Third parties.

1.) Wall Street was Obama's major source of contributions.
2.) Will a third party bring the other two parties from the far extremes of their parties?
3.) It's been said that the role of third parties is to "sting like a bee and then die."
4.) 58% of Americans believe we need a third major party.
5.) Another reason that people are convinced a third party is necessary is because both parties do not seem to take the crisises the country is facing too seriously.
6.) The US spends more money on education than on teachers.
7.) Currently, there are approximately 25 million people who cannot find jobs.
8.) The Republicans are against raising taxes for the baby boomers.
9.) The crises we are facing are not being taken seriously by our two current parties.
10.) Public finance and national debt can lead to the decline of a major political party.

Twenty truths.

1.) Campaigning involves trying to make the other candidate look bad, instead of focusing on making yourself look better (-)
2.) Celebrities help to endorse a candidate. (-)
3.) It is very hard to be elected if you are from a third party, and not part of the two major parties (-)
4.) To make and pass a bill is a very long process. (0)
5.) Many voters just vote for the party, not the person (-)
6.) A lot of the time, candidates do not keep the promises they make while campaigning (-)
7.) Some states are more important than other states while campaigning (-)
8.) Campaign ads don't give much information about the candidate. (-)
9.) Campaign finances have gone up since the past. (-)
10.) The Judicial Branch can declare laws unconstitutional. (0)
11.) Presidents have the power to veto laws. (0)
12.) As citizens we have specific rights that the government can not take away from us. (+)
13.) The executive branch is not just the president, there are many other people who help him. (+)
14.) People don't vote for a candidate because they are too lazy. (-)
15.) Candidates have limitless access to the media to spread their message and view across the country. (+)
16.) People with the most money have the most say. (-)
17.) Politicians have armies of people who work to modify their image and to recruit more people to join them. (+)
18.) With incumbents in office, it is a little more difficult for new-comers to win an election. (-)
19.) Power is separated between three branches. (+)
20.) The public is largely uninformed about political matters. (-)

The Green Party.

Green Party Platform:
1. Support grassroots democracy
2. Believe in social justice and equal opportunity.
3. Ecological wisdom and environmentalism.
4. Nonviolence.
5. Decentralization of power and money.
6. Community-based economics and economic justice. Fair trade as opposed to free trade.
7. Feminism and gender equity.
8. Respect for diversity.
9. Personal and global responsibility.
10. Future focus on sustainability.
11. Believe that multinational corporations have become a destructive force.
12. Free speech and media reform.
13. Create a more open-source and free Internet.
14. More exploration of space.
15. Demilitarization.

Issue I care about: abortion.

Questions:
1.) Is there any idea scientifically about whether life begins at birth vs. at conception?
2.) What constitutional basis is there for people to outlaw abortion?
3.) What are the current political parties stances on abortion?

Sources:
http://www.feministe.us/blog/archives/2010/08/26/when-does-life-begin/
http://www.npr.org/blogs/13.7/2011/09/14/140397576/when-does-life-begin
http://familydoctormag.com/sexual-health/251-when-does-life-begin-medical-experts-debate-abortion-issue.html
http://www.rnclife.org/brochure/rprolife.html
http://www.euthanasia.com/demo.html

Answers
1.) There is no scientific consensus about when life begins. Some will say it's when heartbeats can be registered, others when brain activity can be detected, and others still at conception and birth. There are too many different "definitions" for there to be consensus, even among scientists.
2.) There is no constitutional basis for the outlaw of abortion. Pro-life activists will incite that abortion is murder, but because there isn't a consensus as to when life begins, there can't be any proof that abortion is murder.
3.) The Republican party generally states that they are the pro-life party, whereas the Democratic party states that they are the pro-choice party. However, there is some line blurring. Some Republicans identify themselves as pro-choice, and some democrats identify themselves as pro-life.

Constituent letter.

Mr. Casey,
My name is Kaitlin Garvey and I'm writing to you about your vote on the National Defense Authorization Act. As you may know, the act costs $662 billion dollars to put into action, and it gives the US military the right to detain any United States citizen indefinitely, all to combat the War on Terror. I have to say, as a liberal from Pennsylvania, I'm severely disappointed. I figured the Democratic vote would go against such an extremely heavy handed act.
As a liberal citizen of Pennsylvania, I'm very outspoken against this bill. I know its already been put into action, and I'm writing to say I'm disappointed. As you hopefully know, the act made it possible for the US military to hold anyone in indefinite detention. Any US citizen. This goes directly against the Bill of Rights that Americans are supposed to cherish.
I know that many of the Congressmen who voted for the bill, as well as Obama, will try to deny the fact that this act violates American rights. But if the public was so outraged, why vote for it?
Respectfully,
Kaitlin Garvey

Political cartoon, the third.

1.) Does this accurately portray the immigration laws of the US?
2.) Would most Americans agree with this?
3.) Does this have religious connotations, or just political?

Political cartoon response.

I think that Jeremy's response to the Newt Gingrich cartoon was a good one, and no I don't think that the American people take Gingrich seriously as a candidate. He may not be running for President just for book sales, but I do think that he sees it as a publicity thing. But have his book sales gone up just because he's running for President?

Terry Gross interview.

Facts/details:
1.) The GPS case has the potential to be the most important case of the decade.
2.) The Patriot Act expanded the amount of surveillance the government could do without a warrant.
3.) Twitter was pressured by Senator Joseph Liberman to remove pro-Taliban tweets.
4.) The government believes that the Fourth Amendment only bans warrantless searches of private spaces, while a GPS device is just an extension of basic human surveillance.
5.) Germany's security services have broad discretion to seize a lot of data, to engage in warrantless monitoring, but they can only use what they find for terrorism cases and they can only share it with the police in terrorism cases or violent crimes.
6.) Rosen's new book is a collection of essays that imagine new technological developments that stress constitutional laws.
7.) The fourth amendment prohibits the government from unreasonable searches and seizures.
8.) Some judges say there was a physical trespass when the police put the GPS device on the car without a warrant.
9.) Jeffrey Rosen is a law professor at George Washington University.
10.) Access to Google was blocked in Turkey for a long period of time.

Questions:
1.) Should boundaries for protection and privacy be set up?
2.) Is it possible for this country to follow the examples of other countries- security wise?
3.) What the government do about the loopholes with Google, Twitter, etc?
4.) Why is Europe so strict on privacy laws?
5.) Should we assume we're being monitored 24/7?

Electoral college reform number 2.

Facts/details:
1.) The existence of the electoral college usually undermines third parties, which are unlikely to win electoral votes.
2.) In reality, it is the electors who elects the president, not the people.
3.) Change that takes place in accordance with Article V is licensed change, whereas real change means a departure from any such arrangement.
4.) The smallest number of electoral votes a state can have is three, the District of Columbia also has three electoral votes.
5.) The votes tend to exaggerate the popular strength if the majority party.
6.) It was ruled in 1962 in the case of Baker v Carr by the supreme court that,"one person-one vote must prevail at the state and local level."
7.) Around 700 amendments have been proposed that would reform or abolish the Electoral College.
8.) If Al Gore and George Bush switched positions would they be arguing for the other side or did Al Gore dislike the Electoral College before the 2000 election?
9.) Abolishing the Electoral College would allow citizens to "reshape political institutions."
10.) Candidates don't even have to campaign in states where they know their political party is favored.

Questions:
1.) What is difficult about creating a law to set more limitations on the electoral college?
2.) What happens if the electoral unexpectedly votes one way and the media already announced the other candidate to be the president after the popular vote?
3.) Would the election of the President be pure democracy with out the Electoral College?
4.) Would states with more electoral votes be against a change?
5.) Is it fair for a candidate to win the popular vote, but not the electoral votes?

I think that the electoral college is unfair system imposed on the voters of the US. It makes it so that the individual votes of the people aren't heard. It also makes it impossible for independent parties to get their candidates elected, which I find annoying.

Political cartoon, again.

1.) What does this say about the way people view Obama?
2.) Would there be any point in occupying DC?
3.) How would believers in the Occupy movement feel about this cartoon?

President research, James Monroe.

Sources:
1.) http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/jamesmonroe
2.) http://www.ushistory.org/valleyforge/served/monroe.html
3.) http://www.americanpresidents.org/presidents/president.asp?PresidentNumber=5
4.) http://millercenter.org/president/monroe
5.) http://www.ashlawnhighland.org/jamesmonroe.htm

Campaign ad analysis.

Six techniques employed in ad campaigns:
1.) Showing images of chaos, riots, and fighting was used in Nixon's campaign against Humphrey and Wallace in 1968:
http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1968
It wasn't totally effective, but I think it appealed to people's fear of insecurity and violence.
2.) http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1984/supermarket#4383
Humour was employed in this ad, it wasn't really serious, the consumer could just watch it and be entertained by Reagan.
3.) http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1964
At the time, there was a fear of nuclear attack so making a commercial with an atomic bomb detonation would persuade people to vote for Johnson's side.
4.) http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1952
The fun animation and catchy little jingle makes people want to watch. The cute little animations make people feel happy and comfortable.
5.) http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1996
This ad reassures the voters that America is stronger than it had been in the past. This is successful because it reminds people that America was prosperous in the past and it shows the possibility of a bright future.
6.) http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1984
This ad wasn't super effective, it tried to compare past America with present America.

Three assertions:
1.) Political ads are not completely effective because it does not give 'proper' insight of the candidates to the viewers.
2.) Ads don't inform people, it persuades them.
3.) President ad campaigns is "paid propaganda that distorts the democratic process."

Taxpayers for common sense.

First article: Coal Industry Profits
http://www.taxpayer.net/resources.php?action=issues&proj_id=4984&category=Energy&type=Project
Five facts/details:
1.) Since 1789, the federal government has provided tax subsidies to domestic coal suppliers in order to ensure the competitiveness of the industry.
2.) Rio Tinto Energy America, one of the largest coal suppliers in the world, has increased its net income nearly four-fold since 2008.
3.) CONSOL Energy’s CEO J. Brett Harvey took home $20.1 million in 2010, over $8 million more than 2008.
4.) Congress should end coal tax subsidies now for an energy source that’s had literally hundreds of years to develop.
5.) Coal prices have steadily increased since 2002.

Second article: Farm Bill Fiasco
http://www.taxpayer.net/resources.php?action=issues&proj_id=4938&category=Federal%20Budget&type=Project
1.) Super Committee charged with reducing deficit by $1.2 trillion.
2.) Members of USDA know that cuts are coming to Agriculture when the current Farm Bill expires in 2012.
3.) President Obama proposed $33 billion worth of savings from agriculture.
4.) The Farm Bill is a massive piece of legislation Congress passes about every five years to create, continue, or modify hundreds of programs relating to agriculture.
5.) The Super Committee needs to stay focused on its job—reducing the deficit—and savings from mandatory spending programs like agriculture should be part of it.

Electoral college reform.

Ten facts/details:
1.) Electoral college is an unreliable device in selecting the President.
2.) Gore won the popular vote in 2000 and lost because of the electoral college.
3.) Nationwide, 2% of ballots were not counted.
4.) Electoral college is outdated and unnecessary.
5.) If Presidents were elected by popular vote, a national recount might have been necessary in 2000.
6.) Framers of the Constitution most likely wouldn't have been in favour of the Electoral College.
7.) All states select the President by popular vote.
8.) An amendment should be made, one that focuses on the shortcomings of the electoral methods and preventing "runaway" electors.
9.) In this system, the only possible deadlock is a 50/50 split in popular vote in a state.
10.) Each state's electoral votes should be cast for the winner of the popular vote for President in that state.

Five questions:
1.) Is there any hope for electoral college reform in the near future?
2.) Do many people believe that the electoral college system is a foolish system?
3.) How long would it take for an amendment to make it through Congress?
4.) Who created the electoral college systems?
5.) How many elections would have had a different outcome if there was no electoral system?

You fix the budget puzzle.

1.) In 2015 I saved $594 billion, and $1629 billion by 2030.
2.) 40% was from tax increase.
3.) 60% was from spending cuts.
4.) I didn't really have a hard time making any decisions because I have such strong opinions. I made decision as if this was an ideal world in which all these decisions could be realistically passed. It was be nearly impossible to pass all these through Congress.

Pending bills.

1.) S. 1489: Health Care Provider and Hospital Conscience Protection Act
- Introduced August 2, 2011
2.) H.R. 2543: Stop Deceptive Advertising for Women's Services Act
- Introduced July 14, 2011
3.) H.R. 3130: Heartbeat Informed Consent Act
- Introduced October 6, 2011

Further research on Stop Deceptive Advertising for Women's Services Act:
Five details:
1.) To direct the Federal Trade Commission to prescribe rules prohibiting deceptive advertising of abortion services.
2.) Federal Trade Commission would be required to regulate advertising for abortion.
3.) Places that do not provide abortions can not make it seem like they do.
4.) Places that do provide abortions services can not make it seem like they don't.
5.) Unfair and deceptive act or practice is illegal.

Three questions:
1.) Will this bill be able to get through Congress?
2.) When will the topic of abortion become less controversial? Will it ever be?
3.) How often does this confusion occur?

2008 Pennsylvania election returns.

Facts learned:
1.) Obama was the overall winner of the state.
2.) Obama won over McCain by 10%.
3.) In Philadelphia, Obama was the clear winner.
4.) White vote was split in PA, but the Hispanic and Black vote went to Obama with an overwhelming majority.
5.) 5th straight election in which Democrats won Pennsylvania.

Political Cartoon

1.) What does the giant shoe represent?
2.) Are the people under the shoe a good representation of the people who are a part of the Occupy movement?
3.) Is this an accurate depiction of what's going on in New York?

PA's Congressional districts.

1.) PA's 19th Congressional district was represented by Todd Russel Platts, a Republican.
2.) In the 2000 census, the number of districts decreased from 20 to 19, and in 2010 it decreased again from 19 to 18.
3.) There are 7 Democratic district representatives.
4.) We're in the 7th district, along with Chester, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties.
5.) Part of Delaware and Philadelphia counties are in the 1st Congressional district.
6.) Parts of Montgomery and Philadelphia counties are in the 2nd district.
7.) Geographically, the 5th district is the largest.
8.) Towards the center of the state, the districts are primarily white and Republican.
9.) In the movie State of Play, Ben Affleck played a Congressman who represented the 7th district of Pennsylvania.
10.) The population in the 7th district is 646,522.

Death penalty question.

Aaron's question:
Who can watch the process while the inmate is being killed?
It varies from state to state in the US, but it seems that immediate family can attend, a religious leader, police officers, guards and wardens.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_penalty#Debate

Emily's question:
What if someone sentenced the death penalty really didn't commit the crime? Think about the boy in the orange jacket. What if he was sentenced to the death penalty and no one had read his story to help him.
This actually seems to happen in the United States, people are put on death row and then can either be acquitted of the crime, or appeal. Sometimes there are people put to death whose cases have become a topic of debate, and there are cases in which the guilt of the person have been heavily debated.

Bridgett's question:
Have there been Supreme Court cases in the attempt to abolish the death penalty?
There have not been any cases that have opposed the death penalty altogether, but I could find a list of Supreme Court cases concerning different aspects of the death penalty:
http://www.bsos.umd.edu/gvpt/lpbr/subpages/reviews/latzer98.html