West Wing

Connections:
The president had to appoint the new justices.
There were many candidates, not just one person in mind to be the new justice.
The candidates were very blunt about why they thought they could not be passed by Congress.
There was a lot of politics involved in selecting the justices.
Before the two justices, the president was searching for a moderate.
The old seat on the court is filled with someone like the old justice.
There was strategy in stepping down from the Supreme Court.
There was a committee to help pass the appointed judges.

Questions:
Could there ever be a dramatic turn in the Supreme Court?
Do very far left or far right judges get appointed?
Will there every be a woman as the chief justice?
Do justices step down when the president asks them to?
How long does it normally take to replace a justice?

Federalist #78

Questions:
Would you change anything to make the Judaical branch weaker?
What was your reasoning behind saying the Judaical branch would be the weakest?
Would you change anything about the court system today?
Should judges determine a case because of their own beliefs or just on the Constitution?
Do you think the Supreme Court is based off of political party too much?


Quotes:
"The judiciary, on the contrary, has no influence over either the sword or the purse; no direction either of the strength or of the wealth of the society; and can take no active resolution whatever. It may truly be said to have neither FORCE nor WILL, but merely judgment; and must ultimately depend upon the aid of the executive arm even for the efficacy of its judgments."

This shows how Hamilton thought the Judaical branch would not have as much power as they do today.

"The standard of good behavior for the continuance in office of the judicial magistracy, is certainly one of the most valuable of the modern improvements in the practice of government."

This shows that Justices can serve for life as long they do not do anything completely wrong. This way they can focus on their job, not getting elected.

"They ought to regulate their decisions by the fundamental laws, rather than by those which are not fundamental."

This shows that the judge's rulings should only be based on the Constitution.

"A constitution is, in fact, and must be regarded by the judges, as a fundamental law. It therefore belongs to them to ascertain its meaning, as well as the meaning of any particular act proceeding from the legislative body."

This is also showing that the Constitution is what the decisions of the cases should be based on.

"...the judiciary, from the nature of its functions, will always be the least dangerous to the political rights of the Constitution; because it will be least in a capacity to annoy or injure them."

This is showing that the founding fathers believed the Supreme Court could not gain a lot of power.

2000 Election

Facts:
1) There was a 5-4 vote to stop the election.
2) Katherine Harris said the Nov. 14th deadline would stay, but the Florida Sumpre Court said it had to be extended.
3) Most thought the United States Supreme Court would hear the case.
4) On Dec. 8th, the Florida Supreme Court ordered a hand recount in certain areas.
5) William Rehnquist was the chief justice at the time.
6) The voting machines in the United States count 97-99% of votes correctly.
7) Most voting machines are different in different states and even counties.
8) The equal protection clause could have been violated.

Questions:
Why does this article say that 99% is WAY higher than 97%?
Was it a bed decision to stop the recount?
How would the election have turned out if there was a full hand recount?
Were other government positions affected by this, we only hear about the presidential race?
Can something like ever happen again?

Politician Update 2

Tom Coburn is a Republican from Oklahoma. He has been a Senator since 2005 and is up for reelection in 2016.

He has missed 4% of roll calls since 2005.
He is a member in many committees such as Fiance and Homeland Security and Government Affairs.
Cobrun was part of 54 bills, 33 of which have made it out of committee and 1 has been enacted.
He was recently part of a bill to consolidate overlapping government programs, saving 5,000,000,000 dollars.
Coburns top contributor is Cummins-American Corp.

Common Good

I think common good would be a great thing, but it is also much too difficult to achieve. When I hear common good, I think that everyone has the same benefits, or everyone can benefit from something. One quote that stood out to me was, "Maintaining a common good often requires that particular individuals or particular groups bear costs that are much greater than those borne by others." This is saying that the "rich" will have to pay for the other citizens, like if there was a nationalized healthcare system. In the environment, there would have to be very precise planning, to help make sure there is no waste in money. The costs of goods will rise if there are more environmental regulations, and during these hard economic times, I do not think anyone wants to see the cost of living rise even more. For common good ways of government to be successful, there has to be a stable economy and there also has to be a set plan before any actions are officially taken. This way citizens are not hurting for enough money to pay for the basics and having plans helps reduce waste. Common good could work well, but now is not the time.

Recount

Facts:

1) Katherine Harris was the Secretary of State for Florida.
2) Florida had 25 electoral votes.
3) Al Gore was almost ready to make his speech admitting defeat when he realized that the election was much closer than anyone knew.
4) The Supreme Court stopped the recount.
5) Only some counties recounted the votes.
6) Many counties did not re-run the votes, they just checked the numbers.
7) Butterfly ballots were used for voting, which caused many problems.
8) Many senior citizens were concerned that they voted for the wrong Candidate.

Questions:
1) How accurate was the portrayal of Katherine Harris?
2) Was this movie made to be a drama or a factual based movie?
3) How many people voted for the wrong candidate?
4) Is something like this possible to happen again?
5) Will there ever be an election this close?
6) How has the state laws changed to make sure that a recount can happen if needed?
7) What was the final vote count?
8) Does the losing candidate still concede before all the votes are in?

Bush vs. Gore

Pre-reading questions:

1) Did the Supreme Court do the right thing in stopping the recount?
2) What was the final vote count for Bush and Gore?
3) What new laws are in place to make sure this never happens again?
4) Why is the state deadlines so important when that state is going to determine the winner?
5) Why does the losing candidate conceded before they have officially lost?

Facts learned:
1) There has been four presidents that won the election, but lost the popular vote.
2) There was a 5-4 ruling to stop the recount in the Supreme Court.
3) It was a surprise to most people that the Supreme Court heard the case.
4) Katherine Harris made some decisions that many people were not happy with, like making the cut-off times shorter than some would have liked.
5) In the case of Romer Vs. Evans special voting rights were created for homosexuals.

Questions:
1) Will there ever be an election that close again?
2) What would the results have been if there was a full recount?
3) Can we trust the voting systems in the country?
4) Should Gore have conceded sooner to end the panic in the country?
5) Did the Democratic party do the right thing going to the Supreme Court?

Pat Toomey

I have been following Pat Toomey. He is a senator, his term ends in 2016. Pat Toomey has recently sponsored a bill that says, "A bill to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to consider the impact on employment levels and economic activity prior to issuing a regulation, policy statement, guidance document, endangerment finding, or other requirement, implementing any new or substantially altered program, or denying any permit, and for other purposes." This is good he is really thinking about the economy when deciding on any new bill. Toomey has missed 2% of roll call votes.

Factions

I think James Madison has a good point about factions. Madison recognizes that factions could become a problem in the United States. The members of the minority could be oppressed, if there is a majority faction that wants to take action. The federalist system makes a oppressing the minority very difficult to do.

How many factions do you think there will be?
Do you think that Republicans and Democrats are factions?
Do you think factions are kept in control today?
Would you change anything in the government today?
Do you think Federalist 10 is still true today?

I think a faction is a group of people who have a common cause and common ideology.

I do think both Republicans and Democrats are factions. I think they stay too loyal to the ideas they are supposed to have, instead of thinking for themselves.

Congress Members

Pat Meehan, Representative for 7th district in PA. R

Pat Coburn, Senator OK. R

Political Party

Based on your response to the questions on the political ideology survey, you are a moderate conservative.
You probably most agree with the views of the Republican Party. You may also be interested in the Libertarian Party. Your ideology is shared by the following Members of the House of Representatives:

Denny Rehberg (R - MT, At-Large)

Zach Wamp (R - TN, 3rd District)

Mario Diaz-Balart (R - FL, 25th District)

Consititution Questions

Does the Constitution today function as the supreme law of the land or do you think that it is just a document that outlines the way our country should be run and all current issues should not be influenced by it?

I think the Constitution is just an outline for modern issues. The document was written a long time ago, and times are changing by the second. As we know, the Constitution does not contain all of the issues in America. This means new laws have to be created with the Constitution’s guidelines instead of the supreme law of the land.

Is the Constitution based more on the founding father's opinions, or the citizens of the U.S.?

I think the Constitution was written based on the founding father's opinions, since it was written by them. All government officials use their own opinions to decide how they want to view an issue. People vote for the candidate they think most resembles them.

"Democray in America"

Facts:
1) States would lose federal money if they decided to not do what the federal government wants the states to.
2) The Endangered Species Act allows government to protect animals.
3) Wolves were restored in Yellowstone National Park, even though many citizens around the park did not the wolves back.
4) All citizens can have a say about federal lands. (New York citizens can make decisions for land in Idaho)
5) The federal government can always out rule the state's government
6) Federal funds are often used as incentives for state governments.
7) South Carolina did not want to adopt a set rule for DUI's.
8) The national BAC level limit for driving is .08.
9) Clinton signed a deal to make states responsible for the use of welfare money.
10) Welfare success is very diversified throughout the United States.

Questions:
1) Did the federal government weigh all possible outcomes from placing the wolves in Yellowstone?
2) Has any state lost money because they did not change the way the federal government wanted them to?
3) How much sense of nationalism is lost with the states having a lot of power?
4) What would be the perfect balance of state and federal power?
5) Has there been talks about nationalising schools in America?
6) How can states with poor welfare systems learn from states that have better welfare systems?
7) Will we ever see the states have almost all the power.
8) Why was South Carolina so against the BAC regulation?
9) Is the federal government doing the right thing by threatening to take away money, or just creating even more friction between federal and state governments?
10) Is the federal government bullying the state governments?

Government Metaphor

The government American system of power and checks and balances is like a human body. A body needs many parts to survive, just like the House and Senate need each other to make laws and they both need the executive branch to finalize the law and enforce it. A human body also checks itself. The immune system oversees any problems that could happen, or if your body is cold you get goosebumps. Just like a body, the government reacts to other events that happen in the government.

Political Cartoon 2

Why does the text at the bottom ask which came first?

Does the "egg" or the "chicken" cause the other?

How do you think these two problems can be fixed?

Federalist 10 and 51

Federalist 10

Questions

What factional disputes did the Articles of Confederation struggle with?

Did Madison foresee a two party system?

How should the ratio of representatives be balanced?

Can there be too many factions?

Should property be redistributed to make land ownership more equal?

Quotes

"Among the numerous advantages promised by a well constructed Union, none deserves to be more accurately developed than its tendency to break and control the violence of faction."

I picked this quote because it lays out the main point of the whole paper, to control and break the violence of faction.

"The instability, injustice, and confusion introduced into the public councils, have, in truth, been the mortal diseases under which popular governments have everywhere perished."

I picked this quote because this shows that Madison believes that factions have been the downfall of many nations.

"But the most common and durable source of factions has been the various and unequal distribution of property."

I picked this quote because it shows what Madison believes is the biggest problem that fuels factions.

"By enlarging too much the number of electors, you render the representatives too little acquainted with all their local circumstances and lesser interests."

I picked this quote because the electors cannot get to invested in only there areas desires, but must look for the needs of the whole country.

"The influence of factious leaders may kindle a flame within their particular States, but will be unable to spread a general conflagration through the other States."

I picked this quote because it shows how a republic can protect the country against individual state needs. This is important so the whole country doesn't move in the wrong direction because of a small area in the country.

Federalist 51

Questions

Does Madison see any new branches of government forming in the future?

Does Madison see any changes in the balance of power in the future?

Would Madison still agree that branches of government should still be as little dependent as possible from other branches with changing times?

Does Madison foresee any problems with a republic having all the power, leaving the people with none?

How can the minority not depend on the majority?

Quotes

"In order to lay a due foundation for that separate and distinct exercise of the different powers of government, which to a certain extent is admitted on all hands to be essential to the preservation of liberty, it is evident that each department should have a will of its own; and consequently should be so constituted that the members of each should have as little agency as possible in the appointment of the members of the others."

I picked this quote because it shows that separate powers are needed to have a fair government.

"It is equally evident, that the members of each department should be as little dependent as possible on those of the others."

I picked this quote because it says that each department should not have to depend on the other departments too much. I feel that this is untrue because the House and Senate need each other to pass bills.

"If men were angels, no government would be necessary."

I picked this quote because it emphasizes that government is needed.

"In a single republic, all the power surrendered by the people is submitted to the administration of a single government."

I picked this quote because it shows that a republic has all the power, and the people have none.

"If a majority be united by a common interest, the rights of the minority will be insecure."

I picked this quote because it addresses an important potential problem, that the majority could opress the minority if nothing is done to prevent it.