Senate Still Wants Trump Tax Return C12-4

Senator Susan Collins is claiming she would consider using a subpoena if Trump doesn't willingly turn over is tax returns. Senator Collins is from Maine, and is on the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is investigating Russia and their involvement in the 2016 elections. This would be the last measure, and the committee is trying other ways at the moment. The House Ways and Means Committee and the Democrats in it tried to get his tax returns from the IRS, using the fact that he could have investments in Russia. The House Republicans blocked this act. We probably won't see his tax returns ever, which breaks normal traditions of the Presidency.


LINK: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/02/23/senate-may-force-trump-to-turn-over-tax-returns.html

Paul Ryan Visits Texas-Mexican Boarder C12-3

On Wednesday, Paul Ryan visited the boarder of Texas and Mexico, viewing where President Trump wants to put a wall. Most of the time he was going in a boat along the Rio Grande, which is the natural boarder between the two. Unlike when President Trump visited during his campaign, he had no media coverage of this visit. He also visited the Texas towns near the boarder, where there was a little protesting. Many Mexican-Americans and supporters of lighter immigration laws once viewed Ryan as a moderate when it came to immigration, and was respected. After his unwavering support of Donald Trump since his presidency as begun, most are disappointed. Several Republican Texas House Representatives have been disappointed with Trumps immigration also.

LINK: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/22/us/politics/paul-ryan-border-mexico-immigration.html?ref=politics

Trump reverses Obama's Transgender Bathroom Guidance, Outrage Sparks C12-2

Last May, President Obama created guidelines to public schools across the nation to allow students to use whichever restroom they identify with by gender. He did this by threatening to stop funding if the nation did not comply with him. It was a huge step forward for the LGBTQ community. However, Wednesday afternoon President Trump decided to bring it a step back, and went back on Obama's act. He stated it as a states issue instead of a federal, and reversed the act. Many of the LGBTQ community are outraged, and it started protesting around DC and the rest of the country. Some people aren't even sure its legal, since it was still being reviewed by a federal judge.



LINK: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-lgbt-idUSKBN161243

Trump cracks down, causing immigration raids C12-1

Trump's new executive order targeting immigrants has been proven very effective on what he campaigned for. Just last week, with the Trump administrations supervising, hundreds of immigrants were deported. In his meeting with the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, he pointed out that the immigrants he was targeting were ones with crime records.

Unlike the Obama administration, who gave a pass to most law abiding immigrants before January of 2014, Trump's executive order can cause immigrants who have lived here for decades to be kicked out of their homes. Many are frustrated and disagree with this, including multiple democratic senators. However, Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, claims that this is just back to normal. He says it was Obama who was the abnormal one with his loose immigration laws, and this is just repercussion to bring the immigration levels back to normal.


Source: http://www.politico.com/story/2017/02/trump-immigration-raids-234970

Parents Threatening to Homeschool after DeVos Announced Secretary of Education C11-3

After Senate confirmed Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education, many people have threatened to homeschool their children instead of sending them to public schools. Many people are frustrated because she has no background in the public school field. In fact, in an interview in 2012, DeVos herself was an advocate for homeschooling, saying it was good the parents had the power to control their childrens education. DeVos barely got confirmed through the senate in a narrow vote, and a lot of the population are outraged she has been placed in this position, as most believe she is unqualified to serve with the right viewpoint of most American families.

 

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/devos-backlash-sees-left-threatening-homeschool-kids-which-she-supports-n718041

Sessions Confirmed AG, Senate Floor Got Heated C11-2

Wednesday evening, after a long and dramatic debate on the senate floor, Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama was confirmed into the senate. During the heated debate on the senate floor, Senator Elizabeth Warren was interrupted while reading a letter from Corretta Scott King. It was written to the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1986 about Jeff Sessions and his actions in Alabama against African American citizens and their voting rights. Senator Warren reading this letter was deemed a violation of Senate rules, and she was not allowed to speak the rest of the debate. This was because it was apparently directly pointed against another senator, and so she was silenced. Hillary Clinton, along with many other popular Democrats, tweeted in Warrens support. The vote for Sessions confirmation was 52-47.

Source: http://www.politico.com/story/2017/02/senate-confirms-sessions-as-attorney-general-234823

'Rogue' Federal Twitter Accounts - Are They Effective? C11-1

In light of Donald Trumps gag orders on some federal agencies, they have began creating "rogue" twitter accounts. Several accounts are related to the Environmental Protection Agency, which has been most affected over the Trump administrations immediate stop on climate research. There has been some confusion on who runs the accounts, as some said at first they were run by members of the organization and others say they're just run by enthusiasts. The real question is, are they effective? Many seem to think so, as it gets the message across to the public about how the administration is turning its back on science.

Source: http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2017/01/27/512007632/its-not-just-the-park-service-rogue-federal-twitter-accounts-multiply

Republican Lawmakers are a Little Nervous About Repealing Obamacare C10-3

President Trump and most Republicans in the House and Senate have stated multiple times that the Affordable Care Act, more widely known as Obamacare, needs to be repealed. President Trump said during his campaign it would be one of the first issues on the agenda with him as President. However, now that he has won the presidency, Congress is feeling a lot of pressure.

During the Republican Policy retreat last week in Philadelphia, a repeal act was spoken about behind closed doors in private meetings. What was discussed was then leaked to the press via an anonymous email. Many Senators are very unsure what the solution will be. There were multiple ideas that were floated around the meeting, and one that stuck out would be raising taxes on the middle class, or receiving health care through their employers.



Link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/behind-closed-doors-republican-lawmakers-fret-about-how-to-repeal-obamacare/2017/01/27/deabdafa-e491-11e6-a547-5fb9411d332c_story.html?utm_term=.3205398e5d55

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto cancels meeting with Trump C10-2

Mexican President Enrique Nieto has cancelled his meeting to the white house after President Trump signed executive action to build a wall on the Mexico and US border. President Trump has repeatedly said that the American people will not be paying the wall, then in recent interviews stated our tax money will first pay for the wall, but that Mexico will pay the United States back "in some way". However, many officials from Mexico, including President Nieto, have said multiple times that their country will not be paying for the wall. In a speech earlier this week, Nieto said that Mexico is willing to negotiate with Trump if he were to offer some respect to the country.



Link:http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/25/politics/mexico-president-donald-trump-enrique-pena-nieto-border-wall/

The Fight for the Supreme Court C10-1

This week, President Trump stated that his decision on his nominee for the Supreme Court Justice would be reached. All of the Senate has been eager to hear what his choice will be, and a lot of Democrats are ready to fight against this decision. All of the democratic Senators are very angry the Republicans denied this open seat to be filled by President Obama. They were able to do this by refusing to take any case ruling for a new judge, and since they have the majority, they were able to succeed. The Democrats, being the minority, plan to filibuster for as long as possible, which could drive the Republicans to have a majority vote to change the rules. So basically, the Republicans are going to get their conservative Supreme Court Judge no matter what. This will give the Court a 5-4 advantage of conservative ruling judges instead of the year long 4-4 deadlocks that have occurred for almost a year now.


Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/24/us/politics/supreme-court-nominees-trump.html?_r=0

President Obama's Final Speech C9-1

Yesterday (Jan. 10), President Barack Obama made his final speech as President to the nation. During his speech, he thanked First Lady Michelle Obama for being with him all these years. He also thanked Vice President Joe Biden, even calling him his best friend. He urged the voters to be active and said "If you're tired of arguing with strangers on the internet, try to talk with one in real life". He then spoke about how he will continue to make change as a voter, just like all Americans can. When he spoke of the transition of power with Trump, the crowd booed, which he quickly shut down, saying it was a part of American democracy, and will be peaceful.

The question is asked then, does a two-party system still work in our nation? The Founding Fathers did not build our constitution with the intention of our nation to be a two-party nation. Could this election prove that it isn't right? Half the country wasn't crazy about either candidate, they just voted for the one they hated the least.

LINK: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38578985

Intro to Parties Around the World - Germany

1.Germany is a federal republic where the power is divided between states and voters have total control of political issues. The central government has limited power, and they have a President and Federal Chancellor as considered the "Head of State". The President is more of a ceremonial role while the Federal Chancellor has central executive authority. (

2.There are about 15 parties represented nationally, and about 3 state parties.

3.Major Parties are the Social Democratic Party and the Christian Democratic Union. Minor Parties are The Greens and The Left.

5. The CDU is Germany's conservative Party, and the CSU is the sister party to CDU, just more conservative on social issues.

 

Sources: http://www.expatica.com/de/about/The-main-political-parties-in-Germany_107953.html  
https://www.reference.com/government-politics/type-government-germany-df24ab1416a8b68a