Jonathan Zhang's AP U.S. Government Blog

1. Who made up the "universe" or polling population of this particular poll? Bernie Sanders 2. If 25% of people say they are supporting Bernie Sanders and the sampling error is 4.8%, what is the actual range of Sanders's support? With quick maffs, I have arrived at 20.2 to 29.8 percent. 3. Using the margin of error, describe a possible scenario in which Sanders would not win, but still fits the polls data. Since Biden's range given with a 4.8% margin of error has some overlap with Bernie's, he could still win the state over Bernie. Polls are also really hard to judge accurately in Nevada. 4. What were the results found in earlier polls taken in Nevada this year? Previous polls such as the Sulffolk/USA Today/Fox News poll showed Biden winning. 5. What changes took place in Nevada's candidate selection after 2004? They went from going to primaries to caucuses and got moved earlier in the calendar. Also, due to this new change, previous caucus data is not ab...

1. What was Lt Colonol Alexander Vindman's job in the bureaucracy? He was director of European affairs at the National Security Council. He was detailed to the Defense Department after Trump's revenge. 2. What did Vindman testify during the impeachment investigation? Since Vindman listened to the phone call with Ukraine, he was able to testify that the contents of the call were inappropriate for the President. 3. What did the White House do to Vindman and his brother? Vindman was reassigned to Defense and his brother who was an NSC lawyer, was also reassigned. 4. How is the White House justifying this action? They are justifying the reassignments as shrinkage of the NSC staff. 5. Why does the author argue that this creates a danger for other civil servants? Now, officials will be less likely to speak out against Donald Trump due to his actions against Vindman after his acquittal. 6. What was Gordon Sondland's job in the Trump Administration?  Sondland was the amba...

1.What's the difference between Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the primary calendar? Phase 1 has the early 4 states that don't constitute many votes but dictate pace and the direction of the primary. Phase 2 is the shortest but half the delegates will be locked down. 2. Which four states get to vote first, separated roughly into one each week? Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, South Carolina 3. There are few delegates available in these four states, why are the primaries so important? Since these are the first states, but not necessarily the most important, it can show how much support a candidate really has, and whether a candidate has the potential to win or will potentially drop out of the race. The results of the early caucuses are predictors. 4. How many delegates are available in Phase 2? 33% 5. Which regions are holding most of their primaries on Super Tuesday? California, Texas, Virginia, North Carolina, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, Col...

1. The seven most recent polls they looked at measured opinion about last weekend (Those covering Jan 19 in the polling dates).  How many showed more support for removing Trump than opposition for removing Trump?  All of them slightly favored removal, with a wide range of margins (1 to 12 percent). 2. Which of these 7 polls found the most support for removing Trump? Which found the most opposition to removing Trump? The FiveThirtyEight/Ipsos poll had a 12% net gain on support for removal. Monmouth and The Economist/YouGov only had a 1% net gain on support for removal. Gallup had a 5% net gain on opposition, but it is not within the 7 most recent polls. 3. In FiveThirtyEight's polling average, what percentage of Democrats support removing Trump from office? What percentage of Republicans support removing Trump from office? 83.9% of Democrats and 8.4% of Republicans. 4. What difference did the most recent Monmouth University poll find in the people who say they support removi...

1. What issue is at the center of both the  Trinity Lutheran  and  Espinoza  cases? The majority opinion must be crafted carefully, as to not give any side of the case too much power, such as the state being able to ban funding to religious schools or religious schools requiring funding from the state. 2. How does Justice Kagan argue that banning ALL funding to religious institutions would be ridiculous? Without funding for religious institutions, they would also not have access to common public resources, such as the fire department and police, which is absurd. Therefore, a complete cutoff of access is not reasonable or safe for the public. 3. What choice do the plaintiffs argue that these bans force on students? The students must choose between going to school that reflects their religious beliefs or going to school with access to resources from thousands of dollars of federal funding. 4. According to the Census, what's the average amount that states spend on ...

1. Why was General Soleimani an important target for the airstrike? The U.S. wanted to prevent further bloodshed by the Iranians by taking out a key military leader.  Soleimani was already at the forefront of hundreds of American deaths. 2. How did the Department of Defense (the Pentagon) justify this attack? The attack was stated to be defensive and meant to counter further attacks from the Iranians. 3. How have Iran's leaders responded to the US attack? The supreme leader stated that revenge awaits those who killed Soleimani.  4. How has President Trump responded to Iran's promises of "revenge"? Trump promises retaliation by attacking 52 Iranian sites.  5. Why have some said that Trump's response would be considered a war crime? Targeting cultural sites, which he said would happen in his tweet as retaliation, would be a war crime. 6. What impact has this attack on Iran's leadership had on normal Iranian people? Normal Iranians saw Soleimani as a hero...