Thursday, January 31, 2013

G2

a) One formal power of the President is the power to conduct diplomatic missions and make foreign policies for the U.S. Another constitutional power the President has is the power to deploy troops in foreign countries as Commander in Chief.

b) One formal constitutional power of Congress is the power to declare war. Another constitutional power is their power to regulate commerce with foreign nations and the states.

c) One informal power that the president has which gives him advantage over congress in foreign policy making is the power to use the media to publicize events. Another informal power he has is the power to attend meetings with leaders of foreign countries, giving him the advantage to make agreements and informal treaties of his own with these nations.

d) The power to use the media to his advantage helps the president because he can influence the public to take certain stances on foreign issues by expressing bias and persuading the viewers. The power to attend meetings with foreign leaders gives him the advantage to make personal agreements and informal treaties of his own with these leaders, deciding issues of trade and compromising regulations on trade, along with how closely or harshly these trade laws are enforced.

1. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/21/us/politics/obamas-foreign-policy-goals-appear-more-modest.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

2. President Obama has not achieved all that he promised to the people of America in his first term of his presidency, however he hopes to once again turn his focus towards these original goals that won him the nobel peace prize, only in a less ambitious and more realistic way. President Obama wishes to secure a strong American influence in Asia, and break from the U.S's dependence on the middle east for gas and oil, along with to reduce the amount of deployed nuclear weapons in the hands of countries worldwide. Most of all, Obama wants to reestablish America's role as the leading power in the world.

3. The president has the power to deploy troops, he could use this power to force other nations to give up their nuclear weapons if they refuse to agree on a compromise having to do with the amount of deployed nuclear weapons a country is allowed to have.

4. The president can influence the public through the media, and help reach a unified country that restrains from participating in international trading with countries that refuse to get rid of their deployed nuclear weapons.

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Questions and Amendments

Rep. Hibbard- Question: In section 4(c), will this bill establish the “newly established committee,” or will another bill do that?


Amendment: In section 5(a), change “depending on the amount of money” to “any sum of money exceeding $1,000”

Rep. Hibbard- Question: In section 2(b), what does meaningful and substantial way mean?

Rep. Hibbard- Amendment: In section 3, define Green Tobacco Sickness as a type of nicotine poisoning caused by the dermal absorption of nicotine from the surface of wet tobacco plants, and Byssinosis as a lung disease caused by exposure to dusts from cotton processing, hemp and flax.

Representative Hibbard- Question: Are you going to make the process of obtaining a gun license more difficult?


Amendment: In section 4(b), change “have not been part of organizations such as the National Rifle Association,” to “are not part of organizations such as the National Rifle Association” to allow room for individuals who have experienced a change of heart on the issue of gun ownership.

Rep. Hibbard- Question: Specify how many shootings in the U.S involved automatic weapons
Amendment: In section 2 number 4, change “basic handguns” to “semi-automatic weapons”


Rep. Hibbard- Question: In section 2(b), why do you feel English and Mathematics need to be stressed more?

Rep. Hibabrd- Question/suggestion: Section 2 is a little repetitive, for example you state “To ensure no person is sentenced to death by execution by the federal courts” and “To enforce rules upon the federal court that prevents them from convicting an individual to execution.”

Representative Hibbard- Question- How will you make up for all the money lost from cutting pill prices by 50%?

Amendment: In section 2(b), under purposes, change “increase sexual education for young women” to “change sexual education for young women and men.”

Rep. Hibbard- Amendment: In section 6 number 3, add “such as obtaining a DUI” to give an example of an action that could result in the removal of financial aid.

Rep. Hibbard- Question: In section 2 after the quote, specifically state what the quote has to do with your bill and how you will make the court process different.

Thursday, January 10, 2013

113th Congress

1st session

H.R. 89

To define marriage nationally as a union between two people of the appropriate age, regardless of sex and sexual orientation.

In The Senate Of The United States

January 10, 2013

Ari Hibbard introduced the following bill; Which was referred to the Ethics Committee.

A Bill

To define marriage nationally as a union between two people of the appropriate age, regardless of sex and sexual orientation.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled

Section 1: Short Title.

This Act may be cited as the Gay Marriage Act.

Section 2: Findings and Purpose.

Findings: Congress finds that-

Marriage should be defined as a civil union. Sex is not an involved aspect of the marriage process. Marriage depends on preferences, and since people have different preferences, and attractions to certain sexes is a preference, the criteria for marriage can not ban same sex unions.

The Declaration of Independence declares all men to be created equal in the United States of America.

The separation of church and state is practiced in the United States government.

Purpose: The purposes of this act are to-

Establish marriage as a union between two people regardless of sex or sexual orientation.

Protect equal rights and uphold the nations status as treating all men as equals.

Fully establish a separation between church and state.

Treat marriage as a national concern for the federal government to deal with.

Section 3: Definitions.

In this act-

Union- The term union means the action of joining together or being joined together, especially in a political context.

Full Faith and Credit Clause- This clause declares that states within the United States have to respect the public acts records and judicial proceedings of every other state.

Legitimize- This term means to make official

Sexual Orientation- This is defined as the pattern of attraction to persons of the opposite sex, same sex or both sexes.

Comply- This term means to meet specified standards.

Section 4: Provisions

The Gay Marriage Act will establish marriage as a concern of the federal government, and furthermore relieve state governments of all duties pertaining to marriage.

The Gay Marriage Act will add to the Full Faith and Credit Clause by making gay marriage legitimized in each state, forcing each individual state to recognize and respect a couple's status as "married," regardless of sex or sexual orientation.

The Gay Marriage Act will specifically refer to gay marriage in the constitution as a legal union between two people.

The Gay Marriage Act will protect same sex couples from any discrimination within public institutions refusing to participate in the union of the couple.

The Gay Marriage Act prohibits discrimination in public facilities of any sort against gay couples, and any who refuse to comply will be charged with a misdemeanor.

Enactment Clause: 

This bill will become effective upon the signature of the President.




Tuesday, January 8, 2013

1. The problem i want to solve is discrimination against homosexuals. I believe homosexual people should be allowed the same chance at happiness as anyone else. They should be allowed to marry whomever they please, and it should not be left up to the states . The states can't decide which individuals earn the right to participate in marriage and which don't, and the federal government can't either for that matter. Gay marriage needs to be legalized nationally so that the country can more fully live up to the words written in the constitution that state all men are created equal. It is not a state matter, it is an individual matter, and the choice of one individual to marry another has no effect on other people, so the qualifications of marriage should not be decided by anyone besides the people involved.

2. An existing law that relates to the legalization of gay marriage is that if a gay couple gets married in a state where gay marriage is legal and then travel to a state where gay marriage is not legal, that state does  not have to recognize their marriage. This is called the Full Faith and Credit Clause.

3. My law will fully recognize gay marriages nationally. This means that states will not have the choice whether gay marriage will be legal within their boundaries or not, as well as states will have to fully recognize the validity of gay marriages. They will be treated just like any other marriage, and no public institutions will have the ability to deny the official union of a couple.

4. I would propose my bill in the ethics committee.

5. http://www.house.gov/committees/
http://www.shmoop.com/equal-protection/gay-marriage-debate-due-process-clause.html