Chapter 7

I think media objectivity does still exist,but with the exception of some news casters. I think the majority the media sticks to what needs to be reported and not what they want to report. I think the reporters on CNN express their opinions too much on issues, even though they present the hard facts beforehand. I think most news casters like CBS and NBC, for the most part keep opinions out of their reporting.

I do not listen to talk shows, but even if I did, I do not think it would change my views and opinions. I take the hard facts and form my own opinions. Talk shows usually just tell their opinions without any facts to go along with them. I have always thought that opinions do not carry truth, they carry what they want to carry, and nothing I have experienced has proven that wrong. But, that is my opinion.

I think media objectivity is very important. People do not want opinions; they want the facts, so they can form their own opinions. If the media just reported their opinions, then there would essentially be nothing to report or no reason to watch, because there would be no evidence to back up or disprove their opinions.

I commented on the blogs of Katelyn Dozier, Nikki Stair, and Mathew Cooper.

Chapter 6 Blog

I think the news media is too dependent upon polls; almost everything they report they “confirm” or “disprove” with the results of the polls they create, but I do think it is appropriate for them to create and report them. I do not think the results they report will change the way people view issues. The results from these polls are unreliable, because they are biased. I think polls the news media creates have the potential to be beneficial if they were not biased. Political party identification is not really important to me nor am I really involved in politics, but it is/was more important to my parents and grandparents. Although it is/was more important to them, they are not fully involved either. My friends and I never really talk about politics, so I would say it is less important to them. I think my views on politics are influenced more by social issues. My views on personal choice are stronger than any of my views on the economy, even though the economy does need a substantial amount of work. Therefore, even though I do not really identify as either political party, I would say that through my views I would be more of a Democrat.

I commented on the blogs of Katelyn Dozier, Lee Ellison, and Mathew Cooper.

Chapter 5 Blog

I think the government does too little to reduce the instances of racial discrimination. Sure, the government has made laws regarding racial discrimination, but it still happens. People are still discriminated when it comes to jobs; although people may get an interview, they may not get the job, because of racial issues. I also think the government does too little for reduce the instances of gender discrimination, even though they have made laws. You can tell, because some jobs have a more dominance of male employees and other jobs have a more dominance of female employees. This could be because some workplaces think one gender could do the job better, but women can do the same work as men and men can do the same work as women. For sexual orientation, I do not think there is too much of an issue on workplace discrimination, but I do think the government could do more to let gays have the same rights as everyone else. I am a Christian, but I believe they should have the right to marriage.  It is their life, what they do in their life will not affect anyone else’s life.




I commented on the blogs of Robert Johnson, Mathew Cooper, and Katelyn Dozier.

Chapter 4 Blog

Freedom of speech is very important, and it does not go too far. All areas of freedom of speech should be protected. People should be able to say whatever they want whenever they want. People should not be disciplined for speaking their opinions. They know what they say and should be willing and probably are willing to accept the outcomes, negative or positive.

Separation of church and state is necessary. Government is government, and church is church; the two should not have to be combined. Government has a main job, protect the rights of the people and do not infringe their rights with laws. Church has a main job, worship a higher being. Neither of those is similar in any way.

Defendant’s rights should be crucial to our system of government, and I disagree that defendants have too many rights. Defendant’s right should be crucial, because even though they have commit a crime, not matter how bad the crime, they are still entitled to the same rights as everyone else. Saying that a defendant has “too many rights” is like saying the citizens of the United States have too many rights. Just because they have committed a crime does not mean they are any less of a person.

I commented on the blogs of Robert Johnson, Mathew Cooper, and Donna Fox.

Chapter 3 Blog

The national government and state governments should have somewhat equal power. Federalism is all about balancing power and decreasing the chance of tyranny, so the national government should have just enough power to mandate the states. Although, the issues that concern the nation as a whole, like health care and minimum wage, should be left to the national government to solve, but other issues that differentiate among the states or only concern only a few states, like education and poverty, should be left to the states to manage.

National power increased during the Great Depression because the entire nation’s economy was deteriorating, mostly because up until then, the economy was never really a priority. The shift in power happened because voters in the 1960s began to display wariness about powers of the national government. The shift was necessary, because the national government had finished the job of stimulating the economy. Therefore the power of the national government could lessen and give states more authority.

Education is a matter better left to the states, because states can get a better understanding of how students are preforming. States are able to see what needs to change for the better of their students. If the national government regulated education it would set standards that some state’s students might not be able to meet.

 

I commented on the blogs of Robert Johnson, Nikki Stair, and Katelyn Dozier.

Blogs I Commented on Chapter 2

Mathew Cooper
Donna Fox
Robert Johnson

Chapter 2

The United States Constitution is stronger than the Articles of Confederation, because the Constitution creates and imposes new rules that the Articles of Confederation did not. Under the Articles of Confederation: Congress could request states to pay taxes, there were no federal courts, there was no regulation of trade, there was no executive branch, and Congress could not raise an army. Whereas under the United States Constitution: Congress has the right to levy taxes, there is a federal court system, Congress can regulate trade between states, there is an executive branch, and Congress can raise an army. If the country still operated under the Articles of Confederation, the United States would have had no national security, therefore other countries could have invaded the U.S and ceased the existence of the world we know today.

From reading the first three articles of the Constitution, something I learn that I did not already know is that the Vice- President is the leader of the senate.

The Supreme Court ruling in Marbury v. Madison is very important, because it established judicial review, which gave the Supreme Court power to eliminate Congress’s actions that conflicted with the Constitution.

The United States government today is more like what the Federalists envisioned. When the Constitution was written, the Bill of Rights was the only thing the Antifederalists wanted that was included in the Constitution, and the Federalists only included the Bill of Rights to try and get the Antifederalists to agree to ratify the Constitution. The government today is still how the Federalists wanted it to be set up, and their Constitution is still the supreme law of the land.