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Post by Mr. Kruzich on Sept 14, 2016 7:34:43 GMT -6
CURRENT EVENTS!
All of you have signed up to post & present a Monday current event. Current events should be online sources, legitimate articles from reputable sources, of a "decent length," and related to government or politics (local, state, national, or international). When you post, you should do the following: 1. Write the title of your article, and hyperlink the online source 2. In 1-2 paragraphs, summarize your article. Answer the 5 "W's" and provide any necessary details & explanations. Somebody reading your summary should not be left with questions about what happened. 3. In 1 paragraph, discuss one aspect of the article that relates to something we've covered in class. 4. In 1 additional paragraph, write a reflection. This could be sharing an opinion, predicting what the event will mean to the future, or asking additional questions that you'd like to see answered. Basically, do some processing of your topic. *Current events will be worth 20 points. I will not only expect your topic to be covered completely and accurately, but I will expect your responses to be academic and professional. Use well-developed paragraphs with proper spelling and grammar. Your posts are due at the beginning of the class period for presentation points (5 of the 20). Posts that are late cannot have the presentation points made up. Posts after your posting week will not be accepted. These are hard deadlines. *Each student is responsible for 4 responses to articles throughout the semester. These must be done throughout the semester... one by the end of September, one by the end of October, one by the end of November, and one before our final exam. These are hard deadlines. You may work ahead and get them done. These responses should: 1. Be 1-2 well-developed paragraphs. 2. Add something additional to the article that isn't in the summary or previous responses 3. Demonstrate clearly that you read the actual article, and not just the summary 4. Be timely- within one week of the actual posting of the article. *Responses are 10 points each. Why are we doing this? Because our district standards say we must . Happy reading, happy writing! |
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Post by Olivia Klaas on Sept 16, 2016 9:05:33 GMT -6
New Hampshire to defend ban on ballot-box selfies in court www.studentnewsdaily.com/daily-news-article/new-hampshire-to-defend-ban-on-ballot-box-selfies-in-court/Officials in New Hampshire are going to the federal appeals court to persuade that the law made in 2014 that banned people from taking pictures of their voting ballots does not violate peoples freedom of speech. A voter sued the government after taking a picture of his ballot where he wrote his dogs name because he did not want to chose someone. He believed it was a part of his rights and his freedom of speech to post a picture so he did not feel he should have been punished for posting it. Opponents of the ban believe that it should be a good thing that people are posting pictures of their ballots as it increases engagement in the government and makes it a way for younger voters to speak about their political ideas. The fine for posting a selfie can be up to a $1,000 fine. This connects the idea of the freedom of speech protections given in the first amendment of the US Constitution. It states that people can speak whatever they want to and can do as they want without getting punished if it doesn't violate a law. Voters should be able to post a picture of their ballots as they have the right based off of the constitution. I believe that people should be able to post a picture of their ballot. Obviously, it doesn't force people to post a picture or to not post a picture but it gives them the choice. If they want others to know their views, then they have the right. I feel like most people would tell others who they voted for as well. I also feel like it will encourage more people to vote if they see their friends or others out voting. |
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Post by Paige Stewart on Sept 18, 2016 10:33:34 GMT -6
www.nytimes.com/2016/09/18/us/politics/donald-trump-presidential-race.html?_r=1 In the article, “Donald Trump’s Anything-Goes Campaign Sets an Alarming Political Precedent,” Journalist Jonathan Martin draws attention to the issue that Trump’s arrogant accusations and constant self promotion continually breaks social norms when on the campaign trail. The article states multiple examples of Trump throwing out falsehoods when speaking and when questioned about those statements deflecting and even mocking our political system. It goes on to share the concerns that many politicians have about Trumps ability to act Presidential if elected even possibly changing the persona of the office forever. It seems as though there is a trend toward Americans to be more accepting of bad behavior and a desire to follow celebrity status regardless of how low they have set their personal standards. If elected Donald Trump will be the President the head of the Executive Branch. This position comes with a great deal of power such as the ability to Veto legislation, this makes me wonder if he will exercise that power on a whim or for pure shock value instead of for the good of the country. I also question his ability to maintain the respect of his fellow politicians which may affect his ability to be able to effectively work with other branches of the government. His comments at times seem offensive and as the leader of the free world our future safety could be in jeopardy if he offends other countries and their leaders. Several comments were made in the article that part of his overall appeal is that he IS NOT a career politician and that the public is embracing the fact that he speaks his mind even if it is offensive at times. It will be interesting to see how this changes future campaigns and elections and if the “sound bite” is more appealing than the truth.
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Post by Lexi Montgomery on Sept 20, 2016 21:08:06 GMT -6
Donald Trump appeals to many Americans due to the fact that he has taken a different approach in the presidential campaign. He speaks his mind without thinking or caring about the repercussions. Many of the things he states are lies. According to the article, he falsely stated that Hillary Clinton said that President Obama was not born in the United States before he said that. Not only is he shattering our country's political norms, but appears to be mocking them as well. An example of Trump breaking political norms is by refusing to release his tax returns, a tradition of 40 years in this country. He says what he thinks, and he mocked an African-American pastor who had just welcomed him to her church. He also called a senator "Pocahontas" after she had once said she had Native American roots. I guess a lot of people enjoy this rude and discriminatory behavior because he is our republican presidential candidate. Though it may be enjoyable to laugh about what he exclaims now, it may not be in our best interest to have him in such a powerful position where he can upset the wrong people and cause damage that cannot be repaired.
With the election coming up soon this November, many political observers are extremely worried about our nation's future precedent. Even a large amount of Republican politicians are nervous about Trump's actions and what repercussions they may bring. One Republican congressman says, "Our politics, because of him, is descending to the level of a third-world country. There's just nothing beneath him." He, along with many others, are concerned because he doesn't understand why a lot of citizens think Trump will change tactics after being elected president. However, many people believe that Washington won't be the same when he's done because he will confront large problems head on and force real change in a clumsy way. I'm anxious to see what happens, and how things will play out in the election and the future of politics as a whole. I wonder if things will really change after this like a large amount of people say.
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Post by Kylee Macke on Sept 25, 2016 22:21:03 GMT -6
In 2012 the percent of voters between 18-24 was around 40%, the lowest percentage of age group in the last election. In this article the Keene Steal newspaper quotes "Any activity that increases civil engagement among young voters should be recognized as a civil good". This statement is very true especially coming from the opinion of a new voter this November, like myself. A majority of young voters do not understand the full purpose of voting because they don't see its importance, whereas the older majority view voting as a mandatory event. But, with all these rules being placed on what you can and cannot due when voting most young adults turn their backs. If you search the first amendment, no where does it state that taking a photo with the ballot is a violating of freedom of speech. I believe that it is expressing your ideas which we are taught growing up. Many teachers and adults complain about us not being able to express ourselves and our opinions or just not doing it in general. In the article it states how by taking a photo the government could run into the problem of "buying" which occurred in the 19th century. But, logically if the big two parties were trying to bribe people to vote for them, they wouldn't get very far with it. For example if Donald Trump were to secretly try to bribe people to vote for him, that headline would be on the front page before he could even attempt to do it. The same goes for Hillary too. Times have changed in our society, especially in the election. I think that not allowing voters to take a picture with their ballot is a violation to the first amendment due to restraining of political views.
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Post by Taylor Heyerdahl on Sept 25, 2016 23:06:27 GMT -6
www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2016/09/25/mall-knife-attack-spotlights-minn-tensions-somali-immigrants/91099690/In the article "Mall knife attacks spotlights Minn. tensions with Somali immigrants," Stephanie Dickrell discusses how a mall knife attack raises suspicions on Somali and Muslim immigrants. On September 17th, Dahir Adan, who is both Somali and Muslim, attacked 10 people in a mall in St. Cloud Minnesota, shortly before being killed by a police officer. Although the reason for the attack is unknown, ISIS is claimed responsible for the attack, but no connections have been made between Dahir and the terror group yet. With the Somali population in St. Cloud, Minnesota on the rise, they fear of misplaced retaliation due to the fact that the town of St. Cloud is not accepting of religious diversity. Additionally, the article discusses how the Somali population has made efforts to prove their worth to the community, and how they have adapted to their community by building mosques and elementary schools. After learning of the attack in the mall, Somali leaders expressed their sympathy for the victims, saying that the attack was the fault of the individual, not the community. While this attack remains under investigation by the FBI, concerns on the Somali and Muslim immigrants continue to grow. As the 2016 presidential election is slowly approaching, much attention is drawn to the presidential Candidate Donald Trump, who has strong beliefs on the topic of immigration. Trump believes that immigrants do not belong in our country, calling them rapists, accusing them of bringing drugs, accusing them of bringing crime, and accusing them of all being terrorists. When relating this article to a topic discussed in class, it can be connected to the Executive Branch because if Trump were to be elected, he would be the head of the executive branch. With his strong immigration views, Trump would try to propose new immigration laws. However, with the checks and balances system put in place to distribute and limit power among the three branches, no laws would be able to be passed without being approved by the Legislative Branch. I believe this event will have a significant impact on the future because of the many terrorist attacks that have been occurring lately. Despite the many efforts to increase security and reduce the amount of terrorist attacks on our country, people still have a way to commit attacks like the one seen in this article. Also, in my opinion, I feel as if Trump is at an advantage in this election due to the fact that his immigration views involve taking measures to protect the country from future terrorist attacks.
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Post by Austin Hebel on Sept 27, 2016 8:58:40 GMT -6
According to the Census Bureau, there are about 5,800 foreign born residents in the St. Cloud area which has caused some conflict after the attacks of 9/11. Ever since the attacks, the Somali population has rose suspicion among people in St. Cloud. Many people thought that they could just ignore the problem and it would just go away, however, that didn't exactly happen. The Somali kids who came to St. Cloud as preschoolers are now attending college and are starting their own businesses. False rumors are still circulating that cause people to assume things about the Somali and Muslim population throughout the country which has caused a lot of controversy about immigration. Donald Trump has strong stance about immigration that many people disagree with, however, his stance could help reduce terrorist attacks and increase the safety of people in the U.S. Because ISIS claimed responsibility for this event, I believe that more and more issues/conflicts will arise in St. Cloud and in other parts of the U.S. with a large Somali and Muslim population.
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Post by Ben Frederickson on Sept 27, 2016 19:53:27 GMT -6
When looking at the St. Cloud area, the growing Somali and refugee population has raised a lot of tension. The residents of the area are mostly Catholic and have German heritage. Their past and recent events has started a growing divide between the two groups. The mall attack hasn't helped tensions either. Although, religious leaders have started to group together and fight the tension. Some people might feel someone like Donald Trump would have a better answer to this growing divide than these leaders. Maybe with his strict immigration polices, he could prevent dangerous refugees from going to St. Cloud and other places. Especially cause ISIS claimed responsibility Donald, if he does become president, might take action in places like St. Cloud. As he said in the presidential debate, he wants to make inner cities have more law, order, and safe again. Again some would argue he wouldn't be the right person to solve the problem in St. Cloud, maybe Hillary could have some better influence on the area with her plan to relive tensions. I believe that the situation will have be solved, or the tensions will boil over into more violence.
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Post by Jake Gilbert on Sept 29, 2016 19:30:46 GMT -6
When looking at the attacks in St. Cloud and at the fact that the attacker was both Somalian and muslim it is easy to jump to the conclusion that this was a product of ISIS or just terrorism in general especially when Isis claims to be linked with the attacks. However people just jumping to conclusions based on others races and religious backgrounds is a big problem in itself. It causes tension and really makes a negative impact on all of the muslims in our country. Trumps strong stance on immigration surely does not help the topic. If anything these ideas are only causing more tension in the area of immigration which seems odd when you consider that pretty much all of our families somewhere along the line immigrated here. To me this seems a bit hypocritical. However overall I think this event will help Trump in the election because it may sway people to want dramatic change in an attempt to stop attacks like these.
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Post by Derek Tielbur on Sept 29, 2016 20:43:47 GMT -6
When looking at the attacks in St. Cloud it seems that this attack will be in trumps favor knowing that he doesnt want immigrants coming into the united states but i think it wont because this attack was only done by one man and he used a knife to kill 10 people yes it was an immigrant but i dint think this was planned like 9/11 and now after this they dont know why the killings where doen the only reason i think this wont be in trumps favor is because its just murder now im not saying murder is ok im saying americans murder americans all the time this was just a murder done by an immigrant this doesnt make it a terriost attack it makes it a murder so my opinion is that this is a little out going because an immigrant out of the u.s killed americans i do not think this will effect trumps election because right after this attack the somali leaders said that this was a single attack that wasnt planned.
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Post by Alex Kopriva on Sept 30, 2016 9:48:11 GMT -6
The attacks in St. Cloud will play a role in the presidential election. Trump has been strongly pushing his new immigration policies, which are to prevent attacks such as this from happening in the future. In St Cloud, the Somali population grew when their people moved to work in the meat processing and manufacturing plants. Ever since their arrival, it has been noted that St. Cloud is not a very religiously welcoming community. This could also be a community strongly in the support of Trump Train. This event can only help Trump and his campaign as people especially in that community as this would raise concern and fears over the immigrants from that region of the world.
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Post by Tyler Bills on Sept 30, 2016 11:58:35 GMT -6
The mall stabbing in st. Cloud brings to knowledge the situation of addressing immigration. In the article it goes over the population census of the Somali people. It also goes over how the Somali people showed sympathy and it shows that we can't throw a whole ethnicity together. It brings to surface how one person cannot represent a whole countries views. We as an American people need not to jump to fast to occlusions, and be open to other beliefs and cultures.
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Post by Dom Strom on Sept 30, 2016 12:09:16 GMT -6
The number of foreign born residents in the state of Minnesota is estimated to be about 428,000 people. That is roughly 8% of the total population, and a good number of them are Somalians. This number will likely continue to rise in the future, which is why the upcoming presidential election could potentially have a big impact. As stated before, the killing was done by a man who was both Somalian and Muslim, with ISIS taking responsibility for it. Whoever wins the presidency, Trump or Clinton, will have a different perspective and approach to deal with problems like these then the other. While many people feel Trump is racist due to his immigration policies and racial remarks, his plan potentially could help stop events like these from ever happening in the future if he wins the presidency. Hillary's approach to the issue is very different then Trumps, as she will try and take the fight to ISIS, and not deal with immigration like Trump. Overall I feel like this event heavily favors Trump, even though it may not have been from ISIS. With the numbers of immigrants growing, these types of things will continue to happen unless something is done to stop it, and I feel like trumps policies of immigration will be very effective
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Post by Matthew Stanley on Sept 30, 2016 13:25:53 GMT -6
As said in the article the Muslim and Somali population is growing so I think a person like Donald Trump someone who is going to look into the problem not to get rid of the Muslims and Somali population but maybe to create a better way for foreign policy to make sure were only bringing in the foreigners who are not terrorists. I also think electing someone like this would bring more attention to the issue and would hopefully help stop incidents like this from happening. I would also think that the community of St. Cloud should take in consideration the efforts the Muslim and Somali population is taking in to give back to the community to ensure everyone that they're not the terrorists everyone thinks they are and that they should help put in effort to get the issue of foreign policy fixed.
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Post by Lexi Montgomery on Oct 2, 2016 18:57:54 GMT -6
Fox News Poll: Clinton ahead of Trump after debate, fear motivating both sides www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/09/30/fox-news-poll-clinton-ahead-trump-after-debate-fear-motivating-both-sides.htmlIn this article, Dana Blanton presents the polls after the presidential debate last Monday night. Just two weeks ago Clinton was up by one percentage point (41-40), and now she is up three percentage points (43-40) against Trump. Two weeks ago Trump was up by one (41-40 percent) in the two-candidate head-to-head, but after the debate Clinton tops Trump by five, 49-44 percent. Other reviews of the debate in this article show that over half of the people wouldn't be comfortable with him as our president, and his honesty keeps dwindling. Large amounts of people are viewing Clinton as more honest than Trump. This article reveals what nominee appeals to which groups of voters. Trump is preferred among men, whites, and independents. Clinton followers are among women, non-whites, and voters under the age of 45. Since the debate, these numbers for Clinton have increased. 57% of voters say their motivation behind voting in this election is that they are fearful the other candidate might win. Only 39% of voters say they are voting out of enthusiasm for their candidate. Polls show that neither candidates are popular. Over 50% of voters for each candidate have an unfavorable opinion of the candidates. This Fox New article displays the polls done Tuesday through Thursday after the Monday debate, and they show how voters felt about the debate, candidates, and future of our country. Voters who think the lives of the future generation likely will vote for Clinton. Whereas voters who think the lives of the future generation will worsen, typically will vote for Trump because they want a strong leader who will be an advocate for change. Majority of the polls voters said that Clinton won the debate and believe she will be the next president. It will be interesting to find out who wins in the near future, and is going to be the next President of the United States. The polls revealed that people feel more comfortable with Clinton specifically with immigration, foreign policy, terrorism, and crime. For Trump, more people trust Trump corruption in government and the economy. Also, a larger percent of Trump supports say they will not accept the outcome if Clinton wins. Altogether, it is clear after the debate that less people are believing Trump and think Clinton is more trustworthy. This election is very divided and supporters of each candidate are extremely critical of their opponent. This relates to what we've learned in class so far because we have learned about the executive branch, and more about how the election works, and the common differences between liberals and conservatives. |
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