"Election 08"

Explain your reaction to last nights election. Questions to consider: Why did Obama have such a clear victory - what has been going on that made so many people vote Democrat? What are some of the key states that Obama won? Did you think the election was going to be closer? And now what? What are some of the challenges that Obama faces? Also, people all over the world were happy that Obama won - why?

Last nights election was an election that is definitely going down in history. Many people are confused about how Obama had such a great lead, and a clear victory. I personally believe that the cause of this was because on George W. Bush. Many people were scared of what the turn out would have been if we had another Republican president. Even though McCain had his differences from Bush, the name republican scared many, and they wanted a "CHANGE".
A major state what declared Obama's win was Ohio. Ohio played a big role, because a Republican must almost always win Ohio, to win the presidency. Another state was Pennsylvania. Once Barack Obama won Ohio, and Pennsylvania it was pretty clear that he was going to be our next president, and it was true.

Presidential Endorsements

Read and analyze these two presidential endorsements. Which one is more believable? Why? Do they both present a good argument, or is one more convincing? Explain why.

In the first editorial the writer, really supports and believes in Obama. He believes that he would be a good president to our country and surve us good. "After nearly two years of a grueling and ugly campaign, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois has proved that he is the right choice to be the 44th president of the United States. Mr. Obama has met challenge after challenge, growing as a leader and putting real flesh on his early promises of hope and change."

I found the first one more believable because the second one was very opinion based.
The firsts arcile gave good quotes and made me feel like i could trust the person.

"The Electoral College"

Explain the Electoral College, then explain its strengths and weaknesses. Then give your opinion: Should we still have it?

Electoral College assigns a certain number of electoral votes for each state. Electoral College can change a persons chance in election completely. It only has a drastic change when the popular votes are close, therefore the people might vote for one person and that person is in the lead. But in the end the other canidate will win because of Electoral College. We live in a democracy people have the right to vote we make the decision. So if a canidate wins by popular votes he should be the president of the US.

"Mayor Bloomberg and Term Limits"

Mayor Bloomberg said he will run for a third term as mayor of NYC if the term limit law is changed. Write a blog explaining your opinion on this issue. Should he be able to be mayor for possibly 12 years?

Personally I don't believe that Mayor Bloomberg should run for 12 years. Just because he has been a good Mayor for the time that he has ran doesn't mean we should change the law so it can revolve around him.
The same thing might happen like it did last time when that Mayor ran for 11 years and we had such a big finacial crisis.
So why should we change the law for one person. I do admit he has done a great job so far, but its to much of a risk if we get a bad Mayor and cant get him out of office.
Its time for another Mayor, and Mayor Bloomberg should move on.

Find out the Term Limits for these positions:

- President of the US. -> Gets to run for two terms, 4 years each.

- Vice President of the US. -> No restriction.

- US Senate. -> no limit 6 year term

-US House of Representatives. -> 2 year term

-Supreme Court Justice. -> Lifetime

-Governor of New York. -> 3 years

-Governor of California. -> 4 years

-Mayor of Los Angeles. -> 4 year terms no more then 2 terms

-Queens Borough President. -> 4 years

"Republican or Democrat"

I am Centrist. Personally I don't think that what anyone should choose one political party, and stick to it. Every canidate has their own view, and you might not like it even though you like that party, therefore what would you do. Thats why I stay with an open mind. I also like different things about both the republican and democratic parties.
For the Democrats I like that they:
-help the people
-their pro-union
-taxes
But I don't agree that the wealthy people should be paying so much money for taxes, to support failures, people that drop out or are to lazy to get a job. There are a lot of opertunities in this country there is no way that a person can not find a job anywhere. Why settle for unemployment, of social security.

For the Republicans I like that they:
-want each person to think for themselves
-they are more open minded about things, that everyone can succeed if they try.
-everyone should work for themselves
-have money but WORK FOR IT!
-big business (I agree with this, because the owner of this business worked very hard to be where they are today, therefore they should be supported.)

Im a Centrist because both parties have great ideas, if only the could unit and be one it would be great.

"Citizenship Test"

1. How many stars are there on our flag? 50 stars.
   
2. What do the stars on the flag mean? The stars stand for the 50 states.
   
3. What color are the stripes? The stripes are red and white.
   
4. What do the stripes on the flag mean? 13 stripes for the 13 colonies.
   
5. What is the date of Independence Day? Independence Day is on the 4th of July.
   
6. Independence from whom? Great Britain.
   
7. What do we call a change to the Constitution? Amendment.
   
8. How many branches are there in our government? There are three branches.
   
9. How many full terms can a president serve? A president can serve up to two full terms.
   
10. Who nominates judges of the Supreme Court? The president nominates them.
    
11. How many Supreme Court justices are there? There are nine.
    
12. Who was the main writer of the Declaration
    of Independence? Thomas Jefferson.
    
13. What holiday was celebrated for the first
    time by American colonists? Thanksgiving was the first holiday.
    
14. Who wrote the Star-Spangled Banner? Francis Scott Key
15. What is the minimum voting age in the
    United States? The minimum voting age is 18 years.
    
16. Who was president during the Civil War? Abraham Lincoln.
    
17. Which president is called the "Father of
    our Country?" George Washington.
    
18. What is the 50th state of the Union? Hawaii.
    
19. What is the name of the ship that brought
    the Pilgrims to America? May Flower.
    
20. Who has the power to declare war? The congress.
    
21. What were the 13 original states of the
    United States called? New England Colonies.
    
22. In what year was the Constitution written? 1787.
    
23. What is the introduction to the
    Constitution called? Preamble.
    
24. Which president was the first Commander in Chief
    of the United States Army and Navy? George Washington.
    
25. In what month do we vote for the president? November.
    
26. How many times may a senator be re-elected? no limite.
    
27. Who signs bills into law? President.
    
28. Who elects the president of the United States? The people.
    
29. How many states are there in the United States? There are 50 states.
    
30. Who becomes president if both the president and
    vice president die? The Speaker.