Presidential Campaign

Today in class we began watching a documentry of our current President's journey to be elected to the White House.  This is relevant because of the upcoming 2008 election in which we will have a new president. The article http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-11-27-voa34.cfm discusses how the campaign for 2008 has intesified because the primaries are coming up in 2008.  We talked in class about the importance of the states of Iowa and New Hampshire.  South Carolina is another important state because the primary is so early.  There is a three way fight in the democratic party and it is getting even hotter because only one person can win the primary.  The strategy of winning the primaries is very different than winning the presidency because you are campaiging against people who are of the same party as you are.  That causes the strategies to differ.  There is also tension between the two strong Republican nominees Romney and Guilani.  The primaries are interesting because you are trying to win the vote of the people in your party and not worrying about people of the other party, that is the purpose of the presidential election.

Posted at 08:07PM Nov 27, 2007 by Ashley Waid in General  |  Comments[0]

Divided Government

The previous article http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hmzyiVIIB2w-pCeJrPL8qU3y5DKgD8SL4T2G1  demonstrates the divided government that we discussed in much detail in class.  Pelosi made the comment that Congress has not be able to wind down the War in Iraq.  However, she blames Bush and other Republicans because the ideas that the Democrats pose to end the war are veteod by Bush and not favored by the other Republicans.  This stops the Democrats from putting into action their plans to end the war.  She also talks about other plans that the Democrats want to put into action but cannot get the President to support.  That is an example of seperation of power. 

Posted at 07:59PM Nov 27, 2007 by Ashley Waid in General  |  Comments[0]

A Woman President

If Hillary Clinton was to make it through the presidential primaries and win the presidential election it would be a big change for our country.  We would not only have our first woman president but it would come at a time where the is a lot of conflict within our country.  We are not living in a peaceful day and age.  The War in Iraq have people who strong support it and strong disagree with it.  The war will be one of the key issues for our next president to deal with.  In this time of change and great decisions I do not think our coutry is ready for a woman president.  I am not saying that our country will never be ready to deal with change but I do not feel that this next upcoming election is the right time.  It is more likely that a man will be firm in his desicion making and stand by it no matter what. 

Posted at 06:01PM Nov 15, 2007 by Ashley Waid in General  |  Comments[1]

Seperation of Powers

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/politics/bulletin/bulletin_071113.htm

The first part of the article deals with the seperation of powers and system of checks and balances between the President and Congress.  They are prepared to get in a fight over spending.  Is this system of checks and balances beneficial in making sure that no branch of government gains to much power?  Is this good of the people really being served? 

Posted at 06:06PM Nov 13, 2007 by Ashley Waid in General  |  Comments[0]

The Work of Congress

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hmzyiVIIB2w-pCeJrPL8qU3y5DKgD8SL4T2G1

This article written by the AP discusses House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's dissappoint in the work the Congress has been doing lately.  Congress has not been effective in helping to wind down the war on Iraq, and their approval ratings have gone down dramatially.  She pushes the blame mostly on to Bush and his followers.  The Democrats and Republicans cane come to no common ground regarding the war in Iraq.  Will the Democratic power in Congress be able to make changes?  Will the outcome of the 2008 election likely be democratic?

Posted at 10:41PM Nov 01, 2007 by Ashley Waid in General  |  Comments[1]

Power of Interest Groups

This article discusses interest groups and lobbyists and their power.

http://www.contactomagazine.com/articles/uslobbying1007.htm

The article states that about 40% of former House of Representatives go on to become lobbyist.  This fact demonstrates just how large and influential they are. 

Although it is impossible to completely eliminate interest groups, are they a good thing or a bad thing for our government?  Do they really help to speak the voice of the people?

Posted at 10:18AM Oct 20, 2007 by Ashley Waid in General  |  Comments[1]

Is abortion murder?

There are many confilicting opinions regarding abortion.  Pro-life activists argue the point that a human life begins at the moment of conception.  They believe having an abortion would be considered murder because the human life has already begun.  My choosing to have an abortion you are stripping an unborn babies right to life.  These people believe that abortion should be illegal.  Several issues arise, including what to do in the circumstances of rape, incest, and the mother's health.  In addition, wouldn't making abortions illegal lead to more under-the-table abortions which could put people in danger?

Pro-choice activists say that a woman should have the right to choose what desicions she makes regarding her own body.  They do not believe human life begins at conception because there is no heartbeat.  They say it is a woman's right of privacy and chose to choose to abort the baby no matter what the circumstances.  By giving woman this choose, are we basically telling them they do not have to be responsible for their own actions?

The issue of abortion is an on-going debate.  There is no perfect solution to the problem but there are a lot of opinions floating around.  Feel free to discuss an opinion and its relation to our civil liberties.

Posted at 05:17PM Oct 06, 2007 by Ashley Waid in General  |  Comments[0]