[12.20.11] The Electoral College

Facts
1)"The existence of the electoral college usually undermines third parties, which are unlikely to win electoral votes...."
2) The election-of-a-candidate-who-lost-the-popular-vote has happened four times so far.
3) "Some seven hundred proposed amendments have been introduced in Congress over the last two centuries in an effort to reform or abolish this system."
4) The Eighteenth amendment extended Congress' power to regulate interstate commerce in addition to "at least one aspect of intrastate commerce as well."
5) "The law cannot prevent a candidate from voluntarily withdrawing from the race, nor can it prevent individual electors from changing their votes once he has given permission to change sides."
6) Some people say that the public will probably vote for the other candidate if one candidate wishes to get rid of the electoral college (it was created by the Founding Fathers, so that candidate would not get many votes.... "against the Founders' wishes")
7) 10 states "as of the year 2000 account for fifty-four percent of the US population..."
8) "The Supreme Court has repeatedly declared since Baker v. Carr in 1962 that one person-one vote must prevail at the state and local level, the Constitution effectively bars it at the federal."
9) George W. Bush was the first Southern conservative since before the Civil War.
10) The many small states that "benefit disproportionately from the Electoral College have made it plain that they will never consent to the slightest alteration [to the electoral college]."

Questions
1) Do many people want to get rid of the electoral college?
2) What is the purpose of the electoral college, then? Does this mean that the popular vote does not count?
3) Electors (from the electoral college, right?) are allowed to change their votes?
4) How would the Founding Fathers change the electoral college if they saw how the elections worked today?
5) How effective was Hillary Clinton on persuading people on her views about the electoral college?

I feel that the electoral college should be abolished. Like the "most Americans" mentioned in the beginning of the reading, I was very surprised to find out that the president is elected by electors; I had thought that he or she was voted by popular vote.

[12.19.11] Interpreting the Constitution in the Digital Era

Facts
1) Issues of the Constitution come into play - for example, would it be legal for the police to place a GPS on the bottom of a suspect's car (without his/her permission) and track him/her? (4th amendment - search and seizure)
2) There were (are?) Google vans driving down streets and taking pictures.... (Weird...)
3) There was a heat sensor that determined that one area of a certain man's house was warmer than the rest so the police searched his house (after getting a warrant).
4) If German intelligence people find information that is not necessarily terrorism-related (eg adultery), they cannot report it to the police.
5) The Patriot Act expanded the ability of the government to seize any data as long as it is relevant to a terrorist investigation.
6) However, the Patriot Act has been used for obtaining information about illegal immigration and non-terrorist-related things.
7) There is a type of MRI that has been gaining attention for scanning which part of brain being lit up during certain thoughts. (fMRIs)
8) Overactive amygdala - lock them up. predisposition to violence.
9) There was a woman who was fired for a certain picture on her MySpace. Her 1st amendment rights were ruled to be not violated.
10) Twitter was recently pressured to remove pro-Taliban tweets.

Questions
1) Could this possibly grow to be a sort of "Big Brother" sort of society?
2) Was it legal for Lower Merion to do what they did with the laptops a few years ago? How did they justify that?
3) Might there be future amendments to the Constitution concerning internet privacy?
4) Could colleges and schools go through a person's Facebook/MySpace/other social networking sites and find a picture that would justify them to reject that person/suspend them/fire them? Especially if everything is set to private?
5) What precautions are used to make sure people's information will not get out?

[12.18.11] More Pending Bills

Eli - S. 1500: Ensure Children Have Health Care Act: "This bill would allow health insurance companies in a state to cover children in other states."

Abby - H.R. 3359: Traveling Exotic Animal Protection Act: "To amend the Animal Welfare Act to restrict the use of exotic and non-domesticated animals in traveling circuses and exhibitions."

Aaron - H.R. 2256: Pet Safety and Protection Act of 2011: "To amend the Animal Welfare Act to ensure that all dogs and cats used by research facilities are obtained legally."

I'd like to choose H.R. 2256 for my constituent letter. (Pet Safety and Protection Act of 2011)

[12.12.11] Political Cartoon

1) Do you think that Obama will get as many donations as he did last election?

2) What is a "nanny-state government"?

3) Do you think that Obama is trying to do what is best for the country? Don't compromises have to be made, things sacrificed, before things can be changed?

[12.12.11] National Debt

Hope S.
Are there any solutions to help our country decrease its debt in an efficient manner? If so, what are they? 
How does our debt compare with other countries' debts? What does this mean for America? 

Eli P.
How has America gotten out of severe debt in the past?
[I previously chose Eli's question, but found no sources that told me anything...]


Kathleen Q.
What was the main cause of the national debt spiraling out of control?


Sources that will be consulted:
Here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Not serious but funny: link


Are there any solutions to help our country decrease its debt in an efficient manner? If so, what are they?
Limit the money spent on weapons and war; one site suggested that the US "should stop sending people and stop having wars" (the former of which we've started to do). That same person also suggested a change in the Social Security system - another way of funding it ("Social security should not give people extra income they do not need"). Yet another person suggested we make a gradual change to other energy sources, such as "oil, natural gas, clean coal and nuclear"; solar energy could also be an option.

How does our debt compare with other countries' debts?
Good news -- the US was the wealthiest nation in the world (in terms of GDP) in 2007, with 13,844 billion. Japan came in second with 4,384 billion and Germany with 3,322 billion. Unfortunately, the country in first place with external debt is - you guessed it - the United States, with 12,250 billion dollars. The UK followed with a close second with 10,450 billion, and, like last time, Germany was third with 4,849 billion.
CNBC has a pretty neat slideshow of the World's Biggest Debtor Nations. The United States was 20th on the list with its external debt (% of GDP) of 101.1%. The gross external debt, estimated for 2009, was about $14.66 trillion. Ireland stands at number one, its external debt at 1,382%. The estimated 2010 GDP is around $172.3 billion.

What was the main cause of the national debt spiraling out of control?
A website lists several causes:
*Expansion of the housing bubble (homeowners refinanced their homes at lower interest rates, took out second mortgages)
*Simple credit conditions
*Sub-prime lending ("the practice of dishonest lenders[...] to enter into "risky" loans for improper purposes")
*Deregulation
Just to name a few. GlobalIssues.org states that "in the 1960s the US Government had spent more money than it earned and to make up for this decided to print more dollars. So the world's stocks of dollars fell in value."

[12.11.11] New York Times Budget

Apparently I solved the deficit...
So apparently I did lots of things wrong. Ahahahaha.

23% came from tax increases while 77% came from spending cuts.

I felt that the easier choices to make involved the military, army, and navy, while the most difficult choices involved jobs, taxes on the less fortunate, health insurance, etc.

If Congress were to come into play, I think that probably none of these cuts/tax increases would have been acted on.

While I was reading the "7,000 Ways to Fix the Deficit," I couldn't help but notice the mention about the soda tax. It seems like a good idea, a sort of win-win situation. If there are still people that want to drink soda, there would be a lot of revenue generated. If people decided to drink soda less, it would help the obesity problem...

[12.11.11] Pending Bills Part 2

H.R. 3130: Heartbeat Informed Consent Act
To ensure that women seeking an abortion receive an ultrasound and an opportunity to review the ultrasound before giving informed consent to receive an abortion.


Facts
1) To try and persuade a woman that her fetus is "already alive," this act will require that all women looking to get an abortion will have to get an ultrasound.
2) I just found it interesting how they had to put this in the bill. There is also something similar to it but it involves the sound.

‘(3) ABILITY TO AVERT EYES- Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent a pregnant woman from closing or averting her eyes from the ultrasound images required to be displayed, or not listening to the description of the images required to be given, by the provider or the provider’s agent pursuant to paragraph (1)."

3) An exception for this would be in emergencies that are threatening to the woman's life.
4) The first offense (if a woman refuses) will result in a fine of up to $100,000. "Second and Subsequent Offenses" will result in a fine of up to $250,000.
5) Bills have to first state the name. In this case:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘Heartbeat Informed Consent Act’.

6) One justification:

(6) Less than five percent of all natural pregnancies end in spontaneous miscarriage after detection of cardiac activity. A fetal heartbeat is therefore a key medical indicator that an unborn child is likely to achieve the capacity for live birth.

Questions
1) Do you think that this act will lower abortion rates?
2) Could this be unconstitutional in any way?
3) What would happen if a woman refuses to look at the ultrasound and listen to the heartbeat?

[12.7.11] Political Cartoon

1) Do you think this will have a huge effect?
2) Do you think people will still buy the "Forever" stamps if mail takes longer to deliver?
3) If the post office keeps making cuts, could the postal service be completely gone one day?

[12.6.11] Lessons from the Nixon Administration

Links HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, AND HERE.


1) Adequate knowledge about law in addition to wartime experience - one might seem more reliable in certain times of crisis

...Nixon had a brilliant record at Whittier College and Duke University Law School before beginning the practice of law....During World War II, Nixon served as a Navy lieutenant commander in the Pacific.

Nixon joined the United States Navy in August, 1942. Given the rank of lieutenant he was sent to the Pacific as an operations officer with the South Pacific Combat Air Transport Command.

2) Keeping promises will make one seem more trustworthy - people put more trust in the president, believes he/she will achieve what he/she set out to do, more reliable

As he had promised, he appointed Justices of conservative philosophy to the Supreme Court. 

During the presidential campaign Nixon promised to negotiate the end of the Vietnam War. [And although fighting between the two sides escalated, in the end...] Nixon agreed to sign the peace plan that had been proposed in October.

3) Making a huge step in a discovery, or obtaining a huge achievement - more nationalism & pride for the country, more trust in the president to do great things

One of the most dramatic events of his first term occurred in 1969, when American astronauts made the first moon landing.

4) Creating treaties or improving relations between countries - promotes trade, etc

Some of his most acclaimed achievements came in his quest for world stability.  

President Nixon's trip to China in 1972 ended twenty-five years of isolation between the United States and the People's Republic of China (PRC) and resulted in establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1979 

In 1969 Nixon appointed Henry Kissinger as his adviser on National Security Affairs. In this post Kissinger played an important role in the improved relations with both China and the Soviet Union in the early 1970s. He also iniated peace talks between the Arabs and the Israelis.

5) Don't try to do dishonest, sneaky things - being found out is not a good contribution to one's reputation

 During the election campaign there was a break-in at the headquarters of the Democratic Party at the Watergate complex in Washington. Reports by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein of the Washington Post, began to claim that some of Nixon's top officials were involved in organizing the Watergate break-in.

Nixon continued to insist that he knew nothing about the case or the payment of "hush-money" to the burglars. However, in April 1973, Nixon forced two of his principal advisers H. R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman, to resign. A third adviser, John Dean, refused to go and was sacked. Nixon's vice president, Spiro T. Agnew, was also forced to go after being charged with income evasion and was replaced by Gerald Ford.

It was now clear that Nixon had been involved in the cover-up and members of the Senate began to call for his impeachment. On 9th August, 1974, Nixon became the first President of the United States to resign from office.  

 

[12.6.11] Campaign Ad Analysis

SELF-PROMOTIONAL

This CM shows the candidate as a "normal" citizen, not as someone unapproachable. Along with the mellow music, the field, and the "proud of my heritage..." Etc. Effective.

CARDSTACKING

Not effective. Pictures were dark and the narrator's voice was creepy. Most of the things listed (Eagle scout, honor student, etc) does not necessary mean that he will be a good president.

PLAIN FOLKS

Music, a safe feeling.... Looks like a "everyday" citizen, approachable. The elderly woman's words also have an effect, too. (May or may not make one emotional) Effective.


HUMOR

Effective. And very amusing. Completely did not expect the end.


TESTIMONIAL

Have people "switching" to the other side, wanting for change... A little bit effective.


SCARE TACTICS

Effective. Strong pictures of the Vietnam War, need to change what is happening. Therefore, change president.



This is not related to government but is a very effective commercial, in my opinion. The commercial does not advertise its "product" well, but it is still worth watching.

[12.6.11] Electoral College

Facts
1) Each state gets two electoral votes in addition to "votes equal to the state's delegation" in the House.
2) The total number of votes that each candidate receives in an election are not added up and compared.
3) A reason why  the Electoral College was created was because it was "a mathod of achieving objective" without giving Congress power to elect the president.
5) "The two-party system doomed any hope that the Electoral College would choose the 'best' person to be President, since the choice would be limited to the candidates picked by the parties."
6) If the president was just determined via popular vote, then "a state would no longer be a relevant entity for purposes of determining the winner of the election."
7) "All states select their Presidential electors by popular vote..."
8) If there is a very small margin of victory between the two candidates, then the House would have chosen the president.
9) The Constitution did not mention a "method for resolving disputes over electors."
10) There was a bill to "abolish the Electoral College in favor of a nationwide popular vote with a runoff if no candidate received at least 40 percent of the vote."

Questions
1) If the first candidate to reach 270 wins, how... is that fair?
2) Difference between popular vote and electoral college vote?
3) "Florida's experience suggests that Democratic voters are morelikely than Republican ones to spoil their ballots." What does the author mean by "spoil"?
4) How many of the votes could be fake? ("not to mention outright fraud, which remains common, especially with regard to absentee ballots"
5) Difference between pleurality and majority?

[12.4.11] Taxpayer.net

The Precarious State of the Highway Trust Fund (Cascadia Prospectus)

1) The new bills concerning highways were passed with both majority in the House (298-121) and in the Senate (70-30).

2) The "obligation limitation for the highway program" is about $2 billion less than this year's. (This is for FY 2012). However, "an additional $1.66 billion is appropriated for highway-relared 'emergency relief.'"

3) California is planning to have a high-speed rail/bullet train built, but there was no mention of this in the budget.

4) Some people are concerned that this bill "will deplete almost all resources from the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) by the end of fiscal year 2012."

5) Sometime in December the "American Energy & Infrastructure Jobs Act" will be announced." This bill "would authorize expanded offshore gas and oil exploration and dedicate royalties from such exploration to "infrastructure repair and improvement" focused on roads and bridges."

I'm wondering: how are the bills in the Senate and House numbered? Are the numbers reused? The above bill is HR 7. Do the numbers on the bill skip around?




Despite earmark ban, lawmakers try to give money to hundreds of pet projects (Washington Post)

1) There is a moratorium  ("delay or suspension of an activity or a law") announced in both the Senate (last February) and the House (last November) on earmarks.

2) Representative Doris Matsui (from CA) does not support the banning of earmarks since that gives "all the power to the administration."

3) Earmark spending "nearly tripled over a 15-year period, to $31.9 billion in 2010, the year before the ban."

4) I thought this was kind of funny: "Rep. Betty Sutton (D-Ohio), who previously secured more than $2 million in earmarks for a 'Corrosion Engineering Education Initiative' at the University of Akron, added $33 million to the authorization bill this year for 'Corrosion Protection Projects.'"

5) "After 2008, lawmakers had to disclose when they were seeking money for pet projects in their districts, providing a description of the project and the dollar amount. They also had to file paperwork certifying that neither they nor their spouses would benefit financially from the earmark."

[12.1.11] Pending Bills

H.R. 3120: Student Visa Reform Act

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to require accreditation of certain educational institutions for purposes of a nonimmigrant student visa, and for other purposes.

Status: This bill is in the first step in the legislative process. Explanation: Introduced bills and resolutions first go to committees that deliberate, investigate, and revise them before they go to general debate. The majority of bills and resolutions never make it out of committee. [Last Updated: Oct 25, 2011 6:18AM]



H.R. 3130: Heartbeat Informed Consent Act

To ensure that women seeking an abortion receive an ultrasound and an opportunity to review the ultrasound before giving informed consent to receive an abortion.

Status: This bill is in the first step in the legislative process. Explanation: Introduced bills and resolutions first go to committees that deliberate, investigate, and revise them before they go to general debate. The majority of bills and resolutions never make it out of committee. [Last Updated: Nov 21, 2011 12:10PM]



S. 1697: Dairy and Sheep H-2A Act
112th Congress: 2011-2012
A bill to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide a special rule for the period of admission of H-2A nonimmigrants employed as sheepherders, goat herders, or dairy farmers, and for other purposes.

Status: This bill is in the first step in the legislative process. Explanation: Introduced bills and resolutions first go to committees that deliberate, investigate, and revise them before they go to general debate. The majority of bills and resolutions never make it out of committee. [Last Updated: Oct 18, 2011 6:23AM]