A money ruled republic.

FANG, LEE. "Look Who's Buying The Election." Nation 295.12 (2012): 11-17. Academic Search Complete. Web. 30 Oct. 2012.

The U.S Supreme court's 2010 Citizens United ruling has resulted in the buying out of elections all over the country. Citizens United gave corporations unlimited say in elections by decreasing PAC regulations and opening up loopholes that basically allows money laundering. Billions of dollars have already been spent in just the two years after the ruling towards campaign ads favoring big business candidates. Our nation is slowly becoming a corporate and 1% run nation because as more money goes to politicians the greater the chance of them winning the election and once in office their policies will favor the corporations or individuals that funded them. Ads funded by PACs in the 2010 midterm elections were the main cause for the house turn over. Big investors were found in oil companies who came together in associations like the American Petroleum Institute; unhappy with Obama's Environmentalist views they funded Republicans and pro-oil candidates to take over Washington.The biggest benefactors from Citizens United have been trade associations or 501(c)(6) organizations. These associations are very similar to PACs and Super PACs but the major difference is disclosure; even though restrictions were lessened on PACs they are still required to disclose donors, which often backfires for corporations because they could lose costumers. On the other hand, trade associations are not required to disclose information except in certain cases, and those cases become public a full year after the donation is made, and even then specifics about the corporations who donated are omitted. This means that often only the people involved know what is going on leaving the rest of the public and media oblivious to the extent of corruption and government control these organizations have. The obvious negative affect in this system is that not only can wealthy individuals run our country through PACs but now multi-billion corporations can control Washington through trade associations. However a hidden affect that many people fail to notice is that 501(c)(6) organizations also allow foreign business interference in our government.

"Current FEC rules allow a foreign-owned corporation tospend in an American election as long as its subsidiary is registeredin the United States, the money used for electioneering isgenerated from US-based operations, and the election spendingdecisions are made by American citizens or green-card holders."

Trade associations are able to avoid the above rules because the lack of disclosure, corrupt use of loopholes, and money exchanges makes foreign contributors practically untraceable and impossible to monitor.  Now companies like Aramco, a Saudi Arabian Oil Company, are donating billions to influence U.S elections in their favor without much care for the American citizen. The worst part is that Washington is full of  PAC and 501(c)(6) funded politicians so any attempts to challenge citizens united or raise restrictions are quickly shut down, including Presidential Executive Orders. President Obama suggested passing an Executive Order to force organizations to disclose contributors, and outrage emerged, associations came together to help support legislation that would stop the President from enacting his Order, and the succeeded. If corporations even have control over the President, how can we call ourselves a country "by the people, for the people"?

Lee Fang uses a number of credible quotes from former FEC employees, and statistics concerning specific relevant legislation and reports. It is easy to tell that he is biased and opposed to PACs, but quite honestly the general public is, it's difficult to find supporters of PACs who aren't big businesses. However I feel like his data was well presented and honest, as well as easy to confirm and further research in order to find the opposing view. The most persuasive point he make's is the influence of foreign corporations in our country. Any normal American would be outraged to learn that corporations in Saudi Arabia or China are influencing our government and helping to put people in office, who make decisions concerning our lives. I was certainly disgusted by that news and the level of influence money has in our decisions. Overall it was an extremely informative article and it clearly explains what PACs and trade associations are and how they were developed and the negative affects they have on our country. It also gives insight to how our political process is changing and the effects that Citizens United has had in just two years.

Innovative Education

As a student I can relate to most of the points made by Sir Robinson and I agree. I really enjoyed the fast food learning comparison because there has been many occasions when I felt like my education was too standardized. Thankfully for me class options like AP and being Gifted allowed me to enjoy my education more but whenever I was in a regular class setting and even in some AP classes, I felt like teachers were focused on only teaching us the bare minimum and having us pass rather than exceed. I attribute this to No Child Left Behind so I'm not blaming teachers but if I had been taught in a more creative manner and encouraged to explore and pursue my passions earlier on in life I believe I would have had a more successful school career. I also agree with not everyone needing a college education. Today a college education doesn't guarantee a job, so in some cases it can even be a waste of money. What people need is to pursue their passions and if college isn't part of it then they shouldn't be forced by society to attend.

 

   I have always been fascinated with the universe and how it works, so if I had the resources and time I would  use it to investigate our mysteries. I would love to discover if there is life in other galaxies, and whether the Big Bang Theory is accurate, and facts to settle the whole creation issue. I also believe that if I was able to solve those questions we would have a better society, and we could fix our problems like pollution, wars, over population, and so on. Another benefit is that Knowledge is power so I would be able to use my power to make a positive difference in the world, which is the reason I am interested in politics.

  Attitude definitely has more influence. I might be the most intelligent person in the world but if I don't care and I spend all my time playing video games, all that aptitude will go to waste. On the other hand someone not as intelligent but who is passionate and hard working will become successful and with enough dedication can become as knowledgeable.

   I don't see why it would need to be abolished. People respond to incentives and fear of getting an F is enough incentive for students to try. Society today is built around trying to make kids believe they are amazing, can achieve anything, and giving multiple chances for redemption but the real world doesn't always work that way. You will always be evaluated and a bad day doesn't mean you can get a second chance. Our current grading system is strict enough especially since only the top 30% constitutes as passing, it encourages students to try their absolute best. Problems arise when teachers work around that grading system and make it easier for students giving them a false sense that all of society will always have their success in mind.

   I have definitely encountered problems with procrastination (as the lateness of this post suggests), the absence of a teacher constantly reminding me about homework and the absence of fear from receiving an evil glare or look of disappointment if I turn something in late, has caused my habit of procrastinating to get worse. However I am glad that I noticed this now while I still have time to fix it rather than waiting until I have a job or a difficult college class. It will take some discipline and time from me to learn to manage my time and not wait until the last second but hopefully I will learn it sooner rather than later.

College Decisions

I have dedicated a lot of time considering universities and careers. Eighth grade until tenth I was positive my dream school was Oxford University and I was just going to figure out my career after I was accepted. My plans and goals have now taken a complete turn around.
The three school that would satisfy my political career dreams are Duke University in North Carolina (http://duke.edu/) , Harvard in Massachusetts (http://www.harvard.edu/), and Georgetown in Washington D.C(http://www.georgetown.edu/). One of the criteria I used was name recognition. I have learned from my Mentorship that popularity and connections are extremely important for politicians. Attending a distinguished school eases the minds of voters and let's them think you are smart, eve if you're a horrible candidate. However, I did actually research and those three schools have the best political science programs in the country.
Another thing I considered was location. My dream has always been to study abroad and travel but if I want to run for office voters would feel more comfortable with a person who studied inside the United States. Therefore, I have decided to attend an American school and satisfy my travelling goals through study abroad opportunities with-in the school. One of the main reasons I am interested in Georgetown is for its location in D.C. As I said earlier connections are a valuable part of a politician's life and living in our nations capital will offer the best internship opportunities and experience. Each school requires previous intro to government classes and clear choice of Political Science major plus specific prerequisite classes, and Harvard requires a bachelor's degree before being accepted into the Kennedy School of Gov't.
http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-humanities-schools/political-science-rankings
Harvard is ranked number one in the nation for political science, while Duke is nine, and Georgetown is 39. The criteria for ranking in this particular source was based on peer reviews and surveys. Students were given assessments and based off those assessments political science program rankings were issued. Georgetown and Duke offer a rigorous honors program that consists of more work and a student thesis. I wasn't able to find a program for Harvard but I'm assuming that's because the Kennedy School is already rigorous enough.
Politically interested people are able to join the American Political Science Association or Pi Sigma Alpha, benefits expand far after college and is geared to encourage political careers.
 Scholarships:
1.COAG Scholarship:
2. Coca-Cola Scholars Program
3. Gates Millennium Scholarship
4.Hispanic Scholarship Fund

I believe I can compose a sentence!!!

"Mayra was an open-minded, optimistic, dreamer."

Two weeks of Junk

The past two weeks have literally been the busiest two weeks of my life! I will begin with the luncheon at the country club. Elaine Shannon was amazing! I learned so much about injustices and corruptness that faces our world, and the different views on freedom had by different countries. I will never take for granted our first amendment right after listening to her speak, it's truly astonishing to realize exactly how free we are in this country and the importance of our freedom. Also I saw Butch Miller again and he remembered me! Funny Story: after the Luncheon, as I was driving home, I was dancing and singing in my car and I pulled up to a red light. I continued to be my crazy self at the red light and dance and sing only to turn around as the light turned green and discover Mr. Miller was in the car next to me and he saw me! He just laughed and waved at me as I quickly drove away embarrassed.

Now to Saturday.......
If I didn't know I was a liberal before the "constitution" class given by the Tea Party more than confirmed my political views! I sat there for 8 hours listening to so many skewed facts about our constitution it literally, I'm serious, made me sick. I thank the thought notebook given to me by Mrs. Mellette for keeping me sane throughout the whole ordeal, because I vented to that journal the whole class. At one point I couldn't take it anymore and I had to raise my hand and point out an inaccuracy to the guy giving the class, but being the well educated speaker he was, he intelligently dismissed my question. -_- On the other hand as enraging as the class was, I'm glad I went. If I want to seriously pursue a career in politics, I need to become acquainted with all the different views the public has, and this class was a true eye opener to the basis behind fundamental conservative ideology.
 
Tuesday I went back to the Country Club for Youth Leadership and learned about Etiquette. It was an amazing experience and the only thing I disliked was that the class was given after the Luncheon, because I would have loved to have had all that information while sitting at a table full of important Bank people.
What really kept me busy last week however was Questbridge. I think I was up until at least 1 am everyday, there was days when I was up until 3, working on my application and essays. What made it harder was that it was also competition week, so I would spend all day at school and my afternoons at band practice or a club meeting, and then I would come home to Questbridge and homework, I also had a test for my GSC class that week, and an interview for the US State Senate Youth Program. However, as busy as I was it was a successful week. I finished my application, our band won first place at competition, I felt pretty confident about my test, I found out I was voted most likely to succeed,  and I got a free taco at Taco Bell!
 
 As far as my mentorship is concerned, I love it! Mr. and Mrs. Cooley are two of the most amazing people I have ever met, and I agree with most of their views. I haven't done any glamorous work with them so far but that's what I love. When I applied to Honors Mentorship, my goal was to learn about the real world, and all the details in a job that aren't mentioned by the media. I'm learning what it  really means to run a campaign, and all the tedious non-glamorous work associated with it.