Iron Triangle

 So this may all look like total gibberish and like someone decided to just stick a bunch of words  onto a triangular shaped flow chart…but this confusing figure represents the ever confusing workings and relationships of our large bureaucracy. Political scientists like to call this mumbo jumbo, the iron triangle.

Because the bureaucracy has grown to about roughly 21 million people, the President nowadays has little or no contact with the bureaucratic workers that assist in running the country. As a nation that was originally founded on anti-bureaucratic ideas, the Founding Fathers could have never even began to imagine how intricate the formation of the government would get. Surpassing original expectations, the bureaucracy was forced to unofficially adapt an iron triangle model in order to have things run smoothly and almost in a sense of checks and balances, like the branches of the government. Ironically, the bureaucracy, due to it's independence from the executive cabinet due to lack of interaction, is often referred to as the "fourth branch" of the United States government, after the official branches of the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial of course. 

But the way the iron triangle works is simple. But let me break down first what each part really means….

BELOW IS AN INFO-GRAPHIC I MADE. ORIGINALLY IT WAS ALL TEXT BUT BLOGGER KEPT MESSING IT UP AND IT LOOKED LIKE THIS… (ALL MESSED UP AND OUT OF ORDER...

IT WAS TOO PRETTY AND I SPENT 2 HOURS WORKING ON IT, SO I WASN'T JUST GOING TO DELETE IT BECAUSE BLOGGER CAN'T FORMAT THINGS RIGHT, SO I SCREENSHOTTED IT AND MADE IT INTO A PICTURE…. SO I 100% TAKE FULL CREDIT FOR MAKING THIS, DID NOT STEAL THIS FROM ANY SITE… I EVEN USED MATCHING FONTS TO TRY TO MATCH TO THE GRAPHIC (THAT I FOUND ONLINE) THAT IS AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE…. ENJOY MY INFO-GRAPHIC BREAKING DOWN THE IRON TRIANGLE~ woo!

Although the relationships between the groups may seem more complex than a Spanish telenovela, the overall concept is as simple as the famous saying "I scratch your back, you'll scratch mine", in the sense that everyone in this arrangement benefits. 

But, the book states that iron triangles no longer dominate policy processes, but that they do in fact persist. The example the book gives is the relationship between the Department of Veterans Affairs, the House Commit

tee on Veterans Affairs and the American Legion and the Veterans of the Foreign Wars. This example proves that even if this model isn't as strong and prevalent as it once was, the fundamental principles of it continue to exist.

So this entry was supposed to be serious until my computer decided to hate me, but I hope my graphic (that was originally a blog written post) shows my proficiency in the "Iron Triangle"!

….but this is me after Blogger decided to hate me

Back to Blogs, Back to Reality

So the blogs are back, and while a break was fun…it's time to get some work done. Speaking of getting work done, only a few more weeks till the big day! TIME TO ROCK THE BOAT AND BARACK THE VOTE! Of course it's going to be a bit sad when I have to find another topic to write my political blog that would make any modern day politician upset due to my casual manner over such serious topics, but that's why I am one of the only teenagers that likes politics, because politics just aren't fun for anyone who don't really have a depth of understanding into them. That is why I dedicate this entry to the fictional ditzy Red White and Blonde Elle Woods, for making teenage girls and tween boys alike, have some sort of false interest in politics, even if it was completely falsified and chick-flicked out! But, speaking of rich blondes, I am brought to the man who this blog post is truly about… Donald Trump. (I use the word blonde in reference to hair lightly…since… I mean…. you know, the dead animal that he uses as a toupee on his hair that he claims isn't a toupee. 

But why do I have such an issue with Mr. Trump and what does it have to do with elections? Simple, his (and many other rich republicans) idea that you can buy constituents in an election. Of course we all remember when he himself was inquiring about running himself… but now his remarks and ideas have just gotten bizarre… This past week, the mogul Monopoly man himself, offered President Obama FIVE MILLION DOLLARS (no there weren't any accidental extra zeros added in there)  to any charity of the President's choice, in order for Mr. Donald Duck… erm I mean Trump, to get his birth certificate and college records. 

But don't just rely on me saying this, here is the direct quote from the man himself…

“I have a deal for the president, a deal that I don’t believe he can refuse, 

and I hope he doesn’t. If Barack Obama opens up and gives his college 

records and applications and if he gives his passport applications and records,

 I will give to a charity of his choice – inner city children in Chicago, 

American Cancer Society, AIDS research, 

anything he wants–a check immediately for $5 million,” 

….Trump has decided to get into the holiday spirit, outside of just his normal existence as a total Warlock, and set the deadline for Mr.President to be on Halloween at 5pm. But President Obama, not making deals with the devil, and stayed fabulous by going on Jay Leno and shared a couple laughs about the matter.

"This all dates back to when we were growing up in Kenya, we had constant run-ins on the soccer field, 

you know he wasn't very good and resented it. When we finally moved to America I thought it would be over." 

*Giggles*

Of course, I apologize for the entire rant about the man whose hotel's we wish we could afford to stay at, but it comes together to really tell the moral of the story, or I guess blog post, that there are people in pop culture that influence our views. Whether it be Elle Woods and how we view blondes, the Trumps and how we view success in America, or even the main Trump, Donald, who has tried to spend every last cent to keep Obama from being re-elected. Either way, celebrities shape our opinions and create national attention. Although that attention usually is centered around a celebrity cocaine addiction or who Taylor Swift is dating this week (actually relevant because he is a Kennedy spawn and he is perfect because the Kennedy's are American political royalty forever), but when celebrities outreach to a candidate in an election year, it adds a lot to the table.

If it is a celebrity or celebrities that people respect and admire it can be a win. 

BUT SOMETIMES, well respected celebrities go wrong, DUN DUN DUN……. 

AND when the celebrities do go wrong, even if the candidate and the celebrity are not even associated outside of the celebrity's genuine support, the end result can end up harming the candidate. The public already expects celebrities to be crazy, but when that bit of crazy even accidentally gets associated with a candidate or a public figure, that crazy image sticks with them like the rest of their dirty pasts that are feautured in hate ads across the Land of the Free and Home of the People who want to throw out their televisions because all they see is either hate ads or PSA's against animal abuse from the Humane Society. 

All in all, the public should not rely on celebrities and pop culture to make their political experiences pleasurable and worthwhile. But I end this very scattered blog post with a PSA from the heavily 

Hollywood STAR supported organization that I recently had the pleasure of working with, Rock the Vote! Rock the Vote is an organization that I applaud for holding events, like the one I worked at recently, that include everything from free music by popular names in music, to free giveaways like bags and t-shirts and many more things all accompanied by literature and information about the general right to vote. It is non-partisan and all it wants is for young people to get out there and be inspired to get informed and VOTE! This organization encourages celebrities to use their fan followings for good by uniting their fans across party lines, all while making voting seem like the coolest thing for an able-bodied young adult to do. 

OK… I had to leave and finish this post with ONE more thing……

Mister Legally Blonde Donald Duck 

So one of my posts got deleted and I just saw so…..

When I was younger it was my dream to become President, but of course as the saying goes "never tell your dreams to a stranger"….I did just that and they were broken by a security guard in front of the white house that immediately stated after looking at my obviously foreign parents "but sweetie you weren't born here, you can't be president if you weren't born in America." In that moment, clenching to my white teddy bear I named George Washington, I began to cry hysterically. In that moment i decided that I would become a future first lady. Until I saw a powerful first lady like Hilary Clinton, then  I realized all that a woman could accomplish in power. So then why do first ladies matter so much during the election?

Well, when it comes speeches, emphasis is put on the first lady's speeches because they allow the viewers of America to get a more human vision of the candidates, especially in the case of someone like Mitt Romney who some criticize to be robotic. Ann Romney's speech was filled with remarks about Willard's home life and his parenting style, bringing us in personally, the way we've gotten to know Barack Obama for the past 4 years.

Fortunately, I got the chance over the summer to see Michelle Obama not just speak on the television, but in person in Miami. The whole time she entertained the crowd with anecdotes about Mister Obama's graying hair and how the pair had just paid off their student loans. First ladies give that opportunity to connect at another level beyond at what we see with the presidents.

Not only do First Ladies give us an inside look into the candidates' characters, but they can become active themselves. Not only Hilary Clinton, but Nancy Reagan with her anti-drug campaign "Just Say No" and Eleanor Roosevelt's active part in the civil rights movement.

Luckily for Michelle and unluckily for Ann, Michelle has had the four years experience showing off her activism through her healthy eating campaigns by going on shows like Sesame Street and being portrayed on iCarly and The Simpsons, having exposure on multiple media outlets.

Other than that, since the days of my favorite Jackie Kennedy, first lady's can be represented as style icons, and quintessential icons of the time. As a first lady you are not just a wife, but you have a strong position and are a figure head for all women. 

FINAL POST OF THE QUARTER

Because I did two textbook blogs in a row… I purposely left my last two blogs for some fun topics that involve the campaign in some way shape or form… Because this is my last post of the quarter, I wanted to make it special and talk about the most influential part that the campaign has played in my senior year… my part in it.

Who knew connecting my iPhone to my e-mail address would change my life? Doing this turned me into an avid e-mailer and e-mail checker… even the annoying college ones and advertisements and spam. One day, I got an e-mail that was calling for people to apply to become "Summer Organizing Fellows", something I thought was cool, but I took so lightly that I did the application over my phone's crappy 3G connection. 

Around a month or so later, as I was getting ready for a friend's birthday dinner, I got a call from a woman saying she wanted to interview me for an Organizing internship! I had no clue that it had gone through and I was immediately full of energy and ready to answer all questions. The conversation went on for so long that I was on the phone when my friend's picked me up to go to the dinner, and continued the conversation till we were halfway to our destination in Miami.

The conversation went so well that the woman told me "we usually wait some time to deliberate our candidates for the program, but I love your story and your enthusiasm so much that I'm offering you this position on the spot", to which I immediately replied to with a yes.  

 I had my first orientation with hundreds of people coming from different offices and different locations all over the tri-county area. Being so in love with politics, this was the first time I really got the chance to be completely surrounded by people with the same morals and views as myself, it was like home.

From there I made some of the best friends I have ever met, that I worked with all summer and I listened to the various stories of what brought people to work for the campaign. For the rest of the summer and to now, I have carried these stories with me whenever I canvassed in the hot sun or registered voters with a poor turnout or whenever nobody would answer my calls, these stories kept me going, especially my own.

Through the program I had the chance to meet people from all over the country, some who came just to work for the campaign. I got the chance to plan events, meetings, and work professionally in order to locally strategize. I brought in volunteers, registered over 100 voters, canvassed hundreds of doors and made hundreds of calls. I even got the chance to see both the President and the First Lady speak for free on separate occasions. 

Working with people from ages 8 to above their 90's I even saw a woman who lived in a retirement hoe recruit enough troops in her home to volunteer. It was always my dream to work for a campaign, and maybe one day, who knows, I might work one at a higher capacity or I may work my own. But why I care and believe this matters enough to be a graded blog entry? I believe my work for the campaign has re-affirmed every blog post I have done and has given me the chance to get an unbelievably in depth look into the first election that I have the chance to vote in.

This has been a blessing and hopefully November 6th it will all pay off.

LGBT People Rock

Okay so I am not a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgender but I do proudly show off my "LGBT for Obama" sticker that sticks right by my mousepad and keyboard that I use to type this very blog post after post. So of course, when I saw in the book the mention of the GLBT community's fight for their Civil Rights, I peaked with excitement. This is one of the largest civil rights movements of my generation, one that some of older generations like my parents don't understand. My mother didn't even know what a gay person was till she was 20 years old, unlike myself who in the 2000 election as a 6 year old was exposed to the debate of same-sex marriage and rights.

But that was 12 years ago! Why have we not progressed more than we have since then? I was 6 years old and on a green card then, but now I am an 18 year old citizen with the right to vote. Which makes me wonder… is it my generation's votes that will bring more rights for a group of people that I have been blessed with to have had the ability to grow up with and work with?

Well, going back to the textbook, you can see how much we really have progressed. In the late 1970's, groups like the Lesbian Rights Project, the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund and the Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders were founded, dedicated to ending the legal restrictions against homosexuals.  

In 1993 Bill Clinton wanted to end discrimination against homosexuals in the armed services but had to compromise with a self-explainatory policy called "Don't Ask Don't Tell". But in 2010, a federal court judge ruled that this policy was unconstitutional, but the enforcement is still not full by all units as we have to progress into this. But this decision was monumental for a time in which we were in two wars and were having people put their lives on the line but were unable to even openly love, fighting for our rights while we couldn't even give them theirs. 

A crude fight had to be battled due to certain state's laws against sodomy, which proved groundbreaking in the case Lawrence vs Texas in 2003, where this law was overturned on the grounds that it was unconstitutional. Following this ruling, many corporations like the "All-American" Wal-Mart announced that banning job orientation based on sexual orientation was illegal. 

One of the most amazing milestones was when Massachusetts was the first law to allow same-sex marriage, with a couple states following….but there is still a long road ahead for equality.

BUTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

What the book doesn't mention additionally is how the President in May of 2012 announced that he supported gay marriage. What is important to note that this support although criticized by some as an election gimmick reminded me of another important civil rights activist, Abraham Lincoln. Because Barack Obama just came out with his personal view on same-sex marriage, doesn't mean it made it legal, it just added a bit more of a morale to keep him in office, the same way Abraham Lincoln delivered the Emancipation Proclamation… because he stated he freed the slaves in states that were in rebellion and not in his control… meaning nobody he could legally control was freed, but a moral purpose was initiated. 

Of course though, in my experiences canvassing I have experienced people that took to this very negatively who (100% real story) told me that because I was voting for Obama I did not believe in god. Also this narrow minded couple stated "it's not that we're against gays, we just don't want them to marry, it's not right…. it's not mom and dad anymore, it's just parents"… if this is the argument for everyone against gay marriage… I have much smaller faith in humanity than previously thought.

Bang Bang Shoot 'em Up YEAH

Contrary to my blog title… as a pacifist, I am adamantly against guns. But, gun control is one of the most controversial and debated amendments to the bill of rights even today. The Second Amendment is the right to keep and bear arms. When the constitution was written, this amendment was necessary for a couple of reasons. These reasons included, to defend against foreign invaders since our army was not yet that developed, the threats of Indians, threats of neighbors and civil wars, and if the people wanted to overthrow their government the way that the colonialists had, they had to make sure they had weapons to use to do so.

But, in an era of an established army and more civil uses of protest a rebellion, guns have become more of a hassle and harm to society than a benefit or luxury. With cases such as Columbine and the most recent Colorado movie theater shooting and in the same month the shooting of a Sikh temple, people have been using their second amendment right to do the most unconstitutional thing of all, harm others right to live safely and have their rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness… by taking the lives of others.

Of course there is the age-old argument by everyone from your average gun-lover to the NRA (National Rifle Association), that "Guns don't kill people, people kill people"… and although this is relevant, guns create a likelihood a violence that with a singular weapon like a knife would harm one person but with a weapon like a gun can kill many in minutes and seconds. In a little over 2 hours, at the Virgina Tech Massacre, 32 were injured and 17 were wounded. So little time can take so many lives with the simple use of a gun.

Even with national controls such as permits, in a documentary I watched about a boy who had a friend die in the Columbine Massacre, the boy went around gun shows across the country and on multiple occasions was able to purchase a gun without a permit even questioned of him. This shows that the regulation is poor, and even with permits, children can take guns from their parents rooms and offices and use them themselves.

In multiple cases, gun regulations have been fought against such as in D.C. vs Heller in 2008 where the court ruled that the Second Amendment protected an individual's right to own a firearm for personal use in Washington D.C. , something that the district was trying to outlaw.

Either way, the controversy of gun control is still very alive and very controversial and protested for and protested against.

above are pictures of the "Million Mom March" for Sensible gun laws

FIRST PREZZY DEBATE WOo00oo0

Before I start my post I would like to begin with a foreword for all of those who will be too lazy to read the rest of this post because they know I'm going to rant………

the picture below sums up the debate perfectly in my eyes 

But really….poor Jim Lehrer! Before I go into my remarks on the debate let me just give some background on the man who could not get a single word in at the debates this week. An active news personality on PBS since 1973 (and other networks before that), Lehrer moderated 11 debates and after 2008 swore off moderation for good. But this year he was begged to come out of retirement for his 12th and what for sure after this week's performance will be his last debate. At the University of Denver
Colorado, not only were Barack Obama and Mitt Romney under the bright lights of pressure, so was Lehrer who was after strongly criticized for his open-ended questions and lack of control on the debate, being so profusely interrupted that at one point he looked as if he was going to strangle both candidates with his appropriately colored red AND blue tie.

But anyways the debate was all about the candidates right…? So let me share my personal take on how the debates ran…

Mitt Romney: Despite his interruptions and scandalous note cards, Mitt Romney surprised many in his performance due to his self assurance and rhetorical skills, skills that have of course had much practice due to his role in the Republican primaries earlier this year.  A couple lies he did tell were about whether he had intentions of cutting education programs (which he does), the coverage of pre-existing conditions under Romney Care (eh not so much) and much more. But of course his main flop but triumph for the Obama campaign and social networkers around the world was his direct comment to Jim Lehrer stating "….I like PBS. I love Big Bird. I actually like you, too. But I’m not gonna keep on spending money on things to borrow money from China to pay for it." Which then of course caused an internet frenzy…but again not a Mitt fan but he did exceed expectations, especially for only using Reagan's name like once or twice; That is what earns the biggest kudos!

poor Big Bird

Barack Obama:  Hopeless Romantic Barack Obama started off with a cheesy but charming shout out to the first lady in honor of their 20th anniversary which of course made those who love the president gush and those who don't gag. It was clear that the president was rusty, not debating since 2008, throughout the night he was criticized for his dependence on the use of the teleprompter. Contrary to my earlier blog predictions, Obama did not attack Mitt Romney for his "47% comment" leaving Demmy's shocked everywhere. Overall the President seemed a little out of it, but that leaves us excited to see how he will bounce back in the next presidential debate. 

OVERALL: Sad enough for the Presidential fanatics like myself, although there is no scoreboard in a Presidential debate…. it hurts me to say this…so much…but Mitt Romney won the debate. If fact check was immediate on the debates word by word the way the tweets were, the outcome may have been different, but, as previously said, the president was rusty. Mitt Romney did not win on facts but because he exceeded expectations by outshining the rhetorical skills of someone who is regarded as one of the best speakers of our time. You may have won the battle Mitt… but this is WAR.

Due Process Rights and Guantanamo Bay

In the section titled "Civil Liberties and Combating Terrorism", 9/11 and its effect on civil liberties is analyzed, leading to one of the most disputed inceptions of Post 9/11 America, Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp in Cuba. Established in 2002, the facility housed thousands of supposed terrorists connected with the Iraq and Afghanistan war, under the Bush administration.

First off, the Human Rights complaints of this place were endless streams of everything from Chinese  water drip torture, to beatings, to sleep deprivation, to many other different types of psychological and physical torture, most of these reports coming from released inmates.

Additionally, the way the prisoners got to the facilities were sketchy as well…. I will never forget watching a video in Mr. Hinely's ninth grade World Geography class about Guantanamo Bay and how at the initiation of the war, pamphlets were dropped from planes over different villages in Afghanistan advertising awards for people who would "turn in" people who they thought to be terrorists. The reason this stuck out in my mind is because it made me reminisce on the tales family members have told me about Stalin-led Russia, specifically my grandmother. My grandmother was a manager at a plane factory in WWII, a prestigious position where she had many friends, but with prestige can come enemies. Of course somebody had said something claiming she was against Stalin or something of that sort, and she was taken into questioning for days without contact till she was finally released…unlike my great grandpa who under the same regime was taken to one of Stalin's internment camps in Siberia, only to return years later. It was always described to me as "your neighbor doesn't listen to you when you say to trim their hedges, so you tell the authorities that they are against Stalin and your neighbor disappears for years or for good." This similar tactic may have been the reason for thousands of people who some were even found innocent were taken from their homes to this torturous place, Guantanamo Bay, because there was something in it for the person turning them in.

Of course we need to learn not to make the same mistake twice in history, and after this… three times in history and even more that haven't been mentioned.

But what does this all have to do with due process rights?

Illegal incarceration and torture are considered to be federal crimes! For this reason, in 2004, the Supreme Court ruled that the detainees had a right to habeas corpus, which is a court order in which a judge requires authorities to prove that a prisoner is being held lawfully and that allow the prisoner be freed if the judge is not persuaded by the government's case. The rights imply that prisoners have a right to know what charges are being made against them, something many Guantanamo prisoners did not know especially because some were being held without trial! Bush argued that under the Military Commissions Act of 2006, detainees had significantly less rights of habeas corpus and that the act eliminated the right to challenge the detention, transfer, treatment, trial or conditions of confinement of the detainees. But in 2008 in Boumediene vs Bush, the Supreme Court ruled that the provision of the Military Commissions Act  that stripped detainees of this right to hear habeas corpus petitions.

When Obama took office he vowed to close down the controversial facility by 2010 and having the prisoners moved to Illinois.  Additionally, he assisted the efforts by holding trials for some of the detainees like a man named Khalid Shaikh Mohammed for his role in the 9/11 attacks. The book presents this political cartoon in order to illustrate the trials, indicating American's view of the trials and the detainees, as if they were entertaining, a mockery, and that the man on trial wasn't a man but a freak of nature, the way acts are presented at circuses like compared to in the cartoon.



Since then Guanatamo Bay has been mostly closed under the Obama administration, but the issue of legality and the human rights violations are still very fresh in our minds.