Democrats

Government Assistance for Veterans

July 30, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

The government provides many benefits for veterans. After years of serving their country, veterans have earned the benefits offered by the government. Veterans are entitled to get help with their education, often while still in the service. You qualify for the Post 9/11 GI Bill education assistance after 90 days of service that started on or after September 11, 2001. If you’re honorably discharged because of an injury that occurred as a result of your service, you can qualify for education assistance if you served at least 30 days. The benefits include tuition that’s paid directly to the school. The school must be listed with the Armed Services as an institution of higher learning. You’ll also receive an allowance to help pay for your housing (unless your studies are through an online course) and $1,000 annually for books and supplies. The benefit is good for 15 years after you’ve been released from active duty, and includes three years of education.

The government will also help veterans purchase a home. You can receive a home loan if you conform to the eligibility requirements, which are specific to the time and years that you served. In addition to home loans, discounted houses are available to veterans. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) frequently purchases foreclosed houses that were originally bought through VA financing. A real estate agent in your area will have a listing of these available houses.

The VA will help veterans with vocational rehabilitation and employment opportunities. Some of these benefits include vocational counseling and an evaluation in order to establish your skills and what type of work you’re interested in doing. The administration also provides tips and techniques in how to interview and help writing your resume. And once you’re ready to work, they’ll help with job placement, on-the-job training, apprenticeship programs and non-paid work experience.

Filed Under: Congress, Democrats, Republicans Tagged With: United States, United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Veteran

Supreme Court Nominee Rejections

July 17, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

Many people, including some of the nominees, consider Supreme Court confirmation hearings to be a waste of time. Often, the nominees don’t answer direct questions about their beliefs so, as they have testified, they don’t jeopardize possible future votes. But issues and problems with nominees can be uncovered during a confirmation hearing. And though a nominee might survive the hearing to be appointed to the court, his or her reputation can be sullied in the process. This happened with Clarence Thomas when Anita Hill, a law professor at the University of Oklahoma, accused Thomas of sexual harassment when she worked for him on the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission. Since there was no direct evidence and it was Hill’s word against Thomas’s, he was confirmed as an associate justice of the Supreme Court. The accusation, though, hangs over his head to this day.

Probably the most well-known recent Supreme Court nominee rejection is Robert Bork. President Reagan nominated the U.S. Court of Appeals judge who was known for his ultra-conservative opinions. Civil rights groups and other liberals were able block his nomination with a 58-42 vote against Bork. Some people felt he was treated unfairly and Bork himself resigned as a judge after the confirmation hearing.

Reagan then nominated appellate judge Douglas Ginsburg. But during his confirmation hearing, it was revealed that he smoked marijuana and he, too, was rejected. (Reagan’s third choice, Anthony Kennedy, was confirmed.)

Roger Taney was rejected in 1835, but he was nominated again—both times by Andrew Jackson—won confirmation as chief justice and eventually wrote the 1857 Dred Scott decision stating that no black person could ever become a citizen of the United States.

The strongest rejection in Supreme Court history was for Alexander Wolcott in 1811. Walcott, a customs inspector, was rejected with a vote of 9-24 because of his embargoes against Great Britain and France.

Filed Under: Democrats, People Tagged With: Clarence Thomas, Supreme Court, United States Supreme Court

Debt Consolidation to Lower Payments

June 29, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

: Image via Wikipedia

Debt consolidation can be a way to lower payments by having one single loan instead of paying many creditors at the same time. These loans can have lower interest rates and can sometimes even lower the total debt that is owed.

What happens is that many unsecured loans are combined into one single unsecured loan. However, sometimes the combined loans are secured with collateral such as with a home mortgage; the house being the secured part of the loan. The interest rates on these loans can be lower because debt consolidators purchase the loans at a lower rate. The original creditor gets paid and the debtor can have some of the burden lessened on what they owe.

Something to watch out for with debt consolidation loans is that when you combine unsecured debt into secured debt like with a home mortgage, you are essentially paying a much higher rate in the long run. However, if there is no way to be able to afford the debt that was accumulated this is a way of at least paying off the creditors and being able to have more funds. Sometimes paying one loan can be easier than a combination of many loans that are due at different times of the month and at different payment amounts. With the consolidation of them all, the end result is a payment that is much lower than what you would pay separately.

There are many different debt consolidation companies to choose from so it’s a good idea to do your research by checking out reviews and reading all of the criteria that each place offers. Always ask about fees and penalties for early or lump sum payments as well as what kind of services the debt consolidation company provides its clients. Knowing as much as you can before making a decision leads to wise decisions once you’re ready to commit.

Filed Under: Democrats, People, Republicans Tagged With: Debt, Debt consolidation, Financial Services, Secured loan

The Two-Party System

June 25, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

The United States democracy has consisted of two major political parties, the Democrats and the Republicans, for approximately 150 years. Other democratic countries have several parties, but in America, it’s always been difficult for a third party to maintain enough members to compete with the Democrats and Republicans.

The Democratic Party was originally known as the Anti-Federalists, which was comprised of craftspeople, laborers and farmers. The Republicans were called the Federalists and the members of that party were typically the citizens who had the most wealth and those involved in commerce such as merchants and manufacturers.

As the parties grew, each one came to represent constituents in specific parts of the country, mainly because of the party’s membership. The Democrats were prominent in the southern and western parts of the United States, those regions that had the highest population of farmers and artisans. The majority of Republicans lived in the East where most of the country’s business dealings took place.

The type and class of people who belong to each party continues to this day, where a large percentage of Democrats are middle class workers. Indeed, the unions are big supporters, both financially and morally, of the Democratic Party and its candidates. And, as in the past, a majority of Republicans are those who hold wealth and are leaders in the business community.

Recently, though, those lines have begun to blur. The Democrats have traditionally been the party of choice for minorities. But many African Americans, as they become wealthier, are joining the Republican Party, as well as educated and wealthy Asians. In addition, the growing population of Hispanics are choosing the Republican party because of its traditional stance against abortion, its religious base and other conservative values.

Today, many people believe that neither party has unique goals. But it appears that the two-party system won’t be changing anytime soon. As long as the majority of Americans follow middle-of-the-road politics and want the same things for themselves and their children, it will be difficult for a new party to find its way into American politics.

Filed Under: Democrats, Politicians To Watch Tagged With: Parties, Political party

History of Women’s Rights in the United States

March 26, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

Women have been fighting for their rights throughout much of United States history, but the women’s rights movement could be said to have officially started in 1848 when the first women’s rights convention was held in Seneca Falls, New York. 32 men joined 68 women in signing a declaration that outlined the women’s concerns and the order of business for the movement, including a woman’s right to vote. Two years later, a national convention, with more than 1,000 people attending, was held in Worcester, Massachusetts, and the conventions continued every year through 1860.

In 1869, two organizations were formed with the main goal of establishing women’s right to vote. Two well-known characters who played major roles in the early days of the women’s movement, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, established the National Woman Suffrage Association. Their goal was a constitutional amendment that would guarantee women’s voting rights. In the same year, members of the women’s movement, including Lucy Stone and Henry Blackwell, formed the Woman Suffrage Association to achieve women’s right to vote by amending state constitutions. These two organizations later merged into the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA).

Also in 1869, Wyoming (then just a territory) passed the first women’s suffrage law and women were able to serve on juries. Then in 1893, Colorado passed the first state constitutional amendment giving women voting rights. After that, over the next 25 years, 15 more states followed suit.

African-American women began to organize in 1896 when more than 100 black women’s groups came together to form the National Association of Colored Women. Another organization, the National Women’s Trade Union League (WTUL) was formed in 1903 to fight for higher wages and better working conditions for women.

After a previous attempt and arrest, in 1923 Margaret Sanger finally won the right to open the first United States birth control clinic in New York

And in 1920, the federal women’s suffrage amendment was passed by both houses of Congress, ready for ratification by the states.

Filed Under: Democrats, People Tagged With: United States, Women's rights

Government’s Role in Health Care

February 27, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

Health care has been a concern of all the modern-day presidents, although no one has successfully tackled the issue until Barack Obama. President Harry Truman supported universal health care coverage, but was only able to get a small increase in Social Security benefits. President Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society plan helped start Medicare and Medicaid, even though many conservatives at the time called the policy socialist and un-American. President Richard Nixon also supported universal health care and was able to expand the Medicare and Medicaid programs. He worked with Democrats for further insurance coverage, and the Nixon-Kennedy Healthcare plan of 1974 was close to being passed when the legislation fizzled due to Watergate.

Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter were unable to do anything about universal coverage because of the bad economy at the time. During the prosperous years of Bill Clinton’s presidency, he was able to tackle the issue and came up with a plan for universal health care. But after a well-planned and funded attack by the plan’s opponents, the bill never made it to Clinton’s desk for signing.

Although these past presidents saw the need for change in how health care was provided, it was not a large issue for the majority of Americans. Businesses were able to provide their employees full coverage, which is how most citizens received their health care insurance. If you were self-employed, the cost of insurance premiums was not a big concern. All that began to change about twenty years ago. Suddenly, businesses and individuals started to see their premiums rise. What was once an incidental cost for small business owners became an almost unaffordable expense. Large businesses began cutting back on the coverage they provided employees, or made them contribute to the cost of the premium. Over the past ten years, premiums have risen 700% in many cases and the care provided has been reduced. Clearly, government must play some role in curbing these costs. The debate centers around how big of a role that should be.

Filed Under: Democrats, People, Voting Tagged With: Health care

Practice Your Right to Vote

February 21, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

The percentage of voters in United States presidential elections usually hovers between 50 and 60 percent. Why is there such a low turnout of eligible voters? Many people feel apathetic about the issues presented in the propositions. And many voters are not always enthused about the choice of candidates who are running for office. Then there are a large portion of voters who believe their individual vote won’t make a difference.

If you find yourself falling into apathy about an election, look beyond the negative ads, the sound bites and the bickering between pundits. Delve into the issues or the candidates yourself. If you do some research beyond the one-minute blurbs on television, the headlines in the newspaper or the radio talk shows—all of which are usually biased sources—you might find that you’re actually interested in a certain issue or find yourself drawn to a particular candidate. Though news sources like to claim that they provide unbiased reports, they typically have a slant to their articles, whether it’s liberal or conservative. That’s why it’s important to read and listen to a variety of sources. You’ll then be able to make your own informed opinion.

If you’re new to voting, or haven’t been involved in the process for some time, a good place to start building your interest and knowledge is in local politics. At the local level, ballot initiatives and the candidates running for office can have a direct impact on your life. There are any number of issues that lawmakers will vote on while they’re in office, issues that can directly—and sometimes dramatically—affect your lifestyle. New laws could impact your child’s education, the cleanliness of your water, the amount of local taxes you pay or the safety of your bridges and streets. For the next election, try to focus on at least one issue that interests you, and take a closer look at the candidates. You might find that you have a new, or renewed, desire to practice your right to vote.

Filed Under: Democrats Tagged With: Voter turnout