LAST BLOG :(

Dear Teddie,

 

I clearly remember the first day of government where I sat near you.  I am not going to lie, I was dreading going to that class. I have never been interested in government due to my lack of knowledge about it. It only took a few classes until I realized government isn’t so bad.  Remember the notes that symbolized a relationship? Those were really great and interesting because it made it much easier to learn. Also, all the other notes were really helpful too. If I were left to interpret the book all by myself, I do not know what I would do. Ms. Linden is such a good teacher, especially for it being her first year! I think the teacher makes the subject and if Ms. Linden wouldn’t have taught it, I think I would not have enjoyed it nearly as much.  I truly did enjoy the class, however I would not be interested in studying it in college.

The great thing about taking government is that it prepares you for voting time. Taking government now was smart since I am going to be able to vote pretty soon. Without the class I would be totally confused. I basically learned everything about the presidential election, including the candidates, which is really important. It’s kind of embarrassing to think back and see how much I was uneducated about concerning my own country!

It is difficult to think about what should be changed about the class. For a minor thing, I thought that it was hard for me to write down on paper how terms are relevant to the class as a whole. It was also hard for me to think of discussion questions and I think they may be worth skipping. I think the paper topic was difficult, but a paper is important, so maybe she should change the topic? Even though I hate quizzes from readings, I thought they were extremely helpful. They helped me realize what I read and prepared me for future discussions/tests. On the other hand, I loved watching Thank You For Smoking. This movie made the topic much easier to learn than reading from the book. It was informational, yet a great movie. Once again, I liked the notes. It was great that she gave us the notes and we had to fill them in. Some of the blogs came so easy to me, while others I was struggling to get 500 words. Maybe there should be fewer words required? It was also difficult for me to put my opinion in them because I tend to summarize a lot. The study guides for the tests were awesome! So far, the midterm is really fair. Ms. Linden gave us the perfect amount of homework and tests.

Did you enjoy the joint project? I still do not know if I did or didn’t so I guess I have any opinion towards it. However, I think most people liked it. Actually, I think the class would be better off still doing the project, but only with Linden’s classes.

P.S.- this was a great blog idea!! I enjoyed writing it and I am happy at least some teachers like to hear their students input!

 

From,

Ari

Civil Liberties

Hiring of minorities for management positions in sports has historically been a major issue.  In order to make a change in the sports industry, rules must be in place.  This change must start with the youth.  Particularly, showing children the opportunities that can arise in sports when off the field.  The National Football League has made a step in trying to resolve this current issue. 

-A minority is a socially identified population that suffers disadvantages and has a strong sense of social togetherness based on shared experiences of past and current discrimination. According to the definition, women are considered minorities.  More often than not, women are forgotten in the sport industry.  Typically when discussing a minority is sports, the first thing that comes to mind is an African- American, male.  However, women are suffering in the sport industry. When one is trying to find a way to increase the amount of minorities holding management positions in sports, we must remember that women are included among this group. 

-The cause for the lacking amount of minorities holding management positions in all forms of athletics is due to a combination of two things.  The first being, minorities are not introduced to the business side of sports at an early age.  Secondly, wealthy white men who have the power in the sport industry primarily do not want any change.  They predominantly want to hire people who are similar to them. 

-Research shows the lack of minorities in head coach positions.  The NFL is the only league, which is currently improving its statistics.   The NFL made history last season with two black head coaches in the Super Bowl. The NCAA is a place of higher education, they have been unable to have an environment of equal opportunities and diversity. 

I have come to believe that the issue previously discussed is a serious problem today. Unfortunately, every decision seems to be in the hands of the owners, the rich and the powerful. 

GLOBALIZATION

The Goods & Bads of Globalization
Why is globalization good? When positive ideas arise in one country, it would be great if all other countries could see the positives and then grasp that idea. For example, it took time for the United States to give women rights, but once they did other countries noticed it was a good idea and that they too should give their women's rights. Globalization also betters the entire world by making it more technological advanced. Every time a country produces a piece of technology, somebody else begins to produce something that is even better than that. This eventually leads our world into being made up of the best of the best technology/equipment. Imagine how many countries there are that use television, telephones, computers, etc. on a daily basis. All of these pieces originated from one place. It isn't possible to be too educated. I think it is great when people and speak many different languages. The fact that most high schools teach Spanish and that a certain amount of years of a language is required in high school is a sign of globalization.
Globalization allows for more jobs across the countries, which slowly but surely leads into getting rid of poverty.

Why is globalization bad? Globalization gets rid of all the things that make people/places different from one another. Holidays, religions, and cultures become more similar. Clothing no longer looks different in each country. When a piece of clothing is popular it is liked everywhere and when it goes out of style it goes out everywhere. Food is also an issue. Food sets a lot of places apart. Italian food is found in Italy, Greek food is found in Greece, American food is found in America, Chinese food is found in China etc. However, with globalization you could eat almost any food anywhere. McDonalds, an American restaurant, is located in numerous amounts of countries not including America. All I have to do is go to a mall in America and I can choose from Japanese, Middle Eastern, Italian, and many other types of food.
With products being made from all over the world, it is hard for one's own economy to be stable. For example, I look around on the streets and see so many non-American cars. This is a sign of globalization, but it is bad. It puts our (America) countries economy in trouble.


Today, it is too difficult to match a definition to globalization. I believe it is simply the spreading of any idea. Ideas consist of many things. For example, food, culture, religion, fashion, politics, products, etc. Like many other people, I cannot say whether globalization is a good or a bad thing. I think there are many reasons to support both sides and therefore think globalization is just one of those things present in life today and doesn't/shouldn't have opposing components to it.

Thank You For Smoking

Should every government class watch the movie "Thank You For Smoking"?
I think so.

Besides the fact that Adam Brody is in it, Thank You For Smoking can be viewed as an educational film.

Many kids, including myself, are visual learners. After reading the book about interests groups I was still confused. After I had watched the movie everything became clear. Thank You For Smoking portrays the job of a lobbyist and what interest groups are like really well. Many people, like the students in Naylor’s son’s classroom, are unaware of what a lobbyist does. First the movie states that a lobbyist’s job is to talk. However, as the movie goes on the viewers travel through a life of a lobbyists, Nick Naylor. This is when I understood what being a lobbyist meant. I had not realized that being a lobbyist was more like a lifestyle than a job. Also, I gained the knowledge that lobbyist are not just people who have a strong opinion regarding something. Lobbyists are part of a bigger title, called an interest group. Before the movie I only imagined interest groups that related directly to government, like politics. Now I understand they could be about anything, even about tobacco. It seems as though interest groups are not for the ordinary people, but rather those who have a “name” in government. After seeing how ordinary Nick Naylor was, I began to think I was wrong. I was wrong. In fact, I know ordinary people who are a part of the interest group AIPAC.
Although this may have been “Hollywood” exaggerated, I did not comprehend how aggressive the enemy of the interest group/lobbyist could be. I was not even aware of the fact that people are enemies of certain interest groups. I only thought of them as fighting for good ideas.

Without Thank You For Smoking there would be many unclear things. The movie did not just make me understand the topic of interest groups, but it also got me thinking further. I got the past the idea of a lobbyist as somebody who talks and I connected interests groups to my own life.

Minority Candidates

Does being a minority affect your chances of wining?
This is an interesting topic because we have several candidates who are minorities running for the 2008 election. Barack Obama is African American, Hillary Clinton is a woman, and Mitt Romney is a morman.
To begin with, I think it is important for people to realize how great it is that these people have the right to be running.
I believe that minority will have an affect on the candidates. Although this is my opinion, I wish it were not true.
There are two main reasons why I believe that people will tend to not vote minorities.
First, racism is a powerful idea that many Americans hold close to. You might think that many people are past racism, but this is just in the case of some situations. However, concerning the presidential election, most people will not vote for somebody who is a minority they do not agree with. I know that I get “nervous” when somebody who is in charge of me is different than me. For example, I would feel uncomfortable to have a Catholic Male who has completely different views on life than me as a principal.
Second, although it may seem odd, most people will not vote for the candidate who shares a minority with them. I believe this because in case of something bad happening because of the president, the minority might get accused too. For example, if Mitt Romney was to make a bad decision people would began to stereotype the Mormons. Although this should not happen, it is extremely possible to do so. Just because one Mormon made a bad decision, does not mean that all Mormons would make that decision. Even more, a white Christian male could have made that same decision that Mitt Romney had made.

A recent article, found in Glamour Magazine, included an interview with Michelle Obama, Baracks wife. One of the questions was asking Michelle if she felt that her husband’s candidacy would be affected because of their race. She answered unsure of what will happen, but she said whatever happens they are prepared.
After reading this, I realized how great of an answer she gave. It sounded very professional. I thought that it was smart that she was not going to presuppose that her husband will lose just because he is black.

As am I, the media is very interested in this topic. Many TV show hosts are making funny (to some people) jokes about their minorities. To sum everything up, here is a quote to think about.


"Mitt Romney may run for president. Some wonder if a Mormon could be elected president……..



I think he'd make a fine president. He'd be standing up there with his 18 first ladies." --Jay Leno

number 1! CELEBS AND POLITICIANS

Oprah Winfrey has been very generous by which she is helping support Barack Obama. She recently held a party for him where she raised a large amount of money, which will be used for Obama's campaign. Matt Damon and George Clooney have also previously supported Obama.

I think it can be a bad idea for well-known celebrities to be doing this.
First, when people read about this, they assumed that Oprah is a fan of Obama and is against Hillary Clinton. Oprah recently made it clear that she is not against Clinton, but she is just a good friend of Obama and that is why she is doing this for him. In fact Oprah said, “She has not one negative thing to say about Clinton.”
Second, it is possible for Oprah fans to vote for whom she likes, which means they vote for Obama because she is supporting him. And they don't realize she does not, not like Clinton.

Obama is not the only one being supported by a celebrity.

Magic Johnson, a former basketball player, is currently supporting Hillary Clinton. Johnson says Clinton has” the experience and knowledge to help lead our country.”

Because both supporters, Oprah and Magic, are African American, people are having wild assumptions. They are saying that the politicians must like African Americans if they are letting them support them. This may be true, but it is a weak and poor statement. I think if white people were the supporters, people would not be saying, "Clinton and Obama must like white people because…”

I think that eventually politicians, especially Obama, will get more caught up on which famous celebrity will support them than which states’ votes will they get.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/08/13/magic-johnson-to-host-clinton-bash/

Do Celebrities make good politicians?
I believe that when a celebrity is running in an election they have a strong chance of wining. There still will be people who do not vote for them because of their first career, but there are probably many more people who are willing to vote for people they know and love already. If I were to vote and my favorite celebrity was running I would most likely not trust them as a politician and have them stick to their first career. Politicians, in my opinion, should be very educated in their area of study and be ready to take on an overwhelming job. What if the politician does a bad job in office? Then will their entire other celebrity career be damaged? However it is possible, to have successful politicians as celebrities (Ronald Reagan, Arnold Schwarzenegger)