Dale Johnston, wrongly sent to death row, can sue Ohio (7)

Dale Johnston, man wrongly sentenced to death

Dale Johnston, 82, was sentenced to death in 1982 for the murder of his step daughter and her boyfriend. A law passed in 2003 that updated a law about wrong inprisonment allowed Dale Johnston to sue Ohio for his sentence. A man had confessed to killing the couple in 2008, and in 2012 the court ruled for Johnston's release but later appealed the decision. Johnston now on the offensive has the opportunity to win his freedon back.

 Fox News: Man wrongly sent to death row can sue Ohio, court rules

Intro to Media Questions

1. List as many types (example: TV) of media as you can think of.

• TV, email, cell phones, tv, social media, radio, internet, newspapers, journals/magazines are all examples of media. 

2. Investigate ownership of the media in the US. Find an article or chart that will allow you to identify the corporations that actually own mainstream media outlets like ESPN, Disney, FoxNews, CNN, NBC, Etc., Write down what you find.

• Six corporations control 90% of the media in America. They are GE, Newscorp, Disney, Viacom, Time Warner, and CBS. 

3. Find a list that identifies universities with what are considered the top programs for journalism. Pick anyone you like, and then go to the website to investigate that school’s journalism program, as if you were a prospective student. What can you learn about the professional values, standards, and practices associated with professional journalism? (Write it down)

• Emerson College's Department of Journalism trains ethical journalists to write original, convicting news stories that can really move people. They teach their students to bring their stories to life through broadcast, print, web, and multimedia platforms. "As a student, you’ll gain rich experience in the field through class assignments, internships, and extracurricular activities that range from conducting on-street interviews and attending State House press conferences to providing multimedia coverage of the Emmys". 

4. Historically, the media in the United States has often been viewed as playing the role of “watchdog.” Do research to understand the watchdog role of the media so that you can answer these questions: Who is being watched? Who is being protected? And from what?

• Watchdog Journalism informs and protects the public when a significant problem is found. Watchdog Journalism refers to the media. The media is watching businesses and the government to prevent abuse of power. 

5. What have you heard about “liberal bias”? (Don’t do research for this one – just write down what you have heard about this phrase. If you have never heard this phrase before, say so, and then explain what you think it might mean.)

• I don't know exactly what "liberal bias" means, but I am pretty sure that it means a leaned favor of the Democratic party. Many news sources today are liberal bias, meaning they favor the Democratic party's views.

Vice President Biden's decision to not run for President (6)

Vice President Joe Biden                wikipedia.org

On October 21, 2015, Vice President Biden announced that he would not be running for president in 2016. There have been a lot of rumors going around about whether or not he would be running, and now America knows. It has been said that Biden's decision to not run will hurt the Democratic party.Although he is not running for President, Biden states that he "will not be silent". He will speak out for the Democrats and what he believes in during the race. He also states that he does not "think we should look at Republicans as our enemy. They're the opposition". I think this is a wonderful thing that Biden said. Both the Democrats and Republicans need to work together, not fight all the time.

Fox News: Biden announces he will not run for president in 2016

Pastor of The City of God Church in Detroit Kills Man (5)

The City of God Church in Detroit

Deante Smith, 25, was shot and killed by the pastor of The City of God church in Detroit. It is said that Smith and the pastor have had previous problems and arguments. Smith has threatened the pastor that he would do him bodily harm. On Sunday, Smith walked into The City of God church and tried to attack him with a brick. In response, the pastor pulled out his Glock, fired many shots, and killed Smith. Thankfully, no one else was hurt in this incident. It is a very scary thing that shootings are becoming more and more casual in the world. Church is supposed to be a place where people feel safe, loved, and in peace. However, this was not the case in The City of God church.

Fox News: Detroit pastor shoots, kills hammer-wielding church intruder

State of emergency concerning homelessness in Hawaii (4)

A homeless man living in a small neighborhood in Honolulu pushes his cart

Hawaii accounts for the highest rate of homelessness per-capita of any state in America with more than 7,260 homeless people. Gov. David Ige has issued a state of emergency concerning Hawaii's homelessness crisis. Using $1.3 million, the state is expanding services to help homeless people by creating a new shelter for them. This homeless shelter will be used for individuals and families and will be able to house up to 15 families at a time. The state of Hawaii has done an amazing thing by standing up and helping these people.

Fox News: Hawaii declares state of emergency for homelessness crisis

Federal prisons return pork to the menu after outcry (3)

Week-old pigs stand in a pen

Earlier this month, The Federal Bureau of Prisons banned pork from prison menus. However, numerous complaints from the American pork industry and the Senate have caused pork to be returned to the menu. Pork was banned from the prison menu because surveys of prisoners' food preferences showed that it was not a popular item. Another reason it was banned is because of the high cost. Sen. Chuck Grassley was influential in bringing back pork to the menu because he explained the importance of pork in America. He states that "The pork industry is responsible for 547,800 jobs, which creates $22.3 billion in personal incomes and contributes $39 billion to the gross domestic product". By banning pork from prisons, the lives of American citizens who work in the pork industry will be severely damaged.

Fox News: Swine and Dine: Federal prisons reverse pork menu ban after outcry

Paul Ryan as Speaker could unite Republicans (2)

Paul Ryan, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman

Many Freedom Caucus members want Paul Ryan to run for Speaker of the House. They believe that he will unite the Republicans with his leadership, communication skills, and intelligence. However, Ryan's immediate answer was "no thanks". Ryan does not want the job because he is completely in love with his current job as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, but he stated that he will think about it.

The Denver Post: Republicans could unite behind Paul Ryan for Speaker

AP Gov- Speaker of the House

1. In Article 1, Section 2 of the United States Constitution states that the "House of Representatives shall choose their Speaker". The Speaker is the presiding officer of the House and serves as second in line for the U.S. presidential line of succession. The Speaker's jobs include administering the oath of office to Members, calling order, preserving order and decorum within the House, recognizing speaking members, and determining rulings on House procedures.

2. House leadership includes the Speaker of the House, the majority leader, and the minority leader. The Speaker "presides over proceedings on the House floor", "influences which bills go to which committees", "influences committee assignments for new members", "appoints the party's other leaders", and "rules on questions of parliamentary procedure". The majority leader helps to plan the party's legislative program. The minority leader heads and organizes the minority party.
Senate leadership includes the Vice President who serves as the President of the Senate and can only cast a vote in case of tie. However, a President Pro Tempore usually takes the Vice President's place because he rarely sits with the Senate.

3. For the Speaker of the House to become President, both the President and the Vice President would have to be unable to serve as President. The Speaker of the House is second in line for the President.

4. The longest-serving Speaker was Samuel Rayburn of Texas. He served for 17 years, two months, and two days.

5. On January 4, 2007, the first woman Speaker became Nancy Pelosi (D) of California.

6. Newt Gingrich served as the 58th Speaker of the House under Bill Clinton from January 4, 1995- January 3, 1999. He is known for leading the Republican Revolution.

7. John Boehner just resigned as Speaker because he no longer believes he can lead the Republicans in Congress. He had been serving as the Speaker since 2011.

8. Kevin McCarthy was considered to be a likely successor because he is the majority leader of the House. However, he recently decided to withdraw from the Speaker race. He chose to do this because he realized that his support for speaker was crumbling.

9. Many Republicans believe that Paul Ryan will be the right man to unite the party. He is a great communicator and the Republicans need a good messenger. He has repeatedly stated that he does not want to be the Speaker, but will keep it in consideration.

10. Paul Ryan is the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. The responsibility of the Committee on Ways and Means is to serve as the primary tax-writing committee in the House. The committee exercises authority over revenue, tariffs, trade agreements, the U.S. debt, the Social Security system, Medicare, and social service programs.

11. A congressional committee is "a legislative sub-organization in the United States Congress that handles a specific duty (rather than the general duties of Congress)". Currently, there are 21 permanent committees in the House, 21 permanent committees in the Senate, and five joint committees which operate with both houses.

12. Some of the reasons why Paul Ryan chose not to take the job are that he believes Republicans won't be able to get much done while President Obama is still in the White House and he absolutely is in love with his job as Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.

13. If I were Paul Ryan I would not take the job. He expresses his love and enthusiasm for his current job and does not want to be the Speaker. Paul Ryan is a very smart and successful man and I think he could handle the job as Speaker, but he may not be able to if he really didn't want it.

14. No, the Speaker of the House is not a stepping stone to the Presidency because the only Speaker to serve as President was James K. Polk.

15. A congressional caucus is "a group of members of the United States Congress that meets to pursue common legislative objectives". There are dozens of caucuses. Caucuses are different from committees because they come together under one specific goal to achieve power, whereas committees have a role in the legislature.

16. The House Freedom Caucus is "a congressional caucus consisting of conservative Republican members of the United States House of Representatives". The House Freedom Caucus is extremely rigorous in finding a new leader for Speaker of the House. By doing this, they are demonstrating leadership. They want a leader with new perspective, a wide range of experience, and a positive view for American in the future.

17. Blog post.

Oregon gunman targeted Christians (1)

Christopher Harper Mercer, Oregon community college gunman                                                   the guardian.com

Thursday, October 1, 2015 marked a huge disaster in the United States. A gunman, Christopher Harper Mercer, specifically targeted Christians at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon. He killed at least 9 people and injured at least 20 people. The shooting began when Mercer sent a bullet through a classroom window into a teacher's head, a student witness states. Kortney Moore, 18, speaks out that Mercer ordered students to stand up and state their religion. If the students said they were Christians, they were shot in the head. If they did not respond or had a different religion, they were shot in the leg. The motive of the shooter is not yet known, but will be further investigated.

Fox News: 'Filled with hate': Witnesses say Oregon gunman targeted Christians in community college mass murder

First Quarter Reflection

AP Government has taught me so many new things that I did not know about the United States Government. The most interesting thing that I have learned about during this quarter is probably the US Constitution. Before this class, I thought I knew what the Constitution was. In reality, I did not know the basis and principles that someone needs to know to truly understand the Constitution. The project that we did helped me to analyze, understand, and remember the things I learned about the Constitution.
I also really enjoyed the blog posts that we have been required to do. Doing these help me to keep up current events in a fun way. The blog posts have also taught me to summarize very long articles. This skill will be very helpful in the long run.
At first, the grant project that we did was extremely confusing. After I did more and more research on my grant, it began to make more and more sense. I now actually know and understand what a federal grant is.
During the next three quarters, I hope to continue learning in deep detail about the importance of our government. Doing this, I will increase my intelligence about the United States Government and learn how to speak out for the political issues I believe in.