Child abuse Essay Example for Free

Child abuse Essay Child abuse is one of the biggest injustices of all time because it is a never ending cycle. Child abuse is the physical, sexual, or emotional mistreatment or neglect of a child. Children are young, innocent, and fragile. Their minds are like sponges, absorbing everything they see and feel. Thus, leading the children to being the advocate of child abuse when their older. Abused and neglected children are 11 times more likely to engage in criminal behavior as an adult. Therefore, child abuse leads the victims to not have the opportunity to a bright future. Neglect is the most common form of child abuse. Over 75% of children who experience maltreatment or abuse suffer from neglect. For every incident of neglect thats reported, an estimated two incidents go unreported. Approximately one in ten young adults (9%) was cruelly neglected by parents or guardians during their childhood. Based on the interviews with 1,761 young adults between the ages of 18 to 24, one in 6 (16%) young adults were neglected at some point during their childhood, with one in 10 young adults (9%) severely neglected during their childhood. Based on the interviews with 2,275 children between the ages of 11 to 17, one in 7 (13.3%) secondary school children have been neglected at some point, with one in 10 children (9.8%) severely neglected. Based on the interviews with 2,160 parents or guardians of children under 11 years old, one in 20 (5%) of children under 11 have been neglected at least once before, with one in 30 (3.7%) severely neglected. On March 31, 2012 (or in Scotland on July 2012), there were 21,666 children in the United Kingdom on the subject of child protection plans under the category of neglect. On March 31, 2012 (or in Scotland on July 31, 2012), 43% of all children on the subject of child protection plans in the United Kingdom were under the category of neglect. There were 18, 220 children were the subject of a child protection plan under the category of neglect in England on March 31, 2012. In England, 43% of all children subject of a child protection plan were under the category of neglect on March 31, 2012. There were 1,006 children on the child protection register under the category of neglect in Scotland on July 31, 2012. In Scotland, 37% of all children on the child protection register under the category of neglect on July 31, 2012. There were 1,040 children on the child protection register under the category of neglect in Northern Ireland on March 31,  2012. In Northern Ireland, 49% of all children on the child protection register were under the category of neglect on March 31, 2012. There were 1,400 children on the child protection register under the category of neglect in Wales on March 31, 2012. In Wales, 48% of all children on the child protection register were under the category of neglect in March 31, 2012. In England, about one in seven children who became the subject of a plan for neglect in 2011-2012 had been subject to a plan at least once before. There were 6.2 million children referred to Child Protective Services in 2011. About 3.7 million children were investigated for maltreatment by CPS in 2011. There were 676,569 children decided to be victims of abuse or neglect in 2011. The most common victims of abuse and neglect are children age 2 and under. More than 11% of victims had a reported disability. In the U.S., there are about 1,570 child victims per year caused by maltreatment and an average of 30 child fatality victims per week. Most child fatalities were under 4 years old (81.6%) with 42.4% less than one year old. In the U.S., 37% of states limit information on child deaths and accidents. In the U.S., the yearly estimated direct cost of medical care of child abuse and neglect is $33,333,619,510. In the U.S., the yearly estimated direct and indirect cost of child abuse and ne glect is $80,260,411,087. The percentage of states that do not obligate legal representation for victims in abuse and neglect is 39%. There are about 408,425 children in the foster care system. About 27,854 of those children aged out of foster care. The percentage of the general population that has a bachelors degree is 30%. The percentage of former foster children that have a bachelors degree is 3%. The percentage of the general population in jail or prison is greater than 1%. The percentage of former foster children incarcerated since age 17 that are males is 64%. The percentage of former foster children incarcerated that are females is 32.5%. The percentage of the general population who experience homelessness during a year is greater than 1%. The percentage of former foster children who experience homelessness after aging out of the system is 24%. The percentage of former foster children who are unemployed for 1 year after aging out is 61%. The percentage of former foster children who are unemployed for 5 years after aging out is 53.5%. Ronald T. is a victim of physical abuse, emotional maltreatment, and neglect.

Summit for hire? :: essays research papers

The day after Univ. of Tennessee’s Pat Summit eclipsed North Carolina’s Dean Smith for most career wins by a Division I Head Basketball Coach some suggested that she would be a good choice to lead the Vols' men's squad. UT has since hired a male coach. Yet we are still left with the question of whether Summit should be considered for, or accept any such job. The 800-pound gorilla in this argument is whether Summit deserves to lay claim to the title as "all-time winningest Division I basketball coach." In a purely statistical sense, she does. But comparing the women's and men's games is like comparing, well, women and men. They're completely different. Sadaharu Oh hit more home runs than Hank Aaron, but nobody would say the two men are comparable, since Oh played in Japan, and Aaron played in the U.S. John Gagliardi won more football games than Bobby Bowden. Again, a difference: Gagliardi coached in Division III, while Bowden spent most of his time in the I-A rank. And Summit has more wins than Smith. But we're talking about two different sports. Not better or worse, different. Smith is the men's wins champion, and Summit holds the women's title; two different sports, two different leaders. The reason Summit shouldn't consider taking the men's job is that she could end up damaging the women's game by doing so. She is a giant in her sport, the most successful coach ever and the builder of the program every other school wants to emulate. If she were to take over the UT men's team and not win big, there would be joy among those who consider women's college basketball inferior. Summit has never recruited men's players. She would have to build a new network of high school and AAU contacts to help funnel her players. She would have to deal with prep stars who believe their next dribble should be for NBA millions, not collegiate glory. That doesn't exist (yet) in the women's game. And she would face the challenge of convincing families and players that playing for a woman is no different than playing for a man. Fail to do any of that, and Summit won't get the players to compete at the highest level. And if she doesn't win -- and win big -- she will be viewed by many as the queen of the minor leagues who failed at her shot in â€Å"the bigs.

Patterns of Democracy Essay

The book Patterns of Democracy: Government Forms and Performances in Thirty-Six Countries compared consensus democracy vis-a-vis majoritarian democracy as society’s backbone towards social and economic development. Through its discourse, it made evident that consensus democracy exhibits a more mature type of democracy as it better responds to many of the contemporary community’s social and political issues such as women’s rights, environmental awareness and voter’s turnout. The books presented ideas that broadened my perception of sociopolitical and socioeconomic issues. It has effectively demonstrated the complexities of our society and the dynamics of democracy in particular. For this, the book is a good baseline for building our political awareness and ideological stance. However, I find consensus democracy, as presented in the book, a very debatable concept. As the book relates, consensus democracy is a type of government where every sector with a valid purpose is given due representation in the socio-civic segments of society. It has been practiced and seen success in Switzerland, Belgium and even international organization such as the European Union among others. Among its identified key characteristics are the formation of a grand coalition where elite leaders of each sector recognizes the dangers of non-cooperation; exercise of mutual veto which requires consensus to confirm the majority rule; proportionality where representation in the national and civic segments of the society is equal to the sector’s population; and segmental autonomy which creates a sense of individuality and allows for different culturally-based community laws (www. wikipedia. com). Popular literature credits Arend Lijphart as is the primary promoter of this type of democracy. Lijphart sees consensus democracy as â€Å"kinder, gentler† approach compared to majoritarian democracy. The book advocates this type of democracy – also called consociationalism – not only as an antidote to countries in conflict but also as the supreme state of society. The way he presented and navigated his evidences into asserting the numerous advantages of consociationalism is obviously coming from a one-track mind. Understanding his standpoint as an avid and pious promoter of this political theory as evidenced in his early works such as Democracy in Plural Societies (1977), he must have been so immersed and engrossed on this concept. There is no question that this type of democracy works, in some situations far better even, than other democracies. Yet, as a reader, one may not help but feel overwhelmed by the bombardment of too-good-to-be-true attributes and then start to look for flaws and critique the concept. In his narration on how idyllic consensus democracy is, he missed out on several obvious contentions which real life circumstances may pose on its actual implementation. He may also have overlooked some contextual considerations that had served as crucial factors in the success of consociationalism. Therefore as a review of his work – Patterns of Democracy – it would be insightful to mention several observations from an outsider’s point of view. Consensus democracy is ideal; in fact it’s too ideal it seems too good to be true. Operating from a realist point of view, consociationalism is a fantasy. It is difficult to imagine sectors of the society – each with its own agenda and interest, some with contrasting views as the other – would come together and work for a policy that may not have any effect on their cause. There will always be an opportunity cost which one or several sectors should be willing to pay. The question now is how much each sector is willing to sacrifice for the common good. Also, the sectors which they intend to integrate in policy-making initiatives are largely issue-based. This introduces another complexity since some of them are ad-hoc groups that disintegrate once their mission has been realized, unable to sustain the support of its subordinates. Except for some constant concerns such as labor, health and education, sectors with less important concerns need not to be raised on national level regardless of its populace. Institutionalizing a long term sectoral representation and compromise agreements in a much diversified society is a serious challenge to meet, and even harder to maintain. Consensus democracy dreams of a welfare state with less violence, more equality, and greater environmental concern, and all the good things every government aspires for its people. However, the book discussion of consensus democracy makes it seem so easy to realize, eliciting false hopes, leading to unrest and eventual breakdown of the society. There is nothing wrong in setting goals but it should also be practical and pragmatic as to not mislead the people into an overnight change. The goals of consociationalism could also be interpreted as being preachy. As in the case of consociationalism in Lebanon which was tagged as â€Å"confessionalism† due to its religious linkages, consensus democracy defies the separation of church and state – a characteristic common to most democratic states. Aligning the government’s policies with that of the church’s is a U-turn back to the conservative ages which democracies have long tried to break from. Another comment on the book is that it had the impression of being too imposing. Though it may have seen several successes in some countries as in the Netherlands and Belgium, this type of democracy cannot be forced upon other states. Again, operating from a relativist’s perspective, one must realize that each sovereign state is a unique entity. In fact, recognizing pre-conditions for better application of consensus democracy is in itself a recognition that it cannot be function as effectively in other states. This is precisely the purpose of comparative politics where various forms of governments are studied to determine which would work best in a particular society. Contrasting consensus democracy with majoritarian democracy was Lijphart’s way of highlighting the positive facets of the former. However, the manner on which the comparison was presented seems to be discrediting the latter in order to elevate the status of consociationalism. It is ironic that consensus democracy calls for tolerance for unparallel views for various sectors yet he is maligning majoritarian democracy to forward his thoughts. This manner of persuasion holds no chance in a consensus democracy for it will only stir more conflict and cleavages among disparate groups. As sectors are represented by elites in a consensus democracy, it manifests an imbalance in the society; elites who have their own interests to protect, have secured places in the society and have nothing much to lose should they fail to forward their cause. This leaves the sectors they represent helpless should the elites decide go with the majority. The minority will have no power against the majority in fear of retaliating on them with a bigger impact. This scenario is highly hegemonic. Lastly, the federalism by means of identifying the racial and cultural backgrounds is not cohesive, rather it’s the opposite. Continuously referring to them as the minority will not improve the chances of garnering greater support. This will allow the so called ethic groups to detach from the coalition and pursue their own initiatives in some other venue that may not be as diplomatic as consociationalism suggests.

The Public Education System is a Failure

A child miseducated is a child lost. - President John F. Kennedy Education policy is one of the few issues vigorously debated at every level of government. Local communities (parents), counties, states, and the federal government struggle for control over control of the education system. Conservatives overwhelmingly support school choice and broad educational opportunity. We believe in a competitive environment that sees private, public, parochial, charter, and alternative schools where parents can choose the best fit for their kids. We also generally believe in voucher programs that would help children in poorer communities have the same opportunities to go to the same schools as their wealthier counterparts, almost always with a lower price-tag than simply sending them to failing public schools. Liberals love, as one might suspect, the big government solution. One central policy fits all. Appeasing the wealthy and voter rich teachers unions is their top priority, though they will always claim its for the children. This is why Democrats always favor protecting government teachers over helping kids - often minorities who need such help the most - escape a bad environment. Stomping out the competition and battling alternative forms of education, such as private schools or homeschooling, is also high on the agenda. Government always knows best, and decades of failure will not change their minds. But how do such opinions toward public education develop? Why is it that conservatives and liberals are so far apart when ensuring a successful educational system is one thing we should all agree on? Often, people take a political position based on the political party they have chosen. My position comes from my own experiences. My Life as a Public Education Student I was lured with an offer: Choose our high school and earn college credits. It was 1995 and I was heading into high school. No-one in my family had ever gone to college, and it was pretty well beaten into me that I would be the first. My family was on the lower-end of the middle class scale and private school was out of the question at this point. Luckily, as most would view it, I was zoned to go to a mostly white and wealthy public high school. But there was an alternative: a separate public high school recently started offering free college credits through a set of different magnet programs. As you might guess, a magnet program is meant to attract students to that school. The magnet school was located in a low-income, high-crime community and many thought I was crazy to voluntarily go there. With roughly 40% of students failing to graduate, the school had the highest dropout rate out of the two dozen district schools. But the option of free college credits that would eliminate over a year of college was too good to pass up for someone in my situation. I actually had a choice, though not as many as I would want my kids to have today. And as I would later realize, the system was not set-up with the students best interests in mind. I realized it was both a scam for me and the community that the school served. Importing Improvements Why was a magnet program established at, of all places, this failing public high school? In retrospect, it seems obvious. News reports at the time hinted the program was put into place for diversity reasons and to integrate the school better (the student body is roughly 5% white). But their was no real integration. The people bussed in from other communities were shoved into honors or Advanced Placement classes with each other and were effectively segregated from the rest of the students anyway. The only diversification that could be seen was in the hallways as we rushed from class to class or in P.E. So, that clearly was no reason to have the magnet program located there if you were seeking to diversify. One critical factor is that the magnet programs have requirements. Above average grades were required both for acceptance and in order to stay in the various magnet programs. The requirements are necessary and logical given that students would be taking college level classes. But it made even more sense as to why the programs were developed in this particular school: to import successful students and help get the school out of the basement. It was a pretty safe bet that the students being brought into these magnet programs, which were located in a school with high drop-out and low college preparedness rates, would both graduate and go to college. The number of magnet schools increased, and so to did the importation of better students. Is it cynical to suggest that these programs were introduced into this school for no other reason than to make the school seem as though it was improving, when they were doing little more than filling seats with kids who were supposed to go to other sch ools? Where the unable to make real change with the students they had so they attempted to stack the deck? Failing the Students who Lived in the Community I dont oppose the idea of having magnet schools. I believe the concept of letting high school students both earn college credits and decide on a career path would work well in a competitive educational system. But the model here was seemingly to make a school appear more successful by bringing in students who were highly likely to succeed, rather than actually fixing the underlying problems with the broken public education system. Nothing changed for those who lived in that community and went to that school. The school system tried to put lipstick on a pig. The magnet school would have logically fit into any other public school besides this one. If anything, it made absolutely no sense to put the school there at all. Yes, some of the kids in the magnet program were from the community, but that was a very small percentage. My classes were filled primarily with those who were brought in from outside of the community, then we were bussed out when the bells rang. The horrible irony is rather than taking good kids with few options out and sending them somewhere to be successful, they were taking good kids who were in a good situation and putting them into a pretty bad environment. This is why I and most conservatives support public choice. Eventually, we have to put the needs of children above the needs of teachers and and the governments dream of complete control over education.

Justice By Michael J. Sandel - 898 Words

Years of repression and ethnic division between the Hutu and Tutsi has sparked major conflict between the two groups. While both the Hutu and Tutsi were culturally similar, their differences had has caused an estimated death of more than 800,000 lives. Even though leaders of both sides advocated for peace, the assassinations, revenge killings and discrimination made it impossible. When a hutu president was murdered, what followed was a mass of extremists slaughtering the opposition in the name of justice. During these times are when peoples loyalty are the most apparent. In the book Justice by Michael J. Sandel, the author discusses the critics and modern liberals views of moral obligations. Critics believe that someone is obligated to their family, citizen and etc., while modern liberals believe that people have a choice in who they’re obligated to with humanity having top one priority. While my sense of loyalty is a mixture of critics and modern liberals, in the situation in Rwanda, I mainly applied the modern liberals views when accessing the situations. The United Nations Assistance Mission For Rwanda was a United Nations attempt to implement the Arusha Accords, which was meant to end the conflict between the RPF and Hutu dominant government. However, once Habyarimana was assassinated, the treaty was immediately forgotten. The militia were killing all Tutsi and suspected Tutsi, and the RPF retaliated. During the genocide that ensued, the United Nations did nothing toShow MoreRelatedEssay on sandel1737 Words   |  7 Pagesshift from a market economy to a market society. Let’s look at the definitions of the market economy and market society. From what Sandel thinks, a market economy is a valuable and effective tool to organize productive activity; however, a market society is a kind of life process where market values emit into everywhere of people struggling (Sandel, 2012, 10). In my opinion, it’s pretty dangerous to shift from a market economy to a market society. First ofRead MoreJustice Is The Quality Of Being Just967 Words   |  4 PagesWhat does Justice mean to me? Coming into the course I was always taught that Justice is the quality of being just; the treatment of people that is fair and morally right. Now that I have taken Justice and Society and went more in depth of what Justice really is, those thoughts were pushed from my mind. I have come to realize that the law resembles little to nothing to the ideas of justice and fairness I previously had. To me, I now view Justice as a way for us to refrain from political influencesRead MoreJohn Rawls and Equality1052 Words   |  5 Pagesover the less fortunate in justice and the free market. There should be opportunities given to start at the same starting point regardless of status quo. Everyone has an opinion on equality which fairly is their own. An opinion is just an opinion base on what the individual believe is right by how they feel. What if you could strip away out side inferences, opinions and see equality for what it is. The essential characteristics of equality are a veil of ignorance for justice and equal educational opportunityRead MoreAffirmative Action : What s The Right Thing?1320 Words   |  6 Pagesunjust. Professor Michael J. Sandel argues in favor of affirmative action. However, the arguments he uses when presenting his case are not particularly strong. In the â€Å"Arguing Affirmative Action† section of his book, Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do? Sandel presents three arguments in supporting affirmative action. The first argument is correcting for the testing gap, though Sandel notes that this is the least important of the three rationales he presents in this section. Sandel argues that affirmativeRead MoreThe Case Against Perfection by Michael Sandel983 Words   |  4 PagesMichael Sandel is a distinguished political philosopher and a professor at Harvard University. Sandel is best known for his best known for his critique of John Rawlss A Theory of Justice. While he is an acclaimed professor if government, he has also delved deeply into the ethics of biotechnology. At Harvard, Sandel has taught a course called Ethics, Biotechnology, and the Future of Human Nature and from 2002 to 2005 he served on the President’s Council on Bioethics (Harvard University DepartmentRead MoreAnalysis Of Michael Sandel s Justice1704 Words   |  7 PagesJoshua J. Castro Professor Iyer Pol-1 10 October 2014 Episode – 05 An Analysis of Michael Sandel s Justice Can the value of human life be determined by dollars and cents? Is one life more valuable than another, or can one be tossed aside like the leftover change someone receives after buying a hamburger from McDonald s? Placing a monetary value on someone s life is nearly impossible to do, as can be seen in Episode 05 of Michael Sandel s Justice series. Episode 05 is split into two partsRead MoreHuman Trafficking Is Today s Version Of Slavery873 Words   |  4 Pagesprison. According to HSI Special Agent-in-Charge Hayes, â€Å"These men preyed on innocent women, luring them into the United States under false pretenses and then cruelly enslaving them to satisfy their own greed in a ruthless prostitution scheme† (â€Å"Justice News†). These men are only one example of human traffickers. Human trafficking is a globally wide problem and countries are not working together to end this issue. Society should focus on achieving international human rights and promote an internal Read MoreThe Case Against Perfection By Michael J. Sandel1358 Words   |  6 Pagesare explained by Michael J. Sandel, the author of â€Å"The Case Against Perfection† and Nicholas Agar, the author of â€Å"Liberal Eugenics†. 　　In â€Å"The Case Against Perfection†, Sandel points out that parents could improve and choose their child’s muscle strength, growth-hormones, memory and sex. They can select traits for their children and design their own babies. Further, method of in vitro fertilization also make it possible to choose the sex of the child before being born and Sandel claims that it isRead MoreRacism And Inequality : An Adult Homework Helper For The Sumner Library870 Words   |  4 Pageshandle these injustices. Multiplication is for White People by Lisa Delpit and the episode of the podcast â€Å"This American Life: Three Miles† illustrate the systemic inequality ingrained in the educational system of the United States, while Michael J. Sandel’s book Justice explores how communities should deal with the injustice. My service learning as an Adult Homework Helper for the Sumner Library is an attempt to combat the injustice towards disadvantaged people perpe tuated by various systems, particularlyRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book Justices : What Is The Right Thing Essay1540 Words   |  7 PagesWhat is justice? In real life, we all look forward to fairness, and do things according to its fairness, but most of us do not have a profound understanding of justice. In the book Justices: What Is The Right Thing To Do? Michael J. Sandel searches and explores the meaning of justices, and he invites all the readers to discuss about many controversies that raised in today’s society. Sandel exams major approaches to define justices from utilitarianism, libertarianism to freedom, and he believes that

Boko Haram A Threat Of Western Civilization - 3365 Words

â€Å"Conflict is not something separate from organization; disintegration implies integration. Inherit in the whole problem of conflict are such phenomena as power, leadership, and the elite† (International Sociological Association, 34). This year, 2015, began at exactly 12:00 am, January 1st. While some people were out enjoying the celebrations that a new year had finally come and forgetting their worries that the past year had given them, a little church in Gombe, Nigeria was in shambles. A suicide bomber had strapped explosives to his body and attended a New Year service intended for Christian worshipers (Abubakar). Gombe is located in the northeastern region of Nigeria; northern Nigeria is an established Islamic region. Islamic extremist†¦show more content†¦The rural population’s density per square kilometer of arable land in Nigeria is 0.0. The percentage of sanitation facilities in rural areas of Nigeria, as of 2008 is 28 percent. In Nigeria, almost 100 million people live on one dollar a day. Most of the poverty is concentrated in the northern areas of Nigeria, for example, the state of Sokoto, which has a poverty rate at about 86.4 percent. The term absolute poverty is â€Å"the number of th ose who can only afford the bare essentials such as food, shelter, and clothing† (IFDA). The percentage of people living in absolute poverty, in the already poor areas of Nigeria in 2004 was 54.7 percent, and as of 2012, the number had grown to 60.9 percent. This number is expected to continue rising. This trend in the country has startled many due to the fact that although the economy in Nigeria is growing, most Nigerians are just getting poorer. This fact alone shows that there are other factors involved, factors that are resulting in the disruption of the progress of Nigeria. The cause of poverty in Nigeria is a result of multiple factors that overlap and run deep within the history and culture of Nigeria, which makes it difficult for the cycle of poverty to stop, yet, by understanding some of the main causes of poverty in Nigeria, anthropologist can suggest ways in which poverty can be decreased. Analysts have reviewed the country in an attempt to figure out why Nigeria is getting poorer, and many have come to some basic

Life of George Bush Free Essays

Who knew a son could follow so many footsteps of a father. George W. Bush, son of former president George Bush, has done exactly that; which has led him too many great successes throughout his career in the political arena of politics. We will write a custom essay sample on Life of George Bush or any similar topic only for you Order Now George W. Bush a strong businessman, a leader in politics, and a running member of one of the most famous Presidential campaigns ever. George W. Bush, known as â€Å"W† to most people, was born in New Haven, Connecticut on July 6, 1946 to the parents of George Herbert Walker Bush and Barbara Pierce Bush. Most of his adolescence was spent in Midland and Houston, Texas. He is the eldest son of five siblings, which include, Jeb, governor of Florida, Neil, Marvin, and Dorothy. Like his father, Bush attended the same college, Philips Andover Academy in Massachusetts before he went and graduated from Yale University with a bachelor†s degree in 1968 (AE 1). While attending school, he joined the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity and became a member of Skull and Bones at Yale. Unlike his father, George Bush did not receive any kind of scholarships for baseball instead he was president of his fraternity as his extracurricular activity (Newsmakers 1). W then returned to Texas in May, still following the footsteps of his father, he enlisted with the Texas Air National Guard where he became a F-102 pilot. He was trained in a fi! fty-three-week program to fly fighter jets. He completed in 1973 and eventually became a lieutenant but never had to go to Vietnam. He spent his time in Houston holding various short-term jobs, one including a stint at a program called Pull for Youth for underprivileged kids. Although, during this time of the early seventies reporters like to call this a, â€Å"nomadic period† for Bush. Time magazine wrote: â€Å"he became a real Texan in the family, chewing tobacco, using barnyard humor, settling in the state†s western corner, the one harboring what his aunt Nancy Ellis calls, a ‘slightly outrageous streak†Ã¢â‚¬  (Newsmakers 1). After working as a management trainee in agriculture firm and on U. S. Senate Campaigns in Florida and Alabama, he went to Harvard Business School in 1972 and received his M. B. A. in 1975. Still following the footsteps of his father, Bush decided to go into the business of the oil industry. He earned his first million within ten years, but the oil industry for Bush didn†t exactly turn out the way it had for his father. W built a small independent oil and gas exploration company called Arbusto (the Spanish word for â€Å"bush†). He married Laura Welch, a librarian and former teacher, in 1977 and then joined the 1978 race for the U. S. House of Representatives. He ran against a very well known democratic Senator, Kent Hance. Bush lost by six points after setting a new Texas record for fundraising capabilities for a House candidate (AE 1). In 1981, Laura gave birth to their twin daughters named after their grandmothers, Barbara and Jenna (AE 1). By this time Bush†s oil industry was re-named Bush Exploration. By the early 1980†³s, when the energy market turned soft, Bush Exploration foundered. In 1983, Bush combined with Spectrum 7; three years later Bush arranged fo! r Spectrum 7 to be sold to Harken Energy for a bargain price. He later sold his original stock shares and made a considerable profit of 600,000 dollars (Newsmakers 1). W also got a consulting contract and stock options with Harken which all combined to be a deal of about one million in his pocket over the next few years (Newsmakers 1). Later in 1990, Time reported: â€Å"before Iraq invaded Kuwait, Bush sold 66% of his Harken stake at the top of the market for nearly 850,000, which was a 200% profit on his original stake† (Newsmakers 2). This upset the Vice President and W, where they stated: â€Å"The media ought to be ashamed of itself for what they†re doing† (Newsmakers 2). Needless to say, Bush went out of the business and chose to go for politics. By now he was all name and no money. On his 40th birthday, George Bush came to a cross road in his life where he stopped drinking and became a strong Methodist with his wife Laura. He became noticeably more serious in changing his profession to strictly politics. He moved his family to Washington D. C. in 1987 to began working on his fathers 1988 Presidential campaign (AE 1). Though he had no official title on the campaign he became his father†s hardest and most trusted worker. He became known as a talented speaker and as the campaign†s chief liaison to Christian conservatives, he gained respect for handling volatile diplomatic matters, such as the firing of chief John Sununu, and for swiftly taking care of business (Newsmakers 1). The experience in Washington was one that Bush did not like, even though it brought him closer to his father, he did not like the hostile environment that the political life brought him. Bush still felt that he was trailing behind his father†s footsteps with no independence for himsel! of doing something different. After his fathers successful election in November 1988 W moved back to Texas with his family, this time living in Dallas. He wasted no time in venturing out to find something new; baseball was what he found. In a matter of months he gathered up a team of wealthy investors and brought the American League†s Texas Rangers to Dallas. He took role as managing partner for the team. He brought support to the team and helped boost attendance to the games. By doing this, it brought W much admiration from the Texans and the Rangers. He earned an identity of his own which was something he had been struggling a long time for. He earned a good deal of money through this great investment of 606,000, but he walked away with nearly fifteen million when the team was sold in 1998 (AE 1). He earned this money as just a managing partner in which he only owned 5% of the team. After such great success with the Rangers, Bush decided it was time to try a hand in loca! Despite his mother†s opinion, Bush wanted to run as governor of Texas against the powerful Democrat Ann Richards. With much advice not to, Bush jumped right into the race while his brother, Jeb, did the same in Florida. With their experience from being their father†s aid since they were eighteen, they felt they could handle such a large duty as governor. Many reporters felt that Bush had such an advantage by just having his last name, but to Bush he feels the complete opposite. W quoted: â€Å"The biggest advantage and the biggest handicap I have is my name† (Newsmakers 2). The campaign against Ann Richard†s was tough, she used sayings such as: â€Å"If he didn†t have his daddy†s name he would not amount to anything. She also used names such as: â€Å"jerk† to sometimes address him during a debate (Newsmakers 2-3). Bush†s response to the accusations was very appropriate, needless to say he did not go to her level of maturity. The debate focused on welfare reform, a crackdown on crime (e! specially juveniles), increased autonomy and state financing for local school districts, and personal responsibility (Newsmakers 3). Bush is quoted as saying: â€Å"Let Texans run Texas,† this was a message that appealed to all Texans during the campaign (Newsmakers 3). Bush defeated Ann Richards by 350,000 votes. Elected governor of Texas on November 8,1994; twenty thousand people attended Bush†s inauguration in Austin, including the famous preacher Billy Graham, legendary baseball pitcher Nolan Ryan, movie star Chuck Norris, and, of course, George and Barbara Bush (Newsmakers 3). Becoming the 46th governor of Texas, Bush has earned a reputation as a compassionate conservative: who shapes policy based on the principals of limited government, personal responsibility, strong families and local control (â€Å"Governor† 1). In an historic re-election victory, he became the first Texas Governor to be elected to consecutive four-year terms on November 3, 1998, winning 68. 6 percent of the votes, 27 percent of the African-American votes, and 27 percent of Democrats and 65 percent of women. He is the first Republican to win the heavily Hispanic and Democratic border countries of El Paso, Cameron and Hidalgo (â€Å"Governor† 2). In six months, he signed nearly all of his proposed reforms into law by working closely with Democratic Lieutenant Governor Bob Bullock (Newsmakers 3). Making Texas a Beacon State, he has made policies such as: responsible government, better schools, strong families, safer streets, cleaner environment, growing economy are all some issues that he ha! s improved during his governorship in Texas. Education is Bush†s first priority in Texas. He has increased 47 percent of the TAAS tests in all parts. The number of minorities passing the mathematics portion of TAAS has increased 25 percent. The most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress Report Card on Math Achievement showed Texas African-American fourth graders ranked first in nation in improvement, with Hispanic students close behind (â€Å"Message†1). Texas eighth graders ranked fourth in the country on the 1998 National Assessment of Education Progress writing test. All minority groups and Texas African American and Hispanic eighth graders ranked first and second in the nation. Reading performance has improved 87 percent of all students in grades 3-8 and 10 passed the reading TAAS in 1998, an increase from 77 percent four years ago. From 1994 to 1998, the number of schools rated â€Å"exemplary† rose from just 67 to 1,048. During the same time, the number of â€Å"recognize! d† schools more than tripled from 516 to 1,666 (â€Å"Message† 1). He has worked with the Legislatures to increase the state†s share of funding for schools, so that they can: restore local control, strengthen the state†s accountability system, give parents greater choice of schools and to foster competition and creativity through charter schools. This will give the people of Texas an expanded menu of educational opportunity. His greatest goal is that every child will learn to read by third grade and continue to read at grade level or better throughout public school (â€Å"Message†1). Legislation signed by the governor during the 1999 Texas Legislative Session included the largest funding increase for public education in the state†s history and nearly two billion in tax cuts and relief, the largest tax cut in Texas history (â€Å"Governor† 1). In June of 1999, Bush made the one decision that would change the rest of his life. It was time to decide if he would once again follow in his father†s footsteps, and become the 43rd President of the United States. In July, 2000, Bush announced his choice of running mate: Richard B. Cheney, a former congressman from Wyoming who served as Secretary of Defense under Bush†s father and is now in the oil business in Texas (AE 2). Their opponents would be Al Gore and Joseph Lieberman, two strong, powerful democrats. Throughout the campaign of 2000, the candidates were shown to be close in the poles because both had issues that were appealing to the American people. Some of the main issues are: pro-life, pro-choice, social security, budget and economy, affirmative action, education, government reform, health care and prescription drugs (â€Å"Issues† 1-20). On November 7, 2000, both candidates await for the winning election of their lifetime. Their life experience would be rolled u! p into one day and two hundred seventy Electoral College votes. When the night of their lifetime finally arrived, the night ended with no presidency to guide America. That night has led to the counting, re-counting, and even hand counting of the ballots. It has also brought on numerous lawsuits from individuals to the parties themselves. It has scaled from local jurisdiction courts all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States. Even today, court cases are being heard that each party hopes to win in order to bring finality to the election. Even after the smoke clears and a President is declared, there will always be an uncertainty to the validity of this election in the minds of the people of the United States. George W. Bush, a man of pride, ambition, and power. He has served the state of Texas as their Governor, and now he has been declared twice our President of the United States of America. Will he serve America in the way he claims he can, will he be a leader for all to follow and look up to, will he be the man he acts upon being? The nation waits as the Supreme Court continue to make their rulings to find out which man will take this role as the Presidency of the United States. How to cite Life of George Bush, Essay examples