Obama is in a very tough predicement. He is the first black president and he promised many things where he didn't yet have the knowledge that he does now. I believe that he must stay strong and weigh all the sides of his decisions. He cannot be make hasty decsions that might go right. People have very high expecations that are impossible to live up to,  he needs time to complete the tasks at hand, he is in a hole right now and it will take time for him to dig out of it. 

Everyone, in the eye of the court should not be looked at or considered different. Race should not affect anything in life, including the courts way of looking at you. Although many stereotypes seem to be true, they are not, everyone person has a choice in what they want to be in life. Courts should be more diverse, I think it would better serve a fair decision on those who need them. Let's face it different people have different views, have more diverse views would even out the courts decision. 

Hate crimes are terrible things. At no point in our life or any other person's life, should we commit a hate crime. I believe that making fun or picking on gay's should be considered a hate crime, even it is a choice of the person, nobody should be made fun of because they are different. Imagine if we made fun of a handicap person. Making fun of people may be a part of life, but not to go as far as physically hurting them. Hate crimes against a more diverse set of people should be looked at and fought against. 

eminent domain allows government to seize private property if it is for the good of the public. For example they are able to take a block of houses inorder to build a school or to build hospital. I believe that it is unfair in the first place to take private property even if it does benefit the public. Many people think it is just but it hasn't happened to them and probably never will which is why most don't think twice about it. Now the gov't is taking private property in order to get more tax money, which I believe is not okay and is not within the gov'ts power. It is ridiculous to think that this okay and it should be stopped. 

VOTING:
If I were a member in congress then I would vote for and by the people I represented. As in they should vote the way the majority of their districts would vote. Although many things might change when the representative reaches congress, they should always have in mind who they are representing and why they are representing them. The people should have the final say in the matter at hand, so go with the constituents and not the conscience. They need to believe in the choices of the people, and unless it is so obviously wrong always side with them.

TERMS

I believe that term limits are undemocratic. The person that is most popular, that represents the peoples wants should be the one if office, even if this means he or she has been an incumbent for many years. Democracy is for the people and by the people, terms limits don't allow the people to be represented as they want if the term limits exist. Another point is maybe eight years of presidency is not enough time for a president to get what he wants done or what the country wants done, good things take time and thats what a lot of positions need. Overall I believe that term limits are undemocratic and the consituents  should ultimately decide if who should hold a position in office.

Secrecy
-When the public's safety is at stake or national security is actually being threatened then secrecy may be kept by the government. Of course I really don't believe that the public should know everything about every country, I believe that most of the time the public overreacts, and journalist make a lot of trivial matters, causing more problems then anything else.

-I believe that the need for secrecy is not greater now then ever before. I mean, there has always been threats from foreign countries, the U.S. is not the most loved country in this world. We do have enemies and the public should know when an attack is brewing in other countries.

-I believe that in many cases the governments should keep secrets in order for the county not to worry, but in other cases the public's opinion on a matter of war or other subjects should be known, and can only be known if the full stories are let out.

I now believe that having two political parties  would be better then having more, smaller political parties. Having more parties would just create more arguments and disagreements, it would take a much longer time to agree on any subject. I believe that our country's actions would be much slower   to take place if more then two parties were to be created. 

Is voter registration a good or bad thing?
I believe that voter registration is a good thing. Having to register to cast your vote means that you are unable to vote twice, it also reflects who actually cares enough about our country to register. Registering to vote is a good thing, without it the polls would be very lopsided and uneven.

George W. Bush's presidency did no exactly "harm" the Republican party, but it did strengthen the democratic party. He may not have been a bad presidents, times might not have been any better under another president. Bush's presidency though, since it was negatively viewed by much of the country, hurt the republican party because he is affiliated with that party. One person cannot destroy or turn around a party, it takes years. Bush's presidency happened to have many bad breaks and decisions which led to the uprising of the democratic party.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

1. I have not had much personal experience with politics besides the debates in a classroom or the occasional "president" talk with adults. I have lived through some elections now and still I am do not have a strong stance for which side I am for. I will say that my dad has had the greatest influence on my political attitudes.

2. My family has has had the greatest affect on my political attitudes, especially my father. I grew a democrat, there really has not been much argument over it though. I mean, my family has always been democratic and I have to say that I am not fully capable of explaining why I am a democrat, but just that I have not learned anything else or took that much interest in the area.

CHOOSE A QUESTION.

2. The federal government should do more to save the environment. The environment is essential to human existence. The fed. gov't should pass more laws that protect our environment and also pass laws to better the environment. The people though, do not need laws to help the environment. The environment will be destroyed or protected only by the people's will.