Finals

Polling agency finds what personal qualities people are looking for in a candidate and what the issues are that people are most concerned about. Added to a candidates beliefs, and other factors.

Campaign theme

The point in history when a new party supplants the ruling party; becoming in turn the dominant political force (in the U.S. this has tended to occur approx. every 30 years)

Electoral realignment

from Virginia is the majority leader.

Eric Cantor

There are exceptions to this, but the state cannot argue that it hasn't had enough time. It can show, however, that it has made every effort to start the trial on time but something has occurred that prevented them from tying the case. In past years the government has been able to get trial postponements because the FBI lab was so far behind in testing DNA samples. The most common reason that trials do not begin in this time period, however, is when accused person or the defendant asks to postpone the trial in order to prepare their case.

Exceptions to speedy trial

Students involved in extra curricular activities

Exceptions to the 4th amendment-body & personal possessions.

How does the Supreme Court exercise control?

Privileges and Immunities clause, Mapp V Ohio (4th amendment), Miranda v Arizona (5th amendment), Escobedo Case (6th amendment)

Third parties have influenced national politics mainly by...

Promoting specific issues and taking votes from one of the two major parties.

The next provision of the 6th Amendment that's important is simply that citizens have the right to a public trial with an impartial jury. For all criminal offenses, in federal law, a citizen has the right to a trial by a jury of fellow citizens. Not of their peers, but a right to an impartial trial meaning a right to a trial by citizens who are not biased against the accused.

Public Trial, Impartial Jury

"The need for change is obvious. In the history of the Republic, there have been 168 filibusters of executive and judicial nominations. Half of them have occurred during the Obama Administration - during the last four and a half years. These nominees deserve at least an up-or-down vote. But Republican filibusters deny them a fair vote and deny the President his team.

Quote from the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid

Exclusionary Rule

Set by Federal Judges that excludes evidence in trials if government illegally obtained the evidence.

The GAO is a non-partisan which means it

Should not make findings based on politics. Should act independently from both political parties as well as the President.

to interpret and enforce international trade agreements that countries have entered into with other countries

The WTO is primarily an organization that was created

Of the many that the USA is a member of, the most important to this country at the beginning of the Twenty-first Century is arguably the United Nations. Three specialized agencies of the United Nations are of special importance economically—

The World Bank and its sister organization, the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization. NATO also remains important.

"the Fed serves as a banker's bank and as the government's bank, as a regulator of financial institutions and as the nation's money manager, performing a vast array of functions that affect the economy, the financial system, and ultimately, each of us." (the Fed was created in 1913). The United States government decided some time ago that it wasn't wise for the president and Congress to control the money supply.

The bank summarizes its functions in these words

There is a political problem with deficits that is difficult to overcome. Most of the money won't come due for five, ten or even thirty years afterwards. Politicians today won't have to suffer the consequences this election or even the election after that. They can vote for large tax cuts and increases in government spending and reap the benefits of the immediate positive effects these have on the economy and voters and they don't have to worry about the negative effects because they will occur in the future, after they have been reelected several times or are out of office.

The burden on the budget of paying back the money that the government borrows to finance the deficit falls on future taxpayers.

The Fed often has difficulty dealing with recessions, however.

The chief culprit during recessions is often a negative psychological atmosphere.

Originally the bill of rights applied to the government.

The ratification of the 14th amendment in 1868 bound these rights to the state and local governments

Suffrage

The right to vote, also called franchise.

In Buckley V. Valeo the Supreme Court ruled that...

The rights of individuals to spend their own money is constitutionally protected.

For example, the WTO held in 2003 that the United States had violated international free trade agreements by restricting the import of foreign-made steel. It allowed the European Union to impose over 2 billion dollars in tariffs on U.S. made goods imported to the EU. When the EU threatened to impose the tariffs on Florida citrus and U.S. beef the Bush administration paid attention. It did not want to irritate the Florida citrus industry in the year before Bush's reelection campaign. Similarly it did not want to anger farmers in key agricultural states in the Midwest. Clearly the representatives of Florida and Midwestern states in Congress did not want tariffs imposed either. The Bush administration and Congress decided to abide by the WTO's ruling. Free trade won.

What the World Trade Organization dispute resolution does is create equally powerful domestic economic interests that want free trade

Preferred Position

When other rights conflict with freedom of speech they will usually lose (precedent-1st amendment)

These conditions force countries to be more honest and open and change economic policies to a more open market or Capitalistic approach. The IMF has helped the United States bring stability to Mexico, stop the panic in Brazil (a major customer) and begin to reform the economies of many Asian countries that the USA does business with. In short, the IMF has helped improve monetary stability to the world economy. As stated before, stability is an absolute must for economic progress.

When the IMF or the World Bank make out loans they do so based on certain conditions (conditionality).

This alliance has brought all of these countries closer together and served to protect them from any type of foreign aggression. Although cooperation is far from complete, NATO countries share information, including intelligence with each other, thus increasing important military knowledge available to all.

While the USA does not control NATO it would be fair to say that it can take no major action without U.S. permission.

Most of you have heard the term "fiscal year." This refers to a budget year.

The term "fiscal policy" means "budget policy;" it refers to the broad taxing and spending policies of the federal government.

Political Advisors

Will tell the candidate who to talk to, what to say and where to go during the campaign.

Speech Writers

Work closely with political advisers to create speeches that are appropriate for different groups that the candidate will be addressing.

The broad goal of these agreements is to promote free trade, which, in turn, should promote economic development worldwide.

World Trade Organization

A valid poll has a confidence level within

a certain margin of error.

5 justices make

a majority

Representative sample

a sample of people whose demographics are similar to the population being studied.

All federal judges must

be approved (lifetime terms) unless they retire, die, are impeached or removed.

Once Supreme Court makes a ruling it in effect

becomes law

A lot of pork can be hidden in

bills that have over a hundred different sections and thousands of different items.

Without a name candidate will need

A good deal of money to have a decent chance at winning.

Targeting

A key word to understand in political campaigns.

Government must bring defendant to trial within 100 days after initial arrest. One judge, trial with a jury if requested by defendant.

U.S. District Courts

In a very unusual move Congress and the President agreed to send taxpayers rebate checks, $600 for unmarried persons and $1,200 for married couples--plus an additional $300 per qualifying child. In 2009 the federal government will again lower taxes and spend more money in an attempt to get the economy moving. Tax cuts are popular, especially in election years.

Unfortunately, the President and Congressare not so eager to either increase taxes or reduce spending. Thus, the national debt is ballooning.

Over the last forty years the president has ordered the U.S. military to join a war in...... In none of these actions did the president ask permission of Congress-in fact there was little consultation in most cases

Vietnam, occupy the Dominican Republic, occupy and overthrow the governments in Grenada, Panama and Haiti military actions in Somalia, Bosnia and Yugoslavia.

Unique personal experiences, significant others (Cultural influences)

Views are effected by different experiences.

Congress has tried to get some of this power back by passing the ...but this law has had very limited effect on the ability of the president to use the U.S. military as he sees fit.

War Powers Resolution (1973)

In the 2016 Presidential Election, public funding...

Was declined by both major-party candidates.

Andrew Johnson, the successor of Abraham Lincoln and a southerner

Was impeached by the House of Representatives, however, the Senate failed by one vote to reach the two-thirds necessary to remove him.

essentially a determination of what is right and what is wrong. Congress was designed to have this power, but some of law-making power has been assumed by the Supreme Court and the president has some law-making powers by having a great deal of leeway in interpreting what laws mean in specific instances where either the Constitution or prior legislation is unclear.

What is a law?

A citizen must be brought to trial within 70 days of being indicted by a grand jury. The federal government has thirty days from the time of the arrest to bring the accused before a grand jury for indictment. So once the police make an arrest the government has 100 days to bring the accused to trial.

What is considered a speedy trial?

Finally, they gave Congress the power to

impeach and remove the president for "high crimes and misdemeanors."

When the Constitution was written Congress could meet, debate and vote

in secret

When Supreme Court makes a ruling they also

issue opinions

Before a bill can become law

it must pass both the House and the Senate in exactly the same form.

In order for a poll to be valid

it must use correct methodology.

What is not a factor currently an obstacle to voting in the U.S.?

literary tests

the mother of all special interest groups—

military contractors.

"Excessive bail shall not be required, no excessive fines imposed nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted."

8th Amendment

U.S. Presidents have used the military hundreds of time without Congressional approval.

" They call it a "conflict" (Vietnam) a "police action" (Korea) some kind of "operation" or some other term

electors from each state who meet after the popular election to cast ballots for Pres. and V.P

.Electoral college

Confidence level (determination)

95% reliability or confidence level within a range or margin of error plus or minus 3 points.

Two U.S. presidents have been impeached, but neither was removed from office by the Senate.

Andrew Johnson (1868) Bill Clinton (1998)

Polls

1,000 people have to be polled to make a prediction.

Broad objectives of Federal Courts that relate to the criminal justice system.

1. Help prevent crime or protect citizens from criminal behavior. 2. Protect citizens from government itself.

U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal

12 Judicial Circuits- has from 6 to 28 permanent judges that hear appeals.

The due process clause-repeated in the 14th amendment.

2nd clause of 5th amendment

Most basic protection citizens have. Homes- A home without wheels or a motor has the greatest protection from government searches. Government may not search home without a search warrant signed by a judge specifically stating what is being searched for, time and place. Only waived by consent.

4th amendment

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated and no warrants shall issue but upon probable cause supported by oath or affirmation and particularly describing the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized.

4th amendment

If police have a reason to stop and question you they may pat you down for weapons. If weapon is found it can be seized and the person charged with illegal possession (if it's illegal). Normally, no parts or effects of your body may be removed without a search warrant. This does not apply to private employers. Exceptions to this rule: a serious automobile action and there's a reason to suspect drug abuse. If you work for the government, involved in an area that directly protects or is involved with public safety.

4th amendment applied to body and personal effects

Same rules as a house, police may enter as a customer and look around. Government institutions have the right to look into and do different types of inspections (and in some cases) searches.

4th amendment applied to businesses

Police may search a vehicle based on probable cause without a search warrant. Illinois V Gates, Supreme court case most frequently cited (probable cause)

4th amendment applied to vehicles

Most of the rights that average citizens have are set forth in the.... put in effect primarily by Supreme Court rulings that have restrained police and other govt. officials in their treatment of citizens. Prior to Supreme Court ruling in Mapp V Ohio (1954) state and local govts. were not required to enforce the protections afforded citizens.

4th, 5th, 6th and 8th amendments to the constitution

Politically active non-profits; under law, these non-profits can spend unlimited amounts on political campaigns & not disclose their donors as long as their activities are not coordinated with the candidate campaigns and political activities are not the primary purpose

501(c)(4)'s

How many Justice Systems does the U.S. have?

51; one Federal System and one for each state.

Non-profit independent group that receives and disburses funds to influence the nomination, election, or defeat of candidates. Named after Section 527 IRS code (which provides & defines tax exempt status for non-profit advocacy groups)

527 Committee

Today the electoral college has

538 electoral votes: 100 Senators, 435 House members and 3 votes accorded to the District of Colombia.

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service of war or public danger, nor shall any person be subject for the same offense twice put in jeopardy of life or limb, nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation."

5th amendment

Government is forced to prove a citizen guilty rather than the citizen having to prove his or her innocence. The explicit purpose of this part of this clause is to avoid government torture of suspects. Famous case that forced state and local governments to observe this; Miranda V Arizona: Held: 1. The prosecution may not use statements, whether exculpatory or inculpatory, stemming from questioning initiated by law enforcement officers after a person has been taken into custody or otherwise deprived of his freedom of action in any significant way, unless it demonstrates the use of procedural safeguards effective to secure the Fifth Amendment's privilege against self-incrimination. Pp. 444-491. (a) The atmosphere and environment of incommunicado interrogation as it exists today is inherently intimidating and works to undermine the privilege against self-incrimination. Unless adequate preventive measures are taken to dispel the compulsion inherent in custodial surroundings, no statement obtained from the defendant can truly be the product of his free choice. Pp. 445-458. (b) The privilege against self-incrimination, which has had a long and expansive historical development, is the essential mainstay of our adversary system and guarantees to the individual the "right to remain silent unless he chooses to speak in the unfettered exercise of his own will," during a period of custodial interrogation [384 U.S. 436, 437] as well as in the courts or during the course of other official investigations. 132 (d) In the absence of other effective measures the following procedures to safeguard the Fifth Amendment privilege must be observed: The person in custody must, prior to interrogation, be clearly informed that he has the right to remain silent, and that anything he says will be used against him in court; he must be clearly informed that he has the right to consult with a lawyer and to have the lawyer with him during interrogation, and that, if he is indigent, a lawyer will be appointed to represent him. Pp. 467-473. (e) If the individual indicates, prior to or during questioning, that he wishes to remain silent, the interrogation must cease; if he states that he wants an attorney, the questioning must cease until an attorney is present. Pp. 473-474.

5th amendment and the English common law tradition.

"In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence."

6th amendment

The main difference between a 527 Committee and a 501c(4) Committee is that...

A 501c(4) is not legally required to disclose where it gets its money, while a 527 is legally required to do so.

Primary person in charge of directing and coordinating all of the things one needs to run a campaign.

A Campaign Manager

more specifically the Senate-- possesses is that of approving most presidential nominees to top executive positions and all federal judges.

Another power of Congress

How many executive positions must be approved by the Senate in each two-year term.

About 4 thousand executive positions must be approved by the Senate in each two-year term.

Has name on ballot for approval or disapproval. Every 4 years that name is on the ballot. Citizens by majority vote choose to keep or reject.

After 1 year a judge chosen by the governor...

Another power that used to be very important is the power to declare war. This branch may do so by a majority vote of both houses. In the Twentieth Century, however, the presidency largely usurped this power by simply making war with other countries without consulting this branch. ent.

Another responsibility of Congress

the budget, that is, the power to pass taxes and to spend money.

Another responsibility of Congress

Felt that national government was dangerous to the freedoms of individuals

Anti-Federalists (or democratic republicans)

Only he, or his representatives, have the power to negotiate economic and diplomatic affairs with other countries. As Commander and Chief of the armed services he can order the military to do what he wishes. (Congress has considerable powers to check him if a conflict lasts more than a few months.) Congress does have some powers at its disposal, of course. It must ratify all treaties and vote on other major agreements with other countries. Also, Congress must approve most spending policies of the president. The initiative, however, is always with the president.

As citizens you should know that the primary formulator of external policy is the president of the United States

The United States has the most on deposit and thus has the most influence. Although there is some debate about this, it is probable that the World Bank is a significant factor in helping to reduce international poverty

As stated above, the USA traditionally has appointed the CEO of the World Bank.

Mapp V Ohio

Assurance against unreasonable searches and seizures.

What is not a form of traditional political participation?

Attending an abortion rally.

Every president since Nixon has claimed the War Powers Resolution was unconstitutional.

But they have not challenged it in the courts.

Proposed law or policy change that is placed on the ballot by citizens or interest groups for a popular vote.

Ballot initiative

The United States could not get approval for military actions in Kosovo because both Russia and China objected. In 2003 the Bush Administration could not get the Security Council to approve of military action against Iraq. France, Russia and China all threatened to veto a resolution to use force against Iraq

Because of this the USA forged an alliance with Great Britain and some other countries and initiated military action without UN approval

The current chairman is : he was subsequently reappointed by Barak Obama to serve another four-year term. He succeeded Alan Greenspan, who served for more than 18 years under four U.S. Presidents

Ben Bernanke, nominated by George W. Bush and sworn into office in 2006 for a term lasting until 2010

First 10 Amendments to the Constitution

Bill of Rights

They made the president the head of the executive branch, which is in charge of executing or enforcing all the laws of the land.

But they required that the president get the Senate's approval of all top executive officials and they gave Congress the final powerto create executive positions and to pass the budget of the government

A normally closed political party business meeting of citizens to select candidates, elect officers, plan strategy or make decisions regarding legislative matters.

Caucus (Political)

A majority of these voters are considered liberal or somewhat conservative. Tend to be part of organized labor unions including industrial production and mining. Blue collar group tends to be affected by the ideals of the opposing party. Work force includes teachers, firefighters, law enforcement and artists. Tend to be from multiple cultures (African American, Mexican American) a majority however are Anglo Saxon. Tend to be from a wide variety of religious beliefs. Tend to reside in urban environments (such as, major cities in New York, Chicago)

Characteristics of Democrats

Fall under the spectrum of conservative, however, if individual resides in a state more liberal in beliefs, a voter may fall under the moderately liberal. Conventional conservatives are not part of the new right. Focuses tend to be on reducing government control, regulation of business, lowering taxes for businesses and less funding for welfare projects. Tend to be employed in the private sector-banking, insurance executives, stock brokers, accounting firms, real estate and the military. A majority hail from Western Europe, tend to be Christian. Tend to be in the suburbanite wealthy neighborhoods or widespread rural areas (Ohio, Indiana).

Characteristics of Republicans

Funded by Ralph Reed, goal to elect Pat Robertson President. One of the most powerful organizations in the U.S.

Christian Coalition

A primary election in which voters can participate in the nomination of candidates but only of the party in which they are enrolled for a period of time prior to primary day.

Closed primary

The Court has decided that the death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment for the crime of rape for example.

Coker V Georgia

Focus Group

Comprised of people who are similar to the ones that they want to reach with the advertising or message.

The U.S. Constitution created a bicameral legislative branch

Congress

also has the power to initiate Constitutional amendments by a two-thirds vote, and over-ride presidential vetoes by the same margin. Since getting two-thirds of Congress to agree on anything controversial is very difficult, constitutional amendments and congressional over-rides of presidential vetoes are rare.

Congress

means the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives together. Thus, both U.S. senators and U.S. House members are "congresspersons".

Congress

The president must sign laws that this branch of government passes in order for them to go into effect. If he vetoes the law this branch may over-ride his veto by a two-thirds majority in each house. It is very difficult to get two-thirds of this branch to agree on anything, and even more difficult to convince members of the president's party to vote against the president.

Congress and the President

In 2012, the House Intelligence Committee, with a Republican majority, called up several members of the Obama administration to explain the killing of the U.S. Ambassador in Bengasi, Libya. It was clear that the Republicans were looking to find fault with what the administration did and did not do to prevent what happened and in the subsequent reporting to Congress and to the public.

Congress can also call members of the executive branch to appear before it to explain how they are spending money (that Congress has appropriated) and to see if they are acting within the scope of powers that they were given by Congress.

Finally, when there is a national or international emergency of any type from a flood to a possible war the country (and indeed much of the world) has become accustomed to looking to the president for leadership.

Congress is left to ratify or argue with what he decides. Almost never can Congress seize the initiative.

The president cannot get any bill passed without the permission of Congress. Congress must pass the president's entire budget. The president cannot reorganize any part of the executive branch without the permission of Congress. The Senate must approve most of the top executives that the president nominates to run the executive branch. In short, Congress and the president can do little without each other's permission in domestic concerns.

Congress is still close to the President's equal in domestic affairs. The situation is very different in international affairs. The president has always directed the foreign policy of this county.

Wishing to conserve things as they are, generally supportive of status quo, traditional values and customs. Admire free enterprise system, private ownership, individual hard work and monetary rewards. Anti-welfare, Pro Capital punishment. Oppose environmental extremism. They are patriotic, conservative on foreign policy; suspicions of foreign aid and fiercely protective of economic and political interests abroad.

Conservatives

Major roles of federal courts

Consider Arizona V Hicks, 480 U.S. 321; 1987

Cultural Influences

Cultural beliefs passed on to us (Time and Place).

Divided into those characteristics we have none or some control over

Demographic or Social characteristics

However, it should be noted that the cabinet positions with the most power and prestige are the

Department of State (directs the foreign or international policy of the United States), the Department of Defense (controls the U.S. military) and the Attorney General, who heads the Department of Justice.

Bill of Rights

Designed to protect citizens from government not fellow citizens.

Governments have spent hundreds of years creating laws that favor their citizens over those from other countries. Free trade agreements mean that much of that protection and favoritism must be eliminated. Favoring free trade is something that many people and their representatives favor in theory, but making it happen can be very difficult. There are many areas where problems with free trade can occur, but some of the most frequent involve government policies in regards to worker compensation and protection, pollution controls, government purchasing and government subsidies. Free trade also means that the movement of people and services will be less restricted. This makes it more difficult to control the movement of illegal substances amongst countries and more likely that infestation of insects and microbes and other things will occur. In a general sense free trade agreements remove protections from citizens in all countries.

Difficulties with Creating and Maintaining Free Trade Agreements

Supreme Court of Florida

District (Appellate) and Circuit (trial) courts are judicial nominating commission that sends 3 candidates to the governor.

The condition in American government wherein the presidency is controlled by one party while the opposing party controls one or both houses of congress.

Divided government

All government officials must treat citizens with the same formal procedures. Explicitly designed to avoid discrimination: The most famous case citing this clause was the Adarand Case, made most forms of affirmative action unconstitutional.

Due process means

The so-called New Deal Coalition was severely strained...

During the 1960's by conflicts over civil rights and the Vietnam war.

Most presidential nominees were routinely approved by the senate, however...

During the Obama Presidency in both the first and early second terms the Republicans in the Senate filibustered many Presidential nominees

Monetary policy is controlled by the

Federal Reserve System; which is usually just referred to as "the Fed."

Wanted to have a strong federal government

Federalists

it will help create a more stable and productive world--one with less terrorism and one good for business and life in general.

Finally, if the World Bank is successful in helping more countries get out of poverty

Research Team

Find out what the opposition has done that the campaign should focus on.

That is, using fiscal policy to fight unemployment (recession) or high inflation. This second area is exceeding complex because of the amount of money involved (the federal government will spend in excess of 3 trillion in fiscal 2010 ) and the voluminous tax code of the United States

First is how fiscal policy can be used to push the economy toward a desired direction. The second area to consider is what the government spends its money on and how it gets the money (taxes.)

When the military is deployed the president is required to notify Congress within 48 hours of the reason for the action and then the president has only sixty days (with an additional thirty days to withdraw troops) to conduct the operation if he does not have congressional permission.

First, if Congress declared war. Second, if ongress expressly gave the President permission, and third in a military emergency where U.S. lives and property were threatened.

Congress has an oversight function. It is supposed to monitor the executive branch especially to see that the laws it has passed are being carried out as they were intended and that the budget it has approved is being spent as Congress intended.

General Accountability Office (GAO)

Regularly scheduled elections involving most districts. In the national or state, voters decide who wins the office; in the U.S. held on 1st Tuesday, following 1st Monday in November (in even # of years; every 4 years for presidents)

General Election

Exceptions to exclusionary rule

Good Faith, Inevitable discovery

Precedent set by the Supreme Court; the punishment does not have to be proportionate to the crime and that cruel punishment can, in some cases, be acceptable if it is not considered unusual.

Harmelin V Michigan

Therefore, the majority leader in the Senate...

Harry Reid, from Nevada is a Democrat.

The president will have the opportunity of appointing about 4,000 people to the top levels of the executive branch--out of a total of over two million employees.

He cannot hire or fire anyone other than those 4,000 employees.

There are 16 standing committees in the Senate and 19 in the House. Each of these committees has a number of subcommittees that are further specialized.

It is in these committees and subcommittees that Congress does most of its work, including its major responsibility, making laws.

Rights of Citizens

Humans have inalienable rights.

Voting power in the IMF depends upon the money that a country has deposited in the institution. The United States currently holds 18.5% of voting authority

IMF does nothing major without the approval of the USA and its friends and allies in Western Europe and Japan.

Hung Jury (Definition)

If Jury can't reach unanimity (leads to mistrial)

Good Faith

If law acted in good faith obtaining evidence and another official makes a mistake (U.S. v Leon)

Special interest groups do not need to control Congress; they don't need to pay attention to the vast majority of what Congress does. .They can often get legislation passed that favors only them and is not in the public interest.

If they can influence two standing committees (one in the House and one in the Senate) and then two subcommittees they can prevent legislation that is against their interests from passing

A final power that should be mentioned is the power of impeachment.

Impeachment

Cultural Influences are passed on almost....

Imperceptibly

the Vice President and the Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Labor, State, Transportation, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs, as well as the Attorney General.

In 2013 the Cabinet includes

For example, the U.S. automobile industry and the steel industry have been severely hurt by foreign competition that was allowed by free trade agreements.

In almost every country particular economic interests (industries or businesses) are hurt by free trade and the competition that it brings.

Requires 3/5ths of Senators voting and present to stop debate. Since ____________ are so important it normally requires 60 votes to stop debate or to__________.

In order to break a filibuster the Senate must invoke cloture

Since the United Nations is actively involved in addressing virtually every major problem facing the world community it serves the long-term interests of the United States as a member of that community.

In short, the United Nations is an organization that assists the United States in achieving a large number of foreign policy goals.

In September of 2008 Congress and the Bush administration agreed to pass an extraordinary$700 billion "rescue" or "bailout" package for the economy -targeting the mortgage industry which was teetering on disaster from the large number of home owners who were no longer able to pay their monthly bills. Perhaps the biggest step was the federal government's takeover of the two financial giants called "Fannie Mae"(Federal National Mortgage Corporation) and "Freddie Mack" (Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation). The federal government loaned these institutions 200 billion dollars and took over the day-to-day running of their financial operations. This action along with the purchase of equity in many other financial institutions put the federal government into the position of directly running a significant part of the financial industry of the USA. This was a step away from capitalism and move toward government control and ownership of a larger portion of the United States. Many called this a move towards socialism. Whatever it is called, the U.S. federal government is now a much bigger player in the economy. The one entity in the United States with the ability to spend almost unlimited funds is the federal government. It offers savings bonds or securities to institutions that are fearful of putting their money in banks or other investments (like the stock market). It can then spend that money quickly to stimulate the economy. When the federal government spends money it doesn't have it must borrow the money. It can't just print out more money. Countries that have allowed their governments to create more money to spend whenever they wish have found themselves in rip-roaring inflations. In early 2009 in the USA. The Obama administration asked Congress for the authority to spend about a trillion dollars more than it would collect in taxes in fiscal 2009. Congress has authorized the spending and tax cuts. The hope is that when more jobs are created by federal spending and by taxpayers and companies spending the money saved in taxes this will begin the momentum towards economic recovery. This is one of the roles of fiscal policy -- to counteract undesirable trends-- to push the economy out of recession and to slow it down if it becomes overheated and inflation occurs. If the economy is headed downward into a recession, (as it was in early 2009) fiscal policy is used to stimulate the economy. Taxes are lowered to give consumers and businesses more money to spend and government spending increases, directly creating jobs or putting money into people's pockets.

In short, the government resorts to deficit spending or borrowing to stimulate the economy. This is how the United States got itself out of the Great Depression of the 1930's.

At first the slowdown was hardly noticeable. Then in September of 2008 several enormous financial institutions failed (led by the huge and highly-respected Lehman Brothers firm) and others suddenly seemed on the brink of failure. Real estate values collapsed and home owners and the financial institutions who had loaned them the money could not sell their homes. This had a snow ball effect. Suddenly there were a lot of people trying to sell homes, which further depressed their value and made it more difficult for home owners to sell their property. New home construction fell off dramatically and the construction industry started to collapse in many areas. Banks and other lending institutions began to call in loans and stopped much of their lending. The stockmarkets in the USA, Europe and much of Asia tanked, losing 25% of their value in a few weeks.

In the beginning of 2008 the USA entered a recessionary period. The United States led the world into a financial crisis which soon led to deep recession.

Any right or protection from government that is taken away from a criminal defendant...

Is also taken away from the average citizen.

.Congress can only play the role of a spoiler or supporter in these areas.

It cannot lead; only the president can.

A term that you should understand is "pork." which is a term that comes from the practice of southern politicians in earlier days sitting around a pork barrel in the old country store making deals to help their districts. The term also relates well with the phrase "bringing home the bacon." The best definition of pork is that it is something that a member of Congress would seek for his or her district but would not seek for any other district. Pork is something special for a particular district or state.

It is short for "pork barrel politics"

It is the executive branch that does almost all the work of government.

It is the military, the Internal Revenue Service, the Social Security Administration, the Post Office, the Federal Reserve, the U.S. Treasury and hundreds of other departments and agencies.

.Only he can negotiate treaties or agreements with other countries such as NAFTA, although usually Congress must ratify the agreement. The president appoints U.S. representatives to the three most powerful economic institutions in the world--the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank (By tradition, the USA nominates the head of the World Bank.

It is the president who represents this country in economic affairs

As a result of that war Congress passed the War Powers Resolution of 1973 over the veto of Richard Nixon. It attempted to spell out the conditions under which the president could use the military.

It said that the president could use the military in foreign countries only in three circumstances.

It was very successful in doing this. When the Soviet Union disintegrated at the beginning of the 1990's NATO did not go out of existence.

It started as a military alliance designed to protect all of these nations from the Soviet Union.

The International Monetary Fund (from here on called the IMF) is one of the most powerful financial institutions in the world today.

It was established at the end of World War II to help stabilize currency transactions amongst all countries of the world.

In the House

John Boehner is the Speaker.

the responsibility to determine the constitutionality of laws passed by congress or any other legislative body in the U.S. and of actions of government bodies.

Judicial Review

Stress protection of individual rights from government. Oppose to a large active government. Changed is 21st century because of New Deal coalition and FDR. Now view federal government as a tool to bring out equality of opportunity, food, housing & medical treatment. Seek to improve public education, opposes discrimination & "Big Business". Stresses the establishment clause, supports unions, safety laws and consumer protection. In favor of campaign reforms, pro progressive tax. Views law enforcement as abusive and stress community activism.

Liberals

.(New York City) where most of the biggest and best advertising agencies in the U.S. have office.

Madison Avenue or creating the right image

Provide organization that allows people with similar ideas and interests to affect government.

Main thing political parties do.

The _____ was created to be democratic. It was the only part of the original government created by the Constitution that was directly elected. It was designed to be close to the people; to express the different wishes of majorities in districts throughout the country. At the beginning of this country _____ seats were not coveted because the House had little power and the salaries were relatively low.

Major purpose of U.S. House of representatives

No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens in the U.S.; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty or property without due process of law; nor deny to any person within it's jurisdiction the equal protection of laws.

Mapp V Ohio ruling-based on phrase in 14th amendment.

Creates the ads for the campaign and will advise the candidate on what to say to reporters, newscaster and other media people & sources.

Media Team

a Republican from Tennessee, is the minority leader,

Mitch McConnell

That is, it can be used to stimulate the economy in times of recession or slow growth, or it can be used to slow down the economy in order to reduce inflation. A major difference however, is that the Fed can act quickly, whereas the Congress and the President can take weeks, months and even sometimes years to enact fiscal policy.

Monetary policy can be used in much the same way as fiscal policy.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion prohibiting the free exercise thereof or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press or of the right of the people to peacefully assemble and to petition the government for a redress of grievances

Most important amendment

Passess federal laws; In areas where the federal government is supreme, such as the control of interstate commerce, the control of the money supply and crimes that are committed against federal officials and property or across state lines.

Most important thing Congress does; has the authority to draft laws.

Arizona v Hicks

Moving the turntable was a separate search from the warrant.

Compared with the European Union, the most extensive free trade bloc in the world, _________ is very limited. It is restricted to eliminating tariffs, quotas and other trade impediments amongst the three countries involved. It has no governing structure, although there are boards set up to settle disagreements. There is no common customs or tariff agreement for imported goods and services coming from outside the________ countries. No monetary union is in the works and there is no movement to making education or training of professions similar as in the European Union. Most importantly, there is no free movement of citizens; people are not allowed to move to whichever country they wish. They must still go through formal immigration procedures. It is a very powerful trade bloc, nonetheless, because of the economic and political influence of the United States. It involves about 400 million people with about the same total Gross Domestic Product as the European Union. It should be noted that _______ is in the process of becoming a free trade zone. It has not reached this goal entirely yet, as there are a number of industries that still receive protection such as citrus, lumber, and Mexican petroleum.

NAFTA is a free trade agreement involving Canada, Mexico and the United States.

a Democrat from California, is minority leader.

Nancy Pelosi

Push religious agenda vigorously, defining issue abortion. Homosexuality is a sin,oppose to pornography. Prayer and crucifixes in government institutions. Believe in family values.

New Right/Religious Right

Once the conference committee has reconciled the bill it is then sent back to the House and Senate for a final vote.

No amendments are permitted.

Fundraising team

Normally one person in charge to raise the money needed for the campaign.

NATO is short for the ___________. It was formed by the democracies of Western Europe plus Canada and the United States after World War II.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization

There are 435 members; Number: There are 435 members in the House. Each state must have at least one. Population determines the number of _____ seats in each state. Every decennial (ten years) the United States has a census. Two years after this census the _______ seats are reapportioned according to population shifts. Florida, for example, had 19 _____ seats from 1983 to 1992. From 1993 to 2002 Florida had 23 _____ seats. From 2003 to 2012 Florida had 25 seats in the _____ of Representatives. From 2012 to 2022 Florida will have 27 seats in the _____. In the 113th Congress (2013-2014) there will be 234 Republicans in the _______ and 201 Democrats. The numbers in the U.S. Senate are 53 Democrats, 45 Republicans and two independents (both of whom caucus and vote with the Democrats.)

Number of U.S. House of representatives

There are 100 US _______, two for each state.

Number of the U.S. Senators

the principles behind the ruling and are useful when lower courts are faced with a similar case.

Opinions explain...

Our founding father's had a poor opinion of political parties and tried to create a system that would operate without them.

Original thoughts on political parties.

not valid, section process is biased (not random), often those who read it don't read editorials, some people wanted to read and answer but didn't because of the $.50 charge.

Orlando Sentinel Poll

Polling Agency

Part of a reputable polling agency to do frequent polls during the campaign.

Third parties

Parties that organize to compete against the two major American political parties.

Head of New Right/Religious Right

Pat Robertson

At times the Senatehas had excellent debate regarding potential treaties and in the past this power was significant. In late 2010 the Senate voted to approve the START treaty-- the latest nuclear arms treaty with Russia. This treaty will reduce the number of strategic (long-range) nuclear warheads held by both countries and will allow both countries to inspect any site in either country that may have these warheads. However, the President has gotten around sending treaties to the Senate. The Constitution says that the Senate must approve all treaties, but it does not define what a treaty is. What has happened in reality is that if presidents don't feel they can get a two-thirds majority in the Senate they call it an "agreement." An "agreement" only needs a majority vote of each house of Congress to pass. If Congress (House and Senate) is controlled by the President's party, then the likelihood is that it will be called an "agreement" and passed by Congress.

Perhaps the two best-known examples of this are the Lend-Lease Agreement or Act in 1940 and NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) .

Defend their self-interest by supporting tax initiatives that don't impose on every day purchases (food, clothing, and household goods) or generically put, sales tax. Blue Collar Americans, the workers, the lower income individuals who are greatly affected by a taxes of this nature. These are the items that are purchased the most; having high taxes increases the money that these individuals don't have. It makes it that much harder to afford to live. represent the lower income, working class; as such they defend social welfare programs because their goal is for government to support and protect those who can't do for themselves. Civil Rights allowed opportunities for anyone who wasn't a white male to have equal rights. This party defended this direction because of their openness to change, conserving outmoded ways of life would only hinder the nation's success.are against taxation of schools because they are of the opinion that education is a public service and as such, education facilities should not have to pay high taxes because of the benefits given to society

Perspective of Democrats

Tend to come from wealthy backgrounds, with wealth comes the ability to afford luxuries such as pest control, attorneys, lawn maintenance etc. Any kind of service tax is going to upset this political party, along with taxation on inheritance, income, capital gains, property sales and social security. Anything that will affect the revenue at the end of the day is going to hit that nerve. It's important to understand members of this party are more than likely to own their own business which means environmental concerns like land use and offshore properties are going to be hindered. This is why they will tend to be less supportive of environmental initiatives; it goes against their bottom line. They are not likely to have to use wellfare When This party first considered Civil Rights they did so from a primarily white male demographic. As such it did not serve their self-interest to have these initiatives because they were not directly affected. programs and it goes against the idea of individualism. Their standpoint is not to completely eliminate the programs, however, they want to see less funding provided. This party believes that public schools should be taxed just like anything else.

Perspectives of Republicans

Political Socialization; why is it you came to have these opinions?

Planted in your head.

Inevitable Discovery

Police can use evidence if they can establish it would have been inevitably discovered by a normal police investigation (Nix V Williams)

Experts to advise candidate on what policies they should support or oppose and why. May have economic advisers, foreign policy experts, the environment and education.

Policy Consultants

Much like a political party except it fields no candidates. Endorses candidates via distribution list of worthy candidates to churches.

Political Organization

Process of programming by which all humans become indoctrinated into our political beliefs.

Political Socialization (definition)

A poll will be able to answer virtually any question that the candidate or politicians want to know regarding potential voter opinions.

Polling (broadly speaking)

Political Campaigns

Polls and Madison Ave

Most agree that free trade agreements provide higher quality goods and services to consumers in all countries at lower prices. This tends to be true for several reasons. First, competition increases. Secondly, the cost of production for goods and services tend to decline as companies take advantage of the lower costs of labor, cheaper natural resources and easier access to quality services and specialized knowledge. Specialization is also increased in free trade zones. Free trade zones also allow for economies of scale to take place. Another advantage for consumers is that there is often a greater variety of goods and services available in free trade blocs. There are other long-term political and social benefits to trade blocs.

Possible Advantages to NAFTA and other Free Trade Zones

Possibly the greatest drawback to free-trade blocs is job and economic sector displacement. It is unclear if free trade increases overall employment in member countries. Another possible drawback to free trade agreements is that small businesses are often forced to close and workers, therefore, are more likely to be employed by huge conglomerations that have little contact with workers The other major possible drawback to NAFTA and other free-trade agreements is increased dependency. Weaker economies in trade blocs clearly have the most to gain...and to lose

Possible Disadvantages to NAFTA and other Free Trade Blocs

Each country can produce as much, or as little, of its currency as it chooses. Irresponsible or foolish governments have often printed great amounts of their currencies in order to meet popular demands. The effect of this, however, is to devalue the currency in terms of other currencies. If money production continues, a particular currency can lose all of its value in foreign markets because banks and other institutions will refuse to accept it or to exchange it.

Presently, no major currency is backed by gold, silver or any other precious metal.

He claimed that they were not really involved in a military action, so there was no need to observe the War Powers Resolution. Of course, he claimed that the act was unconstitutional in the first place.

President George Bush Sr., for example, neither sought nor received permission to use the U.S. military in Somalia.

A procedure to allow voters to remove state officials from office or before their terms expire by circulating petitions to call a vote.

Recall

Practice of referring a measure proposed or passed by legislature to the vote of the electorate for approval or rejection.

Referendum

Which party pledged to ban slavery from the western territories in the 1850's?

Republican

A Representative must be at least 25 years of age, have been a citizen of the United States for seven years, and, when elected, be a resident of the state in which the Representative is chosen. Although it is a practical necessity, a Representative is not required by the Constitution to reside in the district that he or she represents.

Requirements of U.S. House of Representatives

A ______ must be at least 30 years of age, have been a citizen of the United States for nine years, and, when elected, be a resident of the state for which the _______ is chosen.

Requirements of the U.S. Senate.

The House Judiciary Committee had voted to impeach

Richard Nixon before he resigned from office.

Because of the Escobedo case the right of citizens to have an attorney present begins at the moment that questioning could reasonably elicit an incriminating response. And because of the Miranda case a citizen must be advised of this right before questioning. Any time a citizen is being formally questioned or a police officer is asking him a question and the citizen has been detained, they must be advised of their right to an attorney, their right to remain silent, and other rights.

Right to Counsel

The five committees that are usually considered the most powerful in Congress are the four mentioned above and the .

Rules Committee in the House

In 2012, Senators and Representatives received $174,000 per year. Certain positions receive more. The Majority and Minority Leaders in both the House and Senate and the President pro tempore of the Senate earned $193,400. The Speaker of the House earned $223,500. Under a 1989 law, members of Congress are entitled to an annual cost-of-living increase equal to one-half a percentage point less than the president's recommended raise for federal workers. Some years Congress refuses to grant itself raises. It should be understood that Congresspersons must maintain two residences, one in their home district and one near Washington D.C. The nation's capital and its suburbs are often expensive places to live.

Salary of U.S. House of representatives

They have the same salary as House members ($174,00 in 2012).

Salary of U.S. Senators

These conditions, like opening their markets to foreign competition or privatizing parts of their economies, favor the U.S.A. and other powerful countries.

Secondly, like the IMF it puts conditions on loans to poor countries.

A Political Party is different from an interest group because...

Seeks to control the govt. by nominating candidates and electing it's members to office.

Status in society based on level of education, income and occupational prestige.

Socioeconomic Status

The single most powerful position in Congress is the

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Special Powers: 1) The House elects the President in the event that the Electoral College does not have a majority for any candidate. If the election goes to the House each state has one vote. This did not occur in the 20th Century and occurred only twice in the Nineteenth Century when it selected Thomas Jefferson and John Quincy Adams. 2) The House initiates or begins all revenue or tax bills. This special power was given to the House because the Founding Fathers felt that the people should have a direct say on the taxes they pay. 3) The House can impeach, by a majority vote, the president, the vice president, any federal judge and possibly others in the executive branch. Please note that "impeach" essentially means to indict or hold over for trial. The actual trial and possible removal from office occurs only in the Senate.

Special Powers of the U.S. House of representatives

Special Powers: 1) The _________ has the power to approve or disapprove of presidential nominees for federal positions. The most important positions that the _______must approve are: A) All federal judges. B) All Cabinet positions (Secretaries of Defense, State, Attorney General etc.) C) Most top executives to other major executive agencies such as the director of the FBI the director of the CIA, Home Security and many others. D) All US ambassadors. E) All military commissions. The power to approve presidential nominees is a major power. In recent years the most publicity has centered on the approval of federal judges, especially Supreme Court judges. 2) The __________ must approve all treaties with foreign governments by a two-thirds margin. This was intended to be a major power by the Founding Fathers. The conflict between the northern and southern states was one of the reasons that this power was given to the _________, where the southern states had power disproportionate to their population. 3. The _______tries and either acquits or convicts and removes from office all officials who have been impeached by the House. Conviction and removal from office requires a two-thirds majority. As mentioned previously, impeachment and convictions are rare. Only 13 federal judges have been impeached since the Constitution was passed and only seven were removed from office. Only two U.S. presidents have been impeached, but neither was convicted in the _________.

Special powers of the U.S. Senate

The first clause of the 6th Amendment says that all citizens enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial.

Speedy Trial

(Like State governments) are not constitutionally under the control of the Federal courts or government.

State Courts

Ask if you were to vote today, who would you vote for to determine how they are doing in general and in particular what their standing is with undecided voters.

Straw Polls

Group (Cultural influences)

Subculture

Structure of the Federal Court

Supreme Court-Circuit (Appellate Court), District Courts (Trial)

All are elected for a two-year ____. There is no limit to the number of _____ that a member of the__________ can serve.

Term of U.S. House of representatives

Each ______ has a six-year term. The terms in the ______ are varied or staggered so that every two years about one-third of the ______ seats are up for election. There is no limitation to the number of terms that a ______ can serve.

Term of U.S. Senators

There are four committees in Congress, however, which have huge potential for pork.

The Appropriations Committees in the House and Senate must approve all the spending of the federal government.

The Constitution forbids Congress to lower the salary of the president or any federal judge while these officials are in office. However, only the Congress can increase salaries (including their own). The power to control the staffing of the other two branches is also controlled partly by Congress. Funding for the entire government of the United States must pass through Congress. Again, the president has the veto here so this is a shared power.

The Congress and salaries, shared power with the President

"The Department of State is the lead U.S. foreign affairs agency. It promotes U.S. objectives and interests in shaping a freer, more secure, and more prosperous world through formulating, representing, and implementing the President's foreign policy. The Secretary of State, the ranking member of the Cabinet and fourth in line of presidential succession, is the President's principal adviser on foreign policy and the person chiefly responsible for U.S. representation abroad. "

The Department of State defines its function in these words:

"Monetary policy is a central bank's actions to influence the availability and cost of money and credit, as a means of helping to promote national economic goals." In other words, the Fed manipulates interest rates and the money supply to push the economy in the direction it deems necessary. It should be understood that the U.S. dollar is no longer backed by gold, silver or anything else other than the confidence that the dollar has worth and is supported by the government of the United States. This is true of every other major currency in the world, such as the Euro (used by almost all Western European countries now), the British Pound and the Japanese Yen.

The Fed describes monetary policy in these words:

. Each member of the B.O.G. has a fourteen-year term, one of which comes up for appointment every two years. The terms were so created as to allow the board to have a long-term perspective, not be dependent on a single U. S. president and have scheduled turnover to bring in new ideas yet still retain stability and experience

The Fed was set up as an independent agency that would be led by a Board of Governors, comprised of seven members who are nominated by the president and approved by the Senate

Supreme Interpreter of the Constitution, but the trials it conducts are usually only those where a federal offense has been committed.

The Federal System

"The IMF lends money to members having trouble meeting financial obligations to other members, but only on condition that they undertake economic reforms to eliminate these difficulties for their own good and that of the entire membership."

The IMF describes what it does in these words (amongst others)

Along with the United States, the Western Democracies and the World Bank, it has rescued, or is now attempting to rescue many troubled economies—particularly in Africa and Asia at the beginning of the 21rst Century. Its true power is forcing changes in the economic policies of financially ailing economies.

The IMF has been the primary institution that has addressed the immediate problems.

provides a forum or a meeting place for countries to discuss and resolve their trade disputes.

The WTO is also an organization that

and of forcing countries to adopt monetary and fiscal policies that have hurt some of the countries receiving loans from the IMF. There isn't space here to discuss this further, but the reader should note that there is considerable debate regarding the effectiveness of the IMF structural adjustment programs (conditionality) in many countries.

The International Monetary Fund has often been criticized, however, as being captive of Western capitalist countries

He leads his party in creating rules of the House and he is the final interpreter of those rules. This means that he can have direct influence on any bill that goes before the full House. He can, within limits, determine when a bill will be voted on. The Majority Leader and the Majority Whips help the Speaker count the possible votes and assist her in trying to convince members of his party to vote for or against a particular bill. In 1997 Newt Gingrich tried to convince his colleagues to vote for fast track authorization that would allow the president to negotiate trade agreements with foreign countries. He waited for almost two months before he allowed the bill to come up for a vote. In the end the bill was voted down by a large majority of Democrats and some Republicans.

The Speaker of the House has some very special powers.

It is the president who must determine if other countries are living up to the terms of the agreements that we have signed with them. If he determines that another country is violating the agreement it is he who will determine the U.S. response.

The U.S. Federal Reserve is possibly more powerful than all three of these however—and it is the president who nominates the chairperson of the Fed.

has 9 members; if 4 decide a case should be viewed they will issue a writ of certiorori.

The U.S. Supreme Court

A capitalist or free market economy reinforces the direction it is headed in by its own momentum. ) If the economy has been expanding rapidly for a time, as it had been in the United States in the past several years, internal forces push it to continue to expand.

The U.S. economy is mixed; part capitalist and part socialist.

As you already know, federal taxing and spending must be approved by Congress and signed into law by the president. Since the federal budget is so enormous (the federal government spends about one out of every five dollars spent in this country ) the effects on the economy are significant.

The U.S. federal government begins its fiscal year on October 1.

. It provides short and long-term assistance in health matters through the World Health Organization. You will note, for example, that it was the WHO that was in charge of coordinating world policy concerning the SARS epidemic that started in early 2003. The UN provides agricultural advice, training and materials through the Food and Agricultural Organization. It facilitates world mail through the Universal Postal Union (UPU). It coordinates aid for the hungry and help to refugees through the World Food Programme and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. It directly helps needy children through The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

The United Nations

"The United Nations is an organization of sovereign nations not a world government. It provides the machinery to help find solutions to disputes or problems, and to deal with virtually any matter of concern to humanity."

The United Nations in its site called "The UN in Brief" defines itself in these words:

If two or more countries have a dispute they must select three judges from non-involved members of the WTO (each member country provides a judge—150 judges in 2007) to resolve the dispute. The three judges make a ruling that is binding on the members. If one member refuses to go along with the ruling the other country is given the legal right to impose tariffs on the goods of the non- agreeing country. The tariffs are equal to the damage that the first country has suffered because of the violation of the trade agreement. Normally what the victorious countries do is put tariffs on politically powerful economic interests in the losing countries. These economic interests then put political pressure on the government of the losing country to abide by the holdings of the three-judge panel. This dispute resolution process has had a major effect in furthering free trade

The WTO devised an ingenious system to enforce agreements.

The value of a currency, like a stock, is determined largely by expectations. If a country has an honest and efficient government usually the value of its currency will remain stable or increase over time. When the international community begins to lose confidence in the government of a given country and the management of its money supply, the value of its currency tends to plummet. When this happens the country will find it difficult to buy things from other countries and its own economy begins to suffer.

The currency of a given country is somewhat like a stock in a company.

In 2007 the economy of the United States showed slow growth with low inflation. Most economists recommended that the federal and local governments put some money away in savings that can be used to offset the next recession. However, many politicians, including the Bush administration, asked for more tax cuts, and there were few suggestions by Democrats or Republicans to cut spending. When money could be saved it wasn't. This came back to haunt the Republican Party in the election of 2008.

The economy went into a recession and the Republicans received most of the blame.

Since so many past presidents have used the military without consulting Congress it is assumed that the current president has these same powers.

The first reason is simply precedent.

For this reason they made the president the commander-and-chief of the U.S. armed forces. They did not want committees of Congress to be debating military strategy.

The framers also intended that the president be in charge of conducting the war.

The only exception to this is the head of the Department of Justice who is called the Attorney General. Today there are 15 people who are in charge of the major departments of government. Collectively, along with the vice president, these people form the Cabinet. Each person in the cabinet serves as the pleasure of the president.

The heads of the major departments of government are called "Secretaries."

_______ of the ____ is to represent States as political entities and to represent them equally. Of course the word "states" includes the people of each state as well as the state government and all property and life forms in that state.

The major purpose of the U.S. Senate

Since a congressperson cannot change standing committees once he or she is assigned, this is an important power. There are other powers that these leaders have including having control of much pork and being in a position of collecting a great deal of campaign funds. These campaign funds can be used for their own campaigns or to help other members of their party.

The majority and minority leaders are the chairpersons of the committees who determine which standing committees freshman congresspersons will be assigned to.

They devise strategies to pass or defeat specific bills on the floor of the House and Senate. They frequently huddle with members of their party to make last minute changes in tactics or to devise longer- term policies that will push their parties' agendas.

The majority and minority leaders are the day-to-day floor leaders also.

They are often invited on television programs to explain what their party is doing or thinking. The print media also frequently quotes them. They argue their party's views in negotiations within each house and with the President in important conferences.

The majority and minority leaders represent their parties to the U.S. public.

NATO is clearly the most powerful military alliance in the world today. As such, it increases the military power and thus the political influence of the United States and the other member nations. The USA, Canada and the Western European democracies have been able to use it to create a peace (perhaps temporary) in Bosnia Herzegovina thus saving the lives of many thousands and preventing hundreds of thousands of refugees from flooding Western Europe. NATO has also been used to punish Yugoslavia for its repression of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.

The military head of NATO has always been from the United States

The majority and minority leaders have members that assist them in their duties.

The most important positions beneath the leaders are called "Whips". The

Further cutbacks in Medicaid (medical insurance for the poor) and food stamps are being debated. Recommending a cutback in Social Security or Medicare, on the other hand, can be political suicide. There are simply too many middle-class citizens who benefit from them to make cuts politically feasible in most situations. When the federal government spends more money than it collects it has a deficit budget. To finance the deficit the government sells securities, such as government savings bonds or treasury notes. The government obligates itself to pay much more than the money it receives in cash for these securities since it must pay interest to the holders. Thus, the deficit in one year may be 100 billion but the government will often pay back twice that amount after it has retired all the securities. (Remember that the government issues many ten and twenty-year bonds.) The federal government claimed surpluses in fiscal years 1998 and 1999. However, the national debt continued to increase because the surplus was in Social Security and other trust funds. The deficit for 2004 was a record 430 billion dollars (approximately). This added debt. In fiscal 2007 the deficit looked to be quite a bit smaller—the estimates were around 170 billion. In 2008, however, the deficit ballooned to over 600 billion dollars. The deficit in fiscal 2009 was about 1.6 trillion dollars.

The national debt is the total amount of money that the federal government will be required to pay in order to retire all existing securities

If a state has 10 members in the U.S. House of Reps. how many votes in the electoral college does that state have?

The number of votes can't be determined from this information.

Today, the presidency is usually considered to be the most powerful branch. Several factors have contributed to this.

The people now essentially elect the president; the president, now has the power to put the country into a state of war any time he wishes. the president is in charge of foreign or nternational policy. the President has the power to get news coverage and especially television coverage any time he wishes.

Turn out

The percentage of eligible individuals who actually vote.

Place (Cultural influences)

The place we are born and raised has particular significance.

The World Bank, is led by the International Bank of Reconstruction and Finance, but is, in reality, a group of five different financial institutions devoted largely to helping poor people and their countries to achieve sustainable economic development.

The voting power that member countries have in the World Bank is determined by the relative amount that each country has deposited in the Bank

Presidents Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon used their authority to involve the U.S. military. The United States killed perhaps a half million people in Vietnam and suffered over 55,000 fatalities and more than twice that number of soldiers seriously wounded.

The war in Vietnam, was never declared by Congress.

Only it can authorize the use of military force or economic sanctions. Also the UNSC must give its approval to the selection of the Secretary General, new members of the United Nations and any change to the charter (constitution) of the UN. Of the fifteen members on the Security Council five are permanent members who have absolute vetoes on any important action of the UNSC.

These five members are China, France, Russia, The United States, and The United Kingdom (Great Britain.)

These interests were often successful in destroying free trade.

They used their political influence to continue protectionism.

When a new Senator arrives to serve the first year of his or her term he or she is assigned to three standing committees. House members are assigned to one or two. They normally will serve on these committees and only these committees for the entire time they are in Congress. After serving on these committees for a few years they will begin to develop some expertise in the subject area of the committees.

This expertise allows Congress to view many different bills at the same time and to do so with a group of Congresspersons who are specialists in the subject matter of the bill.

The structure of the original Electoral College fit in nicely with their idea of a republic or a representative democracy. The people would elect representatives to the state governments and then the state governments would choose electors to serve in the Electoral College.

This feature was abandoned by all states over time. Now the popular vote of a state will determine how the electoral votes are cast.

. Usually the IMF recommends that borrowing countries open their economies to foreign (Western) investment.

This increases U.S. influence in these countries' economies and, therefore, their political systems

The Senate allows every senator to speak as long as he or she wishes, as long as what is said is somehow related to the bill at hand. When finished the Senator has the right to recognize the next speaker. If senators from the minority party don't want to pass a given bill or approve a certain presidential nominee they continue to talk and to recognize members of their own party until the majority party pulls the bill or the person up for approval.

This is called a filibuster.

A political system in which only two parties have a realistic opportunity to compete effectively for control of the government.

Two party system

For the USA and other countries this is very bad news. The many businesses that sell to these countries see a loss in profits, which causes them to lay off workers. Also, many U.S. businesses and individuals have investments in these countries and therefore they lose money when these countries do poorly economically.

This is exactly what happened to Mexico in 1994. It occurred to different degrees to Russia, Brazil, and a number of Asian countries at the turn of the century.

The power of the majority leader of the U.S. Senate (Harry Reid of Nevada 2013-14) depends on many things, including the party of the current president, the personal appeal of the majority leader himself or herself, the coherence or solidarity of party members (Republicans are usually more cohesive and vote together as a block) and very importantly, the number of seats that the majority party has.

This is important because of the filibuster.

...whose job is specifically to carry out this oversight function. Often irritatating the executive branch, because its job is essentially to check on it. It oversees the implementation of the U.S. budget and often makes predictions (especially of future federal deficits) that are not in line with what the president and his administration have made.

This is the job of the General Accountability Office.

For example, the sugar industry is accused by many as being responsible for legislation that has made the price of sugar in the United States around twice the international price; the same is said for peanuts, honey and many other products. For the typical consumer these extra prices are minimal. How much time and money would you be willing to expend in order to save yourself $1.50 a month on sugar or 50 cents for peanut butter?

This is the problem call rational ignorance.

they felt they were being taxed and yet had no representation in the British parliament. "No taxation without representation" was one of the rally cries used by the colonists. However, this is not a major power because any tax bill must pass in the same form in both houses. Thus the Senate has, in reality, much the same powers as the House on tax legislation—but all tax bills must begin in the House.

This was one of the reasons that the colonies went to war with Great Britain—

This samephenomenon happens with consumers. When the economy has been doing well for some time consumers tend to expect it to continue to be strong and they start buying many things, often on credit, thinking that their wages or profits will continue to expand.

This, in turn, further increases business profits and the cycle goes on. In recessions the opposite psychology takes hold.

It has also held that executing a person under the age of 16 is not acceptable under the Eighth Amendment.In this case, It left open the possibility that a person who commits a crime when they were 15 and tried when he was 16 or older could receive the death penalty.

Thompson V Oklahoma

Sets up parameters of many of our beliefs.

Time period (Cultural influences)

Once they get elected they are difficult to remove because of many factors, not the least of which is the ability to raise money and the fact that Congressional districts are usually strongly Democratic or Republican due to gerrymandering. Usually over 90% of incumbents win re-election. In 2012 John Dingell of Michigan was the longest-serving Congressman. He started serving his district in 1955.

Today, however, U.S. Representatives and Senators are usually career politicians

Political parties are

aggregated self interest groups of the people who support them

The Speaker of the House of Representatives is the most powerful person in the U.S. Congress—

and therefore one of the most influential people in the world.

IF a person is found guilty they can

appeal to circuit court

Most important manner a valid poll is conducted

as random as possible.

They gave the president the power to veto all laws passed by Congress,

but they allowed Congress to override his veto by two-thirds of both houses.

The framers of the Constitution made the president the head of the military (commander and chief),

but they gave the power to raise and fund the armed services and the power to declare war to Congress.

The periodic episodes in American history in which an "old" dominant political party is replaced by a "new" dominant political party are called...

electoral realignments

The vote to remove Bill Clinton in the U.S. Senate

came nowhere close to the two-thirds majority.

The Democrats in November of 2013 changed the rules of the Senate so that nominees to most positions in the Federal bureaucracy and the lower federal courts

can no longer be filibustered.

The Fed is the

central bank of the United States

Although the IMF tends to deny it, what it has the power to do is to force some countries to

change their economic, and at times, their political policies in order to qualify for loans.

Party leaders are the

chief spokespersons for their parties.

The majority party of the House

chooses him or her.

Thirdly, much of the money that that the Bank loans out ____________. At times, the World Bank will loan money to poor countries so that these same countries can pay off loans to the banks of developed countries.

comes back to Western countries like the USA since much of the money is used to purchase technical expertise or high-end technology or equipment made in developed countries

The Speaker appoints all members of the majority party to all

conference committees.

Thomas Jefferson Quote, "We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are..."

created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with inherent inalienable rights

If a ruling is upheld by the Appellate court...

defendant can appeal to Supreme Court

The people who wrote the U.S. Constitution

did not wish to create a powerful president.

The major point here is that when the economy starts going in one direction, Thus it is these expectations, the psychological outlook of businesses and consumers, that reinforce or cause the economy to continue getting better, or in the case of 2008-2009, worse.

either positive or negative, businesses and consumers begin to expect the trend to continue.

Random

every person in the population being studied has exactly the same chance of being selected.

the executive branch of government performs its chief responsibility is to

execute or enforce the laws of the land

Supreme Court

exercises control over constitutional matters, applying the 14th amendment.

Nominees to the Supreme Court, cabinet positions and all laws can still be ...

filibustered

For the federal government, most state and local governments, and many businesses

fiscal years do not conform to calendar years.

Precedent

follows the legal principle of stare decisis "let the decision stand"

Conservative Chief Justice (John Roberts) and Samuel Alito are

from the Bush Administration.

They made the president the chief representative of the United States in foreign affairs, but they required that

he have Senate approval of all treaties and of all U.S. ambassadors

The Electoral College has two key provisions that favor small states

if no person gets a majority of the electoral vote then the election of the President is to be determined by the House of Representatives where each state has one vote. the number of U.S. Senators and U.S. House members representing that state determines each state's electoral vote.

Military technology has also favored

moving more power to the president

All Federal judges are

nominated by the president and approved by the senate

In all the U.S. President has ordered U.S. troops into other countries at least 125 times without Congressional approval. Congress has declared war

only five times: the war of 1812, the Mexican American War, the Spanish American War, and World Wars One and Two.

. At times it will not charge any interest rate. It demands

open books (transparency) on the part of the government taking out the loans, so the projects they fund usually get the money the Bank loans out.

All democratic governments have

political parties

Simplify things for voters. Make politics understandable, provide different choices for voters. Organize legislative branches of government. Publicize corruption or poor behavior of other parties. Recruit candidates for office and pay for those who don't have money to run for office.

political parties

It could be something large like a federally funded road project, or small like a new Post Office branch. Those of you in the Central Florida area might have wondered about I-4, the road that really made Central Florida accessible. The "I" stands for "Interstate." What two states does I-4 connect? Why did Orlando get a navy base when we are 100 miles from the nearest ocean? Why are so many military bases in the South?

pork

Supreme Court establishes (with their ruling)

precedent

For each demographic a candidate will...

prepare messages or design sub-themes that are specifically targeted at a particular group.

The states must...

protect the constitutional rights of all it's citizens equally

The Supreme Court, unelected judges, are charge of

protecting freedom of expression

The task of all conference committees is to

reconcile the differences between the Senate and House versions of the bill.

On the County level judges...

run in nonpartisan elections.

Almost every major economic interest in the country has obtained .

special favors from government

It is because of the standing committees, and their sub-committees, that Congress is so susceptible to influence by

special interest groups

In order to work efficiently Congress has broken itself up intoThese committees are similar to different departments in an executive agency.

specialized units called standing committees.

The two other committees that have lots of pork to give out are the

tax committees and in the House it's the Ways and Means Committee and in the senate it's the Finance Committee

In a sense this power is a-constitutional,

that is, it is outside the constitution

When the Constitution was written it was generally intended that if the government of the United States was going to become involved in a major military action abroad

that the Congress would have the power to decide

It is very likely that most viewpoints...

that you and I have were not consciously chosen.

the Republicans under Newt Gingrich created in 1994 that spelled out exactly what the Republican party would do if it became the majority party. The Republicans won a majority in 1994 and started to implement these policies when they assumed control of the House in 1995. In 1998 the Republican leadership in both houses was accused by many of not formulating a clear picture of what the Republican Party stood for. Many blamed Newt Gingrich for this failure that supposedly cost the Republican Party six seats in the House in the November elections. As a result, Gingrich had to give up his position and he subsequently resigned from the House.

the Contract with America

Almost all legislation that is passed in the House must go through this committee before it is voted on by the full House. The Rules Committee can allow a few, many or no amendments to bills on the floor. This gives the Speaker some direct influence on almost every bill in the House.

the Rules Committee in the House.

The most important organ of the UN is

the Security Council.

These congressional leaders are chiefly responsible for setting

the agenda for their party each session and each year.

The leadership of the GAO is accountable to

the leaders of congress, however, it is an agency that is supposed to be non-partisan.

The United States, therefore, has a great deal of power in the United Nations. Although the USA cannot do all it wishes in the UN

the organization can do very little without U.S. approval.

Politically, the people who have the least political power,

the poor, are often the ones who find the programs designed to help them are the ones being cut.

It forces Congress to work with the president on most issues. It forces compromise. However, one must remember that the president cannot pass laws himself; only Congress has this power.

the power of veto

The public needs to be concerned about every bill that goes through Congress, but

the public interest is diluted or diffuse whereas special interests are focused, concentrated on the particular committees that have power over their interests

The World Bank helps the USA in several ways. First, it tends__________________________ Russia and China, for example, for years received no loans from the Bank, even though they needed the money badly. Today, Cuba and North Korea, do not receive Bank loans.

to help countries that are friendly to the USA.

In order for business to be successful, individuals and companies need to be able to convert currencies easily and have the assurance that the value of different currencies will remain relatively stable. This, essentially, is the overall objective of the IMF

to keep the world's currencies stable so that people and organizations can do business.

At the present time this balance has been seriously eroded. The president now has the power

to order the U.S. military to attack any country he wishes without permission of Congress

Congress can impeach and remove any federal judge, the president, vice president and arguably cabinet officials, although a cabinet official has never been actually impeached. In impeachment proceedings the House must impeach or indict by a majority vote and the Senate needs ...

two-thirds to convict and remove from office.

Greatest lesson that the social sciences have taught

we humans have been programmed.

At the beginning of each session of Congress...

which lasts two years, both parties in each house of Congress select their leaders.

The term "whip" was derived from their function of trying to

whip the members of their parties behind the party's goals or to keep them in line with the party's position on particular bills.