HOMENATION
INDICATORS
Tax Dollars, Child Heath,
Internet Use and More
CAMPAIGN 2000
Pump Up the Volume
Who Gets the 'A'
in Education?
What They Think of
Each Other
WORKSHEET:
The Big Issues:
A Summary
CIVIL RIGHTS
The Ghosts of Alabama
SOCIETY
Aye, Aye, Ma'am
SCIENCE
The Race Is Over
BUSINESS
Grounds For Appeal
WORLD
GLOBAL ECONOMY
The New Radicals
MIDDLE EAST
Arafat's Long Journey
After the Lion
RUSSIA
The Acid-Bath Solution
WORKSHEET:
The Role of the President:
A Comparison
ASIA
The Remaking of
a Dictator
Taiwan Takes a Stand
AFRICA
When the Peace
Cannot Be Kept
LATIN AMERICA
The Bionic Candidate
Can One Boy
Change Policy?
WORKSHEET:
Deciding Elián's Fate
TECHNOLOGY
Attack of the
Love Bug
Current Events in Review
Answers
Indicators (page 2)
1. Government spending on Social Security, income security, net interest and health has increased, while spending for defense, education and transportation has decreased.
2. In 1910, the average American paid about $400 in federal taxes and approximately $300 in state and local taxes. As of 1990, the average American paid close to $9,000 in federal taxes and nearly $3,000 in state and local taxes. Increased government spending on programs such as Social Security and Medicare helps explain the shift.
3. A total of 69% of taxpayers spend their refund within one month; 48% use their refund for savings or investments.
4. Budget surpluses are highest in NV, MT, WY, CO, NE, MN, IA, MI, IN, DE and AK; budget surplus is less than 1% in TX, AR, LA, TN and AL.
Indicators (page 3)
1. Lowest percentage of uninsured children under 18 are in SD, NE, KS, MN, IA, WI, MI, PA, VT, MA and HI. At least 20% of children in NV, AZ, TX, AR and LA are without health insurance.
2. Internet use has risen 17.9% among 18- to 24-year-olds. Among adults over 45, use of the Internet has grown 18.4%.
3. Economics majors’ salaries rose by 8.9% between 1999 and 2000. With the same rate of increase, their salary would rise to $41,382 in 2001.
4. Some 550,000 children were in foster care in 1999. That number rose from approximately 400,000 in 1990 and 290,000 in 1985.
Pump Up the Volume (pages 4 and 5)
1. Increased consumer demand, stricter clean-air regulations and global politics have all contributed to the rise in gas prices.
2. Gore has charged that Bush shares the blame for price gouging with Big Oil, which is a strong ally of the Texas governor. Bush has fired back by reminding voters that Gore has supported higher gas taxes as part of his crusade for cleaner air.
Who Gets the ‘A’ in Education? (pages 6 and 7)
1. Bush proposes a five-year, $5.5 billion spending increase for schools, most of which would go for vouchers and educational savings accounts. Gore has called for $115 billion in education spending over 10 years, to be used for universal preschool, school construction and new technology. Bush has set forth a comprehensive plan for school reform, while Gore has not introduced such a plan.
2. Bush points to the gains that Texas students have made during his governorship; he also charges that Gore is unlikely to call for reform, alleging that the Vice President is beholden to special interest groups.
What They Think of Each Other (pages 8 and 9)
1. Gore sees Bush as an obstacle to be overcome; Bush views Gore as a cutthroat and a phony.
2. Gore engages in cold-blooded analysis and wants everyone to think he is right; Bush prefers talking to reading and wants everyone to know that he’s boss.
The Big Issues: A Summary (page 10)
Answers will vary.
The Ghosts of Alabama (page 11)
1. Bobby Cherry stopped speaking to his son Tom after Tom starting talking to grand juries and FBI agents about Bobby’s role in the 1963 bombing of a Birmingham church.
2. Following the bombing, not only were witness statements difficult to obtain, but FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover instructed his agents not to share their findings with local prosecutors.
Aye, Aye, Ma’am (pages 12 and 13)
1. McGrath became the first American woman to take a warship to sea.
2. The Navy cannot recruit enough men to serve on its 315 ships; in addition, the Navy is seeking to repair its image in the wake of the 1991 Tailhook scandal, in which 83 women were sexually assaulted.
The Race Is Over (pages 14 and 15)
1. The differences between Venter and Collins centered on who should get credit for mapping the human genome and whose genome sequence was more complete. The feud was resolved when the two agreed to make a joint announcement and share credit.
2. A map of the human genome will help scientists understand human health and disease at the molecular level and is expected to lead to a revolution in medicine.
Grounds For Appeal (page 16)
1. Judge Jackson had ruled in the case; the Supreme Court had the option of hearing the case or sending it for review to the Court of Appeals.
2. Microsoft hopes that appeals courts will be friendlier to the company than Judge Jackson was; the company’s lawyers will also raise questions of judicial competence along with procedural issues.
The New Radicals (pages 17 and 18)
1. Critics charge that these institutions exert corporate control over the poor and powerless.
2. The Internet allows the antiglobalist movement to survive without a leader while breeding a sense of unity among protesters.
Arafat’s Long Journey (pages 19 and 20)
1. The central issues on the table concerned control of the Gaza Strip and West Bank and the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes within Israel.
2. Arafat wants to be remembered as the founder of the Palestinian state, but he worries that making concessions may lead his people to view him as a traitor instead of a hero.
After the Lion (page 21)
1. Assad’s actions appeared contradictory: for example, Syria helped lead the Yom Kippur War against Israel in 1973, yet it was also part of the anti-Iraq coalition in the Gulf War.
2. Assad will likely be remembered as a leader who missed out on
a chance to bring peace and democracy to his country.
The Acid-Bath Solution (page 22)
1. Russians claim that Putin has engaged in underhanded tactics,
including targeting people who have crossed him.
2. On foreign policy, some see Putin as a leader who wants to open his nation rapidly; others argue that he seeks to expand Russia in troubling directions. Supporters say that Putin is intent on ending corruption in Russia, but opponents fear that his attacks on media figures may be part of a plan to crush dissent.
The Role of the President: A Comparison (page 23)
Putin’s views on individual freedom: According to the writer, Putin believes in the politics of intimidation and is willing to sacrifice individual liberty.
Putin’s treatment of those who challenge him: Putin has had opponents arrested, investigated and harassed.
Putin’s political support base: Putin’s tactics have proved popular among citizens who would be happy to return to the pre-Gorbachev era.
Putin’s personal and leadership style: Rigid, controlling, suspicious of the outside world.
Political climate: Russia is in a state of transition, struggling to overcome corruption and authoritarianism.
Answers will vary for U.S. President depending on who is selected.
The Remaking of a Dictator (page 24)
1. Kim has changed from a paranoid and ruthless dictator into a charming and considerate leader. This change reflects his interest in working for reunification of North and South Korea.
2. The summit participants discussed reunification and touched briefly on the dangers of nuclear weapons.
Taiwan Takes a Stand (page 25)
1. Taiwan’s democracy movement supported Chen.
2. Days before the election, Zhu warned voters in Taiwan against “impulse voting” and said the Chinese were prepared to “shed blood” to protect their territory.
When the Peace Cannot Be Kept (page 26)
1. Rebels in Sierra Leone agreed to disarm under the terms of a July 1999 peace agreement, but they did not make good on their promise; Western nations were unwilling to enforce the pact.
2. The deaths of 18 Americans in Somalia led U.S. lawmakers to vow not to risk troops in areas not vital to national-security interests. But six months later, when mass killings occurred in Rwanda, Western policymakers pledged never again to stand aside and allow genocide to occur.
The Bionic Candidate (page 27)
1. Fox was greeted with optimism and enthusiasm on the campaign trail. Observers were not sure Fox could win the election, however, because his opponent was a member of the political party that has dominated Mexican politics for 71 years.
2. Fox ran a campaign based on promises of sweeping change, pledging an educational revolution, better health care and a stable economy.
Can One Boy Change Policy? (page 28)
1. Elián’s custody case ended when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to consider arguments in favor of granting him political asylum in the U.S. He returned to Cuba with his father.
2. Congress has voted to allow sales of food and medicine to Cuba; at the same time, a federal court upheld the policy of sending back to Cuba rafters intercepted at sea.
Deciding Elián’s Fate (page 29)
Analysis of cartoons will vary.
Attack of the Love Bug (pages 30 and 31)
1. The virus destroyed computer files, brought business and politics to a temporary halt and cost $10 billion in lost work hours.
2. The virus reminded computer users that Internet security is in
urgent need of strengthening.
Current Events in Review (page 32)
1.c 2.b 3.a 4.c 5.b 6.d 7.a 8.c
9.d. 10.b 11.F 12.H 13.D 14.L 15.K 16.J 17.E 18.G 19.I 20.B