putting more restrictions on people that have guns would benefit everyone, but not everyone agrees. The third article tied in with this idea of whether or not gun laws should be passed or not. They had interviewed a guy from the Columbine shooting from a few years back who his daughter had died, and he said that it wasn't the guns fault at all, it's just the messed up mentalities of people in this world today.
Today's law enforcement is somewhat similar, yet different than the government in the Reconstruction era. Today it has been so hard to pass new laws, just like it was when the Northern and Southern states couldn't agree on something. It took a long time to resolve an important situation.
Currently in the USA President Obama has been working toward creating stricter laws on guns. He has asked states to look into gun laws and create more to help limit acts of gun violence. This was tried many times earlier like in 2007 after the shooting at Virginia Tech, 2011 shooting of Gabrielle Giffords, and the movie theater shooting in 2012. Each time the bills were not passed. But as of now with the Shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary laws are being put into affect in many states to control the number of bullets magazines can hold, controls on gun trafficking, better background checks, and a ban on assault weapons. This sort of compares to what we have learned about recently in Social Studies with President Lincoln’s attempts at creating new laws banning slavery in the USA. President Obama has been trying to create new laws but multiple times they were not passed. Same as with Lincoln he sent out many bills but it wasn’t until after the war that the bills were passed.
All three of these websites are about gun laws. Obama is currently trying to ban guns with “cosmetic features” that make them look like assault rifles. These articles basically summarized that the president’s plan is to expand background checks, and toughen gun trafficking, which is buying or selling guns illegally. He would like to create a tracking system which tracks not only the gun, but the person who owns it. Obama knew that his idea to ban guns would not be accepted by everyone, so he quickly issued a bunch of executive orders, or immediate steps intended to lower the amount of gun violence. This ties in to our unit in social studies because back in the 1860’s when Lincoln was president, he also issued a bunch of executive orders during his presidency. Some had to do with the Civil War and others did not. Most of them were for the army. Today, we are still making new laws and going to certain measures to try and make sure that they happen. Obama and Lincoln both did different things to try to unite and protect our country, and they both used executive orders to do it.
My articles focused on kind of the same topic. They talked about how Obama is working on gun control but how hard it is to get new laws passed due to all the disagreements in government.
One of the most controversial topics in our country right now is the views on gun control and what limit the government has on the flow of these weapons. Biden argues that the government shouldn’t have the fear that it does of public opinion. Like others, he thinks that although this may be “politically risky”, the public eye has changed since the first assault weapons ban was passed in ’94. This means that it should be taken into account what’s right for the betterment of the country and not of what the public views as “right”. Like during the time of Reconstruction, the Democrats and Republicans are battling back on forth on what’s the right course of action so much that no act is being made. Offers are being made to one another that are continually shut out and shut down so that no productivity is made. Today it’s for simple issues like whether or not we should restrict gun control, while back then it was a more serious issue. It was how the country would come back together, how they were supposed to let bygones be bygones, and how the Union would become united.
In the three articles, they talk about how certain members of congress don’t like the way the president is going to handle things according to his State of the Union address and how he handled other things in the past. He isn’t going to do anything about foreign policy while certain people think it should be changed; he wants to give every child the chance to go to pre-school and others think that that’s a bad idea and many other things. Basically, the President’s ideals are a little different than others (mainly republicans) and because of that, it’s going to be harder to get bills passed by congress. This situation is just like Andrew Johnson’s situation when he was president. Post- Civil War, Andrew Johnson came up with a plan for reconstruction in the South and it was not liked by the radical republicans because it was too lenient and they were hoping for something more aggressive. Eventually things got too out of hand and congress tried to impeach him. Obviously, this a very similar circumstance to today and a good example of how the past repeats itself overtime.
Both of our articles talk about how certain political parties are pushing against what the President is currently trying to do. Thye both also relate back to the Radical Republicans and their fight against Jhonsons reconstruction plan.
The three articles I found all talk about a branch of the Republican Party known as the Tea Party. They believe that the government is not representing the people and is doing a poor job fixing the economy. They want to reduce government spending and believe that the country is on the wrong track. The Tea Party is very angry with the way that the current president is running the country, the proposals and ideas he’s presenting and trying to get passed. Two of the articles deal solely with their response to the president’s State of the Union Address. They are rebutting the president’s plan for deficit reduction, proposing instead a stricter set of spending and tax cuts.
This is directly connected to our current unit. The Tea Party believes that the government isn’t doing the right thing and isn’t being strict enough on spending and tax cuts. This is very similar to the situation that the Radical Republicans were in where they didn’t believe that Johnson’s reconstruction plan was strict enough for the South during reconstruction. The Radicals thought that the President’s plans were too lenient and the Radicals took over all of reconstruction with a much stricter plan for the South. Both the Tea Party and the Radicals believe that the President isn’t doing what’s needed for the country and oppose Presidential plans.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/13/politics/state-of-the-union/index.html?hpt=po_c1 http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/13/opinion/slaughter-sotu-address/index.html http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/13/opinion/rothkopf-sotu/index.html The three current event articles I found online are about Obama and his attempts to rebuild the United States economy. His new plan for his second term is to create more jobs for the US citizens that are unemployed. He wants to raise the current minimum wage and create opportunities for people that are stuck without a job. He also wants to slow down the flow of American jobs getting sent over to foreign countries. The articles also talk about his approach to current problems in our economy and government, and the second article points out that after he proposes an idea, he ends it with the phrase, “We can do this,” or “We can get this done.” He’s proposing more job training and ending tax subsidies that reward sending jobs overseas as part of his plan to create more jobs. This relates to the civil war because Lincoln and Obama are kind of in a similar situation. They are both trying to decide what’s best for a struggling country and get the country back on their feet. They also both had plans to rebuild the economies and proposed these ideas to the public. Lincoln passed many amendments trying to force the South to obey him, and Obama is passing many bills to try and open up more jobs for US citizens. Lincoln and Obama are dealing with many of the same things.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibliography_of_Reconstruction This would be political/government theme. This would be political because it has to do with the presidents and it looks like they’re fighting over presidency/ control over the United States. This could also show how they had different view on things. They felt as though presidency is very important and they would do anything so that they could be president. They want to improve the United States in their own personal ways. If they didn’t win then they would be looked down on in their half of the United States. They wanted to show that they should be dominant over the other half because they wanted to keep slavery and the other half wanted to get rid of it because they thought that it wasn’t fair for the slaves.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynching_in_the_United_States This would be an example of a social theme. It was showing how white KKK members were killing off blacks because of their race. It wasn’t fair, but life isn’t fair. They didn’t want black people to be able to run for office. They also didn’t want there to be a black president. They felt like the blacks still should have been slaves so they made a bunch of laws and acts that segregated the blacks and whites. Segregating was the only legal way that they could separate themselves from black people. They thought that they were superior to black people, but no one should be judged by their ethnicity.
My three articles are about the recent 85 billion dollar spending cut the U.S. is going through and what is being affected by it. My first article talked about the amount of jobs that are going to be lost due to cuts. My second articles talks about the things that got saved before the cuts went into effect. Things like Medicare and social security were close to being taken away from Americans, but weren't. My third article talks about the drop in oil by barrel costs.
This connects to what we’re learning about the west because during this time, money was being spent on the Transcontinental Railroad and telegraph lines. The railroad itself cost $50,000,000, which is only a fraction of what was taken away on the spending cuts. But regardless, something like this couldn't be done after these spending cuts. Also during this time, many job opportunities popped up with the railroad and the news towns that are being built. With jobs being taken away today, this wasn't a problem at many times in this era.
Jobs in America are becoming harder and harder to obtain for American citizens today. Obama is trying to create jobs for people in the government and have been both successful and not successful. Unemployment has reached a new high since the Great Depression and is still rising. People can now go online and submit their resumes and find out if there is a job that that person could be qualified for. Obama has already created half a million jobs in manufacturing over the past 3 years and he said he’s ready to make even more jobs in his next term as president. In our social studies unit, we learned about the homesteaders who were given land at a cheap price to farm land out in the Great Plains. Creating Jobs and the homesteaders receiving land to work are both very similar because the government is giving the people something that could give them new opportunities and a chance at a new life. In this case, the Homesteaders are receiving land, which is like getting a new job, and people today are receiving new jobs from the government and are getting a chance to start a new life.
Good job on your post,I think this is the first article I've read that relates to the homesteaders, but the connection is still strong. This may be because I've only read about five articles though. Lol.
Yeah thanks! It was kind of hard to try and make a connection between the homesteaders and something that was going on today. Luckily I was able to think of government job creation and I wasn't sure whether or not that a connection between these two things would be strong or not, but I guess it was so that's good.
Obama has been working to get gun control laws passed. He has been urging Congress to pass the proposed laws explaining how important there are to help reduce gun violence in the US. After the recent school shooting in Connecticut, anti-government groups have been starting to form trying to get gun laws put in to place. Because the right for American citizens to bear arms is included in the Constitution, it is difficult for congress to pass the proposed gun control laws. This situation can closely relate to what was happening during Reconstruction after the Civil War. Obama is going through the same thing Abraham Lincoln had did during his presidency. Lincoln was trying to abolish slavery, but needed congress to pass the law. Like how it is today, it was a hard thing to accomplish because of all the different opinions towards both of these topics.
I like the way you connected the actions of our president now, to the president back then. This shows the difficulties they have to face. Our articles relate in that they both talk about Obama trying to help the country in a positive way. In my articles, Obama is trying to create more jobs.
Thanks! I was trying to show the similarities between Obama’s and Lincoln’s presidencies. I also looked at your connection and liked how you compared Obama trying to help more citizens to the idea of the Homestead Act and infrastructure in the past.
http://www.theinvestigativefund.org/blog/1749/rebuilding_after_hurricane_sandy/ http://edition.cnn.com/2013/01/04/politics/house-sandy-bill-vote http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/02/ice-cream-puddle-rice-ca_n_2060539.html When Hurricane Sandy hit the East Coast late last year, thousands of people were affected. Homes were destroyed and people were left without jobs, food, or money. Many of these people were illegal immigrants that could not file for insurance because they feared being deported. A lot of them then went on to work as construction workers to rebuild houses and towns. Billions of dollars were donated to relief funds for Hurricane Sandy victims, but not before the amount of money being donated was fought over. The two sides of the government had to agree on an amount of money to donate to the victims. In addition, many small businesses were ruined by Hurricane Sandy and all the flooding. Owners found their inventory and stored ruined after the storm. Hurricane Sandy relates to many elements of Reconstruction after the Civil War. First, the immigrants that are working as construction workers to rebuild houses are almost exactly like the Chinese immigrants that worked in the mines. Both the immigrants working on Sandy relief and the immigrants working in the mines were underpaid, looking for money, and given the most dangerous jobs. Second, the argument over how much money to donate to the Sandy victims is just like the North and the South trying to agree on things after the Civil War. The two sides on the government disagreed on the donation amount just like the two sides of the country disagreed on the laws after the Civil War, especially on how African Americans were treated. Thirdly, the homesteaders that went West to farm on their 160 acres were affected by thunder storms and tornadoes just like small business owners were during Sandy. Their crops were ruined, which served as their food. Hurricane Sandy and the Reconstruction of the South have many similarities.
I really liked your connection between the Chinese immigrants and Hurricane Sandy relief workers, describing how they were both underpaid. I also was surprised how illegal immigrants, were affected by Hurricane Sandy and how they were fearful of filing for insurance because they thought they would be deployed.
Thanks! I also thought it was interesting; I wasn't aware of the whole illegal immagrant situation either, probably because they never put it in the news.
Currently the country has been in debate about what to do about fracking. Fracking is short for hydraulic fracturing, which is a way to mine natural gases by injecting a mix of water sand and chemicals into the rocks and making cracks in the deep rock layers to release the gases. Some states forbid the practice while others regulate it. The argument is over how much damage does fracking do to the environment and is it dangerous enough that it should be banned in all states? The environmental damage that fracking does ranges from water pollution to air pollution and can be very dangerous. Leaks caused by improperly fracked gas wells can and have contaminated underground water sources and chemicals from fracking can remain in the air even after a year once fracking has stopped. The impact fracking has on the environment is very similar to the impact that mining had on the environment back in the 1800’s. Often times miners would come through and once the lode was gone they’d leave, leaving clear water streams in disgusting state and the area around the mine covered in rubble from the blasting. Animals and people alike could no longer use the rivers near where the mining took place. Just like fracking, mining had a large effect on contaminating nearby water sources and the environment around it at large, making the land around the mine near unusable.
I like your connection I think it is definitely something we should try to avoid. The environment is already not in the best of shape we should try all we can to better the environment before we try to continue with Fracking if there is the chance of hurting the environment we should at least have a better environment. What do you think Gabi?
I think that it would be better if it was possible for them to find a more evironmentally friendly way of fracking. Its highly unlikely that they will stop altogether but if they could lessen the impact it has on the environment or help to clean it up it would be much better.
Throughout the United States President Obama has been trying to currently fix the economy in anyway possible. Obama has tried so far to raise the minimum wage to 9.00 dollars an hour and lower spending costs, within the government. He has also tried to create more jobs in his second term of presidency to lower the unemployment rate across the United States of America. This subject of trying to fix the economy relates to what we are studying in U.S. History because Obama creating jobs is similar to the Homesteaders moving into the West. The Homesteaders moved into West for new opportunities and another chance, if they didn’t exceed in north or south. In comparison President Obama creating new jobs provides current unemployed citizens new opportunities.
This is very interesting and I thought that it was good information to know. Giving unemployed people new job opportunities is a great idea, and I would also very much enjoy if minimum wage was raised to $9.00!
The Keystone Pipeline is essentially a pipe running from Canada to Texas carrying oil. It is an issue because environmentalists don’t want it, and we need to stop depending on Iraq for the oil we’re getting. The State Department has been waiting for a permit for more than four years. Environmentalists have been worrying about the potential risk for oil spills, and its impact on climate change. A permit is needed because the pipe would cross the U.S.-Canadian border. The Republicans are in favor of the Keystone Pipeline while the majority of Democrats are not. Pipelines are an example of a safer way to transport oil, as opposed to trucks, rail cars, and ships. Trucks and trains also take fuel to move, which would cause even more pollution in the air. The pipeline would also create more jobs- over 15,000. This relates to the Pacific Railway Act because both topics are decided by the government. They both make the final decision whether or not they should go through with these proposals. The government decides the boundaries of both the pipelines and the railroad (how far it can go, how wide it can be, etc.) There are many pros to both concepts. For example, more jobs would be created. Both things have and would impact the country in positive and negative ways.
This is a really interesting new prospect, especially because of the economic boost it will bring to the country. I also think that your comparison between the proposed pipline and the Transcontinential Railroad is great. It seems most likely that the bill will go through despite its environmental concerns, don't you think?
I do think the bill will go through, despite what the environmentalists say about pollution and climate change. I read that over 70% of Americans want this, and it would certainly be great for the economy given the amount of jobs it'd create. Based on what i said, do you see any downsides to this proposed idea?
Recently, violence has been a big topic in the government. Many news laws have been discussed about controlling violence in the country. For example, the Senate very recently agreed to make a new law that would control gun purchasing and use. This is partly a result of the recent shootings at several schools across the country. In addition, the government also reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act, which grants money to assist investigation and prosecution in cases of violent crimes against women. These laws are meant to help prevent and justify crimes of violent actions in society. These occurrences are similar to events in the 1800s. A major issue in the 19th century South U.S. was lynching. Many congressmen who were against this (mainly northerners) tried to think of ways to prevent and punish lynching, such as making new laws. However, these did not always work. The newer laws seem to be more successful than the laws made in the past. The only remaining question is if these new laws will be effective in preventing violence in our country.
You're right, violence is a big problem in the U.S and gun control is a huge topic of discussion for everyone. Unfortunately, there are many people who think people should have guns and many people who think people should not have guns and so it's hard to come to an agreement. Also, is your blog comparing the violence in America now and the violence back then, or is it comparing the laws being passed to stop the violence happening in the U.S now and back then?
It is a big problem that people have varying viewpoints. It's depressing that the violence in the country have become so extreme that the government is trying to almost infringe on the second amendment. Is this really the start of the collapse of the amendments? Also, to answer your question, it was about both the violence now and back then and the laws.
It is clearly evident President Obama is trying to crack down on gun use and who is able to own guns. After the Sandy hook tragedy, the Colorado shooting, and many others in the past year, he is ready to take control and put these laws into effect so these events are less likely to happen in the near and distant future. Included in his proposal that congress is thinking of passing, is requiring background checks, gun violence research, no military style assault weapons and high capacity machines, gun safety, school safety, mental health and more to ensure the owner of the gun is responsible. Ironically, the President is from Chicago which had a 16 percent increase in murders. This relates to slavery because Lincoln was abolishing slavery and the country had mixed feelings about the idea. In the end I think it helped the country reunite and become on the same page with each side. Lincoln is also trying to think of laws that could re unite the country during reconstruction and is willing to pass as many laws as he needs to too achieve that goal. Many people are against Obama and don’t agree with his ideas but he is trying to make our country better as a whole.
I think you made a very good connection between the gun laws that are being debated and Lincoln's struggle abolishing slavery. The outcome of the gun laws is that they were not passed, so how could this new news relate to Lincoln and slavery?
it related to slavery because throughout the years they kept trying to get it banned. Obama is trying to get gun laws passed, this is trying to achieve the same goal. He is also trying to improve the country and this also relates back to Lincoln because he had a hard time getting laws passed.
My three articles also talked about Obama’s plans for gun control. Like yours,they talked about the recent tragedies involving guns and how Obama is trying to propose and pass these laws in the near future. I related this situation back to Lincoln because, like Obama, he was trying to get new laws passed in hopes of helping the country.
Abortion has been a battled topic for what seems like forever, and both sides are armed with debates and battles of their own. Live abortions are the biggest battle for those pro-life. The story of Baby Hope is one that brings tears to the eyes of many. Hope was supposed to be an abortion, but ended up later being given birth to by her mother. The nurse, who the child was handed to, held the baby until it died, which was 3 hours without medical care. It's stories like this that keep the battle of abortion raging on. Of course, this doesn't change the battle. While many religious groups are pro-life for reasons related to their faith, many women are outraged at how unheard their voices are. Those standing up speak from either experience, or from knowing someone who has dealt with abortion such as a friend. They could just be an ally to the cause. Women believe that religion and men should have no say in the subject because they are not related to directly dealing with the medical and emotional process that abortion brings.
This relates to our current topic of study because it has to deal with women's rights. We are studying suffrage, which is a woman's right to vote. Abortion is a vote held by many states under the law, which is why it ties so closely into what we're learning, but making it current. Abortion, alongside voting, are wars that will both one day hopefully be accomplished for the betterment and benefit of the country and the women that fight so hard for them.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/08/politics/asian-american-immigration/index.html?iref=allsearch http://www.nbcnews.com/id/51509938#.UWdJUaKTjSg http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57579060/most-back-pathway-to-citizenship-in-immigration-plan-poll-shows/ Immigration has caused massive debate since the beginning of America. Many points in American history have had major amounts of immigration. Immigration is even occurring in our current time period. The government is currently trying to make and adjust laws to prevent illegal immigration and help immigrants get on a path to citizenship. There has been recent debate over if and when illegal immigrants should become legal and if immigration should be allowed. The government has also proposed an increase in border patrol members to limit illegal immigration. Many immigrants living in the United States find it too difficult to become legal citizens and some become illegal due to visa expiration. Many people support immigration under the circumstances that the immigrants complete certain requirements such as fees and background checks. However, some people are completely against the idea under the knowledge that many of them will not abide by our rules. Controversy over immigration is common but not a big problem. Immigration played a big role in American history. During the late 1800s and early 1900s, immigration increased the U.S. population exponentially. However, it was not always welcome. Americans felt that immigrants would take their jobs. Protest groups formed to fight immigration, especially Chinese. Many immigration groups were rejected during this era due to either protest groups or laws preventing their immigration into the country. It was easier to become a citizen during this era as the process usually occurred upon arrival as it was originally welcomed. Over the years, immigration and how it is viewed has changed drastically in all of its aspects.
Marijuana is a drug, similar to a tobacco, that you can smoke. However, unlike tobacco, marijuana is illegal in 48 out of fifty states. All of them except Colorodo and Washington, who just recentlly legalized marijuana in last November. However, unlike tobacco, marijuana is actually much safer. Infact, it has been used for medical purposes. Also, marijuana has been proven to be less addictive then tobacco too. So why is marajuana considered a horrible drug, and why is it outlawed in most states when tobacco is not. Beats me. Recently, other states such as Maryland have been thinking about legalizing marijuana and the entire topic is becoming more relevent everyday.
This all relates to what we are learning about in class because it is sort of like prohibition. The only difference is that marijuana was never legal, but alcohol was at some point.
-P.S: Sorry for being late, I had forgotten it on thursday and was gone all friday.
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/02/01/biden-concedes-new-laws-wont-end-gun-massacres/?iref=allsearch
ReplyDeletehttp://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2013/02/06/bruce-willis-against-new-gun-control-laws-says-there-no-link-between-hollywood/
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/50695673/t/president-obama-begins-campaign-new-gun-laws/#.URT_GPBunTo
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/07/obama-tells-house-democrats-he-will-confront-republicans-on-taxes/?ref=congress
ReplyDeletehttp://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/07/at-prayer-breakfast-obama-issues-call-for-humility/?ref=congress
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/07/obama-plans-fundraising-trips-to-aid-senate-and-house-candidates/?ref=congress
My three articles were about the president of the United States (Barack Obama). The president is doing many different things to bring us through this depression. Two of my three articles talked about this and the topics were raising taxes on the wealthy, and taking fundraising trips. The president is also trying to keep himself strong mentally to get the United States through these rough times by practicing his religion which leads to the topic of my third article. The topic of my third article was the prayer breakfast which based on the article he uses to bring up a more humble approach to political debates. During the breakfast he also tries to inspire himself to do what is right for the United States.
DeleteAll of these articles can be compared to reconstruction/civil war times. The way that the breakfast article can be related to the civil war is that Lincoln also practiced religion himself and in the article it actually at one point mentions that when Obama was sworn in the second time he used Lincoln’s prayer book. The way the other two articles related to it was that the people in charge of reconstruction also had to find a way to get more money so they could start rebuilding the South which is similar with how Obama is trying to rebuild our economy today.
Recently, there have been many shootings throughout the United States. One example of these shootings would be the one that occurred in New Town, Connecticut. In order to stop these mass murders President Barack Obama is trying to push more gun laws so that everyone cannot purchase a weapon of this caliber. Some people, like Bruce Willis, don’t think this could have an effect on the amounts of murders. The Vice President, Joe Biden, also agrees with this famous Hollywood actor.
ReplyDeleteTo start things off, President Barack Obama is just trying to help make the United States a safer place to live. He doesn’t want everyone to be able to have a gun because, then, more people could be in harm’s way. The main guns being banned are assault rifles like the one included in the New Town shooting. The law states that there must be stricter background checks and that gun owners cannot sell to mentally ill people.
This law can be easily compared to the ones back then because many people are for it, but others think it won’t really work too well. People now can find ways to get around the law just like some did back in the day. Just because the President puts a law on it, doesn’t mean that people won’t break it. People break the laws all the time and some don’t even get caught. Back in the day, if they didn’t agree with a law, they just didn’t pay any attention to it.
All of my articles are current events about 2013 and what happened in the 1860's. My articles talk about the presidents, broken politics, and the forgein policy. I think that they serve as a good comarison. As you can see they both have good similarties to now and then.My first article talks about broken politics and how it can be a problem. The second article talks about how Obama could be a reincarrnation of Lincoln, because they are so similar. And lastly my third talks about the foregin policy. What it is, how it works and stuff like that. I think that these are very good articles that are good descriptions and comparisons to now and then.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.brookings.edu/research/papers/2010/03/broken-politics-west
http://www.crystarpress.com/obama.reincarnation.lincoln.html
http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/foreign-policy
I think that my articles are all good examples. They all tie in together to help compare the 2 different times, and to talk about the governments and how they changed over years. My articles are good articles and I think they have very good sources and evidence files to help create more information.
Deletehttp://www.news24.com/World/News/Politics-shapes-US-gun-debate-endgame-20130205
ReplyDeletehttp://www.foxnews.com/on-air/oreilly/2013/02/08/bill-oreilly-debate-over-guns-ramps
http://www.macombdaily.com/article/20130208/NEWS04/130209598/nra-chief-gun-controls-won-t-pass-congress
My three articles are all centered around the topic of gun control in the United States. This has been a popular topic lately because of all of the mass shootings that have happened recently such as the incidents in New Town, Connecticut and Aurora, Colorado. The main point of debate for gun control is whether or not assault rifles and high capacity magazines should be banned for civilians. It has also been suggested that there be stricter background checks on all of the people who wish to purchase guns. The governor of Colorado believes that there should even be background checks on neighbor-to-neighbor purchases. While there are many people who support stricter gun control policies, there are also many who think that these new laws will have no effect on gun violence. David Keene, president of the NRA, predicts that the gun bills will not be passed because of a difference in opinion between the houses of Congress.
DeleteThese articles can be related to the Civil War era because there may have been some debate as to how much freedom people should have with their guns back then as well. During at least one point in the war, the Union and Confederacy must have been fighting on someone’s private land and the landowner probably would have wanted a gun to protect themselves and their family from the danger outside.
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/02/07/house-democrats-unveil-gun-control-agenda-that-faces-uphill-battle-in-congress/?hpt=po_c2
ReplyDeletehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/06/joe-biden-gun-control_n_2634842.html?utm_hp_ref=shooting
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/02/13/graham-to-obama-stop-cheerleading-for-gun-laws/comment-page-1/
DeleteThree articles on politics today, were greatly favoring new stricter gun laws in America. All of the articles used had a specific political point-of-view. The first was the House Democrats on their new agenda on gun laws. The article discusses how hard it is to get the House to take a vote on it, since some very advocate Democrats are worried for their re-election. Even if the House were under Republican rule, it would most likely not even come up to a vote. The second article was on Joe Biden, Vice President, urging the House Democrats to go for the stricter laws on guns, even if it is politically dangerous. He kept on speaking of the Assault Rifle Act in 1994, and how America has changed to accept a newer/ stricter law on weaponry. The last article discusses a SC Senator Republican Lindsey Graham, on how Barack Obama is “cheerleading” for gun reform. With prior knowledge he is a strong supporter of pro-gun laws, he is also a member of the NRA (National Rifle Association). He discusses how Obama’s tactics cannot support all of the House/ Senate.
All articles can be intertwined into the previous history of the Reconstruction Era. After the assassination of Lincoln, it became increasingly more difficult to produce changes in laws. It also resulted in the cession of the South, the Civil War. During the Civil War the North and South wanted to control each other’s rights, this still applies to the Republicans and Democrats fighting to modify gun laws.
Kate H.
DeleteMy articles also show the dramatic differences in the views of the two political parties when it comes to gun control. This also existed back in the days of Reconstruction and greatly lengthened the time that it took to create laws.
1) http://www.presstv.com/detail/2013/02/08/287913/americans-must-resist-us-policies/
ReplyDelete2) http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/07/us-usa-guns-democrats-idUSBRE9160YN20130207
3) http://www.voanews.com/content/obama_pushes_for_us_gun_control/1597145.html
The articles I found were mainly focused around America’s current struggle with trying to get new laws and policies passed. Two of the articles talked about how Obama is trying to push more gun control. It showed how the House of Representatives was agreeing with Obama and proposing a similar idea, but this idea was still not ready to be set into place. The third article that I found said that the only way to change US government policies is by citizens enforcing them. It mainly focused on how hard it was for a government policy or law to be changed once it’s set into place. If citizens voiced their opinions and raised more questions about how things are being run, then government policies would be easier to change or remove. All three articles together were about how difficult it is in today’s government to either get laws or polices passed or changed.
Today’s current US government can relate to what it was in the past because it was very difficult to pass or change new laws and policies then also. Between the North and the South and other political parties all having different ideas and opinions, it took awhile for people to agree on something to eventually change their government.
The three articles I found were about both Obama's and Congress' struggle to put new gun laws into practice. The first and second articles talked about shootings that have been occurring and how Obama is trying to enforce gun laws and how putting more restrictions on people that have guns would benefit everyone, but not everyone agrees. The third article tied in with this idea of whether or not gun laws should be passed or not. They had interviewed a guy from the Columbine shooting from a few years back who his daughter had died, and he said that it wasn't the guns fault at all, it's just the messed up mentalities of people in this world today.
ReplyDeleteToday's law enforcement is somewhat similar, yet different than the government in the Reconstruction era. Today it has been so hard to pass new laws, just like it was when the Northern and Southern states couldn't agree on something. It took a long time to resolve an important situation.
1. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/02/04/obama-to-appeal-to-public-law-enforcement-for-support-on-new-gun-control-laws/
2. http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2013/01/21/missouri-sheriffs-pledge-to-not-enforce-obamas-gun-control-laws/
3. http://beforeitsnews.com/politics/2012/12/12-years-later-columbine-student-rachel-scotts-father-speaks-out-on-the-school-shooting-video-2478188.html
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletehttp://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/g/gun_control/index.html
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57568322/calif-lawmakers-seek-toughest-gun-laws-in-nation/
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57568278/house-democrats-suggest-15-point-gun-safety-plan/
Currently in the USA President Obama has been working toward creating stricter laws on guns. He has asked states to look into gun laws and create more to help limit acts of gun violence. This was tried many times earlier like in 2007 after the shooting at Virginia Tech, 2011 shooting of Gabrielle Giffords, and the movie theater shooting in 2012. Each time the bills were not passed. But as of now with the Shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary laws are being put into affect in many states to control the number of bullets magazines can hold, controls on gun trafficking, better background checks, and a ban on assault weapons.
DeleteThis sort of compares to what we have learned about recently in Social Studies with President Lincoln’s attempts at creating new laws banning slavery in the USA. President Obama has been trying to create new laws but multiple times they were not passed. Same as with Lincoln he sent out many bills but it wasn’t until after the war that the bills were passed.
http://www.beaufortobserver.net/Articles-NEWS-and-COMMENTARY-c-2013-01-13-264773.112112-Herere-the-gun-control-proposals-being-considered-by-the-Obama-Administration.html
ReplyDeletehttp://www.americanprogress.org/issues/civil-liberties/report/2013/02/12/52833/constitutionality-of-proposed-firearms-legislation/
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/17/us/politics/obama-to-ask-congress-to-toughen-gun-laws.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
All three of these websites are about gun laws. Obama is currently trying to ban guns with “cosmetic features” that make them look like assault rifles. These articles basically summarized that the president’s plan is to expand background checks, and toughen gun trafficking, which is buying or selling guns illegally. He would like to create a tracking system which tracks not only the gun, but the person who owns it. Obama knew that his idea to ban guns would not be accepted by everyone, so he quickly issued a bunch of executive orders, or immediate steps intended to lower the amount of gun violence.
This ties in to our unit in social studies because back in the 1860’s when Lincoln was president, he also issued a bunch of executive orders during his presidency. Some had to do with the Civil War and others did not. Most of them were for the army. Today, we are still making new laws and going to certain measures to try and make sure that they happen. Obama and Lincoln both did different things to try to unite and protect our country, and they both used executive orders to do it.
My articles focused on kind of the same topic. They talked about how Obama is working on gun control but how hard it is to get new laws passed due to all the disagreements in government.
DeleteMy articles were also on gun reform. Each had a view point from different parties, trying to rally enough people to be for/ against the new laws.
Deletehttp://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/07/us-usa-guns-democrats-idUSBRE9160YN20130207
ReplyDeletehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/06/joe-biden-gun-control_n_2634842.html
http://dissidentvoice.org/2013/02/the-u-s-congress-from-one-crisis-to-another/
One of the most controversial topics in our country right now is the views on gun control and what limit the government has on the flow of these weapons. Biden argues that the government shouldn’t have the fear that it does of public opinion. Like others, he thinks that although this may be “politically risky”, the public eye has changed since the first assault weapons ban was passed in ’94. This means that it should be taken into account what’s right for the betterment of the country and not of what the public views as “right”.
Like during the time of Reconstruction, the Democrats and Republicans are battling back on forth on what’s the right course of action so much that no act is being made. Offers are being made to one another that are continually shut out and shut down so that no productivity is made. Today it’s for simple issues like whether or not we should restrict gun control, while back then it was a more serious issue. It was how the country would come back together, how they were supposed to let bygones be bygones, and how the Union would become united.
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/world-report/2013/02/13/obamas-state-of-the-union-a-national-security-disappointment
ReplyDeletehttp://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2013/02/13/obama-proposals-face-quick-opposition-in-congress
http://thehill.com/video/house/282787-ryan-sequester-will-take-effect-because-obama-failed-to-act\
In the three articles, they talk about how certain members of congress don’t like the way the president is going to handle things according to his State of the Union address and how he handled other things in the past. He isn’t going to do anything about foreign policy while certain people think it should be changed; he wants to give every child the chance to go to pre-school and others think that that’s a bad idea and many other things. Basically, the President’s ideals are a little different than others (mainly republicans) and because of that, it’s going to be harder to get bills passed by congress.
This situation is just like Andrew Johnson’s situation when he was president. Post- Civil War, Andrew Johnson came up with a plan for reconstruction in the South and it was not liked by the radical republicans because it was too lenient and they were hoping for something more aggressive. Eventually things got too out of hand and congress tried to impeach him. Obviously, this a very similar circumstance to today and a good example of how the past repeats itself overtime.
Both of our articles talk about how certain political parties are pushing against what the President is currently trying to do. Thye both also relate back to the Radical Republicans and their fight against Jhonsons reconstruction plan.
Deletehttp://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-rand-paul-tea-party-response-20130212,0,2972143.story
ReplyDeletehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/08/tea-party-patriots-super-pac_n_2648908.html
http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20130212/NEWS010603/302120056/Tea-Party-response-Rand-Paul-points-blame-both-parties-critique
The three articles I found all talk about a branch of the Republican Party known as the Tea Party. They believe that the government is not representing the people and is doing a poor job fixing the economy. They want to reduce government spending and believe that the country is on the wrong track. The Tea Party is very angry with the way that the current president is running the country, the proposals and ideas he’s presenting and trying to get passed. Two of the articles deal solely with their response to the president’s State of the Union Address. They are rebutting the president’s plan for deficit reduction, proposing instead a stricter set of spending and tax cuts.
This is directly connected to our current unit. The Tea Party believes that the government isn’t doing the right thing and isn’t being strict enough on spending and tax cuts. This is very similar to the situation that the Radical Republicans were in where they didn’t believe that Johnson’s reconstruction plan was strict enough for the South during reconstruction. The Radicals thought that the President’s plans were too lenient and the Radicals took over all of reconstruction with a much stricter plan for the South. Both the Tea Party and the Radicals believe that the President isn’t doing what’s needed for the country and oppose Presidential plans.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/13/politics/state-of-the-union/index.html?hpt=po_c1
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cnn.com/2013/02/13/opinion/slaughter-sotu-address/index.html
http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/13/opinion/rothkopf-sotu/index.html
The three current event articles I found online are about Obama and his attempts to rebuild the United States economy. His new plan for his second term is to create more jobs for the US citizens that are unemployed. He wants to raise the current minimum wage and create opportunities for people that are stuck without a job. He also wants to slow down the flow of American jobs getting sent over to foreign countries. The articles also talk about his approach to current problems in our economy and government, and the second article points out that after he proposes an idea, he ends it with the phrase, “We can do this,” or “We can get this done.” He’s proposing more job training and ending tax subsidies that reward sending jobs overseas as part of his plan to create more jobs.
This relates to the civil war because Lincoln and Obama are kind of in a similar situation. They are both trying to decide what’s best for a struggling country and get the country back on their feet. They also both had plans to rebuild the economies and proposed these ideas to the public. Lincoln passed many amendments trying to force the South to obey him, and Obama is passing many bills to try and open up more jobs for US citizens. Lincoln and Obama are dealing with many of the same things.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibliography_of_Reconstruction
ReplyDeleteThis would be political/government theme. This would be political because it has to do with the presidents and it looks like they’re fighting over presidency/ control over the United States. This could also show how they had different view on things. They felt as though presidency is very important and they would do anything so that they could be president. They want to improve the United States in their own personal ways. If they didn’t win then they would be looked down on in their half of the United States. They wanted to show that they should be dominant over the other half because they wanted to keep slavery and the other half wanted to get rid of it because they thought that it wasn’t fair for the slaves.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynching_in_the_United_States
ReplyDeleteThis would be an example of a social theme. It was showing how white KKK members were killing off blacks because of their race. It wasn’t fair, but life isn’t fair. They didn’t want black people to be able to run for office. They also didn’t want there to be a black president. They felt like the blacks still should have been slaves so they made a bunch of laws and acts that segregated the blacks and whites. Segregating was the only legal way that they could separate themselves from black people. They thought that they were superior to black people, but no one should be judged by their ethnicity.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505123_162-57572306/oil-falls-as-u.s-government-cuts-spending/
ReplyDeletehttp://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/03/us-usa-fiscal-idUSBRE91P0W220130303
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/03/03/top-white-house-adviser-blames-republicans-for-cuts-waves-doomsday-criticism/
My three articles are about the recent 85 billion dollar spending cut the U.S. is going through and what is being affected by it. My first article talked about the amount of jobs that are going to be lost due to cuts. My second articles talks about the things that got saved before the cuts went into effect. Things like Medicare and social security were close to being taken away from Americans, but weren't. My third article talks about the drop in oil by barrel costs.
DeleteThis connects to what we’re learning about the west because during this time, money was being spent on the Transcontinental Railroad and telegraph lines. The railroad itself cost $50,000,000, which is only a fraction of what was taken away on the spending cuts. But regardless, something like this couldn't be done after these spending cuts. Also during this time, many job opportunities popped up with the railroad and the news towns that are being built. With jobs being taken away today, this wasn't a problem at many times in this era.
I never realized just how much money went into building the TCRR. I think that you made a very good connection
DeleteI was surprised about that amount too.
Deletehttp://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Government-Jobs.shtml
ReplyDeletehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/14/obama-jobs-plan_n_2450429.html
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2013/feb/12/barack-obama/barack-obama-says-us-has-created-half-million-manu/
Jobs in America are becoming harder and harder to obtain for American citizens today. Obama is trying to create jobs for people in the government and have been both successful and not successful. Unemployment has reached a new high since the Great Depression and is still rising. People can now go online and submit their resumes and find out if there is a job that that person could be qualified for. Obama has already created half a million jobs in manufacturing over the past 3 years and he said he’s ready to make even more jobs in his next term as president.
In our social studies unit, we learned about the homesteaders who were given land at a cheap price to farm land out in the Great Plains. Creating Jobs and the homesteaders receiving land to work are both very similar because the government is giving the people something that could give them new opportunities and a chance at a new life. In this case, the Homesteaders are receiving land, which is like getting a new job, and people today are receiving new jobs from the government and are getting a chance to start a new life.
Good job on your post,I think this is the first article I've read that relates to the homesteaders, but the connection is still strong. This may be because I've only read about five articles though. Lol.
DeleteYeah thanks! It was kind of hard to try and make a connection between the homesteaders and something that was going on today. Luckily I was able to think of government job creation and I wasn't sure whether or not that a connection between these two things would be strong or not, but I guess it was so that's good.
Deletehttp://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/obama-targets-gun-control-laws-state-union-speech-article-1.1262710
ReplyDeletehttp://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/04/us-usa-guns-obama-idUSBRE9130KL20130204
http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2013/03/05/news/doc51363877929f7897452973.txt
Obama has been working to get gun control laws passed. He has been urging Congress to pass the proposed laws explaining how important there are to help reduce gun violence in the US. After the recent school shooting in Connecticut, anti-government groups have been starting to form trying to get gun laws put in to place. Because the right for American citizens to bear arms is included in the Constitution, it is difficult for congress to pass the proposed gun control laws.
This situation can closely relate to what was happening during Reconstruction after the Civil War. Obama is going through the same thing Abraham Lincoln had did during his presidency. Lincoln was trying to abolish slavery, but needed congress to pass the law. Like how it is today, it was a hard thing to accomplish because of all the different opinions towards both of these topics.
I like the way you connected the actions of our president now, to the president back then. This shows the difficulties they have to face. Our articles relate in that they both talk about Obama trying to help the country in a positive way. In my articles, Obama is trying to create more jobs.
DeleteThanks! I was trying to show the similarities between Obama’s and Lincoln’s presidencies. I also looked at your connection and liked how you compared Obama trying to help more citizens to the idea of the Homestead Act and infrastructure in the past.
Deletehttp://www.theinvestigativefund.org/blog/1749/rebuilding_after_hurricane_sandy/
ReplyDeletehttp://edition.cnn.com/2013/01/04/politics/house-sandy-bill-vote
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/02/ice-cream-puddle-rice-ca_n_2060539.html
When Hurricane Sandy hit the East Coast late last year, thousands of people were affected. Homes were destroyed and people were left without jobs, food, or money. Many of these people were illegal immigrants that could not file for insurance because they feared being deported. A lot of them then went on to work as construction workers to rebuild houses and towns. Billions of dollars were donated to relief funds for Hurricane Sandy victims, but not before the amount of money being donated was fought over. The two sides of the government had to agree on an amount of money to donate to the victims. In addition, many small businesses were ruined by Hurricane Sandy and all the flooding. Owners found their inventory and stored ruined after the storm.
Hurricane Sandy relates to many elements of Reconstruction after the Civil War. First, the immigrants that are working as construction workers to rebuild houses are almost exactly like the Chinese immigrants that worked in the mines. Both the immigrants working on Sandy relief and the immigrants working in the mines were underpaid, looking for money, and given the most dangerous jobs. Second, the argument over how much money to donate to the Sandy victims is just like the North and the South trying to agree on things after the Civil War. The two sides on the government disagreed on the donation amount just like the two sides of the country disagreed on the laws after the Civil War, especially on how African Americans were treated. Thirdly, the homesteaders that went West to farm on their 160 acres were affected by thunder storms and tornadoes just like small business owners were during Sandy. Their crops were ruined, which served as their food. Hurricane Sandy and the Reconstruction of the South have many similarities.
I really liked your connection between the Chinese immigrants and
DeleteHurricane Sandy relief workers, describing how they were both underpaid. I also was surprised how illegal immigrants, were affected by Hurricane Sandy and how they
were fearful of filing for insurance because they thought they would be
deployed.
^ Amy Munson
DeleteThanks! I also thought it was interesting; I wasn't aware of the whole illegal immagrant situation either, probably because they never put it in the news.
Deletehttp://dailycaller.com/2013/02/26/fracking-debate-hits-home-for-ny-pa-communities/
ReplyDeletehttp://www.poststarnews.com/news/x1551261056/Due-to-Continued-Questions-Regarding-its-Safety-Assembly-Votes-to-Enact-Fracking-Moratorium
http://progressillinois.com/posts/content/2013/03/05/hydraulic-fracturing-may-be-coming-illinois
Currently the country has been in debate about what to do about fracking. Fracking is short for hydraulic fracturing, which is a way to mine natural gases by injecting a mix of water sand and chemicals into the rocks and making cracks in the deep rock layers to release the gases. Some states forbid the practice while others regulate it. The argument is over how much damage does fracking do to the environment and is it dangerous enough that it should be banned in all states? The environmental damage that fracking does ranges from water pollution to air pollution and can be very dangerous. Leaks caused by improperly fracked gas wells can and have contaminated underground water sources and chemicals from fracking can remain in the air even after a year once fracking has stopped.
The impact fracking has on the environment is very similar to the impact that mining had on the environment back in the 1800’s. Often times miners would come through and once the lode was gone they’d leave, leaving clear water streams in disgusting state and the area around the mine covered in rubble from the blasting. Animals and people alike could no longer use the rivers near where the mining took place. Just like fracking, mining had a large effect on contaminating nearby water sources and the environment around it at large, making the land around the mine near unusable.
I like your connection I think it is definitely something we should try to avoid. The environment is already not in the best of shape we should try all we can to better the environment before we try to continue with Fracking if there is the chance of hurting the environment we should at least have a better environment. What do you think Gabi?
DeleteI think that it would be better if it was possible for them to find a more evironmentally friendly way of fracking. Its highly unlikely that they will stop altogether but if they could lessen the impact it has on the environment or help to clean it up it would be much better.
Deletehttp://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/13/us/politics/obama-delivers-state-of-the-union-address.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cnn.com/2013/03/01/politics/forced-spending-cuts/index.htmlhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/14/obama-jobs-plan_n_2450429.html
Throughout the United States President Obama has been trying to currently fix the economy in anyway possible. Obama has tried so far to raise the minimum wage to 9.00 dollars an hour and lower spending costs, within the government. He has also tried to create more jobs in his second term of presidency to lower the unemployment rate across the United States of America.
DeleteThis subject of trying to fix the economy relates to what we are studying in U.S. History because Obama creating jobs is similar to the Homesteaders moving into the West. The Homesteaders moved into West for new opportunities and another chance, if they didn’t exceed in north or south. In comparison President Obama creating new jobs provides current unemployed citizens new opportunities.
This is very interesting and I thought that it was good information to know. Giving unemployed people new job opportunities is a great idea, and I would also very much enjoy if minimum wage was raised to $9.00!
DeleteThanks, I would also enjoy the minimum wage to be increased to nine dollars! I think it would benefit lower income people greatly.
Deletehttp://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/07/usa-keystone-bill-idUSL1N0BZFX120130307
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thenewstribune.com/2013/03/06/2501246/the-environmental-case-for-keystone.html
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/energy-a-environment/286625-keystone-pipeline-should-be-a-no-brainer
The Keystone Pipeline is essentially a pipe running from Canada to Texas carrying oil. It is an issue because environmentalists don’t want it, and we need to stop depending on Iraq for the oil we’re getting. The State Department has been waiting for a permit for more than four years. Environmentalists have been worrying about the potential risk for oil spills, and its impact on climate change. A permit is needed because the pipe would cross the U.S.-Canadian border. The Republicans are in favor of the Keystone Pipeline while the majority of Democrats are not.
Pipelines are an example of a safer way to transport oil, as opposed to trucks, rail cars, and ships. Trucks and trains also take fuel to move, which would cause even more pollution in the air.
The pipeline would also create more jobs- over 15,000. This relates to the Pacific Railway Act because both topics are decided by the government. They both make the final decision whether or not they should go through with these proposals. The government decides the boundaries of both the pipelines and the railroad (how far it can go, how wide it can be, etc.) There are many pros to both concepts. For example, more jobs would be created. Both things have and would impact the country in positive and negative ways.
This is a really interesting new prospect, especially because of the economic boost it will bring to the country. I also think that your comparison between the proposed pipline and the Transcontinential Railroad is great. It seems most likely that the bill will go through despite its environmental concerns, don't you think?
DeleteI do think the bill will go through, despite what the environmentalists say about pollution and climate change. I read that over 70% of Americans want this, and it would certainly be great for the economy given the amount of jobs it'd create. Based on what i said, do you see any downsides to this proposed idea?
Deletehttp://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/07/17226287-obama-signs-violence-against-women-act-reauthorization?lite
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cnn.com/2013/03/07/politics/obama-violence-against-women-act/index.html?hpt=po_c2
http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/07/politics/senate-gun-violence/index.html?hpt=po_c2
Recently, violence has been a big topic in the government. Many news laws have been discussed about controlling violence in the country. For example, the Senate very recently agreed to make a new law that would control gun purchasing and use. This is partly a result of the recent shootings at several schools across the country. In addition, the government also reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act, which grants money to assist investigation and prosecution in cases of violent crimes against women. These laws are meant to help prevent and justify crimes of violent actions in society.
These occurrences are similar to events in the 1800s. A major issue in the 19th century South U.S. was lynching. Many congressmen who were against this (mainly northerners) tried to think of ways to prevent and punish lynching, such as making new laws. However, these did not always work. The newer laws seem to be more successful than the laws made in the past. The only remaining question is if these new laws will be effective in preventing violence in our country.
You're right, violence is a big problem in the U.S and gun control is a huge topic of discussion for everyone. Unfortunately, there are many people who think people should have guns and many people who think people should not have guns and so it's hard to come to an agreement. Also, is your blog comparing the violence in America now and the violence back then, or is it comparing the laws being passed to stop the violence happening in the U.S now and back then?
DeleteIt is a big problem that people have varying viewpoints. It's depressing that the violence in the country have become so extreme that the government is trying to almost infringe on the second amendment. Is this really the start of the collapse of the amendments? Also, to answer your question, it was about both the violence now and back then and the laws.
Deletehttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/politics/obama-gun-proposals/index.html
ReplyDeletehttp://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/02/13/obama-tackles-economy-in-state-union/
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/feb/19/obamas-real-gun-control-aim/
It is clearly evident President Obama is trying to crack down on gun use and who is able to own guns. After the Sandy hook tragedy, the Colorado shooting, and many others in the past year, he is ready to take control and put these laws into effect so these events are less likely to happen in the near and distant future. Included in his proposal that congress is thinking of passing, is requiring background checks, gun violence research, no military style assault weapons and high capacity machines, gun safety, school safety, mental health and more to ensure the owner of the gun is responsible. Ironically, the President is from Chicago which had a 16 percent increase in murders.
ReplyDeleteThis relates to slavery because Lincoln was abolishing slavery and the country had mixed feelings about the idea. In the end I think it helped the country reunite and become on the same page with each side. Lincoln is also trying to think of laws that could re unite the country during reconstruction and is willing to pass as many laws as he needs to too achieve that goal. Many people are against Obama and don’t agree with his ideas but he is trying to make our country better as a whole.
I think you made a very good connection between the gun laws that are being debated and Lincoln's struggle abolishing slavery. The outcome of the gun laws is that they were not passed, so how could this new news relate to Lincoln and slavery?
Deleteit related to slavery because throughout the years they kept trying to get it banned. Obama is trying to get gun laws passed, this is trying to achieve the same goal. He is also trying to improve the country and this also relates back to Lincoln because he had a hard time getting laws passed.
DeleteMy three articles also talked about Obama’s plans for gun control. Like yours,they talked about the recent tragedies involving guns and how Obama is trying to propose and pass these laws in the near future. I related this situation back to Lincoln because, like Obama, he was trying to get new laws passed in hopes of helping the country.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.kansascity.com/2013/04/09/4170684/womens-rights-groups-urge-kansas.html
ReplyDeletehttp://www.lifenews.com/2013/04/10/babies-born-alive-during-abortions-more-common-than-you-think/
http://news.yahoo.com/indiana-man-charged-ax-attack-abortion-clinic-185148573.html
Abortion has been a battled topic for what seems like forever, and both sides are armed with debates and battles of their own. Live abortions are the biggest battle for those pro-life. The story of Baby Hope is one that brings tears to the eyes of many. Hope was supposed to be an abortion, but ended up later being given birth to by her mother. The nurse, who the child was handed to, held the baby until it died, which was 3 hours without medical care. It's stories like this that keep the battle of abortion raging on. Of course, this doesn't change the battle. While many religious groups are pro-life for reasons related to their faith, many women are outraged at how unheard their voices are. Those standing up speak from either experience, or from knowing someone who has dealt with abortion such as a friend. They could just be an ally to the cause. Women believe that religion and men should have no say in the subject because they are not related to directly dealing with the medical and emotional process that abortion brings.
This relates to our current topic of study because it has to deal with women's rights. We are studying suffrage, which is a woman's right to vote. Abortion is a vote held by many states under the law, which is why it ties so closely into what we're learning, but making it current. Abortion, alongside voting, are wars that will both one day hopefully be accomplished for the betterment and benefit of the country and the women that fight so hard for them.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/08/politics/asian-american-immigration/index.html?iref=allsearch
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nbcnews.com/id/51509938#.UWdJUaKTjSg
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57579060/most-back-pathway-to-citizenship-in-immigration-plan-poll-shows/
Immigration has caused massive debate since the beginning of America. Many points in American history have had major amounts of immigration. Immigration is even occurring in our current time period. The government is currently trying to make and adjust laws to prevent illegal immigration and help immigrants get on a path to citizenship. There has been recent debate over if and when illegal immigrants should become legal and if immigration should be allowed. The government has also proposed an increase in border patrol members to limit illegal immigration. Many immigrants living in the United States find it too difficult to become legal citizens and some become illegal due to visa expiration. Many people support immigration under the circumstances that the immigrants complete certain requirements such as fees and background checks. However, some people are completely against the idea under the knowledge that many of them will not abide by our rules. Controversy over immigration is common but not a big problem.
Immigration played a big role in American history. During the late 1800s and early 1900s, immigration increased the U.S. population exponentially. However, it was not always welcome. Americans felt that immigrants would take their jobs. Protest groups formed to fight immigration, especially Chinese. Many immigration groups were rejected during this era due to either protest groups or laws preventing their immigration into the country. It was easier to become a citizen during this era as the process usually occurred upon arrival as it was originally welcomed. Over the years, immigration and how it is viewed has changed drastically in all of its aspects.
http://elm.washcoll.edu/index.php/2013/03/realists-perspective-on-legalization-of-marijuana/
ReplyDeletehttp://www.whitehouse.gov/ondcp/ondcp-fact-sheets/marijuana-legalization
http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/05/majority-of-americans-support-legalization-of-marijuana/
Marijuana is a drug, similar to a tobacco, that you can smoke. However, unlike tobacco, marijuana is illegal in 48 out of fifty states. All of them except Colorodo and Washington, who just recentlly legalized marijuana in last November. However, unlike tobacco, marijuana is actually much safer. Infact, it has been used for medical purposes. Also, marijuana has been proven to be less addictive then tobacco too. So why is marajuana considered a horrible drug, and why is it outlawed in most states when tobacco is not. Beats me. Recently, other states such as Maryland have been thinking about legalizing marijuana and the entire topic is becoming more relevent everyday.
This all relates to what we are learning about in class because it is sort of like prohibition. The only difference is that marijuana was never legal, but alcohol was at some point.
-P.S: Sorry for being late, I had forgotten it on thursday and was gone all friday.