Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Chapter 6: The Media | American Politics Today: W. W. Norton StudySpace
Friendly reminder! Chapter 6: The Media | American Politics Today: W. W. Norton StudySpace
During this vacation, you are responsible for reading and studying about the Media in Chapter Six of our textbook. Please take advantage of these online resources to help you with the reading and the assignment. Work hard, look up words you don't know, take breaks, and use these tools to increase your comprehension.
Remember you chose to take this class! Act accordingly.
During this vacation, you are responsible for reading and studying about the Media in Chapter Six of our textbook. Please take advantage of these online resources to help you with the reading and the assignment. Work hard, look up words you don't know, take breaks, and use these tools to increase your comprehension.
Remember you chose to take this class! Act accordingly.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
What is the Answer?
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/16/us/politics/connecticut-shooting-revives-gun-control-debate.html?_r=0&adxnnl=1&ref=politics&adxnnlx=1355877631-+1VRiD0ZuPEiv74EKUJByA
Its been several days since the horrific tragedy that occurred in Newton. But where do we go from here? Of course at first glance the right course of action seems like it would be to ban guns. Clearly they were to blame for this tragedy, right? Well let's think about that for a minute. If guns had been banned when Adam Lanza decided to go on his rampage on Friday, would that have stopped him? If he was fully intent on going on a killing spree, would he not have found different means of his mass murder? Perhaps he would have brought knives instead, or blunt objects like baseball bats. The point I'm trying to make, is that anything can be used as a weapon for killing. To ban guns for the sole reason that people can kill other people with them is (while definitely well intentioned) simply farfetched. To bans guns for that reason, then we'd have to ban knives. We'd have to ban baseball bats. We'd have to ban pillows. We'd have to ban belts. We'd have to ban tall buildings. Look at this tweet I noticed before I wrote this.
(PS, if you want the numbers regarding that tweet, follow Ben and see the new Reality Check that he'll release tonight about it.)
Its been several days since the horrific tragedy that occurred in Newton. But where do we go from here? Of course at first glance the right course of action seems like it would be to ban guns. Clearly they were to blame for this tragedy, right? Well let's think about that for a minute. If guns had been banned when Adam Lanza decided to go on his rampage on Friday, would that have stopped him? If he was fully intent on going on a killing spree, would he not have found different means of his mass murder? Perhaps he would have brought knives instead, or blunt objects like baseball bats. The point I'm trying to make, is that anything can be used as a weapon for killing. To ban guns for the sole reason that people can kill other people with them is (while definitely well intentioned) simply farfetched. To bans guns for that reason, then we'd have to ban knives. We'd have to ban baseball bats. We'd have to ban pillows. We'd have to ban belts. We'd have to ban tall buildings. Look at this tweet I noticed before I wrote this.
If cars are causing more deaths than guns are, then why are we focusing on guns? The answer is not to ban all of these items that happen to be able to be used for killing, because the fact of the matter is that almost everything can be used to kill. What we need to do is figure out what is making these people want to go out and kill. Because if we can't do something about preventing the desire to kill, its going to be pretty hard to stop them no matter what we ban.Reality Check tonight.... instead of banning guns more guns should the U.S. move to ban cars?The numbers show it would save more lives
— Ben Swann (@Fox19BenSwann) December 19, 2012
(PS, if you want the numbers regarding that tweet, follow Ben and see the new Reality Check that he'll release tonight about it.)
Minor parties in the United States of America
Since we do not hear much about minor parties because major parties are always taking over the big screen- political wise; I decided to look for an article that talked about them. This is the link to a pretty good “article” it’s actually letters from people to the Editor on New York Times on ideas of new political parties. ->
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/16/opinion/sunday/sunday-dialogue-the-wish-list-party.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
The article makes us think about minor parties that consist of lobbyist and rich donors and other parties that would make people from certain geographic places unite. I find the article interesting because it shows us that minor parties are not that hard to be created because there are always things that large groups of people are worried about or are affected by. You all should read this article, its interesting and there are some humorous parts :)
~Shirley-Ann
Sunday, December 16, 2012
People Kill, Not Guns
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/12/15/fatal-schoolhouse-shootings-in-connecticut-renew-gun-control-debate/
The horrific events that happened this past Friday will stay in our hearts and minds for the rest of our lives. We cannot deny the impact this has had on all of us and the necessary legislative reform that must occur as a result. However, we cannot jump straight to irrational solutions of gun control. The government will not and cannot amend the second amendment to illegalize firearms. According to the FBI, there are about 270,000,000 guns owned by private citizens in the United States; 88.8 firearms per 100 people. America is number one for guns per capita in the world. The media has been saying that the president will try to reinstitute the assault rifles ban which expired in 2004. History has shown that this ban did little in preventing gun violence. In the ten year life of this ban, from 1994 to 2004, 17 mass shootings occurred; including Columbine, 1999. Currently, assault rifles account for only 2-6% of this country's violent crimes. Rather then placing the blame solely on the lack of gun control, we should focus our efforts to target those with a mental illness and preventing them from obtaining firearms. A study held by Mother Jones Magazine found that 38 of the past 61 mass shooters “displayed signs of mental health problems prior to the killings." This does not include Adam Lanza, the Newtown shooting perpetrator, who also showed signs of mental illness. The past can't be changed but the future is undecided. As a country, we must approach this controversial topic in a rational and sensitive manner.
The horrific events that happened this past Friday will stay in our hearts and minds for the rest of our lives. We cannot deny the impact this has had on all of us and the necessary legislative reform that must occur as a result. However, we cannot jump straight to irrational solutions of gun control. The government will not and cannot amend the second amendment to illegalize firearms. According to the FBI, there are about 270,000,000 guns owned by private citizens in the United States; 88.8 firearms per 100 people. America is number one for guns per capita in the world. The media has been saying that the president will try to reinstitute the assault rifles ban which expired in 2004. History has shown that this ban did little in preventing gun violence. In the ten year life of this ban, from 1994 to 2004, 17 mass shootings occurred; including Columbine, 1999. Currently, assault rifles account for only 2-6% of this country's violent crimes. Rather then placing the blame solely on the lack of gun control, we should focus our efforts to target those with a mental illness and preventing them from obtaining firearms. A study held by Mother Jones Magazine found that 38 of the past 61 mass shooters “displayed signs of mental health problems prior to the killings." This does not include Adam Lanza, the Newtown shooting perpetrator, who also showed signs of mental illness. The past can't be changed but the future is undecided. As a country, we must approach this controversial topic in a rational and sensitive manner.
Say "YES" to BAN Gun Control.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/17/us/politics/bloomberg-urges-obama-to-take-action-on-gun-control.html?ref=us&_r=0
My heart shattered to pieces when I heard about the Sandy Hook Elementary School killing. The first thought came to my mind after listening about this tragic incident is rethinking about what is written in the Second Amendment. I mean this law was made years ago when things were not as crazy and serious but times have changed and sometimes we have to follow along with the world rather than to look back. Really? What is more important: LIVES OR LAWS? It is so hard to believe that Congress isn't even thinking about banning weapons after losing the lives of twenty innocent children and six responsible adults. Someone said it right: "No one cares unless they are affected by it." My heart cries whenever I hear about these kids and their teachers. Why? Why out of all the people in this world did that murderer choose little innocent kids out of all the people in the world? What did they do to ruin his life that he treated them this way? What was his weakness? Why did he do this? We can always feel bad for tragedies like this, we always can lend support to those who are victims of such actions and we can always say how sorry we are but only the families of those kids and teachers can feel the real pain. They have lost the most important parts of their lives that maybe no one can replace. All I can say is God bless and rest in peace and may no one ever have to suffer like this ever again.
Just like I mentioned in the first paragraph, Congress need to take action! My biggest takeaway was when I read that the Democrats have failed in requesting Congress to pass a bill that bans the use of weapons because there is a law that prohibits to ban weapons such as the ones used by the criminal in the murder of Sandy Hook Elementary School kids and teachers. This is really sad. People have lost their HUMANITY! How much more explanation do they need then the lives of innocent little children.
Like Mr. Michael R. Bloomberg, Mayor of New York, said in the article that The Party in Power so basically the Democrats will be blamed for this tragic incident. Meaning they will be held accountable for this incident if they don't take any action and he is right when he says that "His job is to perform and protect the American public." I completely agree with Mr. Bloomberg because people (citizens) will only blame President Obama for sitting still in such hard times. Can our divided government work together to make sure that incidents like this don't ever happen again? It is going to be hard because our government is so Polarized, Republicans begin so traditional and following not wanting to change the Amendment and Democrats being more liberal and want to make change to help the people of our nation.
What does this situation say about the Republican party? Will our world ever go far with such differences? How many more innocent lives will it take for the government to ban the use of weapons?
My heart shattered to pieces when I heard about the Sandy Hook Elementary School killing. The first thought came to my mind after listening about this tragic incident is rethinking about what is written in the Second Amendment. I mean this law was made years ago when things were not as crazy and serious but times have changed and sometimes we have to follow along with the world rather than to look back. Really? What is more important: LIVES OR LAWS? It is so hard to believe that Congress isn't even thinking about banning weapons after losing the lives of twenty innocent children and six responsible adults. Someone said it right: "No one cares unless they are affected by it." My heart cries whenever I hear about these kids and their teachers. Why? Why out of all the people in this world did that murderer choose little innocent kids out of all the people in the world? What did they do to ruin his life that he treated them this way? What was his weakness? Why did he do this? We can always feel bad for tragedies like this, we always can lend support to those who are victims of such actions and we can always say how sorry we are but only the families of those kids and teachers can feel the real pain. They have lost the most important parts of their lives that maybe no one can replace. All I can say is God bless and rest in peace and may no one ever have to suffer like this ever again.
Just like I mentioned in the first paragraph, Congress need to take action! My biggest takeaway was when I read that the Democrats have failed in requesting Congress to pass a bill that bans the use of weapons because there is a law that prohibits to ban weapons such as the ones used by the criminal in the murder of Sandy Hook Elementary School kids and teachers. This is really sad. People have lost their HUMANITY! How much more explanation do they need then the lives of innocent little children.
Like Mr. Michael R. Bloomberg, Mayor of New York, said in the article that The Party in Power so basically the Democrats will be blamed for this tragic incident. Meaning they will be held accountable for this incident if they don't take any action and he is right when he says that "His job is to perform and protect the American public." I completely agree with Mr. Bloomberg because people (citizens) will only blame President Obama for sitting still in such hard times. Can our divided government work together to make sure that incidents like this don't ever happen again? It is going to be hard because our government is so Polarized, Republicans begin so traditional and following not wanting to change the Amendment and Democrats being more liberal and want to make change to help the people of our nation.
What does this situation say about the Republican party? Will our world ever go far with such differences? How many more innocent lives will it take for the government to ban the use of weapons?
Business Owners: Tax Hikes Good Or Bad?
http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2012/12/12/167097266/for-business-owners-higher-taxes-could-mean-fewer-new-hires-or-more
Raising taxes on the rich 2 percent of America certainly targets the business owners, however a very small percent of them actually are affected. But then there is a portion that are right over the threshold of that $250,000 mark off that can avoid the tax hike. These tax hikes can actually act as a incentive for these business owners to hire more workers because it would lower their potential tax rate.
The issue of taxing has polarized the democrats and republicans indefinitely. Democrats feel that the tax hikes for the wealthy 2 percent is the best way to decrease the deficit, however Republicans disagree. Due to this, Congress fails to compromise on this issue creating more conflict and public fear of the "Fiscal Cliff". These party platforms on ideas are so strong in the congressmen that they can't find an agreement on not only this issue, but many others. This is the reason why their approval rating is at a record low. Congress has made it seem like a divided government has no capability in creating compromises to solve issues.
Do tax hikes help the economy as we get closer to the "fiscal cliff"? Would creating a tax hike that business owners can avoid beneficial?
Raising taxes on the rich 2 percent of America certainly targets the business owners, however a very small percent of them actually are affected. But then there is a portion that are right over the threshold of that $250,000 mark off that can avoid the tax hike. These tax hikes can actually act as a incentive for these business owners to hire more workers because it would lower their potential tax rate.
The issue of taxing has polarized the democrats and republicans indefinitely. Democrats feel that the tax hikes for the wealthy 2 percent is the best way to decrease the deficit, however Republicans disagree. Due to this, Congress fails to compromise on this issue creating more conflict and public fear of the "Fiscal Cliff". These party platforms on ideas are so strong in the congressmen that they can't find an agreement on not only this issue, but many others. This is the reason why their approval rating is at a record low. Congress has made it seem like a divided government has no capability in creating compromises to solve issues.
Do tax hikes help the economy as we get closer to the "fiscal cliff"? Would creating a tax hike that business owners can avoid beneficial?
After 12.15.12: A Look Into the Legislative Process
As I watched the Sunday morning news programs today, I took notice of Senator Dianne Feinstein (D) of California and her announcement of the plan to reintroduce the Assault Weapons Ban. I acknowledge the grief and the distance that this event should have from politics. However, I also know that politics is everywhere and those of you who want to see the political response should have a chance to do so.
There will be many individual responses to this tragedy. I ask each of you to care for one another as we process it in our own way.
Pick a Party Before October 12
Party identification plays a major
role in elections, no matter which election. This article in particular is
about the primary elections for mayor in New York in comparison to New
Jersey. In most states, in our party
system, we have either an open primary or a closed primary election. In New Jersey
a person can decide which party’s candidate they vote for when they go to vote.
This is an open primary election. In a closed primary election a registered
voter has to register under a party to be able to vote in that party’s primary
election. This article is a bit older but gives you a good look at New York’s
version of a closed primary election. As the article points out the majority of
people do really definitely decide who they will vote for, or what side they
agree with (if they were undecided) until the last month of the election. This
is a problem because in New York a person must register under that party by
October 12. They make a good point that left up to the people to choose what
party’s ballot they receive, they may chose the opposite party and vote for a
weak candidate on purpose.
“Of 3.9 million active registered
voters in New York City, 2.68 million are Democrats, 441,000 are Republicans
and 666,000 have no affiliation.” The restrictions on New York primary election
voters I believe have a huge impact on who not only wins the primary election
and the general election but how well they represent the people of New York City.
666,000 registered voters have no clue
who they want to win the election and a lot can happen in a month. That is
potentially 666,000 people, who care about the people in charge of them, that
do not get accurately represented because either they registered with a party
before they had the chance to receive all the info they need to make a well informed
decision or they missed the deadline to register before the 12 because they had
no clue yet who they wanted to vote for. No one is perfect; it is quite easy to
miss a deadline, especially one like this when the actual deadline is technically
almost a whole month later.
Which election type do you believe will best serve to represent
the people even with the drawbacks from that type? Why do you believe this will
best represent the people’s choice? (Take in consideration closed and open
primaries, not blanket primaries)
"Where Is God Now?"
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57559325/will-connecticut-school-shooting-spur-gun-control-action/?pageNum=2
Throughout your life, you've always heard the statement, "In God We Trust", showing commitment that our country is a land of opportunities. The question that many people are asking is "Where is God now?" Think about it, what place can you go that's safe? That's right, basically nowhere. Shootings at schools, movie theathers, malls, church, and even homes, plus other crimes everywhere. What's up country? What is there to think, when more and more of our citizens die for nothing? From Friday's school shooting in Newtown, the majority of the victims were children between the ages of 6 and 10. USA WAKE UP!!!
Here's my question: are the political parties doing enough to support our people? That's where the question of, "Where is God Now?", comes into the response. Just like the statement, "In God We Trust", are these party leaders and President Obama trusting enough? Right now the two major parties are polarized about the Second Amendment: Democrats are against this amendment for the citizens, and Republicans are always traditional and support it. But what is there to think about when some crazy person murdered 20 children? After this horrific massacre, what do the Republicans think about the Second Amendment? What impact will our country have in the future if the gun control is banned, or not? What about other children, what risks will they encounter in the future? People this is not a joke, this act needs to be prevented from another disaster! So, will our divided government come to an agreement about this situation? Will the crosscutting about the Second Amendment end? Will President Obama and our government push to protect and treat every citizen equally?
I'm not trying to influence anyone to believe in God, but to those that do believe: God is always with us, but we, as a country haven't done enough: weakness. Republicans need to rethink this amendment. This amendment should only be used for our soldiers risking their lives to protect our country. But for the citizens, no way. It just can't. We don't need another sick person to harm our innocent citizens. There has been too much to bear. America, "our hearts are broken".
We need to wake up...
Throughout your life, you've always heard the statement, "In God We Trust", showing commitment that our country is a land of opportunities. The question that many people are asking is "Where is God now?" Think about it, what place can you go that's safe? That's right, basically nowhere. Shootings at schools, movie theathers, malls, church, and even homes, plus other crimes everywhere. What's up country? What is there to think, when more and more of our citizens die for nothing? From Friday's school shooting in Newtown, the majority of the victims were children between the ages of 6 and 10. USA WAKE UP!!!
Here's my question: are the political parties doing enough to support our people? That's where the question of, "Where is God Now?", comes into the response. Just like the statement, "In God We Trust", are these party leaders and President Obama trusting enough? Right now the two major parties are polarized about the Second Amendment: Democrats are against this amendment for the citizens, and Republicans are always traditional and support it. But what is there to think about when some crazy person murdered 20 children? After this horrific massacre, what do the Republicans think about the Second Amendment? What impact will our country have in the future if the gun control is banned, or not? What about other children, what risks will they encounter in the future? People this is not a joke, this act needs to be prevented from another disaster! So, will our divided government come to an agreement about this situation? Will the crosscutting about the Second Amendment end? Will President Obama and our government push to protect and treat every citizen equally?
I'm not trying to influence anyone to believe in God, but to those that do believe: God is always with us, but we, as a country haven't done enough: weakness. Republicans need to rethink this amendment. This amendment should only be used for our soldiers risking their lives to protect our country. But for the citizens, no way. It just can't. We don't need another sick person to harm our innocent citizens. There has been too much to bear. America, "our hearts are broken".
We need to wake up...
A Major Wake-Up Call
In the wake of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, many Americans are astounded, devastated, heartbroken, and disgusted. When I first heard about the shooting on the news, my heart dropped and I felt like I couldn't breathe. I could not fathom how any human being could murder innocent children. After getting over my initial shock, I knew that gun violence had to be stopped in our country. In 2012 alone, there have been several mass shootings. For example, on July 20, 2012, there was a mass shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. Twelve people were killed and fifty-eight were wounded. It is an injustice that young children cannot attend school without fearing for their lives. I firmly believe that gun control needs to be strengthened to prevent more tragedies like the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
While doing research, I came across an article entitled, "Obama Remains Committed to Assault Weapons Ban, White House Says."
The link to the article is: http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/14/politics/obama-assault-weapons/index.html?hpt=po_c2
When it comes to guns and weapons, the country is extremely polarized. Many citizens believe that there should be heavy restrictions on guns to prevent violence and murders, while other citizens stress the importance of the Second Amendment, which gives the right to bear arms. Over the years, there have been constant arguments over how much control there should be over guns. All of these arguments came to a standstill after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Obama has been under scrutiny for not doing much about gun control. In the 2008 presidential election, gun restrictions were a part of his platform, but he failed to act on his promise. After the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut, Obama has taken a strong stance on reinstating the federal ban on assault weapons.
This may seem problematic considering that the Republicans, who support gun freedom, have a majority in the House of Representatives. Despite this, the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting really touched a lot of people. No matter what your party identification, you want your children and loved ones to be safe. If you have a heart, you will not stand for such inhumanity.President Obama stated, "We're going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics." Representative Jerrold Nadler of New York best put it, "We cannot simply accept this as a routine product of modern American life. If now is not the time to have a serious discussion about gun control and the epidemic of gun violence plaguing our society, I don't know when is." Although it remains to be seen whether the government will be able to compromise and stop gun violence, it is clear that the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was a major wake-up call to the issue of gun violence in the United States.
Do you think that our divided government can come together and stop gun violence? What do you think should be done to prevent more incidents like the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting? Do you believe that the shooting will catalyze change or will things go back to being the same?
I encourage everyone to pray for the families that lost their children and loved ones in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Tell your family members that you love them everyday because they can be taken away from you in an instant. You truly do not know how good you have it.
While doing research, I came across an article entitled, "Obama Remains Committed to Assault Weapons Ban, White House Says."
The link to the article is: http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/14/politics/obama-assault-weapons/index.html?hpt=po_c2
When it comes to guns and weapons, the country is extremely polarized. Many citizens believe that there should be heavy restrictions on guns to prevent violence and murders, while other citizens stress the importance of the Second Amendment, which gives the right to bear arms. Over the years, there have been constant arguments over how much control there should be over guns. All of these arguments came to a standstill after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Obama has been under scrutiny for not doing much about gun control. In the 2008 presidential election, gun restrictions were a part of his platform, but he failed to act on his promise. After the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut, Obama has taken a strong stance on reinstating the federal ban on assault weapons.
This may seem problematic considering that the Republicans, who support gun freedom, have a majority in the House of Representatives. Despite this, the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting really touched a lot of people. No matter what your party identification, you want your children and loved ones to be safe. If you have a heart, you will not stand for such inhumanity.President Obama stated, "We're going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics." Representative Jerrold Nadler of New York best put it, "We cannot simply accept this as a routine product of modern American life. If now is not the time to have a serious discussion about gun control and the epidemic of gun violence plaguing our society, I don't know when is." Although it remains to be seen whether the government will be able to compromise and stop gun violence, it is clear that the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was a major wake-up call to the issue of gun violence in the United States.
Do you think that our divided government can come together and stop gun violence? What do you think should be done to prevent more incidents like the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting? Do you believe that the shooting will catalyze change or will things go back to being the same?
I encourage everyone to pray for the families that lost their children and loved ones in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Tell your family members that you love them everyday because they can be taken away from you in an instant. You truly do not know how good you have it.
Saturday, December 15, 2012
More Religion in Schools: the Bad, the Bad, and the Ugly
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/12/15/huckabee-lack-of-religion-in-classroom-leads-to-violence-in-schools/?hpt=po_c2
I know that this doesn't have a connection to what we've been discussing in our class but I really wanted to make a comment on it. In light of the recent school shooting in Newtown CT, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has come out and said that new gun regulation laws won't change anything and points the finger instead at the lack of religion in schools. I want to make it clear that the point of this post is not insult anyone's faith or hurt anyone's feelings. With that in mind I encourage anyone who is sensitive about others talking about their/or any one else's religion to pay no mind to this post. I personally don't see how teaching or just inserting more religion would've prevented this or similar tragedies. I honestly believe that their are some parts of the bible and Jesus's teachings that are well meaning and preach humility, and kindness to all people. On the other hand there are plenty of parts that preach that killing homosexuals is a good thing, slavery is acceptable and that women should be treated like semi-conscious property. If we forced religion down our children's throats then we'll be just shaming them into hating themselves and their bodies since their so sinful. We could also easily be setting some of them on the path to extremism (Jim Jones anyone?), but alas I digress as this discussion is about the validity of Mr.Huckabee's statement not credibility of religion. It is very easy to prove his statement wrong since their is no evidence that says teaching religion in schools reduces violence and even if their was some people would sadly still commit atrocities like this one. Among today's modern industrialized countries America ranks among the most religious, and yet we have some of the highest murder rates in the world. Teaching kids to worship Jesus would have about the same affect on these facts as teaching them to worship Allah, Zeus, Apollo, or Iron Man.
I know that this doesn't have a connection to what we've been discussing in our class but I really wanted to make a comment on it. In light of the recent school shooting in Newtown CT, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has come out and said that new gun regulation laws won't change anything and points the finger instead at the lack of religion in schools. I want to make it clear that the point of this post is not insult anyone's faith or hurt anyone's feelings. With that in mind I encourage anyone who is sensitive about others talking about their/or any one else's religion to pay no mind to this post. I personally don't see how teaching or just inserting more religion would've prevented this or similar tragedies. I honestly believe that their are some parts of the bible and Jesus's teachings that are well meaning and preach humility, and kindness to all people. On the other hand there are plenty of parts that preach that killing homosexuals is a good thing, slavery is acceptable and that women should be treated like semi-conscious property. If we forced religion down our children's throats then we'll be just shaming them into hating themselves and their bodies since their so sinful. We could also easily be setting some of them on the path to extremism (Jim Jones anyone?), but alas I digress as this discussion is about the validity of Mr.Huckabee's statement not credibility of religion. It is very easy to prove his statement wrong since their is no evidence that says teaching religion in schools reduces violence and even if their was some people would sadly still commit atrocities like this one. Among today's modern industrialized countries America ranks among the most religious, and yet we have some of the highest murder rates in the world. Teaching kids to worship Jesus would have about the same affect on these facts as teaching them to worship Allah, Zeus, Apollo, or Iron Man.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Heading Towards the Cliff
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/12/us/politics/questions-on-whether-boehner-could-sell-a-budget-deal-to-gop.html?ref=politics&_r=0
If you've watched the news recently, you've probably heard about the looming "fiscal cliff". I know I have. It's one of those things that I wonder about, but until now, never took the time to do some research on it. The fiscal cliff is something that will begin in 2013 if, as one of the explanation articles down below says, politicians make some "very bad congressional decisions." That means if there is no agreement reached on how to reduce the nation's deficit and overall improve our economy, then we will go over this "fiscal cliff". Meaning, there could be major tax increases and spending cuts if things don't take a turn for the good soon.
Put simply, what is happening currently, as explained in the article, Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner are working to come up with a plan for reducing our nation's growing deficit. This connects to our lesson about parties and also previous lessons because in order for something to get approved, there need to be enough votes. In our government, parties have to work together at times, which is something I personally like because it shows unity. It shows that, while our country may be divided in a lot of ways politically, we are still united.
However, the problem with parties working together is that they have their own views, their own ways of taking on issues. Republicans typically don't want to raise taxes on the rich, or if they do it's not as high of an amount as Democrats. Barack Obama called for $600 billion more of taxes collected from the wealthy over a period of ten years than the Republicans did, for example. “Taxes are going to go up one way or another and I think the key is that taxes go up on high-end individuals", Barack Obama said.
Politics is conflictual, very conflictual, so there are always disagreements with things, due to the strong beliefs of both parties. As shown in a chart in chapter 7 of the textbook, their views are very different. Decades ago, the parties' views, as Grabriska said in our class, "mingled", so the views of parties mixed more. Throughout history there have been a series of party systems, in which one party was dominant, such as the fifth party system where the Democrats were dominant. There have been a lot of realignments in the past as well, where overall the views of the American Public have changed. During the current party system, the sixth, dealignment has been occurring, which is when people aren't as associated with parties as much, or even with politics in general. So with all of these alignments and dealignments, political views have changed a lot, and now views are more polarizing than before between not only the American Public but with political parties. So that plays a role, I believe, in the strong conflict between parties when doing almost anything.
With this in mind, do you think some plan will be put in place to reduce our deficit before we go over the "fiscal cliff"? Or will we go over? Why? Do you think there should be less conflict between parties? Or is that an unavoidable thing?
Explanation of Fiscal Cliff:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_fiscal_cliff
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/11/27/absolutely-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-fiscal-cliff-in-one-faq/
If you've watched the news recently, you've probably heard about the looming "fiscal cliff". I know I have. It's one of those things that I wonder about, but until now, never took the time to do some research on it. The fiscal cliff is something that will begin in 2013 if, as one of the explanation articles down below says, politicians make some "very bad congressional decisions." That means if there is no agreement reached on how to reduce the nation's deficit and overall improve our economy, then we will go over this "fiscal cliff". Meaning, there could be major tax increases and spending cuts if things don't take a turn for the good soon.
Put simply, what is happening currently, as explained in the article, Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner are working to come up with a plan for reducing our nation's growing deficit. This connects to our lesson about parties and also previous lessons because in order for something to get approved, there need to be enough votes. In our government, parties have to work together at times, which is something I personally like because it shows unity. It shows that, while our country may be divided in a lot of ways politically, we are still united.
However, the problem with parties working together is that they have their own views, their own ways of taking on issues. Republicans typically don't want to raise taxes on the rich, or if they do it's not as high of an amount as Democrats. Barack Obama called for $600 billion more of taxes collected from the wealthy over a period of ten years than the Republicans did, for example. “Taxes are going to go up one way or another and I think the key is that taxes go up on high-end individuals", Barack Obama said.
Politics is conflictual, very conflictual, so there are always disagreements with things, due to the strong beliefs of both parties. As shown in a chart in chapter 7 of the textbook, their views are very different. Decades ago, the parties' views, as Grabriska said in our class, "mingled", so the views of parties mixed more. Throughout history there have been a series of party systems, in which one party was dominant, such as the fifth party system where the Democrats were dominant. There have been a lot of realignments in the past as well, where overall the views of the American Public have changed. During the current party system, the sixth, dealignment has been occurring, which is when people aren't as associated with parties as much, or even with politics in general. So with all of these alignments and dealignments, political views have changed a lot, and now views are more polarizing than before between not only the American Public but with political parties. So that plays a role, I believe, in the strong conflict between parties when doing almost anything.
With this in mind, do you think some plan will be put in place to reduce our deficit before we go over the "fiscal cliff"? Or will we go over? Why? Do you think there should be less conflict between parties? Or is that an unavoidable thing?
Explanation of Fiscal Cliff:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_fiscal_cliff
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/11/27/absolutely-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-fiscal-cliff-in-one-faq/
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
We Need Cleaner Energy!!!
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/04/business/04windsolar.html?ref=solarenergy
Maintaining a good environment is not only a responsibility of the citizens but also the government. I don't believe that the power of controlling all energy productions should be given to the states because out of laziness they will end up using coals and fossil fuels.
The article that I posted about explains why the demand for wind turbines and solar panels are plummeting day by day. The biggest reason is credit crisis. Businesses and companies have laid off many workers. This situation explains why most of the Metro students (141 out of 285) thought that we should invest in cleaner energy. If they are seeing that there is no change coming about then they are more likely to pick that choice.
I believe that the students at Metro really care for the environment because they want a better future ahead of them. They know that if they don't worry about the environment they will have a very difficult time keeping up with it when they are older. Like I had said before, WHATEVER WE DO ALWAYS AFFECTS US! Using fossil fuels and coal for energy is not only bad for the environment but it is also hazardous to our health. I understand that maybe they may have chose this choice because it was easier to understand yet they at least care for the environment because they know everything about coal and fossil fuels and why we need cleaner energy like solar and wind energy. I can say that they are informed about the issue because in physical chemistry class we are learning about renewable resources and how we can use those to prevent from pollutions and high levels of Carbon Dioxide. All Metro students do care because if we have a good source of energy that don't harm anyone then the number of people suffering with diseases will decrease. Many people show that they don't care on the outside but when it comes to helping the nation they will never step back.
I couldn't understand too much about the Keystone Pipeline Project so I uploaded this video from YouTube that explains a little bit about it.
Land of the Free, Home of the...Uneducated?
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/addiction-in-society/200902/problem-america-wont-solve-in-our-lifetime-education
As I looked through the MBA Mock Election Results I noticed that although Education placed second in terms of what issue we felt was most important to our country it was only 34 votes compared to the 155 "economy" won in first place. A big part of me wondered "well aren't these students the future of our country? shouldn't we give a bit more focus to that?". Despite my opinion I decided to withhold it until I had some grasp on the situation of Education the United States. The article I found here combined two of my favorite things, psychology, and politics. the article really enlightened me to some issues about education that weren't just about politicians throwing mud at one another over not single-handedly fixing America's school system. The article goes into various topics such as the persistent racial gaps in schools, how American students feel about their education system, and even includes some hard numbers that will make you really want to understand why we are lagging behind so many countries in terms of education.
As I looked through the MBA Mock Election Results I noticed that although Education placed second in terms of what issue we felt was most important to our country it was only 34 votes compared to the 155 "economy" won in first place. A big part of me wondered "well aren't these students the future of our country? shouldn't we give a bit more focus to that?". Despite my opinion I decided to withhold it until I had some grasp on the situation of Education the United States. The article I found here combined two of my favorite things, psychology, and politics. the article really enlightened me to some issues about education that weren't just about politicians throwing mud at one another over not single-handedly fixing America's school system. The article goes into various topics such as the persistent racial gaps in schools, how American students feel about their education system, and even includes some hard numbers that will make you really want to understand why we are lagging behind so many countries in terms of education.
Monday, November 19, 2012
Education
The words that I wasn't sure about were mandating implement & merit pay
merit pay ; an additional pay to an employee (whose work is superior) like school teachers
mandating; a command
implement; an agent/ an article of equipment
http://www2.ed.gov/pubs/Prepare/pt4.html
That's a website that has information on college tuition .I chose this because the most popular positive position says that the most important change that should be made s more financial aid for college students , two times the federally funded work study jobs all over the next five years . If You look at the link above it shows the average prices of colleges & I chose that because your financial aid may be a very person and touchy topic & you don't always desperately need it in certain situations and the prices range so you should chose something affordable and of interest . Colleges Break down the fees in different costs and you use your money on different things so everything depends on how your going to spend your money . Ex; are you going to live in a dorm ? That is a good way to create jobs though.. I must admit that but here's another link that helps explain http://www.collegedata.com/cs/content/content_payarticle_tmpl.jhtml?articleId=10064
I think that metro students support this the most because they want to succeed without having to worry about the money factor and they want other people to get a chance to succeed by getting one of those newly created jobs .It affects juniors and seniors more than most underclassmen cause they may still fell like they just got to high school so why worry about college ,not realizing these 4 years are going to go by quicker than any one can imagine . Not everyone is informed on this issue because not everyone is interested and not everyone has the time to do their background research like some people may know a lot of what they need to know by the time comes to apply for financial aid but others may learn as they go along .
merit pay ; an additional pay to an employee (whose work is superior) like school teachers
mandating; a command
implement; an agent/ an article of equipment
http://www2.ed.gov/pubs/Prepare/pt4.html
That's a website that has information on college tuition .I chose this because the most popular positive position says that the most important change that should be made s more financial aid for college students , two times the federally funded work study jobs all over the next five years . If You look at the link above it shows the average prices of colleges & I chose that because your financial aid may be a very person and touchy topic & you don't always desperately need it in certain situations and the prices range so you should chose something affordable and of interest . Colleges Break down the fees in different costs and you use your money on different things so everything depends on how your going to spend your money . Ex; are you going to live in a dorm ? That is a good way to create jobs though.. I must admit that but here's another link that helps explain http://www.collegedata.com/cs/content/content_payarticle_tmpl.jhtml?articleId=10064
I think that metro students support this the most because they want to succeed without having to worry about the money factor and they want other people to get a chance to succeed by getting one of those newly created jobs .It affects juniors and seniors more than most underclassmen cause they may still fell like they just got to high school so why worry about college ,not realizing these 4 years are going to go by quicker than any one can imagine . Not everyone is informed on this issue because not everyone is interested and not everyone has the time to do their background research like some people may know a lot of what they need to know by the time comes to apply for financial aid but others may learn as they go along .
National Debt :(
I found this site that has some interesting facts about the national debt
As we all know "we should cap federal government spending at below 20 % of the national gross domestic product." was the winning thought about the national debt. This means that they want the government to spend 20% less on foreign goods than the total value of goods and services the US earns a year. I honestly believe that this quote only one because the other one had the phrase, raise taxes. That's what stood out in that quote. Though not all of us have a job we do know what tax raises are and how they can effect our family. I do believe the students did not fully understand the issue. If they did they would realize they voted for an option where the plan is to only cut spending by lowering the percentage of how much we can spend. Look at all our debt and look at all the products that say something other than made in America. Point being our gdp is not that high and if or budget for spending is 20% of that amount there goes not only all our bells and whistles but our fuel sources.
Government Incentives..
This article is about government plans on how to be more eco-friendly. One main way is Incentive. How do they do this by tax credit...http://auto.howstuffworks.com/what-are-the-government-incentives-for-electric-cars.htm
Healthcare - Metro Election Results Analysis
Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/09/health/states-face-tight-health-care-deadlines.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Additional Facts: http://www.balancedpolitics.org/universal_health_care.htm
The popular position on healthcare in Metropolitan Business Academy is universal healthcare is beneficial because it makes the fees that citizens have to pay to insurance companies more affordable and lowers costs. The majority believes that universal healthcare enables prevention of diseases and illnesses, while also circumventing costly emergency care. Most students feel that everyone has the right to healthcare. I found two sources that explains the issue in depth. The first article describes how now that the presidential election is over, citizens of the United States are really pushing for the Affordable Care Act to go into full throttle. The Affordable Care Act requires every citizen to pay for health insurance. Citizens are urging President Obama to inform the public more about the Affordable Care Act and eradicate the low level of conceptualization. The second source that I found gives detailed descriptions about the pros and cons of universal health care insurance. These sources connect to Metropolitan Business Academy's stand on the issue because both sources highlight the reasons why people are supporting universal healthcare, which is the popular stand. I think that the students support this position the most because they want themselves and their families to be protected, even if they do not fully understand what healthcare insurance entails. I do not think that the students are informed about this issue because from reading the article I posted, citizens are dissatisfied with the low level of understanding about the Affordable Care Act. I do not think that Metropolitan students know what premiums and medicare are, despite them being mentioned in the popular stance. Although I believe that the Metropolitan student body has a low level of conceptualization, I also think that the students have high moral awareness. They know that if a parent or loved on fell ill, they would want them to get the best care and recover as soon as possible. I think that the popular vote on healthcare stems from the familial values and ideals of the students. To me, this shows how much our morals and ideals affect our political opinions.
Additional Facts: http://www.balancedpolitics.org/universal_health_care.htm
The popular position on healthcare in Metropolitan Business Academy is universal healthcare is beneficial because it makes the fees that citizens have to pay to insurance companies more affordable and lowers costs. The majority believes that universal healthcare enables prevention of diseases and illnesses, while also circumventing costly emergency care. Most students feel that everyone has the right to healthcare. I found two sources that explains the issue in depth. The first article describes how now that the presidential election is over, citizens of the United States are really pushing for the Affordable Care Act to go into full throttle. The Affordable Care Act requires every citizen to pay for health insurance. Citizens are urging President Obama to inform the public more about the Affordable Care Act and eradicate the low level of conceptualization. The second source that I found gives detailed descriptions about the pros and cons of universal health care insurance. These sources connect to Metropolitan Business Academy's stand on the issue because both sources highlight the reasons why people are supporting universal healthcare, which is the popular stand. I think that the students support this position the most because they want themselves and their families to be protected, even if they do not fully understand what healthcare insurance entails. I do not think that the students are informed about this issue because from reading the article I posted, citizens are dissatisfied with the low level of understanding about the Affordable Care Act. I do not think that Metropolitan students know what premiums and medicare are, despite them being mentioned in the popular stance. Although I believe that the Metropolitan student body has a low level of conceptualization, I also think that the students have high moral awareness. They know that if a parent or loved on fell ill, they would want them to get the best care and recover as soon as possible. I think that the popular vote on healthcare stems from the familial values and ideals of the students. To me, this shows how much our morals and ideals affect our political opinions.
Universal Health Care
http://www.ramcigar.com/health-care-reform-expert-talks-pros-cons-of-various-politicians-proposals-1.2948139#.UKkc3eTTaac
The article touches upon some of the pros and cons regarding universal health care.
I think Metro students voted in favor of universal health care for a variety of reasons. Universal health care would cover all tax paying Americans who are uninsured. In addition, the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), would lower costs for the individual by raising taxes on the majority and cutting from Medicare and Medicaid.
Metro students are affected by this because Obamacare will take effect when most of us are 18. We would all be covered over the Affordable Care Act.
I don't think they are fully informed about this issue mainly because of the geographic liberal bias which praises Obamacare. This will eventually be seen as an entitlement, or "right" as the option words it on the poll, and will cover anyone even if they don't pay for it.
The article touches upon some of the pros and cons regarding universal health care.
I think Metro students voted in favor of universal health care for a variety of reasons. Universal health care would cover all tax paying Americans who are uninsured. In addition, the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), would lower costs for the individual by raising taxes on the majority and cutting from Medicare and Medicaid.
Metro students are affected by this because Obamacare will take effect when most of us are 18. We would all be covered over the Affordable Care Act.
I don't think they are fully informed about this issue mainly because of the geographic liberal bias which praises Obamacare. This will eventually be seen as an entitlement, or "right" as the option words it on the poll, and will cover anyone even if they don't pay for it.
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Economy
http://www.ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-agreements
These are the countries the United States has a free trade agreements with.
I think metro students voted the free trade agreement position because they believe that the importing of goods can create more jobs stimulating our economy. We feel free trade is the foundation of jobs in America and expanding it can only benefit us.
This effects us because we will also be a big part of this economy come the next 2,3, or 4 years. Jobs will be very important to us coming out of college. We all want to know that we won't have to be living in our childhood houses after graduating college with no job. This also effects a select number of students who have parents struggling to find jobs. Also, since our country is on the verge of dropping off into another recession, we want a plan that will stimulate this tough economy so we aren't in our senior year of college struggling to find a job.
Despite this, I don't think that Metro is very educated on this topic, because of its complexity. There are so many different ideas on how to improve this economy that it get confusing. Even most of the students in our AP class weren't educated on any of these political topics or issues until entering this class.
These are the countries the United States has a free trade agreements with.
I think metro students voted the free trade agreement position because they believe that the importing of goods can create more jobs stimulating our economy. We feel free trade is the foundation of jobs in America and expanding it can only benefit us.
This effects us because we will also be a big part of this economy come the next 2,3, or 4 years. Jobs will be very important to us coming out of college. We all want to know that we won't have to be living in our childhood houses after graduating college with no job. This also effects a select number of students who have parents struggling to find jobs. Also, since our country is on the verge of dropping off into another recession, we want a plan that will stimulate this tough economy so we aren't in our senior year of college struggling to find a job.
Despite this, I don't think that Metro is very educated on this topic, because of its complexity. There are so many different ideas on how to improve this economy that it get confusing. Even most of the students in our AP class weren't educated on any of these political topics or issues until entering this class.
Education: Key for Economic Growth
SOURCE : http://www.theatlantic.com/sponsored/bank-of-america/archive/2012/11/education-reform-pushed-for-economic-growth/265267
Hi Everybody,
Hi Everybody,
I found this article on www.theatlantic.com and it's from the thoughts of Bill Gates and how he feels that the United States' education system is failing to produce highly skilled workers that the economy needs.
I figured this related to our Metro's election results on education because most of students voted that educational priority should be expanding financial aid for college students and double the number of federally-funded work-study jobs over the next 5 years. But do they know why? Did they know that the U.S. economy has a strong demand for highly skilled workers? I think our peers supported this position the most because it makes a lot more sense to them. I think that they believe expanding financial aid will help them and their families afford college.One of the main reasons jobs higher people is because they've received higher education.They meet that qualification and have been exposed to those skills that employers look for.
This affects Metro students because most of us plan on going to college, most of us are informed about this issue to the extent that college opens many doors in the future for jobs and careers and that college cost a lot. Also, that the government is apart of what helps us get loans for school. I don't think metro students have enough knowledge. Especially on some of the things in the article above because we're not fully exposed to them just like how we're taught to write a essay or how to analysis text.
Friday, November 16, 2012
Energy and the Environment
http://www.energyandcapital.com/articles/demonstration-planned-for-keystone-xl-pipeline/2806
When I looked at the results for the Metro mock election, I saw that out of 245 people, 141 voted that America "should invest in clean, renewable sources of energy, especially solar and wind power". That's what President Obama believes as well. Climate change is something that is becoming more and more of an issue every day, and we are feeling the effects of it (Hurricane Sandy anyone?). The weather patterns we're dealing with have been very unusual. Two hurricanes within two years? That's a little unusual, don't you think?
As I was reading the results, I stumbled upon something called the Keystone XL pipeline. I had never heard of it before, but it's actually a big deal. This project is about constructing a pipeline stretching from Alberta, Canada, to the Gulf Coast in the United States. It's supposed to extract from the tar sands in Alberta to create fuel and send it to America. That way, we no longer have to depend on Asia for our fuel, because there has been a lot of controversy about that lately. Sounds like a good idea, doesn't it?
Well a lot of environmentalists don't think so. The Keystone fuel has been called "one of the ‘dirtiest’ and most polluting fuels on earth". It would pump 900,000 barrels of oil into the atmosphere every day. So as you can see, environmentalists strongly oppose this whole idea. People who support is claim that the fuel isn't that dirty, and that the emissions per barrel will be minimal. And it would be beneficial getting fuel from these rich sands because that way North America reaps the benefits of it, not the Middle East.
So it was interesting learning about this whole idea in general, and I think it does have good potential though. But no matter what, I agree with the majority of people at Metro about this-we need to invest in clean energy regardless of whatever else happens. We need to innovate, not rely so much on a depleting resource (fossil fuels).
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
MBA's Reflection: Economy
http://trade.gov/fta/
This isn't really an article, but it seemed to be an interesting site to take a look at and have a basic comprehension why our school chose B as an answer to help encourage our economy. Please look at the site, I'm sure you'll like it as well. Remember, fixing the economy is not an overnight process.
Honestly, the results for this question on improving the economy was very laid out. But the majority of the students chose that the U.S. should continue to cultivate more free trade among other nations to create more jobs and markets to activate our troubling economy. Government can be confusing most of the time to people, especially us students. I assume that as these students were reading the possibilities to reconstruct our economy, they probably had a better sense of choosing B because it makes the most sense out of the other three results. Remember, level of conceptualization, meaning they chose an answer that had the most common sense. Or who knows, students might be concerned with their parents' jobs. Some of them might not get paid enough. Also, the students are choosing and deciding what's best for our country by stepping into someone else's shoes- those people that are suffering poverty and homelessness because they have no job.
This isn't really an article, but it seemed to be an interesting site to take a look at and have a basic comprehension why our school chose B as an answer to help encourage our economy. Please look at the site, I'm sure you'll like it as well. Remember, fixing the economy is not an overnight process.
Honestly, the results for this question on improving the economy was very laid out. But the majority of the students chose that the U.S. should continue to cultivate more free trade among other nations to create more jobs and markets to activate our troubling economy. Government can be confusing most of the time to people, especially us students. I assume that as these students were reading the possibilities to reconstruct our economy, they probably had a better sense of choosing B because it makes the most sense out of the other three results. Remember, level of conceptualization, meaning they chose an answer that had the most common sense. Or who knows, students might be concerned with their parents' jobs. Some of them might not get paid enough. Also, the students are choosing and deciding what's best for our country by stepping into someone else's shoes- those people that are suffering poverty and homelessness because they have no job.
Saturday, November 10, 2012
2 Terms !
I'm not sure about everybody else but i'm glad president Obama got reelected again because i feel as though the the first 4 years was to fix the damage that was done to our country before so now he needs the next four years to finish doing what he said he would do but as a country we have changed in many different ways but i feel as though i have a better future now that Obama is now president again because Romney had a way different take on things and he could never stick to one story , he would always contradict himself in many ways or he would be very blunt about things and this election scared some people i know personally because they didn't want Romney in office and obviously now there are no worries about that though ! Obama has many strengths and weaknesses such as any other person but at the end of the day in MY opinion he has good intentions and he knows how to put action behind his plan .So when they announced that he was reelected on the radio around 2 something in the morning i felt very relieved but i want to know if the class thinks he won because he was the better candidate with the better plan or if Romney was just to bad to be voted in office so they chose Obama instead or if the class thinks that Obama Fully Deserved this win ! http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/president-obama-wins-2012-election-victory-speech-17661714 There's the link to president Obama's Victory Speech ! WooHoooo !
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
ELECTION RESULTS follow as states start reporting in
Check out this website to find out:
what states are voting for who
popularity vote calculation
electoral votes (updated every min.)
the exact # of votes the candidate got per state
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/elections/2012-election-results
Monday, November 5, 2012
Election Day Media Opportunity!
So, you have the day off. Find out where people in your neighborhood vote. Walk, catch the bus or ride your bike to the polls. Bring your phone. Take some pics. Then, post what you find out and see via the link below.
http://www.publicinsightnetwork.org/form/pbs-newshour/e226e54200e3/election-2012-your-voting-story
http://www.publicinsightnetwork.org/form/pbs-newshour/e226e54200e3/election-2012-your-voting-story
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Saturday, November 3, 2012
A Very "Juicy" Article
Hi everyone, I was just relaxing, scrolling down Aol.com when I spotted this very opinionated but interesting article that relates to our unit on public opinion:
ttp://www.huffingtonpost.ca/joshua-ostroff/voting-for-mitt-romney_b_2065012.html
I wonder what Romney supporters have to say about this...?
ttp://www.huffingtonpost.ca/joshua-ostroff/voting-for-mitt-romney_b_2065012.html
I wonder what Romney supporters have to say about this...?
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Senate Race Post
Chris Murphy and Linda McMahon are the ones that are running for Ct senate . Chris Murphy is the Democrat and Linda McMahon is the Republican . http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate_election_in_Connecticut,_2012 - this is the first thing that really caught my eye because it has a lot of useful information that i really didn't know about , so what i really want to know is who does everyone think is the best as senate ?
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
There's Another Choice This November: Me!
If you're one of my good friends, you remember me running around with a form begging for signatures to become a write-in candidate for President of the United States. Some of you might have thought it was a mere joke, but I sent the form in and the other day, the Secretary of the State's Office released the official list of write-in candidates for the Office of President of the United States. Take a look who is included:
http://www.statementofvote-sots.ct.gov/StatementOfVote/WebModules/ReportsLink/CLWPresView.aspx?Parameter=11/06/2012-General
If you don't believe that's the official list, take the steps to get there. Here's the Secretary of the State's website:
http://www.sots.ct.gov/sots/site/default.asp
Click on "Elections and Voting", then "List of Candidates", then "Presidential Electors For", then "Write In", then find "11/6/12 General" in the scroll down list and hit "View Report". Brings you to the very same list.
There's also an article out about my campaign! Have a look!
http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Keila-Torres-Ocasio-A-surprise-local-candidate-3987570.php
So if you can vote, don't forget I'm an option this November! Also don't forget to let you families know about me and my campaign! #Sizemore2012
http://www.statementofvote-sots.ct.gov/StatementOfVote/WebModules/ReportsLink/CLWPresView.aspx?Parameter=11/06/2012-General
If you don't believe that's the official list, take the steps to get there. Here's the Secretary of the State's website:
http://www.sots.ct.gov/sots/site/default.asp
Click on "Elections and Voting", then "List of Candidates", then "Presidential Electors For", then "Write In", then find "11/6/12 General" in the scroll down list and hit "View Report". Brings you to the very same list.
There's also an article out about my campaign! Have a look!
http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Keila-Torres-Ocasio-A-surprise-local-candidate-3987570.php
So if you can vote, don't forget I'm an option this November! Also don't forget to let you families know about me and my campaign! #Sizemore2012
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Help With Footnotes
Hey guys, I thought it would be very helpful for me to post links of how to properly complete a footnote.
Footnotes can be done in a wide variety of programs, such as Microsoft Word or Google Docs to Open Office. They all have a different way of inserting them, so feel free to Google or go to the help menu in the program to figure out how to put them in if you don't know already.
Here's a site that should help you cite your sources in the footnote:
http://faculty.colostate-pueblo.edu/jonathan.rees/footnote.htm
Another: http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/history/lavender/footnote.html
I hope everyone has a nice weekend! Get prepared for Sandy!
Footnotes can be done in a wide variety of programs, such as Microsoft Word or Google Docs to Open Office. They all have a different way of inserting them, so feel free to Google or go to the help menu in the program to figure out how to put them in if you don't know already.
Here's a site that should help you cite your sources in the footnote:
http://faculty.colostate-pueblo.edu/jonathan.rees/footnote.htm
Another: http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/history/lavender/footnote.html
I hope everyone has a nice weekend! Get prepared for Sandy!
Friday, October 26, 2012
Support for the Weekend Editorial Assignment
Help with writing an editorial (this is what we read in class): http://www.studentpressreview.com/october-2010/editorial-writing
Example editorials on newspaper opinion pages:
- http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions
- http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/campaign2012/
- http://www.nytimes.com/pages/opinion/index.html
- http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/
- http://www.economist.com/debate/upcoming
Website designed for younger readers but still has great information: http://indykids.net/main/2012/09/where-the-candidates-stand-in-the-2012-u-s-presidential-election/
Students will receive extra homework credit for posting comments on this blog entry. Here are three questions to guide your comments:
- What topic are you writing your editorial about?
- What resources have helped your research?
- What concerns do you still have?
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Women Going Against Obama
Desiree made a comment that interested me because it was about woman going against Obama and raising money against him and things of that sort so i found a few articles to try and understand this topic further http://www.mercurynews.com/presidentelect/ci_21853223/campaigns-court-womens-vote-poll-shows-romney-has this is the first website and it tells you a few things and has a direct quote from Obama but i still dont understand why those females feel so strongly about Obama , what do you guys think or KNOW http://www.christianpost.com/news/sarah-jessica-parker-campaign-a-vote-for-obama-is-a-vote-for-women-83922/ once again this article is for women voting for Obama it says that he has been a large supporter of woman . Thats also what i thought and when i typed that into google you dont really see anything thats like YEAAAA NOO OBAMA FOR FEMALES you see things that say how sweet he is and how hes been pro female from the start in 2008 ,
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
The Results are in!!!
I don't know if you guys saw my last post about how you guys could vote on Nick.com for who you believe should be the President of the United States. For those who did vote can now go on Nick.com and see the result(You could also see the results even if you didn't vote!) However if for some reason the results are not there anymore or the site doesn't work here are the results:
ACCORDING TO THE KIDS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA OUR NEXT PRESIDENT SHOULD BE BARACK OBAMA!!!!!!
As you all know that currently we are learning about Political Beliefs and Political Parties so here are a few questions for thought:
1. Do you think that the results from Kids Pick the President will effect the choice of their parents?
2. Do you think President Obama will be reelected because of what the kids believe?
3. According to David Eisenhower, youth these days don't care about our government, is this still the truth now?
ACCORDING TO THE KIDS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA OUR NEXT PRESIDENT SHOULD BE BARACK OBAMA!!!!!!
As you all know that currently we are learning about Political Beliefs and Political Parties so here are a few questions for thought:
1. Do you think that the results from Kids Pick the President will effect the choice of their parents?
2. Do you think President Obama will be reelected because of what the kids believe?
3. According to David Eisenhower, youth these days don't care about our government, is this still the truth now?
The Third Presidential Debate
Use this handy index and transcript to review and re-watch specific parts of last night's debate. You can review the list of topics the candidates discussed and watch the ones most relevant to your presentation for class on Wednesday.
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/10/23/us/politics/20121023-third-presidential-debate-obama-romney.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20121023
Here are the topics with corresponding student names. If you signed up for more than one, please email me and indicate which you are focusing on for Wednesday's class. If you haven't signed up yet, please email me and let me know which topic you want to present.
Afghanistan
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/10/23/us/politics/20121023-third-presidential-debate-obama-romney.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20121023
Here are the topics with corresponding student names. If you signed up for more than one, please email me and indicate which you are focusing on for Wednesday's class. If you haven't signed up yet, please email me and let me know which topic you want to present.
Afghanistan
- Raymond
- Kahyla A.
- Kayla W.
- Rusty
- Peggy
- Darron
- Brelin
- Katherine
- Desiree
China
- Jordan
- Danny
- Shirley-Ann
- Manny
- Niorgie
Iran
- Jabriska
- Danny
- Johnna
- Mahogany
Executive Power in Foreign Policy
- Malik
- Utsavi
- Jeremy
- Mesha
Russia
- Shirley-Ann
- Mahogany
- Rusty
- Megan
- Mercy
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Let our voice be heard!!!
Hey you guys! We have a great chance to let our voices be heard. Just because we are not 18 or 21 yet we can't vote. Nick (The cartoon channel) is having a Kids Pick the President poll. Please go on this website below and take only a few seconds to chose who you believe who should be the leader of this country!
http://www.nick.com/
You can also tune into the Nickelodeon Channel on October 22, 2012 to see who got the most votes!!!
http://www.nick.com/
You can also tune into the Nickelodeon Channel on October 22, 2012 to see who got the most votes!!!
Getting Ready for the final Debate
I found this
article that not only gives you glimpses of what is yet to come in the last
debate but also the importance of the debates and how they are analyzed (who
one/lost).
The big
topic for this debate is foreign policy. What does this mean for the viewers? Hopefully
it means listening to solutions to issues involving foreign policy, but I doubt
that will happen. If you want entertainment during the debate you can turn it
into a little game and see just how many times the debate brings up things like
Obama’s birth certificate, parentage and etc. I know that has nothing to do
with the election but I’m curious to see if they bring it up and if it becomes
a focus in the debate. Besides telling us the topic the article also mentions
points the candidates will touch on. This got me wondering; during preparations
for these debates is there an audience or is it just common sense that that is what they will
mention? Either way it will be interesting to see just how many remarks match
the points the article said they would say.
The major
points in this article is that the first debate is the debate that can make you
or break you, while they found that the third debate usually doesn't have much
of an impact on the election. Finally, it tells you the categories of how your
performance is judged.
They are:
1. Level of aggression
2. Ability to connect to the audience
3. Did you make noticeable errors?
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Who Cares About Women's Rights?!?!? Not Romney!
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/18/us/politics/obama-and-romney-focus-on-efforts-to-woo-women.html?hp&_r=0
I chose this article because it touched bases on my favorite part of the 2nd debate. This article is based off of this one question, "In what ways do you plan to rectify inequalities in the work place for women's pay?" I was confused when Romney answered this question because it seemed as if he tried to avoid the question and turn the question into providing jobs for women. In fact, research shows that Romney feels that "equal pay are "small thing" that are no important voters.
Here an article that proves that statement:
http://cjonline.com/blog-post/lucinda/2012-10-19/gop-women%E2%80%99s-rights-and-equal-pay-are-%E2%80%9Csmall-things%E2%80%9D
This proves that Romney doesn't really care about women's rights. Honestly, while watching the debate and what Romney had to say when answering questions, I felt like he was just feeding us what we wanted to here. I might be a little BIAS, maybe a lot, but if you watched what he said during the debate and what he said previously during his campaign, you would understand what I am saying.
For example, Romney claims that he wants to lower taxes for mostly middle class and that he wants to get the middle class in better condition, (correct me if I am wrong) but, on 60 Minutes, he said that it was fair for a person who is very wealthy to pay less taxes than a bus driver, etc (Someone of a lower income). He should consider changing that statement around. That way, middle class would have to worry less about bills, etc. They can take that cut tax money and use it to put food in the house, or the phone bill. Make Sense??
Please take a look at this site! I actually this you guys would find it interesting, trust me!
http://bindersfullofwomen.com/
What do you think about women's rights and equal pay? What do you think about this new website about Mitt Romney's binders full of women?
I chose this article because it touched bases on my favorite part of the 2nd debate. This article is based off of this one question, "In what ways do you plan to rectify inequalities in the work place for women's pay?" I was confused when Romney answered this question because it seemed as if he tried to avoid the question and turn the question into providing jobs for women. In fact, research shows that Romney feels that "equal pay are "small thing" that are no important voters.
Here an article that proves that statement:
http://cjonline.com/blog-post/lucinda/2012-10-19/gop-women%E2%80%99s-rights-and-equal-pay-are-%E2%80%9Csmall-things%E2%80%9D
This proves that Romney doesn't really care about women's rights. Honestly, while watching the debate and what Romney had to say when answering questions, I felt like he was just feeding us what we wanted to here. I might be a little BIAS, maybe a lot, but if you watched what he said during the debate and what he said previously during his campaign, you would understand what I am saying.
For example, Romney claims that he wants to lower taxes for mostly middle class and that he wants to get the middle class in better condition, (correct me if I am wrong) but, on 60 Minutes, he said that it was fair for a person who is very wealthy to pay less taxes than a bus driver, etc (Someone of a lower income). He should consider changing that statement around. That way, middle class would have to worry less about bills, etc. They can take that cut tax money and use it to put food in the house, or the phone bill. Make Sense??
Please take a look at this site! I actually this you guys would find it interesting, trust me!
http://bindersfullofwomen.com/
What do you think about women's rights and equal pay? What do you think about this new website about Mitt Romney's binders full of women?
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
In Case You Missed It: The Full Debate with Index and Transcript
This is a great resource, for those who missed the debate and also for those who want to review specific parts. The debate is outlined by topic and the full transcript is below the video. This is a great way to include evidence from their statements in your own written work.
The Second Presidential Debate: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/10/17/us/politics/20121017-second-presidential-debate-obama-romney.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20121017
The Second Presidential Debate: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/10/17/us/politics/20121017-second-presidential-debate-obama-romney.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20121017
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Let the Post-Debate Analysis Begin!
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Resources for Election Project: Campaign 2012!
Put these links to work as you make progress on your Library-Media Center Interactive Election Project:
Political Cartoons: http://www.newsday.com/opinion/cartoonists-enter-the-debates-1.4066835#1
Presidential Campaign Commericals 1952-2012: http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1980
The Electoral Map:
Key State Races: http://campaign2012.c-span.org/key-state-races
Issue Analysis: http://www.ontheissues.org/default.htm
Student News:
Political Cartoons: http://www.newsday.com/opinion/cartoonists-enter-the-debates-1.4066835#1
Presidential Campaign Commericals 1952-2012: http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1980
The Electoral Map:
Key State Races: http://campaign2012.c-span.org/key-state-races
Issue Analysis: http://www.ontheissues.org/default.htm
Student News:
- CNN: http://edition.cnn.com/studentnews/
- Channel One: http://onevote.channelone.com/
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you have questions or concerns about the project, please post your questions below. In addition, please post your project idea and describe the progress you are making. Your classmates will appreciate hearing your ideas it's good practice writing for a student audience.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Something I've Been Noticing
http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/03/politics/debate-main/index.html
I came across this article and thought of our class discussions . the other connection i made was the statement about Romney being aggressive- "Republican challenger was more aggressive in the 90-minute...". My thoughts / questions for the class are : Does Obama really need to be more aggressive ? does his aggressiveness matter only because Romney is aggressive ? can it play a major part in peoples opinion on what Obama has to say ? Do you think people may assume he doesn't know what hes talking about because he isn't "throwing" it in Romney's face so to speak ?
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Citizens Deserve Specifics And The Truth
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/05/opinion/krugman-romneys-sick-joke.html?src=me&ref=general&_r=0
All through the debate, Romney failed to specify any of his plans or tell the truth to the pont where even people on his side said he was lying. Although it seems a little bias, it is true. This article calls this "Romney's Sick Joke". The article says that, "What Mr. Romney did in the debate, in other words, was, at best, to play a word game with voters, pretending to offer something substantive for the uninsured while actually offering nothing." In my eyes, Romney insulted Americans by playing with his words trying to falsely make us believe he has a plan. If Romney had a plan that honestly seems promising, he would have no problem in sharing the details with the nation, which he should do anyway. He could be hiding the details just because he knows it would upset most of the voters costing him the election. Then this makes me think, is he in the presidential race to persuade the most voters or on a mission to improve America? Why else would he lie?
Then I can criticize Obama in his responses. "One could wish that Mr. Obama had made this point effectively in the debate. He had every right to jump up and say, “There you go again” There were many times where Obama could have jumped in and said "There you go again" and retaliate on the false remarks of Romney. However, out there we saw out there was our president with a soft demeanor, being controlled and dominated by a liar.
All through the debate, Romney failed to specify any of his plans or tell the truth to the pont where even people on his side said he was lying. Although it seems a little bias, it is true. This article calls this "Romney's Sick Joke". The article says that, "What Mr. Romney did in the debate, in other words, was, at best, to play a word game with voters, pretending to offer something substantive for the uninsured while actually offering nothing." In my eyes, Romney insulted Americans by playing with his words trying to falsely make us believe he has a plan. If Romney had a plan that honestly seems promising, he would have no problem in sharing the details with the nation, which he should do anyway. He could be hiding the details just because he knows it would upset most of the voters costing him the election. Then this makes me think, is he in the presidential race to persuade the most voters or on a mission to improve America? Why else would he lie?
Then I can criticize Obama in his responses. "One could wish that Mr. Obama had made this point effectively in the debate. He had every right to jump up and say, “There you go again” There were many times where Obama could have jumped in and said "There you go again" and retaliate on the false remarks of Romney. However, out there we saw out there was our president with a soft demeanor, being controlled and dominated by a liar.
The Choice: 2012 -- PBS Biography of the Candidates
As I was watching PBS Newshour this evening, there was a preview for this special: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/choice-2012/
It is on tonight at 9pm on PBS. Channel 13 on my TV, you can Google TV Guide to find out.
Building background knowledge, getting to the know the history of the candidates, and finding out about each of their path's to political power.
It is on tonight at 9pm on PBS. Channel 13 on my TV, you can Google TV Guide to find out.
Building background knowledge, getting to the know the history of the candidates, and finding out about each of their path's to political power.
Is it ok to lie?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/do-candidates-have-a-constitutional-right-to-lie/2012/10/05/1bb9fa8e-0ef5-11e2-a310-2363842b7057_story.html
Lies. politics has become infamous for it's liars. After reading this articale I gained a different idea on lying . I thought that the idea of the mechanism that could counter lying politicians was called counter speech was brilliant In a nut shell it allows candidates who hear a another politician lie can call them out and call them a liar. The problem with this simple idea is that it all depends on the public's reaction to it. What someone may call "flinging mud", someone else might call "exposing the truth". What's your idea on this? Would allowing politicians to use this affect your view on a side or not?
Lies. politics has become infamous for it's liars. After reading this articale I gained a different idea on lying . I thought that the idea of the mechanism that could counter lying politicians was called counter speech was brilliant In a nut shell it allows candidates who hear a another politician lie can call them out and call them a liar. The problem with this simple idea is that it all depends on the public's reaction to it. What someone may call "flinging mud", someone else might call "exposing the truth". What's your idea on this? Would allowing politicians to use this affect your view on a side or not?
Post debate- DON'T MESS WITH BIG BIRD
I read: Don’t mess with Big Bird by Charles M. Blow. I liked the point of the article but maybe it
was a little too harsh on Romney by asking him if he could do simple math and, “Do
you know anything about looking out for the less fortunate, Mr. Romney? Or do
you think they’re all grouches scrounging around in trash cans?” Romney may put
his foot up his mouth sometimes but that doesn't mean they should retaliate by
asking him this.
As a kid I used to watch PBS too. Mostly shows like Arthur,
Clifford, Sabrina, and etc. They were all shows that would entertain you but
also give good lessons by the end of the show. I never really got into Sesame
Street but my little cousin did and is. Her mom is stricter about tv so she
pretty much can only watch pbs or one of the Spanish stations on tv. She is six
right now and you can see how watching the shows helped her be ready for kindergarten
and really made her want to learn more. It’s weird, as kids we enjoy the show
without really noticing how much we are learning whether it be numbers and
shapes or life lessons. We grow up knowing this stuff without really
understanding where/ how we learned it first. Once we are adults, it seems like
we are unable to see the value of the shows that taught us so much. We remember
it was a good show when we were little but can’t remember just how it benefited us and if it was worth it.
I would like to know more about how much the gov. provides
to PBS and who are their other main supporters? The plan was to cut funding to PBS and things like it, not to cut the network. The thing is that losing that
funding might make the network have to be cut. Maybe there could be a middle.
It doesn't have to be all or nothing. PBS has other supporters, if the gov. gave PBS
1-2% less amount of funds, PBS can stay and the debt wouldn't be as high
because of the program. PBS is worth saving but if the only options were stop
funding completely or just cut back on funding, we would agree that losing some
money and keeping the program is better than cut off all gov. funding and
losing it completely.
Liar, Lair Pants on FIRE!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/do-candidates-have-a-constitutional-right-to-lie/2012/10/05/1bb9fa8e-0ef5-11e2-a310-2363842b7057_story.html
According to the article above Candidates whether it is the president, vice president, or even the senator have a CONSTITUTIONAL right to LIE! WHAT!!! This is really wrong and I am thinking that the main reason why some people don't go to vote is because they believe that there is no point of voting for a leader that is going to go in office and "relax".
Even though this right makes the candidate feel that they are free to lie anytime we can't really tell when people are lying and when they are telling the truth. Sometimes these candidates want to get into office for "power." Thanks to checks and balances so that each branch has the power over the other branch otherwise we would be living in a tyranny. We need true leaders that can lead the our nation to a bright future. Our reason for no progression is because people want to lie so they could have a reputation but they don't know that they are ruining the lives of millions and millions of people. A leader is not someone that makes promises but it's the one that keeps is promises and has the strength to say that he is not perfect and he needs help running the country.
Before I used to think that we should have presidents that are immigrants from different countries so that they can bring in different ideas that can help our nation succeed but that may not be the case after reading this article. If the citizens of their own country are not willing to walk on the path of truth how can we expect someone from somewhere else to tell the truth.
Question: How is our nation going to progress with liars?
According to the article above Candidates whether it is the president, vice president, or even the senator have a CONSTITUTIONAL right to LIE! WHAT!!! This is really wrong and I am thinking that the main reason why some people don't go to vote is because they believe that there is no point of voting for a leader that is going to go in office and "relax".
Even though this right makes the candidate feel that they are free to lie anytime we can't really tell when people are lying and when they are telling the truth. Sometimes these candidates want to get into office for "power." Thanks to checks and balances so that each branch has the power over the other branch otherwise we would be living in a tyranny. We need true leaders that can lead the our nation to a bright future. Our reason for no progression is because people want to lie so they could have a reputation but they don't know that they are ruining the lives of millions and millions of people. A leader is not someone that makes promises but it's the one that keeps is promises and has the strength to say that he is not perfect and he needs help running the country.
Before I used to think that we should have presidents that are immigrants from different countries so that they can bring in different ideas that can help our nation succeed but that may not be the case after reading this article. If the citizens of their own country are not willing to walk on the path of truth how can we expect someone from somewhere else to tell the truth.
Question: How is our nation going to progress with liars?
Monday, October 8, 2012
Right to Lie?
I read the article about 'The Right to Lie". It was a very interesting article to read because I had never thought about this conflict before. I have been beginning to ask myself, "Is it Constitutional for a candidate, governor, mayor, or president to lie?" Listen to this, "Many voters rely on the news media and independent fact-checkers to determine when a politician is telling the truth or twisting it." Here's my other question, "Are the leaders saying the truth but the can the media be one who have been twisting words?" It's kind of hard to determine that, but I believe that the only best way to find out is through the debates on television. That's when the leaders say what they have to and want to say.
But it's true that many of us do follow the media as if they were our parents, meaning that we listen to what they have to say and believe in it. Now here's another question, "If a leader does lie to his or her people, how does that make them a better person?" You see, I believe that when you say something, or promise something and you fail to do it, you lose your people because many people counted on YOU. Everything that a leader should say should mean it. A leader says things for a purpose.
But it's true that many of us do follow the media as if they were our parents, meaning that we listen to what they have to say and believe in it. Now here's another question, "If a leader does lie to his or her people, how does that make them a better person?" You see, I believe that when you say something, or promise something and you fail to do it, you lose your people because many people counted on YOU. Everything that a leader should say should mean it. A leader says things for a purpose.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
The Nose Grows Longer
What is the thing politicians are most famous for? You guessed it - lying. Politicians of all kinds are known for deceiving people, for telling tall tales. And one thing that we all may wonder is why there's no law against it. A lot of us rely on fact-checkers and the media to help us determine the truth. With every story, there are a hundred and one different versions of it. Here's my opinion: There's nothing anyone can do about it. Politicians in some cases, may have to lie to have a better chance of winning an election, for example.
Just picture yourself being asked a question that you really don't know the answer to. Keep in mind that you and your opponent are in a tough competition at the moment, and whatever you say will be analyzed by, I don't know, millions of people. Nearly the whole country. Do you tell the truth and say you don't know the answer, or will you lie? I'm not saying that lying is a good thing, but you have to understand what position the politicians are in. As law expert Richard L. Hasen has recently pointed out, candidates might actually have the right to lie under the Constitution. I couldn't believe that when I heard it, but it's very much possible.
Whether or not they have a right or not, it's not exactly easy to figure out when a candidate is lying or not. Yes, there are some telltale signs, like not making eye contact, looking away from who you're talking to, sounding nervous, etc. But some people seem to be able to lie so easily and often that you don't know when they're telling the truth or not.
So I have a few questions for you. Is what candidates say they're going to do really a lie? Can you tell? Is there a surefire way to tell? Because no one can tell what the future holds, so sometimes things don't go as planned. Plans that candidates may have wanted to put into place may not be able to be put in place. That doesn't exactly make it a lie in my opinion. Also, do you think lies are needed to help candidates win elections? Is it something vital for their campaign?
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Charles Darwin is Rolling in his Grave
http://news.yahoo.com/congressman-calls-evolution-lie-pit-hell-175514039.html
I was just browsing yahoo news when I came upon this article. I know that it doesn't relate to current events that we're studying but I just had to share it with you guys. Congressman Paul Broun has stated at a sportsman's banquet that "I've come to understand that. All that stuff I was taught about evolution and embryology and Big Bang theory, all that is lies straight from the pit of hell.". look, I'm not trying to attack anyone's religion here. I don't hate on anyone's religion as long as it doesn't make them hurt someone, but this honestly blew my mind. First of all, even if you are a religions person I'm pretty sure you wouldn't call theories like evolution, and the big bang theory "lies from the pits of hell", considering that they have been more or less proven to be true by some very smart people. I honestly could have let this article go after this, but then I continued reading and found that this Congressman actually sits on the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology... I feel that this needs to be repeated. The congressman that believes that evolution is a lie from hell sits on THE COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, SPACE, AND TECHNOLOGY. Before I suffered a severe panic attack, I spoke to my mom about the subject and she was just as surprised as I was. She is catholic and even she said "this guy doesn't sound too bright.". I apologize if I've offended anybody with what I've said but I honestly just had to speak my mind on the subject before I snapped and punched a hole in my computer screen.
I was just browsing yahoo news when I came upon this article. I know that it doesn't relate to current events that we're studying but I just had to share it with you guys. Congressman Paul Broun has stated at a sportsman's banquet that "I've come to understand that. All that stuff I was taught about evolution and embryology and Big Bang theory, all that is lies straight from the pit of hell.". look, I'm not trying to attack anyone's religion here. I don't hate on anyone's religion as long as it doesn't make them hurt someone, but this honestly blew my mind. First of all, even if you are a religions person I'm pretty sure you wouldn't call theories like evolution, and the big bang theory "lies from the pits of hell", considering that they have been more or less proven to be true by some very smart people. I honestly could have let this article go after this, but then I continued reading and found that this Congressman actually sits on the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology... I feel that this needs to be repeated. The congressman that believes that evolution is a lie from hell sits on THE COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, SPACE, AND TECHNOLOGY. Before I suffered a severe panic attack, I spoke to my mom about the subject and she was just as surprised as I was. She is catholic and even she said "this guy doesn't sound too bright.". I apologize if I've offended anybody with what I've said but I honestly just had to speak my mind on the subject before I snapped and punched a hole in my computer screen.
Electoral College Knowledge
The homework post is below this one. But I also wanted to use this additional post to share electoral college links that will help you apply your knowledge about the electoral college to the actual campaign.
Please watch this video and learn by laughing: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/03/opinion/electoral-college-101.html
New York Times Electoral Map: http://elections.nytimes.com/2012/electoral-map
270 To Win: http://www.270towin.com/
Please watch this video and learn by laughing: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/03/opinion/electoral-college-101.html
New York Times Electoral Map: http://elections.nytimes.com/2012/electoral-map
270 To Win: http://www.270towin.com/
Weekend Homework: Articles for consideration and comment
Good morning AP GOV!
Here are a few links to use for inspiration. Your task is to choose one, read it and comment on it. Use evidence from the article in your commentary. What do you think? What connections can you make? What additional information does the article make you want to discover?
Romney Deflates the President: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444223104578036902059331748.html
Clash of Philosophies: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/04/us/politics/debate-a-clash-over-governments-role-news-analysis.html?pagewanted=all
Fact Checks and Analysis: http://www.boston.com/politicalintelligence/2012/10/03/fact-checks-and-analysis/gUsQaIslLte7Znlr17V1oL/story.html
Don't Mess With Big Bird: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/06/opinion/blow-dont-mess-with-big-bird.html?_r=1
Important Issues Ignored: http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/10/the-denver-debate-ignored-hugely-important-domestic-issues/263227/
The Right to Lie?: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/do-candidates-have-a-constitutional-right-to-lie/2012/10/05/1bb9fa8e-0ef5-11e2-a310-2363842b7057_story.html
Romney's Sick Joke: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/05/opinion/krugman-romneys-sick-joke.html?src=me&ref=general
Romney fact-checked by his own campaign: http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/10/06/162404662/romney-health-care-debate-claim-gets-corrected-by-his-own-staff?sc=fb&cc=fp
I am also open to seeing what other articles you find when you do your 30 minutes a day of current events political reading. Feel free to post! If you go beyond the requirement of commenting, you will earn extra HW credit by creating an additional post with link, analysis and questions.
Here are a few links to use for inspiration. Your task is to choose one, read it and comment on it. Use evidence from the article in your commentary. What do you think? What connections can you make? What additional information does the article make you want to discover?
Romney Deflates the President: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444223104578036902059331748.html
Clash of Philosophies: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/04/us/politics/debate-a-clash-over-governments-role-news-analysis.html?pagewanted=all
Fact Checks and Analysis: http://www.boston.com/politicalintelligence/2012/10/03/fact-checks-and-analysis/gUsQaIslLte7Znlr17V1oL/story.html
Don't Mess With Big Bird: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/06/opinion/blow-dont-mess-with-big-bird.html?_r=1
Important Issues Ignored: http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/10/the-denver-debate-ignored-hugely-important-domestic-issues/263227/
The Right to Lie?: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/do-candidates-have-a-constitutional-right-to-lie/2012/10/05/1bb9fa8e-0ef5-11e2-a310-2363842b7057_story.html
Romney's Sick Joke: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/05/opinion/krugman-romneys-sick-joke.html?src=me&ref=general
Romney fact-checked by his own campaign: http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/10/06/162404662/romney-health-care-debate-claim-gets-corrected-by-his-own-staff?sc=fb&cc=fp
I am also open to seeing what other articles you find when you do your 30 minutes a day of current events political reading. Feel free to post! If you go beyond the requirement of commenting, you will earn extra HW credit by creating an additional post with link, analysis and questions.
Thursday, October 4, 2012
READ THIS!!
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2012/10/presidential-debates-teachable-moments-to-spark-student-interest-in-elections.html
Hello fellow classmates! This was not a part of the assignment but this link posted above will help you guys give a good understang about how presidential debates shape American politics. I came across this link while I was trying to find more information for Question number 1 on our PBS Newshour Extra worksheet. (The title of the worksheet is "Presidential Debates Could be Pibotal for Obama and Romney.)
Hope it helps you guys!! :)
Hello fellow classmates! This was not a part of the assignment but this link posted above will help you guys give a good understang about how presidential debates shape American politics. I came across this link while I was trying to find more information for Question number 1 on our PBS Newshour Extra worksheet. (The title of the worksheet is "Presidential Debates Could be Pibotal for Obama and Romney.)
Hope it helps you guys!! :)
Sorry for the Confusion: Link for HW Due 10.5
I know, I was link-happy last night.
Here is the link you need: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/us/july-dec12/debates_10-01.html
Here is the link you need: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/us/july-dec12/debates_10-01.html
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
NPR's Live Blog & Fact-Checking Sites
NPR's Live Blog: http://apps.npr.org/2012-first-presidential-debate/
Fact-Checking Sites: http://mashable.com/2012/10/03/debates-online-fact-check/
Fact-Checking Sites: http://mashable.com/2012/10/03/debates-online-fact-check/
Update: Debate Starts Now!
Greetings,
I will be following a live blog on this NPR site: http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2012/10/01/162100614/live-blog-obama-romneys-first-debate
There is also a PBS live blog:
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/
In addition, the article for Part One of the homework is here:
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/us/july-dec12/debates_10-01.html
Feel free to post comments or reactions "in real time" on our blog. I am going to investigate if there is a widget that allows for live posting on blogger.
I also encourage you to read people's comments on other live blogs. You will get a sense of the conflict and compromise that has to be a part of politics.
Here we go!
I will be following a live blog on this NPR site: http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2012/10/01/162100614/live-blog-obama-romneys-first-debate
There is also a PBS live blog:
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/
In addition, the article for Part One of the homework is here:
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/us/july-dec12/debates_10-01.html
Feel free to post comments or reactions "in real time" on our blog. I am going to investigate if there is a widget that allows for live posting on blogger.
I also encourage you to read people's comments on other live blogs. You will get a sense of the conflict and compromise that has to be a part of politics.
Here we go!
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Debate Day...and more links
Here is a link to Wednesday's Lesson Plan: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1f9HKcJBmlGDPu8ra-0QZOqOlPR5WFAvCt6KidntrcqM/edit
Here is a link to a recent news story about Youtube and Wednesday's Debate:
http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2012/10/02/youtube-to-stream-presidential-debate/
Here is a link to the article you need to complete the homework due on Friday:
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/us/july-dec12/debates_10-01.html
Here is a link to Gwen Ifill's "debunking" of debate myths. Find out what the this former VP debate moderator has to say about political culture and presidential debates. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2012/10/gwens-take-debunking-five-myths-about-presidential-debates.html
Here is a link to a recent news story about Youtube and Wednesday's Debate:
http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2012/10/02/youtube-to-stream-presidential-debate/
Here is a link to the article you need to complete the homework due on Friday:
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/us/july-dec12/debates_10-01.html
Here is a link to Gwen Ifill's "debunking" of debate myths. Find out what the this former VP debate moderator has to say about political culture and presidential debates. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2012/10/gwens-take-debunking-five-myths-about-presidential-debates.html
Liar , Liar!
Trying to figure out what i was going to write about I saw this article
http://campaignstops.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/01/ordinary-lies-damn-lies-and-the-debates/?ref=presidentialdebates
Title: Ordinary lies, Damn lies and Debates.
Author: Adam Clymer.
While reading this article it really made me actually laugh because of everything it said! But then again it made me wonder... Are these people who this country is counting on lying to us??? Would they really lie just to get votes???
I read on and saw all of the things they could use against each other to make the other person look bad! it really made me want to go back and check the records and all of the interviews of both candidates and what they were doing!
This connected to class because i was remembering the BOUNCE that was given to Mr.Obama. and while looking and really getting into the article i saw how these people can use anything just to get a higher chance of winning! Even if they're lies. I thought that was so uncool , just plain unfair to the people because we are the ones voting if we are misinformed we can be making a big mistake!
I really didn't understand only one word and that word was CIRCUMSPECT. It means - Heedful of circumstances and potential consequences. These two candidates are definitely circumspect s because they look out for their own step, they don't want to make any mistake or have something that the other candidate can shove in his/her face. They take precaution.
Deeper Questions:
#1: Will President Obama really lie to us his fellow American citizens?
#2: Is that even allowed? Can a candidate for anything be able to lie to the audience?
Ideological Opposites Prepare to Meet in Debate
Ideological Opposites Prepare to Meet in Debate
By.Trip Gabriel
9-9-12
Most interesting takeaway: As Biden and Ryan are so different in their ideals, it will be interesting to see how they debate against one another.
" liquidated."- when a companies assets and/or money are redistributed among the company itself. typically happens when a business is closing.
"He accused him of ignoring the fact that Mr. Obama’s auto industry bailout saved a million jobs, while Mitt Romney opposed it. “G.M. wouldn't have been reorganized,” he said. “It would have been liquidated.”
"blue-collar workers"-a member of the working class who performs manual labor. Mr. Ryan and Mr. Biden, who are scheduled to be in Wisconsin on back-to-back days this week, emphasize their personal biographies to connect to blue-collar workers in Midwestern states hit hard by the financial crisis. Mr. Ryan’s hometown, Janesville, Wis., may now be best known for an auto plant whose closing he has pinned on the president.
"Ambivalence"- to have both negative and positive feelings towards a person or event. For Mr. Ryan, his House budget proposal for $5.3 trillion in cuts over 10 years, a majority from programs for low-income Americans, has erased any ambivalence by the Tea Party wing of the Republican Party to embrace Mr. Romney.
Connection to our class:
In our class we've been studying and keeping up on the day to day of american politics.
Deeper Questions:
I wonder how Romney and Obama will deal with the outcome of the debate.
Will a win for either side in this debate almost guarantee a win for Romney or Obama?
By.Trip Gabriel
9-9-12
Most interesting takeaway: As Biden and Ryan are so different in their ideals, it will be interesting to see how they debate against one another.
" liquidated."- when a companies assets and/or money are redistributed among the company itself. typically happens when a business is closing.
"He accused him of ignoring the fact that Mr. Obama’s auto industry bailout saved a million jobs, while Mitt Romney opposed it. “G.M. wouldn't have been reorganized,” he said. “It would have been liquidated.”
"blue-collar workers"-a member of the working class who performs manual labor. Mr. Ryan and Mr. Biden, who are scheduled to be in Wisconsin on back-to-back days this week, emphasize their personal biographies to connect to blue-collar workers in Midwestern states hit hard by the financial crisis. Mr. Ryan’s hometown, Janesville, Wis., may now be best known for an auto plant whose closing he has pinned on the president.
"Ambivalence"- to have both negative and positive feelings towards a person or event. For Mr. Ryan, his House budget proposal for $5.3 trillion in cuts over 10 years, a majority from programs for low-income Americans, has erased any ambivalence by the Tea Party wing of the Republican Party to embrace Mr. Romney.
Connection to our class:
In our class we've been studying and keeping up on the day to day of american politics.
Deeper Questions:
I wonder how Romney and Obama will deal with the outcome of the debate.
Will a win for either side in this debate almost guarantee a win for Romney or Obama?
Tensions Heating up Right Before Presidential Debate
As I was scrolling through the page in the
New York Times, the following article caught my eye:
Title: Playing Roles of Referee and, Increasingly, Target
During Debates
Date: October 1, 2012
Author: Jeremy W. Peters
This
article is about the struggles that the moderators of the upcoming Presidential
debates are currently facing. Before reading this, I never really thought about
how hard they have it. If there is one fact I will always remember about fame,
is that it's not easy. If you're famous, whether being a celebrity or a CEO of
a company or a politician or anything else, you're always in the spotlight.
Always subject to controversy and ridicule. That's just how it is, nothing we
can do about it. The same applies to upcoming moderator Jim Lehrer, who used to
be the anchor of the PBS "NewsHour", who is going to moderate the
very first debate this week.
The
imperturbable journalist, which means very calm, unemotional, has been
receiving a lot of negative feedback regarding his position in the debate tomorrow.
There's this big question, which he is offended by, of whether or not he's
worthy of serving in this debate. It sound to me like people are getting tired
of him. His doctrine, in other words principle, of disengagement in this debate
has raised a lot of eyebrows lately.
Bob
Schieffer, another correspondent who will serve in the debate, has even gone so
far as to not cover any of the other debates before he moderates the last one.
According to him, politics is "toxic" so he doesn't want to be
influenced by any of the other debates before his turn to lead one. To prepare, he has a binder on his desk,
filled with information that keeps being added to.
Candy
Crowley, host of the Sunday show "State of the Union" will also be
serving in one of the debates. Her desk is covered with cards containing almost
everything that comes to mind. Twice a day, Crowley practices transcendental,
which means supernatural or abstract, meditation to clear her mind of the many
thoughts running through her head.
Martha
Radditz, another correspondent, doesn't have as extensive of a preparation
technique as Crowley, but she still does prepare. However, during the night, if
ideas come to her mind, she writes them down. If she has her phone nearby,
she'll email herself about the idea.
So as you
can see, a lot has been going on lately concerning these debates. Moderators
have been preparing like crazy for when they will serve. They're all subject to
rancor, which means bitterness and spite, from the public. And in our class, we
should watch this debate very closely. Not just the debate itself, but the
events surrounding it, because a lot is going on right now. It's a very
important political event this year, perhaps just as much as the Convention to
some people, so that's very important for everyone in our class to know about. This homework assignment is a great idea as an introduction to the
upcoming debates. Don't miss out!
I have a
few questions for you. What do you think about the moderators being in the
spotlight like this? Is all of this controversy unnecessary? Or is it just
natural? Why?
Now
pretend you're going to be the moderator. What should you do to prepare for the
debate? Would you try to be as impartial, or unbiased, as possible like Bob
Schieffer? Would you write down a ton of notes? Would you meditate? Why? Why not?
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