Trump and the Paris Climate Agreement

As the years go on, climate change worsens and effects our environment immensely. While some people may not agree climate change is an issue for today's society, the predictions for the near future say otherwise. Some effects include glaciers melting, sea levels rising, and more droughts and heat waves. If we do not change our ways, there will be consequences.

As an effort to change, the Paris Climate Agreement was created. This agreement, with close to 200 signatures, was made in order to reduce carbon emissions, slow global rising temperatures, and help countries with climate change. Previous president Barack Obama was one of the many leaders to sign this agreement in April 2016. Anyone who signed agreed to "holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels." Countries were also required to set their own goals for the reduction of emissions by 2020. The U.S. goal, set by Obama administration, was 26 to 28 percent by the year 2025.

Unfortunately, current president Donald Trump had other plans. Our president has now made the decision to withdraw from the agreement.

Not only is president Trump making a bad decision, but he is giving a bad impression to our allies. Trump's opinion on climate change has not been released to the public and the White House refuses to release that information. When EPA Administrator, Scott Pruitt, is asked about the issue, he quickly avoids answering it. Instead, he changes topics and begins to discuss about Paris supposedly putting us at an "economic disadvantage". Pruitt states that the decision was not based off of whether Trump thought climate change was a hoax or not.

A figure most of us are familiar with, Bill Nye, discusses and debates the issues of climate change and the Paris Climate Agreement with Trump adviser William Happer. Bill easily shuts down William's remarks on climate change with facts and evidence.

 

The future of our planet's environment is at high risk as time goes on, and choosing to ignore these issues will only lead to more turmoil in the coming years. The planet is changing faster than it may seem to us, and we need to do everything in our power to keep the place we live healthy for ourselves and the future generations.

Sources for Further Reading:

The Consequences of Climate Change - from NASA

What is the Paris Climate Agreement? - from The Washington Post

Things to Know about the Paris Climate Agreement and Trump's Decision - CBS News

Pruitt Interview and Trump's Opinion on Climate Change - from CNN

Discussion Questions:

1. As the way our world is today, do you believe we will successfully slow down climate change? How do you think we should do this?
2. Do you agree with Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement?
3. Why do you believe the White House is refusing to answer questions about Trump's opinions on climate change?
4. Is Bill Nye or William Happer correct about climate change? Why?

John McCain and the Obamacare Repeal Vote That Wasn't

Hello all! Before I get into the shocking events that unfolded on the floor of the Senate this past week I wanted to take a minute and address your current event comments due on August 6th. Many of you have asked if you can comment on a classmates post, and I've decided that you will be allowed to comment on a classmate's current event post and earn credit. In addition, you can comment on my current event post below and earn credit that way. It has been a crazy couple of weeks in the world of American politics and those of you who have posted have done an excellent job covering much of it! Keep it up!

On to my current event post...

As I'm sure many of you heard about (or actually saw if you managed to stay up until 1:00 on Thursday night), the Republican's effort to repeal and replace Obamacare is effectively dead. The last nail in the coffin was driven in by a most unlikely person - 30 year Senator John McCain.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other top ranking Senate Republicans unveiled their final attempt to repeal Obamacare - "skinny repeal" - just hours before the Senate was to vote on it. Until that moment nobody outside of a group of 13 men had any idea what was in the bill, and now they were being asked to vote for it in the middle of the night without a real chance to read it. The Republicans expected their fellow Senators would vote for it simply because they were told to. The Democrats on the other side of the aisle assumed every Republican save 2 - Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins, both adamant critics of the bill and process to write it from the beginning - would vote for it and that Obamacare would be no more. Then John McCain strode into the well of the Senate and gave a thumbs down signal and said a single word, "no". And with that the GOP effort to repeal Obamacare was dead - killed by one of their own.



The audible gasps from Republicans and clapping from Democrats aside, this was a very dramatic moment of the kind that has not been seen in the Senate for decades. However, maybe it shouldn't have been quite as surprising as we think.

John McCain has had a reputation as a "maverick" for years - meaning that he isn't afraid to go against the wishes of his party to do what he thinks is right. In this case John McCain decided to vote against the GOP's "skinny repeal bill" not just because of what was in it (or wasn't in it), but because of the process his party used to craft the bill. Before his vote late Thursday night McCain gave an impassioned speech about the process that was used to write the bill and the current state of the Senate. The speech (below) is one that we will come back to during the year when we cover Congress and the responsibility of our representatives and Senators.




Perhaps the most important part of the speech was:

"This place is important. The work we do is important. Our strange rules and seemingly eccentric practices that slow our proceedings and insist on our cooperation are important. Our founders envisioned the Senate as the more deliberative, careful body that operates at a greater distance than the other body from the public passions of the hour."We are an important check on the powers of the Executive. Our consent is necessary for the President to appoint jurists and powerful government officials and in many respects to conduct foreign policy. Whether or not we are of the same party, we are not the President's subordinates. We are his equal!"

All of this drama has helped to make the fight to repeal Obamacare front page news and hopefully has driven Americans to ask some important questions about the state of our democracy. So, rather than focusing on the healthcare fight (which I'm sure is far from over), instead let's focus on what we should take away from the dramatic events that unfolded on the Senate floor.

Sources for Further Reading:
The week John McCain shook the Senate - from The Washington Post
John McCain's Maverick Moment - from CNN
5 Takeaways From the Failed Senate Effort to Repeal Obamacare - from The New York Times
Dems pivot to offering ObamaCare improvements - from TheHill.com

Questions for Discussion:

1. Do you agree with John McCain's assessment of the current state of the Senate and American politics?
2. McCain called for compromise in his speech, is that even possible anymore?
3. How will McCain's vote impact his power and stature in the Senate?
4. Should Republicans work with Democrats to create a bill that fixes what's wrong with Obamacare? What would be the repercussions?
5. Does the GOP's failure to repeal Obamacare hurt their chances to pass other legislation? Will it hurt them for the 2018 midterm elections?

Corporate Tax Cuts, Will They Help?

Corporate Tax Cuts, Will they Help?

    One of the many things that Trump has promised us is corporate tax cuts. The idea is that because the U.S. has one of the highest corporate taxes, many companies are sending their companies overseas. While this has been helped by the cancellation of a trade deal between us and Asian countries, it is still an issue with companies setting up factories in Mexico, Vietnam, and still, China. So, lowering the corporate tax is a great idea, right? It sound like it would, because it would make companies want to stay in the U.S., but there is some evidence that doing this would hurt us, or be of no use.

    It is obvious that there are many pros to the corporate tax reduction, especially the fact that our corporate tax is one of the highest in the world. Our corporate tax is nearly 40%, with only Puerto Rico and the United Arab Emirates being ahead of us. This makes it very tempting for businesses to move to other countries, less tax means more profit, so almost any other country is more profitable to operate in than America. So, when these taxes are reduced, the companies will likely return, according to Trump, and this will make more jobs. The making of more jobs for American citizens is a main focus of Trump’s, and the reduction of this supposedly troubling tax is supposed to make this happen.

   

    However, there have been many cases where this did not happen. For example, even though we currently have one of the highest corporate taxes, U.S. corporations have been making for money than they have in 61 years. In addition to this, with many different loopholes, U.S. corporations often do not pay the full tax. It is also argued that jobs are not created because of low corporate taxes, so much as the need for workers. Last, often unemployment has been lowest when the corporate tax rate was the highest. Like when from 1986 to 2011, the corporate tax rate dropped about 11%, but unemployment increased by about 1.9%. Plus, without this tax, many public services will be adversely affected.

What is Corporate Income Tax? http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/how-corporations-are-taxed-30157.html

Trump’s Plan for this Tax and Many Others. http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/whats-in-trumps-and-republicans-tax-reform-plan/article/2629777

Pros

http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/?Article_ID=22980

Cons

https://www.cheatsheet.com/business/heres-what-happens-when-we-lower-corporate-tax-rates.html/?a=viewall

More on Pros and Cons

http://corporatetax.procon.org/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fproconrss+%28ProCon.org+ALL%29

Should the corporate income tax be reduced?

What effects will changes have?

Should it be kept the way it is?

Donald Trump announces a ban on transgender people.

Transgender Military Ban?

Transgender people were supposed to be allowed to enlist in the armed forces beginning July 1. However Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said in June that it would be delayed six months. Now, President Donald Trump says he wants to keep transgender people out of the military altogether. On July 26, 2017 President Donald Trump takes to Twitter to announce a ban on transgender people serving in the military. Trump wrote in a triple of continuous tweets “After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow... Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming... victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you”. This announcement came after a year when former President Barack Obama lifted a ban transgender military service. This was a move that allowed active-duty troops to come out as transgender and reveal there true self. Roughly around 250 service members applied to change their gender in the past year when the ban was appealed. The Human Rights Campaign, has estimated that there are more than 15,500 active serving transgender troops, 8,800 of whom are active duty service members. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House Press Secretary, said that this announcement was a "military decision" and nothing other than that.  

                                                       (Trumps Tweet read- top to bottom)

Vicky Hartzler, Representative of Missouri agrees with President Trump and says gender transition health care coverage for transgender military members would increase the Defense Departments health care costs by as much as roughly 8.4 million dollars. However Senator John McCain, Armed Services Committee Chairman said "There is no reason to force service members who are able to fight, train and deploy to leave the military regardless of there gender identity". Also a transgender activist Sarah McBride says "This isn't just about healthcare, this according to Donald Trumps tweets is about not allowing transgender people to serve at all". During the 2016 presidential race, Donald Trump called himself a "real friend" of the LGBT community. This was when the tragedy of the Orlando nightclub shooting occurred. Trump accused Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton of prioritizing "immigration policies that bring Islamic extremists" into the U.S. In June Trump tweeted "Thank you to the LGBT community! I will fight for you while Hillary brings in more people that will threaten your freedoms and beliefs". He also chastised North Carolina's disputed "bathroom law" for the LGBT, saying "transgender individuals should use whatever bathroom they want". Its not looking so great now as you can tell. Yet again another lie from our president. His decision was a huge blow for the LGBT community and let down thousands and millions of people. Instead of helping and giving them there rights they deserve, like he said, he did the complete opposite and shut off a huge community. All these individuals priority was to serve for there country and now they can't.

(President Donald Trump holding LGBT flag)

This jaw dropping topic has many people heated and confused. At this point we as Americans could only do so little and wait to see what happens next on the road. There are plentiful sides to this story and opinions that are expressed. What do you have to say to this?




The following are some videos to further explain this topic:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqhPO_vNScM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DgLrIV9hoA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvDfRkKnRB4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLJJr5XMU_E

Discussion Questions:

• How do you think a transgender individual would have felt waking up to this announcement? What could be there feelings, or thoughts going on in there head?
• What do you think will happen to the current 15,000 transgender members in the military?
• What is your opinion on Trumps decision? Do you agree or disagree with his actions?
• Do you think his decision was just a "military decision" or anything bias?

Trump's New Statregy: Let Obamacare Fail

Trump's New Strategy


Over the past few weeks, Trump has been focusing on abolishing Obamacare once and for all. After much controversy on the topic, Trump decided that letting Obamacare "fail" on its own is the best way to go. This way, there won't be much argument from the Democrats since Trump would let the system fail without extreme interference. At first, Trump wanted to repeal the Affordable Care Act and then come up with a better health care system. Since he did not receive the 50 necessary votes to even consider the idea, his plan is clearly flawed. Instead, a couple Republican Senators stated that Trump would need a replacement plan to be in place for them to regard the tremendous governmental change.

Links for further understanding:
http://www.politico.com/video/2017/07/28/trump-let-obamacare-implode-063682
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/18/us/politics/republicans-obamacare-repeal-now-replace-later.html?mcubz=1
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/07/18/trumps-latest-health-care-strategy-let-obamacare-fail/487187001/

The main issues that can take place with this plan is that it could lead to much more controversy than there already is. When something in the government affects the whole country, there tends to be a great deal of argument because it affects such a diverse group of people. In my opinion, the best way to prevent nationwide problems from happening is to get the opinion of the citizens before deciding any major changes. The government can do that by holding voting elections for things that affects the country as a whole, such as the national health care system.

Discussion Questions:

1.Do you think the Senators made a good call by requiring Trump to have another system in place before getting rid of Obamacare? Why or why not?

2.What are some changes that you think are necessary in the new healthcare system?

3.What is a way that you think conflict(similar to the controversy with Obamacare) could be avoided regarding the new healthcare system that may be put in place instead of Obamacare?

US sanctions on Iran after successful missile launch

The US government has recently put sanction on Iran after they have successfully launched missiles that are capable of placing satellites that weigh up to 550 lbs into 310 mile low-earth orbit according to their national news channel. President trump does not beleive that this testing adheres to the spirit of the 2015 Nuclear Agreement. The missile program in Iran has urged the US to place sanctions on Iran to show the seriousness of our stance for their nuclear program. additional sanctions have been placed on North Korea and Russia.

While Iran seems to be adhering to the 2015 Nuclear Agreement there has been a push for investigations on Iranian military sites to test the trust of the agreement. President Trump also wants to with drawl from the Agreement saying that it was a "very bead deal", however that would leave the US isolated in the matter. The Iranian nuclear program was supposed to be restricted to peaceful purposes however the continuation of the Iranian missile program may threaten the agreement.

The Phoenix rocket launch which is capable of putting a satellite into orbit is feared to be able to create Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) capable of hitting the US. There are six Iranian firms that have been targeted and blocked from doing business with US based or firmed businesses. The sanctions are on companies who manufacture missile components, missile airframes, liquid-propellant ballistic missile engines, liquid propellant, guidance and control systems. 

The US will continue to monitor the Iranian missile program and will be very careful with other provocative launches. The provocative launches as of lately have been very concerning for the Trump administration and the Rest of the US Government. The Tehran's rocket launch and the missile attacks on Saudi Arabia or to on alleged Syrian rebel groups are examples of launches that the US should watch out for.

Questions:

• Should the government with drawl from the 2015 Agreement?
• Should the government interfere with the program?
• Are the sanctions a good idea?

Sources/ Read more:

• http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-iran-satellite-sanctions-idUSKBN1AD289?feedType=RSS&virtualBrandChannel=11563
• https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/27/world/middleeast/iran-reports-successful-launch-of-missile-as-us-considers-new-sanctions.html

North Korea Launches Another Intercontinental Ballistic Missile

The Pentagon has confirmed that North Korea has launched another ICBM. The Intercontinental Ballistic Missile flew about 1,000 kilometers before landing in the Sea of Japan, it was not deemed a threat. North Korea first launched an ICBM on July Fourth of this year, and it proved it had the power to reach some parts of the United States. 

The United Nations has banned North Korea from having a nuclear arms program, but North Korea has clearly defied that ban. The secretive nation has organized five nuclear tests beginning in 2006. These recent actions have created rising tensions between the United States and North Korea, especially since president Trump's inauguration.

North Korea is technologically advancing faster than many expected. Because of this, the date for when a nuclear tipped missile could strike the United States was moved from 2020 to 2018, less than a year away. 

Sources for further reading:

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/north-korean-ballistic-missile-launch-detected-pentagon-n787451

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/north-korea-missile-launch-fire-japan-sea-nhk-icbm-pyongyang-a7865516.html

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/07/28/540008218/north-korea-h-ballistic-missile-seoul-and-the-pentagon-say

Questions for discussion:

1) Do you think the United States should intervene before they become capable of handling nuclear weapons?

2) What steps do you think Trump will take to protect the US? 

3) Other than the initiatives the US has previously taken, are there any other non violent ways to handle matters before they get worse?