"McLaughlin" Assignment 13 - DUE 12/16

McLaughlin Assignment 13 DUE 12/8

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

Now that we have seen the "Inside North Korea" documentary, how would you describe the life of the average North Korean citizen? What aspects did you find most disturbing or surprising? Why? What do you feel are the most significant differences from life in the United States? Do you think every student should see this documentary? Why or why not?

Check out the segments of the documentary:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQXfMMHV8FM

McLaughlin Assignment 12 DUE 12/1/10

McLaughlin Assignment 12 DUE 12/8

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

On November 28^th 2010, the website WikiLeaks began publishing secret diplomatic cables (messages) obtained from a source within the U.S. Army. Some feel that the information contained within these secret messages has threatened the safety of US Citizens and compromised out country’s ability to conduct diplomacy with other nations. Others feel that this incident is little more than an embarrassment for the US and instead should serve as a call to reexamine what the US classifies as “secret” and investigate how a Private in the US Army had access to all these documents. Nevertheless, the question remains what is to be done about WikiLeak’s founder and operator, Julian Assange. Has he committed a crime? If so, what is it and what will the US do about it? Read the following article, which details the situation (be aware-there are multiple pages):

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2034276,00.html

Based on the article, was the U.S. damaged by the data release? How? Also, in your opinion, has Assange committed a crime that the U.S. should apprehend and prosecute him for? If so, what crime has he committed and is he afforded any protection under “Freedom of the Press”? If not, how would you defend his release of hundreds of thousands of secret government documents?

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?

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?

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?

McLaughlin Assignment 6 DUE 10/28/10

McLaughlin Assignment 6 DUE 10/28/10

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

What to do about illegal immigration is one of the most important and controversial political issues of our time. According to a recent Pew Hispanic Center Report, there are 11.1 million illegal immigrants living in the US as of 2009 (3.4% of the US population if we assume the US population is 310 million). In April of this year, the passing of an Arizona law has brought the issue to national attention yet again. As described in an article by the Brooking's Institution, the Arizona law:

"makes it a state crime to be in the United States illegally and requires police to ask people during arrests and routine stops to verify their residency. If they are unable to prove their legal right to be in the United States, they will be detained and deported."

The article goes on to cite national surveys that show 58% of Americans are in favor of the Arizona law, yet 57% are in favor of "a program giving ILLEGAL immigrants now living in the United States the right to live here LEGALLY if they pay a fine and meet other requirements." Please review the following two articles yourself and answer the questions that follow:

http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2010/0630_immigration_singer.aspx

http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2010/0901_immigration_west.aspx

Do you agree with the Arizona Immigration Law? Why/Why Not? Would you be opposed or in favor of a program giving illegal immigrants now living in the United States the right to live here legally if they pay a fine and meet other requirements? Why?

Additionally, if you support such a program: what do you think the requirements and or fines should be? If you oppose such a program: what do you think should be done with the 11.1 million illegal immigrants currently living in the United States?

McLaughlin Assignment 5 DUE 10/21/10

McLaughlin Assignment 5 DUE 10/21/10

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

In January of 2010 the US Supreme court ruled that the McCain-Feingold Act of 2002, the US federal law that regulates the financing of political campaigns, was in violation of corporations' and unions' First Amendment rights. Under the January 2010 ruling, corporations and unions are no longer barred from promoting the election of one candidate over another candidate. Read over the following article which examines the current impacts of the Supreme Court's decision (particularly page 3): http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1010/43515.html

In your opinion, should there be limits on how much corporations and unions can contribute to candidates' campaigns? Why or why not? Perhaps more importantly, do you think corporations (or even citizens) should be allowed to contribute large sums to candidates' campaigns anonymously? Why or Why not?

McLaughlin Assignment 4 DUE 10/6/10

McLaughlin Assignment 4 DUE 10/6/10

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

The Republican party recently unveiled a “Pledge to America” outlining what policies they will follow should they gain a majority in the House of Representatives and/or the Senate. Review the outline of the pledge or full pledge and answer the questions that follow:

Summary: http://pledge.gop.gov/resources/library/documents/solutions/pledge-pocket-card.pdf

Full Pledge: http://pledge.gop.gov/resources/library/documents/pledge/a-pledge-to-america.pdf

What is your opinion of the Republican “Pledge”? What policies do you agree with/support? Why? Which policies do you disagree with/do not support? Why? If you were (or will be) a voter in the November elections, does this pledge make you less likely or more likely to vote Republican? Why?

McLaughlin Assignment 3 DUE 10/1/10

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

1. Independent voters have become a major factor in considering the possible outcome of the Midterm elections in November. As described in the following article: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0910/42625.html independent voters have been changing their behavior. How has the behavior of independent voters changed? In what way can this impact the midterm elections? If you were a voter, would you classify yourself as a democrat, republican or independent? Why? Check out the major parties' websites to see which you would be interested in joining:

http://www.democrats.org/issues ;

http://www.gop.com/index.php/issues/issues/ ;

2. A major portion of the federal budget is devoted to defense spending (check out the following stats: http://blog.heritage.org/2010/04/05/how-does-u-s-defense-spending-compare-with-other-countries/). Some government officials have suggested that we begin cutting back our defense spending. One such official is Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who has specific ideas on what should be cut from the US' Military: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/12/AR2010081206232.html What changes is Gates suggesting? Are you for or against these changes? Why? Overall, what is your opinion of how much America spends on defense?

McLaughlin Assignment 2 DUE 9/22/10

Now that Christine O'Donnell has won the Republican Senate Primary in Delaware, there are serious doubts over whether she can actually defeat her democratic opponent (Chris Coons) in the general election. Based on our discussion in class and the two articles below, state your opinion as to whether or not you think she can win and why you think so. Perhaps more importantly, examine each of the candidates’ websites and decide for yourself: if you were a resident of Delaware, who would you vote for? Why?

Articles on Primary Election:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/09/15/pol.delaware.senate.primary/index.html

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-09-15/tea-party-success-in-delaware-senate-race-increases-chance-of-democrat-win.html

Candidate Websites

http://christine2010.com/meet-christine/

http://www.chriscoons.com/about/meet_chris_coons

McLaughlin Homework 1

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

1. President Obama's approval rating has slipped from a record high of 73% to a historic low of 43%. Many believe this drop in popularity is a result of his economic policies--in particular, his stance on ending the Bush tax cuts. Read the following article http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/09/13/obama.economy/index.html and respond to these questions:

Should Obama push Congress to end the Bush tax cuts? According to the article, what are some of the costs and benefits of doing so? Why would ending the tax cuts hurt Obama's approval rating? Overall, how would you rate Obama's performance so far as president? Explain your rating.

2. Right now the country of Mexico is facing serious security problem in what basically amounts to what some call a drug war. Thousands of people have died in the violence and Mexico's President Felipe Calderon cites the United States' demand for drugs and large gun industry for contributing to the problem. Some believe that the United States should do more to address problem by more actively discouraging drug use and by limiting the production and purchase of firearms. Some have even suggested even more radical solutions such as the use of US combat troops to help police the border and/or the legalization and regulation of certain illegal drugs. Read the following article http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/09/11/mexico.president.interview/index.html?iref=allsearch and respond to these questions:

Is the Unites States partially responsible for the drug violence in Mexico? Why or why not? What (if any) methods (see above) do you think the United States should undertake to help stop the violence? Why do you think these methods would be successful?