Geeking Out: This Bastard Stole My Blog Idea

Complete with the exact page that I linked to… unbelievable! At least gimme a shout out!

http://news.discovery.com/earth/so-many-earthquakes-the-end-is-nigh.html

What a dick. Please view my blog post below.

Today We Learn About: Evolution of Presidential Power

Presidential power evolves because our country evolves just as our language, culture, science and technology make progress. The office evolved significantly between 1787 and 1809 as men arrived in office with a particular view of presidential power, only to have this view shift upon taking office. The Constitutional Convention alone saw the presidency change from a vaguely defined office as it was in the Virginia Plan, to specific and powerful as in the Hamilton Plan, which proposed an executive chosen by the electors that would serve for life with the ability to veto all laws passed by the legislature.¹ Washington believed himself to be, and acted as, the chief administrative officer of the entire government of the United States.² John Adams wrote “the other branches are imbecile”, and “the executive power is granted, not the executive power hereinafter enumerated and explained.”³ This view may explain why Adams made some of the decision that he did. Thomas Jefferson arrived in office as a Strict Constructionist, but greatly expanded presidential power through the replacement of federal staffers, carrying out undeclared wars, and committing the nation to the Louisiana Purchase amongst many other expansive uses of power.⁴ These men had specific views of the presidency that they sought to embody and each executed the responsibilities of the office in a different manner that usually changed over time.

Today We Learn About: The Post-American World

In Fareed Zakaria’s The Post-American World the reader is given an insight into the growing global economy in which countries like China and India are gaining ground on the current world superpower, The United States of America. Also given are detailed examples of where the United States has gone wrong, and what improvements can be made in order to better adapt to the changing global power structure. The United States has slowly become a country that focuses on the worst of the world around it, leaving the nation unprepared to actually deal with the problems that arise in a changing landscape. (Zakaria 27) This is a landscape that is marked by the resurgence and return to greatness of two of the pre-industrial worlds great powers, China and India. China’s dictatorship has taken an active role in transforming that nation over the past thirty years, while in India the democratically run government has also seen considerable growth during this time period. In the meantime, the America that once influenced and set the global standard has been slipping away much the same way Britain did at the time of the Boer War. (173) Zakaria makes a case for America returning to this prior policy of “world building” through various means rather than the nations current trend toward bully tactics. All in all, Zakaria’s main points and ideas are well received and interesting. With that said, some of the information certainly leads the reader towards larger questions that, while somewhat addressed in the book, could definitely use some further thought.

Today We Learn About: Righteous Propagation

Righteous Propagation is a critique of post-reconstruction black culture and examines the race’s various means to regain their pride, self-love, black consciousness, and identity. The book’s author, Michele Mitchell, uses copious primary sources to explain post-reconstruction African-American culture, painting a vivid picture of the many attempts of the race to find their place in America. Finding this place in America was no easy task for many members of the race, and the book’s author details many of these attempts, both successful and failed.

Today We Learn About: Showdown at Gucci Gulch

Tax Reform in the early 1980’s was a sensitive subject as many keys players had their own idea as to the shape the reform bill should take. These key players included citizens, legislators, corporations, lobbyists, the president, and members of White House staff. Though the process of reform had many ups and downs, an agreement was slowly reached that pleased most parties. How is it possible for so many interests to be accepting of a bill that reformed our country’s entire tax code? The atmosphere was perfect, near everything fell into place in a way that facilitated reform as our legislators cooperated, our president took a definitive stance, our congress made concessions, and everyone involved participated in a bold plan for reform.

Today We Learn About: Social Security Reform

The most effective way to reform Social Security is to make adjustments to the payroll taxes that fund the system. Eliminating the maximum contribution cap, adjusting the system of employer contributions, eliminating some wage exemptions, and increasing the trust fund recovery penalty are all ways to accomplish this goal. In addition, greater attention and oversight should be paid in order to identify and eliminate fraud within the system.

Today We Learn About: Inner City Poverty

In Kotlowitz’ There are No Children Here the reader is given an all-access account of the harsh life that comes to those who live in America’s inner-city ghettos and housing projects. The subjects of the book, Lafeyette and Pharoah Rogers began like every other child but were forced to deal with horrors from an early age. They are mired with violence, hopelessness, a strained family structure, poverty, and systemic indifference, all while striving to succeed enough to leave behind the housing projects of Henry Horner Homes in Chicago. Through personal accounts, interviews, and first-hand experience, There are No Children Here, talks openly about gangs, a distrust in authority, a lack of growth in the community, drug use, drug dealing, parental indifference, joblessness, poor leadership, and political corruption. Even with all this adversity, we are still given the impression that there is hope for the community and hope for the children. There are policies that can be enacted to fight these problems that, albeit expensive, would certainly be effective.

Today We Learn About: Pier Paolo Pasolini’s “Salò”

“Torture should never be conceived simply as an arbitrary game of cruelty.”

–        Nicolau Eimeric

On September 11^th, 2001, people across the globe watched as the Twin Towers fell. News reporters zoomed in on couples jumping while holding hands until they collided with the ground. For days every channel, children’s cartoon networks included, aired repeated footage of death and despair as millions watched. Pier Paolo Pasolini’s film Salò, on the other hand, has been banned at some point in time in multiple countries and not a single actor or actress is actually hurt in the making of the film. Perhaps people are upset by the ways in which Salò portrays the bare truth of what modern society does more and more every day while watching the news and the plethora of crimes shows available to choose from. Violence is a part of everyday life at this point, and higher levels of violence such as torture and execution are privileges that only those in positions of political power have the right to practice. This leads, however, to the issue of considering torturing one’s “enemy” as a right. Salò aims to portray the violence of political dominance without the distraction of “context” validating the destructive decisions of politicians.

Today We Learn About: Moral Suasion

According to Margaret Washing, Associate Professor of History at Cornell University, Moral Suasion was a tactic used by abolitionists to assist in the cause to end slavery in the United States.[1] This tactic was not an effective strategy because the causes and effects of slavery were so far reaching, diverse, and ingrained in American culture that merely showing evidence of the inherent ethical problems within the institution were not enough to bring it down. The strategy of Moral Suasion was a slow moving attack on an institution that had gained enough speed to imbed itself into the documents that make up the foundation of this nation. Taking the moral high ground to overcome an institution that half of a country depends on economically and culturally is doomed from the start. Not only are livelihoods working against the strategy, abolitionists were attacking an entire population’s sense of normalcy.

Today We Learn About: Economic Turmoil in Central America

Three decades ago Latin America sat at the peak of what turned out to be a rollercoaster ride that devastated over half of a hemisphere. In the 1970s Latin America was deep into the Import Substitution Industrialization model and widespread political revolutions. The following will argue that in the short time after the fall of substitution, Latin America went through drastic changes that would have negative consequences for both human and economic development.