Daily Show: Longformers & Scared Old People

Larry Wilmore claims that the birther controversy isn’t racist — it’s just an opportunity for Republicans to scare old people.

Longformers – Scared Old People – The Daily Sho…, posted with vodpod

Video Glossary: Earmark

MPSL VLog: Demography and Representation

Every 10 years, the government conducts a census to measure population changes.  How do population changes affect American Democracy?  Professor Gaffaney explains.

America Will No Longer Be the World’s Largest Economy?!

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), China will surpass the United States and become the world’s number one economy by 2016. Rick Horowitz of the Huffington Post examines this issue in his blog by comparing the Untied States economy to a  sinking ship. A rising China along with a declining America marks an end to an era…or does it? Free-trade policies are arguably the source for both China’s rapid economic rise of and America’s rapid fall. As such, is it time for the United States to embrace  a more protectionist economic policy? Protectionism is an economic policy in which a nation discourages imports and foreign influence of domestic markets via methods such as tariffs on imported goods and trade embargoes .

However, protectionist policies might start a trade war with China which could be extremely problematic for the United States considering China’s colossal manufacturing base along with its rapid economic and technological growth. Moreover, the United States is heavily indebted to China so trade embargoes are practically infeasible. Theoretically, China could simply dump the $900 billion U.S. Treasury bonds they currently hold at a loss triggering a panic to sell mentality among the other countries that also hold U.S. Treasury bonds, in turn clasping the American economy outright.

What should the United States do to remain the world’s number one economy?

–TERRANCE MULLINS

Weekly Quiz: Test Yourself on this Week’s Events

The weekly quiz is now live in Mypoliscilab. Good luck!

Weekly Poll: Your Opinion on the Gas Problem

As gas prices continue to rise, many wonder if there will be any relief soon; some think high gasoline prices are likely to impact Obama’s re-election bid. What do you think?

The Colbert Report – Obama Needs Charts and Graphs

Barack Obama needs to use graphs and charts in his speeches if he wants to keep people’s attention. (02:24)

Question: Should political speeches concerning policy be judged on their content or their delivery method?

The Balance of Power and the War Powers Resolution of 1973

John McCain, the Republican United States Senator from Arizona, travelled to Libya this week and called for a substantially elevated role for the U.S. in the two month long conflict.  The official policy of the United States is that U.S. involvement in the conflict is defined by United Nation’s Security Council vote to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya for the purpose of protecting innocent lives.  More recently, the U.S. has handed over operational control to NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization) in an attempt to shift the focus of the world away from U.S. involvement.  The high profile visit of a U.S. Senator and former presidential candidate (and senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee) brings to mind the inherent conflict between Congress and the Executive branch over the war powers of the nation.

The Constitution gives Congress the power to “declare war” and to maintain the armed forces of the nation.  However, the power of the President to command U.S. forces as the Commander-in-Chief is also clear in the Constitution.  This clarity of the Constitution is clouded by passage of the War Powers Resolution of 1973 which places specific limitations on the President’s powers as Commander-in-Chief.  The Resolution requires the President to notify Congress within 48 hours of the introduction of U.S. forces, and limits the use of such forces to sixty days, after which Congressional approval is required for further operations.  James M. Lindsay provides an interesting discussion on the constitutional questions surrounding the contested war powers of Congress and the President in his blog “Is Operation Odyssey Dawn Constitutional? Part V”.  Politicization of President Obama’s policy in Libya is likely to grow in intensity in the days and weeks to come given the upcoming election year and the number of Republicans vying for the position of Commander-in-Chief.  What do you think, was John McCain’s visit to Libya a Constitutionally protected act by a member of Congress and citizen of the United States?  Should individual members of Congress openly question the policies of the President in such a high profile manner when American forces are actively engaged in an internationally approved mission?  I would like to know what you think.

–Dennis Falcon

Video Glossary: Public Opinion

Workers of America Unite; You Have Nothing To Lose But Your Chains!

Communism is an economic and socio-political theory proposed by Karl Marx that aims for a classless society structured on the end of wage labor and private property. Communist theory states that the main producers of wealth in society are the working class who are also perpetually exploited and marginalized by the unproductive capitalist owners of production. According to Marx, the only way to solve the problems caused by capitalism is for the working class to unite and overthrow the capitalist system itself via violent revolution.

For Marx, the end of capitalism is inevitable as the class conflict between those who have and those who have not caused by capitalism will ultimately lead to its destruction. However, class conflict in the United States is practically nonexistent as the American working-class has been tricked into accepting blame for the nation’s economic woes. The middle-class is too busy blaming middle-class pension plans and labor unions to remember the upper-class  actually caused the great recession. As it stands now, public teachers and firefighters are to blame not private bankers or hedge managers. Not surprisingly, no one from the public sector has been prosecuted for the illegal activities that ultimately caused the economic recession.

CNN’s Lisa Desjardins posted a blog examining what the current deficit debate is really about and the consequences each plan would certainly have for middle-class Americans. However, how democratic is the United States when justice, safety, education, health-care, and representation are determined by ones economic class? The American people have stood idly by for decades as:

• Corporate lobbyists maintain more influence in Congress than the American people
• The U.S. Congress facilitates the outsourcing of American middle-class jobs
• Corporations receive bailouts and/or subsidies devoid of strings
• Tax cuts for the extremely wealthy are paid for by cutting services for the poor and elderly
• Colossal military spending goes unimpeded while the average American soldier is underpaid

How can the average worker achieve the “American dream” within the current capitalist system? Should the American working-class  consider communism as a viable option?

–TERRANCE MULLINS