Democracy, Equality, and the Supreme Court Essay

Democracy, Equality, and the Supreme Court - Essay Example Our regular elections work to keep the government in check as special interests, elected officials, political groups, and lobbyists jockey for the inside track at making laws and enacting policy. As these differing political and social forces meet, our civil society demands that their disagreements be settled peacefully and that the participants will honor the settlement. The real power of America's Democracy does not lie in the people, elected officials, special interests, or lobby groups. Our rule lies in our body of law and the constitution. Over the centuries, laws, rights, and freedoms have been challenged and debated. The US Supreme Court, the highest arbitrator in the land, has been the seat of responsibility for progress and the expression of these freedoms. Our individual and collective rights are protected and directed by the decisions made by the Court. We can measure and view our nation's progress by looking at the history of our Democracy through the court's decisions. The case of Marbury vs. Madison set the precedent that the Supreme Court would be the ultimate and final voice in constitutional questions and could void any law seen as contrary to the constitution. The court was further granted the power to determine the legality of the actions of the various branches of government and laid the foundation for the court's power, as well as our belief in a system guided by law and not men. Though the case was initiated over rather insignificant quarrels among the Republicans and Federalists, its effect has been paramount and enduring. Marbury vs, Madison has been the basis for bringing other landmark cases before the Supreme Court. The court had laid the groundwork as an arena to fight for individual rights as granted by the constitution. The case of Derd Scott vs. Sandford is an interesting case in that it was hoped that the court's decision would diminish further debate on the slavery issue. However, the court's finding that states could not outlaw slavery further divided the nation and led to the Civil War. Through great political pressure and deep differences, the court ruled that the constitution did not provide protection from slavery. This was not the failing of an unsympathetic court, it was a shortcoming in the constitution. But our founders had made provisions for the constitution to be fixed as the future would dictate. The decision ultimately led to the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments which constitutionally guaranteed citizenship and equal rights for African-Americans and former slaves. Other decisions by the court have been viewed by history as contrary to freedom and liberty. In some of these cases, the court has overturned a previous ruling as changing times have dictated. Two such cases were Plessey vs. Ferguson and Brown vs. Board of Education. Plessey vs. Ferguson argued for definition of equality as guaranteed by the 14th amendment. The case was brought when Plessey, a Louisiana black, was arrested for violating the Separate Car Act. He had challenged the law that legalized segregation in public transportation and elsewhere. The court upheld Louisiana's segregationist laws under a finding that came to be known as

Minimum wage of USA Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Minimum wage of USA - Assignment Example Pluralism thereby enables the coexistence of diverse interest groups. The second component of the theory is neocorporatism which defines the relationship that exists between interest groups and the government. Therefore cooperation between the interest groups and the government provides consistency in the formulation and implementation of policies for example financial policies. The primary focus of neocorporatism is on policies that directly relate to the economy. Negotiations involving various policies involve three parties including the business sector, labor sector and the government. Liaison between these parties must precede implementation of the policies in question. Pluralism advocates for coexistence of various interest groups in relation to inherent competition. This affects the potential passage of the bill in that if there is ambient coexistence amongst the interest groups, the bill is likely to go through especially when the groups are in agreement. Coexistence amongst the interest groups also makes policy coordination easier thereby the bill can be adequately debated by the interest groups on whether or not the minimum wage bill should be passed. This makes the procedure less cumbersome and the bill is likely to undergo passage if the groups are in agreement. On the contrary, if there is absence of pluralism then the interest groups may not coexist. What this means is that the possibility of passage of the bill is subject to various difficulties hence. For instance, lack of coexistence within the groups would mean that the groups cannot discuss and reach an agreement of whether to pass or reject the bill. The reason for this is the fact that, absence of coexistence makes coordination of the different interest groups difficult. As a result, the bill passing process will experience protraction and the passing of the bill is less likely (Stănculescu and Stanovnik, 2009). If passage of the bill reaches the implementation

Artillery used by the NORTH During the Civil War (Gettysburg) Research Paper

Artillery used by the NORTH During the Civil War (Gettysburg) - Research Paper Example The general classification of Artillery was based on caliber and weight. The other factors considered include mobility, as well as the carriage form or mounting. Notably, "Field" artillery was regarded ordnance light, as well as mobile to help in maneuvering during battle. Numerous larger guns used by the North and South were locked permanently in fortifications. The defense in Washington alone had 98 mortars and 807 guns. Many of such fortification guns were never used in attacking the enemy via the entire war. Regarding the Northern armies, they were uniformly equipped with the 12-pounder Napoleon, 10- pounder, or 3-inch rifle parrots. Although the Northern were armed, their artillery batteries usually had a number of non-standard guns, and all every gun called for different ammunitions. The North had many advantages compared to the South in acquiring small arms. The advantages were the resultant of the fact that the Confederacy entirely relied on the smuggled imports following the advanced naval blockade. The North thus accessed different models from England and France as the Confederate army imported them. According to Allen, in the article Artillery, the organization of Artillery fell into two categories, the union and confederate. Batteries for the union artillery were often constituted of six guns used in three, sections, involving two guns. There were three sections; right, middle, and right sections. Battery for Confederate constituted of four guns. The four guns were of different types, and therefore, supply for the Confederate ammunition to artillery batteries became very difficult to implement. Each Confederate composed of almost sixty-eight men. A Field Artillery battery incorporated six guns at full strength. All guns were linked to a limber being pulled by horses; a caisson was also used to offer more support. There were two chests

The Iconography in the Work The Clinic of Dr. Gross by Thomas Eakins Term Paper

The Iconography in the Work The Clinic of Dr. Gross by Thomas Eakins - Term Paper Example This social divide may have been typical of many societies throughout history that it is sometimes ironic that the products of this opposite side are â€Å"honored†, collected, or soon appreciated by the prevailing side (politically and economically well-off). With this premise, this paper will try to determine the representation of The Clinic of Dr. Gross. But prior to a full understanding of any artist’s work, it is important to comprehend the artist: or at least an overview of his life, his art work themes, passion, and others that may shed light to any perceived mystery or message that might be conveyed in a certain work. This is applicable to Thomas Eakins’ The Clinic of Dr. Gross. Thomas Eakins Eakins is one of the more important American realist painters who was also an avid photographer and innovator in the field of photography. In addition, he was also a passionate educator who rose from being a volunteer in 1876 to director by 1882 in Pennsylvania Acade my (Foster, 102). In his paintings, Eakins used Philadelphia personalities as his subjects and he has focused on the human figure moving, the anatomy of human and animal body as depicted in his commissioned work with William Rudolf O’Donovan in 1893 to 1894 that created the Lincoln and Grant bronze sculptures in Brooklyn, New York (Goodrich, 282). Eakins is known to have finished hundreds of paintings and his subjects depicted his friends, family, and people known to him. He has been described by Goodrich as the most profound and strongest realist in his time and maybe, beyond (Goodrich, 283). In the words of Kimmelman (P 5), Eakins’ work: is bound up with our national identity as much as any other American artists’, to the point that it remains nearly impossible to see America, or at least to look back on the country in the 19th-century, without some refraction through his art (1). Eakins painted nude men swimming, rowers, sailors, baseball players, his student s, himself, professors, sitters, models and artists, boxers, wrestlers, and more (Simpsons, 28). While most of his active life as an artist showed a difficult appreciation by the public, Eakins was recognized starting in 1902 when he was made National Academician. His wife Susan Macdowell Eakins, also an artist, had been cooperative and provided much of Eakins’ paintings to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Pennsylvania Academy, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art (Goodrich, 283). The Clinic of Dr. Gross For a modern viewer and un-initiated, the painting, a large 96 inches by seventy eight inches, depicts a theater, probably spherical because behind was the audience, and yet, the painter’s perspective was at the front. There in the middle was the main subject in his coat; much the same like the others. His erect body posture exudes confidence and power, while all about him, the men of the same dark colored outfits attend to their business, except for one who has a fro ck and dress but also of the same dark garment, whose face was turned, her hand and fingers clawed as if to defy pain. The audiences on the background were either attentive or sleepy, but there was one who seems to be busy taking down notes. With the bloodied hands, the exposed flesh, and the medical instruments on the foreground, one will conclude

Identify three laws (state and federal) that limit what an employer Assignment

Identify three laws (state and federal) that limit what an employer can do to an employee, and explain the pros and cons of each law - Assignment Example Such incidences leave employees in a state of tumult and cursing their employment (FLSA, 2012). On the same note, the employers are said to remunerate their employees however they wish subjecting the employees in a state of discomfort and discontentment. In this study, we look at some state and federal laws that have a limit or prohibit what employers can do to their employees as well as the pro and cons of those laws. The first law that will be discussed is the Federal Wage Garnishment Law, The Consumer Credit Protection Act’s Title 3 (CPPA) (Dol.gov, 2009). But, what is meant by wage garnishment? Wage garnishment can be defined as any legal or equitable procedure through an employee’s portion of the wage is required to be withheld by an employer for settlement of dome debt. Primarily, garnishments are done following a court order. Other types of wage garnishment may include IRS or the federal tax collection agency levies for unpaid taxes and the federal agency garnishments for non-tax debts owed to the federal government (Dol.gov, 2009). The CPPA limits the amount of employee’s wages that can be garnished by the employers and protects them from facing the sack if their earnings are garnished for only one debt. This law is very important because it helps employees whose wages have been garnished for a single debt to continue working, but it fails on part that the amount to be garnished will be after all the legal deductions, leaving the employee with little or nothing to take home. The law also allows pensions to be garnished and this is not pleasing especially to the elderly. The 1963 Act of Equal Pay is another law that prohibits employers from exploiting employees. It safeguards men and women who perform equally at work or equal work from sex-based wage discrimination and compels the employers to pay them equally regardless of the gender of the workers (Eeoc.gov, 2015). If it is a construction work done by employees of bother gender,

The Iconography in the Work The Clinic of Dr. Gross by Thomas Eakins Term Paper

The Iconography in the Work The Clinic of Dr. Gross by Thomas Eakins - Term Paper Example This social divide may have been typical of many societies throughout history that it is sometimes ironic that the products of this opposite side are â€Å"honored†, collected, or soon appreciated by the prevailing side (politically and economically well-off). With this premise, this paper will try to determine the representation of The Clinic of Dr. Gross. But prior to a full understanding of any artist’s work, it is important to comprehend the artist: or at least an overview of his life, his art work themes, passion, and others that may shed light to any perceived mystery or message that might be conveyed in a certain work. This is applicable to Thomas Eakins’ The Clinic of Dr. Gross. Thomas Eakins Eakins is one of the more important American realist painters who was also an avid photographer and innovator in the field of photography. In addition, he was also a passionate educator who rose from being a volunteer in 1876 to director by 1882 in Pennsylvania Acade my (Foster, 102). In his paintings, Eakins used Philadelphia personalities as his subjects and he has focused on the human figure moving, the anatomy of human and animal body as depicted in his commissioned work with William Rudolf O’Donovan in 1893 to 1894 that created the Lincoln and Grant bronze sculptures in Brooklyn, New York (Goodrich, 282). Eakins is known to have finished hundreds of paintings and his subjects depicted his friends, family, and people known to him. He has been described by Goodrich as the most profound and strongest realist in his time and maybe, beyond (Goodrich, 283). In the words of Kimmelman (P 5), Eakins’ work: is bound up with our national identity as much as any other American artists’, to the point that it remains nearly impossible to see America, or at least to look back on the country in the 19th-century, without some refraction through his art (1). Eakins painted nude men swimming, rowers, sailors, baseball players, his student s, himself, professors, sitters, models and artists, boxers, wrestlers, and more (Simpsons, 28). While most of his active life as an artist showed a difficult appreciation by the public, Eakins was recognized starting in 1902 when he was made National Academician. His wife Susan Macdowell Eakins, also an artist, had been cooperative and provided much of Eakins’ paintings to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Pennsylvania Academy, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art (Goodrich, 283). The Clinic of Dr. Gross For a modern viewer and un-initiated, the painting, a large 96 inches by seventy eight inches, depicts a theater, probably spherical because behind was the audience, and yet, the painter’s perspective was at the front. There in the middle was the main subject in his coat; much the same like the others. His erect body posture exudes confidence and power, while all about him, the men of the same dark colored outfits attend to their business, except for one who has a fro ck and dress but also of the same dark garment, whose face was turned, her hand and fingers clawed as if to defy pain. The audiences on the background were either attentive or sleepy, but there was one who seems to be busy taking down notes. With the bloodied hands, the exposed flesh, and the medical instruments on the foreground, one will conclude

Leadership assessmnet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Leadership assessmnet - Essay Example However, in many occasions, the management has failed to achieve these needs, resulting to poor leadership. Through these poor leadership and relations to workers, organizations have not been able to work well towards their set objectives as workers are reluctant to respond as required by the management. Therefore, there is need for this problem to be eradicated for the realization of better performance and development of the organization. Various leaders have different styles of leadership that would help them to achieve their mandates as per the objectives of the organization. These styles of leadership are always based on the strategies developed by these leaders. Based on the approach these leaders may take for the effectiveness of their leadership style, it may have either positive or negative impact to the workers (Hoffman & Shipper, 2012). For instance, although our Chief Executive Officers always have good leadership styles as compared to bad leadership in his management, there are some of the negative impacts of these kinds of leadership styles that affect us negatively. One of the styles that affect us workers negatively is poor response to workers grievances. Within our working premises, workers are required to write an official letter to the Chief Executive Officer on issues that affect workers. This move is important for workers because we have the chance of delivering these letters to his office directly without following any channel but the manager hardly response to these grievances by claiming to have been in some official duties. In the process, we are unable to solve these grievances, hence, affects us negatively. In order for the organizational activities to run as planned, leaders need to ensure that they create good relations between themselves and the workers. Moreover, they must also ensure there are good relations among the workers themselves to enhance better coordination of the organizational