From Snail to Racehorse

"America Pays More for Internet, Gets Slower Speeds, Than Other Countries"
Current Event of October 31, 2014
From Huffington Post

My slow is faster than your slow

          Compared to countries across the globe, America pays ten times the amount of money for half of the Internet speed. Korea has one of the fastest speeds available for a price of $30 as opposed to America's $300 service. To many people living in the United States, this is unacceptable. Because of the pressure that America feels to uphold national pride, many private Internet companies have decided to improve the speed of the connection for the people in this country. Prices are going down as new technicians in small towns work to solve the broadband problem. Americans are happy not only because they get to pay less for their Internet service, but the United States is moving up in the ranks once again. U.S. citizens can never have enough national pride. 
          What is particularly interesting about Internet speed and its relative costs, are the restrictions placed on cities by the states. At least 17 of the 50 states have made it illegal for cities to run their own public Internet services. Those people that do want the freedom to make a business out of it are facing a problem. The laws that prohibit people from having city-owned Internet networks are supported by major Internet providers because they do not want to have to deal with competition. This just shows how much of an influence large corporations and businesses have on the laws and policies that govern everyday life. States have to work to please those who have the most influence and funds so that the government receives support in return. The competition between Internet providers may seem inconsequential, but as technology becomes more prevalent in society, the government is beginning to pay more attention to those who have influence in that realm. 
           

What Ever Happened to Innocent Until Proven Guilty?

"Police to screen CTA train passengers for explosives"
Current Event of October 23, 2014
From Chicago Tribune

What Police Expect to Find

          Authorities in Chicago are going to start searching train passengers for explosives as a precaution. They are going to conduct random searches at checkpoints. Passengers are asked to hand over their bags so that they can be checked. If they agree, and give up their luggage, the police use a cloth to swab the outside of the bag. They then proceed to scan the cloth to see of there is any explosive residue. If the passenger refuses to let the police officer check for explosives, then the authorities have the full right to keep the passenger off the train. Chicago has taken a less evasive approach to searching for explosives. Some cities, like Los Angeles, actually open up people's baggage instead of swabbing the outside. The city of Chicago claims to want to protect the privacy of its train riders. 
           Even though the methods to prevent explosives from being carried on trains varies from city to city, the intent behind it is the same nationally. The new villain in America is terrorism. It makes sense after events such as the 9/11 attacks and the Boston Marathon Bombings, that the majority of the public would be concerned about explosives and the proper way to avoid further attacks. However, police officers seem to be encroaching on people's right to privacy. If a person refuses to let the police search their private belongings, they are not allowed to board the train. The reason behind this makes sense, because the federal government's main focus is to stop terrorism. But, whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty? People are suspects as soon as they refuse to give up their right to privacy. They may not be guilty at all, but they are treated the same way as someone who is. There has to be a balance between proper security and the freedom of the common person to go as they please. 
          

99% Chance, 100% Mike Enzi

What do the polls say?

I Believe That We Will Win

      According to at least four polling websites, Mike Enzi is almost guaranteed a win for Wyoming's seat in the Senate. Running for his fourth consecutive term, Enzi has all of the benefits that come along with incumbency. His name is well known and the state of Wyoming is a fan of his highly conservative ideals. Enzi is running against Charlie Hardy, the Democratic Candidate, but Hardy does not seem to be doing anything to weaken Enzi's hold on the state.

       RealClearPolitics, FiveThirtyEight, and Election Projection, three polling websites, report almost identical findings. Multiple polls are shown, but all of them support the idea of Enzi's victory. The polling firms are the same for all of the polling websites being conducted either by YouGov or Rasmussen. RealClearPolitics averaged, over a few different sources, that Enzi was ahead by about 47 points, a huge gap. FiveThirtyEight, while showing the same results, predicts that there is over 99% chance that Enzi will be reelected. Therefore, that means that his opponent, Charlie Hardy, has barely any chance at all. FiveThirtyEight actually weighted the different polls based on their own pollster ratings. That made the numbers slightly more accurate, by their account. The prediction remained the same across the board. Election Projection had data that reaffirmed that Enzi has a great chance of winning the election. On Politico, another website that has been monitoring the 2014 midterm election, Wyoming is rated as being safe Republican, meaning that it is almost impossible for Mike Enzi to not be elected.

        In general, across the board, it seems to be that there is common agreement that Mike Enzi will, once again, represent Wyoming in the Senate.

Life or Death? Pick one.

"Scott Walker Dodges Questions On Abortion, Birth Control"
Current Event of October 17, 2014
From Huffington Post

Scott Walker's Stance on Abortion Hits Hard

          Scott Walker, Wisconsin's governor, is a strongly conservative Republican that completely supports banning abortion. He has also expressed opinions about getting rid of birth control entirely. Walker holds the view that a human life begins while the child is still in the womb. Recently, however, Walker has been keeping quiet about his opinions regarding abortion ever since he started to run against Mary Burke, the pro-choice Democratic candidate. He wants to gain votes from people who may not completely agree with his point of view. Scott Walker, although expressing opinions strongly against abortion in the past, has toned down his thoughts in order to be reelected. He tries to avoid answering questions about it and often defers to other topics. 
         The actions of Scott Walker connect directly with what we have been talking about in class for the past couple of days. To stay in office, Scott Walker is forced to adapt his true ideals to keep the vote. It becomes more about the image a person is portraying than their policy. EMILY's List, the PAC that only supports Democratic women, has created an advertisement that puts down Scott Walker's views on abortion. They want Mary Burke to take over. The only way for them to do that is to point out Walker's lies and tell half-truths in order to keep him from being reelected. In order to counteract these attempts, Walker's supporters are forced to make advertisements as well. In the scheme of things, more and more money will be spent to make each of the candidate's look better than actually they are. 

From Distrust to Disengagement

"From Mid-Atlantic to Midwest, Voters Express Frustration and Fatigue"
Current Event of October 10, 2014
From The New York Times

Obama's Promise

          People all across the United States are dissatisfied with how the government is dealing with the country and its problems as a whole. A large percentage of Americans are upset with President Obama for various reasons from one side of the spectrum to the other. Some feel that Obama does not know what is going on in the small communities in isolated areas. In the last couple of years, foreign affairs have been the main concern in Washington DC. People in small towns feel neglected by the government because they can barely afford the necessities of everyday life. On the other hand, there are others that are opposed to Obama for different reasons. Some Americans promote a high amount of engagement with foreign nations. But, they view Obama as a wimp and think that he should be doing more to keep America at the top of the heap. Either way, there is distrust and dissatisfaction towards the national government. People feel as if their vote for Obama did not count towards any progress for the country. 
          It is dangerous when people become frustrated with their government. After a while, there is less participation because it seems like one vote will not change anything. Even though Obama won the election and is the leader of the country, the citizens of America do not think he is doing his job well. A distrust of government only makes the country more divided in the long run. Obama is viewed as having the capability of a superhuman, choosing not to help the country improve because he does not feel like it. In truth, however, he is only human and he can not be expected to do everything. Obama, although he has not done everything to bring the country out of the dark, has solved many problems. It is unfair to expect so much from someone who has so much to deal with. Only time will tell what the public will believe by the end of the next president's term. 

To fund, or not to fund?

 Mike Enzi Gets Support (Sometimes)     

The Truth About Interest Groups

         When it comes to interest groups, there are people that are completely for the ideals set out by Mike Enzi and there are those who would prefer to have him removed from office.
          One example of an organization that is a proponent of Mike Enzi is Gilead Sciences. This biotechnology based company is known for its methods in the therapeutic field. Through Gilead Sciences, there are fourteen products for sale to help cure different ailments. In the past, Gilead Sciences has donated $24,048 to Mike Enzi's campaign, landing him the spot if top recipient. They obviously support his conservative values and want to see them in action. They tend to fund Republicans over Democrats and Enzi was the only Senator to receive money from them. In this way, Gilead Science is in full support of what Enzi stands for.
           On the other hand, there are those who are opposed to Mike Enzi. Grassroots Netroots Alliance gave Mike Enzi a 0% rating, the lowest that they could possibly give a person in either the House or the Senate. As explained by Project Vote Smart, "The GNA is a new nationwide effort to build up a netroots and grassroots army of millions of radical but practical-minded voters and activists." Obviously a group bound and determined to have radical minded people in charge is not going to like the conservative, Republican Mike Enzi. Since the only other person they rated in Wyoming was also a Republican and they gave him a 0% rating along with Enzi, it is better to look to see who they support that is not a part of the state of Wyoming. One person that they do agree with is Nancy Pelosi. It makes sense because she is heavily associated with the Democratic Party and she supports very liberal thinking on most issues in debate. 

Who Runs the World? Girls.

"In a first, 3 women pass Marines Combat Endurance Test, toting 80-lb. packs"
Current Event of October 3, 2014
From The Christian Science Monitor

Girl Power

          In order to be a part of the Marine Corps, one has to pass the Marines Combat Endurance Test (CET), a grueling assessment designed to weed out the weak. This program has always had the reputation of being a brutal test of both the body and the mind. Before 2012, only men were allowed to even attempt to pass the CET. Since then, women have been trying to become leaders on the front lines. After the most recent test was given, it has been confirmed that three women have passed. This is a new record, as only one woman in the past has passed the CET and she ended up dropping out during the second phase. As society continues to change over the years, there seems to be more promise for the equality of the genders. 

          In light of the recent events regarding women desiring to join the Marine Corps, the federal government has had to rethink the way that it deals with the requirements needed to pass the test. Women, naturally, tend to have less strength than men, based primarily on their biology. But, many females want full equality. Option one is to lower the standards for women, so that more of them have a chance, while option two is to keep the requirements the same for both men and women to promote complete equality. The three women who have recently passed the CET were expected to perform to the same extent that the males were expected to perform. This issue continues to remain a debate throughout the nation, as women continue to want more of a voice.  

Mike Enzi's Waltz with Committee Membership

Enzi Works for the Good of the People          

Mike Enzi with other committee members

        Running for his fourth term for senator, Mike Enzi has had his fair share of experience when it comes to the political world. Over his time, Enzi has been a part of both the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee (HELP) and the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

        Because Enzi is Republican, his party has minority in the Senate. In the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, Enzi is a minority member. He is, however, a ranking member of Children and Families, one of three of the subcommittees under HELP. Its primary purpose is to protect the rights of families in America. Under this subcommittee, a piece of legislation called the Family Medical Leave Act was made. Enacted in 1993, this allows anyone who is working to take up to twelve weeks leave if they, themselves, have a serious illness or are helping out someone who desperately needs it. In recent news, the government has redefined the term spouse as it relates to FMLA. It seems to be having a positive effect on the workplace. 

         In addition to his efforts to promote the welfare of families, Enzi has been actively involved in the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Once again, because of his party affiliations, Enzi is a minority member. This committee focuses on smoothing out the relationship between the federal government and small businesses. In 1980, the Paperwork Reduction Act was passed. It managed to reduce the amount of paperwork a small business had to fill out for the federal government's approval. It was amended in 1995 so that agencies would have to provide information both to the government and to the public. 

         Through all of these efforts, these committees seem to be doing their job to better the country.