Description
Current Event Project
You will be required to prepare a brief analysis of a current event in U.S. government during the course. This assignment involves selecting an issue in current American politics that is likely to be highly visible during the time you are taking the course. The topic will be tracked in the print media, especially the New York Times, the Washington Post, or the Philadelphia Inquirer supplemented by weekly news magazines, and the Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, all located in most local libraries. You may also want to use the Internet to gain news articles from The New York Times and the Washington Post on the World Wide Web, http://www.newyorktimes.com/ (Links to an external site.) and http://www.washingtonpost.com/ (Links to an external site.). The presidential Web site is http://www.whitehouse.gov/ (Links to an external site.) and the Congressional Web site is https://www.congress.gov/ (Links to an external site.). You are expected to cite your sources appropriately and include a "Works Cited" or bibliography at the end of your assignment.
Several methods of citation are acceptable. English courses use the Modern Language Association (MLA) format contained in the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 3rd ed. (1988) or later edition. The American Psychological Association (APA) uses a format contained in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 3rd ed. (1983) or later edition. Political Science majors should use the American Political Science Association (APSA) format contained in the Style Manual for Political Science, revised edition (2001). The APSA manual uses a modified version of The Chicago Manual, published by the University of Chicago. This course directive follows the APSA style manual and you can use this Study Guide as a reference for documenting your paper. Any of the above styles for citations are acceptable. Most bookstores have writing handbooks that contain the above writing styles. You may use this study guide as an example of how to correctly cite your sources. Additional citation information is also available at the Penn State University Libraries web page, which is included on your course syllabus. Here are some websites to help you do citations:
http://www.psci.unt.edu/~pmcollins/APSA%20Citation%20and%20Reference%20Guidelines.pdf (Links to an external site.)
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/ (Links to an external site.)
Here is a link to show you how to make your bibliography:
http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-project...
Here is a link to show you how to do in-text referencing in the MLA style: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/02...
Here is a link to show you how to do in-text referencing in the APA style: http://www.noodletools.com/helpdesk/kb/index.php?a...
Sloppy note-taking during the preparatory phase prior to writing a draft is the number one cause of inadvertent plagiarism. As you collect articles in your notebook, be sure to record bibliographic information for every article so that you can properly cite the author's work in your report (author, date, and page number). Exercise care in documenting direct quotes and paraphrasing or summarizing the author's work in your report. ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTION TO THE CURRENT EVENTS PROJECT
As you proceed through this course, you should build a bibliography of sources you are citing for your current event analyses. You should include appropriate citations with this paper. Your assignment now is to write a five-to-ten-page discussion of the role of the media, voters, political parties, and interest groups in the context of your current event. Your paper must deal with the following questions: What are the various "sides" to the issue, and who are the players associated with each side? For example, what interest groups, political parties, public opinion polls, or individuals have emerged related to your topic? What are the objectives and concerns of these actors, and what policy options are they advocating? Finally, how have the governmental actors (President, Congress, and courts) responded to these pressures?This assignment is easier than you think. The assignment does not ask you to decide which side is "right" nor does it ask you to identify which side you favor. Instead, we want you to understand the powertics of "who gets what, how"in the American political system. Also, this is an opportunity for you to review the important aspects of the U.S. government as you prepare for the final.
Explanation & Answer
View attached explanation and answer. Let me know if you have any questions.
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Homeland Security warns of elected-fuelled violence this month
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According to a local police source, the Department of Homeland Security warned
state and local authorities on Friday of an upsurge in cyber violent threats in conjunction with
election-related conspiracies. To prevent internet threats from turning into violent crimes, the
Department of Homeland Security released a press safety advisory to security agencies across
the country. "[D]HS is increasing awareness of reports of a rising but tiny amount of internet
activity pushing for violence in reaction to unfounded claims of fraud over the 2020 election
and the alleged 'reinstatement' of former President Trump," according to the source. ABC
News first reported the notification. The warning comes amid an uptick in bogus claims
regarding the 2020 election, spurred in part by Mike Lindell, the CEO of MyPillow and a
personal friend of former President Donald Trump, who has emerged as among the most
outspoken proponents of these conspiracy theories (Bevan, 2021). "As increasing
understanding of the stories grows, we're concerned about an uptick in violent impulses," the
Insider adds.
"Reports indicate that these activities could take place in August 2021, while we do
not have particular plots or planned actions." On Wednesday, a senior official at the
Department of Homeland Security informed members of Congress that the conspiracy theory
that Donald Trump would be restored as president in August had sparked concern. John
Cohen, the department's chief counterterrorism official, briefed members-only of the House
Committee on Homeland Security. POLITICO spoke with three individuals who were present
during the briefing. They desired anonymity to discuss intimate conversations (Bevan, 2021).
According to a department spokeswoman, "the Department of Homeland Security
interacts regularly with federal, state, local, tribal, and territory officials about the elevated
threat environment in order to guarantee the safety and security of all communities across the
country." The DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis, according to the spokeswoman,
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issued a Public Safety Preparedness Notification to national, regional, and local agencies.
According to the spokesman, the United States is presently in a high-risk environment for
terrorism, and the DHS is aware of previous incidents of violence linked to the propagation of
misinformation and conspiracies around the 2020 election (Bevan, 2021). According to the
source, the federal government has been aware for weeks of online narratives advocating for
reinstatement, notably on forums that propagate conspiracy theories, such as QAnon, and on
extremist media. While the speculations are "small," the source expressed concern that they
are being "stitched into requests for violence," emphasizing the significance of raising public
awareness of the problem across the US.
The Department of Homeland Security is particularly concerned that lone perpetrators
and limited groups of people would read these narratives as permission to behave violently in
the current threat environment. In specific internet discussions, the date of February 7 is
mentioned. According to the source, there are also threats of violence in Washington, DC,
and capital cities across the country. Another conspiracy idea, according to the source,
revolves around the imminent FEMA test of the nationwide emergency warning system,
which some are misinterpreting as a "go code." According to the source, the letter is based on
the department's "evaluation of the current threat environment in light of occurrences in 2020
and 2021 that culminated in violent acts and destructive behavior by individuals and groups,
including the breach of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021." More meetings involving the
FBI, DHS, state, and local law enforcement would be convened following the notification's
distribution to analyze the threat and determine whether other actions are needed to mitigate
the individual added risk (Bevan, 2021).
Numerous voter fraud conspiracy theories are driving the false belief that the 2020
presidential election results will be thrown out in August and that the former president will
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retake the White House this month. Extremists are threatening violence "if desired goals are
not fulfilled," according to a communication obtained by ABC News from the Department of
Homeland Security's Office of Intelligence and Analysis. "The current threat environment is
driven primarily by conspiracy theories and other false narratives promoted online by foreign
governments, foreign terrorist groups, and domestic extremist thought leaders, and devoured
by people prone to violence," a senior DHS official warned in the alert (Sophia, 2021).
Threats of retaliatory violence have acquired "much more public attention" on the
internet in recent days. “Conversations and ideas have migrated away from conspiracy and
extremist online communities and are now being discussed on web forums, or more public
web forums, and even inside a media ecosystem,” the offici...
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