Gun Politics

My post a few weeks back on gun control lead to a lot of comments (because it was interesting, or because so many students wanted extra credit at the end of the semester?). I'll hope the case is that so many of you found the topics of gun control and interest groups both intriguing and relevant. So, to follow up, here's a New York Times interactive documenting how states have tackled the issue of gun legislation in the year after the Newtown Massacre. Seeing as our federal government hasn't passed any meaningful legislation in the hopes of curbing gun violence, it's been left to states to take up the issue. And, because of federalism, states have the power to pass meaningful laws that will directly affect their citizens.
So, take some time to explore the interactive and discover how states have attempted to pass legislation, and further, examine the legislation that has actually passed. There are several different categories of legislation to explore, and the results just may surprise you. What's your reaction?

War on Poverty

Recently, NPR has had a host of coverage and articles regarding the 50th anniversary of Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty. This article looks at poverty in the contemporary sense, analyzing questions on what it actually means to live in poverty and dissecting how our government actually measures this concept. A recurring theme of the analysis of this anniversary tackles the question of if we've won the war on poverty? What do you think? What statistics can you find to answer this question? Do we need another war on poverty in the United States, and what would this include? How much of a federal government priority should it be to help those in financial distress?

Gun Control, or Not

The New York Times ran this article a few weeks back, and I initially didn't want to post it for fear of it appearing to be biased. After re-reading it recently, I realized the fact that despite the controversial nature of the topic, it perfectly captures the relationship between Congress and interest groups (which we just studied!).
I don't want to ask about your opinions on gun control, or on the amount of power the N.R.A. seems to hold over law-makers (though feel free...). Rather, I simply want you to read it, digest it, and ask yourselves if you there is anything our government can do in regards to the power of lobbies? Are interest groups doing anything illegal?
Last, it seems as if our government is missing the bigger picture here. Think about the process of how a national tragedy turned into lawmakers worrying about re-election in the end. Are Congress' priorities in the right place?