10 Questions & Facts

Questions:
1. Why was the CIA codename for the plan "graystone"?
2. Why are people so against water boarding if it works?
3. Where is Guantanamo Bay?
4. Why is the NSA's budget a state secret?
5. Why didn't Obama decrease war efforts if he was against it?
6. Why aren't our security programs more effective?
7. Why are the intelligence agencies so hidden?
8. Is it unconstitutional for the government to override our privacy rights even if it's to protect us?

Facts:
1. Within 2 weeks of Afganistan the first phase of graystone was put into action.
2. Sadam Husseian was accused by the Bush administration of having wmds.
3. By spring of 2003, the us had attacked Iraq.
4. 3000+ were killed on 9/11
5. Obama called for no illegal wire tapping of Americans.
6. Obama continued with graystone.
7. DHS funded high-tech defense centers around the country.
8. Osama Bin Laden was killed in Pakistan.
9. CIA bought 480 private companies.

Interview

I decided to interview a close family friend, Gene.  He has been friends with my mom since college, where he was a History/Political Science major.  I knew he kept up with the issues going on in our country, and I figured he’d have a lot to say about some of the themes from Chapter 1.  I started off asking him the simple question “what is the main purpose of government?”  He answered that it is to fulfill God’s purpose for man and provide for the greater good of all. I definitely can’t disagree with that. He thinks our system of an indirect democracy works well, and does not believe a direct democracy would be any better. We went on to discuss the Constitution. I asked him how important is the Constitution and if he thought it should be strictly adhered to.  He said it was extremely important and yes, it should be. However, when asked if he agreed with all the amendments in the Constitution, his answer was a lot less brief. He doesn’t agree with how the separation of church and state is used and taken out of context. He says the Founding Fathers only had the freedom of Christian religions in mind. I always thought the separation of church and state was taken a little too far, but I hadn’t thought about this before. Back then, other mainstream religions were not prominent in America.  He believes there should be an amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.  He also thinks an amendment should be added that “provides for the protection of life and puts abortion in extremely limited circumstances”.  

I then asked him who should have more power, the federal or state government. He thinks the federal government should have more power or we’re not really a united country.  He added that our strength comes from states being subordinate to the federal government. He thinks politicians definitely care more about getting reelected than making the tough decisions and compromise between parties is necessary.  He says he would vote for someone outside of his political party if they were for the issues he cares about.  When I asked him what makes a strong political leader, he said “the ability to build consensus and to deliver a concise message with specific goals”. To wrap up the interview, I asked him what current political issues were most important to him. He cares about the right to life, the right to bear arms, our economy, and education. I thought Gene had a lot of important things to say and I have more respect for him as a person after hearing his views.

A People's History of the United States

A People's History of The United States, discusses the backgrounds of our founding fathers and their motives behind writing the Constitution. The author brings up that most of them came from wealth. This argues that the Constitution didn't reflect the interests of the majority of  the population. It also talks about why some people opposed the ratification of the Consitution. I think the author speaks from a very anti-American point of view. He trys to claim that our founding fathers, the most influential people to American History, were pretty much just in it for personal gain. If that were true, the Constiution would not be the success that it is.

1. When speaking of Shay's Rebellion, Thomas Jefferson said that such uprisings were healthy for society. Do you agree that rebellion can be a good thing?
2. Is it such a suprise that the founding fathers came from money, like many of our political leaders today?
3. Why was the Sedition Act allowed?

Political Cartoon

1. Does our two party system make it harder for things to be accomplished?
2. Is getting reelected more important to politicians than making real decisons?

20 questions from the reading

1. Do politics still help people relate to each other, like Aristotle said? Or does it do just the opposite? 2. Are Americans unappreciative of democracy?
3. Should compromise between parties be looked down upon?
4. Do most politicians really care about the issues or it all about self-interest?
5. What was the Tinanmen Square massacre?
6. Is our skepticism of immigrants from Arab and Muslim countries justified?
7. Why did the Bush administration want to improve relations with Mexico?
8.  Should we have harsher penalties on those who enter the country illegally?
9. Why was Canada involved in the agreement with the INS?
10. Does diversity benefit us?
11. Why do people born poor tend to stay poor? Can't anyone be successful if they work hard?
12. Does affirmative action lead to reverse discrimination?
13.  Is one political culture realistic for the United States?
14. Where do we draw the line on the government's power?
15. Did the census used to be taken in person?
16. Does the census have much effectiveness?
17.Daniel Webster and Thomas Jefferson said that only educated citizens would be able to understand public issues and elect the right leaders. Should an education be required to vote?
18. If the founders wanted us to be united by the same religion, then why is talk of religion such taboo nowadays?
19. Why are other languages seen as such a threat to the English language?
20. What is the main purpose of government?

Political Issues I care about

Over the past couple years, I've really taken an interest in politics. I think it's crazy that a lot of young people are apathetic to political issues that may even have a direct affect on them. I probably still don't know as much as I should, but I try to keep up with the problems going on in our country and know how I stand on them.

Obviously, a big issue right now is the economy. The government needs to make some serious spending cuts in order to reduce the national debt. One thing that would really help the economy is repealing Obamacare. Besides that it is unconstitutional, we can't afford it. Obamacare will actually hurt job growth, which is the last thing we need considering our current unemployment rate. We could cut spending in a lot of other areas, but I think Obamacare is something that is really hurting us as a country.

I also care about most social issues. One of the most important to me being the issue of abortion. I'm extremely pro-life. I find it sickening how easy it is for someone to get an abortion in this country, and I hope one day that abortion will be illegal .

I'm against any kind of gun control legislation. The right to bear arms is a basic consitutional right and I don't understand why anyone would want to take away their own rights. There are always going to be people out there with guns no matter what laws are passed. Gun control laws only hurt the law-abiding citizen, the criminals could care less about the law and are still going to find a way to get one. The more people that own a gun and are able to protect themelves, the less gun crime there will be.

There a lot of other issues that are important to me but those were kinda the first things I thought of.