Current Event 5/10/13

This cartoon is showing the hypocrisy of these different people (Hitler, KKK, John Thune). All of these people were trying to "protect their rights" by taking away the rights of others.

Friday Current Event Political Cartoon 4/11/13

This political cartoon is showing how China is putting no effort into stopping North Korea from fighting South Korea, even though that is what our goal is. 

Universal/US Health Care Pros and Cons

Universal Health Care

Pros:

• People with pre-existing conditions can still get health coverage
• Medical Professionals can concentrate on healing the patient rather than on insurance procedures, malpractice liability, etc.
• More people are uninsured

Cons:

• The Gov. is more likely to pass additional restrictions or increase taxes on smoking, fast food, etc. leading to less personal freedoms.
• Loss or private practice options and possible reduced pay cause less future doctors to pursue the profession.
• Gov. controlled health care would likely lead to less patient flexibility. 

US Health Care

Pros:

• Any person requesting medical attention at a hospital will get medical attention.
• The US Health Care system has one of the quickest responses to people in need of medical help (we have a short wait at hospitals compared to other countries).
• We have the ability to choose our doctors, instead of being assigned to one.

Cons:

• Doctors are paid by the quantity of their procedures, not the quality.
• Pharmaceutical companies decide the prices of their drugs, and the government can't negotiate a lower price.
• Health Care providers are for-profit, and are for the denial of claims in order to make money.



US Health Care/Universal Health Care Pros and Cons

Universal Health Care

Pros:

• People with pre-existing conditions can still get health coverage
• Medical Professionals can concentrate on healing the patient rather than on insurance procedures, malpractice liability, etc.
• More people are uninsured

Cons:

• The Gov. is more likely to pass additional restrictions or increase taxes on smoking, fast food, etc. leading to less personal freedoms.
• Loss or private practice options and possible reduced pay cause less future doctors to pursue the profession.
• Gov. controlled health care would likely lead to less patient flexibility. 

US Health Care

Pros:

• Any person requesting medical attention at a hospital will get medical attention.
• The US Health Care system has one of the quickest responses to people in need of medical help (we have a short wait at hospitals compared to other countries).
• We have the ability to choose our doctors, instead of being assigned to one.

Cons:

• Doctors are paid by the quantity of their procedures, not the quality.
• Pharmaceutical companies decide the prices of their drugs, and the government can't negotiate a lower price.
• Health Care providers are for-profit, and are for the denial of claims in order to make money.





Friday Current Event 3/22/13

China's new president, Xi Jinping, wants to ease the tensions between the two Koreas. China has been a helper in North Korea's economy for quite a while, but they also try to be close to South Korea, who happens to be a better country to trade with. Xi thinks that their friendship between each other would benefit them both.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/21/world/asia/china-leader-says-he-wants-to-ease-tensions-between-two-koreas.html?_r=0

J.A. 3/21/13 Top 5 Worst Pandemics

1. Black Death
2. Spanish Flu
3. Plague of Justinian
4. The Third Pandemic
5. The Plague of Athens

Friday Current Event 3/15/13

This political cartoon is saying that the Catholic Church wants the new pope to fix the problems that they are having. One problem is scandals. Catholic priests have, over the years, been accused of molesting children. The other problem is falling membership. There are members of the Catholic Church leaving because of these scandals. If the church can get the new pope to clear up all of these scandals then the church's members will come back, and their problems will be solved.

Cold War Topics

Berlin Blockade; This was the blockage of railway, road, and canal access in parts of Berlin under allied control.
Korean War; The Korean war was the U.S. involvement in trying to stop the spread of communism in south east asia.
Sputnik; The first artificial earth satelite to be launched into space. The launch of Sputnik sparked the Space Race, between The Soviet Union and The U.S.
Bay of Pigs; Bay of Pigs was an attempt to stop The Soviet Union from bringing nuclear missiles into Cuba. We tried to prevent this by sending "spies" into Cuba. The spies were caught and then it started a bit of a "scuffle".
Cuban Missile Crisis; The Cuban Missile Crisis was the U.S. blockading the island of Cuba. We didn't allow any Russian ships to enter the island in fear that they were bringing nuclear missiles to Cuba.
Berlin Wall; This was a wall that separated East and West Germany. It was a different form of symbolism for both sides of people on the wall.
Vietnam War; The Vietnam War was the same situation as the Korean War, except the U.S. used a different "puppet" (Vietnam).
Iranian Hostage Crisis; 52 Americans were held hostage by Iranians for 444 days.
Soviet Invansion of Afghanistan; The U.S.S.R. was invading Afghanistan, so we armed their troops and helped them fight back. They ended up winning, but then turned on us afterwords.
Star Wars; The building of a space defence system. Satelites were equiped with lazers to shoot down missiles, it never worked. The U.S. building this defence system put the Soviet Union into bankruptcey.
Fall of Berlin Wall; The German soldiers who were guarding the Berlin wall lost interest in preventing people from crossing over into East/West Germany. They lost interest, and this allowed people to detiorate the wall, resulting in it's collapse.
Soviet Union Dissolves; The Soviet rulers lost their image and lost power.

J.A. 3/11/13

The Cold War was a standoff between the U.S. and The Soviet Union. The U.S.S.R. was stationed in Cuba, and had nuclear weapons, as did the United States. Neither of us fired our weapons though, hence the name The "Cold" War.

Current Event 3/8/13

The son in law of the famous Osama Bin-laden has been put into custody very recently. Suleiman Abu Ghaith was arrested in Turkey and is now being brought to New York to be tried. Suleiman was believed to be the 'mastermind' behind the 9/11 attacks and is being accused of being part of a conspiracy that "would and did murder united states nationals anywhere in the world".

http://rt.com/usa/bin-ladens-kin-tried-nyc-983/

Political Poster Analyzation

This picture is saying that Barack Obama took the money that he was going to use to help the country and used it for his own private money. The quotes from the two characters also imply that he lied about putting change into the country.

Causes of WWI

• The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
• Disputes between the more powerful European countries
• Tention over territory/land.
• The growth of nationalism
• The system of alliances among European countries
• Balance of power in Europe
• The arms races
• Rivalry for wealth

1. Which three countries increased the amount of money spent on weapons? A: Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy.
2. How did this incrase the chance of war? A: The more weapons the country got the more powerful it became, and balance in power in European countries was a major part of the cause of WWI.
3. Who were the members of each alliance system? How did alliance systems contribute to the outbreak of WWI? A: Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy. The more allies a country had the more powerful it was, and this goes back to the balance of power in European countries being involved in the uprise of WWI.
4. What were the accusations made by Austria-Hungary to Serbia? A: They said that Serbia's government needs to stop doing things that Austria-Hungary doesn't find acceptable.
5. What two demands did Austria-Hungary make on Serbia? A: Serbia needed to stop the spread of propaganda against A.H, and they needed to allow the collaberation of the Serbian and Austria-Hungarian government representatives.
6. According to the Versailles Treaty, who was responsible for WWI? Why? A: Germany, and the reason it says that is because we made Germany say it was their fault as a punishment.
7. What position did the German delegation leader present? A: It wasn't completely Germany's fault for WWI.
8. What did he say caused the war? A: Imperialism in Europe.
9. According to this author, who was responsible for the outbreak of WWI? A: Every country in Europe.
10. What did he cite as evidence to support this claim? A: Military leaders mobilized their armies and declared war, and they didn't do things that would have prevented the war from happening.
11. What role did the assassination and the ultimatum play in the outbreak of the war? It was kind of like Pearl Harbor and the U.S.'s involvement in WWII. The countries in Europe were contemplating whether or not they should get involved with what Germany was doing, but the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand sealed the deal.
12. What responsibility did the alliance systems play in the outbreak of the war? A: They made countries like Germany seem more powerful, and made them more of a threat to countries like France and England.

Greco-Persian Wars

J.A. 2/18/13

Q: How do you determine what is "significant" in history?

A: You determine what is "significant" in history by seeing whether or not it has effected the path of history. You ask, if this didn't happen, would it have affected anything?. If that event had not happened, would it have changed what the world is like today? How many people did it effect? If it is not significant, then you would answer no, this event did not direct the world in the path that we are currently on, and it didn't effect a lot of people.

Top Ten Battles In History

1. Battle of Yorktown

2. Battle of Stalingrad

3. Battle of Gettysburg

4. Battle of Tours

5. Battle of Verdun

6. Battle of Midway

7. Battle of Thermopylae

8. Battle of Vienna

9. Battle of Waterloo

10. Huaihai Campaign

Honors World History Government Test

1. A

2. C

3. A

4. B

5. D

6. A

7. C

8. D

9. B

10. C

11. A

12. B

13. A

14. D

15. C

16. A

17. B

18. A

19. Control of the media/propaganda, use of secret police, changing national laws to give the dictator more power, having a difficult childhood, and developing a "cult of personality".

20. Article 2. - John Locke. This article would be something that John Locke would say because one of his beliefs was of the 3 natural human rights (Life, Liberty, and Property).

Article 13. - Jean Rousseau. This article is relatable to Jean Rousseau because it says that everyone should pitch in order to help the government. One of Jean Rousseau's beliefs was that people should make sacrifices in order to make sure the government was stable.

Article 11. - Voltaire. This article would be a statement that Voltaire would make because it shares how important the freedoms of the people are. The freedom that Voltaire really focused on was the freedom of speech. This article states that "every citizen may, accordingly, speak, write, and print with freedom". All of these are forms of speech.

Article 4. Baron de Montesquieu. This article would be something that Montesquieu would say because he believed that different branches of government had equal power. In the article it says that no man has limits to his power, except those that assure that other members of the society can have the same rights.

J.A. Questions 2/11/13

a; Q: Where are the newest countries in the world located? A: The newest countries in the world are located in either northern Asia, or Africa.

b; Q: Is there a connection between the type of government a country has and the freedom of it's citizens? A: No, there is not a connection between the type of government a country has and the freedom of it's citizens. In countries where freedom of the press is incredibly strict, the type of governments the countries have range from Full Presidential Republics, Semi Presidential Republics, Single Party Republics, and Absolute Monarchies.

c; Q: What questions do you have about these maps? A: Would you count freedom of the press as freedom of the people? Does gaining independence make a certain region of land a country?

Is Barack Obama Fit To Be A Dictator?

1. Poor economic conditions  (No)
2. Control of the media  (No)
3. Develop a Cult of Personality  (No)
4. Use the schools  (No)
5. Push changes in the law in order to get power (No)
6. Eliminated other political parties  (No)
7. Propaganda  (No)
8. Isolated or eliminated potential rivals  (No)
9. Do not allow free speech  (No)
10. Usage of secret police  (No)
11. Promised change/better times  (Yes)
12. Powerful speakers  (Yes)
13. Develop scape-goat (someone to blame)  (Yes)
14. Pursued territorial expansion  (No)
15. Increased nationalism  (No)
16. Rose to power legally  (Yes)
17. Used religion to their advantage  (No)
18. Soldier/military background  (No)
19. Poor childhood  (No)
20. Educated (not necessarily successful in school).  (Yes)

Friday Current Event 1/7/13

This past friday was the last day that former first lady, Hillary Clinton, was in the position of Secretary of State. She was first put into position in 2009, and from her starting year to her resigning she has set different accomplishments. The moment she signed in she was the first former first lady to achieve a cabinet position. She went across the globe being part of democratic revolutions in Africa, the earthquakes in Japan and Haiti, and the end of the war in Iraq. John Kerry was sworn-in Friday, and will attempt to fill in the shoes of someone who set a high mark for "tireless efforts", as Kerry said.

http://www.voanews.com/content/clinton-kerry-secretary-state/1594905.html

Totalitarianism Factors (From Memory)

1. Cult of Personality
2. Poor economic conditions
3. Secret Police
4. Bad childhood
5. Control of media
6. Uses the schools
7. Propaganda
8. Eliminates enemies
9. Take over other political parties
10. Had an education (may have not done very well at times)
11. Military background

Totalitarianism Project Dictators

Adolph Hitler

Joseph Stalin

Benito Mussolini

Friday Current Event 1/31/13

This upcoming friday is the last day that former first lady, Hillary Clinton, will be in the position of Secretary of State. She was first put into position in 2009, and from her starting year to her resigning she has set different accomplishments. The moment she signed in she was the first former first lady to achieve a cabinet position. She went across the globe being part of democratic revolutions in Africa, the earthquakes in Japan and Haiti, and the end of the war in Iraq. John Kerry will be sworn-in Friday, and will attempt to fill in the shoes of someone who set a high mark for "tireless efforts", as Kerry said.

http://www.voanews.com/content/clinton-kerry-secretary-state/1594905.html

Human Psyche

Are humans good or bad by nature? No, humans are not naturally bad hearted. A human that follows the path of the bad hearted is that way because of it's surroundings. Generally the reason a human is bad hearted is because of the teachings of their parents. Some teachings of the parents is right in their culture, but is bad to different cultures. If bad is meant as in the human does not follow rules, then yes. Humans naturally do not know the rules, because they do not know what the rules are. In the absence of them knowing the rules they are taught what the rule is, and how to obey it. Most humans after being taught certain rules obey them, and others do not.

Top Ten (Seven) List of Ways To Gain Power

1.) Common set of laws; laws that apply to everyone (Draco) Incorrect

2.) Have state officials to enforce the laws; police system (Philip Augustus; bailiffs) Correct

3.) Court system; centralized justice (Edward I) Incorrect

4.) Tax collection by central government (Philip Augustus) Correct

5.) Standing army, loyal to king (William The Conquerer) Incorrect

6.) Get nobles to be part of the central government (Edward I) Free be; Correct

7.) Religion approval (Alfred The Great; church prayed to be saved from northerners, Alfred defeats northerners) Incorrect

Reading Quiz

#1 Q: What type of government does the United States have? Explain. A: The United States has democracy for their system of government. A democracy is a type of government in which the people have a say in different events such as elections for a leader, or the passing of laws. The people in the United States have these sort of rights, so that makes the government of the U.S. a democracy.

#2 Q:What type of government did the Romans turn to in times of crisis? A: During times of crisis the Romans turned to a Dictatorship.

#3 Q: Who were the Plebeians? A: The Plebeians were farmers, artisans, and merchants who made up a majority of the population of people struggling for power in the early republic of Rome.

#4: Q: Some people call the U.S. an Oligarchy. Explain why. A: A reason why some people would think that the United States government is an Oligarchy is because different presidents that have come into power have been related, and one common trate of an Oligarchy is to have families pass down power to each other. Another reason would be that small groups of people with government power in the U.S. are very wealthy, which is another trait of government officials in an Oligarchy.

#5 Q: Read the following excerpt from Acts 25:22-29. We can infer that one of the laws the Roman's had was... A: We can infer from the excerpt that one of the laws of the Roman's is that a Roman citizen cannot be punished without trial.

Term Definitions

1. Bureaucracy; A group of officials that make laws, regulations, and functions of their institution. (non-elected officials)
2. Aristocracy; A form of government where specifically chosen people are the rulers, and these  people must meet certain criteria in order to rule.
3. Constitutionalism; A form of government where the belief is that the authority of the government is limited by fundamental law.
4. Autocracy; A system of government ruled by one person who has all power. Whatever the one leader says is final, and will be put into action. The only limitation to his/her power is the threat of being taken over the by people.
5. Monarchy; A form of government where everything ruled by a monarch is ruled by only the one individual (monarch).
6. Dictatorship; A branch of autocratic government ruled by a dictator. A dictatorship can also be ruled by a clique (a closely associated group of people).
7. Totalitarianism; A form of government where the state has total control over the people and makes the decisions.
8. Absolutism; Absolutism has many different forms, but in whatever form it's in the ruler's power is absolute. Everything they say or do cannot be overturned. 
9. Democracy; A form of government in which the people have a say in changes made to the country or area of rule. The people vote on different events like elections, the making of laws, etc.
10. Oligarchy; A government system where the power is in the hands of a small group of people. These people have different criteria in which they are able to rule. Power is usually passed down by families, generation to generation. 

Good Leadership

Leadership is a skill that only few have the ability to perfect. It takes certain traits in order to be labeled as a good leader. A personality trait that someone would need to be a good leader is a positive attitude. Being in a good mood around their followers will keep them working, and keeps them happy too. Leaders' moods reflect onto those who follow them. Leaders also need to have a good style. If the C.E.O. of a company were to walk into a meeting in ripped jeans and a v-neck, no one would take him/her seriously throughout the meeting. Looking professional helps keep the title of a leader. Another  trait that makes someone a leader is having the ability to make sure that they have the power. Letting other people tell a leader what to do and having other people criticize their leadership skills makes them look less powerful. These are just three examples of traits that people would need in order to be a leader.

Function of Government

The main function of a government is to establish standardization. An example of standardization is how a charger for a MacBook Air will charge any other MacBook Air, because they're all standardized.