Central Africa Republic, by Shea Nolan

 The Central African Republic or CAR for short is a landlocked country in Central Africa. The CAR covers a land area of about 239,383 square miles and has an estimated population of about 4.4 million. In 1960 The CAR declared its independence from France, and has since been under leadership of Presidents or Emperors. Though having many higher figures throughout its history and having various natural resource of gold, timber, diamonds and uranium, it’s among the poorest nations in the world.

              An anti-government coalition of rebels named Seleka over through President Francois Bozize, the latest in a series of coups since the nation gained independence. They accused the President of reneging on a peace deal and demanded that he step down. Months earlier the two sides came to a deal to form a unity government led by the president. The deal fell apart as the rebel group pushed north toward the capital of Bangui, while seizing towns along the way. Upon the rebels reaching the capital they sent the President fleeing to Cameroon.

            Not having a centralized government the nation plunged into chaos! Unable to control the people and having no political structure, political turmoil arose along with looter. Also, violence swept the streets where many people were injured and killed. Aid agencies arrived to help the pledged city, but were only pushed away in fear of the rebels violent acts; the rebels prevented seriously injured people from going to heath facilities. As a result, an unknown number of people have been killed in high risk areas where it’s near impossible to access by aid agencies. Those people that could escape fled into forests or areas not inhabited by rebels. About 400,000 people have been displaced according to the United Nations, that’s nearly ten percent of the population.

            Now having control of the government, the Seleka named its commander, Michel Djotodia as the new leader of the nation. As the new leader, Djotodia placed some of the rebel fighters into the army.

            Being so far away, why should we care? Well The CAR is surrounded by countries struggling to overcome from years of conflict. If this area is continuously ignored a ripple effect is bound to happen sending The CAR and the surrounding country’s into further turmoil. Furthermore, The CAR is believed to be a hideout for Joseph Kony. The United States has spent endless resources in the hunt and capture of Kony. Also, the Pentagon said it’s considering sending aircraft to assault the Kony militia. The chaos not only risks destabilizing the region, but it could complicate the Kony mission for the Untitled States.

            Taking action, the French have promised to send an additional 1,000 troops on top of the 400 that are already in place. The troops currently in place are there to protect French nationals and help secure the airport in the capital. Furthermore, the United Nations have devised a plan to introduce a peacekeeping force that would eventually replace the MISCA. It’s projected about 6,000 peacekeeper troops and 1,700 police personal will be put forth in the project.

            It’s vital that this area is brought back to health by the UN and other countries, not only for the capture of Kony, but for the greater good of the people. Also, intervention from the UN and other nations allows other rebel groups to understand that no inhumane actions will be tolerated. This would give The CAR the ability to create and form a stable democracy. 

Student Exchange Programs, by Shelby Atwood

 Student exchange programs are, for many reasons, extremely beneficial. It gives many students opportunities that they might not normally have. It also gives them experiences that can make them extremely well rounded global citizens. This is becoming increasingly important in the interconnected world we live in. The thing people learn when they study in other countries, I think, are extremely valuable in their futures.

   

         The benefits are very educational that students receive. For example actually using a different language can immensely help with becoming fluent.  Also students can enhance their interest in global issues. As well as increase their knowledge of different cultures throughout the world. It can give student a direct look into the workings of a different countries government. Those are just a few examples of the many educational benefits students receive from studying in different countries.

            Student exchange programs also can benefit students on a deeper level. Many personal benefits also come from studying aboard. Sometimes when students study aboard they stay with a host family. So that creates lifelong relationships, plus I’m sure some students get home sick when they are away and that can develop an appreciation for your own home and family. Also a new appreciation for the students home country as well. Studying in other countries can also help students get out of their comfort zone and try new things.

   

         Student exchange programs have long-term effects on students. Students can now communicate and relate to others and they also develop a mindfulness of the differences between many different groups of people. Usually students who study aboard also feel comfortable in foreign environments, since they spent time in a new country.

            There are many different types of benefits students receive when studying aboard. It creates social awareness and gives a hands on look into a countries way of doing things.

Interest Groups, by Shea Nolan

Pluralism is the idea that democratic politics consists of various interest groups working against each other, balancing one another out so that the common good is achieved. It is necessary to good government to have interest groups because they allow people the ability to contribute to the democratic process. Also, they prevent any one minority from imposing its will in the majority. Therefore interest groups are a vital part to a healthy democracy.

Some believe that pluralism is flawed because there are so many conflicting interests in society. They argue that the interest groups interfere with democracy because they seek benefits for a minority of people rather than the greater good of the majority. Furthermore, other critics argue that interest groups only benefit an economic group, which allows them to have greater financial resources for their use. Nearly two-thirds of lobbyists in Washington represent economic groups. Therefore, interest groups tend to ignore the poor in favor to middle and upper class Americans. Charges of unfair influence are often vague and unsupported by facts. Large organizations put forth the effort to create a correlation between donations and votes, but that is not real evidence that votes have been purchased. It’s against the law to actually buy votes and if found guilty of doing so a vigorous prosecution will acre. But just recently both a lobbyist and politician have been found guilty and punished for giving and receiving bribes. This shows the system works and will deter others from acting in the same way. Not able to buy votes, special interest groups instead give money to politicians’ election campaigns. Special interest groups give money to those candidates who have already supported their policies.  

Since the 1960’s the number of voters has substantially declined in the US, but the number of interest groups activity in lobbying the government has increased dramatically. The main objective of an interest group is to try to influence every branch and every level of government that best fits their policy goals. Though interest groups serve an importance to democratic government, they’ve had gained a negative standing in America, due to the fact of dishonest lobbying. The influence of special interest groups is increasing. New campaign finance laws are needed to check this growth and give politics back to the people. We should follow the British system, which puts severe limits on individual candidates’ spending and bans political television ads, but gives political parties free access to the national media for regulated political broadcasts.

The Oldest of them All, by Moranda Zimmer

            In class we had a discussion about the United States Constitution, as well as others around the world.  It caught my attention that the United States has the oldest constitution, with Norway and Belgium closely behind.  In different classes throughout high school and undergrad we learn varies things about the constitution, but a lot of interesting facts of it are left out.  I wanted to find all the facts about the United States constitution and learn more about it. 

            The United States Constitution has 4,400 words in it, and is the oldest but shortest written Constitution of any major government in the world.  September 17 of each year is a day marked as the anniversary of the day that the framers signed the document.  This day is different from the Fourth of July, because that is the day our country became a country, and this day is to remember the day that our constitution was officially signed.  The oldest person to sign the constitution was Benjamin Franklin at the age of 81, and the youngest was Jonathon Dayton at the age of 26.  Because of Benjamin Franklin’s poor health, he needed help signing the Constitution, and when he signed it he had tears rolling down his face. One specific fact I found extremely interesting was that Thomas Jefferson did not sign the constitution as he was out the States serving as the U.S. Minister when this took place.  Also, the only two presidents that signed the constitution were George Washington and James Madison. 

            There were 55 representatives who attended the convention.  Of these individuals 34 of them were lawyers, eight of them had signed the Declaration of Independence, and about half of them were Revolutionary War veterans.  The rest of them ranged anywhere from farmers, educators, ministers, judges, doctors, and financiers.  Some of them, about one/fourth owned a large amount of land, but all of them held some sort of public office, such as being a Congressman or a governor. 

Other interesting fact about the constitution is what our country was like at the time of the signing.  The United States had a population of 4 million, and Philadelphia was the largest city at the time with a population of 40,000.  Our nation now has more than 300 million people in it.  When Benjamin Franklin died at the age of 84, his funeral set the record for the largest public gathering up to that time. 

            All these facts combined, as well as many others, make up how our constitution was formed, and what it is today. It’s what our country run off of, and the small details behind it are so important to the overall picture.  It was really interesting learning more about what’s behind the constitution that often gets by passed.      

 Works Cited:

http://www.constitutionfacts.com/us-constitution-amendments/fascinating-facts/

Nine Justices of the US Supreme Court, by Anonymous

            We briefly talked about the Justices of the US Supreme Court, and I think its crazy how important they are to our government system so I wanted to go further into learning about each one in office today.  I want to know about their history, and what their back round is that got them to where they are today.  The basic knowledge behind the justices is that the present nominated them, and they have to be approved by the Senate.  Once they are approved they have a lifetime appointment, unless they decide to step down, or in very rare cases get booted.  However, looking at the big picture there is so much more about each one individually.

            The Chief Justice of the United States is John G. Roberts.  He was born in New York, and has a wife, and a family of two children.  He got his A.B. from Harvard College and also is law degree from Harvard Law School.  He has a long history in the government system serving from a law clerk, to a special assistant attorney general, as well as an associate counsel member to President Reagan.  He was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals in 2003, and was nominated by President G W  Bush as Chief Justice in 2005.

All of the Justices, except Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagen, and David Souter are married and have children.  Antonin Scalia has the most children at the number of nine.  The majority of the justices went to high-end schools for their undergrad, and almost all received their law degree the most top competitive schools in the country.  They all worked their way up in the system of the government holding some of the best positions in the government system.  This chart shows the basic information about each current Justice.

The duties of the Supreme Court Justices that are stated in the constitution are to check, and keep in check, the action of the President and Congress.  They also have the power to overturn any case that violates the constitution, and has the final say in all cases involved laws of Congress.  The justices do have a lot of power, however, the other two branches of government limit it.  The Court has nearly 5,000 requests of cases to be reviewed for hearing each year, but only generally gets to about 150 of them.  Each justice plays a key role in keeping out government in line.  The roles of these nine justices are a big part of our government system, and without them our balance between state and government could be corrupt. 

Works Cited:

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/role-supreme-court

http://www.supremecourt.gov/about/biographies.aspx