Elliot Davis Debate Response

Positives about Trump
1. Donald Trump elaborates on the economic dangers of outsourcing jobs to a foreign population, as this costs Americans jobs. He also talks about how he will stop outsourcing by creating a large import tax and a small export tax. He ties a low corporate tax back to the middle class by talking about small businesses, too.
2. He says that he will release the thing everyone wants to see of him (his tax returns) if she releases what everyone wants to see of her (the 33,000 deleted emails) which is actually pretty cunning and  quite effective.
3. He kind of says that she won't get anything done in office if elected, so I guess that that's sort of effective.

Negatives about Trump
1. He has done almost no research and appears to know next to nothing about the topics that he's speaking on.
2. He repeatedly brings up the past like it in some way directly correlates with the present, which is kind of going off on a tangent.
3. He keeps not talking about the subject. I keep having to ask myself "what was the topic again?" after hearing his responses for more than 2 minutes. I have yet to see him stay on the subject for more than 30 seconds. Also, what's that about his temperament?

Positives about Hillary
1. She says that Trump's plans don't correlate with the impact that he's talking about.
2. She stays on the subject in her rebuttals and coherently responds to what Trump is saying while also extending her points, which is a huge asset to all of her arguments.
3. She keeps reversing all of Trump's claims back on him. For instance, Trump claims he appeals to the black community, but Hillary brings up the fact that he has been charged multiple times with discriminating against African Americans.
4. Hillary Clinton DID HER RESEARCH, she knows what she is talking about and can fact check what she's saying, whereas Trump is just asserting claims with either no warrants or incorrect warrants.

Negatives about Hillary
1. She is kind of obnoxious towards Trump which isn't that respectful.
2. She keeps talking about her father and the hardships she's faced and the easy life Trump has had in an attempt to rile him up, which actually reflects more poorly on her than it does Trump because he's not taking the bait.
3. She sometimes treats the debate like a joke, which, though not surprising considering her opponent, isn't that good for her image.

All in all, I think that Hillary won this debate by a longshot because Trump couldn't really respond to situations with relevance and it's clear he has almost no idea what he's talking about.

The Hunting Ground Video Diary Assignment - Ethan Mitzen

1. It is difficult to get people to feel sympathy, much less empathy, for survivors of sexual assault because the trauma is so deep and complex that you really can’t get it until it happens to you. But without sympathy and empathy from others, the trauma gets worse. As a society we desperately need to see survivors of sexual assault in a new, more compassionate light. If we keep telling the stories of survivors (and the stories of those who did not survive), the public will eventually be forced to deal with the problem. People will realize that these are not isolated incidents, that these people are not lying about their experiences, that there is a tangible problem that we can do something about. The problem is that survivors are so often silenced by the very people that are supposed to be protecting them. Thus, the first step in making sexual assault more visible is to break apart these institutional boundaries that condemn victims and pander to aggressors. We need to be stricter in the enforcement of Title IX complaints and violations and to better educate people on the existence, contents, and significance of Title IX. We need to limit the power of fraternities in both government and universities. We need to make it clear to police departments around the nation that asking a rape victim what they were wearing is the exact wrong way to go about things. We need to make it clear to prosecutors that we take sexual assault seriously. We need to make it clear to everyone that being a college athlete doesn’t mean that the law and basic human decency doesn’t apply to you. Once we have made it institutionally easier for the victims of sexual assault to make themselves heard, all we have to do is listen.
2. (Know Your IX)

1. Know Your IX was founded in 2013 by Dana Bolger and Alexandra Brodsky.
2. Know Your IX’s key objective is to end sexual and dating violence in schools. It seeks to accomplish this through education, training, and policy advocacy (lobbying). Know Your IX also focuses on racist, transphobic, and homophobic aspects of a survivor’s struggle.
3. Know Your IX is funded mainly through donations.
4. Know Your IX is a well respected advocacy group which is largely given formal and respectful recognition in the news.

Ethan Hawker

Earlier this week, allegations arose against the Clinton family, more specifically their foundation. The foundation takes in millions of dollars every year, and in turn funds programs in developing countries for girls education, sexual assault survivors and female and child poverty. But accusations have came up that the organization has accepted large sums of money from leaders of other countries, in return for political favors, in the event of her becoming president. In one of the recent emails to be uncovered, there is evidence from a few years back that the prince of Bahrain donated almost $100,000 to the foundation, in return for meetings with Hillary, who was secretary of state at the time. Another email showed that a Nigerian billionaire  donated close the same amount, asking instead for political favors and meetings with U.S. ambassadors.

This is a serious issue to absorb right now because this questions Hillary’s ethics and morals. For one, Bahrain has had serious gender equality issues in the past, having only allowed women to vote since 2002 and having no women in government until 2004. It also brings up the question of whether Hillary will accept and allow bribes from foreign leader and CEO’s. Will she take their money, which is tax deductible, and give them political favors. This not to say that the Clinton foundation has done nothing good, as tens of thousands of people have benefited from the foundations help.

This has to do with media framing because we will see very different opinions depending on the t.v. network. CNN will most likely defend her in some way, while FOX news will totally bash her and try and play it off as much worse than it actually is.  The other networks will most likely stay neutral and only tell the facts.

 Question- Will this in any way affect her campaign and will this expand the investigation against her?

Zoe Lydon 8/31/16

Bernie or Bust
Many Bernie supporters have decided that since Bernie was not elected for the democratic party nominee they are no longer voting for the democratic party. This movement is called Bernie or Bust. Voters apart of this movement are extremely against Hillary Clinton. The author of this article thinks that Hillary will not represent the middle and lower class like the democratic party usually aims to do. They claim that Hillary is phony and changes her opinions too often. They believe that Hillary is not progressive enough to represent the democratic party. Bernie is super progressive and gained support from a lot of young voters. The opinionated author of this article is voting Jill Stein who is representing the Green party. This is relevant because in the upcoming election many feel that Hillary should not have been the democratic nominee. More citizens than usual are claiming they are voting independent or green party this election. Do you think Hillary accurately represents the democratic party?

Max Layden

Trump's Adios to a Softer Immigration Stance

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2016/09/01/trumps_adios_to_a_softer_immigration_stance.html

Main Idea: This article analyzes the hidden gaffe that was Trump’s meeting with the President of Mexico, along with his hardline immigration stance. Although he looked diplomatic with President Pena Nieto, he lied about what was in the content of the meeting (saying they never brought up the wall, even though Pena said that Mexico wouldn’t pay for it), and reasserted his position on immigration that won him the primary. The author criticizes the billing of Trump’s immigration speech as “major”, even though it was a glorified stump.

Chapter 1: Trump’s whole campaign has been one huge spin. He spun the John McCain is not a hero comment, making fun of a disabled reporter, calling immigrants rapists. The chapter talks about how “spin” changes the way people percieve politics, and Trump has spun so well, our society has become more accepting of scandals, and gaffes (except when they are Hillary’s though).

Why do we care: Trump has been attempting to mess with US foreign policy as a presidential candidate, something unprecedented in American politics. He has weakened America’s position with a border country, and hurt our hegemony. Luckily, this means that Hillary has a better standing with foreign powers.

Question: Should candidates be involved with policymaking?

Thomas Neumann 9/1/16

The name of my article is “Conservatism’s ‘Racism’ Isn’t What You Think It Is”, the main idea in this article is about how conservatives and the republican party has been attached with this white supremacy tag. Another major thing it talks about it how they have the idea of racism and being racist stuck to them. It then goes on to talk about how we have “misunderstood” many of these things all along. This is important because we may be believing and thinking some things that are not true and we need to become more educated on the truths of this issue. This relates to the chapter we have been reading recently because it talks about how we are uninformed about certain issues and in the chapter we read it talked about how we american citizens are not stepping up and playing a responsible role in democracy. This article is trying to help our political thinking. I read Bronson's post and he asked the question why should Latinos vote for hillary? I feel like the reason Latinos should vote for Hillary is because trump is trying to deport their  friends and family back to mexico, he has showed he disliked Latinos. Although trump may be better to help them get jobs if he kicks them all out they can't get these jobs. I feel Hilary will be fair and equal to them and try to help them solve their problems.

Question: can the republican party remove this stereotype of being “racist”

Emma Ringstad

Article: “If Obamacare Bombs, States Must Share The Blame” by Ed Kilgore

Main Idea: In the Status quo, doubts about the ACA are increasing, However, due to the Supreme Court’s revision to the act to include a state opt-in for the insurance expansion, some states did not do their job and Obamacare failed. Who is really at blame for the Obamacare?

Application to the chapter: Chapter one on page (18) describes how the state’s power is divided so no one branch can control everything. These checks and balances are essential so a decision can be debated about and provide the best outcome. So when an act backfires, like Obamacare, the blame should be equally shared. The article touches on how most people believed that Obama was responsible for Obamacare however, that is mostly because his name is attached in the name of the act. It shows us that we have to remember that every state action goes through many people’s desks and thus everyone who looks it over, is at fault for not fixing it.

Why should we care?: We should care about what part of the government passes and creates the laws and reforms that we live under and by, because they affect who we want to represent us. If we do not know who passed the reforms that we do not like or the reforms that we do like we won’t know who we want to vote for in elections. If we want our opinions and beliefs to be represented we must know about the people we will choose to support. Research your candidates beliefs and stances on current issues so you can be sure about who you vote for, who you want to represent you.

Question: Do you think that a bad policy or reform is the fault of one person, branch, or the whole government?

Link: http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/08/if-obamacare-bombs-states-must-share-the-blame.html