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Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Rousseau argued that sovereignty (or the power to make the laws) should be in the hands of the people but he also made a sharp distinction between the sovereign and the government. He instead preferred the idea of a city-state. Although we are not exactly what he pictured, we are still a country based on the idea of being for the people. Not for the king, queen or president. -
Entry 2
The Bill of Rights was important and extremely controversial in it's time period. The idea of it was originally rejected in the Constitution in 1787. It was the right to human protection and what we felt, at the time, every person (which was really only white, male land owners) deserved. -
Minimum Wage
Montana, Colorado, Ohio, Vermont and Florida will become the first states to raise their minimum wage to above $10 per hour. The new minimum wage of $10.24 is nearly $3 over the federal minimum of $7.25 per hour which was set in 2009. Times are changing thanks to the help of NELP, the National Employment Law Project on federabl minimum wage. -
Supreme Court and Health Care Law
The Supreme Court will be viewing whether or not Obama's Healthcare reform law is overstepping contituational rights by requiring everyone have some form of healthcare by 2014. An outcome has not been revealed yet. -
Texting and Driving: Oregon Law
Oregon prohibits texting and use of handheld cell phones for all drivers with the exception of police, emergency responders and drivers in emergency situations. Novice drivers are prohibited from all cell phone use. The fine for violating Oregon’s cell phone or texting laws is $142. This is for an increase in safety for the people. -
The Electoral College-- Why it exists.
In the constitution, it states that each state is allowed to appoint electors, based on population. This is so there is a "majority" based on what the people want. There are currently 538 electors so a presidential candidate needs atleast 270 to win. Most states are preferenced towards either republican or democratic but some states are called "swing states". Ie: Florida, Colorado, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio and Virginia.
