My Sincerest Apologies, But I Can Make Up For It

Oh man,

In a word, I've been busy, but in three words, I have been "busy being lazy". Essentially, so many things have happened since I last posted, which does feel like forever, but it hasn't been for nothing. It has been AMAZING (as usual).

Sites that we have visited:
06/30/10:
Library of Congress
U.S. Supreme Court
White House
Ford's Theater
Lincoln Assassination Museum

07/01/10:
Independence Hall Visitor Center
National Constitution Center
Liberty Bell
Independence Hal

07/02/10:
Thomas Jefferson Memorial
Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial
Abraham Lincoln Memorial
Korean War Memorial
Vietnam War Memorial
World War II Memorial

Some Notes Up to 06/30/10:

06/28/10:
Readings:
The Federalist Papers, #9, #15, #39 (para. 1), #53 (para 1-3)
Articles of Confederation (1777)
Vices of the Political System of the United States no. 11 (1787), James Madison
Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787, James Madison

Common Session #5 – Professor Sikkenga
I. Purpose of Government
a. To provide for its people and its interests.
i. For a committed Nazi, the purpose of government is to provide only for German race people or at least Aryans. They took back the lands that were once German, and they also purified the people through mass Genocide.
ii. The Soviets truly wanted to spread Communism and create the New Soviet.
iii. For the American Founders, government’s purpose is to be instituted among consenting men to secure Natural Rights.
1. This shows a different intent from the other countries.
b. The Best Government
i. Consent – men must consent to be ruled, doesn’t mean that the men do the ruling.
II. Federalist #9
a. What about ancient [popularly ruled] governments?
i. Rome had extremes, anarchism and dictatorship, and when looking back in history at these guys, you should be disgusted by this behavior. Neither extreme protects Natural Rights, anarchism because no one knows what it is, and dictatorship which is designed to deprive people of their natural rights.
1. When its “beams of glory” shined through, it was great, so you’ve got to cure the problems with Republicanism’s weaknesses.
2. Note, if popular government didn’t work in the past, why institute self-government now? It works now at this time because we are educated.
III. Federalist #39
a. Republican for is what we need because the Americans have a different style of thinking, a different and unique genius.

Class meeting #4 – Professor Portteus, Professor Hess
I. Federalist #53
a. Elections keep consent in and less corruption due to set term limits.
b. Note: Parliament is pretty much a continual constitutional Convenstion with absolutely no written constituton, so reign is completely in the hands of the parliament.
II. Articles of Confederation
a. Traits
i. No executive,
ii. State sovereignty
iii. Equal representation/votes in congress
iv. Congress cannot raise or levy taxes
v. No internal trade regulations
vi. States can’t mae alliances with two or more states.
vii. Congress works a s an arbiter of the states
viii. States coin their own money.

Class Meeting #5 – Professor Portteus, Professor Hess
I. Hamilton’s Plan
a. There will be an electorate college, chosen by the people.
i. President for life.
ii. Established a cabinet.
iii. Bi-cameral Congress into the Assembly and Senate Houses.
iv. Senators elected through state legislators.

06/30/10:

Readings:
Letter to Samuel Kercheval, Jefferson
The Federalist Papers, #10, #49, #51, #84 (paras. 8-12)
Letter to Thomas Jefferson, Madison

Common Session #7 – Professor Sikkenga
I. Admiration
a. The public ought to participate in government, and in doing so, they usually come to revere a public hero.
b. A constitutional republic shows that inherently we are governed by the written “rule of law”, and judgment is inherently before the law as opposed to before another human being. This is not inherent in a monarchy or a dictatorship.
i. Our laws are the laws we give ourselves by believing that the constitution is valid. Therefore, by obeying the laws, we actually obey ourselves because we technically made the laws by approving the constitution.
II. Letter to Samuel Kerchival
a. We can change the constitutions because:
i. We are wiser than the previous Generation.
ii. Each Generation has new interests, so you must change the constitution to fit the next Generation’s needs.
III. Federalist #49
a. Criticizes Jefferson's “Of the State of Virginia”
b. To ensure good government, you cannot keep altering the constitution because if it seems to be full of flaws, then so are the practical laws that stem from the constitutional provisions for law making.

Class Meeting #6
I. The Small Republic Argument
a. A big republic can’t connect well enough to its people because of the fact that it is big. A prime example would be Rome; as it expanded it changed from a Republic to an Empire.
i. A big republic allows for extremes of class due to a lack of true representation.
ii. This complicate system is too hard to understand and thus political powers can easily
b. In short, a Republic can only work if it’s small.
II. Federalist #10
a. A Faction is agroup of people united by passions or ideals.
b. Factions form between everyone has different means of acquiring estate or posessions.
i. The ways to control factions are through eliminating the causes or controlling the effects, and the first will eliminate liberty to choice while the latter will eliminate liberty of exercise.
1. Two types of factions exist, the majority and the minority.
ii. A truly determined majority will always win, so the real controlling effects question involves the majority faction – how to protect the minority from rights encroachment. Size is the solution.
c. When you have size, ideals get watered down, and it’s easier to sway the people on the outside of the majority who have the most diluted ideals and get them to defect from the cause.
i. It is this effect that controls factions. Majority factions are lethargic to act, and therefore usually solve themselves if the interests are varied in the peoples of the faction.
ii. We can’t assume people to be virtuous, so relying on factions instead of fearing them plays to its weakness.

Class Meeting #7
I. Federalist 84
a. A Bill of Rights is between a monarch and subjects, not persons and a constitution per say.
i. A bill is not necessary and is dangerous.
II. Federalist #51
a. We need effective checking security.
i. Justices are protected from the wills of the people at large because they are chosen by the President and therefore Congress.
ii. One problem is the salaries of all office holders.
1. Congress determines them all for everyone, but for one thing, Justice wages cannot be lowered, only raised. The Presidential Salary is static. Congressional salaries are changed when the next term arises.
iii. If you create powerful offices, that ambition will make the holders want to keep it, and therefore won’t attempt to alter someone else's office for fear of his own office getting altered.
1. Effectively, greed protects from greed.
III. Letter to Thomas Jefferson
a. Madison was a Federalist author, but he eventually supported the Bill of Rights and authored most of it.
i. We didn’t give up free speech to the federal government, therefore it is reserved, and pointless to protect on paper.
ii. On the flip side, written words serve as something citable, ad would add more to arguments as a credible source. “Half a loaf of bread is better than no bread at all.” – Thomas Jefferson

Congressional Academy Log #5: 7/02/10, This is Using Hard Drive Space...

That should be all for now.

Peace,
Chris Carl

“Too many people expect wonders from democracy, when the most wonderful thing of all is just having it.” — Walter Winchell

P.S. I should go over this more when I have some more free time...