Succession Research.....

Pick two people on the Presidential Success list and research them for 20mins.

Give a brief description of each person in your blog.   Their title, responsibilities, life...etc

            

       Hillary Clinton- Secretary Of State

Hillary Clinton was born in Illinois on October 26, 1947. She lives in Chappaqua, New York. She married former US president Bill Clinton in 1975, and they have one daughter together. She graduated from Wellesley College with a major in plitical science and a law degree from Yale. She became the 67th United States Secretary of State. 

      Joe Biden- Vice Presiden

Biden was raised in Scranton, Pa. He recieved a bachelors degree from the University of Delaware in 1965, and later a law degree from Syracuse University in New York. Biden became the fifth youngest senator in history at the age of 29. After his 1st wife, and child died in a tragic car crash, he remarried 5 years later to Jill Jacobs, and had another child. After Barack Obama amassed enought delegates to secure the Democratic presidential nomination, Biden emerged as a big runner to be Obamas vice president.

Economy Assignment

With the help of your textbook and Ch 23, please explain the differences among capitalism, socialism and communism.   Then explain the pros and cons that each hold.

 Differences:

Socialism is a left wing government, for the people, all people get same wages, same living conditions, medical services etc provided by government
Pro: People get even amount of money.
Con: Someone has to work, and if some people dont they still get some money that they dont deserve.

Communism, is like socialism in its ideas, but it is extreme left wing (for the people), and involves dictatorships and single party control, sharing of economy etc.

Pros: The same standard for everyone, there is little crime because the law is strictly enforced, eliminates local cultures, and a lot of communist countries invest in education.

Cons: Too much focus on the group, instead of the individual, no personal freedoms.

Capitalism is right wing government, where people work for themselves, and it runs on competition. Democracy is a type of capitalism.

Pros: Promotes economic growth by providing an open competition in the market. It provides individuals with far better opportunities of raising their income and thus achieving economic growth.

Cons: Capitalist economy can give rise to unfair competition.

Britain Government

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Britain Government Your Blog Due Today

Using the Internet: find two similarities and two differences between the government of Great Britain and the U.S.
Similarities: Both governments through the act of rebellion found their way to democracy. Another similarity is that they both need to respect the individual rights of their people and what the people want.

 

Differences: In the US we have to pass bills through the Senate and than it goes to the House if failed a 2/3 vote can bring it back, or it can be vetoed. In Great Britian when in passes in the House of Commons than sent to the House of Lords if failed it goes back to the Commons and can be passed without a veto or a 2/3 vote. The US is ran under a president and Great Britian is ran under a parliement.

Also find two current events relating to the British government and provide a paragraph of reflection

British Government Proposes Largest Spending Cuts since World War II

The British government is proposing the largest cuts to public spending since World War Two, asking for reductions in benefits and cutting 25 percent of jobs in the next four years.

 

I think that this is going to cause a lot of problems trying to cut that much in a short time span. People are going to be upset because they wont be able to have a job or get one because majority will be cut or let go.

 

Quiz

1. Explain how a bill becomes a law:
First the bill is introduced than is will be assigned to a committee and they will read and examine it, after doing so they will vote on for the bill and it will go to the floor if it passes, and if not the bill will be 'dead'. they than will debate and if passed it moves onto the senate. After the bill is approved by the House and the Senate it is than sent to the President. He can either approve it or veto the bill. If vetoed the congress can vote on it and if it recieves a 2/3 vote it will be passed.


2. What is a committee and what purpose does it serve?:\
A commettee is a group of people assigned to a particular topic. It is used so when bills are trying to become a law it will be sent to that certain committee for examination and voting.


3. Read the following link and share your opinions: 1 paragraph  http://keloland.com/NewsDetail6162.cfm?Id=109027
I think that Kristi Noem is really going to do what is right for South Dakota.  She even said that being upfront and direct is going to be the best way to uproach problems.  She also talked about the spending money and how it is a problem in South Dakota and she is going to be addressing that. She is one of many new freshman republicans to join the house. I think she will do a good job.


4.  Read the following link and find a story and give a reflection on it:1 paragraph  http://www.cnn.com/POLITICS/
Republicans Change the House Rules:
In this article i read it talked about how a bill becomes a law and how in America every school teaches this. But now the Republicans are changing it up.First, all the bills that are introduced will be required to have and extra statement explaining there 'Constitutional Authority' also it will be posted online for 72 hours before they will make a vote on it. I think this will be good so they can really look at every aspect of the bill and make a wise decision.

5. Read the following link and give a reflection on it: 1 paragraph   http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2011/01/05/worried-about-national-debt-put-it-your-credit-card?test=latestnews
I think that our debt rate is outragous and i dont think that spending more money will help! Like they said they are completly maxed out of their credit card. I think that we need to start selling more to other countries and gain some money back by our trade.

6. Read the following link and give a reflection on it: 1 paragraph
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40925203/ns/politics-white_house/
President Obama is doing a smart move, he wants to 'shake it up a little' so that he can get re-elected next term. I think by being more effiecent and trying to find new people to speak for him is going to help him in the long run.

Legislative Preview & How a bill becomes a law

Legislative Preview & How a bill becomes a law.

Below are the links we are going to cover in class:

http://legis.state.sd.us/General/guide.htm#Legislators


http://legis.state.sd.us/index.aspx


http://www.sdpb.org/


Take ten minutes to look over the links and then in your blog, describe what your views are on the materials that we covered.  Provide a paragraph of reflection on what areas you had prior knowledge of and those that you did not.

Before viewing these links there was a lot i didn't know, i thought that when they passed a bill that they would either let it pass or "kill it" as the term for vetoing it is. I found out that it has to go through the House of Repesentatives and the Senate, and it has to get the majority vote, but the Governor does have the final say. It is a very long process for a bill to become a law, and it does take time, but in emergency situations they can hurry the process, otherwise bills dont become laws till July 1. 

How a bill becomes a law:
This is provided for you as a study guide to be able to learn the process of how a bill becomes a law.

http://svseniorgov.wikispaces.com/How+a+bill+becomes+a+law

Quiz Chapter 7

1. Explain the difference between hard and soft money:Soft money is given to a party such as Democratic or Republican and there aren't limits on soft money they are donations. Hard money is fundraised and has a limit.
2. What is the electoral process and is this something that you agree or disagree with and why?
The electoral process is that we nominate candidates then have a primary election.  The candidates that win move onto the real election.  I agree with it because it is a process that we need to make sure we get someone that is right for our country.

3. What is the difference between a closed and open primary?
A closed primary is a primary election where only people of the party that is being voted on can vote.  An open primary is a primary election where anyone can vote on either party.

4. Explain what absentee voting is and what the positives and negative may be with regards to it:
Absentee voting is voting before the election and it is a ballot that is mailed in.  Most people use absentee voting if they cant be there on election day due to illness or if they are out of the country, but over the years more and more people are using this. Postive side to it is that people are actually voting instead of just not. Negative side to it is that people could tamper with it.

5. What changes to your see in the way we run elections ten years from now?I think that 10 years from now everything will be done electronicly. Maybe even having an option of online voting so people dont even need to leave there houses.
6. Explain your views on money and elections with regards the amount of money that is spent:
I think that money is important to an election because without advertisements people wouldn't have a good way of knowing who their voting for. I think there should be a limit on how much money a candidate is allowed to spend.

7. Go to cnn.com or foxnews.com and find an article dealing with the election process.  Post the article in your blog and provide your viewpoints pertaining to the article.

LANSING, Mich. —

A recount has upheld Republican Kurt Damrow's narrow victory over Democratic state Rep. Terry Brown of Pigeon in last month's election.

Election officials say Thursday that Brown fell 18 votes short of Damrow in the recount for the 84th state House district covering Huron and Tuscola counties. Election officials said some precincts could not be recounted mainly because of problems related to sealing containers holding ballots.

Brown said the recount will provide opportunities to improve the election process related to how ballots are handled.

Official election results certified earlier this month had Damrow winning by 30 votes before the recount. More than 30,000 votes were cast in the race.

Brown was among the Democratic incumbents swept out of office by a strong Republican showing in the 2010 election

This goes to show that the election process is not exact. They do make some mistakes to cuz not everything can be perfect, as this has showed.

Chapter 6 Test

1.  Provide a paragraph on an important issue of your choice from Section 1:

The main point in chapter one is the right to vote. It talks about the suffrage people had to face while trying to extend the suffrage by allowing all sexes to vote. The next stage was letting the African Americans vote in the 1960's.  Finally, we took the step of setting the age limit, 18 and over were givin the right to vote.

2.  Provide a paragraph on an important issue of your choice from Section 2:

The main issue in Chapter 2 was the voters qualifications it needed to have in order to vote. There are 3 main factors: citizenship, residence, and age.  You need to also be registered to present identification in the voting. You have to be able to read and write, also have shown tax payment. These all have to be inforced during a time of voting.



3.  Provide a paragraph on an important issue of your choice from Section 3:

In Chapter 3 Suffrage and Civil Rights were the main topic. Talking about different admendments over the years. starting with the 15th: the right to vote cannot be denied to any citizen of the US because of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. It was a long battle for the African Americans to gain to full freedom they deserved.  It was especially hard in the South were many civil rights acts took place, But the African Americans did gain there voting rights in the 1960's finally.



4.  Provide a paragraph on an important issue of your choice from Section 4:

Why do people not vote?  There are some people in the US that are known as the "cannot-voters" which have not met one of many requirments to become a voter. Then there are the actual nonvoters which think that it doesnt matter and that there one vote wont do much anyways. All these millions of people that dont vote do impact the turnout.  Also things that impact the outcome is income, occupation, education, gender, age, religious, ethnic background, geography, and family. There are many psychological factors that also play into the turnout.



5. Explain voter apathy and what can be done to help it:

Voter apathy is something that is a problem, its when people dont want to vote. I think people need to set out there over commercials and ads that voting is a good thing that is a way to get your opinion across. We need to show the importance of every single persons vote, because one vote does matter.



6. Explain the qualifications for registering to vote:

The qualifications to vote require citizenship, residence, and age as the top three. Other requirements include registation for identification. People that intent to vote must also be literate, and have shown tax payment. Its not to hard to become a registered voter, so all people should do it.