i need three analysis of a political news story related to the book the promise and performance of american democracy. explaining why i chose it and if it can be used as en example somehow in the book.
teachers instructions “In your sample analysis, first please indicate why a particular news coverage interested you. Second, what would you think of this particular political news and political affairs? Your analysis and evaluation would be the main part of this news analysis. One way to expand your analysis, as you may consider, would be to tie the news to the course content and material. Is there any specific concept discussed in the book that you find useful or applicable in analyzing this news coverage? In your opinion, could the news coverage be included in the book as an example, or counter-example, to illustrate the content?”
each one should be around 500 words.
there is an online sample of book that leaves out pages occationally. http://books.google.com/books?id=KgZix6ekOgMC&pg=PR18&lpg=PR18&dq=the+promise+and+performance+of+american+democracy+online&source=bl&ots=Y_sbkq5nDE&sig=uZPhSY6KJMOu7XrvOpZjExfga6M&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v8oFUPeEMcml6wG-2-H8CA&ved=0CGEQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q&f=false
attached a sample teacher gave for 1 analysis
The Arbitrary Denial of the Right to Privacy
This past week I had to choose an article to read and write about for my course project in Intro to American Political Science. While looking through the New York Times website, I stumbled upon an interesting piece titled “Police are using phone tracking as a routine tool.” Being the civil libertarian that I am, I thought that I would probably the topic interesting. Immediately I began reading it and it opened my eyes to the “cloak and dagger” world of police operations.
Recently cell phone tracking has become a major surveillance tool for local police across the US. One local police manual describes cell phone tracking as “the virtual biographer of our daily lives, providing the hunting ground for learning contacts and travels.” But many civil liberties proponents have raised questions about its constitutionality. Many police departments require warrants in order to track cell phones, but others have used “broad discretion” as a means to do this type of surveillance. Police departments in Arizona, for example have acquired their own phone tracking equipment, thus skipping the process of having to obtain records from phone companies.
Since the 14th century English courts held the doctrine that no person could be put to death or imprisoned without “due process of the law”. When English settlers came over to the New World many of them carried this ideology of safeguarding the rights of those who are accused. This Anglo-American concern for protecting the individual’s rights eventually evolved into formal amendments after the country’s founding. One of those rights that was born from the founding of the United States, was the Right to Privacy. Although not specifically mentioned in the constitution, this right is implied based on the numerous amendments and clauses that espouse the right to be free of government interference without due cause or due process. As part of this right to privacy, a person is protected under the constitution from arbitrary government action. Not only was the right to privacy born from these ideals, but also the right from unreasonable searches and seizures of personal property. In order for law enforcement officers to “collect evidence” they must first have “probable cause” to do so (Bond 130). Essentially what this means is that police officers have to have legitimate reasons to believe someone is about to break the law. “Broad discretion” as a means of getting cell phone records can be considered arbitrary government action, which in itself lacks probable cause, thereby violating the right to privacy and also the fourth amendment.
Cell phone tracking through the use of broad discretion is inherently unconstitutional. The Right to Privacy protects an individual from being spied on or having their personal property searched and taken without the legal discourse of probable cause. Broad discretion in sum, undermines one of the most important core American values; upholding human dignity.
Work Cited
Bond, Jon R., and Kevin B. Smith. The Promise and Performance of American Democracy. 10th ed. Boston, MA: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2012. Print.
Lichtblau, Eric. “Police Are Using Phone Tracking as a Routine Tool.” New York Times. The New York Times Company, 31 Mar. 2012. Web. 5 Apr. 2012.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/01/us/police-tracking-of-cellphones-raises-privacy-fears.html.
