Saturday, April 30, 2011

Reading Review: Vocabulary!

Political Culture-way of thinking about how political and economic life should be carried out.
Political Ideology-set of beliefs about what policies the government should pursue.
Equality of Opportunity- Gives people an equal chance to succeed.
Equality of Results- Making certain people get the same result.
Civic Duty- Belief that one has an obligation to participate in civic and political affairs.
Progressive Culture- Belief that personal freedom and solving social problems are more important than religion.
Orthodox Culture-  morality and religion should be of decisive importance.
Political Efficacy- Belief that you can take part in politics.
Middle America- Average middle class americans.
Silent Majority- large amount of people in a country or group who do not express their views publicly.
SES- Measures a person's work experience and family economics compared to that of others.
Christian Coalition- Offers people of faith the opportunity to have an impact on issues they care about.
Gender Gap- Difference in political views between men and women.
Liberal- Favorable to change and reform. Opposite of conservative.
Conservative-open to change and holds to traditional views.
Libertarian- Upholds individual liberty
Populist- Member of a political party that represents the interest of ordinary people.
Political Elite- Person with disproportionate share of political power.
New Class- Describes the ruling class of beauracrats and communist party functionaries which usuallt arise in a stalin communist state.
New Deal Coalition- Alignment of interest groups and voting blocs that supported the new deal.
Random Sample- every person has an equal chance.
Sampling Error- Difference in results when a random sample is taken at the same time.
Weighting-adjustment made in order to take account of special circumstances.
Quota Sample- Created by gathering a number of people from categories.
Focus Groups- Diverse group of people brought together to provide inscentive.
Instant Response Polling- designed to get instant results.
Push Poll- attempts to influence people under the guise of doing a poll.
Bandwagon Effect- People that will do something jsut because others do it.
Refusal Rate- Proportion of people who refuse to give up the sought information.
Exit Polls- based on interviews held on election day with randomly selected voters.
Tracking Poll- Conducted each day to assess trends caused by advertising
Skewed Question- A question that creates wrong results.
Context Effect- People behave differently in different situations.
Question Framing- How a surveyor decides to ask for data.
Saliency- Degree to which an issue is important to an individual of a group.
Help America Vote Act 2002- Helped make the voting system less complex.
Moter Voter Law- Enables prospective voters to register when they get a license.
15th amendment- Prohibits denial to vote based on race, sex, or ethnicity.
Literacy Test- citizens must show they can read before registering to vote.
Poll Tax- citizens pay a tax before registering to vote.
Grandfather Clause- If your grandfather could vote you can vote.
White Primary- Practice of keeping blacks from voting
Voting Rights Act 1965- Outlawed voting discrimination.
19th amendment- cannot be denied to vote based on sex.
Voting Rights Act 1970- No prerequisites for voting.
26th amendment- voting age to 18.
23rd amendment- Citizens of the District of Columbia can vote.
Disfranchisement- revocation of the right to vote by someone.
Australian Ballot- reduce fraud in voting.
Activist- People who participate in all forms of politics.
Demographics- Characteristics of the human population.

Friday, April 29, 2011

Don't Ask, Don't Tell: Is It Over?

What is the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Policy?

Don't Ask, Don't tell is pretty self-explanatory. It refers to gay, lesbian and bisexual members of the military who wish to keep their sexuality private. (Homosexuals are denied acceptance into the military). 


"Don't Ask" simply means that military officials should not question or pester members of the military about their sexuality. "Don't Tell" means exactly that.


A Pentagon study released on Tuesday concluded that gay troops could serve openly without hurting the ability of the United States armed forces to fight. Recently, senate has been pushed and pressured to repeal the policy. They justify this by saying a person's sexuality will not affect their ability to fight for our country.



US Defense Secretary, Gates, as well as teh Pentagon study agree that the policy should be removed.

President Obama on Repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell


How Does This Relate to Class?

This relates to class because it deals with decisions that must be made. Depending on different political beliefs and political ideologies, people may feel differently about repealing the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy.


Questions to Think About:

* How do you feel about the policy?
* If you were a gay, lesbian, or bisexual wanting to enlist in the military, how would you feel? Is this in any way a violation of your rights?