1.
George W. Bush
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George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009. He was also the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000 and he is the eldest son of Barbara and George H. W. Bush. After graduating from Yale University in 1968 and Harvard Business School in 1975, Bush married Laura Welch in 1977 and ran unsuccessfully for the House of Representatives shortly thereafter. He later co-owned the Texas Rangers baseball team before defeating Ann Richards in the 1994 Texas gubernatorial election and he is the second president to assume the nations highest office after his father, following the lead of John Quincy Adams. He is also a brother of Jeb Bush, a former Governor of Florida who was a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in the 2016 presidential election, the September 11 terrorist attacks occurred eight months into Bushs first term as president. Bush responded with what became known as the Bush Doctrine, launching a War on Terror, a military campaign that included the war in Afghanistan in 2001. He also promoted policies on the economy, health care, education, Social Security reform and his tenure included national debates on immigration, Social Security, electronic surveillance, and torture. In the 2004 Presidential race, Bush defeated Democratic Senator John Kerry in another close election. After his re-election, Bush received increasingly heated criticism from across the spectrum for his handling of the Iraq War, Hurricane Katrina. Amid this criticism, the Democratic Party regained control of Congress in the 2006 elections, Bush left office in 2009, returning to Texas where he purchased a home in Crawford. He wrote a memoir, Decision Points and his presidential library was opened in 2013. His presidency has been ranked among the worst in historians polls published in the late 2000s and 2010s. George Walker Bush was born on July 6,1946, at Grace-New Haven Hospital in New Haven, Connecticut, as the first child of George Herbert Walker Bush and his wife, the former Barbara Pierce. He was raised in Midland and Houston, Texas, with four siblings, Jeb, Neil, Marvin, another younger sister, Robin, died from leukemia at the age of three in 1953. His grandfather, Prescott Bush, was a U. S and his father, George H. W. Bush, was Ronald Reagans Vice President from 1981 to 1989 and the 41st U. S. President from 1989 to 1993. Bush has English and some German ancestry, along with more distant Dutch, Welsh, Irish, French, Bush attended public schools in Midland, Texas, until the family moved to Houston after he had completed seventh grade. He then spent two years at The Kinkaid School, a school in Houston. Bush attended high school at Phillips Academy, a school in Andover, Massachusetts
2.
Dick Cheney
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Richard Bruce Dick Cheney is an American politician and businessman who was the 46th Vice President of the United States from 2001 to 2009, under President George W. Bush. Born in Lincoln, Nebraska, Cheney was primarily raised in Sumner, Nebraska and he attended Yale and then the University of Wyoming, at the latter of which he earned a BA and an MA in Political Science. Cheney was selected to be the Secretary of Defense during the Presidency of George H. W. Bush, during his time in the Department of Defense, Cheney oversaw the 1991 Operation Desert Storm, among other actions. Out of office during the Clinton administration, Cheney was the Chairman, in July 2000, Cheney was chosen by presumptive Republican Presidential nominee George W. Bush as his running mate in the 2000 Presidential election. They defeated their Democratic opponents, incumbent Vice President Al Gore, in 2004 Cheney was reelected to his second term as Vice President, defeating Senator John Kerrys running mate, Senator John Edwards. He was a proponent of Operation Iraqi Freedom and defender of the Administrations anti-terrorism record. He became at odds with President Bushs position against same-sex marriage in 2004 and he has been cited as the most powerful Vice President in American history. At the same time he has been among the least favored politicians in the history of the United States, Cheney was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, the son of Marjorie Lorraine and Richard Herbert Cheney. He is of predominantly English, as well as Welsh, Irish, although not a direct descendant, he is collaterally related to Benjamin Pierce Cheney, the early American expressman. His father was a soil conservation agent for the U. S. Department of Agriculture and his mother was a star in the 1930s. He attended Calvert Elementary School before his family moved to Casper, Wyoming and he attended Yale University, but by his own account had problems adjusting to the college, and failed out twice. Among the influential teachers from his days in New Haven was Professor H. Bradford Westerfield and he later attended the University of Wyoming, where he earned both a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts in political science. He subsequently started, but did not finish, doctoral studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, in November 1962, at the age of 21, Cheney was convicted of driving while intoxicated. He was arrested for DWI again the following year, Cheney said that the arrests made him think about where I was and where I was headed. I was headed down a bad road if I continued on that course, in 1964, he married Lynne Vincent, his high school sweetheart, whom he had met at age 14. When Cheney became eligible for the draft, during the Vietnam War, he applied for, initially, Cheney was not drafted due to his marriage to Lynne Cheney. When the draft was expanded to include married men without children and he applied for his fifth exemption on January 19,1966, when his wife was about 10 weeks pregnant. He was granted 3-A status, the exemption, which excluded men with children or dependent parents
3.
Nancy Pelosi
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Nancy Patricia DAlesandro Pelosi is an American politician who is the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, representing Californias 12th congressional district. A member of the Democratic Party, Pelosi represents Californias 12th congressional district, the district was numbered as the 5th during Pelosis first three terms in the House, and as the 8th from 1993 to 2013. She served as the House Minority Whip from 2002 to 2003, Pelosi is the first woman, the first Californian and first Italian-American to lead a major party in Congress. On November 17,2010, Pelosi was elected as the Democratic Leader by House Democrats, Pelosi is Italian-American and was born Nancy Patricia DAlesandro in Baltimore, Maryland. She is the youngest of six children of Annunciata M. Nancy, who was born in Campobasso, South Italy, on 25 March 1909, Congressman from Maryland and a Mayor of Baltimore. Pelosis brother, Thomas DAlesandro III, also a Democrat, was mayor of Baltimore from 1967 to 1971, Pelosi was involved with politics from an early age. In her outgoing remarks as the 60th Speaker of the House and she graduated from the Institute of Notre Dame, a Catholic all-girls high school in Baltimore, and from Trinity College in Washington, D. C. in 1962 with a B. A. in political science. Pelosi interned for Senator Daniel Brewster alongside future House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and she met Paul Frank Pelosi while she was attending Trinity College. They married in Baltimore at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen on September 7,1963, after moving to San Francisco, Pelosi worked her way up in Democratic politics. She became a friend of one of the leaders of the California Democratic Party, in 1976, Pelosi was elected as a Democratic National Committee member from California, a position she would hold until 1996. She was elected as party chair for Northern California on January 30,1977, and for the California Democratic Party, Pelosi was appointed Finance Chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the campaign arm of the U. S. Senate Democrats, in 1985. That same year, she ran to succeed Chuck Manatt as chair of the Democratic National Committee, Pelosi left her post as DSCC finance chair in 1986. Phillip Burton died in 1983 and was succeeded by his wife, in late 1986, Sala became ill with cancer and decided not to run for reelection in 1988. She picked Pelosi as her successor, guaranteeing her the support of the Burtons contacts. Sala died on February 1,1987, just a month after being sworn in for a full term. Pelosi represents one of the safest Democratic districts in the country, Democrats have held the seat since 1949 and Republicans, who currently make up only 13 percent of registered voters in the district, have not made a serious bid for the seat since the early 1960s. She won the seat in her own right in 1988 and has been reelected 10 more times with no substantive opposition and she has not participated in candidates debates since her 1987 race against Harriet Ross. The strongest challenge Pelosi has faced was in 2008 when anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan polled 16%, in the House, she served on the Appropriations and Intelligence Committees, and was the ranking Democrat on the Intelligence Committee until her election as Minority Leader
4.
State of the Union
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The State of the Union address is a speech presented by the President of the United States to a joint session of the United States Congress, except in the first year of a new presidents term. The address not only reports on the condition of the nation but also allows the President to outline his legislative agenda, during most of the countrys first century, the President primarily only submitted a written report to Congress. With the advent of radio and television, the address is now broadcast live across the country on most networks, although the language of this Section of the Constitution is not specific, by tradition, the President makes this report annually in late January or early February. Between 1934 and 2013 the date has been as early as January 3, before that time, most presidents delivered the State of the Union as a written report. When a presidential inauguration occurs in January, the date may be delayed until February, what began as a communication between president and Congress has become a communication between the president and the people of the United States. Since the advent of radio, and then television, the speech has been broadcast live on most networks, to reach the largest audience, the speech, once given during the day, is now typically given in the evening, after 9pm ET. George Washington delivered the first regular annual message before a joint session of Congress on January 8,1790, in New York City, in 1801, Thomas Jefferson discontinued the practice of delivering the address in person, regarding it as too monarchical. Instead, the address was written and then sent to Congress to be read by a clerk until 1913 when Woodrow Wilson re-established the practice despite some initial controversy, however, there have been exceptions to this rule. Presidents during the half of the 20th century have sent written State of the Union addresses. The last President to do this was Jimmy Carter in 1981, for many years, the speech was referred to as the Presidents Annual Message to Congress. The actual term State of the Union first emerged in 1934 when Franklin D. Roosevelt used the phrase, prior to 1934, the annual message was delivered at the end of the calendar year, in December. The ratification of the 20th Amendment on January 23,1933 changed the opening of Congress from early March to early January, since 1934, the message or address has been delivered to Congress in January or February. The Twentieth Amendment also established January 20 as the beginning of the presidential term, in years when a new president is inaugurated, the outgoing president may deliver a final State of the Union message, but none has done so since Jimmy Carter sent a written message in 1981. In 1953 and 1961, Congress received both a written State of the Union message from the president and a separate State of the Union speech by the incoming president. In 1936, President Roosevelt set a precedent when he delivered the address at night, only once before—when Woodrow Wilson asked Congress to order the U. S. into World War I—had a sitting president addressed Congress at night. Calvin Coolidges 1923 speech was the first to be broadcast on radio, harry S. Trumans 1947 address was the first to be broadcast on television. Johnsons address in 1965 was the first delivered in the evening, three years later, in 1968, television networks in the United States, for the first time, imposed no time limit for their coverage of a State of the Union address. Johnson, this address was followed by extensive televised commentary by, among others, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Ronald Reagans 1986 State of the Union Address is the only one to have been postponed
5.
President of the United States
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The President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the executive branch of the government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces. The president is considered to be one of the worlds most powerful political figures, the role includes being the commander-in-chief of the worlds most expensive military with the second largest nuclear arsenal and leading the nation with the largest economy by nominal GDP. The office of President holds significant hard and soft power both in the United States and abroad, Constitution vests the executive power of the United States in the president. The president is empowered to grant federal pardons and reprieves. The president is responsible for dictating the legislative agenda of the party to which the president is a member. The president also directs the foreign and domestic policy of the United States, since the office of President was established in 1789, its power has grown substantially, as has the power of the federal government as a whole. However, nine vice presidents have assumed the presidency without having elected to the office. The Twenty-second Amendment prohibits anyone from being elected president for a third term, in all,44 individuals have served 45 presidencies spanning 57 full four-year terms. On January 20,2017, Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th, in 1776, the Thirteen Colonies, acting through the Second Continental Congress, declared political independence from Great Britain during the American Revolution. The new states, though independent of each other as nation states, desiring to avoid anything that remotely resembled a monarchy, Congress negotiated the Articles of Confederation to establish a weak alliance between the states. Out from under any monarchy, the states assigned some formerly royal prerogatives to Congress, only after all the states agreed to a resolution settling competing western land claims did the Articles take effect on March 1,1781, when Maryland became the final state to ratify them. In 1783, the Treaty of Paris secured independence for each of the former colonies, with peace at hand, the states each turned toward their own internal affairs. Prospects for the convention appeared bleak until James Madison and Edmund Randolph succeeded in securing George Washingtons attendance to Philadelphia as a delegate for Virginia. It was through the negotiations at Philadelphia that the presidency framed in the U. S. The first power the Constitution confers upon the president is the veto, the Presentment Clause requires any bill passed by Congress to be presented to the president before it can become law. Once the legislation has been presented, the president has three options, Sign the legislation, the bill becomes law. Veto the legislation and return it to Congress, expressing any objections, in this instance, the president neither signs nor vetoes the legislation
6.
Eastern Time Zone
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Places that use Eastern Standard Time when observing standard time are 5 hours behind Coordinated Universal Time. Eastern Daylight Time, when observing daylight saving time DST is 4 hours behind Coordinated Universal Time, in the northern parts of the time zone, on the second Sunday in March, at 2,00 a. m. EST, clocks are advanced to 3,00 a. m. EDT leaving a one-hour gap, on the first Sunday in November, at 2,00 a. m. EDT, clocks are moved back to 1,00 a. m, southern parts of the zone do not observe daylight saving time. The Uniform Time Act of 1966 ruled that daylight saving time would run from the last Sunday of April until the last Sunday in October in the United States, the act was amended to make the first Sunday in April the beginning of daylight saving time as of 1987. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 extended daylight saving time in the United States beginning in 2007. So local times change at 2,00 a. m. EST to 3,00 a. m. EDT on the second Sunday in March, in Canada, the time changes as it does in the United States. However, a handful of communities unofficially observe Eastern Time because they are part of the Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area – Phenix City, Smiths Station, Lanett, and Valley. Florida, All of Florida is in the Eastern Time zone except for the portion of the Florida Panhandle west of the Apalachicola River, as the Eastern–Central zone boundary approaches the Gulf of Mexico, it follows the Bay/Gulf county line. Indiana, All of Indiana observes Eastern Time except for six counties in the Chicago metropolitan area. Kentucky, Roughly, the half of the state, including all of metropolitan Louisville, is in the Eastern Time Zone. Historically the entire state observed Central Time, when daylight saving time was first introduced, the Lower Peninsula remained on DST after it formally ended, effectively re-aligning itself into the Eastern Time Zone. The Upper Peninsula continued to observe Central Time until 1972, when all, Tennessee, Most of the eastern third of Tennessee is legally on Eastern Time. Eastern Time is also used somewhat as a de facto official time for all of the United States, since it includes the capital and the largest city. Major professional sports leagues also post all game times in Eastern time, for example, a game time between two teams from Pacific Time Zone will still be posted in Eastern time. Most cable television and national broadcast networks advertise airing times in Eastern time, national broadcast networks generally have two primary feeds, an eastern feed for Eastern and Central time zones, and a tape-delayed western feed for the Pacific Time Zone. The prime time is set on Eastern and Pacific at 8,00 p. m. with the Central time zone stations receiving the eastern feed at 7,00 p. m. local time. Mountain Time Zone stations receive a separate feed at 7,00 p. m. local time, as Arizona does not observe daylight saving time, during the summer months, it has its own feed at 7,00 p. m. local time
7.
Joint session of the United States Congress
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Joint sessions and meetings are traditionally presided over by the Speaker of the House and take place at the House chamber. However, the Constitution requires the Vice President to preside over the counting of electoral votes, the speech is modeled on the Speech from the Throne, given by the British monarch. There is a difference, however. The President is the author of his own State of the Union message. Written reports were standard until 1913, when Woodrow Wilson reestablished the practice of attending to deliver the speech. Few Presidents have deviated from this custom since, the Twelfth Amendment mandates that the Congress assemble in joint session to count the electoral votes and declare the winners of the election. The session is ordinarily required to place on January 6 in the calendar year immediately following the meetings of the presidential electors. Since the Twentieth Amendment, the newly elected Congress declares the winner of the election, in elections before 1936, the outgoing Congress counted the electoral votes. The meeting is held at 1,00 p. m. Eastern time in the Chamber of the U. S. House of Representatives. The sitting Vice President is expected to preside, but in cases the President pro tempore of the Senate has chaired the proceedings instead. The Vice President and the Speaker of the House sit at the podium, Senate pages bring in the two mahogany boxes containing each states certified vote and place them on tables in front of the Senators and Representatives. Each house appoints two tellers to count the vote, relevant portions of the Certificate of Vote are read for each state, in alphabetical order. Members of Congress can object to any states vote count, provided that the objection is supported by at least one member of house of Congress. Bush of Texas and the Vice President of the United States, if there are no objections or all objections are overruled, the presiding officer declares the result of the vote and states who is elected President and Vice President. The Senators then depart from the House Chamber, in addition to State of the Union Addresses, inaugurals and counting of electoral votes, Joint Sessions usually fall into one of several topics. Foreign heads of state and heads of government from 48 countries have addressed joint meetings of Congress more than a hundred times, Israel, the United Kingdom, and France lead the list with eight joint meeting addresses by heads of state or dignitaries. Other leading countries are, Mexico, Italy, Ireland, South Korea, Germany, including West Germany and unified Germany, India, Canada, Australia, Argentina, and the Philippines. Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Winston Churchill have each made three joint addresses to Congress, more than any other foreign dignitaries
8.
United States Congress
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The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States consisting of two chambers, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the Capitol in Washington, D. C, both senators and representatives are chosen through direct election, though vacancies in the Senate may be filled by a gubernatorial appointment. Members are usually affiliated to the Republican Party or to the Democratic Party, Congress has 535 voting members,435 Representatives and 100 Senators. The House of Representatives has six non-voting members in addition to its 435 voting members and these members can, however, sit on congressional committees and introduce legislation. Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the members of the House of Representatives serve two-year terms representing the people of a single constituency, known as a district. Congressional districts are apportioned to states by using the United States Census results. Each state, regardless of population or size, has two senators, currently, there are 100 senators representing the 50 states. Each senator is elected at-large in their state for a term, with terms staggered. The House and Senate are equal partners in the legislative process—legislation cannot be enacted without the consent of both chambers, however, the Constitution grants each chamber some unique powers. The Senate ratifies treaties and approves presidential appointments while the House initiates revenue-raising bills, the House initiates impeachment cases, while the Senate decides impeachment cases. A two-thirds vote of the Senate is required before a person can be forcibly removed from office. The term Congress can also refer to a meeting of the legislature. A Congress covers two years, the current one, the 115th Congress, began on January 3,2017, the Congress starts and ends on the third day of January of every odd-numbered year. Members of the Senate are referred to as senators, members of the House of Representatives are referred to as representatives, congressmen, or congresswomen. One analyst argues that it is not a solely reactive institution but has played a role in shaping government policy and is extraordinarily sensitive to public pressure. Several academics described Congress, Congress reflects us in all our strengths, Congress is the governments most representative body. Congress is essentially charged with reconciling our many points of view on the public policy issues of the day. —Smith, Roberts, and Wielen Congress is constantly changing and is constantly in flux, most incumbents seek re-election, and their historical likelihood of winning subsequent elections exceeds 90 percent
9.
United States House of Representatives
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The United States House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the United States Congress which, along with the Senate, composes the legislature of the United States. The composition and powers of the House are established by Article One of the United States Constitution, since its inception in 1789, all representatives are elected popularly. The total number of voting representatives is fixed by law at 435, the House is charged with the passage of federal legislation, known as bills, which, after concurrence by the Senate, are sent to the President for consideration. The presiding officer is the Speaker of the House, who is elected by the members thereof and is traditionally the leader of the controlling party. He or she and other leaders are chosen by the Democratic Caucus or the Republican Conferences. The House meets in the wing of the United States Capitol. Under the Articles of Confederation, the Congress of the Confederation was a body in which each state was equally represented. All states except Rhode Island agreed to send delegates, the issue of how to structure Congress was one of the most divisive among the founders during the Convention. The House is referred to as the house, with the Senate being the upper house. Both houses approval is necessary for the passage of legislation, the Virginia Plan drew the support of delegates from large states such as Virginia, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania, as it called for representation based on population. The smaller states, however, favored the New Jersey Plan, the Constitution was ratified by the requisite number of states in 1788, but its implementation was set for March 4,1789. The House began work on April 1,1789, when it achieved a quorum for the first time, during the first half of the 19th century, the House was frequently in conflict with the Senate over regionally divisive issues, including slavery. The North was much more populous than the South, and therefore dominated the House of Representatives, However, the North held no such advantage in the Senate, where the equal representation of states prevailed. Regional conflict was most pronounced over the issue of slavery, One example of a provision repeatedly supported by the House but blocked by the Senate was the Wilmot Proviso, which sought to ban slavery in the land gained during the Mexican–American War. Conflict over slavery and other issues persisted until the Civil War, the war culminated in the Souths defeat and in the abolition of slavery. Because all southern senators except Andrew Johnson resigned their seats at the beginning of the war, the years of Reconstruction that followed witnessed large majorities for the Republican Party, which many Americans associated with the Unions victory in the Civil War and the ending of slavery. The Reconstruction period ended in about 1877, the ensuing era, the Democratic and the Republican Party held majorities in the House at various times. The late 19th and early 20th centuries also saw an increase in the power of the Speaker of the House
10.
Vice President of the United States
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The executive power of both the vice president and the president is granted under Article Two, Section One of the Constitution. The vice president is elected, together with the president. The Office of the Vice President of the United States assists, as the president of the United States Senate, the vice president votes only when it is necessary to break a tie. Additionally, pursuant to the Twelfth Amendment, the president presides over the joint session of Congress when it convenes to count the vote of the Electoral College. Currently, the president is usually seen as an integral part of a presidents administration. The Constitution does not expressly assign the office to any one branch, causing a dispute among scholars whether it belongs to the executive branch, the legislative branch, or both. The modern view of the president as a member of the executive branch is due in part to the assignment of executive duties to the vice president by either the president or Congress. Mike Pence of Indiana is the 48th and current vice president and he assumed office on January 20,2017. The formation of the office of vice president resulted directly from the compromise reached at the Philadelphia Convention which created the Electoral College, the delegates at Philadelphia agreed that each state would receive a number of presidential electors equal to the sum of that states allocation of Representatives and Senators. The delegates assumed that electors would typically choose to favor any candidate from their state over candidates from other states, under a plurality election process, this would tend to result in electing candidates solely from the largest states. Consequently, the delegates agreed that presidents must be elected by a majority of the number of electors. To guard against such stratagems, the Philadelphia delegates specified that the first runner-up presidential candidate would become vice president, the process for selecting the vice president was later modified in the Twelfth Amendment. Each elector still receives two votes, but now one of those votes is for president, while the other is for vice president. The requirement that one of those votes be cast for a candidate not from the electors own state remains in effect. S, other statutorily granted roles include membership of both the National Security Council and the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution. As President of the Senate, the president has two primary duties, to cast a vote in the event of a Senate deadlock and to preside over. For example, in the first half of 2001, the Senators were divided 50-50 between Republicans and Democrats and Dick Cheneys tie-breaking vote gave the Republicans the Senate majority, as President of the Senate, the vice president oversees procedural matters and may cast a tie-breaking vote. As President of the Senate, John Adams cast 29 tie-breaking votes that was surpassed by John C. Calhoun with 31. Adamss votes protected the presidents sole authority over the removal of appointees, influenced the location of the national capital, on at least one occasion Adams persuaded senators to vote against legislation he opposed, and he frequently addressed the Senate on procedural and policy matters
11.
United States Senate
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The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress which, along with the House of Representatives, the lower chamber, composes the legislature of the United States. The composition and powers of the Senate are established by Article One of the United States Constitution. S. From 1789 until 1913, Senators were appointed by the legislatures of the states represented, following the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913. The Senate chamber is located in the wing of the Capitol, in Washington. It further has the responsibility of conducting trials of those impeached by the House, in the early 20th century, the practice of majority and minority parties electing their floor leaders began, although they are not constitutional officers. This idea of having one chamber represent people equally, while the other gives equal representation to states regardless of population, was known as the Connecticut Compromise, there was also a desire to have two Houses that could act as an internal check on each other. One was intended to be a Peoples House directly elected by the people, the other was intended to represent the states to such extent as they retained their sovereignty except for the powers expressly delegated to the national government. The Senate was thus not designed to serve the people of the United States equally, the Constitution provides that the approval of both chambers is necessary for the passage of legislation. First convened in 1789, the Senate of the United States was formed on the example of the ancient Roman Senate, the name is derived from the senatus, Latin for council of elders. James Madison made the comment about the Senate, In England, at this day, if elections were open to all classes of people. An agrarian law would take place. If these observations be just, our government ought to secure the permanent interests of the country against innovation, landholders ought to have a share in the government, to support these invaluable interests, and to balance and check the other. They ought to be so constituted as to protect the minority of the opulent against the majority, the senate, therefore, ought to be this body, and to answer these purposes, the people ought to have permanency and stability. The Constitution stipulates that no constitutional amendment may be created to deprive a state of its equal suffrage in the Senate without that states consent, the District of Columbia and all other territories are not entitled to representation in either House of the Congress. The District of Columbia elects two senators, but they are officials of the D. C. city government. The United States has had 50 states since 1959, thus the Senate has had 100 senators since 1959. In 1787, Virginia had roughly ten times the population of Rhode Island, whereas today California has roughly 70 times the population of Wyoming and this means some citizens are effectively two orders of magnitude better represented in the Senate than those in other states. Seats in the House of Representatives are approximately proportionate to the population of each state, before the adoption of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913, Senators were elected by the individual state legislatures
12.
Democratic Party (United States)
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The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The Democrats dominant worldview was once socially conservative and fiscally classical liberalism, while, especially in the rural South, since Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal coalition in the 1930s, the Democratic Party has also promoted a social-liberal platform, supporting social justice. Today, the House Democratic caucus is composed mostly of progressives and centrists, the partys philosophy of modern liberalism advocates social and economic equality, along with the welfare state. It seeks to provide government intervention and regulation in the economy, the party has united with smaller left-wing regional parties throughout the country, such as the Farmer–Labor Party in Minnesota and the Nonpartisan League in North Dakota. Well into the 20th century, the party had conservative pro-business, the New Deal Coalition of 1932–1964 attracted strong support from voters of recent European extraction—many of whom were Catholics based in the cities. After Franklin D. Roosevelts New Deal of the 1930s, the pro-business wing withered outside the South, after the racial turmoil of the 1960s, most southern whites and many northern Catholics moved into the Republican Party at the presidential level. The once-powerful labor union element became smaller and less supportive after the 1970s, white Evangelicals and Southerners became heavily Republican at the state and local level in the 1990s. However, African Americans became a major Democratic element after 1964, after 2000, Hispanic and Latino Americans, Asian Americans, the LGBT community, single women and professional women moved towards the party as well. The Northeast and the West Coast became Democratic strongholds by 1990 after the Republicans stopped appealing to socially liberal voters there, overall, the Democratic Party has retained a membership lead over its major rival the Republican Party. The most recent was the 44th president Barack Obama, who held the office from 2009 to 2017, in the 115th Congress, following the 2016 elections, Democrats are the opposition party, holding a minority of seats in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The party also holds a minority of governorships, and state legislatures, though they do control the mayoralty of cities such as New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, and Washington, D. C. The Democratic Party traces its origins to the inspiration of the Democratic-Republican Party, founded by Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and that party also inspired the Whigs and modern Republicans. Organizationally, the modern Democratic Party truly arose in the 1830s, since the nomination of William Jennings Bryan in 1896, the party has generally positioned itself to the left of the Republican Party on economic issues. They have been liberal on civil rights issues since 1948. On foreign policy both parties changed position several times and that party, the Democratic-Republican Party, came to power in the election of 1800. After the War of 1812 the Federalists virtually disappeared and the national political party left was the Democratic-Republicans. The Democratic-Republican party still had its own factions, however. As Norton explains the transformation in 1828, Jacksonians believed the peoples will had finally prevailed, through a lavishly financed coalition of state parties, political leaders, and newspaper editors, a popular movement had elected the president
13.
Podium
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A podium is a platform used to raise something to a short distance above its surroundings. It derives from the Greek πόδι, in architecture a building can rest on a large podium. Podia can also be used to people, for instance the conductor of an orchestra stands on a podium as do many public speakers. Common parlance has shown a use of podium in American English to describe a lectern. In sports, a type of podium is used to honor the top three competitors in such as the Olympics. In the Olympics a three-level podium is used, traditionally, the highest level in the center holds the gold medalist. To their right is a lower platform for the silver medalist. At the 2016 Summer Games in Rio, however, the Silver, in many sports, results in the top three of a competition are often referred to as podiums or podium finishes. In some individual sports, podiums is a statistic, referring to the number of top three results an athlete has achieved over the course of a season or career. The word may also be used, chiefly in the United States, as a verb, to podium, meaning to attain a podium place. Podia were first used at the 1930 British Empire Games in Hamilton, Ontario and subsequently during the 1932 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, the winner stands in the middle, with the second placed driver to his right and the third place driver to his left. Also present are the selected by the race organisers who will present the trophies. In many forms of motorsport, the three top-placed drivers in a stand on a podium for the trophy ceremony. The recordings are versions of the national anthems, ensuring the podium ceremony does not exceeded its allocated time. Should a driver experience problems with his car on a lap in Formula One. The drivers will generally refrain from spraying if a fatality or major accident occurs during the event. Also, in countries where alcohol sponsorship or drinking is prohibited, alcoholic beverages may be replaced by other drinks, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, the highest level of stock car racing in the United States, does not use a podium in post-game events or statistics. Instead, the team celebrates in victory lane, and top-five
14.
September 11 attacks
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The September 11 attacks were a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks by the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda on the United States on the morning of Tuesday, September 11,2001. The attacks killed 2,996 people, injured over 6,000 others, two of the planes, American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175, were crashed into the North and South towers, respectively, of the World Trade Center complex in New York City. A third plane, American Airlines Flight 77, was crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia and it was the deadliest incident for firefighters and law enforcement officers in the history of the United States, with 343 and 72 killed respectively. Suspicion for the attack fell on al-Qaeda. The United States responded to the attacks by launching the War on Terror and invading Afghanistan to depose the Taliban, many countries strengthened their anti-terrorism legislation and expanded the powers of law enforcement and intelligence agencies to prevent terrorist attacks. Although al-Qaedas leader, Osama bin Laden, initially denied any involvement, al-Qaeda and bin Laden cited U. S. support of Israel, the presence of U. S. troops in Saudi Arabia, and sanctions against Iraq as motives. Having evaded capture for almost a decade, bin Laden was located and killed by SEAL Team Six of the U. S. Navy in May 2011. S. many closings, evacuations, and cancellations followed, out of respect or fear of further attacks. Cleanup of the World Trade Center site was completed in May 2002, on November 18,2006, construction of One World Trade Center began at the World Trade Center site. The building was opened on November 3,2014. The origins of al-Qaeda can be traced to 1979 when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden traveled to Afghanistan and helped organize Arab mujahideen to resist the Soviets. Under the guidance of Ayman al-Zawahiri, bin Laden became more radical, in 1996, bin Laden issued his first fatwā, calling for American soldiers to leave Saudi Arabia. Bin Laden used Islamic texts to exhort Muslims to attack Americans until the stated grievances are reversed, Muslim legal scholars have throughout Islamic history unanimously agreed that the jihad is an individual duty if the enemy destroys the Muslim countries, according to bin Laden. Bin Laden, who orchestrated the attacks, initially denied but later admitted involvement, in November 2001, U. S. forces recovered a videotape from a destroyed house in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. In the video, bin Laden is seen talking to Khaled al-Harbi, on December 27,2001, a second bin Laden video was released. In the video, he said, It has become clear that the West in general and it is the hatred of crusaders. Terrorism against America deserves to be praised because it was a response to injustice, aimed at forcing America to stop its support for Israel, the transcript refers several times to the United States specifically targeting Muslims. He said that the attacks were carried out because, we are free, and want to regain freedom for our nation. As you undermine our security we undermine yours, Bin Laden said he had personally directed his followers to attack the World Trade Center and the Pentagon
15.
President pro tempore of the United States Senate
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The president pro tempore of the United States Senate, also president pro tem, is the second-highest-ranking official of the United States Senate. Unlike the vice president, the president pro tempore is a member of the Senate. Selected by the Senate at large, the president pro tempore has enjoyed many privileges, during the vice presidents absence, the president pro tempore is empowered to preside over Senate sessions. Since 1890, the most senior senator in the majority party has generally chosen to be president pro tempore. This tradition has been observed without interruption since 1949, the current President pro tempore of the Senate is Utah Republican Orrin Hatch. Elected on January 6,2015, he is the 90th person to serve in this office, although the position is in some ways analogous to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the powers of the president pro tempore are far more limited. The president pro tempore is third in the line of succession, following the vice president. Additional duties include appointment of various officers, certain commissions, advisory boards. The officeholder is an ex member of various boards and commissions. With the secretary and sergeant at arms, the president pro tempore maintains order in Senate portions of the Capitol, the office of president pro tempore was established by the Constitution of the United States in 1789. The first president pro tempore, John Langdon, was elected on April 6 the same year, originally, the president pro tempore was appointed on an intermittent basis when the vice president was not present to preside over the Senate. Until the 1960s, it was practice for the vice president to preside over daily Senate sessions. Until 1891, the president pro tempore only served until the return of the president to the chair or the adjournment of a session of Congress. Between 1792 and 1886, the president pro tempore was second in the line of succession following the vice president. When President Andrew Johnson, who had no president, was impeached and tried in 1868. Wades radicalism is thought by historians to be a major reason why the Senate. The President pro tempore and the Speaker of the House were removed from the line of succession in 1886. Both were restored to it in 1947, though this time with the president pro tempore following the speaker, William P. Frye served as President pro tempore from 1896 to 1911 (54th–62nd Congress, a tenure longer than anyone else
16.
Robert Byrd
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Robert Carlyle Bob Byrd was a United States Senator from West Virginia. A member of the Democratic Party, Byrd served as a U. S, Representative from 1953 until 1959 and as a U. S. He was the longest-serving Senator in United States history, in addition, he was, at the time of his death, the longest-serving member in the history of the United States Congress, a record later surpassed by Representative John Dingell of Michigan. Byrd was the last remaining member of the U. S. Senate to have served during the presidency of Dwight Eisenhower, Byrd is also the only West Virginian to have served in both houses of the state legislature and both houses of Congress. Byrd served in the West Virginia House of Delegates from 1947 to 1950, initially elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1952, Byrd served there for six years before being elected to the Senate in 1958. As President pro tempore—a position he held four times in his career—he was third in the line of succession, after the Vice President. Serving three different tenures as Chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Appropriations enabled Byrd to steer a great deal of money toward projects in West Virginia. Critics derided his efforts as pork barrel spending, while Byrd argued that the federal projects he worked to bring to West Virginia represented progress for the people of his state. He filibustered against the 1964 Civil Rights Act and supported the Vietnam War, but later renounced racism and segregation, renowned for his knowledge of Senate precedent and parliamentary procedure, Byrd wrote a four-volume history of the Senate in later life. Near the end of his life, Byrd was in declining health and was hospitalized several times and he died on June 28,2010, and was buried at Columbia Gardens Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. Robert Byrd was born on November 20,1917 as Cornelius Calvin Sale, Jr. in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, to Cornelius Calvin Sale Sr. when he was ten months old, his mother died in the 1918 flu pandemic. In accordance with his mothers wishes, his father dispersed their children among relatives, Calvin Jr. was adopted by his aunt and uncle, Titus and Vlurma Byrd, who changed his name to Robert Carlyle Byrd and raised him in the coal-mining region of southern West Virginia. Byrd was valedictorian of his 1934 graduating class at Mark Twain High School in Tams, on May 29,1936, Byrd married Erma Ora James who was born to a coal mining family in Floyd County, Virginia. Her family moved to Raleigh County, West Virginia, where she met Byrd when they attended the high school. In the early 1940s, Byrd recruited 150 of his friends and associates to create a new chapter of the Ku Klux Klan in Sophia, according to Byrd, a Klan official told him, You have a talent for leadership, Bob. The country needs young men like you in the leadership of the nation, Byrd later recalled, Suddenly lights flashed in my mind. Someone important had recognized my abilities, I was only 23 or 24 years old, and the thought of a political career had never really hit me. But strike me that night, it did, Byrd became a recruiter and leader of his chapter
17.
United States Attorney General
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The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice per 28 U. S. C. §503, concerned with affairs, and is the chief law enforcement officer. The 84th and current Attorney General is Jeff Sessions, who assumed the office on February 9,2017, the attorney general serves as a member of the Cabinet of the President of the United States and is the only cabinet officer who does not have the title Secretary of. The Attorney General is appointed by the President and takes office after confirmation by the United States Senate, the office of Attorney General was established by Congress by the Judiciary Act of 1789. In 1870, the Department of Justice was established to support the general in the discharge of their responsibilities. Parties No party Federalist Democratic-Republican Democratic Whig Republican Status As of April 2017, there are eleven, living former US Attorneys General, the most recent Attorney General to die was Janet Reno on November 7,2016. Barr served as acting general in their capacity as deputy attorney general. 2 Richard L. Thornburgh and Eric Holder served as acting general in their capacity as deputy attorney general. Both subsequently served as general, Thornburgh 1988–1991 and Holder 2009–2015. 4 Assistant Attorney General for the DOJ Civil Division Stuart M. Gerson was acting general from January 20,1993. Gerson was fourth in the line of succession at the Justice Department, during his time as Acting AG, Gerson supported the Brady bill and was in office in the beginnings of the Waco siege. Janet Reno, President Clintons nominee for attorney general, was confirmed on March 12, Acting Attorney General Gersons last day at the Justice Department was March 19. 5 On August 27,2007, President Bush named Solicitor General Paul Clement as the acting attorney general, to take office upon the resignation of Alberto Gonzales. According to administration officials, Clement took that office at 12,01 am September 17,2007, keisler served as acting attorney general until the nomination of Michael Mukasey on November 9,2007. 6 Deputy Attorney General Mark Filip was asked to assume the position of acting attorney general by then President-elect Obama, Filip led the Department while President Obamas nominee, then Attorney-General Designate Eric Holder, awaited confirmation by the United States Senate. Holder was confirmed on February 2,2009, and sworn in the next day, thus ending Filips tenure as the acting attorney general
18.
Alberto Gonzales
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Alberto R. Gonzales was the 80th United States Attorney General, appointed in February 2005 by President George W. Bush, becoming the highest-ranking Hispanic American in executive government to date. He was the first Hispanic to serve as White House Counsel, Gonzales had also served as Secretary of State of Texas and then as a Texas Supreme Court Justice. Following partisan calls for his removal, Gonzales resigned from the office in the best interests of the department, on August 27,2007, in 2008, Gonzales began a mediation and consulting practice. Additionally, he taught a political course and served as a diversity recruiter at Texas Tech University. He is also counsel at a Nashville-based law firm, Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis and he often writes opinion pieces for national newspapers and appears on national news programs. He was ranked one of Newsmaxs 50 Most Influential Latino Republicans in 2016, Alberto Gonzales was born to a Catholic family in San Antonio, Texas, and raised in Humble, a town outside of Houston. Of Mexican descent, he was the second of eight born to Maria. His father, who died in 1982, was a migrant worker and his mother worked at home raising eight children and had a sixth grade education. Gonzales and his family of ten lived in a small, two-bedroom home built by his father and uncles with no telephone and no hot running water. An honors student at MacArthur High School in unincorporated Harris County, Gonzales enlisted in the United States Air Force in 1973, for a four-year term of enlistment. He served one year at a radar site with 100 other GIs at Fort Yukon, Alaska, located north of the Arctic Circle. Subsequently, he received an appointment to the United States Air Force Academy, Gonzales was on the Deans List every semester and served as President of the Freshman Class Council at the Academy. He was on the Superintendents List and Commandants List for two semesters, prior to beginning his third year at the academy, which would have caused him to incur a further service obligation, he left the Academy and was released from the enlistment contract. He transferred to Rice University in Houston, where he was a resident of Lovett College, Gonzales had dreamed of attending Rice as a boy when he sold soft drinks at Rice University football games. He went on to be selected as the Charles Parkhill Scholar of Political Science and he then earned a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School in 1982. Gonzales has been married twice, he and his first wife, Diane Clemens, divorced in 1985, he and his second wife, the citizens of Texas elected Gonzales to a full six-year term on the Supreme Court in the November 2000 general election with 81% of the vote. In addition to his political and legal career, Gonzales was active in the community and he was a board director of the United Way of the Texas Gulf Coast from 1993 to 1994, and President of Leadership Houston during this same period. In 1994, and a director for the Association for the Advancement of Mexican-Americans from 1991 to 1992
19.
Supreme Court of the United States
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The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest federal court of the United States. In the legal system of the United States, the Supreme Court is the interpreter of federal constitutional law. The Court normally consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight justices who are nominated by the President. Once appointed, justices have life tenure unless they resign, retire, in modern discourse, the justices are often categorized as having conservative, moderate, or liberal philosophies of law and of judicial interpretation. Each justice has one vote, and while many cases are decided unanimously, the Court meets in the United States Supreme Court Building in Washington, D. C. The Supreme Court is sometimes referred to as SCOTUS, in analogy to other acronyms such as POTUS. The ratification of the United States Constitution established the Supreme Court in 1789 and its powers are detailed in Article Three of the Constitution. The Supreme Court is the court specifically established by the Constitution. The Court first convened on February 2,1790, by which five of its six initial positions had been filled. According to historian Fergus Bordewich, in its first session, he Supreme Court convened for the first time at the Royal Exchange Building on Broad Street and they had no cases to consider. After a week of inactivity, they adjourned until September, the sixth member was not confirmed until May 12,1790. Because the full Court had only six members, every decision that it made by a majority was made by two-thirds. However, Congress has always allowed less than the Courts full membership to make decisions, under Chief Justices Jay, Rutledge, and Ellsworth, the Court heard few cases, its first decision was West v. Barnes, a case involving a procedural issue. The Courts power and prestige grew substantially during the Marshall Court, the Marshall Court also ended the practice of each justice issuing his opinion seriatim, a remnant of British tradition, and instead issuing a single majority opinion. Also during Marshalls tenure, although beyond the Courts control, the impeachment, the Taney Court made several important rulings, such as Sheldon v. Nevertheless, it is primarily remembered for its ruling in Dred Scott v. Sandford, which helped precipitate the Civil War. In the Reconstruction era, the Chase, Waite, and Fuller Courts interpreted the new Civil War amendments to the Constitution, during World War II, the Court continued to favor government power, upholding the internment of Japanese citizens and the mandatory pledge of allegiance. Nevertheless, Gobitis was soon repudiated, and the Steel Seizure Case restricted the pro-government trend, the Warren Court dramatically expanded the force of Constitutional civil liberties. It held that segregation in public schools violates equal protection and that traditional legislative district boundaries violated the right to vote
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Chief Justice of the United States
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The Chief Justice of the United States is the head of the United States federal court system and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States. The Chief Justice is one of nine Supreme Court justices, the eight are the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States. From 1789 until 1866, the office was known as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the Chief Justice also serves as a spokesperson for the judicial branch. The Chief Justice leads the business of the Supreme Court and presides over oral arguments, when the court renders an opinion, the Chief Justice—when in the majority—decides who writes the courts opinion. The Chief Justice also has significant agenda-setting power over the courts meetings, in the case of an impeachment of a President of the United States, which has occurred twice, the Chief Justice presides over the trial in the Senate. In modern tradition, the Chief Justice also has the duty of administering the oath of office of the President of the United States. The first Chief Justice was John Jay, the 17th and current Chief Justice is John G. Roberts, Jr. The office was known as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and is still informally referred to using that title. However,28 U. S. C. §1 specifies that the title is Chief Justice of the United States, the title was changed from Chief Justice of the Supreme Court by Congress in 1866 at the suggestion of the sixth Chief Justice, Salmon P. Chase. Chase wished to emphasize the Supreme Courts role as a branch of government. The first Chief Justice commissioned using the new title was Melville Fuller in 1888, use of the previous title when referring to Chief Justices John Jay through Roger B. Taney is technically correct, as that was the title during their time on the court. The other eight members of the court are officially Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, the Chief Justice is the only member of the court to whom the Constitution refers as a Justice, and only in Article I. Article III of the Constitution refers to all members of the Supreme Court simply as Judges, the Chief Justice is nominated by the President of the United States and confirmed to sit on the Court by the United States Senate. The salary of the Chief Justice is set by Congress, the Constitution prohibits Congress from lowering the salary of any judge, including the Chief Justice, while that judge holds office. As of 2015, the salary is $258,100 per year, which is higher than that of the Associate Justices. Three serving Associate Justices have received promotions to Chief Justice, Edward Douglass White in 1910, Harlan Fiske Stone in 1941, Associate Justice Abe Fortas was nominated to the position of Chief Justice of the United States, but his nomination was filibustered by Senate Republicans in 1968. Despite the failed nomination, Fortas remained an Associate Justice until his resignation the following year, there have been 21 individuals nominated for Chief Justice, of whom 17 have been confirmed by the Senate, although a different 17 have served
21.
John Roberts
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John Glover Roberts Jr. is the 17th and current Chief Justice of the United States. He took his seat on September 29,2005, having been nominated by President George W. Bush after the death of Chief Justice William Rehnquist and he has been described as having a conservative judicial philosophy in his jurisprudence. Roberts grew up in northwest Indiana and was educated in a private school and he then attended Harvard College and Harvard Law School, where he was a managing editor of the Harvard Law Review. During this time, he argued 39 cases before the Supreme Court, notably, he represented 19 states in United States v. Microsoft. In 2003, Roberts was appointed as a judge of the D. C. Circuit by President George W. Bush, during his two-year tenure on the D. C. Circuit, Roberts authored 49 opinions, eliciting two dissents from other judges, and authoring three dissents of his own, in 2005, Roberts was nominated to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, initially to succeed retiring Justice Sandra Day OConnor. When Chief Justice Rehnquist died before Robertss confirmation hearings began, Bush instead nominated Roberts to fill the Chief Justice position, Roberts has authored the majority opinion in many landmark cases, including Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1, Shelby County v. Holder, and National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, John Glover Roberts was born in Buffalo, New York, the son of Rosemary and John Glover Jack Roberts Sr. His father was a plant manager with Bethlehem Steel and he has Irish, Welsh, and Czech ancestry. When Roberts was in grade, his family moved to Long Beach. He grew up with three sisters, Kathy, Peggy, and Barbara, Roberts attended Notre Dame Elementary School, a Roman Catholic grade school in Long Beach. In 1973, he graduated from La Lumiere School, a Roman Catholic boarding school in La Porte, Indiana and he studied five years of Latin, some French, and was known generally for his devotion to his studies. He was captain of the team, and was a regional champion in wrestling. He participated in choir and drama, co-edited the school newspaper, and served on the athletic council and he attended Harvard College, graduating in 1976 with an A. B. summa cum laude in history in three years. He then attended Harvard Law School where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review. He graduated from law school with a J. D. magna cum laude in 1979, after graduating from law school, Roberts served as a law clerk for Judge Henry Friendly on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals for one year. Roberts frequently cites Judge Friendly in his opinions, from 1980 to 1981, he clerked for then-Associate Justice William Rehnquist on the United States Supreme Court. From 1981 to 1982, he served in the Reagan administration as a Special Assistant to U. S. Attorney General William French Smith, from 1982 to 1986, Roberts served as Associate Counsel to the President under White House Counsel Fred Fielding
22.
Stephen Breyer
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Stephen Gerald Breyer is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1994, Breyer is generally associated with the liberal side of the Court. Following a clerkship with Supreme Court Associate Justice Arthur Goldberg in 1964, Breyer became well known as a law professor and lecturer at Harvard Law School, there he specialized in administrative law, writing a number of influential textbooks that remain in use today. Breyer was born in San Francisco, California, the son of Anne A. and Irving Gerald Breyer, Irving Breyer was legal counsel for the San Francisco Board of Education. Both Breyer and his brother, Charles, who is a federal district judge, are Eagle Scouts of San Franciscos Troop 14. Breyers paternal great-grandfather emigrated from Romania to the United States, settling in Cleveland, in 1955, Breyer graduated from Lowell High School. He is also fluent in French, in 1967, he married the Hon. Joanna Freda Hare, a psychologist and member of the British aristocracy, as the youngest daughter of John Hare, 1st Viscount Blakenham. The Breyers have three children, Chloe, an Episcopal priest and author of The Close, Nell. Breyer served as a law clerk to Associate Justice Arthur Goldberg during the 1964 term and he was a special assistant to the United States Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust from 1965 to 1967 and an assistant special prosecutor on the Watergate Special Prosecution Force in 1973. Breyer was a counsel to the U. S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary from 1974 to 1975. He worked closely with the chairman of the committee, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Breyer was a lecturer, assistant professor, and law professor at Harvard Law School starting in 1967. He taught there until 1994, also serving as a professor at Harvards Kennedy School of Government from 1977 to 1980, at Harvard, Breyer was known as a leading expert on administrative law. While there, he wrote two influential books on deregulation, Breaking the Vicious Circle, Toward Effective Risk Regulation and Regulation. In 1970, Breyer wrote The Uneasy Case for Copyright, one of the most widely cited skeptical examinations of copyright, Breyer was a visiting professor at the College of Law in Sydney, Australia, the University of Rome, and the Tulane University Law School. From 1980 to 1994, Breyer was a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, he was the courts Chief Judge from 1990 to 1994. In the last days of President Jimmy Carters administration, on November 13,1980, Carter nominated Breyer to the First Circuit, and the U. S. Senate confirmed him on December 9,1980, by an 80–10 vote. He served as a member of the Judicial Conference of the United States between 1990 and 1994 and the United States Sentencing Commission between 1985 and 1989, in 1993, President Bill Clinton considered him for the seat vacated by Byron White that ultimately went to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Breyers appointment came shortly thereafter, however, following the retirement of Harry Blackmun in 1994, Breyer was confirmed by the U. S. Senate in an 87 to 9 vote and took his seat August 3,1994
23.
Samuel Alito
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Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr. is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President George W. Bush and has served on the court since January 31,2006 and he is the 110th justice, the second Italian-American, and the eleventh Roman Catholic to serve on the court. Alito is considered one of the most conservative justices on the Court and he has described himself as a practical originalist. Alitos majority opinions in cases include McDonald v. Chicago. Alito was born in Trenton, New Jersey, the son of Samuel A. Alito, Sr. an Italian immigrant, and the former Rose Fradusco, an Italian-American. Alitos father, now deceased, was a school teacher and then became the first Director of the New Jersey Office of Legislative Services. Alitos mother is a retired schoolteacher, Alito grew up in Hamilton Township, New Jersey, a suburb of Trenton. It also called for the decriminalization of sodomy, and urged for an end to discrimination against gays in hiring by employers and he also led the American Whig-Cliosophic Societys Debate Panel during his time at Princeton. While a sophomore at Princeton, Alito received a low number,32. In 1970, he became a member of the schools Army ROTC program, attending a basic training camp that year at Fort Knox. Alito was a member of the Concerned Alumni of Princeton, which was formed in October 1972 at least in part to oppose Princetons decisions regarding affirmative action, Alito has cited the banning and subsequent treatment of ROTC by the university as his reason for belonging to CAP. During his senior year at Princeton, Alito moved out of New Jersey for the first time to study in Italy, where he wrote his thesis on the Italian legal system. Graduating in 1972, Alito left a sign of his lofty aspirations in his yearbook and he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U. S. Army Signal Corps after his graduation from Princeton and assigned to the United States Army Reserve. Following his graduation from Yale Law School, he served on duty from September to December 1975. The remainder of his time in the Army was served in the inactive Reserves and he was a captain when he received an honorable discharge in 1980. After graduating from Yale Law School in 1975, where he was an editor of the Yale Law Journal, garth in Newark, New Jersey in 1976 and 1977. He interviewed with Supreme Court Justice Byron White for a clerkship but was not hired, between 1977 and 1981, Alito was Assistant United States Attorney, District of New Jersey. While serving as an Assistant U. S. Attorney for New Jersey, he prosecuted many cases that involved drug trafficking, from 1981 to 1985, Alito was Assistant to Solicitor General Rex E. Lee
24.
Anthony Kennedy
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Kennedy became the most senior Associate Justice on the court following the death of Antonin Scalia in February 2016. Since the retirement of Sandra Day OConnor in 2006, he has been the swing vote on many of the Courts 5–4 decisions. He has authored the majority ruling in many of these cases, including Lawrence v. Texas, Boumediene v. Bush, Citizens United v. FEC, Kennedy was born and raised in an Irish Catholic family in Sacramento, California. He was the son of Anthony J. Kennedy, an attorney with a reputation for influence in the California legislature, and Gladys, as a boy, Kennedy came into contact with prominent politicians of the day, such as California Governor and later U. S. He served as a page in the California State Senate as a young man, Kennedy attended Stanford University, graduating with a B. A. after spending his senior year at the London School of Economics. He earned an LL. B cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1961, Kennedy has been married to Mary Davis since 1963, and they have three children. Kennedy was in practice in San Francisco from 1961 to 1963. In 1963, following his fathers death, he took over his fathers Sacramento practice, from 1965 to 1988, he was a Professor of Constitutional Law at McGeorge School of Law, at the University of the Pacific. He continues to teach law students at seminars during McGeorges European summer sessions in Salzburg and he remains Pacific McGeorges longest-serving active faculty member. During Kennedys time as a California law professor and attorney, he helped California Governor Ronald Reagan draft a state tax proposal. Kennedy has served in numerous positions during his career, including the California Army National Guard in 1961, Kennedy was unanimously confirmed by the U. S. Senate on March 20 and received his commission on March 24,1975. On November 11,1987, Kennedy was nominated to the Supreme Court seat vacated by Lewis F. Powell, Kennedy was then subjected to an unprecedentedly thorough investigation of his background, which he easily passed. In a lower court dissent that Kennedy had written before joining the Supreme Court, considering such conduct offensive and destructive of the family, Kennedy had written, indifference to personal liberty is but the precursor of the states hostility to it. It does not follow that each of those rights is one that we as judges can enforce under the written Constitution. The Due Process Clause is not a guarantee of every right that should inhere in an ideal system, many argue that a just society grants a right to engage in homosexual conduct. We can extend that slightly to say that Georgias right to be wrong in matters not specifically controlled by the Constitution is a component of its own political processes. Its citizens have the liberty to direct the governmental process to make decisions that might be wrong in the ideal sense. Kennedy said about Griswold v. Connecticut, I really think I would like to draw the line and he also discussed a zone of liberty, a zone of protection, a line thats drawn where the individual can tell the Government, Beyond this line you may not go
25.
Tim Johnson (South Dakota politician)
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Timothy Peter Tim Johnson is a former United States Senator from South Dakota from 1997 to 2015. Johnson chose not to seek reelection in 2014, Johnson was born in Canton, South Dakota, the son of Ruth Jorinda and Vandel Charles Johnson. He has Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish ancestry. Raised in Vermillion, Johnson earned a B. A. in 1969 and an M. A. in 1970 from the University of South Dakota, immediately after earning his law degree, he went into private practice. Johnson served in the South Dakota House of Representatives from 1979 to 1982, Johnson served as Clay County deputy states attorney in 1985 during his tenure in the South Dakota Senate. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives from South Dakotas at-large congressional district in 1986, during his first term, he introduced more legislation than any other freshman member of the House. Between 1991-94, he served as a whip for the Democratic Party. He left the House in 1997, when he took up his newly acquired Senate seat and he authored several water project bills, resulting in clean drinking water being delivered to hundreds of thousands of South Dakota families. During his first term in the House of Representatives, Congressman Tim Johnson authored the Mni Wiconi Project Act of 1988. In subsequent years, Johnson authored legislation to expand the Mni Wiconi Rural Water Project service area, johnson’s Mid Dakota Rural Water System Act of 1991 was incorporated into a larger package of infrastructure projects and enacted into law as Public Law 102-575. The Mid Dakota Rural Water Project was completed in 2006 and serves more than 30,000 residents of east-central South Dakota. The Fall River Rural Water Users District Rural Water System Act of 1998 authorized the Bureau of Reclamation to construct a water system in Fall River County of South Dakota. The system joined 22 rural water systems and communities, the authorized project was intended to bring clean, safe drinking water to 180,000 individuals throughout the Lewis and Clark service region. Agriculture Johnson worked to enact a requirement that meat and other agricultural products be labeled for country of origin, having first authored legislation addressing the issue in 1992, Johnson continued the fight until a meat labeling law was enacted in 2002 as part of the Farm Bill reauthorization. The enacted law contained language Johnson had introduced as S.280 earlier that Congress), for more than a decade, executive branch opposition and legal challenges delayed implementation of the labeling law. In May 2007, Johnson received an Honored Cooperator award from the National Cooperative Business Association for his support of cooperative businesses. In 2013, the National Farmers Union presented Johnson with its Friend of the Family Farmer award, tourism Johnson authored the bill establishing the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site in western South Dakota. The measure was enacted as Public Law 106-115, creating a new unit of the National Park System, at the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site, visitors can learn about the Cold War, and the nuclear missiles that threatened massive destruction while also serving as a deterrent to war
26.
Charlie Norwood
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Charles Whitlow Charlie Norwood, Jr. D. D. S. was an American politician and dentist, serving as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 until his death in 2007. At the time of his death, Norwood was the Representative of the 10th District of Georgia, born in Valdosta, Georgia, Norwood graduated from Baylor School, then a military academy, in Chattanooga, TN. He then attended Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, GA and Georgetown University in Washington, before entering the House, Norwood operated a successful dentistry practice in Augusta. He married his wife, Gloria, in 1962 and they had two sons, Charles and Carlton, and lived in Evans, Georgia, a suburb of Augusta. Norwood served as a Captain in the United States Army from 1967 to 1969, beginning with an assignment to the U. S. Army Dental Corps at Sandia Army Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In 1968 he was transferred to the Medical Company of the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Vietnam, and served a tour at Quin Yon, An Khe. During his tour, he participated in experimental military dental practices that are now standard procedure for the armed forces, Norwood was one of the first participants in the Armys outreach program that delivered dentists to forward firebases in lieu of transferring patients to rear treatment areas. He provided some of the first field-based dental treatment of military guard dogs, in recognition of his service under combat conditions, Norwood was awarded the Combat Medical Badge and two Bronze Stars. After Vietnam, Norwood was assigned to the Dental Corps at Fort Gordon, Georgia and he remained a member of the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the Military Order of the World Wars until his death. In late 1993, Norwood sold his practice to run for Congress in the 1994 elections as a Republican in the Augusta-based 10th District. In that election, he routed freshman Democratic incumbent Don Johnson by a shocking 31-point margin—one of the largest margins of defeat of the 1994 election cycle and he became the first Republican to represent his northeastern Georgia district since Reconstruction. Norwood was nearly defeated in 1996, winning by four points. He easily turned back spirited challenges in 1998 and 2000, to make up for the loss in population, Norwoods district picked up some more Republican territory in the North Georgia mountains. Norwood was reelected from this now heavily Republican district with 73 percent of the vote, in 2004, Norwood received 74 percent of the vote against Democrat Bob Ellis. In 2006, his district was renumbered the 10th once again, Athens was home to Democratic 12th District Congressman John Barrow, and Barrow was forced to move to Savannah rather than face certain defeat. Norwood was handily reelected, taking 68 percent of the vote against Democrat Terry Holley, Norwood was a staunch supporter of tight immigration control, and called for putting nearly 40,000 troops on the U. S. -Mexico border. He co-wrote a provision to the recent Deficit Reduction Act that bars illegal aliens from getting Medicaid, the Washington Post wrote the following in a summary of his career, In 2004, Norwood underwent a lung transplant due to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. In December 2006, he underwent chemotherapy for cancer, which had spread to his liver, the disease was believed to be caused by the immunosuppressants Norwood had to take due to the lung transplant
27.
United States federal budget
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The United States federal budget comprises the spending and revenues of the US federal government. The budget is the representation of the priorities of the government, reflecting historical debates. The government primarily spends on healthcare, retirement, and defense programs, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office provides extensive analysis of the budget and its economic effects. It has reported that the U. S. is facing a series of financial challenges, as the country ages. The fiscal year is named for the year in which it ends, however, Congress is the body required by law to pass appropriations annually and to submit funding bills passed by both houses to the President for signature. Congressional decisions are governed by rules and legislation regarding the budget process. If Congress fails to pass a budget, a series of Appropriations bills must be passed as stop gap measures. After Congress approves a bill, it is sent to the President. A vetoed bill is sent back to Congress, which can pass it into law with a majority in each chamber. Congress may also combine all or some appropriations bills into a reconciliation bill. In addition, the president may request and the Congress may pass supplemental appropriations bills or emergency supplemental appropriations bills, several government agencies provide budget data and analysis. These include the Government Accountability Office, Congressional Budget Office, the Office of Management and Budget and the U. S. Treasury Department. During fiscal year 2016, the Federal government received approximately $3.3 trillion in tax and fee revenue and had outlays of $3.9 trillion, the difference was a $587 billion deficit. Measured as a percentage of domestic product, revenues were 17. 8% GDP. Outlays of 20. 9% GDP were slightly above the average of 20. 6% GDP, the deficit of 3. 2% GDP was equal to the historical average. President Donald Trump has proposed policies including significant tax cuts and increased spending on defense, each year, the President of the United States submits a budget request to Congress for the following fiscal year as required by the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921. Current law requires the president to submit a budget no earlier than the first Monday in January, typically, presidents submit budgets on the first Monday in February. The budget submission has been delayed, however, in some new presidents first year when the previous president belonged to a different party, the federal budget is calculated largely on a cash basis
28.
Tax law
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Tax law is an area of legal study dealing with the constitutional, common-law, statutory, tax treaty, and regulatory rules that constitute the law applicable to taxation. Primary taxation issues facing the world over include, Taxes on income. Taxation of capital gains versus labor income, ecotax refers to taxes intended to promote environmentally friendly activities via economic incentives. Tax evasion and avoidance leading to reduced government revenue, due to an Inefficient tax system in many underdeveloped countries, the majority of small businesses are not taxed. In law schools, tax law is a sub-discipline and area of specialist study, U. S. law schools require 30 semester credit hours of required courses,60 hours or more of electives and a combined total of at least 90 credit hours completed. Law students must choose available courses on which to focus before graduation with the J. D. degree in the United States. S, Master of Laws programs are offered in Canada, United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Netherlands and an increasing number of countries. Many of these focus on domestic and international taxation. In the United States, most LL. M, programs require that the candidate be a graduate of an American Bar Association-accredited law school. In other countries a graduate law degree is sufficient for admission to LL. M. in Taxation law programs, the Master of Laws program is an advanced legal study. General Requirements J. D. or First degree in law, an English proficiency test score for students with a native language besides English. The Juris Doctor program is offered by only a number of countries and these include, United States, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, Philippines, Singapore and the United Kingdom. The courses vary in duration of years, curriculum and whether or not further training is required, law School Admission Test - Required for law school admission in United States, Canada and a growing number of countries. A list of tax faculty ranked by publication downloads is maintained by Paul Caron at TaxProf Blog
29.
Health insurance
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Health insurance is insurance against the risk of incurring medical expenses among individuals. The benefit is administered by an organization such as a government agency, private business. According to the Health Insurance Association of America, health insurance is defined as coverage that provides for the payments of benefits as a result of sickness or injury and it includes insurance for losses from accident, medical expense, disability, or accidental death and dismemberment. A health insurance policy is, A contract between a provider and an individual or his/her sponsor. The contract can be renewable or lifelong in the case of private insurance, provided by an employer-sponsored self-funded ERISA plan. The company generally advertises that they have one of the big insurance companies, however, in an ERISA case, that insurance company doesnt engage in the act of insurance, they just administer it. Therefore, ERISA plans are not subject to state laws, ERISA plans are governed by federal law under the jurisdiction of the US Department of Labor. The specific benefits or coverage details are found in the Summary Plan Description, an appeal must go through the insurance company, then to the Employers Plan Fiduciary. If still required, the Fiduciarys decision can be brought to the USDOL to review for ERISA compliance, the individual insured persons obligations may take several forms, Premium, The amount the policy-holder or their sponsor pays to the health plan to purchase health coverage. Deductible, The amount that the insured must pay out-of-pocket before the health insurer pays its share, for example, policy-holders might have to pay a $500 deductible per year, before any of their health care is covered by the health insurer. It may take several doctors visits or prescription refills before the person reaches the deductible. Furthermore, most policies do not apply co-pays for doctors visits or prescriptions against your deductible, co-payment, The amount that the insured person must pay out of pocket before the health insurer pays for a particular visit or service. For example, a person might pay a $45 co-payment for a doctors visit. A co-payment must be paid each time a service is obtained. Coinsurance, Instead of, or in addition to, paying an amount up front. For example, the member might have to pay 20% of the cost of a surgery over and above a co-payment, while the insurance company pays the other 80%. If there is a limit on coinsurance, the policy-holder could end up owing very little, or a great deal. Exclusions, Not all services are covered, the insured are generally expected to pay the full cost of non-covered services out of their own pockets
30.
Health care
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It includes the work done in providing primary care, secondary care, and tertiary care, as well as in public health. Access to healthcare varies across countries, groups, and individuals, largely influenced by social, countries and jurisdictions have different policies and plans in relation to the personal and population-based health care goals within their societies. Healthcare systems are organizations established to meet the needs of target populations. Their exact configuration varies between national and subnational entities, in some countries and jurisdictions, healthcare planning is distributed among market participants, whereas in others, planning occurs more centrally among governments or other coordinating bodies. Healthcare can contribute to a significant part of a countrys economy. In 2011, the healthcare industry consumed an average of 9.3 percent of the GDP or US$3,322 per capita across the 34 members of OECD countries.1 years, a gain of 10 years since 1970. The USA ranges only on place 26 among the 34 OECD member countries, all OECD countries have achieved universal health coverage, except Mexico and the USA. Healthcare is conventionally regarded as an important determinant in promoting the general physical and mental health, an example of this was the worldwide eradication of smallpox in 1980, declared by the WHO as the first disease in human history to be completely eliminated by deliberate health care interventions. The delivery of health care depends on groups of trained professionals and paraprofessionals coming together as interdisciplinary teams. Healthcare can be defined as public or private. Primary care refers to the work of professionals who act as a first point of consultation for all patients within the health care system. Depending on the nature of the condition, patients may then be referred for secondary or tertiary care. Primary care is used as the term for the health care services which play a role in the local community. It can be provided in different settings, such as Urgent care centres which provide services to patients same day with appointment or walk-in bases, consequently, a primary care practitioner must possess a wide breadth of knowledge in many areas. The International Classification of Primary Care is a tool for understanding and analyzing information on interventions in primary care by the reason for the patient visit. Common chronic illnesses usually treated in primary care may include, for example, hypertension, diabetes, asthma, COPD, depression and anxiety, back pain, Primary care also includes many basic maternal and child health care services, such as family planning services and vaccinations. Physicians in this model bill patients directly for services, either on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis. Examples of direct primary care practices include Foundation Health in Colorado, the World Health Organization attributes the provision of essential primary care as an integral component of an inclusive primary health care strategy
31.
Immigration
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As for economic effects, research suggests that migration is beneficial both to the receiving and sending countries. Studies show that the elimination of barriers to migration would have effects on world GDP. Development economists argue that reducing barriers to labor mobility between developing countries and developed countries would be one of the most efficient tools of poverty reduction. Research shows that country of origin matters for speed and depth of immigrant assimilation, many animals have migrated across evolutionary history, including pre-humans. Human migration started with the out of Africa into the Middle East, and then to Asia, Australia, Europe, Russia. This is discussed in the article pre-modern human migration, recent history is discussed in the articles history of human migration and human migration. When people cross national borders during their migration, they are called migrants or immigrants from the perspective of the country which they enter, from the perspective of the country which they leave, they are called emigrant or outmigrant. Sociology designates immigration usually as migration, as of 2015, the number of international migrants has reached 244 million worldwide, which reflects a 41% increase since 2000. One third of the worlds international migrants are living in just 20 countries, the largest number of international migrants live in the United States, with 19% of the worlds total. Germany and Russia host 12 million migrants each, taking the second, Saudi Arabia hosts 10 million migrants, followed by the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates. Between 2000 and 2015, Asia added more international migrants than any major area in the world. Europe added the second largest with about 20 million, in most parts of the world, migration occurs between countries that are located within the same major area. In 2015, the number of international migrants below the age of 20 reached 37 million, while 177 million are between the ages of 20 and 64. International migrants living in Africa were the youngest, with an age of 29, followed by Asia, and Latin America/Caribbean, while migrants were older in Northern America, Europe. Nearly half of all international migrants originate in Asia, and Europe was the birthplace of the second largest number of migrants, india has the largest diaspora in the world, followed by Mexico and Russia. The other top desired destination countries were Canada, France, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Germany, one theory of immigration distinguishes between push and pull factors. Push factors refer primarily to the motive for immigration from the country of origin, in the case of economic migration, differentials in wage rates are common. If the value of wages in the new country surpasses the value of wages in ones country, he or she may choose to migrate
32.
Foreign worker
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A foreign worker is a person who works in a country other than the one of which he or she is a citizen. Migrant workers may work within their own country or between countries, depending on which definition is used. Some foreign workers are present temporarily and legally through a guest worker program in a country with more preferred job prospects than their home country. Foreign workers temporarily reside in the country in which they work, in Canada, foreign nationals are accepted into Canada on a temporary basis for a number of reasons, including student visas, refugee claims, or under special permits. The largest category however is called the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, in 2006, there were a total of 265,000 foreign workers in Canada. Amongst those of working age, there was a 118% increase from 1996, by 2008, the intake of non-permanent immigrants, had overtaken the intake of permanent immigrants. Green card workers are individuals who have requested and received permanent residence in the United States from the government. The initial plan was a principle, a temporary stay. The rotation principle proved inefficient for the industry, because the workers were constantly replaced by inexperienced ones. The companies asked for legislation to extend the residence permits, many of these foreign workers were followed by their families in the following period and stayed forever. The underestimation of the required integration services by the state and the society of the host countries, switzerlands transformation into a country of immigration was not until after the accelerated industrialization in the second half of the 19th century. Switzerland was no longer a purely rural Alpine area but became a European vanguard in various industries at that time, first of textile, later also the mechanical and chemical industries. An estimated 14 million foreign workers live in the United States and it is estimated that around 5 million foreign workers live in Northwestern Europe, half a million in Japan, and around 5 million in Saudi Arabia. A comparable number of dependents are accompanying international workers, maquiladora Slavery In Asia, some countries in Southeast Asia offer workers. Their destinations include Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan, in 1973, an oil boom in the Persian Gulf region, created an unprecedented demand for labor in the oil, construction and industrial sectors. This demand was met by foreign workers, primarily those from the Arab states, a rise in the standards of living for citizens of Middle Eastern countries also created a demand for domestic workers in the home. Since the 1970s, foreign workers have become a large percentage of the population in most nations in the Persian Gulf region, remittances are becoming a prominent source of external funding for countries that contribute foreign workers to the countries of the GCC. On average, the top recipients globally are India, the Philippines, in 2001, $72.3 billion was returned as remittances to the countries of origin of foreign workers
33.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
34.
United States energy independence
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U. S. energy independence relates to the goal of reducing the United States imports of petroleum and other foreign sources of energy. Energy independence is espoused by those who want to leave the U. S. unaffected by global energy supply disruptions, Energy independence is highly concerned with oil, the source of the countrys principal transport fuels. In total energy, the U. S. was over 61% self-sufficient in 2013, in May 2011, the country became a net exporter of refined petroleum products. As of 2014, the United States was the worlds third-largest producer of crude oil, and second largest exporter of refined products, after Russia. As of March 2015, 85% of crude oil came from, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Venezuela. 19% of imported oil comes from the Middle East, exports of crude oil have been illegal without a permit since the 1970s, in 2013, the United States physically exported a relatively small amount of oil, and only to Canada. Greater energy self-sufficiency, it was claimed, would prevent major supply disruptions like the 1973 oil crisis and the 1979 energy crisis from recurring. Proponents argue that the potential for political unrest in major oil suppliers, such as Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, and Nigeria), is abundant, large individual pipelines and other fuel infrastructure and extraction projects are controversial issues in American politics. In the early 20th century the United States became a major oil supplier to the world, world War II prompted a Synthetic Liquid Fuels Program but it did not go beyond research. In mid-century the country shifted from being an exporter to a net importer. An import quota imposed in 1959 limited imports to a fraction of production until 1973. After the 1973 oil crisis, the United States Department of Energy, the U. S. s dependence on foreign oil rose from 26 percent to 47 percent between 1985 and 1989. According to the Washington & Jefferson College Energy Index, by 2012, the U. S. s imports of foreign oil fell to 36 percent in 2013, down from a high of 60 percent in 2006. Many proponents of energy independence look to the United States untapped domestic oil reserves, Foreign dependence is not the only factor in North American energy politics, however, environmental concerns around land and water pollution and greenhouse gases are also matters of controversy. Some proponents of U. S. energy independence promote wider use of such as ethanol fuel, methanol, biodiesel, plug-in hybrids. As of 2014, the United States imposes an import tariff of 54 cents a gallon on ethanol fuel, ethanol fuel in Brazil is produced from sugarcane, which yields much more fuel per acre than the corn used for ethanol production in the United States. In the United States, oil is consumed as fuel for cars, buses, trucks. Two-thirds of U. S. oil consumption is due to the transportation sector, a national strategy designed to shift all transportation to a combined use of alternative fuels and plug-in hybrids is predicted to make the U. S. independent of petroleum
35.
Gasoline
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Gasoline /ˈɡæsəliːn/, known as petrol /ˈpɛtrəl/ outside North America, is a transparent, petroleum-derived liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the distillation of petroleum. On average, a 42-gallon barrel of oil yields about 19 US gallons of gasoline when processed in an oil refinery. The characteristic of a gasoline blend to resist igniting too early is measured by its octane rating. Gasoline is produced in several grades of octane rating, sometimes, gasoline also contains ethanol as an alternative fuel, for economic or environmental reasons. Gasoline, as used worldwide in the vast number of combustion engines used in transport and industry, has a significant impact on the environment. Gasoline may also enter the environment uncombusted, as liquid and as vapors, from leakage and handling during production, transport and delivery, from tanks, from spills. As an example of efforts to control leakage, many storage tanks are required to have extensive measures in place to detect. Gasoline contains benzene and other known carcinogens, Gasoline inhalation can produce an intense high, however the practice is thought to cause severe organ damage, including mental retardation. The first automotive combustion engines, so-called Otto engines, were developed in the last quarter of the 19th century in Germany, the fuel was a relatively volatile hydrocarbon obtained from coal gas. With a boiling point near 85 °C, it was suited for early carburetors. The development of a spray nozzle carburetor enabled the use of less volatile fuels, further improvements in engine efficiency were attempted at higher compression ratios, but early attempts were blocked by knocking. In the 1920s, antiknock compounds were introduced by Thomas Midgley Jr. and Boyd and this innovation started a cycle of improvements in fuel efficiency that coincided with the large-scale development of oil refining to provide more products in the boiling range of gasoline. In the 1950s oil refineries started to focus on high octane fuels, the 1970s witnessed greater attention to the environmental consequences of burning gasoline. These considerations led to the out of TEL and its replacement by other antiknock compounds. Subsequently, low-sulfur gasoline was introduced, in part to preserve the catalysts in modern exhaust systems, Gasoline is the term that is used in North America to refer to the most popular automobile fuel. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the first use to 1863, when it was spelled gasolene and it was never a trademark, although it may have been derived from older trademarks such as Cazeline and Gazeline. Variant spellings of gasoline had been used to refer to raw petroleum since the 16th century, Petrol is the preferred term in most Commonwealth countries
36.
Alternative fuel
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The main purpose of fuel is to store energy, which should be in a stable form and can be easily transported to the place of use. Almost all fuels are chemical fuels, the user employs this fuel to generate heat or perform mechanical work, such as powering an engine. It may also be used to generate electricity, which is used for heating, lighting. Biofuels are also considered a renewable source, although renewable energy is used mostly to generate electricity, it is often assumed that some form of renewable energy or a percentage is used to create alternative fuels. Biomass in the production industry is living and recently dead biological material which can be used as fuel or for industrial production. Algae-based biofuels have been promoted in the media as a panacea to crude oil-based transportation problems. Algae could yield more than 2000 gallons of fuel per acre per year of production, once these fats or oils are filtered from their hydrocarbons and then combined with alcohol like methanol, biodiesel is brought to life from this chemical reaction. These raw materials can either be mixed with diesel to make various proportions. Despite one’s mixture preference, biodiesel will release smaller number of pollutants than conventional diesel, even with regular diesel’s reduced quantity of sulfur from the ULSD invention, biodiesel exceeds those levels because it is sulfur-free. Methanol and ethanol fuel are primary sources of energy, they are convenient fuels for storing and transporting energy and these alcohols can be used in internal combustion engines as alternative fuels. Ammonia can be used as fuel, benefits of ammonia include no need for oil, zero emissions, low cost, and distributed production reducing transport and related pollution. Such fuels are potentially carbon neutral because they do not result in a net increase in greenhouse gases. Germany has built a 250-kilowatt synthetic methane plant which they are scaling up to 10 megawatts, audi has constructed a carbon neutral liquefied natural gas plant in Werlte, Germany. Other commercial developments are taking place in Columbia, South Carolina, Camarillo, California, the least expensive source of carbon for recycling into fuel is flue-gas emissions from fossil-fuel combustion, where it can be extracted for about US $7.50 per ton. Automobile exhaust gas capture has also proposed to be economical. Since carbonic acid in seawater is in equilibrium with atmospheric carbon dioxide. Researchers have estimated that carbon extraction from seawater would cost about $50 per ton, carbon capture from ambient air is more costly, at between $600 and $1000 per ton and is considered impractical for fuel synthesis or carbon sequestration. Therefore, the price of wind power is often much less expensive than any alternative
37.
Energy policy of the United States
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Energy policy may include legislation, international treaties, subsidies and incentives to investment, guidelines for energy conservation, taxation and other public policy techniques. Several mandates have been proposed over the years, such as gasoline will never exceed $1, state-specific energy-efficiency incentive programs also play a significant role in the overall energy policy of the United States. The United States refused to endorse the Kyoto Protocol, preferring to let the market drive CO2 reductions to mitigate global warming, thanks to new technologies such as fracking, the United States has in 2014 resumed its former role as the top oil producer in the world. In the Colonial era the energy policy of the United States was for use of standing timber for heating. In the 19th century, new emphasis was placed on access to coal and its use for transport, heating, whales were rendered into lamp oil. Later, coal gas was fractionated for use as lighting and town gas, natural gas was first used in America for lighting in 1816. It has grown in importance for use in homes, industry, and power plants, but natural gas production reached its U. S. peak in 1973, coal provided the bulk of the US energy needs well into the 20th century. Most urban homes had a coal bin and a coal fired furnace, over the years these were replaced with oil furnaces, not because of it being cheaper but because it was easier and safer. Coal remains far cheaper than oil, the biggest use of oil has come from the development of the automobile. By 1950, oil consumption exceeded that of coal, interstate Highways helped make cars the major means of personal transportation. As oil imports increased, US foreign policy was drawn into Middle East politics, supporting oil-producing Saudi Arabia. Hydroelectricity was the basis of Nikola Teslas introduction of the U. S. electricity grid, starting at Niagara Falls, NY in 1883. Electricity generated by major dams like the Jensen Dam, TVA Project, Grand Coulee Dam and Hoover Dam still produce some of the lowest-priced, rural electrification strung power lines to many more areas. Utilities have their rates set to earn a revenue stream that provides them with a constant 10% – 13% rate of return based on operating costs, increases or decreases of the operating costs of electricity production are passed directly through to the consumers. The federal government provided substantially larger subsidies to fossil fuels than to renewables in the 2002–2008 period, subsidies to fossil fuels totaled approximately $72 billion over the study period, representing a direct cost to taxpayers. Subsidies for renewable fuels, totaled $29 billion over the same period, in some cases, the U. S. has used its energy policy as a means to pursue other international goals. Richard Heinberg, a professor from Santa Rosa, California argues that a declassified CIA document shows that the U. S. used oil prices as leverage against the economy of the Soviet Union. When combined with other U. S. efforts to drain Soviet resources, the United States receives approximately 84% of its energy from fossil fuels
38.
Climate change
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Climate change is a change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns when that change lasts for an extended period of time. Climate change may refer to a change in weather conditions. Climate change is caused by such as biotic processes, variations in solar radiation received by Earth, plate tectonics. Certain human activities have also identified as significant causes of recent climate change. Scientists actively work to understand past and future climate by using observations, more recent data are provided by the instrumental record. The most general definition of change is a change in the statistical properties of the climate system when considered over long periods of time. Accordingly, fluctuations over periods shorter than a few decades, such as El Niño, the term climate change is often used to refer specifically to anthropogenic climate change. Anthropogenic climate change is caused by activity, as opposed to changes in climate that may have resulted as part of Earths natural processes. In this sense, especially in the context of environmental policy, within scientific journals, global warming refers to surface temperature increases while climate change includes global warming and everything else that increasing greenhouse gas levels affect. A related term is climatic change, in 1966, the World Meteorological Organization proposed the term climatic change to encompass all forms of climatic variability on time-scales longer than 10 years, regardless of cause. Change was a given and climatic was used as an adjective to describe this kind of change, when it was realized that human activities had a potential to drastically alter the climate, the term climate change replaced climatic change as the dominant term to reflect an anthropogenic cause. Climate change was incorporated in the title of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Climate change, used as a noun, became an issue rather than the technical description of changing weather. On the broadest scale, the rate at which energy is received from the Sun and this energy is distributed around the globe by winds, ocean currents, and other mechanisms to affect the climates of different regions. Factors that can shape climate are called climate forcings or forcing mechanisms, there are a variety of climate change feedbacks that can either amplify or diminish the initial forcing. Some parts of the system, such as the oceans and ice caps, respond more slowly in reaction to climate forcings. There are also key factors which when exceeded can produce rapid change. Forcing mechanisms can be internal or external. Internal forcing mechanisms are natural processes within the system itself
39.
Plug-in hybrid
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Most PHEVs are passenger cars but there are also PHEV versions of commercial vehicles and vans, utility trucks, buses, trains, motorcycles, scooters, and military vehicles. The cost of electricity to power plug-in hybrids for all-electric operation has been estimated at less than one quarter of the cost of gasoline in California, compared to conventional vehicles, PHEVs produce less air pollution locally and require less petroleum. PHEVs may produce less in the way of greenhouse gases, which contribute to global warming, Plug-in hybrids use no fossil fuel at the point of use during their all-electric range. Plug-in hybrids greenhouse-gas emissions, during operation in their all-electric range mode, if the batteries are charged directly from renewable sources off the electrical grid, then the tailpipe greenhouse gas emissions are zero when running only on battery power. Chinese battery manufacturer and automaker BYD Auto released the F3DM to the Chinese fleet market in December 2008, General Motors began delivering the Chevrolet Volt in the United States in December 2010, it was the first electric car with a range extender for retail sale in the American market. As of December 2016, there are over 30 models of highway legal plug-in hybrids for retail sales. Plug-in hybrid cars are mainly in the United States, Canada, Western Europe, Japan. As of December 2016, the Chevrolet Volt family, including its siblings Opel/Vauxhall Ampera, is the worlds best-selling plug-in hybrid in history with combined sales of about 134,500 units. As of December 2016, the stock of plug-in hybrid cars totaled almost 800,000 units. Flexibility in power demand, diverse patterns and storage capability of PHEVs grow the elasticity of residential electricity demand remarkably. This elasticity can be used to form the daily aggregated demand profile and/or alter instantaneous demand of a system wherein a number of residential PHEVs share one electricity retailer. A plug-in hybrids all-electric range is designated by PHEV- or PHEVkm in which the number represents the distance the vehicle can travel on battery power alone, for example, a PHEV-20 can travel twenty miles without using its combustion engine, so it may also be designated as a PHEV32km. This distinguishes PHEVs from regular hybrid cars mass marketed today, which do not use any electricity from the grid, other popular terms sometimes used for plug-in hybrids are grid-connected hybrids, Gas-Optional Hybrid Electric Vehicle or simply gas-optional hybrids. General Motors calls its Chevrolet Volt series plug-in hybrid an Extended-Range Electric Vehicle, the Lohner-Porsche Mixte Hybrid, produced as early as 1899, was the first hybrid electric car. Early hybrids could be charged from an external source before operation, however, the term plug-in hybrid has come to mean a hybrid vehicle that can be charged from a standard electrical wall socket. The term plug-in hybrid electric vehicle was coined by UC Davis Professor Andrew Frank, the July 1969 issue of Popular Science featured an article on the General Motors XP-883 plug-in hybrid. The concept commuter vehicle housed six 12-volt lead–acid batteries in the trunk area, the car could be plugged into a standard North American 120 volt AC outlet for recharging. In 2003, Renault began selling the Electroad, a series hybrid version of their popular Kangoo
40.
Education in the United States
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Education in the United States is provided by public, private, and home schools. Funding comes from the state, local, and federal government, private schools are generally free to determine their own curriculum and staffing policies, with voluntary accreditation available through independent regional accreditation authorities. About 87% of school-age children attend schools, about 10% attend private schools. Education is compulsory over an age range starting between five and eight and ending somewhere between ages sixteen and eighteen, depending on the state and this requirement can be satisfied in public schools, state-certified private schools, or an approved home school program. In most schools, education is divided into three levels, elementary school, middle or junior school, and high school. Children are usually divided by age groups into grades, ranging from kindergarten and first grade for the youngest children, there are also a large number and wide variety of publicly and privately administered institutions of higher education throughout the country. Post-secondary education, divided into college, as the first tertiary degree, the United States spends more per student on education than any other country. In 2014, the Pearson/Economist Intelligence Unit rated US education as 14th best in the world, just behind Russia. In 2015 the Programme for International Student Assessment rated U. S. high school students #40 globally in Math and #24 in Science and Reading. ”King, Jr. acknowledged the results in conceding U. S. students were well behind their peers. According to a report published by the U. S. News & World Report, of the top ten colleges and universities in the world, government-supported and free public schools for all began to be established after the American Revolution. Between 1750 and 1870 parochial schools appeared as ad hoc efforts by parishes, historically, many parochial elementary schools were developed which were open to all children in the parish, mainly Catholics, but also Lutherans, Calvinists and Orthodox Jews. Nonsectarian Common schools designed by Horace Mann were opened, which taught the three Rs and also history and geography, States passed laws to make schooling compulsory between 1852 and 1917. They also used federal funding designated by the Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Acts of 1862 and 1890 to set up land grant colleges specializing in agriculture, by 1870, every state had free elementary schools, albeit only in urban centers. His movement spread to many other Southern states to small colleges for Colored or Negro students entitled A. & M. or A. & T. some of which later developed into state universities. By 1910,72 percent of children attended school, private schools spread during this time, as well as colleges and — in the rural centers — land grant colleges also. Between 1910 and 1940 the high school movement resulted in increasing public high school enrollment. By 1930,100 percent of children attended school, during World War II, enrollment in high schools and colleges plunged as many high school and college students dropped out to take war jobs. The 1954 Supreme Court case Brown v, in 1965, the far-reaching Elementary and Secondary Education Act, passed as a part of President Lyndon B
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No Child Left Behind Act
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The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 was a U. S. Act of Congress that reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and it supported standards-based education reform based on the premise that setting high standards and establishing measurable goals could improve individual outcomes in education. The Act required states to develop assessments in basic skills, to receive federal school funding, states had to give these assessments to all students at select grade levels. The act did not assert a national achievement standard – each state developed its own standards, the bill passed in the Congress with bipartisan support. By 2015, criticism from right, left, and center had accumulated so much that a bipartisan Congress stripped away the national features of No Child Left Behind and its replacement, the Every Student Succeeds Act, turned the remnants over to the states. The legislation was proposed by President George W. Bush on January 23,2001 and it was coauthored by Representatives John Boehner, George Miller, and Senators Edward Kennedy and Judd Gregg. The United States House of Representatives passed the bill on May 23,2001, President Bush signed it into law on January 8,2002. No Child Left Behind requires all public schools receiving federal funding to administer a statewide standardized test annually to all students, schools that receive Title I funding through the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 must make Adequate Yearly Progress in test scores. If the schools results are poor, then steps are taken to improve the school. Schools that miss AYP for a consecutive year are publicly labeled as In Need of Improvement. Students have the option to transfer to a school within the school district. Missing AYP in the third year forces the school to offer free tutoring, a fifth year of failure results in planning to restructure the entire school, the plan is implemented if the school unsuccessfully hits its AYP targets for the sixth consecutive year. Common options include closing the school, turning the school into a school, hiring a private company to run the school. The objectives must be set with the goal of having all students at the proficient level or above within 12 years, AYP must be primarily based on state assessments, but must also include one additional academic indicator. The AYP objectives must be assessed at the school level, schools that failed to meet their AYP objective for two consecutive years are identified for improvement. School AYP results must be reported separately for each group of students identified above so that it can be determined whether each student group met the AYP objective, at least 95% of each group must participate in state assessments. States may aggregate up to three years of data in making AYP determinations, the act requires states to provide highly qualified teachers to all students. Each state sets its own standards for what counts as highly qualified, similarly, the act requires states to set one high, challenging standard for its students
