Current Events

1. How much has Trump raised so far in 2019? 30.3million 2. Who are the top fund-raising Democrats so far? Democrats, Bernie Sanders ($18.2 million) and Kamala Harris ($12 million), combined. 3. Who does Trump classify as "small dollar donors? What is his average donation?  Small-dollar funders have been something Democrats have been targeting as well. As Vox’s Tara Golshan and Recode’s Theodore Schleifer explained: 4. What two other major factors indicate that Trump may be very likely to win reelection? In general, GDP has been growing a little faster under Trump than it was at the end of Obama’s presidency. Leaving alone whether the president deserves any credit for that improvement, it would bode well for his reelection chances if it continues. 5. What is Trump's current approval rating? What is the highest that it has been during his presidency? Trump’s approval rating, though it has gone up and down in the past two years, has remained stubbornly underwater — t...

The Taxpayer First Act would would prohibit the IRS from creating an online tax preparation system that would compete with TurboTax and H&R Block. The sponsors of this bill are: in the House by Democratic Rep. John Lewis (GA) and Republican Mike Kelly (PA), and in the Senate by Finance Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Ron Wyden (D-OR). These Congressmen are pushing for this bill because the IRS could prepare taxes automatically for the vast majority of Americans for whom it has all the required information.The bill would also “protect low- and moderate-income taxpayers.” The IRS would easily be able to compete with TurboTax and HR Block because the IRS could prepare taxes automatically for the vast majority of Americans for whom it has all the required information. Countries in Europe offer “pre-populated returns” to their citizens to help people file their taxes. Both Barack Obama and Ronald Reagan proposed providing pre-populated return...

Indiana's RFRA-Vox.com 1. What does the Indiana RFRA say? 2. In what way could this law possibly allow other forms of discrimination? 3. Why did then Governor Mike Pence clarify his interpretation of the law? 4. What happened in the 1990 Supreme Court case that inspired the creation of the first RFRAs? 5. Why did "Advance America" support the new law? 6. How did the Supreme Court use the federal RFRA to alter the regulations in the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare)? Colorado's Masterpiece Cake Shop - Vox.com 7. What situation caused these two parties to end up in the Supreme Court? 8. What was Craig and Mullins' argument in the case? 9. How did Phillips defend his actions? 10. How do we know that the Trump administration supported Phillips in this case? 11. How do Phillips and his attorneys argue that the wedding cake is different than normal services he provides? 12. What do Colorado state laws say that might protect Craig and Mullins?

Blog Post 3.7 "Election Do Over" 1. What was the result of this election in November 2019? 2. What do the state investigators accuse Leslie Dowless of doing to alter the election? 3. What amendment gave Mr Dowless the right to refuse to testify to the investigators? 4. What power does the state have to solve this problematic election? 5. What did Mr Dowless do to absentee ballots in order to help the Republican candidate? 6. What is the makeup of the state election board and how does that ensure fairness? 7. What did the group do with incomplete and unsealed absentee ballots? 8. Why is there no danger of prosecution for Mark Harris, the Republican candidate? ​

1. What powers does the National Emergencies Act of 1976 give POTUS? Lets them issue emergency declaration w/ constraints--only use specific powers Congress codified by law. 2. What congressional power in the constitution is Trump trying to get around by declaring this? Power of the Purse 3. How would Congress pass a joint resolution disputing the emergency? Both chambers of Congress would need to approve the resolution by a simple majority (51 votes in Senate and 218 in HoR) 4. What action can the president take in response to the joint resolution? He can veto it. 5. Why would landowners potentially sue the president to stop the wall? Because he'd be building the wall on their land since they own it. 6. What happened to the eminent domain lawsuits filed against President Bush? They went through and kept the government from taking the landowners' land. 7. Why would the ACLU sue the president to stop the wall? Because they believe Trump is blatantly declaring an illegal n...

1. What are the two reasons for a person to form an exploratory committee, according to this article? They can conduct polling on their candidacy and raise money for their future campaign. 2. What do the candidates do during the "exploratory phase"? They campaign, raise money, hire staff, conduct polling, and test the waters of their candidacy. 3. What do candidates have to do with the bureaucracy to make their exploratory committee official? File a statement of candidacy with the FEC and put the word exploratory in the committee's name. 4. Why did Elizabeth Warren's exploratory committee hire staff in Iowa? Because Iowa is an important early state in the primaries. 5. What is the most important task of the exploratory committee for the candidate? To get the candidate in the public's favor. 6. Why are Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders less likely to use an exploratory committee? Because they are popular and have a strong base of supporters.