The Food Stamp Act of 1964

The Food Stamp Act of 1964 was passed to make the food stamp program permanent. It was eventually passed in August of 1964. One of the people opposed to it was Bob Dole, who later became a big supporter of the program. Among the official purposes were the strengthening of the agricultural economy as well as providing low-income households with improved levels of nutrition.

Personally I think that it is a good piece of legislation because it enables low-income households to be able to provide better foods for themselves. It also helps them by letting them save money that they can use to keep their homes warm in the Winter as well as a variety of other things such as paying bills.

JFK Assassination Letters

Dear Pauline,

If you don't mind I would like to ask you a few questions about the JFK Assassination.

What was it like during the time that JFK was assassinated? What do you think of the "lone gunman"? Do you think a modern assassination would be similar or do you think that it would be different?

Please e-mail me back at djsowa@gmail.com

Response:

Dear Daniel,
I was in grade school when the principal announced over the intercom that President Kennedy had been shot. Everyone was in shock and seemed to hold their breath until the news came that he could not be saved. It was so hard to believe. For about three days there was nothing on television except the wake and people of all walks of life, and especially dignitaries from all over the world went to the "Rotunda" to show their respects until the funeral was over. Then slowly people went back to as normal of a life as they could since a lot of people felt like the wind had been knocked out of them. I think to that time I had never seen my dad cry. the whole thing was so disturbing. Those were uncertain times.
I always though that the "lone gunman" was probably hired by some conspiracy group as the scape goat; especially since he was made to keep quiet by a shooter himself. For years I felt also that a hidden gunman had probably shot him from the front causing part of the back of his skull to blow off. Just recently some CSI's reenacted the scene to where they really think the high powered rifle from the warehouse was the only consistent shot that caused the same damage. They tried the frontal direction also in trials. This question has been on some people's mind for the past 45 years.
Murder always has some similar elements. Death is final and it always affects more than a few people. "Evil" might find slightly new ways of causing the demise; however the result is much the same. No matter how it is calculated, the effect can reach levels no on could have ever even anticipated with much regrets.

History Essays for Test 11/13/08

#1 The War on Terror started shortly after September 11, 2001 to eliminate the threat of terrorists from the middle east. The War on Terror started out in Afghanistan where Osoma Bin Ladin funded and led the attacks to the world trade center in New York as well as the attack on the Pentagon in Washington D.C. and the crashing of a plane that was thought to be headed for the White House. These attacks involved four airplanes that were hijacked and used as weapons.
Bush and his advisers decided to attack where they felt was the main source of the problem which was Afghanistan where Osoma Bin Ladin was hiding out. Later they sent troops to Iraq because they felt that there were terrorist threats (chemical weapons).
The two fronts in the War on Terror are Afghanistan and Iraq because that is where most of the Terrorist activity was.

#2 In my opinion, George H. W. Bush, out of the three (the others being Bill Clinton and George W. Bush), was the best president even though he broke his word about not raising taxes. When he was in office he tried to make everything work between the U.S. and other countries. With the other two presidents, Clinton and the other Bush, they were ok with other countries but they had scandals and made the economy bad which in the end made them look bad.

#3 In the 1990's there were a lot of things going on besides everyone having a good time with the strong economy. Things like Iraq invading Kuwait, the Internet becoming accessible to the public, the Columbine High School shootings and numerous other things.
Each of these things influenced us in various ways. For example, when the Internet became available to the public. At first most people probably didn't even know how to use it or even what it did but now days practically everyone, even senior citizens use it for anything from researching something to communicating to other people around the world.
Another example of how it influenced us is the Columbine High School shootings. These shootings made us question how good the safety in our high schools are and also showed that there should be more public security in places like high schools.

The Kyoto Protocols

Sources that will help explain what the Kyoto Protocols are:



A non-partisan source that states what it is.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyoto_Protocol

This source explains that the Kyoto Protocols are guidelines for countries around the world for the control of the emissions of green house gases (GHG's) that cause global warming.




A first-person account on what the Kyoto Protocols are.



http://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol/items/2830.php


This article expalins how the Kyoto Protocols will help in the reversing the effects (the release of GHG's) of 150 years of industrial activity around the world.


A source that has two experts with an analysis of the Kyoto Protocols.



http://wotnews.com.au/newsletters/!show.asp?html=D5A143DF23064954AECB402E4538C5DC.html


In this article there are two people with different point of views on the Kyoto Protocols. There is Professor Kevin Parton who is for the Kyoto Protocols and says that it will help the effects of GHG's and there is Dr. Rod Duncan who is against the Kyoto Protocols and says that, in various words, it is only a quick, temporary fix to global warming.

Book Portfolio: The Art of the Lathe

In The Art of the Lathe by B. H. Fairchild, the author, B. H. Fairchild shows how life was during the 1950's and 1960's when he worked with his father in a machine shop and that throughout time the only thing that has really changed is technology. He also talks about the first baseball game that Mickey Mantle played.

The main theme in this book would probably have to be how life was during the 50's and 60's. B. H. Fairchild shows this by talking about how most men at that time could not say "beauty" because it was considered rather feminine at the time. He also talks about how the other guys in the machine shop would interact with each other and how they would do work in the shop. The significance of the theme is that basically the only thing that has really changed throughout time is technology.

Probably the most historical event that happened in this book is that he and a bunch of other guys that worked in his father's machine shop got to witness firsthand the first game that Mickey Mantle played. They got to witness this by playing in the baseball game. The significance is that later on, Mickey Mantle ended up being a famous baseball player.

Personally I think that the author's, B. H. Fairchild's, main theme about life in the 50's and 60's is accurate because it basically states that things have not changed much since then except the technology. That people in general are the same and that people to this day have trouble excepting certain things (like in the book for the guys it was the word "beauty").

So, in general, it is true that the only thing that has really changed throughout time is technology because to this day we still have insecurities about certain things and that considering this theme generally shows us that we, as a people have changed yet at the same time we haven't over roughly 50 years.

Quarter One Exam Essays

1. The Articles of Confederation failed as "our first Constitution" because, to the people, it sounded like the founding fathers were trying to form a tyraney in America. Another reason is because it did not state the rights of the citizens of the country.
The goal of the founding fathers during the Constitutional Convention was to bring the country together. The major obstacles that were overcome were that they were able to get the states to join as one and to have one central form of government as well as eliminating the currences that each state had, so that there would be one economy.
The Bill of Rights were added so that the people of the U.S. would know what thier rights.

2. The Presidency of George Washington related to the birth of political parties by showing how a President should be.
The first significant parties were the Federalists and the Democratic Republicans. The Federalists were the people who were in favor of the constitution and their leaders were people like George Washington and John Adams. The Democratic Republicans were the people who origionally did not like the constitution but learned to live with it. The Democratic Republicans had leaders like Thomas Jefferson.

3. The Executive branch is the branch that creates laws but it can't ratify them or enforce them. It is the branch that the president is part of.
The Legislative branch passes and vetos laws but it can't make on enforce them.
The Judical branch is the branch that enforces the laws. Its limitations is that it can enforce the laws, but it can't ratify or make them.