London Terrorist Attack

http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/22/europe/uk-parliament-firearms-incident/index.html

Today there was a terrorist attack in London. Four people were killed and many injured. The man ran a car into a crowd before attempting to run into the Houses of Parliament. The police think it was an Islamist influenced terrorist attack. He also fatally stabbed an officer that was a 15 year veteran. He was then shot dead after. People said it was the biggest terrorist attack since 2005. It was said that it was definitely no accident.

This relates to what is going on in class because we are talking about government power and how they act on certain things and this is what the UK is doing as well. All of us are in a state of shock and all the governments and officials need to act fast on it because we will never know what will happen next. Our government needs to keep their eye on everything and make sure we can prevent things like this happening to our country. This all comes back to government spying or anything where the government is involved more. We need to decide if the idea of the government being in our lives would be a good or bad thing. Our safety is most important but our real question is should the government go in to the extents of tapping in our phones or is that too much?

I feel that this should be a wake up call for everyone around the world. Anybody at anytime could do anything unexpected and harm others like what has happened today. We need to figure out how to prevent this from happening to us because we shouldn't have to feel unsafe or threatened in any way in public places. But it all comes back to the government and if we should maybe have them more involved in our lives or not. Any way to prevent terrorism is always a good thing but is it necessary to have them become involved enough in our lives to prevent it? I feel that the government should be able to prevent terrorist attacks but we should figure out another way for them to do that instead of them tapping in our phones or getting access to other personal stuff.

Athletes Get Political In Sports

http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/10/politics/donald-trump-colin-kaepernick-athletes-activism-sports/index.html

The article I chose has to do with athletes influence on politics and people bringing politics in to sports. There was a lot of controversy about Beyoncé's performance at the Super Bowl last year singing mainly about "Black Lives Matter" because she violated the unspoken rule of "keep politics out of sports." We wonder if this comes back to athletes getting political about Trump. Athletes have been politically active in ways that haven't been seen in centuries and a lot of people are mad about it. CNN sports analyst Christine Brennan  quoted "Sports is really no longer an escape from the real world that it used to be. Sports is a mirror of our society." Many athletes said they didn't like the image or views Trump put on races and social issues. I think this is in fact a good thing because I think political issues and just any issues going on in society should be brought to the attention of athletes and sports because so many people watch them. I think it is a great way to promote issues and bring attention to them.

This relates to the content we are discussing in class because we are talking about civil rights and the article shows that the athletes are bringing politics in that some have to do with racism. Racism is still an issue today and people are still discriminated and treated differently. What better way to bring up race equality than in sports that so many people watch. The other good thing is many people look up to athletes and if they said anything about political issues today that would most likely bring a good amount of attention on the issues going on today.

As I said in the earlier paragraph, I feel that this is a great thing and should definitely bring attention to social issues and racism issues today. I feel that people do indeed watch the news but a majority of people today would watch sports or anything on their favorite athletes and look up to them and really take in and take to heart what they say or believe. This could help get the word out.

Drunk Driver Crashes Into Parade During Mardi Gras

http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/25/us/new-orleans-mardi-gras-parade-accident/index.html

Recently, there was a drunk driver that ran in to a parade in New Orleans, Louisiana during Mardi Gras. The parade was called Endymion and I actually attended it. The man was under the influence of alcohol and his blood alcohol level was .232%. He crashed into the parade injuring 21 people. The crash was not an act of terrorism, simply a drunk driver doing something dumb.

I personally think this is not a good thing for this time. Mardi Gras is supposed to be a time of fun and partying but sometimes it gets out of control. This should be monitored and taken care of so there are no further potential risks involved with what is supposed to be a carefree happy time. People should not be worried about going to parades and events during this time if they are going to get hurt or injured in any way. Drinking and driving is a very big deal in society nowadays and it needs to be stopped so nobody gets hurt.

This could relate to the content we are discussing in class because we talk about the media and the influences it can have over us. If people start using the media to post more things bringing attention to drunk driving and the dangers and risks involved with it, we could help raise awareness to these issues in our society today. The media influences everyone and is seen by plenty of people so we should talk more about drunk driving or driving under any influences. We should scare people and talk about real things going on rather than talking about what has happened with a celebrity or something that isn't going to change or influence society in a positive way.

Is Trump Bad For Tourism?

http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/21/politics/trump-travel-ban-deterring-tourists-cnntv/index.html


Is President Trump bad for tourism? The article states that Donald Trump put a ban on tourists coming from the seven predominately Muslim countries. During the weekend of the ban there was a 30% drop in international searches to the United States. A tour operator saw a noticeable decrease in bookings that weekend as well. President Trump also suspended the refugee admission for 120 days. It was not to permanent residents just people with visa or green cards. This led to confusion all over the country in the airports across the nation. Many human rights groups were brought to this attention and protested for the people's rights.

This applies to the content in class because we have been discussing presidents and campaigns. Many people voted for Trump because he told everyone he was going to make a change in this country and "Make America Great Again." When many people took part in the campaigning in ads and everything else he made sure to clarify he was going to get rid of illegal immigrants and get more jobs. Trump is acting on this now and fast now that he is in office. He is already deporting illegal immigrants and he is also acting on it by doing his ban in the airports to prevent illegal immigration.

I feel that this is a good idea. However, it is lowering the tourists rates by a significant amount and pretty fast. I also think that it is a bit unnecessary to start all this chaos along the nation in the airports creating more complications. Illegal immigrants shouldn't be here and I think President Trump acting on it is good. He is in fact doing what he said he would do now that he is in office and I think this will improve America.

Pentagon Sending Troops to Syria

http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/15/politics/pentagon-considering-recommending-combat-troops-in-syria/index.html

The Pentagon is deciding whether or not they are going to send ground troops to Syria to combat ISIS by the end of the month. Trump is trying to move in on his plan to defeat ISIS as soon as possible. Obama wanted to minimize the amount of troops going over because there were inherent risks involved with the act. When Obama established limits on the troops, it resulted in the troops being largely deployed.  Trump wants to send all the troops he can so they can defeat ISIS. I think that what Trump wants to do is right because it will not have a lot of troops waiting around to go to service. In America we want the employment rates to go up because they are good for the economy.

This relates to the content in our class because it is talking about the establishment of two different thoughts or ideas from presidents of different parties. One believes that sending in troops and starting something is not a good idea and we should limit troops whereas the other thinks we should fight back and take action and not have deployed troops. This is what we have been discussing because we have been talking about political parties.

Gerrymandering in NC

http://www.wral.com/us-supreme-court-to-draw-lines-on-nc-gerrymandering-case/16297884/

The article is showing an argument that has been going on for a while about gerrymandering in NC to see if the drafters of the districts actually drew the lines in favor of Republicans. The article is about how the drafters of the voting districts in NC drew the lines for the districts in favor of particular politicians. There are many arguments in favor of the drafters simply stating they were not given a guideline and wrote it by the law. The Supreme Court is taking this into their hands and making the drafters re-draw it according to the law. Some people are stating that it is a racial situation. I feel that they did in fact gerrymander, however the drafters did state they weren't given a guideline and were not told certain laws and that it wasn't their fault. I did see maps of the drawn districts and they are very particular about certain districts in favor of particular politicians which shows that they did in fact gerrymander and the Supreme Court said they had to re-draw it as well. The lines weave in and out of certain places and are very specific as to certain districts that would favor a politician. This ties in to what we have been discussing in class because it is about political participation and voting. In conclusion I have read in other articles that said the drawers are being forced to re-draw the lines to the Supreme Court's liking. If this is not done the way it has to be they will keep having to re-draw the lines to make it equal and fair.