American Civilization

One focus of the new Congress has been on “earmarking.”  That’s a term to describe the process used by representatives of both parties to slip specific provisions into legislation.  The term comes from the branding of animals on their ears in order to identify ownership.

Pretend you’re a representative in Congress.
Pretend there’s a piece of proposed [...]

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 Okay, I admit I was disappointed… 
When George Bush gave the State of the Union Address last night, it was the usual staid and calculated performance. Everyone was very, very polite – though perhaps a bit more subdued than usual. The only difference, I think, was that it was the first time a woman, Nancy Pelosi [...]

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The “100 days” agenda of the new House of Representatives has ended with a success, but I think there’s even a more important development here.  This new Congress is finally focusing on global warming.
Of course, that this issue is important is not surprising to many of us.  Just think about those unseasonably warm recent temperatures [...]

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It’s true that the new Congress has many objectives, but there’s no way to forget about the war in Iraq. It continues to be a very hot topic in Washington, D.C.
Today Bush even submitted to an interview on a popular television news show. (Jim Lehrer’s NewsHour at http://www.pbs.org/newshour/) He did admit [...]

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Monday is a federal holiday in the United States. American students have a holiday in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. King was the hero of the American civil rights movement.
Martin Luther King, Jr. would have been 78 years on January 15, 2007. But, he was shot on [...]

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Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats are off to a running start in Washington, D.C. They’ve pledged to enact many of the campaign promises in the first 100 days.
That agenda includes the following proposals:
Good Government: Cutting off lobbyist gifts and restoring fairness and transparency in the way laws are passed
Fiscal Responsibility: No more recklessly [...]

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Yesterday about 1200 peace activists staged a protest at Ocean Beach in San Francisco. This photograph documents the event.

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Today was a historic day in many ways.  Not only did Democrats gain control of Congress for the first time since 1993, but Nancy Pelosi became the first San Franciscan, the first Californian, and the first woman to lead the U.S. House of Representatives. 
Even Republican lawmakers acknowledged that there was a sense of history [...]

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Maybe it’s because I’ve been out of the country, but I was shocked to return and find so much speculation about the 2008 presidential election. I mean that election won’t happen for another two years. In just one magazine I’ve read the following list of possible candidates:

Hillary Clinton
Barack Obama
Tom Vilsack [...]

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Well, it still doesn’t seem clear about the health of Tim Johnson or the consequent effect on the Senate:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/29/us/29johnson.html?_r=1&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fPeople%2fJ%2fJohnson%2c%20Tim&oref=slogin

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