Congress
Essays

Washington Rules: America's Path to Permanent War Washington rules: America's path to permanent war is an indictment of the Washington consensus that positions the U.S. as the World's Big Brother and Policeman. Commencing with the Truman Administration, Bacevich traces the birth, development and maintenance of the Washington consensus built on a credo in which the United States alone must "lead, save, liberate, and ultimately transform the world," along with the "trinity" of global military presence, global power projection and global interventionism. Based on these two elements of credo and trinity, along with the complacency of the American people, the United States has spread its military might around the globe in a so-called "flexible response" thrusting us "into a condition approximating perpetual war" that is costing the country dearly in human and nonhuman resources. Bacevich then suggests solutions in the form of a new credo in which the United States becomes a model of the ideals set forth in our Constitution and Declaration of Independence. He also suggests a new trinity in which America shifts from: a large professional military constantly prepared for war to more of a citizen-warrior force; use of our military for world domination to use of the military for defense and vital interests only; global occupation to withdrawal from areas in which the cost clearly outweighs the benefit. Bacevich's book is widely praised, though problems have been noted. Though chiefly praising Bacevich's book, Gary J. Bass takes issue with: at least one of Bacevich's severe analogies between our policymakers and possibly Hitler; Bacevich's exclusion of examples in which American leaders and the American public acted against the foregone conclusion of the Washington consensus. Gerard De Groot also praises Bacevich's book but believes that Bacevich's belief that the American public can change the current situation is too optimistic. In addition to the criticisms posed by Bass and De Groot, it appears that Bacevich's suggestion of eliminating our large, well-armed professional military is an invitation to a disaster that we were fortunate to miss during World War II. Finally, Bacevich's suggestion of defense-only and vital interest-only use of our military raises significant issues about what constitutes "defense" and "vital interest," as well as the important issue of who will decide what constitutes "defense" and "vital interest." In sum, Bacevich's book raises important perspectives and historical examples that compel the reader to examine and challenge the current Washington consensus; however, the book is also somewhat flawed and/or incomplete.

Banning guns for masses and establishing gun-free zones are one of the most controversial topics in American politics. There are clearly two schools of thoughts on this subject. The right to keep a gun and displaying it publically is directly related to individual's rights under the second amendment of the prevailing constitution. However, despite the recognition of the citizens' rights, one cannot ignore the dangers of gun-free zones. Every year, there are cases reported, resulting from arms used in the gun-free zones. Maximum cases were reported in educational institutions where ammunition was used by children and teenagers. Publically mandated gun-free zones have resulted in loss of many precious lives.

United States of America has faced numerous issues with dress codes of students particularly in its public schools. School boards have shown concern regarding violence, discipline or lewd behavior resulting from certain…

President George W. Bush describes himself as a "wartime president," and at least to some extent this is true. The attack by al-Qaeda on the United States on September 11, 2001, was clearly an act of war.

Maybe Same-Sex Marriages Didn't Make the Difference: New York Times. Nov. 7, 2004.

Becoming familiar with the Wall Street Journal was one of the most beneficial aspects of this course. Initially, I expected that the paper would be limited in its scope, mainly discussing business and finance.

Access to Healthcare: The Solution to This Scarce Resource May Be as Simple as Prevention and Education

Henry Adams was the son of a well-known congressman (Charles Francis Adams), a teacher at Harvard University, and he was also a journalist, travel writer, editor and he wrote novels, the best known being the Education…

To begin, due to the Affordable Care Act of 2010, the healthcare profession is undergoing a fundamental shift in regards to the patient experience. The U.S. health care system is now shifting the focus from acute and specialty care to that of primary care. This shift will alter the skills and qualifications needed to be successful on the job. Also, due primarily to that aging of the baby boomer generation, the need for primary car overall is shifting and will be needed heavily in the future. More individuals due to the act are now insured. This newly formed population will now require services they would otherwise have forgone. Therefore, the need for primary care will also increase over subsequent years, particular within the minority population. The affordable care act helps a disproportionate amount of minorities afford healthcare in manner that they could not before. As such, they too will demand higher quality service.

The American Automobile is a dynamic one characterized by stiff competition and strong dominance of global and foreign players. For an industry players to succeed, they must be aware and acquainted with such dynamics. This is possible with the use of Porter's Five forces where new entrants, buyer behavior, existing competition is determined. This study focuses on such aspects besides providing the current and future outlook of the industry whilst identifying the possible areas that guarantee success.