C7

As campaign manager, I have so far done the following:

1. Written out the key issues of our platform and made a google doc containing them.
2. Checked in with the print- ad team and the speech writing team
3. Found a wonderful picture of Brennan to use in our ads
4. Kept people focused on winning
5. Made brownies and handed them out along with Christen during our meet and greet event in the gym lobby.
6. Nell and I brainstormed and decided that we are going to get teachers to endorse Brennan and also sports teams. We also event-planned! But that is on Nell's blog so it doesn't get redundant.

Our Platform

• Middle Class Bargain
• Higher income should not pay a lower tax rate. Not crazy... but just equal
• Increased Welfare
• Make College affordable
• Pell Grants
• Withholding federal aid to colleges that do not work to cut down tuition cost
• Educating on social security
• Strengthening
• Long term (this is your parents in 30 years)
• Social Issues
• Same-sex marriage
• Pro-Choice
• Immigration
• Dream Act
• Health Care
• Environment
• Education

Endorsements

• Sports
• Volleyball
• Field Hockey
• Basketball**
• Football**
• Teachers
• Shields
• Cooke
• O Grady
• Horne
• Sohn

C6

Economic Left/Right: -4.00
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -5.13

I felt like this quiz had some very bias questions or would just present facts. For example, an advantage of a one party state being that it avoids arguing between parties. Well that's TRUE-- but it doesn't mean I want a one-party state. It all seemed very sneaky to me. 

C5

If 10 was a strong interest and 1 was little interest, how would you rank yourself with the following topics?

Healthcare___
Foreign Policy ___
Economic Issues ___
Gun Rights ____
Women's Rights ____


Would you say that women are human enough to make their own decisions in regard to their own bodies?

C4

I would like to be any of these jobs (not listed in priority, and I could not pick just two)

1. Campaign Manager. I like winning. And I am good at it.

2. Event Planner. I am the definition of organized. But, I have field hockey after school so I do not know when these events would be?

3. Print Ad Mavens- I like making ads! Also, I am superb at putting up signs right in front of water fountains where everyone can see them.

C3

My fellow citizens of America,
    Our Constitution holds that every citizen be treated equally under the law. Every citizen. Our laws are to be blind to all physical differences. The differences between a man and a woman are physical, no more than that. The time has come when people are questioning a woman's right to equality under the law. Republicans casually debate if women deserve equal pay for equal work, equal healthcare, or equal privacy. They think women are less deserving.
   Under the Democratic presidency, healthcare reforms have been passed that prevent insurances from charging more to women simply for being women. Contraception is covered by private insurances with no out-of-pocket costs, making safe-sex available to more groups of people. Our opposition wants to go back to the days when birth control was restricted. Well-woman visits are also available, providing preventative screenings for breast cancer. Men, may I remind you that this is good for YOU. These are your mothers, your wives, girlfriends, sisters, coworkers, daughters, and grandmothers. You love them, and you need to stand with them in defiance against prejudice. When my grandmother got pregnant with my grandfather at 19, she was almost shipped off to the Caribbean to receive a back-alley abortion because a safe procedure was not an option in America. That was 50 years ago. Abortion has been interpreted to be legal for now, but that does not mean that a Republican in office couldn't change that.
    One in every six American women is the victim of attempted or completed rape. That is 17.7 million women. If we were to build a city for these rape victims, it would be the seventeen times the size of Dallas, Texas. The Violence Against Women Act has been expanded in the last four years. We, as a party, vow to never let America go back to the days of blaming the victim. Rape is not okay. Legitimate and rape do not belong in the same sentence. Rape is rape, and offenders will be prosecuted to the harshest degree. It is not so with the Republican party.
 Ladies and gentleman, this issue is not casual. The future of America is greatly at stake. We could become a country where a woman must break the law to get proper health care. Other countries could look at us as an unequal society, a place where women are not valued. It is up to you. I urge you all to do what you can do--vote. Vote for the right choice. Vote for equality. It is up to you.

C2

My question for the Virginia Senate candidates:
    Would you push for same-sex marriage to be legal recognized in Virginia? How about in America?

A huge difference between the Democratic and Republican platforms is stance on same-sex marriage (hence my question above). Acceptance of gay people has been more affiliated with the Democratic party, and their platform this year did not change that. They said that, "gay rights are human rights." However, I was expecting a more gusto paragraph that proposed to make same-sex marriage in the United States. On the other end of the spectrum, the Republican platform made an argument defending "traditional marriage" as it is scientifically proven to be the "best for children." The platform does define traditional marriage as a union between one man and one woman. In the same way that I thought that it was interesting for the Democrats to  not be more gun-ho, the last line of the paragraph in the Republican marriage is also intriguing, "We embrace the principle that all Americans should be treated with respect and dignity." Both platforms seemed to try to be a little bit moderate, but in the end both platforms offered different views on same-sex marriage with the Democratic platform endorsing it and the Republican platform opposing it. 

C1

1. I got a 80 on personal issues and a 20 on economic issues making me a left-handed liberal
2. Aren't there other issues? I feel like this quiz asks a lot about general topics but doesn't get specific. Also, what are the current laws regrading national id cards? Is that just for voting?

B8

1. The first important principle decided in McCullough v. Maryland is that the national government has supremacy over the states. This is important because federal laws such as civil rights acts, environmental requirements, etc cannot be ignored by the states. The second important principle is that the national government has certain implied powers that go beyond the enumerated powers in the constitution. Back then, this was important to the constitutionally-approved National Bank. Creating it was an implied power

2. The full faith and credit clause states that any public acts, records , or judicial proceedings of one state must be recognized by all other states. The exception to this is that Defense of Marriage Act, which allows states to disregard gay marriages if they so desire. The privileges and immunities part of the constitution states that every citizen will receive that privileges and immunities of the state that they are in. For example, you pay the Virginia sales tax while you are visiting there even if you live in Vermont. One exception to this rule, and there are many, is that not every citizen gets to pay instate tuition for whichever public university they attend... that only applies to their home state.

B7

A.

1) In a federal government, no one government (state or federal) has complete power. It's a nice balance I think. This way the federal government can not take advantage of the states... but the states are still forced, in a way, to be united. For example, the national government could not pass an amendment without the consent of 2/3 of the states. This ensures that amendments are beneficial for all people. At least 2/3 of people

2) A unitary government, such as France, holds many advantages. There is more unity in the nation as the federal government makes all the policies. In America, laws can differ between states which can be confusing. However, in a unitary government there is no such confusion.

B.

1) Only the national government can declare war on other countries or enter into treaties. It is good that only the national government can do this because it would create great division between the states if they could go to war separately. Also, if a state went to war against Great Britain and then they lost... Great Britain would own one state and probably want more. It would overall be bad.

2) Only the States can ratify amendments. If the national government could ratify amendments without the consent of the states... Congress may loose touch with the needs of their people. So it is good that the amendments must go through both the state and the national governments. Keeps everybody straight.

3) A concurrent power is the power to make roads. It is necessary that both the national government and the state governments have the power to do this because different types of roads can be required. For example, the national government need not be concerned with the Meadowcreek Parkway... but the national government should take care of high ways. In the same way, the state of Virginia should not be in charge of the upkeep of interstate 64.

B6

a. An amendment can proposed in Congress. For it to then be presented for ratification it must be voted on and receive a 2/3 vote in both houses of Congress.

To be ratified, an amendment must either be voted "yes" by 3/4 of State Legislature or voted "yes" by 3/4 of State Conventions.

b. The constitution can be informally amended by the development of technology. For example, when the constitution was written, the President did not have the power of dropping an Atomic Bomb because they didn't exist. Because he/she is commander in chief, however, that power became part of the constitution when the technology was developed.

The constitution can also be informally amended by Judicial Review. For example, the Supreme Court decided in Plessy vs. Ferguson that discrimination was legal...but many years later in Brown v. Board found it unconstitutional.

c. Informal methods are used more frequently than the formal methods because they are much simpler.

B4

When a group of people decide that it is in their best interest to break free from their leaders and establish their own leadership, it is common courtesy to explain to the former leaders why their subjects are choosing to leave.

The intended audience is both the King of England and Parliament. Writing this document was the official way of jump-starting America. They had to make sure England knew that they were serious.

It's interesting to me that all the grievances are directed towards the king...when wasn't it parliament who was passing all the laws and taxes that the colonies didn't approve of?

B2

After 9/11, the federal government took many actions to prevent another terrorist attack. Whether or not these actions led to more protection or simply invasion is up for debate.

Post 9/11, the US government captured over 600 prisoners of war and detained them at Guantanamo Bay. Without following the Geneva Convention, these prisoners were tortured and held without a trial.

The Patriot Act was also passed by Congress and President Bush. This act allows for any citizen's information to be taken by the government on the premise that it is related to terrorism- no search warrant required

Also, in the aftermath of 9/11, airport security was cleared to use full body scanners that show the passenger's bodies in full, naked view.

The airport security tactic bothers me because there are other options. technology was offered that showed the bodies as big blobs, just as effective but less invasive, yet the government chose the graphic one. I think that is a clear invasion of personal privacy. I therefore oppose this change

A8 multiple choice question

Who has the power to voteto impeach the president?
a. The senate
b. The vice president
c. The house of representatives
d. The supreme court
e. The people

A6

Ellie Kayton

Robinson

AP Gov

August 29, 2012

My Constitutional Amendment

Note: Article II Section 1 Paragraph Three and Amendment Twelve are superseded by Amendment 28

From this day forth, the Electoral College will be dismantled. The election of the President of The United States will be held as a general election. Every citizen will have one vote, and the candidate with the most votes will win the position.