Monday-
Met for mock trial.
Legalization of Marijuana:
- Medical Marijuana is legal in 24 states and Washington DC
- Anyone over 21 can smoke marijuana in Alaska, Washington State, Washington DC, Colorado, and Oregon
- There is actually one government-run pot store in Washington State, and the proceeds go to building playgrounds
- The trend is most likely going to be more and more states legalizing
- It is illegal to smoke marijuana in public anywhere
- More states want to make it legal so they can get tax dollars
- According to research, marijuana is not as bad as alcohol and tobacco
- Why legalize?
- Medicinal benefits
- Not as dangerous as other drugs
- Benefits of regulation, such as tax revenue
- Current enforcement is expensive, problematic
- People should be able to do it if they want to
- Why keep it illegal?
- Harms young children
- Gateway drug to people using other drugs
- If marijuana is legal, why not legalize another drug
- Morally it is not good
- Why legalize it for medicinal use?
- It makes medical situations for people who are suffering better
- It is a natural drug like any other drug that doctors prescribe
- Safer, less addictive
- Majority of both parties still oppose the legalization of marijuana for recreational use
- Democrats would be more likely to support
- Legalization of marijuana for medicinal use is more widely supported
- 53% of the population support the legalization of marijuana
- In 2011, more than 18 million Americans aged 12 and older reported using the drug within the past month
- That's about 7%
- Dr. Sanjay Gupta:
- In 1970, marijuana was classified as a Schedule 1 substance (the worst drug you could possibly have)
- It has remained that way ever since
- It was put on Schedule 1 because we didn't know how bad it was
- It turns out it isn't that bad, but they just never changed it
- Marijuana is harmful and somewhat addictive
- 9% of people who smoke marijuana become addicted
- 30% of people who smoke cigarettes become addicted
Bernie Sanders:
- Democrat
- Known for his rumpled clothes and messy hair
- Born on September 8th, 1941 in New York
- Parents were Jewish Immigrants and came from Poland
- Youngest of 2 sons
- Brooklyn
- Struggling, working-class family
- Went to James Madison High School
- University of Chicago Law School
- Married Jane O'Meara Sanders in 1988
- Levi, Heath, Carina, and David are their children
- Live in Burlington, Vermont
- Mayor of Burlington in 1981 (3 terms)
- Marched with Martin Luther King Jr. (Ended up in jail because of it)
- 1990- got into the House of Representatives for Vermont
- He was an Independent in the House and Senate
- "Amendment King"- passed most amendments in house
- 8 hour protest- 2010- tax breaks for wealthy
- 2006- elected to the Senate for Vermont
- Longest serving Independent in US History
- Committees in Senate:
- Budget
- Health
- Education
- Labor
- Veteran Affairs
- Issues that he focuses on:
- Increase taxes on the wealthy and use that money to benefit the country as a whole
- America's wealthy should be given back to the Middle Class
- US has the highest child poverty rate of the major countries
- Rebuild infrastructure- benefits for America
- Free college tuition for public universities
- Provide undocumented immigrants paths to citizenship
- Elections are being controlled- Big Bucks in politics
- money from the middle class
- Racial equality
- Gender Equality- 78 cents to a mans dollar
- strengthen and expand social security
- Fight against climate change
- Supports gay marriage
- pro-choice
- $15 minimum wage
- Democratic Socialist
- Presidential Campaign
- May 26, 2015
- 27.5% compared to Clinton's 42.7%
- Democratic Debate
- Sanders declared winner of Debate
- Raised 1.4 million through small donors
- 35,163 new twitter followers in 150 minutes
Chris Christie- Republican
- Governor of New Jersey and strict and popular with the Republicans
- Background
- Born on September 6, 1962 in Newark, NJ
- Raised in Livingston, New Jersey
- Attended University of Delaware for political science
- Married in 1986 to Mary Pat Foster
- Went back to NJ to study law
- 4 children
- Mendham, NJ is where he resides
- Professional Background
- Began political career as a freeholder
- Governor of NJ
- WAS a moderate Republican who believed in Pro-Choice- Doesn't now
- Ambitious newcomer to state GOP politics
- First Electoral Campaign- did terribly
- Became lobbyist for energy companies
- 2001: Bush nominated him to serve as a US attorney for NJ
- Bush only gave Chris job for all his fundraising
- Headed aggressive investigations against corporate public officials
- Focused on ethics
- After more than 6 years as NJ's state attorney ran for governor and pursued bigger goals and resigned in 2008
- Governor for NJ beginning in 2009
- Platform Ideas
- Pro-Life
- Illegal immigrants tracked by FedEx packages
- Raising minimum wage
- No marijuana in any state
- Against gay marriage
- Small businesses
- Strict bail for violent offenders, but free bail for nonviolent
- Against child pornography and human trafficking
- Ban box-job application
- Drug addiction is a disease, treat it instead of putting them in jail
- No common core
- Extend school till 6 p.m. and 12 months a year
Climate Change
- Long term change in Earth's climate through human activities, greenhouse gases, melting glaciers stronger storms, air, water, land are linked.
- Began in late 20th Century
- Caused by human activities
- In the 70's, people were warned of an ice age
- CO2 emissions don't help this matter
- 150,000 will die of heat related causes at the end of the century.
- 1,000 tons of carbon dioxide are dumped every second
- 1 million species face extinction
- CO2 often times comes from car emissions
- Poverty helps the environment
- Democrats
- Clean Energy Jobs promoted
- Conserve public lands
- Reduce carbon pollution
- Clean air and water safeguards
- Climate Change is bad
- Strong regulations are needed to protect the environment
- Believe climate change is occurring and problem is sped up by humans
- Government needs to do more to help slow down
- Republicans
- Usually don't acknowledge
- Say it happens naturally
- Don't think that the US should address the problem
- Strong environmental laws harm the economy
- Believe climate change is more of a natural phenomenon
- Government should leave issue alone as it can hurt businesses.
Observations make it clear that climate change is occurring, and rigorous scientific research demonstrates that greenhouse gases emitted by human activities are the primary driver. 97% of the scientific community. Temperatures are rising. Sea levels are rising. They affect us all. Greenland ice sheet is rapidly melting. Antarctica lost 118 tons in 2014. 75 billion tons in Alaska per year. Ice caps are melting
Abortion
- The deliberate termination of human pregnancy
- No mother can get an abortion legally if it becomes illegal
- If it is legal it is the mother's choice
- In the early 1800's, Britain legalized abortion to save the life of the mother
- The US did the same
- Abortion was determined legal on January 22, 1973 under the 14th Amendment
- Jane Roe vs. Wade
- Pro-Life is lower than Pro-Choice in terms of support
- 1/2 of pregnancies not intended - 4 in 10 end with abortion
- Overall abortion rate decreased 8% between 200-08
- Increased 18% with poor women
- Decreased 28% with wealthier women
- 9 in 10 abortions occur within 12 weeks
- 58% of women who get abortion are in their twenties
- 61% already have one or more kids
- 56% are unmarried and living alone
- 69% are economically challenged
- 73% have some kind of religious beliefs
- Democrats
- Pro-Choice
- Support a mother's own decision
- Woman's right and should be legal
- Right to privacy and own body
- Life begins after baby is born
- Republicans
- Pro-Life
- Right to life
- Oppose any organization that promotes/ performs abortion
- Illegal and restricted by government
- Baby's rights
- Rape, incest, and life of mother
- Stop funding planned pregnancy
- Abortion- Roe v Wade=1973
- Supreme Court can overturn
- Double Homicide when pregnant mother is killed
- 70 abortions per 1000 pregnancies
- Parent must be informed before abortion in Iowa
- Vietnam has the most abortions
- Preventative Options
- Abstinence
- Contraception
- Morning after pill- Very controversial
- Safe and effective
- available at health centers and drugstores
- costs vary from $30-60 for the pill and $500-900 for IUD insertion
- Other Options
- Interim foster care
- Adoption
- Raise the child
- Reach out to father to see if he or his family would want to raise the child
- Infant Save Haven Laws- leaving newborn baby at hospital
Joe Biden is not running for President. Ben Carson has trumped Trump in the Iowa polls by 8%.
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