Legislative Preview & How a bill becomes a law.

Before previewing all this I had almost no specific idea of how a bill became a law. All I knew was that it started in the House or Senate and had to be approved by them and then it would go to the head person and they could pass it or veto it. I now know that there are several processes that have the bill has to go through in order to pass through each area. I also learned that if the head person vetos it then it can still go back and be passed by 2/3 vote in both the House and the Senate.

Ch. 7 Quiz

1. Explain the difference between hard and soft money:
Hard money comes from fundraising and soft money come from donations.
2. What is the electoral process and is this something that you agree or disagree with and why?
The electoral process involves nominating, primary election, and then the final election. I agree with it because it has been working for America.
3. What is the difference between a closed and open primary?
A closed primary is where only members of the party that is having the primary are allowed to vote and an open primary is where anyone can vote.
4. Explain what absentee voting is and what the positives and negative may be with regards to it:
Absentee voting is when a person has a ballot that they send in through the mail rather then going to the voting station to vote.
5. What changes to your see in the way we run elections ten years from now?
I think that there will be more and better ways to electronically vote and possibly we might just be able to vote online and not have to leave our homes.
6. Explain your views on money and elections with regards the amount of money that is spent:
I think that way too much money is spent on elections because the candidates use tons of resources to get their name out there so people know about them and its just over done.
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.

'SIOUX FALLS – Rep.-elect Kristi Noem today announced the appointment of Joshua Shields to serve as her Communications Director in her congressional office in Washington, DC.

“Communicating my positions on the issues and details about the work done on behalf of South Dakotans is an important job; Joshua has the background and experience to ensure it is done effectively.  Joshua was a key part of our campaign and I am glad to have him continue on our team,” said Noem.

“I am honored to serve Rep.-elect Noem, and the people of South Dakota, in this new role.  I look forward to helping inform South Dakotans of the great work Rep.-elect Noem will do for our state,” said Shields.

Shields, originally from Rapid City, most recently served as Noem’s Campaign Manager.  Previously Shields worked on Senator John Thune’s 2002 and 2004 U.S. Senate Campaigns and in his U.S. Senate office in Washington, DC as a Legislative Assistant.  Shields also worked as a Legislative Assistant for U.S. Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi and as a press aide for the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions.  Shields got his start in government and politics as a summer intern in 2001 for then-Congressman John Thune while attending Gordon College.'

He sounds like he should do a good job and focus on his job.

Ch. 6 Test

1.  Provide a paragraph on an important issue of your choice from Section 1:
This section talks about the extending of suffrage and how there were 5 steps to getting that done. The 5 steps are: 1. Extend voting rights. 2. The 15th Amendment which was intended to protect any citizen from being denied the right to vote because of race or color. 3. The 19th Amendment which prohibited the denial of the right to vote because of sex. 4. In the 1960s the federal legislation and court decisions focused on securing African Americans a full role in the electoral process. 5. The 26th Amendment which says that no State can set the minimum age for voting at more than 18 years of age.


2.  Provide a paragraph on an important issue of your choice from Section 2:
This section talks about voter qualifications. The three main qualifications are citizenship, residence, and age. These mean that you have to be a citizen of the United States. You also have to have residence in the State you are planning to vote in. Finally you also have to be at least 18 years of age to vote.


3.  Provide a paragraph on an important issue of your choice from Section 3:
This section talks about suffrage and civil rights. This section then is talking about all the acts and whatever else was done to try and get equal rights for women and African Americans. The beginning of it all started with the 15th Amendment, which stated that the right to vote cannot be denied to any citizen of the United States because of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. The next big this was the Civil Rights Act of 1957, which set up the United States Civil Rights Commission. The next act came in 1964 titled: The Civil rights Act of 1964, which outlawed discrimination in several areas, especially in job-related matters. The next act came the following year, The Voting Rights Act of 1965. This made the 15th Amendment a truly effective part of the Constitution because it applied to all elections held anywhere in this country.


4.  Provide a paragraph on an important issue of your choice from Section 4:
This section talks about voter behavior. When talking about voter behavior its talking about all of the non-voters in the United States. The main reason behind why so many people don't vote is because the can't. This is because they are either resident aliens, too ill or physically disabled, and people who had to travel suddenly.


5. Explain voter apathy and what can be done to help it:
Voter apathy is when a potential voter ends up not caring about an election and chooses not to vote. The Sociological factors that greatly influence this are income, occupation, education, gender, age, religious, ethnic background, geography, family, and other groups. The psychological factors that greatly influence this are party identification, candidates, and issues.




6. Explain the qualifications for registering to vote:
The qualifications are: Citizenship, Residence, and age. Citizenship means that you have to be a legal citizen of the United States in order to vote. Residence is you have to be a legal resident of the State in which you wish to cast a ballot. Age is that you need to be at least 18 in order to cast a vote, unless otherwise lowered by your current State of residence.

Political Parties

The Republican party first came to power in 1860 with the election of Abraham Lincoln to the Presidency and oversaw the American Civil War and Reconstruction. Early Republican ideology was reflected in the 1856 slogan "free labor, free land, free men." "Free labor" referred to the Republican opposition to slave labor and belief in independent artisans and businessmen. "Free land" referred to Republican opposition to plantation system whereby the rich could buy up all the good farm land and work it with slaves, leaving the yeoman independent farmers the leftovers.


The Democratic Party evolved from Anti-Federalist factions that opposed the fiscal policies of Alexander Hamilton in the early 1790s.As the American Civil War broke out, Northern Democrats were divided into War Democrats and Peace Democrats. The Confederate States of America, seeing parties as evils, did not have any. Most War Democrats rallied to Republican President Abraham Lincoln and the Republicans' National Union Party in 1864, which put Andrew Johnson on the ticket as a Democrat from the South.


I plan on following the Republican party because I have grown up following them and I plan on keeping that way.

Election Results

After watching and reading all the articles there was a definite Republican takeover of the House. I am glad that there was this takeover because if all of them do like they said they were gonna do then there should be a change in government spending, taxes, and whatever else. I also like the fact that Kristi Noem made it in over Stephanie Herseth because I didn't like Herseth anyway and this time around she used a lot of attack ads mainly about one topic: speeding tickets.

As for the measures, the two main ones that I was curious about and really cared about I should say were the smoking ban and medical marijuana. I personally do not smoke and so therefore I was pleased with the passing of the smoking ban because it is annoying that almost wherever you go there are people smoking. I was unsure about the medical marijuana however because I knew that it has good uses to help people but there still are the possibilities for it to be abused.

Federalism Round Up assignment

In your blog:  Pick two areas from each of the three sections in Chapter 4.  Write a paragraph on those areas and what you have learned in regards to each area.  You should have six total paragraphs


Section 1:
I learned about the powers of the National Government. These powers fall into three different types of powers: expressed powers, implied powers, and inherent powers. Examples of each respectably are the power to coin money, to prohibit race-based discrimination, and to conduct foreign relations.


I also learned about the powers that are reserved to the states. Some examples of these powers are: forbidding persons under 18 to marry without parental consent, or those under 21 to buy liquor. It can ban the sale of pornography, outlaw prostitution, and permit some forms of gambling and prohibit others. They can also require that doctors, lawyers, hairdressers, and plumbers be licensed in order to practice in the State. It can confiscate automobiles and other property used in connection with such illicit activities as illegal drug trafficking or prostitution. It can establish public schools, enact land use laws, regulate the services and restrict the profits of such public utilities as natural gas, oil, electric power, and telephone companies, and do much, much more.


Section 2:
In this section I learned about how only Congress has the power to admit new states. The Constitution places only one restriction on this power and that is that a new state can not be created by taking territory from one or more of the existing states without the consent of the legislature(s) of the state(s) involved.


I also learned that Federalism has a lot of intergovernmental cooperation. One of the best known are the grants-in-aid programs. These programs are grants of federal money or other resources to the states and/or their cities, counties, and other local units. Many of these governments are regularly strapped for funds and so these grants help them with everyday functions.


Section 3:
I learned that states, with the consent of Congress, may enter into interstate compacts-agreements among themselves and with foreign states. There are now over 200 compacts in effect currently and two of them have all of the 50 states joined within it.


I also learned about extradition, which is the legal process by which a fugitive from justice in one state is returned to that state. extradition is designed to prevent a person from escaping justice by fleeing a state.

Federalism Assignment

1.  What does Federalism mean by definition and what does Federalism mean to you?
         Federalism is a system of government in which a written constitution divides the powers of government on a territorial basis between a central, or national, government and several regional governments, usually called states or provinces.
         Federalism to me is just the understanding of the government we are living under currently.

2.  List and describe the three powers of the National Government.
         Expressed powers-power to lay and collect taxes, to coin money, to regulate foreign trade and interstate commerce, to raise and maintain armed forces, to declare war, to fix standards of weights and measures, to grant patents and copyrights, and to do many other things.
         Implied powers-the regulation of labor-management relations, the building of hydro-electric power dams, and the building of the 42,000-mile interstate highway system. It has made federal crimes of such acts as moving stolen goods, gambling devices, and kidnapped persons across State lines. It has prohibited racial discrimination in granting access to such places as restaurants, theaters, hotels, and motels. These are only a few of the thousands of examples.
         Inherent powers-The power to regulate immigration, to deport undocumented aliens, to acquire territory, to grant diplomatic recognition to other states, and to protect the nation against rebellion or other attempts to overthrow the government.

3.  Explain the division of powers and why it is important?
         It is important because the national government and local governments are in control of the same group of people but the local governments can do what is in best interest of their designated area. the national government controls everything across the nation but doesn't get involved with the local government's operations for the most part.

4.  What is the Supremacy Clause and what is its function?
         The Supremacy Clause creates a hierarchy of laws. Local law (city and county charters and ordinances) must yield to State law. State law must yield to federal law. At the top of the hierarchy is the United States Constitution, which stands above all other forms of law in the United States.
         It joins the National Government and the States into a single governmental unit, a federal government.

5.  Find a site on the Internet that deals with Federalism.  Take 10 minutes and review that site.  Provide the link and provide some of the useful information that you found to help you better understand what Federalism is and how it works.

http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/rightsandfreedoms/a/federalism.htm

This site lists several powers that are exclusive to the national and state governments and ones that are available to both governments.

Gov. Assignment #1

Personally I am annoyed already by all of the political ads, especially the ones from Stephanie Herseth Sandlin and Kristi Noem going back and forth about voting on Nancy Pelosi. I haven’t gotten into it that much to decide which candidate that I like. But I would have to say Kristi Noem because she is Republican and I haven’t been happy with Stephanie when she got in before.

            Eventually I will be able to vote on who I want for congress, president, etc. But right now all I can really do is read up on the candidates and possibly promote the one I’m in favor for.

Only for Government

This blog is only for Government class so please do not post on here.