McLaughlin Assignment 11 DUE 12/1/10

McLaughlin Assignment 11 DUE 12/1

Based on our discussions in class and the resources listed, respond to the following questions in no less than 150 words:

With the republicans taking control of the House of Representatives, one of their stated goals is to repeal the health care law that was passed earlier in the year. There is question though if the Republicans will have enough power/support for a full repeal. Many believe that Republicans will instead focus on other ways of attacking the law. Read the following articles:

White House’s summary of the Healthcare Law

http://www.whitehouse.gov/healthreform/healthcare-overview#works

What the Midterm Elections Results Mean for the Future of Health Care Reform:

http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2010/1103_post_election_health_care_aaron.aspx

Republicans seek Democratic allies in health care fight:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1110/44968.html

Based on the White House summary, what is your opinion of the Health Care Law? Do you think republicans should try to repeal the law? Why/why not? Do you think they will be able to? Why/Why not?

Chapter 25 Assignment (Due 12/6/10)

Chapter 25 Assignment has been posted on the website and on E-portfolio.

Is will be due 12/6/10.

Link to Assignment: Chapter 25 Assignment (due 12/6/10)

Link to E-Portfolios (old interface): Link to E-Portfolios

McLaughlin Assignment 10 DUE 11/24/10

McLaughlin Assignment 10 DUE 11/24/10

Based on our discussions in class and the resources listed, respond to the following questions in no less than 150 words:

The Transportation Security Administration recently instituted stricter screening procedures whereby all passengers on planes will either have to go through a high resolution X-ray machine or be subject to a “frisk” by TSA personnel. Many people have objected to the scans as being too intrusive and say they are a violation of their right to privacy under the 4^th Amendment of the US Constitution.

The Fourth Amendment of the Constitution reads as follows: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”

Check out the TSA’s article/video on how the technology works (as well as your options as a passenger): http://www.tsa.gov/approach/tech/ait/how_it_works.shtm

And read the following USA Today article on public opinion regarding the scanning: http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2010-01-11-security-poll_N.htm

In your opinion, are the enhanced security screening methods a violation of a person’s right to privacy under the fourth amendment? Why or why not? If so, how would you respond to the argument that it makes air travel safer for everyone? If not, how would you answer the accusation that the scanner is an electronic “strip search”? Lastly, would you be willing to go through the scanning machine? Why/why not?

McLaughlin Assignment 9 (DUE 11/17/10)

McLaughlin Assignment 9 DUE 11/17/10

Based on our discussions in class and the resources listed, respond to the following questions in no less than 150 words:

A critical issue must be decided by the US Congress before the end of the year: what to do about the Bush era tax cuts. In 2000, President Bush lowered the Federal income tax brackets to the levels indicated below. These tax rates were renewed in Bush’s second term and are set to expire December 31 of this year. Without any changes the brackets will go up to the levels indicated below. Basically, Congress faces one of three options: 1) Extend the tax cuts for all brackets; 2) Extend the tax cuts for certain brackets; or 3) End the tax cuts for all brackets.

President Obama has stated his intention was to increase only the last two brackets (33% and 35%) and leave the other brackets at the Bush Era levels. http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2010/11/12/obama-says-hes-not-caving-on-tax-cuts/?iref=allsearch

Income Bracket (Single)	Current Tax Rate	New Tax Rate	% of Total Taxpayers in Bracket (as of 2008)
$0-$8,375	10%	15%	25%
$8,376-$34,000	15%	15%	46%
$34,001-$82,400	25%	28%	22%
$82,401-$171,850	28%	31%	4%
$171,851-$373,650	33%	36%	2%
$373,651+	35%	36.7%	1%

Read the follow article (a great guide to the tax cut debate):

http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2010/0914_bush_tax_cuts_gale_harris.aspx

If you were a senator or representative in Congress, what would you do about the Bush Tax Cuts? Would you extend them all? Would you extend some but not others? Would you extend none of them? Why? How would you defend your position to angry voters whose taxes you may be raising?

Additional Resource for McLaughlin Blog 8

Check out this awesome article by Time's Fareed Zakaria. It gets right to the heart of the tax/spending issue.

http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,2029356,00.html

Also, if you are interested in another great article by Mr. Zakaria, check out:

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2026776,00.html

McLaughlin Assignment 8 (DUE 11/10/10)

McLaughlin Assignment 8 DUE 11/10/10

Based on our discussions in class and the resources listed, respond to the following questions in no less than 150 words:

Throughout the campaign season of 2010, many candidates ran on a platform promising to cut government spending and/or cut taxes. Now that the Republicans have control of the House of Representatives, they (as well as the Senate and the President) are going to have to make difficult choices about taxes and spending. Namely, the questions are 1) do we want to keep government spending at current levels and raise taxes to cover it or 2) what programs are we going to cut and how much to cut them? Examine the information presented below on and watch the following video:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/ce/Fy2010_spending_by_category.jpg

http://www.brookings.edu/multimedia/video/2010/1022_at_brookings_podcast.aspx

2010 Budget

Category	Amount (Billions)	Percentage of Budget
Social Security	$696.87	19.63%
Department of Defense	$665.27	18.74%
Unemployment/Welfare/Other	$572.62	16.13%
Medicare	$454.05	12.79%
Medicaid/State Children’s Health Insurance Plan	$290.75	8.19%
Interest on National Debt	$164.37	4.63%
Health and Human Services	$78.81	2.22%
Transportation	$72.78	2.05%
Dept. of Veteran’s Affairs	$52.54	1.48%
Dept. of State	$51.83	1.46%
Dept. of Housing	$47.57	1.34%
Dept. of Education	$46.86	1.32%
Dept. of Homeland Security	$42.96	1.21%
All other programs (each under 1%)	$312.76	8.81%
TOTAL	$3,550	100.00%

Important note: The 2010 budget has a $1.42 trillion ($1420 billion) deficit, meaning the government overspent its revenue/income by that amount. To bring the budget back into balance it would have to cut spending (or increase taxes) by $1.42 trillion.

If you were a Representative or Senator in the U.S. government (who was committed to cutting government spending) what would you cut? Why? How would you explain your cuts to angry voters who directly benefit from the programs you are cutting?

Chapter 24 Assignment (Due 11/12/10)

Chapter 24 Assignment has been posted on the website and on E-portfolio.

Is will be due 11/12/10.

Link to Assignment: Chapter 24 Assignment (due 11/12/10)

Link to E-Portfolios (old interface): Link to E-Portfolios

McLaughlin Assignment 7 DUE 11/3/10

McLaughlin Assignment 7 DUE 11/3/10

Based on our discussions in class and the resources listed, respond to the following questions in no less than 150 words:

Political advertisements are a huge part of candidates’ campaigns. These ads can be both positive (describing the qualifications and/or the accomplishments of the candidate) or negative (highlighting the mistakes or unpopular actions of the opponent). Whether an ad is positive or negative often has a significant effect on the its ability to influence voters.

Please review the following article, in which Times’ Frank Lunz describes what he has found to be the qualities that make a successful political ad:

http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,2027829,00.html

Also check out one of the ads we saw on this week’s McLaughlin: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-Woa84xgaU (for Florida’s Kendrick Meek)

What qualities does Lunz identify as necessary for a successful political advertisement? Do you agree with his list? Why/why not? How does Meek’s advertisement measure up against Lunz’s standards? Do you think Meek’s ad is effective? Why/why not?

Bonus points: include a link to a political ad you saw on TV and thought was effective or ineffective and explain your rating.