Case Involving Former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn: Dropped

Recently the Department of Justice, specifically Attorney General William Barr, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, has decided to drop the case of two years involving President Trump’s former national security advisor. Michael Flynn, when in court, pleaded guilty for lying about past phone calls with the Russian ambassador, as well as lying to investigators. There was no obvious motive for why the case was dropped, therefore some believe the reasoning was “to undermine and dismantle the work of the investigators and prosecutors who scrutinized Russia’s 2016 election interference operation.” However, the reasoning provided for why the case was dropped was because there was allegedly no evidence of lies, and the calls with the Russian ambassador were claimed to be irrelevant to the case. The case, however, was originally brought to court by Robert Mueller, who was the previous former council. The case was quite damaging for Trump and his image. It was said he even considered a pardon because of it. Read this article to learn more.

1. Have you ever been admitted the truth of something bad, but your confession was disregarded? If so, did this cause you to feel guilty?
2. What do you think will happen next to Flynn? Do you believe he will remain associated with Trump?
3. Is it fair that Flynn’s case was let go completely, even after he pleaded guilty?
4. What will happen next with this? Do you believe the case will resurface in the future?

Kim Jong Un's Health and possible ramifications (Aaron Rai)

Recently, Kim Jong Un failed to attend the Kumsusan Palace on April 15 to celebrate the birthday of Kim’s grandfather. This led to widespread speculation of Kim’s health because he had undergone heart surgery on April 12. Rumors from inside North Korea say he is in critical condition resulting from complications during the surgery. Kim’s death could destabilize the region because as far as the US knows he has no known named heir. His sister Kim Yo-jung is likely to take the reigns of the Kim dynasty if Kim Jong Un  dies because the country has been run by the Kims for almost seventy years. Foreign countries may militarize the area and a power struggle is likely to occur. China has dismissed the rumours but South Korea is skeptical. American Intelligence all but confirms that Kim Jong Un is in critical condition. A war between North and South Korea is a possibility, as well as a new faction taking control of North Korea and ending the Kim Dynasty. Moreover, a general could possibly take over because of the military power North Korea has. All in all, many changes are possible if Kim Jong Un dies, one being a peaceful transition of power, the other being a multinational power struggle in a heavily armed region of the world. Learn more by reading this article.

1) Do you think the USA should get involved if Kim dies? If so, how?

2) Do you think a transition of power will be peaceful or violent?

3) If you thought the leader of your country was equal to a god (As many North Korean citizens do), and found out he was in dire medical condition, how would you react? Would your position in the government influence how you feel?

4) When a person important to your life is sick, when is it important to start planning for the future?

Schools Closing for the Rest of the Year

As of Friday, April 3rd, twelve states and the Northern Marianas Islands have announced that all schools will remain closed until the end of the academic year. On Thursday, the Governor of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer, signed an executive order stating that schools will be closed until the end of the year unless social distancing rules are altered. Jennifer McCormick, the superintendent of Indiana Public Instruction, ordered that schools would not be reopening this year. California’s chief of education along with Brian Kemp, the Governor of Georgia, both announced that school campuses would be closed and the second semester of the year would be canceled. States such as California, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania have closed schools with no date to return, whereas some states will still potentially return to school in April or May if social distancing rules are lifted. Social distancing policies in effect in most states require that when in public, people stay at least six feet apart. While social distancing is helpful, the most effective way to protect yourself and others is to stay at home. On Tuesday night on MSNBC, Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, claimed that he believed social distancing would be prolonged due to a large number of people not practicing social distancing. The more people resist social distancing, the longer the schools will be closed. Read more to find out about this topic here: 

1. Do you believe schools should be closed for the rest of the year?
2. Why do you think people have been so resistant to social distance?
3. Do you think Trump should order a nationwide stay at home order? Bonus: what would be his constitutional power to do so?
4. How well have you followed the social distancing rules? Do you still hangout with people (friends, relatives) that do not live in your house? Do you feel like you know all of the existing rules/guidelines?

This friday Washington University canceled classes on friday and changed

it to online school. This is because of the recent outbreak in Washington

state were more than 20 people have the virus. More colleges will soon

follow suit for fear of an outbreak on campus. More than 300 people have

been diagnosed with more than 10 dead. Both the state of Washington

and Washington University have taken extreme measures to attempt to

control the virus. At Stanford University they also announced that they

will not be having classes in person but instead online. The level of concern

rose dramatically after people from vanderbilt, University of Chicago and

University of California Los Angeles all have isolated students with the virus. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/06/us/coronavirus-college-campus-closings.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage

If you were the campus official what would you do?

Is canceling face to face classes the right call?

If you were a student how would you feel?

Has there ever been a time were your parents did something for you that you didn’t agree with?

Trump's Pardons and Communications

Trump's Pardons and Communications

On Tuesday, February 19, Donald Trump announced a host of pardons and communication against a former Illinois governor, Rod Blagojevich. He was charged and jailed for eight years due to his corruption to the former police commissioner, Bernie Kerik. In front of the jury, Tuesday, trump took many legal actions including the pardons of Kerik, Michael Milken, and Edward DeBartolo Jr. which had happened a couple of days before the federal court sentencing of Roger Stone for corruption. It is assumed that trump might pardon his former adviser aswell. Stones sentences have drawn the attention of trump leaving him to comment by calling this event “A miscarriage of justice”. Trump had told reporters from Fox News that he had not given any thought towards pardoning Stone’s case. Due to trumps mercy in pardoning certain allies, many people in these kinds of situations have requested pardons from the white house. Read this article for more information.

1. Do you think Trump should have not pardoned all these cases?

2. If Trump does not pardon Roger Stone, what would you think a good next step would be?

3. Do you think that pardons should exist?

4. Have you even got away with something that deserved a bigger punishment and how did it make you feel?

Evacuation of U.S Citizens from China

   The United States continues to evacuate U.S Citizens from Wuhan, China the center of the coronavirus outbreak. The U.S government has been taking this very seriously, whoever is evacuated from China could be susceptible to being quarantined for at least 14 days.  The first airplane with deported U.S. citizens landed last week at March Air Reserve Base in Riverside County, California. Every passenger was quarantined for 14 days due to federal orders. The same will happen to the178 passengers who arrived overnight at Travis Air Force Base, southwest of Sacramento, California. The number of people who have died from the virus has increased severely now, it is said that the death toll is 565. A child on a plane who was being evacuated from China along with his parents developed a fever during the flight and immediately after they landed he was put in isolation along with one parent. “We do not believe these people pose a threat in the location they'll be held," said Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC's National Center for Respiratory Diseases. This evacuation comes as the 12th case of Coronavirus in the U.S is confirmed in Wisconsin. It is now clear that the virus is passed on like the flu through small droplets of coughing or sneezing. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has donated $100 million to improve detection, isolation and treatment efforts for the coronavirus.

1)Have you ever gone to school knowing you’re sick and not considered how your sickness could spread? What do you think of this?

2)Do you think that putting people in a public quarantine is fair or even a good idea (as in all the sick people together)? Why or why not?

3)What do you think that should be done to stop the virus from spreading? Why?

4)How do you think the coronavirus affected families? Why?

School Choice and Taxpayer Money for Independent Schools Debate

Separation of Church and State has always been a constitutional given. However, Kendra Espinoza a mother from Montana is arguing that religious schools should have the right to receive public funding from tax money, just like every other public school. A Montana state constitutional amendment makes it illegal for taxpayer money to go to religious schools. Similar amendments are currently instituted in 37 additional states (NPR). Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue has reached the Supreme Court and the ruling could redefine the separation of Church and State. Kendra Espinoza is attempting to reinstate a religious school program that was deemed unconstitutional. In the program, donors would receive tax credit for contributions to private schools, including religious schools. Should the taxes families pay to their local public schools instead be given to their independent schools? While Conservatives and school choice supporters believe that it is only fair to be able to send children to a school that aligns with their religious beliefs, Liberals believe that Espinoza’s case could tear away much-needed money from the public schools. One of the arguments for funding independent schools is that if students can not afford tuition for a religious school then they are forced to be taught against their beliefs. Since funding only non-religious private schools would be religious discrimination due to schools not receiving benefits based on their beliefs there is no middle ground. Either all private schools have access to taxpayer funds or none do. This also brings up a separate question for those who are looking for compensation if private schools do not get taxpayer funds. If a family doesn’t have a child enrolled in public school, should they be required to contribute to support public education? Read this article to find out more.




Do you support Kendra Espinoza’s case why or why not?




What implications positive or negative can you see if Espinoza wins the case?




Do you believe that everyone should have the right to go to an independent school that teaches their beliefs? If so, what if they can’t afford this and need taxpayer money?




Do you feel that you should have to pay taxes for community services you don’t use? Why or why not?