F5

a.)  Describe one advantage that the majority party in the House and/or Senate has in lawmaking, above and beyond the numerical advantage that the majority party enjoys in floor voting. 
- With great power comes great responsibility. This being said, the fact that the majority party has as its name says, the majority, the group is able to control the debate, or control the way its run. The party is able to choose the leader, known as the Speaker of the House. The speaker of the House is the man in charge of everything.


 (b) Describe one difference between House and Senate rules that may make it likely that legislation may pass in one chamber but not the other. 
- In the Senate, rules are relatively lax. There aren't many strict ideas or procedures that need to be followed during a debate. This being said, congressmen who oppose a bill presented by someone of the opposite party have an unlimited time to debate the bill, basically kill it. This is known as a filabuster. However, in the House, meetings are taken much more seriously. Debates are brought to a complete end once they're done. This being said, once the discussion concerning a bill has been finished, members can not go back to discussing it. There is much more order in the House. Once arguments have been heard, a decision is made and the group moves on. (Unless there are special circumstances, in which case the group has more time to debate) 

(c) Explain how the difference identified in (b) can lead to the passage of a bill in one chamber but not the other. 

- Basically, if a filabuster occurs in the Senate, the debate can take almost four times as long to pass than if it were in the House. The more relaxed rules of the Senate allows for more time of discussion, meaning there's more time for allowed procrastination. Thus, bills have the potential to take longer to pass in one chamber, but in the other not so much. 

F2

•  FREE RESPONSE:

1.) Americans With Disabilities Act: The Federal Government gives money to the states to make buildings more accessible to people with handicaps. Every time new laws are passed, the amount of money/the manner in which the money is distributed. 

Preemption: Sort of related to the supremacy clause, where the Federal Government has the final say over the State Governments. This shows that the Federal Government is much more powerful than the states. 

2.) U.S. v. Lopez: Since the Constitution defines the Commerce Clause so broadly, it is easily up to interpretation. This being said, there is a lot of lee way in determining the validity of the commerce clause being used in a case of Federal or State level. 

Devolution: The central government has less power because power is being passed down 

E6

Collective Good: Also known as a common good, it is a specific good that is beneficial to a large group of people.
Free-Rider Problem: Consuming a high amount of a good without contributing to the production or the overall cost.
Selective Benefits: Benefits that motivate participation in a certain group or organization. These benefits are only given to those who participate.

Association for Creative Equality
- The purpose of this group would be to support the equality of people coming from all walks of life. This includes socioeconomic, racial, even age differences. Absolutely everyone can benefit from this group. America was founded on the principle of equality, so why is it not being enforced?  For our group, there isn't just one collective good that the group can benefit from. If we live in a society that is based on the idea of equality, then women will earn the same wages as men, and minorities will not have to worry about getting a job when someone of a different race is applying for it as well. Members of our group will be able to say that they helped change America to the way that it was intended, which would be their selective benefit. To accomplish this goal, our group will go and make the idea of this issue more known to people across the country. Far too many times people overlook the differences and the struggles people face on a daily basis. By no longer standing on the sidelines, our voices will be heard. We're not going to necessarily go stand in D.C and protest for days on end, because that would be boring and I don't have the attention span for that. Instead, we will plant the seed of our idea in the brains of people and watch it grow.

E2

What site did you use? Www.huffingtonpost.com 

2. Personally, it looks like the website is more based on facts rather than opinions. The only opinions I really see is when looking through the opinion section, as well as peoples comments on different articles and such. 

3. Overall the articles look to be more factual based. For example, the article on Disney buying the rights to the Star Wars films. 

4. Quite a few of the posts have to do with the election, and to discuss them they reference campaign slogans, ideas, and even commercial ads. 

5. I'm going to take a stab in the dark (which isn't so very dark) and say that the point of view of this website is on the more Democratic  or Liberal, side. This is obvious because there are quite a few articles on the rights of humans, for example gay marriage, which is a primary focus of the Democratic party. Or at least more so than the Republican party. 

6. The Huffington Post  makes information much more available to people all over the world. Instead of having to subscribe to a newspaper, you can go online while at work or on your phone considering more than half of America has a phone that can access the internet. 

D7

1. Obama: Obama was concerned with a more widespread healthcare, also known as Obama-Care or National Healthcare. He also emphasized the idea of saving GM. He also emphasized the rights of women, and how insurance companies should provide women with contraceptives. Not only does it prevent pregnancy, but it helps prevent breast cancer! 

Romney: Romney, as he said many times during the debate last night, is focused on energy independence. His goal is to be using a renewable energy resource, also known as coal (which doesn't make sense to me because I didn't know that coal was renewable...) Along with energy independence, Romney focused on the importance of our National Security. 

Helping Ryan: In order to help Ryan prepare for his debate, I think that he needs to directly answer questions from the people. This way, people can not criticize him, just as people are criticizing Romney for being rude and avoiding questions. 

2. Obama: "I don't look at my pension. It's not as big as yours." This quote was absolutely perfect because it showed that Obama can also be snippy just as Romney was during the last debate. In a way, it was a way for Obama to take back the power during the debate that Romney tried so hard to take away more than once. 

Romney: "I have a binder full of women" Honestly, when he said this I couldn't think of anything other than him being a masochist. No one says that. Not only does it look down upon women, but it's just RUDE. It made it seem as if he was still superior in some way. 

Helping Ryan: DON'T BE SO DEFENSIVE THAT IT'S OFF-PUTTING. There is nothing more annoying than a person who thinks they know everything to the point they're an obnoxious little jerk. There's a fine line between being educated and ignorant. 

3. Obama: Obama was relaxed and did not let his temper escalate when Romney said something either rude or untrue. He remained poise the entire time. 

Romney: The entire debate, Romney was being defensive, especially every time Obama said something that he did not particularly like. His constant moving made me feel a little bit awkward and on edge. 

Helping Ryan: Overall, the best thing for Ryan would be to not seem so defensive that he acts awkward. Also, he needs to seem confident in the things that he says. You could say something that is complete malarkey but have people believe it if you speak with confidence.

4. Within a few minutes of the debate, Romney was interrupting and not following the rules. Neither candidate really followed the rules completely, however Romney was being more rude than Obama. In the beginning, Obama seemed a little unsure of himself, as if he was feeling insecure. However, as the debate when on, it seemed as if he started to believe in himself more and became more comfortable on stage. As I said in question 3, Ryan just needs to speak with confidence. If you actually believe in what you say, other people will believe as well. 

D6

As part of the Online Team, my goal is to get the word around online about how great of a person and candidate Ryan is for president. This being said, I'm going to try to coordinate with the polling team as well as the video team so we can add some splash to our online pages! The peoples voices are important, so we should have something where they can tell us how they feel, expressing comments, concerns, or even words of motivation. This being said, my goal is figure out a way that voters can do just that.

C9

1. What policies did each candidate emphasize? Give examples of at least two. 

Obama: Obama was really big on education and increasing the amount of training for educators, and he mentioned ideals that are shared by both democrats and republicans. His goal is to have this help people get jobs. He also hopes to lower taxes and discover new sources for energy and decrease our dependency on fossil fuels. 

Romney: Romney wants energy independence, and his plan that by obtaining this over 4 million jobs will be created. He was also really intent on the stability of small businesses. 

2. What was a memorable phrase for you? Give an example for each candidate. 

Obama: "His big bold idea is never mind" Obama was Mr. Sassypants AND THAT'S FINE BECAUSE HE'S WONDERFUL 

Romney: "I like clean coal." this made me ponder for a long time, and in fact I still am. if his overall goal is to have America energy independent, then why would we use coal? would we not use things that are more efficient? 

3. What was interesting about their style? 

Obama: He was calm and collected throughout the entire debate. Even when Romney was being rude and obnoxious, Obama kept his composure and allowed him to speak even if it was on his time. Obama really tried to address the speaker, whereas Romney was more focused on making himself look good. 

Romney: Romney used a lot of hand gestures, and after a while they made me feel dizzy and weird. Throughout the entire debate, he was defensive even if he did not necessarily need to be. He also made sure that he ALWAYS got the last word in. 

4. Wild Card: 

I love Big Bird, and if he tries to take him away I'll be furious. 

Also, Obama wished Michelle a happy 20 year anniversary which was absolutely adorable!!!