10/29 bellringer

1. It is definitely legal.
2. Weight is not a measure of fitness.
3. If I were the government, I would want soldiers that could pass rigorous physical challenges at the drop of a hat. If a  soldier can do that, why do you need to submit them to a test.

Civics Assignment for 10/25/13

1.

Post-Moderns

13% OF THE PUBLIC

What They Believe

• Generally supportive of government, though more conservative on race policies and the safety net
• Strongly supportive of regulation and environmental protection
• Most (56%) say Wall Street helps the economy more than it hurts
• Very liberal on social issues, including same-sex marriage
• One of the least religious groups: nearly a third are unaffiliated with any religious tradition
• Favor the use of diplomacy rather than force

Who They Are

• The youngest of the typology groups: 32% under age 30
• A majority are non-Hispanic white and have at least some college experience
• Half live in either the Northeast or the West
• A majority (58%) live in the suburbs
• 63% use social networking
• One-in-five regularly listen to NPR; 14% regularly watch The Daily Show

2. Overall, your political values are closest to those of an…

Independent
3. 

Economic Left/Right: -3.88
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -4.51

4.

You Are 45% Conservative, 55% Liberal

Social Issues: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal

Personal Responsibility: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal

Fiscal Issues: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal

Ethics: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal

Defense and Crime: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal

5. 

Your PERSONAL issues Score is 80%

Your ECONOMICS issues Score is 50%

This quiz has been taken 20,049,211 times

According to your answers, the political group that agrees with you most is...

CENTRIST

10/28/13 Start up

1. The men that started the confederacy were traitors. I disagree with the display of confederate flag.
2. I have long agreed with the opinion of the article.
3. There are people in the country that starkly disagree with each other on what the flag represents.

10/22 Bellringer

1. The boy scout leaders lawsuit is frivolous because he is not really injured.
2. The men should be prosecuted; they destroyed state property.

10/17/13 assignment- Essay - The Patriot Act

    Benjamin Franklin said, “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.” What weight does that sentence carry in relation to the U.S. Patriot Act? The U.S. Patriot Act undermines rights guaranteed to American citizens through the United States Constitution by reaffirming and expanding upon federal agencies’ abilities to send national security letters, which violate at least the first and fourth amendment on their own; placing exhaustive amounts of discretion with unelected officials, like the attorney general, who can imprison aliens under the act; and broadening the abilities of government agencies to spy on U.S. citizens. A deeper analysis of Ben Franklin’s quote would allow for  a different interpretation of the law: The Patriot Act is designed to provide America with permanent safety by increasing government agencies’ abilities to research, detain, and question potential terrorists and aliens. To many Americans, the Patriot Act is an unconstitutional document that shows the government’s willingness to elude checks and balances.

    National Security Letters are vile documents issued by federal agencies demanding information about individuals’ activities. The Patriot Act did not introduce these enemies of constitutional rights, but it certainly empowered them by lowering requirements for one to be issued and expanding the list of alphabet agencies that can deploy them. The letters are unconstitutional, because they directly conflict with the first and fourth amendments. They violate the first amendment by forcing receiving parties to not reveal that they have gotten a letter, its contents, or the grounds upon which it was received; under the patriot act, search warrants are not required to force companies to give information up and consumers of the company are not allowed to be informed their data has been compromised. The concept National Security Letters blow first and fourth amendment rights out of the water.

    Certain provisions in the Patriot Act allow for the imprisonment of Aliens. Why should natural-born and naturalized U.S. citizens care if aliens are detained? The power to detain individuals under the act lies with the Attorney General, an unelected official. The fifth amendment demands an indictment in order to detain an individual; it does not explicitly state that the individual has to be naturalized or natural-born. Therein lies the problem; an unelected official has the ability to undermine constitutional rights without judicial oversight. Theoretically, if President Obama had not already signed indefinite detention of American citizens into law, it would only take amendments to two sections of the Patriot Act to allow detention of American citizens without an indictment.

    Government spying under FISA was also expanded to be more powerful under the Patriot Act. The act enables the gathering of intelligence and other data concerning individuals by only submitting an application to a judge who is unable to refuse the application if all the criteria are met, which is interpreted as a violation of rights afforded by the fourth amendment. In further violation of the fourth amendment, the Patriot Act neglects to require notification of parties whose privacy have been violated; notifying investigated parties is part of due process, which is guaranteed by the fifth amendment. Miniscule exceptions to wiretapping law were blown open in order to allow for richer data mining. In order to gain wiretapping warrant (an application that a judge cannot reject under the Patriot Act), the FBI simply has to imply that the individual is related to an ongoing case. Government spying in its most blunt form is a violation of fundamental fourth amendment rights.

    Debaters say that the Patriot Act is a useful enrichment of domestic security for the United States of America, although it is widely stated that the security will not withstand the test of time. Individuals will seek out methods of circumventing government surveillance routines. Over time, the judicial branch will surgically remove the unconstitutional parts of the amendment, leaving any security it provided through unconstitutional means moot. Lacking methods for collecting and analyzing data concerning citizens, it will be considerably more difficult to enforce anti-terrorism laws.

    In conclusion, the United States Patriot Act is a condemnable, unconstitutional act that should not be upheld in the court of law. In the act, there are violations of rights afforded to Americans by the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. Through verbose language and excessive amendments to pre existing acts, the Patriot Act delegates increased power to the executive branch without judicial oversight. What patriotic American would support the act of war that the Patriot Act ignites against the bill of rights? The Patriot Act is the most unpatriotic selection of language that could be enacted to protect Americans.

10/16/13 start up

1. I abstain from having an opinion on should they are charged; they are drops in a bucket according to the statistics heard all the time.
2. The difference between a misdemeanor and a felony is the time punished and where the imprisonment takes place.
3. Enough things are being done already to combat bullying.

10/8 startup

I do not agree with the name changing. The 19th century image of an Indian image represents people from a different time period. Indian is no longer a word appropriately used to describe Native Americans, therefor, Native Americans should not be offended when people use the word Indian. Also, there are some negative connotations attached to the word cowboy, but you don't see anyone going after the Dallas Cowboys. I don't see the problem with the name Indians.