Modern day law suspention??

In class, we are reviewing civil liberties and perilous times. I
have begun to wonder if I am the only person who believes it is not ever ok for a president or a government to suspend laws. We learned from the Civil war group that when Lincoln was president, he suspended the Habeas Corpus law, meaning that the government could basically throw anyone in jail without reasonable proof or reason, just because the people of that time were scared. I don't think that he was justified doing this and for anyone who does believe that, what does that say to our leaders of today? If Bush suddenly decided to cut Habeas Corpus, what would happen to America as we know it? Anyone for any reason could be thrown in jail. When is it ever ok for a president or official to take away our birth given constitutional rights?

How has Hollywood changed our view on history?

When you hear the word Indian or pirate, what first comes to mind? For me, when I hear Indian, I automatically think of Pocahontas, and Dances With Wolves. I think about feather headdresses and arrow-heads. I think of long black braided hair and people dancing around a fire somewhere in the Forrest. When I think of Pirate, I see Johnny Depp and Kiera Knightly and how beautiful and glamorous all pirates lives must have been, and how incredibly cool it would have been to be there and watch a real ship being attacked. Recently in class, we had a discussion about how two statues in downtown Chicago were of Sioux Indians, aiming a bow and an arrow at each other. The Indians both have feather crown headdresses on, like the ones we see in the movies and on TV. But in reality, the Sioux Indians never, ever wore headdresses like that. This really made me think about what we actually know about the past, and what we imagine about the past. I believe Hollywood has romanticized all of the things we watch and has changed perceptions on many people. In reality, Pirates were nothing more than savage killers who didn't care who they killed, as long as they got what they wanted. They raped and killed sailors and their families, yet all we think about is people walking the plank and awesome heroic sword fights. And Indians probably did not all talk to raccoons and hummingbirds. They also did not converse with talking willow trees and sing and fall in love with English settlers. They fought for their land and struggled to survive everyday by living off the land and animals. If you were to think about the Titanic right now, what would come into your mind? Let me guess, Leonardo Dicaprio and Kate Winslet? A love story that will become a classic for years to come? I'm betting that you didn't think of the 1500 people that died that night and how incredibly horrific that tragedy was for America? What do we really know about the past and historic events that hasn't been romanticised and changed to make a better story?