Is Prayer Allowed in Public Schools?

In Texas, a federal appeals court overturned a judge’s rulings that prayer would be allowed during the graduation ceremony taking place. Governor Rick Perry and state Attorney General Greg Abbott felt that prayer should be allowed at a graduation ceremony. The lawsuit was first filed by an agnostic family, and they claimed that their son would suffer “irreparable harm” if anyone prayed at the graduation ceremony. The crazy thing about it is that Congress convenes everyday with a prayer. The First Amendment allows Americans to practice free religion. So why can’t people pray in school and public events? This shouldn’t be restricted from being done. There will always be controversy with this opinion. I think that there should be prayer and the people who don’t participate in it will not pray, that’s all.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/06/03/texas.school.prayer/index.html?hpt=us_c2

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Sarah Palin Running for President?

Sarah Palin is trying a new strategy with her campaign party. The reason why she didn't show up in Gettysburg was because she feels that her campaign schedule should be confidential from the public. By this, all of the media is trying to keep up with Sarah. She probably did this to get noticed by this stunt. While talking to reporters she told them to expect the unexpected if she runs for the White House. Overall Sarah Palin is trying to change her approach in the election because no one wants to vote for a candidate that doesn’t catch their attention in some way.
Some people believe that Sarah Palin is taking away from the Republican’s main focus: which is to beat President Obama. Sarah Palin doesn’t seem likely to win the elections.
PREDICTIONS FOR 2012 ELECTIONS
A couple of years ago some thought that Bobby Jindal would be the next best thing for the Republican party and would possibly become the president.
REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES FOR PRESIDENT FOR 2012 ELECTIONS
Mitt Romney
Sarah Palin
John Thune
Tim Pawlenty
Bobby Jindal
Scott Brown
Ron Paul
Mitch Daniels
Jeb Bush
Newt Gingrich
Mike Huckabee
Mike Pence
Paul Ryan
Gary Johnson

On the website below, there is more insight on the thoughts and predictions about the outcome of the 2012 elections.
http://www.elect2012.com/political_blogs.html

It connects back to class because earlier this year we studied and watched the outcomes of the mid-elections and how the candidates were trying to receive votes. When mid-elections were over there was a shift of power in the House of Representatives and the Senate. But we’ll find out the outcome of the elections in 2012.

Questions You Need to Know for the AP Exam

Chapter 4
1.What are the elements that the book identifies with our political culture? What is the difference between a political culture and a political ideology?* America has a written Constitution * separates powers between three co-equal branches of the national governmentPolitical culture is a distinctive and patterned way of thinking about how political and economic life ought to be carried out, but political ideology is a more or less consistent set of beliefs about what policies government ought to pursue.2. What is the difference between equality of opportunity and equality of results?Equality of opportunity is when people are given an equal chance to succeed at something, where equality of results is making sure that people achieve the same result.4. Summarize what the book says about the "culture war" in America.America's culture war mainly deals with abortion, gay rights, drug use, school prayer, and pornography. There are two cultural classes in the U.S.: orthodox and progressive. The Orthodox class believes that morality and religion ought to be of decisive importance, while the Progressive class believes personal freedom and solving social problems are more important than religion.5. What is the difference between internal and external efficacy?Internal efficacy is the ability to understand and take part in politics, and external efficacy is the willingness of the state to respond to the citizenry.Chapter 71. What was the Founder's attitude towards public opinion? Give examples of how we see that attitude reflected in how they wrote the Constitution.The Founders basically felt that the Constitution wasn't made based on the people's public opinions. The Founders created a government that would: form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty.2. Identify three problems in assessing public opinion.Three problems in assessing public opinion are that the information could be wrong, there could be a poll error, or the polling could be unfair. 3. The book gives four factors that affect political attitudes. Identify those four factors and summarize the conclusions about how those factors affect people's political attitudes.Religion, Gender gap, schooling, and information are four things that affect political attitudes.Religion: If you have certain beliefs and the government supports something you don't believe, that person will not support that cause in any way.Gender gap: Women are more likely to vote Democratic than Republican, and men are more likely to vote Republican than Democratic. This affects political attitudes because its a division in sex and political parties.4. The book discusses cleavages which may divide various demographic groups ideologically. The authors give three factors that divide people's political beliefs. Identify those three factors and summarize the conclusions about the correlation between these factors and people's political opinions.Three factors that divide people's political beliefs are Race and Ethnicity, Region, and Social class.Race and Ethnicity: race and ethnicity have a huge affect on public opinions. Younger African Americans will most likely agree with Democrats. Latino public opinions described as: "small, disproportionately oriented toward immigration, and relatively silent on the influence of gender"Region: regions do affect the way people vote on issues and policies.Social class: public opinion and cleavages cannot be determined because no one can set up a system to define each person in America.5. What are the two reasons the book gives why activists or the political elite tend to have more ideological consistency than those who aren't active? What effect does this ideological consistency have on the difference ideologically between politicians and voters?How frequently people use broad political categories to describe their own views or to justify their preferences for various candidates and policies. To what extent the policy preferences of a citizen are consistent over time or are based at any one time on consistent principles. It doesn't have an affect.6. How do elites influence public opinion? What are their limits to their ability to shape public opinion?Elites influence public opinion because elites are at the top and in the public's eye, so people tend to follow their ideas and thoughts. They really don't have limits.Chapter 81. Why does the book say that it is incorrect to sat that Americans don't vote as a result of apathy?Because there is a low percentage of adults registered to vote.2. What did Congress pass to increase voter participation and what has been the result of that law?Congress passed the motor-voter law to increase voter participation and the result was that many people signed up. (In the first two months, 630,000 people became voters.)3. How did states try to keep blacks from voting? Summarize those tactics and how they gradually were changed. The states kept blacks from voting by literacy tests, poll taxes, the grandfather clause, and the white primary. Literacy test- a requirement that citizens show that they can read before registering to vote.Poll tax- a requirement tat citizens pay a tax in order to register to vote.Grandfather clause- a clause in registration laws allowing people who don't meet registration requirements to vote if they of their ancestors had voted before 1867.White primary- the practice of keeping blacks from voting in the southern states' primaries through arbitrary use of registration requirements and intimidation.It changed because the Civil Rights Movement and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed. 4. What political effects have there been since the Nineteenth and Twenty-sixth Amendments?* people in the District of Columbia can vote in presidential elections* people between the ages of 18 and 21 can cast ballots5. Summarize the arguments as to why voter turnout has declined.* decrease in popular interest in elections * weakening of the competitiveness of the two major parties6. Make a list of the generalizations that the book makes about which groups tend to be more or less likely to vote.Campaigners: they vote and they like to get involved in campaign activitiesCommunalists: like campaigners in social background but they don't like the conflict and tension of partisan campaignsParochial participants: who don't vote and stay out of election campaigns and civic associations but will contact local officials about specific problems(personal)

Words to Except on the AP Exam

*Political culture- a dsitinctive and patterned way of thinking about how political and economic life ought to be carried out.
*Political ideology- a more or less consistent set of beliefs about what policies government ought to pursue
*Equality of opportunity- giving people an equal chance to suceed
*Equality of results- making certain that people achieve the same result
*Civic duty- a belief that one has an obligation to participate in civic and political affairs
*Progressive culture- a belief that personal freedom and solving social problems are more important than religion
*Orthodox culture- a belief that movality and religion ought to be of decesive importance
*Political efficacy- a belief that you can take part in politics (internal efficacy) or that the government will respond to the citizenry (external efficacy)
*Gender gap- difference in political views between men and women
*Political elites- persons withs disproportionate share of political power
*Random sample- method of selecting from a population in which each person has an equal probability of being selected
*Sampling error- the difference between the results of random samples taken at the same time
*Exit polls- polls based on interviews conducted on Election Day with randomly selected voters
*Literacy test- a requirement that citizens show that they can read before registering to vote
*Poll tax- a requirement that citizens pay a tax in order to register to vote
*Grandfather clause- a clause in registration laws alowing people who do not meet registration requirements to vote their ancestors had voted before 1867
*White primary- the practice of keeping blacks from voting in the southern states' primaries through arbitrary use of registration requirements and intimidation
*Australian ballot- a government-printed ballot of uniform dimensions to be cast in secret that many states adopted around 1890 to reduce voting fraud associated with party-printed ballots cast in public
*Activist- people who tend to participate in all forms of politics
*Middle America- the middle class in the U.S.; regarded as a conservative political force
*Silent majority- an unspecified large majority of people in a country or group who don't express their opinions publicly 
*Social status- relative rank than an individual holds, with attendant rights, duties, and lifestyle, in a social hierarchy based on honour and prestige
*Christian Coalition- a political action and evangelical piety movement based in Washington, D.C., was formed in 1989 by the Rev. Pat Robertson to provide him with a national vechile for public advocacy
*Liberal- favoring proposals for reform, open to new ideas for progress and tolerant of the ideas and behavior of others; broad-minded
*Conservative- favoring traditional views and values; tenidng to oppose change 
*Libertarian- liberal principles or doctrines
*Populist- a supporter of the rights and power of the people
*New Class- a term used to describe the privileged ruling class of bureaucrats and communist party functionaries which typically arises in a Stalinist Communist state
*Libertarian- liberal principles or doctrines
*New Deal Coalition- the alignment of interest groups and voting blocs that supported the New Deal and voted for Democratic presidential candidates from 1932 until the late 1960s
*Quota sample- sample group of people used for research purposes who have been selected at the discretion of the interviewer
*Focus groups- a small group selected from a wider population and sampled, as by open discussion, for its members' opinions about or emotional response to a particular subject or area, used especially in market research of political analysis
*Instant responsibility polling- when a president or other political figure makes a speech that is nationally televised the cable networks will devote extensive air time to analyze the address and audience reactions, citing a range of polling data
*Push poll- a political campaign technique in which an individual or organization attempts to influence or alter the view of respondents under the guise of conducting a poll
*Bandwagon effect- a psychological phenomenon whereby people do something primarily because other people are doing it, regardless of their own beliefs, which they may ignore or override
*Refusal rate- the percentage of people contacted who decline to participate in the research study
*Tracking poll- an opinion poll in which the same sample, such as a small number of voters, is questioned periodically to measure shifts in opinion
*Skewed question- phrased in such a way that a certain answer is more likely to be given
*Context effect-  the aspect of cognitive psychology that describes the influence of environmental factors on one's perception of a stimulus
*Question framing- statistical surveys are used to collect quantitative information about items in a population*Saliency- the quality of being salint
*Help America Vote Act 2002- goals: replace punchcard and lever-based voting systems, create the Election Assistance Commision to assist in the administration of Federal elections and establish minimum election administration standards
*Motor-Voter Law 1993- required state governments to allow for registration when a qualifying voter applied for or renewed their driver's license or applied for social services
*Fifteenth amendment- prohibits each government in the U.S. from denying a citizen the right to vote based on that citizen's, "race, color, or previous condition of servitude."
*Voting Rights act 1965- outlawed discriminatory voting practices that had been responsible for the widespread disenfranchisement of African Americans in the U.S.
*Nineteenth amendment- prohibits any U.S. citizen to be denied the right to vote based on sex
*Twentysixth amendment- permits citizens in the District of Columbia to vote for Electors for President and Vice President
*Disfranchisement- the revocation of the right of suffrage of a person or group of people
*Demographics- characteristics of human population