Last Blog... =/

First of all, this class has been by far one of the most interesting courses I have taken at ISU.  This was a class I took "for fun" and I debated over dropping it before it started and I am really glad that I did not.  I feel more knowledgeable about politics and what is happening in our country, and I hope to continue reading about current events and become engaged in the community politically.

1. What was your favorite section of the class and why?

It is really hard to choose a favorite section.  It was really interesting to learn about social security and medicare and the debt.  Also, I thought it was interesting to see how much money goes into campaigns (that's ridiculous how much it is. And to think...someone has to lose...)  I also liked any time that we used the internet to look up current statistics (the debt and the approval ratings).  It made what was happening in the country more real.

1. Which one was the least interesting, and why?

The least interesting section was learning about the parts of the constitution because I feel like that is the only thing I have ever learned in all of my history classes.  However, it is important to know and it was a helpful review.

1. How did you feel about your knowledge of government prior to this class, has it changed?

Prior to class, I basically just knew random history facts that were drilled into our heads since elementary school.  Now I feel like I know politics...and not just the history of how the United States formed.  I also feel like with some research, I could actually understand what I am reading and could then have an intelligent debate with someone with opposing views.

1. Give me an honest assessment of your generation , politically speaking, if you had to judge it based on your friends.

Most of my friends do not seem to be hard-core politically engaged, but a lot of them are from my hometown or around my hometown so we all tend to have the same view.  I think my generation is more democratic (at least around here) and will listen to the opinions of other people.  I also feel like we are so used to having to be "politically correct" that a lot of youth do not like to talk about politics because they do not want to offend anyone.

1. What can you do to make your commitment to your country stronger than it is today?

I think just trying to stay involved on campus and learning about current events will help me be more committed to the country.  

1. Any other feelings about the class?

Loved the class and I wish it was longer! (I never thought I would say that about a class...let alone politics!)  The West Wing episodes were awesome so thank you for showing those!

=)

Blog #7

I did not realize McLean County had so much history!  It was really interesting to learn about the different types of people that settled here, and how much of an impact the universities have on the county.  It is important to appreciate the history of where you live, because it really gives you a sense of what the present would be like if an event did not take place in the past.  I have never visited a place like this because honestly, I did not make the time. Knowing the history of McLean County would be more detrimental if I planned on living here in the future, but I don't plan on living in Normal for forever.  Also, (at least for during the school year) if I have free time it would probably be spent on sleep, rather than the McLean County museum.  The connection between politics and the history of McLean County was really put into prospective for me for the gallery about the Vietnam War where it had the thoughts and actions of students from Wesleyan and ISU.  I couldn't relate to much of the museum but that exhibit really made me see that students can and should make a difference politically.  Something that stuck out to me was the KKK outfit.  It really #1 creeped me out and #2 was more real than a picture.  Overall, I am really glad we got to go to the museum because I would never have known that it existed or have been exposed to the history of McLean County.

Blog #6

Let's see...I really do not know much about McLean County or its political history.  I really only know that it is supposed to be conservative but the Universities really throw that off since they are more liberal.  I don't know a lot for a few reasons. #1 I blame the college bubble.  Living in the dorms I had no real reason to go to more parts in the county because everything I needed was right here at the university.  Which leads to #2 that I have not felt the need to be involved or be a part of this county until this class because I never considered it my home, even though now I'm living here literally all year...and for the next year.  I think knowing about counties can just help you be more knowledgeable...but sadly...I don't even know that much about Cook County...and I've lived there for 19 years.  I think it is important to know about your city, because counties are almost too big for someone to really grasp and categorize it.  Especially Cook County because suburb kids are way different than city kids, yet we are in the same county.  

Wow...I did not realize McLean County had so much history!  It was really interesting to learn about the different types of people that settled here, and how much of an impact the universities have on the county.  

Blog #5

Apparently I am a liberal leftist.  I honestly cannot say I am surprised because a lot of their issues are ones that I agree on.  I would be more likely linked to the Democratic party, which is the party that I prefer.  Politically, I seem to resemble Gandhi, but I am more to the right where there are no political figures.

I prefer the Democratic party for a few reasons.  #1 Living in Illinois and raised in the suburbs, I feel like most of the people around me are democrats. #2 Age-wise, my generation appears to be mostly democratic. #3 I agree with a lot of the issues democrats side with.  #4 I went on the democratic website and read the "what we stand for": "The Democratic Party is committed to keeping our nation safe and expanding opportunity for every American. That commitment is reflected in an agenda that emphasizes the strong economic growth, affordable health care for all Americans, retirement security, open, honest and accountable government, and securing our nation while protecting our civil rights and liberties."  Who wouldn't want that? #5 I didn't want to be biased and only look at the democrats website, so I went to the site for the republicans.  Honestly...it was really creepy and kind of scary.  I mean BAM right on the home page it was all "The Democrats are advancing their agenda.  Your life is now under their scrutiny."  Oh gosh...and then there is that creepy picture (no offense).  Basically that site makes the republicans look bad.  Especially when the democrat's site is all cheery and hopeful looking.  If the republicans are really trying to get the youth vote back...they should really work on their website.

Blog #4

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=296401

The article I chose to read and then comment on is called "Locally, Latinos still under-represented on bench," written by Rob Olmsted, a member of the Daily Herald staff.  This article was not really on Sonia Sotomayor's biography, but rather, it was about how her appointment could affect the local courts.  The author only used quotes from people that supported her nomination.  This article also focused more on the fact of her being Latino, rather than a female.  

The author clearly wants equal representation of the citizens of the United States when he says "She would comprise about 11.1 percent of the court while Hispanics make up about 15.4 percent of the nation.  If only things were so easy at the local level."  

The quotes the author used from people he interviewed did not talk about her ideology, but rather about her race, and the fact that "In the U.S., Hispanics are "the second-largest and fastest-growing population ... so I think it's very appropriate for President (Barack) Obama to take that into consideration," said Meza".  Meza also mentioned that if they can find qualified Hispanics for the U.S. Supreme Court, they should have more Hispanics in the local courts.

The article also mentions her achievements, being raised by a single mother in housing projects, and attending Yale and Princeton.  Many of the people mentioned in the article hoped that her nomination to the court will influence others, specifically Hispanics, to join the courts.

A Day in Congress

First of all, I cannot believe how many meetings and appointments are going on in such a short amount of time, as well as the amount of topics covered in that short amount of time.  Before even getting to the schedule for the House and Senate, a section that caught my attention was labeled Convenes: 9:30 am.  This section dealt with resuming the consideration of HR2346, Emergency Supplemental Appropriations.  The reason this section really caught my attention was the fact that I actually understood the meanings of the Majority and why the bill was called HR2346.  I literally knew next to nothing about politics before this class (obviously I still don't know much but hey, for me, knowing that the Majority is the democrats is definitely a step up!)  Just knowing that because the bill started with HR, it began in the House of Representatives, made me feel more informed.  I really feel that this statement "The Republicans will control the first 30 minutes. The Majority will control the next 30 minutes. The final hour will be equally divided with senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each." makes the system appear fair.  However, just because both parties have equal time, does not mean they have equal representation.  The majority is not called the majority for no reason.

Anyways, on to the schedule for the House.  My first reaction at seeing the meetings at or around the same time, reminded me about all of the movies dealing with presidents where the characters are always like "you can have five minutes with the President".  Congressmen and women have ridiculously packed schedules.  I really do not understand when these people sleep or have any time to relax, because although their day does not start until around 9 or 10 am, and may end around 5 pm, they still have more to their job description, such as fundraising constantly and making appearances.  Furthermore, I now understand why there needs to be so many committees.  When the government is dealing with issues from eduction reform to well, meetings on the International Whaling Commission, it makes sense to have people who know education deal with education and to have people who know natural resources deal with wildlife subcommittees.  

For the Senate, once again, I cannot grasp how much and how wide of a spectrum of topics that Congress has to deal with on a daily basis.  The segment at 9:30 that dealt with Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs actually made me laugh out loud.  Obviously the subject matter was not funny, but the fact that I have never seen a sentence that large before blew me away.  I tried and tried to get trough that sentence, but honestly I have no idea what I read.  Do the senators on the committee really know everything they can in order to make an informed decision?  I feel like all people in Congress should be doing is reading and researching, which we know is not true because they have to constantly be running for office rather than completely focusing on the mass amounts of committees they are on.  

If people actually saw how crowded the schedules of Congress are, then maybe they would have a little more sympathy when it comes to their mistakes.  But hey, we have to blame someone for all the problems, right?

Blog #2

Although I am technically living in Normal right now, I still call Rolling Meadows my home, which means I am a resident of Cook County.  Honestly, I feel like Chicago should have its own county because it is so different from the suburbs.  Cook County feels so big to me and I have no idea what is going on politically in it (at least most of the time).  Really, the only thing I knew about it government wise was that Carolyn H. Krause was the 66th District State Representative. The General Assembly Scholarship has paid for my tuition for the last two years thanks to her office.  

According to the 2005 census statistics, Cook County has a population of approximately 5.3 million people, making it the second most populous county in the country.  As a resident of Rolling Meadows, within Cook County, that would make Dan Kotowski of the 33rd district my state senator, and Mark Walker of the 66th district my state representative.

Senator Dan Kotowski is a Democrat that has been serving since 2007.  He has supported at least 40 bills, which included hospice care for veterans and Child-Safe Chemicals Act.  Recently, Senator Kotowski has been in the news for trying to pass a measure that would change the pensions for lawmakers.  Currently, lawmakers receive pensions bases on their last day's salary.  This means they are getting higher paying jobs and then retiring.  Rather, he wants it more like the state workers' pensions which are based on the average of the last four years of pay.

Representative Mark Walker is a Democrat and has been serving since 2009.  I was all excited when he went into office because I was afraid my luck had run out with winning the scholarship twice with Carolyn Krause.  Turns out he was no longer choosing to have the General Assembly Scholarship because of budget cuts.  So, I am not the biggest fan of him so far.  Although he has only been in office for a few months, he has already supported over 20 bills, most of them involving businesses.  Also, when I Googled him, there was more information on other Mark Walkers than the representative.  I guess he is still pretty new to the system!