2000 Election By County

Senate and Electoral College

From Yates's Notes on the Constitutional Convention, July 3d:

"Many of the members, impressed with the utility of a general government, connected with it the indispensable necessity of a representation from the States according to their numbers and wealth; while others, equally tenacious of the rights of the States, would admit of no other representation but such as was strictly federal, or in other words, equality of suffrage."

This shows that the composition of the Senate and that of the Electoral College are designed to protect the "rights of the States"--that is, the reserved powers of the states and the wishes of the inhabitants of all the states, including the smaller ones.

Freedom of the Press and XXX-Rated Movies

Should the people of Richardson be able to keep out stores like Zone d’Erotica, if they want to?

“Though the U.S. Supreme Court has held that Cities may regulate sexually oriented businesses but not totally prohibit them from operating within a city’s jurisdictional limits, we are not alone in the desire to make that decision at the local level. We will fight the Zone d’Erotica lawsuit in federal court and are pursuing opportunities to join other communities across the nation who share our desire for local control and regulation of sexually oriented businesses.” (Gary A. Slagel, Mayor of Richardson, in a April 20, 2007 letter to Richardson residents).

Establishment of Religion

Should the people of New York be able to require public students to pray this at the beginning of the school day?

“Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers and our country.” Prayer from NY schools declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1962 (in Engel v. Vitale).

Judges

The qualities Senator Obama and Senator McCain are looking for in a federal judge

Justice Goldberg on the role of judges

Iraq War

Feith on Bush’s decision to stress democracy as the reason we went into Iraq

(This short piece makes a great follow-up to your work on the Mid-Term essay, if you are interested.)

Illegal Immigration

Should Farmers Branch make it illegal to rent houses or apartments to people in the country illegally?

Farmers Branch: does the Federal government have the power to pre-empt local laws?

(See also this article about a raid on a slaughterhouse in Iowa and the detention of people in the country illegally)

HPV Vaccine

Shoud Texas require girls to get the HPV vaccination?

Affirmative Action

Should employers show preference to minorities when hiring?

Money

Should the US government change its paper currency in order to make it easier for blind people to use?

Japanse Research on Stem cells

Embryonic stem cell research: no longer necessary?

More on this here and here

US Spending on Medical Care

Should the US government cut spending on medical care?

Smoking

Should the city of Richardson ban smoking in businesses?

For what the city council decided see here

McCain's Mistake

Would it be right to vote for someone who makes a mistake about Iran training Al Qaida in Iran, as Senator McCain did?

Pastor Wright

Would it be right to vote for Senator Obama, considering he attended Pastor Wright's church for 20 years?

ABC video on Jeremiah Wright

Another video from Obama’s church

Israel

Should Israel continue to exist as a Jewish state?

Hamas music video

2000 Election

Was President Bush "elected" by the Supreme Court in 2000?

(Picture of guy looking at a hanging chad

2000 election results by county

What were the results of the recount done after the Supreme Court delivered its verdict?)

Getting the US out of Iraq

Should the US get out of Iraq as soon as possible?

Gas Prices

Should we drill for oil in Colorado?

Weird Science

Should scientists be allowed to create human-animal embryos?

Diplomacy

Should the President of the US be willing to meet with the President of Iran?

(84% of the GOVT 2302.8245 class thought yes.)

Obama on Iran and more on Obama’s understanding of Iran

Marriage between Homosexuals

Should the people of California be able to prevent homosexuals from getting married?

(71% of the GOVT 2302.8245 class thought no.)

Iran and Nuclear Weapons

Should the world permit Iran to acquire nuclear weapons?

(80% of the GOVT 2302.8245 class thought no.)

The US and Israel

Is it right for the US to support Israel?

(89% of the GOVT 2302.8245 class thought yes.)

Digging Deeper

Are most illegal immigrants from Mexico?

Are there any well-known Shiite terrorist groups?

Iraq War

Was it right to go to war in Iraq?

(53% of the GOVT 2302.8245 class thought no.)

Health Insurance

Should the US government provide health insurance for all Americans?

(57% of the GOVT 8245 class thought yes.)

Death Penalty

Should Florida put a man to death for murdering his girlfriend?

Illegal Immigration

Should the US government detain and deport people who are in the US illegally?

(57% of the GOVT 2302.8245 class thought no.)

Waterboarding

As this article indicates, after WWII, the US punished a Japanese soldier for waterboarding an American civilian.

Assuming that the technique used is the same in both cases, is it wrong for the US to insist that it is acceptable to waterboard terrorists, but unacceptable for a Japanese soldier to waterboard an American civilian?

Surveillance without a Judge's Approval

Should the US government be able to listen to phone calls between a terrorist (or suspected terrorist) in another country and someone in this country in order to prevent terrorist attacks--without a judge's prior approval?

The Right to Vote

Should people have to show photo id in order to vote?

High Gas Prices

Do we need to start drilling for oil and building new oil refineries in the US?

What President Bush said about high gas prices.

(52% of the 2301.8009 class thought no.)
(75% of the 2301.8012 class thought yes.)

Thomas Jefferson

Did Jefferson have a child with one of his slaves?

(58% of the 2302.8006 class thought yes.)

Free Trade

Should the US adopt a free-trade agreement with Colombia?

(71% of the 2301.8009 class thought yes.)
(77% of the 2301.8012 class thought yes.)

Founders and Equality

Did the Founders of the US really believe that "all men are created equal"?

(55% of the 2302.8006 class thought no.)

Free Speech and Muslim Brotherhood

Should the members of the Muslim Brotherhood be allowed to persuade people to establish Sharia law in the United States?

(66% of the 2302.8006 class thought no.)

Freedom of the Press and XXX-Rated Movies

Should the people of Richardson be able to keep out Zone d'Erotica, if they want to?

(63% of the 2302.8006 class thought yes.)

Freedom of the Press and Revolution

Should the people of NY be allowed to make it a crime to persuade others through writing that it would be a good idea to violently overthrow the US government?

(70% of the 2302.8006 class thought yes.)

Establishment of Religion

Should the people of New York be able to require public students to pray at the beginning of the school day?

“Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers and our country.” Prayer from NY schools declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1962 (in Engel v. Vitale).

(65% of the 2302.8006 class thought yes.)

US Agricultural Policy

Should the federal government encourage farmers to grown corn to be used as an additive to gasoline?

(68% of the GOVT 2301.8009 class thought no.)
(67% of the GOVT 2301.8012 class thought no.)

Theory of Evolution

Is there scientific evidence that apes and human beings share a common ancestor and that all living things evolved from a one-celled organism by means of random mutations and natural selection?

See here for the Inner Life of a Cell

Intelligent Design

Should the people of Dover, PA be able to teach the theory of intelligent design in public schools?

(67% of the 2302.8006 class thought yes.)
(52% of the 2301.8009 class thought yes.)
(79% of the 2301.8012 class thought yes.)

Karl Marx

Was a Karl Marx a good and idealistic man who should not be held responsible for the deaths of millions of people who died at the hands of people who called themselves Marxists?

Birth Control Pills

Should the people of Connecticut be able to make it illegal for women to use birth control pills, even if they are married?

(83% of the 2301.8012 class thought no.)

Foreign Aid for Population Control

Should the US increase foreign aid for the funding of family planning? (For a defintion of “Global Gag Rule” see here.)

(78% of the GOVT 2301.8009 class thought no.)

Religion in Texas Prison

Should the State of Texas be allowed to have a prison unit devoted to helping prisoners follow Jesus?

(86% of the 2302.8006 class thought yes.)

Religion

“The belief in a God All Powerful wise & good, is so essential to the moral order of the World & to the happiness of man, that arguments which enforce it cannot be drawn from too many sources...." (James Madison to Frederick Beasley, November 20, 1825)

Does a belief in this kind of a God cause people to be less willing to harm others, as Madison suggests? Does believing that there is no God (as in the case of Stalin and Mao) cause one to be more willing to harm others?

Abortion

Should we the people of Texas be able to make it illegal to get an abortion, if we want to?

(63% of the 2301.8009 class thought no.)
(52% of the 2301.8012 class thought no.)

Illegal Immigration

Should the US build a border fence?

Death Penalty

Should the people of Louisiana be able to execute convicted child rapists, if they want to?

(72% of the 2302.8006 class thought yes.)

Illegal Immigration

Should the US enforce its immigration laws?

Freedom and Polygamy

Should people be allowed to practice polygamy, even with 16-year old girls, if it is part of their religion?

(84% of the 2301.8009 class thought no.)
(88% of the 2301.8012 class thought no.)

Texas and Homosexuality

Should the State of Texas be able to make it a crime for people of the same gender to have sex?

(80% of the GOVT 2302.8006 class thought no.)

Equality and the Declaration

Did the Founders of the US really mean "all men"--that is, all human beings--when they said "all men are created equal"?

(54% of the 2301.8012 class thought yes.)

Affirmative Action

Should UT be able to show preference based on race?

(81% of the 2301.8009 class thought no.)

McCain and Abortion

Would it be right to elect a man for president who thinks that Roe v. Wade should be overturned?

(59% of the 2302.8006 class thought yes.)

Media and Recession

Has the negative way in which the media has covered the economy led the American people to think that we are in a recession?

(52% of the GOVT 2301.8009 class thought yes.)

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,343671,00.html

Liberty and God

In a free society, is it important for people to believe in God?

(53% of the GOVT 2301.8009 class thought yes.)
(53% of the GOVT 2301.8012 class thought no.)

Al Qaeda on Trial

Should members of Al Qaeda be tried in civil courts?

Ghailani trial and more on Ghailani

(75% of the 2302.8006 class thought no)

Affirmative Action

Should employers be able to make hiring decisions based on race?

(89% of the 2302.8006 class thought no)

Senator Clinton in Bosnia

Is it right to vote for a presidential candidate who said she was under sniper fire in Bosnia, when she wasn't?

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/186006.php

Happiness

Does living a moral life lead to happiness?

(56% of the GOVT 2301.8009 class thought yes)
(52% of the GOVT 2301.8012 class thought yes)

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/03/26/health/main3971458.shtml

http://www.fragilefamilies.princeton.edu/briefs/ResearchBrief41.pdf

http://www.state.ok.us/osfdocs/budget/table25.pdf

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/12/spitzer/

McCain's Mistake

Would it be right to elect a President who said (incorrectly) that Al Qaeda is being trained in Iran and then returning to Iraq to commit acts of terrorism?

(75% of the class thought yes)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vn921VG_pCA&NR=1

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/966544.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/11/AR2007041102121.html

STDs

Should society be responsible for paying for the medical care of sexually active teeneagers?

(74% of the 2301.8009 class thought no)
(63% of the 2301.8012 class thought no)

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/fea/healthyliving2/stories/031208dnnatteenstds.11592a5.html

Media and Iraq

Has the negative way in which the media has reported the Iraq war turned Americans against the war?

(80% of the 2301.8012 class thought yes).
(88% of the 2302.8006 class thought yes).

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/032408dnnat4000.1d6c82ad.html

http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2008/03/sizing-up-sacrifice-iraq-versus-major.html

http://greatersurbiton.wordpress.com/2008/01/14/is-it-really-true-that-east-timor-was-worse-than-bosnia-or-kosovo/

Guns

Should people be allowed to own guns?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080318/ap_on_go_su_co/scotus_guns

Death Penalty

Is it right to execute someone who is convicted of murder?

(56% of the 2301.8009 class thought no)

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D8VH6JV01.html

US Attorneys

Does President Bush have the right to fire US attorneys for political reasons?

(76% of the 2302.8006 class thought yes).

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2004273898_usattty11.html

US Economy

Should the Federal government take action to help the US economy?

(100% of the GOVT 2301.8009 class thought yes)
(76% of the GOVT 2301.8012 class thought yes)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/18/AR2008031800767.html

See also McCain's position at http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-na-mccain26mar26,1,947387.story

For Obama's position, see http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-campaign27mar27,1,625784.story

Senator Obama's Church

Would it be right to elect a president who is a member of a church whose pastor expresses hatred toward the United States, as described in this video?

(67% of the 2302.8006 class thought yes)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q49Ly5CwkvI&NR=1

Home Schooling

Should parents be allowed to home school their children?

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/07/MNJDVF0F1.DTL

Gay Marriage

Should homosexuals be allowed to get married?

(63% of the 2302.8006 class thought yes)
(55% of the 2301.8012 class thought yes)
(58% of the 2301.8009 class thought yes)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23465812/

Marijuana

Should it be legal to smoke marijuana?

(52% of the 2301.8009 class thought no).
(62% of the 2301.8012 class thought yes).

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/030308dnmetroguecop.3967790.html

http://bureaucrash.com/node/5867

Iraq War

Was it right for the US to go to war in Iraq without authorization from the United Nations?

(84% of the GOVT 2302.8006 class thought yes).

Social Security

Is it right to impose a Social Security tax on income above $97,500?

(82% of the GOVT 2301.8009 class thought yes).
(66% of the GOVT 2301.8012 class thought yes).

http://www.factcheck.org/clinton_vs_obama.html

Income Tax

Is it right to make the top 5% of wage earners pay more in income taxes than everyone else combined?

(51% of the 2301.8009 class thought yes).
(51% of the 2301.8012 class thought yes).

http://www.ntu.org/main/page.php?PageID=6

Health Insurance

Is it right for presidential candidates to promise to provide health insurance for all?

(83% of the 2302.8006 class thought no).

http://www.mises.org/story/2285

US Military Withdrawal from Iraq

Should the US get our military forces out of Iraq by March 30, 2008?

(63% of the 2302.8006 class thought no).

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19862711/

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080216/wl_nm/iraq_dc

http://abcnews.go.com/WN/story?id=4292435&page=1

Foreign Aid

Should the US increase its foreign aid to .7% of GDP?

(91% of the 2302.8006 class thought no).
(61% of the 2301.8009 class thought no).
(83% of the 2301.8012 class thought no).

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/05/business_aid_and_development/img/1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/05/business_aid_and_development/html/1.stm&h=300&w=300&sz=21&hl=en&sta

http://www.theglobalist.com/StoryId.aspx?StoryId=4484

http://www.nationalledger.com/artman/publish/article_272618845.shtml

Sex Toys

Should the people of Texas be able to prohibit the sale of sex toys, if we want to?

(83% of the 2301.8009 class thought no).
(53% of the 2301.8012 class thought no).

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5j9nJAskGY86vOF-xXidS68Iw0glAD8UPQFCO0

Health Insurance

Should the Federal government make sure that everyone has health insurance?

http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0605/p09s02-coop.html

With us or against us

Was it right for President Bush to say, "Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists"?

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010920-8.html

Born Alive Act

Should there be a law requiring hospitals to preserve the life of a fetus/baby that is born alive during a late term abortion?

(79% of the GOVT 2302.8006 class thought yes).

http://www.illinoisrighttolife.org/newpage36.htm

http://illinoisreview.typepad.com/illinoisreview/2008/01/top-10-reasons.html

Zone d'Erotica

Should the people of Richardson be able to keep out Zone d'Erotica, if they want to?

(69% of the 2301.8012 class thought no).

http://www.cor.net/news/CouncilNewsRegardingZoning/PDF/SOBletter4-20-07.pdf

Religion in Public Schools

Should the people of PA be able to have Bible reading and prayer in their public schools, if they want to?

(74% of the 2301.8009 class thought no).

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=374&invol=203

Obama for President?

Do you want Barack Obama to be the next President of the US?

"No matter what obstacles stand in our way, nothing can stand in the way of millions of voices calling for change."

(63% of the GOVT 2302.8006 class said no).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjXyqcx-mYY

Nuclear Weapons

Is it right for the US to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons?

(75% of the 2302.8006 class thought yes).
(64% of the 2301.8009 class thought yes).
(90% of the 2301.8012 class thought yes).

http://www.nysun.com/article/70818

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=080205110538.ntkw4xel&show_article=1

Freedom of Worship

Is freedom of worship a basic human right?

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/11/africa/ME-GEN-Egypt-Muslim-Convert.php

http://www.compassdirect.org/en/display.php?page=news&lang=en&length=long&idelement=5209

Iraq War

Was it right for the US to go to war in Iraq?

http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2008/03/sizing-up-sacrifice-iraq-versus-major.html

(51% of the 2302.8006 class thought yes).

Waterboarding

Should waterboarding be legal?

(70% of the 2301.8009 class thought yes).
(59% of the 2301.8012 class thought no).
(71% of the 2302.8006 class thought yes).

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/01/28/national/w142155S63.DTL

Warrantless Surveillance

Should the Federal government be allowed to listen in on international phone calls between a suspected terrorist in another country and someone in the US?

(88% of the 2302.8006 class thought yes).

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/29/AR2008012902909.html?hpid=moreheadlines

Public Schools

Is it right for some school districts to share their property tax revenues with other school districts?

(75% of the 2301.8009 class thought yes).
(60% of the 2301.8012 class thought yes).

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/012808dntexwimberley.2c73fcc.html

Illegal Immigration

Should Farmers Branch make it illegal to rent houses or apartments to illegal immigrants?

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/city/carrollton/stories/DN-fbrentals_23met.ART.State.Edition2.375c54f.html

Patriot Act

Is the PATRIOT Act a threat to liberty?

"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." (Benjamin Franklin)

Economic Stimulus

Is it right for the Federal Government to issue tax rebates in order to stimulate the economy?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/29/AR2008012901935.html

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/ECONOMY_STIMULUS?SITE=TXDAM&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=BUSINESS.html&CTIME=2008-01-18-08-37-20

Health Insurance

Should the Federal Government make sure that everyone in the United States has health insurance?

(59% of the GOVT 2301.8009 class thought yes).
(79% of the GOVT 2301.8012 class thought yes).

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/012208dnbusMedCampaign.2cfd3db.html

Iraq War

Are we making progess in Iraq?

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iraq17jan17,1,964956.story?coll=la-headlines-world

Abortion

Are there too many abortions in the United States?

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-abort17jan17,1,4238265.story?coll=la-headlines-nation

Destroyed Tapes

Was it right for the CIA to destroy tapes of harsh interrogations?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/15/AR2008011504090.html?hpid=topnews

Child Support

Should the State of Texas pay for paternity tests in order to make fathers pay child support?

(97% of the GOVT 2301.8012 class thought yes).

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/5454588.html

Pornography in Public Libraries

Should we the people of Dallas permit people to view pornography in public libraries?

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/011508dnmetlibraryporn.27bb24d.html

Guantanamo Bay and Due Process

Does it promote liberty for the US to detain alleged terrorists at Guantanamo Bay?

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/11/us/11gitmo.html?_r=1&hp=&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1202749242-AG3RU7Z8lRgt+xZ7KYPigg

Disaster Relief

Has the Federal Government done enough to help people recover from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita?

(67% of the GOVT 2302.8006 thought that the Federal Government has done enough).

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/011408dnmetevacuees.2aa3cdb.html