This weblog has been created by Rajesh Vijayaraghavan for his beloved appa- Vijayaraghavan Parameshwara Iyer,fondly addressed by all as 'Raghavan'. Piyers refers to the lineage left by his father Mr.Parameshwara Iyer and hence the name of this blog www.piyers.blogspot.com
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Thursday, November 25, 2010
My visits to USA
My visits to United States of America
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I had come to the united staes in 1993 , my family being at Tiruchirappli ..Rajesh and Chitra studying in schools. I had occasion to visit various places and report my entire stay in USA of four months in a data base and got its hardcopy which I preserve at home. At that time intenet, facebbok,etc were not as popular as it is now. I used to write letters to all relatives in India about my experiences in America...I preserve a copy of it...
I had occasion to accompany my brother Dr narayan to places like, Canada during the above visit. Divya, Nitya and Ram were children studying in schools.
Sridhar was also a student in college at Missouri..had met him at Kentucky, Cincinnati et..
I had the privilege of meeting Narayananas brothers in law Dr`Pichai and Balan too at their places.. At New Jersy Indiras brother Mohan and Sudha were quite hospitable and nice...
Other Doctors like Dr`Roy Varghese, Dr.Kantha, Dr Yelamanchi were also met by me many a time.
Indira used to take me to various malls get me many a thing....and to the Pavilion for walking etc...and used to have good homely food at USA.
In usa I had gone to many places like new York, washignton, Flordia, Atlanta, New jersey, Niagara falls, Kentucky, and a few other places. In particular I was taken to Wall steet, White House, ote printing office,etc....
It was a nice experience to see America and know about the transport, malls, food, etc in America.
During 2007 our entire family consisting brindha,rjesh,shwetha, and chitra had rare opportunity to be in USA …
We returned to India in Feb., 2008.
During our visit we went to many places in particular rams place at Michigan, Oklahoma where Sridhar lives, corpus Christie, Toyota car factory at Detroit, and stayed for a major part in Austin , there too we had occasions to go to nearby temples, malls, and ![]()
many otgher places.
At that time I had a blog created srave janaha sukhino bhavanthu and used to post a few things now and then.
Now we are back in Austin…me and Brindha arrived here safe at Austin on 19.11.1020 and are with the company of our new granddaughter Dhwani…
I shall be writing about various things in my blog now also…
Raghavan
United States
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 | The English used in this article or section may not be easy for everybody to understand.You can help Wikipedia by making this page or section simpler. |
The United States of America (also known as the United States, the US, or the USA) is a country on the continent ofNorth America.
| United States of America | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||
| National information | |||||
| National motto: | (1776 - 1956): E Pluribus Unum (Latin: "Out of many, one") (1956 - ): In God We Trust | ||||
| National anthem: | The Star-Spangled Banner | ||||
| About the people | |||||
| Official languages: | None at federal level, some states specify, English de facto | ||||
| Population: (# of people) | |||||
| - Total: | 305,762,359 (Est. Jan 2009) (ranked 3rd) | ||||
| - Density: | 78 per mi² / 30 per km² | ||||
| Geography / Places | |||||
 | |||||
| Capital city: | Washington, D.C. | ||||
| Largest city: | New York, New York | ||||
| Area | |||||
| - Total: | 3,718,711 mi² / 9,631,418 km² (ranked 3rd/4th) | ||||
| - Water: | 181,273 mi² / 469,495 km² (4.875%) | ||||
| Politics / Government | |||||
| Established: | Independence: Revolutionary War - Declared: July 4, 1776 - Recognized: September 3, 1783 | ||||
| Leaders: | President: Barack Obama Vice President: Joe Biden | ||||
| Economy / Money | |||||
| Currency: (Name of money) | US dollar ($) (USD) | ||||
| International information | |||||
| Time zone: | -5 to -11 | ||||
| Telephone dialing code: | 1 | ||||
| Internet domain: | .US .UM .EDU .GOV .MIL | ||||
Contents[hide] |
[change] States
In the United States of America there are 50 states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut,Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine,Maryland,Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
[change] Government
The federal government is set up by the Constitution. There are three branches of government. They are the executive branch, the legislative branch, and the judicial branch. State governments work very much like the federal government.
[change] Executive branch
The executive branch is the part of the government that enforces the law. Members of the U.S. Electoral College elect a President who is the leader of the executive branch, as well as the leader of the Armed Forces. The President decides whether or not the bills that the Legislative branch passes will become laws, and the President may veto any bill. The President may also make "executive orders" to ensure that people follow the law. Two of the most famous executive orders were PresidentAbraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation and President Dwight D. Eisenhower's order to send 1,200 soldiers from the101st Airborne Division to allow the Little Rock Nine into a school that refused to admit African Americans students. The President is in charge of many departments that control much of the day-to-day business of government. For example,Department of Commerce makes rules about trade and business. The President chooses the heads of these departments, and also nominates judges at the federal (nation-wide) level. However, the Senate, part of the legislative branch, must agree with all of the people the President chooses. The President may serve two 4-year terms, making 8 years in all.
[change] Legislative branch
The legislative branch is the part of the government that makes laws. The legislative branch is called Congress. Congress is divided into two "houses".
One house is the House of Representatives. The House of Representatives is made up of Representatives, who are each elected by voters from their own state. The number of Representatives a state has is based on how many people live there: the more people a state has, the more representatives it gets. Every 10 years, the U.S. Census Bureau conducts a census, or count, of the population of the United States. States gain or lose Representatives based on their total population as shown by the census. Representatives serve two-year terms. The total number of representatives today is 435. The leader of the House of Representatives is the Speaker of the House, who is also the person who would become president if the President or Vice President were unable.
The other house is the Senate. In the Senate, each state is represented equally, by two Senators. Because there are 50 states, there are 100 senators. Before the President makes treaties or appoints officials, the Senate must approve them. Senators serve six-year terms. The Vice President of the United States serves as president of the Senate, but may only cast votes in order to break a tie vote. In practice, the Vice President is usually absent from the Senate, and a Senator is selected to serve as president pro tempore, or temporary president, of the Senate.
Representatives and Senators propose laws, called "bills", in their respective houses. A bill may be voted upon by the entire house right away or may first go to a small group of members of that house, known as a committee, which may recommend a bill for a vote by the whole house. If one house votes to pass a bill, the bill then gets sent to the other house; if both houses vote for it, it is then sent to the President, who may sign the bill into law or veto it. If the President vetoes the bill, it is sent back to Congress. If Congress votes again and passes the bill with at least a two-thirds majority, the bill becomes law and cannot be vetoed by the President.
Under the American system of federalism, Congress may not make laws that directly control the states; instead, Congress may use the promise of federal funds or extenuating circumstances, such as national emergencies, to encourage the states to follow federal law. This system is both complex and unique.
[change] Judicial branch
The Judicial Branch is the part of government that interprets what the law means. The Judicial Branch is made up of theSupreme Court and many lower courts. If the Supreme Court decides that a law is not allowed by the Constitution, the law is said to be "struck down" and is no longer a valid law. The Supreme Court is made up of 9 judges, called Justices, who are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. One of these 9 Justices, called the Chief Justice, heads the Court. A Supreme Court Justice serves until he or she dies or resigns (quits in the middle of his or her term). When that happens, the President nominates someone new to replace the Justice who left. If the Senate agrees with that choice, the person becomes a Justice. If the Senate does not agree with the President's choice, then the President must nominate someone else.
Famous court cases such as Marbury v. Madison (which was decided in 1803) have firmly established that the Supreme Court is the ultimate interpreter of the United States Constitution and has the power to strike down any law that conflicts with it. [1]
[change] History
- Main article: History of the United States
[change] Politics
The United States of America consists of 50 states, 5 territories and 1 district (Washington, D.C.). States can make laws about things inside the state, but federal law is usually about things dealing with more than one state or dealing with other countries. In some areas, if the federal government makes laws that say different things from the state laws, people only have to follow the federal government's law because the state law is not a law any more. Each state has a constitution of its own, different from the federal (national) Constitution. Each one of these is like the federal Constitution because they talk about how each state's government is set up, but some also talk about specific laws.
The federal and a lot of state governments are dominated today by two groups of politicians (called political parties): theRepublicans (who are usually more conservative) and the Democrats (who are usually more liberal), although other people can sometimes be elected too, like people from the Green Party or the Constitution Party. The two main parties get support from different people and businesses, who give money to the parties. Since people give money to the politicians, the politicians must listen those people's opinions. This is called lobbying. All Americans are allowed to lobby the government, but when small groups have a lot of money, they are better at lobbying. Some people think that this is a problem, and want rules to be made to change this.
As of May 2010, the President is a Democrat, and there are more Democrats than Republicans in Congress. So Democrats have a lot of power in the federal government. However, there are still many powerful Republicans who can try to stop the Democrats from doing things that they believe will be bad for the country. Also, the Democrats do not always agree with each other on what to do. And if enough people decide to vote against Democrats in the next election, then they will lose power. In a republic like the United States, no party can do whatever they want. All politicians have to argue, compromise, and make deals with each other to get things done. They have to answer to the people and take responsibility for their mistakes.
The USA's large cultural, economic, and military influence has made foreign relations, or relations with other countries, an especially important topic in American politics, and the politics of many other countries.
[change] Land
The United States has grown from 13 states in 1776, to 50 states, 5 territories (Guam, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands, US Virgin Islands), 1 district (District of Columbia) and other lands (such as Guantanamo Bay and Johnston Atoll) today. The country grew from east to west. It conquered and bought lands. It also divided some states into two.
The states are divided into smaller counties. Two states use different words than "county". Louisiana uses the word "parish". Alaska uses the word "borough".
The United States also consists of several other lands that are not states. Most of these are colonial territories, and are not a part of the Mainland U.S. Some examples are:
- Washington, D.C., the capital.
- Puerto Rico
- American Samoa
- Guam
- U.S. Virgin Islands
- Northern Mariana Islands
The Philippines was once a colony of the United States, but is now an independent country. Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, and other Pacific island nations were once governed by the United States as a United Nations "Trust Territory", but are now independent.
The U.S. military has bases in many countries. The U.S. Naval base at Guantanamo Bay was rented from Cuba, and kept after that country had a Communist revolution.
[change] Geography
- Main article: Geography of the United States
The United States is the third biggest country in the world. Its geography varies a lot.
- There are forests and meadows on the East Coast,
- The Appalachian Mountains in the east
- The Great Plains in the middle of the country,
- The Mississippi-Missouri river,in the middle
- The Rocky Mountains west of the plains
- Deserts and coastal areas west of the Rocky Mountains
- Forests in the Pacific Northwest
- Arctic regions of Alaska
- Volcanic islands in Hawaii
- Long coastline, many beaches
The climate varies along with the geography, from tropical (hot and wet in summer, warm and dry in winter) in Florida totundra (cold all year) in Alaska. Large parts of the country have warm summers and cold winters. Some parts of the United States, like parts of California, have a Mediterranean climate.
[change] Economy
The United States has a capitalist economy. This means that people are allowed to start their own businesses. The country has low unemployment and inflation, and a large trade deficit (meaning the United States buys more things from other countries than it sells).
The country has rich mineral resources, with many gold, oil, coal and uranium deposits. Farming makes the country among the top producers of, among others, corn (maize), wheat, sugar and tobacco. American produces cars, airplanes and electronics. About 3/4 of Americans work in the service industry.
The top 15 trading partners in terms of total trade are:
- Canada
- China
- Mexico
- Japan
- Germany
- UK
- South Korea
- France
- Taiwan
- Netherlands
- Brazil
- Malaysia
- Italy
- Singapore
- Ireland
[change] Demographics
The United States of America has people of many different race and ethnic background. 80% of the people in the United Statesdescend from European immigrants. Many people are descended from Germany, England, Scotland, Ireland, Africa, and Italy.[2] 13% of the people in the United States are African-American. Most of them descend from the African slaves that were brought to America. Asian-Americans make up only 5% of the population in America but make up a bigger portion in the west coast. For example in California, Asian-Americans make up 13% of the population of that state. Asian-Americans are underrepresented in the media. Hispanic-Americans or people of Latin origins make up 15% of the nation. The original peoples, called Native American or American Indians and Inuit (Eskimos) are a very small group.
11% of the people in the United States are foreign born. 18% speak a language other than English at home. For people 25 and older, 80% have are high school graduates while 25% have a bachelor's degree or higher.
The 2000 Census counted self-reported ancestry. It identified 43 million German-Americans, 30.5 million Irish-Americans, 24.9 million African-Americans, 24.5 million English-Americans, and 18.4 million Mexican-Americans.
[change] Money
The social structure of the United States has a big range. This means that some Americans are much, much richer than others. The average (median) income for an American was $37,000 a year in 2002. However, the richest 1% of Americans have as much money as the poorest 90%. 51% of all households have access to a computer and 41% had access to the Internet in 2000, a figure which had grown to 75% in 2004. Globally, less than one percent of people own a computer. Furthermore, 67.9% of American families owned their homes in 2002. In addition, there are 200 million cars in the United States, two for every three Americans and roughly one-third of all cars in the world.
[change] Religion
The level of Christianity in the US is declining. 86.2% called themselves Christian in 1990 and 76.5% said this in 2001. [3]However, the United States is still one of the most religious countries in the Western World, and the most religious country where most people are not Catholic. Unlike most other Protestant countries, most Americans believe in God. The religious memberships in 2001 were Protestant 52%, Catholic 24.5%, none 13.2%, 2% Buddhist, Jewish 1.3% and 0.5-0.3% for Muslim,Agnostic, Atheist, Hindu and Unitarian Universalist. There is a large difference between those who say that they belong to a religion and those who are members of a church of that religion. [4] show that church membership in 2001 was 53% Christian, 2.3% Jewish and 0.1% Muslim, others lower.
[change] Languages
| Languages (2007) | |
|---|---|
| English (only) | 225.5 million |
| Spanish, incl. Creole | 34.5 million |
| Chinese | 2.5 million |
| French, incl. Creole | 2.0 million |
| Tagalog | 1.5 million |
| Vietnamese | 1.2 million |
| German | 1.1 million |
| Korean | 1.1 million |
The United States does not currently have an official language, although the United States Congress has considered officially designating English as such for many years, since it is the most used language, and the language in which the United States Declaration of Independence and United States Constitution are written. Spanish has increased in usage in certain sectors of society, due to an influx of immigrants--especially from Mexico and Cuba.
[change] Culture
American popular culture goes out to many places in the world. It has a large influence on most of the world, especially theWestern world. American music is heard all over the world, and American movies and television shows can be seen almost anywhere.
[change] Federal holidays (For 2010)
| Date | Name | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| January 1 | New Year's Day | Celebrates the beginning of the year. |
| January 18 (3rd Monday in January) | Martin Luther King, Jr. Day | Honors Dr. Mart |
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