"IRAQ'S ELECTIONS came nearly two years after Saddam Hussein was removed from power. The goal was to elect a government that will lead the country through the process of writing and implementing a constitution. Preliminary results of the Jan. 30 balloting showed that the Shiite alliance headed by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani won the most votes, followed by Kurdish parties and the secular group backed by interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, the International Electoral Commission of Iraq said.

"This is a new birth for Iraq," Iraqi election commission spokesman Farid Ayar said as he announced results for the 275-member National Assembly. Despite lethal insurgent attacks on election day, Iraqi voters turned out in large numbers. Of the country's 14 million eligible voters, about 8.5 million cast ballots, commission officials said.

President Bush hailed the election as a "resounding success," not only for Iraq but for the entire region. Mr. Bush was counting on the election to show the success of his plan to spread democracy through the Middle East. The cost is significant: Senior administration officials in January said the White House will ask Congress to approve $80 billion in new spending for U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, on top of $25 billion approved last summer for rebuilding."

This site is really cool and has lots of other helpful information about the election.
http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/info-iraqelect0105.html?printVersion=true
Jon

Research For Final

This is a website to help get a general perspective on what Iraq thought of their new proposed Constitution. It is a good site if you are having trouble thinking of problems or suggestions fo r the final. It is a small survey of which way five Iraqis were going to vote for the new Constitution. The interviewed state which way they are going to vote and why. They also explain the problems they see with the new constitution. Hope the site helps.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4319002.stm

Research For Final

I found this site to be very helpful and describing the process of Iraq's constitution. It talks about the Preamble of Iraq and the different articles within it. It also has some links to other sites which are helpful. It's kinda like a look at the constitution that they made. I am still researching and deciding which direction to go since there are so many to choose from. I hope this site helps.

http://www.cpa-iraq.org/government/TAL.html

The movie we watched in class was full of rhetoric and many fallacies. Michael Moore uses statistics and facts that only contribute to his claim. There are no facts in the movie that say good things about the President. This by itself says that the movie is slanted and baised. Michael Moore made thins movie to make audiences belive that the President was corrupted and dirty. It was not a movie to shed light on the events of 9/11. Michael Moore uses smoke screens and red herring throughout the movie. His only objective is to tell how Bush did not deserve to be president and he only got there because of the people his father and him know. If Michael Moore had made this movie an equal balance between two views of the 9/11 events it would have been more credible. The title should have been called something else becuase it is not about 9/11 at all. This movie was entertaining and that was the only good thing about it.

Resource

http://www.landmarkcases.org/texas/home.html
This is a great website because it breaks down the case into seperate categories that discuss the specifics of the case. One example is there is a discussion about what symbolic speech is and when is it protected. The website also has links to other helpful websites. The website also has a lot about analysis of the case and the dfferent stages of it. There is even a politcal cartoon refering to the case. This website is resourceful and very helpful in understanding the case and the language used during it.

Needle Programs

Needle programs are a great idea for a country full of addicts who die from aids and other diseases every day. Yes they have a problem with drugs, but if we can save people and prevent the spreading of disease then we are doing more good than harm. When people truly become adicted to drugs they will use any means necessary to get those drugs, even if that means sharing needels with another person. By handing out free needles, poeple will hopefully not share and stop the spread of disease. Not only that, but tax payers will save money on the less people in hospitals because of disease spread by needles. Needle programs are a good investment for this nation and there should be more of them out there.

Gay Marrige According to Amanda McGregor of Salem News, a group of Catholic priests in protest of gay marrige stated that marrige was between man and woman even befor Jesus walked the Earth. While this may be a fact of history, it is also a belief. Beliefs differ between different people. Depending on your life, you will probably create your own beliefs based on your experiences. The problem with gay marrige is not two gay people being together, but the fact that they are titeling their relationship as marrige. The offense occurs to most people because marrige was and is defined as a covenant between man and woman. If two men wish to have a covenant together, that is fine, but they should use another word besides marrige to describe that union. <http://www.ecnnews.com/cgi-bin/05/snstory.pl?-sec-News+1k589g0+fn-petitions03-20051003->

Flag Burning

I do not believe that burning the flag should be a crime. If people are allowed to show their patriotism to their countries without harming others, then there is no problem. The United States was built on the ideas of difference and freedom. If we are allowed freedom in this country then why should burning the flag be a problem. With no physical harm to other people, then there shouldn't be any restrictions.