Humanities

Welcome to Humanities, Senior year!

So far, in my Senior year Humanities class we have been learning about or First Amendment Rights and the Constitution  Here are some projects that we have done so far on these subject. Enjoy!

 

Immigration Bill Speech: 

 

 Our class came up with a mock bill and each student had to represent how their senater would feel about the bill according to their voting history and party relations. I represented the perspective of Susan Collings Senater of Maine.

 

Below is the speech I made on the Senate Floor in favor for passing the bill with the fallowing ammendments.

Susan Collins

Angela Myers

Immigration Speech

Even though there is 700 miles of the Mexico and United States border that is effectively controlled there is a total of 1,954 miles of the border, this results in 1,254 miles of the border that is not monitored and countless opportunities for illegal crossings. I believe that more efficient personnel and technology should take place. I agree with SECTION 1 SUBSECTION B, the border patrol size and number patrol need to increase to at least 25% and increasing the areas monitored by 300 miles. One thing that needs to be amended to this bill for more of my support would have to be a change to SECTION 1. A SUBESECTION D would need to be added. We not only need to increase the areas monitored but we must also build a fence across the entire US border. This Amendment to the bill will decrease the chances of illegal immigrants crossing the border where there is currently not a fence. It is the government’s responsibility to secure their nations borders. On the subject of Welfare, there are currently 12 to 20 million illegal immigrants currently living in the United States, all of which are eligible for welfare. We must not attract illegal immigrants to the United States with Welfare benefits. Welfare should only be considered for US citizens and US legal guests only. In SECTION 3 all welfare programs must only be considered to illegal immigrants who are on track for citizenship. In order for me to agree with SECTION 2 SUBSECTION A, which allows the government to fine each illegal immigrant and if they are not able to pay, they will be detained for 31 days would be to add another amendment to the bill in SECTION 2, adding a SUBSECTION E. This amendment would be to establish a more efficient guest working program. We must make a better system for guest working immigrants to work here on their way to citizenship. If this amendment were to be added, then SECTION 2 SUBSECTION B would have my full support. If immigrants are able to get guest working visas then there should be no reason for them not to obtain one and they should be penalized for their fail to act upon it. If these amendments are made to the bill then this bill should pass, it would make a substantial difference to our nation.

Persuasive Essay:

 

Angela Myers

Humanities 2

November 9, 2012

 

FOUR MORE YEARS!

 

The 2012 presidential election is one of the most important elections in history. It will determine what direction our country will head, whether it is the right direction or the wrong direction. That is why President Obama should be elected for a second term because his ideals and views are what will recover our economy. Governor Mitt Romney is the wrong direction for our country and it would be a moral and economic mistake for him to run our country. Even though Mitt Romney claims that his pro-life views and five point plan will create economic growth, president Obama would lead us in the right direction with his pro-choice views and energy and tax plan.

President Barack Obama feels strongly about a women’s right to choose, while on the other hand, Mitt Romney believes that Women do not have the right to choose for their own bodies and health. I understand Romney’s point of view on abortion and how he considers it murder. However, I personally would never consider an abortion with abnormalities and health risks of myself or the child aside, I don’t believe that I or anyone else has the right to choose for someone else. I believe that in certain situations abortion might be the right choice for the child and the mother, in situations when the child has a severe abnormality and the child or the mother’s life is at risk, the mother should be able to make a decision with her partner and her doctor whether she wants to abort the pregnancy or not, it should not be a decision that another person should be making. The option to choose should always be available. A direct quote from Romney, “The actions I’ll take immediately are to remove funding for Planned Parenthood. It will not be part of my budget.”- (Mitt Romney, 2012) Planned Parenthood does not only provide abortions but also contraceptives, STD checks and general women’s health. If Romney plans to cut the funding to these facilities it will not only affect the abortion rate but will also deny women of their general health checkups. If Obama were to be re-elected he will not only keep funding Planned Parenthood but also provide affordable contraceptives for women who choose to use them. Obama has the best interest of the woman in mind and it should remain that way.

Barack Obama’s tax plan is more beneficial for the economy then Gov. Mitt Romney’s five point plan. A quote from President Barack Obama, “The path Governor Romney offers is the one we tried for eight years after president Clinton left office – a philosophy that says those at the very top get to play by a very different set of rules then everyone else. Bigger tax cuts for the wealthy that we can’t afford.”-(Barack Obama 2012), President Obama’s tax plan will cut taxes for the middle class and make any household that has an annual income of more than one million dollars pay their fare share, no middle class income families should pay a larger share of their income tax then upper class families pay. On the other hand Mitt Romney wants to keep the tax deductions on income tax for the millionaires like himself. These are not the steps our country needs when recovering from a recession. President Obama’s tax plan includes spending cuts and revenue increases that will reduce the deficit by four trillion dollars within the next ten years, while Mitt Romney refuses to release any plan that will recover the deficit. Romney would also like to cut funding for education, research and technology while cutting taxes to the upper-class. President Obama would like to fund education, research and technology for the long term benefits of Americans getting good education and building their own businesses that will contribute to the recovery of the economy. President Obama clearly will benefit Americans and the middle class with his fair tax increases on the upper class and will fund all the right things.

Another issue that President Obama’s views overpower Governor Mitt Romney views on would be climate change. President Obama believes that humans have a role in global warming and Gov. Romney refuses to think so. Scientists have proven that since the early 1900’s carbon emission levels have sky rocketed and that directly effects the environment and the green house effect. President Obama has acknowledged that global warming is real and we are a part of it, he has taken action by leading us away from fossil fuels and promoting the safe and responsible development of the one hundred year supply of natural gas. The president is not only providing a clean, green alternative but also opening 600,000 more jobs with green energy by the end of the decade alone. - (An all of the above approach to energy independence)  Governor Romney’s five point plan includes getting America to become completely energy independent by promoting oil drilling, biofuels and nuclear energy. Even though becoming energy independent would benefit America, it would hurt us in the long run because we need to evolve from the basic energy sources of the 20^th century and enter the 21^st century energy sources. Obama supports renewable energy resources like wind, solar and hydropower which are clean alternatives to fossil fuels and produce little or no pollution and they will never run out. It is a more efficient way of using energy. Going green would not only benefit the environment but also our future generation of Americans, reusable fuels will limit the amount of oil drilling and possible oil spills in the future. Therefore Obama’s Energy and environmental plan is more beneficial for America and also worldwide. If we can reduce the amount of pollution that we contribute to the world then we should do so. Obama will help us take those first steps.

It is obvious that President Barack Obama should serve a second term. He appeals to the public in all

 

ways. I would not want to live in a country where a woman is denied of her right to choose for

 

herself. Obama not only appeals to women’s rights but also to the middle class income families,

 

keeping taxes fair for all classes is very important for struggling families. Even though Mitt Romney’s

 

plan sounds appealing, Obama’s plan is much more logical and morally correct. Four more years will

 

make a significant impact on our country. Barack Obama for president!

 

 

Video Project:

Innocence of Filmmakers - controversial political filmmaker violating First Amendment Rights

Blog Analysis

Angela Myers

The constitution was written about two hundred years ago, and for those two hundred years our first amendment rights have been the same. In the constitution it is written, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” The freedom of speech, religion, petition, press and assembly are our natural rights as human beings and I believe that we should do everything in our power to defend that

There are many circumstances in the United States where our rights are bridged. Recently, Obama Care has become a large concern for the country. There is major controversy regarding our rights about this law. Obama care requires every American house hold and United States citizen to purchase health care, and if they do not do so there will be penalizations. I personally believe that this is a violation of our human rights if we are being forced to purchase something by the government. We should have a say and be able to make our own decision on what health care to purchase or even purchase at all. Although I see their motives on why they would want the United States citizens to be insured, I do not believe that a penalization is the answer. I actively used my freedom of speech to blog about this issue on Obama Care. We the people must fight and advocate for our rights constantly. We need to challenge the laws and if they are against our rights then we need to stop it. I believe that our unalienable rights should not be inalienable.

It is very important to me personally that we defend our rights. It not only affects me but also everyone around me. It especially affects me as a student in the United States. I feel like our rights as human beings are stripped once we step onto school grounds. In one of my blog posts I addressed the controversy on the Chase Harper case. Chase Harper was a high school student who was censored by the school when he was advocating his freedom of speech on a national gay day. Chase wrote a controversial and offensive statement on a t-shirt. He wrote “Homosexuality is shameful… Our school has embraced what god has condemned.” When chase was censored he took the case to the supreme courts and they declared it unconstitutional. Although I don’t personally agree with chase’s point of view, I don’t believe that he should have been stripped from his right to freedom of speech and religion just because the rest don’t agree with him. America lost a battle of human rights when they declared chase’s freedom of speech unconstitutional because in any other case that I might feel strongly about, there will stand a chance of being censored and getting my rights stripped away.

 It is very important to know your rights so you can be aware when your rights are being violated so you can defend them, it will result in a greater whole. I don’t believe that the government or anyone else has the right to take or tamper with our natural rights. As you can see, in the Chase Harper case and the Obama Care law, our rights are constantly being challenged. What I learned from the Bill of Rights is that we have the right to express ourselves, weather others agree with us or not. It’s what makes us the United States of America, a free country. And we must fight to keep it free. 

Government Economic Blog's Link
http://govecoblogsam.blogspot.com/