The Past and Future of North Korea

 

        Since World War II North Korea has been through a lot. After Japan evacuated Korea the Soviet Union entered North Korea and the U.S. entered South Korea to protect them from the north. In 1943 the Peoples Republic of Korea was declared and the Soviets left. However the peace didn't last because the south declared independence and North Korea invaded South Korea. Led by, Soviet trained, Kim Il-sung. After the loss of two million lives, an armistice ended the war in 1953 and from then on North Korea hid from the rest of the world.
        In the early 1990's North and South Korea agreed to join the United Nations but North Korea refuses to allow access to suspected nucular weapon facilities. In 1994 Kim Il-sung died and was succeeded by his son Kim Jung-il. Kim Jung-il agreed to freeze nucular programs in exchange for fuel and two nucular reacters, which the US provided. In 1996 great famine hit North Korea and the UN aided the wounded nation. Thousands of people starved or died of disease.
         Today, North Korea is under the rein of Kim Jung-il's son Kim Jung-un. The country's economy and people are still hurting from the famine. Orphaned children live on the streets freezing or starving to death. Piles of garbage lie everywhere and the cities are filthy. Department stores have merchandise but it is all for show and none of it is for sale. It is just used to show on TV to convince their people that they live in a country of plenty. Kim Jung-un is a less respected leader than his predecessors and because of this more people are willing to participate in illegal actions.
         Change is stirring in North Korea. More and more people are willing to break the law and buy illegal items like thumb drives with American movies on them. These movies show North Koreans what it is like to live in a world where people are happy and free. Because of these movies and other things I believe a revolution is coming. The people are going to take over the government or just flee the country. People in North Korea have seen what the outside world is like and they are no longer with their situation. I think change is coming fast for North Korea.

Sources:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-15278612
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/fighting_words/2010/02/a_nation_of_racist_dwarfs.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/secret-state-of-north-korea/

Majority Party

In the House of Representatives it would be advantageous to be part of a majority party because the majority party sets the agenda, holds more position chairs, and chooses the Speaker of the House. Legislation can pass in the house but not the senate or vice versa  for a plethora of reasons. For instance, the Senate can kill a bill with a filibusterer even if the majority is in favor of the bill. Also, the House Rules Committee can stop a bill from passing even if it passed in the Senate.

Campaign finance reform

Voting Behavior and Linkage Instutions

a.  Voter turnout is directly related to age and education. Older people are much more interested in government activity and are more likely to vote in elections than young people. This is most likely because young people do not feel the pressure of civic duty and many don't believe their vote makes a difference.  Similarly, the more educated a person is the more likely they are to vote. However, uneducated minorities are more likely to vote than uneducated whites.

b.  Citizen requirements decrease voter turnout. America is a melting pot of people and cultures. Census experts predict that there will be a minority majority, minorities will out number the original white european immigrants, by 2040. There are thousands of immigrants who have lived in the U.S. since they were children who still can not vote. This lowers the voting population significantly.

c.  Political Parties link citizens to the government through elections and information. Citizens connect to each other and the government through common ideals. Political parties send citizens information. Citizens vote in their parties primaries.

Interest Group Techniques

         Interest groups use techniques such as litigation to achieve their objectives. The technique they choose is based on their resources, characteristics and goals. Litigation is the process of taking legal action.  This means prosecution and law suits. A group would use this because it does not require a large influence or number of people. Another technique is campaign contribution or the collection of funds to support a candidate, political party, or policy. This is used by large groups with a lot of money who can directly influence candidates. The third is Grassroots Lobbying and mass mobilization this is in a sense advertising and promoting. They use the people rather than going directly to legislation, the interest group lobbies then goes by word of mouth. Interest groups with a lot of people but not as much money use this technique.
         The NRA, national rifle association, for instance, uses mainly campaign contributions.  They raise money to support candidates and policies that support loose gun laws. According to statistics, by the Washington Post, the NRA has a significant influence over congress. They donated over $650,000 to supporters in 2012 and 80% of senators funded by the NRA won the seat. The NRA has donated over $4.6 million since 1990. The NRA uses campaign contributions rather than the other two techniques because they have a vast amount of money and it gains them favor with specific politicians. They also use grass roots but in our economy it is more important to get political support than citizen support. Litigation is unnecessary for the NRA because they have a lot of support.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/politics/nra-congress/

Senator Ron Wyden

Ron Wyden is Oregon’s U.S. Senator. He was elected Oregon Senator 1996 and is 64 years old. Prior to his position in the U.S. Senate Wyden served as a representative in the house from 1981-1996. His parents are Jewish immigrants who fled from Nazi Germany. He was born in Wichita, Kansas and grew up in Palo Alto, California. He is a democrat who supports pro choice, creating more jobs and wildlife protection. A couple of bills he has recently sponsored are the intelligence oversight and surveillance reform act and the high technology job preservation act of 2013. Three of his most important current issues include; the fight against child trafficing, increased timber harvest, and protection of old growth and sensitive areas. Right now Wyden is focusing most on increased timber harvest. This project aims to create more jobs, better protection of woodlands and a more sustainable harvest. I would like to ask Ron Wyden what he is currently doing to stop child trafficing and how much success he is having. I would also like to ask him about the most recent bill he has sponsored.