Vaccine Blogpost

PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 01 June 2014.This program explored the public uproar involving vaccines and their connection to autism. They interviewed parents who had children diagnosed with autism after recently having been vaccinated. Also they look at studies regarding the link between autism and vaccination. During the program, they examine the parent protest being lead in our country and how parents are concerned to vaccinate their children in fear that they will be diagnosed with a learning disability. But by not vaccinating their kids, parents could be causing an epidemic for a disease that's already been cured by a vaccine.

 Nature.com. Nature Publishing Group, n.d. Web. 02 June 2014.Like the previous source, this program looks into the connection between modern vaccines and autism. This source examines the political angle of the American parent's battle against vaccines, and how legislation involving vaccine regulation is being considered. Also they go over studies of autism involving mercury and vaccine. It has been shown that most vaccines linked to autism, involved mercury in the contained ingredients.Lastly they discuss the opinion in the medical community that expresses that regulating vaccine is counterproductive as they cure diseases and prevent epidemic. This source helped provide different perspectives in the debate over the linkage between autism and vaccination.

Amendment Blogpost

U.S. Constitution › 26th Amendment

26th Amendment

Amendment XXVI

Section 1.

The right of citizens of the United States, who are 18 years of age or older, to vote, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of age.

Section 2.

The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

This amendment is super important because it granted all U.S citizens the right to vote. In turn this help establish our government's system of democracy and our strong emphasis in political participation. 

Healthcare Blogpost

UK


1) Healthcare is funded by taxation.


2) No co-payments (with a few exceptions).


3) Administration costs are low.


4) World leader in preventative medicine.


Japan


1) Average family premium equals $280/month


2) Co-pay equals 30% of the cost of a procedure.


3) Social Insurance system that requires everyone to be insured.


4) Low costs for procedures.


5) Too low of costs to generate growth.


Germany


1) Average family premium equals $750/month


2) Co-pay equals $15 per every three months.


3) Like Japan, Germany has a Social Insurance structure.


4) Sickness funds are nonprofit and can't deny anyone based on pre-existing conditions.


Taiwan


1) Average family premium equals $650 per year for a family of four.


2) Co-pay varies between drug costs and procedures.


3) National Health Insurance system that requires all citizens to be insured. Some groups are fully unsubsidized.


4) Similar to U.S Medicare.


5) System has low costs and low profits.


Switzerland


1) Spends the most money on healthcare.


2) C0-pay equals 10% of the cost of services.


3) Universal coverage.


4) High cost to operate.


5) Best medical outcomes.


Of the countries I researched, I thought Switzerland was the most promising. They require all citizens to be insured, but provide universal healthcare to everyone. Also their overall cost of their healthcare system is significantly less then that of the United States. Their government allows medical care to be very accessible and has very positive outcomes in that department. Lastly their insurance offers reasonable co-payments for services. In conclusion, I think Switzerland has the finest healthcare program.

Essay 20- Individualism

In the U.S individuals often look for ways to voice their opinions in our representative democracy. The Bill of Rights has several provisions that allows for citizens to express themselves. One aspect is free speech, as it citizens are free to say almost anything they want under their government. Another example is free of press as citizens are free to read and spread any publication they choose to. Lastly citizens are free to gather together and express political thoughts.

Various interest groups are used differently to influence policy. For example interest groups use grassroots mobilization to gather citizens who can influence a policy decision. Also lobbying is used by interest groups to directly influence policymakers. Lastly litigation is when interest groups use the court systems to influence policymakers through a court case.

Our government is able to regulate the activities of interest groups in several ways. One of which being laws that limit campaign contributions, should makes it illegal for interest groups to produce campaign funding in order to influence a policymaker during an election year. Also laws making bribery illegal make it illegal for policymakers to take bribes from interest groups.

Scoring Rubric Link: http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/ap10_us_govt_politics_scoring_guidelines.pdf

Essay 19- National Interest Groups

(1999_2)National interest groups often target national-level policymaking institutions to achieve their policy objectives.

Select one of the following national interest groups.
- AARP
- AMA (Medical Association
- NAACP
- NAM (national assoc. of Manufacturers)

For the group you selected do each of the following.
- a identify one major national-level policymaking institution that this group targets.
- b describe one resource or characteristic of the group you have chosen and explain how it influences the choice of the target you have identified in (a)
- c describe another resource or characteristic of the group you have chosen and explain how it influences the choice of the target you have identified in (a).

The American Medical Association was established to promote the art and science of medicine and the betterment of public health. The AMA is made up of delegates from every state and these delegates lobby to promote health in medicine. This group targets government policymakers such as the FDA and the HHS because of their connections to the human body and the betterment of overall medicine. The AMA targets policy-making institutions that can help regulate food and drug because these things closely relate to human health.

The AMA also targets groups that can impact the overall experience of doctor to patient care. Their goal is to improve the betterment of health services in medicine, so by targeting groups that have influence in the health services and the food and drug administration they can make a change to improve our nation's healthcare. Lastly the AMA looking to promote their cause would also look for a group with a diverse group of supporters to help further their goals in medicine.

Scoring Rubric: http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/repository/sg_gov_pol_us_99.up_7047.pdf

Earth Day Bibiliography

"Watch film: A Fierce Green Fire." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 13 May 2014. <http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/a-fierce-green-fire/watch-the-film/2924/>.  This source is an interesting documentary on the environmental movement and centers around Earth Day. The film goes into the formation and early operation of the Sierra Club. Also they explore the world of whale poaching and those that fight to prevent it. The program provided a lot of compelling perspectives into the various groups involved in the environmental movement.Also the program looks into the research involving studies in climate change. Overall this program provides a lot of insight into those involved in the environmental movement.

 ""Save the Whales" 35th Anniversary." Greenpeace. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May 2014. <http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/news-and-blogs/campaign-blog/save-the-whales-35th-anniversary/blog/25978/>.  This source is dedicated to the history of Greenpeace, an environmental group primarily focused on saving the whales. This article goes into the group's history and how they went up against big whaling ships in order to protect the sperm whales. The article also gives specific statistics on the now growing whale population thanks to Greenpeace. They also talk about the anniversary of Greenpeace's first anti-whaling expedition and how the founders of the company came to be where they are. This source provides a really interesting story about environmental fighting for what they believe in.

 "National Geographic Freshwater 101: Pollution." National Geographic. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 May 2014. <http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/freshwater/pollution/>.  This goes in-depth about the process of water pollution. It also gives statistics about the quality of water supplies in various countries. Also facts about the amount of contaminated water in various countries is mentioned. The article also discusses how to get involved in preventing water pollution and other simple ways to prevent water pollution. Lastly the article discusses the importance of having access to clean and renewable water sources.

Essay 18- Election media

(1999_1)In the 1990’s presidential election campaigns have become more candidate centered and less focused on issues and party labels. The change has been attributed both to how the media cover presidential campaigns and to how candidates use the media. Identify and explain two ways in which the media have contributed to candidate-centered presidential campaigns. Identify and explain two ways in which presidential candidates’ use of the media has contributed to candidate-centered campaigns.

In today's election systems, the media plays an important role in shaping the public perception of a presidential candidate. As the media covers an election, their coverage becomes centered around the candidate. They cover their candidate's past and discuss how the candidate's past mistakes will impact their future. They create scandals involving the candidates just to stir up some media attention. Also during election seasons, the media runs nothing but coverage of the election making a difficult event to avoid. The media will also cover candidates at the conventions for each political party.

When it comes to media attention, the presidential candidates have also been known to stroke the fire a bit to promote their campaign. For example a presidential candidate will buy airtime to show an ad  that not only endorses their own campaign, but also dirties their opponents. Also candidates will seek campaign funding while promoting their campaign. This contributes to a very candidate centric area of election coverage by the media.

The candidate centric election coverage is due to the self promotion of their campaigns by the candidates and by the media covering the election.

Scoring Rubric: http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/repository/sg_gov_pol_us_99.up_7047.pdf

Essay 17- Bureaucracy

The merit system is a way of selecting judges in 17 states. The governor appoints the judge from a recommended group of people. Then the appointed judge serves a short term, after which voters determine whether or not the judge will serve a lengthy term.

This ties into the structure of the federal bureaucracy. Which is a structure of authority that uses task specialization while governing other states. The structure of the federal bureaucracy can lead to issues in public policy. As the government controls the distribution of the population's beliefs about politics and policy issues. The president and congress cannot manage everything, this way they are able to delegate to the bureaucracy.

Congress, court systems and interest groups all have powers that can be used to regulate bureaucracy. Congress has the power to impeach executive officials and to reject presidential proposals of bureaucratic appointments. While the court systems can limit bureaucratic practice  with court rulings. Also with judicial review, the courts can declare bureaucratic actions unconstitutional. Lastly interest groups can regulate bureaucracy through litigation and use of the first amendment.

Scoring Rubric:
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/ap10_us_govt_politics_scoring_guidelines.pdf

Essay 16- Partisanship

Over the Past several decades, the voting patterns of the average American has changed quite a bit. Since 1940 the amount of southern Americans voting for republican congressional candidates has continuously gone down.

It has been a continuing trend, that southern voters elect democratic candidates to Congress more frequently then for the presidency. This is due to the advantage of incumbency, as voters are more likely to reelect a proven Congressman then to take a chance on an unproven president. Also the differences between state and national parties play an important role. The individual state parties are less likely to support a democratic president then their national party counterparts.

As the composition of our political parties change, so does the composition of groups effected by the political shifts. Women have become more reliable democratic voters, while the nation's catholic population has become less reliable democratic voters. Lastly there trend of change is supported by the shift of social conservatives from democratic to consistent republicans.






rubric link: http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/ap10_us_govt_politics_scoring_guidelines.pdf

Essay 15- Federal Agencies

2006-3 The United States congress and the president together have the power to enact federal law. Federal bureaucratic agencies have the responsibility to execute federal law. However, in the carrying out of these laws, federal agencies have policy making discretion.
(1) Explain two reasons why Congress gives federal agencies policy making discretion in executing federal laws.
(2) Choose one of the bureaucratic agencies listed below. Identify the policy area over which it exercises policy-making discretion and give one specific example of how it exercises that discretion.
a. Environmental Protection Agency
b. Federal Communications Commission
c. Federal Reserve board
(3) Describe two ways in which Congress ensures that federal agencies follow legislative intent.

Currently, our government allows Federal bureaucratic agencies the ability to execute federal law. There are many benefits to this. For example, by allowing Federal bureaucratic agencies to execute federal law, it lets the agencies give their expertise and judgement that the government just couldn't give. Also it frees up time for the government to focus on more pressing issues and is very efficient.

An example of a bureaucratic agency is the EPA. THE EPA is centered around protecting the environment and managing the disposal of waste and chemical pollution. One example of the EPA exercising it's abilities in federal law would the Water Pollution Control Act of 1972.In this act, the EPA regulated the discharge of waste into water sources.

In order for Congress to ensure that federal agencies follow legislative intent, Congress can perform investigations into the agency's conduct. Also Congress can check the agency's budget and see what they have been spending their funding, to make everything checks out.

Scoring Rubric link: http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/_ap06_gopo_us_sg.pdf

Essay 14- Entitlement

 2006-2 In recent decades, entitlement programs have constituted a substantial portion of the United States federal budget. Social Security is the largest entitlement program in the US. From the information in the chart above, and your knowledge of the US government and politics, perform the following tasks.
(a) define entitlement program
(b) What is the primary source of revenue for the Social Security program
(c) Identify one threat to the future of the Social security program should the trends depicted in the chart continue
(d) Describe on demographic trend that threatens the future of the Social Security program and explain how it is responsible for the threat that you identified in (c )
(e) Explain how any one of the trends in the chart above would change if the age of eligibility for social security were raised.




Since the formation of social welfare and entitlement programs, it has been a huge expense to our economic system as a country. Entitlement programs are government benefits that certain qualified individuals are entitled to by law, regardless of need. The purpose of programs like this is to provide relief to those who need help to make ends meet or to those who are entitled.

As social securities and welfare continue to be a factor in the budget of every American, it becomes even more important to consider it's lasting availability. The trend of people relying on their social security may not be an option in the future, as our government will not be able to afford to pay everyone's benefits. Another trend of the graph shows that as spending has increased, the amount of money available for social security has gone down.

The current trend is to rely primarily on social security after retirement. If the age requirement for social security went up, people would have to wait to take out social security and might learn not to rely on it as much. This would also help the government and make them able to cover everyone's social security benefits.
Rubric: http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/_ap06_gopo_us_sg.pdf