Food Stamp Use Nears Record!

There are many factors that lead to Americans using food stamps. Those include job loss and the rise of food and fuel prices. In the upcoming year, it is projected that 28 million people will use food stamps. The number of recipients, who must have near-poverty incomes to qualify for benefits averaging $100 a month per family member, has fluctuated over the years along with economic conditions, eligibility rules, enlistment drives and natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina, which led to a spike in the South. The percentage of Americans receiving food stamps was higher after a recession in the 1990s, but actual numbers are expected to be higher this year. Federal benefit costs are projected to rise to $36 billion in the 2009 fiscal year from $34 billion this year. “People sign up for food stamps when they lose their jobs, or their wages go down because their hours are cut,” said Stacy Dean, director of food stamp policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington, who noted that 14 states saw their rolls reach record numbers by last December. “Our caseload has more than doubled since 2000, and we’re at an all-time record level,” said Maureen Sorbet, spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of Human Services. Nutrition and poverty experts praise food stamps as a vital safety net that helped eliminate the severe malnutrition seen in the country as recently as the 1960s. But they also express concern about what they called the gradual erosion of their value.

This can be compared to the 1960's. Today, the food stamp use numbers have reached an all-time high since the aid program began in the 1960's.

Trucks on the moon!

The Johnson Space Center has a new model being developed for an exploration car on the moon. But this time it is a truck and it is a heavy-duty workhorse of a truck. Its official name is Chariot. On the downside, it’s a little pricey (at $2 million or so) and its top speed is a pokey 15 miles an hour. “America basically created the truck,” said Lucien Junkin, the chief engineer on the project. And so, he says, why not take a truck to the moon if NASA, as planned, takes humans back, as early as 2020? This model took a year to build. It looks kind of like what you’d get if a monster truck had a ménage à trois with a flatbed trailer and a medieval siege engine. This can be compared to in 1971 when the Apollo 15 carried the first rover to the moon. The Apollo 15 mission was the first to carry a lunar rover, which allowed the astronauts to travel much further from their landing site and sample a much wider variety of lunar materials. This new truck will help space exploration for years to come.

No Big Deal

Astronauts Endeavour space shuttle is returning to Earth on Wednesday March 26, 2008. The seven crew members already ran pre-landing checks, including a test of steering jets that will help guide the Endeavour to a scheduled landing at 7:05 p.m. at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
In a world which is more advanced in technology then ever before, insistences such as this is not consider as big of a deal as if was 50-60 years ago. On May 5, 1961 Alan Shepard prepared to ride the Mercury space capsule. Born on November 18, 1923, in East Derry, New Hampshire, this to him as well as to America, and the rest of the world was a very monumental moment. His first flight carried him to an altitude of 116 statute miles and to a landing point 302 statute miles down the Atlantic Missile Range. Although this is a flight that can easily be done again, this flight marked the new advances for technology as well as many more future discoveries about the outer world which Americans at that time knew little about. Though the act of flying beyond the standard limits seemed impossible , these two instances differ in their reaction. This shows how through out time people become more immune to issues, situations, and other historic occurrences and they no longer become “big deals.”

Historical Role of Women in US Military

An art exhibit was put on display March 8^th in Fall River, MA. It is located on the second deck of USS Massachusetts and is an art exhibit that women around the world can be proud of. It is an exhibit that offers a look into the role of women in the American military over the years. It was inaugurated weekend of March 8th during an annual conference dedicated to women who serve in the military. It also coincided with International Women’s Day. More than 200,000 women are in active duty military service currently which makes up about 15% of the military. Women today can serve in almost any unit in the military but they are still banned from ground combat. The exhibit highlights the condescending tone the military once took toward women who wanted to participate in the war effort. This shows how far women have come in the military. The exhibit was created by Laurie Carlson who is a textile artist from Arlington. Ms. Carlson hopes to expand the exhibit and already has more materials for exhibits than she has space for. The exhibit opens to the public this summer.

This exhibit shows the progress that women have made since the beginning of the fight for women’s rights. At the first women’s rights convention in Seneca Falls Cady Elizabeth Stanton and Lucretia Mott stood up for women’s rights in 1848 when the movement began. It wasn’t until August 26, 1920 that the 19^th amendment to the us constitution became a law and all women could vote in the presidential elections. Now less than 100 years later women can fight alongside men in war and they have memorials dedicated solely to them.

Writers Strike

The 2007-2008 Writers Guild of America strike consisted of workers from the Writers Guild of America, East, and West. These labor unions represent film, radio, and television writers all working in the United States. More than 12,000 writers joined the strike which first began November 5, 2007 and was concluded February 12, 2008.

The writers voted on February 12, 2008 on whether or not to lift the restraining order. 92.5% of the writers voted for an end of the strike. The guilds were on strike for 14 weeks and 2 days (100 days). The previous strike which was in 1988 lasted 21 weeks and 6 days. That strike cost the American entertainment industry an estimated $500 million dollars.

Strikes have been a part of history. A way to rebel and fight for what you want. A famous strike in history was The Newsboy's Strike of 1899. It was a youth-led campaign to enable a change in the way that newspapers compensated the child labor force. The strike lasted for two weeks causing the newspaper company to reduce its circulation from 360,000 to 125,000. The strike was successful and it increased the amount of money newsboys received from selling papers.

Clinton vs Obama Super Tuesday

February 5, 2008 was known as Super Tuesday. This was because 22 states held their Democratic primaries that day. Clinton won 9 states on Super Tuesday and Obama won 14. Clinton won 834 delegates and Obama won 847. Clinton won Arizona, Arkansas, California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. Obama won Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, and Utah.
The first Super Tuesday was in 1984. in 1984 there were actually three Super Tuesdays. They were named with Roman Numerals: Super Tuesday I, Super Tuesday II, and Super Tuesday III. In 2000 a record was set with 15 states holding primaries on Super Tuesday.

one place could be the deciding factor in decision 2008

In 2004 Greensville,SC was the deciding state that led to George Bush havingt enough votes for his nomination and now in 2008 it is looking to be the deciding county in SC once more, but not for the Republicans but instead for the Democrats who have been having a close nomination campaign between Barack Obama and Fmr. first lady Hilary Clinton. This nomination is very close and with the Republicans having their nominee since February 29th this could be a challenge for whoever the Democratic nominee seeing as McCain has been campaiging for almost an entire month not for a nomination but for the presidency. As of March 22nd Hilary was behind Obama with 1251 and Obama at 1408.

The closeness with which this election has been going is very similar to the election of 1876 in which votes in SC were disputed. In the end Rutherford B Hayes won the Election beating Tilden by one vote. 185 to 184.

Spitzer Scandal

New Yorks governor Eliot Spitzer has to leave office. Earlier this week Spitzer got caught with a "call girl". Spitzer who is known for speaking out against prostitution. Spitzer spent campagne money on the call girl. He didn't just go once to her he went to the What did this show to the public? The fact that he lied to the public and he was a hypocrite.
Through out history there has been polical leaders that hav cheeted on there wives, but does it make them into bad leaders? Jefferson had an affair with one of his slaves. Jefferson was seen as a hypocrite for having slaves and being against slavery. He had an affair seen as a lier to his wife and seen as a hypocrite, but he had so many great achevements like the Louisiana Purchase.

Consistent Violence on the Dorchester Bus

On the bus going from Dorchester to Boston, there has always been agression and violence. Just last week, a teen was shot on the bus over matters of tripping another man. A news team interviewed students traveling that route and they talked to a young girl that had to make the commute in order to get to the academy. She says that she always sits near an exit so she can run out if something bad happens. She keeps her head down if there is trouble because eye contact can be interpreted to the agressive and unusual as an offensive thing to do.
This can be compared to the violence on the buses during the civil rights movements. Riots occurred because the blacks began to refuse to sit in the back of the bus, after Rosa Parks was arrested because of doing the same.

Teaching Boys and Girls Separately

Although separating girls from boys has been a practice for private and parochial schools for a long period of time, this same type of education is now being applied to the public school systems. Single-sex public education has grown increasingly popular among schools and classrooms in recent years. In 1995, there were two single-sex public schools in operation in the United States. Today, there are forty-nine. Arguments made by both of the sexes have come into the public eye over the effectiveness of coed public education. Studies show the drop in girls' self esteem during puberty and how today girls are subtly discouraged from careers in math and science. Boys crisis arguments include the fact that boys are significantly behind their female classmates and in 2006 a 17-year-old from Milton, MA even filed a civil rights complaint because his high school had twice as many girls on the honor roll as boys. In that same year, the Department of Education passed new rules and regulations making it easier for counties and districts to create single-sex classrooms in their schools. Boys- and girls-only classrooms have no been established in Cleveland, Detroit, Albany, Philadelphia, Dallas, and Nashville. It seems to be a more popular movement in the South here attitudes toward gender roles tend to be more conservative.
Compared to the late 1800s and early 1900s, education in general has come a long way. Women during this time had to fight for their roles in society and place in schools. When women's schools and universities were first established, they were not only separated from the boys, but given a different curriculum as well. Women were expected to learn the basics of math, geography, etc, but were also trained to become better future wives and mothers. Today this same kind of separation is being suggested for the U.S.'s public school society. In recent single-sex classrooms, boys are being surrounded by significantly different walls then girls. Boys and girls are learning in classrooms painted different wall colors, lighted differently, and even have their thermostats set differently all in the hopes that these subtle differences produce great results in the education system.

Nader Enters the Election

Ralph Nader has entered the presidential race under the Green party. This is not the first time Nader has run for the presidency, and he has never been seen as a threat before. However, some people are up in arms about him running for the presidency because they feel he will take away votes from the candidate that should be elected, and change the election. People are afraid of this because there is speculation that he took votes away from Al Gore leaving George Bush to be elected. If Nader takes votes away from candidates then it may change who is elected. In the presidential race with Al Gore and George Bush, Nader took 2.3% of the vote, so people felt he took the majority of that percentage from Gore. Also with a third candidate, it means that a candidate needs a lower percentage to win.

This presidential race can be compared to the United States election of 1860 involving Lincoln. In that election there was a third party, which took votes away from the two major parties, which could have been the cause for Lincoln winning. The election of Lincoln caused the nation to go into turmoil, and hopefully this presidential election will not be as controversial.

Gay adoption: A new take on the American famil

In Atlanta, Georgia 5 year old boy Jackson Manford- Roach is one out of 65,000 children being raised by same sex parents in the United States. His parents Jeffrey Roach and Ken Manford say they are "not bothered by the non- traditional character of their family".They also say they are just as loving as straight or biological parents. Its seems that same sex couples turn to adopting as a source to form a family, since they are denied the right to marry in every state with the exception of Massachusetts. There are many states that do not have specific laws on gay foster parenting. Florida falls to be the only state that bans homosexual individuals from adopting children. There has been arguments that claim that same sex couples cannot provide the child with the complete influence of the other sex. The Child Welfare League of America, say that shutting off adoption to homosexuals will narrow the pool of potential parents.
The Gay Rights Movements officially began on June 27, 1969. At the Stonewall Inn in New York City over 200 homosexuals fought back against prejudice police officers. Riots and rallies continued for three day after that one night. 5,000 people marched in New York City to commemorate about that night and to take a stand against such injustice. Groups have been formed to advocate gay rights all over the country. Now, laws for protecting homosexuals from discrimination have been enacted.

Mafia: Alive & Well (At Least We Thought)

On February 7th, 2008, 62 members of the Italian Mafia were arrested and indicted in New York. There was a laundry list of charges. They ranged from murder to extortion to theft. Many of those arrested had ties to the legendary Gambio family, and some of those arrested were a member of the family. The United States worked very closely with Italian officials in this intercontential sting. This raid led to the demolishing of the Gambio's largest source of revenue, illegal gambling.
The Italian Mafia first became popular during the 19th-century in Italy. During the immigration periods, the Mafia came to America. The most popular cities were New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia. The Gambio family was one of the most well known families in the Italian Mafia. The Mafia became popular during the Prohibition Age.

Violent Storms Kill Dozens Across Southern States

On February 5, the South was devastated by a string of tornadoes. The National Weather Service received more than 60 tornado reports in a five state region. The tornadoes started early Tuesday morning and continued through Wednesday morning. The storms shattered barns, uprooted trees, and tore off the roof of Wynnewood, 19th century inn that had survived the Civil War even though Union and Confederate armies had marched by its front door on their way to battles in Hartsville and Gallatin. The death toll in the South was 26 dead in Tennessee, 13 in Arkansas, 7 in Kentucky, and 4 in Alabama. Tornadoes also damaged property in Mississippi, but there were no reported deaths. The storms caused massive damage and millions of dollars in repairs.

The worst tornado in US history was the Tri-State Tornado on March 18, 1925. The storm hit Missouri, Indiana, and Illinois. The storm moved at a record setting 73 mph. Hundreds of people were killed and even more injured. There was millions of dollars worth of damages.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/06/AR2008020600619.html?hpid=topnews

http://www.tornadoproject.com/toptens/1.htm