Deadline #2, HW #3 Annotated Bibliography x2

Abstract By Thomas J. Billitteri
Are new laws needed to empower parents?
Conservative lawmakers and the Religious Right say liberal bureaucrats, courts and legislators have usurped parents' authority over their children. They have mounted an aggressive campaign to win new parental rights guarantees in state constitutions and federal law. On Nov. 5, Coloradans will vote on a constitutional amendment giving parents the “inalienable” right “to direct and control the upbringing, education, values and discipline of their children.” Sponsors in 27 other states are pushing similar amendments, and parental rights legislation has been introduced in Congress. A broad coalition of opponents argues that parental rights laws are dangerous and unnecessary. Such laws would not only put children at new risk for abuse, they say, but also throw schools into gridlock and lead to costly lawsuits.
- This article goes into the pros and cons of parental rights when it comes to their children’s education. I could go into further detail and research on this topic such as home school, charter or private school, talking about parental choice and school vouchers.



Abstract By Charles S. Clark
Are advisers and handlers harming democracy?
That political animal known as the consultant has come a long way since the days when faceless advisers stood discreetly behind candidates and whispered folksy suggestions. Today, no campaign is fully written up without profiles of those media-savvy gurus who sometimes float above party loyalty. But consultants - who rose to influence along with television - get blamed for many of the political system's problems. Critics say the professionalization of politics encourages negative campaigning, escalates campaign costs, reduces debate on the issues to sound bites, corrupts the science of opinion polling and even reduces once-eager campaign volunteers to spectators. Consultants respond that responsibility for their decisions must be borne by the candidate, and that they are paid, first and foremost, to win.

- I would research different campaign tactics that campaign managers have use that could, in fact, "harm democracy" and also portray the other side; needing a campaign manager to help politicize running candidates without directing a bash campaign. I could talk about my personal experience in helping multiple campaign managers run successful campaigns, including my dads, and also look into bonuses given to consultants when the candidate is indeed elected. I would talk about how receiving money for a job well done is not something to be looked down upon because it is for that reason that makes America great.


Abstract By Alan Greenblatt
Are politics more polarized than ever?
If political ads sound unusually harsh this campaign season, it may be because the major parties are highlighting their differences in hopes of tipping an evenly divided electorate their way. Over the past couple of decades, elected officials and party leaders have become more openly partisan, with greater divisions between the parties across the entire range of political issues, including taxation and government spending, foreign policy and cultural issues. As the politicians present completely opposing views to the public, so-called swing voters are becoming an endangered species. Voters are either becoming more closely aligned with one party or the other, or dropping out of the political process altogether. If this year's presidential race remains as close as polls indicate, it will be the second squeaker in a row — and a further indication that there is no clear majority of political opinion in a divided country.

- With this topic, I would go into detail about how politicians are more concerned with their opponent’s political party that they have forgotten what they were elected or running to do. I would talk about the negative effect this has had on our government and country regarding numerous issues because people in congress can’t compromise, not just because of political parties, but because of pride. I would go into detail about the effect on the current war, and popular political issues such as gay marriage, and abortion because of political parties.