Andrew and I went in depth on electoral politics and how we elect a president. We discussed the fifty state popular votes and how states assign electoral votes. We reviewed presidential election history and discussed the electoral maps in 2020, 2024 and in the past in 1984-2000.

Andrew and I reviewed the previous day's discussion and also went in depth into conversation about 1st amendment and its application to internet privacy, access and speech. What rights if any do people online have? Does social media have a positive discourse or not? Can that discourse be restricted?

Andrew and I met for the first time. We discussed interest in politics and governance and picked up where Andrew left off. We studied the 1, 4 and 13th Amendments and the concept of the Bill of Rights.

Planned discussion on politics of states and electoral politics

Andrew and I briefly covered state Electoral College and politics of unique states.

A political system is a set of political structures that helps the government run and ensure fair distribution of resources to society. There are several political structures practiced all over the world. Monarchy is a system where the leader is not elected and gains power through inheritance within the family. Dictatorship is a structure where the leader has full control of the state and makes decisions without consent of the people. Oligarchy happens when a few people, who associate themselves with a certain class, run and control the government. At the same time, elite landowners form a structure of aristocracy. Communism is a political structure that advocates for a classless society. Democracy is a political structure where citizens participate in major government decisions. There are several different political structure examples found around the world. Monarchy is common in Saudi Arabia, while dictatorship rules in North Korea. Communism is in Cuba, while democracy can be found in the United States, France, and Germany.

Vlad took the multiple choice, open book portion of the
Chap. 5/American Revolution test today. Tomorrow, he will work on the short answer portion of the test.

We discussed an ongoing international conference on climate change in which the French representative is recommending that a pending agreement exclude the U. S. We then explored possible motivations for either embrace of the issue of man-made, malignant climate change or skepticism. As for 2016, we discussed what Carly Fiorina brings to the festivities. And then discussed the mechanics of the Electoral College.

We talked about the various competing factions in the Middle East, some of their differences and similarities. ISIS is a Sunni Muslim coalition. Iran and a good chunk of Iraq are Shia and detest Sunnis. Bashar Al-Assad, Syria's ruler is Alawite which are Shia too, but they are modernized and Western in outlook as well as being a minority in Syria. We also discussed the conflicting statements from high Administration officials regarding Iraq's lack of willingness to fight ISIS.

We discussed the Waco shootout in which 9 bikers were killed, 170 people arrested and more than 100 weapons were captured by police. We explored the prospects for various candidates on both sides as more candidates appeared to have entered the races.