...directly elect the president of the United States. The president is actually chosen by the Electoral College, a group of 538 electors. These electors are distributed amongst the states based on the number of senators and representatives it has in Congress. A candidate must then try to gain a majority of electoral votes from these states to win the election. For many years, the Electoral College has been debated. Some argue the Electoral College is unneeded, while others believe it is necessary. The Electoral College is a necessary system because it ensures the selection of a qualified president, contributes...
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...barriers minor parties face is debate rules. Debates have formed a large part of the United States electoral process since the 1990s but for the majority of states parties must have cleared 15% in pre-debate opinion polls to take part. The debates are crucial for party publicity and grassroots support but are only traditionally open to the presidential and vice presidential candidates of the two main parties. To take part in the debates candidates also have to be on enough ballot cards in enough states to make it possible to win an electoral college majority, for independent third parties this is often difficult as it usually requires self-funding for registration fee's and the like, such as Ross Perot in 1996 who was a multi-millionaire and able to fund his own campaign and therefore representation on ballots in every state. Since it is often due to the publicity of the debates that parties gain gain funding these limitations tend to put minor parties on the back-foot even before the major campaign starts as they have limited resources and means of publicity to gain enough finance and support for both the ballot registration fees and the 15% in the election polls. The second limitation on third parties is the winner-takes-all lack of proportional representation in the electoral college. Proportional representation is virtually non-existent in the federal system and is rarely even found in the states. This complete lack of minor party representation means that these parties have...
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...world, underage drinking has become a global phenomenon especially in the developed countries such as in the US. As a result, the Oklahoma State has taken various measures to curb the vice. This is the reason behind the enactment of the Underage drinking laws-Social Host Law. The law was enacted in order to; a) Minimize the circumstances that lead to death of a minor or suffering physical injuries b) To enhance concentration at school especially for the minors c) To make societies responsible for their young people and develop virtues that would lead to productive work in future d) Promote healthy social life Body (Translation: I will begin by outlining the aspect of underage drinking, Oklahoma’s Social Host law and specifically where Cody’s law emanated from) 1. Consumption of alcohol by the young people in the US is prohibited especially for people who are below 21 years. However, despite the minimum age that is set for people who buy alcohol being 21 years in all the states, the legal requirements varies significantly. For instance: a) Wagenaar and Melvin argue that some states have exceptions whereby they allow some individuals who are below 21 years to consume alcohol (37). This indicates that the laws are not uniformly implemented across the states. b) In Ohio State, the social host law has not been limited to the drinking parties by the underage. Therefore any action that is undertaken by an underage guest such as the procession off alcohol is perceived to trigger...
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...Minor Parties: Past and Present Throughout the history of American politics, there have been countless political parties that have formed, disbanded, and evolved, and nearly all of them have helped shape today’s American political structure in some way. These groups have made significant contributions to American politics and have both directly and indirectly impacted election outcomes. In both the 1912 and the 1968 presidential elections, minor party candidates not only secured a significant amount of support, but influenced drastic change in political views and processes in the United States. In addition to these historical examples, minor parties continue to have a significant role in American politics, and in the 2012 Presidential Election, the Libertarian and Green Parties both nominated candidates that had potential to make a significant impact. Many scholars today believe minor parties only to be “spoilers” in presidential elections; they say that they merely take enough votes away from one candidate to cause the other candidate to win the election (Trautman, 2014). While this does occur, minor parties have a much greater impact on American politics than as merely election spoilers. They often present issues that are important to the American populous that may be overlooked by the large political machines that are the Democratic and Republican parties. After the major parties study these issues, often they consider them in the presentation of their party platform to...
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...FACTS: The parties to this case are Elian Gonzalez, a minor child, by and through Lazaro Gonzalez, as temporary legal guardian as Plaintiffs verses Janet Reno, Attorney General of the United States, Doris Meissner, Commissioner, Robert Wallis, District Director both for United States Immigration and Naturalization Service, all know as the Defendants. Lastly Juan Miguel Gonzalez, the minor’s father, Intervener. The parties to this case are seeking the remedy of asylum for Elian Gonzalez. Plaintiff is a minor child, Elian Gonzalez, from Cuba, a survivor of a capsized boat at sea. His mother did not survive. Once in the US, Plaintiff was placed in the care of his great uncle, Lozaro Gonzalez. Against the wishes of Elian’s father, the great uncle and Elian filed for asylum. This application for asylum was rejected and deemed legally void by the INS. The appeal was dismissed because Elian’s father did not apply for the asylum. According to denial the father is the only one who can speak for Elian. The Plaintiff asked the Attorney General to overrule the INS decision and the Attorney General decided not to overrule the decision. Plaintiffs appealed to the Federal District court. The Plaintiffs argued that the appeal to the District Court violated 8 USC § 1158 and the 5th amendment due process clause. The District Court turned down both claims and dismissed the appeal. ISSUE: 1. Whether Elian Gonzalez, a six-year old child as a minor child or a...
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...Political Parties and the Electoral Process Dr. Michael Keith Smith U.S Government- POL 110 Strayer University March 7, 2015 Political Parties and the Electoral Process The relationship between political parties and the electoral system has always been a significant one. Federalists and Anti-Federalists formed political parties, each seeking control over the destiny of the new nation that was emerging from the Revolution. It was not long into the foundation of the United States that the protection of the people became a divergent issue among the country's first political parties. Federalists and Anti-Federalists clashed over how to best represent the needs of American citizens in the one document that would become the highest law in the nation — the Constitution. The issue of particular controversy was a component that has since become the mainstay of protecting the interests of the people: the Bill of Rights (Auerbach, 2015). This paper will take an in-depth look at the nature of political parties, as well as the two-party system that has evolved in the United States since its creation in 1776. An ideological difference between political parties is the contrasting visions that constitute their distinct mission and actions as well as the electorial program. While other democracies have numerous active political parties, in the United States there are but two major parties taking part in national elections—the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. ...
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...Underage Drinking at Home: Big Problem Rabia Badar University of Phoenix COMM/215 December 10, 2012 Carol J. Amato, M.A. Should minors be allowed to drink alcoholic beverages in their homes with their parents’ consent? Underage drinking is a big problem throughout United States. The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 required all states to raise their minimum purchase and public possession of alcohol age to 21. This Act helped decreased the cause of deaths of minors because minors didn’t purchase it. This law only prohibited the minors from purchasing it but not from drinking it. The president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, for example, accused the university heads of "not doing their homework" on the relationship between the drinking age and traffic fatalities (Tetelbaum 2009). The university was accused they said the deaths only occur between the ages of 18 – 20 but actually the deaths were occurring 16years or younger due to underage drinking. They believe underage drinking shouldn’t be allowed even if it’s at home. What are we really teaching our kids? This is something I talk about all the time at school with my kids and encourage parents to discuss with their kids. The more we discuss this topic with our generation they more they will understand the importance of underage drinking. Underage drinking costs Americans taxpayers approximately 61.9 billion dollars annually and in 2000, only 71 million was spent on prevention. Whereas 1.8 billion dollars...
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...Political, Social, and Economic Environments of the United Kingdom December 2, 2010 Political, Social, and Economic Environments of the United Kingdom Historically, the United Kingdom has been one of the dominant world powers. While much of their power has declined over the course of the last 100 years, the UK remains a relevant western power in today’s world. The reason for this are varied between their political and legal history, social environment and economic status in today’s world. Political and Legal History Prior to 1707, the nations that currently make up the UK were each separate states. On May 1, 1707, the UK was formed by the unification of the kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Wales by the Act of Unions (Duncan 2010). This act formally joined all three kingdoms located on the British Isle under the same crown and government, with England remaining the most powerful entity within the UK. Also formed under the Act of Unions was the Parliament at Westminster, the UK’s main political body and rough equivalent to the United States’ Congress (Duncan 2010). Nearly 100 years later, the kingdom of Ireland joined the UK under the Union with Ireland Act of 1800 (Office of Public Sector Information). While Ireland would remain a part of the UK for over 120 years, they would leave the UK on December 6, 1921 as part of the Anglo-Irish Treaty (Factindex.com 1). During Ireland’s exit from the UK, the subdivisions of Ireland had to each approve the move to leave the...
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...PA 499 Unit 5 assignment Case Briefs Debbie McQueen August 30th, 2015 State v. Holm Supreme Court of Utah 137P.3d 726 (2006) Facts: Rodney Holm an active member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, legally married Suzie Stubbs in 1986. He later entered into marriages with Wendy Holm and Ruth Stubbs, Suzie’s 16-year old sister. The marriages to Wendy and Ruth were solemnized in religious ceremonies only and not otherwise registered with the state. Before reaching age 18, Ruth Stubbs conceived two children with Holm. The state of Utah charged him with violating the state’s bigamy law and with having unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. After being convicted, he appealed on the grounds that his conduct was not bigamy and that, in any event, the bigamy law was unconstitutional under state and federal law. Issue: Whether Rodney Holms was appropriately convicted for bigamy and unlawful sexual conduct with a minor? Whether Holm’s behavior violated Utah’s bigamy statute and whether the statute is constitutional? Rule: A person is guilty of bigamy when he knowingly has a husband or wife or the other person has a husband or wife and that person intends to marry another person or cohabits with another person. Utah code section 76-7-101 Analysis: Holms was guilty of bigamy because he purported to marry Ruth Stubbs, after he was already married. The “purports to marry” language under the bigamy statute is broad enough to include...
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...Political Parties and the Electoral Process Clara O Ebulu U.S. Government - POL 110 December 13, 2014 Ideological differences between America’s Political Parties Political ideology is known to be a certain set of ethical ideals, principles, myths, doctrines, or symbols of a social movement, institution, and class that explains how society should work and offers their political and cultural blueprint for a certain order. In America, we have various parties including two major political parties known as Democrat and Republican. One ideological difference between the Democrat and Republican parties is their view on personal security. The Democrat party believe that governments should not only secure the U.S. borders but to also advance on personal security. This belief has been translated into policies that extend health care access to as many citizens as possible, raising the minimum wage and expanding unemployment insurance as a result. Republicans on the other hand, vigorously opposes this use of government, insisting that we should not be compelled to our brothers’ keeper. A second ideological difference between the two parties is personal liberty. Democrats believe that governments should not only secure our borders but also advance our personal security. As reflected in recently enacted state laws, that belief translates into policies extending health care access to as many as possible, raising the minimum wage and expanding unemployment insurance (Finkleman...
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...It is generally believed that every person can make a binding contract as they wish (Maclntyre, 2008). But because the contract is a legally binding agreement, the law recognises some specific groups who either have not reached the maturity or do not have the capacity to fully understand the nature and extend of agreements that they make with others. Therefore it is important for every organisation and individual to understand that a number of persons have a restricted capacity to contract. These are minors, persons of unsound mind, drunks and corporations (Owens, 2001). All others can make a binding contract as they please. Beale, Bishop and Furmston (2008) argue that the law of minors` contracts is very difficult and space precludes a full attention of it. The Family Law Reform Act 1969, s. 1 explains that a minor is a person who has not reached the age of 18. Until the Act came into effect on 1 January 1970, the age of majority was 21 (Owens, 2001). Contracts made by minor fall into three categories and these are valid contracts, voidable contracts and void contracts....
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...gamble all their life savings away, and smoke as much tobacco products as they’d like, Eighteen year olds can now do everything their parents do except legally consume alcohol. If they are caught in public drinking alcohol they will be arrested. College students and soldiers are being forced to drink unsafely in the privacy of their homes because they are not legally able to purchase or consume alcohol. Minors are surrounded by their drunken peers every day and want to join in on the fun, but can’t legally drink. They are forced to drink heavy amounts of alcohol in a short amount of time, and this leads to alcoholism, drunk driving, heart and liver disease, and alcohol poisoning. Over time lowering the legal drinking age to eighteen will greatly reduce binge drinking which will result in less alcohol related deaths. Binge drinking is having ten or more drinks on one occasion. Binging can lead to violence, alcohol poisoning, drunk driving, and alcoholism, all of which can be deadly. This has become a major problem in the United States. The majority of binge drinkers are minors, people under the legal drinking age of 21. Over the last five years, the number of students binge drinking went up three to five times, which means the number of alcohol related deaths per year is also rising. This is a new problem that was a result of raising the drinking age from eighteen to twenty-one. If it was lowered back to eighteen there would be no need to binge drink. Over time binge drinking will...
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...MLDA to 18 For years upon years there has been a huge debate on whether or not the minimum legal drinking age should be twenty one or eighteen. In the year of 1980 a law was passed that changed the minimum legal drinking age from eighteen to twenty one in order to decrease the amount of car crashes and fatalities and to keep alcohol out of the hands of an "irresponsible" age group (Ruth Streeter). Since the raising of the drinking age, more harm has been done than good and the drinking age should be lowered back down to eighteen, given some restrictions and changes. While each state was given the option of whether or not to support this act, the government threatened to cut highway funds if the states kept their drinking age to eighteen. It is strange that an eighteen to twenty year old can vote for our Nation's leader, risk their life fighting for our freedom, and be viewed as an adult, yet still cannot sit down and have a few drinks. At the age of eighteen one is considered an adult. This title of "adult" basically gives people the opportunity to make life changing decisions like voting, buying tobacco products, getting married, signing contracts, serving on juries, having abortions, and being drafted into or joining the military. Scientists claim that the pre-frontal cortex of the brain in which controls judgment is not fully developed until the mid twenties, which then leads to people against lowering the drinking age to claim that opportunities new "adults" take on are...
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...To: Meegan Zickus Attorney From: S S Paralegal Re: Jane Doe Asylum Case Date: April 21, 2013 CITATION Gonzalez v. Reno, 86 F. Supp. 2d 1167 (S.D. Fla. 2000) FACTS The parties of this case are Elian Gonzalez with Lazaro Gonzalez and Attorney General Janet Reno. Six-year-old Cuban national Elian Gonzalez, on November 25, 1999, was rescued by two Miami anglers who found him floating on an inner tube several miles off Fort Lauderdale. Elian was transferred to a United States Coast Guard vessel so he could be transported to a nearby hospital for treatment for dehydration and hypothermia. Elian's mother, Elisabeth Brotons, drowned during the voyage from Cuba. The INS temporarily paroled him into the care of Lazaro Gonzalez, his great uncle, in Miami. On January 19, 2000, Lazaro Gonzalez, instituted alternatively as interim temporary legal custodian, of Elian Gonzalez, a six-year-old child, against the Attorney General, the Commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service ("INS"), and other federal defendants. The complaint challenged the INS's refusal to accept and adjudicate two asylum applications that Lazaro submitted with respect to Elian and an essentially identical application that bore Elian’s signature. PROCEDUAL HISTORY On January 27, 2000, the government filed a motion to dismiss or, in the alternative, for summary judgment. The district court heard oral argument on the government's motion on March 9, 2000. On March 21, 2000, the district court...
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...views. As far as the results from Advocates for Self Government, I do agree with me being a Centrist. I like what they stand for and how they support individual freedom. 2. Which political party do your results (regardless of whether you agree with them or not) most closely align with? Please justify your selection. According to my responses to the Political Responses, the party I am closely related to is the Republicans. I have never thought of myself as being a Republican. The Republican Party is a group of mostly wealthy people who I feel look out for the rich and overlook the poor. 3. Which one of these minor parties could you see growing in popularity in future years, and why? Do feel free to select from other minor parties that are not on the list. The third party I see growing in the future would be The Working Families Party. This party is composed of people who I feel has the people in mind when it comes down to democratic views. The Working Families Party works for everyone. . They feel that politicians are held accountable to working people, instead of big-money backers. They also feel that everyone is entitled to get healthcare when it is need it, kids should be able to good schools, and we the working people should have a secure retirement. The Working Families Party believes that the social, economic, and political progress of the...
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