POLITICAL RESEARCH19
PoliticalResearch
PoliticalResearch
Section1
VoterID Laws
Thestatutes concerning voter ID require people to have valid identityverication before they engage in the voting process. These laws areactive in more than 30 states and they have been the topic ofcontroversy (Austin-Hillery, 2016).There are concerns that voter Idrequirements may lead to voter suppression especially since manystates have stepped up efforts to implement voter ID and votingrestriction laws in an effort to combat voting fraud through voterimpersonation .One of the concerns concerning the voter IDcontroversy is the fact that it’s often seen as discriminatoryagainst the minority communities, and voting rights advocatescontinue to show concern about the occurrence of the issue.
MandatoryVaccination
Mandatoryvaccination laws are based on laws requiring a particular part of thepopulation to be vaccinated. The state has shown concern about theoccurrence of a number of medical conditions and has therefore calledfor vaccination efforts to reduce cases of some medical conditions.There are a large number of people who disagree with the theory asthere are differing views on forcing people to be vaccinated(Schwartz, 2013).However, professionals in the pharmaceutical sectorbelieve that the move is one of huge significance, especially becausevaccination has saved many life’s especially in recent times.Furthermore, there is also much concern because vaccination rateshave continued to decline in recent times. Many parents feel thatthey are making the right choice by refusing to vaccinate theirchildren, and this has led to increased calls for mandatoryvaccination laws.
TheNDAA/Patriotism Act
Theformer US President George Bush backed up the NDAA/Patriotism Act.The law allows the government to spy on citizens and monitor theiractivities if they are deemed suspicious, and this is often done ifthe government believes that one is a terrorist. Such vitalinformation as financial information as well as phone history can bechecked to gain more insight into a person’s activities andoperations .Many people believe that the law demonstrates anencroachment of the civil rights of people and may lead to fear andtension. The Patriots Act brought about new justifications as well asmethods of US surveillance of its citizens .There has been muchdebate on the occurrence and this has been further heightened byrevelations of telephone recordings of different individuals. Amidstall the protests and concerns about the act, it seems that it is muchin use within the US, with increased efforts to curb terrorism.
GunRegulation
Gunregulation or gun restrictions are concerned with the permission toown or use a firearm. These laws are concerned with ensuring that gunusers and owners are under strict scrutiny in the use of theseweapons (Fleming & McClain, 2013).There is much uproar concerninggun regulation especially since it goes against the 2ndAmmendment that allows for the right of citizens to beararms.However,recent increases in violence have legitimized the needfor gun laws and they also show the importance of the recognition ofthese laws .Though there are a large number of responsible gun ownersin the US, the rising cases of insecurity due to gun violence arecontinually on the rise.However,despite this, it is clear that guncontrol isn’t the answer to the issue. The panel continues to dealwith controversial issues affecting the world including globalwarming and pollution, and looks for answers to these issues.
Agenda21
Agenda21 is a voluntary action plan by the US that regards sustainabledevelopment. It is an action plan that looks to be implemented onlocal and international levels and looks to ensure that there ischange in the lives of the human population (Allard, 2012).Agenda 21calls for the lowering of living standards in developed countries sothat the people in poorer countries will have more. The reason thatit calls for this is to promote social justice and ensure there isequity (Hardt, 2013).The redistribution of wealth is one concernraised with the hope of achieving equal levels of prosperity for allpeople. Cooperation between member states is a key feature of thisarrangement, and it looks to bring positive change in the world.
NSA
TheNSA is a security agency in the US that is responsible for processinginformation for intelligence purposes as well as ensuring that globalmonitoring in all operations. It is responsible for such issues asglobal monitoring, collection of data and the processing ofinformation that is linked to foreign intelligence as well ascounterintelligence purposes (Kaplan, 2015).The NSA has the machineryas well as the capabilities of monitoring the activities ofindividuals or organizations, It has the capability of tracking suchthings as mobile phones of people. The NSA has on many occasionstapped into the telephony links of major telecommunications providersas well. There is growing concern about the breach of privacy thatoccurs as well as the lack of consideration for the details andinformation of individuals.
Benghazi
TheBenghazi attack is the coordinated attack that occurred against twoUS government agencies in Libya by a South African militant group.The attack is believed to be triggered by anti-Muslim video that wasreleased prior to this attack (Emord, 2016). The Benghazi attackoccurred at a time when the security in the region was vulnerable andthere is a belief that the then Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton,did not personally deny requests for additional security in theregion at that particular time. It is believed that the attack was anavoidable tragedy. Another emergence is the belief that the USadministration’s response to the issue was intentional andcoordinated.deception.It is believed that the State Department atthat time knew that the Benghazi compound was undermanned andfurthermore requests for extra security were ignored. Furthermore,due to political concerns, the administration failed to respond intime to calls for more security personnel.
Drone
Adrone is an unmanned aircraft that operates without the control of ahuman being. Many of these drones have cameras and they are capableof transmitting real time videos to the operators who are on theground. The operator can look at the image from a computer and viewthe drone as if they were on it.Drones have been used by the military and modern technologies have ensured that they can be driven beyondthe sight of the pilot. Drones are mostly used by the military toaccess areas of difficulty and gain a firsthand knowledge of theseparticular areas.
Fastand Furious
Fastand Furious occurred when the relevant regulation body cooperatedwith gun salespersons to trace unregistered firearms from buyers, asit was supposed that they were getting them from drug peddlers.However, the initiative went bad when the report cited a series ofmisguided strategies as well as tactics, and this led to calls formore investigations into issues at hand. The tragic death of Terryput the public spotlight on the initiative and there were questionsas to why the ATF officials failed to intercept the guns that werebought by the buyers before they got into the possession of thesecartels. It is believed that the practice allowed these guns to slipinto the hands of the wrong people. The controversies from theoccurrence caused major questions concerning the tactics used andthere have been calls for more investigations into the matter.
IranDeal
TheIran deal included a framework that aimed at agreeing on the nuclearprogram, and it is one of huge proportions since it affects thesustainability of relations of world nations. The deal gave way tomodels of inspection of nuclear activities in the region and callsfor the enforcement of compliance procedures within these procedures.The deal has helped to end hostile relations between the US and helplead to a US-Iranian alignment in all procedures. The nuclear talksin Iran are part of the nation’s plans to ensure that there iscommon ground between the country and its neighbours. Iran has astrategic position in the Middle East and will look to guard all itsinterests as well. The agreement also managed to free Iran from anyrisks of sanctions and empower their efforts.
CommonCore
TheCommon Core details exactly what students should know by the timethey finish their education (Zhuhui, 2016).The core is meant to raisethe educational standard in the country and ensure that students areable to achieve their full potential in education throughstandardization.741The common core initiative has seen many statesadopt a similar curriculum of English and Math with the aim ofimproving the standards of education in the country. The Common corestandards that teachers teach students the same way nationally and atthe same time ensure that they pass their examinations. There ishowever much criticism for the Common Core initiative especiallysince it has uneven inclusions of reading, writing, and speaking,even though they mention digital literacy tools.
Section2
Communism
Communismrefers to a socioeconomic order where common ownership is common andthe main aim of this is to ensure unity. Communism believes in thefact that there should be no economic class in the society and thatthere should be no profit. Communists believe that the capitalistsystem must be eliminated and political systems overturned for therealization of a revolution. The ideology of communism is centered ata communist approach to politics where social and political equalityis put as the core and these remain as the base of the society.
Marxist
Itrefers to the theory by Karl Marx that explains class relations and dtheir significance. It is a method of social and economic analysisbased on class relations and societal conflict. Marxists are peoplewho believe that it is necessary to change from, a capitalist systemto a socialist system, and that this will have much benefit on thesociety. A Marxist also believes that understanding the classstruggle will have a central role to play in understanding theoppression that exists in the society through the major division ofthe rich and the poor in the society.
Republic
Arepublic is a sovereign state that is organized with a government incharge that has been duly elected by the citizens of the nation. Theleader of the republic is expected to exercise power under the lawand furthermore practice power according to the constitution of thatnation.The powers in the republic are equally distributed among theexecutive, legislature, and the judiciary, and these ensure that theyimplement all that is enshrined in the constitution through theiractivities.
Totalitarianism
Itis a political system where there is authoritarian rule and anauthorization regulates and controls all activities and aspects ofgovernance. It consists of a government wielding complete social,political, economic, and cultural control and a dictatorial leadernormally heads it. A totalitarian state does not allow any democracyor reason, but expects all the citizens to submit to rule. It alsodoes not approve to parliamentarian institutions and criticizes themtogether with any other form of socialist operations. It is oftenhierarchical and does not practice equality in any of its operations.Such a form of government is dictatorial and fails to recognize andpromote any social systems.
Monarchy
Amonarchy is a political system in which sovereignity is assigned to asingle person, and furthermore this individual is the head of state,which is a position that is gained through heredity. The rule is thehead of state but is not the head of government and he embodies thenational identity of the country. Monarchies are often associatedwith political and sociocultural rule and it consists of a lifelongrule of the nation. It is the oldest form of government and it isstill practiced in regions such as the UK.
Dictator
Adictator is a leader who wields absolute power over the nation and ina majority of cases, the leader abuses this power. The dictator oftenexhibits oppressive or abusive rule over his subjects and may rulethe nation unjustly in most cases as well (Moyers, 2013).Many leaderswho come to power through such ways as military coups or state ofemergencies may become dictators, and in many cases, these rulershave often been compared to tyrants. In a majority of cases, thedictator is often seen in a negative light and often feared as well.
Tyranny
Atyranny is a system where the ruler is oppressive and unjust andextremely exercises power over the nation. It is a form of governmentin which the leader has selfish aims and fails to recognize the needsof the citizens. It often consists of the abuse of power for personalgain, and consists of a cruel leader who unfairly rules over thenation, failing to consider the constitutional rights of the citizensof that particular country.
Anarchy
Anarchyis a situation where there is political disorder due to the absenceof power. It is a state where there is a power vacuum because thereis no governmental control. Though anarchism occurs due to the lackof power, it is inaccurate to say that the system consists of totalchaos. It is the rejection of a state as well the rejection of acoercive government. Anarchists do not only reject the government butthey reject any form of coercion or domination of any kind.Anarchists have chosen to accept freedom with both its positive andnegative aspects and they believe that there should be equality inall aspects of life.
Section3
TheUS Constitution
TheUS constitution was created on 17thSeptember 1787 in Washington DC. The authors of the document were thePhiladelphia Convention who came together to form the document. Thepurpose of the document was to ensure that the articles ofconfederation were adequately replaced.
TheArticles of Confederation
Thearticles of confederation were created on September 5th1777 and the author of this document was the Continental Congress.The document was created in the National Congress and the mainpurpose of the document was to serve as the first constitution of theUnited States.
TheDeclaration of Independence
TheDeclaration of Independence was created in July 1776 and the authorsof the document were Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, RogerSherman, John Adams, and Robert Livingston. The intention of thedocument was to serve as a proof of the separation from Britain.
Section4
Thedisagreement between the county government and the centralizedgovernment occurs due to the limits that are present in both of theseforms of government. The Federal government is a form of powerseparation and devolution of resources from the central government.The struggle however occurs when the central government, thus leadingto strained relations between these two, limits resources of thefederal government. An example of this can be seen in the US systemof government where the federal states government often competes forresources with the federal government. There are a number of cases ofofficials abusing power, and one of these examples is that of JoeArpaio, who was found guilty of misusing the power in his office forhis selfish gain.
Section5
a.The Federal Reserve is the system running the central bank, whichoften includes the Board of Governors and it is responsible forensuring that the economic conditions of all the areas of the countryare taken into account in all instances of policymaking and equitydistribution.
b.The free market refers to the system where the open market as well asthe consumers determines the prices of goods as well as the market.An important characteristic of this is the fact that the demand andsupply mechanisms are often free from the interference of thegovernment and any other authority.
c.The US is currently in debt, and it is believed that the debt of thenation is believed to be around 19.5 trillion dollars. The governmentgot in debt due to increased spending on such issues as Medicare aswell as Social Security and National Defense. This has increasedspending at faster rates, and this is constantly growing.Furthermore, as the debt increases, so does the interest and thiscause the amount of debt to be that high. The best task structurewould be the simple task structure, as this would enable stablesystemized taxing according to one’s economic capability.Individuals who fail to pay tax should be exempt from receivingbenefit from the task because it will be a fair measure oflimitation. It would be reasonable to tax people for a dollar forevery ten dollars. It would be a reasonable and sustainable amount totax with.
d.Thelocal government spends money on such things as seniorsubsidies,defense,education,social services,health,interest,highwaysand transportation,police,courts and prisons, agriculturesubsidies,space.The federal government spends money on foodstuffs andfarming produce,education,transportation,benefits for retiredsoldiers, debtst,military,energy and social security for theunemployed.The state government spends on such things as publicsafety,k12 education,Medicaid,health and social services, health andsocial services,agriculture,education and science.
e.Personal Budget
Salary $50000
FederalIncome Tax $500
StateTax &300
CityTax $200
SocialSecurity/Medicare $150
Savings$ 5000
MedicalInsurance $300
Mortgage$8000
Childrenexpenses $3500
HouseholdItems &2000
.Section6
Thelocal, state, and federal politicians in office are Governor RickScott, Lieutenant Governor Carlos Lopez Canterra, Attorney GeneralPam Boindi, Secretary of State Kez Dezner.The School Board Member isPeter McCauley
Section7
Presidents
1.An executive order is an order by the head of state to help speed upcertain decisions and to manage affairs within the federal governmentitself.
2.President Obama has signed 235 executive orders during his term ingovernment
3.The most unusual executive order was that signed by President Obamato implement even stricter gun laws.
Czars
Thecurrent czars include the following
JeffreyZients, The Peter the Great of Obama Czars
ValJones, Green Jones Scar
MarkLloyd, Diversity Scar
StevenRattner, Car Czar
MelissaHathaway, Cyber Czar
DennisBlair, Intelligence Czar
RGil Kerlikowske, Drug Czar
LynnRosenthal, Domestic Violence Czar
AdolfoCarrion, Urban Affairs Czar
DanielFried, Gitmo Czar
EarlDevaney, Stimulus Accountability Czar
DennisRoss, Iran Czar
Theseczars receive an average wage of $100,000
Section8
TheCalifornia Supreme Court judges are Carol Corrigan,TaniCantil-Sakauye,Goodwin Liu,Mariano –Florentino Cuellar and LeondraKruger from the Democratic as well as Republican Parties. The localjudges are Marriano Cuelar, Goodwin Liu, and Kathryn Werdeger fromboth Republican and Democratic parties. According to Article 3, theconstitution establishes that the overall might of the judicialsystem is given to the Supreme Court and other smaller courts.
Section9.
Thereare different sources of media and all of these bear greatsignificance in the industry. Four of these media sources includeprint media, broadcast media, internet, television, and radio.Television currently gives consumers a large range of information ina short while. These media sources may be owned by privateorganizations or even by the government. The media is often verysecretive in political issues, but it often supports the opposition.There are a number of cases where the media has shown bias towardsthe left and to the right.
Examplesare:
“Anelection that America cannot win”
“Aliberal dose of state ballot measures”
“Aday to separate the losers”
“Its80s all over again”
“Trump’sSecret Armed Army”
Itis true that is necessary to have two-left leaning and two rightleaning sources in the papers. It is important because it helps toensure balance in the news reporting procedures.
Section10
1.What is democracy?
2.What is the importance of democracy?
3.What is the role of the government in enhancing democracy?
4.What role does the speaker have in parliament?
5.What role does the attorney general have?
6.How are laws made?
7.What is the relevance of the constitution?
8.Explain the importance of the executive branch of government
9.Describe the electoral process
10.Explain the government’s role in the electoral process
Section11
Fourpolitical parties are the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, thegreen party, and the libertarian party. These different politicalparties have different political objectives and furthermore they havedifferent roles to perform in the political scenario.
Section12
Moveon-This is an organization that brings ordinary people into politicsby giving a stand on issues related to policy and advocating forcampaign finance reforms as well as supporting candidates.
TidesFoundation-It is an organization that gives grants to nonprofitworking towards social change in the US.
Centreof American Progress-It is an organization that offers policyproposals and various talking points and events.
MediaResearch Centre- It is an organisation that looks to collaborate forconflict resolution and seek common ground in various issues.
HeritageFoundation-This conservative think tank gives advice and consultancyon governmental and policy issues
Humanevents-This is another conservative voice that gives outlook andhelps shape national issues through its agenda
Weatherunderground-It is a local organization that gives information ofweather throughout the world.
Organizingfor America-It is a company that is a community-based project of theNational Democratic Committee. The organization is focused onspreading Democratic ideals.
FreedomWorks-It is a company that is focused on helping activists fight forlower taxes, less government as well as more freedom.
Centrefor Self Governance-It is an organization that is aimed at enhancingcivil authority and building habits as well as skills that arenecessary to the governance of the nation
NationalReview-It is an organization that aims at promoting national cohesionby means of enhancing the promotion of nationalism.
Section13
Abond occurs when the state government places a question to the peoplein the ballot regarding the approval or the denial of budget spending
Aprop is a legislation procedure that ensures that parliamentarymembers can vote on a certain occurrence to their own will.
Absenteeballot is vote from a person that is not able to cast a vote at thedesignated official polling facility and therefore has to do soalternatively
Aprovisional ballot is used to record a vote when there are questionsconcerning the legibility of the particular voter
OfficeBlock Ballot occurs when the naming and arrangement of the candidatesin done in alphabetical order and it may be or may not be in the setareas for voting.
TheCalifornia Public Schools Facility Prop 51 was on November 8, 2015and this was an initiated state statute
Thepaper was of much significance because it enables one to understandvarious political terms and occurrences as well as theirsignificance.
References
Austin-Hillery,N. (2016). Chapter 10: Voter ID as a Form of Voter Suppression. State& Local Law News,39(3),12-16.
Emord,J. W. (2016). Lying About Benghazi. USAToday Magazine,144(2850),12-14.
Fleming,J. E., & McClain, L. C. (2014). Ordered Gun Liberty: Rights WithResponsibilities And Regulation. BostonUniversity Law Review,94(3),849-892.
Moyers,B. (2011). Big Odds and Small Acts of Rebellion. VitalSpeeches of the Day,77(1),3-10.
Schwartz,J. L. (2013). Evidence and Ethics in Mandatory Vaccination Policies.AmericanJournal of Bioethics,13(9),46-48. doi:10.1080/15265161.2013.815023
Zhihui,F. (2016). Text complexity in the US Common Core State Standards: Alinguistic critique. AustralianJournal of Language & Literacy,39(3),195-206.