Carter Administration on Energy Crisis

Dear Editor,

In the late 1970's, this country was going through an energy crisis much like today's. More than 40 percent of the nation's consumption of oil was bought from outside countries. Prices (along with the inflation and unemployment) were skyrocketing to untold numbers. At the same time, the Iranian hostage crisis was occuring; the relevence is that America froze all Iranian assets, so no oil was coming in from Iran, creating a greater dependence on other countries for oil consumption.

Americans are the least efficient citizens of this planet; we take long showers, use great amounts of electricity, drive around just for fun, ect. Americans are also whiners; they claim the freedom that they fight for (a.k.a. to do whatever they want), the right to protection/support from the government, and to not have to pay for it (a.k.a. taxes). Reality does not work that way; it's not practical. The people see short term gains while the government sees long term losses (such as excessive spending, excessive consuption of energy, ect.).

Alternative energy sources were being considered, the most likely being nuclear. This was the case until the meltdown of the nuclear powerplant at Three Mile High Island. The only problem with nuclear energy was that the government was not watching closely enough to prevent the disaster; afterwards, regulations were put into place and disasters were averted. In other words, there was a problem with the nuclear energy but it was solved, so the usage of it should be acceptable. Although, this disaster is homologous to the many oil rig disasters such as the Exxon Mobile and the current (and worst) one in the Gulf of Mexico, but the people do not care as much about these disasters; the reason for this is because of the name of the energy. At the time, (and even a bit today) the Cold War was in the minds of every American, and the thought of a nuclear disaster did not sit right with the people; the idea of using the same, "safe" source of energy that they have been using since the invention of the home heating systems is a more comforting thought.

President Carter asked the American people to try and conserve energy in this crisis, and they refused. I would not support his ideas, but only for the reason that it is a "perfect" solution that would not be approved by the people, therefore it would not (did not) work. His heart was in the right place, but the people were, as they always will be, whiners.

Sincerely,
Justin Glass

American Idiot by Green Day

Don't wanna be an American idiot.
Don't want a nation that doesn't know media.
And can you hear the sound of hysteria?
The subliminal mind f***America.

Welcome to a new kind of tension.
All across the alien nation.
Where Everything isn't meant to be okay.
Television dreams of tomorrow.
We're not the ones who're meant to follow.
Well that's enough to argue.

Well maybe I'm the f***** America.
I'm not a part of a redneck agenda.
Now everybody do the propaganda.
And sing along in the age of paranoia.

Welcome to a new kind of tension.
All across the alien nation.
Everything isn't meant to be okay.
Television dreams of tomorrow.
We're not the ones who're meant to follow.
Well then that's enough to argue.

Don't wanna be an American idiot.
One nation controlled by the media.
Information nation of hysteria.
It's going out to idiot America.

Welcome to a new kind of tension.
All across the alien nation.
Everything isn't meant to be okay.
Television dreams of tomorrow.
We're not the ones who're meant to follow.
Well that's enough to argue.

This song talks about some of the current issues of American society and values. The lines, "don't wanna be an American idiot", and, "i'm not a part of a redneck agenda" insinuate that the artist does not want to be one of the many people who tend to follow the "redneck" ideals or views, which he believes are idiotic. He says, "one nation controlled by the media", which would refer to the fact that most people believe that everything they hear on TV is true (assuming that the same theme is followed). Lastly, the line, “information nation of hysteria” implies that the media is attempting to create problems or embellish minute problems in order to gain popularity and money, but this is influencing the American people who watch it.

Analysis of Field Trip to JFK Memorial

Question #1- Discuss three things you learned about JFK that you didn't know prior to the trip.

Answer #1- a) JFK won the Pulitzer Prize.

b) His father was an ambassador for Great Britain.

c) He was the only Catholic to become president.



Question #2- What elements of the field trip did you find most interesting?

Answer #2- I enjoyed all of the gifts that they showed that Kennedy receieved throughout his political career. I though that the exhibits that they had with emphasis on the "space race" were very interesting (such as the astronaut suit and the rocks from the moon).



Question #3- Do you have any suggestions on how to improve the field trip in the future? Is there anything that you were hoping to learn but didn't?

Answer #3- The field trip would have been better if the guide had us tour the exhibits and explain each one (or at least some of the important ones); there were so many of them that it was hard to follow.



Question #4- Briefly discuss your opinion on JFK himself. Do you feel like he did enough to be considered one the best presidents of all time?

Answer #4- It is widely known that JFK was a very well educated man. He attended schools such as Princeton and Harvard, and he graduated cum lade. This makes him a good candidate for president but not automatically a good president. This is similar with his war background. He would be more favorable because he has experience in the battlefields and the worst of poverty. This however, does not automatically make him a good president. In my opinion, a good president is defined by the actions that they chose when a crisis or even a minor issue is placed in front of them. Obviously, the world is unpredictable and even with good intentions there is really no way to determine how something will play out exactly, but there is not (to my knowledge) a better way to judge a president. With this in mind, I do not think that JFK can be considered one of the greatest presidents of all time. Some of the greatest presidents of all time include: Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and FDR. Lincoln saved the United States from tearing itself apart in the Civil War. Washington led the colonies against British tyranny, and united them as a single power. Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, stabilized the government and the economy, and doubled the size of the United States with the Louisiana Purchase. FDR lead the United States through some of the hardest times of all: the Great Depression (stabilized the economy) and World War II. I suppose that JFK could be considered as the 5th greatest president of all time, but out of all of the other presidents, there is probably at least one who was better than him. What JFK actually did included: eventual support for civil rights in the form of speeches and attempted bills, tried to emphasize the space race, dragged us through the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Vietnam war, and the Bay of Pigs invasion, and he got assassinated. His assassination lead to the continuation of his ideals through LBJ, but JFK did not actually do much good for the United States. His personality and youth was favorable for the people of the country, but someone who "got the job done" would probably have been better. I would probably consider LBJ in the 5th spot rather than JFK because he honored JFK's ideals and he finished what JFK had started. In conclusion, I do not feel that JFK should be considered as one of the top 5 greatest presidents of all time, but maybe a near spot within the top 10.

Equality Among the Sexes?

Men and women have not always been equal. Women were not given the same rights as men; this included voting, nondiscrimination in the workplace, and equal opportunities in education as well as in the business. Nowadays, women are viewed by most as equals to men, and they hold positions in jobs that are much higher ranking and powerful than ever before. However, women are still not seen as the same as men. This does not mean that they do not have equal opportunities. In my opinion, most women and men conduct predictable lifestyles. They each have the same legal opportunities, but women still face discrimination. To some degree of certainty, most women would not prefer to have very physically demanding jobs. Biologically, women are not built to perform the same tasks as some men do. If a woman would like to do such a task, then in my opinion, they should be given the opportunity. These women are sometimes viewed as unusual because they do not follow the same path as most other women. For this reason, they are faced with discrimination. Also, and more importantly, many women do not receive as high paying salaries as men for the same job/position. This is proof of some of the discrimination that women face from their supervisors based on sex. In conclusion, I do not believe that women are receiving the proper treatment to say that they are considered equals to men in our society today.

Ending to the Butter Battle Book

"Wait a minute!" cried the Yook "These Bittsy big-boy boomeroo's will blow our countries past Timbuktu!"

Van Itch said, "If you go back to the Yooks, then I'll go back to the Zooks, and we can both try to forget this fluke."

The Yook replied, "Fine; for now I will forget that you put the butter-side down, and we can put this behind us and return to our towns."

The Zooks and the Yooks continued to have disputes, but at least they can argue without being brutes.

The End (for now)

2009 Great Depression Article

Q: Do you think that the country will ever go into another Great Depression?
A: Yes, of course. There are always ups and downs to an economy and the outliers are bound to come up especially in an unstable and unpresictable economy. Also, there are great costs to everything that is done by the government for the people, so therfore we can expect great taxes and/or a depression that will hurt the people that the government is trying to help and protect.

Q: What sacrifices might you and your family have to make in order to deal with a depression? How would things change if your parent(s) lost their job(s)?
A: Obviously, if my family were to be hit with a depression, we would have to sacrifice some things. The first thing to do is to get bargains and try to conserve on certain things such as heat, electricity, water usage, and food intake. The next thing that we would do is to eliminate the non-essential such as electronics, and jewlery. Then, selling other non-essential items such as toys or some furniture would help pay the bills. If my mom had lost her job, then we might move into a family member's home (all of us). Also, we would try to find another job to pay the bills.

Q: How would the world look in a 21st century depression according to the author? Do you agree or disagree with him?
A: He said that the depression would have a large impact on our healthcare, child care, and education. He said, "The lines wouldn't be outside soup kitchens, but at emergency rooms". There would be many abandoned houses and many overcrowded ones. It would be less aparent but still have a large impact on our society. The unemployed would be filling their free time with watching TV. I agree with him that this is what a modern day depression would look like.

Simpsons assignment

1.) I believe that the Simposns episode was more accurately portrayed than fictionally comedic. Some elements that showed its accuracy were: speakeasies were the name of the bars that were operated illegally; the mafia payed off the cops; the cops hung out at the speakeasies; the speakeasies overcharged for their liquor; alcohol companies tried to make non-alcoholic beverages with little success; FBI brought in agents who were less easily corruptable, and Prohibition was widely unpopular. Also, the episode accurately portrayed the mood of the 1920s- the people were having a good time while at the speakeasies, and the FBI was struggling to support Prohibition. Some of the fictional comedy included: bootlegging business used bowling balls and elaborate tunnels to transport alcohol; speakeasies hid their booze with a lever that turned the entire room; the law for Prohibition was found to have never been enforced before and they decided to do so now, and the punishment for bootlegging was catapultation. I thought that the elements added for comedy did not interfere with the historical fact, so the fact outweighed the fiction.

2.) If I were to change the episode: I would change all of the scenes in which Homer was transporting the booze with the bowling balls and replace them with ones similar to when Homer was transporting them by cart and hid them. Another scene that I would change would be when the mayor decided to enforce the Prohibition law. I would replace it with the mayor telling the President about the craziness and the President making the law. This would also affect the end scene when Homer was catapulted, so I would just change it to him going to jail. I wouldn't change the scene when Moe pulled the lever and it changed the speakeasy into a pet shop because I though that was really funny.