Pennsylvania's 2008 Presidential Election Returns

1.  Obama won Delaware County. 
2.  Obama won Philadelphia County. 
3.  Obama won Allegheny County. 
4.  The Democrats added 600,000 voters to their rolls. 
5.  Obama won 54.7% of the votes. 

Pennsylvania's Congressional Districts

1.  As of 2010 Delaware county was ranked the fifth most populous county in Pennsylvania.
2.  Delaware county was created on September 26, 1789
3.  It is named for the Delaware River. 
4.  It is roughly in the shape of a diamond or a kite. 
5.  Traditionally Delaware County has been a Republican county. 
6.  Delaware County is represented by Pat Toomey. 
7.  According to the U.S Census bureau the county has 191 square miles of land. 
8.  The county seat since 1851 is Media.
9.  Delaware County is immediately west of Philadelphia. 
10.  Delaware County is the only county to have the area code 610 cover its entirety. 

Death Penalty Question Choices

1.  What is considered as cruel and unusual punishment?
2.  What are the methods of execution of a prisoner?
3.  What alternatives do we have or could we have to the death penalty?

How Washington Works

Facts:
1.  Washington is considered a town with only one interest which is politics. 
2.  Washington is open to newcomers
3.  The city seems a foreign place when newcomers arrive in the city. 
4.  The Department of Transportation is called D-O-T. 
5.  Washington DC has a population of 3.5 million people.
6.  A Killer Amendment is when a legislator disagree with the principles of a bill and offers a new one.
7.  Politicians are interested in public recognition. 
8.  Jargon is a vital element of the Washington game. 
9.  The Department of Housing and Urban development is called HUD.
10.  The political community of Washington describes the Beltway as a moat that separates the capital from the country. 

Questions:
1.  Should newcomers go into Washington more often?
2.  Is it good that the political community feels that the capital is separate from the rest of the country?
3.  Should politicians not be mentioned in the media while they are in office?
4.  Does a Killer Amendment usually pass?
5.  Why is Washington open to newcomers? 

Terry Gross Interview

Facts:
1.  Mississippi voted against person's rights for a fertilized egg
2.  Republican House voted to reduce funding for planned parenthood
3.  Margaret Sanger founded the first birth control clinic
4.  Have been troubling issues
5.  1916 was when the first birth control clinic opened
6.  Groups tend to switch sides over the years
7.  Sanger helped deliver one of her mother's babies
8.  Sanger became a socialist
9.  Child birth was very dangerous for women at the turn of the century
10.  Sanger made it a goal to give out information to women about birth control

Questions:
1.  How did police enforce the laws to prohibit women to learn about birth control?
2.  How long did the law last?
3.  What political party was in control of the government at the time of the law?
4.  How was the law passed without violating the first amendment?
5.  How did the public accept the idea of birth control?
6.  Were a lot of women at the time interested in finding out different birth control methods and what class were they mainly from? 

Committees

Pat Toomey currently serves in the following committees: 

• Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
• Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection
• Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development
• Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance, and Investment
• Committee on the Budget
• Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
• Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet Ranking Member
• Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security
• Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance
• Joint Economic Committee
• Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction
• Congressional Hispanic Conference

Facts:
1.  The United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs deals with banks and banking.
2.  The Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance is one of seven subcommittees within the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. 
3.  This committee is chaired by Democrat Mark Pryor of Arkansas. 
4.  This committee was renamed from the Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs, Insurance, and Automotive Safety at the start of the 111th Congress. 
5.  Pat Toomey is in the minority in this committee. 
6.  Pat Toomey is in the minority of the Joint Economic Committee. 
7.  It is one of for standing joint committees in Congress. 
8. The JEC is chaired by  Bob Casey of Pennsylvania. 
9.  Pat Toomey is a full member of the Congressional Hispanic Conference.

Lost in Detention

Facts:
1.  President Obama is stricter with the boarders than President Bush.
2.  Obama initially said that he was going to fix the immigration system.
3.  ICE stands for Immigration, Customs Enforcement.
4.  Law enforcement is on the offensive.
5.  Almost 400,000 illegal immigrants will be detained and deported this year.
6.  Over 1 million illegal immigrants have been detained and deported since Obama has taken office.
7.  Secured Communities is a program that involves local law enforcement to help ICE in identifying illegal immigrants related to crimes. 
8.  1,000 murders who were illegal immigrants were apprehended. 
9.  45,000 serious drug violators were apprehended.
10.  immigration detainees do not necessarily have the right to an attorney. 

Questions:
1.  How can the government create ways to immediately capture immigrants who illegally cross the boarder?
2.  Is adequate funding going towards the deportation of illegal immigrants?
3.  Will the strict enforcement of capturing illegals deter future illegal immigrants from even trying to cross the boarder?
4.  Are having deportation quotas a good or bad thing?
5.  How can the government secure our boarders better? 

West Wing Episode #2

Facts:
1.  One senator or a group of senators can prevent a bill from being voting on by continuously talking.
2.  This happens only in the Senate.
3.  Filibustering can kill a bill.
4.  When one Senator does it alone it is more symbolic. 
5.  A senator can't stop talking or sit down or else he loses the floor. 
6.  A cloture vote can kill a filibuster. 
7.  A senator can talk about anything, it doesn't have to concern the bill. 
8.  Once the senator is done talking the bill can be voted on. 

Questions:
1.  Who did the first filibuster?
2.  Will the Senate ever get rid of the filibuster?
3.  How successful are filibusters?
4.  Are filibusters used a lot?
5.  Do senators generally like the idea of a filibuster?

Issue of the Week

1.  Are children of illegals also considered illegal?
If the children are born in the United States then they are technically US citizens, and are there by given the full rights of a US citizen.  There parents though should not be considered legal, for that status they should have to immigrate legally into our country. 
2.   Are illegal immigrants that great of a threat to our country?
They are a great threat to the country in my opinion because they take away jobs from true United States citizens and they benefit from tax payers programs that they themselves do not pay into.  They also hurt our economy because most of them get paid under the table and they don't pay taxes that help make our country run.  They are also a threat because on an international level other countries might find us as weak because from their point of view we can't even control our own borders. 
3.  What happens if illegal immigrants have children that were born in the US?
In my opinion the parents should still be deported to Mexico or wherever they come from and they can have the choice to either bring their children or leave them in the US.  If they choose to leave them in the US then the children will be put in responsible foster homes and the children can be reclaimed by their parents once they legally immigrate into the United States. 

Electoral College

Facts:
1.  Corbett and Pileggi raised a plan to get rid of Pennsylvania's electoral college system and implement a new one distributing the votes to the districts.
2.  The new districts have left the Republican held districts less competitive.
3.  Nebraska and Maine are the other two states that have this system. 
4.  Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus, says that he is lobbying against this plan. 
5.  Nebraska's Republicans are looking to switching back to the old system of winner takes all. 
6.  The conservative media have argued against this plan. 
7.  Obama would have to win a majority in Philadelphia to take the votes. 
8.  Charlie Dent, Jim Gerlach, Mike Fitzpatrick, and Pat Meehan have opposed it. 
9.  They would like the new system in place for the 2012 elections. 
10.  State legislators who are on the ballot with these congressmen in 2012 may be at risk. 

Questions:
1.  Is it right for political parties to change voting procedure on trying to make their party more powerful?
2.  Should a law be passed regulating the electoral system nationwide?
3.  Is the new system more chaotic and confusing than the original? 
4.  How has this system worked in Nebraska and Maine?
5.  Is the new system worth going through the confusion of replacing the old one? 

John Boehner Article

Facts:
1.  He is the Speaker of the House
2.  He is a Republican
3.  He claims that he supports the will of the House
4.  He is states what's on his mind
5.  Believes that his and the party's view will become the same after the 2012 election
6.   Feels that the Republicans will keep the majority
7.  The Republicans have used the leverage of having control of a single chamber of Congress to slash 1 trillion dollars from the budget over the next 10 years
8.  Says that they are trying to spend less

Questions: 
1.  Should his attitude be commended or denounced?
2.  Has he kept true to his promises?
3.  Will he remain the Speaker after the next election or will he be replaced in your opinion?
4.  Will he remain Speaker if the Democrats take control of the House?
5.  How is his relationship between himself and the President?

Size of House

Facts:
1.  20 percent of the public support increasing the size of the House.
2.  In 1911 Congress determined that 435 seats were adequate for the size of the House.
3.  The average U.S. congressional district now contains roughly 640,000 citizens, as opposed to about 200,000 in 1911.
4.  There were 65 members in 1789.
5.  Some representatives find it hard to get in touch with large number of people.

Questions:
1.  Would taxes severely go up with the addition of new seats?
2.  How will the government be able to fit the new members into the already veteran representatives?
3.  Will the new representatives be looked down upon from the ones who hold the original 435 seats?
4.  What rule of counting will the government go with if they decide to increase the House?
5.  Will an expansion delay even further the process of passing bills?

In my opinion the House should in time be expanded, but I do not believe that a lot of seats should be added at once.  I believe this because a sudden change like this might throw the House into chaos,with redistricting and more elections.  The House should be expanded to the proposed number, but maybe over the course of 10 years. 

Open Secrets Response

Pat Toomey: 
Net Worth: $1,770,062 to $4,900,999
Assets: 44 totaling $2,020,062 to $5,001,000
Liabilities: 1 totaling $100,001 to $250,000
Income: 5 totaling $186,807

Bob Casey Jr.
Net Worth: From $160,020 to $578,000
Rank: 84th in Senate
Assets: 14 totaling $160,020 to $578,000

What Does This Matter?

I agree that a politician's assets should be made clear to the public, but I disagree with full disclosure on all of their assets because in my opinion politicians also have the right to some privacy and that they shouldn't be obligated to reveal all of their assets.  I also disagree with putting all of this information online I personally believe that records should be mainly kept on hand written paper.  Over time these documents should be released electronically, but I still think that paper data is more important than having only electronic copies. 

Due Process

Facts:
1.  Eyewitnesses can be unreliable.
2.  Jury tends to believe eyewitnesses statements.
3.  Only 5% of criminal cases have DNA
4.  Kevin Rojas spent 4 1/2 years in maximum security.
5.  There is only some government funding to help agencies that review innocent cases.
6.  Many people are wrongfully accused. 
7.  Were able to free 44 people who were wrongfully accused.
8.  They select people who a serving long terms. 
9.  Of the 44 people who were freed 11 were sentenced on lying eyewitnesses.
10.  8 people have been freed on DNA. 

Questions:
1.  Should the government put more funding into these agencies?
2.  What should the Justice Department do to decrease the number of innocent people who are convicted for crimes they haven't committed?
3.  Will the Supreme Court need to make a decision on a case for government to start looking into the justice system?
4.  Should the government create a separate branch of the justice department that only looks into these kind of cases?
5.  Should eyewitness testimony even be considered by a jury?

District of Columbia v. Heller

Facts:
1.  Stevens wrote a dissent against the case
2.  The five conservative judges voted against gun control.
3.  The conservative judges thought it violated the second amendment. 
4.  Stevens believed that the founding fathers would of made it clear if the second amendment referred to individuals
5.  Justices David Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, and Stephen Breyer also were the dissenting judges.
6. The Judges who won the case were Scalia, John G. Roberts Jr. Anthony M. Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel A. Alito Jr.

Questions:
1.  Isn't the Bill of Rights meant for citizens and not government branches?
2.  Are you allowed to carry a gun in the District of Columbia?
3.  Due to the outcome of this case will the issue ever be brought up to the Supreme Court again?
4.  Does this case apply to the states as well?

Supreme Court Justices

1.  President George W. Bush appointed John G. Roberts Jr. to Chief Justice. 
2.  Ruth Bader Ginsburg was instrumental in launching the Women's  Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union. 
3.  President Barack Obama nominated Sonia Sotomayor.
4.  Elena Kagan served as a law clerk to Thurgood Marshall
5.  Samuel Anthony Alito was the assistant to the Solicitor General.
6.  Clarence Thomas was admitted to practice law in Missouri. 
7.  Does a justice's seniority apply to anything while serving in the Supreme Court?
8.  Is it right to fill a Supreme Court seat with someone who is the same gender or race of their predecessor.
9.  Has the justices that President Obama been easy to confirm?
10.  What experience is necessary to serve on the Supreme Court? 

Court Cases

1.  Blueford v. Arkansas 2011:  This was one of the cases that caught my attention because it deals with the statement of Double Jeopardy, which has very indistinct lines actual practice.  This case would help clear up where and when Double Jeopardy can be used or not.  The Constitutional issues that are involved in this case is whether the defendant can exclaim Double Jeopardy for offences that were ruled in favor of him, but the court was declared a mistrial.  This case wasn't decided on yet, but I would vote that the defendant cannot use Double Jeopardy because the overall case was declared a mistrial. 
2.  Coleman v. Maryland Court of Appeals 2011:  This case caught my eye because it deals with the question whether a former Maryland Court of Appeals employee can file for a lawsuit due to the court firing him after he requested sick leave.  This issue encompasses the 11th Amendment on whether the citizen can justify the law suit.  The case has not been decided yet, but I would vote that it is constitutional for the court to deny the law suit. 
3.  Filarsky v. Delia 2011:  This case was interesting because it addresses whether an individual is precluded from claiming qualified immunities because they are a private lawyer and not a government employee.  This case raises the issue of a person's rights to certain immunities.  This case hasn't been decided on yet, but I would say that he is allowed to have the immunities. 

Roe v. Wade

Facts:
1.  The right to privacy was one of the big factors that went into whether it is legal for a women to get an abortion.
2.  The state has to have regulations for abortions.
3.  Viability is usually placed at 7 months.
4.  In the beginning abortions were very hazardous for women.
5.   The laws concerning abortion has been argued that it was the product of a Victorian social concern that discouraged illicit sexual conduct.
6.  Others argue that another human life is involved and therefore shouldn't be done.
7.  It is stated that the privacy ruling is not absolute.
8.  Some women may not be psychologically ready to care for a baby.
9.  The 14th Amendment is often referenced when dealing with abortion rights
10.  The right to privacy is never mentioned in the Constitution, but over the years the courts have decided that certain acts of privacy are addressed in the Constitution. 

Questions:
1.  Since the court ruled on it, why doesn't the individual states take jurisdiction over the matter and decide whether it is legal or not. 
2.  Does a right to privacy give a good defense to allow abortions?
3.  Should the government have stricter regulations on abortion?
4.  When exactly did the controversy over abortions begin?
5.  Would a new amendment be the only way to finalize abortions legality or does the court's decision sufficient enough?