Pakistan School Attack

http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/16/world/asia/pakistan-peshawar-school-attack/

On Tuesday this week, the Taliban attacked the Army Public School and Degree College. They left 145 dead, all expect 10 of these people were students. There were also more than 100 injured, most of them with gunshot wounds. These terrorists got into the school at around 10 in the morning by scaling the walls. They were set on killing the older students, though many of the children were between the ages of 12 and 16. When the Pakistani troops arrived at the scene of the crime, they imprisoned the seven terrorists in four different buildings. They were dead by the end of the day. 

I think the acts of the Taliban are unforgivable. They have done rotten things in the past, but when they brought children into this, they became despicable. Knowing our U.S. government, they will try to get involved with this whole situation. Though I think it is a good thing that we are acknowledging this crisis and will probably try to help with it, we would probably only make things worse. The last thing we need is to get involved with any mid-Eastern incidents.

Veterans

http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21635478-nearly-half-new-federal-employees-are-military-veterans-what-next

 Out of all the new federal employees, about half are military veterans. Each year, almost 200,000 people leave the military. Most of these people go through a Pentagon program which is supposed to make the transition into civilian life easier. This program usually leads to a government jobs. When Obama ordered the government to hire even more veterans in 2009, the amount of of these people increased by a lot. Veterans usually have a really good chance of getting a job when being considered over others. Sometimes civil servants even go looking for veterans to hire if there are capable ones available. Sadly, this theory has now changed. It is now more likely for young veterans to be unemployed. The reason for this is now that medicine and body armor have improved, people have survived blows that were once fatal. Many of these survivors return home with severe brain damage. However, there is a group for disabled veterans that will give you an "unemployability" payment if you have a spouse and a child.

This article is related to our class for a couple reasons. First, it talks about both employment and unemployment rates. It also discusses the percentage of veterans that work for the federal government. I think it is great that the world is trying to help out the people who risked there lives for our country. Setting up programs to help with the disability rates, for example, is a good way to support these veterans.

Immigration

http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21635006-illegal-immigrants-are-confused-presidents-order-republicans-are-incensed-both

There are about 11 million illegal-immigrants in America right now. On November 20th, Obama made a decision that could benefit about 40% of these people. It was announced that, if eligible, they will now be able to start paying taxes, get temporary work permits, and leave the country with being denied re-entry. However, the immigrants still won't have any formal status in the U.S. The Republicans are very angry with this choice. The trouble for them is incentives for the presidential elections. They need the support from Hispanic voters, especially in swing states, to win. Even the immigrants who would benefit are not 100% pleased. Of the 40% of illegal-immigrants in America, almost 3.5 million immigrants are the parents of children who were born in America. Nearly all the rest arrived in the U.S. when they were children. They are worried about having a brush with the law. Also, some can't find the documents needed for their children or they just can't afford to apply for a work permit.

There are a couple of things related to our AP Gov class in this article. First, it talks about the issue of immigration and how Obama's plan will effect the rest of the country. There was also discussion about the presidential elections and how the Republicans are reacting to this whole thing.

Congress Vs. President

http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21632503-anyone-hoping-outbreak-good-government-likely-be-disappointed-face

The Democratic party had a terrible midterm election this year. Some people say that our government system works best when Congress is entirely one party while the President is another party. However, if you are in that state of mind, then when the House and the Senate are two different parties it makes it easier to blame each other for stubbornness.

At the end of the year, questionable choices are looked over.  There is a possibility that Congress will give fast track authority for foreign trade to the President. Both the Democrats and the Republicans want to lower America’s high taxes on companies. Even though most Republican members of the House have signed a pledge to voters never to raise taxes, Congress is trying to cut rates and close loopholes for corporate tax. There is a good chance that a few adjustments will be made to Obamacare.

This article has a couple of things related to our class. First, it talks about the roles of Congress and the executive branch. Also, many controversial decisions such as Obamacare, immigration, taxes, and trade are discussed in this passage. Lastly, the impact of previous presidents and Congress members is talked about.

Midterm Elections

http://time.com/3547829/5-things-to-watch-for-in-the-midterm-elections/

In the midterm elections, there are a couple of things you should keep an eye on. One is the Democrats and women. The root of the idea that the Democrats are the "mommy" party comes from Alison Grimes in Kentucky, Michelle Nunn in Georgia and the incumbents Kay Hagan in North Carolina and Mary Landrieu in Louisiana. All of these women running for Senator have emphasized women’s issues such as equal pay, parental leave, and abortion rights. Another thing to look out for is Republicans and swing states. Iowa, New Hampshire, and Colorado are all swing states that usually lean toward Democrats, though that may change this year. Iowa has a lively Republican candidate against an appalling Democrat. New Hampshire and Colorado are both in tight races against honorable Democrats Jeanne Shaheen and Mark Udall.

This relates to our class in a couple of different ways. It discusses the elections into Congress and how we will be affected if the Republicans win the Senate.  If they do win the Senate, it would just make things even more difficult to agree on than it already is.This article also talks about political issues like Obamacare, abortion rights, equal pay, and tax cuts.

Tax Cuts

http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21629457-voters-kansas-will-pass-judgment-bold-experiment-tax-cutting-brownbackonomics

Sam Brownback, governor of Kansas, has been applauding low taxes and high growth since 2011, the year he took office. In 2012, he did a very ambitious thing  with tax cuts. People with strong tax views will be watching the election for the governor of Kansas. Now Kansas is a highly Republican state. In fact, they haven't voted for a Democratic president since LBJ. Being the Republican candidate, Brownback should be winning by a landslide. However, he is tied with the Democratic candidate Paul Davis because of Brownback's tax plan. At first, his plan  seemed reasonable. He wanted to cut the marginal taxes and drop the top rate from 6.45% to 4.9%. It was supposed to go down to as low as 3.9%, but the legislative cut rates and eliminated taxes on "pass through" businesses entities. This made revenue take a big hit of 6% below plan.

Many other states have been changing their income taxes in the last couple of years because of Brownback's bold tax plan. For example, Ohio cut taxes for individuals in the years 2012 and 2014 and small businesses in 2014. Maine, Illinois, and Idaho cut income tax and California and Maryland increased income tax for the rich.

Campaign Inflation

http://time.com/3533559/campaign-inflation/

The amount of money spent on elections by campaigns and outside groups has been growing at an incredible rate. It has even grown faster than the rate of health care and private college tuition. They have been using these unlimited bank accounts to get more airtime, mailings, and any other get-out-the-vote methods. The reason the cost of campaigns has increased so much is because of the national economy growth, the extremely tin margin that decides congressional control, and the revisions made to the campaign-finance rules. This growth should continue to increase over time.

This article is related to our class for a couple of reasons. First, it talks about how money is spent for election campaigning. It also discusses the growth rate of issues like health care and private college tuition. Lastly, it talks about the effects that the increasing rate will have on the election campaigning. For example, the NBC affiliate in Iowa decided to add an hour to the nightly newscast to get money from all the political ads.

Alabama Literacy Test

The Alabama literacy test was used to see whether or not you could vote if you were African American before 1965. I thought the test would be pretty easy and that I would do good on it. When I took it though, I discovered how hard it was and I think it was unfair to judge if you can vote or not with this test. I did not do nearly as well as I thought I would on this test. I am surprised by how hard the test was and I thought I would to better on it then I did.

What Will Happen If the Republicans Win the Senate

http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21625788-two-scenarios-next-two-years-if-republicans-win-senate

According to most polls, the Republicans will most likely take a slim lead in November’s mid-term elections for the Senate. If this happens, the result will either be political paralysis or finding common ground between the Republicans and the Democrats. The pessimistic view of this scenario is saying that there will be no important laws passed while there is a Republican Senate because the two parties are so antithetical that they never agree on anything. The optimistic view counters this by saying that the Republicans and the president will have to work together to keep both their legacies alive. For example, Republicans are stating that they believe if the Republicans win the Senate, they will see advancement in policies such as free trade, corporate-tax reform, deficit reduction, federal highway funding, and revising the legal basis for the war in Iraq and Syria.

I do not think having a majority of the Senate being Republicans would be a good thing. I believe it would just make it even more difficult to agree on things than it already is. Many Republicans believe Obama is a hazard whom Americans should oppose. On the other hand, many Democrats think there is no point trying to reason with Republicans on the matter of making deals. Because of this, they will never cut a deal if there is a Republican Senate.

American Oil

 http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/18/business/energy-environment/us-oil-boom-shows-no-signs-of-slowing-down.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=HpSum&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=1

Even after the falling gas and oil prices, oil experts are saying the American energy explosion is not going to slow down. To even moderately slow this process down, the price of a barrel of oil would have to decline $10 to $20 more. Lower oil prices also means lower gas prices. The national gas price has gone down 10 cents in the last week and 22 cents in the last year. The problem is, states like Texas, Alaska, Oklahoma, and North Dakota that produced oil are having their finances being cut into. This is because taxes and royalties are declining. As long as this keeps happening, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will put pressure on these state to cut output to support these prices.

This article relates to our class in a couple of ways. It discusses the role oil plays in the economy. It also talks about the tax decline and how it affects oil-producing states. Lastly, the government requires a certain amount of money producers pay them in taxes and royalties.

Same-Sex Marriage Rights

http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/06/politics/gay-marriage-2014/

This article is about the Supreme Court's decision on Monday about same-sex marriage. They would not hear the cases about maintaining same-sex marriage bans in some states. Because of this, the states of Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin and Indiana have now cleared the way for legalizing gay marriage. North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia, Colorado, Kansas, and Wyoming also had their bans struck down. This means there are now 30 states that permit civil marriage compared to the 19 states that did so before the Supreme Court meeting.

In my opinion, civil marriage should be legal in all states. It is not fair that same-sex couples can't
have the same marriage rights shared by heterosexual couples. They should be allowed to publicly celebrate their commitment in the same way as couples between a man and a woman do. Also,

legalizing gay marriage will not harm "family values” and not allowing it is unconstitutional discrimination.

This article relates to our class for a couple reasons. It discusses the rule of the Supreme Court in these situations. It also talks about how states can make their own laws, but the Supreme Court can say that law is unconstitutional.

The 3% Economy

http://time.com/3429656/the-3-economy/

Our country is now at a 3% GDP growth. A couple years ago, Americans couldn't wait for this to happen, thinking that when the GDP growth finally hit close to 3%, the middle class jobs and wages would be restored. Sadly, this has not been the case. Unemployment is down, but only a fraction of the jobs lost during the Great Recession that pay more than $15 per hour have been found. As if this isn't bad enough, wage growth has stayed near zero for the last 10 years. Our economy is broken, and it's about to get worse. According to a smart investor, student debt is where the next big financial crisis is coming from. It has tripled over the lat decade and it is still growing. However, this is not surprising considering the circumstances. Students are fighting the strong structural change in the economy. Also, many students are trying to become educated so they can get out of the cycle of downward mobility.

This article relates to our class in a couple of ways. It discusses the issues in the economy such as student debt, unemployment, and wage growth. It also talks about GPD growth and how it relates to our economy. In my opinion, the GDP growth number doesn't make a difference. If you don't think the economy is any better than before, then you are probably right.

Fight Against Ebola

http://www.voanews.com/content/obama-to-address-un-ebola-meeting/2462000.html

Thousands of people in West Africa, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Nigeria and Senegal have been diagnosed with Ebola. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has announced that by January of 2015, as many as 550,000-1.4 million people in West Africa could be infected with this disease. The economies of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States have all guaranteed to keep direct contact with Ebola-hit countries from the sky and sea. President Obama reported a $1 billion plus plan to help with the Ebola issue in these countries.“Stopping Ebola is a priority for the United States. We will continue to lead and do our part. But this must also be a priority for the world.” Obama said. “The World Bank announced that they are going to add another $170 million to the $230 million they already donated. Doctors, scientists, and military troops from the US have been set up to control the epidemic and find new treatments.

The Ebola threat is related to our class because it talks about foreign policy. It does this by discussing how the US is going to help out the West African countries. I think we should do as much as possible to help the Ebola-hit countries, but we also need to think about our own country. Using such a large amount of money may be risky on top of the debt our country is already in. However, keeping Ebola out of countries around the world is an important task that we should help with.

Georgia Governor Race

http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21615619-jimmy-carters-grandson-has-shot-turning-georgia-democratic-again-deal-or-no-deal

This article talks about the race for governor in Georgia. Jason Carter, is involved in this race and is hoping to make Georgia Democratic once again. The fact that he is the grandson of Jimmy Carter is both an advantage and a hardship. It could be beneficial because liberals appreciate his charity work and think he is well deserving of his Nobel peace prize. On the other hand, conservatives recall all the malaise of the late, the botched Iranian hostage crisis, and the ridiculous episode of the "killer rabbit". So far, the Republican candidate Nathan Deal is two percent ahead of Carter. Deal is offering tax breaks for new factories and to cut some regulations, though he is not taking any actions to show that he will actually accomplish this task.

I believe that even though Jason Carter is the grandson of Jimmy Carter, it is still fair for him to run as governor. He has stated that he is his own person and has his own ideas. For example, he doesn't agree with his grandfather's fondness of green regulations and his opposition to oil pipelines. Jason is also pro-death penalty and agrees with the gun lobby practices.

There are a few reasons for why this article is related to our class. It discusses the opinion differences of the liberals and conservatives. It also talks about the fact that starting out with name recognition in a political race can be helpful depending on why you are recognized.

Third Party Canidates

 http://politics.suntimes.com/article/washington/third-party-candidates-could-tip-key-senate-races/fri-09052014-910am

In a couple states such as North Carolina, Kentucky, and Alaska; the third party candidates are shaking up the Senate. Usually, there is no chance of a third party candidate winning an election. However, in the states previously mentioned there are very close races in the running for Senate. For example, the independent Kansas Senate candidate George Orman is getting more attention then ever. He managed the third party bid to remove the three time Republican Senate candidate, Senator Pat Roberts, so well that the Democratic candidate, Chad Taylor, dropped out of the race. These third party candidates are a threat to Republicans. To have the majority, Republicans need six more chairs in the Senate. This proves to be more difficult now that it is likely Pat Roberts wont win the election. Also, many conservatives who usually vote for Republicans are now becoming interested in the libertarian candidates.

I believe it is a good thing that the third party candidates finally have a chance of winning an election. I think this would provide more variety in the government which means new ideas. I also think it would be good for these candidates to win so in debates, the third party can actually have a say.

This article is related to our class in a couple of ways. It talks about the conflict between third party candidates and Republicans. It also discusses what states will be affected by the third party candidates. These states include Kentucky, Alaska, and Georgia.