Due Monday December 20th

With only a 13% approval rate the congress has hit a new all time low. With only 16% of Democrats approving of the U.S Congress.

I think it's crazy that 83% of the people of the United States don't approve of what is going on in Washington in this lame duck time period when congress is trying to pass as much as it can while the Democrats are still in power before the Republicans take over in January.

Due Monday December 20th

Please review the following articles and then post a paragraph of reflection on each in your blog.
1. I hope that taking these tax cuts which take money away from the government will help more than hurt America.  I feel like we keep spending money but we aren't gaining any money.  I was surprised how the Democrats and Republicans came together to finalize the Bush tax cuts for 2 more years.

Due Monday December 20th

Take ten minutes to look over the links and then in your blog, describe what your views are on the materials that we covered.  Provide a paragraph of reflection on what areas you had prior knowledge of and those that you did not.
I did know that if the Governor or President vetoed the bill, the bill can still pass with a 2/3's vote.  The bill to a law process is so long! I didn't realize how long it actually took.

11/23/10

1.  Provide a paragraph on an important issue of your choice from Section 1:The Framers of the Constitution purposely left the power to set suffrage qualifications to each state.  Suffrage means the right to vote.  Franchise is another term with the same meaning.
2.  Provide a paragraph on an important issue of your choice from Section 2:Aliens-foreign-born residents who have not become citizens- are generally denied the right to vote in the US.  Still, nothing in the COnstituation says that aliens cannot vote, and any State could allow them to do so if it chose.  At one time about a fourth of the States permitted those aliens who had applied for naturalization to vote.  Typically, the western States did so to help attract settlers.
3.  Provide a paragraph on an important issue of your choice from Section 3:The first law passed by Congress to implement the 15th Amendment was the Civil Rights Act of 1957, which set up the United States Civil Rights Commission.  One of the Commission's major duties is to inquire into claims fo voter discrimination.  The Commission reports its findings to Congress and the President and, through the media, to the public.  The Act also gave the attorney general the power to seek federal court orders to precent interference with any person's right to vote in any federal election.
4.  Provide a paragraph on an important issue of your choice from Section 4:Clearly, the time that it takes to vote should not be significant part of the answer.  For most people, it takes more time to go to a video store and pick out a movie than it does to go to their neighborhood polling place and cast a ballot.  So we must look elsewhere for answers.

5. Explain voter apathy and what can be done to help it:

In politics, voter fatigue is the apathy that the electorate can experience when they are required to vote too often.

You can't force someone to vote or when they vote to often they may become apathetic to voting.

6. Explain the qualifications for registering to vote:

Be a citizen of the US

Reside in South Dakota

be 18 years old by the next election

Not be under a sentence of imprisonment for a felony conviction

 

Not have been adjudged mentally incompetent by a court