President Obama's plan

President Obama states that he is planning to change everything starting that night, and make the world a better place. He said that the nation will never use more foreign oil than we did in 1977 through the 1980's. The plans are somewhat alike because all of them believe that there should not be any more foreign oil in our country. Some of them differ, because point three is saying that they think that we should use resources and funds to develop energy by using the sources, such as fuel, coal, and oil.

American Society

Carter is trying to show and tell us how many things have actually gone wrong and changed in our society today. Everyone has changed there opinions on people and how there lives effect ours. He is trying to tell us back then it was a nation where people did simple things but also worked hard, and that's what made people happy. Today our society is a completely different place. He says that people now worship self indulgence and consumption. He also says that people believe that the next five years are going to be worse than the past five years, and that about two thirds of our people don't even vote anymore. Everyone has changed their opinions on people and how their lives affect ours.

The real threat to America

The real threat to America is that people are losing hope for the future, and people are just giving up on the ideas that they used to have for our society. Also, they are not only losing faith, they are losing the ability to be a part of our democracy, and actually have opinions and rights on the decisions that we make today. Energy and inflation is one serious problem in America today, but that's not what people are worried about that much. It's the fact that there are so many people giving up, because they feel that they can't do anything anymore to fix the problems in the world. I believe that this threat is still in America today, because things are just becoming worse in our society, and everything is going up in prices, which is going to be harder to fix when we can't take it anymore.

1970's youtube videos

1) What do you think is changing in America from Archie's point of view?
Well, the reason why Archie has that point of view is because he was in a different stage of culture when he was growing up, and he has a different way of seeing things, rather than we see them today. For an example, he doesn't have that much respect for his wife. He was in that time period where you tell your wife what to do, and the wife is usually the house mother who cleans and is always in the kitchen. The way that men treat women has changed in our culture a lot since Archie's time period. Also the fact that Archie asked Davis that since he was colored, what ever made him turn Jew? That is from Archie's point of view, and that has changed. Our society today is different, and people understand more about the Jews and African Americans.

2) In what ways are young people (his daughter and son-in-law in the clip) and minorities changing society for Archie?
They were trying to convince Archie that he is prejudice, because of the thing that he said to Davis.

3)What is changing in American Society?
The fact that those two African American people were in a taxi, and the taxi drove straight up to the building that they were getting dropped off to. Today, in our society, we still have taxi's, in better condition and a different style, but the taxi driver doesn't drive straight up to the building, you either have to walk or don't take one.

Local History

I am doing my Local History project with Danielles other grandmother, I will be interviewing her, and getting pictures from her past.

Research Project

My partner Danielle and I are doing our research project on The Swine Flu. We are doing a zing page, and posing information about the Swine.

War on Drugs 1980's

Ronald Reagan was born in Tampico Ill,

The Legassy of Ronald Reagan 

 

   Ronald Reagan was born in Tampico Illinois on February 6, 1911. Him and his family moved around alot in Illinois, and they finally settled down in Dixon Illinois, which is the town that Reagan considered his hometown. Around 1926 Reagan began work as a lifeguard in Dixon at a Lowell Park, and was credited with saving over 77 lives during the seven summers that he worked there. When 1928 rolled around, Reagan graduated from Dixon High School. Ronald attented alot of different programs in school, such as the student body president, he played football, basketball, track, and also was in school plays. Reagan was elected president of the Screen Actors Guild for the first of five consecutive terms, and he testified as a friendly witness before the House Committee on Un-American Activities, in 1947. Also on January 20, 1981, Reagan was sworn in as the 40th president of the United States. On the same day, Iran releases the 52 remaining hostages who had been held at the U.S. embassy in Tehran for 444 days.

    Ronald Reagan did alot of good things to our country, and there are some major ones that stand out today. He came into the office of the president with alot of beliefs and high standards knowing that he was going to accomplish something. Some of the things that he wanted to accomplish was working on ending the soviet union, cutting the size of the federal government, and cutting back on taxes. From day one, Reagan worked extrordinarily hard towards coming up with solutions for these problems. Ronald won the Republican's party nomination with this simple phrase, “Ask yourself, are you better off now than you were four years ago?” People answered this with a negative answer because of living through the awful time where Jimmy Carter was the president. During Ronald Reagan's two terms in office, there were changes that were obvious. People saw a remarkable economic growth, the reduction of tax burdens on the American people, and also a great effort in order to build the American Millitary up to a true superpower status.

    Ronald Reagan's vision "Peace through Strength" was proven correct and he paved the way for a diplomatic and peaceful co-existence between the United States and the former Soviet Union. Also, he made us proud to be Americans again. Reagan was a very good president, he changed our economy into a better one, and was a good impact on everyones life. When Reagan was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease in 1994, he wrote a letter to the American People and it said In closing, let me thank you, the American people, for giving me the great honor of allowing me to serve as your President. When the Lord calls me home, whenever that day may be, I will leave with the greatest love for this country of ours and eternal optimism for its future. I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life. I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead. I believe that Reagan was the best president that we had, and when he was president our world was a better place.

Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton is a talented Politician, because he is a very confident strong opinionated person, who does know how to persuade you into believing and thinking like him. He does have strong opinons about politics, and I think that everything that he has been through has made him have this durable belief that everyone respects him for. He knows how to have people on his side because, he would say things that would reflect others lives, and they would agree with him.

1990's Presentation

Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton

• Born 1946 in Hope, Arkansas
• Third youngest President
• 1st Baby Boomer President (Born after WWII)

• Attended Georgetown University, Yale Law School, Oxford University (England)

• Married Hillary in 1975
• Daughter Chelsea born in 1980

• At age 32, Elected Governor of Arkansas, 1978

• Defeated in 1980
• Re-elected Governor in 1982 and served 10 years
• Ran for President in 1992 for the Democratic Party
• The 1st Democrat President in over 12 years-Defeated incumbent Republican George H.W.Bush and Independent Ross Perot--won 43% of the vote

• Pushed for Homosexual men and women to be allowed to serve in the military---Congress later implemented "Don't ask,Don't tell" Policy

• Created first official website in 1994
• Signed the Brady Bill (Gun Control) into law 
• Clinton supported the Controversial North America Free-Trade Agreement (NAFTA) allowing for free-trade between the U.S.,Canada and Mexico: This Bill passed the house and senate

• Scandal-White House "Travel Gate"--Inappropriate use of travel funds

• Perhaps the most controversial of Clinton's Domestic
  Legislature Agenda was pushing for a National Healthcare Plan-The task
  force would be led by First Lady, Hillary Clinton

1994 Congressional Elections---Republicans win big in the House and Senate

Bill Clinton-2nd term   -The end of Clinton's first term  saw the Republican Party win a majority in the House and Senate   -Democrat Bill Clinton began to drop more of his liberal agenda National Health Care adopted more moderate positions Welfare reform Tax cuts for lower income families & small businesses   -In 1996 - Clinton ran for re-election  defeating Republican Bob Dole Overwhelmingly with 70% of the Electoral vote   Scandals   -"White Water" Scandal - Faulty real-estate dealings in the 1970's & 1980's by both Bill and Hillary -Voted to impeach Clinton (only the 2nd U.S. President to be) -Charges of Perjury and Obstruction of Justice (Starr report)   -Lied about relationship to Monica Lewinsky in a sworn deposition during a sexual harassment lawsuit ( Paula Jones)   The Senate -Concluded the 21 day trial on Feb.12,1999 voting 'No' to impeachment   Foreign Policy -The U.S. intervened in many areas of the Globe (militarily) during the 1990's   -Clinton's Foreign Policy was based on Wilsonian "Idealism", or Collective Security (as opposed to Balance of Power) (Former President Woodrow Wilson) -Somalia 1993 (begun by George H.W.Bush) "Black Hawk Down" -Used U.S. Troops to keep Peace in the former Yugoslavia -Bosnia (1995) -Kosovo(1995)  -Haiti-1995   Other details of the Clinton Presidency -Appointed 2 Judges to Supreme Court (Breyer/Ginsberg) -China most favored Nation trade Status-1996 -Clinton issues 144 Pardons & 36 commutations on his last day of office -Budgetary Surplus under President Clinton The Presidency of George H.W. Bush (41) 41st President/Republican   Born Massachusetts,1924   Became the youngest Naval Aviator in U.S. history enlisting at 17 years old - Shortly after Pearl Harbor Bush served until the end of WW2 and then attended Yale University   After college, Bush moved his family to Texas & entered the oil business. Bush became a millionaire by the age of 40   Later Bush entered politics - Served in the House of Representatives -Also Ambassador to the United Nations & Envoy to China in the 70's   Bush also spent one year as Director of the CIA-1976/77   Ran for Republican Presidential Nomination in 1980 -Lost to Ronald Reagan, but was named Vice Presidential "Running Mate" After Reagan won the Presidency-Bush served as VP for 8 years   -In 1988, Bush ran for President & defeated Democrat Michael Dukakis   -Gave Famous "Read my lips"- No New Taxes Speech at Republican National Convention             (He ended up raising taxes)   During his one term Presidency -Military Operations in Panama (1989) and Persian Gulf (1990-91) "Operation Desert storm"-Kicked Sadaam/Iraq out of Kuwait   Fall of Berlin/End of the Cold War   Painful Economic Recession (late 1991/1992) not as bad as now! -Probably cost him Presidency to Bill Clinton

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Regan
    1) What are the problems that America face?
The rises in the general level of prices everywhere, and this is called inflation.

    2)What are Regan's solutions?
He believes that the government is not the solution, the government is the problem. He also says that people need to set their minds to working on fixing this problem, and if everyone works together, the problem will be fixed, and we will all have peace.

    3) What makes Regan effective here?
That he made a little joke about how he used to agree with democrats, and that was the problem.


    4) What does this reveal about Regan? (Consider the saying: "Wit has truth in it.")
That he is a funny guy and is a strong believer in being a republican rather than being a democrat.

   5) What policy decisions might Reagan make according to this?
    He is saying that there should be freedom because that will persuade people to vote for him to become president.

    6) How did this event effect Reagan's role with the American public?
    A guy in the video said that he would like to give him a taste of his own medicine.

    7) Who is the audience for this speech?
    People from the University of Virgina.

    8) What is the argument Regan makes here?
    To choose between right and wrong, and good and evil.

    9) What do you think Regan's agenda is in this speech?
    to persuade people into believing what he believes.

    10) What is the message here?
    That more people are working now, getting married, and buying houses because the interest rates are going down now, and prices are the lowest that they have been in the last 4 years.

    11) How does the ad use Carter?
    They didn't.

    12) What does the ad suggest about the characters/morals of the country?
    Just that the country is alot better when Regan is there, because everyone is happier.

    13) What is the criticism of communism being offered here?
    That Regan wants people to believe in him.

    14) Do you think this was an effective speech?
    Yeah, because he made it clear what he wanted for our country.

    15) Who is the audience for this broadcast?
    He was speaking to the commited.

    16) What do you think the American people thought of this action and Reagan's explanation of it?
    They think that people should stand up and make a change.

    17) What was the foreign response, do you think?
    That they are going to try to fix things.
    

4 articles

Expert Analysis

http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110004698

Critics of President Bush's education program, the No Child Left Behind Act, now accuse him of enforcing the law on the cheap. We agree the law has its faults, and said so when it roared through Congress two years ago, but lack of funding isn't close to being one of them.

Federal spending on K-12 education will top $41 billion in 2004. Add in state and local spending, and the figure rises to a record half-trillion dollars. That's double the amount spent in 1990 and a third more than the $375 billion the U.S. will spend on defense this year. The negligible impact of this ever-increasing cash infusion on reading scores is illustrated in this chart:

Nevertheless, the Democratic presidential hopefuls continue to refer to the law as an "unfunded mandate," and Republican legislatures in such states as Utah and Virginia are busy passing resolutions condemning it as "the most sweeping intrusion into state and local control of education in the history of the United States." Lawmakers in Connecticut, Maine, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio and elsewhere have threatened similar actions based on the same shaky grounds.

Leave aside for a moment this convenient rediscovery of federalism now that the federal education dollars come attached to some accountability for results. John Kerry and John Edwards both voted for this law, as did just about everybody else in Congress. The vote in the Senate was 87-10; in the House, 381-41. You can't get much more bipartisan than that. The Democratic gambit in this election season is to use the spending wedge to steal the education issue back from the Republican themes of accountability and choice.

State claims that NCLB is intrusive and underfunded are also doubtful. The law requires states to establish their own annual tests aligned with their own state standards to measure how successfully students are learning. Nothing prevents Michigan from requiring its fourth-graders to know multiplication tables that children in Arizona aren't required to know until fifth grade. What the law does demand is that states set adequate yearly progress targets--and then meet them or lose federal money.

Most NCLB requirements--like disaggregating certain data and identifying failing schools--were already part of federal law dating to the 1994 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The problem, according to a new Education Next analysis by James Peyser and Robert Costrell, is that this federal law lacked teeth. "By the time the 1994 reauthorization was superseded by No Child Left Behind in 2002," say the authors, "only 21 states were in compliance with its accountability provisions."

Cost-of-compliance complaints from the states should also be put in some perspective. The Department of Education reports that states are currently sitting on nearly $6 billion in unspent federal education funds acquired between 2000 and 2002. Some $2 billion of this is Title I money that's designated for the most disadvantaged students. State officials might consider spending what they already have before begging for more federal lucre.

Our original problem with No Child Left Behind is that it was bipartisan to a fault. Thanks to influential liberal Democrats Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts and Representative George Miller of California, school choice provisions were watered down or simply tossed overboard. Billions in new spending were also added, but the teachers unions wouldn't allow any of it to go to vouchers for poor parents.

Nevertheless, the law at least signaled a federal commitment to standards-based reform. Given who's now complaining loudest, the reform seems to be working. Accountability measures are in place and money isn't simply flowing to the states for nothing in return.

Expert Analysis Against

http://www.collegenews.org/x4814.xml

School is back in session. With the new academic year, school districts are once again struggling to implement the No Child Left Behind Act--a massive federal intrusion that impedes learning, encourages dropouts, narrows the curriculum, increases anxiety, fosters academic dishonesty, and does nothing to improve schools.

In 2002, President Bush sat at a wooden desk in the gymnasium of Ohio's Hamilton High School and signed this massive federal law. The Act dramatically expands the federal government's role in education. It touts the goals of closing the student achievement gap, making public schools "accountable," establishing standards of excellence for every child, and placing a qualified teacher in every classroom.

The law requires student testing--and plenty of it. There are annual tests in reading and math in grades 3 through 8, and once in grades 10-12, beginning in 2005-2006. There are tests in science in elementary school, middle school, and high school, beginning in 2007-2008. School and district progress reports must be met each year, and by 2014, every student in America must have achieved state-defined proficiency. Students in "failing" schools will be eligible to transfer to "high-performing" schools. "Failing" schools may be closed.

What's wrong with testing, testing, testing? Plenty. First, annual high-stakes testing impedes learning. It produces rote memorization and a "drill and grill" curriculum. Between pre-testing and the actual testing, students may be involved in 3 to 4 weeks of test-related activities distinct from normal instruction. This distraction may account for as much as 10 percent of the year's instructional time. Instead of imparting knowledge, public school teachers are spending increasing amounts of time teaching to the test.

Also, high-stakes testing encourages school dropouts. In Massachusetts in 2003, almost twenty percent of high school seniors did not pass the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment to receive their high school diplomas--including 44 percent of the state's black seniors and half its Hispanic seniors. Students who feel they cannot pass the test--despite repeated attempts--see no reason to stay in school.

The No Child Left Behind Act also restricts the curriculum. It produces a narrow focus on math and reading test scores. Schools desperate to improve their test scores are eliminating courses in art, music, speech, debate, home economics, industrial arts, history, social studies, and physical education--as well as recess.

In addition, the Act narrows the range of performance-based accountability. Who says that a standardized test is the only way to measure student achievement? What about portfolios, exhibitions, essays, student-initiated projects, and teacher evaluations?

Constant testing also increases pressure on young children. The Act calls for math and reading tests in third grade--when most students are eight years old. Putting pressure on young children runs counter to everything we know about the psychology of children and the psychology of learning. Annual high-stakes testing threatens to turn schools into sweatshops.

The pressure to improve student test scores has also led to cheating. The Dallas Morning News last year found strong evidence that teachers were helping students cheat at 400 schools throughout Texas, including Houston. Faced with the need to improve test scores or lose their jobs, some teachers simply resort to giving out the answers.

Also, annual testing does nothing to improve schools and student performance. It focuses on punishment, negative labels, and threats. It places too little emphasis on the social causes of poor school performance. It does nothing to improve the curriculum, reduce class size, decrease school size, increase parental involvement, create after-school programs, diminish school violence, lessen absenteeism, or increase funding.

Fortunately, there is an increasing state rebellion against No Child Left Behind. Connecticut has sued the US Department of Education over funding support, and the Utah state legislature has ordered state officials to ignore provisions of federal law that conflict with Utah's educational goals.

First Hand Person

http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/nclb.teachers.admins.htm

The Challenges

Twelve years from now, all children who attend public schools must be proficient in reading, math and science. We will not reach this goal if we continue to do more of the same thing with more intensity. How schools are structured and what successful schools look like is changing. Teachers, principals and school administrators who are knowledgeable about these changes will be able to meet the challenges of the No Child Left Behind Act.

The No Child Left Behind Act affects virtually every person employed in the public school system. All schools in districts that accept Title 1 federal funds must make detailed annual reports on the progress of all children. Each school must also report the progress of four subgroups: minority children, children with disabilities, children with limited English proficiency, and children from low-income families.

If a district is not successful in raising the level of all students, immediately and steadily, to the state-defined level of proficiency, the district will lose control.

Detailed information about the performance of schools in the district and subgroups of children must be readily available to anyone who wants this information. Real estate agents will use these reports to answer customer questions about school districts and neighborhoods. Teachers will examine this information before deciding to apply for a position in a school, district, or state. Superintendents will use this information to determine which principals are running successful schools and which are not. School boards will use this information to evaluate superintendents. Voters will use this information to evaluate school boards. Industry will use state report cards to make decisions about where to locate new facilities.

What company wants to locate a new factory in a state with a high dropout rate? Who wants to buy a house in a neighborhood where the schools are not successful? Who will apply for a teaching job in an unsuccessful school?

Non biased

http://www.edweek.org/rc/issues/no-child-left-behind/

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, signed into law by President Bush on Jan. 8, 2002, is a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the central federal law in pre-collegiate education. The ESEA, first enacted in 1965 and last reauthorized in 1994, encompasses Title I, the federal government's flagship aid program for disadvantaged students.

Coming at a time of wide public concern about the state of education, the legislation sets in place requirements that reach into virtually every public school in America.

As the newest incarnation of the ESEA, the No Child Left Behind Act has expanded the federal role in education and become a focal point of education policy. Coming at a time of wide public concern about the state of education, the legislation sets in place requirements that reach into virtually every public school in America. It takes particular aim at improving the educational lot of disadvantaged students.

At the core of the No Child Left Behind Act are a number of measures designed to drive broad gains in student achievement and to hold states and schools more accountable for student progress. They represent significant changes to the education landscape (U.S. Department of Education, 2001).

Projects

For local history project, I am going to interview Wilma Wintle.

For the research group project, my group is doing ours on teen pregnancy.

For my 20% project I am doing it on my life, and what I do daily, and how that affects me in a journal type blog.

Expansion of Swap Lines

http://useconomy.about.com/od/glossary/g/swap_line.htm

The expansion of swap lines is the arrangements of money and loans between central banks. Central banks are banks that can lend money to other federal banks all around the world when they need it. Buisnesses and banks around the world have liabilities not only in their home currency, but also in international currency. Thus, banks in England need funding in the U.S. dollars as well as pounds. If we didnt have central banks all around the world, we wouldnt have anything. The expansion of swap lines is the main currency arrangement between the central banks.