Congressional Districts

Facts/Details

• Delaware County is part of the 1st, and 7th Congressional District
• Philadelphia County is represented in multiple Congressional Districts
• The Fifth and Ninth Congressional Districts are the largest.
• Districts can overlap.
• There were originally 21 Districts.
• Due to reapportionment, there are presently only 18.
• From 2000 to 2010, the number of Congressional Districts decreased from 19 to 18.
• Pat Meehan (R) represents our Congressional District.
• The majority of representatives from our district have historically been Republican.
• The 7th District is 89.2% White, 5.5% Black, 3.7% Asian, and 1.3% Hispanic.

Terry Gross Interview

Facts/Details

• Mississippi voters rejected granting a fertilized rights of person hood.
• Such would make an abortion a crime 
• "Planned Parenthood" will no longer be funded
• Margaret Sanger created 1st abortion clinic.
• Sanger was arrested for giving out information on birth control.
• The 'danger' of childbirth was examined.
• abortion was criminalized over the course of the 19th century.
• Birth Control and discussion thereof was illegal during Sanger's time.
• Margaret Sanger had to start teaming up with doctors at her clinic.
• As early as the 19th century, Sanger was forced out of the organization she founded.

Questions

• Did Sanger initiate a progressive feminist movement?
• If a fertilized egg were to gain rights of person hood, what would happen?
• Did Sanger issue contraceptives?
• How many women were having abortions at the time?
• What was the Catholic Church's view on Sanger?
• What prominent individuals supported Sanger?

Frontline: Lost In Detention

Facts:

• Obama "cracked down hard" and has been deporting illegal immigrants at an extremely high rate.
• Illegal immigrants account for over 1000 murderers, 6000 sex offenders
• "There is no chance of comprehensive immigration reform in this political environment"
• ICE was corrupt
• ICE was doing more than what was ordered/necessary
• Many of the immigrants deported have families
• The children born in the United States of illegal immigrants are citizens but their parents are not.
• Many illegal immigrants work jobs that would otherwise not be done as efficiently.

Questions:

• Is Obama's plan a waste of money?
• Will illegal immigration ever fully be prevented?
• Do illegal immigrants, in fact, boost our economy?
• Who will do the jobs of those deported?
• Is it right to deport an illegal immigrant with children who are citizens?

Committees of Pat Toomey

Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

• This committee has 22 members
• The committee is neither predominately Republican nor predominantly Democrat
• They have signed numerous bills involving home ownership and national security.

Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

• This committee has seven subcommittees, all of which relate to natural resources or technology.
• This Committee has 8 bills that have failed passage.
• This committee has twenty five members.

Senate Committee on the Budget

• Four bills have been referred to this committee
• Only one bill from this committee has failed passage
• All bills in this committee revolve around budget and the national economy.

West Wing: The Stackhouse Filibuster

Connections:

• Stackhouse issued the filibuster because he had a bill that had previously been rejected.
• A cloture is invoked.
• There is campaigning for a bill
• They discuss the "markup" of a bill
• They mention the idea of logrolling
• A caucus would have been helpful
• Stackhouse has incumbency
• Rule 22 of the Senate which governs the precedence of motions in the Senate

Questions:

• Is this much competition among Congress realistic?
• Why was Stackhouse creating the filibuster?
• Why did they not create a caucus?
• How often are clotures needed?
• How did they enforce Rule 22?

Electoral College

Facts/Details

1. Mr. Pileggi would have Pennsylvania join two other states, Nebraska and Maine, in abandoning the winner-take-all system. One electoral vote would be awarded for each of the state's Congressional districts, and the winner of the popular vote would receive two more.
2. Even though Democrats have won Pennsylvania in the last five presidential elections, the state remains competitive.
3. In two states, PA and WI, GOP legislators have introduced bills that would change how electoral votes.
4. Pennsylvania's 12 publican U.S. representatives suddenly became nervous about any possible danger to their re-elections that the change in electoral vote apportionment might pose and then sent word tostate legislators to “cool it.”
5. Nebraska Republicans are looking to return to winner-take-all.
6. The two electoral votes that go to the statewide winner won’t motivate candidates sufficiently to campaign statewide to win them.
7. The concept of awarding electoral votes by congressional district has been around since the 1950s.
8. Under the current system, the most important part of the Democratic campaign strategy in Pennsylvania is to try to maximize turnout in Philadelphia and southeastern counties.
9. If the congressional district plan had been in place in Pennsylvania in recent presidential elections, it would not have affected the outcome of any presidential election.
10. By early September, GOP Gov. Tom Corbett and the state House and Senate leaders, Mike Turzai and Dominic Pileggi, both Republicans, had all expressed their support for the idea.

Questions:

1. Why, all of a sudden are changes being proposed?
2. What differences to the Democrats and Republicans have on these changes?
3. Are certain states almost joining together and alienating from other states?
4. How did this plan come about?
5. Is it likely the electoral college will change in the near future?

Sources:

http://hellertown.patch.com/articles/what-to-watch-in-pas-electoral-college-debate

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2011/09/17/a_really_bad_idea_111367.html

http://pennsylvanianews.info/pennsylvania-top-stories/nervous-pennsylvania-gop-house-members-kill-electoral-college-change.html

http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/11/pennsylvania-electoral-college-all-votes-matter

John Boehner

Facts:

1. Boehner's mantra is "tThe House should 'work its will'"
2. While Boehner negotiates in good faith, he often doesn’t have the backing to pull the trigger on a deal.
3. His 1st package of spending cuts was his "biggest regret".
4. He failed to cut a multitrillion-dollar deficit-reduction deal with President Barack Obama after the mere perception that he might give ground on taxes filtered back to his troops.
5. He had to pull his debt-limit bill from the floor at the eleventh hour before reviving it with concessions to conservatives.
6. Boehner’s Republicans have used the leverage of controlling a single chamber of Congress to slash $1 trillion or so from the budget over the next decade.
7. He hasn’t yet demonstrated that he has the juice to move an agenda aimed at making laws with Obama and Reid.
8. he supports the will of the House working its way

Questions:

1. What kind of disagreements/issues do Boehner and Obama have?
2. Why does he have trouble "pulling the trigger" on a deal?
3. Why is he so afraid of taking a 'risk'?
4. What does he mean by the house "working its way" or "working its will"?
5. How much control do he and his Republicans have over Congress?

Is the US House too Small?

Facts:

• In 1789 there were 65 members.
• The US House has fewer members than the British House of Commons and the German Bundestag which   both have smaller populations.
• Democrats support a larger House
• 20% want to increase, 20% want to decrease, and 60% want to keep the same size.
• In larger institutions it becomes more challenging for members to get to know and trust each other, which in turn makes it more difficult to build the coalitions and consensus essential for smooth functioning.

Questions:

• Why 435 members?
• What is the process of changing the number of representatives?
• Why use the cube rule?
• What are the pros/cons of a small house?
• Is it inevitable that the number will eventually change?

In my opinion, the current size needs to change.  America is only getting bigger.  Although it was set in stone in 1911, we had a smaller country at the time.  I think the House should be larger but only to a certain extent. The Federal Government should put a cap on how big the House can get and not let it exceed that number.  If the house ends up getting too big, nothing will be done efficiently.  It would take up too much time.

My Two Representatives Personal Finances

Finances:

• Pat Toomey
• Pat Toomey's net worth is $1,770,062 to 4,900,999
• He has 44 assetts totaling $2,020,062 to $5,001,000
• He has 5 incomes totaling $186,807
• Mike McIntyre
• His net worth ranges from From $68,006 to $196,000
• He has four assetts totaling $68,006 to $196,000

Why Does This Matter?

I do agree with the author. I think we do have the right to know our Representatives' income and how they are making their money and what they are doing with it.  The author also discussed  how they are filed on paper, not electronically.  This is an issue that introduces the reliability of the numbers we are seeing.  When reported on paper, it takes longer for the paperwork to process and the numbers/amounts may not be fully up-to-date. 

Illegal Immigration

• 1. How many total illegal immigrants are living in the United States?
• In 2007, it was estimated that the illegal immigrant population in the United States has risen to above 13 million people.  
• According to FAIR (Federation for American Immigration Reform) It is difficult to have an exact figure because the illegal nature of their presence prevents any enumeration, but the U.S. Census Bureau estimated 8.7 million illegal immigrants were here in 2000, and immigration officials estimate that the illegal immigrant population grows by as many as 500,000 every year 
• 2. What happens if illegal immigrants have children that were born in the US? Are they (the children) also considered illegal immigrants?
• A common misconception is that the Constitution through the Fourteenth Amendment confers citizenship upon everyone born in the United States whether or not they were born to an illegal alien. Actually, the Constitution itself does not provide citizenship to those born of illegal parents; the Supreme Court only said it did in an 1898 decision known as ‘U.S. v. Wong Kim Ark’, and it is politically correct to accept this Supreme Court decision while ignoring others.
• 3. Are there any advantages to the economy when hiring illegal immigrants?
• If illegal immigration came to a standstill, it would disrupt the economy,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com. “It would lead to higher prices for many goods and services, and some things literally would not get done. It would be a major adjustment for our economy, for sure.

Sources: 

• http://www.fairus.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=16859&security=1601&news_iv_ctrl=1007
• http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.6742/pub_detail.asp
• http://blog.chron.com/immigration/2009/12/how-much-do-illegal-immigrants-benefit-u-s-economy/

Stevens: Atkins V. Virginia

Facts:

1. Daryl Renard Atkins was convicted of abduction, armed robbery, and capital murder
2. the defense relied on one witness, a forensic psychologist, who testified that Atkins was mildly mentally retarded
3. The jury sentenced Atkins to death, but the Virginia Supreme Court ordered a second sentencing hearing because the trial court had used a misleading verdict form
4. During resentencing the same forensic psychologist testified, but this time the State rebutted Atkins' intelligence
5. The jury again sentenced Atkins to death
6. In affirming, the Virginia Supreme Court relied on Penry v. Lynaugh, in rejecting Atkins' contention that he could not be sentenced to death because he is mentally retarded.

Questions:

1. Is one witness not enough?
2. How reliable was the forensic psychologist?
3. How was he proven mentally retarded?
4. what was his penalty if not the death penalty?

Sources:

http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2001/2001_00_8452/

http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/00-8452.ZS.html

The Supreme Court Justices

Facts/Details/Questions:

• John Roberts was Special Assistant to the Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice from 1981–1982, Associate Counsel to President Ronald Reagan, White House Counsel’s Office from 1982–1986, and Principal Deputy Solicitor General, U.S. Department of Justice from 1989–1993.
• Majority of the justices received higher levels of education at very prestigious schools.
• The Justices are diverse with 3 women, one black male, and 5 white males.
• Sonia Sotomayor is the first Hispanic justice.
• All of the justices have a wealth of background experience in law before becoming justices.
• Ginsburg is the oldest justice
• Kagan is the youngest justice
• Many of the justices have backgrounds in the US courts of Appeals.
• Ginsburg was previously the ACLU's general counsel.
• Bush, Reaga, Clinton, and Obama nominated all of the current justices.

Three Court Cases

• Northern Pipeline Constr. Co. v. Marathon Pipe Line Co. (1982)
• This case interested me because of the economic aspect of it. This case is a bankruptcy case involving Northern Pipeline Constuction Company and Marathon Pipe Line Company.
• The only Bankruptcy case on the websitr
•  "The Bankruptcy Act of 1978 (Act) established a United States bankruptcy court in each judicial district as an adjunct to the district court for such district.". After it had filed a petition for reorganization in a Bankruptcy Court, appellant Northern Pipeline Construction Co. (Northern) filed in that court a suit against appellee Marathon Pipe Line Co. (Marathon) seeking damages for an alleged breach of contract and warranty, as well as for misrepresentation, coercion, and duress. Marathon sought dismissal of the suit on the ground that the Act unconstitutionally conferred Art. III judicial power upon judges who lacked life tenure and protection against salary diminution. The Bankruptcy Court denied the motion to dismiss, but on appeal the District Court granted the motion."
• I was captivated by the back and forth type of case this was. 
• Zelman V. Simmons-Harris (2002)
• Education case.
• This is one of the more recent freedom of religion court cases.
• What interested me right off the bat in this case was the unique aspect of the Ohio Scholarship Program and how it was very flexible.
• Also, the fact that all types of schools whether they be private, charter, or public can be involved in the Ohio scholarship Program for underprivileged children.
• Bob Jones Univ. V. United States (1982)
• I was interested in the fact that this was a court case that involved a University and the Federal Government.
• In this case, Bob Jones University admitted un married blacks to the school, it did not accept students involved in an interracial relationship.
• Because of this admissions policy, the IRS revoked the University's tax-exempt status. After paying a portion of the federal unemployment taxes for a certain taxable year, the University filed a refund action in Federal District Court, and the Government counterclaimed for unpaid taxes for that and other taxable years.

Roe V. Wade

Facts/Details

• It has been argued occasionally that these laws were the product of a Victorian social concern to discourage illicit sexual conduct.
• When most criminal abortion laws were first enacted, the procedure was a hazardous one for the woman.
• In the Early 20th century, abortion mortality rates were significantly high.
• Mortality rates for women undergoing early abortions, where the procedure is legal, appear to be as low as or lower than the rates for normal childbirth.
• Many abortion clinics are referred to as "Abortion mills"
• The Constitution does not explicitly mention any right of privacy.
• the Ninth Amendment's reservation of rights to the people, is broad enough to encompass a woman's decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy.
• Abortions not only lead to physical harm, but also psychological harm.
• The Court's decisions recognizing a right of privacy also acknowledge that some state regulation in areas protected by that right is appropriate.
• Viability is usually placed at about seven months (28 weeks) but may occur earlier, even at 24 weeks.

Questions:

• Is there a date in which a woman has carried the fetus too long, and therefore is forbidden to get an abortion?
• What are the "logical" and "biological" justifications for abortion?
•  Is an abortion acceptable if a woman who is seven month's pregnant will suffer serious permanent health effects if an abortion is not performed?
• Does the government run any abortion clinics or are they all private?
• How do state abortion laws vary?
•