Chapter 13 The Bureaucracy

1. Research federal agencies and explain which one you feel is the most important one and why?
            I think one of the most important federal agencies is the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). I think it is important because it help to monitor the environment and protect not only the air we breathe but also monitors other important resources as well.  It also monitors the disposable of waste, the cleanliness of water and stays abreast of climate change.  This particular agency does many things to make sure that we are protected from the harms that would otherwise cause us to live in a very unhealthy environment.  I can not begin to imagine how the environment would be without the EPA to monitor it.  I think that the job the EPA does not only protects us but helps to ensure that all living things live in a clean, healthy environment.

2. Which federal agency could be terminated with the least impact (if any) and why?
            In my personal opinion, I believe the Internal Broadcasting Bureau (IBB) could be terminated.  I have researched their website and can very little useful purpose for it to exist.  I also think that with the invention of the internet and the fact that technology has made so many improvements that there is really little use for them.  News around the world is published and known before it is even broadcast on TV in a lot of cases and although the (IBB) may be very useful in a handful of situations, I do not think that is a worthwhile organization to spend a hefty amount of our budget on.  I think the monies could be better spent elsewhere and on better causes.

3. Are any new agencies needed?  In other words, if you were president would you create new agencies?  If so, in what area(s)?

            I personally would like to see an agency established that provided more assistance to people who earned lower incomes.  I believe that there are many unfortunate individuals who need to have a better source of assistance and an agency that can provide, create and monitor those sources.  I also believe that there is a lot of abuse of the current systems and believe that if an agency were established to better monitor those systems and work with Health and Human Services (HHS), some of that abuse could be eliminated or at least reduced.  Everyone should have some kind of assistance in times of need but there should be a good checks and balances of those programs and I think it needs to be monitored for both the good and bad.

I commented on: Tinisha Key, Edward King and Robert Cook.

Chapter 12 - The Presidency

1. What makes a great President (not which Presidents have been great) . . . what qualities are essential to greatness?  Why?

            I think that the attributes of a great President varies by personal opinion.  The text talks about Presidential greatness and gives a very good insight into what makes a great President but I think that other factors also play a part.  I think that a great President, without even knowing it maybe, is a President that is a natural leader.  It is the kind of person that can juggle many things and still remain focused on the public and what is in their best interest.  A great President worries less about being the best President ever and more about the public interest.

2. Other than Abraham Lincoln and George Washington, which two Presidents have been the greatest and why?

            This again is left to personal opinion and I think that it is hard to determine if one President was better than the other.  They all just seemed to excel at different things.  My parents think that the best President, regardless of his faults, was President Bill Clinton and I would have to agree based on what they have told me.  He did a lot of great things for the American Public and reduced the American deficit.  Being as I have had a limit number of years and Presidents, I would have to say that I am unable to determine which President I personally feel is the greatest as there have only been 3 since I was born.  I have to say I value my parents’ opinion and it is for this reason that I agree.  The text talks about three great Presidents and based on what it said and my own personal research, I feel like President Ronald Reagan was a great President.  He did many good things such as ending the Cold War.  He also did many things for the public such as welfare reform and the first comprehensive AIDS funding and treatment bill.

3. Research a President that you're previously unfamiliar with - list at least three things you learned.  Was this President effective?  Why or why not?

            President Thomas Woodrow Wilson who was our 28^th President is the President that I decided to investigate further.  On of the things that I learned was that he began the United States’ first draft since the Civil War and had left the war mostly in the hands of the Army during World War I while he focused on diplomacy and financial considerations.  Also during his term in office, Wilson gave a well-known Flag Day speech that fueled the wave of anti-German sentiment that was sweeping the country. I was also unaware that he was involved in the creating of the League of Nations.  I think that this President did some really good things but I don’t think that he was as effective as he could have been.  It seems to me that someone as scholarly as President Wilson could have made some better decisions when it came to public policy and he could have spent more time with the concerns of the people.

Commented on Robert Cook, Tinisha Key and Jesse Griffith

Chapter 11 - Congress

1. Who are your Senators and your Congressman?
            Senator Bob Corker and Senator Lamar Alexander are our Senators and my Congressman based on my address is Congressman John J. Duncan. All 3 are natives of East Tennessee.  Senator Lamar Alexander was the first Tennessean elected to consecutive four-year terms as governor. One of the interesting things about Senator Corker is that he introduced a merit bonus pay for teacher.  As a result, it increased student achievement. Congressman Duncan spends a lot of his time in East Tennessee however he continues to maintain one of the best attendance records in the entire Congress.  I think another interesting fact about all three is that they are all Republicans.

2. Research the areas they champion and find one you support.  What is it and why do you also support it?
            Congressman John J. Duncan Jr, has a very interesting view on college tuition and financial aid.  His stance is that tuition should be affordable enough that students do not have to rely on financial aid to continue their education.  He feels that the tuition increases should be not more than the rate of inflation or less.  I totally agree with Congressman Duncan.  By the time a college student graduates college they find themselves in serious debt and sometimes a debt that will follow them for most of their life.  Unfortunately in today’s economy that makes it very hard on a graduate that is having trouble finding a job because they still have those types of loans that must be paid. Tuition is too expensive to allow a young person to work and pay for school as they go.

3. Find an issue one of your Senators or Congressman champions that you disagree with.  Why do you disagree?
            I disagree with Senator Bob Corker when it comes to breaking down trade barriers.  I believe trade with other countries should be more limited and that those countries that refuse to trade with American should not be allowed to import their good to the United States.  I believe that jobs should be created for Americans and that trade with other countries should be limited to necessity for a while.  It seems like we are making everyone else rich and shutting down America. It’s hard to find anything made in America today and it is sad.  Not only are we putting ourselves out of work, we are doing it while making other countries rich.
Please comment at least 50 words (each) on the posts of at least three of your classmates and then post their names on your blog.

Blog comments:  Robert Cook, Tinisha Key, Jesse Griffith

Chapter 10 - Elections, Campaigns and Voting

1. Read Bush v. Gore in the text.  Do you agree with the majority or the dissenting opinion?  Why?

I do not agree with the Supreme Court ruling and I am not sure that I believe that Bush won the election.  I guess my main problem is that because of the time limits that have been established there was inadequate time to perform a recount.  Also based on the difficult tasks that it would have taken to do the recount, I do not feel that an adequate recount could have taken place.  I personally believe that there should have been and should be a better system in place for being able to revisit voter’s intentions in a case such as this.  In other words, the race was too close to be determined by an inadequate ability to recount the voter’s intentions in a case such as this.

2. Is the ability to fundraise too important in elections?  In other words, are good candidates prevented from running because they cannot raise the needed funds?  Can/should something be done to correct this if it is a problem?

I do believe that the ability or the “need” to raise funds is too important during elections.  I do not believe that it should cost millions of dollars to run for President, nor do I believe that the money is used in a way that would benefit anyone other than the candidate.  I do believe that money issues do keep good candidates from running for President as it seems that everyone that is running is already wealthy in some way.  I do not know how this issue could or should be addressed but I do believe that additional sanctions on the limits that a person can raise should be put into place.  If a candidate wants to run for President, there should be the opportunity to do so and if I had my choice, for once it would be a blue collar worker that has really had to work for a living.

3. Why is there such voter apathy- in other words, why is there often such a low voter turnout for elections?  Is there a way to rectify this problem?

I do not believe that the voter turnout is as poor as we think.  While other countries, it may seem, have a larger turn out that we do, they go other extremes to ensure that voter turnout is mandatory.  I do believe that there are better ways to increase turnout however.  It could be to allow early voting or by allowing voters the option of voting via the internet.  It does seem that too much emphasis is placed on showing up directly at the voting stations to vote and that with technology today, there should be easier ways to increase voter turnout.  In America however, we have the right to choose to vote ourselves and while we want to encourage people to vote, it definitely should not be made a mandatory action.

Blog comments:  Pam Smith, Tinisha Key, Stephanie Griffin