Monday, October 29, 2007

Open Congress

Blog Assignment: Go to www.opencongress.org and find out about your representative. 1-2 paragraphs on what you learned and it’s impact on you.
Don’t know your member??? Go here http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/


My representative is the Democrat, Bad Sherman. He is 54 years old and is from Los Angeles. He is on his 6th terms as a congressman. I didn't realize how many votes were taken and how many times he voted on issues. He introduced a Bill about Intellectual Property Rights, but it did not get past the House of Representatives vote. He is for the children health care bill introduced by Hilary Clinton.

Surprisingly, his top contributor to his campaigns is from the finance, real estate, and insurance companies. Besides being busy in the House, he is in much of the news and seems to be doing a good job.

I don't think what I've learned about my representative impacts me at all. Though I feel he has done a good job, its not something life altering or shocking. Though he helps pass laws and can help change the country, i feel that my local councilman had done a lot more to contribute to the community.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Interactive Constitution

http://www.constitutioncenter.org/constitution/

"The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services, a Compensation, which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office" (Constitution of the United States).

This means that the Judges are not elected to the courts, can hold their position as judge for as long as they are able and on "good behavior." Judges will be awarded for their noble work as long as they stay true to justice. If they engage in illegal actions, a judge could be impeached and their privileges are taken away.

I believe that it is important to have one well studied in law to decide the many issues that people have. It is more important that the Judicial Branch keeps the checks and balances system and keeps checking to make sure todays practices are constitutional. Unethical and unconstitutional acts need to be pointed out and made illegal. Judges need to be obedient to the law and not their personal beliefs. In the past, justices have made unlawful decisions based on their political or personal beliefs. This practice is wrong and they could be impeached for being untrue to the United States judiciary system. Good, uncorrupted judges can make important decisions that can change the world.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Candidate

Talk about who was selected as your ideal candidate. Were you surprised? Does your candidate have a chance of winning? Why or why not?

Rudy Giuliani was selected as my ideal candidate. There were only two issues out of eleven that I did not agree with him on. I agreed with Giuliani about Immigration, Taxes, Stem-Cell Research, Health Care, Abortion, Line-Item Veto, Energy, Marriage, Death Penalty and disagreed on the Iraq War and Social Security.

I was not surprised that Giuliani was the ideal candidate because my family is mainly Republican and influences my beliefs. My candidate does have a chance of winning. Many people favor him because he was the mayor of New York City during the time of September 11th. He may be one of the few Republican candidates that can compete in the polls with Hilary Clinton (or the democratic candidate), though I believe most likely a democratic will be elected into office because of the current president's approval rating and support.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Bankruptcy Reform Bill of 2005

Assignment: Google one of these 3 bills and write one to two paragraphs about how they served the interests of the industry that supported it. Facts come from CNN.com.

what they are:
Bankruptcy chapter 7: most popular type of bankruptcy, straight bankruptcy or liquidation
Bankruptcy chapter 13: bankruptcy involving the reorganization of funds

The Bankruptcy Reform Bill of 2005 made it harder for people to file under bankruptcy. This benefited the credit card companies, because sometimes with chapter 7 bankruptcy, the debts owed to the companies would be forgiven and the companies would be left with nothing. The bill keeps people from cheating the system and not paying back their debts. Creditors can now contest both chapter 7 and 13 bankruptcy cases. The creditors can inquirer more profit and be more successful due to this bill.