(1)  It was no surprise to see that there are more men than women in the U.S. Supreme Court Justices. I find it interesting that the majority of them graduated from Harvard Law School and at some point almost all of them became a Judge of the United States Court of Appeals. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor was appointed Supreme Court by President Ronald Reagan. She was the first woman on the Supreme Court. She served from 1981 until she retired on 2006. Justice O'Connor has continued her judicial service by hearing cases in the United States Courts of Appeals. President Barack Obama awarded Justice O'Connor with Nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom on August 12, 2009.

(2)  Judicial Review is the authority of courts to declare laws passed by Congress and acts of the executive branch to be unconstitutional. I think the Judicial Review should be exercised regularly. They have made remarkable cases in the past. They used extraordinary power to strike down segregated schools in Brown v. Board of Education (1954) and the anti-abortion laws of forty-seven states Roe v. Wade (1973) as well as to rule on the Michigan affirmative action cases in 2003. The Supreme Court also granted itself the power of judicial review in the case of Marbury v. Madison (1803).

(3)  Is it the job of the High Court to apply the Constitution in light of the intent of the framers or the Constitution or should they interpret the Constitution in light of changes in society or technology? I think this is a sticky situation. In my opinion I think it is the job of the High Court to apply the Constitution in the light of the framers. Having a strict construction and following the guidelines of the Constitution. If we changed in light of society or technology, we would be changing the Constitution every five to ten years. It would not make sense to. It is better to stick with what we know and what works then to go changing everything.


Commented on: Ashley Pelfrey
                          Gabby Miller
                           Ian Price

1) I feel that qualities that make a great president are loyalty, respect, and a level head with a touch of stubbornness. I feel that any president should stay loyal to the people. The promises they make during elections are usually what sales the people into voting for them. Respect, the president should have respect for the people and the people serving under him. Presidents tend to forget why they are in the position they are in. Respect the people and respect for themselves. They should never recant on their values and beliefs. Level head with a touch of stubbornness. Be able to sit down with a level head to solve issues but stubborn enough to not let people push or tell them what to do.

2) Franklin D. Roosevelt (also known as FDR) took office in 1933 and served four terms in office as president. Roosevelt created the New Deal to combat the effects of depression. He created various job programs, including the Conservation Corps, the Works Progress Administration, and the Tennessee Valley Authority, all employed and trained workers. FDR expanded the governments role in regulating the economy.
Ronald Reagan (1981-89) was known as the "Great Communicator). He was able to give engaging, persuasive, and comforting speeches. He was able to reach out and comfort the people during times of heartache. Reagan's foreign policy was an important factor in the end of Communism and the Cold War.

3) William McKinley (1897-1901) was the 25th president of the United States. He lead the United States into modern position as a global economic and military power. The United States quickly and decisively won the Spanish-American War (1898) under McKinley. McKinley promoted business interests. He supported the protection of American business and industry by taxing imported goods to keep their prices high. There's debate on how effective McKinley was as president. He intended to address several key issues during his second term, but was cut short with his assassination in 1901.

Commented on: Ashley Pelfrey; Albert Munoz; Ian Price

(1) Bush v Gore (2000) I would have to agree with the dissenting. It was a state decision that should not have been overruled by the Federal Court. I acknowledge that the stakes were high for president but it should have stayed with the state. Although I did not vote in the election, I was for Bush. If state would have ruled, Gore would have been president. I feel that the Federal Court stepped in and took the state's authority away. Why give state authority if it's not going to be acknowledged.

(2) I think fundraisers are too important. I feel there's a lot of people with the knowledge and the ability that have no political or family wealth to assist them to gain a high position. Whether is be in government, state level, or country level. Money can provide many opportunities but if there is no money doors can quickly be closed never to be opened again. Many times they closed on the candidate that is highly qualified for the position.

(3) We all have the desire to vote and believe in our candidates political platform, but as the race continues issues arise and the candidates adjust their platforms to accommodate issues. Therefore this creates doubt in the minds of voters, leaving us feeling, why vote? Can this feeling of doubt be changed? Yes. The candidate should stand true and steadfast to their original platform. The mind set of citizens/voters would not change, and they would vote. Or we could always approach from a different perspective, we pay pregnant women to seek prenatal care, maybe we should pay registered voters to vote.

I commented on:   Jessica Tucker       Gabby Miller       Albert Munoz

(1) I most identify with the Republican party. I am conservative and believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman. I am not saying that I look down on same sex marriage because we all have the right to choose who we are with, but marriage was designed for one man and one woman. I believe that life should be born instead of taken away just because it was the easy way out. I feel that illegal aliens should not be able to come into the U.S. and get insurance and health care when legal citizens can not get any at all. I do not agree with the cap of limited tax deductions because lower and middle income class struggle therefore upper and wealthy class should get taxed more.

(2) I feel that America does need political parties. If America did not have any we would all strive for different objectives. You would not be able to fine ten people that think the same way for the benefit  of the people. What a perfect world we would live in if we all had the same goal in mind as our founding fathers. Our founding fathers fought for independence for the growth of our country. Some political parties now want to hinder that growth instead of keeping it the greatest country on Earth. Therefore we need political parties so one party is still fighting for values that our founding fathers had while the other tries to diminish it.

(3) I mostly identify with the Whig Party, because the Whig Party promoted industrial growth in the United States. They helped promote public schools, private colleges, charities, and cultural institutions. Although I do not believe in everything this party stood for, it did help our country.

Commented on: Ashley Pelfrey   Ian Price    Tim Tunkel

NEA- Believes every child deserves a quality education. Since 1857, the NEA has crusaded for the rights of educators and children. One hundred educators became advocates for public education. In a time when not every child was given the opportunity to learn to read and write. In 1966 the NEA joined with the American Teachers Association, since 1966 the NEA has grown to 3.2 million members, giving the opportunity for education to every child. This was a controversial partnership during the Civil Rights Movement.

United Mine Workers- This Union, founded in 1890, began representing coal miners and coal technicians. Today they also represent health care workers, truck drivers, manufacturing workers and public employees. While this Union focuses on workers and rights, they also strive for better roads, schools and universal health care. This union is made up of men and women who built our country.The union helped the workers become independent of the company stores, who used their leverage of being the only retail store in the area to manipulate all the monies the coal miners made.

NRA- Interest groups, such as the NRA (National Rifle Association), is battling groups that want to ban guns. I feel that is a violation of American citizens 2nd Amendment's right to bear arms. I feel it is not the gun that creates anger and violence, but the person that is using it. These groups are on a fine-line of taking away our rights to protect and provide for our families.

Commented on: Albert Munoz; Kristy Jones; Gabby Miller

1) I do not think that objectivity exists in the news media because the media wants to continue coverage on subjects that is always negative..for example..the shooting of Trayvon Martin, this was a horrible accident that quickly turned to a hate racist crime. It was in the new daily, weekly and always negative turning it into something it may or may not have been. When Veteran Navy Seal Chris Kyle was shot, it was in the news for one day. The same is for politicians. The 2012 President campaign, all you heard was how Mitt Romney had made so much money but had paid in so little taxes. For my view, CNN is the most objective news. I have the app, I look at it online, and I watch it on TV. I think they have coverage of a wide variety of news. I don't feel that they are bias. As for the other news media, I am not familiar with them to say one way or the other.

2) I am not familiar with Rush Limbaugh, Keith Olbermann, etc. They do not have an effect on how I view politics. I have heard of Rush Limbaugh and how opinionated he is. I do not like talking little lone listening to someone who is very opinionated about politics, it is a way for me to turn the deaf ear real fast. I like to look at the facts and judge for myself.

3) I feel that media objectivity should be important. The media reaches out to different ethnicity, genders, age group, and different classes of wealth. They need to cover stories that effect the different wide variety of groups watching. It would be detrimental to a news outlet to only cover stories that only pertain to one social group. An example..our local channel 10 news does "Buddy Check 10" for breast cancer. It is not just women who watches channel 10 news. What is that was the only story they wanted to run? Not many people would watch, sure women would, but men would not.

Commented on: Ashley Pelfrey
                           Tim Tunkel
                           Ian Price

I feel that America is to dependent on polls. We like to see figures before knowing what the outcome is going to be.."counting our chickens before they hatch" so to speak. I don't think that news agencies should create pills and report on them. Half the time they are going on half of polls being conducted and reporting on it. Causing a lot of friction among news channels overturn each other on report of the polls. News agencies should just stick with reporting news and not try to interfere where they don't belong.

Political party identification is somewhat important to me. When I know what someones political identification is I judge on what they believe. Political identification was very important to my parents and grandparents. A lot of times it would cause fights if you were not on the same page and harsh words were often spoken causing them to walk away mad. I don't think it's as big as a deal to most of my friends. They are younger and think that everything will be hunky dory in the future.

I feel that my opinion of politics is influenced more by economic issues. Watching the stock market go up and down and not knowing when or if it will crash. The treat of not having social security when I become of age to retire or the fact I could be forced to have insurance and if I don't want it I could be fined. My as a women being singled out that I can not own a gun and protect myself becomes I am a woman and I would shoot just because, or the fact that firearms could be taken away from me entirely. America needs a wake up call before we at the point of no return.


I commented on: Chelsea Dunn, Ian Price, & Albert Munoz

(1) I think the government has done to much in the issue of race. Because, during slavery the African American were the minority and Caucasian were the majority, when slavery ended we became equals. But now the government goes out of their way to legalize illegal immigrants once they cross the border. Caucasians are becoming the minority instead of the majority.
(2) I feel that the government does to much in the issues of gender, because sexual harassment issues has become such a major issue in companies these days. Those laws were to protect female employees, as well as male employees, but these days lots of employees take advantage of these laws for personal gain.
(3) Sexual orientation is a fine line that I can not relate to. I know in the arm services you can be open about your sexual orientation as long as you do not act upon with your fellow soldiers. President Obama is trying to contradict that law were you can be open with your sexual orientation and act on it no matter the environment.

I commented on the following blogs:
 Ashley Pelfrey; J. Albert Munoz; Ian F. Price

(1) Freedom of speech is very important. It gives us the freedom to voice our opinion and speak what is on our mind. Does the freedom go "too far"? Maybe at times it does. When people speak to freely about a subject or about a person, it can cause a lot of grief or even ruin the reputation that people carry. I think the fighting words doctrine should not be protected. When you are in a heated conversation and one of you say something that makes the other mad...you should be able to fight it out. If you don't want to fight, don't open your mouth.

(2) Separation from church and state is very necessary. I am Baptist but have many friends who are of different religions. We don't always see eye to eye. Freedom of religion is a very important thing. There are many religions and different beliefs in the world. We should have the freedom and right to be able to choose the way we believe. If we didn't have that freedom, there would probably fighting or even war in our nation, like over seas.

(3) Defendant's rights are crucial to our system. We should have the rights necessary for what we are facing. If we were just at the wrong place at the wrong time, it would be unfair to get the same punishment as those who were guilty. I don't think defendants have too many rights. They should have every means necessary to prove they are innocent. Evidence never lies, but they should still get a fair chance.

I commented on: William Richardson, Ian Price, & Brandi Lively

I commented on the following blogs: Ashley Pelfrey
                                                            Rachel Bunch
                                                            J. Albert Munoz

1. Is a stong national government necessary or should the state governments have an equal share of power? Why?

I think state government should have equal share of power. If national government gets to powerful over state government it's not a good thing. For years I have made fun of my dad for saying that we were gonna become a communism nation. Stepping back and taking a look at our nation, I don't think we are far from it. I don't want to live in a communsim country. National and state should have equal power.


2. National power increased during the Great Depression but then power began to shift back to the states (somewhat) during the Reagan administration? Why did that happen and is that shift appropriate?

Reagan stated, "Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem." He thought that government had gained to much power during the Great Depression. I think the shift was appropriate. Reagan was working for the people and to give as much power, as he could, back to the states so the people didn't feel like the government was holding a thumb over them.


3. Education stirs much discussion relating to the issue of federalism. Should the national government regulate education or is it a matter best left to state and local governments? Why?

I feel that national government should regulate education. Not to say state or local government wouldn't do an awesome job, but sometimes states get into trouble where money is concerned and again not saying that national government doesn't get into money trouble. I just feel that national government would do a better job. In the long run it's what is best for the students and what will work best for them.

POLS 1030

1. Why is the United States Constitution stronger than the Articles of Confederation? How would the history of the United States have been different if the county still operated under the Articles?

The United States Constitution is stronger because you have a nationsl government enforcing authority instead of each state making its own laws under the Articles of Confederation. If the country still operated under the Articles of Confederation it would be total chaos. Anyone traveling outside of their state would not know what laws were in effect and what laws were not.

2. The first three articles of the Constitution establish/define the three branches of government. What did you learn that you didn't already know about our government?

Although I had a government class in high school, I did not pay close attention or maybe I didn't care as much since I was young. Now that I'm older it fasinates me. I'm learning that the legislative branch (congress) makes all the laws, the executive branch (president and the government departments, or bureaucracy) enforces the laws, and the judical branch (supreme court and the federal courts) interprets (explains) the laws.

3. How important is the Supreme Court ruling in Marbury v. Madison and why?

I think the Marbury v. Madison case is extremely important. It's the case that set the paths for the writs of mandamus. If further actions need to be taken to protect or up hold our constitution the Supreme Court had that authority.

4. Looking at the United States government today, is it more like what the Federalists or the AnitFederalists envisioned and why?

I feel that the United States government is more like the Federalists. We do not want any changes made or the constitution amended.

 

Hi, my name is Shannon, I am a single mother of a beautiful daughter. She has captured my heart and I'm not sure if anyone can compete with her. I am from a small town. My dad is pastor at the church that I have belonged for 17 years. In June of 2012, my daughter accepted the Lord and two days later I fell and broke my right leg and ankle. Summer of 2012 was awesome and bitter sweet. I am still recovering and the cold weather is making it a challenge! I am majoring in Criminal Justice and I hope this class gives me a better insight as to how the government functions so I can stop assuming!