Just weeks after winning his congressional race in the November midterms, newly elected NY Rep. George Santos admitted to lying about key details of his personal life and professional history. He has apologized for having “embellished” his resume but denies committing any crimes. Earlier this week, House Speaker McCarthy said, "You know why I’m standing by him? Because his constituents voted for him.” The Speaker said Santos would only be removed from the House if its ethics committee determined that he broke the law. Today in class, we e discussed if this is an acceptable response.

Nina is very curious about the controversy surrounding new congressman George Santos. We began to take a look at this issue today. It's pretty shocking - no matter where someone identifies on the political spectrum.

In this lesson, we looked at the way that the right to vote has progressed throughout American history. Originally delegated to the states to decide, suffrage has proven to be controversial and required constitutional amendments to ensure that all people are treated fairly. These include the Reconstruction Amendments, which gave the right to vote regardless of race, the Nineteenth Amendment, which gave women the vote, and the Twenty-third and Twenty-Sixth Amendments, which expanded voting to specific populations. However, voter ID laws and felony voting remain controversial issues to this day.

The United Kingdom is a unitary nation consisting of Wales, Scotland, Britain, and the northern part of Ireland island. The U.K.'s government system is a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy unitary. In a constitutional monarchy, the monarch serves as the head of the state but has limited authority. The parliamentary democracy implies that U.K. citizens have the power to elect legislative representatives who present their interests in the government. The U.K. government structure has three branches.

The executive branch, also known as His/Her Majesty's Government (HMG), is headed by the prime minister, aided by a cabinet of about 100 ministers. The executive carries out the laws enacted by the legislative and runs the government activities. The House of Commons and the House of Lords make up the legislative branch, which has the authority to enact laws and review the performance of the executive branch. The judiciary branch functions to enforce the laws enacted by the legislative and is headed by the Lord Chief Justice. Ultimately the British monarch serves as the official Head of State and the Head of Nation with duties such as performing official and ceremonial duties. The monarch also serves as the face and nation icon.

Absent

Today we discussed the type of qualities that people have traditionally looked for and up to in American leaders and if that has changed in our world today. Nina thinks it has - that leaders on both sides of the aisle need to be more respectful and mindful that they are setting examples for other Americans and representing America to the world and other international leaders. We discussed and took a look at some interesting moments from a variety of politicians in history and leaders in office today to evaluate how politicians present themselves.

As of 2022, there are 43 sovereign nations with monarchs as a head of state. In a monarchy, a king or queen is Head of State. The British Monarchy is known as a constitutional monarchy. This means that, while The Sovereign is Head of State, the ability to make and pass legislation resides with an elected Parliament. Japan, Jordan and Denmark are also among the countries with modern monarchies today.

The term, "liberal" is often misunderstood and has become distorted in recent years. Liberal ideology is based on the liberty and equality of all human beings. It advocates for the equal treatment of individuals under the law regardless of social status, race, ethnicity, sex, or gender. It states that there are many aspects of an individual's life over which governments have no power to regulate. Liberal ideology has had significant impacts on the economy of the US. For example, the ideology created the political theories necessary for such concepts as the free market and private property. These institutions and practices have become integral to American identity. The term 'liberal' has been given a different meaning in popular political discourse compared to its technical philosophical definition. While Democrats and Republicans have diverging political views, they both adhere to the ideology of liberalism. It is the dominant political philosophy in the US. In fact, most political parties are based on liberalism. The differences in party beliefs and policies stem from definitions of what makes a natural positive right and how exactly the government should protect the natural rights of citizens, although these differences can naturally create divergences in other facets of liberalism, such as the rule of law. Liberalism has had a significant effect on the world. Aside from the United States, many other countries have adopted liberalism, including: the United Kingdom, South Africa, Germany and France. Liberalism is possibly the most-adopted political ideology in the modern world.

A liberal government is a democratic government that is limited by the laws, which were created primarily to protect the rights of citizens. For example, the US government is limited by the United States Constitution in various ways. Citizens can vote for representatives. The rule of law is vital for a liberal government, because if laws were ineffective or unenforced, then the federal government could not keep it under control. If this were true, the government could infringe on the rights of citizens with impunity. Rule of law means that all officers of government act according to the law and the precedents established as being compatible with it, rather than according to their own preferences. This requirement is extended to citizens, which is why the law is an acceptable guideline for resolving disputes between the government and citizens.

Conservatism is the political doctrine that believes in and supports preserving traditional values, institutions, and practices. Modern conservatism can be traced back to British Philosopher Edmund Burke, following the French Revolution in 1790. While Burke suggested that the government or state was a servant of the people responsible for conserving these societal values, the American conservatism deeply distrusted the government and sought to protect individual civil rights. These conservatives labeled their ideology as classical liberalism, inspired by the Founding Fathers. While Burke's ideas are not the common ideology today, some of the original values still stand, such as the fundamental need to preserve traditional values and institutions, especially to counter the liberal ideas. The United States is especially keen on this type of conservatism. Other segments of conservatism today include foreign policies, such as military interference.