Muckraking....Ewwwwww!!!!!

Today in class we went into a term called muckraking. Muckraking is a term used to describe when people try to "dig out dirt" on people or companies. Muckraking can sometimes be bias and most of the time it is. From getting fired form your job to not getting the satisfaction guaranteed. Not all Muckraking comes from bias sources. Many people discover their "dirt" through research. In a movie we watched called "Super size Me" the main character found out that McDonald chicken Nuggets are made from not the healthy but crippled, diseased, and old chickens with enlarged breast. They put the chicken through a processor,then form them into their shapes, and ship them while in refrigeration to McDonald's where they are basically reheated. What I just stated was an example of muckraking on McDonald's chicken nuggets.

Super Size Me Movie

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1432315846377280008

Water Gate Scandal Article

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/politics/specials/watergate/articles/

-Michael Page

Inquiry Leson........Final!!

Today in U.s. History class we finished our inquiry lesson. The class read the last primary document and learned of the dangers of working in a coal mine.

In the article we found out that the coal mine practiced child labor. The children dealt with sharp coal that would often cut them and they also dealt with dangerous machines that would suck them up and spit them out in half.

We finished the class off with a paragraph that asked if labor unions were necessary. I said that labor unions were necessary because they lowered work hours and higher wages, which were two of the mot famous problems in the early labor world.

Child labor song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDN3X-WORI4&feature=related

-Michael Page

Inquiry Lesson Prt.2!!

Today in class we continued our inquiry lesson, although this time we focused more on laborers conditions and they hardships they faced. We went through different songs and newspaper articles to find the bad conditions faced by laborers. An example of one of the articles we read was The Triangle shirtwaist factory Fire newspaper article. The bad conditions faced in this article were the workers had low wages, long hours, insufficient escape plans, and they worked in a poorly built building.

Triangle Shirtwaist factory article.

http://www.historybuff.com/library/refshirtwaist.html

A link to a video about Triangle Shirtwaist Fire

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rf9GVbzf7Q4

Inquriy Lesson.... WHAT!!!??

Today November 5, 2008 in History class we did what is called an inquiry lesson on work and living conditions during the progessive era. I learned that in this progessive era work wages were low, many people's work instituion was poorly santintized and dangerous, and worked for ten hours a day.

When bosses started to cut wages for factory workers many people quit or were fired. This movement bought chld labor to play. Boss's would only hire men who had male children that could work. For example if a man applied for job and he had a son that was at least five years old he was usually hired.

I also learend that when people loss their job the came together to form labor unions. These labor unions set goals for things that would better help the working people. For example labor unions wanted to lower work time and hire wages. These attempts were usually denied .

Here is a video that exposes Nike sweatshops
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVuScVCF1Ws&feature=related

-Michael Page (1a)

Barack Obama: The Next President of the United States of AMerica

At 11:03pm with 284 electoral votes, Barack Obama is now the projected 44th President of the U.S.

WHOOOOAAAAAAA!!!!!!! MSNBC News Link

I am so proud and excited to say that Senator Barack Obama from Illinois is the next President of the United States of America...

And the votes aren't even done being counted in other states!!!!

-Kanisha F.

-Found a funny video called "Vote Barack"...thought you all would enjoy it.

6 days left til' election day.....I know we can't, but you should explain to your family and friends why Barack Obama is a great candidate for president and why they should...."VOTE BARACK"!!!

Vote Barack Rap Video

-Kanisha

1860's-1920's

Today in class we finished up our different summaries on the topics assigned to us. In my group we were assigned Plessy vs. Ferguson. This court case (a Supreme Court case) happened in 1896 in Louisiana. A black man sat in the white section of a train just to "test" the law. Once arrested he plead that this violated his 14Th Amendment. The court agreed with and accepted separate but equal so they overruled it. This decision was a catalyst of some sorts that continued discrimination and segregation. Lastly, we went over some of the does and don'ts of our paper. We are to cite all of our resources, and to use only .edu websites. Don'ts would be not to speak in the first person, and to be professional (do not speak as if you are writing a blog). Some of these new stipulations may mess up some people and cause them to revise their paper, but it will make it even better.!!! Good luck!!


(Got IT!!)

-Kanisha

Gilded Age

Today we learned a little bit about the Gilded Age.
This era of time involved corruption, lies, and deceit.
Gilded gold is basically a fraud where an item is recognized as gold, but it is only gold on the surface while the real substance is something else. Mark Twain feferred to this time period as the Gilded Age because Boss William Marcy Tweed used money from city contracts for his own benefit. He was sent to jail because he was convicted for fraud and extortion. Ulysses S. Grant also used liquor funding for his own personaly gain and stole a great amount of money from over priced taxes.







by:Karen Sanderson
more to come......tomorrow!

Unit 1 Test....YIKES!!!

Today was BORING.....Just kidding...

In class today we took our unit 1 chapter test. In my opinion it wasn't too hard, but it wasn't easy either. Our test was about the Reconstruction period, after Reconstruction, the manufacturing industry, and the steel,oil, and railroad industries.

The most of the questions dealing with reconstruction and the aftermath of it were pretty easy. The BCR'S dealing with the struggles and challenges of blacks were also kind of simple. Then again Reconstruction has been something that we focused on for a while.

Another part of the test dealt with the expansion of the country west or "manifest destiny", as well as the settlers of the west. Those questions were also very simple, we studied a lot and even played Jeopardy to help prepare for this test.

Our test was also about the industry of the railroad boom, as well as the oil and steel company advancement in the industry. People like Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, and Vanderbilt.

For the most part our test was OKAY...and even if you didn't study the night before, the studying we did in class should have helped educate you for the test.

HOPE WE ALL DID WELL!!!!

-Kanisha

IT'LL BE CANADA FOR ME!!

I JUST GOT THIS TOTALLY AWESOME BULLETIN ON MYSPACE. IT'S A VIDEO THAT USES THE TUNE OF "HEY THER DELILAH" TO DIS SARAH PALIN. IT'S HILARIOUS!! PLEZE COMMENT AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK!!

-guess who

Election Rap Battle '08

I received this hilarious video in my email....thought it would be funny to share it with the class.

Although funny, most of the statements in the battle are true...(Keyword..MOST!!)

Leave comments and tell me how you feel about what was said.

Rap Battle

OBAMA '08

-Kanisha

ILL TAKE THE CIVIL WAR FOR 500 MS.HANSEN

On thew day of October 13,2008 was our class and we prepared for our big test by playing a great game of jeopardy!!!The categories included Civil war,Kitchen sink(which is any random thing category),western movement, Reconstruction, and 2 more that i cant remember. We also did a review sheet for the test the whole class was preparatory action their really was no new stuff.With the exception of the word"subsidy" plural "subsidies"the meaning is followed in this linkhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/subsidy.But overall a good class and i think we are really prepared for this test!!!!!

CRAZY BUS DRIVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay I thought this was interesting you can read at this url.

Here is what I read about........

In Dayton Beach Fl a bus driver was accused of stopping on a rail road and telling the kids that he was going to leave them their to die. A little girl who was on the bus says that, that was what the bus driver did. We all know that the driver is supposed to stop at the rail road crossing and look both ways and keep driving but who knows what the driver(who is unknown at the time ) really did. This is important because what if this person really would have done it. This girl who said that the bus driver did this is 12 I would believe her. well right now this person is being investgated and hopefully we will find out what really happened on that Monday. Lets just wait and see.

- - - - - - - - - - HEIDI A.

Today in class, we talked about WallStreet, and gave our opinions on whether or not we felt that it was the government's job to bail WallStreet out. We found out that even if a company fails, the CEO of that company is still paid in millions!!! This is called a golden parachute package. Ms. Hansen also showed us a poster of a bond advertisement like ones that the government used in the past to convince people to buy bonds(shares of the government), in order to fund wars. To end class, we played a game on industry in the 1800s, that was similar to Family Feud. In the end, it was a tie between team1 and team2(<---that was my team :) )

-Adiya

"THAT ONE"_???_

IN LAST NIGHT'S PRESENTIAL DEBATE MCCAIN REFERRED TO OBAMA AS THAT ONE. SOME SAY THAT HE MEANT NOTHING BY IT. OTHERS WERE OFFRNDED BY THIS. TAKE A LOOK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNzA9LfMlmU. DO YOU GUYS THINK THAT THIS WAS DISRESPECTFUL OR NOT??

General Pertraeus

Today we learned specifically about contextualization on an excerpt of the debate between Barack Obama and John McCain. One of the main topics was the war and the new genral which is te guy in the picture to the right. General David Pertraeus in April of this year he sat before a congress telling of the status on the "front". And also our offensive plans in Iraq which is stated in this link.http://www.nysun.com/editorials/general-petraeuss-return/74098/ For a little background information on the guy in control stated in the New Yorker paper online in this linkhttp://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/09/08/080908fa_fact_coll where it states that he got his doctorial degree at harvard in 1987 and thats where their trying to point out how his intellegence is helpful but also realize his mistakes.They also tell us he has not voted since 2002 when he bacame a two star general.We also spoke of whether we should focus more on Alqida where the neuclear weapons are, Often we found history repeating and how David Pertraeus has began to help the U.S win.S now heres a video on the war http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fs038xdDqxQ now the big question is Do we pull out or stay in and wait while more of our men get killed???
-SHAUNEIL SNELL-

READY OR NOT?HERE I COME!

This debate was a must see as the two presidential canidates battled it out. Everyone expected John McCain to come out with a clear win and that is basically what he needed.And, of course with the debate being on foreign policy John McCain strong suit they thought it would come out with him on top.heres a link to a page with 4 of the top moments of the debate http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/07/politics/2008debates/main4505717.shtml

of course again Barack Obama held his own in a race that everyone deems him unexperienced and unprepared.But with John McCain's constant stuttering lack of eye contact and knac for not answering the question who's more or so less prepared?????

-SHAUNEIL SNELL-

American Indians vs. White Settlers

As we all know, the first people to settle in America were not the white settlers but actually the American Indians. They have been here forever. Probably one of the only reasons that people actually believed that white settlers were the first in America is because they chased all of the Indians away and forced them to move. Also, that is what they have taught us, that the whites were here first which we now know is definitely not the case!

Beginning with the Indian Removal Act of 1830, the U.S. government pushed American Indians west in order to take over their land. Eventually leading to the Trail of Tears(1831), which was an 800- mile forced march made by the Cherokee from their homeland in Georgia to Indian Territory. Despite everything they went through, the government went back on treaties over and over again. There were so many attempts on American Indians to just control them and gain even more of their land. White settlement cut back grazing areas and cut off migration routes. After a while American Indians would not stand for it anymore and they finally fought back to preserve their culture causing the Indian Wars. It's too bad that they were out manned and out gunned by the many white settlers. Then in 1864, the U.S. Army killed about 150 Cheyenne elderly, women, and children in the Sand Creek Massacre. In 1876 in the Battle of Little Bighorn, Sioux forces led by Chief Sitting Bull defeated a U.S. Army troop led by Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer.

Ghost Dancing was a religious ceremony practiced by the American Indians to bring hope. This made settlers feel threatened and they did not understand. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQGW5a0q51w

In 1890, at the Battle of Wounded Knee, the American Indians attempted to surrender, but the U.S. troops massacred them anyway. During the Dawes Act(1887) , white settlers attempted to assimilate the Indians into "society" by Americanization and dividing land up among them. Some long term effects were alienation, legal ambiguity, extinction of languages, discrimination, and very high rates of poverty, crime, and health problems.

-chelsea

Number of Illegal Immigrants...UP....DOWN???

The United State's economy is not so hot right now, and we inforced the immigration laws. The number of illegal immigrants entering the United States each year has slowed significantly since the first half of this decade. Legal immigrants now outnumber illegal ones for the first time in TEN years. The number of illegal immigrants entering the United States has declined from an average of 800,000 a year in 2000-04 to 500,000 a year in 2005-08. Could this be due to the slow down of growth of the illegal immigrant population? OR is it because our economy is not doing so well? Despite the population slowdown illegal immigrants still make up about 4 percent of US population. Will this decrease or increase over time???

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/02/AR2008100201882.html?hpid=topnews

-AaRae

Down-Out and Broke, Not Just Me.

The senate is in the process of passing the $700 billion Wall-Street bailout, (a deal to bailout wall-street. Wall-Street is a street in Manhattan where brokers gather to analyze, bid, and purchase international market products. Wall-Street is a symbol of the United State's financial industry.) but is it timely for ordinary folks like us? Student loans are not readily available. Don't even think about refinancing your home mortgage at a lower interest rate. Small infrastructure lines of credit have increased by .7 percent. The family bread winners are either losing their jobs or taking drastic cuts in pay. Property values are plummeting because either homes are not selling or foreclosures.

The bailout not only affects college students and business owners, it also affects regular homeowners. The bailout uses tax money that we would have had in our pockets for essential needs like food, water, and shelter leaving us to work even harder to get the money to supply those things. Obviously the senate cares nothing of the citizens of the United States thoughts because many people oppose the bailout. If only we had someone to help us through these rough economic times!

Political cartoon at

http://bigpicture.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/01/25/handouts_for_troubled_wall_street.gif

"Oh Heaven can you help us all!!!!!!!"

Here is a video of people's thoughts about the $700 billion Wall-Street bailout.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzzVVwwh8tg

How do you think the wall street bailout will affect us future college students and business leaders?

Article cited at

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/livecoverage/2008/10/has_the_credit_crunch_affected.html

-Michael Page

DANCING WITH THE POLITICIANS!!!

SENATOR MCCAIN REALLY HAD ON HIS DANCING SHOES FRIDAY NIGHT. MAYBE HE SHOULD BE ON DANCING WITH THE STARS BECAUSE HE SURE CAN DANCE (around a question that is). OTHER THAN NOT ANSWERING QUESTIONS, DID YOU NOTICE THAT MCCAIN DID NOT EVEN LOOK AT OBAMA?(look at the picture above he's not even looking at him as he shakes his hand) THIS IS NOT PROPER DEBATE ETIQUETTE, MIND YOU. I THINK IT SHOWS ANOTHER SIDE OF MCCAIN THAT WE ALL KNEW WAS THERE BUT IT NEVER CAME OUT.

MANY REPORTERS THINK THAT OBAMA TOOK THE VICTORY. WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK?

STAY TUNED FOR COMMENTS ON NEXT WEEK'S VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE DEBATE!!


-terrence

Sarah Say What!?!?

Even a ninth grader, Democrat or Republican, can tell that Sarah Palin is clueless when it comes to foreign policy. I mean really, just because I have visited another country does not mean that I know all about their foreign policy. Sarah Palin thinks that just because Russia and Canada are beside her state it makes her an expert in foreign policy. Katie Couric, a well known reporter, interviewed Sarah Palin and talked about many issues including foreign policy. When Katie asked her what interactions she's had with Russia through Alaska she claims, yeah we have trade missions with them back and forth. So my question is, what does Sarah Palin really know? In my opinion she makes herself look a little worse every time she's in the spotlight. Is Sarah Palin the right person to be the Vice-President of America? Does she have the experience to run the country if anything happened to McCain? You be the judge!http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=4478156n


- Chelsea

Another Great Depression? Or another one of Palin's Tactics?

It seems that recently, Palin has announced that if the U.S. doesnt take care of its financial crisis, we are possibly headed for a Great Depression. But can we belive everything she says? Palin seems to have a lot of strikes against her in this election. From her family issues to the hacking of her email. Polls show that Palin's popularity has decreased approximately 5 points over the past few weeks. So can we trust that the U.S. is headed for a Great Depression?

It was mentioned earlier that the financial crisis had to be fixed to avoid this. In order to fix this crisis we need a strong president to help us through it. But McCain seems to be backing down from the debate, and his excuse is that we need to concentrate on the financial crisis!

Take a look at the article.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080925/ap_on_el_pr/palin;_ylt=AmxVDUkyOHZB4tI7RQA59Ums0NUE

-Latasha Easter

COP OUT!!!!!!

BREAKING NEWS!!!- THIS JUST IN: THE REBUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, JOHN MCCAIN, HAS DECIDED TO SUSPEND HIS CAMPAIGN IN ORDER TO "DEVOTE HIS ATTENTION TO THE FINANCIAL CRISIS IN DC" (yeah right). HE SUGGESTED THAT BARACK OBAMA DO THE SAME AND THAT THE DEBATE ON FRIDAY SHOULD BE POSTPONED. SEN. OBAMA SAID THAT THE FINANCIAL CRISIS IS EXACTLY THE REASON WHY THE PEOPLE OF AMERICA SHOULD HEAR FROM THE PERSON WHO WOUULD BE THIER NEXT PRESIDENT. I THINK THAT THIS IS ANOTHER CASE OF "LIPSTICK ON A PIG" SYNDROME. MCCAIN'S REASON FOR SUSPENDING HIS CAMPAIGN MAY LOOK GOOD, BUT IT'S STILL A COP OUT! What do you guys think?

-terrence

Boy Suspended over: Anti-Obama Shirt

Today on the news there was a report of a young boy who was suspended from school over a t-shirt he wore. The following link goes into better detail about it. Do you think he deserved to be put out of school? Who imposed these ideas upon him..the media...his parents....or were these his own thoughts? Leave a comment and let me know what you think!







Boy Suspended for Anti-Obama Shirt











-Kanisha

YAY blog about class 091909

Well today was free friday...we looked at how political adds have change during the years...ms.hansen gave us this website where u can see how political adds were and how they are today...it is slate.com...in most campaign adds they tell you whats wrong with the other candidate...they try to make them look bad...they talk trash about one and another so they can look better...we were asked what were our opinions on adds and most of us said the same thing its just to talk trash and they go back and forth until people elect who they want more...click here to see a video off of slate.com

Little Johnny vs. McCain

I thought this would be something funny to blog about, however the message behind it, I believe, is true. I received this story in an e-mail.

A teacher in Jackson, Mississippi asked her 6th grade class how many of them were McCain fans.

Not really knowing what a McCain fan was, but wanting to be liked by the teacher, all the kids raised their hands except for Little Johnny. The teacher asked Little Johnny why he decided to be different... Again.

Little Johnny said, 'Because I'm not a McCain fan.'

The teacher said, 'Why aren't you a McCain fan?' Johnny said, 'Because I'm a Democrat.'

The teacher asked why he's a Democrat. Little Johnny answered, 'Well, my Mom's a Democrat and my Dad's a Democrat, so I'm a Democrat.'

The teacher asks, 'If your Mom was a moron, and your Dad was an idiot,what would that make you?' With a big smile, Little Johnny replied,'That would make me a McCain fan.'

I always liked Little Johnny.

LOL!!!

-Kanisha

McCain talking about obama again

John McCain campaign is mocking Obama assertion that his economic trigger plan was the basis for the compromise package that was founded by congress and Bush administration this year. McCain had pointed out that the Illinois sen. did not vote on the final package which passed the Senate on February 8th. Obama had his own package announced in January. Obamas package included 75 billion dollars the plan proposed 250$ tax cut for workers and 250$ bonus for senior citizens to their social security checks. My opinion is I dont like McCain and anything he says or thinks about I dont like. So i dont care what he say. I also say its good that Barack Obama isnt just following every one else by following their package and coming up with his own.


!!!! ---New news McCain sucks--- !!!!


Source from Washington Post

- ahmad jackson

HACKED!!!!

BREAKING NEWS!! This just in: Tonight on Fox 5 News @ 10 there was a story about Sarah Palin's personal email account! IT WAS HACKED!!! This isn't just some dumb email account that she never checks. Some of the messages are dated after McCain picked her for VP. Now the hackers have access to all of Palin's messages and her contact list! I can't wait to see what kind of stuff we'll find out about Governor Palin now! What do y'all think???

-Terrence O.

9/17/08 IN CLASS TODAY WE....?!?

Today we did a warm-up, on how we would react to the economy if were a newly freed slave.

After, we had a discussion about whats going on in the economy.

This was a very interning discussion and everyone and something to say.

We discussed ed how the gas was going up and how the mortgage company's were getting taken over.

We also discussed how this is effecting the interest that people have to pay.

After, we looked over our home work.

Many of us had questions that we did not understand ans we discussed them in class.

At the end of class we wrote a B.C.R about a cartoon showing the K.K.K and some one else.

if you are doing it for homework dont for get to do it.

Well thats about it BYE >.<

-HEIDI

What we did to day 9/15/08

To day in class we watched a short film about the 9/11 tragedy. Right after we answered a few questions about how the film made us feel and stuff. After we read a quote in our groups from a newly freed slave and answered a couple of questions. Most of us had trouble because the words were hard to make out because it wasn't proper English.




- heidi

Exra! Extra! Read All About It! Obama vs. McCain! Get While It's Still Hot!

Thanks for reading "Nandi Post"
Shocking news! Last night on CNN, Obama and McCain battled head to head on a 2 hour, on going, battle of the politics on conversations about who and why each candidate would like to be the president of the United States. Though the battle was close, in my point of view, i think that Obama took the gold medal. He was serious about his com-backs but, kept a humorous tone as well. He spoke of his life and how it affected his decision of becoming president.

- Funny Girl:

Nandi Swinson

P.S.- Is this better?

091109 rest in peace

Well what did we do today???

Lets see....

To start off our day was ok right.Well we did our warm up which was how did 9-11 affected you.Personally i think that the whole U.S felt hurt.Afterwards we took a small test of about like what 20 questions.It was fair it wasnt that hard nor that easy.After that the homework was collected and the new homework for ummmm i think monday,wednesday and friday was distributed.We then went over blogging again...ms.hansen said we'll go over 9/11 on monday remind her that...we rock

overalll today was awesome

(ps my bad for any misspelling and .... so many dots)

WE ARE AWESOME

-Cathy Flores WAZZ HERE

Computer Glitch? OH, NOT AGAIN!!!!

This evening on Fox 5 News at 6 I learned that there was a problem with all the computerized ballots in the D.C. area. The primary election for city council took place today and the majority of voters had to use hand written ballots rather than the usual computer generated ones. With the presidential election only 54 days away I can't help but wonder if this computer glitch could happen again. What do you guys think??

-Terrence O.

what we did in class 9/09/08

Today in class we talked about the clivil war. We also reviewed for our test. We learened that in the o.e.d (oxford english dictionary) the word babymama is in it. We learned how to blog. We looked over the class blog.At the end of class we whacted a movie about the civil war(Ken Bruns Video)


- Heidi

Today is a day of rememberance for those who lost their lives in the September 11th terror attacks. To honor those who lost their live at the pentagon a new memorial was built. The memorial consist of benches that acknowledge each of the the people who lost their life. All of the benches are in order from the youngest victim, whom I belive was three, to the oldest victim who was seventy-one. The memorial also has a wall that begins at a height of three inches and increases an inch with every age until it get to a total height of seventy-one inches. This memorial was well thought out and it is really nice looking. This link will show you the memorial and explain it a little better.

Obama's Rebutal

Like Terrence this wasn't assigned either but I thought it was important enough to blog about. Senator Obama made a comment the other day about John McCain's economic plans. In those comments he stated "you can put lipstick on a pig but it's still a pig," or something close to that. Of course the McCain campaign thought of this as slander towards Gov. Palin. This link below gives a video of Obama's response to this new story that he was being sexist. Do you believe he was using those dirty politics tactics that he disagrees with, or that he was speaking the truth about the situation?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/26640762#26640762

-Kanisha F.

"Can You Hear Me Now?"

I know this wasn't assigned, but i have a question. If the electoral votes overrule the popular votes, do we (not really us because we can't vote) really have a voice? I've had this debate with my dad, he thinks that the electoral votes depend on the popular vote, but I say that the members in the electoral college can make any decision they want. I went to this one website http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/about.html. It told me about the electoral college, but it still didn't answer my question? Can anybody help me?????



-Terrence O.

Governor Palin: Superhero????

By: Kanisha F. : Thanks for the great reviews everyone!!!!

MSNBC reporter Chris Matthews discusses today's highlights on his sideshow discussion, on Sarah Palin and her past:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/26629500#26629500

Today on Hardball With Chris Matthews, he discussed Palin's past and present actions. The enterprise HeroBuilders.com, has now decided to sell a new action figure doll of Gov. Sarah Palin. The public has yet to determine whether or not this is meant to express that she's ready to take action, or for another reason. That particular Enterprise has taken a fond liking of Mrs. Palin for unexplored reasons. Go figure Palin as a hero!

Palin was a hot topic on today's show. Chris, later went on to analyzing and critiquing her unclear stance on the "Bridge to Nowhere" scandal in Alaska. There is factual, concrete proof that Palin supported the "Bridge to Nowhere" project in the beginning. She later on, especially after becoming McCain's running mate, started portraying that she never backed the project. In the video link I listed earlier, it shows 7 times so far since becoming a nominee, that she has untruthfully or lied in telling supporters her views on the project. LIES, LIES, LIES!! (Or dishonesty.) By the way, she received money for backing the project. However, when she began disapproving the project instead of returning the money, she just reallocated it elsewhere.

In conclusion of today's unconventional current events, John McCain's daughter spoke about his past in an interview. She stated that her father was a rebellious young man into fast cars, who even once dated a stripper. Surprise!

This current event is very important to our future. Why should we care, because if Sarah Palin becomes the VP along side of John McCain, her views as well as his will impact how and what our future will be like.

The question I pose to you, is whether or not Gov. Sarah Palin, who is one heart beat away from the white house, is ready to lead?

__Kanisha F.

Class Practice

Ken Burns Video : Video about the Civil War and Slavery from PBS

Financial Crisis??

U.S. Announces Takeover of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac

As the financial crisis continues, the government has stepped in to take over the two largest mortgage finance companies in Washington, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said, "Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are so large and so interwoven in our financial system that a failure of either of them would cause great turmoil in our financial markets here at home and around the globe. A failure would be harmful to economic growth and job creation. That is why we have taken these actions today." He called for Congress to take this opportunity to restructure these companies which, he said, would prevent this from occurring in the future. 

These companies buy mortgages and then sell them in pieces to new investors. This creates new money which can then be used to sell more mortgages. Risky lending practices (for example, lending to people who can not repay their loan) over the past few years have made the financial system unstable and many banks and mortgage companies are now unable to sell the mortgages they bought. Fannie and Freddie, thus, became responsible for a majority of the home loans in the nation. Because they, too, are having trouble selling the mortgages they are backing, the government stepped in to make sure that they are able to pay their debts and continue backing new mortgages.

Fannie and Freddie are only viable as long as investors trust in their strength. If investors fear that these companies are not safe investments (that is, if they think they will lose money), they will cease to buy bonds and securities from these companies. This would make Fannie and Freddie unable to pay back the loans they took out to buy the mortgages in the first place. This would trigger a domino effect of bankruptcies in the financial industry. The government takeover is meant to reassure the public that our financial system is under control. 

Discussion Question: What are the global implications for a collapse of the American financial system?

- Ms. Hansen

Getting off to a great start!

The past two weeks have been busy, both in our classroom and in the nation. Against the backdrop of the 2008 Presidential Nominating Conventions, we have been exploring how the major issues in this election are affecting us. We've discussed the challenges that Senator Barack Obama and Governor Sarah Palin face in this election as they defy the odds and hope to make history as the first black president or first female vice president. We decided, however, that it does not matter what you look like, or what your family situation is: the candidates should be judged by what they can do for the country. 

We're also worried about the economy. Everyone is interested in the changing price of gas and we discussed ways to solve this problem, 

including drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and alternative fuel sources. 

Meanwhile, we have also been learning about the Civil War. 

We discussed some if it's causes, including the Compromise of 1850, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the results of the Dred Scott Case, and the Election of 1860. We very briefly reviewed the events surrounding the South's secession and the major events of the war. 

- Ms. Hansen

Welcome!!

This is the official class blog for Ms. Hansen's Period 1A US History Class. Once we get rolling, this site will be a showcase of our work during this school year. Get excited!!