Topic List Course Documents
|
Dr. Bordelon's English I On-Campus |
|
Overview and Instructions After deciding on the topic, use the Library Links to access the CQ Researcher database and search for the essay. Remember that if you are working on this in class, only four people can access the site at one time.
Topic Listing After deciding on the topic, use the Library Links from the course menu to access the CQ Researcher database and search for the essay. Future of Journalism Thomas Jefferson once famously remarked that if he had to choose between government without newspapers or newspapers without government, he wouldn't hesitate to preserve newspapers. Today, however, newspapers across the country are declining in circulation, advertising and profitability. Some are ceasing to publish. Others are reducing or closing Washington and state-capital bureaus, laying off staff and cutting back the news coverage they provide. Many journalists, scholars, political activists and government officials worry that government without newspapers could be on the horizon, and that citizens then would be unable to obtain sufficient information for effective self-government. As more Americans turn to the Internet and cable television for news, however, others are hopeful that new forms of journalism will fill the gaps. Meanwhile, newspapers are attempting to give themselves new birth online. Future of the GOP Last November's sweeping election of Barack Obama and further losses in Congress presented Republicans with their worst defeat in more than a decade. Republicans recognize that they are at a low ebb but believe they still have a firm foundation for success. Congressional Republicans have decided to oppose Obama's spending proposals, rather than trying to collaborate in a bipartisan fashion. They believe a clear statement of core party principles — lower taxes and limited government — will still be popular. Others aren't convinced, arguing that the party must adapt to challenges it faces among minorities, the young and voters outside the South. Other parties have snapped back quickly from similar losses, but some predict that Republicans face a long period in the political wilderness. Meanwhile, it's not clear who speaks for the party — the congressional leadership, potential presidential aspirants such as Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, or even radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh. Vanishing Jobs Middle-Class Squeeze Closing Guantánamo President Obama on his second full day in office ordered the closing of the Guantánamo detention camp within a year. The facility at the U.S. Naval Station in Cuba has been controversial ever since President George W. Bush decided in late 2001 to use it to hold suspected enemy combatants captured in Afghanistan and elsewhere. Both Obama and Republican candidate John McCain promised during the presidential campaign to close the facility if elected. But that poses many difficult issues about the camp's remaining 241 prisoners. The government wants to send many to other countries — with few takers so far — but worries that some may resume hostile activities against the United States. Some may be brought to the U.S. for trial, but those prosecutions would raise a host of uncharted legal issues. Meanwhile, opposition already has surfaced to any plans for housing detainees in the United States. And human-rights advocates worry the Obama administration may continue to back some form of preventive detention for suspected terrorists. Public-Works Projects To battle the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt put millions of unemployed Americans to work on New Deal projects such as repairing roads and building cabins in national parks. To stimulate today's ailing economy, Congress has enacted a $787 billion package that includes tax cuts and spending on infrastructure, including expanding highway and rail systems and weatherizing buildings. But many conservatives argue that government spending does not create jobs and merely diverts money from the private sector, which they call the only true engine of job creation. Meanwhile, infrastructure experts worry that if federal public-works dollars are spent too quickly, the money will go to eco-unfriendly projects, such as additional highway lanes that encourage fossil-fuel use and suburban sprawl, rather than to more future-oriented “green” initiatives like expanding rail and public transit and upgrading the electrical grid to accommodate alternative power sources. Homeland Security Following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the U.S. government created the Department of Homeland Security, giving it stepped-up power to shadow and detain terrorism suspects. Then-President George W. Bush credited these measures — and intelligence and military operations abroad — with preventing new attacks on U.S. soil in the nearly eight years since 9/11. But some intelligence experts argue that the new department failed to coordinate the nation's many turf-conscious intelligence agencies, and that continued U.S. military pressure has rendered Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda terrorist network incapable of mounting new attacks within the United States. Moreover, jihadist cells that have wreaked havoc in Europe lack counterparts in the U.S., where Muslims are far less alienated, experts say. Still, the danger of a new attack remains. According to an emerging school of thought, Americans should learn to live with the possibility of an eventual attack, rather than expecting government to eliminate all danger. Auto Industry's Future As U.S. automakers post steep declines in profits amid a global credit crisis and a worldwide slowdown in vehicle sales, policy experts are debating their long-term prospects. General Motors and Chrysler received billions of dollars in emergency federal loans and are under intense government pressure to find a path toward profitability. Ford lost a record amount last year but insists it can survive without federal help. Management and the United Auto Workers union argue that letting even one automobile giant fail would have catastrophic consequences for the U.S. economy. Skeptics say, however, that automakers have had years to reform themselves and that without steep cost reductions, more union concessions and major sacrifices by dealers and suppliers, the industry's future is dim. Both domestic and foreign automakers are pouring resources into a new generation of electric and hybrid vehicles they hope will revive the industry. Regulating Toxic Chemicals Chemicals are integral to many everyday products, from electronics and toys to building materials and household goods. But environmental, health and consumer advocates say the agencies responsible for protecting Americans from exposure to harmful chemicals are allowing too many dangerous substances into the market without testing them for toxicity. Some goods, such as medicines, are tested for safety before they can be sold, but many common products do not go through premarket safety screening. Many concerns focus on infants and young children, who are especially sensitive to toxic hazards. Chemical manufacturers say the existing regulatory system works effectively and can be tightened to address new concerns, but critics argue that a precautionary approach — which would require producers to show that materials are safe before they can be marketed — would protect consumers more fully. Preventing Cancer Deaths from cancer and new cancer cases have decreased slightly in the past few years. It's the first time the statistics have declined over an extended period and the best piece of news yet to come out of the nation's 38-year-old "war on cancer." Despite scientists' early optimism that the discovery of an actual cancer cure was imminent, most recent gains have come instead from earlier detection and cancer-prevention achievements, especially lower smoking rates. Those gains have prompted calls for a shift in federal cancer programs toward prevention and detection and away from research, which has been funded much more generously. Prevention proponents say focusing more on prevention and detection makes sense because cancer biology now demonstrates that individuals' cancers vary so widely and contain so many cell mutations that new, widely effective treatments will be even harder to come by than previously expected. Confronting Warming Growing concern about climate change has led states and cities to adopt new policies to try to conserve energy and reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. California recently adopted new rules that aim to reduce such gases by 30 percent by 2020, while a cap on carbon emissions in the Northeast took effect Jan. 1. But critics say the efforts are more symbolic than substantive, pushing real sacrifices far off into the future. Many business groups, meanwhile, complain that the new rules will increase the cost of energy and hurt the economy — despite current promises that a "Green New Deal" can create jobs. The Obama administration promises to be far more aggressive in addressing global warming than the skeptical Bush White House. Even though the issue is coming to the fore in Washington, states and cities that have filled the policy vacuum in recent years pledge to stay vigilant in addressing the issue. Limiting Lawsuits Business groups are continuing their decades-long war with trial lawyers and consumer groups over the U.S. litigation system. Business lobbies led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce contend that companies are beset by lawsuits that are often unjustified, jury verdicts that may contradict federal regulations and punitive damage awards that may reach into the tens of millions of dollars. Trial lawyers and consumer groups claim that business interests exaggerate the number of suits and the frequency and size of jury awards. In addition, they contend that companies are simply seeking legal protection for wrongdoing that results in injuries to workers and consumers. The Bush administration has backed business in urging federal preemption of some state court suits in areas regulated by federal agencies, such as drug safety. The administration has been largely unsuccessful in pushing legal reforms through Congress, but President Bush's two Supreme Court appointees have strengthened the court's pro-business tilt on litigation issues.
|