Current Events 2

"Mining for men: C.lean miners who were nearly a half mile underground since August 5 – over two months. They were brought to the surface one by one in a man sized capsule. Each one felt as if they were reborn with a new life to live.

I, too, rejoiced over the rescue of the miners. It was good to hear how they spent their time underground praying and singing. It bothered me that they wanted cigarettes, and that one had a mistress but they seemed to forge a bond and came out strong after their ordeal.

The engineering needed to pull off this feat proves that miners trapped alive could be rescued. This expertise will be shared with others especially since an American engineer figured out how to make a 5.5-inch drill hole wide enough for a human. Unfortunately these miners will be bombarded with offers for interviews, movies, and book deals which will tarnish the joy of their rescue.

Current Events 1

“Don’t Try Terrorists, Lock Them Up” by Jack Goldsmith is an article about the terrorists detained at Guantanamo Bay. He discusses whether we should use military or civil court systems to try terrorists. Mr. Goldsmith refers to one detainee, Mr. Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani who has been there for twelve years. The quandary is that even if the terrorists are tried and found guilty, the United States does not feel comfortable in releasing them until the conflict with the terrorists is over. In the end, he concludes that perhaps indefinitely holding terrorists until the conflict is over is the best solution; that trying them in court is not actually permissible or in our best interests.

My opinion is that the Obama administration can barely stomach war and want to focus on the image trying the terrorists in Federal court will make. But I feel that in the end trying them in court will humanize the enemy and give voice to his reasons rather than reject his methods; ultimately supporting the terrorist mission. It is better to only try high value targets such as the Time Square Bomber or upper echelons of Al Quaeda where evidence is clear and the consequences of letting them go free is dire.

Trying the terrorists in court will help our nation vent its anger and frustrations over the entire problem. If the military courts try the terrorists most likely they won’t convict them since their rules of evidence are different and a little lax, but mostly because the terrorists probably haven’t broken the rules of war under which they would be tried. If the Federal courts try the terrorists then the classified information might come out in public, they won’t allow aggressive interrogations, and they won’t let them go even if acquitted because they would do it again and the conflict is not over. In the end the whole world will be watching what will do and they will act accordingly.

HW # 13

Have you ever wondered about bag searches? You might think hey this is against the 4th amendment you know the one about unlawful search and sezisures it might surprise you but it is legal. You see the Supreme Court ruled that it was nessessary to help prevent terroism. On a similar note certain police groups have started to do random stops where they put your name in a database. I agree with what they're doing but not for the same reasons. They say its meant to prevent crime but if someone is going to do such a thing little will prevent them. I say it helps solve crimes and it provides for a database for future cases.

HW# 12

Federal Powers

-Coin money

-Regulate interstate and Foreign commerce

-Declare war, make peace, provide for national defense, and mantain armed services
(ex. Foreign Policy)

-Pass nationalization and Immigration laws
(ex. pass laws concerning Immigration)

States Powers

-Provide Education
(ex. Manage and fund Board of Education)

-Conduct Elections
(ex. Presidential)

-Provide for local governments
(ex. Pay upkeep for NYC government and manage budgets)

Concurrent Powers

-Make and Enforce the law
(ex. mantain police force)

-Collect Taxes
(ex. Collect annual taxes)

-Mantain the Courts
(ex. Pay for and manage court system)

HW# 11

Congress would amend the Constitution in order to create a change in the law of the land. Something that is supreme and identified as such which would be a mark in our nation forever. But how can we change or implement it in the first place you ask? Its simple its a two step process that begins the proposal. This proposal can be done in one of two ways as well, one it can come about via a 2/3 rds vote of Congress, or two 2/3 rds vote of a congressional convention. The second part ratification also comes in two forms, one a 3/4 ths vote in the country's combined state legislature, or two a 3/4 ths vote in a state convention. note that conventions have only been used once. On that same topic a convention is a gathering of important people to vote on something so they could be politicians or not. An important fact to know is that you can only repeal or nullify an amendment is with another amendment.

HW # 10

Federalism to begin with is a sound idea. It promotes a solid government and is more uniform than every state fighting to be on top. It also makes the separation and management of power easier. In addition things like money can be regulated better. We might forget but Federalism still called for good maintained states which didn't mean that they would be neglected. So in closing it is a great political choice for early America.

HW # 9

The Constitution was created for the single fact that we needed a uniform government. It helped form our base rights and practices. The America before the constitution was really open to interpretation based off of the myriad of state laws and regulations and it really made things simpler and run smoother.