Kidnapped Victim found after 10 Years

http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/21/us/california-kidnap-victim-found/index.html?hpt=ju_c1 A 25 year old women was found in Santa Anna after being reported missing almost 10 years ago. The girl disappeared at age 15 with her mothers live-in boyfriend. He locked the girl in the closet, gave her a fake ID and told her that her parents had given up on finding her. In August he kidnapped the mom as well and made them work at night cleaning service and would move around to stay off of the police radar. Even after a couple chances to escape the girl had suffered so much absuse physically and mentally that she didn't even attempt to. In 2007 the kidnapper, Garcia and the girl got married and had a baby in 2012, the case was brought to attention again after the girl contacted her sister via facebook. Garcia is now being charged. How it relates to APGOPO This article relates to apgopo becuase it talks about him being charged which hasd to do with justice and how the media, being facebook helped saved the girls life. How I feel I feel as if its pathetic that it took 10 years to find her and she is probably so mentally damaged and will never move on from this

Teen Kicked out of prom

http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/16/living/prom-dress-shopping-too-sexy-skimpy-parents/index.html?hpt=hp_inthenews Prom dress policing tough on kids and parents About the Article This article was about how a teen who was homeschooled attended a prom for homeschooled kids and was kicked out because of her "innapropiate" dress. Parents also said that he dancing was too provactitive and made the boys think bad thoughts. The author of the article compared this to saying rape victims asked fror it by dressing inappropiatly. The girl, Clare, then made a blof talking about the events the night and posting pictures of her dress, bringing attention to the media. How the article relates to Mrs. Ashley's class The article relates to ApGoPo becuase we learned about the media and how they exaggerate and blow up stories, plus its prom time so its fun to talk about How I feel I feel like kicking her out was completley unneccasry, it's prom, go to any prom majority of people will be dancing provacitivly and will be wearing revealing dresses, let her enjoy her prom! I also think its good that she started a blog and you can click on the link at the top and see her dress it is not in any way innapropiate.

Roles of Media

Gatekeeper http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/01/opinion/goyer-search-for-flight/index.html?hpt=hp_t1 Source: CNN Author: Robert Goyer Date of Publication: Tue April 1, 2014 Gate Keeper refers to when the national press influences what subjects or topics become National political issues and for how long. This article talk about the missing flight, flight 370 and discusses how "it may never be found." The story on this flight can be found on almost every national media cite and is of high public interest. It was also the headline on the CNN website and has been a popular subject for around 2 weeks. Quote: "Without a break in the case that would lead investigators quickly in the direction of the Boeing 777-200 that disappeared March 8, it is likely that we will never find the wreckage, even if debris does turn up in the coming weeks, months or years." This quote highlights how this will be a continuing search which means we can expect future articles about it. There is also a video that goes with the article which talks about how without finding this plane we cannot make future safety changes; this proves that the article is a national political issue. Scorekeeper http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2014/03/30/the-inside-politics-forecast-gop-donors-look-to-walker-rubio/ Source: CNN Author:CNN Chief National Correspondent John King Date of Publication: March 30th, 2014 Scorekeeper is when the national press tracks political candidates, government officials and their reputations. It covers elections as though they are "horse races" rather than choices among policy alternatives. This article represents the National Government as a scorekeeper because it talks about how Chris Christie is not a good candidate and won't get enough votes and about how worried people are about him running. Quote: "Chris Christie had many fans and potential backers on hand, but reports from those at the meeting also indicated significant worries about the toll of Bridgegate." This quote is an example of the National Government as a scorekeeper because it talks about his reputation and kind of down talks the candidate making it seem like there is only one option and that's not him. Watchdog http://www.foxcarolina.com/story/25129279/deputies-april-fools-text-about-school-shooting?hpt=ju_bn1 Author:Casey Vaughn and Joseph Pereira Publication Date: April 1, 2014 Source: CNN Watchdog reports scandals, I could not find any interesting political scandals on CNN and this particular story kind of interested me. A woman texted her daughter saying there was a shooting so her daughter called 911 only to find that it was an April Fools joke. Quote: "FOX Carolina reached out to Timmons' daughter who said she had no comment and the incident was being misconstrued by local media outlets." This quote in itself is talking about the media as a watchdog, she says that it is being misconstrued by media outlets so they are blowing up this "scandal." Is the Media's power equivalent to a fourth branch of government? I feel as if yes, the Media's power is equivalent to a fourth branch of government. On the teaching history website it discusses how the term "fourth branch of government" is a rhetorical term and refers to how much power the media has over people and how the power of the media is not under the people's control, just liken representatives. I feel as if this couldn't be more true; the people have no power over what is being reported and most do not understand the bias. Also the media has HUGE influence over our decisions, whether it be day-to-day decisions like "what to not eat" in the health section or decisions like who to vote for. The media really does have about as much of influence on people as any branch of government does

Can Clinton win over young voters

Http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2014/03/21/young-voters-would-be-key-in-hillary-clinton-presidential-race-but-can-she-win-them-over/?htp=po-c2

About this Article 

This article is about how Hilary Clingon had decided to run for president again despite her loss in the 2008 election. It discusses how the young voters may be key in Hilary Clinton winning the presidential race. Hillary has been giving many speeches in colleges around the state in efforts to attract younger voters. In fact with all her attempts to appeal  to younger voters many people believe she is you get than she really is, some people even guessed that she was in 30s! 

How it relates to the class 

In class we are learning about different ways to appeal to voters and Hillary Clinton is definitely using many if not all of these. We also recently learned about young people and how they're votes are extremely important too! 

How I feel 

I feel as if Hilary may be trying a little to hard to appeal to younger voters but if that's what she thinks will help her win the election then by all means continue with it! 

Personal Reflection

There are many factors that can influence a personals values and beliefs these factors include Religion, Region, Gender, Family and Race. All of these have definitely influenced my values and beliefs. The one that has influenced my values and beliefs the most has to gave been religion. I was raised catholic; I went to church every Sunday and even went to Catholic school for 9 years. Even though I don't believe everything I did a couple of years ago I still hold many of those values and beliefs that they did including their liberal view on multiple issues like minimum wage but I hold their conservative view on issues like Abortion, I am definitely against abortion! 

Religion is not the only thing that has influenced my beliefs and values, my family has a great deal too. Sometimes my dad and I will have discussions about controversial issues such a gay marriage, he supports it as do I. We also talk about other issues such as health care and food stamps, most of my controversial views had been influenced by my family, especially my dad sonde he is really interested in these topics. Both of my parents support different parties so unlike most kids my party identification was not influenced by them. 

I was born in North Carolina but my whole entire family is from the Philidelphia- New Jersey area, which is still on the east coast. People on either coast tend to be more liberal than those in the middle of the country and on many issues I do have a more liberal view. The "Solid South" refers to the south's tendency to vote for democrats, I feel as if even though I am from the south I do not fit in with this democrat trend because of my norther roots (To be honest I don't even know which party I really identify with.) 

Most Women identify with Democrats and like I said I don't know which party I really identify with yet but the reason most women identify with Democrats is because they more strongly support "women's issues" such as equal work, equal pay and equal women's rights: polls also show that women feel more strongly about issues such as education and health care, and I certainly agree with women on all of things so that's how my gender has influenced my political culture. 

Race plays a big role in political culture too, my race is Caucasian, whites, especially southerners are more conservative, this is not the case for me. I honestly feel like my race has played the smallest part in influences my political beliefs I don't believe what the typical "white person" does. I am not really conservative or republican. 

Massachusetts court says up skirt photos are legal

Http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/05/us/massachusetts-upskirt-photography/index.html?htp=ju_c1 

About the article 

   This article is about how the highest court in Massachusetts ruled that is not illegal to secretly take pictures underneath a persons clothing such as a dress or skirt. This is known as up skirting. The court ruled that it did not violate any laws because the women that were in these photographs were not nude. This court ruling stems from Michael  Robinson who was arrested back in 2010 for taking pictures and recording videos up the skirts of women. This ruling reversed the previous ruling from a lower court. 

My opinion  

   My opinion is that the higher court got it wrong. Yes, they claim it doesn't violate law but I feel like it violates the right to privacy. Can you imagine knowing done guy took a picture up your dress and has a picture of your underwear (hopefully you're wearing underwear) on his phone. I imagine it would feel disgusting! 

How it related to Mrs. Ashley's class 

    This article talks about how he appealed to a higher court which we learned about when we were talking about the Constitution, it talks about the right to appeal in article 3!   

Arizonia Governor Tweets Photo of Herself Vetoing Bill

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2014/02/arizona-governor-tweets-photo-of-herself-vetoing-bill/

Summary
      Arizonia Governor, Jan Brewer has the power to veto legislation which was exactly what she did. It was her responsibility to veto or accept an extremley controversial bill that would allow business owners to deny service to homosexuals; not only did she veto the bill but she took a picture of herself doing so and even tweeted it!
  Twitter was not only used to show people that she vetoed the law but was also used to convince her to veto the legislation. John McCain tweeted "I hope Governor Brewer will veto #SB1062" and Mitt Romney tweeted, .@GovBrewer: veto of #SB1062 is right.
   This article shows us the power of social networking and it can sway our opinions.
 
How does this relate to APGoPo 
  This article discussing the governors power to veto legislation which we disucussed while learning anout the Constitution, it is also an example of how the federal government leaves controversial issues to the states.

My Opinion
  I think that is amazing how fast social networking is, just seconds after she vetoed it the whole world knew! And I am very glad that she decided to veto this legislation, denying rights to gays is just honestly horrible, you go girl! And go Romney and McCain for your tweets, who knows they may have actually changed her mind as well as thousands of other twitter users.

Spanking bill in Kansas sparks controversy

"Spanking bill in Kansas sparks controversy"
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2014/02/19/spanking-bill-in-kansas-sparks-controversy/
 
About the Article
   This article is about a Kansas lawmaker, Gail Finney, who introduced a bill that would expand on the right that allows teachers to spank children in class. She claims that the introduction of this bill is not to legalize child abuse but to allow teachers to maintain authority over the misbehaving student. In her statement she states that the legislation would allow "up to ten forceful applications in succession of a bare, open-hand palm against the clothed buttocks of a child and any such reasonable physical force on the child as may be necessary to hold, restrain or control the child in the course of maintaining authority over the child, acknowledging that redness or bruising may occur on the tender skin of a child as a result." Finney says that the purpose of the bill is to " (i) provide guidance to state officials in the administrative and judicial branches; (ii) serve as a guideline to parents; and (iii) protect Kansas children from abuse." There are multiple people in Kansas opposing this bill though. A pediatric nurse at Children's Mercy hospital stated that spanking is not as effective as timeout and only usually leads to aggressive behaviors within the child.
 
How does this relate to APGOPO
   In AP Government we are learning about the constitution by doing worksheets and playing a competitive constitutional game. This is an example of states being able to make laws which is stated in the constitution. It also talks about legislation and we know what is required to get a bill passed and we can infer as to whether or not this bill will be passed. It also gives us an example of how the government leaves controversial issues to the states; such as spanking.
 
My Opinion
  I feel as if this bill should not and will not be passed. It is not a teachers responsibility to spank children's but the parents. I also do not agree with Finney's statement on how this is not intended child abuse. Spanking a kid hard enough to leave a bruise or mark is child abuse. Like the nurse at Children's Mercy hospital stated, spanking does lead to future aggression in children, read http://www.parenting.com/blogs/show-and-tell/elina-parenting/study-spanking-can-lead-aggressive-behavior-children for more info on how it can lead to future aggression.

Woman Kills Best Frined

"Woman sentenced to life for killing friend, cutting baby from womb:"
http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/18/justice/massachusetts-sentence/index.html?hpt=ju_c2

Summary
   This article discusses how a women from Massachusetts killed her pregnant best friend by strangling her and then proceeded to cut the baby out of her womb. Julie Corey was convicted for this crime back in 2009. Her murdered friend- Daniel Haynes-was found in her apartment on July 27, 2009. She was 8 months pregnant at the time of the murder and Julie Corey was found in Hampshire with Haynes' baby. DNA testing was done on a bottle at the scene of the crime that linked Julie Corey to the murder. The woman was found guilty in Worcester Superior Court and was sentenced tom life. "The life sentence was mandatory under Massachusetts statutory law" but Julie Corey has decided to appeal.

How this article applies to APGOPO
   This article applies to Article 3 of the Constitution which we are reviewing in class by doing worksheets and playing a competitive constitutional game. Article 3 talks about the different levels of court, she was tried and sentenced in a trials court with original jurisdiction and is appealing to a higher court. It also talks about statutory law. And even though it is not directly talked about in the article is also shows how cruel and unusual punishment is unconstitutional, even though the crime she committed was cruel and unusual she is not receiving the same type of treatment.

My Opinion
   My opinion is that the crime she committed was very cruel and gruesome and that she does deserve to be put away for life in a maximum security prison. I also believe that she can appeal hundreds of times and still be found guilty; after all she was found with the baby of Haynes and DNA evidenced linked her the scene of the crime.

The Year Of Change

There is a huge gap today between the rich and the poor, and in Obama's State of the Union Speech he announced that this year would be "the year of change" and discussed attempting to reduce the income gap which many Americans (mostly Democrats) agreed with.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2014/02/05/poll-majority-of-americans-want-government-to-reduce-income-gap/

Overview of Article
This article discusses how about 6 out of 10 Americans, according to a national poll, believe that the government should try to reduce the income gap between the rich and the poor. During Obama's State of the Union speech, he announced that he would try to reduce this gap, after all it is "the year of change." This sounds like a great thing right? And it is, to Democrats, nine out of ten Democrats favored the change as well as two-thirds of independents but majority of Republicans disagreed. 
The opinion's on the income gap have not changed much over time; during Reagan's presidency, 68 percent of Americans favored the change, while today 66 percent still agree that reducing the income gap is necessary. Even people who earn higher incomes believe that the gap should be reduced. Surprisingly more women favor the issue as opposed to men; 70 percent of women are more likely to favor the change while  on 62 percent of men are likely favor the change.
"The CNN survey was conducted by ORC International from January 31 to February 2, with 1,010 adults nationwide questioned by telephone. The survey's overall sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points" (CNN)
How I Feel
I have mixed feelings about the change of the income gap, while it may help the economy to reduce the gap, the people who do earn high incomes worked hard for that and to decrease the gap may make them feel as if they are at a disadvantage
How is this relevant to Mrs. Ashley's Class?
During Mrs. Ashley's class we listened and discussed Obama's State of the Union Address which is discussed in the article. Also in chapter 1 of our text book it discussed how some people believe that social classes govern our country which is referred to in this article.