Assignment #8 Chris Tooley

The article was written by Harold Meyerson of the Washington Post. The article seemed as if it was directed to people who fear socialism; it shows the what our country needs to do not what we wish it would do. The article really points out that we need to put political parties aside and accept that it is going to take borderline socialist policies to pull us out of this current crisis.

I completely agree with Meyerson; unregulated capitalism has nearly destroyed our nation. The unemployment rate is growing and it is going to take the nationalization of big business to pull us out. The comparison of Obama and Roosevelt was a very wise choice of words for the article, its going to take a very special, hardworking, and compassionate president to pull us out of this crisis. I saw a lot of ego deflation in the article; Meyerson made it clear that no matter what party we identify with we need to deflate our ego's and accept what is going to work right now, and that is going to be socialist policies.

I feel when our leaders decide to put socialist policies in practice we need to be extra critical of them. It seems; especially in America, that we just sit back and let our leaders make our choices but as soon as socialist policies are in practice we will need to make sure our government is not exploiting/oppressing us with these policies. Its a great time for us to get out there and be actively involved in the policies that Washington is deciding upon.

Assignment #8 M. Cline

The article, “It's not about socialism, it's about rescuing capitalism”, was written by Harold Meyerson. He is an editorial columnist for the Washington Post. This article was published on the internet on March 5, 2009, by The Washington Post, The Charlotte Observer, and others.
I believe the writer was taunted into writing this article because of all the publicity, from our newspapers to our radio commentators, on our new “socialist “ society transforming into socialistic capitalism with our new President. In addition, I feel he is trying to redeem himself against all public opinions referring to him as having assisted in the capitalistic transformation of our country.
In my opinion, the writer is comparing the past and present political landscapes of socialization and capitalization. The course for the model socialistic party was charted in 1936-the Democratic party, supporters of capitalism. He is stating that we have been living in a deregulated capitalist society that has “blown itself up” due to the lack of governmental regulations and control. These issues have caused a global pandemic recession and it is our fault.
The writer is exerting sarcasm against the conservative parties that are against progressive reforms (which means a free ride for any one who wants it-unless you are a true born American). The conservatives are against the stimulus package, that Obama has devised, due to the way it is being injected into our system and the pork belly agendas that are planned for each and every dollar. The writer seems to be defending this issue.
In addition, he is stating that the government is working to have more control as to what goes on in our economy and probably our lives. The wolves are finally revealing themselves!

Assignment #6 J. Hancock

"Revenge of the Glut" was published in The New York Times and was written by Paul Krugman. This article is directed to the American people that are interested in the Financial crisis that is happening in America. I believe that Mr. Krugman is trying to tell us that were experiencing simiular things that happened during the Great Depression in the 1920's an early 30's.


The reasons why we are going into these financial crisis is because our banks loaning money to other countries and are not selling enough of our American goods. If America cuts down on loaning other countries money and sale a little more of our goods then i believe we can make it through this crisis. I do not believe we are as bad as it was in the Great Depression in the 1920's but i do believe we are geting there. I hope that we can get out of this crisis and that the people in charge fo making all the decissions make the right ones because it will be bad for America if we have another Great Depression.

Assisnment #5 J. Hancock

The article "The Continuing Fall of Federalism" was writing by George F. Will that was found in the Washingtom Post. The audience this article was directed toward is to all american people that are interested in how the senators of their states are elected.


George F. Will tells us the plan that Sen. Russ Feingold has and that McCain supports. Sen. Feingold wants to amend the 17th Amendment. The 17th Amendment says that the "Excutive Authority" of the affected state can issue writs of election to fill vacancies if a senate vacancie occurs. Fengold believes that the people should be able to vote for the senator to take the other senators place and not the person with the "Excutive Authority".

I agree with Sen. Feingold because the American people are supposed to vote for the senator of their state anyway. If something were to happen to the senator that is in the current position and some how has to leave the senate, the people should be able to vote another one in even though the other senator did not finish his/her term.

Assignment #6 JPernick

The New York Times article, "Revenge of the Glut", written by Paul Krugman was written to inform Americans about the real cause of the economic crisis. It is directed toward Americans who are interested in the financial state of the country.

Years ago, we thought we had a financial crisis on our hands, but it turns out that today this situation is much more serious. The author says that foreign countries back then saved their money, but in this crisis that is probably not the best idea. Investments are going to need to be made to keep this global depression from getting any worse. Don't repeat mistakes from the past. If it didn't work, then try something that will. With the economy as bad as it already is, there is no room for mistakes and there is certainly not a lot of time to make these decisions. I just hope that the people in charge of making the decisions make the right ones toward a healthy economy. The only thing is we just have to ride it out and wait for better days....but who knows when that will happen.

Assignment # 6 R.White

The Article written by Paul Krugman. It was published in the NY times. His article talks about how and why he thinks we are in an economic crisis. He refers to a man named Ben Bernake who gave a speech four years ago on why are economy is getting worse. Mr. Bernake says in his speech its Asias fault that we are above are heads in debt. All countries have been in an economic crisis but ours might not be the worst. Everyone has a part in this debt not the President or some other person, we all are to blame. The economic crisis in America doesnt only affect us but pretty much the whole world. The author states that we are still trying to find a way out of this mess. Maybe President Obama's stimulus plan could very well help the crisis but only time will tell. Im thinking that it will only get worse before it gets better.

Assignment # 5 R.White

This Article was written by George F. Will. He talks about how the 17th amendment allows senators to be elected by a popular vote. It says when vacancies occur the Senate has the executive authority to appoint whomever they deem worthy to take the place. Feingold stated in his amendment that no person can become a senator unless he is chosen by the people. Feingold believes that it would make the senate more responsive than ever.

Feingold and McCain have a good point. If feingold could change the constitution it would help stop some of the corruption in the senate but not all of it. Another thing is would we even allow one man to change The constitution thats been holding this country together? I mean, he does make a point having the people vote who gets put into senate would stop alot of arguement because we put them in.