Week 2- Person 5

Charissa had some great points about dealing with the prosecution of the Tucson shooting in Arizona weeks ago. She discussed the difference in whether or not citizenship has both moral and legal implications and how they should both be exercised to their fullest. I agree with how she feels on this issue, and couldn’t have said it better myself.

T.J. then went on to discuss mostly Maine’s new Governor Paul LePage and his recent public outburst towards the NAACP. I agree with how T.J. said that Governor LePage crossed a bunch of unmoral, rude, and unnecessary comments towards the NAACP and handled it completely the wrong way. Whether or not you agree with an organization or their goals, as a governor you’re supposed to lead by example and act as a professional among professionals. Achieving the honor of being a public icon, you should have the morals and respect of your people, because when it all boils down to it, we’re all Americans no matter what state you have your residence in.

Stephen focused his thoughts mostly on the shooting in Tucson, Arizona. He provided great input on how he connected the mental illness and lack of respect the suspect had towards the government. I agree with his outlook on this issue to the fullest. We may or may not agree with our government’s policies and such, but there is a proper way to go about having your opinion heard. Shooting innocent victims in an act of pure unpatriotic manners is unethical, impractical, and just down right wrong.

Week 3- Person 5

President Lyndon B. Johnson was a man of true equality and stood behind civil equality one-hundred percent. His “We Shall Overcome” speech on March 15, 1965, was one of deep impact and high importance. Working towards making Americans equal as countrymen rather than dividing by skin color, religion, and other traits is a difficult task which to this day is still being struggled to reach.

President Johnson’s entire speech was full of intellectual and deep thoughts, so it’s hard to choose which is more important because all of his words had an emotional and intriguing thought process. When Johnson stated, “Above the pyramid on the Great Seal of the United States it says in Latin, "God has favored our undertaking." God will not favor everything that we do. It is rather our duty to divine His will. But I cannot help but believe that He truly understands and that He really favors the undertaking that we begin here tonight,” I thought he made a crucial point. In this quote and throughout his entire speech, Johnson speaks of himself and his countrymen as one. Not men and women, not white and black, but as only Americans. This speech of pushing to help reach equality for African Americans really set a tone as to how important it is to stand together as one.

“There is no Negro problem. There is no Southern problem. There is no Northern problem. There is only an American problem, and we are met here tonight as Americans--not as Democrats or Republicans; we're met here as Americans to solve that problem. This was the first nation in the history of the world to be founded with a purpose,” was one of Johnson’s strongest points which should not be overlooked. The pursuit of happiness should not be denied to the African Americans, it should be able to be pursued by any and all American.

Week Three Blog- Person 4

On March 15, 1965 President Lyndon B. Johnson presented a speech to the United States of America that would be one of the many focal points in the struggle for African-American qualities as citizens of our country. the speech he gave, took place a week after heavy racial tensions led to a violent police attack on peaceful African-American protesters on Selma, Alabama. the group of protesters had no intentions of getting violent, and planned on being led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr to Montgomery, Alabama to register to vote. The brutal attacks on the 500 civil rights activists led to the tragic death of a white Minister, James J. Reeb from Boston, Massachusetts.

The speech following the attacks was extremely brave on the part of President Johnson. He showed unprecedented leadership qualities and spoke on what he believed was best for his country, and what he believed was best for the future. he went against the mindset of many Americans at that time period who believed that racism and segregation seemed like the best way to run the country. he spoke against all of those people , some considered President Johnson one of the many heroes of the civil rights movement but in his speech he stated; "The real hero of this struggle is the American Negro" President Johnson truly wanted to make everything equal for all Americans regardless of race.

He did what a President could to make things equal for African-Americans in the United States by signing the Voting Rights Act on August 6, 1965 which would no longer allow the unfair tests of literacy and history to take place, which at that time stopped most of the African-American people from voting. Even though the African-Americans gained more voting rights then before, there still lingered a tremendous amount of racial tension. So much so, that on August 11, 1965 the famous Watts Riots in Los Angeles took place, leading to the death of 34 rioters.

"We Shall Overcome" -- Lyndon B. Johnson

Lyndon B. Johnson’s “We Shall Overcome” speech was made on March 15, 1965, following a group of Americans was attacked by police in Selma, Alabama—they were preparing to march to Montgomery in order to protest the topic of voting rights discrimination: something that was given to all Americans under the US Constitution. Johnson states, “…every American citizen must have an equal right to vote.” In reading this speech, I kept thinking about two common rights that we, as Americans, all possess: the right to vote and the right to protest. We have discussed both of these in the classroom, and I think that President Johnson brought forth discussion of these problems in a proper, well-mannered way—unlike a certain state official may have done, if there was something that he didn’t agree with, within his jurisdiction. I would like to go into discussion about these two fundamental values that he brought forward in his speech, with relation to the discrimination of fellow Americans.

“’There is no Southern problem. There is no Northern problem. There is only an American problem.” Johnson couldn’t be more right in stating that it is everyone’s problem, especially when there was an entire group of Americans that were being discriminated against. Imagine going to city hall on your 18^th birthday, excited to be an adult, only to be rejected when trying to register to vote. They told you to fill out your application, but you abbreviated your middle initial, so they said you aren’t registered; or maybe you filled it out entirely, but they decided that you have to take a test that 90% of Americans—already with voting rights—couldn’t pass. Of course you would want to protest, which as an American, you have the right to do….wait, just kidding. Not all Americans could in 1965; they weren’t stopped by law, but instead by racist police officers.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and more than 500 civil rights activists were going to march from Selma to Montgomery, protesting the right to vote for ALL Americans. Not only were the police violent in unlawfully stopping their march, but a minister from Boston was killed, while many others were seriously hurt. All of this happened because the police and local officials forced decided that they were above the law. They thought that they were higher than the Constitution of the United States, and eventually that was taken care of, in front of the entire nation. Now, we can all vote as citizens of the United States; however, we are still fighting the civil rights battle today.

Week 2 Summary

Charissa started off the week by answering the following question, what are the implications of these events for "citizenship", understood in either its legal or its moral meaning? This question was to be answered about the two major events that had taken place not too long ago; the Tucson shooting and the comments given by our governor.
She started off by giving a brief background about the Tucson shooting and commenting about how the shooter, up until this point was a law-abiding citizen. His actions will be prosecuted to the fullest extent and he will pay for the lives that he stole. She then went on to talk about the comments made by our governor. Governor LePage made a statement towards the NAACP saying how he would meet with all inmates, not just the African American inmates. He then claimed that the NAACP claimed that they found that “unacceptable,” when in fact they made no such statement. He then topped everything off with telling the NAACP to “kiss [his] butt.” His statement is morally wrong and unacceptable for someone with his job title.
Next, was TJ’s post. He again talked about these two topics by beginning with how we all have rights but some people take it too far. From here, he goes on to discuss increased security. He mentions how security has been increased in just about every level including, recreation events, travel facilities, and even at educational institutions. He then goes on to talk about Governor LePage. He talks about how LePage had plenty of rude and unnecessary comments to cover national headlines. He declined an invitation by the NAACP saying that, “[he’s] not going to be held hostage by special interests.” TJ then ends by commenting about how LePage has a lack of morals and needs a filter on what he chooses to say publically. In TJ’s post he provided a link to the Portland Press Herald web-page, where an article and video about what LePage said is provided.
Stephen ended the week by talking about the Tucson shooting. He discussed how the shooter had shown his discontent towards the government and had recently dropped out of Prima Community College in Arizona, when he refused to take a mental health exam after disturbing classes and calling the school a scam. In this discussion, Stephen provides a link to Wikepedia, where President Obama gives his Tucson memorial speech, where he honors the shooting victims. Stephen ended his discussion by talking about the comments made by Governor LePage. He talks about how LePage chose to attend a funeral of a slain Maine State Trooper instead of taking place in the events honoring Martin Luther King Jr.
Overall, this week was very informative and there were some great links provided. These two issues are very controversial and it was very interesting to see what everyone had to say about them. These events will not be forgotten anytime soon.

Week 2

Throughout time there have been so many big stories that make it into the news. Some stories will be read in local and national news papers, some stories will be read from online news sources and other big news stories will be heard by word of mouth. Throughout time there are some news stories that you read or hear and maybe think about it for a couple days. There are other news stories that you only need to hear about once, and it will be something you never forget. I believe both cases happened here in these past few weeks. With the tragic shooting in Tucson, Arizona and with Governor Paul LePage’s public comments towards the NAACP.

One of the stories that I’m sure won’t be forgotten by many happened the morning of January 8^th in Casas Adobes, Arizona which is a part of the Tucson metropolitan area. United States Representative Gabrielle Gifford was the main target of an assassination attempt. She was shot at point blank range with a 9mm glock model pistol. She was hit in the head and even though she was heavily wounded she miraculously clung to life at the University Medical Center. Even though Gifford seemed to be the main target of the attack, the suspect – Jared Lee Loughner murdered six innocent people, and wounded thirteen others in the shooting. Loughner had previously shown his discontent with the government and other public systems including Pima Community College in Arizona where he reportedly dropped out instead of taking a mental health exam required after disturbing many of his classes and calling the school; “ One of the biggest scams in America.” This is a very disturbing news story and during President Obama's speech following the shootings he stated; "There is nothing I can say that will fill the sudden hole in your heart," This is a story that will change a lot.

One of the stories that I believe will only be popular for about a week or so, is the comments directed the NAACP by Maine’s Governor Paul LePage. Who told the NAACP indirectly to “ kiss my butt” after they brought attention to his decision of attending the funeral of a slain Maine State Trooper, instead of the many events taking place to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This story has stirred a little bit of controversy but I don’t believe it will be a topic of discussion for too much longer.

Week 2 Blog

In the past few weeks, many important events have occurred, but two in particular were more newsworthy: the tragic shooting in Tucson on the January 8 and the newsworthy comments made by Maine Governor Paul LePage. We, as citizens of the United States of America, are entitled to our rights as citizens; however, occasionally there are times when people need to be put back in line, as they have gone too far.

On January 8, Gabrielle Giffords, a United States Representative from Arizona, was holding a constituent meeting called “Congress on Your Corner;” by 10:15a.m., this was all but over, as 22-year old Jared Lee Loughner fired off 15-20 gunshots—according to a 911 call—including one into the head of Giffords. She was lucky enough to survive, but six others were not as fortunate. This brought a lot of comments to the surface, as Charissa stated, Loughner was in contact with his target; he was not considered to be a threat by any means, but it brings the top of increasing security measures into discussion. Within my lifetime, we have seen heightened security at almost every level: recreational events, travel and leisure, and even at educational institutions.

On January 14, Paul LePage—the Governor of Maine—had more than enough negative and rude comments to cover national headlines. He had declined the NAACP’s invitation that marked the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, saying that “[he’s] not going to be held hostage by special interests.” Then, when he was under pressure of the organization for failing to attend events (on more than one occasion), he stated that they can “…kiss [his] butt.” In my opinion, if he couldn’t have attended the event, as he was attending a funeral for a police officer, he should have sent a representative on his (and the state’s) behalf. Of course, LePage has been known for his lack of morals and need of a filter; I would certainly hate to be on his public relations committee.