As with all mediums - movies that reflect Cold War anxieties, books that question wars, and films and television that act, in some ways, as propaganda for the government during these times - music often changes to reflect the war.
In and before World War II, isolationists and pro-war musicians clashed over the likelihood of a war and, eventually, the pro-war musicians issued a continued salvo of music supporting soldiers in the form of popular music. Isolationists made songs stating that, for example, "There Ain't Gonna Be No War," while pro-war musicians instructed the populace to "Remember Pearl Harbor" - often directly in the wake of such events.
During the Vietnam war, musicians such as Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan (along with a variety of bands that gained traction in the Summer of Love) advocated against the war, releasing music that presented visions of young-person angst in the wake of the war as some bands embraced hippie beliefs.
This trend continued in the wake of 9/11, when musicians such as Toby Keith released music that attacked the perpetrators of the attack and insisted that they would face revenge for their actions; these gained significant popularity in the country sphere.
https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/world-war-ii/essays/forties-and-music-world-war-ii
Friday, May 19, 2017
Harvey Milk
Harvey Milk, the first openly-gay city supervisor for San Francisco, was an icon of the gay rights movement in the 1970s. Milk was also the first openly gay official to ever be elected to a government position in the United States of America.
Finally in the 1977 bid for a spot on the Board, Milk won, making national headlines and a huge victory in the gay community. As a supervisor, Milk lobbied for many important bills; including anti-discrimination bills to protect the LGBT community, converting ex-military buildings into low cost housing, day care for working mothers, and a reform for the tax code in the districts.
Milk was also an incredibly influential opponent to the Proposition 6 bill in California that would have made firing gay teachers legal. He rallied support from all around the state, visiting schools and counties all around, both friendly and unfriendly. He succeeded, and the bill was shot down, a huge victory at the time when there were bills being passed all around the coutry against the LGBT community.
Sadly, Milk's career as a City Supervisor was very short-lived. In November of 1978, less than a year after being elected, both Milk and Mayor Moscone were assassinated by a fellow city supervisor, Dan White. White, a devout Catholic, had been in opposition to Milk and Moscone for most of Milk's caree. The city responded to the assassinations by a holding candelight vigil and march through Castro Street to the city's center.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey_Milk
http://milkfoundation.org/about/harvey-milk-biography/
http://www.biography.com/people/harvey-milk-9408170
Milk and his older brother Robert
Born in 1930 in New York, Milk was the younger of two children in his Lithuanian-American family. Both his parents were born in Lithuania and of Jewish decent. His father served in the Navy in WWII and his grandparents owned a department store. Milk went to college at the New York State College for Teachers in Albany where he majored in mathematics. He joined the Navy during the Korean War and served on a submarine rescue ship called the USS Kittiwake as a diving officer. He was discharged in 1955 after being questioned about his sexuality at. From there, Milk went to teach at a high school in Long Island, then as a stock analyst in New York City and finally as a production associate for Broadway musicals before moving to California in late 1972.
Milk's Camera shop
Milk opened a camera store on Castro street, the center of San Francisco's growing gay community. As a port city, San Francisco had a large gay population as the Navy discharged anyone who they deemed were homosexual. Milk gained popularity in the growing community, and a little after a year of living in the city, he decided to run for the board of City Supervisors. He lost, but it was only the beginning of his political career.
Castro Street, San Francisco
In 1975, Milk ran for a seat on the Board of City Supervisors again, this time only narrowly losing. However, Mayor George Moscone, a close friend, would appoint him to the city's board of permit appeals, making Milk the first openly gay city commissioner in the entirety of the US.Finally in the 1977 bid for a spot on the Board, Milk won, making national headlines and a huge victory in the gay community. As a supervisor, Milk lobbied for many important bills; including anti-discrimination bills to protect the LGBT community, converting ex-military buildings into low cost housing, day care for working mothers, and a reform for the tax code in the districts.
Milk was also an incredibly influential opponent to the Proposition 6 bill in California that would have made firing gay teachers legal. He rallied support from all around the state, visiting schools and counties all around, both friendly and unfriendly. He succeeded, and the bill was shot down, a huge victory at the time when there were bills being passed all around the coutry against the LGBT community.
Milk's and Moscones's vigil
White, Milk's assassin, was aquitted of his murder charges on the infamous "Twinkie Defense" and was sentenced to less than eight years in prison.Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey_Milk
http://milkfoundation.org/about/harvey-milk-biography/
http://www.biography.com/people/harvey-milk-9408170
Some underhanded campaigning tricks
Here are a couple of tricks that politicians use to gain an edge over their opponent in important elections.
Push Polling
Push polling appears similar to a normal poll; a respondent, likely online, fills out a list of questions that relate to the candidates or specific issues. But these polls are often surreptitiously managed by those who support one candidates' campaign, and their purpose is a little bit different. A push poll aims not to learn important information about those who take it, but to influence them by asserting something inaccurate and possibly negative about an opposing candidate. In 2000, John McCain was affected by push polling in the primaries that regarded his personal reputation and mental health; the polls went as far as to state that his adopted Bangladeshi daughter was actually an African-American child out of wedlock. (Sometimes they say a lot about what actually bothers people.)
Astroturfing
Astroturfing is the attempt to make it look like significant support for a policy or individual exists at the grassroots even though no or little such support exists. A prime example came in the recent news, when it appeared that spammers might be targeting the FCC website to make it appear as if significant support from average people was against net neutrality. That astroturfing was conducted through spam comments; the practice could also be carried out through the presentation of "average residents" on radio shows, TV shows or the campaign's own media who are actually collaborating directly with the campaign. Companies such as ShareBlue used social media to help astroturf in favor of, in this case, Clinton in the 2016 election, presenting videos to garner social media outrage against Trump when it would be advantageous to give him negative attention, whether to decrease pressure against Hillary or put pressure on Trump if no other controversy was running its course at the time.
http://www.insightsassociation.org/issues-policies/best-practice/push-polls-deceptive-advocacypersuasion-under-guise-legitimate-polling
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/feb/08/what-is-astroturfing
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/23/us/politics/hillary-clinton-media-david-brock.html
Push Polling
Push polling appears similar to a normal poll; a respondent, likely online, fills out a list of questions that relate to the candidates or specific issues. But these polls are often surreptitiously managed by those who support one candidates' campaign, and their purpose is a little bit different. A push poll aims not to learn important information about those who take it, but to influence them by asserting something inaccurate and possibly negative about an opposing candidate. In 2000, John McCain was affected by push polling in the primaries that regarded his personal reputation and mental health; the polls went as far as to state that his adopted Bangladeshi daughter was actually an African-American child out of wedlock. (Sometimes they say a lot about what actually bothers people.)
Astroturfing
Astroturfing is the attempt to make it look like significant support for a policy or individual exists at the grassroots even though no or little such support exists. A prime example came in the recent news, when it appeared that spammers might be targeting the FCC website to make it appear as if significant support from average people was against net neutrality. That astroturfing was conducted through spam comments; the practice could also be carried out through the presentation of "average residents" on radio shows, TV shows or the campaign's own media who are actually collaborating directly with the campaign. Companies such as ShareBlue used social media to help astroturf in favor of, in this case, Clinton in the 2016 election, presenting videos to garner social media outrage against Trump when it would be advantageous to give him negative attention, whether to decrease pressure against Hillary or put pressure on Trump if no other controversy was running its course at the time.
http://www.insightsassociation.org/issues-policies/best-practice/push-polls-deceptive-advocacypersuasion-under-guise-legitimate-polling
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/feb/08/what-is-astroturfing
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/23/us/politics/hillary-clinton-media-david-brock.html
The Roberts Court
Since the end of 2005, following the death of William Rehnquist, John G. Roberts has acted as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Traditionally in American history, it is possible to differentiate each court based on the particular chief justice, whether it be the Warren Court in possessing the central focus of civil rights or John Marshall's court being characterized as ensuring are rights to the federal government as opposed to state legislatures, but with the Robert's Court, it is much more ambiguous. This is largely due to the increasing polarization among the members on the bench, as four of the members usually decide to the left; those being Sonia Sotomayor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elena Kagan, and Stephen Breyer; and those who normally side with the conservative perspective of the case being Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, John Roberts, and Antonin Scalia (now deceased). It has ultimately been Anthony Kennedy, a registered Republican, through numerous occurrences, has acted as the deciding swing vote for the court. Despite the current split upon the bench, two trends are able to be identified in the manner of the Supreme Court rulings through the past twelve years: there has tended to be a liberal swing in dealing with civil rights and a more conservative approach when concerning the usage of firearms and the control of corporate business. Landmark cases like Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015 and National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius in 2012 allowed for the legalization of gay marriage and the approval of President Obama's Affordable Care Act, respectively, both expressing a similar liberal ruling. Other pivotal cases including District of Columbia v. Heller in 2008 and Burwell v. Hobby Lobby in 2014 legalized firearms for self-defense and all regions of the country (including D.C.) and permitted private companies to invoke their religious beliefs and enact policies that abide by their belief system (in this case, the owners of Hobby Lobby possessed Christian beliefs and were allowed to restrict contraceptive care to their employees), respectively.
Today, with the intense wavering and frequent voting along party lines, the future of the Roberts Court remains largely unseen. The recent death of Antonin Scalia in 2016 allowed for new incumbent Justice Neil Gorsuch to be appointed to take his place this past April, and due to the limited time he has already spent on the Supreme Court, there is no true idea of how and what he will decide for in upcoming cases. During his confirmation hearings in 2005, Roberts aspired for a limited and moderate court, but with reviewing the pivotal cases heard and their accompanying landmark rulings to them in the past twelve years, Roberts' original aspiration has not yet been achieved. Hopefully, in the next few years or so, individuals will be able to draw more defined trends from the Court during this time and what its total results were from both past and future cases.
The Supreme Court in 2016 Neil Gorsuch
Works Cited:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2015/09/28/supreme-court-john-roberts-conservative-liberal/72399618/
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/landmark-cases-john-roberts-decade-chief-justice-article-1.2378637
https://www.oyez.org/cases/2007/07-290
Today, with the intense wavering and frequent voting along party lines, the future of the Roberts Court remains largely unseen. The recent death of Antonin Scalia in 2016 allowed for new incumbent Justice Neil Gorsuch to be appointed to take his place this past April, and due to the limited time he has already spent on the Supreme Court, there is no true idea of how and what he will decide for in upcoming cases. During his confirmation hearings in 2005, Roberts aspired for a limited and moderate court, but with reviewing the pivotal cases heard and their accompanying landmark rulings to them in the past twelve years, Roberts' original aspiration has not yet been achieved. Hopefully, in the next few years or so, individuals will be able to draw more defined trends from the Court during this time and what its total results were from both past and future cases.
The Supreme Court in 2016 Neil Gorsuch
Works Cited:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2015/09/28/supreme-court-john-roberts-conservative-liberal/72399618/
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/landmark-cases-john-roberts-decade-chief-justice-article-1.2378637
https://www.oyez.org/cases/2007/07-290
Muhammad Ali Resisting the Draft
Muhammad Ali Resisting the Draft
Muhammad Ali immortalized his legacy outside the ring by refusing to be eligible to participate in the draft. During the Vietnam War, young Americans were being drafted into the military to satisfy the demand for a fighting force. It was during this time that draft evasion and resistance was at an all time high.
As a Muslim, Ali objected against killing others. He used this as his reasoning to forgo military service. He also famously questioned why he would put his life on the line for a country that discriminated against him.
In 1976, Ali was scheduled to appear for an induction into the U.S. military. He symbolically refused to step forward to accept his induction, so he was arrested and convicted. In addition, his boxing license and titles were stripped away from him. Ali was already a controversial figure for converting to Islam, but his refusal to serve made him a hated figure by many.
While the case was being appealed, Ali was allowed to stay out of prison. As a result, he ended up being a prominent speaker in refusing to enlist from the draft. Ali was able to finally get his boxing license back and knocked out Jerry Quarry in his comeback to the ring. The Supreme Court also overturned his conviction.
In the end, this whole process took a toll on Ali. His prime boxing years were taken away from him, but he was able to stand up for his own beliefs.
Sites:
https://www.theatlantic.com/news/archive/2016/06/muhammad-ali-vietnam/485717/
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/muhammad-ali-refuses-army-induction
http://depts.washington.edu/antiwar/vietnam_draft.shtml
Muhammad Ali immortalized his legacy outside the ring by refusing to be eligible to participate in the draft. During the Vietnam War, young Americans were being drafted into the military to satisfy the demand for a fighting force. It was during this time that draft evasion and resistance was at an all time high.
As a Muslim, Ali objected against killing others. He used this as his reasoning to forgo military service. He also famously questioned why he would put his life on the line for a country that discriminated against him.
In 1976, Ali was scheduled to appear for an induction into the U.S. military. He symbolically refused to step forward to accept his induction, so he was arrested and convicted. In addition, his boxing license and titles were stripped away from him. Ali was already a controversial figure for converting to Islam, but his refusal to serve made him a hated figure by many.
While the case was being appealed, Ali was allowed to stay out of prison. As a result, he ended up being a prominent speaker in refusing to enlist from the draft. Ali was able to finally get his boxing license back and knocked out Jerry Quarry in his comeback to the ring. The Supreme Court also overturned his conviction.
In the end, this whole process took a toll on Ali. His prime boxing years were taken away from him, but he was able to stand up for his own beliefs.
Sites:
https://www.theatlantic.com/news/archive/2016/06/muhammad-ali-vietnam/485717/
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/muhammad-ali-refuses-army-induction
http://depts.washington.edu/antiwar/vietnam_draft.shtml
Fake News
Yoel Feinberg
Period 1
Fake News
In the past, before the internet, becoming source of news required a strong economic platform and the permission to be a political foundation. Now, we have the internet, where people can claim their credibility as a news source without any trials. The problem of fake news is only growing. In the 2016 election, fake news was used as a claim to denounce certain opinions and information that was unproven true about both candidates. Fake news was also used to spread lies about both candidates during the election. These news outlets warp people's opinions into positions that are not factually created. Fake news also heavily contributed to the disconnect that we feel in our country today. The news tends to encourage extreme thinking, which has effectively slowly gotten rid of the moderate position in the United States. With two extreme factions of people, the tension is increased and the discontent as well. I think it should be a priority in schools to try and teach kids how to recognize news that is not reputable. It is becoming a very important skill to have, because if you read news that is not credible and you don’t recognize it, your right to opinion is taken from you as you adopt lies. Fake news is immoral as well. With the priority of making money off of clickbait titles and fake situations, fake news organizations effectively scam their readers. If you yourself want to learn how to recognize a fake news article, I will leave a link at the bottom where you can learn. Also, a separate but similar issue is news bias. A common misconception is that some major news sources are fair and unbiased, in reality this is false. Sources like Fox news and CNN both have their own political agendas and are therefore trying to sell ideas to their audience. In summary, don’t give your trust to any one news source, disperse yourself to many news sources, preferably different ones (like 1 republican and 1 democratic source), so that you can try to get the full picture.
Sources:
Learn here:
https://www.ifla.org/publications/node/11174
NAFTA and what are its affects
NAFTA, a trade agreement between Mexico, Canada, and the US, many people believe this trade deal to be detrimental the the economy of the United States according to our new leader. But most people don't actually know what NAFTA does, and how it helps/hurts our economy. In APUSH we learned about Bill Clinton and his policies, but we did not go into depth on what NAFTA is and how helped/ hrut the economy. NAFTA which was signed in 1993 was Bill's pride and joy, he believed it would create one of the biggest trade zone in the world and would create hundreds of thousands of jobs in just a few years. Improving the economy of the US, Mexico, and Canada. However many Politicians argue on how the trade agreement has shaped the US, and has is really helped.
However what we do know that has helped the US is trade between these three countries, which used to be around 290 billion dollars before the agreement to a whopping 1.1 trillion in present day. So NAFTA has definitely help trade between Mexico and Canada, but what other good things has it done? Many arguments against NAFTA say that it prevents the US from getting new jobs because businesses are investing in Mexico and not in America. However that is not entirely because 6 million Americans in the US rely on US-Mexico trade to get their job and removing NAFTA would lower that job market significantly because of the high tariffs that NAFTA removes. Another benefit of NAFTA would be its company integration between the NAFTA members. NAFTA is creating partners with American companies not competitors as companies can now work together better with the integration of the borders. However not everything about NAFTA is good for the US economy. Many companies have been leaving the US to Mexico because of cheaper labor and lower business tax destroying around 600,000 thousand jobs in the US, and many economists believe that the surge of imports between Mexico and the US would have happened with our without NAFTA. However the impact of NASA is very hard to see because the trade is not just caused by NAFTA they are caused by other factors and without knowing what factors caused which boosts in trade we have no idea how much NAFTA has really helped the trading between Mexico US and Canada.
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/naftas-impact-u-s-economy-facts/
However what we do know that has helped the US is trade between these three countries, which used to be around 290 billion dollars before the agreement to a whopping 1.1 trillion in present day. So NAFTA has definitely help trade between Mexico and Canada, but what other good things has it done? Many arguments against NAFTA say that it prevents the US from getting new jobs because businesses are investing in Mexico and not in America. However that is not entirely because 6 million Americans in the US rely on US-Mexico trade to get their job and removing NAFTA would lower that job market significantly because of the high tariffs that NAFTA removes. Another benefit of NAFTA would be its company integration between the NAFTA members. NAFTA is creating partners with American companies not competitors as companies can now work together better with the integration of the borders. However not everything about NAFTA is good for the US economy. Many companies have been leaving the US to Mexico because of cheaper labor and lower business tax destroying around 600,000 thousand jobs in the US, and many economists believe that the surge of imports between Mexico and the US would have happened with our without NAFTA. However the impact of NASA is very hard to see because the trade is not just caused by NAFTA they are caused by other factors and without knowing what factors caused which boosts in trade we have no idea how much NAFTA has really helped the trading between Mexico US and Canada.
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/naftas-impact-u-s-economy-facts/
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