Why just blaming cops won't help Baltimore

http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/29/opinions/moskos-baltimore-police/index.html

Police, trying to save their city last weekend, were blamed both for doing too little and for doing too much. The protests started in response to the death of Freddie Gray in police hands. Although, we still do not know what happened to Freddie Gray, we do know that something bad happened. But the thing is, Police officers who weren't there don't know what happened to Freddie Gray. What happened did not involve every cop in Baltimore. Therefore, they should not have protested against.

This relates to what we are learning in class because we are on the topic of the Judiciary branch and the court system will take care of this case without need of a riot.

I agree with the cop who wrote this. The people of Baltimore who protested really should not have. There was no reason to. It doesn't make since to cause a riot and have the whole city shut down because of a death that no one knows the cause for. That is why it is still under further investigation.

Navy drone makes history with refueling maneuver

http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/22/politics/navy-aircraft-makes-history/index.html

The X-47B, an unmanned vehicle designed to eventually operate off naval aircraft carriers, successfully connected to an Omega K-707 refueling tanker and received more than 4,000 pounds of fuel, the Navy said in a press release. This is one of the first unmanned drones aircrafts and the Navy hopes to develop it into a battle ready aircraft.

This relates to what we are studying in class because it has a lot to do with our armed forces and military and who is our commander in chief? That's it! Our president.

I agree with what our country has been doing with drones. I believe that it is saving lives of people who could be in these drones and if they are destroyed, nothing really is lost. Some people might think that drones give the US an unfair advantage but in my opinion, that isn't a bad thing at all. We are just trying to make peace with all other nations so we are doing it for the greater good.

Obama: Equal pay for first ladies too

http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/15/politics/obama-touts-equal-pay-in-north-carolina/index.html

President Barack Obama used evidence of his female-dominated household to connect with women during a town hall Wednesday, adding that "there is clearly not equal pay in the White House." Obama blamed Republicans for blocking the Paycheck Fairness Act, saying that men and women getting paid the same amount for doing the same job "should be a no brainer."

This relates to what we are doing in class because this is dealing with the President of the United States. He is making a statement how his wife is not getting equal pay as him. In class, we are talking about presidency AND somewhat about females not getting equal pay as males.

I disagree with this article entirely. His wife is the first lady... not the President of the United States. She does not make the decisions for our country. She does not hold the most prestigious position in all of politics... so no. She does not deserve to be payed just for being the President's wife.

Feidin Santana: I nearly erased Scott shooting video out of fear

http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/09/us/south-carolina-witness-video/index.html

Feidin Santana, the man who recorded a South Carolina police officer shooting and killing a fleeing unarmed man, says fear for his own life almost kept him from revealing the tape. "I thought about erasing the video," Santana told MSNBC. "I felt that my life, with this information, might be in danger." Santana also told NBC on Thursday that he didn't see the victim grab the officer's Taser. This account did not match the officers story claiming that he DID reach for his taser.

This relates to what we are learning in AP Government because this crime will be handled in a court of law. Although, it seems that the officer is most likely the criminal here for shooting and killing an unarmed citizen who was just trying to flee, the court must make a decision on whether he should be punished or not and if so, what his punishments will be.

I believe that he should get charged with first degree murder. The runner was not a threat to the officer so he should have at least tried to taze him, not end his life. I don't think this is linked to any racial discrimination though. I think it was just a coincidence that the runner was black and the officer was white.

Germanwings Flight 9525 co-pilot deliberately crashed plane, officials say

http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/26/europe/france-germanwings-plane-crash-main/index.html

The co-pilot of Germanwings Flight 9525 purposely crashed a plane into the French Alps, killing all 150 people on board, officials said Thursday. Marseille prosecutor Brice Robin said the co-pilot, 27-year-old German national Andreas Lubitz, apparently "wanted to destroy the aircraft." Data shows that the autopilot was reprogrammed during the flight by someone inside the cockpit to change the plane's altitude from 38,000 feet to 100 feet, according to Flightradar24, a website that tracks aviation data.

This relates to what we are doing in class because we are talking about civil rights and liberties and the 8th amendment states no cruel punishment but the only punishment applicable to this person who has killed more than 100 people deserve the death penalty and nothing less.

I just feel like there are some crazy people out there that just want to watch the world fall apart and this guy is one of them. The fact that people wish such tragic conditions upon people makes me cringe. They are the lowest types of people on this earth. This guy should no doubt be labeled as a terrorist.

ISIS apparently claims responsibility for Tunisia museum attack; 9 arrested

http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/19/africa/tunisia-museum-attack/index.html

ISIS apparently claimed responsibility Thursday for the deadly terrorist attack at a landmark museum in the heart of that country's capital, a mass shooting that has shaken the birthplace of the Arab Spring and stirred questions about militants in the country. In an audio statement posted online Thursday, ISIS identified two men, Abu Zakariya al-Tunisi and Abu Anas al-Tunisi,  it said used "automatic weapons and hand grenades" to kill and injure what it called "crusaders and apostates" in the Bardo Museum in Tunis.

This relates to government because America has been dealing with ISIS for far too long and we just need to send troops over-seas and end it. They claim that they are a "radical religious group" but there is no way killing and harming others is a spiritual act for humans. Its just another way to cover up there murders and crimes.

I disagree with the way we have been handling ISIS. We haven't been very active with the topic when in reality, ISIS can be a huge threat to us. Although, not many Americans have been killed but we need to consider others rather than just people in our own country.

Ferguson's police chief, city manager quit -- but is that enough?

http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/12/us/ferguson-fallout/index.html

Ferguson's police chief, city manager, and the top court clerk are gone. Are these high-level changes enough to satisfy all residents? Absolutely not, they say. Protesters assembled in front of the Ferguson Police Department on Wednesday night, demanding the entire force be disbanded and calling for Mayor James Knowles to step down. During the protests, two officers were shot (one in the face, the other in the shoulder). They were hospitalized in serious condition but it is not clear who the shooter was.

This relates to what we are doing in class because we are talking heavily on the Bill of Rights and the first amendment gives the right to assemble. Although, this assembly is not peaceful, the government there has been somewhat taken over by the citizens and authorities don't have enough power to do anything about it!

I disagree with this topic. Ferguson is getting a bit hot under the spotlight and think that they are the only city that has to go through these circumstances when it is also the rest of the United States too. This has all gone too far and this issue should be solved ver soon into the near future.

South Korean police investigate attacker's links to North Korea

http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/05/world/south-korea-us-ambassador-attack/index.html

In South Korea, an American ambassador was slashed in the face as he was about to give a speech this morning. The South Korean police have issued an arrest warrant for the suspect, Kim Ki-Jong, a 55 year old man with a history of unpredictable behavior and said he could be charged with attempted murder. He is a South Korean man but they believe that it is linked to an attack planned by North Korea due to him visiting there 7 times in the past 8 years. Also, North Korea, already labeled it as an "Attack of Justice" which leads to more suspicion.

This relates to what we are studying in class because we are studying media and this is greatly affected by media. Without media, I probably would have never even known about this tragedy! This article is also being distributed around the world by the media which will let everyone who is willing to know about this incident, know.

I believe that this cruel act should be further investigated to see if it is somewhat linked to anything North Korea is trying to portray. We all know how crazy North Korea is so this could just be a sign for a much bigger attack that we won't know about unless we do something about it. We should interrogate the perpetrator and try to get as much information out of him as we can because I don't think this is just a random crazy guy trying to instigate trouble.

ISIS militant 'Jihadi John' identified, U.S. officials say

http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/26/middleeast/isis-jihadi-john-identity/index.html

The guy in all of the ISIS videos has finally been identified by the US government as Mohammed Emwazi, a Kuwaiti-born Londoner. Emwazi is believed to have traveled to Syria in 2012 and later to have joined ISIS there. Although they believe that it is him, they still are a little unsure of their findings. British officials declined to confirm his identity. The British Officials even got his friends to try to declare if it was him and still couldn't declare if it was 100%.

This article relates to what we are studying in class because a lot of it is media based. We aren't entirely sure if we have the identity of the guy behind the mask but you can believe that his face flying around the internet will help the British Officials jump to a conclusion of whether he is or isn't. Also, if it is him, they don't know for any reason why he would have joined in the first place.

I believe that it is definitely a good idea to take advantage of this information and try to seek to find him and do some investigation on how and why he would join. Its better to be wrong an do figure out that we're wrong than to be right and never find out if we're right.

President Barack Obama: 'YOLO man'

http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/12/politics/obama-selfies-video-buzzfeed/index.html

President Barack Obama has been promoting his signature health care law many different ways. Just recently, BuzzFeed Motion Pictures posted a video of him doing "things everybody does but doesn't talk about." Included in this video, he talks about his healthcare being available in February but mispronounces February over and over again. This is not the first time he has advertised his healthcare in a public video though. Last year, the President appeared on "Between Two Ferns" with Zach Galifinakis, a move largely credited with boosting signups.

This article relates to our class discussions because we did a small in-class project on past presidential advertising and how it has evolved. In today's society, our president advertises putting little snippets of his "healthcare law" in third-party video entertainment companies. This just shows how social presidency has become throughout the years and how the world is somewhat becoming one big social-media website.

I believe that United States presidency needs to be taken more seriously. You would think that the president has more important things to other than filming videos of himself with his tongue out and drawing pictures of his spouse. He should be spending more of his time focusing on how to govern a country rather than putting off a bad image to the public of how being a president SHOULDN'T be.

Alabama judge strikes down ban on gay marriage

http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/23/us/alabama-gay-marriage/index.html

A lesbian couple, Cari Searcy and Kimberly McKeand were married legally in California and have been together for 15 years. They attempted to adopt Kimberly's 9 year old son but was denied because the state of Alabama did not recognize their marriage. The code for Alabama gives a person a right to adopt a spouse's child but because Alabama doesn't recognize their marriage, they could not adopt. 

This article relates to what we are doing in class because we are talking about political culture and how people have their own political ideologies. Some may view that same-sex marriage is perfectly harmless while some may argue that it is unnatural. This can also relate upon political parties and how liberal lean more towards the allowance of same-sex marriage and conservatives fall towards the banning of same-sex marriage. 

I do not believe in same sex marriage, maybe because I am a strong Christian. Although, there is a separation between church and state, I follow the Bible and it sates that it is a sin for a man to lay with thy other man. Also, I believe that it sets a bad image for kids growing up and learning these things. I'm not saying that gay marriage is bad, but kids should not be raised by parents who encourage gay marriage. 

What might Hernandez's fiancée say on the stand?

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/01/28/us/shayanna-jenkins-hernandez-trial/index.html

In the Arron Hernandez murder case, his high school sweetheart wife, Shayanna Jenkins, takes the stand on the prosecution's witness list. Hernandez is a former NFL tight-end who played for the New England Patriots with a $40 million dollar contract was arrested for the first degree murder of Odin Lloyd. What's at stake for his wife is that she lied to a grand jury about the presence of guns in their North Attleboro home.  She faces possible jail time if found guilty of perjury charges. She has pleaded not guilty. The problem is that Jenkins and Hernandez are the parents of a daughter who was just a year old when her father was arrested on June 26, 2013. Jenkins' sister Shaneah was dating Lloyd who was shot seven times according to a medical examiner.

This article relates to our class because it is involved with political culture because one of the American political culture elements was liberty and with liberty, we believe we should be free to do pretty much as we please, with some exceptions, as long as we don’t hurt other people. But obviously, Hernandez is being convicted of "hurting other people."

As I examine this article, I feel that Hernandes SHOULD be convinced of first degree murder. At the top of the article, there is a video that shows lots of evidence on why he should be convicted. With video surveillance he, was caught with what seems to be a potential weapon in his hand. Thats enough evidence to me that he has committed the crime. No coincidence, pure murder.