Since we will be creating political ads this week based on what party you have been assigned to, it might make sense for you to take another political ideology test in order to better understand what the political parties stand for.
Political Compass has a good "test" here. Please post what your status is after taking the test and whether you think the test is valid.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Monday, January 23, 2012
No More GPS Tracking
The US Supreme Court ruled that the police need to acquire a warrant before they can use GPS to track your activities. Here is a brief background of the case:
"A GPS device installed by police on Washington, D.C., nightclub owner Antoine Jones' Jeep and tracked for four weeks helped link him to a suburban house used to stash money and drugs. He was sentenced to life in prison before an appeals court overturned his conviction."
Remember, that your right to privacy is not protected when you drive around in public. Anyone can follow anyone else on public roads. Why can't the police simply be able to attach a GPS device on your vehicle to make it easier to follow you?
"A GPS device installed by police on Washington, D.C., nightclub owner Antoine Jones' Jeep and tracked for four weeks helped link him to a suburban house used to stash money and drugs. He was sentenced to life in prison before an appeals court overturned his conviction."
Remember, that your right to privacy is not protected when you drive around in public. Anyone can follow anyone else on public roads. Why can't the police simply be able to attach a GPS device on your vehicle to make it easier to follow you?
Members of the SUpreme COurt thought otherwise: "Justice Antonin Scalia said the government's installation of the device, and its use of the GPS to monitor the vehicle's movements, constituted a search, meaning a warrant was required. "Officers encroached on a protected area," Scalia wrote.
Relying on a centuries-old legal principle, he concluded that the police action without a warrant was a trespass and therefore an illegal search."
Do you welcome this ruling by the Supreme Court? Was this an issue of privacy or does this ruling handcuff police (no pun intended) from doing their jobs?
Monday, January 16, 2012
Martin Luther King
On January 16 we celebrated Martin Luther King's birthday (which is actually January 15). King was devoted to a movement for racial equality at a time when he faced fierce resistance, especially in the South. Later in his life, King also addressed income inequality as well. King's movement was successful in the sense that African-Americans now face less de jure (formal) discrimination in the law. Blacks can vote without being subjected to a poll tax, schools are integrated, hiring laws are more fair and African-Americans have access to all the public places that whites do. However, plenty of de facto (in fact) discrimination still exists. The bottom line, is that race has played a big role in the history and government of the United States. How do you assess race relations in the US in 2012? Are we on the right track? Are we making progress towards a color-blind society? Or do we still have lots of work to do to stamp out discrimination and racism? What role should the government play in addressing this issue?
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Presidential Image
Ideally, American voters would base their decision on an impartial analysis of a candidate's positions on the issues. Unfortunately, that is not usually the case. A candidate's "image" plays just a big role as policy issues. Let's see if that is the case for you. Please respond to the following issues of "image" for the candidates:
- Two of the candidates are Mormon. Should one's religious affiliation make a difference in one's voting?
- One candidate is 75 years old. Should excessive age make a difference in one's voting decision?
- In 2008, race was a big issue. Should a candidate's race matter? What about gender?
Saturday, December 31, 2011
New Year, New Laws
With the coming of a new year, new laws are scheduled to start as well. Here is a small sampling:
Athlete safety: requires school districts to develop a process for identifying cases in which students suffer concussions in sports mishaps and require a parent to give written permission for the athlete to return to the lineup.
Baby food: bans stores from selling expired infant food and formula.
Bail: requires that people extradited to California to face criminal charges face $100,000 in bail in addition to any bail already issued for the underlying offense.
Beer: bars the importation, production and sale of beer to which caffeine has been directly added as a separate ingredient, in response to incidents in which young people have been hospitalized with severe intoxication after drinking the beverages.
Child actors: streamlines the process for obtaining state permission for minors to work in the entertainment industry by allowing parents to get temporary permits online rather than through the mail.
Drunk drivers: authorizes courts to revoke, for up to a decade, the driver's license of any person convicted of three or more DUIs in a 10-year period. Another law bars police agencies that set up drunk-driving checkpoints from impounding cars from sober but unlicensed drivers if there is a legal driver available to take the wheel.
Elder abuse: allows wage garnishments against anyone convicted of elder abuse or financial abuse of a dependent adult.
Food stamps: eliminates the requirement that food stamp recipients be fingerprinted to prevent fraud. Another law calls for state agencies to promote more enrollment in the federal food stamp program.
Infused drinks: allows bars to infuse alcohol with fruits and vegetables for use in cocktails.
Lying politicians: forces elected officials to forfeit office if convicted of falsely claiming they have been awarded military decorations.
Marijuana: gives cities and counties clearer authority to regulate the location and operation of medical marijuana dispensaries. Another law creates new penalties for the possession of synthetic cannabis products, which have been sold in convenience stores and tobacco shops.
Puppies: outlaws the selling of live animals on any street, sidewalk, parking lot or other public right-of-way.
Raves: requires any state agency that plans an event with more than 10,000 people on state property to conduct a threat assessment before the event.
Restaurants: may use up their supplies of shark fins — a delicacy in Chinese cooking — purchased before Jan. 1. After that, sale and possession of shark fins will be illegal.
Student government: authorizes illegal immigrants who are students to receive grants, fee waivers and reimbursement for serving in student government at public colleges.
What are your thoughts on these new laws? Would you like to suggest a law of your own?
Athlete safety: requires school districts to develop a process for identifying cases in which students suffer concussions in sports mishaps and require a parent to give written permission for the athlete to return to the lineup.
Baby food: bans stores from selling expired infant food and formula.
Bail: requires that people extradited to California to face criminal charges face $100,000 in bail in addition to any bail already issued for the underlying offense.
Beer: bars the importation, production and sale of beer to which caffeine has been directly added as a separate ingredient, in response to incidents in which young people have been hospitalized with severe intoxication after drinking the beverages.
Child actors: streamlines the process for obtaining state permission for minors to work in the entertainment industry by allowing parents to get temporary permits online rather than through the mail.
Drunk drivers: authorizes courts to revoke, for up to a decade, the driver's license of any person convicted of three or more DUIs in a 10-year period. Another law bars police agencies that set up drunk-driving checkpoints from impounding cars from sober but unlicensed drivers if there is a legal driver available to take the wheel.
Elder abuse: allows wage garnishments against anyone convicted of elder abuse or financial abuse of a dependent adult.
Food stamps: eliminates the requirement that food stamp recipients be fingerprinted to prevent fraud. Another law calls for state agencies to promote more enrollment in the federal food stamp program.
Infused drinks: allows bars to infuse alcohol with fruits and vegetables for use in cocktails.
Lying politicians: forces elected officials to forfeit office if convicted of falsely claiming they have been awarded military decorations.
Marijuana: gives cities and counties clearer authority to regulate the location and operation of medical marijuana dispensaries. Another law creates new penalties for the possession of synthetic cannabis products, which have been sold in convenience stores and tobacco shops.
Puppies: outlaws the selling of live animals on any street, sidewalk, parking lot or other public right-of-way.
Raves: requires any state agency that plans an event with more than 10,000 people on state property to conduct a threat assessment before the event.
Restaurants: may use up their supplies of shark fins — a delicacy in Chinese cooking — purchased before Jan. 1. After that, sale and possession of shark fins will be illegal.
Student government: authorizes illegal immigrants who are students to receive grants, fee waivers and reimbursement for serving in student government at public colleges.
What are your thoughts on these new laws? Would you like to suggest a law of your own?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)