PA's Congressional Districts/ 2008 Presidential Election

PA's Congressional Districts Facts: 
1. The 1st district has a lot of Democrats
2. The 9th district is the most Republican in the state
3. Washington county was named after George Washington
4. Philadelphia county is the most populous in the state
5. The 7th Congressional District is 98.56% urban and 1.44% rural
6. The 3rd Congressional District is located in northwestern PA
7. Delaware County was created on September 26, 1789
8. Delaware County was named after the Delaware River
9. Delaware County is the 7th Congressional District
10. The current 16th district was created after 2000

2008 Presidential Election:
1. Barack Obama received 54.7% of all Pennsylvania votes
2. John McCain only received 44.3% of all Pennsylvania votes
3. This was the 5th straight presidential election in which Democrats won Pennsylvania
4. McCain spent about 3 times as many days campaigning in Pennsylvania as Obama did
5. Obama received 2,988,473 votes

3 Death Penalty Questions

Questions:
1. How many states have banned the death penalty?
2. How much does it cost to put someone to death?
3. How many people were killed that were actually innocent?

How Washington Works

Facts:
1. Washington DC has a population of 3.5 million people
2. DOT= Department of Transportation
3. Some people believe that Washington DC is disconnected from the rest of the country
4. HUD= Department of Housing and Urban Development
5. Many people associate the word politician with the word hypocrisy
6. Washington DC is open to newcomers
7. Washington DC is different from other places because its one passion is politics
8. Congress works a short week in Washington
9. Although many people believe it is disconnected, it is not. 
10.  Potomac fever is the incurable addiction of wielding political power or feeling at the political center


Questions:
1. How many newcomers are in Washington each year?
2. Should Washington be more isolated?
3. Is there anything else that Washington is passionate about besides politics?
4. Should it have any other passions?
5. Why do many people think of politicians as hypocrites?
6. How many people visit Washington each year?
7. Why does Congress work a short week?
8. Are most people that live in Washington involved in politics?
9. Is Washington wealthier than other states?
10. Why is everyone capable of catching the Potomac fever?

How Birth Control And Abortion Became Politicized

facts:
1. The first birth control clinic opened in 1916
2. Condoms were created in the 1850's
3. The initial purpose was to control the size of families so they wouldn't become too large
4. Sanger was accussed of being an eugenist
5. The clinic was operated by Margaret Sanger
6. Sanger founded the American Birth Control League which allows doctors to talk about contraception
7. Roe v. Wade made abortion legal
8. Sanger's Birth Control League was renamed the Planned Parenthood Federation of America
9. In 1936, a federal appellate court removed contraception from the obscenity category
10. Condoms were very expensive

questions:
1. Why was it illegal to give out such information?
2. Why were condoms so expensive?
3. Are abortions still unsafe?
4. Were there a lot of abortions back then even though it was illegal?
5. Are there any forms of birth control that are still illegal today?
6. Is the decline in birth rates negatively or positively affecting our country?

Lost in Detention

Facts:


1. About 400,000 immigrants were detained/deported this year.
2. 3 million immigrants have been put in detentions where they are kept until they are sent back to their originating country
3. ICE is the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement
4. Less than 20% of illegal immigrants have been convicted of serious crimes
5. ICE has offices in all 50 states
6. ICE's goal is to get 400,000 illegal immigrants every year
7. The number of illegal immigrants found has increased during Obama's presidency
8. The Secure Communities program was set up to target and deport dangerous criminal immigrants
9. 36% of undocumented people that live in the U.S. have a family and lived in the U.S. for at least 11 years
10. 195,000 immigrants were removed from the US last year


Questions: 


1. Why do so many people come illegally?
2. How do other countries deal with the issue of illegal immigration?
3. Can people who were deported ever come back to the US as a citizen?
4. Can laws be made to protect children with illegal immigrants as parents?
5. Does anyone try to help illegal immigrants?

Committees

Bob Casey is on the Joint Economic Committee.


1. Has an equal number of Members from each party
2. One of four standing joint committees of the US Congress
3. Responsible for reporting the economic condition of the United States and making suggestions to improve the economy


Andrew Roberts is on the House Committee on Armed Forces and the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.


Armed Forces:


1. Responsible for funding and oversight of the Department of Defense (DOD)
2. Created by the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1964
3. When Republicans took control of the House of Representatives in 1994, the committee was renamed the Committee on National Security, but was then later renamed the Committee on Armed Services


Education and the Workforce:


1. From 1947-1994 and then again from 2007-2011, it was known as the Committee on Education and Labor.
2. The committee was founded on March 21, 1867 following the end of the Civil War.
3. Oversees the No Child Left Behind Act. 

West WIng Episode #2

Facts:
1. Filibusters only happen in the Senate
2. A cloture ends the filibuster
3. If the Senator stops talking or sits down, that ends the filibuster
4. The Senator can talk about anything, even if it doesn't have to do with the bill
5. 60 votes are needed to decide on a bill
6. The longest filibuster was a little bit over 24 hours
7. The word "filibuster" comes from a dutch word
8. The person who has the floor can only pause if a question is asked

Questions:
1. Why aren't there filibusters in the House?
2. How can someone stall the voting process in the House?
3. What rules must the other Senators follow while the filibuster is going on?
4. How often are filibusters used?
5. Are filibusters generally successful or unsuccessful?

Issue of the Week: Illegal Immigration

What happens if illegal immigrants have children that were born in the US?
- I found that children who are born in the US are considered citizens even if their parents are not. If their parents are illegal immigrants, those families could be forced to part. The children could be placed in foster care. However, in some cases, if the children are lucky, they can live with another family member. 


How many illegal immigrants are currently living in the US?
- I found that, as of March 2010, there were approximately 11.2 million undocumented immigrants living in the US. This number has come down over the years because in March in 2007, there were about 12 million undocumented immigrants living in the US. Undocumented immigrants make up about 3.6% of the total US population.


Are there advantages or disadvantages to the economy when hiring an illegal immigrant?
- If an employer were to hire an illegal immigrant, he would have the advantage of money. He would not have to pay the illegal immigrant as much to work, and he would, therefore, be making more money. 



links used:
http://roygermano.wordpress.com/2011/03/18/how-many-illegal-immigrants-live-in-the-united-states-and-where-do-they-come-from/
http://immigration-law.whocanisue.com/illegal-immigrant-new-borns/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/18/breaking-undocumented-immigrants-can-stay-in-us_n_930668.html

electoral college

Facts:


1. California has the most electoral votes in the country 
2. Corbett and Pileggi raised a plan to get rid of Pennsylvania's electoral college system and implement a new one distributing the votes to the districts. 
3. Under the current system, the winner of the statewide popular vote receives all of the electoral votes from that state.
4. A new system was proposed 
5.Democrats have won Pennsylvania in the last five presidential elections
6. A secretive, nonprofit group called All Votes Matter has been pushing the electoral vote scheme since May
7. Republicans in Nebraska want to join the winner takes all system again
8. Reapportionment would benefit Democrats
9. Nebraska and Maine have already abandoned the winner-take-all system
10. In the new system, if a candidate wins a congressional district, he or she will receive one electoral college vote.


Questions:


1. Why did Pennsylvania decide to propose this idea now?
2. What can Obama do to prevent it?
3. Would this negatively or positively affect the country?
4. Do most people agree or disagree with the new plan?
5. What would the reason be for making this change?

John Boehner

Facts:
1. Boehner is a republican
2. He is the Speaker of The House
3. Represents Ohio's 8th Congressional District.
4. Boehner failed to cut a multi-trilliondollar deficit-reduction deal with President Obama.
5. Boehner’s Republicans have used the leverage of controlling a single chamber of Congress to slash $1 trillion from the budget over the next decade.

6. He has a reputation of always voting no

7. Thinks it's important to spend less money

8. His leadership frequently blows up in his face

Questions:

1. How much power does he have over the House?

2. Has he had a negative or positive impact on the House?

3. How is the Speaker of the House chosen?

4. How much support does he have?

5. What could he do to be more successful?

Is the US House too small?

Facts:
1. The German Bundestad has 613 members
2. There were 65 members in 1789
3. The U.S.House population is 12.8% black and 14.4% Latino
4. The U.S. House of Representatives has had 435 members since 1911
5. The average U.S. congressional district now has 640,000 citizens, as opposed to about 200,000, which was the average in 1911


Questions:
1. Why does it matter if our House is bigger or smaller?
2. Would it be better or worse if our House was bigger?
3. Is a smaller or bigger House more efficient?
4. Would the Senate be made bigger as well?
5. How many seats would we need to add?


In my opinion, it would be beneficial to the country if the House of Representatives was larger. We have such a diverse country, and since there are few representatives, not everyone can be well represented. Also, if there were more representatives, there would be more people's view points added, which could add a new and beneficial perspective. 

Personal Finances of Congressmen

Bob Casey- his net worth is between $160,020-$578,000, which ranks 84th in the Senate. He has 14 assets and 3 transactions. 


Robert Andrews- his net worth is between $66,005-$206,000, which ranks him 346th in the House. He has 5 assets and 1 liability.


I agree with the author. Since so many of our congressmen are millionaires, it can make them difficult to relate to and it can make them have a hard time relating to the common people as well. When they make decisions it could be hard for them to make decisions based on the view points of common Americans. Instead, their views could be distorted due to the fact that they have such different lifestyles than most do because of how much money they have. 

3 immigration questions

1. What happens if illegal immigrants have children that were born in the U.S.?
2. Are there advantages or disadvantages to the economy when hiring an illegal immigrant?
3. How many illegal immigrants are currently living in the US?

Due Process

Facts:


1. It takes 25 years from the time of a death sentence to an execution
2. DNA is used to decide cases
3. Only 5% of cases have biological evidence
4. Rojas spent 4 and a half years in jail for a crime he did not commit
5. They can be working on a case for 10-15 years
6. Rojas was charged with murder because of the color of his jacket
7.  Jim McCloskey has freed 44 innocent people in the last 30 years
8. Eye witnesses can be unreliable
9. Some evidence was never examined
10. Texas has more executions than any other state


Questions:


1. Should eye witnesses have to use a lie detector?
2. What changes have been made to the system since this case to prevent it in the future?
3. Why does the process of execution take such a long time?
4. How much can eye witnesses affect the decision of the case today?
5. How many innocent people are in jail today?

Justice Stevens

Atkins v. Virginia


Facts
-The eight amendment was used
- It was decided in a 6-3 majority vote
- Supreme Court ruled that executing mentally retarded people was unconstitutional
- Stanford v. Kentucky was used as a precedent for this case
- Daryl Renard Atkins was convicted of abduction, armed robbery, and capital murder
- A forensic psychologist testified that Atkins was mentally retarded. 


Questions
- What is the public's attitude toward the ruling of this case?
- Should there have been more than one witness?
- What are punishments for people who are mentally retarded today?
- Were any mentally retarded people executed before this case?

US Supreme Court

1. President George W. Bush appointed John G. Roberts JR. as Chief Justice
2. President Barack Obama nominated Sonia Sotomayor
3. Antonin Scalia was appointed Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia circuit
4. Ruth Bader Ginsburg was instrumental in launching the Women's Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union.
5. Anthony M. Kennedy was nominated as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court and took seat on February 18, 1988
6. What experience is needed in order to be able to serve on the Supreme Court?
7. How long is it from the time a Justice is nominated until they actually get to serve on the court?
8. Do presidents always choose to appoint people who are similar to them?
9. When do most Justices retire?
10. How long does it take to replace a Justice who has retired?

Court Cases

1:  United States vs. Eichman (1989)- Congress passed the Flag Protection Act, which made it a crime to destroy an American flag. Eichman set a flag ablaze on the steps of the U.S. Capitol while protesting the government's domestic and foreign policy. The decision was a 5-4 majority vote for Eichman. This stood out to me because I do not understand why someone would want to burn something that stands for so much of what makes our country great and powerful.

 2. Coleman v Maryland Court of Appeals (2011)-A man requested to have off from work because he was sick and was fired for requesting that. He claimed it was against the Family and Medial Leave Act. The case was dismissed. This case really caught my attention because it does not seem fair to be fired for asking to be off when you're sick. 

3. FAA v. Cooper (2006) Stanmore Cooper told Social Security that he was HIV positive so he could receive medical benefits. Social Security gave his information to the FAA, which caused Cooper's license to be suspended. The decision made was in favor of Cooper. This stood out to me because I could not believe Social Security gave out his medical records. In my opinion, Social Security was definitely wrong. 

Roe v. Wade

Facts:


1. The 14th amendment was used in deciding this case
2. Decided in the Burger Court
3. Viability is usually placed at 7 months
4. There was a 7-2 Supreme Court ruling in favor of Roe that decided the case
5. Abortion Mills are offices that illegally give abortions
6. The decision to terminate a pregnancy is protected under the right to privacy
7. When most criminal abortion laws were first enacted, the procedure was a hazardous one for the woman
8. The state has the ability to regulate the abortion procedure after the first trimester
9. States look to protect fetal life after viability
10. 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


Questions:


1. Why is the right to privacy used to protect the right to abortions?
2. Why do states feel it is their duty to protect unborn children?
3. Can abortions be dangerous to the mothers?
4. How would the Founding Fathers feel about abortion?
5. Why is viability thought of as 7 months?