1. What would the Taxpayer First Act do? It "would prohibit the IRS from creating an online tax preparation system that would compete with TurboTax and H&R Block."
2. Who are the sponsors of this bill? It is sponsored by "Democratic Rep. John Lewis (GA) and Republican Mike Kelly (PA), and in the Senate by Finance Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Ron Wyden (D-OR), "
3. Why are these Congressmen pushing for this bill? It stops the IRS from offering a product that "would hurt consumers, provide no social value, and purely serve to increase ill-gotten rents for two of the most pointless companies currently involved in American capitalism. "
4. Why would the IRS easily be able to compete with TurboTax and HR Block? They have all of the information needed readily available except for a few people. 
5. What do countries in Europe do differently to help people file their taxes?They  "have exact enough tax withholding procedures that most people don’t have to file income tax returns at all"
6. What reforms did both Barack Obama and Ronald Reagan propose regarding filing taxes? "We call it the return-free system, and it would be totally voluntary. If you decided to participate, you would automatically receive your refund or a letter explaining any additional tax you owe. Should you disagree with this figure, you would be free to fill out your taxes using the regular form."
7. Why does anti-tax advocate Grover Norquist support the Taxpayer First Act? He "opposes automatic filing on the grounds that it makes tax season insufficiently nightmarish, which might reduce people’s aversion to taxes and make it easier for politicians to pass tax increases"

Indiana's RFRA-Vox.com

1. What does the Indiana RFRA say? It says the "government can't intrude on a person's religious rights unless it has a compelling government interest and is acting in the least intrusive way possible."

2. In what way could this law possibly allow other forms of discrimination? It "could legally protect employers, landlords, and business owners who discriminate against LGBT people on religious grounds"

3. Why did then Governor Mike Pence clarify his interpretation of the law? Now the law "will bar businesses and individuals from using the law to refuse employment, housing, or service to people based on their sexual orientation or gender identity."

4. What happened in the 1990 Supreme Court case that inspired the creation of the first RFRAs? After people were being fired for using a drug during Native American ceremonies, "the court ruled against the religious argument in that case, it suggested that governments could establish explicit protections that would exempt people from certain laws if they have a genuine religious objection"

5. Why did "Advance America" support the new law? They supported the law so Christian bakers, florists, etc. would not have to perform their service for someone who is homosexual.

6. How did the Supreme Court use the federal RFRA to alter the regulations in the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare)? They cited the RFRA to exempt some employers from having to provide birth control within their healthcare since it went against some employers' religion, like Hobby Lobby.

Colorado's Masterpiece Cake Shop - Vox.com

7. What situation caused these two parties to end up in the Supreme Court? A homosexual, engaged couple went to a bakery where the baker refuse to make their wedding cake because it was against his beliefs, and did not want it to seem like an endorsement.

8. What was Craig and Mullins' argument in the case? They were filing discrimination charges based on " a Colorado law that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation by public accommodations."

9. How did Phillips defend his actions? He would have served them any non-wedding cake items in the bakery, but a wedding cake is forcing him to celebrate something he opposes.

10. How do we know that the Trump administration supported Phillips in this case? They filed an amicus curiae brief on behalf of the baker's legal argument.

11. How do Phillips and his attorneys argue that the wedding cake is different than normal services he provides? They claim it is a result of his artistic expression and that the law stifles said expression. The wedding cake is a celebratory message, while everything else does not convey a specific message.

12. What do Colorado state laws say that might protect Craig and Mullins? " Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act, that declares, in short, that it’s unlawful to deny goods or services to someone due to their disability, race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, or ancestry."

1. What was the result of this election in November 2019? On Election Day, Republican Mark Harris led Democrat Dan McCready by fewer than 1,000 votes.
2. What do the state investigators accuse Leslie Dowless of doing to alter the election? They believe he directed a coordinated scheme to unlawfully collect, falsely witness, and otherwise tamper with absentee ballots.3. What amendment gave Mr. Dowless the right to refuse to testify to the investigators? The 5th amendment because of no self-incrimination.4. What power does the state have to solve this problematic election? the board is able to call a new election if the basic fairness of the election was tainted. It doesn’t matter whether the number of votes in dispute would have been enough to swing the outcome.5. What did Mr. Dowless do to absentee ballots in order to help the Republican candidate? Dowless had used absentee ballot request forms for prior elections to “pre-fill” forms for the 2018 election and sent out workers to find the voters so they could sign the forms and request a ballot. 6. What is the makeup of the state election board and how does that ensure fairness? it is made up of three Democrats and two Republicans — had reconvened after Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper named new members amid an unrelated legal dispute.7. What did the group do with incomplete and unsealed absentee ballots? if the ballots were left unsealed and there were elections left blank, she would fill in some of the empty offices8. Why is there no danger of prosecution for Mark Harris, the Republican candidate? His name was never written in, not getting him any votes, and they repeatedly said that he had no idea about the plan.

1. What powers does the National Emergencies Act of 1976 give POTUS ? "Trump can only use specific powers Congress has already codified by law, and he has to say which powers he’s using. The act doesn’t define what counts as an emergency."
2. What congressional power in the constitution is Trump trying to get around by declaring this? He hopes to get around their decision to not fund the wall.
3. How would Congress pass a joint resolution disputing the emergency? "Both chambers of Congress would need to approve the resolution by a simple majority (that’s 51 votes in the Senate and 218 votes in the House)." but "Because of his expected veto, stopping the declaration this way would require a veto-proof majority, which consists of a two-thirds vote in both the House and the Senate."
4. What action can the president take in response to the joint resolution? He could veto the bill they present to him.

5. Why would landowners potentially sue the president to stop the wall? They don't want any land to be taken from them in order for the wall to be built.6. What happened to the eminent domain lawsuits filed against President Bush? It was "reported that 334 eminent domain lawsuits were filed in South Texas under the Bush administration, and 60 to 70 of them are still pending."7. Why would the ACLU sue the president to stop the wall? He admitted that there is no national emergency that he is just impatient, so they want to sue because it is a blatant illegal declaration. 
8. How could states serve as a check on presidential power? If a states federal funds are activated then the states could resist and take Trump to court.

Exploratory Committees, Explained - Vox.com

1. What are the two reasons for a person to form an exploratory committee, according to this article? 

1. "This person is (almost) definitely running for president.

1. They want to raise some money and get their campaign together before they formally announce they are a candidate."

2. What do the candidates do during the "exploratory phase"? They raise a ton of mone start polling and traveling, and they begin to hire staff. 
3. What do candidates have to do with the bureaucracy to make their exploratory committee official? They need to file a statement of candidacy to the FEC and put exploratory in your campaign title.
4. Why did Elizabeth Warren's exploratory committee hire staff in Iowa? It is an important early state on the primary calendar.
5. What is the most important task of the exploratory committee for the candidate? Raising money is the most important thing they do so the candidate can begin to build their financial foundation of their campaign.
6. Why are Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders less likely to use an exploratory committee? They are already very well known do not need the "glide path."

State of the Union Address, Annotated - New York Times

1. What issues does President Trump identify as bipartisan (both parties support them) issues? The issues are "to defend American jobs and demand fair trade for American workers.
To rebuild and revitalize our nation’s infrastructure, to reduce the price of health care and prescription drugs, to create an immigration system that is safe, lawful, modern, and secure and to pursue a foreign policy that puts America’s interests first. "
2. Which amazing NASA bureaucrat was honored during the speech?! Buzz Aldrin was honored. 
3. What economic achievements did President Trump focus on early in his speech? The creation of 5.3 million jobs, wages are rising, and nearly 5 million Americans have been lifted off of food stamps.
4. What impact has the Trump administration had on the regulatory agencies? "Companies are coming back to our country in large numbers thanks to our historic reductions in taxes and regulations."
5. Which of the president's judicial powers does Trump mention using in the past year? He commuted Alice Johnson's sentence for a non-violent drug offense.
6. What policy proposal does Trump focus on?  In what ways does he justify the need for this policy? " a commonsense proposal to end the crisis on the Southern Border." and he justifies this by saying border agents would agree in its helpfulness and that El Paso has experienced much lower crime rates after having a barrier in place.
7. What achievement of women in government does Trump recognize? He recognizes the fact that this is the most women that have ever been in Congress and in the workforce.
8. What trade policies has Trump changed since he's been in office? " imposed tariffs on $250 billion dollars of Chinese goods — and now our Treasury is receiving billions and billions of dollars."
9. What policy proposals does Trump talk about that would impact health care in the US? We "should be to lower the cost of healthcare and prescription drugs — and to protect patients with pre-existing conditions."
10. What foreign policy proposals does Trump discuss? He discusses the American embassy in Jerusalem and pushing the political negotiations with Afghanistan.
11. What nation does Trump identify as the number one national security threat to the US? Russia is the beiggest threat as they have broken treaties endlessly.
12. Why does the crowd sing Happy Birthday?! Judah Samet, a Pittsburgh massacre and Nazi concentration camp survivor, was celebrating his 81st birthday at the State of the Union.

Trump could use a national emergency - Vox.com

1. What are the two potential outcomes regarding the border wall that Trump implied in his speech?
"the government will either shut down again or “I will use the powers afforded to me under the laws and the Constitution of the United States to address this emergency.”"
2. What would Democrats argue if Trump declared a national emergency to slow illegal immigration?
Many Democrats and some legal scholars have said that Trump can’t declare a national emergency to get the border wall funded. 
3. How did Bush and Obama use the emergency powers of the president? Many presidents have declared national emergencies, including George W. Bush after 9/11 and Barack Obama during the swine flu outbreak in 2009.
4. What restrictions does the National Emergencies Act of 1976 put on the president?  the National Emergencies Act of 1976, which lets presidents issue an emergency declaration but under certain constraints — namely, Trump can only use specific powers Congress has already codified by law, and he has to say which powers he’s using. The 1976 law was actually passed to rein in presidential power and codify how presidents were going about declaring emergencies
5. If Trump does declare a national emergency, what obstacles may he face? identifying the laws and statutes he could actually use
6. How could the president use the military to accomplish this policy goal? reallocate military spending on construction projects for the wall. One law allows the defense secretary, after a national emergency declaration, to direct the army’s civil works program to construct a structure needed for national defense and use the military budget to do it.
7. What did the Supreme Court rule in Youngstown Sheet & Tube V Sawyer?  the Supreme Court ruled that President Harry Truman’s attempt to nationalize US steel mills during a strike in the Korean War was unconstitutional. 
8. How can Congress stop the president if he does declare an emergency? the National Emergencies Act was amended to require the joint resolution to override the president’s declaration — like a typical law, it requires a simple majority in the House and Senate and the president’s signature.