Thursday, February 27, 2014

Meth Bibliography

"Big Pharma And Meth Cooks Agree: Keep Cold Meds Over The Counter." NPR. NPR, n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2014.
This radio show/ article explains and analyzes the meth outbreak of the last 20 years. NPR analyzes the production of meth and the danger in it. Much of the information in this article is on underground meth cooks cooking in their own kitchens using the shake and bake method and the how these methods are affecting America. I believe this is a credible site because NPR, National Public Radio, is a well known reliable educational source. This source was very helpful to my research and I plan to use it again.

Byker, Carl. "The Meth Epidemic." PBS Frontline. Ed. Andrew Metz. WGBH
    Educational Foundation, 17 May 2011. Web. 10 Feb. 2014.
    <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/meth/>. This video was an
    hour long informative video on the effects of meth use on the human body,
    families and our nation. Frontline tracks the spread of meth across the
    United States beginning in Oregon and spreading across the Mississippi and
    finally gaining recognition from Congress. After many years of issues in
    the west lawmakers were finally able to put amphetamine behind the counter
    and slow the meth making process in America. PBS Frontline is a highly
    qualified source whose goal is to inform the public on important issues and
    policy. Frontline videos analyze issues and inform. These videos are meant
    to be understood by the general public. I found this video very helpful and
    explanatory and plan to use this source again.

Hall, Katy. "The Methiest States In The U.S. (INFOGRAPHIC)." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 07 Oct. 2013. Web. 26 Feb. 2014.
This article describes how to make meth, and meth incidences and popularity in U.S. today. Thousands of meth labs around the country are still prevalent today. The shake and bake method has spread from the west and is now most popular in the Midwest, Missouri outranks the rest of the states with 1,825 meth lab busts and seizures. Pharmaceutical companies have been resisting the regulation of pseudophedrine for years. Only Oregon and Mississippi have succeeded in passing a law on it. I believe this is a credible source and will not hesitate to use it again. The visuals were great on this site.

Monday, February 24, 2014

Government distrust

Trust and confidence in government has declined in recent decades. This may be partially attributed to our divided government. Because we have one party controlling the executive office and another controlling one or both sections of congress there is distrust and strife in the government. Citizens tend to trust the government less when it is divided because moderates are frozen out and extremes drive legislation and the fighting between parties leads to little or no actual passing of bills and making things happen. Increased cost of election campaigns has also driven up government distrust. This is because people worry that elitism will take over when candidates need money for campaigns. The wealthy and large incorporations will be the ones contributing and people worry that will give big money too much in into the government. Decline in government trust has lead to greater protest and cynicism toward all government action it has also lead to decline in voting and more people claiming to be moderate or independent to avoid affiliation.


3) Trust and confidence in government have declined in recent decades.
(a) Explain how divided government has contributed to the decline in trust and confidence in government. Be sure to include a definition of divided government in your response
(b) Explain how the increased cost of election campaigns has contributed to the decline in trust and confidence in government.
(c) Explain two specific consequences of the decline in trust and confidence in government for individual political behavior. 


http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/repository/ap04_sg_gopo_us_37090.pdf

Reelection of Incumbents









       The graph below shows incumbency reelection rates in the House and Senate. The graph displays many patterns. Two of them are, the tendency for Senate incumbency reelection rates to fluctuate much more than in the House and the tendency for Senate reelection rates to go up when House rates go down and vise versa. Two factors that contribute to incumbency advantage are the fact that citizens are afraid of change and as an incumbent you have greater access to the media and name recognition. People like things that they already know. The fact that your congressman hasn't done anything that really bothers you, even if the other guy's opinions are closer to yours, will usually lead you to choose the one that is already in office because it feels safer. Incumbency advantage is an issue for American politics because it makes congress less representative of the people. If we were electing new legislators every couple of years we would know that they are up to date and are educated on current issues and what the people want.

http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/repository/sg_govpol_us_01_7046.pdf









(2001_2) the graph above shows reelection rates for incumbents in the House and Senate. From this information and your knowledge of of the US politics, perform the following tasks. (Fig 12.1)

a) identify two patterns displayed 
in the graph
b) identify 2 factors that contribute to incumbency advantage. Explain how each factor contributes to incumbency advantage.
c) Discuss one consequence of incumbency advantage for the US political process