US Government (Friday, April 21, 4th period)

[professor-lyman.livejournal.com]

Josh was reading an article about a health care plan proposed by some Texas Congressman named Santos that Toby had forwarded to him when the government class began arriving.

"Next week's class will be a review session, so today we talk about the last thing that you'll be required to care about for the final exam." He pointed to the board, where he had written lobbyists and the media.

"Technically, not part of the three separate but equal branches of government that the Founders had envisioned, but especially in the modern age, incredibly influential in the way laws are drawn up and passed."

He kicked his feet up onto his desk. "You've done the handwavy reading. How do you think the Founders would react if they came back and wandered down K Street and saw all the lobbying firms? Or turned on Fox News? Do you think this is what they had in mind? Do you think they could see how we got here? Would George Washington have a heart attack to see what we've done?"

Comments

Re: Lobbyists and the Media

[carter-i-am.livejournal.com]

"I think some of them might have been lobbyists," Sam said, "advocating one issue because they believe in it so strongly that they want to convince everyone else to see their point of view. The media," Sam rolled her eyes, remembering the problems they'd had over the years keeping the SGC secret, "serves a rational purpose, or did at one time, anyway. Now? It seems to be all about unearthing scandal."

"Which is great when the scandal is Watergate, or embezzlement, but I don't really care when the President's cheating on his wife. I mean, who didn't?"