Dear Scottie...
justaletchaknow, this is an editorial. Could you let me know if I need to change anything by tomorrow, so I can get it done before its due?
Thanks,
Sabella
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Central government in the U.S. expanded in three ways throughout the twentieth century. One was wartime powers. Wartime powers are when the government takes drastic measures to protect its country during war. This method of government expansion is constitutional only if the people the government rules agrees to the measures and if the measures are erased after wartime. For example, during World War II the central Government took over around ninety percent of all of the economy. The U.S. was nine tenths of a socialist state. The Office of Price Administration froze prices on most goods, and rationed others. The war Production board began recycling any material useful for the war effort. The government also extended income tax to the middle class by means of the revenue act of 1942. of all of these extensions of the central government, the extension of the income tax to the middle class was the only one that was unconstitutional. It was unconstitutional because it lasted after the war was over. There have been around a dozen extensions to the Revenue Act since WWII, which brings me to a major catalyst in government extension.
Precedent (dictionary.com)-any act, decision, or case that serves as a guide or justification for subsequent situations.
Precedent (me)- When the government gets away with an unconstitutional expansion of government, and uses the fact that it did to do it again over a similar issue.
The Revenue act of 1942 was used as a huge expansion of government power by means of precedent.
Another dangerous bit of precedent was set up during the cold war. The cold war was the first time the U.S. set itself up as an active world power: from then on, the U.S. would do whatever necessary to protect the interests of capitalism (half the time this means the economy of the U.S.). the U.S. did so by setting up the Truman doctrine, which created the precedent that the U.S. would help any country in need that shared it's ideological beliefs. The Berlin Airlift, Korean War, CIA, and Vietnam war all were a result of the U.S. protecting its interests internationally. The Korean War quadrupled our military spending, the CIA alerted the U.S. whenever a problem in need of fixing occurred overseas, The Berlin Airlift increased tensions between the U.S. and U.S.S.R, and The Vietnam War was the first war the U.S got involved in where U.S living conditions did not change drastically. Keep in mind that none of this would have been possible without the money gotten from the revenue acts following WWII.
Another ugly precedent of the cold war was the U.S. being in a conflict over ideologies. A fairly modern example of someone who fought from an ideological standpoint would be Hitler. A nuclear fight with the U.S.S.R over ideology would most likely have ended human civilization as we know it. The U.S. would also make morally and economically impractical choices, such as choosing to back up the corrupt capitalist system in China with cash. The U.S also went to war in Vietnam for a weak and corrupt capitalist system. The U.S going to war over ideologies took a toll on personal freedoms as well. Senator McCarthy would hunt down any American who he presumed to support communism. The government took extra steps to have the power to persecute communists, which is in violation to our first amendment rights. The accusations continued until McCarthy accused the military of communism. it was argued that McCarthy made these false accusations as a matter of national security, but McCarthy's accusations were unjust because they were preemptive by nature. If a communist blows up a building, he ought be dispatched. If a communist lives in our country peacefully and tries to change our country democratically, he ought be left alone.
The last way our government grew over the twentieth century was by government seizing control by taking care of what U.S. citizens normally would. The key architect of this governmental growth was Lyndon Johnson, and it is by far the most malignant and cancerous way the government can grow. Basically, Lyndon Johnson pushed for bills in education, tax reduction, civil rights, consumer advocacy, and anti poverty- all while fighting a war. He did this by going into huge national debt, setting an ugly example. this was damaging for several reasons. first, it hurt our citizens sense of independence and vigilante justice. It is not the governments job to baby its citizens. Its the governments job to fix what it's people can't. Racism wasn't going away, so Johnson was right in signing civil rights into law. However, the U.S. people can handle poverty by means of charity. Once citizens of the U.S lose their sense of independence, it's only a matter of time before everything else goes to. So if the U.S becomes an empire, blame Johnson for setting up this destructive precedent. Another disgusting thing about Johnson was the way he fought the Vietnam war. He was the first president to try and hide the fact that we are at war by improving living conditions during war time. This precedent has been followed ever since. Isn't it sad that our soldiers fight and die daily in Iraq, and we don't even sacrifice our living conditions?!? Meanwhile, our country is building up national debt by paying for a war AND living conditions. Once those debts get called in, we have to fight another war. The government calls in all male citizens to go to war, and a single powerful leader takes over. Our freedom's are gone, and we're Rome. It's all Johnson's fault.
Precedent (dictionary.com)-any act, decision, or case that serves as a guide or justification for subsequent situations.
Precedent (me)- When the government gets away with an unconstitutional expansion of government, and uses the fact that it did to do it again over a similar issue.
The Revenue act of 1942 was used as a huge expansion of government power by means of precedent.
Another dangerous bit of precedent was set up during the cold war. The cold war was the first time the U.S. set itself up as an active world power: from then on, the U.S. would do whatever necessary to protect the interests of capitalism (half the time this means the economy of the U.S.). the U.S. did so by setting up the Truman doctrine, which created the precedent that the U.S. would help any country in need that shared it's ideological beliefs. The Berlin Airlift, Korean War, CIA, and Vietnam war all were a result of the U.S. protecting its interests internationally. The Korean War quadrupled our military spending, the CIA alerted the U.S. whenever a problem in need of fixing occurred overseas, The Berlin Airlift increased tensions between the U.S. and U.S.S.R, and The Vietnam War was the first war the U.S got involved in where U.S living conditions did not change drastically. Keep in mind that none of this would have been possible without the money gotten from the revenue acts following WWII.
Another ugly precedent of the cold war was the U.S. being in a conflict over ideologies. A fairly modern example of someone who fought from an ideological standpoint would be Hitler. A nuclear fight with the U.S.S.R over ideology would most likely have ended human civilization as we know it. The U.S. would also make morally and economically impractical choices, such as choosing to back up the corrupt capitalist system in China with cash. The U.S also went to war in Vietnam for a weak and corrupt capitalist system. The U.S going to war over ideologies took a toll on personal freedoms as well. Senator McCarthy would hunt down any American who he presumed to support communism. The government took extra steps to have the power to persecute communists, which is in violation to our first amendment rights. The accusations continued until McCarthy accused the military of communism. it was argued that McCarthy made these false accusations as a matter of national security, but McCarthy's accusations were unjust because they were preemptive by nature. If a communist blows up a building, he ought be dispatched. If a communist lives in our country peacefully and tries to change our country democratically, he ought be left alone.
The last way our government grew over the twentieth century was by government seizing control by taking care of what U.S. citizens normally would. The key architect of this governmental growth was Lyndon Johnson, and it is by far the most malignant and cancerous way the government can grow. Basically, Lyndon Johnson pushed for bills in education, tax reduction, civil rights, consumer advocacy, and anti poverty- all while fighting a war. He did this by going into huge national debt, setting an ugly example. this was damaging for several reasons. first, it hurt our citizens sense of independence and vigilante justice. It is not the governments job to baby its citizens. Its the governments job to fix what it's people can't. Racism wasn't going away, so Johnson was right in signing civil rights into law. However, the U.S. people can handle poverty by means of charity. Once citizens of the U.S lose their sense of independence, it's only a matter of time before everything else goes to. So if the U.S becomes an empire, blame Johnson for setting up this destructive precedent. Another disgusting thing about Johnson was the way he fought the Vietnam war. He was the first president to try and hide the fact that we are at war by improving living conditions during war time. This precedent has been followed ever since. Isn't it sad that our soldiers fight and die daily in Iraq, and we don't even sacrifice our living conditions?!? Meanwhile, our country is building up national debt by paying for a war AND living conditions. Once those debts get called in, we have to fight another war. The government calls in all male citizens to go to war, and a single powerful leader takes over. Our freedom's are gone, and we're Rome. It's all Johnson's fault.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Dear Scottie...
Please ignore my chemistry post...
Question- How much energy does it take to melt an ice cube?
Hypthesis- Since water has one of the highest specific heats out of any element, I predict that it will take over 10,000 joules to melt an ice cube.
Tools- Beaker, ice, water, iron mesh, propane burner, thermometer, beaker holder over fire thingy, styrofoam cup.
Controled/ independent/ dependent variables: Ice must start at the same temperature, and the water needs to come from the same source. The independent variables the mass, volume and temperature of the ice and water. The dependent variable is the energy needed to bring about these changes.
Please ignore my chemistry post...
Question- How much energy does it take to melt an ice cube?
Hypthesis- Since water has one of the highest specific heats out of any element, I predict that it will take over 10,000 joules to melt an ice cube.
Tools- Beaker, ice, water, iron mesh, propane burner, thermometer, beaker holder over fire thingy, styrofoam cup.
Controled/ independent/ dependent variables: Ice must start at the same temperature, and the water needs to come from the same source. The independent variables the mass, volume and temperature of the ice and water. The dependent variable is the energy needed to bring about these changes.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Friday, February 8, 2008
Dear scottie...
I'm gonna chit chat 'bout the causes of the cold war now. I am planning on rearanging this into a more exciting, interesting form later. These are just my thoughts and Fact Findings up to this point.
The cold war was an interesting period of time because of how convoluted its causes were. The U.S. had Just finished working with the soviets to defeat germany and Japan, and suddenly diplomatic tenstions were high again. The Cold War was basically the tension resulting from our responce to communist ideals. The wierd thing about this war is it is one of the few that we decided to fight based on our beliefs. This is dangerous. Fighting for belief has always been a downfall for countries. An example would be Nazi Gemany. Germany need not have ever attacked the U.S.S.R. It did so because
A): Germany for the most part hated socialism
B): Germany actually believed it was doomed to rule the world no matter what.
The Cold War was different because both sides fought for Ideals in the X files, U.S. agend Kennan explained soviet beliefs and strategy:
The Soviet Union perceived itself to be at eternal war with capitalism;
Socialism and social democracy were perceived as enemies, not allies;
The Soviet Union would use controllable Marxists in the capitalist world as allies;
Soviet aggression was not fundamentally aligned with the Russian people's views or with
economic reality, but rather in historic Russian xenophobia and paranoia;
The structure of the Soviet government prohibited an objective or accurate picture of either internal or external reality.
The U.S. responded with it's own set of beliefs to counter these:
TheU.S. perceived itself to be at eternal war with communism;
Good Socialism was automatically worse than bad capitalism.
When truman got the Long Telegram (X files), He made that first ideal true by establishing the Truman Doctrine, which would mean that the U.S. would do anything it could to help another country escape from communism . This resulted in a quadrupled defense budget after the Korean war. Government taxation expanded monumentally in order to fuel the american Championing of capitalism. The second Ideal was proven by our support of Capitalism in China and Vietnam. For both of these peoples Capitalism had failed but the U.S. still sided with Capitalistic/Fascist leaders.
Pragmatism in war aint pretty, but it works. The cold war was dangerous because the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. were both willing to put what was good the human race aside to fight for the cause of comparitively petty economic systems. This idealism almost led to the end of the world as we know it.
I'm gonna chit chat 'bout the causes of the cold war now. I am planning on rearanging this into a more exciting, interesting form later. These are just my thoughts and Fact Findings up to this point.
The cold war was an interesting period of time because of how convoluted its causes were. The U.S. had Just finished working with the soviets to defeat germany and Japan, and suddenly diplomatic tenstions were high again. The Cold War was basically the tension resulting from our responce to communist ideals. The wierd thing about this war is it is one of the few that we decided to fight based on our beliefs. This is dangerous. Fighting for belief has always been a downfall for countries. An example would be Nazi Gemany. Germany need not have ever attacked the U.S.S.R. It did so because
A): Germany for the most part hated socialism
B): Germany actually believed it was doomed to rule the world no matter what.
The Cold War was different because both sides fought for Ideals in the X files, U.S. agend Kennan explained soviet beliefs and strategy:
The Soviet Union perceived itself to be at eternal war with capitalism;
Socialism and social democracy were perceived as enemies, not allies;
The Soviet Union would use controllable Marxists in the capitalist world as allies;
Soviet aggression was not fundamentally aligned with the Russian people's views or with
economic reality, but rather in historic Russian xenophobia and paranoia;
The structure of the Soviet government prohibited an objective or accurate picture of either internal or external reality.
The U.S. responded with it's own set of beliefs to counter these:
TheU.S. perceived itself to be at eternal war with communism;
Good Socialism was automatically worse than bad capitalism.
When truman got the Long Telegram (X files), He made that first ideal true by establishing the Truman Doctrine, which would mean that the U.S. would do anything it could to help another country escape from communism . This resulted in a quadrupled defense budget after the Korean war. Government taxation expanded monumentally in order to fuel the american Championing of capitalism. The second Ideal was proven by our support of Capitalism in China and Vietnam. For both of these peoples Capitalism had failed but the U.S. still sided with Capitalistic/Fascist leaders.
Pragmatism in war aint pretty, but it works. The cold war was dangerous because the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. were both willing to put what was good the human race aside to fight for the cause of comparitively petty economic systems. This idealism almost led to the end of the world as we know it.
Compared to other regions in Africa, South Africa is rather free of turmoil. Its foreign policy has a few rough points, however. For example, there has recently been alot of turmoil on the edge of Namibia and Angola. The reason for this tension is actually Angola's domestic policy. A political party called UNITA is being hunted down on the border of Namibia. Namibia sent soldiers to help, but they have dissapeared, causing lots of tension. There have also been lots of power shortages in South africa (The country). One attempted solution for this is pressuring botswana for coal to be used for power. An interesting side note is that a tribe called the Himba is slowly becoming globalized, and cell phone usage is skyrocketing in south africa. This greater connectivity can be argued as imformal foreign policy.
Friday, February 1, 2008
Dear scottie...
Heres my post for LBJ's domestic policies and Vietnam. I am rather short on time. My best friends mom died, so please excuse this post if it is a tad slipshod due to being rushed.
Sabella
What happened...
Lyndon Johnson was the first president to keep legislation on the vietnam war behind closed doors. To this day it would be difficult to track down legislation on Vietnam, yet troop increases were frequent throughout the war. On the other hand there was alot of non-warlike legislation, which was made to set up Johnsons vision of "the great society". The tax Reduction act cut taxes to stimulate growth, an important precedent used today by president bush. The Economic oppurtunity act Created programs to fight poverty. Medicare was established by Johnson. Johnson also helped the deppressed appalacian area by means of the Appelachian Regional Development act. The Omnibus Housing act provided cheap housing for low income families in the city, along With the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Demonstration Cities and Metropolitan Area Redevelopment act helped clean up slums. The Elementary and Secondary Education act and the Higher education act set up funding for the imropovement of quality and eligibility of schools and colleges. The Civil Rights act outlawed discrimination. Johnson also passed laws to help protect the environment, sich as the wilderness preservation act. Through the truth in packaging act, Johnson also set up the government to be a consumer advocate. There are a large amount of laws too boring to mention. The point is, Johnson drastically expanded government power.
What I think about it...
The governments job is to do everything the people cant. The more independent and altogether decent the American public is, The less it needs the government. For example, During the revolutionary war, our government was very weak. It was so because our country was made up of a bunch of independent farmers. Practically half of our troops during the Revolutionary War were independent from our government. Our government hardly even needed a military because its people were so independent. Johnsons presidency shows that as a whole, our societies independence had slipped. Sure, Civil rights was not going to improve until the government Joined in, but the other issues, such as the environment and povery, showed that our society is becoming reliant on its government. If, as a people, we want independence from our government, give money to poor people, be environmentaly friendly, help secure the border... The list goes on and on. Johnsons policy on Vietnam is altogether unconstitutional. In democracy, there are two ways to test whether or not government war time powers are acceptable:
1: If the people the government serves accept and imbrace it.
2:If the war time powers are gotten rid of after war.
Johnsons policies fail the first test. The people didnt really know what was going on during half the war. The only thing American citizens really noticed was the draft. Then the media caught up to the war, and the American people lost faith in our governments honesty and competence. Thats what lost Vietnam. Thats what makes Iraq as unsuported by the american people as it is now. Thats what makes the Vietnam and, until something is done, Iraq war unconstitutional. I feel that the largest significance of the tenth ammendment of the constitution is the right to know what is going on in our government. If the government does not report what it does, unless it hurts security, it may easily be considered unconstitutional.
P.S. for some reason spellcheck ain't a-workin.
Heres my post for LBJ's domestic policies and Vietnam. I am rather short on time. My best friends mom died, so please excuse this post if it is a tad slipshod due to being rushed.
Sabella
What happened...
Lyndon Johnson was the first president to keep legislation on the vietnam war behind closed doors. To this day it would be difficult to track down legislation on Vietnam, yet troop increases were frequent throughout the war. On the other hand there was alot of non-warlike legislation, which was made to set up Johnsons vision of "the great society". The tax Reduction act cut taxes to stimulate growth, an important precedent used today by president bush. The Economic oppurtunity act Created programs to fight poverty. Medicare was established by Johnson. Johnson also helped the deppressed appalacian area by means of the Appelachian Regional Development act. The Omnibus Housing act provided cheap housing for low income families in the city, along With the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Demonstration Cities and Metropolitan Area Redevelopment act helped clean up slums. The Elementary and Secondary Education act and the Higher education act set up funding for the imropovement of quality and eligibility of schools and colleges. The Civil Rights act outlawed discrimination. Johnson also passed laws to help protect the environment, sich as the wilderness preservation act. Through the truth in packaging act, Johnson also set up the government to be a consumer advocate. There are a large amount of laws too boring to mention. The point is, Johnson drastically expanded government power.
What I think about it...
The governments job is to do everything the people cant. The more independent and altogether decent the American public is, The less it needs the government. For example, During the revolutionary war, our government was very weak. It was so because our country was made up of a bunch of independent farmers. Practically half of our troops during the Revolutionary War were independent from our government. Our government hardly even needed a military because its people were so independent. Johnsons presidency shows that as a whole, our societies independence had slipped. Sure, Civil rights was not going to improve until the government Joined in, but the other issues, such as the environment and povery, showed that our society is becoming reliant on its government. If, as a people, we want independence from our government, give money to poor people, be environmentaly friendly, help secure the border... The list goes on and on. Johnsons policy on Vietnam is altogether unconstitutional. In democracy, there are two ways to test whether or not government war time powers are acceptable:
1: If the people the government serves accept and imbrace it.
2:If the war time powers are gotten rid of after war.
Johnsons policies fail the first test. The people didnt really know what was going on during half the war. The only thing American citizens really noticed was the draft. Then the media caught up to the war, and the American people lost faith in our governments honesty and competence. Thats what lost Vietnam. Thats what makes Iraq as unsuported by the american people as it is now. Thats what makes the Vietnam and, until something is done, Iraq war unconstitutional. I feel that the largest significance of the tenth ammendment of the constitution is the right to know what is going on in our government. If the government does not report what it does, unless it hurts security, it may easily be considered unconstitutional.
P.S. for some reason spellcheck ain't a-workin.
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