Oliver+Hesmondhalgh

Oliver Hesmondhalgh

State: Alaska

Capital: Juneau

Political Pary: Moderate

U.S. Senate Representative: A U.S Senate member I agree with is Mike Crapo. He serves as the fifth-ranking Republican giving Idaho an added voice in legislation. An issue that Mike Crapo and I both agree with is education. He says that he wants to, "A chieve increased support for public education and preserve decision-making authority for states, local communities and especially local school boards. It is important that we provide a strong foundation for education." I also agree that education requires a strong foundation because it is the kids that learn in school that eventually run our country and the world. Education is also one of my important issues stated below. Another issue both Mike Crapo and I agree in is energy and pollution. He believes that, "It's important that we have diverse energy sources, not just the traditional fossil fuels." Like I say below, we are doing a good job in finding new ways to reduce pollution and find different power sources and this is important that the research in these diverse power sources keeps going and improves. The right to bear arms has become very argument able years after the 2nd amendment was written. Mike Crapo and I both believe that, "We must protect and preserve our constitutional right to bear arms." It is our right and we are born with that right. It is unconstitutional for the government to do any type of gun control because it will be denying our natural born rights.

President Endorsement: If I was 18 years old and a citizen and eligible to vote in this year’s presidential election, I would most likely vote for Mr. Obama. It surprised me very much when we did the activity in class and found this out. I always thought that he was never very good, but now I look at him through new eyes. I do disagree with him on some issues such as the instance where he arrested a terrorist in our country without a chance to go to court. That was unconstitutional and he should have gotten a chance in court because he was an American citizen, even though he was deadly. But, I do agree with Obama on most of the other issues such as outsourcing jobs to other countries being bad. President Obama is a very successful and a well educated man, being tough competition for the other candidates.

__**BILL**__: SB33

The purpose of this bill is to stay out of foreign country’s conflicts unless directly connected. Today, the United States is acting like the policemen of the world. We are sending thousands of troops and supplies into conflicts in countries that don’t even involve us. This is costing a lot of money, supplies, and lives. Of course these countries need help, and that is the second part of this bill. The second part of this bill is to teach locals in these foreign countries how to defend themselves. This will benefit them and us. It will benefit us eventually by letting us take out all of our troops and equipment and save ourselves money and lives.

Citizens should vote to approve this bill because in the long run, it will help themselves, their children, and their country. This bill will save the United States billions of dollars once it is put into effect. This money that is spent on very expensive equipment, troop training, and other supplies will now be able to be used on other important categories such as scientific research or improving school systems. Once we pay enough to transport troops and equipment back to the U.S., taxes will be lowered significantly because there will be no need to fund the military as much. This bill only provides positive impacts and will improve things from economy status to national relationships and more.

5 interesting facts: 1. In the 1890's, gold rushes brought thousands of miners to Alaska 2. The U.S.A. bought Alaska from Russia for $7,200,000 on August 1st, 1867 3. October 18th is National Alaska Day 4. In 1964, an earthquake of 9.2 magnitude hit Alaska killing about 131 people and wrecking villages. It was called the Good Friday Earthquake. 5. Has the most recoverable oil than any other state in the U.S.A.

5<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Reasons to Visit Alaska: <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">1. Denali National Park includes Mt. McKinley that rises over 20,320 feet tall <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">2. Juneau is Alaska's capitol, being the third largest city in the world at 5,000 sq miles and the only state capitol not connected to the Interstate Highway System <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">3. Glacier Bay is home to 16 glaciers and part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">4. Hubbard Glacier is where a natural ice dam burst and caused one of the largest such floods known to man <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">5. Skagway in 1886, it was discovered as one of the richest undiscovered gold deposits in the New World, but today it is a sleepy town of fewer than 1,000 people.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Economy:

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Agricultural: Seafood, nursery stock, dairy products, vegetables, livestock.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Industry: Petroleum and natural gas, gold and other mining, lumber and wood products, tourism.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">3 Largest Employers: <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">1. Providence Health & Services with over 4,000+ average monthly employment <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">2. Wal-Mart/Sam’s Club with 3,000 to 3,249 average monthly employments <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">3. Carrs/Safeway with 2,750 to 2,999 average monthly employment

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Important Issues: <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">1. EDUCATION- One important issue I am interested in is education. The United States is very good with education. We are ranked overall 17th in the world in reading, math and science behind other countries such as China, South Korea, Singapore, and more. This is neither horrible nor amazing. I believe we can approve this dramatically with hard work and creativity. Many schools are very good in the U.S., such as Aurora City Schools, but I think we can improve other schools in poorer places.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">2. GUN CONTROL- Another issue I researched was gun control in the United States. When the Bill of Rights was added to the U.S. Constitution, the second amendment said that citizens the "right to bear arms." Back then in 1791, the U.S. had no army. Instead of an army, citizens owned guns and joined a militia in times of need. But today, the U.S. has a professional military. The argument for gun ownership has changed greatly in this nation’s growth. I think that the citizens should be able to bear arms because it is a right and we should be granted rights. We have the right to protect ourselves and our families as well as go hunting and more.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">3. POLLUTION- The U.S.A. is one of the richest and most privileged nations in the world. With that said, we are the most polluting nation in the world because of the privileges we have. For instance, did you know that each year, U.S. factories excrete about 3 million tons of toxic chemicals into the air, land, and water. This is wrong and we know it. We can stop it if we want to, and we need to. Vehicle exhaust puts over 60% of all carbon monoxide emissions nationwide, and up to 95% in cities. This is very bad for us and the Earth. We are doing a good job of trying to create cars that use electricity and other means of power. This can also be bad for Alaska because most of its economy is based on fossil fuels. We can stop pollution and make our children’s, and grandchildren’s lives better.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Bibliographies: <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">1. Rosey Fletcher- 2006 Olympic Medalist for Woman’s Snowboarding <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">2. Steve Smith- famous wide receiver for the New York Giants in the NFL <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">3. Daryn Colledge- offensive guard for the Green Bay Packers in the NFL <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">4. Irene Bedard- famous actress and voice of Pocahontas in Disney's animated film <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">5. Hilary Lindh- five time National Champion in downhill skiing

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