Questions tagged [united-states]
Questions relating to the government or the politics of the United States of America
44
votes
7answers
6k views
Why is it that Bernie Sanders always called a “socialist”?
As a German I really don't get calling Bernie Sanders a socialist. In every country in Europe he would be a social democrat at best, but somehow in the USA he's a "socialist" and "communist" you ...
22
votes
1answer
4k views
What did Putin say about a US deep state in his state-of-the-nation speech; what has he said in the past?
The NYTimes article Threatening U.S., Putin Promises Russians Both Missiles and Butter says only this about Putin's recent mention of "deep state" in the US, in his state-of-the-nation speech:
Mr. ...
10
votes
2answers
338 views
Would the Founding Fathers have supported an inheritance tax?
I recently had someone make the claim that several of the Framers of the U.S. Constitution would have likely agreed with an estate or inheritance tax. This theory was backed up by a few quotes from ...
5
votes
0answers
56 views
Was the Corwin Amendment's use of the term “domestic institutions” intended to apply to more than just slavery?
The Corwin Amendment was a proposed amendment to the US Constitution introduced in March 2, 1861 as an attempt to end the Civil War. The text is as follows:
No amendment shall be made to the ...
0
votes
0answers
71 views
Why is everyone afraid to give “legal advice”? What is the difference between legal advice and personal opinion? [migrated]
Why is it illegal to give your opinion/advice about a legal problem or case if you are not licensed or do not have a lawyer/client contract?
Findlaw.com says it's ok if you are just a friend, or ...
1
vote
1answer
281 views
What did Bernie Sanders do with all the cash from his 2016 campaign?
I'm just wondering what happened with hundreds of millions Bernie Sanders raised in 2016. Did he give to the DNC?
14
votes
3answers
910 views
What safeguards has the DNC added to prevent a situation like what they did to Bernie Sanders in the last election (2016)?
Have there been any safeguards or special rule changes within the DNC to prevent an unfair primary process as with what happened to Bernie Sanders in the 2016 election cycle?
11
votes
3answers
496 views
What is Montana worth?
I came across an interesting article that points to a change.org petition suggesting that the United States sell the state of Montana to Canada for one trillion dollars ($1,000,000,000,000) and put ...
49
votes
2answers
16k views
Why is Bernie Sanders maximum accepted donation on actblue $5600?
Check here and try to enter a number higher than $5600.
I know this question might be oddly specific, but i have no idea why it would be such an odd number, and not just $5000.
5
votes
2answers
183 views
What is the likely next step if three states ratify the Equal Rights Amendment after the deadline?
The Equal Rights Amendment was a proposed amendment to the US Constitution with a 1979 deadline, which Congress later extended to 1982. The amendment failed due to being 3 states short of the required ...
7
votes
2answers
3k views
Some of the people in my town pay no taxes, what can I do about it? [on hold]
I recently moved to a new town and I found out that some of the residents through favoritism or being connected are paying no property taxes.
For example, in one case there is a property worth about $...
24
votes
1answer
6k views
How quickly could a motion be passed to alter minimum age for POTUS?
How quickly could the minimum age requirement (35 years) for the president of the USA be changed?
I got curious when I realised The Rock, LeBron James and Beyoncé have tickets at the major betting ...
0
votes
1answer
32 views
Wording to request support for Bill stuck in US House committee?
Supposing a letter-writing campaign was launched to support a particular house bill, including the H.R. #; and that bill had a notable number of sponsors; and was referred to a committee, in which the ...
2
votes
1answer
51 views
What are the requirements for a Democratic nomination in primaries?
Who decides how many candidates and which of them will be nominated by the Democratic party in a presidential election?
3
votes
1answer
190 views
Trump said he didn't “need” to call a national emergency. How does this affect (if it all) his court chances?
Trump declared a national emergency, then literally said the words
I didn't need to do this.
He further admitted that it's just a "faster way" to accomplish what he wants.
How will this affect ...
1
vote
2answers
148 views
Why are so few immigrants being processed at the southern border?
News reports say that Trump administration is limiting the number of asylum seeking immigrants to 20 per day in a process called metering.
What I don't understand is why this is such a low number, ...
23
votes
3answers
2k views
What do Democrats mean when they call a wall or barrier “immoral”?
I don't want arguments for or against the wall/barrier on the United States' southern border. I would like to understand what Nancy Pelosi means when she or any other member of the Democratic party ...
8
votes
1answer
208 views
How long will a state of emergency need to be declared for Trump to build the wall
Would the state of emergency need to be in place for the entire construction?
There is no actual hard definition of what the wall will be so it's more of an administrative question
Assuming the wall ...
-4
votes
0answers
68 views
Bill Bennett was ok with beheading drug dealers, how about Perdue Pharma? [closed]
From nndb.com's William Bennett page:
During {William Bennett's} 15 June 1989 appearance on Larry King Live, one caller
outrageously suggested that he "behead the damn drug dealers." Bennett
...
-3
votes
2answers
161 views
If the 25th amendment gets revoked?
What would happen if the 25th gets revoked and say Trump does get impeached or falls ill and can not be president. Would we then vote for president for the years the active president would have had ...
7
votes
1answer
164 views
Why would a company invest in American infrastructure based on one administration?
Right now, we have an administration that is considered to be business friendly. I would prefer that this part not go debated, because it isn’t the focus of the question. Let’s say any administration ...
-2
votes
1answer
88 views
Does the Green New Deal include grants for satellites and deep-ocean probes in resolving uncertainty in climate science? [closed]
There's been some ambiguity lately in what is contained by the Green New Deal proposals, but after some reading I began to wonder if government folks were interested in tackling the uncertainty in ...
3
votes
1answer
97 views
How does a state of National Emergency affect/empower the government & citizens of the United States?
Sorry if this is a really broad question, but what exactly does a "national emergency" technically do in the United States of America? How are each of the branches of government affected by this state,...
0
votes
0answers
46 views
Has any person/group ever actively campaigned to switch to an opt out policy for organ donation in the US?
There are generally two options for determining rather a deceased individual's organs can be used from donation. The Opt-in policy says that the organs can not be used unless a person explicitly ...
2
votes
1answer
277 views
Does antisemitism in the US correlate with (non-)religiosity?
Historically, Christianity was one of the driving forces behind antisemitism. I have recently read a claim that nowadays in the US, the absence of (Christian) religious views actually allows ...
5
votes
4answers
349 views
Why is has the US not “followed through” with secularisation after the hippie movement?
Well this is (once again) from the viewpoint from one from Europe, specifically the Netherlands.
During the 50s and 60s we had a very strict religious "pillars" in society, where one only interacts ...
44
votes
7answers
11k views
Why are right-wing politicians in the US typically pro-Israel?
In my understanding, generally, right-wing politicians are hard on immigration and foreign people in general. This typically goes well with anti-semitism, too. (See Nazis / Neo-Nazis). At least in the ...
12
votes
2answers
356 views
Why would a US armed forces branch not give back a property (it took over during wartime) for free?
Short context (inspired by a post on Aviation.SE):
In 1941 the Navy took over Bennett airfield in NYC and banned all commercial and civilian flights. After WWII the airfield was meant to return to ...
3
votes
1answer
225 views
How did Nixon's resignation affect the voters who had supported him?
There are a lot of Americans who wear MAGA hats. Theoretically, if President Trump were impeached, I wonder if they would continue to wear them? Would Trump go down like Robert E. Lee, losing, but ...
7
votes
1answer
146 views
To what extent is a US political presidential candidate compromised by PAC funding?
Amy Klobuchar having launched her presidential nomination campaign stated that she would not be taking corporate PAC money.
Is that a big irregularity and if so what is the benefit of not taking ...
5
votes
1answer
196 views
Are around 50,000 jobs in the US government/administration replaced after a switch from Democrats/Republican in the presidential election?
I remember this statement in an article (I forgot) but was not able to google an estimate of this number as a German not to so much in knowledge of the US political system.
The reason I'm asking as a ...
12
votes
1answer
592 views
Congressional oaths of office
Is it a requirement of holding congressional office that
one must swear an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States?
4
votes
2answers
141 views
Can the US states veto Congress legislation?
As said in the title:
Can the US states veto laws approved by the Congress?
For instance, the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 while it gave 90% of the funding from a Highway Trust Fund, however, ...
-5
votes
1answer
171 views
Why is violence against media not prosecuted in the US? [closed]
Well I noticed today that a person of BBC was violently attacked by someone in the US, obviously there exist heavy imagery from this. So I am wondering: why is this not followed up on by the ...
71
votes
8answers
18k views
What does the US have to gain by other countries not being socialist or communist?
With the current situation in Venezuela, it seems like the US is once again weighing in against a leader that is textbook socialist or communist that is also a dictator.
I understand the hardships ...
13
votes
1answer
4k views
Private schedules of Donald Trump: What does “RON” in diary stand for?
Recently the private schedules of Donald Trump have been leaked.
In those files, at the end of each day there is some acronym RON placed. What does this stand for?
Example:
1:30 PM ...
5
votes
2answers
2k views
Difference between “Department of …” and “… Department”
So apparently most of the U.S. government departments have been using Department of ..., like Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security. But it looks like there's a weird exception, ...
4
votes
1answer
427 views
What type of employees are “obliged to join a union as a condition of employment” in New York?
This is an excerpt from an article explaining why Amazon is reconsidering opening its headquarters in New York:
New York is a pro-labor city, whereas Virginia is a right-to-work state where ...
0
votes
1answer
92 views
What is a corporate embassy and how does it compare to a normal one? [closed]
The NY Times reports that Facebook opened a "corporate embassy" in China
I'm wondering
What does a government embassy do?
What laws typically apply to it?
How does that compare to the power and ...
2
votes
0answers
111 views
Arrest a Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court? [closed]
Does a President have the delegated constitutional power to arrest a chief justice of the USA?
President Abraham Lincoln did, but was persuaded not to issue his warrant by his cabinet members... Was ...
6
votes
1answer
90 views
How can memos within a committee comply with open meeting laws?
I might be serving on a public committee subject to open meeting laws. These laws in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, such as RSA VI-91-A , stipulate that all deliberations must be held in a meeting ...
6
votes
1answer
379 views
What happens if the state delegations tie on a presidential vote?
If no candidate gets a majority of electoral votes in the United States, states each get one vote for who becomes president. What happens if 25 states vote for the Democrat and 25 vote for the ...
7
votes
4answers
614 views
How do “originalist” interpreters of the constitution cope with the 2nd amendment?
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
As far as I can see, from both the ...
-1
votes
1answer
126 views
Can the Virginia State Government have a public referendum on 3rd trimester abortion: simply yea or nay?
Can the Va voters vote "yea"or "nay" to 3rd trimester abortion? Whether this would be binding or non-binding. Thanks
3
votes
1answer
226 views
How much money did the United States spend on the Iraq war, and how much money did US oil companies gain as a result of the new Iraqi constitution?
This is just a cost benefit analysis, any discussion about US motivations in engaging in the Iraq war I would consider out of scope.
Iraq nationalized oil production in 1972 (source). Following the ...
8
votes
2answers
245 views
What happens to the money during a government shutdown?
In the US, which part of the government is holding the money due to federal employees?
During a government shutdown, what happens to this money? Is it reinvested through short-term lending?
5
votes
1answer
174 views
If a US Supreme Court Justice is physically unable to work, are any mechanisms in place to choose their successor?
There have been a few justices in the past that have "gone off their rockers" in the last few years of their careers, but from what I understand, unless they retire, they couldn't be replaced. But ...
2
votes
2answers
223 views
Is the US Congress more divided now than early on?
The US Congress has been very divided and partisan for my whole adult life, 10 years. There seems to be this idea of how politicians used to work together to get things done, and the house and senate ...
1
vote
1answer
176 views
Anti-deceptive electioneering law
In light of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential elections and clandestine Democratic efforts to use deceptive tactics in the recent Alabama senate race, it is clear that social media as a ...
2
votes
1answer
53 views
Who sets US tariffs, Congress or the executive branch? [duplicate]
I am pretty sure that tariffs are supposed to be set by laws enacted by Congress in the United States, at least according to the Constitution.
However, I keep hearing about this or that president ...
