Due to a powerful typhoon the Philippines are in need of drastic help. They are going to need many different types of relief. They will need help to regain food, shelter, water, clothes, and hygienic needs. In order to do this people need to be willing to help or to contribute. The most reliable way to help is through a charity. It is the easiest way to help people from all over the world can provide relief by donating money to a charity who will help a certain cause. The most important things to take care of is to find a way to help them regain energy so that they can have heat and shelter, provide clean, drinkable water, as well as cleaning up all of the debris and dead bodies. It is crucial that they find a place to bury the bodies since so man people died.
I felt that the charity Mercedes found in which you donated money for wells to be built was a very good idea. That way we are helping to provide long lasting help, not just something that will temporarily fix the situation. I also thought that the best invention idea was the straw that filters the water as you sip through it. It is also nice that those are already invented and people could easily donate to a charity to have many water filters sent to the Philippines immediately.
Sunday, November 17, 2013
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
10.31.13
ESSAY 3 The methods that have changed the Constitution over more than two centuries have come from either formal or informal methods to add amendments. Some formal methods include ratification of an amendment by the Legislative Branch and then ratification by the states, 3/4 of which must agree to ratify. Another option is 2/3 of the states can call for a Constitutional Convention which can be approved by 3/4 of the states and bypassed by the legislature, this method is called a National Convention. There are many more informal methods for Constitutional change than there are formal. The main informal process is Judicial interpretation. The Supreme Court has the ability to decide whether laws are constitutional or not. The Constitution never gave the court this power, therefor judicial review was created so that they could check the other branches. Another informal method is found within the electoral college. At first the president wasn't elected by popular vote, state legislature would elect people to vote for candidates. But now these delegates have little to no power, and vote for whoever their state is voting for.
Informal methods are more commonly used than formal because they are easier to use and require less consensus from a large group of people. To amend the Constitution Congress has to have 2/3 majority to send it to the states, but with informal methods, a much smaller group of people are needed to change anything.
ESSAY 4 The framers of the United States Constitution created a federal system. Federalism is the distribution of power in an organization between a central authority and the constituent units. In other words our national government is organized so that two or more levels of government have the same amount of formal authority over the same people/areas. Categorical grants, federal mandates, and selective incorporation have all been used to increase federal power relative to the states. A categorical grant is a grant designed for a specific purpose, they are the main source of federal aid to states and local governments, but the state must spend money in accord with national government wishes. They are "strings attached" grants. A federal mandate is when a federal government tells it's states what policies to implement. Lastly selective incorporation is when federal courts can overturn state and local practices.
States use block grants and the Tenth Amendment to increase their power of the government as well. Block grants are considered to be "no strings attached". This means the states can use the money however they feel useful. The Tenth Amendment reserves power to the states and to the people, it is being used to argue that power should be returned to the states. This means that the government cannot hold something over the states if it is not in the Constitution.
Informal methods are more commonly used than formal because they are easier to use and require less consensus from a large group of people. To amend the Constitution Congress has to have 2/3 majority to send it to the states, but with informal methods, a much smaller group of people are needed to change anything.
ESSAY 4 The framers of the United States Constitution created a federal system. Federalism is the distribution of power in an organization between a central authority and the constituent units. In other words our national government is organized so that two or more levels of government have the same amount of formal authority over the same people/areas. Categorical grants, federal mandates, and selective incorporation have all been used to increase federal power relative to the states. A categorical grant is a grant designed for a specific purpose, they are the main source of federal aid to states and local governments, but the state must spend money in accord with national government wishes. They are "strings attached" grants. A federal mandate is when a federal government tells it's states what policies to implement. Lastly selective incorporation is when federal courts can overturn state and local practices.
States use block grants and the Tenth Amendment to increase their power of the government as well. Block grants are considered to be "no strings attached". This means the states can use the money however they feel useful. The Tenth Amendment reserves power to the states and to the people, it is being used to argue that power should be returned to the states. This means that the government cannot hold something over the states if it is not in the Constitution.
Friday, November 8, 2013
Watergate: G. Gordon Liddy
General Watergate link:
http://www.pbs.org/johngardner/chapters/6c.html
G. Gordon Liddy:
G. Gordon Liddy's was an FBI who helped organize and direct the Watergate Scandal, he was the chief operative for the White House during Nixon's presidency. He was the leader of the five men who made at least two separate entries in May and on June 17th of 1972, although Liddy never entered the Watergate complex, but he did admit to supervising the second break-in to a room in the Watergate Hotel.
He testifies that the break-ins were not seeking political intelligence but that the team was simply looking for photographs linking the future wife of President Nixon's White House counsel, John W. Dean, to call-girl ring. Liddy says that the floor plan of the Democratic Party headquarters at the watergate office building showed him that he had been deceived about the mission of the burglars. He refused to testify to the Senate committee investigating Watergate.
Liddy was convicted for his role in the Watergate break in, conspiracy for the Daniel Ellsberg case, contempt of court, and burglary. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison and $40,000 in fines to pay. Although President Jimmy Carter commuted his sentence to only eight years. He was released on September 7th after spending a total of four and a half years in prison since many others convicted of the scandal faced less harsh conviction.
After being released from prison Liddy wrote an autobiography, Will, which sold millions of copies and was later made into a TV show. He led a popular talk radio show and started up a private security and counter surveillance firm. He also became quite the actor, appearing in multiple movies and TV shows. He is still alive at the age of 82.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G._Gordon_Liddy
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/onpolitics/watergate/liddy.html
http://www.pbs.org/johngardner/chapters/6c.html
G. Gordon Liddy:
G. Gordon Liddy's was an FBI who helped organize and direct the Watergate Scandal, he was the chief operative for the White House during Nixon's presidency. He was the leader of the five men who made at least two separate entries in May and on June 17th of 1972, although Liddy never entered the Watergate complex, but he did admit to supervising the second break-in to a room in the Watergate Hotel.
He testifies that the break-ins were not seeking political intelligence but that the team was simply looking for photographs linking the future wife of President Nixon's White House counsel, John W. Dean, to call-girl ring. Liddy says that the floor plan of the Democratic Party headquarters at the watergate office building showed him that he had been deceived about the mission of the burglars. He refused to testify to the Senate committee investigating Watergate.
Liddy was convicted for his role in the Watergate break in, conspiracy for the Daniel Ellsberg case, contempt of court, and burglary. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison and $40,000 in fines to pay. Although President Jimmy Carter commuted his sentence to only eight years. He was released on September 7th after spending a total of four and a half years in prison since many others convicted of the scandal faced less harsh conviction.
After being released from prison Liddy wrote an autobiography, Will, which sold millions of copies and was later made into a TV show. He led a popular talk radio show and started up a private security and counter surveillance firm. He also became quite the actor, appearing in multiple movies and TV shows. He is still alive at the age of 82.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G._Gordon_Liddy
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/onpolitics/watergate/liddy.html
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)