Obama to boost reading at D.C. library in low-income neighborhood

http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/30/politics/president-barack-obama-anacostia-library-visit/index.html

President Barack Obama will soon visit one of the poorest neighborhoods in Washington D.C.. He wants to try and boost reading among children to try and help the education system. According to a census, 81% of DC fourth graders read below grade level. The first part of the Presidents plan is to make digital books more accessible to children. A study recently found that in an average middle income home, families averaged about 13 books per home,  whereas in low-income neighborhoods the ratio is one book for every 300 children. The second part of the Presidents plan is to give a library card to every student. This will allow them to have wifi and books.

This is related to AP Gov because it involves our President and our education system. The President is able to make a bigger impact on the public's opinion as well as Congress by personally doing this.

In my opinion, what the president is doing is fantastic. I have always been in a situation where I can access virtually any book I please without having to think twice about it. I cannot imagine what it would be like no to have that privilege. I cannot believe how high the below average percentage is but I am thankful that our government is finally doing something about it.

Did climate change cause California drought?

http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/08/opinions/sobel-california-drought/index.html

Two weeks ago, California governor Jerry Brown ordered mandatory statewide restrictions on water use for the first time in the states history. California is currently going through severe drought, and has been for four years now. What California has, is going on throughout many of the world. Lack of clean fresh water is a problem in many underdeveloped countries. Scientists have recently argued if the drought was caused by climate change. A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration author said firmly that it is not.

This is related to AP Gov because climate change is a very controversial topic in our government. Also, the article stated that drought is one of the leading conflicts causing the Syrian war.

In my opinion, climate change is happening. However, in my human geography class, we learned that climate change is a reoccurring event in our atmosphere. We are currently in the Holocene which is a "warming period", eventually, we will go back into a cooling period.

Obama: Equal pay for first ladies too

http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/15/politics/obama-touts-equal-pay-in-north-carolina/index.html

While in Charlotte North Carolina, President Obama discussed equal pay for women to the invite-only audience. He made it very clear that he strongly believes in equal pay for both genders. He described a personal account of his grandmother who worked in  a bank for twenty years keeping the same job while training younger men who continually got promoted. He also said, "But before we were in the White House, I wanted to make sure Michelle got paid as much as she could ... If she had a bigger paycheck, then that made us able to pay the bills," Obama said. "Why would I want my spouse or my daughter discriminated against? That doesn't make any sense.” 

This is related to Ap Gov because it relates to the President and his job and all the important things he has to do on a daily basis.

I think equal pay for men and women is extremely important.  Unequal pay is outdated and irrelevant in todays society. Men and women should be paid equally and given the same benefits. We are living in a progressive world and you would think that wage equality would be a no brainer. 

 

Did the Boston terrorists get help building bombs?

http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/09/politics/boston-terrorists-tsarnaev-brothers-help-building-bombs/index.html

After the Boston bombing last year, many people still wonder if the terrorists had help performing the act. In a motion filled last May, federal prosecutors asserted that interviews with Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, terrorist, "provided reason to believe that the Tsarnaevs had accomplices". Now, a year after the tragic shooting, Boston police commissioner Ed Davis told CNN he suspected the brothers had help to carry out their plan. CNN's justice reporter Evan Perez said, " Someone who might have either assisted in making the bomb, perhaps helped test it, perhaps the components-- that's part of the investigation thats still ongoing, because they've never closed those questions".

This is related to our AP Gov class because it involves our Federal government system. Specifically the Judicial branch because federal prosecutors were involved. The brothers had several interviews with the FBI as well.

I think that even though his trial has ended and he was found guilty, the court needs to reevaluate his trial and see if they can find some more suspects that could have assisted him. This may be a waste of time since all the drama about the bombing has died down. Im sure people who were affected personally, would appreciate more of an explanation as to what happened, how and why.

Michelle Obama: My challenge to you

http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/26/opinions/michelle-obama-kids-health/index.html

Five years ago, first lady, Michelle Obama started "Lets Move!" a program to address childhood obesity. About one in three kids in this country is still overweight or obese -- for African-American and Hispanic kids, it's nearly 40%.  The US still spend nearly $200 billion a year on obesity-related health care costs, and that figure will jump to nearly $350 billion a year by 2018 -- a 75% increase in just three years."We need to protect the progress we've made on healthier school lunches, and we need more schools to find new ways to get kids active before, during, and after the school day. We need more cities to create safe walking routes to schools and restore bike paths and hiking trails so families can get active. And we need to be more creative in spreading the word about healthy eating and physical activity," -Michelle Obama

This is related to AP Gov because of the fact that the President's wife has accomplished all of this. I'm sure she consulted him about it so he must have had a say also. This initiative has changed many peoples life starting with just simply changing the school lunches. 

I believe this program is good for our nation. We are known as "fat" and America should not be given that connotation. I personally have not eaten a school lunch since the time she made these changes but from what I can tell, they are much healthier. I overall think this initiative is very beneficial for our county and hopefully when the next President is inaugurated, the program will continue.

NC switching all high school students to 10-point grading scale this fall

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/education/article10215698.html

Recently, the NC Board of Education voted to switch all high school students to a ten point grading scale. Meaning that 100-90 is an A, 80-89 is a B and so forth. Originally this change was only going to be for 2015 rising freshman, but after much deliberation the school board decided it would be not only unfair, but impossible. It would be impossible because there are many classes in which students of all grades attend. The change will not apply to grades put in before the 2015-2016 school year. Parents and school officials have lobbied the state of dropping the seven point scale and it has finally passed.

This is related to our AP gov class because, we have just finished discussing lobbying and all that lobbyists do. Not only have official lobbyists been lobbying but normal people as well. This is related to our state government as well.

I think this change is fantastic. I have always wanted a ten point scale, and I am so happy it is finally going to happen. There has been many instances where I received a 90-92 on an important grade and was worried that it was going to bring my overall grade to a B. Also, it will help North Carolinian students to become more successful when applying to colleges because many other states have also adopted the ten point grading scale.

What the economy means for 2016

http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/06/politics/democrats-economy-2016/index.html

On Friday, March 6th, positive labor market news was released, going beyond most economists' expectations. 295,000 jobs were created in February and the unemployment is the lowest since May 2008. In 2010, the unemployment rate was the all-time high of 10% and has been steadily dropping to 5.5% since then. This proves  that beyond popular belief, Obama has made a difference in our economy. This will make the democrats have an easier time being reelected and to gain control of congress. With the unemployment rate stabilizing, Republicans are now looking to focus on issues other than the economy, such as foreign policy, as they head to 2016.  Economists' predict that we will see the unemployment rate go back up because people have seen these good numbers. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi hailed Friday's jobs report as a "momentous milestone in the longest uninterrupted stretch of private job creation in our history," before remarking that "more needs to be done." 

This is related to US government and politics because it involves the elections and the President. This will be great information to use for campaigning for the democrats as they try to regain control in Congress. This makes President Obama look remarkably wetland people will see it as a sign to vote for the democratic party again.

I am so thankful that unemployment in the United States has dropped. Our economy was horrendous when Obama took office and this article has made me realize that he has actually done something very good for our country. I believe that Obama has been an average President. He was able to get the economy back up; however, he did not accomplish many of the things he proposed to do.