F2: Federal Powers

1. Increasing Federal power over States
1. The ADA act prohibits discrimination against anyone with disabilities. The act states that all persons with disabilities should have equal opportunities as those without any disability. This act has more federal power than anything, with the federal government setting regulations for public places and television to make sure it is accessible to those with disabilities. 
2. Preemption is the "invalidation of a US state law to a Federal government law". This comes in to play when there is a conflict between a state and federal law. In the constitution, in the supremacy clause, it states that the constitution is the supreme law of the land, meaning that over all other laws, the constitutional laws make the final decision.
2. Decreasing Federal power over States
1. US v. Lopez determined what congress could and could not do under the interstate commerce clause. Congress could only regulate commerce that would affect the national economy in a negative way, not a small independent deal that would not ruin anything on a big scale. 
2. Devolution is the principle that some laws remain in the control of the state government. For example, in the Welfare Reform act of 1996, the states were given the ability to determine who can receive Welfare and what provisions they get. 

E9: Review!

• What is the type of Journalism that uses gossip and unreliable sources to create a story (that may eventually become true)
• Answer: Yellow Journalism
• Name an type of media that has almost dissipated from daily use.
• Answer: Newspaper

E5: Practice Questions

1. Interest groups are used to support certain ideals and opinions in government. They are there to show congress people that there is a group of people who care about these issues, and want to do something to change.
2. Political Parties are there to produce a candidate that they deem as portraying their political ideas. They also appeal to the masses on all ideas and do not focus on just one policy to work on. 
3. Interest Groups can appeal to political parties through bribery and other gifts. Also, they can protest and send letters to congress. For example, giving gifts to people of congress to "help" them pick their side in policy. 
4. They can Protest issues in a calm and organized matter to show that there are people who do care about this issue. Also they can do write ins (like Amnesty does). Groups of people who agree or disagree on a policy can come together and write letters to congress to help influence them. 

E4: Interest Groups

A) Background

1. An interest group gives ideas to candidates to make policy, they do not necessarily run for office, but they do support candidates who believe in their ideals.
2. Interest groups are different from political parties because interest groups are focused more on one form of policy and they generally do not run for office. 
3. Pluralist would be happy about the increase of interest groups because their theory would be supported. Their theory is that government does make the final decisions, but the people influence those decisions.
4. I have no clue honestly.
5. A Free Rider is someone who does not associate with any political groups or policy. 

B) The Females For Freedom Initiative

1. The goal of this group is to expand on women's rights and give us a voice in the government.
2. Females and other Female-identifying groups will benefit the most from this. 
3. Public Interest Group
4. Well to generally make the world a better place with no discrimination is one goal that I think will benefit the general population.
5. Make it fun and exciting for them. Get people fired up about issues, and let them know that they do have an influence on government.
6. We will be trying to influence the House as our top goal, but local and state government will be reachable as well. 

Monday Morning blog

I read "Attack Ravages Power Grid. (Just a Test)"
A company called GridEx ran these tests to see the reaction of people and services during a mass outage of power and internet. From the test results we see now, Gerry W. Cauley says that we did really well, with only a total of 150 "deaths". We will not know the official results until the GridEx group comes out with them. It was really interesting to see what would happen if the United States were to go through a full on power outage, especially since our society is set in technology. Although, I don't think the actual thing will go so smoothly. In a controlled environment, things tend to go much more smoother than in real life.

E3: Political Websites

1. I visited Politico
2. Not any of the top stories first displayed are opinionated, but once you get more deep into the site (especially in the "Opinion" section), you see some opinionated titles.
3. Most of the content is fact based, using quotes directly from the speaker and using them in the article. They give straight, clear cut information on this site. x
4. Most of the things are cited from press conferences and other meetings. 
5. This site is aimed more towards a liberal point of view, seeing that their stories are all very liberal based. All of the headlines are dealing with the topic of the affordable health care act and the way that other democrats feel about it. 
6.  If Americans just visit one site like this, they will just learn about one side and one opinion on the issue. Before you pick a side to agree or disagree with, it is always good to hear both, but when you only see one, you may form your opinion on that. 

E1: Media!

1. The five types of mass media are print, radio, television, telecommunications, and internet.
2. News from print media has changed so much over the last 200 years, especially in the recent decades. Now, more print papers are not going out in print, but on the internet. A few years ago, it was not common to put the news on the internet.
3. Yellow Journalism is sensationalist tabloid reporting. the stories are more exaggerated in yellow journalism,  and are mostly used to make money. 
4. Muckraking is researching and exposing the wrongdoing that politicians did. Modern day publishers could do this by completing more research instead of putting out false claims.
5. Roosevelt used press conferences to publicize his ideas to the outside world.
6. Today, Obama uses social networks like Twitter and Facebook to reach younger voters (his target group), and to make him feel more approachable. 
7. Narrow casting: Showing programs biased towards certain ideas.
1. A possible benefit from this type of news casting is telling you the ideas of candidates that are running, and helping you shape your view of that person.
2. A disadvantage is shutting your view down to only one idea, and not getting to see the other sides of arguments. 

D8: Election Recap

• Terry McMuffin 
• He won the Gubernatorial race
• His support was mostly from unmarried women, pro-choice, and Washington DC voters.
• No one was a really strong supporter of either candidate. 
• Ralph Northam
• Won the race for Lieutenant Governor
• Northam is strongly pro-choice and supports gay marriage
• His focus is going to be on economic development, health care, and mental health. 

D7: Election Preview

• Cuccinelli was picked as candidate through a Political Convention rather than a Primary
• As we learned earlier in the year, people who are more extreme republicans/ democrats go to conventions to decide a candidate. This can lead to more extreme ideals being chosen, thus making their decision not appeal to the masses. 
• Terry McAuliffe's ideas on coal and off-shore drilling has changed. 
• Compared to his previous run for governor in 2006, McAuliffe has changed his opinion of not using coal as a resource, and not allowing off-shore drilling. 
• None of the major party candidates are liked
• Just from reading the general election coverage, you can tell that there is no personal favorite. Both of the candidates have major flaws in their systems, and would not be the best for Virginia. They are both very vicious towards each other, and have had their share of lies and deceit.

D5: Voter Turnout

1. Ways the Government has made it difficult to vote and reforms that could make it easier to vote.
• One way that government has made voting difficult is the stringent requirements for absentee ballots. One of the difficult requirements for absentee ballots is to register in person in your state. The point of absentee ballots is that you can't really show up in your state, or have a difficult time leaving your house to get to the polls. To make it easier for absentee ballots, people should be able to send their proof of residency in a state (i.e. An utilities bill, etc) and a proof or reason why they cannot make it to the polls.(Student ID copy, disability papers)
• Difficulty of registration is another reason voter turnout is so low. Even though it is the individual's responsibility to register, the government should put more emphasis on how important it is to go out and vote. From my experience, the government does not really push for its citizens to vote.
• Political parties can also stress the importance of voting and choosing who you want in office. Big parties such as the Democratic and Republican parties leave their support up to the individual states, which sometimes may not be for the best. 

Extra Credit Homework: Political parties

Communist Party of America

Beliefs:

• Interest of the American working class
• Replacing Capitalism with Socialism 
• Nationalization of Banks, Railroads, and Industry
• Clean the Environment after we fix our people

Notable Members:

• Fred Ellis- Cartoonist

Bill Ayers- American education theorist

Chairman: Sam Webb

D4: Political Ads

Advertisement 1

1. Kennedy for the Democratic party in 1960
2. It was a serious advertisement, kind of like a public address. Kennedy spoke to the people, telling them that America was doing well, but it could even get better, 

Advertisement 2

1. Carter for the Democratic party in 1976
2. This commercial is portraying Carter as a personable person, that is not afraid to get involved with the people. All throughout the commercial, he is shown in crowds, and shaking people's hands. 

Advertisement 3

1. Bush for the Republican Party in 2004
2. The commercial is more serious, and focuses on the issues that were plaguing America at the time. 

General Questions

1. Commercials back then were more personal instead of serious and negative. They were also very simple and plain instead of flashy and shocking. 
2. I think Carter's Ad was more effective. It was more personal, and it showed real people in the world approaching him. It made him feel like more of a people person, and I would vote for him. 

D2: Media Coverage & Campaign Finance

1. Open Secrets (I picked New York) 
1. New York tends to re-elect incumbent candidates to delegate offices. The opponents of the incumbent delegate usually raise less money (Thousands compared to the millions the Incumbent raises), and lose.  For example, in the congressional race for senate, Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand raise over 15 million dollars compared to her opponent, Republican Wendy Long, who only raised just over 700 thousand. The most interesting thing to me was that the state was more democratic in a really pronounced way. The differences between how much the Democratic party raised and how much the Republican party raised were ginormous. Having millions in donations compared to only thousands is something you do not see in most states. 
2. Virginia Public Access Project 
1. I picked the Attorney General race, and the results so far are too close to call. Both candidates have raised about the same amount of money, 2.4 Million dollars. Both candidates do not have a strong presence in the media, but Obenshain seems to spend more on advertisements than his democratic opponent Herring. 

C4

The difference between Democrats and Republicans

A huge difference that sticks out to me in the two parties beliefs are the issue of same sex marriage. In the Republican party, they say that is has been proven that families raised in a mother/father parent home are "more likely to go to college" and generally succeed in life. I highly disagree with that, but that is beside the point.
The democratic party stands heavilly against bullying the LGBT community and has no problem with same sex marriage. The differences are huge and do play a massive part in the elections today.
The ideals of the republican party seem really outdated,  and not something that the youth population of today would agree on.

A8: The United States Constitution

Legislative Branch

A: The two checks and balances that the Legislative Branch has over the President are that they can Impeach the President and they may veto laws made by the President. 
B: The Senate approves the appointment of the Judges in the courts.
C: Congress can approve treaties, approve presidential visits, and create lower courts. 

Executive Branch

A: The Executive branch can call meetings of the congress whenever they are needed. 

B: The President can appoint Supreme court and federal judges.

C: The President can veto powers and recommend legislation

Judicial Branch

A: The Judges, when appointed to federal courts, are free from controls of the President.

B: The Judges may deem ruling by congress to be unconstitutional. 

C: Using Judicial rule, the federal courts may deem something that the President does unconstitutional.

House 

• Age Requirement: 25+ years
• Citizenship Requirement: 7 years a citizen
• Length of Term: 2 years
• Gaining Office: Chosen by the people every two years

Senate

• Age Requirement: 30+ years
• Citizenship Requirement: 9 years a citizen
• Length of Term: 2 years
• Gaining Office: Two people from each state are chosen by the Legislature, and then hold office for six years.

President

• Age Requirement: 35+ years
• Citizenship Requirement: Natural Born Citizen
• Length of Term: 4 years
• Gaining Office: Elected by the people every four years

Supreme Court Justice

• No specific requirements are given in the US Constitution

A7: The Different Types of Government

Monarchy/Tyranny 

A Monarchy is a government ruled by one ruler such as a king or dictator. There cn be good and bad sides to this type of rule. A posetive aspect of this type of government is that if you have a great leader, they can solve problems much more efficiantly and easily. Alas, this as well can also be a bad thing. If the monarch is a horrible leader, they can pass harsh laws with no input from his advisors.

Aristocracy/Oligarchy

In an Oligarchy, the government is ruled by the few. In bad situations, this is the cruel rich who pass harsh taxes just so they can recieve more money. In the case of the good, the Aristocracy is more of a counsil who lostens to imput and tries to solve the problems of the people. 

Polity/Democracy

A Democracy is government ruled by the people. This can go many ways. For instance, the way we run our government is a respectable form of democracy. Our people rule indirectly by voting for a representative, who are then sent to Washington and monitored on a checks and balances system. A bad democracy is when the people are given too much power and make the wrong decisions. They may believe what they did was good but in fact it was the worst thing to resort to.  

A4

Traditional Democratic Theory: Enlightened Understanding

Enlightened understanding is the idea that a Democracy should be a melting pot of ideas, mainly given by having freedom of speech. These ideas should not be distorted, so the public can have a general idea of how issues really are. In the democracy that America has today, the idea of Enlightened understanding has become convoluted. In today's news sources, information is being distorted to fit certain ideas or to reach certain audiences. Fox news, which is known as the "conservative's news channel" occasionally lies to get views. They distort the real message only to get viewers to watch their programs. But it is not only Fox news that has this problem, it is also the other news sources we see everyday. From the local news to national, you are forced to pick a side that you most agree with, and listen to everything that they say. Usually their opinion is greatly biased, and glazes over the few important, game-changing facts. This is not the Enlightened understanding that traditional theory asks for. This is all pandering for who can get the most views, and the most attention for false, drama causing headlines.

Theories of American Democracy

The Elite and Class theory is what I believe that America is today. Even though we have come a long way from the racism and hatred of the early 20th century, there is still a long way to go. Around the nation, not only do you see racism, but the massive poverty gap in between classes. People in our country are starving and paying high taxes, while others are living comfortably and barely paying 15% tax. It is highly unfair to assume that we have met a perfect democracy until we fix these obvious problems. 

American Political Culture

Classism is a possible candidate to add to the list, seeing as the rigid class structure controls society as of now.