last one!

That was fast! I'll begin by saying I really enjoyed this course, more than I ever thought I could. My favorite section of this class was really learning the history of the constitution, and not from the standard view point I have heard a hundred times. It was really refreshing to hear that the founders we're really good at somethings, and not so much at others. I was really interested in literally how they set up the government with the anticipation of the future. And which things were left out that are profoundly affecting the nation today. It just really made you think about history and the people and the lifestyle back then. 

The least interesting topic I think was the media. I mean, I knew everything about the media before we even had a whole class about it. I don't feel like I really learned anything new about how they impact our daily lives. I think we could have gone waaaaaaay more in depth about it and its impacts on the political and social system. I think the medias affects on our lives is so profound that what we covered didn't really do it justice. 

My prior knowledge of the government prior was pretty nil. I knew how the basic government worked, but now I REALLY get it. I know that the people who work in D.C. are really working *hopefully* and I've found a new appreciation for my government. However, with the Social Security and Medicare crisis coming to light, I have a new burden on my shoulders. Which is upsetting, but I'm really glad I took this class now because I feel a lot more prepared then my fellow peers and I know that if there is going to be change in our system its going to take a hell of a lot of people. 

Based on my friends, I think my generation is changing things. I have heated discussions with my friends are we are all art majors, and not so much politically active in anything. (Besides women's rights myself) I think that we are the lest ignorant generation when it comes to hard hitting issues, and we have opinons, and we make them known. I also think that our influence form our parents has alsmot flipped flopped, and we instead strike a note with out parents that things aren't really right in this nation when it comes to prejudices and freedoms. I think that if we were able to put aside all the bullshit imposed on us (school, work, bills, student loans, etc.) we would be able to unite even further and really make change in our legislation. Its nice to say that I today, I can imagine a world where there is legal gay marriage, legal marijuana, racism is on its way out, EQUALITY FOR ALL: the real American dream. We are really changing the way this nation works. I feel proud to be in the Millennium generation.

This class has defiantly inspired me to get out there and join NOW or the women's rights organization on campus. I feel I spend a lot of time bitching and doing nothing. I really want to protest and and get dirty and, dare I say, get arrested, for something I really truly believe is right. I know that I can find a lot of excuses that is keeping from doing these things, but like I said this class, and you Rankin, made me realize that if anything is gonna happen I have to get off my ass and get  a bunch of people together and do something about it. It would be a proud day to see the ERA get passed and know that I did something about that. 

This class was awesome. I feel that you're one of the better teachers out there and I'm glad to have had the experience. You're a definite influence on your students and you speak with force and truth, which is something many many people lack. Thanks for a great 4 weeks and and a new outlook on our nation. :) :) :) :) :) :) :) Rankin for President! 

mclovin mclean

I have to be honest: I had been to the museum before for a previous class. However, the only gallery I saw was the food exhibit and the Vietnam exhibit. Regardless, I enjoyed my visit. I think the most interesting thing I learned was that Lincoln actually practiced law in McLean County. Its really fascinating to realize that the most popular president in U.S. history got his start here in this county. It was also nice to read more about my personal heritage (Irish) and see how they lived back then. It really grounds you and makes you realize that if Bloomington, IL. wasn't such a hub of life back then, where would I be today? It really makes history and politics come together in that sense. Back then life was a lot simpler, however their problems seemed to be much more important. Regarding farming and soil and just general survival methods to the intense segregation not just in terms of race, but ethnicity.  I loved how they discussed the Germans, the Irish, and then the "Americans" Yikes. Living then was probably such a hassle. People were going to judge you just on where you came from. Regardless of who you really are. I can't imagine living like that, having to hang out with "your own kind" This kind of philosophy certainly shaped their politics back then. And then there is the women.

I think that was one of he major things that stuck out to me: the fact that women fought for sobriety before suffrage. To think, what got women really wanting their rights? When their drunk-ass husband would come home and beat the shit out of them. Go figure. Its just really interesting to see how time has unfolded its self. Today, women are "equal" and we can vote, and by all means drink. So the question remains: what were fighting for exactly? To go out in the workplace and make less money and be judged simply because of our anatomy? I really wish I could have been alive then to see Seneca Falls and the protests and just how the general public handled these situations. It must have been crazy. 

I'm really glad we went to the museum. It definitely put Bloomington on the map for me a bit more since seeing its real roots and how they shaped my world as it is today. More importantly it makes me appreciate how wonderful my life is today here in Bloomington-Normal, 2009. 

McLean

I literally know nooootthing about McLean county, besides the heavy Irish immigration. I come from an Irish family and pretty much every time I see my grandpa, he tells me about how some of our family lived in Bloomington ages ago and eventually sold their house to ISU. I really wish I could write more....lets see. The constitution trail used to be a railroad  and the oldest restaurant in town is the Grand Cafe. :) 

I obviously know very little about the county. I can imagine its from my lack of exposure to its history, seeing as how I have only lived here for 1 year. I think it does matter, however. History is what makes us who we are and life happens everywhere. I'm sure this town has held many important people who have done amazing things.

Hey Lama!

I am not surprised at all by my results. I feel that our economy and the capitalism of this nation is RIDICULOUS. Everything is about money and buying shit so we can "pursue happiness" but no one really cares about unfunded programs that better life for millions and millions of people across the world. They just care about how much money does my corporation have to give so I don't look like a complete DICK. Example: wal-mart! 

Or, more recently, GM. What a joke. The fact that they once stood for the stability and greatness of the "American lifestyle" is actually pretty fitting. We consume consume consume cause thats what we are told to do one the T.V. and the radio and the magazines, and fuck! even our parents. "When are you getting married and having babies and getting into debt?" Thats all the American lifestyle really is. How much shit can you get with invisible money? Oh and then when that comes to bite you in the ass, "Government! you gotta help me!"

I'm obviously  a democrat, although sometimes I get to so upset with the entire system I just kinda wanna go Green. Since we looked at the joke of the Republican site today in class, I don' really feel like I need to even go there. But comparing the democrats with the Green party, is really interesting. 

If you had to compare VISUAL standards of the GOP and the D websites: OMG. they are the same. Same colors with the same pictures blah.blah. Um... PROBLEM. What does that even say? Just because the issues are different does that really say anything about what they are ultimately fighting for: money. Now of course, the democrats and the republicans are different parties with very different issues. But when reading the Green party's platform, they make a good argument. 

"The Green Party of the United States is a federation of state Green Parties.  Committed 

to environmentalism, non-violence, social justice and grassroots organizing, Greens 

are renewing democracy without the support of corporate donors.  Greens provide 

real solutions for real problems.  Whether the issue is universal health care, corporate 

globalization, alternative energy, election reform or decent, living wages for workers, 

Greens have the courage and independence necessary to take on the powerful 

corporate interests." 

Interesting. When you compare "We believer every American, whatever their background or station in life, should have the chance to get a good education, to work at a job with good wages, to raise and provide for a family, to live in safe surroundings, and retire with dignity and security." and "Courage in the face of foreign foes.  An optimistic patriotism, driven by a passion for freedom. Devotion to the inherent dignity and rights of every person." K. I want all those things. See where I am coming from? Although the democrat and republican platforms are different, I think they way they run things and get things done are the same! And isn't that the problem? Shouldn't we be looking for different solutions? 

you go girl

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/05/26/sotomayor.bio/index.html

Finally, a second woman on the Supreme Court. Hopefully.

After reading, "Who is Sonia Sotomayor?" I feel I have a better understanding of where she is coming from and what she is going to do for this country. Coming from Princeton and Yale, with honors, it is an under-statement to say she is intelligent. Coming from the Bronx, raised by her single parent mother, it would also be an understatement to say she is tough. 

I think the tone of this article is a more optimistic one. It makes it clear about her rough background, her diabetes diagnosis, her experience, and her challenges with the GOP. It goes on to quote others, viewing her in very good light. Needless to say I think the author is pleased with this appointment. 

Named a district judge by George H. Bush and then promoted to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals by Clinton, she seems to have a even background with the parties. 

The article seems to consider her more liberal. Referred to as "liberal-leaning" and then the conservative stand point of  a "hard left record." I think, considering her Hispanic and less fortunate, financially, background, I would believe her ideology would be far more democratic.

As far groups she is representing, she is definitely covering her bases. Women, Hispanics, Catholics?,  Liberals, Moderates.

Watching Obama speak about her nomination, I was even more impressed, when he stated that she has more experience than anyone on the board when they were nominated.  She then spoke of her about remembering the "real-world consequences" and how she firmly believed in upholding the law. 

I think she is a tough woman, with an impeccable background.  I look forward to seeing how she handles her self in this great position. 

yikes

So I am not halfway done reading the list of the Congress Matters and my brain is kinda mushy. How on earth are all those people handling alllllllllllllllll those issues on ONE day?! I can barley eat three meals, go to class, go to work, pay bills, and maintain personal relationships through the course of a day. And those are just my personal issues. I went from reading about gun control, to credit cards, to "reviewing the status of military education twenty years after the Goldwater-Nichols Act and the Skelton Panel" Um. what?! Seriously? This is mind-boggling. 

How is our central government supposed to handle *efficiently* all 43 of these IMMENSELY broad issues? Its impossible obviously since, lets face it, did they really get all that shit done? When was the lunch break? 

I don't even know what to say. It is seriously upsetting as a citizen, literally paying for them to be there RIGHT NOW. And what are they doing, arguing for me? Ya right. If I wanted congress to do something for me today, I might as well jump off a bridge. 

Now I have to check myself here. I have the right to sit here and bitch about the "shity" job they are doing on my Mac laptop at my nice little school in the Burbs of IL. I have to consider them: how many of them really want to be sitting there "debating" ALL those issues all day. They have lives and families and blahblahblah. 

But back to reality, I AM PAYING THEM. And what did they do for me yesterday? NOTHIN. Did the CA Supreme Court rule in favor equality? NO! Am I *technically* considered an equal to males in this nation? NO! They just sit there and talk about "appropriations" and "foreign relations" and what it really boils down to is, "We need money so where can we take it from?" 

Ya, ya. America is the land of the free and if I wanted to write a Bill asking my government to make me equal I could, but where it would it go? Beneath homeland security and the whales! I'm sorry, I love the whales and I do not want to see America get "attacked" again, but how the hell is this system so whack that they can't take what, "We the People" REALLY want and need for our "pursuit of happiness" and really actually DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

Because its all political bullshit and as much as the House is for "the people" its for rich white men who are afraid of change and only want what is going to benefit them. 

So is the issue not what the flaw is in the Congress Matters but the Congress its self? I should think so. But to change something like that is impossible. Cause no matter what, whoever gets to sit in House of the Senate, they are allllll going to want the same things(coughmoneycough), regardless of political party or background, because thats how it was in 1776 and thats how its gonna stay. Why?! I have no fucking clue. 

I wish I could wrap my mind around people who desire to jump through all the government hoops and bend over backwards to get some power! 0o0o0o power. what the fuck is that? Who even has the power? The one with the nukes? The one with the most financial backing? 

Now, I have obviously gotten off course, so to wind it down, I remain baffled with our government and how it handles its self on a day to day basis. I hate to say it, but I know NOTHING about what really happens in there. But there in lies the problem. If there is to be change in this nation, shouldn't the people have a hell of a lot more say in what happens here, and not have to go to law school or live in D.C? The answer is yes. If that ever gonna happen? You tell me.

holla!

http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/courts/supreme/SF052609.PDF

This is so exciting!!! Tuesday is gonna be a big day for American government!!! 

represent yo

For the majority of my life I have lived in Palatine, IL which resides in Cook County. 

My state representative is Melissa Bean (D). She is currently serving her third term in the office and represents not just cook county, but also parts of Lake and McHenry Counties. Coming from a small family business background, she strives for more money for small businesses, tax relief, and affordable healthcare. Her website also states that she is trying to demand better fiscal responsibility from the federal government, which is nice. 

Reading the proposed amendments (what I could understand of them) it appears she is genuinely trying to promote more small business stability, as she stated. In fact, just today she joined President Obama in Washington D.C. for the signing of a foreclosure bill she helped write, which is quite impressive. The bill is doing exactly what she is promoting, helping the American family maintain their homes and finical accountability without completly bombing the economy even more. 

Personally, I'm impressed. She seems to be a busy woman (2 kids, husband, and a State to look after) 

My state sentator is Matt Murphy (R). Reading his welcome page on his website, he is saying what I assume most politicans are saying right now: we are working for more money. He appears to be unhappy with Blagojevich (who isn't) and is showing concern over the higher taxes citizens will need to pay to get out selves out of the situation . He agrees with Bean regarding a tighter rein on federal spending. I was impressed with the scholarship he listed on his website that is for the 27th district community. I plan on applying too : )

Coooooook County. O what a place. 5.3 million people; thats a lot!  I had no idea the "little" place I lived in was so large and had such an impact on the IL government. It is the second largest country next to LA country! Established in 1831 and named after Daniel Cook, an early statesman, representative, and attorney general of the state. In terms of pop-culture references, Cook County has been used many times in reference to the enormous Cook County Jail. 

All in all, I think Cook Country and its representatives appear to be working hard for us, but then again, Cook County, is enormous and I am sure that it has more than its fair share of bad guys. Unfortunately, I know I have only skimmed the very tip of the iceberg in terms of representative research and programs currently in Cook County. 

is it NORML?

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/la-na-court-marijuana19-2009may19,0,141615.story

Don't laugh: I feel this issue is a very hot topic in the States right now. What with the economic crisis, thoughts have turned to a "bailout with pot," if you will. Even though Obama has more or less scoffed upon the legalization of marijuana for the general public, I feel that this debate in California is a step in the right direction.

A few weeks ago I watched the movie, "Super High Me" which was in no way an intellectual film, but informed me of the current drug "war" going on in the designated states that have legal medical marijuana cards and distribution locations for patients suffering from various ailments that they treat with a prescription for medical marijuana. However, many of these locations are suffering from local officers coming in and shutting them down, claiming that what they are doing is illegal, according to the Feds. All medications are then confiscated and the business must start from scratch, if they re-open at all.

I find it HIGHlarious that the Supreme Court rejected the appeals without a comment. And then went on to say that Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr.  would "not devote great effort to prosecuting low-level marijuana cases." But to be perfectly honest, I think that a nation that has a "Controlled Substance Act" but then allows said substance to be distributed as medicine needs a bit of a fixer-upper. 

Either way this ruling is a great step for patients that actually suffer greatly and have come to depend on marijuana to sustain a life worth living. And it paves the way for other states to accept marijuana as valid prescription instead of a dangerous "refer madness" narcotic. 

So then, what next? We legalize marijuana state by state, until its nationwide, and everyone with a Dr. can get a "green-card"? That sounds a lot like legal pot to me. So why prolong the inevitable? I say Obama should spark one and get some green flowin'. Just sayin'. 

summerskool

Yo. My name is Melissa Redmond. I am a Art History and Painting Studio major. I enjoy listening to awesome music such as Phish, Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, Fleetwood Mac etc. I have a pet rabbit Alice, and a hamster named Blue. 

My expectations for this course is to fulfill my Constitution requirement and educate me on the matters of government procedures.

I do not have much experience with government besides my high school history class.