Terry Gross Interview

Facts/Details:

1. Terry Goss is a Law professor at George Washington University.
2. None of the existing amendments give answers to the basic questions we have today.
3. We should have no expectation of privacy in public.
4. There is a difference between short term and long term surveillance.
5. Most of the technology already exists for Facebook to track using open planet.
6. Lawyers at Facebook, Microsoft, Google, etc have more power over govt/constitution.
7. There have been efforts to propose a meaningful privacy commission in America.
8. There are people at Google, Facebook, and Twitter that have more control over privacy/free speech than the courts do.
9. Justice Scalia determined that the use of thermal imaging technology outside of the house was an invasion of privacy.
10. Jurors give more weight to the pictures of the brain than other evidence.

Questions:

1. How can we find a basic precedent for privacy issues online if the founding fathers couldnt have even dreamed of the technology today.
2. Have there been any cases decided about privacy in public?
3. How do lawyers of google, facebook, etc have more power?
4. Will there most likely be an amendment made addressing online privacy issues?
5. Does probable cause ever come into play for example in the thermal imaging case?

Cartoon 12/12

• Who is this cartoon taking a shot at?
• What does this mean?
• Did this candidate (hint for question #1) demonstrate that he/she is out of touch with the American people?

Electoral College Reform

Facts/Details

1. Many Americans have difficulty understanding that it is not always the candidate that wins the popular vote that is the president.
2. The EC never meets as a single entity.
3. Each state has a number of electoral votes equal to its membership in Congress.
4. Each state has at least 3 votes.
5. Critics believe the electors have the ability to alter or distort the election.
6. EC triples the political clout of voters in the seven least populous states.
7. Critics argue that electors are an anachronism.
8. Existence of EC undermines 3rd parties.
9. 538 total electoral votes
10. The electoral votes usually exaggerates the popular strength of the majority party.

Questions

1. Does any one party out number another in the EC?
2. Do electors ever vote against their party?
3. How does the EC undermine 3rd parties?
4. Does any one state overpower/influence the election significantly more than another?
5. Has a change ever been considered?

My Opinion:

After reading both Daniel Lazare's and Richard A Posner's arguments, I do not believe the Electoral College should be abolished by any means.  Although sometime the candidate that wins the popular vote will not become president, it is usually by a slim margin.  Also, the electors are much more educated and informed about the candidates.  For instance, if a candidate wins the pop. vote by 3 ballots, there is no reason why that candidate qualifies for office as much as his or her opponent. With the electoral college, valued votes are tallied and the right candidate will be chosen.

National Debt

At what rate is the debt increasing?

• The US National Debt is constantly increasing month by month, year by year.  However,some days the debt will decrease insignificantly, and some days it will rise. This graph represents the National Debt. 

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

• In Lisa Harris's essay entitled Causes of our National Debt, she states "Part of the constant growing debt is from people spending all of this money, even when they don’t have it. Individuals are taking out loans more often because it is so easy. They then have trouble paying off those loans. The banks that give out these loans don’t worry about it, until now, because the government has to bail them out. Companies are spending more and not making as much, therefore they are also going into debt, and when companies and individuals go into debt they have to ask the banks for help, but if the banks are having trouble, then they are not able to help out the businesses."

When did we have the most debt before now?

• Before now, the US was in most debt during the Bush administration.  However, the debt has increased with every presidency.

Sources:
http://cedarcomm.com/~stevelm1/usdebt.htm
http://www.facingup.org/causes-our-national-debt
http://zfacts.com/p/318.html

NY Times Budget Puzzle

How Much Did You Save?: $465Billion (2015), $1,185Billion (2030)

What Percent Came From Tax Increases? 58%

What Percent Came From Spending Cuts? 42%

Reflection:
Some oe easy choices included cutting foreign aid in half and increasing Medicare eligibility to age 65.  The dicult choices involved jobs, and federal workers. Also, my det cut earmarks was difficult. I cannot imagine how difficult these choices would be if votes and compromisesvolved.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

The White House:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/dwightdeisenhower

Miller Center:
http://millercenter.org/president/eisenhower

Presidential Library:
http://www.eisenhower.archives.gov/

Army:
http://www.history.army.mil/brochures/Ike/ike.htm

Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwight_D._Eisenhower

Lessons:

• How to ease tensions with foreign nations
• How to effectively fight a war
• How to compromise/make deals with other countries
• Domestic Policy
• Fairness and equality between classes

Learn to Earn Act of 2011

Details:

• The purpose of this bill is to provide priority consideration to local educational agencies that establish high-quality entrepreneurship education programs for secondary schools, and for other purposes.
• It was introduced by David Loebsack D-IA
• It is attempting to add entrepreneurial programs in more secondary schools.
• There will be "High Quality Entrepreneurship Programs" available to student who are interested.
• There will be an Entrepreneurship Partner Entity- The term ‘entrepreneurship partner entity’ means an entity such as a local business, a local community organization, a local municipality, a local Small Business Administration office, a local Chamber of Commerce, or another State, local, or tribal government entity that specializes in entrepreneurship, small business development, or workforce development that has entered into an agreement with a local educational agency designated an entrepreneurship community under section 4(a), as determined by the Secretary of Education.

Questions:

• Will this be for both public and private schools?
• Will there be qualifications for students to enter this program?
• How much money will it cost?

Cartoon

1. What does this say about President Obama?
2. What is the satirical value of the classic cartoon, Charlie Brown?
3. What is the Author implying about the way Obama handles things when he writes "to keep things fair..."

Campaign Ad Analysis

6 Techniques

• Clinton v. Bush v. Perothttp://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1992
• Concept of "The next gereation"
• I do not think it was effective because it was too idealistic.
• Carter v. Fordhttp://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1976
• The Working Class
• I think it was effective because the working class had a chance to relate to President Carter.
• Bush v. Kerryhttp://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/2004
• Address current issues in the country and a sense of turning the country around.
• I think it was effective because every american can relate to the problems addressed.
• Bush v. Dukakis: http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1988
• Describe "Family Values" of the candidate.
• I think it was effective because it conveyed a sense of humanity in the candidate that a lot of Americans want to see.
• Obama v. McCain http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/2008
• Uncover the other candidates flaws
• It was effective because it allowed Americans to see what McCain had done wrong, and the effects of such.
• Reagan v. Mondale http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1984
• Tell a story
• It was effective because it did not just state facts/plans, but it put things into a way that majority of voting Americans can understand.

3 Assertions:

• The preceding analysis shows that campaign advertisements have substantial persuasive effects. When 
• these effects are properly measured, they appear to dwarf the mobilization and informational effects that 
• previous observational studies have ascribed to televised campaign commercials.
• there are no differences other than advertising across media markets within individual non-battleground states.
• "Third, perhaps our results are due to some correlation between advertising volume and partisan imbalance. In other words, we may be estimating persuasion effects based on relatively uncontested media markets, when in fact these persuasion effects may be substantially smaller when overall advertising volume increases."

Electoral College Article

Facts/Details:

1. The Electoral College is malapportioned
2. Each State gets 2 electoral votes
3. The two party system does not help the electoral college
4. If a president wins the pop. vote, that does not mean he will win the electoral college vote
5. Many states have passed laws requiring electors to honor their pledge to the candidate who selected them.
6. No defection by electors has yet swung an election .
7. The only authority the Constitution grants the states is authority for the state legislature to determine the manner in which the electors are appointed.
8. Electoral votes are counted in the presence of both houses of congress.
9. Congress is authorized to resolve disputes over whose votes should be counted.
10. There was a serious push in 1969-1970 to abolish the Electoral College.

Questions:

1. How is it malapportioned?
2. How does the two party system contradict the electoral college?
3. what was the serious push in 1969-70?
4. How do most states appoint electors?
5. How many members are in the Electoral College?

2 Articles from Taxpayer

Pet Rock Budgeting
http://www.taxpayer.net/resources.php?action=issues&proj_id=5008&category=&type=Project

1. One of the favorite tactics of program apologists is to claim “it’s less than one percent of the budget,” implying that there are bigger fiscal fish to fry. There is no single cut, or revenue raiser, or entitlement reform that will balance the books.
2. A lot of it is about "I did this for you, what have you done for me?"
3. Washington’s deficit cutting rhetoric needs to be replaced with deficit cutting reality, and all options must be on the table.
4. The country forgoes more than $1 trillion in revenue every year through a patchwork quilt of tax breaks and loopholes in the code.
5. "If the nation is going to be successful at tackling the yawning budget defict and the chasm of debt, lawmakers have to leave their budgetary pet rocks at home."

FutureGen Project Timeline

http://www.taxpayer.net/resources.php?action=issues&proj_id=5003&category=&type=Project

1. From the FutureGen website: "The FutureGen Industrial Alliance was formed to partner with the U.S. Department of Energy on the FutureGen 2.0 project. It is a non-profit membership organization created to benefit the public interest, and the interests of science through research, development and demonstration of near-zero emissions coal technology."
2. The estimated cost has risen, then began to decline.
3. Began Construction on October 1.
4. Introduced by Bush administration in February, 2003.
5. It was cancelled in January of 2008, then revived by Obama administration in June, 2009.

3 Bills

Heartbeat Informed Consent Act:

• Introduced October 6, 2011
• Referred to Committee October 7, 2011

Personal Privacy Clarification Act:

• Introduced January 6, 2011
• Referred to Committee February 8, 2011

Learn to Earn Act of 2011

• Introduced November 16, 2011
• Referred to Committee November 16, 2011

Political Cartoon

• What is the significance of "Another Nail"?
• Do you think Herman Cain will drop out of the GOP race?
• Is this foreshadowing, the demise of Herman Cain?

Pennsylvania 2008 Election

Facts:

1. 86% of voters were white.
2. Majority of voters were between the ages of 25 and 44.
3. Majority of the individual counties in PA are Republican.
4. The major cities in PA are Democratic.
5. Compared to the 2004 election, there was a greater voter turnout.

How Washington Works

Facts/Details:

1. Many people are under the impression that Washington is disconnected from the country. (90)
2. "Potomac Fever": the incurable addiction of wielding political power or feeling at the political center. (91)
3. You can't be a major player in budget politics unless you know the difference between constant dollars and current dollars, outlays and obligations, and the baseline and the out years. (92)
4. Hendrick Smith believes most people come to Washington largely motivated by a sense of public service. (94)
5. "It's a city of people who are more interested in being petted and admired than in rendering the exercise of power." (Richardson) (95)
6. Things in Washington happen very fast and the political atmosphere and mood change abrubtly. (96)
7. "It's a one-subject town".  Only politics is discussed. (96)
8. Few politicians will admit how much they crave public recognition. (97)
9. Newt Gingrich said "there are very few games as fun as being a Congressman" (97)
10. Politicians naturally band together in power networks. (97)

Questions:

1. Is Washington too much abut public recognition?
2. What is the difference between constant dollars and current dollars?
3. What is Gingrich referring to when he compares being a Congressman to a game?
4. Is it good or bad that Washington is a one-subject town?
5. Are the people who do not crave public recognition getting the most done, and not receiving credit for it?

Issue of the Week: Death Penalty

1. On average, how long are inmates held on death row before they are put to death?

• Currently, an inmate is on death row for 169 months or 14 years and one month before he or she is executed.  
• In Foster v. Florida, 2002, the Supreme Court noted that long delays between sentencing and execution, compounded by a prisoner’s uncertainty over time of execution, could be agonizing, resulting in “horrible feelings” and “immense mental anxiety amounting to a great increase in the offender’s punishment.”.

2. What was the first case in which the death penalty was used?

• According to the University of Alaska at Anchorage Justice center, "the first known execution in the territory now known as the United States of America was of Captain George Kendall, who was shot by a firing squad in Jamestown in December 1607 (other sources say sometime in 1608), accused of sowing discord and mutiny".

3. What other countries have the death penalty?

• Afghanistan Antigua and Barbuda Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belize Botswana Chad China (People's Republic) Comoros Congo (Democratic Republic) Cuba Dominica Egypt Equatorial Guinea Ethiopia Guinea Guyana India Indonesia Iran Iraq Jamaica Japan Jordan Kuwait Lebanon

  Lesotho Libya Malaysia Mongolia Nigeria North Korea Oman Pakistan Palestinian Authority Qatar St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Vincent and the Grenadines Saudi Arabia Sierra Leone Singapore Somalia Sudan Syria Taiwan Thailand Trinidad and Tobago Uganda United Arab Emirates United States Vietnam Yemen Zimbabwe

  
  
  Read more: The Death Penalty Worldwide — Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0777460.html#ixzz1fge9baFk

Sources:

• http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/time-death-row
• http://justice.uaa.alaska.edu/death/history.html
• http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0777460.html