Chapter 14

1.)    Justice Hugo Lafayette Black was a Supreme Court Justice from 1937 until 1971 and was appointed to that position by Franklin D. Roosevelt. Justice Black was a Democrat and represented Alabama in the United States from 1927 until 1937 when he was appointed to the position of Supreme Court Justice.  Black was noted to have been very supportive of civil rights and liberal policies throughout his career as a Senator and a Supreme Court Justice.  One of the biggest most landmark court cases Justice Black heard during his time in the Supreme Court was Engel v. Vitale.  This case dealt with the separation of church and state and public schools beginning the day with a recited prayer.  Justice Black delivered the opinion of the court for this case.  Black wrote that the court had ruled that government written prayers were not to be recited in public schools and were an unconstitutional violation of the establishment clause of the First Amendment. I agree with Justice Black on his stance in this case. I also believe his views on separation of church and state are right and that there should be a strict wall of separation between church and state.

2.)    I believe that judicial review should be exercised regularly. I feel that it is very important for the judiciary system to review laws passed and actions of the other branches of government.  This ensures that the laws passed and actions of the other branches are constitutional and does not impede on the civil liberties and equal rights of all citizens of the United States.  It is the job of the courts to protect us as citizens from unjust laws and practices that may arise within the national or state level governments. 

3.) I believe it is the job of the High Court to interpret the Constitution with the changes happening in society and other instances in mind.  They should treat it as a living Constitution, every growing, every changing, and every evolving.  I believe that the Framers made the Constitution to best fit the times that they were living in and fully anticipated that the Constitution would grow and evolve with the times as they change and progress as well. 

I commented on:

Nathan Tollett

Cassandra Kunsman

Kylie Corrigan

Chapter 13

1.)    I believe that many of the federal agencies that are active in today’s government are very important and have vital roles in today’s government.  I feel that the most important federal agency is the Environmental Protection agency, the EPA.  It was established by congress in 1970 to dictate and relate certain aspects when it concerns the well being of our environment.  The EPA has a unique role in the federal government, with responsibility for preserving the quality of air, water, and land. It monitors the quality of the air and the pollution levels in it, and also controls and regulates the disposal of waste and the proper of disposing waste to make certain we live in the cleanest world as possible.  It has the power to create and issue policies to protect the cleanliness of our environment which affects us in our everyday and our health as well. This is a very important agency in and it plays many crucial roles in our government today.  I believe that without the EPA our world and environment would be in much worse shape than it is today.

2.)    I believe that out of all the federal agencies I researched that the International Broadcasting Bureau would be the easiest terminated and have the least impact on government and the citizens of the United States if it were to be terminated.  With modern advances in technology such as the internet, blogs, and the newer technological devices that make the internet and news so readily available I feel that these advances have done away with the importance this agency may have carried in earlier years of its existence.  I believe that if this agency were to be disbanded it would have little effect in today’s government or in the everyday lives of citizens. I also believe that the federal funding for this agency could be used and applied to other agencies and causes that carry more weight and importance in today’s times and government.

3.)    I do not believe that any other agencies are needed necessarily.  I believe that the agencies we have in place now are sufficient in their jobs and cover most bases that we would need a federal agency for. I actually believe that there are a couple agencies that could be done away with for the simple fact that their power is very limited or that the agency itself has run its course and is no longer effective or needed in today’s times.   

I commented on:

Brittany Mccan

Nathan Tollett

Rebecca Zuchowski

Chapter 12

1.)  I believe that it takes many qualities to make a good President.  They must be honest and should have a firm stance in their beliefs and not be wishy-washy in their political views whether they be economic or social issues.  I also believe that the President should not let his or her religion affect the decisions made or their beliefs while in office.  The President should strive for equality of all citizens in the United States and make sure he does everything within his power to ensure that equality for all is instituted.  He should also be gracious and humble; no one likes an arrogant leader.  They should try to implement fair policies and tactics that would better our nation as whole and not just certain groups within it.  The President should also have firm beliefs in national security, not necessarily aggressive ones, but, for lack of a better description, more of a take-no-crap approach but have the skills to negotiate and be diplomatic with other countries to prevent as many national security threats as possible.

2.) I believe that two of our greatest presidents have been Jimmy Carter and Thomas Jefferson. Jimmy Carter, the thirty-ninth 1.)    president of the United States was a soft spoken man with strong political beliefs and stood firm in those belief's throughout his presidency.  He also believed in equality for all American citizens and once said, "Human rights is the soul of our foreign policy, because human rights is the very soul of our sense of nationhood." . He accomplished a great deal during his presidency including the SALT II treaty which sought to reduce strategic nuclear weapon production by the Soviet Union and the United States.   He also played a large role for peace in the Middle East when he signed the Camp David Accords.  The negotiations directly resulted in the Egypt-Israel peace treaty and he was hailed for being able to negotiate between these two countries which were known for their shaky relations.  He also played a large role in the Iran Hostage Crisis.  This crisis was between Iran and the United States where 52 Americans were held hostage for 444 days.  Just minutes after the inauguration of President Reagan  these hostages were released and President Reagan got most of the credit for the release even though Carter was the president in office during the crisis.  Many believe that this crisis not being resolved at the time of the election was the reason that Jimmy Carter was not re-elected.  Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, is still considered one of the brightest and most intellectual people of his time.  He was a very well educated man in many fields of study.  He is known as one of the framers and founders of the United States and was at the forefront of the revolution.   He also drafted the US constitution.  Without Thomas Jefferson and his influence during the Revolution it is safe to say that things could have turned out very differently and America would not be the great nation that it is today.  

3.) I was very unfamiliar with out tenth president John Tyler of the Whig Party. Mr. Tyler had  the most children out of any other President with a total of 15 children, the last when he was 70 years old. He also held many other political offices; US Representative, Senator, Governor of Virginia and also the Vice President to President  William Henry Harrison.  President Harrison caught a cold while standing in the rain during his inauguration  and died one month after being sworn in as president leaving the presidency to Tyler.  I do not believe that Tyler was a very effective president as many of his views were regressive for the US at that time.  Tyler was very pro-slavery which angered many slavery abolitionists.  As president he vetoed many of the Whig Parties proposals which made many of his cabinet members resign  and resulted in him being expelled from the Whig Party.  The Civil War began 16 years after Tyler's term as president and to no surprise he sided with the Confederates  and served in the Confederate House of Representatives shortly before his death.  The biggest achievement was the annexation of Texas, which  he devoted his last two years of office to accomplish.  

I commented on 

Nathan Tollett

Dexter Pelfrey

Rebecca Zuchowski

Chapter 11

1.)    Tennessee is represented by in Congress by 2 senators and 9 representatives in the house.  The senators for TN are Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker.  The nine representatives are Phil Roe, John Duncan Jr., Chuck Fleischmann, Scott DesJarlais, Jim Cooper, Diane Black, Marsha Blackburn, Stephen Fincher, and Steve Cohen.  The representative that represents my district is Scott DesJarlais. 

2.)     I strongly agree with some of Senator Corkers’ views and ideas for education reform.  He advocates for increased pay for teachers and believes that it is very important that teachers receive the pay that they deserve for having such an impact in our children’s lives.  He also strives to gain lower interest rates on student loans for college students.  He supported a broad spectrum reform that expanded the pell grant program, reduced interest rates on loans and formed other programs that provides up to $4,000 per year for students going into the education program.   

3.)    Senator Bob Corker is a strong advocate for what he refers to as the protection of life.  He believes that life begins at the moment of conception and will always vote in favor of pro-life.  I disagree with Mr. Corker on this issue.  I believe that it should be the choice of the woman when concerning the issue of abortion.  We should not infringe upon nor put restrictions on a woman’s civil rights, which would be what a pro-life favoring law would do.  

I commented on:

Brittany Mccann

Rebecca Zuchowski

Nathan Tollett

Chapter 10

1.) Ultimately I agree with the majority opinion of the Court in this case.  I agree that procedures to do the recount would violate the equal protection clause and
and it would also have an insufficient amount of time to even conduct the recount.  I understand the basis of the case but believe that the Supreme Court made the
right decision in the end.

2.) I believe that fundraising is very important for a campaign in an election.  I'm also sure that many good candidates for elected office do not ever have the
opportunity to run because they cannot find the backing and funding to keep up with the other large competitors also running.  I do believe that this is a problem
but believe that it would be a slightly complicated issue to reform.

3.) There are several factors in the low turnout of voters to the polls.  One possible reason that turnout is so low is the difference between the way the US conducts
voting compared to other democracies.  Fir example many other democracies hold their elections on Sunday where as the US holds theirs on a Tuesday, a work day for most
people.  Another reason could be that some democracies require by law that citizens vote and if they don't they must pay a fine.  Another reason for the decline could be
attributed to generation replacement. Generational replacement is the cycle whereby younger generations replace older generation in the electorate.  There are a few
remedies that could fix the issues however some of them would not sir well with many people.  For example the US could require by law that citizens over the age of 18
must vote or pay a penalty or fine; however, most US citizens would not be appreciative of that type of mandate after all this is the land of the free and many would
see this as impeding upon their freedom.  We could also may change the days of our election days so instead of being held on a Tuesday they could be held on a weekend
to make the polls more accessible for working people to come to the poles to vote. 

I commented on:
Rebecca Zuchowski
Nathan Tollett
Megan Biggs

Chapter 9

1.)    I mostly positively identify with the Democratic Party.  I mostly affiliate with this group because of the more liberal stance they take on their social issues.  For example two major social issues that I agree with majority of the Democratic Party on is supporting marriage equality and being pro-choice when it comes to abortions.  I think that their liberal view on these social issues is the right approach, for example they view gay marriage as an equality issue instead of a religious or moral issue which is how it should be viewed.  Democrats also support immigrant and health care reforms as well as I do, for the most part I fully agree with the Democratic Parties stance on both social and economic issues.

2.)    In this current day and age I believe that political parties are very much needed. People are too divided on issues, both social and economical, for there not to be political parties to represent the various differing ideas and beliefs that American citizens currently hold.  I do not believe that operating without political parties today would be near impossible to achieve because of the adverse opinions that are out there. 

3.)      The Libertarian Party is another semi-major political party in the US, and it is probably one of the lesser known political parties that I most identify with.  The party emphasizes individual liberty in personal and economic affairs both.  I mostly agree with their standpoints on social issues but no so much on their views of economic and other political issues. They take a liberal standpoint to social issues much like Democrats and believe that every individual should be free to live the life that they want to and have the freedom to express that individuality. They support same-sex marriage and also support separation of church and state, which are two issues that I strongly support.  They believe that government power should be limited but I believe that government has to have power over certain things or else tyranny and corruption would occur. Without some governmental control it would be difficult to have a growing economy because many individuals would only be focused on self and not on the nation as a whole, someone has to think about the bigger picture and as the nation as a whole and not just see it from an individual standpoint.  

I commented on:

1.      Nathan Tollett

2.      Megan Biggs

3.      Rebecca Zuchowski

Chapter 8

1.)    I chose the National Education Association (NEA) as my interest group from figure 8.1 in the text.  This group’s mission is to advocate for educational professionals and to unite their members and nation to fulfill the promise of public education to prepare every student to succeed in a diverse and interdependent world.  This group strongly believes in that education is the gateway to opportunity and that all students have the civil and human right to a quality public education that develops their potential, independence and character. They also believe that a good education is vital to building respect for worth dignity and equality in this diverse nation we live in.   

2.)    The interest group that I chose that I most positively agreed with is Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU), a 501(c )(3) group.  This interest groups mission is to be dedicated to preserving the constitutional principle of separation of church and state as the only way to ensure freedom of religion.  I strongly agree with most of their views and standpoints on this issue.  I too believe that separation of church and state should be followed and is very important.  They strive to break the hold of religion over our government and to see that our government functions unbiased and does not respect one religion over another.  They do this because they strongly believe in the freedom of religion in the US and believe that if our government is allowed to be influenced by one religious doctrine over another that we do not truly have freedom of religion and definitely do not practice separation of church and state.  I agree with them that separation of church and state is crucial to maintaining our freedom of religion in this country. 

3.)    I do believe that it is a fine line between influencing our government and freedom of speech when it comes to interest groups.  This line should be monitored by someone to ensure that it is not crossed and that an interest group does not have hold or too much influence within our government.  I believe that some interest groups have too much influence while others do not have enough.  I also believe that the freedom of speech line is crossed when interest groups use their political pull or financial assets to “buy” votes or persuade a member of legislature to vote their way.   

I commented on:

Rebecca Zuchowski

Nathan Tollett

Megan Biggs

Chapter 7

1.)    I believe that news media today is very objective.  Most news media outlets have an agenda behind most things that they broadcast especially when reporting on political stories or issues.  Fox News is one of the most biased in my opinion and has a very strong Republican opinion and agenda when dealing with political and social issues.    

2.)    I do not really listen to talk radio so it really doesn’t have any influence over my political opinions.  However I am very strong in my political opinions so I do not believe that talk radio would have much of an impact on my beliefs anyway. 

3.)    I believe that media objectivity is important but also can be negative thing.  It is important because it helps implement the watch dog effect to help keep the government from becoming corrupt.  But objectivity of the media can also put a bias on subjects that there should be a neutral standpoint on in the news media. Regardless of the good and bad of media objectivity, the news outlets will always be objective and more than likely always respect one side of politics over another. 

I commented on:

Nathan Tollett

Brittany McCann

Rebecca Zuchowski 

Chapter 5

1.)    I believe that the government does a fair amount to reduce the instances of racism, but could always do more.  We have affirmative action which was much needed at the time that they enacted it and still has some relevance today. I do believe however that affirmative action should be looked at and adjusted to the change in the times that has happened since it was enacted.  However I do not believe that there should even be a need for affirmative action.  Opportunities should be based off of qualifications and credentials not race, gender, or sexual orientation. 

2.)    The United States have made great strides towards eliminating gender discrimination.  Starting with the Women’s Suffrage Movement and gaining the right to vote women have rapidly gained ground towards equal standing with men.  Female troops are now mixed with male troops and it is becoming more and more common to find women holding high ranking positions within a company.  The only thing I could see the government doing further to ensure equal rights for women would be to do something to see that the pay that women receive in the work place be equal to their male counterparts that hold the same position as those women, because women still make significantly less than men in the work place.

3.)    I do not feel that government does anything really and definitely not enough to stop discrimination against the issue of sexual orientation.  It is still illegal in many states for same sex marriages is still illegal and homosexuals are discriminated against every day.  Since gay couples are not allowed to legally married they are denied over 1,000 rights that are granted to heterosexual married couples.  People say that marriage should be between a man and woman, and they believe this because of what their religion teaches them.  With that being said our government is supposed to practice separation of church and state and not let their religious beliefs influence their decision making in legislature. However many of our law makers do let the moral beliefs they hold due to their religion influence the judgment that they pass. Marriage Equality and discrimination against sexual orientations other than the one of straight, is equality issue not a religious one. Religion has no place in our government and this is a prime example of what happens when religion is allowed to influence laws. Thousands of American citizens’ civil rights are being impeded upon because religion is allowed to sway rulings concerning laws of equality. 

Commented on:

Megan Biggs http://megansgovblog.blogspot.com/

Nathan Tollett   http://www.tollettnr.blogspot.com/

Rebecca Zuchowski http://rebeccaroanestate.blogspot.com/

Chapter 4

1.)    Freedom of speech is one of the most important civil liberties that we as American Citizens have.  Our right to free speech gives us the ability to have our own opinions and beliefs and the ability to verbalize those beliefs.  Without this freedom we would not be able to protest or to make known our disagreement with not only our government but with anyone or any group of people.  We would not have the ability to publish literary works or articles that have political or social opinions in them regardless of how obvious.  Without freedom of speech we would be a mindless nation blindly following our leaders.  I do not believe that the freedom goes too far at all in fact in some instances I believe that the freedom doesn’t go far enough.  

2.)    I believe that separation of church and state should be practiced within our government. It is very important that a definite boundaries should be drawn between church and state and those boundaries not be crossed.  Legislature should strive to keep the boundaries of church and state separated although I do not feel as if they do in today’s time.  Our legislature are not supposed to let their religious beliefs influence their decision making when passing laws or debating legislature, but a good percentage of them do. For example gay marriage is still illegal in many states because our legislatures believe it to be immoral, and they believe it to be because of the beliefs they have due to their religious doctrine. Thousands of American citizens are having the civil liberties impeded upon because of our legislature members let their religion influence them when passing laws.  Marriage equality is not a religious issue, or at least it shouldn’t be, it’s an equality issue.  Government also should not make do anything to mandate or favor another religion. Religion has no place in government just as government has no place in religion. How can say we truly have freedom of religion when our government allows beliefs from one certain religion to influence our government? How can we say that every American citizen is free and has equal civil rights when thousands of them are not granted the basic liberties of a heterosexual member of society because our elected official’s religious convictions influence the law making process?       

3.)    Defendant rights and liberties are very crucial to our country.  Without these rights none of us would have the right to a fair and speedy trial by a jury of our peers, the right to representation, and also are protected from unlawful search and seizure.  These are all very important rights not only to defendants but to us as citizens who might be future defendants.  The right to representation is very crucial because this right provides a defendant with a lawyer even if they themselves cannot afford one. 

Commented on:

Rebecca Zuchowski http://rebeccaroanestate.blogspot.com

Nathan Tollett http://www.tollettnr.blogspot.com

Brittany McCann http://www.blogger.com/profile/01251942396297317954

Chapter 3

1.)    I most definitely support a strong national government. While the national government should not have all the power I believe that the majority of power should lie with them without a strong national government and with the states being the main government each state would only be interested in the needs or the best interest of their state and not as the country as a whole.  For example the issues of equality, war, and other issues that affect our nation as a whole and not just individual states,  should be handled by the national government and not be left for individual states to govern for their own individual standpoints on the issue.  All that would cause would be a house divided.

2.)    When the Great Depression began American citizens wanted the national government to aid and fix the economy.  National centered federalism strengthened a great deal during this time period in an attempt to save the struggling economy.  Roosevelt after his inauguration in 1933 along with the aid of congress started to pass a series of laws designed to help the economy grow.  However the Supreme Court ruled that congress did not have the power to pass these laws and Roosevelt saw his New Deal slowly falling. He then enacted the court packing plan, a proposal to add justices to the Supreme Court so that the Court would uphold his policies; however, after the proposal of this plan, the court reversed itself and started accepting the New Deal policies.  Under the administration of Ronald Reagan the shift of power began to return back to the states. I believe that it was necessary at the time of the Depression to have a strong national government because the depression was a national problem that could only be fixed with a strong national government.  After the healing took place and our economy was once again stable, the power rightly shifted back to being the federal system America had successfully operated under for centuries. 

3.)    I believe that education should be regulated and monitored by the national government and not state governments.  I believe this because if we allow state and local governments to regulate or set the standard for education there might be a higher standard set in another state making the children of that state better educated than the state with lower education standards. So, I believe that it is better for education standards to be set by national government so that the educational value is the same across the board and one states children does not have an advantage over another. 

Commented on:
1.)Nathan Tollett http://tollettnr.blogspot.com/
2.)Rebecca Zuchowski http://rebeccaroanestate.blogspot.com
3.)Megan Biggs http://megansgovblog.blogspot.com

Chapter 2

1.) The Constitution is much more efficient and better serves our needs of a country as a whole better than the Articles did.   The Articles presented many issues where as the Constitution has a solution for all of those issues.  The articles of the Confederation gave most powers to centralized state government leaving the national government with very little power.  The Constitution called for a bicameral congress giving us the House of Representatives and the Senate.  With the Constitution we also gained separation of powers which gave us our three branches of government and also put into place a system of checks and balances so that each branch had to go through the other to prevent any unconstitutional acts. 

2.) After reading the first three articles of the Constitution that gives us our three branches of government I learned a few things about those three branches that I didn’t know before reading the articles.  For example in the third article, which defines our justice system and the Supreme Courts, deals with the 11^th Amendment.  The 11^th Amendment limits the power of the federal courts to hear lawsuits against state governments brought by the citizens of another state or the citizens of a foreign country.  For example, Tennessee could use the 11^th Amendment to protect itself from being sued by its citizens, residents of another state, residents of a foreign country, or the government of a foreign country.

3.) Marbury V. Madison had a huge impact on American history.  Marbury was appointed to be the Justice of the Peace for the District of Columbia by John Adams. However the Jeffersonian administration ruled that his appointment was invalid because in the last hours of Adams’ administration the Secretary of State forgot to deliver the commission.  When Thomas Jefferson’s term started as president his Secretary of State refused to deliver the commission holding Marbury back from claiming his title.  Marbury took his case to the Supreme Court believing that the Judiciary act of 1789 allowed the court to hear original cases involving writs of mandamus, which are orders to government officials to undertake specific acts. However the Court declared that the Constitution must reign supreme over the law so that the Judiciary Act of 1789 and that this act conflicted with the Constitution concerning the area that granted the Supreme Court original jurisdiction.  Ultimately the Courts would not mandate that the new Secretary of State give Marbury his previously promised post.  The Courts did however grant itself the authority of judicial review, which was huge power to gain and a very useful and necessary tool.   This gave them the power to strike down laws passed by Congress on the the grounds that those laws violate the Constitution. 

4.) Looking at our government today I would say that we operate more of the way Federalists viewed government rather than the Antifederalists.  Federal law trumps local or state laws in today’s government which is the way that the Federalists believed that it should be, the Anitfederalists disagreed with this practice. We also still operate and hold the Constitutional law above all else. The Federalists agreed with and supported this Constitution when Antifederalists did not.    

My Bio for POLS-1030

My name is Jared Griffith, I am 23 years old and I reside in Scott County, Tn. I have many interests and political science does happen to be one of them. I am very convicted in my political beliefs and stand by them firmly. I am very opinionated about many of current social and economic issues in this country. Among other things I enjoy reading, singing and playing music, and anything outdoors.  I am pursuing a paralegal degree through Roane State Community College. Through this class I hope to gain an even better understanding of how the government works and the learn more about gateways which I can access to influence and take an active part in our government. I am also looking forward to hearing everyone else's views and opinions on social and economic issues that our country is currently facing.