Questions tagged [united-states]
Questions relating to the government or the politics of the United States of America
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If Kissinger is not acting as a diplomat in an official capacity, how could it help improve U.S.-China ties?
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/18/henry-kissinger-meets-china-defence-minister-beijing
The veteran US diplomat Henry Kissinger has met China’s defence
minister in Beijing.
According to a ...
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What can the USA do if the current regime in Bangladesh holds a 'staged' election for the third time?
Sensing an imminent vote rigging in the coming election in January 2024, on May 24th, 2023, the USA announced a new visa policy for Bangladesh.
Announcement of Visa Policy to Promote Democratic ...
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How do parties really choose candidates in the US?
When I was growing up, I was under the impression that America’s candidates for President or Congress are chosen by primary elections. After watching the news more carefully, I later got the ...
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How is Senator Tuberville able to block all military promotions?
It has been widely reported that Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville is somehow single-handedly holding up all military nominations and promotions in the US Senate:
AP: Why a single senator is blocking ...
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Alaska mayor offers homeless free flight to Los Angeles, but is Los Angeles (or any city in California) allowed to reject them?
Source: https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/anchorage/2023/07/24/saying-sullivan-arena-shelter-is-closed-for-good-mayor-weighs-giving-plane-tickets-to-anchorages-homeless-this-winter/
To quote Anchorage ...
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What Is Behind The Puzzling Timing of the U.S. House Vacancy Election In Utah?
U.S. Representative Chris Stewart (R), of Utah's 2nd Congressional District, will resign on September 15, 2023, citing his wife's health concerns. A special election will be held on November 21, 2023, ...
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Total tax burden on the average American and how has it changed over the years
It is easy to find information on the average amount Americans pay in Federal taxes. It is little more difficult to find out state and local taxes. But we also have a plethora of other taxes, property ...
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New member guide and other learning resources for US Congress
Is there a place where new members go to learn how Congress works on the floor? Also, is there a guide or series of guides that can explain how debating works, and how scheduling items for debate ...
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1 trillion trees plan: what's the substance behind Speaker McCarthy's proposed response to climate change?
Asked about climate change in the context of the massive US heat wave, Speaker McCarthy had one thing to say: plant a trillion trees!
NBC News July 18th
As Speaker Kevin McCarthy visited a natural ...
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Motion to reconsider a definitive decision
In the United States Senate (and other bodies) there's a thing called the motion to reconsider, which is about taking a second vote on a matter the body has already voted on. In the Senate it's part ...
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How Does Military Budgeting Work? The 1969 Mansfield Amendment
I'm personally curious as to the impact of Senator Mike Mansfield's (D) amendment to the fiscal year 1970 Military Authorization Act (Public Law 91-121, Section 203) on science research and funding ...
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Can a US President be Court Martialed?
I’ve heard that the answer to this question depends on the situation. Suppose, for example, a US president decides to conspire to poison a city’s water supply to cover-up some administrative abuse or ...
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Why are Lee Mercer and John Anthony Castro the highest-fundraising candidates for the 2024 U.S. Presidential election?
According to the U.S. Federal Election Commission's website, as of July 10, 2023 the two candidates for U.S. President who have raised the most money are Lee Mercer (D), at $192 million, and John ...
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Has a bill ever failed a house of Congress unanimously?
Has a bill ever failed to pass in a house of Congress with zero votes in favor?
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What parts of the South China Sea does the U.S. recognize as belonging to China?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nine-dash_line
In 2010, at a regional conference in Hanoi, former United States
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced that "The United States
has a national ...
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What is the reasoning behind the USA criticizing countries and then paying them diplomatic visits?
I have observed that a US diplomat/senior official always visits the bashed country just after a significant bashing.
The following are some foreign visits of US officials that I remember:
Mike Pompeo'...
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What actually stops someone from running for public office in the US after agreeing not to do so?
Rachel Maddow asks whether Trump should be offered a plea deal trading the threat of jail time for his agreeing to never hold public office again. Ron Liebman Barney Skolnik, and Russell “Baker, the ...
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What arguments support claims that the Biden Administration used "threat and coercion" when telling social media that they "have to take speech down"?
In the July 6, 2023 PBS Newshour video Judge limits government's contact with social media companies after GOP states sue
after about 02:00, Host Amna Nawaz begins:
..Several Republican state ...
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What did Chief Justice Chase mean by "consent of the States" in Texas v. White (1869)?
In the 1869 case of Texas v. White, the US Supreme Court ruled that states did not have the constitutional right to unilaterally secede from the Union. Writing for the majority opinion, Chief Justice ...
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US Census Survey doesn't seem to ask about most debt-- How is US Gov't getting debt info?
I just received a 2023 American Community Survey from the U.S. Census Bureau, which took over an hour to fill out.
The survey asked a slew of questions, in order to "give our country an up-to-...
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Why don't Harvard and other universities supporting affirmative action simply stop receiving Federal Funds?
As outlined in Why did CJ Roberts apply the Fourteenth Amendment to Harvard, a private school?, the affirmative action only applies to schools that receive federal funding. But the federal funds seem ...
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Non-anarchists often say the existence of prisons deters violent crime. How it is then that the USA is so high in violent crime?
People who are not anarchists often say that the existence of prisons deters people from violent crime. If you ask me, that implies that countries with higher incarceration rate tend to be lower in ...
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Are there any explanations about US Supreme Court reversing decades old past decisions now?
According to CBS News:
The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that race-conscious admission
policies of Harvard College and the University of North Carolina
violate the Constitution, bringing an end to ...
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What would be the negative consequences for China for a rare earth metal ban?
https://unherd.com/thepost/what-chinas-rare-earth-metal-ban-means-for-the-west/
China is threatening an export ban on rare earth metals in response to
Washington’s recent decision to impose ...
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What benefits does Israel get from the embargo against Cuba?
What benefits does Israel get from the embargo against Cuba?
The United States embargo against Cuba prevents U.S. businesses, and
businesses organized under U.S. law or majority-owned by U.S.
...
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Can the supreme court decision to abolish affirmative action be reversed at any time?
https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/22pdf/20-1199_hgdj.pdf
The Court has come to rest on the bottom-line conclusion that racial
diversity in higher education is only worth po- tentially preserving
...
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Who is the Zhang with whom Hunter Biden allegedly made a deal?
According to media reports, Hunter Biden wrote a WhatsApp message in 2017 saying:
“And, Z, if I get a call or text from anyone involved in this other
than you, Zhang, or the chairman, I will make ...
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Are the reasons why the NED chose to fund a certain organization made publicly available?
NED is a grant-making foundation, distributing funds to private
non-governmental organizations for promoting democracy abroad in
around 90 countries. Half of NED's funding is allocated annually to
...
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Are there any studies, apart from the famous Gary Kleck's study, which try to estimate the number of lives saved by guns each year?
The famous Gary Kleck's study estimated that there are around 400'000 cases of defensive gun uses per year in the US for which people believe they would have died if they hadn't owned a gun.
Gun ...
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How is the term Fascism used in current U.S. political context?
Recent Italian political election brought to power three political parties which are generally referred to as “the Right”. The bigger party (headed by current PM Giorgia Meloni) is actually the one ...
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Why would China be against the U.S. charging companies and individuals for making fentanyl precursors?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmx_pmKUlkc
Why would China be against the U.S. charging companies and individuals for making fentanyl precursors? I don't understand why China would be against this. ...
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What is the political stance of the Biden administration on the Right to Repair, and do its policies on it reflect that?
As an advocate for Right to Repair, I have been closely following the Right to Repair movement in the US. It seems to have reached a tipping point in America too, and more than 25 US states are ...
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Are there dual-citizenship holders within the Armed Forces of United States
Are there dual-citizenship holders within the Armed Forces of rank O-7 (General Officer) or higher?
What percent, if any?
Which nations, if any?
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What can't the U.S. do vis-a-vis Taiwan due to having an unofficial relations with Taiwan?
To this day, the U.S. “one China” position stands: the United States
recognizes the PRC as the sole legal government of China but only
acknowledges the Chinese position that Taiwan is part of China. ...
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Can US states add eligibility requirements to vote to block certain demographics or enact even tougher voter suppression measures?
One topic that has come up is voter suppression. Voter suppression discussions have focused on making it harder to vote, not removing the ability to vote altogether. But I am wondering if it is ...
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According to CCES, how did young voters identify in each state in terms of partisanship in 2016 and 2022?
How did voters under 30 identify (excluding independents and others) in each state in 2022 and 2016, and how does that compare to partisan identification among all voters in those years? I am asking ...
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Which districts in the Virginia state legislature held contested primaries for both parties in 2023?
In Virginia, there are primaries on June 20th for the state legislature. I am curious about which races are contested for both parties' primaries that are happening on Tuesday, a couple days after I ...
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What exactly does one do and not do as an independent US senator who "caucuses with the Democrats"?
Politico's June 15, 2023 ‘Blood on your hands’: Duckworth blasts Sinema for pilot training proposal contains the following sentence:
Sinema, who caucuses with the Democrats, did not immediately have ...
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On what basis does Uganda's president Yoweri Museveni demonstrate himself to be an actual ally to the United states?
PBS News Weekend full episode, June 17, 2023 briefly reports a violent attack on a school in Uganda by "armed rebels linked to the Islamic State" and at about 03:35 it states:
The rebel ...
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Uninsured motor vehicle drivers in the USA - why is the liability insurance requirement not enforced better?
In the USA, like in many other countries, liability insurance is mandatory for motor vehicles in almost every state. However, a significant number of drivers drive without insurance:
Despite laws ...
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In the American Congress, how does a motion come forward to be voted on without the support of the Speaker or Senate majority leader)?
At least in the Senate it´s easier given the majority leader is not the chair, that would be the president pro tempore or the vice president. But in general, how does this happen if push comes to ...
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Why would being "almost the end of the second quarter for fundraising" be a reason for US presidential candidates not being "out there quite as much"?
In CNN's June 14, 2023 'He’s scared s***less’: Hear John Kelly’s blunt take on Trump indictment at about 08:23, CNN's Chief National Affairs Correspondent Jeff Zeleny says:
So one of the reasons the ...
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Are "pro-gun" states lax about enforcing "felon in possession" laws?
Gun control is a hotly debated topic in US politics. Both the federal government and every state makes it a felony for a convicted felon (even if non-violent) to possess firearms. For 47 states it is ...
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Can someone explain the debt ceiling clearly? [duplicate]
Now that we've gotten past the debate over raising the debt ceiling, so the world economy isn't going to hell next week, could someone explain it clearly?
Most news sites describe it by analogy with a ...
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Why did Democrats on the House Rules Committee vote against the debt ceiling bill?
Yesterday the House Rules Committee advanced a bill to raise the debt ceiling, but with no Democratic support. From the New York Post:
The GOP-controlled committee voted 7-6 to move the 99-page piece ...
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Why are American liberals more prone to in-fighting than conservatives? [closed]
In America at least, there tends to be far less unity within liberal factions when compared to conservative ones. One just has to point to the last few presidential elections.
2008:
There was a ...
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How would a neutral observer compare the presence of US nukes in Europe to the presence of Russian nukes in Belarus?
USA in Germany
Germany has no nuclear weapons of its own, but it stores 20 or fewer U.S. B-61 nuclear gravity bombs at Büchel air base, and maintains a fleet of aging Tornado fighter bombers to ...
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Why did Alaska introduce ranked voting for the general election but not for the primary?
As explained in How did Alaska "change its primary system recently" and was it "to dilute the possibility of a conservative or Trump-inspired challenger"?:
Alaska Ballot Measure 2 ...
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Would it be constitutional in the US to have age limits for SCOTUS justices?
As DeSantis said, in Florida
“We have age limits for justices,” DeSantis said. “The minute I got elected to office, three of the four liberal justices were off the court, because of age. So, I was ...
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DeSantis' "US Constitution’s 'leverage points'... to exercise the 'true scope' of presidential power"; something new or based on existing theories?
CNN's May 26 2023 DeSantis is going after Trump like never before includes the following:
Now, DeSantis is making the case that he is better suited to deliver on the promises that Trump himself ...
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