A4

1. Yesterday I went to school at Charlottesville High School and was taught by educated teachers. My life was therefore affected by the government because each of my teachers is certified and paid by the state. CHS, a public school, also did not hold a prayer session, for it is prohibited by the federal government.
2. The person in my family who cares most about politics is my older sister, Emma (I care a lot too though!). Although my sister is very educated about the government and politics, the person that knows most about politics is my dad (partly because he's been around longer).
3. Well, since the World Wide Web was first widely available in 1991, I think our generation has the Internet in common. Although our generation is unfortunately marked by being too dependent on technology, most of us are also pretty technologically savvy. Also, we communicate widely through the internet, with social networks and entertainment sites like Youtube.
4. According to the book, an example of a public good provided by the government is a hospital. Traffic lights and street signs are other examples of public goods provided by the government.
5. One category of a linkage institution is a party. Locally, the Jefferson Area Tea Party is working as a linkage institution by organizing an Obama counter-rally, ensuring that the voices of the members of the party are heard. Another category is the media. When both local and national television stations cover stories on crime, violence, and/or disruption in a community they are educating the people about social problems. Interest groups are also linkage institutions. Amnesty International USA and Greenpeace USA are examples of interest groups that work with the public in order to encourage or prevent policy changes. Lastly, elections are linkage institutions. This year, the race between Obama and Romney for the presidential seat puts the power in the hands of the people by allowing them to make their opinions heard by electing officials to represent them.
6. Four categories of policymaking institutions are legislature, executive, courts, and bureaucracy. John Boehner is the Speaker of the House of Representatives in the legislature, President Obama is the president of the United States and part of the executive institution, John G. Roberts is the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in the courts institution, and Robert S. Mueller is director of the FBI and part of the bureaucracy.