...PRO Resolved: On balance, the Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission is undemocratic. We affirm. To better the round, we clarify the following: First, the definition of “election process” ELECTIONS are based on three organizing concepts: equal respect, free choice, and popular sovereignty are the building blocks of fair and just elections. The democratic process should treat all citizens as free and equal persons. As applied to the electoral process this requires that each citizen equal opportunity to have his or her vote equally counted. Contention 1: Super PACs decrease voter turnout Subpoint A: Voter turnout is a pre-requisite to the election process A flourishing democracy presupposes citizens who care, who are willing to take part, and who are capable of helping to shape the common agenda of a society. Participation through the act of voting, is always seen as an essential prerequisite of stable democracy. Subpoint B: Super PACs decrease voter turnout by 25% “Unlimited spending by supposedly independent super PACs is creating widespread perceptions of corruption and undermining public confidence that elected officials serve in the public interest, The perception that super PACs are corrupting government is making Americans disillusioned, and an alarming number say they are less likely to vote this year. Americans say they are less likely to vote because big donors to super PACs have so much more influence over elected officials...
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...1.) In reference to the 2010 Supreme Court decision in Citizens United vs. FEC, where the court allows corporate and union to spend an unlimited amount of money for political ads. They use money to support or go against the candidates. In my opinion, this is a very remarkable decision where the court decided to grant these different corporations to use money to influence elections. What makes it too obvious is the organization under Citizens United who accepts tons of money during elections to bankroll lawmakers' campaign. These organizations are influential they use lobbyist to promote or pursue their agendas. Moreover, they gain favor on their part, which is the real intention why they help the political candidates. The Supreme Court decision has affected country's democracy. People lose their confidence in the government. They feel that the government is...
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...a. Evan Bayh identifies that in the Senate today, it is too difficult to work with members of the opposing party with them actively plotting your demise. An improvement to this problem can be that the personal chemistry between senators can change thorough more interaction in a non-adversarial atmosphere. An example of this could be for senators to be divided by Republicans and Democrats and have a monthly lunch where they can talk about a certain topic without posturing and public talking. Thus, creates necessary progress. b. Another problem is ignoring the ruling in Citizens United v. FEC because if the Senate always thinks about money and what big corporations as well as unions will sponsor them based on their policy voting, then they will only care about making decision companies want...
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...Freedom of Speech under attack; Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission: (2010) A Legal Analysis Everyone has an unequal voice: Citizens United V. FEC Jack Balkin once said, “freedom of speech is the paradigmatic liberty through which one participates in democracy in the pluralist conception. It’s constitutional instantiation, the first Amendment, becomes identified with democratic pluralism itself.” On January 21, 2010 in the case Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that "the Government may regulate corporate political speech through disclaimer and disclosure requirements, but it may not suppress that speech altogether.” The court declared that corporations are people and in Justice Robert’s...
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...In the Citizens United case against FCC in 2010, the court voted that corporations who are nowhere listed in the Constitution and are not political organizations, now have the same right as people under the First Amendment, such as free speech. Corporations can spend all their wealth on promoting specific politicians which will eventually increase the corporations’ profits. In the article “Citizens United and the Corporate Court” by Jamie Raskin, she says that “corporations were already spending billions of dollars lobbying, running issued ads, launching political action committees and soliciting PAC contributions” (Raskin 17). She says that corporations try to use as much money as possible to influence the people to vote for specific candidates in the election. Moreover, corporations only donate money to political campaigns which influences the politician’s decision making. As soon as politicians get elected, they will help increase the corporations’ business profits. This gives the corporations tax breaks and more profits. In the...
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...2010 Supreme Court case between Citizens United and the Federal Election Commission, the court ruled in favor of Citizens United, which allowed corporations to have a 1st Amendment right to spend unlimited amounts of money to influence elections. With a 5-4 choice, the Supreme Court stretched out First Amendment rights to enterprises, to such an extent that companies can now utilize treasury assets to make free uses and to pay for electioneering interchanges regarding government...
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...PUB 195 NC (7-10) FACT SHEET Identification and Legal Presence Requirements for Non-United States Citizens As part of a nationwide effort to enhance the issuance of secure identification credentials, Pennsylvania requires the following documentation from Non-U.S. Citizens applying for a PA Driver’s License, Learner’s Permit and/or Identification (ID) Card, or transferring an out-of-state driver’s license. A minimum of one year legal presence is required by Pennsylvania law. PennDOT determines the expiration date of products based on your length of stay documents (typically the I-94) along with information from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). PennDOT verifies immigration documents electronically with DHS. This verification may not be able to be completed on the day of your visit and may require additional verification which can take up to 3 weeks to complete. Please take this time into account when planning to get a product. Age Requirements for Non-U.S. Citizens Individuals must be at least 16 years of age to apply for or, 16 1/2 years of age to transfer a Non-Commercial Driver’s License and/or Non-Commercial Learner’s Permit. Out-of-State Learner’s Permits can not be transferred to Pennsylvania. Individuals applying for or transferring a Commercial Driver’s License must be at least 18 years of age for intrastate driving or 21 years of age or older for interstate driving. Individuals must be at least 10 years of age to apply for a Photo Identification (ID) Card...
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...of teenagers occurs when using technology among others. The author also stated that teenagers nowadays, prefer to socialize by using gadget as a tool rather than having a conversation with the closes person. By having a face-to-face communications, it eliminates ambiguity whenever conversation occurs. 2.0 Summary This article explains about the digital etiquette. Teenagers these days see parents and teachers as people who know very little about using technology, on contrary parents and teachers see students getting out of control with all available technology. Technological misuse and abuse has become a societal problem. The solution is called “Digital Citizenship” where users are taught appropriate technology behavior. A good digital citizen is one who does the right thing when he or she is online. Most people feel uncomfortable talking to others about their digital conduct. Moreover, they have the rights to their own privacy and freedom of speech but such rights must be discussed and understood. These two areas must work together for everyone to be productive. The expanding digital communication options have changed everything because people are able to keep in constant communication with almost everyone. At the same time, the number of illegal or immoral goods and services has also surfaced. Digital Citizenship involves...
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...Mo in Empowering People in Information Dissemination Aiza Saguit, Camille N. De Luna, Kyle Amos Licong, Sean Marciano, and Mr. Ivan L. Inductivo Lyceum of the Philippine University Cavite Abstract. This study aimed to determine the level of awareness of the respondents to citizen journalism projects such as Bayan Mo i-Patrol Mo(BMPM). Also, it seeks to identify the perception of the respondents to BMPM as an information disseminator. The study also intends to find out the level of agreement of the respondents on the role of BMPM in empowering people in information dissemination. Each objective was tested by conducting series of procedures including surveys. The self-made survey – questionnaire method was used to acquire primary data from the respondents. On the other hand, books, journals, articles and internet sources served as reference for secondary information for the related literatures. The furnished questions were then given to each respondent and were eventually collected for recording purposes. Data was then analyzed by using the measure of central tendency, Mean. According to the results of the survey activity, it was found that majority of the students are well aware of the existence of citizen journalism in the Philippines. Most of the respondents recognize Bayan Mo i-Patrol Mo as an informative program and also agrees that it empowers the people in disseminating information. Based on the findings from the survey activity, the researchers concluded that students including...
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...someone who hasn’t even turned thirty yet, eh? Right out of the gate Welles proved to be an innovative and artistic force that could hold its own, and even surpass, the heavy hitters of his day. His career seemed to be on a steady incline for almost a decade; however, did his talent and work hit a plateau? Welles was always seen as an active political figure that was not afraid to voice or project his own viewpoints in the public, but did this have a negative or lasting affect on his later career? Critics argue the best work Welles produced was before he hit thirty years old, so was this a direct result from the negative attention he attracted from media magnates, specifically William Randolph Hearst, Hollywood elite, and most importantly the United States government? Also, Welles left the country at a time when the dreaded “blacklist” was starting to funnel through Hollywood (“Orson” 17). Whether this was coincidence or intentional is debatable, but either way the ramifications may have helped account for the different direction he took with his post-Hollywood career. Did Orson’s fame draw too much attention and lead to his downfall? The Orson Welles we all know was an American writer, director, producer, and actor. He was known for his innovative productions, unique voice and personality, and was acclaimed as one of the most successful artist of the twentieth century (“Orson” 1). Welles expanded many medias, working in radio, television, film, and theatre (which is how Welles got...
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...Unacquirable Objectivity in Journalism For thousands of years, humans have been searching for truth, for virtue and for beauty, and the most they want to achieve is a combination of all these three aspects. But now appears a doubt that whether these three things can harmoniously inosculate with each other. As is known to all that the current world is an information world, a media world where people could communicate with each other and receive varieties of information through the omnipotent media, people read and listen to the articles, critiques, essays and reports and dip themselves into the endless sea of thoughts, opinions, values spread by the authors and publishers. Therefore it is quite essential to figure out whether the readers, the receivers are surrounded in a "true" media environment, is the information they received true and objective. This essay will firstly introduce the basic theory foundation of this article by Michael Schudson and make a brief analysis of it, next the essay will talk about the form and the content of journalism. Then it puts emphasis on the objectivity within journalism and lastly it put the theoretical analysis into a current case and generally discusses how to reach the objectivity in journalism. Michael Schudson (2001, pp.149-170) has said "the belief in objectivity is a faith in facts, a distrust in values and a commitment to their segregation". Living in such an informative society and with journalism playing a much more...
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...W.W. Norton & Company. Chapters used in essay: Chapter 9 : Sound- There’s always two parts to a movie: vision and hearing. The sound operates on both physical and psychological levels. For most films sound provides cues that help us form expectations about meaning. In some cases, sound actually shapes our analyses and interpretations. Sound calls attention not only to itself but also to silence, to the various roles that each plays in our world and in the world of a film. Bordwell, D. & Thompson, K. (1993) Film Art: an introduction, McGraw-Hill Inc. USA Herrmann, Bernard. Score for a film in Gottesman, R.(ed) Focus on Citizen Kane, Prentice-Hall Inc, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey Used in finding definitions of sound. Citizen Kane. Dir. Orson Welles. Perf. Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten. Warner Bros., 1941. DVD. Ebert, Roger. “Citizen Kane”. 24 May, 1998. Web. Date of access 25 May 2012. Ebert’s article focuses on what defined the landmark 1941 film as the innovational piece of artwork it was and continues to be. Ebert himself describes Welles as a prodigy of his profession and follows the fictional Kane through channeling the real-life Hearst here and there during certain parts of the film. A psychological turn takes place at the end of the article as Ebert weaves the publicly scrutinized tycoon into a secluded and deluded old man towards the end of his life and how an unfulfilled childhood turned him into the powerhungry figure he was. Christley, Jaime. “Orson...
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...The term ‘mise-en-scene’ is used to “signify the director’s control over what appears in the film frame” (1) and covers such elements as setting, lighting, costume and the movement and actions of figures appearing within the film. The iconic Citizen Kane (Welles, 1941), a biopic that traces the life of fictional newspaper magnate Charles Kane, uses the elements of mise-en-scene to reinforce ‘loss’ as a recurring theme throughout the film. As a faceless reporter goes about collecting personal recounts of Kane, the stories told suggest that throughout the majority of his life, Kane was “moving inevitably toward [an inner state of] bitterness, disappointment and loss” (2). The first flashback scene shown (set at Kane’s childhood home) begins Kane on this aforementioned negative emotional journey. Kane is shown in the background of the scene, while in the foreground, his parents and Mr. Thatcher discuss his future. Kane appears visually trapped within the frames of a window, echoing the way in which he is being ‘trapped’ into Mr. Thatcher’s guardianship. During this scene, a close up of Kane’s indignant expression fades out slowly to reveal the sleigh he happily played with moments before. Having unwillingly left his simplistic home for the riches and supposedly assured success Thatcher can offer him, the sleigh is all that remains, shown abandoned in the foreground, covered in snow. Snow in itself bears “connotations both of burying [the past] and freezing [this idealised memory...
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...Carel Bou Maroun Friday, September 25, 2015 Reading Response #1 The Unknown Citizen – W.H. Auden (Pages 106-107) The satiric poem “The Unknown Citizen” caught my attention because W.H. Auden denounces our modern society. First of all, the title of the poem reminds us of Unknown Soldiers’ monuments that exist in many countries. Soldiers are usually remembered for their brave actions but their names are often forgotten and fade away. So, Auden ironically suggests that the “unknown” citizen also deserves a monument because he conforms to government’s rules, and only his actions will persist in archives “This Marble Monument Is Erected by the State”. Auden is satiric against modern governments who only want citizens to obey their norms. Secondly, the unknown citizen is only given a number “To JS/07M378”. The institutions see citizens as numbers in modern society; no citizen has a name in the eye of governments. Moreover, the unknown citizen has no longer his own personality. He lost it by being a slave to the government’s criteria. He sacrifices his own personality by conforming to the government and its norms “For in everything he did he served the Greater Community.” Thirdly, by saying “When there was peace, he was for peace: when there was war, he went”, Auden suggests that the unknown citizen has no opinion. His ideas are those that conform to accepted ideas. He doesn’t stand for himself and doesn’t say what he thinks. He goes along with the flow and isn’t different...
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...Citizen Kane Citizen Kane, a movie that was nominated for nine academy awards and won the Academy award for best writing is considered to be one of the greatest movies ever made. In order to understand why Citizen Kane has been so beloved in the world of film because of how realistic it felt although being a work of fiction or as the French call it a film à clef (French for Film with a Key) one must pick apart the all the parts that make a movie successful from its actors, lighting, plot, etc. The movie Citizen Kane brings in the audience into the life of Charles Foster Kane who is the main focus of the story and gives information on his life via a parody of the old “March of the Times” newsreels that were commonly used in the 1930’s along with “public” version of Mr. Kane’s very complex private life such as his rise to power, politics and social life which focuses itself on being a exposition as it introduces the audience to Mr. Kane and the important events in his life although using a hint of “Pro Kane” editorials with a very pompous and upbeat narrator with the finishing touch being Thatcher’s testimony before the US Senate that has Thatcher denouncing Kane. At the end of this newsreel the audience is handed a mystery that is on the forefront of their minds which was Charles Kane’s last word before his death “Rosebud” which piques the interest of the audience and makes them curious as to what happens with the absence of a giant such as Mr. Kane and what was the one...
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