State of the Union speech

The State of the Union speech is presented by the president to the U.S. congress. The address reports on the condition of the nation and the president's legislative agenda. Luckily, the American people can watch  his speech in many ways like, watching videos and T.V.

A lot of work goes into the State of the Union speech, as the following video will show you. The president edits the speech, and writes a lot of it himself. For more information, watch this video.

Take a Tour of the White House

Today , I am going to write about a website where you can take a tour of the White House. Once you get to the website there is a diagram of the White House and there are red squares at parts of the house which you can click. Once you clicked the red square, there is a big square that pops up and there is a recent picture of the place. Under the picture there are words that tell you who or what are in the picture. To the side of the picture is the name of the area and some information about it. Near the top of the page is a smaller diagram of the white house that shows different sections of the White House. You can click on one of the sections to go there.

There are also pictures and videos you can look or watch. You can also look up something about the White House you want to know and there is a list of information about the White House or what is in it.

I would recommend to go to "The Administration" because it gives you a brief summary of some people in the White House such as Michelle Obama. It tells you a bit of what they did before being in the White House.

Obama Tells the State of the Union

On January 25th, Obama held a speech, the State of the Union, which started with the topic of jobs. Obama said, "But this shouldn't discourage us. It should challenge us." We have the best colleges and universities in America, worldwide.

Obama asked three main questions: "What do you think of the idea?" What idea, you might ask? The idea Obama is hinting at is the rights of one's rights in America. I, Angela, think that the idea is correct: All people have rights of their own and choices of their own. I, Camryn, agree with Angela. I think everyone should go by their own opinion. Everyone should have equal rights.

The next question Obama asks, is, "What do you want to change about the world?" Camryn thinks that we should be focused on being more green. I'm about to move to Arkansas, where hardly no one recycles. I think that that should change because Earth is our home, and we're killing it. I, Angela, agree with Camryn's thoughts that we should go green. In one-hundred years from now, do you think our planet will be filled with plants and trees if we keep treating it like this? If we want it to stay with plants and animals, we should stop using fuels that harm the earth.

The last question Obama asks is, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" When I, Camryn, grows up, I want to be a paleontologist. I want to be a paleontologist because I am I am interested in the study of plant and animal fossils. I, Angela, want to be an animal cop because some animals are treated horribly by people and I don't see why they deserve it. I want to help animals who are in need and were treated with cruelty.

Can you answer these questions yourself? You can go see the excerpts at the White House Website.

Article by Camryn and Angela

What Did resident Obama Say About Education in His Speech?

Barack Obama made a speech on January 26, 2011. He said that he wanted to put education first in the national agenda and of the newly divided congress. He said: "This is our Sputnik moment."

In calling this our Sputnik moment, he meant that this was just like the time when the Soviet satellite was launched and the United States, especially its young people appeared to be behind in their learning and educations.

Additionally, Barack Obama said that he wanted everybody to get along with each other in Washington. Education is one of areas where getting along and cooperating is necessary.

The president talked about how American students are receiving worse educations than they used to receive.

One of the president's lines that I really like is:

". . . no matter who we are or where we come from, each of us is a part of something great-- something more consequential than party or political preference."

Written by: Rubina H.

Brazil Elects a Woman as the President

On Sunday, October 31st, Dilma Rousseff was elected president of the country of Brazil. She defeated Jose Serra, the former governor of Sao Paulo, with 56% of the votes, while Jose Serra had only 44% of the votes. Dilma Rousseff is joining the democratic wave of female leaders from the past 5 years, the wave of democratic female leaders includes Michelle Bachelet, elected in Chile, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, elected in Argentina, and Angela Merkel, elected in Germany.

Although the people of Brazil still voted very strongly for the continuing of their former president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Dilma Rousseff won the title in the end.

"[Mr. da Silva] hand-picked Ms. Rousseff to be his successor, campaigning tirelessly for her." (Source: The New York Times; In a First, Brazil Elects a Woman as President) "He treated this campaign like a re-election campaign." Demetrio Magnoli, a sociologist, says on the television on Saturday night.

"But Mr. Serra struggled to articulate a consistent campaign message and, with Mr. da Silva in her camp, Ms. Rousseff, a twice-divorced grandmother who opposed and was imprisoned by the military dictatorship in her early 20s as part of a militant group, proved too tough to beat."

Personally, I think it was a big deal, since women are being elected as presidents of different countries instead of men; and women were never thought of as authority figures, in the early years of election to now. Even though women have the right to vote, some people think they're not fit to be in the presidential race. So it is a very big deal.

Source: The New York Times

Brazil Elects a Woman for President

On Halloween, Brazil elected Dilma Rouseff as the first woman president in Brazil, in place of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva!

Rouseff, who is sixty-two, was up against José Serra. Serra is the current governor of São Paulo. Serra ran for president in 2002, and he has a history in politics. He said that he promised to improve schools and communal health.

Rousseff guaranteed to build millions of affordable houses. She also said that she would expand a communal-arranging agenda started in Rio de Janeiro. It is designed to better the features of schooling and communal health care.

In spite of the active fans of the old president da Silva, the election went on to another round when Marina Silva, a Green Party contestant and current nature-loving preacher under Mr. da Silva, got 19 percent of the votes. A lot of voters appreciated Ms. Silva’s protocol on sustainable development.

To learn more go to The New York Times.

By Alysen

The White House Turkey

Since 1947, The National Turkey Federation, or NTF, and The Poultry and Egg National Boards, or PENB, have donated a turkey to the White House every Thanksgiving.

Most domesticated turkeys live 18-24 months and wild turkeys live 3-4 years. Usually the turkeys participate in the event when they are 22 weeks old, and there are always two turkeys so they always have a runner-up.

Wild turkeys can fly short distances up to 55 miles per hour. Domestic turkeys can't fly because they weigh twice as much as wild turkeys. Above is a picture of Harry Truman who was president in 1947. Right is president Eisenhower.

If you would some fun Thanksgiving activities, please read my other Herald post.

Who's President of Brazil?

Student assignment: Alysen and Clara

Write a news story about who is president of Brazil. Include photos, links, and labels. Do not forget to include the five W's of a good news story.