PART 1
Based on this information (and your own outside research), analyze the process by which U.S. judges are nominated and confirmed. Does this seem like a fair process? What extent does it have on the political lean of the Court, and therefore, on United States law (specifically civil rights and civil liberties)? Cite specific examples. Consider the concepts of judicial activism and judicial restraint in your response.
PART 2
One of the most divisive and economically pressing questions in U.S. domestic policy over the last several decades has been healthcare. The United States spends twice as much in terms of Gross Domestic Product on healthcare as the next biggest spender in the advanced world, and yet our average lifespan is less than most of the countries on the list. The debate in the U.S. is over whether or not healthcare should be a part our larger commercial system, and hence accessed through private insurers giving the consumer more “choice,” or whether healthcare access should be guaranteed to all through either a hybrid public/private system (like Obamacare) or a more robust public system in which healthcare is guaranteed to all residents through a government-run healthcare program, with a potential downside of having less “choice” in such a system. Public polling suggests that there is no bigger public policy issue that Americans care about as much as healthcare at this point in our nation’s history. For the discussion, which of the various options listed above (or options that you have researched on your own) do you support as the way forward for the American healthcare system? Explain your answer, arguing for its superiority over the other options.
