Tax Payer Article

http://www.taxpayer.net/resources.php?action=issues&proj_id=3791&category=Bailout&type=Project
Budget Bailout
Budget Bailout will cost taxpayers an estimated $66 Billion Dollars
AIG was given 182.3 Billion Dollars from the government
600 banks received 60 billion dollars overall and are unwilling or unable to pay back those funds
In the 2 years after the recession 279 banks have failed
66 retail credit unions have closed

tp://www.taxpayer.net/resources.php?action=issues&proj_id=5030&category=Federal%20Budget&type=Project
A bill was proposed for military spending for 670 Billion Dollars

NY Times Budget Puzzle

For the 2015 short fall I saved $593 Billion Dollars, for 2030 I saved $1,366 Billion dollars.
64% Were saving from tax increases, 36% came from spending cuts.

The easier part of the puzzle was making cuts to the military. Even though we are just getting out of a war in Iraq and still in Afghanistan I feel that we do not need to enter into war at this time. I also cut nuclear funding we have about 1000 nuclear war heads, one should be enough to destroy a target why would we need more? I tried to stay away from tax increases and cutting federal workers because both of my parents are government employees. I think if spending cuts were just made to the military it would easily cut our budget in half.

Bills

Bills:

1. H. Res. 211- Justin Juliano 
2. S. 977: A bill to fight criminal gangs- Sandra Goldshcmit 
3. S. 499: Bonneville Unit Clean Hydropower Facilitation Act -Tom Nguyen

Bill chosen to write letter to congressmen about: S. 499: Bonneville Unit Clean Hydropower Facilitation Act 

Terry Gross Interview

Facts: 

1. Genetic engineering may soon allow parents to control what their children look like.
2. New technologies challenge our constitutional categories in dramatic ways.
3. Technology challenges personal vs. private space, freedom of space, and individual autonomy. 
4. United States vs. Jones is debating whether police need a warrant to put a gps tracker on cars. 
5. Gps case has the potential to become the case of the century.
6. Brandeis wrote the dissenting opinion in Olmstead v. United States.
7. Olmstead v. United States case which the court ruled that neither the Fourth Amendment nor the Fifth Amendment protects a defendant against having personal conversations wiretapped by federal agents.
8. New technologies could be created in the near future that would challenge future constitutional laws. 
9. Leaders of technology and internet are writing the book on freedom of expression and speech.
10. Google has been under pressure from U.S. government to remove terrorist videos from YouTube.

Questions:

1. Where does the border lie between public and private with technology?
2. Do police have the right to incriminate you based on facebook/twitter information?
3. Is there jurisdiction on the internet?
4. Can America tell google and youtube to take down any videos or is this a violation of free speech?
5. Can free speech be violated on the internet?

Obama's asks Iran for Drone Back

Questions:
1. President Obama failed to act on destroying the predator drone when the chance was had. He follows that mistake by asking Iran our enemy "If we can have our drone returned to the US". These actions are not only a smack in the face to our foreign policy, but has made our country look like a weak joke that is now being mocked in Iran what are the reprecussions of these actions, also how badly will this hurt Obamas campaign?
2. Why would Obama not destroy the drone?
3. How inexperienced is Obama in foreign policy.

Electoral College Reform Daniel Lazare

Facts:

1. President is elected by electors not popular vote.
2. The election of 2000 was decided 36 days after the election should have been decided. 
3. Electoral college usually undermines third parties, independents never have a chance to be president. 
4. Voter population grew more diverse, more vast as property qualifications became obsolete and women/african americans gained voting rights.
5. The electoral college does not properly convey the views of the diverse voter population. 
6. Malaportionment is a common feature of democratic government. 
7. Gore did not win the popular vote in the 2000 election despite the closeness.
8. The senate is malaportioned, no one makes a big deal about this.
9. Society has reached a dead end and radical change is unavoidable. 
10. 2% of the ballots in 2000 election were not counted. 

Questions:

1. How is the electoral college ever been democratic?
2. Why has the electoral college not been made obsolete already?
3. When was the electoral college put into place?
4. What percent of the US is in favor of the electoral college?
5. Is the electoral college constitutional?

In America we live in an indirect democracy. If we live in a direct democracy we would never have heard of this electoral college. I believe that even though we live in an indirect democracy the electoral college is unconstitutional. I believe that the elections should be based off of popular vote I cannot understand why  a college is needed if we the people are supposed to elect our leaders. I would abolish the electoral college and initiate American spirit to increase voter turnout. 

JFK Lessons Learned

Sources:

1. http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,106537,00.html
2. http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/JFK-in-History/Cuban-Missile-Crisis.aspx
3. http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=39517
4. http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/JFK-in-History/Civil-Rights-Movement.aspx
5. http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/JFK-in-History/Space-Program.aspx
6.  http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/JFK-in-History/The-Cold-War.aspx

Lessons A President Can Learn From JFK:

1. Get the right information and have a good tactical strategy before entering into battle. 
2. The Cuban missile crisis is a good lesson of what not to do in foreign crisis situations. The Cuban missile crisis was one of Kennedy's big mistakes almost taking America into a nuclear war. It is good learn from others mistakes and this can teach presidents to use diplomacy instead of just jumping to war. 
3. The trickle up affect many don't hear about: "Lower rates of taxation will stimulate economic activity and so raise the levels of personal and corporate income as to yield within a few years an increased – not a reduced – flow of revenues to the federal government."– John F. Kennedy, Jan. 17, 1963, annual budget message to the Congress, fiscal year 1964 
4.  Kennedy was a leader on civil rights and equality presidents still have civil rights issues to deal with today.
5. The Space Race: JFK showed passion, and a strong competitive attitude that pushed America to be better a president should learn to push America as far as we can go for the better. Also in a time today when the NASA program is no longer funded as much the space race shows the reason why programs like this were funded and the gain from these programs.
6. Lessons that can be learned from the Cold War are that we must not enter into petty silent battles with countries. Work on making better connections with foreign countries. 

Campaign Ads

Six Tactics:

Humor :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbdzMLk9wHQ Makes fun of the opposing candidate: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbdzMLk9wHQ

Scare Tactics: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63h_v6uf0Ao Ads like these so the consequences of not voting for the certain candidate. If you don't vote for me this will happen etc...

Mudslinging: This type of commercial slanders the opposing candidate. Usually using false accusations and using strong words like un-american, ignorant, destructive etc..

Average Joes- The commercials makes the candidate seem like he is right on the level as the middle class American.

Jingle- Commercial uses catchy song to get candidate stuck in your head http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoInnsrf4g8

Campaigns that unintentionally ruin candidates campaigns: p://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PAJNntoRgA

Assertions:
1. People who participate in surveys do not represent the larger population.
2. A larger Bush advertising margin stem from more Bush advertisements in the 2000 election.
3. Campaigns are strategic in the way they target other candidates in battle ground states.

Electoral College Reform

Facts:

1. The electoral college votes are malaportioned.
2. Each state gets two electoral votes regardless of the the state population.
3. Gore won the popular vote in 2000.
4. 2% of all the ballots cast were not counted as votes in 2000. 
5. Democratic voters are more likely than Republican ones to spoil their ballots.
6. The two party system doomed the electoral college to pick the best person to be president
7. Gore and Bush had a 0.5 vote margin difference.
8. Gores popular vote margin in New York was one million votes.
9. In the absence of the majority Stephen Douglas would have one the presidential election defeating Lincoln. 
10. The individual citizen has no federal constitutional right to vote for electors for President of the United States unless and until the state legislature chooses a statewide election as the means to implement its power to appoint members of the Electoral College. 

Questions:

1. Was it obvious that Gore won the popular vote in 2000?
2. What is the ideal voting system?
3. Is a direct democracy a better system than indirect?
4. Why is the electoral college used?
5. Why is the electoral college malaportioned instead of population porportional?

Death Penalty Answerss

Death Penalty Questions 

1. Was the death penalty established 
2. How many states enforce the death penalty today?
3. How many executions happen every year in America?

Answers:

The death penalty was first used in 1608 in the North American British Colonies. Captain George Kendall was put to death in Jamestown by firing squad for being accused of spying for Spain. There was around 15,000 deaths by capital punishment since then and 4,600 in between 1930 to 2002. Today some states still enforce the death penalty a liberal state California has the most people in America on death row at 3,200, Illonois has zero. The graphic below shows the states that have abolished the death penalty and when. There are 16 states that have abolished the death penalty thirty four have still not abolished it. It seems that executions are rare to none in America today but in 2010 there were 46 executions and 33 this year already. Texas has had the most executions since 1976 with 477 inmates executed. Texas is the most frequent exerciser of the death penalty as they are allowed to be. This is a subject that is morally ambiguous. People against the death penalty would say that it is cruel and unusual punishment, but the victims of second time offenders who have gained parole would say different. 

Alaska (1957) Hawaii (1957) Illinois (2011) Iowa (1965) Maine (1887) Massachusetts (1984) Michigan (1846)

Minnesota (1911) New Jersey (2007) New Mexico* (2009) New York (2007)# North Dakota (1973) Rhode Island (1984)** Vermont (1964)

West Virginia (1965) Wisconsin (1853) ALSO - Dist. of Columbia (1981)