Library of Congress

I thought today about the Library of Congress and decided that I should post about it.  So here is some information about the Library of Congress.  I hope you enjoy it.

The Library of Congress was established by an act of Congress in 1800 when President John Adams signed a bill providing for the transfer of the seat of government from Philadelphia to the new capital city of Washington. The legislation described a reference library for Congress only, containing "such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress - and for putting up a suitable apartment for containing them therein…"

Established with $5,000 appropriated by the legislation, the original library was housed in the new Capitol until August 1814, when invading British troops set fire to the Capitol Building, burning and pillaging the contents of the small library.

Within a month, retired President Thomas Jefferson offered his personal library as a replacement. Jefferson had spent 50 years accumulating books, "putting by everything which related to America, and indeed whatever was rare and valuable in every science"; his library was considered to be one of the finest in the United States. In offering his collection to Congress, Jefferson anticipated controversy over the nature of his collection, which included books in foreign languages and volumes of philosophy, science, literature, and other topics not normally viewed as part of a legislative library. He wrote, "I do not know that it contains any branch of science which Congress would wish to exclude from their collection; there is, in fact, no subject to which a Member of Congress may not have occasion to refer."

In January 1815, Congress accepted Jefferson's offer, appropriating $23,950 for his 6,487 books, and the foundation was laid for a great national library. The Jeffersonian concept of universality, the belief that all subjects are important to the library of the American legislature, is the philosophy and rationale behind the comprehensive collecting policies of today's Library of Congress.

Ainsworth Rand Spofford, Librarian of Congress from 1864 to 1897, applied Jefferson's philosophy on a grand scale and built the Library into a national institution. Spofford was responsible for the copyright law of 1870, which required all copyright applicants to send to the Library two copies of their work. This resulted in a flood of books, pamphlets, maps, music, prints, and photographs. Facing a shortage of shelf space at the Capitol, Spofford convinced Congress of the need for a new building, and in 1873 Congress authorized a competition to design plans for the new Library.

In 1886, after many proposals and much controversy, Congress authorized construction of a new Library building in the style of the Italian Renaissance in accordance with a design prepared by Washington architects John L. Smithmeyer and Paul J. Pelz.

The Congressional authorization was successful because of the hard work of two key Senators: Daniel W. Voorhees (Indiana), who served as chairman of the Joint Committee from 1879 to 1881, and Justin S. Morrill (Vermont), chairman of Senate Committee on Buildings and Grounds.

In 1888, General Thomas Lincoln Casey, chief of the Army Corps of Engineers, was placed in charge of construction. His chief assistant was Bernard R. Green, who was intimately involved with the building until his death in 1914. Beginning in 1892, a new architect, Edward Pearce Casey, the son of General Casey, began to supervise the interior work, including sculptural and painted decoration by more than 50 American artists.

When the Library of Congress building opened its doors to the public on November 1, 1897, it was hailed as a glorious national monument and "the largest, the costliest, and the safest" library building in the world.

Collections

Today's Library of Congress is an unparalleled world resource. The collection of more than 155 million items includes more than 35 million cataloged books and other print materials in 460 languages; more than 68 million manuscripts; the largest rare book collection in North America; and the world's largest collection of legal materials, films, maps, sheet music and sound recordings.

Joint Committee on the Library

The Joint Committee on the Library (the oldest continuing Joint Committee of the U.S. Congress) was created on April 24, 1800, when President John Adams signed the bill establishing the federal government in Washington and creating the Library of Congress. The act appropriated $5,000 for "the purchase of such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress" after it moved to the new capital city of Washington. The Library's appropriation for fiscal year 1811 officially made the Joint Committee on the Library a standing committee. From the 95th Congress forward, the Joint Committee on the Library has been composed of the chairman (or designee) and four members each from the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration and the Committee on House Administration. The chairmanship and vice chairmanship alternate between the House and Senate every Congress.

The Librarian of Congress

James Hadley Billington was nominated in April 1987 by President Ronald Reagan and was confirmed by the Senate to be the 13th Librarian of Congress. He took the oath of office in the Library's Great Hall on September 14, 1987.

This can be found at http://www.loc.gov/about/history.html

Freedom of the Press

Freedom of the Press

By Scott Summit

Mass Communications 1500

Professor Jason Allen

7/20/13

The United States Constitution declares “Congress shall make no law respecting… the freedom of speech or of the press…” (Constitution).  Since the constitution was ratified there has been freedom of speech in this great country.  Anyone who wanted to could criticize the government, their neighbor or themselves.  Newspapers were able to print views that may not have been popular.  Recently there has been a shift from having absolute freedom of the press and speech towards the government regulating the media and the press.  This is not a good shift.

What do people mean when they say freedom of speech and freedom of the press?  Freedom of speech and the press means that anyone and everyone can say or print anything they want to without fear of being hurt by someone else.  It means that the government or your neighbors will not come in the night and take you away to prison.  Unfortunately, the majority of the people no longer know what these expressions mean.

Why is it important that the United States media remain free?  It is important because the free exchange of information has helped America become the greatest nation on earth.  There have been many wonderful inventions because people were not afraid to try new things.  Many times the government has helped us solve social problems because people were allowed to speak and write what has been on their minds.

There have been recent headlines in the news of a former National Security Agency contractor who told the media that the NSA used surveillance to track Americans (Guardian).   This leak of information could potentially do more harm than good.  Edward Snowden fled to China where he posted online about the information he had made public.  This leak of information has created headlines about the ethics of such a decision.

Some have questioned the wisdom of Snowden leaking the information to the public.  He has been called a coward.  One journalist questioned why Snowden had to flee at all; she says he was free to express any political view (Washington Post). Others have called Snowden a hero. Still others have called him a traitor (Newsfeed).  They claim that the information given out would compromise “national security concerns.”  Whatever you personally want to call him does not matter.  He believes he has acted heroically and in the best interest of the American people.  Since Snowden leaked the information he has sought asylum in Hong Kong, China, and Russia.  He is currently in Russia. Edward Snowden said these words: “I have been made stateless and hounded for my act of political expression” (Washington Post).

Why would he want to stay away from the United States, where free speech is protected as stated above?  Many political figures here are calling for whatever country he is hiding in to bring him back.  “We continue to discuss with Russia our strongly held view that there is absolute legal justification for him to be expelled, for him to be returned to the United States, to face the charges that have been brought against him for the unauthorized leaking of classified information" (Guardian).

This new information has been particularly upsetting to people here because they believe that there is no reason for the government to use surveillance for Americans.  There is a debate about whether it is ethical for the government to do such a thing.  They question the reason the government is hiding such information. They wonder why the government did not come out and say why surveillance was a secret.  It raises questions about what else the government is hiding. 

There have been many examples of governments who controlled the media and what was known to the public.  Nazi Germany, Communist Russia, and North Korea are a few.  These governments have used propaganda to tell people what to think.  The people became so conditioned to what the state was telling them many refused to believe the truth when it was staring them in the face. During World War II the Nazi media was telling the Germany people that they were winning the war, when German forces were in full retreat.

What are the advantages of government controlled media?  Some include promoting a particular ideology, promoting unity, getting rid of political opposition, and to controlling what people think.  In the book Writing Today there is a story of a young woman who grew up in Communist China during the Cultural Revolution.  She loved to read books before they were banned and one day she finds another young woman who is reading “The Little Mermaid.”  Soon she and the other young lady were reading and trading books with others who had hidden them.  One day her mother found out and made her burn the books.  Her mother did this to ensure that no government official found out and punished the whole family (Paine, p. 57).

I don’t know about you, but I would rather have and read about opposing views than just one view.  I am someone who does not like being told what to do.  I think diversity of opinions is what makes America great.  If you disagree with me then we can work together to find the best possible solution.  If one person or party tells everyone what to do and think we lose that ability.

In the book Hubener vs. Hitler a story is told of a young boy, Helmuth Hubener, who formed a resistance unit against the Nazi regime during the late 1930s.  Hubener and his three friends, Karl-Heinz Schnibbe, Gerhard Duwer and Rudi Wobbe would listen to the BBC broadcasts and distribute pamphlets with the information they had gathered.  The Nazis at the time controlled tightly the news media.  Listening to the BBC broadcasts was considered treason.  The boys would print the pamphlets and distribute them throughout Hamburg by pinning htme on the bulletin boards, light posts and sometimes stuffing them into coat pockets.  One day while trying to translate a pamphlet into French, Hubener was caught by the Gestapo. He was tried and convicted of treason.  He was beheaded by the guillotine (Dewey). The only treason he committed was to try to help spread information about what was really happening.    
These are a few examples of what happens when there is no freedom of the press and no freedom of speech.  The exchange of information is tightly controlled by a few people who hold political power.  In order to protect their power it is necessary to do this.  In order to keep these rights that are protected in our Constitution we need to understand the meaning of the first Amendment and not allow the government to enact laws that would restrict freedom of the press and freedom of speech.

Works Cited

Luhn, Alec and Elder, Mariam.  The Guardian, Guardian News and Media Limited. July 12, 2013. Web. July 20, 2013.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/12/edward-snowden-accuses-us-illegal-campaign

Dewey, Richard Lloyd. Hubener vs. Hitler: A Biography of Helmuth Hubener, Mormon Teenage Resistance Leader. Provo: Academic Research Foundation/Stratford Books, 2004. Print.

Katy Steinmetz. Time News Feed. CNN, July 10, 2013. Web. July 20, 2013.

http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/07/10/the-edward-snowden-name-game-whistle-blower-traitor-leaker/

Paine, Charles and Johnson Sheehan, Richard.  Writing Today. Upper Saddle New Jersey. 2013.  Print.

United States Constitution. Bill of Rights Amendment 1.

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/bill_of_rights_transcript.html

Washington Post Edward Snowden is no hero

Ruth Marcus. The Washington Post, washingtonpost.com.  July 18, 2013. Web. July 20, 2013.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/ruth-marcus-edward-snowden-is-no-hero/2013/07/18/91731766-efcc-11e2-a1f9-ea873b7e0424_story.html

Music 1010 Presentation

Music 1010 Power point Presentation

HealthCare

Scott Summit         

Prof. Brown

English 2010

Argument Paper

                                                                            

There are many social issues that confronting America today.  These issues include the continuing war on terror, immigration, social security, obesity, gay marriage, healthcare and drugs.  At least one if not many of these problems affect every person in America.  A social issue can be defined as “a condition (such as poverty) or a pattern of behavior (such as substance abuse) that harms some individuals or all people in a society and that a sufficient number of people believe warrants public concern and collective action to bring about change" (Bidwell).  One major issue that has come under focus since the 2008 election of President Barack Obama is healthcare.

Having access to health insurance is a major concern for most people.  Everybody wants insurance coverage for their medical emergencies, but some are unable to afford the monthly or annual premiums.  Doctor visits as well as unexpected visits to the hospital are expensive.  Without health insurance these things can often lead to bankruptcy and other unintended consequences.  Those who are unable to afford the increasing cost of having insurance are worried.

These people are concerned about their future and their ability to pay for rising medical costs.  Since they are worried, they want someone to take action.  One body of people that have shown a willingness to take action is the government.  In the 1960’s the federal government started two programs called Medicaid and Medicare (CMS).

Medicare and Medicaid give medical insurance to those ages 65 and older as well as those who are disabled.  This has helped those who are in the most need of medical insurance.  This is the first step that the federal government took towards universal healthcare.  

Since that time, people have seen the benefits that Medicare and Medicaid have given to a select group of people, and they wanted access to the same benefits.  They wanted the government to not only provide health insurance to the elderly and disabled but to the general public. 

Beginning with Medicaid and Medicare the healthcare industry has grown in size and in government regulation.  While government subsidies has increase the number of people the industry has had increasingly more mandates on coverage, on practices across the country, and the industry in general.  These regulations have hurt the healthcare industry.

With more and more regulations, mandates and insurance paid for by the government the industry has little room to innovate and improve.  Since patients with government healthcare can always pay the hospitals and doctors do not need to improve as their income is assured.  In a none subsidized industry if people do not approve of service provided they go somewhere else with their business. 

In the year 2010 both houses of Congress agreed to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.  (ACA)   This law was signed by President Obama on March 23, 2010 (STOLBERG).  This act was intended to make healthcare affordable to those who can afford it and provide it for those who are not.  It does this by mandating that companies with a certain number of full time employees provide health insurance, making it cheaper for the individual. 

Supporting the Affordable Care Act:

There are many reasons people support universal healthcare.  The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act states that “Starting January 1st of 2014 the following "benefits" must be included under all insurance plans:  emergency services, hospitalization, laboratory services, maternity care, mental health and substance abuse treatment, outpatient, or ambulatory care, pediatric care, prescription drugs, preventive care, rehabilitative and facilitative (helping maintain daily functioning) services, vision and dental care for children” (ObamaCare Facts).

Many Americans believe that it is a right of person to have access to healthcare.  They believe that if someone has something they do not the government should step in and provide it for them.  There really are people who get sick and die because they are not able to pay for care.  This is really sad.  Everyone should be able to live a healthy life.  Sometimes things happen in life that just isn’t fair.  It is not fair that a young mother gets cancer and dies. 

One issue that many people have had with the healthcare industry before the ACA was the increasingly higher premiums charged by insurance companies.  As the cost rose fewer people were able to afford it.  In 2005 “more than 40 million adults stated that they needed but did not receive one or more of these health services (medical care, prescription medicines, mental health care, dental care, or eyeglasses)… because they could not afford it.” (HealthPAConline)

One benefit of the Affordable Care Act is that now insurance companies are not able to deny healthcare coverage to anyone based on a pre-existing condition.  Before the law companies were able to ask if an applicant had any previous medical issues.  If they were diabetic, or had had cancer, the company was free to deny service or increase the premiums for that person. 

Many saw this as unfair.  They believe that everyone should have access to medical care, and those with pre-existing conditions were in the most need.  It seems that this was one part of the law that gained the most support during the healthcare debate.  One tactic of insurance companies used to stay in business was that they would often drop someone from their coverage when they got a chronic disease.  Under the ACA companies are not allowed to do so.  This means that health insurance companies have an increase in cost, thus raising their prices for everyone. 

It is believed that having access to adequate medical care would help increase the health of most Americans.  When you get the flu, or catch a cold, if you have insurance you can go to the doctor at a low cost, and get the medicine you need help you get better.  When you are not able to get medicine your body may take longer to fight the infection.  This is not necessarily true.  Diet and exercising play in a big role in helping people maintain their health. 

Colds and the flu are part of life, but if we exercise regularly we can help our immune system fight diseases.  If we are obese our bodies have a much harder time fighting the flu.  What is important to remember the best way to have good health is to eat right and exercise.

Many women support the ACA because the Act mandates that insurance companies pay for preventive care for them.  The companies must pay for testing of HPV, contraceptive methods, counseling for violence, and screening for cancer (Peterson).  This is believed to enable healthcare costs in general to be lower as the companies do not have to pay for the treatment of many diseases that could be prevented with regular checkups.

Opposing the Affordable Healthcare Act:While having all these changes in place are nice there are many aspects of government regulation of the healthcare industry that need to be considered. When it was passed in 2010 there were strong opponents who loudly voiced their opposition to the bill.  The opponents to the ACA are chiefly Republican.

Why would the opponents, mainly Republicans, be opposed to something that would seem to help so many?  Many Republican leaders do not like the increasing power of the federal government, believing that the power of the government is limited to what the Constitution allows.  Since the Constitution is the supreme law of the land they believe that it should be followed.  Nothing in the Constitution talks about healthcare.  Many believe that healthcare is not an inalienable right

Many leaders recognize that ever increasing government spending will only hurt those whom it is trying to help.  Governments get their money through taxes.  The more programs a government offers to the people the more money it needs.  If it needs more money they increase taxes.  If I have more taxes to pay I am not able to use that money to provide for myself and my family. 

There is a phrase that originated in the 19^th century that is relevant to this discussion: “There is no such thing as a free lunch” (Martin).  To illustrate this consider a story about 3 young boys in a school lunch room.  Billy has a wealthy family who sends him to school with 2 sandwiches each day for lunch.  Johnny is from a poor family who is unable to send him to school with any lunch.  Robert, the school bully, sees this and takes one sandwich from Billy and gives it to Johnny so that Johnny does not go hungry.

Now, who is paying for Johnny’s lunch?  He is not able to pay for it.  Billy’s family is.  Johnny is given a sandwich each day which he did not earn.  He did nothing other than be poor.  Billy did nothing other than be able to have 2 sandwiches.  Billy considers this unfair because why should he have to give Johnny a sandwich each day?  Billy wants 2 sandwiches.

Robert thinks that everyone should be nice to each other and forces Billy to be nice to Johnny.  Stealing is not nice.  Using force to take something from someone and giving it to another is not right.  Johnny did not earn the food; therefore he should not get it.  It is not Billy’s fault that Johnny is not able to get food.  Billy might choose to give the sandwich to Johnny of his own free will if he has been taught compassion. Compassion will take care of many of the social ills, but forced compassion or forced charity will never benefit a society.

“There is no such thing as a free lunch” means that someone must pay for everything.  If you give someone a gift you are saying that you are willingly giving that person that item.  I am paying for that item to give it to you.  When something is taken from you by force it is theft.  The person taking it does not have your permission to use your goods to give to someone else.

So when we talk about healthcare something that is not often discussed is cost.  Since giving healthcare to millions of uninsured Americans will cost a lot, taxes will increase.  A tax is taking money from someone.  If this is used for something I do not willingly give it to it is wrong.  There are many things that taxes should be used for.  A government should be able to protect its’ citizens with a military, provide fire and police services, roads, postal services and other necessary things.  Regulating and giving healthcare to people is not needed.

One unintended consequences of the ACA is that with healthcare now provided “free” of charge private medical insurance companies will not be able to compete.  If there is a service you want and the choice is either pay for it or get it free, which would you choose?  Most people would probably choose the free service.  This will mean that private companies will lose revenue, which will leave to a decrease of jobs.  Jobs created money for people.  This means that more people will be unemployed and not able to purchase private medical insurance.

This cycle will just continue until private medical insurance companies cease to exist.  Once it does the government will be the only provider of insurance.  With more and more people under government medical insurance the cost will only increase, leading to a huge increase of taxes.  Nobody likes to pay taxes, so why would you support something that will only lead to an increase?

Government run healthcare with regulations and mandates is wrong.  Just like the saying “There is no such thing as a free lunch” someone has to pay for government run healthcare.  The average citizen would do well to consider the implications of providing others with a service that they are unable to provide for themselves.  Taking something from one person is wrong.  If I took from you it would be called stealing.  Why is it when government does takes from us to give to another it is considered right?

Works Cited

Bidwell, Dr. Lee D. Millar. Defining Social Problems. Longwood University, Web. July 3, 2013. http://www.longwood.edu/staff/bidwelllm/socproblem/defineout.htm

CMS.gov. cms.gov, Center Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 06/13/2013 Web. July 3, 2013 http://www.cms.gov/AboutCMS/AgencyInformation/History/index.html?redirect=/history/

 HealthPAConline, Health Care Statistics in the United States. HealthPAConline. 2001-2013. Web. July 3, 2013 http://www.healthpaconline.net/health-care-statistics-in-the-united-states.htm

Martin, Gary. The Phrase Finder, Gary Martin. 1996 – 2013 Web. July 3, 2013.

ObamaCare Facts. Benefits of Obamacare: Advantage of ObamaCare, ObamaCare Facts. Web. July 3, 2013. http://obamacarefacts.com/benefitsofobamacare.php

Beadle, Amanda Peterson.  Think Progress, Center for American Progress Action Fund. July 31, 2012 Web.  July 3 2013. http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/07/31/614331/women-benefit-from-obamacare/?mobile=nc

STOLBERG, SHERYL GAY and PEAR, ROBERT. Obama Signs Health Care Overhaul Bill, With a Flourish, New York Times, 23 March 2010. Web. 3 July 2013. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/24/health/policy/24health.html?_r=0

Figure 1

OKPolicyBlog. Oklahoma health insurance consumers will still receive benefits and protections of the Affordable Care Act. Okpolicy.org April 16, 2013. Web. July 8, 2013.

http://okpolicy.org/oklahoma-health-insurance-consumers-will-still-receive-benefits-and-protections-of-the-affordable-care-act

Figure 2

Voxxi. Affordable Care Act: What are the options for young adults? Disqus. June 11, 2012.  Web.  July 8, 2013.

http://www.voxxi.com/affordable-care-act-young-adults/

Figure 3

Working Class Heroes.  What we stand to lose if the Affordable Care Act gets Repealed! Working Class Heroes.  October 30, 2012. Web.  July 8, 2013.

http://www.workingclassheroes.me/?p=1953

Figure 4

The Liberal Curmudgeon.  Democrats Should Campaign On New Health Care Protections. The Liberal Curmudgeon.   September 24^th, 2010. Web.  July 8, 2013.

http://www.theliberalcurmudgeon.com/2010_09_01_archive.html