PolitiVote » Senate

S. Res. 188: a Fabulous Piece of Sports Writing

njessen — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 05:51:06 +0000

On June 17, 2009, S. RES.188 was passed. This resolution congratulates the Las Angeles Lakers for winning the NBA championship of 2009. I am deeply gratified to read the stirring account of this team’s victory over Orlando! I am also gratified to read the stirring account of how this team defeated the Houston Rockets and the Utah Jazz! Evidently, we have some Laker fans in the senate. A regret I have is that the bill passed without amendment. I am disappointed that Senator Hatch as my duly elected representative didn’t do his job and amend the bill with how the Utah Jazz beat the Lakers in a regular season game.
The usefulness of the resolution ends right here! I am absolutely baffled why such a frivolous piece of legislation is passed by the senate which ought to spend its time on more important issues. This isn’t the reason I elect my senators. I am confident that Californians, laker fans though they may be, would rather have legislation of more consequence. I have seen other bills in which Congress bestows honors on members of the entertainment industry. The recognition and praise that the fans give these entertainers ought to be sufficient.
This piece of legislation is the reason for Politivote. We need to question the legislation being considered and passed at both the federal and state levels. If someone has a reason for supporting S. RES. 188, they have the freedom to support it. They also have the freedom to express their support through commenting. I, on the other hand, am disturbed by the bill because it represents a distraction from the business of the Senate.

Encouraging Inclusion: “Democracy Restoration Act of 2009 S.1516”

njessen — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 07:26:40 +0000

A bill was introduced in the senate and referred to the judiciary committee which insures the right to vote to those who have been excluded from voting in federal elections due to a felony conviction. This bill provides that if the person has served his or her sentence, and they are on probation, they have the right to vote.
I applaud Mr. Feingold and others who are responsible for creating and promoting this bill. It is my sense that most people would be in favor of this bill, but the issue of the rights of former prison inmates has been overlooked in the past. S.1516 is long overdue.
If someone has served their time and is preparing to integrate into society, S.1516 makes it possible to accomplish this by insuring these former inmates the right to vote in federal elections. When someone has finished a prison sentence, it is the hope that he or she will again assume their role as responsible citizens. The alternative is that the person will repeat the offense and will be sent back to prison. If this happens, there are no winners. If a person does not have the right to vote, it will be difficult for them to assume their place as citizens of this nation.
Through out the history of this country, many groups of people have faced exclusion from the democratic process based on their race and their thnicity. In recent years, we have seen these barriers struck down. S.1516 removes the barrier to inclusion for former prison inmates. Inclusion is at the heart of democracy. If certain groups of people are excluded, we cannot claim to be a democratic nation. For a democracy to truly function, everyone must have a voice.

H.J.RES.45: Bad Money Management

njessen — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 04:50:38 +0000

Recently, H.J.RES.45 was passed by both the Senate and the House of Representatives. This resolution increased the limit on the public debt. When I read this piece of legislation, I grow concerned. I don’t know a single entity responsible for money that would increase your credit limit if you can’t pay off your current debts. To me, H.J.RES.45 is the equivalent of having debt on one credit card that I am not able to pay and applying for another credit card that I can’t pay. It makes absolutely no sense.
Recently, we have had huge government investments. I wonder if the tax payer is getting a return on these investments. We bailed out major industries that were in trouble. We had the economic stimulus package. I question the return we are getting on the investments.
Controlling the national debt needs to be a serious discussion for the American people. Congress and the American people need to take a look at our expenditures and seriously ask if these are merited. If there are expenses that are unnecessary, we need to get rid of them. I would not even call this concept finance 101, I would call it remedial finance, or the prerequisite to what one needs to know to take Finance 101. This is the sort of thing households do when they experience debt if they want to recover. When I run into financial trouble, this is the sort of thing I do. There are many competing interests that want government money for this or that. However, if we are going to get out of debt, we need to assign priorities to projects or ideas that require investing tax-payer’s dollars. Some investments are worthwhile and others can and should be discarded. Congress and the American people should address this issue.

The Louisiana Purchase and its Implication for the Federal Government

njessen — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 02:52:37 +0000

Recently, a stimulus package was proposed and passed by congress. This package was designed to create more jobs to jump start the economy.

This package has been met with much criticism from people who believe that the government is unnecessarily spending tax payer’s money.

As I contemplate this debate, I reflect on the Louisiana Purchase. This purchase doubled the size of the United States giving us over 827000 square miles of land (1). The territory purchased extended from New Orleans to modern day Montana.

Although few people today would call this purchase a mistake, at the time, it was considered unconstitutional by critics who argued that the president had no right to purchase land without the consent of the senate. However, Jefferson justified this action by saying, “It is the case of a guardian, investing the money of his ward in purchasing an important adjacent territory; and saying to him, when of age, I did this for your good.” (2)

Through out history, our country has dealt with constitutional dilemmas. How much power should the government exercise in governing? We at politiv

ote believe that as citizens, we should not come to think of ourselves as wards of a benevolent government who is acting for our benefit. It is our right and, moreover, our duty to examine critically the actions of our government. Failure to do this can lead to a dictatorship. As citizens, if we allow ourselves to sink into apathy, it will be much easier for the government to rule unopposed. As mentioned before, the Louisiana Purchase turned out to benefit our nation, and this shows that in many cases, the actions of the government can in fact contribute to the nation’s well being. We should also remember that government actions which seem ill advised may over time be beneficial. For this reason, we should be careful and prudent in weighing the possible benefits and costs of our government’s actions.

Resources

1) http://www.nps.gov/

2) http://www.monticello.org/