Hi gang! I miss you guys, but I've had my new daughter, Julia, to keep me busy!
There are a few assignments that you need to complete by the end of class Tuesday or Wednesday:
1. Finish watching "Can Mr. Smith Go To Washington Anymore?" and complete the accompanying worksheet. Be sure to turn it in to the substitute, Mr. Taylor.
2. Read this article about what happened to Jeff Smith in the years after the election. Take your time with it, there's plenty to absorb and you'll probably be surprised by some of the content.
3. Complete this survey before the end of class. You'll need to consider the content of the film and the article linked in #2 to answer the questions.
4. You can used the remainder of class to use the iPads how you wish. However, I will award double participation points to anyone who posts a short summary of a current events story - along with a link to that story - in the comments section of this blog post. You'll have to be signed in with your Google account to post a comment. You can use cut-and-paste to insert the link (if you don't know how to do this, ask a classmate). IF YOU DON'T ALWAYS PARTICIPATE IN CLASS, I STRONGLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS OPPORTUNITY.
5. Please return iPads to the iPad cart by 5 minutes to go in the period. Please plug in the iPads so they may charge.
Thanks and see you Thursday!
Mr. McCarthy
33 comments:
http://money.cnn.com/2012/01/24/news/economy/Romney_tax_return/index.htm?hpt=hp_t1
Last week in the debate before the New Hampshire primary, other Republican candidates urged mitt Romney to release his tax returns. When Romney was faced by this in the debate, Romney didn't really know how to respond. Recently, Romney released his tax information. Over the past 2 year, Romney has paid 6.2 million dollars in taxes, out of 45 million. This shows a 14% tax rate, compared to 31 % by newt gingrich , which is a more reasonable rate. Romney is the richest person to ever run for presidential nomination.
After the Italian ship wreck, there are still currently extracting 2,300 tons of diesel from the tanks of the ship. Within that process, there was a new body found. The elderly woman was found wearing a life jacket, she would be counted as the 16th body. Nine of which have been identified, but the other seven are still unknown. There are still 16 others, yet to be found.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/24/italy-ship-idUSL5E8CO1JG20120124
A recent poll shows Romney and Gingrich in a virtual tie for the public's support. The national Gallup poll shows Romney has the support of 29% of republicans and independent-leaning republicans, while Gingrich has the support of 28%. The sampling error was plus or minus three percent, so clearly the race is very close. The tight race has caused both Romney and Gingrich on the offensive against each other, and this race could go to Super Tuesday or beyond.
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/23/gingrich-romney-tied-in-new-national-poll/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/anonymous-might-not-hit-facebook-after-all/2012/01/24/gIQADIuINQ_story.html
Yesterday a fake anonymous YouTube Chanel posted a video saying they would takedown Facebook on January 28 however the real anonymous group tweeted they had no such plans. This shows how much of a presence the hacker group still has over websites.
Rick perry dropped out of the race before the south Carolina primary. He said that it was time to retreat. And that there was no viable path for him to move forward. He endorsed newt Gingrich since he believes that newt is a conservative visionary who will be able to help the broken America. Gingrich was honored And humbled and said this shows perry'ss selflessness shows his citizenship. -shalma akther period 1-http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/19/rick-perry-drops-out-2012-_n_1214032.html
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/24/romney-tax-returns-to-give-view-of-family-wealth/?hp
On Tuesday morning, Romney released information about his federal tax returns. The results showed that he is likely to pay6.2 million in taxes because of his hefty 2-year income of 45 million dollars. Romney said last week that his effective tax rate was “about 15 percent,” a figure lower than that of many Americans. But his returns suggested that he paid an effective tax rate of nearly 14 percent. Romney was pressured to release information and make his tax returns public. Gingrich pressed him on the issue in two debates
Hannah Mesches
http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7489238/joe-paterno-ex-penn-state-nittany-lions-coach-dies-85-2-month-cancer-fight
After serious complications with his ongoing battle with lung cancer, former Penn State Football coach Joe Paterno passed away on January 22, 2012 at the age of 85. After being involved in the huge scandal caused by former football coach, Jerry Sandusky, people fear that Paterno's legacy has been dented. Some people believe that he was completely stripped of all his PSU honor after not doing more about Sandusky's allegations. Other people remember him as one of the longest running football coaches, who helped to shape not only the football team, but Penn State University entirely.
Last week protests occurred across the internet, including a 24-hour shutdown of Wikipedia and Google's logo blackout. What were these protests about? SOPA and PIPA. Both acts are propositions from congress to stop piracy on the Web, and in result, multibillion dollar companies are protesting against their harmful effects. These companies (including Facebook, AOL, and google), Internet service professionals, and college professors all argue that these acts could cost companies billions of dollars and raise unemployment, and that piracy would simply continue. Check out this BBC article for more information
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16628143
Restore Our Future, the pro-Romney super PAC purchased 4.5 million dollars in ad time in Florida on Monday for commercials that will run through January 31st which is the day the Florida's primary will be. Ads are expected to play a major role in the outcome of the primary next Turesday.
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/24/pro-romney-super-pac-makes-major-ad-purchase-in-florida/
In this State of the Union speech, Obama tries to gain the respect of the middle-class once again as he advocates for higher taxes on the 1%. Obama does not blame himself for the country's problems, like the tax inequalities, problematic economy, as well as the high unemployment rate. However, he blames the banks and the divided Congress.
Currently, he is advocating for a minimum 30% high tax for those who earn a million dollars or more annually. Obama proposes a plan for mortgage relief, which blames the banks once again. Adding to Obama's list of planned reforms, he also proposes corporate tax reforms, a new trade enforcement unit made within the federal government, and elaborate plans to help Americans receive cheaper mortgages. None of Obama's plans show a short-term solution to the nation's high unemployment rate.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/25/us-usa-obama-speech-idUSTRE80N0Q120120125
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/01/stephen-colbert-gives-herman-cain-the-colbert-bump-in-south-carolina/
During the SC Primary Election 6,324 people (1%) voted for Herman Cain. This number can be attributed to Stephen Colbert's use of Cain as a proxy candidate. Cain received 30 times more votes than he did during the Iowa Caucus and New Hampshire Primary combined.
Matt Trice
When Obama addressed the nation in the state of the union, he mentioned that it is getting a lot harder for the middle class to succeed and prosper in the United Staes. He called on the wealthy to help him make sure that this does not continue to happen and proposed and stuck by his idea of taxing the wealthy more so than others. http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/in-state-of-the-union-obama-expected-to-warn-that-middle-class-threatened-by-economic-unfairness/2012/01/24/gIQAQ3vROQ_story.html
http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/25/politics/gabrielle-giffords-sotu/index.html
Rep. Gabby Giffords resigns her seat today after being shot in the head last January in Arizona. Giffords was one of twelve injured, with six others killed. She is resigning because of impaired motor functions, but plans to return to Congress once better recovered.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/26/world/africa/us-raid-frees-2-hostages-from-somali-pirates.html?hp
U.S. special forces conducted a raid Tuesday night in Somalia to rescue two kidnapped aid workers. It was successful and both of them, one of whom was an American woman, were safely rescued. Nine pirates were killed and several others captured in the raid. Obama appeared to congratulate defense secretary Leon Panetta on the rescue as he was entering the house chambers for the State of the Union.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16711302
Yesterday marked the one year anniversary of the Egyptian protest of Hosni Mubaraks regime. Thousands of Egyptians rallyed In tahrir square. Many people were celebrating the recent election when the Islamist party won election but others are still calling for more political reform. Hosni mubarak is on trail for being accused of killing protestors. The majority of the people want the military influence in Egypt to end.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/23/politics/gingrich-gop-angst/index.html
With Newt Gingrich winning the South Carolina primary, the GOP has become very anxious to see who will become their Republican nominee for the 2012 election. One GOP strategist stated that it would be a "disaster" if Gingrich were to become the nominee. Most members feel the same way because of "Gingrich's reputation as a chaotic campaigner and undisciplined messenger."
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/23/us/politics/gabrielle-giffords-says-shes-leaving-the-house.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=Gabriel%20giffords&st=cse
About a year ago, House Representative Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head at a rally outside a Wholefoods in Tuscon, Arizona. Her recovery was miraculous, but on Sunday Giffords announced she would be resigning from congress because she could no longer be in Congress and recover at the same time.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/25/politics/gabrielle-giffords/index.html
Today, Gabrielle Giffords, a Democrat from Arizona, resigned from Congress. She was shot in the head last year and has been recovering amazingly well ever since. When she announced her resignation, she and many others were very emotional about it. She said that she would recover further and be back. The man who is believed to have shot her is facing possible death penalty for six murders. Friends, colleagues and other politicians said kind words about Gabrielle. She addressed the terrible shooting that injured her and caused multiple deaths in her resignation letter
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57365404-503544/state-of-the-union-10-highlights-from-obamas-speech/?tag=pop;stories
In his State of the Union speech last night, Obama called to impose the Buffet rule, saying that anyone who earns More than $1 million a year should not pay less than 30% in taxes, and he also called for an extension of mandatory school attendance age, so that you must stay in school until you turn 18 or you graduate.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/25/world/europe/italy-cruise-ship/index.html?hpt=hp_t3
The captain of a cruise ship in Italy admitted that he made a known mistake before leaving the port. The cruise ship the hit a rock and sunk, 16 people have died and 16 are still missing. The captain is under house arrest and he is extremely hated by Italians at this point because of the assumption that he sunk the ship on purpose. There is a rumor that people pressured him into directing the ship towards the rocks so officials don't know what to do with the captain as of now.
On Tuesday President Obama said America is where everyone gets a fair shot and says that hard work pays off. He also says that Americans are relying on low paying jobs to replace the jobs they lost during the recession. Obama also says "economic policies have become tilted toward the wealthiest few, leaving the rest to fend for themselves."
http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/25/opinion/owens-state-of-the-union/index.html?hpt=us_mid
U.S Special forces rescued two kidnapped aid workers -- an American and a Dane yesterday when they swooped into Somalia in a pair of helicopters in an overnight raid. Navy SEALS were part of the special forces team, and killed the nine gunmen holding the workers captive. Obama heard the mission was successful two hours before State of the Union.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/25/world/africa/somalia-aid-workers/index.html?hpt=hp_t3
http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/25/world/africa/somalia-aid-workers/index.html?hpt=wo_c2
Two choppers carrying SEALs raided a Somalian compound containing two kidnapped aid workers. There was a firefight with the nine hostage takers, everyone of them was killed. The aid workers were held for three months and were unharmed. The SEALs were also unharmed.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/25/technology/apples-profit-doubles-as-holiday-customers-snapped-up-iphones.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=Apple&st=cse
Apple reported on Tuesday that it's profit doubled during the holiday quarter. These profits were mainly due to high sales of the iPhone 4S. Apple slowly began to chip away at the advantages of its competitor, android, narrowing it's lead in the U.S. during the holidays.
Last night, the president presented the state of the union address. His focus was using the money that we cut for nation building. Education, infrastructure, and cooperation with the private sector will make America strong again. He stressed the improvement made in the amount of jobs in America, the strength of the automobile industry, and improvements in American industry versus other countries.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/24/politics/sotu-key-points/index.html
http://www.newsmax.com/Politics/Bachmann-running-House-fourth/2012/01/25/id/425447
Bachman has decided that she will run for a fourth term in the U.S. House of representatives. She decided this after her bid for GOP Presidential Nimination failed. Bachman also did this in response to Obama's State of the Union Speech. She criticized Obama for "doubling down on failures that didn't work."
The FED has announced its plans to increase the interest rate in 2014, indicating that they believe the economy will need the extra time to recuperate fully. They also mentioned their goals for the unemployment rate, hoping to bring it below 6%. A general inflation target strategy has been outlined by them as they hope to continue to strengthen the economy.
New cars are bringing forth many new problems. Cars today are similar to computers on wheels. Advancements such as ABS and traction control have made driving safer but, as cars continue to be built with more and more computers it leads to big problems. Computers in cars have lately been prone to malfunction and hackers. A car's computers, like normal computers can be infected with a virus. Hackers can even disable your brakes or force you to accelerate if they wanted to.
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2012/01/25/killer-cars-auto-computer-systems-open-to-malfunction-hackers
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