"Data" Could Quite Possible Overtake Politics

    This topic caught my eye right when i saw it. It talks about how modern day technology has advanced easily into our everyday lives. Even new computers have been built for the police that scans licence plates and within seconds can tell if that car has been stolen. As these advancements grow to new parts of our lives, do we know what we are truly getting ourselves into? There have recently been algorithms made that could quite possibly get rid of the need for politics. If everyday things can be solved with algorithms why cant government be easier and more efficent too? This "algorithmic regulation" would be able to adapt to certain circumstances. One of the founding fathers of cybernetics described this algorithm as having "ultrastability".

    Article:The rise of data and the death of politics

    

    Discussion Questions: How does the advancing technology make you feel about our government?

    Do you believe that politics will be overcome by a bunch of algorithms?

Shelling of UN School in Gaza by Israeli Forces Calls Attention to Injustices

Israel is an area that was carved out of Palestine after WWII by the US and Britain as a refuge for the Jewish people. However taking land from one nation to give it to another is begging for conflict between said nations.

Map of Palestinian territory and Israeli territory

As you can see in the map above Israel has invaded upon the 1949 armistice line and claimed territory belonging to Palestine. Palestine's response has so far been violent attacking Israel and its citizens with rockets and explosive shells. Israel has therefore retaliated by shelling numerous locations within Palestine prompting more combat between the two. However in what was called "Totally indefensible" by Whitehouse spokesman John Earnest, Israel knowingly bombed a school in Gaza killing 19. Even though it is "Totally indefensible"the Obama administration is continuing to allow Israel to replenish mortar and bombing supplies at a US Arms stockpile. The UN also condemned said actions by Saying "Israel Violated International laws". I chose these articles because while everyone is quick to condemn and say its bad that people were killed no one is willing to take action regarding this conflict.

Articles:

US Condemns Israeli Bombing

UN Condemns Israeli Bombing

Discussion Questions:

Do you think Israel was justified in its attack?

What can be changed to make sure this doesn't happen again?

Do you think Palestine is partially to blame for these attacks?

Can changing legislation around help in this situation or does there need to be military intervention?

How should the US handle this considering Israel is our only ally in the Middle East?

Obama to Congress: Stop Hatin' All the Time

Yesterday, President Obama gave a speech to a packed crowd at the Uptown Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri telling Congress to "stop being mad all the time... they're mad because I'm doing my job." Obama has exceeded his executive authority to make changes to the Affordable Care Act because Congress doesn't agree with what he's doing. In return, Congress is suing Obama to keep him in constitutional check and hold him accountable for breaking the oath in which he swore to uphold the constitution. The president replies to Congress in his speech yesterday to "stop hatin' all the time."

On a side note, back in 2008 Obama said that checks and balances meant more than Congress "being mad."

Furthermore, there are many questions to be asked about this ongoing controversy between Obama and Congress. 

Articles:

President Obama Scolds Congress: Stop ‘Hatin’ All the Time’

Constitutional law professor on separation of powers: “Stop hatin’ all the time”

Obama urges GOP to 'stop hating all the time'; GOP responds with lawsuit

Questions for Discussion:

• Is Obama going too far using his executive actions or is he doing the right thing under the circumstances of the uncooperative Congress?
• Is Congress' lawsuit the right thing to control Obama and his powers? Should Obama be impeached? Is this all a big political stunt?
• Is Obama's strategy of laughing off the whole thing the right way to approach something this serious? Is he being unprofessional? 

Civil War Crisis In Ukraine

http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/03/world/europe/ukraine-tensions/

This article is about the tensions between Ukraine and Russia. The tensions that have been prolonged for quite a while now have now started an all out civil war between the two  countries. What this article also explains is that this whole civil war started because of Russia wanting the Ukraine to be part of Russia. However, the one reason why this cannot be done is because of the Ukrainian people that want to be there own country, keep their freedom, independence and demand to be separated from Russia. Even though it seems that most of Ukraine wants to be their own independent nation, there are people in the Ukraine that have been given the name of Russian separatists, who want to be part of Russia. Along with the civil war going on in Ukraine, the Malaysian Airline that was shot down increase the tensions greatly.

Questions:

•  Should the U.S. supply weapons to the rebels in Ukraine?

  •  Should the U.S. be involved in the civil war in Ukraine?

    • Do you think that Ukraine should be a part of Russia?

 

 

 

 

House approves lawsuit against President Obama

 Recently, House Speaker John Boehner proposed a lawsuit to Congress against President Obama for abusing his executive rights.  This lawsuit passed the House of Representatives this past Wednesday.  I've chosen this current event because like many of you, I noticed the signs and posters outside of the post office in the center of Wolcott and thought that this was a very interesting topic to look into.  This lawsuit passed the House by a vote of 225-201, all Democrats opposing.  Democrats feel as though this lawsuit has been pushed to sway the many Americans into the subject of impeachment for President Obama, although Boehner who is the Republican Representative for the state of Ohio, says otherwise.  He says, "We have no plans to impeach the president".  Many Republicans feel as though the lawsuit was passed to "protect the Constitution" and "keep the president in constitutional check".  They also believe that he abused his power when dealing with the health care situation and that he has used his power to "illegally change the laws".  In the link below, it explains in more detail about different actions President Obama has executed that Republicans believe were done unconstitutionally and without the approval of Congress.
  http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/07/30/house-approves-lawsuit-against-obama-over-alleged-abuse-executive-power/
Question for you:
Do you feel as though this lawsuit was passed to work towards the impeachment of President Obama or to simply keep his executive rights in check?
 

Obama sends troops back to Iraq

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/06/30/obama-sending-300-more-u-s-troops-to-iraq/

This article tells readers about the crisis going on in Iraq.  President Obama has decided to send more troops, about 300, back to Iraq to protect American citizens at embassies especially in Baghdad.  Iraq is a very dangerous place right now as the country is fighting a war against jihadists.  President Obama has even evacuated a few embassies at certain times but he wont give up on trying to help Iraq and its people.


          Questions
Should Obama even be sending troops back into Iraq after we have been there for so long and have not seen a drastic change?

Do you think the US should do more or less to try and help Iraq?

As a whole what do you think of the US and how it is fighting to help so many other countries when it has plenty of its own to deal with?

Highway Trust Fund is Running Out

The federal Highway Trust Fund is close to running out of money. This means that there would be no money to build and maintain highways throughout the country. If the trust does run out, 700,000 jobs will be lost. All current infrastructure projects will also be left unfinished. This issue has caused a lot of conflict in Congress lately. They agree that the trust needs to be restored but they have been disagreeing about how to do so. There are multiple routes they could take to restore the Highway Trust Fund. The first would be to raise the gas tax. In the past, the Highway Trust Fund was paid for by a gas tax. The gas tax has been decreasing every year since 1993 and is 63% lower than it was. This would be the easiest, long term method of securing the trust. There will always be people buying gas, meaning money would always be coming in for the Highway Trust Fund. While this is a direct solution, Republicans refuse to raise the gas tax. The House Republicans, however, want to go with another method called "pension smoothing". It changes the rules for corporate pension funding. It has companies set aside money now to pay for benefits later. This will cause them to report higher taxable profits, which will make them pay more taxes over the 10-year budget window. Those taxes will go to the federal Highway Trust Fund. This method is much more complicated than raising the gas. Senate has decided to push off the issue for a few more days, though the trust is said to run out this Friday (August 1st).

Is "pension smoothing" a good solution for funding our federal Highway Trust Fund?

Do you agree that there are easier methods? If so, what might be some others?

How would you feel about Senate pushing the issue off so close to the trust running out?
MSNBC article

The senate creates a bill about campus sexual assault

A bill was proposed to the senate that helps to prevent sexual assault on campuses. The bill would toughen sanctions and help to reduce the amount that occurs at each campus by taking surveys from each person on the campus that has been assaulted. The results are to be available to anyone would researches the colleges and help high schoolers to pick the best school for them. Do you think this will help students? How do you think they can help to lessen the amount of sexual assaults on campuses?

USA Today Article

Domestic violence: The next front in gun-control fight

In the United States domestic violence has become an extreme issue over the past decades and is causing the lives of thousands of innocent women to be lost. The issue of domestic violence has brought up once again the subject of gun control. A recent poll done by CNN shows that 50% of people were against gun restrictions while 49% were in favor of laws. Immediately after the Sandy Hook shooting a majority of the country demanded harsher gun control laws such as background checks and what type of guns would be legal to own. However, the Rifle Association and many other gun owners believe there should not be any type of ban on guns, since people already own them and will continue to illegally obtain them. I chose this article because I believe that there should be harsher restrictions on gun control in order to protect the country. Even though people will still be allowed to own guns a smaller gun is much less deadly than a gun that can hold 60 rounds and kill hundreds of people at a time. I think there should be a law stating in order to own a gun you must pass a background test and the gun should not be able to hold more than 5 rounds.





http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/30/politics/domestic-violence-and-guns/index.html?hpt=hp_t1



What do you think?



   Do you think the country should have stricter gun control laws or ban guns?

   If yes what should the restrictions be on owning a gun?

  

U.S. and European Union Announce Greater Sanctions on Russia

Yesterday, President Obama announced new sanctions against Russia, as did the European Union.  Additional sanctions were created in order to further pressure Russia to not continue it's support of the separatist violence in Ukraine.  The sanctions to be enforced target vital areas in Russia's government: energy (including oil and gasoline), a ban on arms sales, and also affects finance and banking.  Talk of another Cold War has aroused, however Obama rejects the idea and instead calls it a "case of the United States and allies seeking to block one country from trying to dominate another." (Stusinski article) Obama warns that if Russia still refuses to comply, more sanctions are to come.  
Article:
http://www.inquisitr.com/1381065/obama-announces-new-sanctions-on-russia-says-this-is-not-a-new-cold-war/  
Video:
http://news.yahoo.com/video/obama-announces-u-sanctions-against-201430378.html
Questions for Discussion:
-Do you think that the U.S. needs to get so involved with this issue? Why or why not?
-Is the concept of a new Cold War arousing from these sanctions a possibility to you?
-Do you think these new sanctions will make any impact of Russia and their actions in Ukraine? For better or for worse?

U.S. Broadens Sanctions on Russia

The reason I chose this article is because the President Obama and the European Union have been having trouble with the Russia/Ukraine situation for some time and there has yet to be a solution.The article is about how the U.S. and E.U. are adding additional sanctions on the sanctions that have already been placed on the Russians. The Pro-Russian rebels who are located in Ukraine are believed to have shot down the Malaysian Airline Flight 17, which is part of the reason for the sanctions.  This will also impact companies like BP and Bank of America. President Obama believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin will cave and pull the rebels out of the Ukraine.

Article: http://online.wsj.com/articles/europe-u-s-significantly-expand-sanctions-against-russian-economy-1406666111

Questions:

Do you agree with President Obama's decision to impose these sanctions? Why?

Is it better for the U.S. to get involved or stay on the sidelines and why? 

John Kerry's Fight For Prolonged Peace In Gaza

This article is referencing to John Kerry, the Secretary of State's, current fight to have a temporary cease-fire that will hopefully open the door to the further prolonging of cease-fire down the road for Israeli and Palestine. With the currently rising toll of 1,210 Palestinian deaths the U.S was urged to step in. Although the we have our own problems to deal with, aiding countries that clearly are doing nothing to help solve their own issues is important. Dealing with this problem can also help us in the future with imports and such. So far, Kerry has only been able to acquire an unsteady 24-hour cease-fire period which is at least better than nothing. Also, I encourage you to watch the video that is linked in the article in order to grasp a more clear understanding.


Current Daily Tally:

3,289

targets in Gaza
struck by Israel

1,210

Palestinian deaths

2,319

rockets launched at Israel from Gaza

56

Israeli deaths

Article:

Even Gaza Truce Is Hard to Win, Kerry Is Finding

My questions for you are:
What is your stand on the U.S current involvement with the issues in Gaza and Israel?
Do you think we are doing to much or little?
What other benefits can our country obtain from peace between these two ethnicities?
Do you think John Kerry is trying to salvage a lost cause?

House GOP Chairman Urges More U.S. Engagement in Libya

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2014/07/26/house-gop-chairman-urges-more-u-s-engagement-in-libya/

This article is about the intense fighting between Libyan factions, that forced the evacuation of the U.S. Embassy in Libya.  The violence grew near to the Embassy's borders which made it mandatory for them to vacate Libya for the time being.  I chose this article because the U.S. involvement towards issues in other countries has been very limited.  Even though it is important that we fix our own problems, it is also very crucial that we support other countries in their time of need.  The House GOP chairman believes that they shouldn't have been taken out of Libya, and instead should have been there helping Libya out of this turmoil and chaos.  This prudent decision to evacuate the Embassy's personnel, made by Obama's administration, just made matters worse in Libya.  The U.S. Embassy should be at the scene doing their jobs and gradually guiding Libya towards a better life.

Questions:
Do you think that the U.S. should be more involved in Libya's situation or keep trying to avoid it?
Do you believe that Obama's administration made the right decision in evacuating the Embassy's personnel?
Overall, do you feel the U.S. should become more or less involved with problems outside of our own country?

Malloy Defends Decision On Immigrant Children

The reason I chose this article is because immigration is an issue that Congress and President Obama have not resolved. This article is about the federal government wanting Governor Malloy to house 2,000 immigrant children in Connecticut. Governor Malloy does not want to house these children because the institutional facilities in Connecticut are in poor and unsuitable conditions. Malloy also sees that placing children in family settings is a better option than placing them in an institution. With this in mind Malloy had 325 children placed in a family setting in Connecticut. Malloy overall saw that placing only 325 children in family settings is a better choice than placing 2,000 them in unsafe conditions.

Article:
http://www.ctnewsjunkie.com/archives/entry/malloy_defends_decision_on_immigrant_children/

Questions:
Do you agree with Malloy's decision to house immigrant children with families or do you agree with the federal government to house children in government facilities?
Is it better to house 325 immigrant children in a family setting or house 2,000 children in a unsuitable facility?

Obama move on Immigration May Cause Impeachment

Immigration means Impeachment?
This article is about Obama and his proposed plan to use Presidential power that will provide even more deferred action towards deportation of illegal immigrants. Republicans argue that it is another over reach by the Democrats and he has no authority to do so. This over reach may cause Republicans to move on Sarah Palin's claims that they want to impeach him. Political conflict may speed up the removal of Obama as President and my question to you is, "Should Obama be impeached because he is postponing the deportation of illegals?",and "What should be done about his overstepping of power if not impeachment?"

Two Rulings on the Affordable Care Act (AKA Obamacare)

On Tuesday, a three-judge panel for the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals made a ruling on subsidies in the Affordable Care Act. The reason this issue came to court is because in the section of the law that deals with providing subsidies to lower and middle income families uses the phrase "an Exchange established by the State". The two to one decision ruled that subsidies could only be granted to people buying insurance from a state marketplace and not from the federal marketplace. This means that millions of lower income Americans that purchased health insurance in states without state run exchanges will not be able to afford their insurance.

These are the states with state run exchanges

However, that same day the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit ruled unanimously in favor of keeping subsidies for federal run exchanges. With two different rulings from courts on the same level means that this will most likely go to the Supreme Court for a final decision.

 Another interesting layer to all of this is the political aspect. Two of the three judges in the D.C. court were appointed by Republican Presidents, while all three of the judges in the 4th Circuit were appointed by Democratic Presidents. Also, most of the states that don't have state run exchanges have Republican Governors as shown by the below map 

Articles:

What today’s Obamacare ruling reveals about the GOP

Obamacare Is Safe

Appeals courts differ on Obamacare; Supreme Court case likely

Court decision looms in subsidy challenge that could unravel ObamaCare

Things to Discuss:

How do you think Obamacare will be effected by these rulings? 

How will public opinion on the ACA be influenced by the rulings, if at all?

Which court do you agree with more?

Are the courts being unbiased in their decisions, or are these rulings political? 

How will Obama's popularity be effected by the rulings?

Do you think this issue will go to the Supreme Court?

President Obama impeachment?!

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2014/07/25/cnnorc-poll-majority-say-no-to-impeachment-and-lawsuit/

Recently there has been a push from republicans to sue or impeach president Obama. Earlier in July Sarah's Palin brought up the talk of removing onamana from office and has stirred up some controversy on whether or not he should be impeached. According to poll only 35% want him removed. I'm congress 57% of republicans, 35% independents and 13% democrats are supporting the move.  Also. According to a poll 45% of Americans say that he has expanded his power to far. Is Obama doing his job correctly? Should he be impeached? Has he expanded his power to far?

My opinion on this is that we should wait until the next election and have some convidence with the president we have. Whether or not everyone in congress likes him, they need to try and work together to fix not only world problems but also focus on domestic too. If we wait until the next election obviously something is going to change becuase he can't run again and we will see two new candidates.

Conflict between Russia and Ukraine threatens Russia's relationship with the international community

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28383625



http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/17/world/europe/ukraine-malaysia-airlines-crash//





President Obama announces new sanctions against Russia due to increased tension between forces in Ukraine and pro-Russian separatists along the Ukrainian border. These latest round of sanctions are the most punitive yet against Russia and target large defense and energy firms and banks. Before now, only Russian individuals and the businesses directly related to the destabilization in Ukraine had been sanctioned. This event displays how Russia and Ukraine are having a hard time keeping their peace with each other, and what their actions are causing. Their actions are causing a great amount of chaos around the world. We are unsure what else the Ukraine separatists are capable of. My questions for my classmates are If Ukriane separatists continue to not cooperate with the UN what are their consequences? Also if Russia keeps supporting the Ukraine separatists how will it effect Russia? Lastly, Do you think its beneficial for Ukriane separatists to divide themselves from Ukriane, or try to cooperate with their own people?

US AIRLINES BAN DUE TO ISRAELI TERRORISM

http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/23/travel/israel-flights-suspended/index.html

This article is an interview between Michael Bloomberg, previous New York City mayor, and a CNN reporter, discussing FAA's decision to ban US air flights to Ben Gurion Airport in Israel. Bloomberg gives his opinion of the irrational and cowardly decision for the ban. Israel also suggests that it is the airport the most secure it can possibly be. The ban is having a huge and immediate impact on both countries economically. Many are arguing that the ban is just giving what the terrorists what they want, terror and panic among the citizens. My question for everyone is "Do you think that this decision, to ban air flights, will have a negative or positive reaction to the terrorism?" and "Do you agree with Bloomberg or the FAA?”    

Can Politicians Trust the Millennials?

Two new polls conducted by the Reason Foundation (a libertarian think-tank) and the Pew Research Center (a nonpartisan polling firm) have political scientists and politicians scrambling to make sense of the findings. What does this new poll center on you ask? The answer is, well, you...and me.

What I mean by this is that the poll centers on millennials. "Millennials" is name given to the generation of Americans born roughly between 1980 and 2004, which means all of you (and me too! HA! See I'm not THAT old!...don't say anything). The naming of new generations of Americans is not a new trend, in fact it has been going on for at least a century. Below is a chart of post WWII generations:

Click here for a larger version

The Millennial generation has become the most talked about generation since the baby boom generation among politicians because of their size (22% of the population) and their age (early 30s). These two stats mean that the Millennials have the political power to shape the path of our country for the next 50 years. Millennials first flexed their political muscle in 2008, when they voted in large numbers for President Obama. Since that election, political scientists have been falling all over themselves to figure out just how the Millennial generation wants their government to behave, and what types of candidates they want to vote for. This means conducting polls in order to figure out the political beliefs of the Millennial generation.

The new polls released gives us some answers...sort of. The results, which you can read about in the articles below, paint a picture of a generation at war with itself. Here are some examples:

• Millennials hate the political parties more than everyone else, but they have the highest opinion of Congress.
• Young people are the most likely to be single parents and the least likely to approve of single parenthood.
• Young people voted overwhelmingly for Obama when he promised universal health care, but they oppose his universal health care law as much as the rest of the country ... even though they still pledge high support for universal health care.

Articles:
Millenials Political Views Don't Make Any Sense
Millennials, Government, and Mistrust
Reason Foundation Poll: Millennials, the Politically Unclaimed Generation
Pew Research Center Poll: Beyond Red vs. Blue

Questions for Discussion:
As Millenials yourselves, do agree with the findings of the poll?
Should we trust the results from this poll? Could there be any bias?
How should current politicians, and presidential hopefuls like Hillary Clinton, take from these poll results?
How could politicians use the results to win an election?
Based on the polling results, how do Millenials seem to want the government to behave?
What characteristics would make up an "ideal" Millennial candidate?

July Postings

This is a friendly reminder that everyone's first current event post (not comment) is due by the end of the month. As a guide, please take the time to read through the blogger help section on posting (I've included a link below). Remember to try to make your posts resemble my format, and try to include pictures, links, video, etc and when adding media please make sure you use the link, picture, video insert tools in the blog editor (as seen below):

Good Luck and Happy Posting!

Posting and Editing Tutorial:

Blogger Posting and Editing Help Page

President Obama's Statement about Malaysian Airline Flight 17

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=valZEKv5cBg

In this video clip President Obama discusses the issues with the separatists that control a certain part of the Ukraine where the Malaysian Airline Flight 17 was shot down four days ago. The Ukrainian separatists have blocked any international investigators to investigate the area and are removing evidence from the crash site. In his brief speech he talks about how the Russians are helping the separatists with military supplies, which include anti-aircraft weapons. President Obama has said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is supportive for there to be an investigation but there is no action behind his words. President Obama opinion for a diplomatic resolution with the Ukrainians will change if the separatists become increasingly dangerous not only to the Ukraine but other countries around them. Then Russia will have to pay some consequences.

My questions for my classmates are:

1. Do you think President Obama is indirectly threatening Russia to fix the Ukrainian problem?
2. Do you think that the consequences that Russia will face, if the problem isn’t fixed, will be military action between the United States and Russia? Why?
3. What evidence do you think the separatists are taking away from the crash site and aren’t allowing investigators to see?
4. Do you think that evidence is being hiding because the separatists are trying to cover something up?
5. Or, Do you think it is Russia who has ordered them to remove things from the crash site so if they were involved they can cover whatever evidence there is for there involvement up?
6. Do you think the Ukraine or Russia will listen to President Obama to allow for an investigation to take place and to allow the 298 passengers and crew of the flight to be allowed to go back to there families to be buried?

Christi wants to supply housing for immigrants?

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2014/07/17/christie-n-j-may-consider-housing-kids-from-southern-border-influx/

New Jersey governor Chris Christi feels that President Obama has done a poor job in solving the immigration crisis thus far. Christi believes that no matter what your race or ethnicity is, nobody wants to see you suffer. He would like to take charge and do something about it since the president isn't keeping up with this situation. Chris Christi wants to supply housing in New Jersey for these immigrants. If Christi is planning on supplying housing for these immigrants, I have mixed feelings about it. First, it will be very costly. There are too many people crossing the border to give them housing and supplies. However, to turn this into a positive thing, I believe Christi should supply housing as a temporary thing. There have been many immigrants who have followed the immigration laws and requirememnts, so all of them should. They could stay in the housing until they become legal, then move forward to get jobs and live on their own. The question is, do you feel that supplying housing temporarily is the way to go? Or should the housing be permanent?

Protestors vent anger at 'alien invasion' of U.S.

click here for article  The following article discusses the current problem with illegal immigrants flooding into our country.  Many people are very angry about this and think our Government should be doing a better job at securing our borders.  I chose this article because it’s a very relevant problem that we have been facing for many years. This large amount of illegal aliens could potentially pose a threat to us and cause more unneeded problems. A large majority of people have been led to believe most of these aliens are children, so they just think their parents are trying to get them to a safe place away from the gang wars and drugs.  This makes people think it’s not that bad because we are just helping these kids by giving them a good base to start a new life at.  Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case.   There is a large amount of adults coming over as well, and there is no way to know their intentions.  Some may just be trying to get a chance at a new life, while others may be terrorists.  This is where we have to decide how we want to deal with this problem.  Personally, I think it would make most sense to completely block off our borders as best as possible and make every person become a legal citizen if they want to live here.  This will help eliminate the looming threat of terrorists coming into our country.  But on the other hand, it will also keep kids trapped in their horrible conditions in Mexico and other southern countries.  After reading through this article, do you think we should do something to stop this? Or leave it the way it is?

Conflict between Russia and Ukraine threatens Russia's relationship with the international community

http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/18/politics/russia-ukraine-world-relations/index.html?hpt=po_c1

The article I have linked discusses the recent downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 by the pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine. The conflict in Russia and Ukraine has been going on for a while now, but this event is the first time the international community was greatly affected. This event also shows how reckless the Ukrainian rebels are and how dangerous it is for Russia to be providing powerful weapons for these people. If the rebels in Ukraine had no problem using their weapons to down a plane filled with innocent people, how can we know what else they might do? My questions for my classmates are “What will it take for Russia and Ukraine to end the violence and find a peaceful solution?” and “How can rest of the world assist Russia and Ukraine in ending their conflict?”

A Word on Current Event Comments and Posts

First, congratulations on completing your first current event comments. On the whole, everyone did a nice job analyzing my different current event posts, and many of you demonstrated a good grasp of our government at work. However, now that you have completed your first current event comments I have some constructive (I hope) criticism for you:

Good Analysis, But...
Most everyone did a nice job analyzing the articles I posted, however, I would like to see you do more than just state your opinion. Instead, try expanding your analysis beyond yourself - add links to other articles, connect my current event to other events or other ideas, try to make connections beyond the article! For example, many of you chose to comment on the article about younger Americans being less patriotic, but few of you made the connection between the article and the upcoming midterm elections or voting in general. If younger Americans are less patriotic, will they vote less too? Is that OK?

Comments and Posts Are Not Essays
Most of you chose to write your current event articles as you would a personal essay, in that you stated your opinion the topic and then supported it with information from the article. This is good, but your comments are not essays. I am not looking just for your opinion, I am also looking to see you interact with and discuss these current event topics with your fellow classmates. Therefore, you must try to address both the article and your classmates. However, it doesn't need to be super formal, just talk to them! Do you agree with their opinion? Why or why not? Do you have a question for them? Do want to start an argument? Go for it! This is politics! It gets bloody sometimes!

Comments Are Your Babies - Check In On Them!
Finally, please don't just make your comment and then never check in on it. After you've commented check back later to see what your classmates have said, maybe someone is calling you out and your not fighting back. Check in often!

Overall, you did a great job with your comments, but there is certainly room for improvement on the next round. Remember to check the blog frequently, and if there are any questions please ask!

Boehner vs Obama Lawsuit

Recently, Republicans in the US House  of Representatives have been threatening to sue Obama for many of the executive actions he has taken (For example: Changing the Obama care law without the vote of Congress) and for not faithfully fulfilling the duties of his office, which is unprecedented in the US government. Normally when a president sends out an executive order that tries to tackle controversial issues the system of checks and balances kicks in, however a lawsuit has never been done in order to limit the President's power. Boehner it trying to pass a bill that will allow the House to sue Obama. Many are calling this a stunt however Boehner is insisting that this is not a stunt and that he is actually trying to sue Obama for these actions. I am posting this event because this whole political stunt has created a lot of controversy and debates in recent weeks about the Republican stunts and whether they are going too far this time or just trying to distract America from the fact that they aren't focusing on other important issues. Also I am curious to see what my fellow classmates think about this issue.

Here are some questions to discuss:
Are Republicans going too far to stop the President's executive orders?
If Republicans decide to go through with this plan, will the lawsuit actually work or will the case be thrown out?
Is this just a stunt to distract America from the fact that the House isn't focusing of other important issues?

Here are some links to be updated on the issue.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/boehner-v-obama-house-lawsuit-brings-new-twist-to-familiar-conflict/
  http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/11/us/politics/boehner-says-obama-lawsuit-will-focus-on-health-law.html?_r=0
http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-echochambers-28201956

Israeli and Palestinian Conflict

In this article, the Israeli and Palestinian conflict is discussed. As recognition to Ramadan, the White House holds an "Iftar" dinner to honor the the end of the fasting day for Muslims. During this gathering, Obama addressed the issues in the Middle East. He talked about assisting Syrians against the Assad regime and trying to unify Iraqis. He also stated he supports Israel in the Gaza crisis. He believes Israel has the right to protect its borders. To end the mass killings of innocent Palestinian civilians and some Israelis this growing conflict has caused, President Obama hopes for both countries to work towards a solution to this crisis. My question is what side are you on? Do you believe Israel is right in this situation or is Palestine, and why?
http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/14/politics/white-house-iftar-dinner-mideast/index.html?hpt=po_c2

United States Tries to Cut Down Iran's Nuclear Power

 Recently, an Obama administration official said that Iran keeps taking "unworkable and inadequate" positions on its nuclear program. The official also said that since this has been occurring, Iran should have strict limits on producing any nuclear weapons for awhile, at least a decade. However, a speech made by the religious leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, showed United States officials that the leader is not mentioning these cutbacks to the people of Iran. In fact, Khamenei was talking about a long term plan for a major increase in nuclear capabilities. What he should have said, though, is that Iran needs to cut back on the amount of centrifuges (machines that enrich uranium) in use now. Right now, Iran has about 10,000 running, and 9,000 in their possession that are not completely operating. I posted this event because if Iran keeps making their nuclear weapons more and more powerful without any compliance with the United States to limit their nuclear power, the United States may feel the need to take more action. Eventually, a war could start, and Iran may even use their nuclear weapons against the Unites States and anyone else opposing them. This is what the United States is trying to prevent; officials do not want any one country too powerful in terms of nuclear weapons. However, if too much tension occurs between the two countries, Iran can very likely use their weapons against us. How can the United States stop Iran from taking inadequate steps in its nuclear program, but ease the tensions between the countries involved because of it?
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/13/world/middleeast/us-warns-iran-over-unworkable-plans-for-nuclear-power-program.html?ref=politics

The Targettting of Muslim Leaders

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/10/us/politics/nsa-snowden-records-glenn-greenwald-first-look.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=HpSum&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

I couldn't figure out any way to post my current event other than copy and pasting my link, so that's what I did. Anyways, my current event is about targeting of Muslims after 9/11 and spying on them simply based off of their race and not hard evidence. Let me know what you think, I found this very interesting especially because the Muslim rulers' privacy being invaded  relates to the current event Mr. Balanda posted about the Supreme Court ruling that officers need warrants to invade privacy of cell phones.
My question: Do you think that the targeting of Muslim leaders is racist and simply an effect of 9/11, or is there actual cause?

The Immigration Crisis

Recently, there have been thousands of children illegally immigrating to the United States from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador to flee poverty and violence that results from the oppression in their countries. I chose to post this because I believe that it is an issue that affects our country both economically and ethically. I believe that it will spark reforms, and will have a lasting impact on our country and the way we deal with these types of situations. It is a topic that I find interesting because it has such a profound impact on so many people - the immigrants and their families, who face consequences such as detainment and probable deportation for their actions, as well as American taxpayers who must help to financially support the overcrowded detainment centers. Ultimately, the question of what to do about this problem still looms. These people deserve to live a better life than they currently are, yet they are not complying with our immigration laws. As a country we must create a solution that is both moral and effective in controlling the issue. My question is: What actions can the US take to remedy the current situation? href="http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/07/politics/5-things-immigration-reality-check/"

An Independence Day Link List

First of all, happy Independence Day! While you, like me, spend your day barbecuing and doing your best imitation of Nathan's hot dog eating champion Joey Chestnut (pictured below), we can't forget the greater significance of the 238th birthday of America. 

Comment Directions:

For this current event post I've decided to list links from around the web on the theme of independence day and the significance of the fourth of july. Since there will be several articles posted here I will not give you any questions to discuss, instead for your comment you should briefly summarize the main point or thesis of the article you read and thoughtfully reflect on it. I want to hear your opinions on these articles and on each other's posts! Do you agree with the author's thesis? Why/why not? What about your classmates? Engage each other in some thoughtful, provocative political discussion! Make Thomas Jefferson proud!

The Link List:

If Only Thomas Jefferson Could Settle the Issue: A Period Is Questioned in the Declaration of Independence

Younger Americans Are Less Patriotic. At Least, in Some Ways

Time Bomb: 238 Years After Its Birthday, America Is In Deep Denial

The Declaration of Independence Makes Us All Responsible for America's Success

One Nation, Divisible? Is America Fracturing into two countries, one secular, one religious?