Seedy underbelly of America.

Facts:
1.) Bush was willing to spend any money the US had after 9/11.
2.) Cofer Black was the man in charge of the CIA.
3.) CIA was put in charge of all anti-terrorism.
4.) Codename: "Operation Greystone."
5.) Bush was heard to have said, "I want the CIA in there first."
6.) May be a larger covert operation than any during the Cold War.
7.) Used harsh interrogation techniques, called "Stress and Duress."
8.) The US was fighting a global secret war in more than a dozen countries.
9.) Terrorist Surveillance Order gave NSA permission to intercept the communications of any US citizen without warrant.
10.) All budgets are kept secret.

Questions:
1.) Why would they work in such secrecy?
2.) Why did the war need to be declared?
3.) Why wasn't the Secretary of Defense called?
4.) How can we live in a country where one man has such absolute power?
5.) Why did "victory" happen so quickly?
6.) Wasn't anyone in the government against this?
7.) How can so many lives and so much power be put into the hands of so few people?
8.) Why were Dana Priest and her partner the only two looking for the secret locations?
9.) Why aren't American people made aware of what goes on in Afghanistan?
10.) How could the idea of our country being at war become so passe?

Different strokes for different folks.

So for my government interview, I chose to ask my mom some questions on immigration and religion. She and I get along on most things, but when it comes to politics, she and I can tend to butt heads. But I can give you the gist of what we talked about.
Firstly, I asked her if she believed the immigrant population in this country was too high, even though I already knew her answer. It was a resounding yes, and she went on to talk about how she believes the southern border of our country should be closed completely, and that no other people should be able to get in from places like Mexico or Latin America, unless of course they apply for citizenship and go through all the proper tests. She argued that because our ancestors had to go through Hell on Ellis Island, all immigrants regardless of where they're from should still be subject to such conditions. I disagree with that last bit, but I do think that the US should make a bigger deal of illegal immigration, and only let people into the country who apply and achieve citizenship. It just makes much more sense.
On the topic of church and state, I asked my mom whether or not they should be totally separated. She said that they shouldn't be totally integrated, but she does like the fact that her religion can play a small part in her government. (I say "her religion" because my mom's a Christian, and they're usually the religion that's catered to in this country.) She takes comfort in the fact that the currency she uses says "In God We Trust" and that every time her children have to pledge their allegiance to the country they have to say, "one nation under God." I, on the other hand, am all for the complete separation of church and state. It makes me uncomfortable to think that the government that I find myself to be a part of affiliates heavily with a faith I don't believe in.
Immigration and religion just may be two things that we'll never completely agree on.

History for the people, by the people.

So, as for the excerpt from Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States," I loved it. It was biting and didn't dance around the fact that the country was founded for rich people by rich people. He made some excellent points, especially at the end when he noted that the founding fathers discluded half of the American population when they were writing up the Constitution - America's women. I may just have been all about that because I'm a feminist, but he still made an excellent point. It's been a sad story for women and minorities in this country since the very beginning, and only relatively recently have things gotten any better; within the past hundred years or so, women and black people have gotten the rights to vote. That took way too long.
As far as questions go, I would love to know here he got all of his sources. And I also wonder if people ever view him as too cynical? I can see how they would. And does he think that we should follow the Constitution with a loose construction or strong construction? My guess would probably be loose. Very loose indeed.

Political lols.

I found this political cartoon was very fitting of the theme of immigration and integration that comes up in our reading. The borders are growing thinner and the population gets larger; but what constitutes a legal US citizen is up to lots of debate.

Questions:
1.) Why do the words that the "Growing Hispanic Population" says have deeper meaning within this cartoon?
2.) Is there a reason why the two people are represented differently? Do their ages/genders/ethnicities have any meaning?
3.) Does the composition of the cartoon have any affect on the way it's taken in by the reader?

Let's play 20 questions.

1.) How are these passages supposed to allow us to step into a politician's shoes?
2.) Why doesn't everyone involve themselves in politics more?
3.) Why were so many Japanese people deported?
4.) Is there a fee or anything you have to pay to be deported?
5.) Do you have to get on a boat or a plane? Are they free trips?
6.) How many types of people have to be given such a thorough background check before entering the country?
7.) Why are people so afraid of some diversity in America? Isn't that what makes us great?
8.) Why is there such a great difference between opportunities given to different economic classes?
9.) Why do Americans tend to be skeptic and questioning about their government?
10.) Why do Americans have to be so suspicious of all Muslims, as if they're a threat.
11.) What is identity politics?
12.) Why do Americans tend to vary so much on so many points?
13.) What would happen to the economy if all illegal immigrants were deported?
14.) Why do differences in personal background create so many differences in political opinion?
15.) Will there ever be a politician everyone likes?
16.) Why does so much money get funneled into defense when it seems like we have nothing to defend ourselves from.
17.) Should there be more than two main political parties in America?
18.) Is it better to participate in politics or be indifferent towards them?
19.) What constitutes being "educated?"
20.) Is our current government any better than it was over 200 years ago?

Some political issues I care about...

Some political issues I care about? Hmmm. I suppose I would have to say the most quintessential ones, the issues that every bleeding heart liberal would say they care about.
First on the list of politic pet peeves: the food packing industry in the United States, and how unbelievable it is on the whole. I'm not saying that every means through which we get food is unsanitary and unregulated, but you'd be surprised how much we eat is unsanitary and unregulated. Granted, we've come a long way since the time of Upton Sinclair and The Jungle. But that's still no excuse for the gross torture and unclean conditions animals in the meat packing industry have to face. For example, on some "farms" chickens are forced to live in uncleaned coops, packed in so tightly that their wings can't develop due to lack of use. At this point, I'm probably getting the "crazy hipster, these aren't political issues" thoughts from some classmates and readers. But in a totally viable way, they are. The government is supposed to intervene on behalf of the consumer, and is supposed to regulate and inspect the factories in which meat production takes place. That rarely happens, in fact. The FDA is supposed to regulate inspections for any communicable diseases in meat processing plants. On the large scale, this doesn't happen. E coli? That nasty, potentially lethal sickness? Most cases in the US come from eating bad, spoiled, or unsanitary meat.
Second political issue I care about? Hmmm. It's one of the most controversial. Indeed, indeed, abortion. I find it absurd that in the 21st century, state laws concerning abortion vary so much. States like California and New York make it plain and simple: any woman who wishes to terminate an unwanted pregnancy may do so within the first 24 weeks. Easy, simple, fair. Other states, including the state of Pennsylvania, make it nearly impossible to terminate a pregnancy. In more conservative states, the only possible way for a woman to get an abortion is if her life is at risk. She's not even allowed to terminate a pregnancy caused by rape or incest. What a woman does with her body is her business, and if a fetus is only considered a person at birth, no, it's not murder.
I could go on, but I'd be impressed if anyone even made it this far. No disrespect to any person with opposite opinions. We can both be sure we're right, that's why we live in the US.