Spring 2019

Spring 2019

We live in 2019 now. This year has been an amazing adventure already. 2019 has been full of developments from triumphs in dealing with historic firsts to new challenges in dealing with economic plus social issues. There has been an acceleration of African Americans wanting real solutions from politicians beyond just token talk. We are just to advocate for our interests as black Brothers and Sisters. That is why we want freedom to extend to all of humanity. The continued fight to combat police brutality, pollution, economic injustice, racism, sexism, and imperialism is still firm including unyielding. I believe in moral absolutes. It is right for us to stand up against centrism that seeks to only mask the ultimate problem of capitalist exploitation (which must be combated by class struggle). It is wrong for Ralph Northam to dress up in blackface. Northam, should resign along with the Lieutenant Governor and the Attorney General of the state of Virginia. Therefore, we must oppose the Trump agenda while being consistent to oppose bigotry irrespective of a person’s party affiliation. Truth is in our side, because there is nothing wrong with clean air and clean water. Truth is on our side since it is right to advance civil rights and civil liberties heroically.

Some sad news is that one person killed at least 49 people at New Zealand mosques. Friday is the Muslim holy day. That is similar to the Sabbath on Saturday or what Christians celebrate on Saturday or Sunday. Dozens of people were injured. The murderer was captured, and he made a racist, anti-immigrant manifesto (which believed in the anti-Semitic lie that Jewish people want to use people of color to advance a white demographic "genocide") before his attacks. He was inspired by Dylan Roof and other racists. He attacked many mosques. People were screaming. The murderer reloaded his semiautomatic weapon and killed people again. He also shot at random people. He attacked another mosque too. This is the worst mass shooting in New Zealand in modern history and the Prime Minister of New Zealand condemned right wing extremism too. The tragedy happened at Christschurch, New Zealand. The shooter is part of the alt-right movement. His social media accounts showed neo-Nazi imgery, racist rhetoric, and he promotes the myth of white supremacy. It is important to mention that Islamophobia is evil and wrong period. The killer hated immigrants, Muslims, and migrants. This is why I support immigrant rights and the rights of migrants. New Zealand is a multicultural country with a lot of great people. This situation exposes the fact that bigotry and intolerance is global in scope. These massacres don't just occur in America or Europe. We have to fight to make sure that injustices are ended.

Recently, Trump vetoed the national emergency ban from Congress. Trump abhors not only undocumented immigration, but legal immigration involving the lottery system and other components. Therefore, he is blatantly xenophobic (he compared asylum seekers and immigrants seeking compassion to an "invasion' which is white supremacist rhetoric) and that's shown by his Muslim ban. He recently saying that white nationalist terrorism is not a rising situation is a big lie on his part. Hate crimes have increased in America since 2016. Trump said that white nationalism is not a rising threat, but statistics refute his words. We have an epidemic of alt right terrorism worldwide. Jewish synagogues have been vandalized and attacked with people dying. Muslim mosques have been attacked and people dying. Churches including mostly black churches have been attacked and people dying. You have a New York state elementary school having a mock slave auction (which is entirely inappropriate and evil). You have Alex Jones showing lies. You have other incidents showing that this is a serious problem. Black people and other people have tried to tell the public to say that the alt right white supremacist movement is a serious problem. The vast majority of the terrorism in America now have been done by alt right white supremacist terrorists. We have to fight bigotry and racism anywhere.

Today, the 2020 Democratic Presidential race has the most diverse field of candidates in the Democratic side in American history. The candidates with the most popularity running now are of course Kamala Harris including Bernie Sanders. I took my time to listen to many voices to see the truth. The truth is obvious. Kamala Harris is a very intelligent woman of color who have policies that I do agree and other policies that I don’t agree with. The problem in the Democratic Party now is that it is battling an ideological war between sincere progressive and Wall Street corporate Democrats who are more concerned with the status quo than real liberation. Real liberation is about ending structures of oppression and forming monumental solutions to the people not moderate policies that only benefit the few. Kamala Harris is known for being a prosecutor. His father is a Jamaican man (whose ancestors owned slaves) and his mother was an Indian woman. Her mother was involved in civil rights causes. Kamala Harris was a prosecutor and now she is a Democratic Senator. Her campaign rally to announce her candidacy in Oakland, California was huge, she gave an eloquent speech, and she is a powerful debater. The question about her is her policies involving criminal justice issues and other matters. The two extremes must be rejected. One extreme promotes sexism and racism against her. We must be clear to condemn any racist or sexist attacks against Kamala Harris. She should be treated with fairness.

The other extreme desires no critique of her and promotes the lie that any legitimate critique about Kamala Harris’ policies is akin to sexism or racism. That isn’t the case as people have the free speech right to fairly critique her record. Even though I don’t agree with the ADOS movement on every issue, they are certainly not Russian bots. That’s wrong for some to assume so. First, I will show where I agree with her and where I disagree with her. Kamala Harris opposed the death penalty of one person. She believes in teaching nonviolent inmates and some juvenile offenders skills for employment. She filed a brief in the Supreme Court encouraging public universities to consider race in admissions. She went after illegal dumping and air pollution. She went about companies like BP, Chevron, etc. who polluted. She supported single payer health care and free college tuition for families earning less than $140,000. Here is where I disagree with her on. She never actively challenged the death penalty when she was Attorney General. She defended the three strikes law. She wanted voters to reject Proposition 66 (which was a ballot initiative that would have made only serious or violent felonies trigger life sentences). When she ran for attorney general, her Republican opponent actually ran to her left on the issue. She was wrong to promote a cruel truant law that threatened parents of truant children with a $2,000 fine and a year in jail.  By October 2012, mothers had been imprisoned under the law.

“We are putting parents on notice,” she said in her inaugural speech as attorney general. “If you fail in your responsibility to your kids, we are going to work to make sure you face the full force and consequences of the law.” Daniel Larsen’s case was truly concerning. Larsen’s release was challenged by Harris when he didn’t commit a specific crime, and Larsen is back at court. She did back a bill that required reports on officer-involved shootings to be posted publicly online and mandated bias training and that justice department agents wear body cameras. Yet, as district attorney, she refused to hand over the names of police officers whose testimonies had led to convictions despite the officers’ arrest records and histories of misconduct. As attorney general, she also opposed instituting police body cameras statewide and stood against a bill requiring her office to investigate fatal police shootings. Harris was likewise a firm proponent of the nefarious policy of civil asset forfeiture, sponsoring a bill to allow prosecutors to seize profits before charges were even filed. Years before that, she opposed AB 639, a bill that aimed to reform asset forfeiture.  Black people today aren’t buying the situation where a candidate talks about rap or speaks in an accent, then everything is cool. Just because a candidate went into Howard, is an AKA, or listens to Snoop doesn’t mean we will ultimately vote for you.

We want tangible policy positions that will help our people or African Americans directly. Therefore, Kamala Harris is a politician with a mixed record (which includes some great things that she had done like during the housing crisis, she won a historic mortgage settlement case that helped more than 84,000 California families). Her greatest challenge is her disturbing record involving criminal justice issues (especially refusing to release prisoners under a judge’s order to ease overcrowding. She supported the Broken Windows policy).


Now, it is important to evaluate all candidates not just one. Cory Booker has officially won for President too. He was born in Washington, D.C. and is now a Senator from New Jersey. He is the first African-American U.S. Senator from New Jersey. He was once the mayor of Newark from 2006 to 2013. Cory Booker is known as a social liberal. He believes in affirmative action, single payer healthcare, same-sex marriage, and women’s rights. He has been involved in the bipartisan movement to end the War on Drugs and have replacements. Many people’s major questions about Cory Booker deals with his ties to corporate interests. For example, he took the most contributions from Wall Street for his 2014 campaign than any other candidate including Senator Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. He has received donations from Big Pharma. He recoiled against the campaign's criticisms of Mitt Romney’s private equity firm, Bain Capital. “I’m not about to sit here and indict private equity,” said Booker, on NBC’s Meet the Press. As he explained in a 2011 speech, “disparities in income in America are not because of some ‘greedy capitalist’ — no! It’s because of a failing education system.” You can’t fight oligarchy without exposing greedy capitalists. Yet rather than improving this system by increasing school funding or building public “community schools,” Booker made a hard case for charter schools as well as school vouchers , i.e., state funding for parents to pay for private schools. The truth is that greedy capitalists do contribute to income inequality.

Peter Buttigieg is running from President. He is the Mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and he was born in South Bend, Indiana too. He is a military veteran of the War on Afghanistan as a U.S. Navy Lieutenant. Julian Castro from San Antonio, Texas is running for Texas as well. He was the Mayor of San Antonio, Texas and he worked as the 16th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President Barack Obama from 2014 to 2017. Castro wants balanced budgets, free trade, universal pre-K, universal health care, a Green New Deal, and campaign finance reform. He certainly wants tighter gun control like the assault weapons ban and limiting access to high capacity magazines (and closing the gun show loophole). He wants a pathway to citizenship for most undocumented residents in America. He doesn’t want a border wall and desires ICE to be reconstituted. Julian Castro have talked about reparations for African Americans. He is the first Texan in the 2020 race, and would be third-youngest President if elected. In his announcement, Castro emphasized Medicare-for-all, universal pre-K, and a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants as part of comprehensive immigration reform.

John Delaney, Tulsi Gabbard, Bernie Sanders, Beto O'Rourke (he has an inspirational message, but his weakness is that he lacks  major policy goals and ways on achieving his goals. Ou'Rourke must bring in more specific content), and Kirsten Gillibrand are running for President too. Elizabeth Warren is running for President and promotes a wealth tax, banking regulation, environmental protections, and other progressive measures. She announced her run for President at a rally in Lawrence, Massachusetts. She wanted to promote labor rights as a major theme in her speech. She talked about race, class, women, immigrants, union members, and other issues. Her speech talked about homeownership, the criminal justice system, and exposing racism as evil. There is the Native American controversy where she apologized for claiming to have a significant Native American ancestry in her family tree which isn’t the case at all. U.S. Senator from Minnesota Amy Klobuchar ran for President in the snow. She is the woman who believes in many progressive principles too. Other people running for President include Michael E. Arth, Harry Braun, Ken Nwadike Jr., Robby Wells, Marianne Williamson, and Andrew Yang. The Presidential race of 2020 is never dull. It is an exciting time for Americans and people throughout the world. At the end of the day, we want detailed proposals and solutions to the real problems found in the United States of America. The choice is ours.

The Essence of Government

When learning about government, it is always important to know many concepts relating to it. Many even adult Americans have trouble understanding about the basic parts of U.S. Constitution. That is one major reason why I deceived to write information on this topic. Some people need to know history. The original Constitution in America didn't promote equal rights for black people. Black people and other people had to fight literally for legal rights to be expanded. Even to this very day in early 2019, we are still fighting for our rights. The reality is that government is meant to help the people as government should only be comprised of the people. The government ought not to be authoritarian, but it shouldn't be so small that it restricts social programs to the sick, the elderly, the disabled, etc. Government resources ought to help the oppressed and those who need it.

American constitutional government has many functions and definitions. The definition of the consent of the governed is that the people are the source of any and all governmental power. Government isn’t all powerful and can only do things that the people have given it the power to do in limited government. The rule of law is that the government is bound under law and those who are governed. The people rule in a democracy. Also, representative government is about when the people elect public office holders to make laws and conduct government on the people’s behalf. The American Constitution didn’t exist in a vacuum. Many laws existed during the centuries before this time of 2019. There are similarities and differences between many governmental documents. The charters of the Virginia Company of London guaranteed the rights of Englishmen to the colonists. The Virginia Declaration of Rights was a model for the Bill of Rights and the Constitution of the United States of America. The Declaration of Independence existed in 1776. It wasn’t part of the United States Constitution. It was about a document that showed how the colonists presented grievances against the King of Great Britain. It declared the colonies independence from Great Britain. It affirmed that there are certain unalienable rights of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." It mentioned that all people are equal under the law, but as we know, the writers of that document didn’t practice what they preached. For example, black people in the millions were enslaved back then. Women didn't have equal rights, and Native Americans experienced genocide. The Articles of Confederation formed the first form of national government in America.

It had major powers for individual states. It had a weak central government. The federal government couldn’t tax or enforce laws. This caused the writing of the Constitution of the United States of America. The Virginia Statue for Religious Freedom stated that the freedom of religious beliefs and opinion ought to exist. The Constitution of the United States of America including the Bill of Rights was created. It formed the structure of the United States government. It guaranteed equality under the law with majority rule and the rights of the minority protected. It affirmed the individual worth and dignity of all people. It protected the fundamental freedoms of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition. The problem was that the 3/5s Compromise was in the Constitution and slavery existed back then. The Preamble of the Constitution set out the goals and purposes of the government. In other words, the Preamble outlined why the Constitution was written in America. The Preamble cited “We the People” saying that the power of government comes from the people. The Preamble said that the United States government was created to form a more perfect union, to establish justice, to ensure domestic tranquility to provide for the common defense, to promote the general welfare, and to secure the blessings of liberty.


The Constitution of America can be amended in many ways. The amendment process is complex. There are over 25 amendments to the United States Constitution. The Amendment process can exist by Congress or convention first by proposal. Then, it is ratification by a majority of U.S. states. In the state of Virginia, state amendments are done by proposal (achieved by the General Assembly or convention) and then it is ratified by the voters of Virginia. That is why people vote on state amendment proposals all of the time. There are many rights and responsibilities of citizenship. Any citizen is a person with rights and duties under the government, who, by birth or choice, owes allegiance to that government. The Fourteenth Amendment said that citizenship is the following designation: “All person born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and the state wherein they reside.” People can achieve citizenship in America by birth or by naturalization. Immigration and naturalization since the twentieth century has contributed to a diverse American society. In the naturalization process, a person must demonstrate knowledge of American history and principles. They must read, speak, and write words in ordinary usage in the English language. We have fundamental rights and liberties here. The First Amendment mentioned the freedom of religion. That means that the government can’t make an official religion or endorse an official religion. The government can’t unduly interfere with the free exercise of religion too.

The First Amendment has the freedom of speech, the freedom of the press, the right to assembly, and the right to petition. The Fourteenth Amendment extends due process protection to the actions of the states. Citizens have the duties to obey laws, pay taxes, voluntarily serve in the armed forces, and serve on a jury or as a witness in court when summoned. I have served jury duty before. Citizens have many responsibilities. They can register and vote. They can hold elective office. They can communicate with government officials to influence government actions. They can serve on government positions. They can be a part of political campaigns. They can be informed on current issues and respect others’ right to an equal voice in government. Citizens can help society by tutoring, volunteering, expressing concerns about issues (like the environment, education, public health and safety, etc.), and join democratic institutions. Great citizens confront injustice since the government will not be completely perfect. Also, great citizens will help other people and express courtesy. There must be respect for the law, but the law must respect people for an unjust law is no law at all. For example, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. opposed the unjust law of Jim Crow by using civil disobedience and protests. In his Letter from a Birmingham Jail, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was clear that unjust laws are no laws at all:

"...Sometimes a law is just on its face and unjust in its application. For instance, I have been arrested on a charge of parading without a permit. Now, there is nothing wrong in having an ordinance which requires a permit for a parade. But such an ordinance becomes unjust when it is used to maintain segregation and to deny citizens the First-Amendment privilege of peaceful assembly and protest. I hope you are able to see the distinction I am trying to point out. In no sense do I advocate evading or defying the law, as would the rabid segregationist. That would lead to anarchy. One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty. I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for law. Of course, there is nothing new about this kind of civil disobedience. It was evidenced sublimely in the refusal of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to obey the laws of Nebuchadnezzar, on the ground that a higher moral law was at stake. It was practiced superbly by the early Christians, who were willing to face hungry lions and the excruciating pain of chopping blocks rather than submit to certain unjust laws of the Roman Empire. To a degree, academic freedom is a reality today because Socrates practiced civil disobedience. In our own nation, the Boston Tea Party represented a massive act of civil disobedience. We should never forget that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was "legal" and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was "illegal." It was "illegal" to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler's Germany. Even so, I am sure that, had I lived in Germany at the time, I would have aided and comforted my Jewish brothers. If today I lived in a Communist country where certain principles dear to the Christian faith are suppressed, I would openly advocate disobeying that country's antireligious laws..."

Political parties are involved in the government and can allow citizens to participate in the political process. Political parties recruit and nominate candidates. They can educate the electorate about campaign issues. They help candidates win elections and they monitor the actions of officeholders. There are the two major parties of the Democrats and Republicans along with other parties (like the Green Party, the Libertarian Party, etc.). The 2 major parties have more economic and political power in America. They appeal more to the center than third parties during Presidential elections. Third parties can introduce new ideas and press specific issues. Some have unique personalities. Voters vote based on research, separating fact from opinion, and finding bias. Some voters can reject propaganda. The mass media identify candidates, discuss issues, and use op-eds or editorials to talk about issues. Many broadcasts share different candidates’ messages. Running for office is very expensive. Candidates now must have extensive fund raising actions. Wealthy candidates have an advantage in national elections and even in state elections. The PACs or political action committees help to fund campaigns. Special interest groups aid candidates as well. Campaign finance reform tried to limit rising campaign costs. There are now limited on how much individuals can contribute to political candidates and campaigns. Voting is a responsibility of citizenship. Voter registration is required before a citizen can vote. Voting in Virginia means that this person must be a citizen of America, a resident of a Virginia location and precinct, and at least 18 years old by the day of the general election. People can register to vote online, at the Division of Motor Vehicles, by in mail application. Voter registration in Virginia closes 22 days before elections. Factors can precinct voting by education, age, and income. Some citizens don’t vote because of lack of interest and failure to register. Voter participation is usually higher in Presidential elections than in state and local election. Every vote matters.

The Electoral College process is used to select the President and Vice President of the United States. The Electoral College deals with a state of electors being selected for each state by popular vote. Most states have a winner take all system. The electors meet to vote for the President and Vice President. This winner take all system has some targeting densely populated states for campaigning. Although, candidates must pay attention to less populated states whose electoral votes may make the difference in tight elections. The numbers of electors in each state is based on the size of the state’s Congressional representation, which is based on the state’s population. The requirement for a majority vote to win in the Electoral College favors a two-party system. That is why some people want the Electoral College abolished, because it denies the majority vote deciding who is the President of America. Students can work in the state, local, and national elections in many ways. They can participate in campaigns and work in classroom plus online projects.

The Constitution of the United States defines the structure and powers of the national government. Governmental power is divided among the national government in Washington, D.C. and the governments of the 50 states (including other locations like Puerto Rico). Legislative, executive, and judicial powers of the national government are divided into three, independent (plus distinct) branches of government. The legislative branch makes the laws of the nation. It is made up of Congress, a bicameral legislature made up of the House of Representatives (435 members are in the House based upon the populations of the states) and the Senate (it has 100 members or 2 per state).  The legislative approves the annual budget. They can confirm Presidential appointments, raise revenues via taxes plus other levies, regulates interstate and foreign trade, and declare war. The executive branch is headed by the President of the United States of the chief executive officer of the nation. The executive branch executes the laws of the land, prepares the annual budget for Congressional action, and appoints cabinet officers, ambassadors, and federal judges. It administers the federal bureaucracy. The judicial branch interprets laws. They are made up of the federal courts including the Supreme Court being the highest court in the land. The Supreme Court exercises the power of judicial review. The federal courts try cases involving federal law and questions involving the interpretation of the Constitution of the United States.

The three branches of government are separated in their powers and they are limited in what they can and can’t do. That prevents the abuse of power among any branch of government. So, there is the separation of powers. That is found in the Constitution of the United States in Articles I, II, and II that defines the powers of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of national government. There are checks and balances. That means that each of the three branches of the national government limits the exercise of power by the other two branches. The legislative branch has Congress that checks the President when legislators override Presidential vetoes. The Congress can impeach and convict a President. The Congress checks the courts when legislators confirm or refuse to confirm federal judges/justices and they can impeach and/or convict judges/justices. The executive branch has the President that can checks Congress when the President proposes legislation. The President can prepare an annual budget for Congress to approve. The executive branch can call special sessions of Congress and vetoes legislation Congress has passed. The President can check the courts when the President appoints judges/justices. The judicial branch has the courts which can check Congress when judges/justices can declare acts of Congress to be unconstitutional. The courts can check the President when judges/justices can declare executive actions as unconstitutional.

The lawmaking process takes many steps. Officials are elected and they serve the national legislative to make laws. National laws are made by Congress. Direct participation can allow citizens to learn the importance of participation in policy making. The legislative powers are specifically listed in the Constitution of the United States as expressed powers. The implied powers allow the Congress to carry out expressed powers. In the lawmaking process in Congress, a Senator or a House of Representative member introduces a bill. Later, people in Congress would work in committees to work on the bill. The bill is debated on the floor of each house. Later, each house votes on the bill. Then, the bill comes to the President to sign it into law. Elected officials in Congress write laws and then take action in response to problems or issues. Individuals and interest groups help to shape legislation. The formal powers of Congress are limited by the Constitution. Citizens and other people use direct involvement to be knowledgeable of the legislative process. The executive branch does play a key role in the policy making process. Presidential power is broad in both domestic and foreign affairs. There are limits on what the President can and can’t do.

The executive branch influences policy making in these following ways: it can propose legislation in an annual speech to Congress (State of the Union Address), appealing directly to the people, approving or vetoing legislation, and appointing officials who carry out the laws. Many cabinet departments, agencies, and regulatory groups interpret and executive the laws. The President has power as the chief of state (or the ceremonial head of government), chief executive (the head of the executive branch), chief legislator (or the proposer of a legislative agenda), the commander in chief (or the head of American armed forces), chief diplomat (or the architect of American foreign policy), chief of party (or the leader of the political party the controls the executive branch), and chief citizen (the representative of all of the people). Presidential power has grown in the years since the Constitution was ratified. The judicial function is exercised in a dual court system. It is made up of state courts and federal courts.

Federal courts are derived from the Constitution of the United States and federal laws. They include the U.S. Supreme Court (it has justices, no jury, it has appellate jurisdiction, and it has limited original jurisdiction), the U.S. Court of Appeals (with judges, no jury, and an appellate jurisdiction), and the U.S. District Court (it has a Judge, with or without jury, and original jurisdiction). Virginia like the other 49 states has its own separate court system. Its system is from Virginia’s constitution and state laws. There is the Virginia Supreme Court. It has justices, no jury, an appellate jurisdiction, and limited original jurisdiction. The Court of Appeals of Virginia has judges, no jury, and an appellate jurisdiction to review decision of circuit courts. The General district court and the juvenile and domestic relations court have a judge, no jury, original jurisdiction of misdemeanors in civil cases (involving lower dollar amounts and original jurisdiction in juvenile and family cases). Judicial review is an important check on the legislative and executive branches of government. Judicial review is when courts determine the constitutionality of laws and acts of the executive branch of government.

The national level judicial review was established by the Marbury v. Madison decision. The Constitution of the United States is the America is the supreme law of the land. That means that state laws must confirm to the Constitution. Criminal and civil cases are major cases. A criminal case involves a person accused of breaking the law. He or she can be charged with a misdemeanor or felony. In criminal cases, that person can be arrested if the police have probable cause. The accused can be sent to jail or released on bail. The arraignment is when probable cause is reviewed and an attorney may be appointed for the defendant, and a plea is entered. Then, a court date is set and a trial is conducted. A guilty verdict may be appealed. A civil case is when a court settles a disagreement among two parties to recover damages or receive compensation. In a civil case, a court allows the plaintiff to file a complaint to recover damages or receive compensation. Cases can be heard by a judge or a jury. Cases can be appealed.

One of the most important parts of the law is due process. Due process is from in the 5th and 14th Amendments to the Constitution. Due process protections are used to ensure justice. Due process means that constitutional protection against unfair governmental actions and laws must exist. The Fifth Amendment prohibits the national government from acting in an unfair manner. The Fourteenth Amendment prohibits state and local governments from acting in an unfair manner. The Supreme Court has extended the guarantees of the Bill of Rights, based upon the due process clause.

The media also informs the public. It can focus on public attention and offer a forum in opposing viewpoints. In 2019, independent media has grown which also gives people critically important information on society. The government officials can use the media to communicate with the public too. Individuals and interest group can lobby to seek and influence legislators to introduce a vote for or against a bill. People can vote, seek office, write letters, demonstrate, and join interest groups. Interest groups identify issues, make political contributions, and lobby government officials. Local, state, and federal governments work together on public health issues, public safety matters, and economic development policies. They can help to protect the environment including have wildlife protection. 

The Commonwealth of Virginia has a form of government created by the Virginia Constitution. Virginia has executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government. The legislative branch is the General Assembly which is a bicameral legislature made up of the House of Delegates and the Virginia Senate. They meet annually for a fixed number of days. The executive power is exercised by the governor. The governor is elected for a four year term of office. The governor appoints members of the cabinet, who oversee specific functions of government. The lieutenant governor and the attorney general are executive branch officers who are also elected for a four year term of office. The state judicial power has four levels of courts: Supreme Court, Court of appeals, circuit courts, and district courts (including small claims courts and juvenile plus domestic relations courts). Members of the Virginia General Assembly are elected to make state laws. Citizens are involved in this process. To make state law, the Virginia General Assembly introduces a bill. People work in committees to debate the bill on the floor of each house. Voting on the bill takes place in each house. The bill was sent to the governor to sign into law. Elected officials in the Virginia General Assembly write laws and take actions in response to problems or issues. Individuals and interest groups help to shape legislation. At the state level, it focuses on education, public health, the environment, and state budget plus revenue. The Governor is the chief of state, chief legislator, chief administrator, party chief, and commander in chief. The state cabinet secretaries and departments agencies, commissions and regulatory have the power to: administer laws, enforce laws, regulate aspects of business and the economy, and provide services.

Local governments have counties, towns, and cities with executive, legislative, and judicial powers. Each county has an elected board of supervisors with legislative powers and they can enact ordinances or local laws and adopt an annual budget. Each county and city has an elected or appointed school board, which oversees the operation of the K-12 public schools in the county or city. Towns have a town council and ordinances. Cities have an elected city council, ordinances, and have a budget with a mayor. Counties have a manager. Local government can levy and collect taxes, protect the environment, regulate land use, educate children, protect public safety, promote public health, and enforce state and local laws. Local powers are limited. Cities have charters listing their powers. Counties and cities don’t have the same powers. The state constitution gives the towns and cities plus counties their own powers.

The image on the left showed men at the 1963 March on Washington. The image on the right showed women protesting for economic justice from the 1969 Charleston Hospital strike. 

The Constitution of the United States of America has the principle of federalism. Federalism is the division of power between the states and the national government. The expansion of the national government’s powers into areas traditionally reserved to the states has altered the relationship of states to the national government. The national government is the supreme legal authority in America. The powers not given to the national government are reserved to the states and the people according to the Constitution of the United States of America. The Constitution grants certain powers to both the national and state governments. In other words, the national government conducts foreign policy, regulates commerce, and provides for the common defense. The state promotes public health, safety, and welfare. There are debates about federal mandates requiring state actions without adequate funding. Personally, I do believe that the federal government should have an active role in helping the people and society in general.

By Timothy