E9

1. What is the main goal of an interest group?



Ans: to influence policymakers




2. A reporter for the New York Times wrote an article where he used exaggeration to attract readers. The information in the article was not well- researched, and contained a biased view. What style of writing did this reporter use?



Ans: yellow journalism

E6

A faction is a group of people who are united by a common interest or belief. A way to destroy a faction would be to take away there freedoms and liberties, which would not be a good idea, and would do more harm than help. Another way would be to have everyone have the same beliefs and interests, which would not work since the nature of man is to have conflicting views. Madison believes the greatest source of factions come from those who own property and those who don't. People are divided by classes, which is the cause of factions, by divided views. Because man has different religions and different cultures, factions are inevitable. Man does not have one belief; man has passion and fire, and conflicting views are unavoidable. people can not judge themselves or something pertaining to them because they would be biased. people need to be impartial when in political parties or when judging. Madison then says that factions can not be removed, due to human nature,

E5

1. the fundamental goal of interest groups is to influence public policy. They try to get elected officials to change laws that would benefit their group. 

b. the fundamental goal of a political party is to get a candidate from the party to be elected into office. 

c. Interest groups, through forming PACs, give money to a campaign to get them into office. They also create advertisements in order to persuade the public on electing a candidate. 

d. By giving money to a candidate, they then influence policy makers to change legislation by showing they support the candidate's beliefs. With advertisements, interest groups show candidates that they support them, which would persuade the candidate to advocate for the interest groups beliefs if they were to gain office.  

Monday News

Steven Chu was appointed a member of the cabinet. He is a noble prize winning physicists, and is remarkably smart, but does not understand politics. Many people are mad that he was appointed, even though he has no political experience. I believe that Obama should not have appointed Chu for a cabinet position. Although he is smart, appointments should be based on political experience, and not fame.

E4

1.
Collective good: something of value, such as money or a tax write- off, that can not be withheld from a group member
Free- rider problem: a problem where people don't join an interest group because they benefit from the groups activities without officially joining.
Selective benefits: Goods that are restricted to those who give money to the group.

2.
a. Right to Choose
b. Inform the public and elected officials on a woman's right to have an abortion.
c. Those who support the legalization of abortions.
d. tax write- offs
e. group insurance rates
f. plan events that inform the public, have people speak at political events.

E3

1. the Huffington Post

2. Many of the news stories contain opinions. The Huffington Post has a very liberal viewpoint. One news article started off with  “ JPMorgan Chase, the ultimate "too big to fail" institution, lately embroiled in enough scandals to make Goldman Sachs look like Mother Theresa.”

3. The news articles seem to be mostly facts that back up the newswriters opinions. One news article wrote, “ The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote Friday on a bill sponsored by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) that would permit health insurers to extend these health plans.”

4. They use other news sources, such as CNN and the New York Times. They also use blogs for information.

5. Yes. For example, The site talks mostly about issues that concern liberals and democrats.

6. People can be influenced by the site’s beliefs, since the news is supposed to be valid and truthful. It can teach people to have a one- sided view on issues.

E1

1. Five types of mass media are television, radio, newspaper, internet, and magazines.
2. Print media used to be the main source for information. Now, with television and internet as sources of media, print media has become less popular. More people rely on broadcast media for the news, rather than print media
3. Once television became a source of media, presidential campaigns became more noticed by people. Because there were only a few channels in the 1950s, presidential debates and campaign ads were seen by almost everyone who owned a TV. People were more informed of candidate's positions and platforms.
4. Yellow journalism is journalism that is exaggerated to get public attention. It is used today in the media. An example would be the tabloids, such as People.
5. The FCC prevents monopolies over a broadcast market by limiting the number of stations a company can own. The FCC examines the goals and performance of stations in order to make sure the station is serving the public interest. The FCC makes sure office holders and political candidates have an equal amount of broadcasting time, meaning if one candidate gets broadcasting time, that station must also be willing to sell time to the candidate running for the same office.
6. Roosevelt used fireside chats to reassure Americans that he could get them out of the depression, which helped him get elected. He aired speeches on the radio to get public attention.
7. Politicians use new media, like the internet, by posting ads onto websites to receive greater public attention.
8.
A. An advantage of narrowcasting would be that people could focus more on what they like. There are more choices for the public.
B. A disadvantage would be that people would not be as well informed on a variety of issues or subjects.

D10

1. How can a candidate be nominated for political office?

2. A labor group contributes money to a candidate's political campaign. The labor group has a limit on its contributions, and expenditures are monitored by the Federal Election Committee. This labor group is known as what?

3. What are the main demographic factors that affect voter turnout?

News Analysis

Restrain NSA, say leading tech firms
http://thewashingtonpostnie.newspaperdirect.com/epaper/viewer.aspx

The National Security Agency has been collecting data from people's emails and phones without permission. Leading tech firms, such as Google, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, and AOL, are speaking out against the NSA's actions. They believe there needs to be more restrictions on the NSA in order to protect people's rights. I believe that, with the support from the big name tech firms, people will be better educated on the NSA's actions. With that knowledge, there will be a greater amount of support to increase restrictions against the NSA. There needs to be change within the National Security Agency, and the support from tech firms, such as Facebook and Google, will increase the possibility for government action.

D8

1. McAuliffe for Virginia Governor race, Ralph Northam  for Lieutenant Governor, and Herring won for Attorney General.
2. Although Herring won the race for Attorney General, it was very close, and a recount will be held. The Governor's race was also close; there was only a 3% difference between the two candidates. For the governor's race, It seemed the majority of the districts voted Republican, but there were more voters in the districts that were Democratic, which resulted in McAuliffe's win.

D7

The expansion of medicaid is an important issue in the Virginia Governor’s race. McAuliffe believes medicaid should be expanded; the expansion of medicaid could help the economy by creating jobs and could help in other areas, such as education. Cuccinelli believes medicaid should not be expanded. He believes the money should go to better programs. Each candidate had multiple attack ads on the other candidate. Mcauliffe focuses on Cuccinelli being a “woman hater” and Cuccinelli attacks Mcauliffe for spending money on unnecessary programs. Another important issue in the governor’s race  is abortion. Cuccinelli believes abortion should be banned altogether, even in cases of rape and incest. He believes laws should be much stricter. McAuliffe believes the abortion laws should stay the same. He believes abortion should be the woman’s choice.