Terry Gross Interview- "Interpreting the Constitution in the Digital Era"

Facts:

1. New technologies such as GPS monitors that can track your every movement, brain scans that can see lies forming in your brain, and advancements in genetic engineering that may soon allow parents to engineer what their children will look and be like are challenging the Constitution in many ways.
2. These technologies challenge things like personal vs. private space, freedom of speech and our own individual autonomy.
3. The United States v. Jones Supreme Court case is considering whether or not policemen need a warrant from a judge before attaching a secret GPS monitor to a car to track a suspect around the clock. 
4. This is related to the 4th Amendment's right of the people to be secure in their houses, persons, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures (will it be violated?).
5. An argument is the 4th Amendment only bans searches without warrants in private spaces and the GPS is an extension of human surveillance. 
6. Rosen believes this "GPS case has the potential to be the most important privacy case of the decade. 
7. The Olmstead v. United States case ruled that neither the 4th nor 5th Amendment protects defendants against having personal converstations wiretapped by federal agents.  
8. The Katz v. United States case overruled the previous court case and extended the 4th Amendment to include all areas where person "has a reasonable expectation of privacy."
9. The Constitution 3.0 provides hypothetical scenarios and addresses questions about security, freedom of speech, privacy, and the constitutional right against self-incrimination.
10. The first time the constitutionality of wiretapping was decided in court was in the 1920s with Justice Brandeis. 

Questions: 

1. How is one defined to being a "suspect," where federal agents may be allowed to wiretap his/her private conversations?
2. Do people really have much privacy anymore, since the government has the ability to use such technology to wiretap, track people's specific locations, and having all access to the internet?
3. Will Congress create a new bill regarding this issue?
4. How serious is this issue for everyday citizens?
5. Should citizens have to worry about the things they say or do in public, since there's a chance federal agents may be listening to your conversations?

Classmates' 3 Pending Bills

1) Abby Marco- H.R. 2359: Safe Cosmetics Act of 2011: To amend title VI of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to ensure the safe use of cosmetics, and for other purposes.

2) Eli Pollock-S. 1500: Ensure Children Have Health Care Act: This bill would allow health insurance companies in a state to cover children in other states. 

3) Rachael DiNicola- Senate 1660: American Jobs Act of 2011: A bill to provide tax relief for American workers and businesses, to put workers back on the job while rebuilding and modernizing America, and to provide pathways back to work for Americans looking for jobs.

I will use S. 1500: Ensure Children Have Health Care Act for my constituent letter. 

Electoral College Reform Article

Facts:

1. Voters are often unaware, but the president is not directly elected by the people; they are elected by electors. 
2. Election Day is the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.
3. The electoral college has a great influence over the character of parties, the nominating process, and the outcome of the presidential election. 
4. Each state has a number of electoral votes equal to its membership in Congress.
5. There is a total of 538 electoral votes.
6. The electoral college usually undermines third parties, which are unlikely to win the majority of electoral votes.
7. In the case Baker v. Carr, the Supreme Court declared that one person-one vote must prevail at the state and local level (not federal).
8. The electoral college triples political power of voters in the seven least populous states that elect just one member of the House.
9. In addition, the electoral college doubles power of six other states that elect two members of the House.
10. About 700 amendments were proposed and introduced in Congress over the last two centuries.

Questions:

1. Why don't third parties get as many electoral votes?
2. Have any third parties come close to winning the majority of votes?
3. If the electoral college were to be reformed, who has the power to do this?
4. Do other countries use a similar method as our electoral college?
5. How can the electoral college be reformed to satisfy those wanting to get rid of it?

My Opinion: I think the electoral college system should be reformed so that the people have a more direct voice in choosing the President of the United States. Many may be unaware that their votes go to electors, and not the candidate themselves. The electoral college system should be reformed because, obviously, there is much room for error, though I do not think it should be completely removed because bringing a completely new voting system may bring our country to chaos, if many are not satisfied with such a quick, radical change.

National Debt

1. How much does the national debt cause each person, approximately?

     As the debt continuously fluctuates, the approximate cost of debt per U.S. citizen is $48,316, or $134,136 per taxpayer. Hopefully, this will decrease, though it depends on the national debt. Many congressmen have different plans and opinions on how the federal government should limit their spending in order to lessen the debt. Whose ever plan we may follow, it will take years to get rid of this debt; yet it may never be completely gone. 

2. Who or what do we owe money to?
The U.S. is in debt for over $15 trillion, thus many may be asking this question. The chart below shows the amount of money the U.S. owes to various institutions as of 2010. Still today, the majority of the national debt is to various foreign countries. This makes sense because of all the resources and products we get from foreign countries. Next comes the portion that the federal government owes U.S. individuals and institutions (not run by the federal government). The federal government has borrowed much money, and has yet to return it all (plus interest). 

3. Was there a time in our nation's history when we had virtually no debt?

This may seem impossible because the federal government continuously spends, borrows, and also get money, but yes, this has occurred only once during Andrew Jackson's presidency. When he first became president, the national debt was up to $58 million. He saw debt as "a moral failing" and wanted to get rid of it. To do this, he sold much of the Western land that the federal government owned. Jackson blocked every spending bill he could. For example, "he vetoed programs to build national highways," because "he considered these to be unconstitutional in the first place, but bad policy in the second place." Jackson was able to pay off the entire debt within six years. The government actually started to take in more money than it was spending (though this later backfired and caused a depression).

Sources:

http://www.usdebtclock.org/index.html

http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2011/04/15/135423586/when-the-u-s-paid-off-the-entire-national-debt-and-why-it-didnt-last
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/DC-Decoder/2011/0204/National-debt-Whom-does-the-US-owe
chart from: http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-04-13/markets/30049049_1_china-debt-click

Political Cartoon #3

1. Should this issue be dealt with on a state or national level?
2. Is there any solution to prevent accidents due to the use of cell phones and other technology while driving?
3. Is this becoming that big of a concern for Americans?

New York Times Budget Puzzle

1. How much did you save?
2015: $693 billion
2030: $1, 379 billion
2. What % came from tax increases? 60%
3. What % came from spending cuts? 40%

Reflection: 
Some of the easier choices in this activity was to reduce funding for the military and foreign affairs. I think this should be reduced because the U.S. has spent and gave so much money to foreign countries, but we should now focus on domestic affairs and fix our economy and other issues. It was difficult to decide cuts for healthcare and social security because these are important issues people have many complaints about. This task would be much more difficult when votes and compromises are required because cutting certain groups would make them and their supporters upset.

Political Cartoon

1. What is being represented in Obama's actions?

2. Who is affected by these actions?

3. Why did the cartoonist choose this setting and theme to depict his message?

President Research

Abraham Lincoln


Lessons Learned:

1. As the saying goes, "Honesty is the best policy." Lincoln was a trustful man and helped many people throughout his life. He was known for many acts of kindness from his heart, not money. This characteristic would help any president gain support from the people.
2. There's always a solution to a conflict. During his presidency, one of the biggest events Lincoln had to deal with was the Civil War. Though this was a long-term, widely-spread conflict, he still acted to help create a solution. At the time, he did not African American slaves were not equal to white Americans, he passed the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing all slaves of the Confederacy (only 10 states).
3. Success may be found with hard work. Though Lincoln experienced a rough childhood, as his mother died when he was only nine years old and being alienated from his father, he still received and continued with his education. Lincoln was known to be an avid reader who did his schoolwork by a candlelight; he even took time from work to read Shakespeare and other classic literature.
4. Criticism should not be taken as too seriously and adversely. Because Lincoln often spoke against others with his beliefs, he was criticized for going against others' beliefs and his policies. Yet, he still continued his actions with determination and passion. Criticism should be used to help an individual become a better person.
5. Don't be afraid to fight for your beliefs. Lincoln had many opponents who disagreed with him. Regardless, he argued for what he believed was right and, in many cases, won debates with rightful justifications. Having this characteristic, Lincoln helped unite the North and South during the Civil War and settled disputes between African Americans.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/abrahamlincoln
http://millercenter.org/president/lincoln
http://www.biography.com/people/abraham-lincoln-9382540
http://americanhistory.about.com/od/abrahamlincoln/p/plincoln.htm
http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h837.html

Campaign Ad Analysis

Propaganda Techniques:
     1. Simple and short: Creating a short and simple allows the audience to easily understand the message you want them to remember. A candidate would not want to create an ad that's too long because the audience would get bored and pay less attention, and may not want to vote for him/her. This ad is only 30 seconds long and shows short, brief phrases that concern the audience, persuading them to vote for Obama in order to fix these problems.

http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/2008/embrace

     2. Use of music/catchy jingle: As this ad demonstrates, incorporating a rhythmic and repetitive message in an ad catches attention from the audience and simplifies complicated issues. Repetition and rhythm of a jingle or music also helps people remember things better, thus, I feel this ad was effective in using this technique.

http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1952/ike-for-president

     3. Positivity: In this ad, Obama shows how he's struggled in the past, but stayed positive regardless his let-downs. Showing this positivity is effective in relating to the people and how he will help them in the future as president. 

http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/2008/country-i-believe-in

     4. Scare tactics: This tactic is often used against the candidate's opponent to prevent something from happening that may affect the people negatively. This ad "scares" people by saying Bush would significantly raise taxes, but I don't see this ad to be as effective as others may be.

http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1992/scary

     5.Humor/sarcasm: Kerry is criticized and made fun of, making him seem unfit to be president. Humor and sarcasm is often used to make the opposing candidate seem silly and unprofessional, obvious reasons the people do not seek in a president.

http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/2004/john-kerry-international-man-of-mystery-web

     6. Focus on families/children: Along with similar ads, this shows care and concern for children of future our generations. This brings sympathy because people always want the best for their children and family comes first. This technique is used effectively because it shows the care of Bush for his family and mentions the connections he has with other people; people want a president that will care for them and respond to issues that need to be solved.

http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1988/familychildren

Conclusions of the Study:

1. Advertising does little to inform voters, only persuade.
2. Treatment of individuals is exploited and used in campaigns that affect the people.
3. More advertising will not produce a "better" result.

"Electoral College Reform" article

Facts:

1. The electoral college is criticized for being undemocratic and that it is an unreliable device for selecting the President (i.e. Florida's experience).
2. The electoral college is "malapportioned" because each state gets two electoral votes, regardless its population, in addition to votes equal in its delegation in the House.
3. The Supreme Court required that state senators be elected from districts of equal population.
4. People typically don't add the number of votes that all the Republican and all the Democratic senatorial candidates receive in an election and compare the totals.
5. A pure democracy is not only undesired in our country, but also, unattainable; we have a flawed government system.
6. Having an election of the President by the House of Representatives (if no candidate received the majority of electoral votes) is the most democratic component of the governmental structure, which was created at Philadelphia in 1787.
7. In the 2000 election, the difference of votes between Bush and Gore was only 0.5%.
8. The Constitution leaves the manner of selecting electors to state legislatures, placing no limitations on the electors' choice among candidates.
9. The 2000 election was so close that only 3 of 538 electors could swing the election.
10. Gore would have had a plurality, but not majority, of the appointed electors, so the House would have chosen the President.

Questions:

1. If there is no doubt Gore really won in the 2000 election, why do people still question if he may have lost?
2. What does "hoi polloi" mean? 
3. What would the Founding Fathers' reaction be towards the Electoral College today?
4. How can the Electoral College be changed to lessen the possibility of a candidate losing the majority vote, when they should have gotten it?
5. What happens if two candidates tied between three candidates? Would the House have to vote between those two candidates?

Two Articles

Good Times Bad Times
http://www.taxpayer.net/resources.php?action=issues&proj_id=3791&category=Bailout&type=Project
Facts:

1. The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) will cost taxpayers between $66 billion and $105 billion; this may decrease depending on the return for federal shares in insurance American International Group (AIG).
2. About 600 banks with about $65 billion in federal funds are unable, or unwilling, to pay back their TARP funds.
3. In the past two years, 279 banks have failed, the quickest pace since thousands of banks closed from 1982 to 1993.
4. Taxpayers have made $2 billion in profit.
5. Wall Street analyst, Meredith Whitney, predicted that the state government would be next for a trillion-dollar Washington bailout.

Get Over Yourselves

http://www.taxpayer.net/resources.php?action=issues&proj_id=4951&category=National%20Security&type=Project

Facts:

1. A "super committee" consists of 535 lawmakers representing 300 million Americans.
2. The government's play is to find at least $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction.
3. For revenues, tax loopholes and breaks must be eliminated, so some people and corporations will pay more taxes.
4. Cuts to discretionary spending can result in short and long term savings.
5. The government may be improved by making smart, targeted cuts that serve to prioritize government spending.

Pending Bills

1. H.R. 358: Protect Life Act- To amend the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to modify special rules relating to coverage of abortion services under such Act.
Status: This bill has passed the House and will next be voted on in the Senate

2. H.R. 1002: Wireless Tax Fairness Act of 2011-To restrict any State or local jurisdiction from imposing a new discriminatory tax on cell phone services, providers, or property.
Status: This bill has passed the House and will be going into the Senate.


3. H.R. 1299: Secure Border Act of 2011- To achieve operational control of and improve security at the international borders of the United States, and for other purposes.
Status: This bill was considered in committee which has recommended it be considered by the House as a whole.

I will now examine H.R. 1002: Wireless Tax Fairness Act of 2011 further.
Details Learned:

1. Congress finds it is appropriate to exercise congressional enforcement authority of the commerce clause, section 5 under the 14th Amendment in order to ensure that States do not discriminate against providers and consumers of mobile services by imposing new selective and excessive taxes on such providers and consumers.
2. The federal legislature finds congressional action is necessary to prohibit imposing new discriminatory 
3. taxes on providers and consumers of mobile services.
4. The term ‘mobile service’ means commercial mobile radio service, as such term is defined in the Code of Federal Regulations, or any other service that is intended for receipt on, transmission from, or use with a mobile telephone or other mobile device, including, but not limited to, the receipt of a digital good.
5. The Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study, throughout the 5-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, to determine how and to what extent taxes imposed by local and State governments on mobile services, mobile service providers, or mobile property, impact the costs consumers pay for mobile services.

Questions:

1. If this becomes a bill/law, what are consequences of breaking it?
2. What is the purpose of the Gao Study of Section 5 of this bill?
3. How do States or Congress start implementing a new tax? (do they have to go through a process/get permission?)