Blowback Reaction

Chalmers Johnson 's essay blowback was very interesting to me. I valued reading this essay because I had always been aware of the retaliation terrorist attacks, but had never been able to put a name to it. Blowback, a term created by the Central Intelligence Agency, is meant to describe the side effects of American Foreign Policy that was kept secret from the American populace. The article highlights a series of incidents including an incident at a Northern Italian sking resort, the 1988 bombing of a PanAm flight in retaliation to a 1986 US bombing, and the 1998 bombings of Osama bin Laden. The last case is particularly interesting as the book says, "Blowback itself can lead to more blowback, in a spiral of destructive behavior. While the US attempt to justify it's response, the result is usually an increase in fighting. In short, blowback describes a retaliation for X in terms of act Y.

A Reaction to Joseph Nye's "Soft Power"

Joseph Nye focuses his essay on the nature of power and how it had developed since John Quincy Adams. Critical to his essay is the division between "hard" and "soft" power. While the former is concerned more with military and economic might, the latter is centered around getting other nations to desire the same outcomes and solutions to problems that you want. Nye credits three sources of soft power: A country's culture, its political values, and its foreign policies. When examing culture, Nye brings up an interesting point with German Editor Josef Joffe who states, " U.S culture ,low-brow or high, radiates outward with a novel twist. Rome's and Soviet Russia's cultural sway stopped exactly at their military borders. America'ssoft power,though, rules over an empire on which the sun never sets."

617-627 reaction

When reading the first few pages I thought I was reading my US American History book from sophmore year. The pages went over how the government began monitoring big business in the form of antitrust policies or "trust busting" which broke up monopolies into smaller businessess that were forced to become more competitive. Examples of these policies include the Interstate Commerce act of1887, the sherman antitrust act, and the Federal Trade Act (1914), which set up the the FTC (watches for price discrimination and pooling agreements). The book then began to focus on what role the government played in shaping the economy, primarily through regulation as seen with the airline industry in the 1970s. The latter half of the reading was a more in depth detail of how the Federal Reserve System Works. Designed to integrate private banks together into one, the system is comprised of 12 reserve banks located in a commercial city.
From a personal standpoint I was a little shocked. While I knew that the government played a role in shaping the economy primarily through trust busting, I did not realize the full impact it could make. The Federal Reserve System I had never quite understood, but after the reading it makes it clear that the system acts as the brakes and gas to slow down or accelerate the economy respectively.

does voting matter?

YES! Voting is important in a variety of different ways. While voter turnout was high throughout much of the first half of the 20th century, there has a decline in the number of people voting since then. The trend started after 1968 election. The main reason for this was because after the Eisenhower and Kennedy years where hope for change in the future was at an all time high. However, after a series of assassinations and disasters abroad (think Vietnam/bay of pigs) people began to lose faith in their government.
One significant theory to explain voter turnout is the median voter theorem, which states that candidates try to gain sway of independent voters in a tight election. This theory is important because voters conclude that there isn’t a difference if they go to the polls or not. As George Wallace said, “There ain’t a dime’s worth of difference between the two candidates.”
Another reason why people don’t show up at the polling stations is because it is often costly. Whether it is the personal registration requirements or the inability to miss work, a broad range of factors influence the voter turnout.
The most profound reason voting is important is because it is a form of mass involvement. As the text states, “Elections help preserve the government’s stability by containing and channeling away potentially more disruptive or dangerous forms of mass political activity.” This quotation illustrates that without the ability to cast a vote in a democratic election, people might be persuaded to throw a coup or send the country into anarchy. In a similar respect, voting puts pressure on incumbent officials to do well as, “his or her actions may provoke popular disobedience.

Are Interest Groups good or bad for democracy?

While Interest groups are often cast in a negative light, in general, they are good for democracy as they have many postives that outweigh the negatives. Interest Groups are individuals who organize together under a common goal. One noteable characteristic is that they do not seek office, but simply seek influence as they press the issues that are important to them.

The most influential ability interest groups have is the ability to lobby congress. Lobbyist for interest groups are able to give important policy information to members of congress. This fact is crucial to understanding the niche they play in Washington. As congressmen (and their staffs) live busy lives voting for different legislation all the time, there is not the ability to know or research all important information. Interest Groups come in as they are able to fill this gap because lobbyist are highly specialized in the subject they are pressing for. By providing networks and building close personal relationships, lobbyists are able to exert their influence on legislation. The concept of lobbying as a whole is important because while congressmen may or may not vote for the interest of the lobbyist, he is making a decision that is much more well informed than had he not met with him. Lobbyist can also perform task such as testifying before congress, emailing campaigns, writing letters/articles, and often times serving as a personal attorney to many congressmen.

A second reason why interest groups are important to democracy is because they mobilize public opinion. Interest Groups can get people involved through a varirty of different ways such as the following: Advertising, Grass Roots Campaigns, Protests (think SCLC in the 60's), PACs, Campaign Activism, and Initiatives and Referendums.

Interest Groups are vital to democracy for a variety of reasons. In sum, they make the government more accountable for its actions as they monitor government programs.While their voice is often heard through the public as they often times have huge bases of supporters (ex.NRA) , they wield much of their power through lobbying. As Ted Kennedy once said government wouldn't be anything without them.

bush's power

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/05/weekinreview/05baker.html

Who is who of congress

house    

speaker:Nancy Pelosi

majority leader-Steny Hoyer

minority leader-John A. Boehner

majority whip-Jim Clyburn

minority whip-Roy Blunt

 

Senate

Majority Leader-Harry Reid

Minority Leader-Mitch McConnell

Majority Whip- Dick Durbin

Minority Whip-Jon Kyl