Blog Post #9

"Family Wants Action After 25-Year-Old in Maserati Shot, Killed by Police"

     On March 24th in Cobb County, Georgia, new father Nicholas Thomas was shot and killed by local police officers. The police reported that they "feared for their lives" which lead them to open fire on Thomas, the man they were trying to serve a traffic warrant on. Police reported that they went to arrest Thomas but he tried to run them over, so their only option was to kill him. An interview with the salesclerk of the tire shop the incident took place in front of says differently. She reported that "The car was not moving when they began to shoot at him. The car had been stopped, he hit the curb and could not go any further" and when asked "So no point in making any aggressive moves?" she replied "None, none at all, they immediately opened fire on him".
     This relates to our government class because it shows the continuing discrimination against African-Americans and our local and federal government's response (or lack of) to it. I think it's very obvious that this was an act of discrimination, especially considering the sales persons report.. The officers reported that they "feared for their lives" because they thought that Thomas was going to hit them with his vehicle. This was obviously said to make Thomas appear to be the criminal in the situation. If what the police officers had said was true, why were the bullet holes all on the side of the car, with not one in the front window? The officers reported that he was driving towards them, so wouldn't they have shot from the front? Every 28 hours, a P.O.C. is killed by police officers, I think it's ridiculous that people still hold on to the claims that racial bias has nothing to do with these shootings. But as always, even with undeniable evidence, the officers won't be charged for their crimes and the media along with a large majority of the public will continue to insist racism ended with slavery.

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/police-scene-shooting-cobb-county/nkddF/

Blog Post #8

"Obama: Maybe it's Time for Mandatory Voting"

     When asked how to offset the influence of big money in politics, Obama suggested making voting mandatory. He explained that a majority of non-voters are American youth, uneducated, and or minorities. He suggested that this "would counteract money more than anything". Aside from the impact it would have on big money in politics, our country has one of the lowest voter turn outs, less then 27%. The article mentions it could have cons but doesn't really specify.

     This relates to government because it involves executive powers and our right to vote (or not vote). I don't know if our government actually has the power to make voting mandatory because it isn't really specified in any amendments. I also think that it's not really too far-fetched, there would be many benefits like a stronger voice for minorities and youth, and more political involvement from everyday citizens. Only 37% of eligible voters actually vote every year and i think we would have a much different turn out if all eligible voters participated, so I would have to say i agree with this idea.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/19/politics/obama-mandatory-voting/index.html

Blog Post #7

"Alaska Republican's Solution for Homelessness: Wolves"

    Alaskan Republican Representative Don Young has been known to make very "innovative" ideas for solving government issues, such as his claim that domestic violence would be lowered if people simply "drank alone". It is though he made this statement to ridicule his colleagues who had made efforts to protect the grey wolves and to ridicule the Interior Department that makes decisions that would effect specific states without consulting said state first.
    This relates to our government class because it shows an example of someone practicing their freedom of speech. Personally, I think the comment was very insensitive and unnecessary. I think the points he was trying to make could've been made in a more professional matter and this whole conference wouldn't be news damaging his reputation, but no matter what he said, he is protected by the first amendment.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/06/politics/don-young-proposes-wolves-end-homlesessness/index.html

Blog Post #6

    This article discusses the recent evidence of the shocking racial bias in the police force of Ferguson, Missouri. One of the worst, most reoccurring examples was the excessive use of force, strictly based on race, not actions. In 2012, a 32 year-old African American male was approached by a police officer who accused him of being a pedophile and demanded his social security number and ID, he was then held at gunpoint after he did not allow the officer to search his car. He was given eight charges which were obviously made up such as a citation for "making false statements" when he said his name was Mike instead of his formal name Michael. The man then lost his job because of these charges. African Americans were also given 95% of minor traffic tickets such as "failure to comply" and "manner of walking in roadway" (a suspected source of income for the county). Another shocking piece of evidence was the highly offensive emails sent between officials using extremely racist language and jokes implying African Americans are all criminals and "can't hold a steady job for more than four years". Overall, less than 8% of Ferguson police officers were African American and accounted for 90% of officers use of force.
   This relates to our class because it shows the flaws in our system and incorporates American History to show that racism is still very present in our country. I'm not surprised at the statistics, I feel that the racial bias was pretty obvious after the shooting of Michael Brown and the responses to the protests. I hope that in the not-so distant future more measures will be taken to ensure the equal treatment of all minorities to caucasians


http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/04/politics/ferguson-justice-report-shocking/index.html