When attempting to find an article on the newly appointed Sonia Sotomayor, I immediately went to Fox News. This is because Fox is known to favor the conservative political scene over the liberal, so, I thought to myself, it would be interesting to see if there are hints of aggression in the articles written about her.
Reading the article, I get the feeling that the author is attempting to portray her in a negative light, while understanding and heeding the invariable caveat which comes with bashing Sotomayor. The author him/herself states that "any Republican effort to block Sotomayor's confirmation could be risky for a party still reeling from last year's elections and struggling to gain back lost ground with Hispanics, the fastest-growing part of the population. Republicans don't want to be seen as insensitive to the historic significance of Sotomayor's nomination." The video of the announcement of Sotomayor as the pick for the justice position, on the other hand, is a perpetual stream of praise regarding her immaculate academic credentials, her experience in the U.S. court system, and even her personal life.
The article is much less enthusiastic about her meritous works, saying that "though Sotomayor's personal story and her academic and legal credentials earn her respect from all quarters, conservatives see plenty to criticize in her rulings and statements." It seems as though the author was very cautious with the beginning of the article; however, when you get in the middle and towards the end you can sense a distinct distaste for the appointment of Sotomayor. Furthermore, however, the author does do an excellent job of portraying her Hispanic hertiage as a positive factor in the eyes of the conservatives. An obvious sentiment of "no, no... it's HER we don't like, not the fact that she is Hispanic" is being radiated.
Overall, it appears as though the Republicans are cornered yet don't want to admit it. They keep "...promising a thorough and perhaps lengthy hearing process that delves into her record and judicial philosophy." However, it seems almost an idle threat since there appears to be no interest in fillabustering her nomination, and the Democrats are in more than enough of a position to confirm her on their own. The article does not fully come out and say "hey, she's a liberal!" but the careful beat-around-the-bush wording certainly screams it. The author really seems to believe that she will be a hit with the Hispanic population (for obvious reasons) and the Democrats (again, even though Obama and other sources say she is moderate, she has a perceived liberal persona).
It will be very interesting to see her true colors once she begins ruling on cases.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Congress Matters
Congress convened on Wednesday, May 20th to discuss a number of things, which is conveniently reported by www.congressmatters.com (thank-you). On first glance, I was confused and overwhelmed with the massive amount of information, but, as with the super cool magic eye books, the longer I stared at it the clearer the picture became.
Let's start by looking at a day in the House. They begin their day at 9:30 a.m., and that's when all the appropriations begin. During the four and a half hours that Congress spends in the session, every committee from the Armed Forces Committee to the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee will be begging Congress for money. Each of the appropriation requests (as well as all other Congressional matter) will go through either a full committee or a subcommittee (as reminscent of Tuesday's lecture). It is also interesting to note that under 15 of the 26 headings, it is a type of subcommittee. And, as we know, since subcommittees are where bills go to die it doesn't surprise me that most bills that enter Congress do not make it out alive.
Now lets take a look into the House's ritzy and powerful cousin -- the Senate. They meet for five and a half hours in a day, and begin at 9:00 a.m. and end at 2:30 p.m.. It appears as though they deal much less with appropriation bills, but, rather, deal more with substantive law-potentials as opposed to the House. The Homeland Security and Government Affairs really sticks out by virtue of its massive amount of text... I bet that's a good importance proxy. Also, there appears to be a high volume of health-care related bills going through the Senate.
This is more of a petty question, but why are all the committees and appropriations typed in all capital letters, but the Senate they are not? It is also interesting to note the "Recognizing May 25, 2009, as National Missing Children's Day" request, which was a "Postponed Suspension Vote." As indicated, this bill was passed in the House yet it is still awaiting Senate approval. This begs the question that we asked in lecture today "Who would vote against this?" It is interesting to be able to see this question in action, and to see the potential voters who may be *against honoring missing children.* The Senate did, however, manage to ammend two things: H.R. 627 and H.R. 2352 , which involve credit cards and job creation, respectively. Nice work Congress!
Overall, I can see how chaotic being in the House and Senate may be. Between all the meetings and casework, no wonder confusion and impassability is an evitable part of our legislative process. However, even through all this mess we still manage to get things accomplished and bills passed; thus, the system works so why try and change it?
Source:
http://www.congressmatters.com/storyonly/2009/5/27/1030/-Today-in-Congress
Let's start by looking at a day in the House. They begin their day at 9:30 a.m., and that's when all the appropriations begin. During the four and a half hours that Congress spends in the session, every committee from the Armed Forces Committee to the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee will be begging Congress for money. Each of the appropriation requests (as well as all other Congressional matter) will go through either a full committee or a subcommittee (as reminscent of Tuesday's lecture). It is also interesting to note that under 15 of the 26 headings, it is a type of subcommittee. And, as we know, since subcommittees are where bills go to die it doesn't surprise me that most bills that enter Congress do not make it out alive.
Now lets take a look into the House's ritzy and powerful cousin -- the Senate. They meet for five and a half hours in a day, and begin at 9:00 a.m. and end at 2:30 p.m.. It appears as though they deal much less with appropriation bills, but, rather, deal more with substantive law-potentials as opposed to the House. The Homeland Security and Government Affairs really sticks out by virtue of its massive amount of text... I bet that's a good importance proxy. Also, there appears to be a high volume of health-care related bills going through the Senate.
This is more of a petty question, but why are all the committees and appropriations typed in all capital letters, but the Senate they are not? It is also interesting to note the "Recognizing May 25, 2009, as National Missing Children's Day" request, which was a "Postponed Suspension Vote." As indicated, this bill was passed in the House yet it is still awaiting Senate approval. This begs the question that we asked in lecture today "Who would vote against this?" It is interesting to be able to see this question in action, and to see the potential voters who may be *against honoring missing children.* The Senate did, however, manage to ammend two things: H.R. 627 and H.R. 2352 , which involve credit cards and job creation, respectively. Nice work Congress!
Overall, I can see how chaotic being in the House and Senate may be. Between all the meetings and casework, no wonder confusion and impassability is an evitable part of our legislative process. However, even through all this mess we still manage to get things accomplished and bills passed; thus, the system works so why try and change it?
Source:
http://www.congressmatters.com/storyonly/2009/5/27/1030/-Today-in-Congress
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Monroe County Representation
Waterloo, my hometown, is the county seat of Monroe County (originally it was Harrisonville, but now that place is underwater). I found this quaint little tag-line on their website: "Monroe County is a vibrant community known for its quiet neighborhoods and bustling business districts. With many community groups, places to worship and cultural activities, we offer something for the entire family." Don't let them fool you, it really is Hicktown USA. The largest two cities sit five minutes apart: Columbia and Waterloo (each has a population of about 8,000), and the rest are villages and "unincorporated communities."
Here is some neat Monroe County historical brain food to chew on. Did you know that Monroe County was carved out of the Illinois Territory in 1816, and was named after our fifth president, James Monroe? Suffice it to say that I did not. The county also suffered some severe losses from the Great Flood of 1993 (we moved to Waterloo that year because our house in Fults was eaten by the Mississippi).
My elected State Representative is Dan Reitz (Democrat). Reitz would frequently visit my elementary and high school, so it didn't surprise me that he was still our representative. And David Luechtefeld (Republican) is my State Senator (I don't believe I've ever met this guy). Dan Reitz only possesses a high school education, yet has been re-elected continuously since 1997. He is the Chairperson of the Agriculture & Conservation Committee and the Vice-Chairperson of the Environment & Energy; Ethanol Production Oversight Committees. When looking at his chiefly sponsored bills, wildlife and natural resource conservation is heavily stressed in his agenda. As for interpreting the statuses of the bills, I'm not really familiar with the lingo presented. I'm going to take a guess and say that "Session Sine Die" means the bill died while "Public Act . . . . . . . . . xx-xxxx" means that it has been made an official act.
David Luechtefeld has been the 58th district's senator since 1995, and possesses a Bachelor's degree from SLU and a Master's degree from SIUE. The majority of his bills have the status "Session Sine Die," which may be a bad thing. However, I do realize that it is probably a much more difficult task to get things passed in the Senate than in the House. He did, however, get the "Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail" extended -- that's something, right? On a more serious note, however, a lot of his bills appear to deal with medical issues involving health care, medical malpractice, etc... He states on his website, and seems like he is trying to take personal credit for, "the Illinois Senate passed a $28 billion capital infrastructure plan today that will put thousands of Illinoisans to work." The majority of which will be spent on repairing roads, bridges, etc... which is a very good thing.
I really wish my Representative would have their own website. It is very difficult to clearly see their agenda from their IGA web space. And also "Dave" Luechtefeld's website isn't very informative and doesn't appear to be real; however, I did learn that he is the Assistant to the Minority Leader... which is pretty sweet.
While Monroe Countian politics is the epitome of the uninteresting; McClean County politics is much more relevant to my current lifestyle. And since I'll be here for another two years, it may be worthwhile to see what is going on here... because right now, I'm pretty ignorant of the local political scene. I just hope that uptown normal gets fixed soon... it impedes my walking.
Sources:
http://www.elections.illinois.gov/districtlocator/selectsearchtype.aspx
http://luechtefeld.senategop.org/
http://www.ilga.gov/house/Rep.asp?MemberID=960
http://www.monroecountyil.org/
Here is some neat Monroe County historical brain food to chew on. Did you know that Monroe County was carved out of the Illinois Territory in 1816, and was named after our fifth president, James Monroe? Suffice it to say that I did not. The county also suffered some severe losses from the Great Flood of 1993 (we moved to Waterloo that year because our house in Fults was eaten by the Mississippi).
My elected State Representative is Dan Reitz (Democrat). Reitz would frequently visit my elementary and high school, so it didn't surprise me that he was still our representative. And David Luechtefeld (Republican) is my State Senator (I don't believe I've ever met this guy). Dan Reitz only possesses a high school education, yet has been re-elected continuously since 1997. He is the Chairperson of the Agriculture & Conservation Committee and the Vice-Chairperson of the Environment & Energy; Ethanol Production Oversight Committees. When looking at his chiefly sponsored bills, wildlife and natural resource conservation is heavily stressed in his agenda. As for interpreting the statuses of the bills, I'm not really familiar with the lingo presented. I'm going to take a guess and say that "Session Sine Die" means the bill died while "Public Act . . . . . . . . . xx-xxxx" means that it has been made an official act.
David Luechtefeld has been the 58th district's senator since 1995, and possesses a Bachelor's degree from SLU and a Master's degree from SIUE. The majority of his bills have the status "Session Sine Die," which may be a bad thing. However, I do realize that it is probably a much more difficult task to get things passed in the Senate than in the House. He did, however, get the "Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail" extended -- that's something, right? On a more serious note, however, a lot of his bills appear to deal with medical issues involving health care, medical malpractice, etc... He states on his website, and seems like he is trying to take personal credit for, "the Illinois Senate passed a $28 billion capital infrastructure plan today that will put thousands of Illinoisans to work." The majority of which will be spent on repairing roads, bridges, etc... which is a very good thing.
I really wish my Representative would have their own website. It is very difficult to clearly see their agenda from their IGA web space. And also "Dave" Luechtefeld's website isn't very informative and doesn't appear to be real; however, I did learn that he is the Assistant to the Minority Leader... which is pretty sweet.
While Monroe Countian politics is the epitome of the uninteresting; McClean County politics is much more relevant to my current lifestyle. And since I'll be here for another two years, it may be worthwhile to see what is going on here... because right now, I'm pretty ignorant of the local political scene. I just hope that uptown normal gets fixed soon... it impedes my walking.
Sources:
http://www.elections.illinois.gov/districtlocator/selectsearchtype.aspx
http://luechtefeld.senategop.org/
http://www.ilga.gov/house/Rep.asp?MemberID=960
http://www.monroecountyil.org/
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Steele vs. Obama
Michael Steele, the RNC Chairman, stated that “We are going to take the president head-on. The honeymoon is over. The two-party system is making a comeback, and that comeback starts today." He goes on to say that they, however, will not make the comeback "shabby" and "classless" -- the way the Democrats attacked George Bush. While Steele's advisers insisted that the Republican party should attack a weaker Republican figure such as Nancey Pelosi or Barney Frank, Steele stands firm in his decision to directly attack Barack Obama. Steele states that "we are going to challenge those policies that we believe are wrong, and we are going to do so without apology and without a second thought.”
This is a very interesting article, not in terms of its tangible content, but, rather, in terms of the exposition of a lot of the inner workings of our political system. It serves as an excellent case study of the behavior of political parties.
For one, we can see that after a political party has been decimated by the opposition, it still has the ability to pick itself back up and keep fighting. This clearly shows the pendulum-like motion that our government exhibits because of our two-party system. The Republicans (even this early after their defeat) are fighting to push the Pendulum of Power back to the right.
Furthermore, we can see the amorphous qualities of political parities being exposed. The Republican party is attempting to generate a new facade by making it appear as the "underdog." Steele admits that “Our success will not be found in dusting off old campaign manuals from the 70’s and 80’s. Our success will be found in speaking directly to the American people about a rebirth of the American Dream for this generation and generations to come." And also that “The Republican Party is again going to emerge as the party of new ideas."
I personally believe that it will take a lot of effort and time (on the part of the Republicans) to get the American people to distrust Obama. This belief hinges on the idea that the Obama cult-following is very powerful, and, as factions are often considered equalizing apparatuses, will not take lightly to attacks. However, a lot of this depends on the performance of Obama himself... whether he himself can keep his promises and images may determine the fate of his party.
Very cool article!
This is a very interesting article, not in terms of its tangible content, but, rather, in terms of the exposition of a lot of the inner workings of our political system. It serves as an excellent case study of the behavior of political parties.
For one, we can see that after a political party has been decimated by the opposition, it still has the ability to pick itself back up and keep fighting. This clearly shows the pendulum-like motion that our government exhibits because of our two-party system. The Republicans (even this early after their defeat) are fighting to push the Pendulum of Power back to the right.
Furthermore, we can see the amorphous qualities of political parities being exposed. The Republican party is attempting to generate a new facade by making it appear as the "underdog." Steele admits that “Our success will not be found in dusting off old campaign manuals from the 70’s and 80’s. Our success will be found in speaking directly to the American people about a rebirth of the American Dream for this generation and generations to come." And also that “The Republican Party is again going to emerge as the party of new ideas."
I personally believe that it will take a lot of effort and time (on the part of the Republicans) to get the American people to distrust Obama. This belief hinges on the idea that the Obama cult-following is very powerful, and, as factions are often considered equalizing apparatuses, will not take lightly to attacks. However, a lot of this depends on the performance of Obama himself... whether he himself can keep his promises and images may determine the fate of his party.
Very cool article!
Introduction
Hi,
My name is Nick, I just turned 21 years old, and I'm a senior here at Illinois State. In August I will graduate with a Bachelor's degree in economics with a minor in math. But then in order to prolong (and, of course, indulge my interests) entering the nonexistent job market and becoming a real person, I will begin the Master's program in economics here at ISU. I hope to then enter a doctoral program *somewhere* in the US.
My reason for taking POL 106 is two-fold: (1) ISU didn't believe me that I learned this stuff through SLU in high school and (2) I forgot all of this stuff anyway. I have taken POL 105, 141, 151 and 254, and found them all to be very interesting classes. Let's go 5 for 5.
I'm a pretty boring person, but in my spare time I enjoy discovering new music artists, staying up late watching movies, and biking.
My name is Nick, I just turned 21 years old, and I'm a senior here at Illinois State. In August I will graduate with a Bachelor's degree in economics with a minor in math. But then in order to prolong (and, of course, indulge my interests) entering the nonexistent job market and becoming a real person, I will begin the Master's program in economics here at ISU. I hope to then enter a doctoral program *somewhere* in the US.
My reason for taking POL 106 is two-fold: (1) ISU didn't believe me that I learned this stuff through SLU in high school and (2) I forgot all of this stuff anyway. I have taken POL 105, 141, 151 and 254, and found them all to be very interesting classes. Let's go 5 for 5.
I'm a pretty boring person, but in my spare time I enjoy discovering new music artists, staying up late watching movies, and biking.
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