Difference between revisions of "American government homework three student answers"

Revision as of 21:13, October 3, 2007

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WALLY 1. In one sentence explain why Congress is called “bicameral”.

bicameral is about 2 legislative bodies or chambers in congress it also has meaning in that there are really two different parties in the USA that dominate congress.

2. In two sentences explain what you think is Congress’s greatest power, and why.

the ability to legislate and/or ammend the constitution, as we can see daily from the endless stream of legislation pouring through congress thats completely destroying the American way of life.

3. Explain briefly how a bill is typically passed into federal law.

4. Members of the House of Representatives get nervous every ten years. Why? Explain details.

The census happens, this then can result in re-districting a state to reflect the growth and movmemnt of the population. Which can result in the gain or loss of congressman and may or may not affect a particular party's power in a state.

5. Incumbents typically win reelection. But the reelection rate for congressmen is higher than for senators, which in turn is higher than for presidents. How do you explain this?

The rational for this can't be really defined except in questionable opinion. One might imply that the president is just a figurehead of the 3 branches of government and the real power rests in congress, so therefore people work harder to keep thier parties congressman in office VS the president.

6. President Bush complains that the Democratic Senators have blocked his judicial nominees through use of a filibuster. Explain what that means, and what Republicans need to do to confirm those judges.

the "filibuster" requires 60 senators to agree(adivse and consent) to the nomination and the only way to end that is to end the 2/3's of the senate requirement for such nominations, which is never going to happen.

7. List the major powers given to Congress by the Constitution.

article 1 section 8.

8. The “Great Compromise” gave each state two senators, regardless of population. This made the addition of new states very controversial prior to the Civil War, because the Senate was evenly balanced between free and slave states. Now, Republicans benefit from this system because of all the rural, thinly-populated states. Overall, do you think this Senate structure is desirable?

I believe it will never be better than it is, and changing it will most likely make it worse.

9. As discussed in class, the hate crimes bill did pass the U.S. Senate by a vote of 60-39. Describe the significance of the fact that 60 senators support the bill. Hint: mention cloture and presidential veto.

60 senators agreeing to the bill makes it veto proof,it also means that with those 60 senators they can end the debate(cloture) and move it on to passage.

Extra Credit (worth 5 points):

10. After a string of murders committed by traveling salesmen visiting homes in a small town, it passed an ordinance requiring anyone going door-to-door to register with the town hall first. Constitutional? Explain.

NO its not, it would mostly likely fail the 1st ammendement test, but then again anything is possible in this circus of a nation.