A Whole New World

Away from the books and back to the screen once again.  Well, the outlines are still one of the greatest things given as a handout.  They rank the top of that list.  The study questions on the back help me remember what I read and act as a quick quiz to me.  Just like one of my previous blogs, Islam is not compatible with me.  I am not sure why, but anything relating to Islam goes in one ear and out the other.  As tired as I am of reading about Asian countries, their information seems to be engraved in my noggin.  The reading on America and the taxation without representation was a rather easy chapter, because it was already in my brain.

Simon Bolivar’s quote “I fear peace more than war” seems a bit ironic, don’t you think?  It was sensible though, because of the situation in Latin America then.  They had no idea how to rule themselves.

The energy in class is very helpful in retaining what is taught and read.  The “working” class skit was very fun to do.  I love how every day is not sitting in a desk the whole class time.  I enjoy being in groups and working together then being able to see if you and your group got the answers correct.  Debate is always healthy.  I would say I have been doing well so far in this new quarter aside from essays.

Roundabout Route

Our class discussions about which area is the best was pretty helpful because it reminded me of  the other things I learned.  I completely forgot about the Mansa Musa converting to Islam which helped him connect with Muslims better giving him a better reputation among them.  The pink handouts are always a huge study tool for me.  Islam was quite the impressionable religion.  I noticed that Catholicism was very similar in its traditions and pilgrimages, but the main idea of their religion is different.

African women experienced the most freedom out of all the other societies.  It was sad to see that their own people captured and sold them into slavery.  I could not imagine being in fear every day of being taken by my own people in my home.  I am sure many people died during those slave raids as well such as the husbands trying to protect their families. Personally, I think every race is to blame for the enslavement of people because Africa put themselves into the submissive system and every other country put their hand into the matter.  It was a survival of the fittest sort of thought.

On to Western Europe, I thought it was interesting to read that the Holy Roman Empire was neither holy, roman, nor an empire.  During the high middle ages, Western Europe began creeping out of its shell and trading with others revitalizing their economy.   The continued presence of Roman Catholicism  was apart of every aspect of life.  It influenced the education, philosophy, literature, conquest, and travel.  Conflict with the papacy prevented emperors from building states.  The popes embarrassed the emperors quite often.

To prevent a class from snoozing, Mrs Simond’s had everyone teach certain parts.  It was a great way to wake everyone up and it personally helps me also.  You must be very attentive to everyone teaching or you might miss a question on that topic on the test.  I was assigned troubadours and Frederick Barbarossa.  I did not know much about Barbarossa, but I learned that he was an emperor that wanted to achieve great power by capturing Lombardy.  The popes did not want him to have that power so they forced him to back down by enlisting aid from other states.  Popes-1, Emperors-0.  Another example of papal influence was Emperor Henry IV being excommunicated because of his appointing church officials.  So far, the emperors have not yet scored a point.  Troubadours were a favorite among aristocratic women.  They sang of love poems and relationships between the two genders.  By promoting chivalric values the code of chivalry and romantic poetry eventually softened the roughened warriors.

The crusades is an example of Islam influencing Catholicism.  Pope Urban II called Christian knights to seize the holy land, Jerusalem in 1095.  The Muslims believe other religions should be demolished.  Both religions were and are very wrong in this belief and I am glad America has freedom of religion.  However, from the 9-11 attack we see that we are still in danger.

Always learning

As much as I did not enjoy studying India, mainly because it did not click as easily as the other empires did, I noticed that its social influence was just as great or far greater than a political influence would have had.  India’s caste system integrated immigrants easily into society which surprised me because I compared the caste system to an extreme version of high school cliques.  Well now I know that that was an incorrect comparison which proves to show that India did not click.  I think that a social influence is better than a political influence, because India had order in the form of self- discipline.  Social influences are easier to spread than political and typically more people tend to care more about social issues such as religion etc.

The class discussion over the conversion of Clovis really helped me see other views on his conversion being a political act and a religious transformation.  Darah was my power group partner that day and I agreed with her that his conversion was more of a political act, but she went further in giving quotes from the text that prove it was political and expanded on her thought.  It helped a lot to having heard her expanded thought on the matter and helped me understand it more.  I was surprised to see that people thought it was a true act of religious transformation.  Their reasoning made me unstable then of my political choice, because they mentioned that his wife has been convincing him to look at her god and believe the same thing she did.  Of course they were giving him the benefit of the doubt, but it all depends on how you view it.  I stand my ground that it was merely a political act and he truly converted once he achieved his goal.

Well, we hit Western Europe.  I was not too thrilled, because it is a boring topic to me.  Probably because I have learned it so many times and do not care to learn more of it.  Compared to other societies, western Europe seems dull and slow.  Their agricultural surplus was not enough to support their large cities whereas a growth in agricultural production in many other places results in a population growth.  Christianity (Catholicism) was the religion in medieval Europe especially because of Clovis’s conversion to it.  It formed an alliance with the pope strengthening the Franks.

An age of cross-cultural interaction of the nomadic empires and their eurasian integration was much more interesting to learn than Western Europe.  Nomadic empires were known for their unmatched skill on horseback and being indomitable in warfare.  They integrated vast territories at first to raid then to settle.  Just as all societies faced difficulties, the nomads’ difficulties were warfare, destruction, bubonic plaque, and global climactic changes.

It is neat to be able to connect the show “The Amazing Race” to what we learn in AP World.  I bought up that Kevjumba built something similar to a yurt,large wool tent, as a task to complete.  It took him quite some time to build it though.

The khan organization ruled through leaders of allied tribes.  The army was the most important institution of the Mongol state.  When I read that, I immediately thought of political trust, what I learned in government class, and that the military is the most trusted institution in our  government.  The Mongols instilled fear in the areas that they conquered, but it was apparent that they feared China.  They enforced a strict separation from anything and everything Chinese because they feared the Chinese would overpower them.  The Mongols did, however, tolerate all the cultural and religious traditions in China.

The continent I know least about, Africa, has had quite the interesting history.  I did not know Islam was a religion in Africa, however, it did not change the original thoughts on Africa.  I know the Bantu migrations spread agriculture and herding, but I do not know what the Bantu migration itself is.  Who are they and where did they come from?

Villages were ruled by a village council that consisted of male family heads.  The activity of drawing the political format of villages helped in learning how they were formed and the roles of Africans being based on age and gender.  Unlike other societies, African women experienced a far greater freedom than other women because they were given high honor for being the source of life.  They served in all-female military units, influenced public affairs, and traded at markets as merchants.

Like the Chinese, Africans worshipped their ancestors.  African religion was not theological but practical.

Hip Hip Hooray for Election Day!

Darkness follows you into the driver seat.  You drive to a destination that you have never been to before.  Behold! A… neighborhood?  It is 6:15 a.m. and I think I am in the wrong precinct.  Turns out, I was not lost; the random house was the polling place for November 2, 2010.  Once the voting signs were up, we waited to turn on the JBC at 7 a.m.

I was the Roster Clerk.  For those who do not know what the roster clerk does, I greet the voter, find his name in the roster (making sure he is registered and not a Vote-by-Mail voter), and give him his ballot number.  (The Vote-by-Mail people must surrender their ballot if they want to vote at the polls.  By not doing so, they will become a provisional voter.) I enjoyed my position.  It was not a hectic voting day, but it was not completely deserted.

Although Oregon requires their voters to vote-by-mail, I think California would not be pleased to be forced to vote-by-mail.  Many of the voters, I was told, enjoy voting at the polls, but there was an adequate amount of Vote-by-Mail envelopes given.  I was surprised at the variety of voters that day.  It was neat to be in a neighborhood, because the voters were in their jogging clothes, walking their dogs, pushing their baby strollers, or driving by.  Some people exceeded 40 minutes in voting.  It was neat to see Jenny, my oldest sister, voting especially because my parents have absolutely no interest in voting.  Just like I learned in class, my parents contribute to the low voter turnout and believe they have  no impact on society.  From looking at the roster, I noticed many people did not vote that day, excluding the Vote-by-Mailers.  That agreed with the low voter turnout common in non presidential elections.

It was amusing to see first time voters.  Some were ecstatic, jumping around announcing it was their first time.  Others were shy and had no clue what to do.  It felt weird being younger than them and telling them what to do.  Then again, that was what I was getting paid for.  (I did not tell them who to vote for.)

From my day at that precinct, I deduced that the area was more or less Republican reflecting the district’s representative, Dana Rohrabacher’s political affiliation.  It was an encouraging site for voters to see a teenage face volunteering at the polls.  It was great being able to get people pumped to vote as well.  Before that day, I had no idea what it was like.  I did not think many people voted, but volunteering really showed me that Americans do care about the government and are doing their part in voting.  Prior to this I was discouraged to vote, partly because of my parents not showing an interest.  Which proved statistics to be true saying the family is the main influence in a child’s political socialization.  I liked hearing discussions of the candidates once the voters finished voting.  I did not hear much of them since that would be eavesdropping and I was focused on my roster clerk duties.  What I did catch was they wanted Meg Whitman to win.  One wild voter left saying,”Weed better get passed.”  Many of the Vote-by-Mailers commented on how simple doing it at home was.

I think that the voting system today seems rather ancient than to the vast and ever improving technology of 2010.  I am sure there could be many ways where counting the votes would be less time-consuming and have the voting process be simpler.  However, people like their paper ballots and the machines now have had bugs messing up the votes.  Helping in this election has really encouraged me to be a dedicated voter and possibly a helper for the next election as well.

Time for the classical post.

From 500 to 1000 C.E., inventions, rapid economic growth, and the development of cultural and religious traditions mark the prosperity of the postclassical era.

Surprisingly, we are not finished with this era yet, but we have gone over the Byzantine empire, dar- al- Islam, and East Asia.  A commonality of the Byzantine empire and East Asia is that they had a form of having states recognize them as their overlord, but the empires themselves did not impose their rule.  Instead, they allowed that state to rule normally.  Caesaropapism was what the Byzantine empire called the emperor with aura divinity.  The people would perform prostrations to the emperor bowing to him like a deity.  China’s diplomatic foreign relations was the tributary system like that of the Han dynasty.  China’s political theory was the Middle Kingdom or the center of the civilization.  They required the other lands to perform what the Byzantiums required known as kowtow.

I enjoy doing the matching and sequencing, especially in groups.  Because the group activities are so fun, it helps me remember what was on that activity better.  We did a group activity that had us imagine ourselves as tourists traveling to Constantinople in the ninth century planning our itinerary.  We would hit the marketplace first, then the taverns to get pumped up for the next location, the Hippodromes, and cheer our voices away for the blue team then head to Hagia Sophia to repent.

My connections this time around had to do with bezant and silk.  When I saw “bezant” I assumed it had to do with money, but I thought it was called something else.  I found my error and was glad to have been assigned this word.  Connections are very helpful in relating terms together.

Next, we evaluated our comparative essays on Rome and Han China.  I was disappointed to realize all of my errors that I did not know were errors.  I learned that dates are very important. (I normally gloss over them.)  Evaluating with the rubric helped me in realizing what needed to be in my essay and why I received my grade.  Speaking of knowing what needs to be in my essay, we have been introduced to the DBQ.  I read a handout informing me of it and telling me ways to handle it.  It definitely has been a great help and a calm to some of my nerves.  Something I read in the handout made me smile partly because it was true. “Right now, this process may seem as if it will take two hours as opposed to ten minutes.”  That is just what I thought when I read the title, “How Long Is Ten Minutes?”  Reading all the steps, charts, groupings, and etc., made me worry about how time consuming it is.  Once, I get a few practices in, I will become more confident for the actual test day.  I hope..

I like it when we are split the work on worksheets.  The study guide questions for Islam teaching groups saved me a lot of time.  I was happy to see that I was able to answer other’s questions just from retaining it from my reading.

The best class activity so far was the timeline of China.  I could not believe how much I have forgotten and all of the continuity and changes that occurred.  When Mrs. Simonds said that it was amazing how students remember all of this old information on test day, it sent me a newsflash: “Don’t forget everything! You actually have to learn it for good.”

Thankfully, I bought a prep book that has charts of the civilizations and empires etc. that tell me the continuity and changes, among other things.

 

Sayonara Classical Civilizations

These past two weeks feel like so much information was packed into my brain without the overwhelming feeling accompanying it.  Odd, is it not?  I feel that the classical civilizations were much more enjoyable to learn.

When it was days before the test, it felt like decades when we talked about Persia and India.  The civilizations that were fresh in my mind was Rome and China.  It amazed me to see that Rome developed a republican form of government complete with the Twelve Tablets, two consuls, and the plebeians being able to block bills they did not approve of.  However, Rome was really a monarchy disguised as a republic.

China was successful as well in having control of their vast empire.  It did not take China as long as Rome to develop their control because the people in China were of the same ethnicity, whereas Rome was diverse.  Also, many of the conquered lands were intrigued by Chinese culture and readily adapted to the ways and culture of China.

I did not learn as much of new information on India as I thought I would.  Maybe I did but I do not remember?  The only things I can remember about India is the caste system, Hinduism, and cotton being an important export.

The Silk Roads had a significant impact on all of the civilizations.  They were protected from invaders and raids.  Merchants traveled abroad spreading many cultures from other lands.  Buddhism is one of the religions brought into China by merchants and has become the main religion in China.  Paul of Tarsus was a devout advocate of Christianity.  I loved being able to know the full story of Jesus in Rome and his crucifixion than the summarized version in the book.  Reading about Christianity from a secular point of view though helped me to understand what others think of Christianity.  The miracles the book mentioned probably would make others think “yeah, right.” I have thought that of other religions on their rituals bringing rain like the Mayas.

Not only were we once again, given the essay for the test, we were given a handout that would help us with the essay.  The handout was the best review for the essay.  It was so insightful and it really generalized ideas for me and gave specific examples as well.

It has only been two weeks and we have finished all of the classical civilizations and are now venturing into the deep of the Postclassical Era.

Fail or Pass?

Upon receiving Andrew Jackson as the president I was to grade, I was content that I knew information on him already.  However, until I began to research his roles and how he acted them out during his presidency, I realized how difficult it would be to find specific things that would be a part of his role.  It really frustrated me when I could not find certain information about his role, when others could find that information on their presidents.

For me, the assignment was very difficult.  It took a lot of time and patience for the research.  Creating my own rubric did help in making the assessment.  As all assignments I am given, I learned a lot during the research.  Andrew Jackson was not the first person to use the spoils system, but it is often credited to him (kitchen cabinet).  He was known as the frontier man.  As chief of party, he appealed greatly to the people and was the first president to invite the public to the White house to celebrate his first inauguration.  Congress however, did not like Jackson.  He was not flexible in office doing things his way.

What I thought was ironic in my research was Jackson’s reason for the spoils system being that the rotation in office prevents the development of corrupt bureaucracy.  Many people would view a corrupt bureaucracy as the spoils system.

Andrew Jackson was the only president to pay off the national debt. He opposed the national bank.  I gave Jackson a final grade of a D because during his presidency, some of the first trade treaties were negotiated with European and South American countries.  He was well liked by the people.  But his rashness towards conflict and his impudent behavior to Congress is unacceptable.  He overused his constitutional power of the veto and his actions resulted in a depression and war.

The class presentations were very insightful.  Unlike Jackson, it was neat to see that Sean’s president, John F. Kennedy spoke to the public many times with his speeches and gained public approval by that.  I liked hearing that Nathan’s president, Mckinley, traveled around the world and was a great chief diplomat.  The information on the presidents were great and made me have a better appreciation for the presidents of America.  The music for Sean’s slideshow was entertaining and captivated my attention.  It would have been nice if the presenters spoke with character and maybe even got the class to get involved. (I do not know how to do that though.)

I learned to be loud and be filled with energy to ensure my audience’s attention.  Knowing your information is key to presentations, because you can tell it in a story mode, which most often captivates your audience.  I also learned that a good chief of party would increase the seats of his party in office.  For me, the head of state role was difficult to decide what information went under the topic.  I had repeated information on my slides.  I also learned that there are a lot of factors to a president’s deemed success or failure.  Such as when Sean said that most people say John F. Kennedy was a great president only because of his short time in office.

What grade would you have given Andrew Jackson, based on my presentation?

It’s time to work

A blog I previously posted about Doris Matsui really showed me how much work representatives actually put into their occupation.  Prior to the blog research, I thought representatives just voiced their constituents’ opinions in Congress.  I learned that they do more than voice opinions; they look at their district’s needs and work hard to fulfill them.  It takes a lot of dedication and passion to continuously promote the well being of the people as they depreciate your work.  It was saddening to discover that Doris Matsui’s husband died from Myelodysplastic Syndrome.  However, with that occurrence in her life, God can now use her to relate to more people and be encouraged to propose new ideas of legislation such as her bone- marrow bill.

We have a couple of assignments to complete soon.  It is overwhelming, but it feels like what an APGP class should feel like, right?  Well, it would not be overwhelming if I had better time management.  Anyway, the “Presidential Performance Report Card” is just one of the assignments given.  As the name implies, I must grade my assigned president, Andrew Jackson, on his time in office.  It is an interesting but very educational assignment, because it has me analyze the actions of a president in his many roles.  It makes me laugh knowing I am being graded on how I grade Jackson.  The most difficult part of the assignment for me has nothing to do with Andrew Jackson.  Creating my own rubric for his presidential performance takes much time and thought.  Thankfully, we were given “Questions to Consider and Answer When Evaluating Your President”.  It has been a great help.  I will be relieved once I finish the rubric, because the easy part is next, grading Jackson.

For a class activity, we mimicked the process of a bill becoming a law.  During my short time involved in the activity, I thought it was fun and insightful.  The House and the Senate generally go through the same process, but the House, as I learned in a previous chapter, has a Rules Committee.  Once the bill is introduced, the committees will send it to a subcommittee if they decide it is worthwhile.  The subcommittees will hold hearings where people testify and give information about the bill.  The bill either dies or moves to markup in the sub and full committee, then it is debated and voted on, and returned to both chambers for approval.  The legislative committee must become quite frustrated after all the time and effort was put into a bill for the president to veto it.  It is good that despite the president’s veto power, a bill may still become a law whether by overriding the veto or the president holding the bill for ten days.

This next assignment, I guess it is called “Institutions Presentation” was puzzling for me.  I did not understand why we researched three completely different topics and then had to make a presentation about them.  It was not a difficult assignment by any means, but it really confused me as to why it was so random.  I learned about the House oversight and Government Reform committee, Kagan,and the  Michigan v. Bryant case.  I also learned that the Department of Interior is a bureaucratic agency.  I was unsure of some of the things I researched such as giving two examples of the bureaucratic agencies.

To the classics we go

A new unit means what to the common AP World student?  “More comparisons on societies..”  Do not fret, dear lad, because the new unit or, in Traditions & Encounters, “Part II” begins with giving you the overall comparisons of all of the classical societies.

A difference of the classical societies and the early complex societies was the legacies of the classical societies that endured long enough to influence billions of lives some of which can be seen today.  Persia, China, India, and the Mediterranean basin were all involved in trading on (silk) roads or by sea.  This interaction with one another formed a sort of alliance and a spread of diverse religions and cultural traditions.  Some of the problems the societies faced were the administration of vast territories, military challenges, external and internal threats, factions, and the equitable distribution of land and wealth.  Social classes formed as well as slaves who were being used for any area of work (some having more freedom than the other).

Starting off with the Persian Empire, I thought I had it easy, since I had knowledge of Cyrus, Darius, Persepolis and etc.  But as always it seems that I know too little of the topic.  For example, from 558-330 B.C.E., the Achaemenid Empire  had a great impact on future administrations.  The empire was divided into twenty-three satrapies which were administrative and taxation districts governed by satraps.  Our government today has checks on each branch.  Similarly, the military officers and tax collectors served as checks on the satraps’ power.  To prevent satraps from rebelling and taking the land the rulers created audits, special spies that were the “eyes and ears of the king” who travelled with an army to do what is called now, oversight.  Another beneficial contribution of the Achaemenid Empire was the courier system it formed that reminded me of the Pony Express. The Persian Royal Road and borrowing the idea of standardized coins fostered trade.

Like the Chinese, family and clan relationships influenced political and social affairs.  What really helped Persia was its record keepers and translators. The Persians were cosmopolitan meaning they combined different parts of the world. For example, Persia did not change the rules of every land it conquered.  Instead, it codified the laws of the subject peoples therefore accepting other cultures.  I guess it is somewhat similar to America today in the sense that the entire area has common laws (national supremacy), the area is divided into fifty satrapies, are ruled by governmental bodies within the states (satraps), and all the different people can practice what they believe freely.

I was impressed to learn that the Persians made qanats which are underground canals that allowed cultivators to distribute water to fields without losing water to evaporation.  Slaves were important for infrastructure and probably had a part in the formation of qanats.

When Mrs. Simonds announced that we could have a group quiz, it took the force of gravity and glue to make sure I did not fly off of my seat to receive the answers.  I forced my bottom to stay seated and get my own answers from my notes before seeing what the others had.  Thank you Mrs. Simonds, I am sure David is more grateful than I am.  The Master Philosopher Kong Fuzi left the world with three values: ren- an attitude of kindness and benevolence or a sense of humanity, li- a sense of propriety, and xiao- filial piety. The goal of Confucianism led to the cultivation of personal morality, creation of junzi, and bringing order and stability to China.  Confucianism’s flexibility led to longevity and influence in China.

The most prominent critics of Confucianism are Daoists.  The founder of Daoism, Laozi, believes in doing nothing will accomplish everything.  The doctrine of wuwei promotes the disengagement from the world, refrain from advanced education and personal striving, and to live simply in harmony with nature.  I am sorry if what I am about to say offends you, but to help me remember Daoism, I thought of Laozi’s beliefs of life being “lousy.”

Legalism seemed to prove the most effective in maintaining order in China.  It exemplified the military and agriculture.  Harsh punishments, collective responsibility, and strict laws were main characteristics of legalism.

Although the Qin dynasty did not last as long as the Han, the Qin had standardized script, set a precedent by establishing a centralized imperial bureaucracy, and forming defensive walls.  The Han dynasty infused Confucianist and Legalistic values that proved to coexist well for the time being.  Already in my blog, I have compared many things to the American government.  We were asked to answer, “What would all three philosophies look like in a government?”  My answer was that it would look like the American government today, not taking much from the Daoists that is.  We have a military, a political force that keeps people in line, education is a priority here, and we have a code of conduct like the Confucian values.

India is more confusing than Persia and China.  I did not do well on the reading quiz only because I second-guessed my answers.  Why does India have to name their children so similarly?  Anyway India had regional kingdoms and imperial regimes, but they were not centralized.  Chandragupta Maurya laid the foundation for the Mauryan Empire which was the first state to bring a centralized unified government to most of India.  One can see the influence Persia had on India by India’s incorporation of spies in the bureaucratic administration system.  Sea transportation of trade in the Indian Ocean Basin was based on the rhythms of the wind (monsoons).

India had a society based on the caste system.  Religions such as Buddhism and Jainism attracted many people because they had a factor of not recognizing social hierarchies of castes and jaiti.

For Chapter 9 (India) we were given a choice to do notes using the outline or continuing to make our own notes.  For me, the outline saves me so much time and writing and adds more insight than taking my own notes.  It combines sections of the chapter and allows me to be as detailed as I am in my regular notes by having space on the margins to write in.  The questions at the end are a challenge to answer, but I enjoy how it tests my comprehension of my reading.  I also enjoy doing the handout with sequencing, quotations, and matching in groups.  It helps organize the retained knowledge scattered in my noggin.

Matsui for the win

California’s fifth district representative, Democrat Doris Matsui is once again running in the November election.  Her opponents, Republican Paul A. Smith and Peace and Freedom Gerald Frink do not impose a huge threat to incumbent Matsui who was first elected in March of 2005.

Constituents of the fifth district seem to show a Democratic favor considering their 2008 presidential election.  McCain received 28.40% of the district’s votes, whereas Obama received the majority of 69.62%.  However, in the 2006 gubernatorial election they voted  60.45% for Schwarzenegger, a Republican and only 34.16% for Democrat Phil Angelides.  This change in party favor may be due to the career background and publicity of Schwarzenegger.

From her time of representing the city of Sacramento, she has been an important advocate of clean energy, the economy and Wall Street reform, flood control, education, and health care.  Although she has refused to tell her position on issues in the Political Courage Test, you can deduce her stand on them from her website. She desires Sacramento to be the clean technology capital and the global leader of clean energy. She has been involved in passing legislations such as the Clean Energy Technology Manufacturing and Export Assistance Act, the Renewable Energy Incentive Act, and the Small Business Clean Energy Financing Act. Matsui encourages the return of PAYGO that resulted from a deficit to a surplus, which began under President Clinton but was removed by the Republicans when they had control.  Under PAYGO, each new legislation will be fully paid for by other cuts or increases in revenue.  She wants to modernize America’s financial regulations  and hold Wall Street accountable for their actions by the Restoring American Financial Stability Act.  Because Sacramento has had a constant threat of flooding, Matsui has been highly productive in ensuring the safety of Sacramentans from floods.  She helped secure the Folson Dam Joint Federal Project, ensure ongoing levee improvements, watershed approach, and is working on providing affordable flood insurance.  Education to Matsui is very important for the future of our economy.  She has supported legislations such as the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act.  She wants high school graduates to have access to affordable colleges.  On her site, she says, “In order to cultivate a well-trained, competitive workforce that is capable of keeping abreast of the dynamic global market, the dream of a college education must be within the reach of every qualified student.”  Health care is a topic Matsui supports because of her diverse constituents having a common characteristic of all being in support for health insurance reform.  The constituents have been a major influence in her voting of important factors in a health- care reform bill.

Doris Matsui speaking on Medicare.

On September 30, Rob Hotakainen reported about the House passing Matsui’s bone- marrow bill. Because of her husband Bob Matsui’s death, due to Myelodysplastic Syndrome, Doris has devoted great passion in passing her bone-marrow bill that calls for expanded research, treatment, and education of acquired bone marrow failure diseases.  This bill has the research be a priority rather than increase the funding for it.  (Doris Matsui replaced her husband in Congress. He was in Congress from 1993- 2004.)

Keep in mind that Doris Matsui has refused to participate in the Political Courage Test.  So, Matsui, having successfully been in office since 2005 why have you not taken the Political Courage Test, especially if your opponents do not impose a threat to your seat in the House of Representatives?  The legislation you have voted in favor of and your urging of a better economy conflict one another.  The legislations are by no means inexpensive, but you want PAYGO to return despite its possible raise in revenue?  In the meantime, how will you help Sacramento heal quickly through this economic depression until your long term legislations’ success will be noticed?