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My article was about all the marches and protests in response to the Baltimore riots. All of the turmoil was caused by police brutality; more specifically the death of Freddie Gray who was killed by police violence. His death caused the riots in Baltimore, which has inspired all the protests in other cities about police brutality in their town.

I think it is important to work towards no police brutality, but it should be achieved in a different, less violent way. This is related to the course because the police force is a major part of the government that protects the country. It does this by promoting the idea of everybody following laws that were put in place to make our country safe.

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On Thursday Obama made the announcement that two hostages were killed during a counterterrorism action that was targeted at an al Qaeda operation. Of the two men that were killed, one of them was American. Weinstein was in Pakistan working to improve the lives of the Pakistani families. He was an innocent man who was only trying to help and then was taken hostage. According to Obama's speech, they were not aware that the hostages were there or else they would not have sent the drones.

 I think it is very unfortunate that innocent people were killed by the antiterrorism action, however I think we should continue to fight al Qaeda and ISIS. Our government needs to continue to protect the US from potential threats.

This relates to our course because it talks about national defense and the executive branch.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/16/us/american-women-world-rankings/index.html

America is often thought of as a place of equality for all, no matter what race, religion, or gender you are. Recently an "international Bill of rights" has been proposed guaranteeing an end to discrimination, a fight against violence, and equality for men and women. Almost all members of the United Nations have signed. All but seven; the United States is one of those seven. I think it is horrible that the U.S. did not sign the bill. Not signing that put us in the same group as Iran and other countries who are either undeveloped or are experiencing great turmoil in their country. I believe that women should receive fair pay in the workplace, be free of discrimination, not feel threatened, and be free from violence. I think that the U.S. should definitely sign the bill. It would be a great step for the U.S. and a great step for women!

My blog this week is about the bombing at the Boston Marathon two years ago. The verdict has finally been reached. Tsarnaev was found guilty of all 30 counts, 17 of which make him eligible for the death penalty. He is responsible for five deaths and almost 300 injuries. I feel that if he is truly guilty he deserves the death penalty. He killed innocent people and severely changed many lives because he was thought he was punishing Americans and sending a message to the holy warriors of radical Islam to rise up. I know people who were at the Boston Marathon that morning and left right before the bombing. These things seem like they would not happen to you until it affects someone you are close to. I think that he should be severely punished for hurting and killing innocent people.

This is related to ap gov because it talks about the judicial system/court system and it talks about the eighth amendment which states there can. Not be use of cruel or unusual punishment. Many argue that the death penalty is considered cruel or unusual.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/08/us/boston-marathon-bombing-trial/index.html

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The article I chose was about a group of black woman leaders and clergy. They were pushing for Senate to vote on a bill so they could finally confirm Loretta Lynch as the attorney general. Lynch becoming the attorney general is important to these women because, if she is confirmed, she will be the first African American female attorney general. The women marching on Capitol Hill are mad because her confirmation has been delayed for four months and will not be passed until an unrelated sex trafficking bill is passed. It has been hard for this bill to pass because it was previously nonpartisan but Republicans added on a part about anti-abortion that many Democrats did not agree with. Lynch is very qualified and many believe her confirmation to being the attorney general is being postponed for no good reason.

I think it is great that these women are trying to get what they want done in Congress. If they continue to push for Lynch's confirmation then they will one day be successful and we will have the first African-American female attorney general.

This is related to our course because it involves lobbying and the Senate.

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Although Conservatives/ Republicans have been very against Obamacare, numbers that have recently came out prove that the law is effective and is helping millions of Americans get health insurance. Conservatives say that the law is a government outreach and Republicans in Congress have vowed to repeal the law. Even though Conservatives continue to fight it, the law is supported by the Democrats in Congress and Obama can exercise his veto, so as long as Obama is in office the bill will most likely stay in use. According to numbers that came out on Monday, 16.4 million people have gained health coverage since the law was established five years ago.

In my opinion, the law is a good thing. It makes health care much more accessible and affordable for everyone, especially minorities. According to the article, the Supreme Court will come out with a ruling in the summer about the most recent challenge of the law.

This is related to our course because we have, very recently, learned about checks and balances that the different branches of our government have on each other. The article talks about how members of the legislative branch are working to have the law appealed, but that the president has the threat of his veto.

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In Utah a bill has just been passed allowing fire squad to be a method of execution if there is a shortage of the lethal drugs that are used in most states that have the death penalty. The reasoning behind this bill, is that the lethal drugs sometimes do not work or work slower, causing the criminal more suffering. The supporters of the bill believe the lethal injection can cause long drawn-out deaths whereas the use of the fire squad would be more humane and quicker. This may not necessarily be true because the person could move or the shooter could miss the heart, which would result in a drawn out death by fire squad. Either way there are possibilities of long drawn out deaths.

I feel that the death penalty should only be used in extreme situations, and that in America it is used too much and should be a last resort only. Fire squad should not be an option in any case, in my opinion. In the article it stated opponents think that the fire squad should not be used because it was used in the Wild West days, and we should be moving forward and not use old ways, which I agree with.

This is related to the course because it involves federalism and the idea that capital punishment is decided by the state and not the same all across the country.