The monument that I chose was The Memorial of the Events of 9/11. This memorial is for all those who died on the September 11th attack in the World Trade Center. This memorial is made up of small shrines in public areas like Grand Central Terminal, 42nd Street subway stop, and other popular travel areas. The monument is made up of pictures of those who were lost in the attack. The monuments are covered in flags, flowers, or any other personal collection to honor those who were killed or who went missing. Those who pass by honor the shrine with moments of silence for those who were lost. Also the monument draws crowds of people from their usual routine to pay respect and reflect on those who died.

Memory, History, and Memorials

Throughout history, communities have built up memorials and monuments to remember and honor certain events. These memorials impact the surrounding community and how the public remembers that event in history.

For this term's blog, you will explore 1 monument and write a reflection answering questions about your monument and its impact on the community.

1. Go to: http://www2.facinghistory.org/campus/memorials.nsf/Home?OpenFrameSet
2. Within the 8 sections, there are several case studies - chose ONE case study/memorial
    ****EVERYONE MUST HAVE A DIFFERENCE MONUMENT****
3. Read the article and explore the other resources the module provides regarding your memorial
4. In your response be sure to include the following:

• background info
• the dilemma, if any, that surrounded the building of the memorial
• its interpretation
• its community impact
• how people view the event the memorial is honoring after looking at the monument

5. You must make a connection to ONE OTHER STUDENT response. Reflect on what is difference/similar between the impact of the two monuments.

I researched the economic and abortion views of mitt romney and barack obama. I found that mit romney really wants to cut down the national debt. I agree because the debt is really making it hard for the country to get on its feet again. Obama wanted to boost the economy in the states by helping out the small buisnesses and getting cash flow going between people and buisnesses.I also agree with obama but i think we need to cut down debt before we spend more money. We need to suffer through a few years of bad economics in order to raise the economy in the long run. Romneys idas on abortion were that he was very agiainst it butn hesitant to sign any bills that would make it illegal. I agree with romney. I strongly disagree with abortion and believe that it is wrong but i do not think that it should be illegal. Obama alsio feels the way i feel. H doesnt like it but it is a choice and should not be illegal.

After taking the test i was not surprised. I was paired up with Barack Obama. I have always thought of myself to have more Liberal views than conservative but i am also a little bit conservative. I am proud to say that i am independent. After taking the test i was sure that i agreed with Barack Obamas views because the outcame of the quiz confirmed my beliefs. After watching the state of the union address i was 100% behind Obamaand his ideas on how to make new jobs and develop the country into the wonderful america we can really be.

2012 Election #2

For this blog, you will be taking an online quiz that will match your beliefs on issues in politics to a candidate running in the 2012 election. The candidate you match with would be the candidate that you would vote for.

Here is the quiz:
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/fullpage/match-matic-presidential-candidate-2012-match-15177995

After the quiz:
Reflect on the candidate you were matched with. Where you surprised? Where you expecting to lean more conservative or liberal? What about the candidate do you like? Are there aspects of their platform that you disagree with?

2012 Election #1

As the election of 2012 approaches, we will be doing some research on the candidates and their platforms.

For this blog, you will be comparing President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney's platforms. Please discuss at least 2 issues they have included in their platform. What is different? Are they similar? You should also add some of your own beliefs on the issues.

Remember to use credible sources. Here is a list to get you started:
http://www.cnn.com/election/2012/candidates.html
http://projects.wsj.com/campaign2012/candidates?mod=wsj_elections_2012_nav
http://www.nytimes.com/pages/politics/index.html?hp

New Blog

Please pick 2 of the 3 articles below to read and answer the questions that follow. The blog will close January 18.
NOTE: Make sure you write your response as a comment on the post you choose, not as a separate post!

14 Reasons Why People are Occupying Wall Street

The link will connect you to an article titled 14 Reasons Why People are Occupying Wall Street from the We Are the 99 Percent website. Look over the article and answer the questions below.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/jpmoore/reasons-people-are-occupying-wall-street

1. What do you know about Occupy Wall Street? Did this article further your understanding of the movement?
2. What kind of impact did the images have on you? Was there one in particular that stuck with you? If so, why?
3. Do you think the length of the people’s stories had anything to do with how effective they were at offering reasons to Occupy? Why or why not?

U.S. Withdraws Troops from Iraq

Below is the link to an article from CNN discussing the removal of U.S. troops from Iraq. After reading it, answer the following questions thoughtfully and thoroughly.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/12/politics/obama-maliki/index.html?hpt=wo_c2

1. Do you think it is possible for the U.S. to build a “’normal relationship’” with Iraq given everything that has happened between the two nations in the past eight years of war? Why or why not?
2. What do Obama and al-Maliki hope will happen to Iraq once the U.S. military is no longer present there? Do you think their visions for Iraq are possible?
3. Do you think it is a good thing that the United States is withdrawing its military presence from Iraq? Why or why not?

Sudbury Terror Suspect Convicted

On Tuesday, December 20, Terek Mehanna of Sudbury was found guilty of several terror-related charges and three charges of lying to authorities. The link below will direct you to an article and video that discuss the courts ruling on the case. After reading/watching, answer the questions below. http://www.thebostonchannel.com/mostpopular/30037719/detail.html

1. Do you think the prosecution’s argument would have been as effective/successful had it not included references to Al-Qaida and the 9/11 attacks? Why or why not?
2. “They said his translation and distribution of controversial publications was free speech protected by the First Amendment.” Does the First Amendment apply to situations such as this? Is this a valid argument for the defense?
3. Do you agree with the jury’s ruling? Why or why not?

A Commandant's View

I thought it was unfair that he had to do the job of liquidations. Stangl had taken months to get used to doing his job, seeing the naked, poor, grimy bodies of the victims. The way Stangl described what he had done, it did not change much of my opinion of the Nazis. The part that it did change was that I thought they would be a little bit more regretful of what they had done. Also, I thought that he would think that he could have had the chance to try to stop the cruelty of the Nazi's ways, but he said he "no, no, no". He thought that he had NO chance in changing history in a good way. Stangl said "This was the system. Wirth had invented it. It worked. And because it worked, it was irreversible.” This is why he thought he could not change anything to be less cruel, although, I thought Nazi's would regret their decisions more than they do in reality.

In order to detached himself from what he was actually doing during his job, he had thought of good thoughts. This reminds me of when my parents used to tell me to have good thoughts once I woke up from a nightmare. This is the same situation, but 100 times worse. Although this strategy eventually worked for Stangl, it took him months to get used to the liquidations of humans. He had tried to avoid thinking about what he had done at night when he went to bed, by drinking, drinking, and drinking more alcohol. Personally, I think no matter what the strategy, it should not had been used, the brutality of the situation should not have been avoided, instead, acted upon and rebelled against. Although these are my thoughts from my point of view, Stangl just did not want to bare with living and thinking about what he had done and see about so many people that were killed unnecessarily. His tactics worked for him, so in a way, his tactics were good because they were successful.

Based on Stangl's responses, I do not think he regretted what he had done. He states, "'No,' he said slowly, 'I can’t say I ever thought that way.' He paused. 'You see,' he then continued, still speaking with this extreme seriousness and obviously intent on finding a new truth within himself, 'I rarely saw them as individuals. It was always a huge mass. I sometimes stood on the wall and saw them in the tube. But – how can I explain it – they were naked, packed together, running, being driven with whips like...' the sentence trailed off." This was his answer to when he was asked this question: “There were so many children, did they ever make you think of your children, of how you would feel in the position of those parents?” His answer explains that he did not think about the people individually, he did not care for them, because they were in huge masses. If he did not care for the people, then that gives him a reason not to regret what he had done. Also, another quote by Stangl was, “No, I don’t mean to; of course, thoughts came. But I forced them away. I made myself concentrate on work, work and again work.” He said this about when he was asked if he ever thought about what he did, when he went home at night. He also said he drank to clear his mind from it. This shows that he tried not to remember what he had done to so many innocent people, so it makes it harder for him to regret anything. Overall, I think he may have regret what he done a little bit, but majority, no, he did not regret.

Steve Jobs

In my opinion, this speech was very well done. It shows me a new way of thinking about careers that I have never imagined about. What Steve Jobs have said indeed surprised me, and I now know how to think of life: To live with the choices that I make everyday without regretting them, as if I were to die the next day. He has changed my point of view, therefore I find his speech utterly inspiring. Also, the metaphors and similes that Steve had used in his speech were clever. For example, "I really didn't know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down - that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. This was when he got fired from the job that HE started. The way his speech was formed, well put together and inspiring, also the choice of words and metaphors/similes made his speech very well done in my eyes. A quote that really inspired me was "'If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right.' It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: ' If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?' And whenever the answer has been 'No' for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something." I am now considering, just from reading his speech, to use this way of thinking towards each day. Overall, I thought his speech had a good choice of words, metaphors/similes, and on top of all, it was inspiring.

I think Steve Jobs is a inspiring, smart, experienced, wise man, even if he did not graduate college. The reason why I say that he is inspiring is because he inspired me to think about life in a better way, so I would not regret what I have done, and love what I am about to do. Like everyone else in the world, I would like to be as happy as possible and do the things I love. He is a smart man, obviously he needs to be in order to create Macintosh/Apple products. Although he did not graduate college, he did what he loved and this made him even smarter. The more a person loves something, the more they are commited they are to it, the more commited, then the more you learn about what you love. Steve was an experienced and wise man because he has gone through a lot in life, he experienced many situations of downfall and uprise. He was adopted, he did not graduate college even though his parents promised his real parents that he would, and he has gone through the phases in life where he does not know what he loves. Being through these experiences strengthened him, and made him a wise man. Wise enough to know how to live his life and inspire others by it.

This speech was effective on the impressions of people who plan to graduate college. This is because Steve Jobs himself was supposed to graduate college, but while taking it, could not find what he loved in life. He could not find the value in going to college everyday learning about things that he did not plan to use or remember in the future. A lot of his parents money was going towards college as well, the more reason to drop out. Therefore, he did, he dropped out and went on a journey to find what he loved in life and take action upon it. Yes, he did trip once in a while on the rough road, but everytime he had tripped, he had got up and tried again. His uprises were successful in the end, and that's what counts. He did his best, and thought about how he was going to get and do what he loved, and he did. This tells people who plan to go to college, that if they are not finding any intrests in it, do not spend your parents money on an expensive college, just go out in the open and adventure. Adventure to find what you love.