Politics For Dummies (For Dummies Series)

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A new, third level of content, designed specially to meet the advanced needs of the sophisticated scholar. St. Thomas Aquinas, 1225–1274 CE: St. Aquinas integrated Aristotle’s concept of people being able to reason with Catholic doctrines. The judicial branch is made up of American courts, the most powerful being the Supreme Court. For court cases that aren’t quite solved through lower courts, eventually they can make their way up to the Supreme Court where the judges, which are called justices, rule on the dispute. Many cases that make their way to the Supreme Court aren’t answered easily by a simple glance at the Constitution, so justices must read between the lines and make educated guesses on how the situation should be handled. Justices are nominated by the president and confirmed by Congress, and if they’re confirmed to the Supreme Court, they serve lifelong terms. The justices use the Constitution as their Bible for interpreting whether or not laws and actions are allowable. Environmentalism: Key political concern is protecting and improving the condition of the natural environment. Many believe there is a need for much greater regulation of humans’ interaction with the environment, as well as aspects of our lifestyles that are environmentally unsustainable. Congress can impeach the president and Supreme Court justices, and must confirm the president’s nominations of justices. The legislative branch also act as the money-holders of the American budget, since they delegate governmental funds. If Congress was a parent and government programs were its children, Congress gives big and small allowances to its children. And if they misappropriate their funds, kind of like if they use their gas money to buy Slurpees, Congress can give more money to other programs instead.

Mercantilism: One of the oldest economic theories around. It, unlike economic liberalism, believes that politics and economics are related and that economics is supposed to serve a nation’s interest. Every member of the government comes from the largest party in Parliament or one that is part of a coalition.Politics is one of the most widely reported topics in the media. Examine how the different media present the news, as well as how politicians try to influence how news is reported. Understanding certain aspects of the media can help you analyze political news, including:

Generally opposed to gay marriage; opposed to certain anti-discrimination laws because they believe such laws conflict with certain religious beliefs and restrict freedom of religion. If we think about how the UK government is formed, it becomes apparent why each party competes so vigorously to gain seats in the House of Commons.It used to be that the right wing had a very strong talk- radio presence, while the left had a strong presence in print media. In recent years, media outlets have formed to appease either the left or right wings. Right-wing media includes Fox News, the Wall Street Journal and Rush Limbaugh. Left-wing media includes MSNBC, the New York Times, the Washington Post, Ed Schultz and comedians like Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart. Coalitions are not common to Westminster politics as one party is likely to win a majority of seats under the first past the post system. But between 2010 and 2015 the UK was governed by a coalition between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats. In Nebraska, a 1936 referendum saw residents vote to get rid of the two chamber system in favour of one house – the Nebraska Legislature, made up of state senators. In the context of the UK, Parliament is the term for the House of Commons and the House of Lords in Westminster. These two chambers are different. Consider why politics can be so polarizing. It’s common wisdom that you shouldn’t bring up politics or religion at dinner parties, since they tend to elicit strong opinions and disagreements. Politics strikes right at the core of your individual worldview, on topics like the proper structuring of society, individual rights and responsibilities, and the power of government over your life. So it shouldn’t be surprising that people get worked up or even angry discussing politics. [6] X Research source

The Concert of Europe: The Concert of Europe was the political system in Europe, based on the balance of power concept, that lasted until the outbreak of World War I. It provided Europe for almost a century with peace (despite some minor conflicts). We have our own Senedd in Wales - Senedd Cymru - where 60 Members of the Senedd (MS) meet to debate. What both Senedd Cymru and the UK Parliament have in common is that they have the power to make laws. The reason party politics can get so messy is, in-part, because “left” and “right” aren’t two points on a single line, rather, the political spectrum is a combination of many complex paradigms. This concept is an essay in itself, but for simplicity, in modern America, the political parties are the Liberal, Socialist, Conservative, and Libertarian parties.Around 620 the Golden Age of Islam begins. This is important as they focus on obtaining and preserving the knowledge of the Greeks during the European dark ages. Our Federal government has three branches (separation of powers) that are detailed in the first three articles of the Constitution. They are the Executive ( President and about 5,000,000 workers) [2], Legislative ( Senate and House of Representatives), and Judicial ( Supreme Court and lower Courts). [3] [4]