Blessy Chandy- energy

Story County Ethanol Plant Could Become Nation's Largest

soon to become the nation's biggest ethanol plant in DuPont. it is said to be a $200 million plant, that has the capacity to grpw 30 million gallons of ethonol. it will be located next to LIncolnWay Energy. the may share same infastructure, but it it is expected to have more capacity than other plants. the new DuPont plant plans on using corn residue as their main source, and to make this happen they have contacted more than 500 farmers. this will increse iowa's income and lower the uneployment level, because the plant will need more than 150 seasonal workers. even though things will be going well in Iowa, not everything is great in D.C. because there are oppositions from livestock producers not fully liking the increse in grain prices. while they are arguing others will be finding new hibrids that will be ables to plant more crops on the same acre. and so begins the evolution of Ethanol.

what i think this will do is, it will increase the prices of corn and other grains because their market will go up. even though it is predicted, i don't fully agree with it beacuse once on thing is increased everythin will increase alng with it. like the produce, and meats. this connects with our study beacuse we are talk8ing about interst groups that will later on take in the interests of theses other farmers.

Environment- Duncan Wyrwas

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/02/us/auctions-introduce-market-forces-to-conservation-but-hunters-cry-foul.html?ref=earth&_r=0

In the state of Utah, it's getting harder and harder to hunt. Instead of being able to buys tags easily, a new auction system has been put in place in order to limit the amount of deer being killed. It's also harder to apply for an auction when people who come from a lot of money can pay their way into auctions instead of having to wait. Programs have been put in place where land owners can sell private licenses for large amount of money, allowing them to make a profit, and meaning less people go hunting. This in turn is supposed to raise the amount wildlife available to hunt.
This has to do with the concept of elitism, where the people with the most money, have the most power. They can easily buy licenses and people without money have to wait years in order to get one. I think this is unfair to the average person who wants to hunt. If people to hunt they should be allowed to without having to go through this complicated system.

Economics- Jacks

Sales at Nation's Retailers Fell Short of Expectations in November

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/30/business/sales-at-nations-retailers-fall-short.html?ref=unitedstateseconomy


Summary: This article is about major chains like Macy's, Nordstrom, and Target all experience significant declines. Through the Thanksgiving and Black Friday period, the early period of the shopping season, rates are mixed. Some sources are saying the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy may have some kind of effect on the consumer this holiday season.

Course Connection and Reaction: In my opinion it is to early to tell whether people really want to get out and shop this year or not. Black Friday marks the start of a major shopping period but that doesn't necessarily mean that everyone goes. In connection to the course, chapter 17 describes economics in America. The consumers, workers, producers, and policymakers all play a role in politics. Americans also have a desire for more money, and essentially different policies result on how much money circulates throughout the country.

ecenomics-Max

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/03/business/some-economists-doubt-dire-effects-from-tax-increases.html?ref=us


the above link is about the hit the tax hikes and other changes will affect the investing market. the writer talkes about how the history of tax increases affecting the investiment market is little to none. seeing as most americans have no investments in taxable areas (only 14.7 percent of American households have mutual funds in taxable accounts, down from as high as 23.9 percent in 2001). the article goes on to say that the 2003 legislation that would be "revolutionary" in how people would vastly invest more due to a lack of many of the taxes put on dividens. the legislation actually helped a small ammount in getting higher investment rates.... but was nothing revolutionary. most of the changes to come are not investment related (An increase in the payroll tax, for example, could remove$95 billion from the take-home pay of Americans). overall the article tells the investers of America to calm down and continue to invest in the US.

the fact that investing wont be hit hard by new legislation is great news that may very well keep businesses afloat or even save them from future turmoil. the news makes all stories about the coming legislation seem as if the investers of the US are going to be ruined and will invest somewhere else as a result (which would probably slide the US into another ecenomic downturn) however thankfully this is not the case. the course connections would be that the media only reports a distorted version of this ( if it bleeds it leads), also the future legislation would have come from the congress (duhh) the congressmen could have very well been effected by the PACs of corporations looking out for their investers, hence the investing area of our economy was widely left out of new legislation (also because of it being such a key role in our economic system). but no doubt PACs run by investment minded men had some say in this new legislation.

Health Care - Josh Sumhlei

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/29/business/medicare-is-faulted-in-electronic-medical-records-conversion.html?pagewanted=1&ref=healthcarereform

President Obama is looking to reform the health care system of America. An important part of his plan is the implementation of electronic medical records. People who support electronic records claim that electronic records will improve patient care and reduce the costs of medical services. Some more benefits include reducing medical errors and duplicative tests. The problem with electronic records is the possiblity of abuse and fraud. Medicare officials have yet to create safeguards that would squander the issues of fraud and abuse. Apparently, there is an incentive program included in Medicare which is supposed to encourage hospitals to use electronic records. Hospitals must prove their electronic systems work well to qualify for payments from the incentive program though. So far, safeguards have not been developed to make sure that information regarding a hospital's electronic records systems is accurate. Also, the article states that hospitals are misusing electronic records and are actually charging more for services. Republicans in the House would like to suspend the incentive program until everything gets figured out so that taxpayer money won't be wasted. However, the secretary of health and human services, Kathleen Sebelius, says that would be unfair to those who put billions of dollars into installing systems and educating staffs.

There are a few course connections with this article. First of all, it says in Chapter 13 of the textbook that the Department of Health and Human Services is a cabinet department and Kathleen Sebelius is the secretary of that department. Also, health care is an issue that is on President Obama's policy agenda. Finally, we have discussed several times in class how the government is becoming more involved with issues. In this case, the government is becoming more involved with health care since it is trying to reform health care by spending money. I think this article did a terrible job of describing the benefits of electronic records. It did not describe exactly how electronic records would improve patient care or lower the cost of health care. The article also was kind of confusing when explaining the incentive program and the negative effects of the electronic records. I still do not understand how electronic records would improve health care. From an uneducated standpoint, I don't see the point in using electronic records because devices can malfunction and be hacked. I don't really see what's wrong with the good old fashioned paper.

Jonathan Gunti-Social Welfare

http://www.cnbc.com/id/41969508/Welfare_State_Handouts_Make_Up_One_Third_of_U_S_Wages

This article talks about are increase in welfare generally. Taking into account social security, medicare and unemployment insurance. So far it makes up 35 percent but it explains that we are down from what the U.K is at which is 41 percent. The economist gave the U.S a couple choices to decrease welfare. First wages would have to increase or welfare would have to decrease by 500 billion dollars. The republican led house tried to get a bill to pass decreasing federal spending but was stopped at the senate and white house.

Class connection-The article makes many connections the first connection is showing the rule of checks and balances the republican tries to pass a bill cutting spending and it is rejected by the democratic senate and white house. Second, this also shows how are government is in a gridlock even if one passes a bill the others can reject it. The U.S government has a big job in cleaning up welfare and both parties are locking heads. I believe that the republican run house was right to pass the bill in trying to reduct spending. Since I do not know the specific of the bill I cannot say if it was worth passing but the idea or reduction looks to be the right one.

Economy

Article: The GOP is tone-deaf on fiscal cliff
http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/01/opinion/hogue-fiscal-cliff/?hpt=zite_zite5_featured

Summary: This article discusses President Obama's plans to increase taxes and put spending cuts in motion if an agreement on the fiscal cliff is not met by January.  Republicans do not agree with this strategy and claim this will take us closer to the cliff.  The article also talks about how instead of helping people in need with financial aid, the Republicans make them seem lazy and portray them as freeloaders even though this is not always the case.  The Republican party is portrayed as very narrow minded in this article and not willing to compromise.

Connection: This article is a perfect example of gridlock.  In a divided government like we have, it is hard for the two parties to come to a compromise.  Therefore, little progress is ever made.  I do not understand this topic enough to take any side.  However, I know that our government cannot continue to be stubborn and expect changes to happen.  The Republicans seem especially stagnate and I believe they need to come to at least some sort of compromise.  There are even some Republican congressmen who have decided they should vote along with the democrats, which I believe is necessary for change to occur.

Health and Enviornment Megan Uhrich

Recent studies have shown that chemicals put in furniture to keep them flame retardant have been linked to causing cancer and hormone problems. They found that the harmful chemicals are found in 85% of sofa cushions that then migrate into the air that we breathe with unhealthily high levels. The reason for these chemicals is a single California rule about the combustibility of the chairs. And in recent tests the scientists have concluded that though it does keep the foam from lighting for a longer period of time, once it starts on fire the fire is more dangerous than it would have been.

CLASS CONNECTION: The EPA is spending a lot of government revenue to ensure that our enviornment is safe for everyone. the EPA was created in 1970 during Nixion’s Era. Also the government had a Superfund, which is a fund created by congress to clean up hazardous waste sights, and was formed by taxing chemical products like the ones used in the flame retardant. But through the money that the EPA has put into the experiments, they have found that the retardant is extremely toxic and harmful when caught on fire. I think they should find a different way to resist the flames than a toxic chemical concoction.

Environment- Allie Weis

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-court-storm-water-20121202,0,6857234.story

The Supreme Court will hear a case from Los Angeles to decide for the first time who can be responsible for polluted storm water that runs into rivers and bays. In 1987 congress expanded the Clean Water Act to include storm water. Whats happening is that rivers in LA are showing signs of human waste and high levels of other toxic materials.  Storm water runoff pollutes rivers and bays along the coast more than anything else. LA agrees the rivers are polluted but disagrees about what the cause of it is. LA county flood district control believes that much of it comes from upstream and that you cant pin point where it comes from. The supreme court is showing issue in this topic, two cases will be heard about similar topics this week. two years ago the supreme court was not interested in this topic, but now the 9th circuit held the county responsible for the pollution so the supreme court has offered to hear their appeal.

This relates to the duties of the supreme court. They are responsible for interpreting the laws, and in this case interpreting the Clean Water Act. The Clean Water Act includes pollution of storm waters, and since this case is trying to figure out the source of the pollution, the supreme court has to decided whether or not this law is being carried out by LA. I think that it would be nearly impossible to identify the exact cause of water pollution in a body of moving water like a river, but then again maybe there is some scientific way to figure out where it started. I think that it is important to consider the case because storm water is part of the law, but I think it is unlikely that the source of pollution will be found to be per curiam.

Nicholas Baer - National Security

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/02/world/middleeast/us-is-stumbling-in-effort-to-cut-syria-arms-flow.html?pagewanted=1&ref=us

This article is about how Iran and Iraq are not cooperating with American Forces to stop weapons and deadly arms into Syria from Iran over Iraqi airspace. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, obtained an agreement from the Iraqi prime minister to inspect aircraft that might be containing deadly warfare being transported to Syria from Iranian aircraft. However, this agreement has not been carried out well seeing as the Iraqi's have only inspected two planes and have been accused of tipping the plane's off before they leave, being corrupt. Also, the Iraqi's complain that it is too expensive to force planes to land, and they cannot afford it. The United States is considering putting a no air zone over Syria as a last resort. It is a last resort because the U.S. is attempting to stay out of it "for fear of becoming entangled in the conflict."

I feel that this Syria and Iran are very significant factors in our National Security. The CLASS CONNECTION is that this foreign affair in particular could test how aggressive or passive President Obama will be in his second term. If worst comes to worst and we must enlist forces in the middle east, than President Obama would have to go to gridlocked Congress for approval. If a civil war-torn Syria or Iran were to obtain a weapon of mass destruction, the United States Security would be threatened. This could cause different interest groups to Lobby in Congress for their vote in this possible legislation. It will also be interesting to see if President Obama becomes more aggressive now that he is not fearing retribution from his actions in the polls because he cannot be re-elected

Sales at Retail Stores Down- Economic

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/30/business/sales-at-nations-retailers-fall-short.html?ref=unitedstateseconomy&_r=0

Major American chain stores such as Macy’s, Nordstrom, Kohl’s and Target are down low; sending shivers through the retail world. Black Friday, maybe the biggest shopping day in the United States, and the kickoff to the holiday shopping period showed dim results comparied to last years numbers. This shows a coming challege for stores in the coming weeks. Craig Johnson, president of Customer Growth Partners, said, “The traditional post-Black Friday lull, normally starting the following week, started on ... Black Friday!” Black Friday recorded a 1.6 percent increase in sales compared to the year before. Instead of the expected  3.3 percent increase.

I don't know what to think of this, but I don't thinks it's something we should worry too much about. I thinks that their has to be other years where percents were not what analyzers thought they would be, our economy is down and people our out of jobs, as well this was an election year; that could mean something. Also I don't think we should worry just because one day didn't make that much money, I mean it is a holiday, maybe people wanted to stay for seconds with their families. The course connection is like during the Great Depression where many stores closed down and went bankrupt, but some like Macy's started up and that helped get the economy going again.

Social Welfare- Caleb Rahn

Social Welfare

Republicans Propose Plan for Undocumented Young- Associated Press

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/11/27/republicans-propose-plan-for-undocumented-young/

This article deals mostly with immigration, but has information pertaining to social welfare. Republicans have proposed a bill, which would allow teenagers of countries like Mexico, Columbia, and other South American countries a easier way to receive an American visa. Republicans have taken a very strong against illegal immigration, but also want to make it easier for immigration to occur. In this bill proposed by Republicans, immigrants with permanent visas would not be allowed public welfare, or federal benefits. The course connection can be found in the proposal bill. As we learned, a bill will be proposed in both houses of Congress, before the President can sign (or not sign) the bill to overall make it a law. During this stage of proposals, fillibusters, and holds can occur, overall slowing the process of making the bill a law.

In my opinion, I think this is a great idea. The United States is a country of immigrants, but I do not feel that Americans should have to pay these workers benefits or welfare, if it was needed. Social welfare and other benefits are for permanent citizens of the United States, and should not be handed out to workers from other countries that have a visa. Tax payer money could be used elsewhere, and in my opinion, immigration should be done legally, even if it takes time. Americans do not cross the border in masses, expecting to receive some sort of "prize". I am all for gaining citizens from other countries, legally, but if they are not legal, and only have a visa, welfare should not even be considered. 

Health Care- Carolyn Silverman

http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/30/venture-capital-is-attracted-to-indias-affordable-health-care-business-which-targets-the-poor/

In New Delhi, India, a controversial issue is arising.  It is not the fact that affordable healthcare for the poor is needed, but whether or not they can make it a business.  This has all been brought to a boil by entrepreneurs turning charitable causes into revenue.  The problem is that unaffordable health care can put families with an extremely low income into a very large debt.  This has even resulted in women committing suicide because they had been pushed into unpayable loans.  Many issues stand in the way of health care in these areas such as not making poor people feel compelled to buy healthcare they don't need. 

This reminded me a lot of what was read in chapter 14.  We read about taxes and the national debt.  On a way smaller scale, this can be the same sort of process.  The people need healthcare, so they take out loans, which puts them in extreme amounts of debt, the same way the government needs something, takes out loans and has a lot of debt due to interest.  This makes me feel upset because health care is something everyone needs.  Hopefully this will get sorted out soon. 

Matt Albert- http://www.hstoday.us/industry-news/general/single-article/tsa-to-expand-use-of-bomb-sniffing-dogs-for-passenger-screening-in-2013/918f6ebedc9fbc5346ec299606447512.html

This article is about how the TSA (Transportation Security Administation) wants to increase the number of bomb-sniffing dogs through a research project that would try to figure out how the dogs sense of smell truly works. They also wish to improve their training to make them even more effective through this project. The TSA has scheduled meetings with the Department of Homeland Security on whether to authorize the funds to researchfor the project. The DHS has $650000 to spend on this project and hope to begin it very soon.

This article deals with this class because of its effect on national security. I feel that this project would be great for this nation to prevent explosives from being brought onto planes and other transportation agents. We live in a nation where anything can happen and it always seems to be the worst. If we train these dogs and they become super effective at doing their job, just think of all the lives that will be saved if somebody trys to bring explosives. This is an action that i completly agree with and i would hope that everyone else would to.

Tobey Pribyl - Social Welfare

"Is Red Cross Mismanaging Sandy Response?" by Steve Kastenbaum

http://cnnradio.cnn.com/2012/11/21/is-red-cross-mismanaging-sandy-response/?hpt=us_t5


As the assistance to those devastated by Hurricane Sandy last month by the Red Cross is beginning to wrap-up, some are asking if their readiness for a situation of this nature is really great enough. During the days following the storm, some affected by the storm were still left without any assistance from the relief organization. Due to the large number of victims of the storm, the organization is saying they are doing the best they can with the funds that are available. Although there were some management issues in the times of the storm, it may also be that we as a country have our expectations set too high for what the Red Cross can really do in these situations.

The course connection to this article is the vocabulary term "collective action", which is defined as groups forming and organizing to pursue their goals or objectives. The group, in this situation, is the Red Cross, which is an organization crucial to these emergency situations such as the earthquake in Haiti or Hurricane Sandy. As this article states, some of those affected by the storm are claiming that the organization and preparation by the organization was obviously lacking in their goal of helping everyone involved. Either way, the Red Cross has been a huge helping hand in the clean-up and first-aid following Sandy.

Economics- Ellen Justis

Economics-

http://news.yahoo.com/timothy-geithner-fiscal-cliff-balls-gops-court-140039110--abc-news-politics.html

Timothy Geithner on the Fiscal Cliff: The Ball Is in the GOP's Court

Summary:

In this article it states that the White House "has to get serious" because they fiscal cliff deadline is approaching quickly. Timothy Geithner (quoted primarily in the article) met with the GOP this week and said a big part of the meeting was coming to terms that there are going to have to be a lot of compromises. Both parties know where they stand but are not sure where they will have to meet to meet the deadline of the end of the year. The three main things that are being discussed are:

1. Tax cuts to the wealthy

2. Medicare spending

3. Economic stimulus

Geithner also states that the plan they are working on now suits most Americans, yet asks the top 2% percent of Americans to be taxed a bit heavier, something that has been very controversial throughout the whole debate between the two parties. The problem with social security is going to be handled separately and not with the fiscal cliff. To conclude the article, Geithner said he believes that Obama will replace him in January with someone who is equally as talented that will be ready for the next four years. 

Course Connection/Response:

This article directly relates to our class because our government is currently divided. This is why the fiscal cliff debate is such a challenge in resolving. In this article it also lists off a lot of leaders of the senate such as Senate Minority Leader (Mitch McConnell) and Speaker of the House (John Boehner). Currently in chapters 12 and 13 we have learned about these two positions. We also read an article in the magazine a week or so back that said how Obama had a difficult four years in front of him because of the divided government. This is a prime example because it has been a slow moving process because Congress cannot agree because it is divided.

Social Welfare

http://www.cnbc.com/id/41969508/Welfare_State_Handouts_Make_Up_One_Third_of_U_S_Wages


This article is just another article about how social welfare is still a growing problem in the US. Apparently 1/3 of the US bugget is spent on social welfare. And although the ecomomy is comming out of a depression the percentile of the money (35%) spent on welfare is the same. One idea economist had was to increase wages to 8.8 trillion or decline social welfare to 500 billion dollars. Although this is a problem because poeple are not willing to do either. People fear for the future when the population grows because social welfare will increase more rapidly with a larger population.
The corse connection in this artilce is that the house of representatives (led by republicans), proposed a bill of $61 billion dollar federal spending cut however the senate decided that this bill will never be passed. Another thing to remember is that the senate is democratic and thats probably not the only reason that they rejected this bill but it is just an example of what we are learning in class and how the bill has to go through both the house and senate and then the president to be passed. The bill has not gotten that far yet and probably wont if it cannot even get past senate especially sense the president is from the democratic party.

Ian Burklund- National Security

http://startingpoint.blogs.cnn.com/2012/11/09/did-navy-seals-threaten-national-security-in-revealing-secrets-for-a-video-game-fmr-navy-seal-commando-weighs-in/?iref=allsearch

Summary- This article is very basic and bluntly to the point. It is about seven US Navy Seals who showed off there tactical gear and disclosing the tactics used in duty. The seven of them worked for two days with pay, to help make a video game for the company electronic arts seem more realistic. The work done was unauthorized by their commanders and against military regulation. At least one of the Seals had been on the mission in which Osama bin Laden was killed. After their actions all of them were punished, the article did not specificy what there consequences were.

Reaction/ Course Connection- I feel that the Seals acted in a way which wouldn't hurt national security or national security. I can't fully decide if the commanders overreacted without knowing their punishments. But from what I saw on the article I don't believe that any sort of punishment should have been handed out. The course connection is in chapter 20 they mention the defense department which would be in control of the Navy Seals and the actions which they do.

National Security-Olivia Drexler

http://www.usnews.com/topics/subjects/national-security-terrorism-and-the-military

This article was short and to the point about how terrorism is still a threat to the United States and its people. Also, in this article it informed us of how our military and defense people such as Obama or other administration officials should respond to dangerous attacks. Many Americans wonder if taking off shoes, pat down searches, and not allowing large liquids onto airplanes is really necessary. The answer is yes. This is designed for our safety and protection from terrorism. However, on Christmas day a failed attempt to bomb a U.S. airliner headed for Homeland Security in Detroit was lucky for us Americans. Since then airports and its security has cracked down on safety even more severely. Another incident that encouraged the defense strategy against al Qaeda was a failed car bomb planted in a parked car in New York Times Square. Because of these dangerous attempts new changes have been made. To improve our safety including more noncombat troops in Afghanistan, new staff members in command, and a new defense Security. With the new budget that Bush helped put into place of $60 billion of funding toward troops and military aid, its bound to help decrease the terrorism threat and increase our safety as Americans.

My reaction to this article is very nervous. I didn't realize these threats and attacks in the United States were still able to happen. Although these attacks seem very rare, I think the new budget and ideas are a good improvement to help insure our safety and attacks in the future. The connection to this article and what we're learning in class is simple. How our government works together to provide for our safety as Citizens. How the people first bring about a concern or law then how it goes through our government system. Each representative on this specific committee will most likely get a say and get to vote on why this budget should go through o why it shouldn't. They may each also talk about their ideas from the people of how to keep us Americans safe or even how to improve our safety.

Social Welfare - Kyle Smith

http://articles.latimes.com/2012/nov/26/nation/la-na-state-disclosure-20121126

            After this year’s election, groups that helped either side of the race are now under suspicion from state regulators. Non-profit organizations that have spent millions of dollars on certain candidates have not been required to disclose their donors. These certain groups don’t want to reveal their financial backers, which is causing some unrest. For example, California’s Fair Political Practice Commission found a source of $11 million dollars in Arizona, that was tracked all the way to Virginia, and it is still uncertain where the original funding started.          

If it were up to me, anyone who donated money to a campaign should have to disclose their sources, otherwise they could be getting donations from North Korea or somewhere, who may want weaker officials in office. The course connection is; this battle between state officials and advocy groups is caused by the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling of Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission, which brought back political expenditures by corporations.

Economy - Wage Miller

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/27/health/investing-in-eyeglasses-for-poor-would-boost-international-economy.html

Although this article isn't necessarily directly about government, it does deal with money and the economy.

Eliminating the worldwide shortages of eyeglasses would cost up to $28 billion, however it could yield up to a $200 billion increase to the global economy. The $28 billion would account for training optometrists and creating more clinics that could prescribe eyeglasses, as it is estimated that 703 million people worldwide have a uncorrected case of nearsightedness or farsightedness severe enough to impact their work. Without reading glasses, skilled crafts become difficult after the age of 40 to 45 and vision impairment may lead someone to quit their job. If glasses were distributed to these people however, they could work longer and put more money and goods into the economy. Additionally, giving glasses to children that don't have them could vastly improve the accomplishments and schooling attained in their lifetime.

It surprises me how many people have impaired vision solely due to lack of glasses. I think it is an interesting concept to give everyone glasses which would in turn boost the economy, however it is risky. First of all, that is a big investment and secondly it is hard to say how many of those people would actually work longer or improve the economy in general, because not all of them would. Secondly, many third world countries are not exactly democratic or would be willing to give glasses to people. The course connection for this is that somewhere out there, there is probably an interest group that supports this cause. Everyday they could be lobbying or promising money in order to persuade a congressman to support them. Another potential course connection that we haven't necessarily learned about yet but relates to government is how governments may have to intermingle. Since this is a global issue, many governments would potentially have to work together and negotiate in order to come to a common agreement. Lastly, congressmen could have this on their agenda if the members of their state feel as though they need more eyeglasses in large numbers. That being said, some states could need them more than others.