American Politics And The United States Congress Essay

Over the last several decades, American politics scholars have sought to understand the causes of increasing partisanship and polarization in the United States Congress. Since the 1970s, the ideological positions of the two major U.S. parties, the Democratic and Republican parties, have widened (Abramowitz and Saunders, 2008; Levendusky; 2010). This ideological divide also promotes a perception among the American public that Congress has increasingly become ineffective and polarized to a point where political parties in government no longer compromise on policy for the good of the country. In recent years, a new concern has arisen regarding unlimited spending in elections by outside groups permitted after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. FEC (2010) and the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision in SpeechNOW.org v. FEC (2010) (Mann and Corroado, 2014). Both decisions allow unlimited independent expenditures for political advertisements, ad buy s, and other electioneering communications during elections. Furthermore, there is an increase and heightened unease of outside undisclosed donors, or â€Å"dark† money, who may have undue influences on political, electoral, and policy outcomes (Mann and Corroado, 2014; Federal Election Commission). Thus, does independent campaign expenditures spend have detrimental or undue influences on polarization and policy outcomes by promoting more extreme ideological positions in congressional representation?Show MoreRelatedAs Senator Arthur Vandenberg Famously Stated In 1947, â€Å"We1579 Words   |  7 PagesSenator Arthur Vandenberg famously stated in 1947, â€Å"we must stop partisan politics at the water’s edge.† Vandenberg’s declaration suggests that domestic policy differences should not affect how the United States conducts itself abroad. This notion is especially relevant in understanding the discrepancies – or lack thereof – between for eign and domestic policy in the modern United States. Since its founding, the United States has prided itself on its exceptionalism, with many of its leaders endorsingRead MoreAmerica: Land of Opportunity or Land of the Wealthy? Essay example729 Words   |  3 Pages This disillusionment sentiment experienced by American society towards its wealth biased government is substantiated as many members are wealthy or has direct ties to wealth, perpetuating the trend of income inequality through policymaking. The legislative branch of the government, or the branch that is directly involved in policymaking and lawmaking is populated by various members of massive wealth that represents many sectors of the economy that had a hand in the financial collapse of 2007 andRead MoreThe Causes And Cons Of The United States Congress?711 Words   |  3 PagesThe United States Congress has been on a downward spiral in the past decade, in 2009 their approval rating was at 37% compared to a mere 13% as of this week. This begs the question of whether our electoral laws for Congress are truly working in our current political climate. The house of representatives currently divided at 240 Republicans to 194 Democrats and 1 independent. This clear divide has been seen in the inability to pass legislation and the clear lack of partisanship within the house. Read MoreOne Of The Most Prominent Issues Facing The Current United1655 Words   |  7 PagesOne of the most prominent issues facing the current United States Congressional system is the lack of term limits for Congress members. The lack of limitation creates a system of career politicians that maintain many of the same legislative ideas or principles in Congress for many years, making it hard for changes in legislature to occur. With an aging congress population, many constituents feel out of touch with their representation and the system of seniority in place today allows for little chanceRead MorePolitics And The Federal Government961 Words   |  4 PagesThe majority of Americans have become apathetic when politics or the federal government are brought up in either the news, inside classrooms, or amongst friends and relatives. Nevertheless, people tend to have an ignorant state of mind towa rds politics and become so unaware about what the federal government does on a daily basis. Not to mention, Americans refuse to accept that the federal government has people working in the Senate and in the House of Representatives, recognizing and debating theirRead MoreEssay on Manifest Destiny and American Politics658 Words   |  3 PagesDuring the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries the United States saw many problems come and go. Some problems were more important than others, however all led to further division of American politics. The most divisive issue in American politics during this time frame was the idea of Manifest Destiny, or territorial expansion. Manifest Destiny was the idea that it was the United States’ destiny to take over all of North America from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Most of the publicRead MoreThe Effects Of Free Speech On The United States1729 Words   |  7 PagesAs an American citizen and a late bloomer to the political arena in the United States, I find myself arriving in an disheartening and frightening environment. Where I have suddenly awoken in a dis-utopian world of money, power and greed, where the rich elites of the population has all the power to speak up. Where money has become more out-spoken and heard than actual dialog, while the majority of the population remains silenced through underfunded attempts to express their views. Giving money theRead More Domestic Politics and Foreign Policy Essay1243 Words   |  5 PagesDomestic Politics and Foreign Policy Although the aspirations and goals of states are often motivated by external political pressures, analysis of recent foreign policy decisions demonstrates how internal political forces can play equally crucial roles in the pursuit and execution of these objectives. Thus, it would be invalid to claim that domestic politics and the nature of regimes play minor roles in either the goals a state pursues or the means it employs to reach them. By understandingRead MoreAn avowed nationalist, who had impact on the American dream, Theodore Roosevelt brought presidency1200 Words   |  5 Pagesavowed nationalist, who had impact on the American dream, Theodore Roosevelt brought presidency and nation into the twentieth century. (Theodore) Theodore Roosevelt was the twenty sixth president of the United States, a president that had great impact in politics. He was born into a rich family, and he suffered from asthma during his childhood (United States. National Park service). He studied at Harva rd University, and the Columbia law school (United States. National Park service 2). He attended theRead MoreAmerican Foreign Policy During World War II1565 Words   |  7 PagesAmerican foreign policy shifted drastically from the birth of the new nation to the beginning of the 20th century. George Washington’s Farewell Address in 1796 left an admonition for the nation and isolationist roots from its founding President; however, by the early 1900s, William McKinley and other American Presidents took part in imperialistic foreign policy that represented a complete digression from Washington’s doctrine. After World War I and before the impending Second World War, American

A Murdur Is Announced Free Essays

A Murder Is Announced A Murder Is Announced is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in June 1950 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in the same month. The UK edition retailed at eight shillings and sixpence (8/6) and the US edition at $2. 50. We will write a custom essay sample on A Murdur Is Announced or any similar topic only for you Order Now ] The novel features her detective Miss Marple and is considered a crime novel classic. The book was heavily promoted upon publication in 1950 as being Christie’s fiftieth book, although in truth this figure could only be arrived at by counting in both UK and US short story collections. Plot summary A strange notice appears in the morning paper of a perfectly ordinary small English village, Chipping Cleghorn: â€Å"A murder is announced and will take place on Friday, October 29th, at Little Paddocks, at 6:30 p. m. Friends accept this, the only intimation. † This apparently comes as a great surprise to Letitia Blacklock, the owner of Little Paddocks, as she has no idea what the notice means; she didn’t place it and none of her companions knows more than she. Miss Blacklock decides to take it in her stride and prepares herself to have guests that evening. Naturally, the villagers are intrigued by this notice, and several of them appear on the doorstep with awkward reasons but a definite interest. As the clock strikes 6:30, the lights go out and a door swings open, revealing a man with a blinding torch. In a heavily accented voice, the man demands they â€Å"Stick ’em up! † Most of the guests do so, believing it to be part of a game. The game ends when shots are fired into the room. The door slams shut, and panic takes hold: in short order, it’s discovered that the fuses are blown, the gunman has been shot, and Ms. Blacklock’s ear is bleeding, apparently from a bullet’s near-miss. The most curious thing of all is the gunman: he is recognized by Dora Bunner (an old friend of Letitia’s, affectionately known as â€Å"Bunny,† who lives at Little Paddocks as her companion) as Rudi Scherz, the receptionist at a local spa, who had asked Letitia for money just a few short days ago. The police are called in. All clues suggest that the case is merely a strange suicide or accidental death, but Inspector Craddock is uneasy about both possibilities. As luck would have it, Miss Marple is a guest at the very same spa where Rudi Scherz was employed. Craddock is advised to involve her in the case, and the two commence working together. At the spa, it emerges that Rudi has a criminal background, but petty theft and forgery rather than any more serious crime. His girlfriend, a waitress at the spa, however, reveals that he had been paid to appear as the holdup man; he believed it was all â€Å"a silly English joke†, and was clearly not planning on being shot at. With this new knowledge, Craddock returns to Chipping Cleghorn. Miss Marple, not uncoincidentally, is the godmother of the local vicar’s wife, and decides to stay with her. The first step is to establish a motive for Scherz’s attack on Miss Blacklock. This presents a problem: Letitia has no known enemies. She worked for a successful financier (Randall Goedler) and has done quite well for herself but is not herself wealthy. She does not lead a lavish life and, aside from her house, she has only enough to live on. However, she may shortly come into a great deal of money; Randall Goedler’s estate passed to his wife, Belle, when he died. Belle is frail, and is now very near death. When Belle dies, Miss Blacklock inherits everything. If, however, she predeceases Belle, the estate goes to the mysterious â€Å"Pip† and â€Å"Emma†, children of Randall’s estranged sister, Sonia. No one knows where these two are, much less what they look like. Inspector Craddock discovers oil on the hinges of a door into the parlour (where the shooting took place) thought to be unused, and Bunny mentions that until quite recently there had been a table placed against the door. Inspector Craddock travels to Scotland to meet Belle; she mentions that Letitia had a beloved sister, Charlotte, who was born with a goiter. Their father, an old-fashioned doctor, tried unsuccessfully to treat Charlotte, but she only withdrew further into herself as her goiter got worse. Their father died shortly before World War II, and Letitia gave up her job with Goedler and took her sister to Switzerland for the necessary surgery to repair the defect. The two sisters waited out the war in the Swiss countryside, but before it was over, Charlotte died very suddenly. Letitia returned to England shortly thereafter. Miss Marple takes tea with Bunny during her shopping trip with Letitia, and Bunny reveals several details about the case: she talks about the recently oiled door she found with the Inspector; she’s sure that Patrick Simmons, a young cousin of Letitia’s who, with his sister Julia, is also staying at Little Paddocks, is not as he appears; and, most tellingly, she’s absolutely positive there was a different lamp in the room on the night of the murder (the one with the shepherdess and not with the shepherd) than there was now. Their tete-a-tete is interrupted, however, as Letitia arrives, and she and Bunny resume their shopping. That evening, Letitia arranges a birthday party for Bunny, complete with almost everyone who was at the house when Rudy Scherz was kills; and she asks Mitzi to make her special cake, which Patrick has nicknamed â€Å"Delicious Death†. This was while post-war austerity rationing was in effect — butter and eggs were hard to come by even in a rural community, and the chocolate and raisins used in the cake were very difficult to get. A box of chocolates is also a present. Bunny loves chocolate but it gives her a headachek and she can’t find the aspirin she bought. She takes some of Letitia’s aspirin instead, lies down for a nap – and dies. Miss Marple visits Ms. Blacklock, who mourns Bunny and starts crying. Miss Marple asks to see photo albums which might contain pictures of Sonia Goedler, Pip and Emma’s mother, but all photos of Sonia were taken out of the albums recently, although they were in place before the death of Rudi Scherz. Through deduction and re-enactment, Misses Hinchliffe and Murgatroyd (two spinster farmers who were also present at the time of the Scherz murder) figure out that Miss Murgatroyd could see who was in the room as she was standing behind the door when it swung open; she couldn’t have seen Rudi as he was on the other side of the opened door, but she could see whose faces were illuminated by the torch beam. The two women conclude that the person who wasn’t in the room (and therefore not seen by Miss Murgatroyd) could have sneaked out of the room when the lights went out and come around behind Rudi, and shot at him—and Miss Blacklock. Just as she remembers the one person not in the room, the stationmaster calls to notify them that a dog has just arrived. As Miss Hinchliffe pulls away in her car, Miss Murgatroyd runs into the driveway, shouting â€Å"She wasn’t there! † She is murdered while Miss Hinchliffe is away, and so does not reveal whom she did not see. Miss Hinchliffe returns and meets Miss Marple. They discover Murgatroyd’s body, and a distraught Hinchliffe informs Miss Marple of Murgatroyd’s cryptic statement. At Little Paddocks, Letitia receives a letter from the real Julia Simmons in Perth. She confronts â€Å"Julia† with the letter, and â€Å"Julia† reveals that she is actually Sonia’s daughter, Emma Stamfordis, masquerading as Julia so that she could attempt to gain a portion of the inheritance from Letitia and let the real Julia spend time pursuing an acting career. Julia/Emma insists she is uninvolved in the assassination attempt—she was a crack shot during the French Resistance and would not have missed at that range, even in the dark—nor did she wish to prevent Letitia from inheriting Randall Goedler’s estate. She had intended to ingratiate herself with Letitia and try to obtain a portion of the money, and once the murder took place, had no choice but to continue the masquerade. Phillipa Haymes (a boarder at Little Paddocks and a young widow) sneaks into the kitchen to speak to Julia/Emma, but Julia/Emma sends her away before finding out what Phillipa had to say. That night, the vicar’s cat, Tiglath Pileser, knocks over a glass of water onto a frayed electrical cord, which causes the fuses to blow, and the final clue falls into place for Miss Marple. Inspector Craddock gathers everyone at Little Paddocks and launches the final inquest, which is interrupted by Mitzi, Letitia’s foreign â€Å"lady-help†, crying out that she saw Letitia commit the murder. The inspector does not believe her, and continues with his questioning. The inspector continues, and quickly insinuates that Edmund Swettenham who, with his widowed mother, was also present at the shooting, is in fact Pip. However, Phillipa comes forward and confesses that she is in fact Pip; Inspector Craddock then accuses Edmund of wanting to marry a rich wife in Phillipa by murdering Letitia. Edmund denies this and as he does so, a terrified scream is heard from the kitchen. Everyone rushes to the kitchen and discovers Miss Blacklock attempting to drown Mitzi in the sink. Miss Blacklock is arrested by a local constable who has been hiding in the kitchen with Miss Marple, who imitates Dora Bunner’s voice to make Ms. Blacklock break down. Miss Marple explains it quite simply: it wasn’t Charlotte who died in Switzerland, but Letitia. Charlotte, aware that Letitia was in line to inherit a fortune, posed as Letitia and returned to England; few people knew Charlotte, as she had been a recluse before leaving England, and a slight change in Letitia’s appearance could be explained away to casual acquaintances by her time abroad during the war. She only needed to avoid people who knew Letitia well, such as Belle Goedler, and to always cover her throat with strings of pearls or beads to hide the scars from her goiter surgery. Bunny was one of the few people who remembered Charlotte as Charlotte, but by then, Charlotte was so lonely that she allowed her old chool friend to move in. However, Rudi Scherz could have ruined everything: he worked at the Swiss hospital where Charlotte had been treated and could therefore identify Charlotte as herself. This is why Letitia/Charlotte hired him to come to Chipping Cleghorn and â€Å"hold up† a room full of guests: she blew the fuse by pouring water from a vase of flow ers onto the frayed cord of a lamp, slipped out the second door, stood behind Rudi, and shot him. She then nicked her ear with a pair of nail scissors and rejoined the others, playing the part of perplexed host. Bunny became the next target because she, too, could reveal too much. Bunny had an eye for detail, but was prone to slip-ups: on several occasions, she referred to Ms. Blacklock as â€Å"Lotty† (short for â€Å"Charlotte†) instead of â€Å"Letty† (short for â€Å"Letitia†), and her conversation with Miss Marple in the cafe proved fatal. Miss Murgatroyd, the final victim, was also killed for guessing too much and for coming to the realization that Letitia/Charlotte was the one person, beside herself, whose face was not illuminated by Rudi Scherz’s torch. Mitzi and Edmund had been persuaded by Miss Marple to play parts in tripping Charlotte Blacklock up; Miss Marple’s plans were almost brought down when Phillipa admitted to being Pip, but Inspector Craddock thought fast enough to turn around and claim Edmund was after Phillipa’s money. In the end, Phillipa/Pip and Julia/Emma inherit the Goedler fortune; Edmund and Phillipa/Pip get married and return to Chipping Cleghorn to live. Characters in â€Å"A Murder is Announced† * Miss Jane Marple * Inspector Dermot Craddock Letitia Blacklock, lady of the house, in her early/mid 60s * Dora Bunner, her elderly fluttery childhood friend, usually known by her nickname, â€Å"Bunny† * Patrick and Julia Simmons, Miss Blacklock’s spoiled and foolish young cousins (who call her Aunt) * Mitzi, Miss Blacklock’s foreign housekeeper and cook, a young refugee * Phillipa Haymes, a young widowed paying guest/gardener with a young son at boarding school * Colonel Ar chie Easterbrook, blustery old colonel just returned from India * Laura Easterbrook, his considerably younger, glamorous wife * Mrs Swettenham, elderly lady who dotes on her son Edmund Swettenham, cynical young writer * Miss Hinchcliffe, efficient lady farmer * Miss Amy Murgatroyd, her pleasant but giggly companion * Belle Goedler, dying widow of Letitia’s former wealthy employer * Diane `Bunch? Harmon, wife of the local vicar * Julian Harmon, the vicar * Tiglath Pileser, the vicarage cat * Rudi Scherz, a young man of Swiss extraction, the receptionist at a local spa * Myrna Harris, girlfriend of the latter, waitress at local spa * Chief Constable George Rydesdale, Craddock’s superior How to cite A Murdur Is Announced, Essay examples

Speech on Dangers of Smoking and How to Quit It free essay sample

I don’t think any of us will do the same thing if we were her. Will you do the same thing? I don’t think so. This story is very well connected to my topic today. A very good morning to the honorable judges, time keepers, teachers, ladies and gentlemen and fellow friends. Today, I want to talk about the ‘Dangers of Smoking and How to quit it’. Let me begin by asking a few questions. What is smoking? What are cigarette? I bet all of you know the answer but in case you don’t know, smoking happens when a person smokes and to smoke a person will need a cigarette. Here’s another question. Are you young? Are you old? Do you smoke? I don’t care whether you are young or old. As long as you are a smoker, slowly but surely killing himself, take my speech as a warning. We will write a custom essay sample on Speech on Dangers of Smoking and How to Quit It or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Smoking has become a serious issue today as it has become one of the major killers in human. Smoking is responsible for more deaths each year than drug and alcohol abuse, car crashes, AIDS, murder and suicide put together. So, think about it the next time you light up. But people these days are eager to take up smoking. Why? Well, they think that it makes them look sophisticated and grown-up while some smokes because their friends ask them to smoke. Yet, everyone knows†¦ YES, everyone knows that smoking destroys the body. Even a four year old kid knows that smoking destroys the body! Smoking is very addictive. It takes a person about ten to fifteen years to completely give up this habit. Smokers are often irritable when they cannot smoke because their bodies are craving for the nicotine found in cigarette. Ladies and gentlemen, teachers and fellow friends, Smoking is dangerous for smokers as well as non-smokers and why is that so? According to reliable resources, in the year of 2008 to 2009, a statistic has shown that a non-smoker is more likely to die first than the one who smokes. It is also proven by scientists that the smoke blown out by a smoker is more harmful than the smoke from the cigarette which is inhaled by a smoker. Therefore, smokers not only harm their own health but others as well. In other words, a smoker is killing himself as well as the others when he is smoking. Smoking has been found to cause lung cancer and other forms of cancer. Lung cancer claims over 123,000 lives in America alone while another 35,000 will die from other cancers. If you think that smoking will only cause lung cancer, you are absolutely wrong! Cancers of the lip, mouth, stomach, pancreas, kidneys, gullet and cervix are much more common among smokers. Shocking right? Smoking is also said to cause heart disease, bronchitis, asthma, stains our teeth, skins and nails. If you are already smoking, try and break this habit immediately and if you are trying to quit smoking here are three steps how to do it. First of all, think about giving up smoking. I know some smokers will think like this, â€Å"Oh†¦ I can’t live without smoking! Oh†¦ I will die! † But don’t you know when you are smoking; you are killing yourself and others as well! You can be considered as a murderer! I mean†¦ an invisible one. As people say, smoker is a silent killer! So, spend some time thinking about maybe smoking less. The problem with smoking is that it has become a habit. Maybe even a comforting habit. So, be sure to give yourself lots of time thinking about it. You won’t quit smoking unless or maybe until you make the decision so tep two is deciding. Quitting smoking is not an easy decision to make. It needs a strong will power and determination. This is harder than step one but even more important. The final step is the actual act of quitting. The most difficult of the three steps. Now, you just need to decide how you want to quit smoking. Medical assistance, therapy, you name it! Anything that you think can h elp you in quitting this habit will do. You may even fail a few times but don’t let that stop you from trying. I know quitting smoking will never be easy. The famous American writer, Mark Twain has put it candidly but meaningfully. I quote, â€Å"Quitting smoking is the easiest thing in the world because I’ve done it thousands of times†. Unquote. Remember, quitting smoking is a journey. The destination is a smoke-free life. Once again, if you are already smoking, try and break this habit immediately. Think about your family! Be inspired from them! I believe, by quitting smoking you can be a better person and your body scent will smell even better. Smoking makes you look sophisticated? What a crap! It stinks! So, let us all SAY NO TO SMOKING! Thank you.