American Civilization

Well, if you follow American culture, you probably know that the 79th Academy Awards will happen this Sunday night. That’s the night of the big gala event to recognize outstanding movie-making. In addition, it’s also become a major television event. People will gather together at parties to watch the extravaganza. The Academy describes the event [...]

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What’s the difference between a “joint resolution” and a “concurrent resolution”? And, why does it matter?   Last week the House of Representatives passed a “concurrent resolution” when it demonstrated its disapproval of the surge of troops to Iraq.  It turns out that that category of a resolution means absolutely nothing.  It’s only symbolic.  On the [...]

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This Monday, February 19, is a federal holiday in the U.S. A “federal” holiday is one that is observed by all public institutions: schools, postal services, libraries, government offices, and even banks. This holiday is observed in honor of two American presidents – specifically George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Both men had birthdays in February. [...]

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Today the House of Representatives passed a bill to show their disapproval of Bush’s war efforts. Essentially, the bill had a double message: it told him that they opposed his latest buildup of troops in Iraq and said they would try to begin to stop military operations in the war zone. That basically means they [...]

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Happy Valentine’s Day! February 14 has become a very big American holiday. Sure, I can appreciate a day devoted to love, but I think it’s just a major commercial endeavor at this point. It’s impossible to escape the ads for chocolate, cards, flowers, and jewelry. Supposedly, a man needs to purchase diamonds to show love [...]

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The U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights, which includes the first amendment, is a set of principles designed to protect freedoms of all Americans all of the time.  And, yet, that becomes complicated because these documents also contain a list of competing rights and duties.  What happens when one person asserts one constitutional right [...]

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Senator Jim Webb, a Democrat from Virginia, has been persistent.  He keeps asking the Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice if the administration thought that Bush had the power to take military action against Iran without permission from Congress. “Is it the position of this administration that it possesses the authority to take unilateral action against [...]

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   Most Americans consider the first amendment of the Constitution to be sacred.  That amendment is the first of the ten amendments that make up the Bill of Rights.  Those ten amendments which compose the Bill of Rights resulted from a compromise at the 1789 Constitutional Convention.  The first plan for the American government, known [...]

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I don’t know if you’ve been following the trial of former vice presidential aide “Scooter” Libby.  He’s been accused of perjury and obstruction of justice; basically that means he’s been accused of lying during an official investigation.  Libby may have been the first one who revealed the name of Valerie Plame as a CIA operative.  [...]

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It was not my intent to be writing about this topic, but too many friends felt I was making a grievous error in not mentioning this major event in American culture.  February 4, 2007, is the 41st Super Bowl event. Two teams, the Bears and the Colts, will be competing for this football championship.  The [...]

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