Saddam is executed - Is Osama next?

Well, I continue to be amazed at world events. I didn't think there was any doubt that Saddam Hussein would be found guilty for his crimes against the Iraqi people over the past thirty years. What I am surprised about was the speed with which he was executed. I guess that I have been used to the American justice system of appeal after appeal for death row inmates (which should be there to make sure the innocent aren't executed). But that appeal process has taken years, not days in this case.

Three and a half years later, almost as many American soldiers have died in this war as people have died in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, over 20,000 American soldiers have been injured, almost a hundred thousand Iraqis have been killed in the fighting, the world is better for having one less dictator in it. Does that mean the Iraq War is justified? I don't know. I only think we can answer that question in ten to twenty years when we see what happens to Iraq after we leave.

I hope that Saddam's death sends a chill up the spines of other dictators throughout the world. The message should NOT be that America is coming to get you, but that the world will hold you accountable. The Chilean people were ready to put their old military strongman, Augusto Pinochet, on trial, but he died earlier this fall before they put him on trial. They cannot rule with impunity forever. The dictator of Romania found out the hard way when the people rose up at the end of the Cold War. Slobodan Milosevic, the leader of Serbia in the 1990s during the Bosnian and Kosovo wars that included ethnic cleansing of Muslims, has been convicted of his crimes. Even in Rwanda, some of those who lead the massacre of 800,000 have been brought to justice.

So, I was thinking about that other guy in the war on terror: OBL. Osama. You might be familiar with his work. So, last night, I'm wondering where he's been hiding the last five years, and this morning, I read this transcript of CNN's The Situation Room from yesterday (Ed Henry is the CNN anchor, Fran Townsend is the Homeland Security Advisor):

"HENRY: But now as 2006 ends, Osama bin Laden is still at large. Heading into 2007, how confident are you that he can be brought to justice this coming year?

TOWNSEND: Well, there's no question in my mind that he'll be brought to justice. The real question is whether or not it's going to be this year. I will tell you that I feel increasingly confident, you know, it was interesting. There's a recent poll and the American people said 71 percent of them were optimistic that we can protect the country. And I think they've got reason to be optimistic. We've made a lot of progress. They see the progress we've made. We've disrupted plots. We've made reforms in our system, in our security system. So on bin Laden, do I think we are going to get him? I absolutely know we're going to get him. The question is will it be this year. And I will tell you I think there's increased activity both the part of the CIA, JSOC and our partners, the Pakistanis.

HENRY: You know, going back to September 2001, the president said, dead or alive, we're going to get him. Still don't have him. I know you are saying there's successes on the war on terror, and there have been. That's a failure.

TOWNSEND: Well, I'm not sure -- it's a success that hasn't occurred yet. I don't know that I view that as a failure."

The emphasis is mine. Wow. Can I spend salary I haven't earned yet? Sure, with credit cards, but it's not smart to do a lot of that. Can you guys count on As and Bs that haven't occurred yet? Of course not. Would colleges let you apply in your sophomore year and let you count As and Bs you know that you'll earn in your junior and senior years? Of course not. Can I retire now knowing that I will eventually work another 15-20 years?

I wonder how much effort is really being put forth to find this guy. Furthermore, does it really matter if we find him? I'm willing to bet that Al-Qaeda has had now over five years to prepare for his eventual capture/demise and has replacements in line for when he is gone. So his capture or death really won't impact Al-Qaeda; what it will do is probably make him a martyr among his many radical Islamist supporters.

Comments?

These are my thoughts, not yours. Peace in the new year!
Mr. Wickersham

P.S. - If you don't believe she actually said this, go to CNN's transcript here: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0612/28/sitroom.03.html

Should the Scopes Trial be one of the Top 10 Unexpected Moments?

Today in class we watched a movie on the Scopes Trial. Why do you think that The History Channel picked this as one of the 10 Days that changed America? How do you think this has changed America? And what affect does it have on us today?

Josh St.

Below is a link to a site on the Scopes Trial from the University of Missouri at Kansas City: http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/FTrials/scopes/scopes.htm

You may have also seen this picture in some of the readings or pictures of the Scopes trial. Here's a quote from T.T. Martin's book, Hell and the High School: "The Germans who poisoned the wells and springs of northern France and Belgium and fed little children poisoned candy were angels compared to the teachers, paid by our taxes, who feed our children's minds with the deadly, soul-destroying poison of Evolution....Evolution and the teaching of Evolution in tax-supported schools is the greatest curse that ever fell upon this earth."

A Court TV website dedicated to the Scopes Trial: http://www.courttv.com/archive/greatesttrials/scopes/

A CNN.com archive of a July 2000 article revisiting the trial on its 75th anniversary. Very detailed with related articles and links at the bottom of the page. http://archives.cnn.com/2000/LAW/07/13/scopes.monkey.trial/

Even more stuff on evolution or creation: http://www.peer.org/news/news_id.php?row_id=801 The Grand Canyon National Park is not allowed to speculate on how old the canyon is b/c it might violate the sacred concept of creation. In fact, at the NPS gift store there, they began selling a book in 2003 called Grand Canyon: A Different View by Tom Vail which essentially gives a biblical timeframe for the formation of the Grand Canyon (Noah's flood caused it) instead of geolgical forces.

The legality of Prohibition

Lauren T. asks:

In class today we talked about Prohibition and how the government stopped the manufacturing, sale, and transportation of alcohol. Do you think it was right of the government to pass all of these laws to stop alcohol consumption? Do you think they should have done what they did, (passing the 18th Amendment and all that came along with it), or should they have just tried to reduce the amount of alcohol you consumed, or put a limit on how much you drank?

Also, do you think it was right for civilians to import alcohol illegally?

"There is nothing more oppressive...than a democracy gone mad."

I bring up the dual issues of censorship of ideas and censorship of the press during wartime because it came up during the talk on the Espionage and Sedition Acts during the Great War. Under these acts, a person can be fined up to a max of $10 grand and given a 20 year sentence for interfering with the sale of war bonds or the draft, or saying anything profane, disloyal, or abusive about the government. Obviously, these laws violate the 1st Amendment.

During wartime, there is a feeling that certain ideas may be considered dangerous, traitorous, or even downright unpatriotic. Many have been accused of such things when criticizing their government during times of war, and our history book mentions some of them. Eugene V. Debs, a Socialist Party leader and candidate for the Presidency, was sentenced to ten years in prison and fined $10,000 for "speaking out against the war and the draft" (Danzer, et. al. 392). Anarchist Emma Goldman was convicted and sentenced for creating a No Conscription League and then was deported to Russia after two years in jail.

The legal reasoning backing these cases up was set in cases like Schenck v. U.S. (1919). Eminent justice Oliver Wendell Holmes jr. stated that "the question in every case is whether the words used are used in such circumstances and are of such a nature as to create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the evils that Congress has a right to prevent." Justice Holmes went on comparing protecting free speech of the guy who yells "FIRE!" in a crowded movie theatre. Holmes implied that Mr. Schenck's wartime leaflets were that kind of clear and present danger and therefore needed to be censured. Is Justice Holmes correct when he compares the two? Or should there be freedom of expression even during times of war?

Then there's the case of the press. Should the press have access to everything as if there wasn't a war going on? What if the war had secret information? Should they publish or release the info to the public? How much censorship is too much? How much is too little?

Idealog website

Check in to Idealog.org, a self test website to find out whether you're a libertarian, liberal, conservative, or communitarian (communist).

http://www.idealog.org/ideaflash.asp?ClassID=366589

This link should take you there for our class. You'll have to enter your email address before taking the test. Enjoy.

Please finish before class on Thursday morning. This exercise will help us determine who should be a Democrat or Republican in our Treaty of Versailles debate.

Twain or Hemingway?

Which writer do you like best: Mark Twain or Ernest Hemingway?

I like Ernest Hemingway better because I understand it better, and I like most of his stories. Ernest writes stories that can help you make better choices but one thing I don't like is some of his stories he doesn't give enough details on what he is talking about so he makes it confusing. As we talk about it in class I understand it better. I don't like Mark Twain's writing because it can affect people and it's hard to read.

Anita H.

Dan asks about "Hills Like White Elephants"

In the story "Hills Like White Elephants" the man and woman, husband and wife, are not sure whether or not to have an abortion. The couple enjoy, and frequently travel around the world. The woman is pregnant and needs to make a choice, on one hand she would like to have the child and settle down, on the other she knows that if she decides to go through with the baby, the expeditions would need to come to an end.

In this case do you think it is acceptable to have an abortion?

Dan E.

Manly Men - what's up w/ that?

This week we started to learn about Ernest Hemingway and his style of writing. He wrote about tough masculine prose. His characters were fishermen, hunters, and soldiers that were hard drinkers and involved in sports or crime. He wrote about all his life experiences.

Do you like his style of writing? Why do you think he writes about manly men? Is he trying to over compensate for his lack of manliness?

Michelle U.

What's your fav EH short story?

We just started to read Ernest Hemingway's short stories. Any first impressions? For me the stories lack a bit of depth, and sometimes can be confusion. "Hills Like White Elephants" was one of the stories that made me think more and figure out the actual meaning. You have to search for a long time and figure out what the man and woman are actually talking about. What do you think they are talking about? I think that they are talking about an abortion, and how they are deciding whether the woman should go through with it or not. Could it have been about something else?



What was your favorite story and why? Please express your overall feelings about Ernest Hemingway's style of writing.
Anna S.

Something doesn't seem right about Joseph coming back from the grave!

In the movie, Far and Away, Joseph and Shannon finally got together at the end of the movie. I thought it was really strange how Joseph suddenly came back to life. I liked the movie and I thought it had a great plot, but it didn't seem right that he magically came back to life because he looked up into the sky. Am I the only one who thought that? Did you like the movie all together? Do you think the movie should have ended when Joseph died or do you think it was better that he came back to life?
Haley B.

Tax Cuts for the Poor and Raising Taxes on the Rich

The other day in class we discussed poor people and others who are well off. Some said that they thought if you are poor, it is your fault and you should be able to get yourself back up...no excuses. Others thought the government should help them out a lot, and they (the poor) were helpless in some aspects.

This ties into one day in Mr.Wickersham's elective on presidential elections, we discussed how Clinton cut taxes for poor people and made them greater for rich people. Many thought this was not fair because they worked hard for their money and it was the poor peoples fault, some did not agree. What are your views?

Kaelin R.

Jordan asks "What else don't we know?"

During our discussion the other day, we talked about how the whole sterilization idea was started here in the United States. Personally, I was completely shocked to hear this. The fact that Germany and other parts of Europe were not the originators changed my thinking process quite a bit. I am not saying that it's ok that they did that, but it's interesting to keep uncovering things about our government that have been hidden all these years.

I know I don't keep up with the news religiously but I watch it enough to have an idea about current events. This sort of reminded me of when we learned about FEMA and their lack of effectiveness, and other events where the government was sneaking around without revealing the whole truth until much later. I am wondering; were you shocked to hear this? Did it get you thinking about what other secrets or scandals are kept within our government? If not, explain your reaction. Why do you feel this way?

Jordan H.

Today's discussion about America's history of Eugenics

Lauren asks:

What did you think of today's class discussion. I know the topic was a little out of the ordinary from what we usually talk about, but did you like it. Was it more interesting than other types of discussion? What did you like about it, what didn't you like about it? Also, what are your thoughts about forced sterilization and the rich vs the poor? Do you think society had anything to do with people being rich or poor, or do you think it was only their fault for the way their life turned out? Do you think sterilization was the right thing to do by the government?

Editor's note: Check out www.eugenicsarchive.org sponsored by the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, America's former home for eugenics research in the early 20th Century. They have compiled an archive of thousands of documents that portray the chilling thoughts and psuedo-science that spawned the Holocaust.

Family Relations and The Future

Over these past few days while reading My Antonia, I began to think about how they all had such close family ties with each other. As I thought about it more, I decided that the family ties seem to be much less than they were in the past. I know that I talk to my distant relatives often and stay in touch a lot with my close ones. I believe that family ties are very important in today's society. What do you think?

Also reading the last book in My Antonia, I also started to wonder what I will do in 20 years - if I was to reunite with one of my close friends.
- Will I act the same as Jim did?
- Will you try to keep in touch with your friends 20 years from now?
I mean I know most people will say, yes of course, but really think about it, I mean it will be 20 years from now, will you even think about your old friends? This book, unlike others that I have read, had me thinking and relating to the characters a lot because I could imagine myself in Jim's shoes at certain points. I was wondering if anyone else felt the same way as I did, reading this novel and what specific points could you relate to?

Michael L.

editor's note: This is a picture of a couple of guys I found on the Internet - they look like old friends. The picture is meant to invoke an image of you and a good friend getting together 20 years later...ya know, when you're older. Like 35 or something.

Frontier Reality?

After watching that reality tv series about the families that agreed to live as if they owned a farm in the 1800s, I couldn't understand why anyone would want to do that. They all seemed miserable, dirty, and tired throughout the whole episode. For me it didn't seem like they had any insentive to keep living in the past. Also, I definitely have to give them some props for eating a rattle snake.
But I really didn't enjoy watching the 1800s version of fear factor. Plus they had to build fences, chop wood, take care of animals, and get the hay. All we had to do is shovel dirt and hammer nails. If anything the show just gave me a great appreciation for the life I have in which all I have to do to get milk is open the fridge. I guess you have to be a real history buff, or just a little crazy to want to be on that show.
So you tell me, would you ever go on a show like that, if so why? What if there was a cash prize? Also, how long do you think you'd last... and would you have eaten the snake?

Final Thoughts on My Antonia by Chad

Now that we have just finished reading My Antonia, how do you feel about the novel? Do you like that we read the book in such a fast time frame and then logged on how we felt about each particular book?
After our experience building the sod houses, what do you think it would be like to be an immigrant coming to America in such difficult times? How do you think your life would have been similar/different to the life of the Shimerdas when they came here? How would you feel if you had to get up every day and work instead of going to school to learn and eventually get a good job?
We can all learn lessons from the book My Antonia, what did you learn?

Chad

Can you believe it? More pictures!

Yes, indeed! Here are more pictures of the "pioneers" of the Excel 10 party.

People and Terms you need to know

These are some terms and people you should know for the test that is coming up on Tuesday, Oct. 24.

People:
William McKinley and William Jennings Bryan
Willa Cather Frederick Jackson Turner
Sitting Bull George Custer
Crazy Horse Buffalo Bill
Red Cloud Chief Joseph
Geronimo Frederick Remington

Terms:
Manifest Destiny
Homestead Act of 1862
Pacific Railroad Act of 1862
Union Pacific and Central Pacific
silverites and gold bugs
Ghost Dance
The Grange
Dawes Act
The 3 Cs - conquer, Christianize, and capitalize

Knowing these terms for Monday will help the review go more smoothly. :)

More pictures from our pioneering adventure

Pictures galore from Thursday!

Hey, here they are. As promised, in all our grubby, muddy glory, the 50+ students of Excel 10 experiencing life on the windswept Nebraska plains like the Shimerdas and the Burdens. Well, it's not really Nebraska. It's behind the visitor's stands at the football stadium. We couldn't afford to take everybody to Nebraska.


Man, now that's a big piece of sod.


That looks good. Now all we need is another six feet and we're finished.








"Can you guys see if I got dirt on my ankle?"


"25 nails in 30 minutes? No problem! Gimme some more. I can handle it!"


This piece of sod reminds me of a kid I used to babysit.



If the guys won't use directions, I will.

Custer's Last Stand at the Wild West Shows

This week as you all know, we finished the movie The West. In the movie, there was a segment about Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Shows. The show traveled all over the world and showed what the Western United States was like. Of course there was a couple over exaggerations like how Buffalo Bill would always come and save the day or how wicked the Natives really were. But in the end it was a great show for the whole family. The grand finale of the show was called Custer’s death, where they showed how General George Custer was attacked and killed by Native Americans.

Many times, Custer’s widow was in the crowd watching as the reenactment of her husband's death was portrayed right in front of her eyes. Every time she saw the show she always commented that it was very lifelike, and she always came to see it when it came to town. In my opinion, this reaction to a loved one dying is very ironic and rather odd.

My question to you is what would be your reaction if you saw the reenactment of the death of a loved one in your family being shown to you directly in front of your eyes and on a stage?

Sam

Narrow casting and Acxiom

In my elective class, we talked about how campaigns play a huge effect on the election process.

For example, John Kerry used "narrow casting" to win votes. Narrow casting is sectioning out minority groups and interest groups and talking with that group, and having them vote for that candidate. Narrow casting I feel is probably why minority groups vote for the people they do. Do you think so?

Also there's a company out there (Acxiom) that has secret information about you in computers dealing with race to what kind of ice cream you like. Do you feel comfortable with database companies holding information about you and your family in their computers for other people use to persuade you? I don’t! I would feel like someone is stalking me. THAT’S CREEPY!

Josh F.

When will we have a minority president?

Today in Mr.Wickersham's class we discussed the ideal president. We discussed and thought of good qualities that a president should have. For example, they should be qualified/experienced, educated, intelligent/savvy, and selfless. To me, those four examples stand out the most. If you are lacking in any of these areas, it shows you're not yet ready to be in control. Do you agree or disagree?

One subtopic that we discussed dealt with minorities and the chance of them being elected as president. If you have all the same qualities as a white man and in some cases more why would it matter? They could be one of the smartest people of that time but because the way America is today it wouldn't be so easy. They would have a very difficult time proving their qualities to most people. Women, who are also classified as a minority, would struggle just as much as any other minority. Every person has the ability to succeed and if you are one of the few who go above and beyond, than I think America should give it a try. America should be more open to change, seeing the way that some presidents have acted in the past.

I believe there are others who could do much better and prove they are able to run the most powerful country in the world. One of the difficulties is, that if, and when, minorities are elected, will they be judged harder than a white man, which made those same mistakes? Is that fair? Will minorities ever have a chance? When you are able to vote, would you consider a minority that is better suited for presidency rather than their competition?

Don't Believe the Hype?

Nicole S. asks:

Today in class we talked about the book Huck Finn and our opinions on the book. Some didn't like it and others thought that it was a good book. I personally liked the book and I learned more about how things were back then. I do think that the book is overrated as far as the way that it used to be considered shocking. I feel that way because society has changed over time and the way that we have accepted new things. But I do also think that the book has lost some of its meaning. Some of the things that are said in the book like the "N" word aren't as offensive today as they used to be.

I liked Mark Twain's writing style and how he used dialect, but it was also annoying after a while. It made you think twice about what you were reading and how people actually talked back then. This book has many life lessons in it and can teach you alot of things about how society has evolved. So what do you think?

So what do you think of the book, Huck Finn?

So how does everyone feel about this book? I personally thought it was hard to get into. It started off very slow, but I thought as I read a little more and more it got better. I think that this is a very unrealistic book, what about you? It seems to me that no matter where Huck is, or whom he is with, he finds trouble.
My favorite part of the book was when Huck faked his own death to escape from his dad’s cabin. It showed us right away that Huck was clever. I never expected a boy like him to be that smart. It continued through out the story, Huck would come up with extremely clever plans. For example, after telling Mary Jane about the king and the Duke he came up with a very well thought out plan of how to escape.

I did not think I would like this book but I ended up enjoying it. Did you like it? Do you agree or disagree with me?

Elizabeth on Ideal Presidential Qualities

Today in Mr. Wickersham's elective class, "The Greatest Presidential Elections since 1860", we discussed what qualities we personally thought made a good president. We talked about what key characteristics we would look for if we were to vote, and what makes one candidate stand out from the others. As a class we made a list of what qualities were the most important to us. The list included: honesty, loyalty, being rich, handling pressured situations well, qualified, intelligent/savvy, patriotic, experienced, good looking, selfless, and has "no skeletons" in his/her closet. We then rated these qualities to find out which one is the most important to us and which one is the least important to us.

My number one quality was loyalty because I think that if you can't trust your president, and count on him staying true to the country and all the people in it then you are left with nothing. My least important quality was good looks. Although, I don't think that a lot of emphasis should be placed upon good looks, I do know that we are all human and probably not one of us could say that looks don't matter at all. But compared to all of the other qualities that I mentioned, I think good looks should come last. What's your opinion on this subject? Would you rate your qualities the same way that I did, or would yours be completely different?

Rule of Law: Should the President be held accountable?

Former president Bill Clinton lied to the American public when he denied accusations of having an affair. The president is the most important person in the world and has the most responsibility, and I do not think it is right that he did not get punished like a normal person would. Do you think that the president should be charged like any other citizen in America?

Phil S.

Heart vs. Head

In Mr. Barry’s class today, we discussed the difference of the heart versus the head.
We came to the conclusion that our brain gave us the more logical solution. Our brains came up with a reason, a pragmatic and sensible solution. On the other hand, our heart tells us our gut feeling, a more emotional feeling that just feels rights.

In Huckleberry Finn, Huck learns that following your heart rather than following the norm of society can be the better choice. Huck has to make a decision, whether he should turn Jim into the slave-hunters and follow what society would have done or whether he should lie and follow his heart in order to save Jim. When Huck arrives at this predicament, he makes the decision to follow his heart and lie to free an escaped slave. His youthful innocence and gut feeling allowed him to make this decision. Although Huck knows that what he is doing is illegal and goes against what he has been raised to do, it only feels right.

All of us have been in similar situations to Huck, and have had to choose whether to follow our hearts or our heads. Give a time in which you were put into a similar situation and tell how you dealt with it. Whether you followed your head and went with the rules or followed your heart and went with your feelings.

Brian K.

Was John Brown's approach the right way to go?

In the early 1600’s through the start of the Civil War 500,000 slaves were brought in America from Africa. Eleven million people were taken from their home from Africa stowed on ships and over ten million died on the 4-month journey to America. From the time of the first slaves, America history was tangled in violence-the violence done to these slaves. The Missouri Compromise decided whether or not the Louisiana Territory was a slave or free state. If the state was above 36’30’’ it was considered a free state, and if the state was below 36’30’’ it was consider a slave state. John Brown a white man, was one of the only people in America to attempt to abolish slavery. He killed as many white slave owners as he could. Brown had a plan to arm the slaves to rebel against their owners. Brown was captured during the attempt to steal their weapons, but this did not stop him from attaining his goal. When he was in jail Brown became a celebrity. His letters about freeing the slaves were published, and if they were not freed he predicted there would be a Civil War. After six weeks in jail, John Brown was hanged. The Union army formed soon after Brown died and fulfilled Brown’s prophecy of our country’s struggle for a slave-free state if the slaves were not freed.

Do you agree with Brown’s violent approach to the abolishing of slavery?

JJ asks: Democrat, Republican, or neither?

In class on Tuesday, Mr. Wickersham's class we talked about what separates America. And one of those subtopics was the presidential parties and how half the people in the nation are Democrats and the other half are Republicans. I think that it separates our nation so much. There are many people that get in arguments about who should lead our country. People that are Democrats think that George Bush is a loser, like my mom, and I think that this is a bad thing.
There was just a poll in the Jewish News that asked: What political party is friendlier to Israel? My mom, the Democrat, asked my dad, the Republican, this poll. My dad replied about ten seconds later, “high sixty percent, Democrat.” The real answer was 22% Democrat, 65% Republican and 13% neither. I was just wondering if you talk to your parents about what political party they choose, and if you do, what political party are they in and what you think about their decision.

JJ

Are we a House Divided today on abortion?

In class, September 5, 2006, we talked about Abe Lincoln’s “A House Divided” speech. Lincoln was saying that a government/country divided because of slavery will crash and fall. I agree it would have been total chaos because there would have been arguments (like the Dred Scott case) over where/when slaves are free or not. A man’s freedom is such a basic issue that a country has to have one solid opinion on the topic. Do you think a country could survive with two different views on this issue???

There were many ways the slavery conflict could have been solved. Breaking into two different countries almost like we did with the civil war would have been an option. In my opinion, this option would not have solved the problem because the two governments would have fought over territory. What do you think another option could have been to solve this problem???

When we talked about the speech, some divisions came up that were similar to slavery vs. freedom. Abortion was one of them. There are many arguments on both sides of the abortion issue. There is the need to define when to draw the line saying what is living and what is not (for ex. some groups say that a fetus at 5 weeks is not a living thing and 6 weeks is). There is also the thought that a person is a person and it can’t be killed. My opinion is that there should be the option of abortion for minors, rape victims, and for any one else no later than the first nine weeks of the first trimester BEFORE the fetus has a heartbeat. What are your thoughts on the abortion issue?

Andrew S