On June 7, 1892, a 30-year-old colored shoemaker named Homer Plessy was jailed for sitting in the "White" car of the East Louisiana Railroad. Plessy was only one-eighths black and seven-eighths white, but under Louisiana law, he was considered black and therefore required to sit in the "Colored" car. Plessy went to court and argued, in Homer Adolph Plessy v. The State of Louisiana, that the Separate Car Act violated the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution. The judge at the trial was John Howard Ferguson, a lawyer from Massachusetts who had previously declared the Separate Car Act "unconstitutional on trains that traveled through several states"
I don't understand what the thought process of people in the 1800's was!
Monday, March 24, 2008
Women's Less Than Full Equality Under The U.S. Constitution
This is an article i found that was very interesting.......................
(Patricia Ireland, NOW President)
At a time when women are astronauts and truck drivers, it is hard to believe that the U.S. Constitution does not guarantee women the same rights as men. For most women, equality is a bread-and-butter issue. Women are still paid less on the job and charged more for everything from dry cleaning to insurance. The value of a woman's unpaid work in the home is often not taken into account in determining divorce settlements and pension benefits. When women turn to the courts to right these wrongs, they are at a distinct disadvantage because of what has and hasn't happened to the Constitution.In 1776 Abigail Adams urged her husband, John, that he and other framers of our founding documents should, "Remember the ladies." John, who went on to become our second president, responded, "Depend upon it. We know better than to repeal our masculine systems," and women were left out of the Constitution.Nearly a hundred years later, Congress adopted amendments to the Constitution to end slavery and provide justice to former slaves. The 14th Amendment, passed in 1868, guaranteed all "persons" the right to "equal protection under the law." However, the second section of the amendment used the words "male citizens," in describing who would be counted in determining how many representatives each state gets in Congress. This was the first time the Constitution said point blank that women were excluded. Similarly, the 15th Amendment in 1870 extended voting rights to all men -- but not to any women.It wasn't all doom and gloom for women in the 19th and early 20th centuries, though. Two women active in world anti-slavery efforts, Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, were leaders at the first-ever "Women's Rights Convention" in Seneca Falls, N. Y., in 1848. Their "Declaration of Sentiments" included this play on the Declaration of Independence, "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal."These women and others went on to form what became known as the suffrage movement. We now consider the suffragists the "first wave" of the U.S. feminist movement. During their long campaign to win women the right to vote, they used strategies including marches, pickets, arrests and hunger strikes. They triumphed in 1920 when the states ratified the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which corrected the long-time injustice the 15th Amendment had put into writing.Suffragist leader Alice Paul authored the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to remedy women's exclusion from the 14th Amendment. Introduced in 1923, the ERA was buried in Congress for nearly 50 years. In the late 1960s, the "second wave" of feminist activists took up Alice Paul's cause. After getting the ERA voted out of Congress, we held marches, organized boycotts, lobbied and worked on election campaigns to try to get it passed by the necessary three-fourths of the states. When an arbitrary time limit expired in 1982, the ERA was just three states short of the 38 required for ratification.The history of supreme rulings on women's rights makes clear why a constitutional guarantee of women's equality is needed. During the first 200 years of our country's history, the Supreme Court justices never saw a discriminatory law against women they didn't like. Illinois wanted to keep women from practicing law? The court in 1873 cited "the law of the Creator" as good enough reason to protect these delicate creatures -- grown women -- from being sullied by the corruption of legal and business practices.Time and again, women were really being protected from making too much money. Oregon wanted to limit the number of hours women could work? The court in 1908 ruled that women must "rest upon and look to (men) for protection" and also -- in a contradictory view of men -- that the law was needed "to protect (women) from the greed as well as the passion of man." Michigan wanted to allow women to work as waitresses but keep them out of higher-paid bartender jobs? The court in 1948 did not see this as a violation of the Constitution's guarantee of "equal protection."In modern times, Supreme Court rulings on women's rights have zigged and zagged, backward and forward. In a 1961 case, the justices upheld Florida's virtual exclusion of women from juries because "women are the center of home and family life." The defendant had bludgeoned her husband to death and wanted jurors who might understand how she could be driven to such a deed.Finally, in 1971, pioneering feminist attorney Ruth Bader Ginsburg made the first breakthrough in the court's "anything goes" attitude toward sex discrimination. She convinced the court to throw out an Idaho law that automatically gave preference to a man over an equally qualified woman when appointing the person responsible for disposing of the property of someone who has died. Ginsburg went on to become the second woman appointed to serve on the Supreme Court. In 1973, the Court struck down a U.S. Air Force policy that automatically gave a married man family housing and medical allowances, while a married woman had to prove she was the "head of household," ie, that she provided all of her own expenses plus at least half of her families in order to qualify for the family benefits.But in 1977 the justices were back to an old-fashioned view, a more narrow reading of women's equality. A bright eighth-grade girl, named Susan, who'd won science awards wanted to attend Philadelphia's all-boys Central High. It was an academically superior public school; even the school board admitted Girls High had inferior science facilities. But the Supreme Court upheld Central High's exclusion of Susan solely because she was a girl.More recently, in a 1987 decision that is the only Supreme Court case dealing with affirmative action for women, the justices upheld a county's voluntary plan. The justices allowed the promotion to stand, and the women became the first ever promoted to one of the country's 238 skilled craft jobs. A qualified woman was promoted over a man who had a slightly higher score based on interviews with a team of three men. One of them had called the woman a "rabble rousing skirt" and another had refused to issue her the required coveralls for a previous job.A case that was before the court in its 1996-1997 term drove home the inequities that still exist at the dawn of the 21st century. A jury had convicted a judge of violating the civil rights of five women by raping, sexually assaulting and harassing the women. An appeals court overruled the jury. Even though courts have ruled repeatedly that it is a violation a person's civil rights to be beaten by a police officer, the appeals court could not see anything in the Constitution that would put this judge on notice that it is just as wrong to rape a woman.Without a constitutional guarantee of women's equality, even favorable rulings and good laws on women's rights can be ignored, revoked or overruled. Feminist activists have not given up on a women's equality amendment. We know that to get women into the Constitution we will have to elect a lot more people who support that idea. We look to the young women and men who are addressing issues of equality and justice in high schools across the country. We are confident that this "third wave" will soon be ready to accept the baton.
I do believe as a part of the "third wave" that we can carry the torch of women's equality, and give equal opportunies for all.
(Patricia Ireland, NOW President)
At a time when women are astronauts and truck drivers, it is hard to believe that the U.S. Constitution does not guarantee women the same rights as men. For most women, equality is a bread-and-butter issue. Women are still paid less on the job and charged more for everything from dry cleaning to insurance. The value of a woman's unpaid work in the home is often not taken into account in determining divorce settlements and pension benefits. When women turn to the courts to right these wrongs, they are at a distinct disadvantage because of what has and hasn't happened to the Constitution.In 1776 Abigail Adams urged her husband, John, that he and other framers of our founding documents should, "Remember the ladies." John, who went on to become our second president, responded, "Depend upon it. We know better than to repeal our masculine systems," and women were left out of the Constitution.Nearly a hundred years later, Congress adopted amendments to the Constitution to end slavery and provide justice to former slaves. The 14th Amendment, passed in 1868, guaranteed all "persons" the right to "equal protection under the law." However, the second section of the amendment used the words "male citizens," in describing who would be counted in determining how many representatives each state gets in Congress. This was the first time the Constitution said point blank that women were excluded. Similarly, the 15th Amendment in 1870 extended voting rights to all men -- but not to any women.It wasn't all doom and gloom for women in the 19th and early 20th centuries, though. Two women active in world anti-slavery efforts, Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, were leaders at the first-ever "Women's Rights Convention" in Seneca Falls, N. Y., in 1848. Their "Declaration of Sentiments" included this play on the Declaration of Independence, "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal."These women and others went on to form what became known as the suffrage movement. We now consider the suffragists the "first wave" of the U.S. feminist movement. During their long campaign to win women the right to vote, they used strategies including marches, pickets, arrests and hunger strikes. They triumphed in 1920 when the states ratified the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which corrected the long-time injustice the 15th Amendment had put into writing.Suffragist leader Alice Paul authored the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to remedy women's exclusion from the 14th Amendment. Introduced in 1923, the ERA was buried in Congress for nearly 50 years. In the late 1960s, the "second wave" of feminist activists took up Alice Paul's cause. After getting the ERA voted out of Congress, we held marches, organized boycotts, lobbied and worked on election campaigns to try to get it passed by the necessary three-fourths of the states. When an arbitrary time limit expired in 1982, the ERA was just three states short of the 38 required for ratification.The history of supreme rulings on women's rights makes clear why a constitutional guarantee of women's equality is needed. During the first 200 years of our country's history, the Supreme Court justices never saw a discriminatory law against women they didn't like. Illinois wanted to keep women from practicing law? The court in 1873 cited "the law of the Creator" as good enough reason to protect these delicate creatures -- grown women -- from being sullied by the corruption of legal and business practices.Time and again, women were really being protected from making too much money. Oregon wanted to limit the number of hours women could work? The court in 1908 ruled that women must "rest upon and look to (men) for protection" and also -- in a contradictory view of men -- that the law was needed "to protect (women) from the greed as well as the passion of man." Michigan wanted to allow women to work as waitresses but keep them out of higher-paid bartender jobs? The court in 1948 did not see this as a violation of the Constitution's guarantee of "equal protection."In modern times, Supreme Court rulings on women's rights have zigged and zagged, backward and forward. In a 1961 case, the justices upheld Florida's virtual exclusion of women from juries because "women are the center of home and family life." The defendant had bludgeoned her husband to death and wanted jurors who might understand how she could be driven to such a deed.Finally, in 1971, pioneering feminist attorney Ruth Bader Ginsburg made the first breakthrough in the court's "anything goes" attitude toward sex discrimination. She convinced the court to throw out an Idaho law that automatically gave preference to a man over an equally qualified woman when appointing the person responsible for disposing of the property of someone who has died. Ginsburg went on to become the second woman appointed to serve on the Supreme Court. In 1973, the Court struck down a U.S. Air Force policy that automatically gave a married man family housing and medical allowances, while a married woman had to prove she was the "head of household," ie, that she provided all of her own expenses plus at least half of her families in order to qualify for the family benefits.But in 1977 the justices were back to an old-fashioned view, a more narrow reading of women's equality. A bright eighth-grade girl, named Susan, who'd won science awards wanted to attend Philadelphia's all-boys Central High. It was an academically superior public school; even the school board admitted Girls High had inferior science facilities. But the Supreme Court upheld Central High's exclusion of Susan solely because she was a girl.More recently, in a 1987 decision that is the only Supreme Court case dealing with affirmative action for women, the justices upheld a county's voluntary plan. The justices allowed the promotion to stand, and the women became the first ever promoted to one of the country's 238 skilled craft jobs. A qualified woman was promoted over a man who had a slightly higher score based on interviews with a team of three men. One of them had called the woman a "rabble rousing skirt" and another had refused to issue her the required coveralls for a previous job.A case that was before the court in its 1996-1997 term drove home the inequities that still exist at the dawn of the 21st century. A jury had convicted a judge of violating the civil rights of five women by raping, sexually assaulting and harassing the women. An appeals court overruled the jury. Even though courts have ruled repeatedly that it is a violation a person's civil rights to be beaten by a police officer, the appeals court could not see anything in the Constitution that would put this judge on notice that it is just as wrong to rape a woman.Without a constitutional guarantee of women's equality, even favorable rulings and good laws on women's rights can be ignored, revoked or overruled. Feminist activists have not given up on a women's equality amendment. We know that to get women into the Constitution we will have to elect a lot more people who support that idea. We look to the young women and men who are addressing issues of equality and justice in high schools across the country. We are confident that this "third wave" will soon be ready to accept the baton.
I do believe as a part of the "third wave" that we can carry the torch of women's equality, and give equal opportunies for all.
Catholic School Girls Steal Cookies
Last week at the Holocaust Symposium schools from all over came too learn about the terrible tragedy that occured durning the 1900's.Anyway's........There were a couple of private schools that made Conrad Weiser look like a bunch of unorganized bums. When we separated into groups, Mike W., Zach B. and myself were put in a group with about 5 Catholic girls. After the survivor finished her story, he were able to go out and get our lunch. There was a big table with bagged lunches, inside each was a sandwich, chips and a cookie etc. Well, when we went to go get our lunch, all the Catholic chicks were opening all the lunches and stealing the cookies!!!!!!! I was infuriated >:( My opinion has deff. changed about Catholic schools.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Brett Favre is Finally Done!!!!!!
Brett Favre announced this week that he is officially retiring from the NFL. It is about time. At least he will retire on top. I do believe that he was one of the best quarterbacks of all time. He is definitely the most entertaining player of my time. He ended his career at the right time, i am happy for him. Now we will see him next to mike Ditka and Rafael Palmero doing levitra commercials..........
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
They are all horrible! Whats the difference!!!
Officials at St. Mary's Academy in Kansas refused to let a female referee call a boys basketball game. Ummm....... i dont undertand. I play football baseball and used to play basketball. I remember having women as refs. They are no different, they call the games just as bad as a man would. I dont understand what the difference is, it is ridiculous. The ref. Michelle Campbell said: "I have never experience anything like that. I was dumbfounded" Oh i bet you were Michelle, this once again proves that women are still not seen as equal to men (not me but in general). If i was in this situation I wouls sue St. Mary's for all their money!!!
Monday, March 3, 2008
Gibson Les Paul BFG
If I ever have enough cash, this will be my new baby!!!
Species: MahoganyProfile: 1960’s slim taperPeghead Pitch: 17”Note: No truss rod coverFINGERBOARD:Species: RosewoodScale Length: 24-3/4”Number of Frets: 22Nut Width: 1.695”Inlays: White side dots onlyFingerboard Binding: None
HARDWARE:Plating Finish: Gun metal (Trans Cherry finish)Distressed Black Chrome (Trans Black and Trans Gold finish)Tailpiece: Stopbard (distressed)Bridge: Tune-o-maticKnobs: Two wooden volumes, one wooden toneTuners: Grover (distressed)
ELECTRONICS:Neck Pickup: P-90Bridge Pickup: Zebra Burstbucker 3Controls: 2 volume, 1 tone, 3 way switch (no washer or cap)Kill switch
HARDWARE:Plating Finish: Gun metal (Trans Cherry finish)Distressed Black Chrome (Trans Black and Trans Gold finish)Tailpiece: Stopbard (distressed)Bridge: Tune-o-maticKnobs: Two wooden volumes, one wooden toneTuners: Grover (distressed)
ELECTRONICS:Neck Pickup: P-90Bridge Pickup: Zebra Burstbucker 3Controls: 2 volume, 1 tone, 3 way switch (no washer or cap)Kill switch
Women's Rights
"Women are human beings, and consequently have all the natural rights that any human beings can have. They have just as good a right to make laws as men have, and no better; AND THAT IS JUST NO RIGHT AT ALL. No human being, nor any number of human beings, have any right to make laws, and compel other human beings to obey them. To say that they have is to say that they are the masters and owners of those of whom they require such obedience."
This is a quote from a piece written by John T. Kennedy. It perfectly describes my feeling towards women's rights. Who has the right to say women can't contribute. Women have fought for there rights and earned them. Sadly, I believe women still don't have the same opportunities that men have today, for various reasons. They have just as much to offer in today's society, I don't get why it took so long for women to become "equal".
This is a quote from a piece written by John T. Kennedy. It perfectly describes my feeling towards women's rights. Who has the right to say women can't contribute. Women have fought for there rights and earned them. Sadly, I believe women still don't have the same opportunities that men have today, for various reasons. They have just as much to offer in today's society, I don't get why it took so long for women to become "equal".
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