Welcome!

Welcome to the weblog for our American Studies class. Here's the place we will be continuing conversations from class and starting new ones. We'll be discussing and debating current events, historical controversies, and literary conundrums. We might even see a little poetry.

So, what's a blog? And how will we be using it class? For information on blogging and how to join and post to our blog, see "All About Blogging."

We're looking forward to a great year.

Make sure you check your e-mail for your invitation to join the blog. Also – and this is very important – the first step you should take after you accept the invitation is to edit your user profile so that you control how your identity and your communication preferences.  Click on the pull-down menu next to your name in the upper right corner of the browser and click on “Blogger Profile.” Then click on “Edit Profile.”

You can fill out as much of it as you want, but the only requirement is -- under “Identity” -- make sure your “Display name” is your first name and last initial only -- so we provide some anonymity while still allowing your classmates and teacher to be able to identity who you are. For example, change “Bernie Heidkamp” to “Bernie H.”

Sweat Shops or No Shops

The issue is sweatshops as a whole. The things with sweatshops you have to have a high school diploma to get a job, but a lot of people don’t have high school diplomas so settle for sweatshops. Sweatshops take up full advantages of labor, low income, and physical injuries. The things the United States should do to solve this issue is have more jobs opportunities for those who don’t have a high school diploma, increase their income, decrease the physical injuries.According to Carl Shelton a 48 year old woman , has experienced working inside sweatshops as a labor, who has had the bad end of the stick by experiencing low income having extreme physical issues and treated more like a slave than a human.Come home exhausted, her hands swollen from pushing stiff fabric past a moving needle. She had to work fast to meet quotas kept by a timekeeper, and if she slowed down or had to redo a seam, her hourly income dropped to the base rate, which usually hovered around minimum wage. Besides the low pay, the job gave her back pain from hunching over old sewing machines held together with spare parts and electrical tape(Boal).These are real life stories that people have/experience on a day to day basis. Someone has finally decided to speak up. The way people have been treated is very unfair and unacceptable. When does slavery stop in many cases. By paying lowkey income and treating these people like they are absolutly nothing is slavery it’s just not picking cotton in fields all day long and getting beating. According to Viederman , sweatshops are not bad they just have poor pay and poor quality work. Poorly treated workers typically make poor-quality goods, but U.S. companies that aren’t careful about sweatshops could face the costly job of reputation repair if a watchdog group links their brands to workplace abuses. Furthermore, desirable employees want to work for companies whose values they share, just as consumers want to buy from companies that put values into practice (Viederman). This describes how sweatshops can be good and how they have a positive but an negative affect at the same time.

The issue is sweatshops as a whole. The things with sweatshops you have to have a high school diploma to get a job, but a lot of people don’t have high school diplomas so settle for sweatshops. Sweatshops take up full advantages of labor, low income, and physical injuries. The things the United States should do to solve this issue is have more jobs opportunities for those who don’t have a high school diploma, increase their income, decrease the physical injuries.According to Carl Shelton a 48 year old woman , has experienced working inside sweatshops as a labor, who has had the bad end of the stick by experiencing low income having extreme physical issues and treated more like a slave than a human.Come home exhausted, her hands swollen from pushing stiff fabric past a moving needle. She had to work fast to meet quotas kept by a timekeeper, and if she slowed down or had to redo a seam, her hourly income dropped to the base rate, which usually hovered around minimum wage. Besides the low pay, the job gave her back pain from hunching over old sewing machines held together with spare parts and electrical tape(Boal).These are real life stories that people have/experience on a day to day basis. Someone has finally decided to speak up. The way people have been treated is very unfair and unacceptable. When does slavery stop in many cases. By paying lowkey income and treating these people like they are absolutly nothing is slavery it’s just not picking cotton in fields all day long and getting beating. According to Viederman , sweatshops are not bad they just have poor pay and poor quality work. Poorly treated workers typically make poor-quality goods, but U.S. companies that aren’t careful about sweatshops could face the costly job of reputation repair if a watchdog group links their brands to workplace abuses. Furthermore, desirable employees want to work for companies whose values they share, just as consumers want to buy from companies that put values into practice (Viederman). This describes how sweatshops can be good and how they have a positive but an negative affect at the same time.

Global Warming: The Issue Facing America

The United States has many problems facing it as a country. Global warming is the most compelling problem. Climate change, caused by global warming can decrease rainfall and make growing crops a challenge for farmers. Also global warming can affect human health and change forests and other major ecosystems. Washington State Gov. Jay Inslee, commented on the issue facing the United States. “We are the first generation to feel the sting of climate change, and we are the last generation that can do something about it” (“Global”). These striking lines, true yet frightening make many people think that this issue facing the United States should be dealt with first. Global Warming will destroy our world that is so beautiful. The cities that will be affected greatly are the ones that are poor and can’t take necessary precautions when being affected by catastrophic weather catastrophes. Global warming can affect climate change. On the EPA’s official website, it says that,”Climate change will likely increase the risk of drought in some areas and the risk of extreme precipitation and flooding in others” (“Driving”). Flooding caused by climate change can seriously affect smaller undeveloped cities near the coast in the United States. The many negative connotations that global warming brings up are getting people of the United States shaken up and worried and should be dealt with immediately.

The Problem With "Syrian Refugees"

The war refugees from Syria, while they do need help, are creating problems all over Europe. The US needs to address this issue because soon it will not be just Europe’s problem. It is a global epidemic, and a crisis that too many countries are ignoring or not treating like a problem. America needs to take the first step and recognize it as a problem, and then work together with the UN and Syria to figure out a peaceful solution.

Ingrid Carlqvist, a distinguished author and journalist for Gatestone Institute said that the Syrian immigrants create enormous problems for the countries they flee to, and the governments do not even recognize the problems.

Souad Mekhennet, correspondent for the Washington Post said that many of the immigrants seeking asylum in Europe are not from Syria as they say at all, but actually from all over North Africa and just seeking opportunity and free living in Europe. Some are even horrible criminals, who are welcomed like all the others at the borders.

The refugees entering Europe are not only causing incredible problems for the countries, but far too frequently are not even refugees, and could even easily be members of ISIS.

Stop the Violence We Want To Live

In this case sweatshops include children working all kinds of hours day and night so that the United States can be fulfilled with all necessary material. The pay that the workers get is very much at a low cost and is not necessary enough for someone to survive. Working in sweatshops can cause physical harm towards one , because there is lack of safety regarding to each worker. The United States as a whole should either stop sweatshops as a whole or give the labors what they need in order to protect themselves and pay themselves so that they can survive. If they can not provide this at all then the United States should close sweatshops down all together and suffer like third countries and even some states that's apart of the United States. According to Laura Macklem, “ They don’t provide safety equipment as simple as dust masks, and pay workers 30 percent below the country’s minimum wage” (Macklem). In addition Vegan Peace states, “The U.S. Department of Labor found that 67% of garment factories in Los Angeles and 63% in New York, violate minimum wage and overtime laws. 98% of garment factories in Los Angeles have workplace health and safety problems serious enough to lead to severe injuries or death (“What can we do “). Even the United States understands that this is not only an problem with foreign countries, but also an problem with in the United States within itself. Its problem knowing that this war countries our going through the disrespect of not having proper equipment and low benefits but it become even a bigger problem when your own country is having the same one if not the similar situation.