Tuesday, March 10, 2009

American Government 3/9

In Class - Continue and finish "When the Levees Broke." Discuss your reactions.

Homework - Civil Rights Children's Book due Thursday, March 19. The due date has been extended because I have to proctor the CAHSEE Exam on March 17 and 18.

QUESTION OF THE WEEK - PICK A TOPIC (CURRENT EVENT OR ISSUE) THAT IS CURRENTLY TAKING PLACE IN GOVERNMENT. DISCUSS THE ISSUE AND OFFER YOUR THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS ABOUT THAT PARTICULAR ISSUE.

Articles to check out and possible topics:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/03/08/iraq.troop.withdrawal/index.html - Iraq Troop Withdrawal
http://money.cnn.com/2009/03/10/news/economy/manpower_survey/index.htm?postversion=2009031004 - Unemployment
http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-227193 - Interesting youth perspective
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/09/obama.stem.cells/index.html - Stem Cell Research - Obama overturns Bush era policy
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1883854,00.html - Obama speaking with Taliban
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1883966,00.html - 1 in 50 kids are homeless in the US report says
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1883978,00.html - Obama unveils education plan

32 comments:

adriana said...

A big issue that is occuring in Government today is UNEMPLOYMENT! This is currently one of our bigger problems in this economic crisis. A government report showed that the US has lost 3.3million jobs over the past 6 moths. Also that employers dont see the pace of hiring speeding up any time soon. This is really bad for our country. Many people are loosing homes because they dont have money to pay off bills. Many debts are occuring because of this situation. People are searching for jobs but there's no one out there hiring in these circumstances. Not only is it bad for us, but the government has to pay unemployment for all those who lost their jobs. The business flow is not working properly with this issue occuring. This increase in unemployment is only making us go deeper in this recession that we are going through. We've are living the worse jobs lost since WWII. I feel this is one of the issue we should focus most on!
-Adriana Bernal

Frank said...

I want to start off with the stimulus package spending. The big problem with it was that americans wer afraid that the package would put us in bigger debt and would be used inappropriately. Obama had originally said that he would not fund a bunch of "pet projects". Although he has been and the dumbest one that i really do not see any reason for is the ~$2 million being spent on trying to figure out a way to get rid of the smell of pigs. I mean come on, instead of spending that much money let alone any money on that, we could be trying to improve our buildings due to the fact that they are not up to code, however, it will take much more money than simply $2million to fix. Or we could have been improving health care or education.

Sergio said...

a current even that is a big issue would be the tax raise issue. to me this tax raise although it sucks is smart because the money they get from the taxs can go to new jobs, schools,etc. we need this tax raise to help the economy out. our econmoy is really bad right now so the government needs to get money in order to get us out of this reccesion. i heard that over 1500 people went to protest this tax raise but i think the tax raise is for the best of things.

-sergio romero per.3

Bradlito said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Bradlito said...

I'd like to talk about a recent issue i've just viewed on some website, so heres the link


http://www.yahoo.com/s/1041844

This article is talking about Obama signing for more spending, actually $410 billion more. apparantly this is spending to keep the Federal Government running. That thought in itself is somewhat haunting. This is the same government that is supposedly bailing us out of this major recession? Now they're having problems staying afloat. Seems like the entire country is falling apart at the seams. The article goes on to state that, "Refusing to sign the newly completed spending bill would force Congress to pass another bill to keep the lights on come Thursday or else shut down the massive federal government. That is an unlikely possibility for a president who has spent just seven weeks in office." I'm sure that this bill will be passed and our federal government will 'keep their lights on', however, the thought that our federal government, the heartbeat of our country, is having issues with spending? Well i guess if anything they now know what the common people are facing on an everyday basis. I just have on lingering thought i would like to get off here. At what point does all this spending show results? hopefully all of this massive spending doesn't drive us all into the ground. I'm done with this. peace out Palo

-Bradley Miranda

noggin56 said...

A big issue right now in the country is the illegal immigrants. How the police thinks its a big threat to us. And they are working on a program since last year to get all the immigrants. Its been big deal because not everybody is a threat or a national security. They should find out if they are or not you know. Sometimes they been getting the wrong people. I think its wrong what they are doing when theres actually more devistating problems in our country to worry about. But who knows what will happen.

-Victor Lopez

pfcsimonsdanyell said...

Hello Palo!! Sorry I'm not in class today I have the flu.... I think. lol. Ok anyways the topic I'm going to talk about is OF COURSSEE is Stem cell Research. I think that Obama is a very intelligent man for making it possible. Scientists and society have needed this for years. I understand it may be "killing" a "human" but kill one and save a thousand sounds pretty good to me. I mean what if it cures something that has corrupted the world for years. Such as AIDS or Cancer.

esmeralda said...

well this isnt really a current event from ur list, but it definitively is something big that affects many of us. many of our teachers throughout many schools are being laid off or put on the 'list' of being in that danger. you hear that this is going on a lot in in schools in L.A. but its also happening here at our very own school. many of the teachers we like and care for, who are there to educate us and push us to do more in school are in danger of no longer working there. this just really upsets me because why does the government ALWAYS have to cut money from education. they say that education is the key and such, yet thats always the main place where more money is taken out from. also, the main classes they always cute are the classes like art, woodshop, and such, some of the classes which actually motivate many students to want to go to school. if the government is able to give money and bail out those motor companies, then they should definitively have to money to immediately put into our schools so the teachers who are working there dont have to be forced to leave.

Jlao said...

One of the big issues that we have in America is that children are becoming homeless. 1 out of 50 kids are homeless in America and sums out to be 1.5 million kids. As the economy gets worse the more children are going to be homeless. This is not going to look bright in our future and our image as a great nation. Hopefully President Obama can help fix this problem. We shouldn't ignore this situation. I understand that there are more important things to handle too, but any of these children can do something spectacular for the country. Us Americans cannot bare to see our own country going down in shambles. Just like the other third world countries, many children are homeless and we can't let this happen to us anymore.

Jonathan Picado said...

Economy is one of the most impacting issue that Unites States is facing right now. It has caused the ruin of thousands, it is easy to see that we are no close to resolve it. I have a job which consist in delivering cd's to people that have already lost their house. This cd's contain a program that help them to stay longer on their houses even though the banks want them out as soon as posible. But of 15 houses i visit i give away only, with look 6 cd's. It tells me the harsh of the crisis. People had already went away because they had no option.i also have a friend that with his family had to go back to Mexico because they lost their house and his dad had no job. Hopefuly it will one day get better but for a while more people will lost their dreams

Anonymous said...

well palo this is fernando a big issue right now is unemployment.the unemployment rate is very very high right now.our economy is so bad right now and we need to get out and get moving. obama spent some money to get people going and nothing has happened yet..he was suppose to start opening jobs for people.if we dont open jobs for people then we cant spend money and people will lose what they have.Whatwill they do then? people are going to go crazy and maybe riot haha.but we all need to get moving now.

demodext said...

i agree with adriana unemplayment is a big issue. i think that is is really bad, because were getting to the point were elementary school teachers are getting fired and i have heard that kindergarten through third grade classes are going to have bigger classes. that makes me bad because it is hard enoguh to teach 20 little kids but imagine teaching 30+ little kids, i think that is immposible. now what are those teachers going to do? they have college education but what good is it for them if they do not have a job to use it with. if teachers are fired then that has to dig into education because teaching will be alot harder. i think one thing done wrong will chain readt a lot of things in the future and we will end up loosing more then gaining.
:(


-ricardo vargas
period.3

davidz said...

The unemployment rate is at its higest in 25 years and is a serious impending issue in America today. At 8.1%, its highest since 1984, 3.3 million people have lost their jobs in over 6 months. This is a really tough time for the United States of America and its only a cycle for us. It happens every so often, but when it happens it gets real rough for the Americans who lose their jobs and people become desperate. All we have to do is hold on tight, manage our money, and after this recession people will be getting their jobs back and making money once again. To think back during the Great Depression, people were screwed because they had no insurance nor money to help them survive while they lost their jobs and we thought we had it bad.

Yesenia said...

Ona major thing that is going on is that Obama sign the papers that needed to be sign for the Stem cell Research. I think that it was a good decision but in the other hand I dont agree. Is like killing a human, even though some people may say that life starts when the heart starts to beet, i think that it starts as soon as conception happends. When I was reading the article it was talking about the diffrent cells that can be use for this research, that is why people have diffrent opinions on this because we have diffrent belives.

Hugo Ruiz said...

I decided to talk about the Stem cell research. I look at the stem cells research in two ways, it can be good for the people that the cells are helping, but it is a bad thing because you are giving up one new life to save many . They take the cells out of the embryo that is 4 to 5 days old. Doctors can hear the heart of the embryo at 6 weeks, if this is true, I think they won’t be taking the embryo life if the heart is not pumping blood. Saving the embryos life and taking the cells is a better choice for both the mother and the scientists. If this is not true, they are taking a life because that was a human hart that was pumping blood. I think it was a good thing that Obama banned this, now they won’t mess with fetuses and the scientists would have to look for other things that would function the same way that the stem cells did to help the people that needed it.


Before this was banned was this considered abortion or donation?

RGorman said...

The current topic that I am commenting on is about Stem Cell Research. I never really used to care what females did with their offspring (as long as it didn't involve aborting it themselves) as far as whether they would get an abortion or put the child up for adoption if they couldn't take care of them. But after hearing all of the different ways of removing the baby from the mother, I got really disgusted and sad. I initially thought that they could instantly end their life without suffer, but what I hear of, it's practically torture. My second reason for going against it now is for my religious belief that every human being has a purpose in life. Now stem cell research is practically the same thing - it's an embryo in which scientists take cells from to help find a cure for diseases such as cancer and parkinson's disease. It's hard for me to state whether or not I agree or disagree with it because it's almost like taking the life of one human being, that hasn't even lived yet, and using them to possibly save others.

QueensGurl24 said...

The issue i am writing about is about education and the issues facing the down pour of grades, quality of teachers and much more. President Obama is bringing back the no child left behind brought first by former president bush. This i think is a start to helping out the economy and at the same time raising grades and helping out school to go beyond the standards of before. I think Obama's plan of making the schools from Kinder and up better is a good i idea. Anything too help better education and easier for students to get the proper education is alright with me.

Amanda M (: said...

Seeing as though the unemployment rate won’t be going down any time soon, it makes me wonder, how could people my age, my friends, and acquaintances, could have found a job and still obtain one, when people of all ages who have worked for most of their life, have lost their jobs. As almost unfair as it is to say people under a certain age or experience level should come second, after giving the job opportunity to someone older and more experienced, it sounds to me, more sensible. Although we’re talking about people who have lost their jobs in a larger work field, than people of my age as a just waitress at a restaurant, they should be our first priority, in giving jobs. I just think this can be one of the most reasonable solutions we can act fast upon. (;


-Amanda Mahayni p3

mnguyen said...

One issue that is occuring in the US is the controversy of how many troops are going to be taken out of Iraq. I agree with Obama in terms that there still needs to be some troops left there until Iraq is able to stand alone without the US. I do not agree that he is willing to take out less than half of the troops. The number is still too much that is left behind in Iraq. i understand that the troops have family members that they want to go home to, but if we take all the troops out at once there is a high chance that Iraq will become more corrupt as it is now.

Elizabeth said...

a really big issue taking place now is education. education is the first one on the chopping block but it shouldnt be because everybody always says that education should guide our economy into a better more postive place. and with classes getting bigger and supplies getting smaller more students are just dropping out. education should be the last place the federal government should take money away. and obama said himself that college tuition should be reduced because how can someone try to achieve a better education when it is so expensive. education can shape a better future economically yet it is the first thing to be cut. and it is wrong to cut teachers first. they are the ones that teach children their education. higher administrators who get paid more should be cut first. if we want our economy to be better than education should be one of the first to have money given back.

macrina said...

to me the issues of making your own baby is very interesting. who came up with this non sense.to me the one of the beauties of having a child is not knowing how he or she will look like.shouldnt a parents love thier baby for who they are and how they look like. making your own kid seems selfish because your decided how much youll love your kid.
i believe science has a limit and and they have passed it.ITS PLAYING GOD!!!

ms.sparks said...

Liz Merlan:
the issue that has been around or that i heard about was the pink slips that they are giving out in schools to teachers. And our school is one of them its hard to believe that its happing like what will we do if they take away our teachers what will they be replaced will there be no more classes all thi is confuseing. for example my ceramics teacher got one mrs. nafi and she is awsome i love her but why cant obama helpus education is one of the main important things in this economy.

Arnold said...

their are alot of issues going on in this country right now. i think that the biggest one we got right now is unemploymen! the reason why i think that our biggest issue right now is unemployment is because over the last few months we have lost more than 3 million jobs. i think that if we would over never lost this many jobs our economic crissis would be this bad because people would have money to spend and aford things that they would want to buy.This is why i think that one of our bigest issues isunemployment.

Jon G. said...

I think that taking 12,000 troops out of Iraq isn't a really bad idea, But they should be taking out more troops than that. It feels like more troops are entering other nations than coming back.This is just my opinion. Love it or Hate it.

Dorkyboy said...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090310/ap_on_go_ot/epa_greenhouse_gases;_ylt=AuDp95i6BsZQUE2.3UQwX90NJ_wE

I want to talk about how global warming can affect us in the future. I think we should put a stop on global warming for the safety of our children. If children are our future i don't think then that we have a future. The only reason why life exist is because of our ozone, if it was gone we would be just like any other planet, dead and cold. Stopping green house gases might help the ozone. It is time for people to get together and save instead of destroy the environment. Lets go plant some trees!!!

kenzie said...

The war in Iraq is a touchy subject for me I have a family member who faught and was killed out there, I also have a cousin that could get deployed. I have not totally made up my mind on the subject but I really wish that we would not have gone in the first place, honestly why cant everyone just get along:). I want our troops out of there but it worries me that more trouble will just start up again and that more terrorist attacks will happen or worse. Now that there are more problems happening other places in the world are those troops that are sappose to come home just going to get sent out there? Is Iraq going to think that the US is week because we are pulling our troops out? Is Irag going to go back to the way it was? These questions do not help me make a decion about the war. I just want PEACE and LOVE:) but I know that is nearly impossible!

Mireya said...

One of the big issues occuring in our government right now is about the use of Stem cells. I think and agree with President Obama that They should do more research on Stem Cells.I do believe that this issue involves our faith and believes. I do think is wrong but at the same time the stem cells may help alot of people out there in the society who have diseases that could be cured with the stem cells. I think its right for them not to continue with the research of stem cells as a religious point of view and I think thats why president Bush looked at a more religious view as for Obama he looked at it as a Society view and what the people want.

Clos said...

I think its great that obama is going to pull troops out of iraq. So many of those great men need a relief and have a chance to see their families. I just hope that obama will go through with it and get them out of there by august 2010. We still need troops there but i think its great that he is doing that for the troops.

Nick said...

I chose to leave my opinion about homeless families. I can't believe that families are loosing their homes because of job losses or the inability to pay off their homes. It's already bad enough to not be able to support you're family, but to also have no where to go for help. That type of situation can kill a person inside. How about we make our taxes useful & helpful by having them go to shelters for homeless families rather than unecessary things like staying in Iraq when Bin Laden is in Afghanistan. Also, the tax raise would only make the lives of families harder; for what???
So that drivers can have nicer freeways? Or so teachers can have unused touch-screen boards, instead of having it go to a teacher's budget or textbooks.

Adrian Zanabria said...

I have decided to talk about unemployement, it has been getting worse and worse every single day, many families are begining to fall under the stress, of being put into unemployment. Many folks have succeed and struggled to earn the jobs they have, but cause of the economic crisis, which is the worse we have experienced in more than 30 years, it isnt going to get any better. The more that we wait for jobs, the hire the umeployemnt rate is going to increase, and we will be into a recesion, that will put us into debt for a long time. For many people, that topic about unemployment is a huge hit, but the more we wait, the worse our economy is going to get, in the future. Obama should be solving this crisis, and forget about all the other stuff he is doing, and get a working recovery plan, into this situation, that has devestated us over the years.

keisha sharisse .. said...

one of the country's biggest problems right now is the unemployment rate. it has reached all time highs, this is not good for the economy and not good for the American people. it's sad that so many people already have lost their jobs, and have not been able to find another one. hopefully Obama's plan to create and save jobs will work because it is something that is really needed. I also believe that it will help our economy.

d.a. said...

i think that if oboma goes with his plan to pull out the troops then it will be great. If he doesnt then people will see that his promises are just empty promioses. if the troops are pulled out then they get to be reunited with their families and also is will help the economy as well because not as much money will be used for the war. some soilders will need to remain there just to be security, not an army.....i know this is late but can i get like 1/2 credit?? ive been real busy lately.