Homework #11

Congress would amend the US Constitution to make it benefit the whole country in a way that dramatically improves or or does something in assistance to us.
There are two methods in which the government can amend the constitution. The first method is the bill needs to pass through both houses of the legislature with at least a two-third vote from each house. Once the bill has passed through the houses it goes on to the states as the way all amendments do. Normally Congress puts a time which usually takes about 7 years until the bill is approved. The second method to amend the constitution is to establish a constitutional convention. The the legislatures of the state propose one or more amendments to be sent to states to be approved. This method requires a simple majority vote but however is never taken. No matter what method they would use the amendment still has to be approved by a very large majority of the states.

Homework #10.

I think federalism is a good idea because it stops different states from passing unbearable laws. The biggest benefit of federalism is that it creates 2 layers of protection. Federalism is like family. You have the children, who are the citizens of America. Then theres the parents who are equal to the states. And lastly there's your grandma, who has rule over what ever anyone else says. Speaking in terms of the government, if a state creates a law allowing cops to stop anyone who they think is an immigrant than the federal people come in and stop that law from being passed. So in turn, federalism keeps balance.

Current Events #2

The topic of my article is about what mothers in middle class feel about the economy and this downfall.
The title of my article was "Wal-mart moms", struggle to stay afloat. "
I got my article from realclearpolitics.com

This article is basically saying that 10 moms were called into a meeting, in which they had a discussion about the economy and how its affecting them. words used the most were "recession","depression", "sad", "loss of control", "downhill", "unfortunate", and "backwards". Half of these woman, who voted for Obama i might add, explained their lives and how some lost their homes, their jobs, their cars, or all three. Others complained of having husbands or partners without jobs as well.

These woman, who do actually shop at walmart, complain of the educational system, employment rate, the whole economy in general, "collectively getting worse". And while the National Bureau of Economic Research say that we havent been in a recession for over a year, many of us, especially those without jobs or who unfortunately lost an essential asset to their lives, feel like whatever they are in isnt good and recession or not, the economy needs to get better fast.

Homework # 9

At the time the constitution was made, there were 13 states. Each of these states had different idead of what people rights and laws should be. So a group of men decided to write the constitution so it would be a plan that everyone could agree with. The fact that they had so many different laws in each state meant confusion for people when they traveled. Also some states couldve had really unfair and wrong laws. By making the constitution everybody followed the same rules no matter where they went. Although new hampshire and rhode island took the longest to agree with it, only nine out of the thirteen were to agree so the fact that they did it this way made our country the way it is now.

Homework #8

I do not think that colonists should have to compromise or live with what just one person wants. The fact that colonists got their independence and was freed from living under the kings rule shows that regardless of whether or not they could have lived with it, they shouldnt have to. When people are living under the rule of a king, they have no say what so ever and any order that the king gives must be followed. so if the king says for him to give all his money and starve then thats what that person has to do. Having their own independence stops this and frees them from being tortured or "owned", so to speak.

Homework #7

Do i think America would work well in a direct democracy? I honestly don't know. I believe that with the democracy we have now, people do have a voice. In a direct democracy, everyone participates. But in a democracy where there are representatives, what people want or say goes through them, we have elections and votes. So in reality if there was a direct democracy, i think we'll manage.
As for the reaction to us having a direct democracy, i think most people wouldn't bother to care or realize unless things started to go wrong or products keep getting expensive, or until something happens that affects them negatively. And even with the young people we have today's day, they still wouldn't care. Life would probably be more hectic. You cant really say what might be until it happens. My perfect government would be one that has no problems with other countries, one that cares for our country first and then others, a government that protects itself from getting into an economic depression.

current events 9-16-10

The topic of my article is about the stimulus, is it a waste or was it good?
The title of my article is Sloooow Trickle.
I got this article from realclearpolitics.com.

This article is basically saying that the stimulus made to be given to create jobs...is beyond a waste. so far 111 million dollars has funded only 55 jobs. 55! thats basically 2 million per job. Why is so much being wasted?Even though they do plan to create another 265 jobs, that's still 460,000 per job and none of them will be getting paid that much. The rest of the money goes back to regular government duties. There is also 175 million to fund 120 jobs and another 138 million to fund 300 jobs. So the point is so much money is being wasted , yet were in a recession.

This whole stimulus article can piss somebody off. Theres millions of people struggling to make a living and the greedy ass government is taking half of their paychecks and spending it nonchalantly. Meanwhile all these government employees are bringing home nice big checks, bonuses, and even overtime pay probably. If this continues im either going to be taking out a lot of loans to pay for medical school or im going to end up with no job.

I dont know if this affects the entire world but as for america, its not good. More people will continue to lose their job and instead of the 1/7 people being in poverty, it will be 3/7. We also most likely would be in debt with other countries.

HW #6 .. 9 -15 - 10

Thomas Hobbes and John Locke were great philosophers at one time, but only ones ideas actually are actually still being used today. Thomas Hobbes philosophy was that all people are evil and that they need to be controlled. And he thought that in order to control them, they needed a government, one to "help" them. See people might agree to a social contract with this philosophy because since everyone is "evil", a government can keep them in check and in turn have a stabilized town. Now the downfall with Hobbes ideas is that by using a government with this sort of manner he will use it to control people and have ownership of their rights. Not only is this wrong but it can and most likely will cause problems, riots, or just chaos in general.

Now the other philosophy that John Locke came up with was based on people being born free and with their OWN NATURAL RIGHTS. That basically means that people are born with life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, as well as some property rights. Locke wanted to implement a government so that they, the people, can and will be protected at all times. Like Locke said, "The great and chief end of people putting themselves under government, is the preservation of their property and rights. People, when they enter into society give up liberty (rights) of a kind; yet it being only with an intention in everyone the better to preserve his rights: his life, his liberty, and property." So in a nutshell, its a give and take situation, you give us just a little bit of your rights, and we, the government, protect the rights you do have.

If i had to choose which side i agree with most, it would most likely be John Locke. Don't get me wrong though, his theory was not a hundred percent correct but it was a more reasonable philosophy than that of Thomas Hobbes. Where Locke went wrong was how he said we have to give up some rights in order to protect the ones we do have, and my theory is, why not let us keep all of our natural born rights and just protect them. If we let you govern us, then you should do as we want and that's also what the social contract is about. But like i said Locke had the better philosophy and that is why a lot of whats in the constitution is based on philosopher John Locke's ideas.

Blog #1. Feelings on Gov't.

I believe that without a government, there would be complete and utter chaos in this world. the reason people will go crazy is because without government, there isn't any consequences. People obey laws because they do not want to go to jail or pay any fines. For example, if you murder somebody, you will then spend the rest of your life in jail and with no freedom. So people who want to avoid that would not commit any murders. Aside from that, they may obey laws for their own personal reasons such as religion.

Do i trust the government? NO!
my reasons for not trusting government is because they hide things from us. For example, when the attack on September 11, why was the clean up so fast, why did they say that they never found the black boxes from the planes. It's stuff like that that leads me to believe the government is hiding other things. I would change the fraudulent parts of the government.
Get all the sneaky people and jobs out, let the people in which im governing know whats going on and things like that.