montanamaven

When Should The President Use The Power Of Line Item Veto?

admin — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Line item vetos have always been a contentious topic in national politics, and with the recent budget debates, its something that has been coming to the forefront yet again. In essence, a line item veto would allow the chief executive to veto specific parts of a bill, without vetoing the bill in its entirety. Currently, although line item veto power is common on a state level, with 44 state governers wielding this power, the president is barred from performing a line item veto by the Supreme Court (Clinton v. City of New York).

Recently however, there have been arguments to lift this ban and allow the president to use this power. Supporters believe that it could be used to cut back on ‘pork barrel- spending, by allowing the president to slash wasteful budget allocations, and trim down special interest spending. Those against the line item veto believe that being able to cut specific portions of the bill damages the checks and balances instituted in the constitution by weakening the congressional ability to control national budget, and allowing a president to target specific people or interest groups by omitting portions or references within bills. Either way, the introduction of a line item veto power for our chief executive would drastically change the field of national politics.

Should The U.S. House Vote To Extend Provisions In Patriot Act.

admin — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

U.S. Patriot Act was introduced to House of Representatives on October 23, 2001 as a response to September 11 Attacks. It was introduced by Jim Sensenbrenner, a Conservative Republican who sought to decrease some of national restrictions on law forces such as FBI and CIA. This bill has been controversial in many ways as many people criticized it for its extra loose laws that allow police, CIA, and FBI wiretap people, start surveillance without District Attorney-s approval, look up personal information, and much more. U.S. Patriot Act should be eliminated from our laws as it gives government extra powers on people to commit acts that used to be illegal at one point and should immediately enforce laws for government law agencies.
As mentioned above, this law gives provisions to FBI to look up into personal stuff of an individual without asking him/ her. According to U.S. Patriot Act 215 panel FBI can browse library records and look up the books that one has checked out through time. In addition, the same thing can be done with other personal records as well. For a U.S. citizen this is a worrisome factor in a daily life as it does not let citizen have liberty of U.S. constitution.
All in all, U.S. Patriot Act should be ceased immediately as it restricts citizens of basic right of liberty.Still bored? Click to continue: Microsoft reveals European cloud data is vulnerable to U.S. Patriot Act

Is Government Spending Out Of Control?

admin — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Of course it is! We’ve all heard stories about hammers that cost 300 and toilet seats that cost 400 but the truth is much much worse. Spending 25 million annually to maintain vacant or unused federal owned buildings is not only ridiculous but insulting to the American taxpayer. Now Congress is crying that they can’t pay their mortgages on just 174,000 a year! Well, I’m not sorry to say too bad! The rest of the country already has that problem and guess what they get; foreclosed.
Many Americans are living paycheck to paycheck and the government is spending 2.6 million on Chinese prostitutes so they can learn how to drink responsibly on the job. What is the government doing to this country? Threatening programs like Social Security so they can spend 60,000 an hour to have photos of Air Force one taken in front of national landmarks. Seriously?! How much more are the rest of us supposed to take?
Too many Americans are not making ends meet anymore and the government is spending like crazy on programs or facilities it cannot use like the lab the National Institutes of Health rents at a cost of 1.3 million monthly.
Enough already!

Faking Your Way Through a Political Conversation

admin — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Ever feel left out when your friends start talking politics and you’ve got nothing to contribute? We don’t understand because we’re all about the party lines but here’s our best suggestions for looking effortlessly interested without being too intense
Get the Basics: Get out your get wild blue internet and research the main playersdo you know who Michelle Bachmann is? You should, and a few of her rivals, just enough to mention their name and a fact or two about their policy.
Learn One Topic: Become a pseudo expert in one area, say, healthcare reform, and turn every conversation back to that topic. You’ll look like a genius and if you choose wisely there’s likely to be other people in the room who are just as willing to talk about it.
Plead the Fifth: If all else fails, make everyone else feel bad for talking about politics by saying you prefer “not to talk about politics or religion in a social setting” because it generally upsets people. You’ll seem mature and thoughtful without anyone ever knowing you don’t know anything about politics.

Egyptian Government: Should America Get Involved?

admin — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Should America get involved in Egyptian affairs of state? This question, like many others regarding such an issue needs to be defined for further discussion. Just what constitutes involvement?

When considering Egypt, keep in mind that this country is one of the world’s oldest civilizations. Its culture, mores and political structure has been in development for many thousands of years. From the pharaohs to the pan Arab nationalism of Nasser, Egypt has weathered many political storms.

The rise of Anwar Sadat and his refutation of Nasser’s nationalistic policy and his willingness to engage in progressive peacemaking served Egypt well and this trend continued under the tutelage of Hosni Mubarak. During the last 40 years America and Egypt have stood side by side on many different issues affecting not just the two nations, but concerning the Middle East as a whole.

Without this close cooperation, the whole process of the Middle East peace accords simply could not have occurred. Having the benefit of hindsight think how the 1970s and 1980s may have unfolded in the Middle East. Without these two nations standing as a bulwark against radicalism, the map of the Middle East would be quite different today.

In short, we cannot afford to be disengaged from a country that is considered by many other Arab nations as a bellwether. Egypt stands in the unique position amongst its brother Arab nations as a facilitator of peace. A close positive working relationship benefits countries, the immediate region, and the entire world.

Should The President Receive The Power Of Line Item Veto?

admin — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The question behind whether or not the president deserves the power of line item veto has been discussed a lot lately. Many people don’t fully realize what this means but specifically it means the president can veto part of a bill but approve the rest when it reaches his office. The biggest question is if this is even constitutional or not.

The constitutionality of the line item veto is at the center of this debate. This particular type of veto was never addressed in the constitution in any language be it specific or vague. It simply states that the president has the power to veto as a part of the checks and balances of our government.

The president shouldn’t receive this power though because of the way it undermines these balances established. It could potentially be problematic as the representatives of the people will have their positions undermined. This means that they could pass a bill that is the interest of the people but have it drastically changed at the executive level. The only solution would then be to create another bill that addresses those items veto. This effect will cause more unnecessary bills being pushed through in an attempt to gain what the representatives originally had in mind.

Should Congress Have A Balanced Federal Budget Before Next Session?

admin — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000

In an ideal country, the federal budget would not only be balanced by the next session, but it should be balanced every session. However, in the history of the United States, these fiscal problems have never fully solved every year. Plus, the issue of government spending tends to be rather complex, with issues of debt maturity, bond issues and what sorts of spending are mandates, as opposed to discretionary. In this regard, it will be likely impossible to balance the budget in a short amount of time. Plus, given the political realities in both the Senate, House of Representatives and the White House, solving a range of long term problems in the short term will not happen.

Both parties have their list of concerns and pet issues. Democrats will likely not budge on major entitlement programs such as Social Security, Medicare and other issues. Republicans will not likely get all the cuts they wish for, and they will likely not get the specific tax or social reforms that have long been part of their party platform. Also, the GOP is seemingly split between two factions: the establishment and politicians sympathetic to with the disgruntled GOP rank-and-file, commonly referred to as “The Tea Party.”

While balancing the budget is an admirable aim, all parties involved should do the most practical thing. Come to a consensus on how to keep the government running on a short term basis. Shutting down the federal government over this issue should not be a credible options. The government provides too many vital services that would cease if funding runs out. This includes not only entitlement programs, but several institutions that have an international and financial scope. This is not to say that the budget needs to be ignored. However, the conversation needs to be focused on long term viability and not short term deadlines.

Cheney’s Insight Growing Closer

www.montanamaven.com — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0000

It was reported by The New York Times back in June 2009 that former Vice President Dick Cheney had signed a deal with an imprint of Simon & Schuster (Threshold Editions) to write his memoirs about the time he spent in politics over the past 40 years (in which he was involved in service with four presidential administrations). In addition to his political linkage Cheney will reportedly write about his private business experience where he served as Chief Executive of the Halliburton Company (an oil field services provider) that has been linked closely with former President George W. Bush and campaign dealings. Cheney concurred on a recent interview on the Today Show that the book will be “candid and blunt” and may even “settle some scores.” This book falls in line with a register of figures from the Bush administration like Condoleeza Rice and Karl Rove who also have book deals it seems to be an attractive way to air viewpoints while still collecting a nice paycheck (it has been reported that Cheney will receive around 2 million for his book). And as far as airing viewpoints, Cheney commented in the Today Show interview that his book will cover some regrets he carries to this day an emotion many believed he was not capable of. The book is slated to hit the shelves later this year so reserve your copy now if there’s an interest to learn more about the frustrated man cloaked behind the president he served.

Medical Marijuana in the News

www.montanamaven.com — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0000

It seems that lawmakers in Montana are at it again battling over the legalities and benefits of medical marijuana laws in the state, with some lawmakers seeing the industry as “out of control.” Lawmakers are slated to tackle the issue in the state legislature meetings come January as they face the rules of the industry “head on.” Apparently there’s a bit of an outcry that over 20,000 Montanans have medical marijuana cards and the police are having a difficult time enforcing the law since they’re not fully apprised of what the law is. Our view from here is that it shouldn’t matter if 50,000 people have medical marijuana cards if sick individuals need the medicinal herb to improve their quality of life the number shouldn’t matter. What matters is that law enforcement doesn’t know how to interpret the law since it’s never been made clear to them. Is that the fault of the sick individuals in need of the medicine, or the fault of bureaucracy? Rhetorical, perhaps; but a critical question nevertheless.

Governor’s Energy Development Position

www.montanamaven.com — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer recognizes that one of the state’s most exciting economic growth potentials rests in the development of world class energy resources such as wind, oil, gas, biofuels, and biomass to help the nation as a whole wean itself off the dependency of foreign resources by utilizing Montana resources. Specifically, Montana leads the nation in wind energy power potential since the state is at the center of North America’s wind heartland. The state has adopted a renewable energy portfolio standard (in 2005) that requires 15 renewal power by the year 2015. Following are a few other incentives currently available from the state: 15-6-201(4) MCA Property tax exemption for buildings using renewable energy.15-6-225 MCA Property tax exemption for renewable generating facilities under 1MW.15-24-1401 MCA Property tax reduction for renewable generating facilities.15-31-124 MCA New or expanded industry tax credit.15-32-201 MCA Tax credits for individuals installing non fossil forms of generation.15-32-401 MCA Alternative energy investment tax credit.15-72-104 MCA Exemption from wholesale energy transaction tax.Governor Schweitzer was also the first governor to endorse the national “25 x ’25 Initiative,” a grassroots effort gaining bipartisan support to pass federal legislation requiring 25 of US energy demand be supplied by renewable resources by 2025. Since 2005 he has gained national attention for developing an energy plan in Montana that promotes conservation and developing the state’s abundant energy resources in a responsible manner.The state’s mission is to “support all types of wind development, from industrial scale wind farms to locally owned community wind models serving individual farms, businesses and homes, as well as the construction of electric transmission lines that deliver Montana’s wind power to high demand markets.