Saturday, March 21, 2020

Car Jacking Essays - Jack, Lifting Equipment, Panic Button

Car Jacking Car Jacking Car Jacking is a nation wide problem. There are many horrifying tales that people have encountered. In April of 1999 a woman and her baby were car jacked in their hometown in Georgia. The mother stepped out of the car and was giving her baby a bottle when out of nowhere a man pushed her into the back seat of her car and he jumped into the front and took off. She was screaming and yelling and trying to fight the man. Then she realized she had a cell phone in her babies' diaper bag. She managed to get to the phone and then she dialed 911 and left the line open. She was scared and nervous and didn't know where she was going or what was going to happen to her and her baby. She was trying to name out landmarks so the 911 operator could lead the police to them without the car jacker's knowledge. The car started slowing down and she was getting ready to jump out when she suddenly realized that there was a car following them. A man got out of his van and jumped into the backseat with her and the baby. They heard sirens from a police car but it soon faded away. She knew the police were looking for her. She wondered how she could tell the police to come back to help them. She was talking to the kidnappers loud enough so the operator could hear, that police car can't be looking for you, they went by us. Soon the police came back and pulled the car over. Everything turned out fine because of this woman's quick thinking. (Weingarden 1-3). Car jacking is a problem in the United States. There has been a rise of auto theft and car jacking in the past years. There are also ways to prevent this crime and tips to be aware of if you are ever in this situation. In United States they have recorded over 35,000 attempted car jackings in the last year and they are on the rise (Brewer 1). Also, a speculation is that all victims of car jacking are women and that is not true. Early one morning, two teenagers stole a man's car in his driveway, and in a rage the man jumped onto the car, which was a careless thing to do. He eventually fell off and was run over. When a situation like this strikes, people don't know what to do and go into a state of panic like this man. He put his life into danger for a possession, his car. Your life is much more valuable that an object and some people figure this out after it is too late (Brewer 1). Even though this gives an example of an instance when a man's car was car jacked, the fact is that more women are susceptible to this crime. There has been an increase in violent crimes associated with women in the last few years (Davies 1). In example, one lady whose assailant tried to help her at first, was caught by surprise when he kidnapped her in her own car. He beat her and locked her in the trunk. Through her perseverance, she was able to pry the trunk open. She finally had to leap from the vehicle and was picked up by a Good Samaritan. The police found the man and he was wanted for the murder and rape of a woman the week before (Morris 1-6). Don't be fooled by the helpfulness of a stranger. Without her perseverance and smart thinking she could have ended up just like the woman before her. There are many precautions that you can take to prevent car jacking and auto theft. Using things like pepper spray, you can defend yourself if you are ever in this situation (Drury 1). Another invention that could be useful to you is the Stop Jack. This instrument once set up will stop your car when someone takes control of the car and pushes the other person out. It can sense when the car door opens. If it is not disarmed with the magnetic card then it will kill the engine dead in

Thursday, March 5, 2020

Filibuster Rules in the U.S. Senate

Filibuster Rules in the U.S. Senate A filibuster is a tactic used in the U.S. Senate to delay votes on controversial legislation or stifle debate on a topic. Typically, a senator wishing to filibuster will ask to speak on the floor of the chamber and, in an attempt to stall legislation action, hold forth for hours at a time. There are few rules that govern a filibuster because the Senate believes its members have the right to speak as long as they want on any issue.   The filibuster dates to the early 1800s. The record  for the longest filibuster is held by  the late U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, who spoke for 24 hours and 18 minutes against the Civil Rights Act of 1957, according to U.S. Senate records. In the modern era,  Republican U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky staged a daylong filibuster in 2013 that captivated conservatives and libertarians as well as the national news media. Critics call the filibuster unconstitutional at worst and unfair at best. Others believe it to be a  historical relic. Practitioners of the filibuster insist that it protects the rights of the minority against the tyranny of the majority. By their nature, filibusters are meant to draw attention to a specific issues and have the potential to inspire compromise. According to the U.S. Senate, the word filibuster comes from a Dutch word meaning pirate and was first used more than 150 years ago to describe efforts to hold the Senate floor in order to prevent action on a bill. One Way to Break a Filibuster Filibusters rules allow the delay tactic to go on for hours or even days. The only way to force the end of a filibuster is through parliamentary procedure known as  cloture, or Rule 22, which was adopted in 1917.  Once cloture is used, debate is limited to 30 additional hours of debate on the given topic. Sixty members of the 100-member Senate must vote for cloture to stop a filibuster.  At least 16 members of the Senate must sign a cloture motion or petition that states: We, the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the provisions of Rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, hereby move to bring to a close the debate upon (the matter in question). Important Dates in the History of the Filibuster ​Heres a look at some of the most important moments in the history of the filibuster and cloture. 1806:  The U.S. Senate amends its rulebook in a way that unwittingly allows a member or members to stall action by speaking for hours on end. The Senate, acting at the request of Vice President Aaron Burr, eliminated a provision called the previous question rule that allowed the chamber to cut off floor debate. Without such a measure in place, a senator was permitted to speak indefinitely, paving the way for the filibuster.1841: Henry Clay  threatens to change the Senates  filibuster rules to allow the majority to close debate when Democrats blocked a bank bill.1872: Vice President Schuyler Colfax rules that under the practice of the Senate the presiding officer could not restrain a Senator in remarks which the Senator considers pertinent to the pending issue.1919: First use of Rule 22 when Senate invoked cloture to end debate against the Treaty of Versailles.1935: Populist U.S. Sen. Huey Long of Louisiana filibusters  for 15 hours and 30 minutes trying, without success, to k eep Senate oversight of National Recovery Administrations senior employees. How was he able to speak so long? He recited  Shakespeare and read recipes for pot-likkers, a Southern term for the  broth created by cooking greens. 1957: U.S. Sen.  Strom Thurmond  of South Carolina filibusters  for a record 24 hours and 18 minutes as part of a move that successfully blocked the Civil Rights Act of 1957.1964: U.S. Sen.  Robert Byrd of West Virginia filibusters  for 14 hours and 13 minutes in an unsuccessful attempt to block the Civil Rights Act of 1964.1968: The Abe Fortas appointment to succeed Earl Warren as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is  derailed by Republicans through filibuster.2013:  Republican U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky filibusters for nearly 13 hours  to question and raise awareness of the U.S. governments use of drones. It is the  ninth-longest filibuster in history.  I will speak until I can no longer speak, he said.  Paul ended his filibuster because he had to go to the bathroom. [This articled was updated in May  2018 by Tom Murse.]