Electoral College Votes

Facts/Details Learned

1. Currently, we have a "winner takes all system," but this is being petitioned to be changed.
2. One electoral college vote would be awarded for each of the state's congressional districts, and the winner of the popular vote would receive two more.
3. With the 2012 election expected to be close, this system would likely benefit the Republicans more than the Democrats. 
4. Our representative, Pat Meehan, has opposed the change. 
5.  It only takes six defections in the Senate, or 11 in the House, to stop the bill.
6. Democrats have won PA in the last 5 presidential elections, but the state has always been very competitive.
7. This new voting system could potentially reduce overall voting turnout. 
8. This bill has also been introduced in Wisconsin. 
9. This bill could mean that one candidate could win the state but actually receive fewer electoral college votes than the other candidate. 
10. A secretive nonprofit group called All Votes Matter has been pushing the electoral vote scheme since May. All Votes Matter has close ties to the Pennsylvania GOP

Questions

1. Was the bill proposed by Democrats, Republicans, or a mix of both?
2. Has this system of voting been successful in the other states that use it?
3. Would this new system reduce our power in elections?
4. What are the negatives and positives of this bill?
5. Could this piecemeal electoral college voting system have a huge impact on the outcome of the presidential election?

This bill was proposed by Sen. Pileggi

John Boehner

Facts/Details Learned

1. He failed to cut a multitrillion-dollar deficit-reduction deal with President Obama.
   
2. He had to pull his debt-limit bill from the floor at the eleventh hour before reviving it with concessions to conservatives.
   
3. Boehner and the Republicans have used the leverage of controlling the single chamber of Congress to cut one trillion dollars from the budget for the next decade.
4. Member of the Republican party
5. He has been leader of the House since 2006.
6. There seems to be frustration with him because he does not accomplish much.
7. He has a reputation of always voting "no."
8. Represents Ohio's 8th Congressional District.

Questions

1. Does Boehner have any plans to work with the President and the Senate, rather than against them?
2. Boehner often calls for the creation of more jobs, but does little to make this happen. How does he suggest we create more jobs?
3. Who elects the Speaker of the House?
4. Is he well-liked in the House?
5. Has he impacted the Congress in a major way?

Is the House of Representatives Too Small?

Facts

1. Research shows that as districts get bigger in population, constituents are less likely to report that they had contact with their member of Congress, less likely to think their member would be helpful, and less likely to favorably evaluate their member of Congress.
2. Our House has less members than both the British House of Commons and the Germans Bundestag, and Germany has 80 million people and Britain has 60 million people. 
3. Only about 20% of people support increasing the size of the House, whereas 60% are in favor of keeping it the same and 20% favor decreasing the size.
4. When asked whether they would support increasing the House to improve representation of minorities and women, support goes up to 48%.
5. Most support for a larger  House comes from Democrats, women, and African Americans.

Questions

1. How do Representatives go about trying to keep in touch with all the people (nearly 640,000 citizens each) that they represent?
2. In what ways would having smaller districts and more Representatives benefit the people?
3. Could a larger House slow down progress?
4. What is the argument for not wanting a larger House? Is one reason the possible tax increase that would result from this change?
5. Do minorities feel as if they are represented in our current House?

Personally, I do not think all of our diverse population is fairly represented in government. In larger districts, the minorities do not have a representative to reflect their needs, which tend to be overlooked in our current House. I think we should increase the size of the House to better include all people, but not so drastically that our taxes totally shoot up. 150-200 additional members of House would do our country well due to the ever-growing population that deserves to be fairly represented in government.

Representatives' Personal Finances

Robert Andrews
Andrews has a net worth of between $66,005-$206,000, ranking him 346th in the House. He has a total of 5 assets that total between $81,005-$216,000. He has had one liability of between $10,000-$15,000.


Bob Casey
Casey's net worth is from $160,020-$578,000, ranking him 84th in the Senate. He has a total of 14 assets of between $160,020-$578,000. He has had three transactions totaling $45,003 and $150,000.

One reason why knowing members of Congress' personal  finances is important is because we are able to get a better idea of where many of their opinions are coming from. For example, it might be harder for someone who is very wealthy to accurately represent many common Americans. With millionaires forming nearly 50% of our Congress, this is often the case. It's not that these millionaires are bad Senators or Representatives, but how can we expect them to totally understand the perspective of something they have never truly experienced?

Due Process

Facts and Details:

1. Eyewitnesses can sometimes be unreliable.
2. only 25% of cases have biological evidence.
3. Kevin Rojas, a high school senior, was wrongly accused of murder because the claims of witnesses were untrue.
4. After four years in prison, a mother-daughter team fought for his case and won. 
5. DNA plays an important role in trials, but they are developing ways to prove people innocent without it.
6. Quincy Spruell served 24 years in prison for a murder he did not commit.
7. Texas has more executions than any other state. 
8. A group called Last Resort deals with the innocence of prisoners. They usually do not have DNA to work with.
9. A person sentenced to death can potentially wait 25 years before being executed.
10. There are 55 innocence projects in the United States.

Questions:

1. How much are the claims of eyewitnesses considered in a trial? 
2. What is more crucial to a trial: eyewitnesses or DNA?
3. After an innocent person is released from prison, is the case forgotten or do the search for the rea criminal?
4. How could we prevent the sentencing of innocent people? How could be change or system?
5. How many people a year are found innocent after being kept in prison?

Justice John Paul Stevens' 10 Most Important Supreme Court Decisions: Atkins vs. Virginia

ATKINS VS. VIRGINIA

Facts of the case:

1. Supreme Court ruled that executing mentally retarded people is unconstitutional. 
2. In a 6-3 majority, they used the 8th amendment to back up their votes.
3. The court used cases such as Coker vs. Georgia and Enmund vs. Florida as precedents.
4. Georgia was the first state to outlaw the execution of mentally retarded people.
5. Atkins had an IQ of 59, therefore reinforcing the idea that he was mentally retarded and could not be held accountable for his violent crimes. 
6. The case had only one witness- a forensic psychologist.

Questions:

1. How much do witnesses matter in Supreme Court cases? Are their testimonies taken into a lot of consideration?
2. Are there other types of citizens who are exempt from the death penalty besides those with mental retardations?
3. Did the public react positively or negatively to the ruling?
4. Is it a federal law that mentally disabled people cannot be executed? 

Supreme Court Justices

1. John G. Roberts, Jr. is the Chief Justice. He served as a law clerk to the Rehnquist court and practiced law in Washington.
2. Antonin Scalia is an associate justice. He was appointed Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 1982. He was nominated to the Supreme Court by Reagan.
3. Anthony M. Kennedy is an associate justice. He was a member of the California Army Nation Guard and took part in two committees of the Judicial Conference in the U.S.
4. Clarence Thomas is an associate justice. He became a Judge to the U.S. Court of Appeals in 1990, then Bush appointed him as an associate justice to the Court.
5. Ruth Bader Ginsburg is an associate justice. She played a major role is launching the Women's Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union. Clinton appointed her to the Supreme Court.
6. Stephen G. Breyer is an associate justice. He served as a member of the Judicial Conference of the U.S. and of the U.S. Sentencing Commission. He was appointed tot he Court by Clinton.
7. Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr. is an associate justice. He was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in 1990. George W. Bush nominated him to the Supreme Court and he took his seat in 2006. 
8. Sonia Sotomayor is an associate justice. Before being nominated to the Court in 2009 by Obama, he served as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. 
9. Elena Kagen is an associate justice. Obama nominated her to serve at the 45th Solicitor General of the U.S. Later, he also nominated her to be an associate justice of the Supreme Court.
10. A few recently-retired associate justices are Sandra Da O'Connor, David Souter, and John Paul Stevens.