a) Divided government is when the presidency and congress are from different political parties, creating a split. This leads to a decline of trust in government because policies are often not agreed upon. For example, more vetoes may occur. This may lead to policy gridlock or at least less policy change so people may not think that government has the ability to pass necessary legislation which leads to a decline in trust in government.
b) Increased cost of election campaigns has contributed to the decline in trust in government because more money is required to successfully win a campaign. People trust government less because this plays right into elite and class theory. People don't trust only the wealthy to manage the lives and policies of everybody.
c) One consequence of the decline in trust and confidence in government is decreased voting. This may occur because people think that the only choice they have in voting is between two rich candidates that they can't relate to. Another consequence of the decline in trust and confidence in government is increased protest. This may occur because people know that their votes are only going to rich candidates. When people chose not to accept this they resort to other forms of political participation like protest.
2004_4
3) Trust and confidence in government have declined in recent decades.
(a) Explain how divided government has contributed to the decline in trust and confidence in government. Be sure to include a definition of divided government in your response
(b) Explain how the increased cost of election campaigns has contributed to the decline in trust and confidence in government.
(c) Explain two specific consequences of the decline in trust and confidence in government for individual political behavior.
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/repository/ap04_sg_gopo_us_37090.pdf
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Essay 11
a) One pattern displayed in the graph is that house incumbency rates are generally higher than in the senate as shown in the graph. Another pattern displayed in the graph is that the entire congress has increased their incumbency rates over the years as shown by the graph.
b) One factor that contributes to incumbency advantage is weak opponents. Opponents of incumbents often are not nearly as politically experienced as incumbents which leads to challenger defeat. Another factor that contributes to incumbency advantage is the finance advantage that incumbents have. They already know how to fundraise and have established donors for their campaigns. This makes it much easier to get the necessary funds to run a campaign.
c) One consequence of incumbency advantage on the US political process is that it leads to many more experienced lawmakers. This helps because more people making decisions have the know-how to get laws passed.
(2001_2) the graph above shows reelection rates for incumbents in the House and Senate. From this information and your knowledge of of the US politics, perform the following
tasks. (Fig 12.1)
a) identify two patterns displayed in the graph
b) identify 2 factors that contribute to incumbency advantage. Explain how each factor contributes to incumbency advantage.
c) Discuss one consequence of incumbency advantage for the US political process
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/repository/sg_govpol_us_01_7046.pdf
b) One factor that contributes to incumbency advantage is weak opponents. Opponents of incumbents often are not nearly as politically experienced as incumbents which leads to challenger defeat. Another factor that contributes to incumbency advantage is the finance advantage that incumbents have. They already know how to fundraise and have established donors for their campaigns. This makes it much easier to get the necessary funds to run a campaign.
c) One consequence of incumbency advantage on the US political process is that it leads to many more experienced lawmakers. This helps because more people making decisions have the know-how to get laws passed.
(2001_2) the graph above shows reelection rates for incumbents in the House and Senate. From this information and your knowledge of of the US politics, perform the following
tasks. (Fig 12.1)
a) identify two patterns displayed in the graph
b) identify 2 factors that contribute to incumbency advantage. Explain how each factor contributes to incumbency advantage.
c) Discuss one consequence of incumbency advantage for the US political process
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/repository/sg_govpol_us_01_7046.pdf
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Oil.
Blowout: The Deep Water Horizon Disaster. Dir. Scott Pelley. CBS News, 1 Oct. 2010. cbsnews.com. Web. 25 Jan. 2010.
This is a personal account of a survivor from the BP oil rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. This man details how after being saved by a boat, they went back toward the rig to save a life boat. Unknowingly, the life boat was still attached to the rig so when the boat driver tried to pull away they were stuck. Under BP's no knives policy, nobody on the raft had anything to cut the rope with. Finally, the captain of the rescue boat found a multitool and they were able to throw it to the life boat. The people on the life boat then cut the rope and were able to get to safety. BP's policies along with their oversight of safety almost cost he people on the raft their lives.
The Spill. ProPublica, 26 Oct. 2010. PBS.org. Web. 25 Feb. 2014.
Frontline does an in depth look at the British Petroleum company and their questionable decisions regarding safety and the environment. BP has been a company that rose to great power and worth extremely quickly and easily outgrew their facilities and management. This is evidenced by lack of management and concern for safety in multiple instances. The first of these is in Alaska. BP cut corners by using under qualified inspectors and fewer inspectors to inspect their pipelines. This caused a vastly corroded pipeline to burst and spill thousands of gallons of oil into a nearby ditch. BP was lucky here because the burst occurred in the winter when cleanup was much easier. At the refinery in Texas City, numerous explosions and deaths occurred. These are blamed on overlooking extremely old equipment and not updating procedures. In the end, nobody truly accepted blame for the accidents and all family members were payed off to not speak of the event. Finally, the deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico exploded killing people and injuring more. The culprit here was again a huge lack of updates and security checkpoints that were surpassed or ignored to save BP millions.
Wingfield, Brian. "Mississippi Oil Spill Highlights Risk of U.S. Oil Boom." Bloomberg News. 25 Feb. 2014. Web. 26 Feb. 2014. <http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-25/mississippi-oil-spill-highlights-risk-of-u-s-oil-boom.html>.
An oil spill on the Mississippi in the past week caused an entire section of the river to be shut down for cleanup. This has delayed the shipment of many other goods that usually use the nations largest waterway to transport products. The coast guard has reported that they have cleaned up about 1000 of the 31000 gallons spilled in the river thus far. The spill may be a result of vastly heightened oil production and shipment within the United states in the past decade. Some say that the way to end spills like this is to finally put in the Keystone XL pipeline. Advocates say that this will create a faster and safer way to transport crude oil in the US, reducing the number of spills like this one.
This is a personal account of a survivor from the BP oil rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. This man details how after being saved by a boat, they went back toward the rig to save a life boat. Unknowingly, the life boat was still attached to the rig so when the boat driver tried to pull away they were stuck. Under BP's no knives policy, nobody on the raft had anything to cut the rope with. Finally, the captain of the rescue boat found a multitool and they were able to throw it to the life boat. The people on the life boat then cut the rope and were able to get to safety. BP's policies along with their oversight of safety almost cost he people on the raft their lives.
The Spill. ProPublica, 26 Oct. 2010. PBS.org. Web. 25 Feb. 2014.
Frontline does an in depth look at the British Petroleum company and their questionable decisions regarding safety and the environment. BP has been a company that rose to great power and worth extremely quickly and easily outgrew their facilities and management. This is evidenced by lack of management and concern for safety in multiple instances. The first of these is in Alaska. BP cut corners by using under qualified inspectors and fewer inspectors to inspect their pipelines. This caused a vastly corroded pipeline to burst and spill thousands of gallons of oil into a nearby ditch. BP was lucky here because the burst occurred in the winter when cleanup was much easier. At the refinery in Texas City, numerous explosions and deaths occurred. These are blamed on overlooking extremely old equipment and not updating procedures. In the end, nobody truly accepted blame for the accidents and all family members were payed off to not speak of the event. Finally, the deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico exploded killing people and injuring more. The culprit here was again a huge lack of updates and security checkpoints that were surpassed or ignored to save BP millions.
Wingfield, Brian. "Mississippi Oil Spill Highlights Risk of U.S. Oil Boom." Bloomberg News. 25 Feb. 2014. Web. 26 Feb. 2014. <http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-25/mississippi-oil-spill-highlights-risk-of-u-s-oil-boom.html>.
An oil spill on the Mississippi in the past week caused an entire section of the river to be shut down for cleanup. This has delayed the shipment of many other goods that usually use the nations largest waterway to transport products. The coast guard has reported that they have cleaned up about 1000 of the 31000 gallons spilled in the river thus far. The spill may be a result of vastly heightened oil production and shipment within the United states in the past decade. Some say that the way to end spills like this is to finally put in the Keystone XL pipeline. Advocates say that this will create a faster and safer way to transport crude oil in the US, reducing the number of spills like this one.
Monday, February 10, 2014
Meth
Engle, Jonah. "Big Pharma And Meth Cooks Agree: Keep Cold Meds Over The Counter." NPR.org. NPR, 26 Sept. 2013. Web. 10 Feb. 2014. <http://www.npr.org/2013/09/26/226476602/big-pharma-and-meth-cooks-agree-keep-cold-meds-over-the-counter>.
In this interview meth, and meth production, is discussed on various levels. Methamphetamine has become so easily accessible to addicts because of the "shake and bake" method of production. All "cooks" need is some cold medicine and other household items to be shaken in a plastic bottle. Of course, when mixing hazardous chemicals accidents are quite likely. Explosions and fires resulting in burns have increased significantly as meth use has risen. To combat this drug Oregon made cold medicine containing pseudoephedrine a prescription drug. As a result, meth labs decreased by 90 percent. Unfortunately, as other states tried to adopt similar policies, large pharmaceutical companies began lobbying to keep these drugs over-the-counter. So far the drug companies have succeeded and most pseudo has stayed on the streets.
The Meth Epidemic. Dir. Carl Byker. PBS, 17 May 2011. PBS.org. Web. 5 Feb. 2014. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/meth/>.
America is currently experiencing an epidemic that is affecting drug users everywhere: methamphetamine. This Frontline looks at the history and current affairs of meth in the U.S.. Meth is cited to be one of, if not the most, addictive substance that there is. Users experience a rush of dopamine to the brain much greater than from sex, food, and other usually stimulating things. Because this release is so large, meth actually rewires the way that the brain works. Nothing can compare to the high that users experience and this is what makes it so addictive. The main component in methamphetamine is pseudoephedrine. It is an ingredient commonly found in cold medicine, and can be bought over-the-counter. Amount of addicts have been traced back to the purity of meth. At times when the super labs of Mexico or California are getting lots of good pseudo, as it's called, quality is up and therefore so is addiction. Overall, This addiction has become an epidemic in America and is ruining many lives.
Perry, Tony. "Meth makes comeback in San Diego, once the 'capital,' officials say ." LA Times [Los Angeles, CA]. LA Times, 8 Feb. 2014. Web. 10 Feb. 2014. <http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-meth-comeback-20140208,0,1360197.story#axzz2sxA4TP1o>.
Beginning in the 1980s, San Diego was the methamphetamine capital of the world. From then on, officials made many attempts to decrease use in the area. Through a concentrated police effort and other forms of enforcement many believed that meth use was declining in San Diego. Unfortunately, the most recent report shows that there has been a recent increase in both use and production since around 2005. Meth related death rates have also risen in past years and San Diego officials are not happy. The most recent numbers indicate that the former meth capital of the world may not need the modifier of former for much longer.
In this interview meth, and meth production, is discussed on various levels. Methamphetamine has become so easily accessible to addicts because of the "shake and bake" method of production. All "cooks" need is some cold medicine and other household items to be shaken in a plastic bottle. Of course, when mixing hazardous chemicals accidents are quite likely. Explosions and fires resulting in burns have increased significantly as meth use has risen. To combat this drug Oregon made cold medicine containing pseudoephedrine a prescription drug. As a result, meth labs decreased by 90 percent. Unfortunately, as other states tried to adopt similar policies, large pharmaceutical companies began lobbying to keep these drugs over-the-counter. So far the drug companies have succeeded and most pseudo has stayed on the streets.
The Meth Epidemic. Dir. Carl Byker. PBS, 17 May 2011. PBS.org. Web. 5 Feb. 2014. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/meth/>.
America is currently experiencing an epidemic that is affecting drug users everywhere: methamphetamine. This Frontline looks at the history and current affairs of meth in the U.S.. Meth is cited to be one of, if not the most, addictive substance that there is. Users experience a rush of dopamine to the brain much greater than from sex, food, and other usually stimulating things. Because this release is so large, meth actually rewires the way that the brain works. Nothing can compare to the high that users experience and this is what makes it so addictive. The main component in methamphetamine is pseudoephedrine. It is an ingredient commonly found in cold medicine, and can be bought over-the-counter. Amount of addicts have been traced back to the purity of meth. At times when the super labs of Mexico or California are getting lots of good pseudo, as it's called, quality is up and therefore so is addiction. Overall, This addiction has become an epidemic in America and is ruining many lives.
Perry, Tony. "Meth makes comeback in San Diego, once the 'capital,' officials say ." LA Times [Los Angeles, CA]. LA Times, 8 Feb. 2014. Web. 10 Feb. 2014. <http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-meth-comeback-20140208,0,1360197.story#axzz2sxA4TP1o>.
Beginning in the 1980s, San Diego was the methamphetamine capital of the world. From then on, officials made many attempts to decrease use in the area. Through a concentrated police effort and other forms of enforcement many believed that meth use was declining in San Diego. Unfortunately, the most recent report shows that there has been a recent increase in both use and production since around 2005. Meth related death rates have also risen in past years and San Diego officials are not happy. The most recent numbers indicate that the former meth capital of the world may not need the modifier of former for much longer.
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