Classmates bills

Classmates Bills:

S:1108: 10 Million Dollar Solar Roofs Act of 2011: Michael

H.R.3012 - Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act: Matt Tallent

S 1301: Trafficking Victims Protection Re-authorization Act of 2011: Kathleen 

Bill I am going to use:

S. 1067: Nuclear Energy Research Initiative Improvement Act of 2011

Political Cartoon (Part 5)

Questions

1. Do you believe that Wall Street Bankers are really destroying the economy?

2. If you do think they are destroying our economy, do you think they should be jailed instead of the protestors?

3. How can we fill up the jail if they are destroying our economy?

Terry Gross Interview: Interpreting The Constitution In The Digital Era

Facts:
1. Rosens new book is a collection of essays that imagine new technological developments that stress constitutional laws.
2. None of the Amendments give us clear answers to basic problems we have today.
3. A problem that does not really have an answer is "Can a policeman put a tracking device on someones car and track them?". Many court judges have had mixed answers.
4. The problem I said above has the potential to the most important privacy case in the decade.
5. Brandice took a leap when deciding if wire tapping was a invasion of privacy.
6. You dont need a physical tresspass to create a unreasonable search.
7. Open planet is a system that would allow google and facebook to put on a live feed of people and what they did everyday 24/7.
8. The fourth amendment prohibits the government from unreasonable searches and seizures.
9. Facebook is not regulated by the Constitution so they could theoretically put on the Open planet system.
10. Germany has a greater concern for data collecting than the U.S does.

Questions:
1. How can we protect our privacy from Google and Facebook?
2. If the Constitution wanted, could they regulate Facebook?
3. Why is Europe so strict on privacy laws?
4. What do other countries, beside European ones, think about the open planet system?
5. What defines how much privacy we have and when it is invaded?

Electoral College Reform Article Part 2

Facts:
1. The president is not elected directly by the people, but by the electors.
2. Voting begins the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.
3. The electoral college is not a college and never meets as a single entity.
4. The electoral college greatly influences the character of parties, the nominating process, and the outcome of a presidential election.
5. The smallest number of electoral votes in a state is three.
6. There are a total of 538 electoral votes and a candidate need a majority of 270 for election.
7. The electoral college usually undermines third parties, which are unlikely to win electoral votes.
8. Electors are, at best, an anachronism and, at worst, capable of distorting or even altering the result of an election.
9. A straight popular election would encourage minor party candidates.
10. The Electoral College triples the political clout of voters.

Questions:
1. How many people are in the Electoral College?
2. What is anachronism?
3. Why do we have to select electors to vote for us?
4. How come we can't just vote for the president directly?
5. Are there any other things that are similar to the Electoral College?

Opinion:
I believe that the Electoral College should be removed. I find it unuseful and unfair for those who voted for a different candidate but still are represented by a elector who is voting for the majority. I think that the U.S. should just count all of the citizens votes for who they want so it would be more fair. Although the process would probably take a long time I believe it will speed up as we get better machines to count more effieciently.

Issue of the Week: The National Debt

1. How does the nation debt affect everyday citizens?
Many people believe that the nation debt has no affect on them, but it acutally does. As the debt gets higher our interest rates that we pay for loans on morgages is affected. It also affects the tax rate we pay and all of the national services we take for granted. A higher debt could potentially mean less social services and other necessities. It could also affect our Nations economic status leading in more spending cuts.

2.Who do we owe money too?

We owe this money to many people. We owe it to foreign investors, foreign governments, foreign investors. We also owe money to a variety of countries as you can see on the chart below.

3. What is the difference between Debt and Defict?

The national debt is the net accumulated borrowing by the federal government. It's the difference between all the money that our federal government has ever spent and all the revenue that it has ever collected since our nation's inception. The annual federal budget defict is the amount our federal government borrows each year.
It's the difference between what the federal government spends and the revenue it receives during a particular year. So each year's deficit is added to the existing debt. When revenue exceeds spending, it's called a surplus, which subtracts from the debt.

Sources:

http://agonist.org/Learning-Center/mortgage/howdoesnationaldebtaffectyou.html

http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article1571.html

http://www.greatreality.com/DebtFAQ.htm#WhoOwe

http://www.afn.org/~concord/coalition/debtdef.htm

President Research

John Quincy Adams

1. Having a healthy relationship with Congress when you enter office.

2. Creating programs that would improve the nation as a whole.

3. Fighting for what you believe in.

4. To stick up for the people not treated right.

5. Being able to create something unforgettable

Sources:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/johnquincyadams

http://www25.uua.org/uuhs/duub/articles/johnquincyadams.html

http://www.nps.gov/adam/jqabio.htm

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0760591.html

New York time budget puzzle

How much did you save?
261 billion

What % came from tax increases?
47%

What % came from spending cuts?
53%

Include a reflection about the decisions you made.
I decided to only cut the things that we really do not need to do in our country. For example foreign aid to other countries. I also decided to cut some military spending to save more money; we do not need more space sending or nuclear arsenal. I decided to remove some troops from Iraq, Asia and Europe. I raised the Medicare and Social Security age to 68 because 3 years is a very little time to wait. People who have high income do not need special benefits if they have money!