I attended the congressional hearing on Capitol Hill to hear testimony on the Global Nuclear Weapons Environment on Wednesday, March 8, 2007 at 2:30 PM in Room SR-222, Russell Senate Office Building. The hearing was conducted by the subcommittee on strategic forces which is one of subcommittees within Senate Armed Services Committee. They discussed and examined the global nuclear weapons environment. It was a first former hearing of the strategic forces subcommittee for this year. The hearing room was very smaller than I expected, but it looked very classical and patriotic. There were large flags on the wall and some picture frames which represented the military spirits. Because of many attendees and audiences included the press at the hearing, …show more content…
The subcommittee members and witnesses were focusing on the matters without any conflict of opinions. The staffs of the subcommittee members were sitting behind of the members and they were mostly busy for writing notes and deliver the papers to their subcommittee member. Moreover, I would like to guess the legislators’ reasons for being present at the hearing are balancing power and making laws. They try to create, amend, and repeal laws to provide structure and order to a society. The hearing was not being televised but there were about ten members of the press attended on the site. There were reserved sits for them. They were mostly typing on their lap top during the hearing session. With attendance of members of the press was able to increase the awareness of an important issue. Overall, my experience of attending the hearing was very good. It was a first time attending the hearing event of my life. I believe that it was a great opportunity to experience and learn more about the hearing procedure. Finally, it was different aspects of learning compared from the description of hearing in the text that when I was physically attending and participating, I was able to understanding the Congressional hearing more
Hamilton provides an inside look at how congress really works and clears up popular misconception that make members of congress look like wasteful bickering crooks that support gridlock and are only concerned with the needs of interest groups and lobbyists. Hamilton argues that Congress has changed for the better throughout the years and that they are held at higher standards than they were before. Hamilton states that Congress is not only working at keeping the public happy but that have recently become faced with a lot more issues than before, they are not only more issues but more complicated and technical that are very high risk policies that take a long time to produce a decision (Hamilton, 1988, 65). Hamilton states that Congress is a system in which the viewpoints of everyone are taken into account and make sure there is a consensus when it comes to defining decisions. Even though many of us acknowledge that lobbyist and special interest groups play an essential role in the law making party, Congress is making an effort to make sure that everyone’s voice is heard. Congress is making sure that the balance of power is distributed properly. In recent years, there has been a decline in mega-lobbies and interest groups so that not only the wealthy powerful get their voice heard, but the everyday american people get an opinion in things that affect them as well. In Gary Lee’s article, The NRA Has Lost some Firepower, we can see that interest groups are beginning to have less of an influence on larger political decisions (Hamilton, 1988, 65). For example, the National Rifle Association’s defeat in the battle over the “Brady bill” and their war towards trying to revamp Medicaid was a great loss for lobbyists and
In this essay, I will explain why Texas should retain the partisan election of judges. Texas is one of the few states that elect their judges using a Partisan voting method. Partisan elections can be unfair and can misinform the voter. A high legal position such as a judge should never be chosen in such a manner. Partisan elections often cost more than nonpartisan elections in campaigning. Partisan elections are also more likely to lead to straight ticket voting or mindless voting. Partisan elections also lead to more campaign contributions and can increase the power of constituencies. Lastly partisan elections can cause an imbalance in equal represent the population. Therefore, Partisanship voting does not belong in the courts of Texas and
During the process of Mock Congress I was a Republican. I researched two bills and prepared a convincing speech for each of them. The Republican bill I supported was Bill #4. This was a bill to implement a national sick day policy. This meant that all full-time employees in the United States shall be paid their ordinary daily wage for up to fourteen days per year for days missed due to illness or injury. Throughout this speech I described many beneficial factors that would come with passing this bill. I found this information by going to google and then looking for .org websites on my bill topic. One of the beneficial facts I found was that three-quarters of adults support a policy giving employees a minimum number of paid sick days (Fact Sheet: Paid Sick Days). Another interesting point I found while researching was that paid sick days can be
Her argument was confusing because she gave me the impression that she was arguing for the motion, instead of against. In my opinion, her tone was slow and made it seem like she was not confident about her argument. It was only at the end of her speech where I understood what her main point was; Lennie was slaughtered and murder isn’t allowed in the court. The next two speakers for the opposition side was Tyrique and Anthony, who I felt like both had ineffective arguments. For example, Tyrique addressed the fact that Lennie could have had a chance for surviving and there were other ways to handle the situation. However, all those points were already contradicted by the other team and Tyrique didn’t provide an adequate rebuttal. The strongest and last speaker on the opposition team was Kayla. Her tone was convincing and loud, which caught my attention. She clearly stated something that the others didn’t, which was that Lennie’s death was premeditated and vividly described how it was an inhumane death. However, the proposition team as a whole did not impact me
In the United States of America, there are a number of national issues that go unresolved and become more of a major issue subsequently. The lack of resolution in some of our nation’s most critical issues is due to the lack of a common ground between opposing political parties. Issues such as healthcare, climate change, abortion, same-sex marriage, taxes and welfare are reoccurring problems in the United States due to congressional gridlock. The cause of congressional gridlock can be attributed to the difference in liberal and conservative views, which can be further examined through some of the nation’s most prominent reoccurring issues such as immigration and gun control.
Did you know that in order for a bill to become a law it must go through the house of representatives and Senators?The house of representatives and the senators are alike in many different ways.Congress has many different roles that they do for example a role that they have to do are when someone make a bill that wants to be passed it first has to be introduced to congress then the congressmen discusses it out then pass it to the president.Another role congress has is that they have the power to declare war and make laws.
Between the period of 1820-1861 there was a number of political compromises done in order reduce the sectional tension between the North and the South. While each of the compromises created helped the issue that the country was facing at that time, they did not help overall. The compromises were only a temporary fix for the country’s problem of sectionalism. Therefore while political compromises were effective in reducing the tension between the North and the South it did not help in preventing the civil war.
Another element to this issue would be Congress’ very public decision making process. As Davidson and Oleszek wrote “if a representative or senator sounds ill-informed or advances an outrageous proposal …the representatives of the media are likely to stress the…event rather than the substance of the overall debate.” This is very true because when congress discusses issues, it is broadcast on CSPAN and covered by journalists. On the contrary, the inner workings of the executive branch and the judicial branch are kept very private most of the time. Again, all the people are being presented with is biased information so that is all they have of which to form an opinion. This particular example is not Congress’ fault however. They have no control over how the media portrays them. Congressmen are human and if they make a mistake while addressing their peers, it should not become an addition to the list of reasons to hate congress.
...stand why the AER did what it did for the first hour because they wanted to ensure each individual got their chance to be heard before a decision was made, which is a great practice to limit the amount of hurt feelings and disgruntled people. Due to the longevity of this hearing I was only about to attend the fist few hours of the trial and was unable to hear the final verdict. Finally I believe that this hearing, the parts I was able to view, was very fair to both parties and the board was not quick to jump to conclusion, which could cause individuals to feel unjustly treated and file for appeal.
Approximately twenty feet in front of me was a young man, not much older than myself, sitting in a chair facing the judge. Behind me, the family of the teenage girl who was the victim of a sexual assault. The victim and her family were hysterically crying as the prosecutor began to play a tape recording of the girl’s 911 call from the night of the assault. I sat in awe watching the way the prosecutor and the defense attorney interacted. My only purpose in the courtroom was to take notes and learn
After World War II the United States and several other nations, including the Soviet Union, continued the development and testing of nuclear weapons. In 1952 and 1953 the United States and the Soviet Union, respectively, detonated the first hydrogen bombs, which proved to be more powerful than the weapons used against Japan. At this time, concerns about the amount and effect of nuclear fallout produced by these weapons grew. In 1955, a group of five countries including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France and the Soviet Union formed a committee as part of the U.N. Disarmament Commission to discuss the cessation of nuclear weapons testing. The committee made little progress over the next several years due to disagreements ove...
The courtroom was jammed with anxious people, waiting for the action to get underway, staring
The Supreme Court plays a very important role in our constitutional system of government. First, as the highest court in America, it is the last chance for those looking for justice. Second, due to its power of judicial review, it plays a key role in ensuring that each branch of government abides by its own power. Third, it protects civil rights and liberties by cancelling out laws that violate the United States Constitution. Finally, it sets appropriate limits on democratic government by making sure that popular majorities cannot pass laws that harm or take illegal advantage of unpopular minorities. While it serves to ensure that the changing views of a majority do not undermine the fundamental values common to all Americans, such as freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and due process of the law.
Another thing that I think went really well is how the reporters were asking very good questions after the trials and how witnesses were able to answer the questions given to them without stuttering. All in all I think the trial went completely well, there were a few mess ups here and there but we made it through them. Not everything can be perfect, right? They weren't horrible mess ups so it’s fine.
As a professional in today’s society, it is greatly important to be able to communicate effectively with other professionals, with clients, and with those that are encountered in daily living. In order to communicate in a proper manner, not only is talking and non-verbal communication, but a large aspect is the ability to listen. Listening is a vital task in order to build a relationship and find meaning in someone else’s words. In order to find this meaning one must follow the characteristics of active listening, face the challenges to listening, and reflect upon one’s own listening skills.