Bonds

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bond_(finance)
http://www.ehow.com/video_4981375_finance-bonds.html

The Electoral Process

I have mixed feelings towards the electoral process. I like the system that gives states a certain number of electoral votes. However, I think that the number of votes assigned to a state should be more equal or split into regions. This would make candidates campaign more in the less populated areas and turn their attention to the whle U.S.

Voter Apathy

I think that voter apathy is a serious problem in our country. With the percentage of voters dropping, we have less influence on the election. Electing a president is the most important part of our government. The president is the one who has the power to fix the problems that we struggle with nationally. If people don't care about who is elected president then they don't care about the good of their country.
To reduce voter apathy, I believe that candidates should spend a portion of their campaign talking about the importance of voting. There are different organizations that are also trying to get more people to vote. The biggest problem is that most people are not educated in our government. There are a lot of people who don't know what issues are being presented or how they are represented. The fix to this problem would be for voters to talk to and encourage nonvoters to take the time and vote. It is an simple process that makes a big impact.

Ch. 6 Review

1. I think an important issue of Section 1 is the five stages of expanding suffrage. In the beginning only white males of certain religious belief. The first stage was that religious qualifications disappeared. Then citizens weren't supposed to be denied the right to vote because of race or color, but there were other ways African Americans were kept from voting. Third women were allowed to vote, and then African Americans were given a full role in the electoral process in all states. And lastly, no state can set the minimum voting age at more than 18.

2. An important issue in Section 2 was voting registration. It is an important issue because it is what keeps voting organized and fair. Registration is a porcedure of voter identification intended to prevent fraudulent voting. All States except North Dakota use voting registration. It is also useful to have poll books to keep track of qualified voters in each precinct, and they need to be purged every few years to eliminate people who are no longer able to vote

3. I think that a very important issue from Section 3 is the Voting Rights Act of 1965. This act applied to all elections held anywhere in this country. It made it so African Americans could vote no matter what. It eliminated poll taxes and literacy tests. It also gave the federal government more control to oversee the voting processes.
4. An important issue in Section 4 is the problem of nonvoters. In ancient Athens idiots were citizens who did not vote or take part in public life. Well many Americans don't vote. There are lower numbers in off-year elections. Many people who do not vote, can't. They are resident aliens who are not allowed to vote. There are so many people who just don't vote because they think their vote doesn't matter, but it actually does.

5. Voter apathy is the problem of many eligible voters that don't vote. Our country has the lowest rate of voter participation of any democracy in the world. Many people don't vote because they never have, and their parents never did. They are teaching their children that voting doesn't matter. But what if everyone thought this way, then no one would vote. I think that in school we need to teach kids from a young age how much their vote matters. Show them the consiquences of everyone not voting and what our country could turn into.
6. Every State has qualifications to vote. One is citizenship, aliens are denied the right to vote in the United States. The Constitution doesn't say that they can't vote, so any State could allow them to at any point. Another qualification is residence. In order to vote, you need to be a legal resident of the State in which you wish to vote in. The third qualification is age. The minimum age for voting can not be any mor than 18. Another qualification in all States except North Dakota is voting registration

Minor Parties

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prohibition_Party
http://www.prohibition.org/
The Prohibition party has been around since 1869. It is referred to as the oldest third party. A pro for this party are they are opposed to the consumption of alcohol which would make our country better but the con is that it is impractical.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_and_Freedom_Party
http://www.peaceandfreedom.org/home/
The Peace and Freedom party was founded in 1967. They support the protection of the environment. A pro to this party is that they have good beliefs. A con to this party is that they don't have a solid support group.

Political Parties

Throughout the history of the United States, there have been two main political parties. Starting with the Federalists and Anti-Federalists, the parties have developed over the years to the current system - Democrats and Republicans. Although the freedom to create new political parties exists, no other party has been able to gain the support they need to develop. These minor parties usually focus on specific issues and lack the following to win a national election. The majority of the voters believe their vote will count only when it is used to select a candidate from one of the two major parties. Many of the Founding Fathers had a negative view of political parties. Despite their objections, many of these men found themselves affiliated with a political party during their careers in government. As parties came into being, one would gain and hold prominence for many years. In our history, five major party eras have emerged. From 1796 to 1828 the first political parties were formed. During the time when our country was in its formative years, two opposing factions arose. Each was concerned with how the new government was to be organized. The Federalists believed in a strong central government and supported the ratification of the Constitution. Additionally, they supported industrialization, a national bank, and government aid to build roads and canals. The Anti-Federalists - who were eventually called the Democratic - Republican Party, held the opposite views. The Anti-Federalists strongly supported the rights of the states. They were opposed to a national bank and favored farming over manufacturing. They were firmly against the government helping to further industrialization by building roads and canals. The Federalists won their cause for the Constitution. However, efforts by the Democratic-Republican Party to influence people to the Anti-Federalist cause eventually weakened the Federalists. By 1824, the party was virtually non-existent.
I would be republican because i support their beliefs.

Current event Oct. 26

Federalism...again

The Federalist Party was the first American political party, from the early 1790s to 1816, the era of the First Party System, with remnants lasting into the 1820s. The Federalists controlled the federal government until 1801. The party was formed by Alexander Hamilton, who, during George Washington's first term, built a network of supporters, largely urban bankers and businessmen, to support his fiscal policies. These supporters grew into the Federalist Party committed to a fiscally sound and nationalistic government.Political parties had not been expected when the Constitution was drafted in 1787 and ratified in 1788, even though both Hamilton and Madison played major roles. Parties were considered to be divisive and harmful to the Constitution. No similar parties existed anywhere in the world. By 1790, Hamilton started building a nationwide army. Realizing the need for vocal political support in the states, he formed connections with like-minded nationalists and used his network of treasury agents to link together friends of the government, especially merchants and bankers, in the new nation's dozen major cities. His attempts to manage politics in the national capital to get his plans through Congress, then, "brought strong responses across the country. In the process, what began as a capital faction soon assumed status as a national faction and then, finally, as the new Federalist party."

Federalism

1. Federalism is defined as a system of government in which power is divided between a central authority and constituent political units. To me, federalism is a type of government that has a central power and distributes the rest of the power among different geographical places.
2. Expressed - power delegated to National Government, Implied - power given to Congress, and Inherent - power belongs to National Government
3. The division of powers is the way that the powers are divided between the national and state governments. This is important because neither the states nor national government have too much power.
4. The Supremacy clause is the section of the Constitution that states that no law will supercede the Constitution. This is to ensure that the power of the government will be greater with one division.
5. http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/rightsandfreedoms/a/federalism.htm : This site gives the explanation of how a federal government works and is easy to understand. The site also contains many links to continue learning. This is also a government site so the information is valid.

Unemployment claims fall to lowest level since April

Last week there was a decrease in the number of unemployment benefits. This is the lowest that it has been in six months, which encourages people that the recession may be ending. There had been predictions that the claims would drop from 428,000 to 419,000. The actual decrease saw the claims drop to 391,000 for the week of Sept. 24. The number of claims before the recent drop had been hovering around 400,000 since April.
This article may be a sign that the recession could begin to end. The article instills inspiration and hope to the reader. While there are still over 3 milion people unemployed, the number is dropping. The unemployment rate has also dropped some. This trend will hopefully continue over the next few months.

Bill of Rights blog

IV. The right of search and seizure states that a person should not have their property searched unless found to have probable cause and information on what is to be searched and where to search for it. I agree with this amendment because people should have a right of privacy. Authorities aren't allowed to barge into a person's house and start rummaging through all of their belongings. The person has the right to their own personal space and would only lose that right through their own doings. The authorities also have to state what they are looking for and what area they are searching in.

VI. The right to a speedy trial states that the accused has the right to an impartial jury, witness testimony and a defense. I agree with this amendment because we have used this for many years without changing it. This amendment assures that both arguments testify to an impartial judge and jury. They can also bring in witnesses to help fortify their argument. This process usually comes away with a fair outcome and retrials rarely occur.