There is little doubt that the attacks on September 11th, 2001 did more than just the physical damage that was sustained at ground zero. There is now evidence to indicate that the nation has suffered phychological damage and that this is causing a manifestation of health issues for many Americans long after the attacks.
A University of California survey has found that a group of Americans who reported being anxious and stressed after the attacks are reporting higher rates of heart disease 3 years later. The results are from people who had no direct connection to the events on 9-11. They also say that they suffer from nightmares about the attacks, flashbacks, and increased fears and worries about future attacks.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Lyndon Johnson: A Presidency Overwhelmed by Vietnam
He was the 36th presisent of the United States who inherited the office upon the assassination of John Kennedy in November of 1963 and lead the nation through one of its most turbulent periods of unrest and crisis until he left office in 1969.
Born on a farm in Texas on August 27, 1908, he grew up in Johnson City. After excelling in High School he enrolled in Southwest Texas Teachers College from which he graduated in 1930. He taught High School for one year and then went off to Washington to become a congressional aide. He met and married Alta "Lady Bird" Taylor in 1935 who remained his wife until his death.
In 1937, he was elected to Congress as a Democrat where he was a great supporter and protege of President Franklin Roosevelt and his New Deal policies. He picked up some ideas here that he would later incorporate into his own presidency in the form of the Great Society. During World War 2 he served in the Navy as an officer.
In 1948 he was elected to the Senate but not before a Texas Senatorial Primary where he prevailed by a margin of only 87 votes. It is widely believed that there may have been some impropriety in this particular contest in order to achieve that result.
In the Senate, he becomes Majority Leader by 1955. In July of that year he suffers a heart attack but recovers fully and resumes his career.
After his defeat in the 1960 Democratic Presidential nomination to Kennedy, he surprised most observers by accepting the offer to run with him as Vice-President on the ticket.
After J.F.K. was killed, Johnson took over the office and retained the former Presidents cabinet and began to send the first of hundreds of new pieces of legislation up to Congress for consideration. First up, an 11 billion dollar tax cut to stimulate the economy. Next were several bills aimed at fighting a "War on Poverty" including a bill for the establishment of Medicare and medicaid, and a civil rights bill in 1964. That same year he won a decisive victory in the general election to retain the office of President over Rival Barry Goldwater.
At the beginning of his new term, Johnson announced his "Great Society" program for the improvment of life in general for the American people. Among the new laws were a Voting rights act, A new housing department (H.U.D.), the abolition of immigrant qoutas, increased aid for public education, and legislation for gun control.
His foreign policy decisions are what destroyed most of the lagacy of his presidency in the eyes of most citizens and historians, especially his massive escalation of our involvment in Vietnam. In 1964, the U.S. has 17,000 troops in the south east asian nation. By 1968, the number had risen to 550,000 to no positive effect. He was constantly advised by his generals and Secretery of Defense Robert McNamara that victory was possible if we continue to escalate but it did not materialize.
In March of 1968, his popularity at an all time low, and with protests in the streets growing larger over the war, he announced that he would leave office at the end of his term by stating: "I shall not seek, and will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your president."
Before he leaves office in 1969, he orders a de-escalation of the war and for peace talks to begin in Paris, France with the North Vietnamese.
When his presidency came to an end so too did a period in American Presidential history that was one of the most prolific in terms of legislative initiative. During his roughly 5 years in the office, he sent 252 bills up to the Congress for consideration to be made into law. The Congress passed 226 of them.
After his presidency, he retired to his ranch in Texas with his wife. He wrote his memoirs, "The Vantage Point" and worked on the building of his presidential library. He died of heart disease on January 22, 1973 at the age of 64.
Born on a farm in Texas on August 27, 1908, he grew up in Johnson City. After excelling in High School he enrolled in Southwest Texas Teachers College from which he graduated in 1930. He taught High School for one year and then went off to Washington to become a congressional aide. He met and married Alta "Lady Bird" Taylor in 1935 who remained his wife until his death.
In 1937, he was elected to Congress as a Democrat where he was a great supporter and protege of President Franklin Roosevelt and his New Deal policies. He picked up some ideas here that he would later incorporate into his own presidency in the form of the Great Society. During World War 2 he served in the Navy as an officer.
In 1948 he was elected to the Senate but not before a Texas Senatorial Primary where he prevailed by a margin of only 87 votes. It is widely believed that there may have been some impropriety in this particular contest in order to achieve that result.
In the Senate, he becomes Majority Leader by 1955. In July of that year he suffers a heart attack but recovers fully and resumes his career.
After his defeat in the 1960 Democratic Presidential nomination to Kennedy, he surprised most observers by accepting the offer to run with him as Vice-President on the ticket.
After J.F.K. was killed, Johnson took over the office and retained the former Presidents cabinet and began to send the first of hundreds of new pieces of legislation up to Congress for consideration. First up, an 11 billion dollar tax cut to stimulate the economy. Next were several bills aimed at fighting a "War on Poverty" including a bill for the establishment of Medicare and medicaid, and a civil rights bill in 1964. That same year he won a decisive victory in the general election to retain the office of President over Rival Barry Goldwater.
At the beginning of his new term, Johnson announced his "Great Society" program for the improvment of life in general for the American people. Among the new laws were a Voting rights act, A new housing department (H.U.D.), the abolition of immigrant qoutas, increased aid for public education, and legislation for gun control.
His foreign policy decisions are what destroyed most of the lagacy of his presidency in the eyes of most citizens and historians, especially his massive escalation of our involvment in Vietnam. In 1964, the U.S. has 17,000 troops in the south east asian nation. By 1968, the number had risen to 550,000 to no positive effect. He was constantly advised by his generals and Secretery of Defense Robert McNamara that victory was possible if we continue to escalate but it did not materialize.
In March of 1968, his popularity at an all time low, and with protests in the streets growing larger over the war, he announced that he would leave office at the end of his term by stating: "I shall not seek, and will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your president."
Before he leaves office in 1969, he orders a de-escalation of the war and for peace talks to begin in Paris, France with the North Vietnamese.
When his presidency came to an end so too did a period in American Presidential history that was one of the most prolific in terms of legislative initiative. During his roughly 5 years in the office, he sent 252 bills up to the Congress for consideration to be made into law. The Congress passed 226 of them.
After his presidency, he retired to his ranch in Texas with his wife. He wrote his memoirs, "The Vantage Point" and worked on the building of his presidential library. He died of heart disease on January 22, 1973 at the age of 64.
The Largest Cities in America
The population of the United States for the first time in its history surpassed the 300 Million mark in the last few years. The distribution of the population is not evenly spread around the entire country however. Did you know that more than half of the countries population, over 150 million people, live within 50 miles of either the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, or the Gulf of Mexico? The populations on the coasts are larger than the interior of the nation. Similarly the two largest cities in America are located close to the oceans as well as some others. Listed below are the top ten cities in the U.S. population wise and their number of inhabitants as of July 2006
1. New York City ----8,250,567
2. Los Angeles ------3,849,368
3. Chicago -----------2,873,326
4. Houston ---------- 2,144,491
5. Phoenix ---------- 1,512,986
6. Philadelphia ------1,448,396
7. San Antonio ------1,296,682
8. San Diego -------- 1,250,951
9. Dallas ------------- 1,232,940
10. San Jose --------- 929,936
1. New York City ----8,250,567
2. Los Angeles ------3,849,368
3. Chicago -----------2,873,326
4. Houston ---------- 2,144,491
5. Phoenix ---------- 1,512,986
6. Philadelphia ------1,448,396
7. San Antonio ------1,296,682
8. San Diego -------- 1,250,951
9. Dallas ------------- 1,232,940
10. San Jose --------- 929,936
Fewer Innocent Civilians Caught in the Crossfire In Gaza in 07
According to an Israeli human rights group, more than 1/3 of the Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in the Gaza strip in 2007 were innocent civilians who were not directly involved in hostilities. The group, Beth T'Selem, says that the total number killed that year (370) was less than half the number killed in 2006. The reduction is attrtibuted in part to the organization, as well as some others within Israel, shedding more light on the abuses that take place on the part of Israeli soldiers in the Gaza strip and the uproar it causes among the citizens of Israel and their general desire to see the abuses stopped.
A History Quiz if your Interested
Here is a little quiz for those of you who who might be interested just for fun. Listed below are 25 questions about events that have taken place in history. See how many you can answer without looking them up first. If you get stumped along the way the answers to all the questions can be found in the articles on this blog that date all the way back to last November. Good luck:
1. What is the name of America's first official "Baby Boomer"?
2. How many executions have been carried out in the state of Georgia between 1976-2006?
3. What do officials in Nevada suspect caused a levee break that flooded hundreds of homes on January 5th of this year?
4. How many more years after the Wright Brothers flight at Kitty Hawk in 1903 did Wilbur Wright live?
5. How old was Martin Luthur King Jr. when he was ordained a baptist minister?
6. How long was the Gettysburg Address?
7. In what year was Senator Huey Long Killed?
8. How did Hannibal die?
9. How many casualties did the U.S. suffer in The Gulf War in 1991?
10. What year did Galileo invent the telescope?
11. In 2000, how much did Ben and Jerry sell their Ice Cream Company for?
12. In what year did Spain launch it's Naval Armada against Queen Elizabeth I of England?
13. How old was Alexander Hamilton when he was shot?
14. What is the population of China?
15. What did Edwin Howard Armstrong invent that you have in your home?
16. what is the name of Brad Pitt's organization that is rebuilding homes in New Orleans?
17. How much money did Wal-Mart make in sales in 2006?
18. What did Stephanie Kwolek invent that made the world a safer place?
19. What year was Alfred Nobel born?
20. What was the Pentagon originally called?
21. What year was Mother Teresa born?
22. How many Christians are there estimated to be in the world?
23. How many years has Hugo Chavez been president in Venezuela?
24. When Neil Armstrong was the first man to set foot on the moon who were the other two astronauts on the mission with him?
25. According to the Health Foundation study what is the healthiest state in the U.S. to live in?
1. What is the name of America's first official "Baby Boomer"?
2. How many executions have been carried out in the state of Georgia between 1976-2006?
3. What do officials in Nevada suspect caused a levee break that flooded hundreds of homes on January 5th of this year?
4. How many more years after the Wright Brothers flight at Kitty Hawk in 1903 did Wilbur Wright live?
5. How old was Martin Luthur King Jr. when he was ordained a baptist minister?
6. How long was the Gettysburg Address?
7. In what year was Senator Huey Long Killed?
8. How did Hannibal die?
9. How many casualties did the U.S. suffer in The Gulf War in 1991?
10. What year did Galileo invent the telescope?
11. In 2000, how much did Ben and Jerry sell their Ice Cream Company for?
12. In what year did Spain launch it's Naval Armada against Queen Elizabeth I of England?
13. How old was Alexander Hamilton when he was shot?
14. What is the population of China?
15. What did Edwin Howard Armstrong invent that you have in your home?
16. what is the name of Brad Pitt's organization that is rebuilding homes in New Orleans?
17. How much money did Wal-Mart make in sales in 2006?
18. What did Stephanie Kwolek invent that made the world a safer place?
19. What year was Alfred Nobel born?
20. What was the Pentagon originally called?
21. What year was Mother Teresa born?
22. How many Christians are there estimated to be in the world?
23. How many years has Hugo Chavez been president in Venezuela?
24. When Neil Armstrong was the first man to set foot on the moon who were the other two astronauts on the mission with him?
25. According to the Health Foundation study what is the healthiest state in the U.S. to live in?
Baby Boomers Threaten Economic Future
It has been talked about, anticipated, and worried about for over a decade and now its here. The first of the nations baby boomers is retiring in 2008 and economists are worried about what it may mean for the future.
Kathleen Kirshling, a former teacher from New Jersey, was born One minute after midnight on January 1st, 1946. On New Years day of this year she became eligible for social security benefits which makes her the first in a rather large army of future recipients.
The fear is that when the baby boomers begin retiring in large numbers they will reduce the number of people in the workforce which will mean the the country will have difficulty keeping up any rate of economic growth. The greater fear is that the boomers will begin claiming their social security and medicare benefits and that there wont be enough workers in the nations workforce to pay into the system to sustain them and it will go bust. Some economic analysts are predicting dyer consequences for the future as more and more boomers retire in the coming years.
Kathleen Kirshling, a former teacher from New Jersey, was born One minute after midnight on January 1st, 1946. On New Years day of this year she became eligible for social security benefits which makes her the first in a rather large army of future recipients.
The fear is that when the baby boomers begin retiring in large numbers they will reduce the number of people in the workforce which will mean the the country will have difficulty keeping up any rate of economic growth. The greater fear is that the boomers will begin claiming their social security and medicare benefits and that there wont be enough workers in the nations workforce to pay into the system to sustain them and it will go bust. Some economic analysts are predicting dyer consequences for the future as more and more boomers retire in the coming years.
Executions On The Decline In America Except for Texas.
The death penalty is dying a slow death in America. Out of the 36 states that still carry out the punishment only 10 did so in 2006. While some states no longer carry out executions as a matter of law, others continue to while they grapple with the moral issues and legal challenges. According to the Death Penalty Information center, there have been 1099 executions committed in the United States between 1976 and 2006. Every state in the Union has committed less than 100 executions during that time with the exception of one big holdout. Listed below are the top ten states for executions, and the number that occured in their jurisdiction within that 30 year time frame:
1. Texas -----------405
2. Virginia --------- 98
3. Oklahoma ------ 86
4. Missouri -------- 66
5. Florida ---------- 64
6. N. Carolina ----- 43
7. Georgia --------- 40
8. Alabama -------- 38
9. S. Carolina ------37
10. Arkansas -------27
1. Texas -----------405
2. Virginia --------- 98
3. Oklahoma ------ 86
4. Missouri -------- 66
5. Florida ---------- 64
6. N. Carolina ----- 43
7. Georgia --------- 40
8. Alabama -------- 38
9. S. Carolina ------37
10. Arkansas -------27
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