US Politics

Intro to Political Science
Mid-Term Study Guide

I. Vocabulary

Power
Politics
Political Science
Nation
Country
3/5 Compromise
Great Compromise
Filibuster
Gerrymandering
Delegate
Trustee
Veto
Pocket veto
Delegate powers
Expressed powers
Implied powers
Court of appeals
Judicial restraint
Original jurisdiction
Precedent
Stare decisis
Habeus Corpus
Double jeopardy
Clear and present danger test
Eminent domain
Lemon test
Libel
Slander
Affirmative action
De facto
De jure
Brown v BOE

II. Short answer:
1) Explain two ways in which a Constitutional Amendment can become effective.
2) Presidents claim three types of powers – name them and explain the difference between them.
3) The ratification of the Constitution rested on two major compromise measures. Name one of them and explain what the compromise did.
4) Explain the normal relationship between trial courts, appellate courts, and the Supreme Court.

III. Essay Questions – pick two of the following questions, write a two-page essay on each one, and email it to your instructor at Texan@xpatriatedtexan.com

1) Which of the individual rights guaranteed by the Bill of Rights is most important, and why?
2) Some of the measures that have been proposed for Constitutional Amendments are equal rights/pay for women, a ban on flag burning, anti-discrimination based on sexual preference, and allowing public schools to lead public prayers. Pick one of these measures (or identify another) and explain why you think it should or should not be a Constitutional Amendment.
3) Does the electoral college promote democracy or defeat it? Explain your answer.
4) Should federal judges have to face a periodic renewal of their office? Why or why not?
5) The Pledge of Allegiance claims that the United States is “one nation”. Is this true or false? Explain your answer.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/washington/AP-US-Koreas-Nuclear.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

Washington has decided to drop North Korea from the blacklist. This decision was taken after North Korea agreed all U.S nuclear inspections demands. This important step taken by the Bush administration was highly criticized by conservatives. As Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen says “By rewarding North Korea before the regime has carried out its commitments, we are encouraging this regime to continue its illicit nuclear program”. Even the Republican candidate McCain gave his opinion, as the article states he said, “he would not support the step unless it is clear North Korea will accept intrusive inspections of its nuclear sites”. Being dropped off from the blacklist was a big accomplishment by North Korea. However this will not bring instant benefits since it is still penalized under other programs.

Taking North Korea from the blacklist will undoubtedly lower the tension between the Asian country and America. Why not think of it as big step towards the acceptance of two different worlds, communism and democracy? By this action United States is not only remodeling its thoughts about the existence of a terrorist North Korea, but also its tolerance for a country with communist ideologies. In my opinion, in order to completely stop this tension, Washington should dialogue with those countries that are still in the blacklist and come with a mutual agreement. I wish Obama become the U.S President so he can dialogue with the presidents of the blacklist countries. That’s the only way we will be able to share our thoughts and bring harmony to the world.

Source

This article discusses President Bush’s level of confidence despite the obstacles he faced during his presidency. The article talks about how Bush’s presidency started with the “worst terrorist attack on American soil” that shocked the world, and would now end his presidency with the “worst financial crisis” since the Great Depression. In between, he faced Hurricane Katrina and its damage to New Orleans and to top it off, the war in Iraq. Despite all the obstacles during his presidency, the article says that Bush is still confident of the decisions he made and will continue to make in the final months of his presidency.

I was never a big fan of President Bush and his decisions. Many of his actions have been questionable and hated by many. Despite all the criticism he faced, Bush’s confidence is something I respect. He is still a human and to still have that level of confidence is one characteristic that makes a good president.

Source

This article discusses the accusations against Gov. Palin of abusing her power to fulfill personal interests. It is reported that Sarah Palin played a role in trying to get her former brother-in-law, a state trooper, fired. There are also accusations saying that the Commisioner of Public Safety’s refusal to fire the trooper played an important role into his dismissal. Palin denies these accusations and states her defense against these accusations, by saying that she pushed for the trooper to be fired due to inappropriate actions such as driving under the influence, shooting a moose without a license and threatening Sarah Palin’s father. She also says that the dismissal of the Commissioner of Public Safety is due to the fact that he ignored the request to cut the department’s budget.

Although Palin denies these accusations, this scandal will hurt her party in the presidential election. Palin has already been put in the spotlight for her actions and continues to stay in that spotlight. Whether or not this story is true, Sarah Palin must try and avoid further scrutiny in order to promote her party.

This New York Times article discusses a plan that the US and six foreign governments are considering to rescue the financial industry.  The seven nations involved are the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Canada and Japan.  One main part of the plan is for the government to “infuse American banks directly with cash and take ownership stakes in return.”  Britain has already done this, and many economists fear that if the other nations do not follow suit, “it could destabilize the financial system, because money may flow to Britain from countries without those same guarantees.”  Barry Eichengreen, a professor of economics at the University of California, Berkeley believes “the British could suck deposits from continental Europe and even the United States.”

Nationalizing our banks?  If the goverment owns a bank or company, then they have direct control over the actions of that enterprise.  Wouldn’t the increased government involvement in the economy be a step towards socialism?  Part of the reason that the US economy was so rich is the system of capitalism and the concept of free markets.  Any part that the government plays in that role could easily be misinterpreted by citizens.  If the US is going to agree to this plan, they should clearly explain it to citizens before they begin to be accused of being communists.

Source

This article talks about a possible merger between the two major automakers General Motors and Chrysler. The talks between the two started about a month ago as the two continued to struggle with with the weak economy. As the auto industry struggles with high gas prices, G.M.’s line of vehicles have not been focused on the demand of small fuel efficient cars. Buyers have also struggled to obtain loans to purchase these cars and as a result these two companies may decide to merge in order to help each other.

This article is just another example of how the weak economy is destroying business in the United States. The importance of fixing this economy cannot be stressed anymore as more and more companies inch closer and closer to filing for bankruptcy. Although the bailout is designed to help the economy, I feel that borrowing more money is not the solution. We should pull out of Iraq in order to cut down the flow of the nation’s funding going towards that specific area. We wil lbe paying for this i nthe future and without a quick solution, I feel that we may find ourselves revisiting history.

According to this Washington Post article, the Connecticut Supreme court overturned a ban on same-sex marriages.  This ruling makes Connecticut the third state to legalize same-sex marriages.  In the majority opinion, Justice Richard N. Palmer stated that “Interpreting our state constitutional provisions in accordance with firmly established equal protection principles leads inevitably to the conclusion that gay persons are entitled to marry the otherwise qualified same sex partner of their choice.  To decide otherwise would require us to apply one set of constitutional principles to gay persons and another to all others.”

This is absolutely correct.  Seeing as a popular argument against same-sex marriage comes from different religions, which define marriage as “a union between a man and woman,” the government would be upholding a religious belief in denying same-sex marriage.  Separation of church and state should prevent this, because the government should not choose to follow the beliefs of one religion over those of another.  Another argument against same-sex marriage is the fact that some people “don’t approve” of it, or are “sickened” by it.  Well those who think taht way should just get over it and accept the fact that these people are in love with eachother.  They are not being hurt or even directly affected by a same-sex marriage.

Source

US is finally preparing to fulfill its original obligations to DPRK and remove the country from the “state sponsors of terrorism” list. Bush originally promised to do so once Pyongyang suspends it nuclear reactor, however once the North Korean atomic reactor was suspended - US made no signs of complying with its promises, which led DPRK to re-start its reactor. Now Washington seems ready to finally fulfill Korean demands.

It is ironic that the issue of nuclear reactor in question has absolutely nothing to do with terrorism, proving once again that lists like “state sponsors of terrorism” have no underlying ideological value whatsoever, and only indicate which countries US government simply doesn’t like enough to conduct business with. The removal of North Korea from the “state terrorism” list implies removal of US government sanctions, restrictions, bans and prohibitions on investment and trade with North Korea.

Source

Seeing the continuing decline in the stock market, president Bush addressed the nation again this morning in hope to restore confidence and reassure the American people that the government is taking steps to fix the problem. Bush’s address was made early in the morning, before the markets opened.

Evidently the businessmen have not listened to Bush closely enough, in the first few minutes the Dow plunged by a whole of 700 points. The government really does take steps in attempt to unlock the credit market, one of the proposed policies is to buy stocks in private banks. However, although the Dow made an impressive recovery in the last hour of trading, it still ended in the negative. Let’s not forget that during the Great Depression the market dropped slowly over the course of several years, seeing several upward spikes, which ended up temporary.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2008/10/nj_sen_robert_menendez_pushes.html

This article is about a new bill that is being pushed by a Senator from New Jersey.  The purpose of this bill is to protect citizens of the United States during illegal immigration raids.  What is currently happening during those raids is that legitimate citizens end up being detained with illegal immigrants.  The Immigrations and Customs Enforcement has been raiding many factories without having the names of individual of specific warrants.  Anyone who cannot produce a form of ID to prove you are a citizen is then detained.  I think that the bill is a good idea and can not see any reason why someone would reject a bill that is protecting innocent people.  I do however understand that the ICE would be upset because they would have to go by stricter guidelines when doing raids.  I actually think that the bill could be unnecessary and that the problem lies with the way that the ICE is doing the raids.  If the raids are conducted the way they are supposed to be then no citizens should be unfairly detained.   I think that the ICE should be investigated along with the passing of this bill.