1. The connection between whiteness and racism in the point Ruth Gilmore was trying to make was that capitalism will stop when the system stops centering everything around white people. There is no priority for the needs of any person of color if white people get continuous privilege and used as a tool of power. The statement she makes is to emphasize equality within the system. 
2. According to Gilmore, the prison system is the one creating criminals, as she believes that the ‘criminal person’ can be perpetuated. I believe this to be true as well. When the police over do their job when it comes to a certain group of people of certain communities that do not align with, essentially being white and middle to upper class. The system targets anybody in poverty, lack of access to education, and so on. Black people especially are targeted with harsh sentences which only lead to disproportionate arrest rates. It is a continuous cycle that makes no efforts to improve.
3. My understanding of Gilmore’s last portion of the video “Liberation struggle”, was her emphasis to all come together and fight the oppression. If we stand in unity, there is change bound to happen. By collectively coming together and challenging these practices, we are already on track to make the world a better and more fair place. 

In the Walmart case, the Supreme court decided against the class action lawsuit, in favor of Walmart. The decision was justified due to a lack of “commonality” between female employees. Meaning, there was not enough of a correlation and common ground of discrimination. Though they did experience some sort of discrimination, it was not all the same which was enough for the Supreme Court to dismiss the case. 

1. The court system is better suited to protect the individual rather than the elected branches of the government like the President due to various instances and reasons. The court system is set up to help more detailed and specific cases whereas the President or Congress, have to decide what would be the best solution for everybody as a whole, this could mean upsetting some people. The court system handles much smaller cases with judges that are unbiased and interpret laws fairly. 
2. I do not agree that the Supreme Court is an anti democratic part of our government. This way of choosing judges in federal courts is to ensure that they are skilled and qualified. This way, there is no biased decision on who the judge is, based on merit and credibility. This process is the only way to fairly balance power. 

1. The “Establishment Clause” is part of the First Amendments to the US constitution that essentially states the government cannot make any more rules favoring one religion over another. The “Lemon Test” is a set of instructions by the Supreme Court to decide if a law or government action violated the “Establishment Clause.”
2. Burning the US flag would be protected under the First Amendment, as it is considered protected speech by the Supreme Court vs Johnson, establishing that burning the flag would be a form of expression. 
3. When someone says “I’m taking the Fifth”, it means that they do not want to further discuss/ answer a question. This comes from the Fifth Amendment, which protects the right for someone to incriminate themselves. 

1. When P. Williams mentioned that war on terror is a new type of war in her essay, she was referring to their new ways. For example, the enemy usually is more on terrorist groups list ISIS instead of other countries. Terrorsit groups tend to use ver different tactics than traditional war like suicide bombings and cyber attacks. 
2. The “Roving Wiretaps’ ‘ of the Patriot Act seem to violate the Bill of Rights in various ways. Roving Wiretaps had the government having access to listen to people’s conversation. It seems to violate the Fourth Amendment, protecting someone against an unreasonable search. 
3. “Sneak and Peek” warrants are a law enforced by the Patriot Act for law enforcement to search someone’s property without telling them first. Most believe this goes against the Fourth Amendment as you should be protected from unreasonable searches. 

1. The difference in the role of citizens in government varies among their systems. The federal system, like the US, is set up to where both the big central state government and the smaller state government both maintain some sort of power. In this system, they also have taxes and rules come from both levels. The confederation system is set up to where each country has its own power, but shares some of it with its other surrounding countries. Citizens tend to follow their own countries’ rules, not so much the big confederation. Lastly, the unitary system is in places like Japan, where they have one big central government in charge of everything. Citizens vote for national leaders who make the rules and taxes they follow. 
2. Division of power would mean to divide the power (whoever makes the rules and decisions) in a government. Having power being spread out into different levels, assures balance and the low risk of one class overpowering another. 
3. During the COVID 19 pandemic, there was some assistance given to the citizens by the NY state and local governments. They provided stimulus checks, set strict health guideline measures all around the city, and had strict enforcement on the vaccine. The world really did change overnight, from everyone wearing masks and cautiously standing 6 feet apart to maintain social distancing.

1. “Faction” reminds me of a group of people fighting within each other.
2. According to Federalist #10, the source of wealth is one’s skill or time. Some people get to possess wealth by owning private property because they already have generational wealth to help invest them into their business. The ‘others’ remain poor because they either remain wanting to live within their means and maintain a simple life. Another big reason would be not having the money, resources, and opportunity to even make that sort of money. Thus continuing the cycle of the working class, making the rich richer. 
3. I do and do not agree with this explanation of wealth and poverty. While I do agree, the basic formula of someone’s wealth is someone’s great skill and time put into something. However, I think the opportunity to be given a chance is very limited to those who already have wealth. Therefore, not making is accessible to just anybody with incredible skills. 
4.  The core mission of the US government is to protect people’s rights and property. This does not really surprise me. The government today is also very big on protecting people and their property but does not do much to back it up. I can also see that being true back then. I believe this only really applies to who the government deems important, which is the wealthy people. 
5. I am not surprised that Federalist #20 is not in favor of democracy. This would only allow everybody to have some sort of influence and power which the government did not want. This connects to social classes as it is used to keep it all in place. Keeping the working folks working for the rich, which has little to no say or power. 

1. The capitalist class consists of people who own wealth, as well as the means of production in American society. How does a capitalist remain wealthy? Explain M-C-M’ to show how capitalists maintain and increase their wealth. 

A capitalists remains & increases their wealth in 3 steps following the M C M. “M” stands for money. Every wealthy person needs to start with some sort of money, whether it would be from investments or savings. “C” stands for commodities, what they are spending their money on. This could vary from paying workers, materials, & more. Lastly, “M” stands for more money. Putting these resources together, helps you get something to sell it for more than you paid to make it. This formula is used from rich people to get more money than what they initially start with, & stay rich!