Senators/Congressmen

     Tennessee Senators: Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander. Tennessee Congressmen: Diane Black, Steve Cohen, Phil Roe, Marsha Blackburn, Jim Cooper, Scott DesJarlais, Jimmy Duncan Jr., Stephen Fincher, and Chuck Fleischmann 

     Bob Corker disagrees with the idea of abortion in general, but I agree with him about not funding abortion. Although, I personally do not agree with the idea of abortion, but I do understand there are certain situations where other people see it as plausible. I agree with his idea about not funding abortion.

     I do not agree with Bob Corker about his changes he wants to make with Medicare. I feel that more people retire early each year, and raising the age would hurt these people. His ideas about putting an end to medicare fraud sound great, but raising the age would hurt many people that may be in dire need for it. 

Recount/Fundraisers/Voter Apathy

     In the case of Bush v. Gore, I agree with the dissenting opinion over the majority. I believe that the recount of that state, in fact, should be a state issue only. This goes back to federal courts over stepping their boundaries into state legalities and problems. Even the decision in the federal court was rushed regarding the recount, making it impossible. I believe state issues should be kept inside state courts. Federal courts should stick the what they are allowed to touch, and now cross-over into state issues.

     Now that I think about it, I think the ability to fundraise is too important at times. There could be many potentially great candidates out there who desire to run, but are prevented from doing so because they lack the fundraisers they need. Something should be though about in regards to preventing these problems in the future, but I am not exactly sure what would work. Although, it would not be up to me anyways. If there was some way to rectify this problem, everyone would get a fair  chance in running if they desired to do so.

     In my opinion, I think that there is such voter apathy these days because of all the drama that goes on in the elections. It is pretty much inevitable for personal drama to be mixed into the campaigns to try and get ahead of your opponents, which I believe to be unfair. Even though I see it as impossible for candidates to stay away from digging up their opponents dirty laundry, I believe elections should stick to what they can do for our country. After all, that is what it is all about. I think voters would keep their interest and would be motivated to vote more, rather than becoming bored with the campaigns, as sometimes it seems more like a soap opera than an election.

Political Parties

     Out of the political parties to choose from this day in age, I would classify myself with the Independent party. I say this because my views and opinions can cross over into those of Republicans and Democrats, while still disagreeing with some of their views as well. I like the fast of being part of the Independent party because I can take into consideration all aspects of the parties and decide for myself what I think is the best for our country. There are, of course, parts that I may not disagree with, but I have never met an individual that agrees wholly with their political party.

     I think that if American politics would have started out without political parties it would have survived for awhile. Although, I believe that the formation of political parties was inevitable. Our country is all about freedom and individuality. I believe in a lot of aspects, political parties give the Americans the individuality they crave for. The world is so diverse today, I am not so sure that our political system would be able to survive. It is also a means of easy identification.

     Out of the lesser known political parties, I chose to research the Modern Whig party. I could identify myself with this one the most. Like the Independent party, that I classify myself as, the Modern Whig party is also for the voters who agree with some views of the Republican party and some views of the Democratic party. I can identify myself with this because it is very similar to the Independent party.

Unions

     I chose the American Postal Workers Union to do research on, because I have a neighbor who has been affected by this. It has been a non-stop struggle lately for those working at the Post Office to keep these branches open. I find it interesting that these men and women struggle on a regular basis just to make sure they can keep their jobs. I do agree with the issues they face, and I understand why they go to the extremes to keep their job. I feel like the postal service is on that is slowly declining as technology advances, and this puts their jobs in jeopardy. I feel like this union is a very important aspect for the postal service life.

     After reading about the National Nurses United union, I feel like I can relate mostly to this interest group. The issues they face in the medical career are similar ones I can see myself facing as I enter into the career of being a radiologist. I understand their need to protest to protect their health care and believe they have the right to protest these issues.

     I believe that interest groups have just the right amount of power in the political system. They are not overpowering about the issues they face, but still protest to do something about it. I think that the line between freedom of speech and unfair persuasion is crossed when politicians dig deep into the personal lives of their opponents to trash their campaign.

Objectivity/Talk Radio/Media Objectivity

     I believe in some news stations there is objectivity hidden in there somewhere. It is just so hard to tell this day in age, with so much information being spread around. It is so easy for someone to make up results, ideas, or “facts” to be reported about in the news. There are still news stations who claim that all of their information is strictly based on facts and scientific polls done correctly, but truthfully we would never be able to know for sure unless we saw the facts ourselves, or watch the polls in progress. Unfortunately, that is a problem we face with news coverage, journalism, and online information. In my opinion, I believe they all have the same amount of the objectivity we strive to see.

     I usually do not listen to talk radio to receive my political information. I mostly will watch debates and the news, when they time comes, and also receive some information online. I do know you have to be cautious about what sites you are visiting to receive your information, but if you find the correct ones it will be good information. With that said, talk radio does not affect my view of politics, because I do not listen to it.

     I think media objectivity is very important, because it can be unbiased facts. If these facts are unbiased, it is easier for people to see these facts and form their own opinion about what they believe. A lot of people question the existence of objectivity in journalism, because it is incredibly hard to have unbiased facts. It kind of makes me think if there is actually such a thing.

Polls/Party Identification/Opinions

     I think, with all the political debates that are televised, American news media is not that dependent upon political polls. Polls can be useful in seeing where everyone, or the topic, stands with American citizens, but only if they are done correctly. Polls can be majorly swayed by people, but can also be a useful piece of information in politics if done correctly. Although, I am not sure how many people will vote on polls without being  upto-date on everything that is happening, but polls can be wrong if done incorrectly. Also, I do not think it is appropriate for news agencies to create polls and then report on them. Even though some may be accurate, I think polls should be done professionally so you are getting the most correct information possible. Also, news agencies creating more polls can spread confusion, because there is such a thing as one too many polls.

     Political party identification, to me, is not that important. I don’t believe I could put myself under one category of political parties, because the topics and my opinions can be so diverse. I have a problem of seeing many benefits and and non-benefits to each side, that it takes much research and time to decide, that it could be opposite to what my political party would think the answer would be. It may have been more important to my grandparents, but my parents are the same way as me. Growing up, I never heard my parents talk specifically about what party they were; just that they were talking their own opinions on the topics. Everyone is different, so some friends may find it very important to categorize themselves under a party, but other friends also do not see themselves as just one political party.

   I do not think my opinion of politics is more influenced by economic or social issues more than the other, I think it is more likely a mixture of both. I like to take all sides of information of a wide variety of issues and base my opinions on all of that research. 

Race/Gender/Sexual Orientation

       I think the government does too little to reduce the instances of racial discrimination at some points in time. Those being handled poorly on television need to be taken care of in a formal fashion. I believe in America we should all be equal, no matter what. There are so many ways people discriminate, but race, gender, and sexual orientations are pretty big deals. I understand discrimination does happen, and not ever incident can be stopped. Although, we do not see many incidents happening on television, but when they do happen I believe it should not be taken so lightly. Not just with race, but also gender and sexual orientation.

This issue of gender, I feel, was a major problem many years ago, but has since loosened up. I know there are still cases where gender discrimination does still occur, but to me at least, it is just not something you hear very often. Many laws have been passed for women to have the equal rights as men. So, I feel the government does a perfect amount to reduce the instances of gender discrimination. Unless, I am just out of the loop with this topic recently. We see today many high power women, especially running for president.

The issue of sexual orientation is such a major controversy in our time right now, that I am a little afraid to blog about this topic. I believe the government does too little to reduce the instances of sexual orientation discrimination, and too much of inhabiting them. I think it is pretty sad that we actually have to pass a law in each state to legalize gay marriage. I know some people are just completely against, I have just never been able to wrap it around my mind why. I think the government needs to focus more on reducing the instances of sexual orientation discrimination, and less time causing them.

Freedom of Speech/Separation if Church and State/Criminal Rights

     Freedom of Speech is very important to the citizens of the United States. We see this as being a main reason for keeping us “free,” and allow us to live our lives and say what we would like to say, to a certain extent. I think the freedom of this is taken too far and for granted sometimes, forcing the government to come up with laws such as the fighting words doctrine, etc. Yes, you have the privilege to say what you feel, but why do people take it as far as discriminating against other races, backgrounds, social statuses, genders, and sexual orientations that will obviously hurt others. I think people take the freedom of speech too far in a lot of cases, but always resort back to, “It’s my right to say what I want.” While that’s true, it’s sad they want to use that right to hurt other people.

     I think separation of church and state is necessary for our country. While we are able to have freedom of religion, I feel like that would be infringed upon if the  state could pass laws with religious topics, even if they are not supporting one religion over the other. I don’t think there can be any unbiased laws passed about religion, because those choosing to pass or not pass those laws will use their opinions on how to vote. I think there should be a wall between the church and state so we can practice our religious beliefs without laws being pushed at us. 

     I do believe that defendant’s rights are crucial to our system of government, because until they are proven guilty, they are still citizens who still have to have their freedoms. Although, in some cases with such incriminating evidence, some may have too many rights. Some believe that if they get access to the right lawyer, they have a great chance of getting for the crime they have committed, and in some ways I do agree with that. I also still believe that any one person is innocent until proven guilty by a jury. That means they should have all the same rights as any other citizen, until they are proven guilty.

Power/Power Shift/Education

     I think that the national government and the state governments should have an equal share of powers, because if the national government possessed more power than the state government it would try to take control. Although, the national government does possess more powers than the state government so it can establish some control over all the states, too much power can be a negative thing. If the national government had too much power over all the states, it could result in a failing of the democracy system. The Articles of Confederation failed in similar ways, in that some areas of government controlled too much over everyone else. I feel if one area of government possesses too much power, it becomes similar to a dictatorship.

     National government power increased during the Great Depression for the sole fact that some order needed to be established to bring the economy back to life. When the national government power increased, it could control all of the states at once, so they were all doing something similar to establish the economy to what it was before. After the economy boosted some, during the Reagan administration, the power slowly shifted back to the states.

    I do believe that the national government should regulate education among the states, as well as the state and local governments. I think the national government should up their participation in the involvement of education so each child has an equal opportunity to receive the top education possible. Without the national government’s aid, some states and local governments may not be able to raise enough money to sufficiently supply student with an equal opportunity for education, supplies, activities, or keeping the school open for that matter. That’s why I think it’s important for the national government to step in on this matter, and help every child get the proper education they deserve.

Constitution/Bill of Rights/Death Penalty

        Before the Constitution of the United States of America, they had approved the Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation has formally established the United States of America, and had declared it one nation which was under centralized control. Although, it had brought the United Staes under on nation, there were many flaws in this form of governing. One major problem is it had limited the powers of the people, and leaving Congress with too much power. There was no judicial branched established, and no separate executive branch. This led to predictable problems. One problem that arose was the nations debts going unpaid. This cause a major crisis, and that is why the shift to the Constitution was a crucial event in our government system. If the Articles of Confederation were still in effect today, or country very well may have failed as a whole. We already have enough debt to our country today, so there really is no telling how much financial trouble we would be in with the Articles in effect. As well as many other problems, including lack of power for the people of the United States.

The Bill of Rights are extremely crucial to the Constitution of the United States of America in that, we as citizens of the United States, have our certain rights that cannot be taken away from us. Without the Bill of Rights, which consist of the first ten amendments in the Constitution, Congress could take away said rights under certain circumstances, which completely takes away from our “free country.” The Bill of Rights protect our rights as a citizen of the great United States of America, and as a human being.

Personally, I have mixed feelings about the death penalty as a means of punishment. I am not saying that I do not think the person who had committed such a heinous crime, such as murder, should be punished to the most extreme extent, but I do not see the death penalty as very constitutional. I do not see it to be constitutional for the sole fact that someone else, who is seeing out the punishment, is also committing a type of murder. I also have to think about the victims, victim's family, and the community in which these heinous crimes were committed. Such a heinous act can stir up so much emotion and ruin lives. Which leaves me with mixed feelings; I feel that the person should get the highest punishment possible, which death penalty may be called for which such despicable and heinous crimes, but there is also that persons life that is at stake, because that leaves me with the question has who really gets to decide if this person should live or die? In saying this, I believe that those who are in prison, should not be subjected to such privileges as receiving an education, television, sports, etc. I believe they should receive the highest form of punishment possible, without restricting them of their life if possible.

Democracy/Separation of Powers/Moderate

I believe that Americans do take the idea of democracy in our country for granted, because for the simple fact that I feel these days we have lost our grip on the true idea of democracy. Democracy in its truest form is, as we all know by now, a government structure exercised by the people. I also feel that the simple fact of getting to choose whether you want to vote or not play into this issue. In recent years, the amount of people participating in the elections, of any sort, have gone down drastically. This is a problem in my eyes for two reasons: those who choose not to vote leave the others, who do vote, to choose who runs our country, and what goes on; also, those who do not vote seem to be the ones that usually complain about what is going on. I don't believe people should get to rally or oppose those running if they did not even bother to vote.

Separation of Powers is extremely crucial in our government system, because without it our system would be overpowered. Since our government is separated into three major branches of power, it is important they stick with their powers and not take on the duties of another branch. One branch cannot take over any duties of another branch, because it cannot have too much power, for the sake of our country and our democracy.

I mainly see myself as a moderate person on the spectrum. I agree with points of both liberals and conservatives, but not one stronger than the other. I also disagree with points on each side of the spectrum which would put me in the middle of the spectrum as a moderate.