The Labor Market - What is it? How is it developed?

Since we just celebrated labor day, it's useful to figure out what we just celebrated. It's not just that its labor, we have a market that develops it, and offers it up for sale. It's what many of you are doing right now school.

Some links: 

First, what is a market?

In economics, a market is a composition of systems, institutions, procedures, social relations or infrastructures whereby parties engage in exchange. While parties may exchange goods and services by barter, most markets rely on sellers offering their goods or services (including labour power) to buyers in exchange for money. It can be said that a market is the process by which the prices of goods and services are established. Markets facilitate trade and enable the distribution and allocation of resources in a society. Markets allow any tradeable item to be evaluated and priced. A market emerges more or less spontaneously or may be constructed deliberately by human interaction in order to enable the exchange of rights (cf. ownership) of services and goods.

Second, what is labor?

Labour is a measure of the work done by human beings. It is conventionally contrasted with other factors of production, such as land and capital. Some theories focus on human capital, or entrepreneurship, (which refers to the skills that workers possess and not necessarily the actual work that they produce). Labour is unique to study because it is a special type of good that cannot be separated from the owner (i.e. the work cannot be separated from the person who does it). A labour market is also different from other markets in that workers are the suppliers and firms are the demanders.

Finally, what is a labor market?

Labour markets or job markets function through the interaction of workers and employers. Labour economics looks at the suppliers of labour services (workers) and the demanders of labour services (employers), and attempts to understand the resulting pattern of wages, employment, and income. These patterns exist because each individual in the market is presumed to make rational choices based on the information that they know regarding wage, desire to provide labour, and desire for leisure. Labour markets are normally geographically bounded, but the rise of the internet has brought about a 'planetary labour market' in some sectors.

From Spectrum News: Can you legally use Trump’s mugshot on merchandise?

Maybe not. We've been going over the delegated powers in the U.S. Constitution. One of them involved copyright. The story tells us that the claim against Trump would have to be filed, which as yet it hasn't. If they don't then he can use it as he sees fit.

- Click here for the story.

Betsy Rosenblatt, a professor at Case Western Reserve University’s School of Law, said there is copyright ownership of mugshots in most jurisdictions.

“You're prohibited from using it for a number of things without authorization,” Rosenblatt said. “You’re prohibited from reproducing it, making a derivative work of it, distributing it without authorization, or that is to say distributing anything that isn't the one copy you already lawfully have, and various other things. Making a public display of it, making a public performance of it, which opens up all kinds of fascinating possibilities here.”

So will the potentially thousands of people who are already using the mugshot to make a profit get in trouble?

Rosenblatt said in order to pursue a claim for copyright infringement, the owner of the copyright, who she said is likely the Fulton County Sheriff's Department, would have to be the one to sue.

“Whether the Fulton County Sheriff's Department would decide to enforce its copyright is entirely up to them,” Rosenblatt said. “But it's also reasonable to think that the Fulton County Sheriff's Office might think, you know, this is a public document, it belongs to the world in a way, [the] copyright belongs to us. But the news about it belongs to the world. And we're not going to undertake the expense and trouble of hiring copyright counsel and sending out takedowns and cease and desist and letters, or in lawsuits.”

She said there are a few cases in recent years that portray how safe or how risky it is to do this sort of thing. In some cases, the court ended up ruling fair use, in others they ruled that the person being sued needed permission from the copyright owner. So, Rosenblatt recommends people seek out legal counsel before releasing a product commercially to ensure they have a strong fair use argument.

“What we're hearing from these various cases is, there's no easy answers to this in terms of how safe it is,” Rosenblatt said. “But it's much safer if you're making significant changes to the image. And if you're making an overt political statement, and it's much less safe, if you're not making changes to the image. And if you're using the image for more or less what the image was already used for, which is to just show that he was arrested and arraigned.”

She also said the First Amendment makes a lot of allowances for things like parody, newsworthiness, commentary and criticism. But even though mugshots are typically part of the public domain, and are sometimes released to the public, many states have relatively complicated laws regarding a person's privacy, so use them at your own risk.

From the Washington Post: Home insurers cut natural disasters from policies as climate risks grow

For our look at the marketplace. The private sector makes money by supplying things the public demands, but only if it can make money doing so. If it can't, then either the demand is unmet, or it is provided by the public sector.

It may well be that insurance from natural disaster - acts of God - is no longer profitable for the private sector. Now the issue becomes whether this becomes a question of whether it is provided by the public sector.

- Click here for the article.

In the aftermath of extreme weather events, major insurers are increasingly no longer offering coverage that homeowners in areas vulnerable to those disasters need most.

At least five large U.S. property insurers — including Allstate, American Family, Nationwide, Erie Insurance Group and Berkshire Hathaway — have told regulators that extreme weather patterns caused by climate change have led them to stop writing coverages in some regions, exclude protections from various weather events and raise monthly premiums and deductibles.

Major insurers say they will cut out damage caused by hurricanes, wind and hail from policies underwriting property along coastlines and in wildfire country, according to a voluntary survey conducted by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, a group of state officials who regulate rates and policy forms.

Insurance providers are also more willing to drop existing policies in some locales as they become more vulnerable to natural disasters. Most home insurance coverages are annual terms, so providers are not bound to them for more than one year.

That means individuals and families in places once considered safe from natural catastrophes could lose crucial insurance protections while their natural disaster exposure expands or intensifies as global temperatures rise.

“The same risks that are making insurance more important are making it harder to get,” Carolyn Kousky, associate vice president at the Environmental Defense Fund and nonresident scholar at the Insurance Information Institute, told The Washington Post.

The companies mentioned those policy changes as part of previously unreported responses to the regulatory group’s survey. The survey was distributed in 2022 by 15 states and received responses — some sent as recently as last month — from companies covering 80 percent of the U.S. insurance market.

Conflict between levels of government

Most of these are conflicts between the national government and Texas, but one is between cities in Texas and the state. Notice the role the court plays in most of these. That's how it tends to go.


- Drag shows are protected by 1st Amendment, performers tell federal judge.

Texas business owners, LGBTQ+ groups and a drag queen testified in front of U.S. District Judge David Hittner in a federal courtroom on Monday and Tuesday about the content of drag performances — some of which Texas leaders say is banned by Senate Bill 12. This testimony included a demonstration of how to twerk and a description of prosthetic breasts.

- Federal judge bars Texas from enforcing book rating law.

A federal judge said Thursday he will stop a new Texas law aimed at keeping sexually explicit materials off of school library shelves on the eve of the law going into effect, according to state attorneys and lawyers for a group who sued over the proposal.

District Judge Alan D. Albright indicated during a hearing that he will grant a temporary injunction sought by a group of book groups and sellers, including two Texas bookstores, who sued the state over House Bill 900 in July, the group’s lawyers said in a statement. Albright will issue a written order in one to two weeks; in the meantime, the state cannot enforce the law, according to the statement.

- U.S. Justice Department argues for removal of Texas’ floating border barrier in federal court.

Seeking immediate removal of a floating barrier that Texas deployed in the Rio Grande to deter migrants, the U.S. Justice Department told an Austin federal judge Tuesday that the barrier threatens U.S.-Mexico relations and was installed without appropriate federal authorization.

- Judge declares new Texas law that would erode cities’ power to enact local rules unconstitutional.

A sweeping new Texas law aimed at undermining the ability of the state’s bluer urban areas to enact progressive policies is unconstitutional, a Travis County judge ruled Wednesday.

State District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble made the ruling just days before the law — House Bill 2127, which opponents nicknamed the “Death Star” bill — is slated to take effect on Friday.

- Lawmakers call for federal investigation into Texas Guard intel ring.

A member of Congress and a Texas state legislator have called for the Justice Department to investigate the Texas National Guard’s intelligence work at the state’s border with Mexico.

The _______ Powers (fill in the blank)

- Delegated: the transfer of a specific authority by one of the three branches of government (executive, legislative, and judicial) to another branch or to an independent agency. The U.S. Congress, for example, has created government agencies to which it has delegated authority to promulgate and enforce regulations pursuant to law—such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (1934) and the Federal Election Commission (1974)—and it has delegated by statute (1954) to the Department of Commerce, a cabinet office within the executive branch, its authority under the Constitution to conduct the decennial census.


Enumerated: The enumerated powers (also called expressed powers, explicit powers or delegated powers) of the United States Congress are the powers granted to the federal government of the United States by the United States Constitution. Most of these powers are listed in Article I, Section 8. In summary, Congress may exercise the powers that the Constitution grants it, subject to the individual rights listed in the Bill of Rights. Moreover, the Constitution expresses various other limitations on Congress, such as the one expressed by the Tenth Amendment: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."


Expressed: Expressed powers are those powers that the Constitution has specifically given to the federal government.

Implied: Implied powers, in the context of federalism, refer to powers Congress possesses that are not explicitly enumerated in the U.S. Constitution. Alexander Hamilton first articulated the concept of implied powers, which the U.S. Supreme Court later recognized in the 1819 case McCulloch v. Maryland.

Inherent: In United States law, inherent powers are the powers that a state officer or entity purports to hold under a general vesting of authority, even though they are neither enumerated nor implied. The theory of inherent powers of the President derives from the loosely worded statements in the Constitution that "the executive Power shall be vested in a President" and the president should "take care that the laws be faithfully executed" (defined in practice, rather than by constitutional or statutory law). Under this theory, first articulated in 1793 by Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton,[1] the authority of the president extends to all decisions and acts of the United States as a sovereign state that are not exclusively vested elsewhere.

. . . not specifically listed in the Constitution, but they grow out of the very existence of the national government. For example, the United States has the power to acquire territory by exploration and/or occupancy, primarily because most governments in general claim that right.


Prohibited: Prohibited powers are denied either to the national government, state governments, or both (Article I, Section 9.) For example, the national government cannot exercise its powers in such a way as to interfere with the states' abilities to perform their responsibilities. States cannot tax imports or exports, nor can they coin money or issue bills of credit.|

- - The U.S. Constitution: Article 1, Section 9.
- - The U.S. Constitution:  Article 1, Section 10.
- - THE TEXAS CONSTITUTION, Sec. 56, PROHIBITED LOCAL AND SPECIAL LAWS.

Reserved: "Reserved powers" refers to powers that are not specifically granted to the federal government by the Constitution. The Tenth Amendment gives these powers to the states.


Concurrent: powers of a federal state that are shared by both the federal government and each constituent political unit, such as a state or province. These powers may be exercised simultaneously within the same territory, in relation to the same body of citizens, and regarding the same subject-matter. Concurrent powers are contrasted with reserved powers (not possessed by the federal government) and with exclusive federal powers (forbidden to be possessed by the states, or requiring federal permission).

From the Texas Tribune: Texas eighth graders will soon be required to learn about climate change. But not without a showdown over textbooks.

Hot off the heals of our discussion of what 4th graders know.

This has to do with what 8th graders in Texas are supposed to know about science.

- Click here for the appropriate part of the TEKS curriculum.

- - or here.

- Click here for the article. 

Starting next year, Texas will require that eighth graders learn about climate change as part of a science curriculum overhaul approved two years ago.

But which textbooks they’ll use to learn about it will largely depend on the state board charged with setting curriculum standards, and questions during a Tuesday meeting to hear testimony on the proposed teaching materials showed that the 15-member body — which has taken a rightward turn since 2021 — could make its decision along partisan lines.

One Republican member of the State Board of Education asked whether students ought to learn about the benefits of burning fossil fuels. Meanwhile, Democrats advocated for texts that emphasized the scientific consensus on climate change.

Dozens of publishers submitted textbook proposals for the state’s overhaul of its science curriculums. Any resident of Texas can submit written comments on the instructional materials before Oct. 30. The board plans to adopt instructional materials in November; the new science standards and textbooks will take effect at the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year.

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/09/01/texas-abortion-highways/

Laws regarding littering

Someone brought this subject up in class last week. 

Why aren't there national laws against littering? A simple answer would be that there is no authorization in the U.S. Constitution for such laws. But the more precise answer might be more complicated.

- did the littering happen on federal property?

- what exactly did the litter comprise of? hazardous waste?

- did the littering violate other laws that the national government does have the right to pass laws about? 

Could be a good weekly written assignment.

__________

For general reading on the subject: 

- Litter in the United States.

Litter in the United States is an environmental issue and littering is often a criminal offense, punishable with a fine as set out by statutes in many places.

Litter laws, enforcement efforts, and court prosecutions are used to help curtail littering. All three are part of a "comprehensive response to environmental violators", write Epstein and Hammett, researchers for the United States Department of Justice. Littering and dumping laws, found in all fifty United States, appear to take precedence over municipal ordinances in controlling violations and act as public safety, not aesthetic measures. Similar from state-to-state, these laws define who violators are, the type or "function" of the person committing the action, and what items must be littered or dumped to constitute an illegal act. Municipal ordinances and state statutes require a "human action" in committing illegal littering or dumping, for one to be "held in violation." Most states require law enforcement officers or designated, authorized individuals, to "...witness the illegal act to write a citation." Together, prosecutions and punitive fines are important in fighting illegal littering and dumping.

A significant portion of litter along roadways in the U.S. is now being attributed to improperly tarped vehicles such as open-bed vehicles as well as trash and recycling collection vehicles that have not been properly secured.

HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE
- TITLE 5. SANITATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
- - SUBTITLE B. SOLID WASTE, TOXIC CHEMICALS, SEWAGE, LITTER, AND WATER
- - - CHAPTER 365. LITTER
- - - - SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS

- Sec. 365.001. SHORT TITLE. This chapter may be cited as the Texas Litter Abatement Act.

Litter weighing five pounds or less is a class C misdemeanor, punishable by a fine up to $500. If between five and 500 pounds, class B misdemeanor punishable by a fine up to $500, imprisonment up to 30 days, or both. If between 500 and 1,000 pounds or for a commercial purpose, class A misdemeanor punishable by a fine up to $4,000, imprisonment up to one year, or both. State jail felony if the litter to which the offense applies: (1) weighs 1,000 pounds or more; (2) disposed of for a commercial purpose and weighs 200 pounds or more; or (3) contained in a closed barrel or drum. Punishable by imprisonment up to two years and a fine up to $10,000. (See Tex. Penal Code §12.21 et seq.)

National Conference of State Legislatures: States with Littering Penalties.

States spend millions of dollars each year to clean up littered roadways, parks, and coastal areas. In addition to the direct cost of litter removal, litter also harms the environment, property values and other economic activity. The most common types of litter are food packaging, bottles, cans, plastic bags, paper and tobacco products. States can discourage littering through a variety of methods, one of which is to create and enforce criminal penalties that punish unwanted behavior. While all states have some type of litter law, penalties vary widely, based on the amount, type, and location of litter. In 10 states, for example, the weight or volume of litter determines the severity of the crime. Other states focus on the type of litter, imposing penalties for dumping large items, such as furniture or major appliances. Many states have also enacted legislation to address littering in certain places, such as public highways, coastal areas and recreational areas.

City of Houston Code of Ordinances: Chapter 39 - SOLID WASTE AND LITTER CONTROL.

Littering generally.

With the exception of containers and items placed for pickup in conformity with the conditions for pick up and the times authorized pursuant to this chapter, no provision contained in this chapter shall be construed as constituting the permission of the city for the deposit of solid waste upon sidewalks, public streets, curbs or other public places of the city. Any deposit which does not conform in all respects with the provisions set forth in this chapter shall constitute an unlawful deposit of litter which shall be punishable as provided by law.

Wikipedia: Don't Mess with Texas.

"Don't Mess with Texas" is a slogan for a campaign aimed at reducing littering on Texas roadways by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). The phrase "Don't Mess with Texas" is prominently shown on road signs on major highways, television, radio and in print advertisements. The campaign is credited with reducing litter on Texas highways roughly 72% between 1987 and 1990.[1] The campaign's target market was 18- to 35-year-old males, which was statistically shown to be the most likely to litter. While the slogan was not originally intended to become a statewide cultural phenomenon, it did.

The Treaty of Westphalia

The people who brought you borders in Europe.



For more on the Treaty of Westphalia: 

- Wikipedia.

The Peace of Westphalia (German: Westfälischer Friede, pronounced [vɛstˈfɛːlɪʃɐ ˈfʁiːdə]i) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought peace to the Holy Roman Empire, closing a calamitous period of European history that killed approximately eight million people. Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III, the kingdoms of France and Sweden, and their respective allies among the princes of the Holy Roman Empire, participated in the treaties.

The negotiation process was lengthy and complex. Talks took place in two cities, because each side wanted to meet on territory under its own control. A total of 109 delegations arrived to represent the belligerent states, but not all delegations were present at the same time. Two treaties were signed to end the war in the Empire: the Treaty of Münster and the Treaty of Osnabrück. These treaties ended the Thirty Years' War in the Holy Roman Empire, with the Habsburgs (rulers of Austria and Spain) and their Catholic allies on one side, battling the Protestant powers (Sweden and certain Holy Roman principalities) allied with France (though Catholic, strongly anti-Habsburg under King Louis XIV).

Several scholars of international relations have identified the Peace of Westphalia as the origin of principles crucial to modern international relations, collectively known as Westphalian sovereignty.

From felonies.org: 14 of the Most Common Felonies

- Click here for the list.

How many have you violated? Or, how many have you been victims of? 

1. Drug Abuse Crimes
2. Arson
3. Aggravated Assault
4. Disorderly Conduct
5. Supplying Alcohol to Minors
6. Violent Crimes
7. Burglary
8. Robbery
9. Vandalism
10. Weapons Crimes
11. Fraud
12. Domestic Violence
13. Grand Theft Auto
14. Counterfeiting and Forgery

Here's detail on the ones I think you (students) are most likely to have problems with:  

Drug Abuse Crimes

Being found guilty of a felony drug charge usually results in a prison sentence of longer than a year, as well as a hefty fine. When differentiating a felony drug crime with a misdemeanor drug crime, the answers to the following questions will lead you to the answer:

- What quantity of drugs?
- What kind of drugs?
- Were the drugs being trafficked, sold, or distributed?

If you are found in possession of a small amount of a drug, you will likely not face a felony charge. However, if found with a large quantity of an illegal substance, or even a small quantity of a harder drug, a felony charge is in play.

The severity of the drug in question is classified under a “schedule.” A Schedule I drug is deemed to be highly dangerous with little medical potential and calls for the harshest penalties, including felony charges. Conversely, a Schedule V drug is seen as the least menacing, and possession is likely to result in a misdemeanor.

The punishment for first-time drug charges will typically range from one to three years in jail and a fine that can range from as little as $500 to as much as a few thousand dollars. Someone who is being charged for a drug crime they’ve already committed in the past can face up to 15 years in jail and equally exponential fines.

Disorderly Conduct

Most often, disorderly conduct results in a misdemeanor charge. However, there are cases where disorderly conduct can be escalated to a felony. An example of a felony form of disorderly conduct is falsely reporting a fire.

State laws vary widely in what is considered disorderly conduct and the appropriate punishments. For a felony charge, the perpetrator can expect up to a year, or even longer in jail along with fines that can top $1000.

Supplying Alcohol to Minors

While typically, providing alcohol to minors is a misdemeanor offense, there are times when it can result in severe felony charges. For example, a felony occurs if serious injury or death occurs as a result of supplying alcohol to minors. The punishment for this type of crime is a jail sentence of one year or more, and a significant fine that can range up to tens of thousands of dollars.

Vandalism

The broad definition of vandalism is willfully causing physical damage to someone else’s property. There are many different forms of vandalism, and some are classified as misdemeanors, while others are serious felonies. Misdemeanor offenses are punished with penalties of up to a year in jail with fines tacked on. But vandalism that results in severe destruction of a valuable piece of property is considered a felony crime.

The penalties for vandalism are unique as they encompass many different aspects. Pay Fines—Fines will vary depending on the level of charges, prior history of the perpetrator, and state law.

Restitution to the Owner—In addition to fines, restitution means the perpetrator must pay back the owner of the property for the value of the damage caused. 

Jail Time—Jail sentences may range from a few days to a few years, depending on the context of the crime.

Community Service Hours—A court will often assign community service hours as part of the punishment for both minor and major vandalism crimes.

Probation—If the crime is minor, being put on probation may be the only punishment. However, with felony vandalism, probation may be added on top of the rest of the sentences.

Domestic Violence

Domestic violence is a crime that involves abuse among members of the same household. Domestic violence can vary by state but usually refers to violence between a husband and wife, a parent and their child, a boyfriend and girlfriend, or between roommates.

The act of domestic violence is an abhorrent crime, but it can be classified as both a felony and a misdemeanor. Acts of domestic violence that can be classified as misdemeanors include verbal abuse, two adults fighting with each other, or threats of violence.

Domestic violence is considered a felony in the following situations:

Abuse of a minor.

Violence with a deadly weapon.

Sexual abuse.

Battery that results in acute bodily injuries or death.

The punishment for domestic violence will, of course, be much more severe for a felony conviction. In California, for example, a felony charge means going to state prison, rather than a county jail and for a much longer sentence of two to four years.

Counterfeiting and Forgery

While most crimes vary by state considering what constitutes a felony and what constitutes a misdemeanor, forgery is considered a felony across all 50 states. Forgery first and foremost involves writing, and the writing must be of legal substance to be considered forgery. To be regarded as a legal substance, the document must, in some way, affect a person’s legal rights.

The following qualification of forgery is that a person has either made, used, altered, or possessed this form of false writing. The last requirement is the intent to defraud. A simple example of forgery is forging someone else’s signature on a legal document.

Common types of forgery prohibited by federal law include:

Identity theft.

Forging immigration

Forging military discharge documents.

Counterfeiting money.

Forgery becomes counterfeiting most commonly when it involves currency. Counterfeiting can be a crime when knowingly distributing counterfeit money or by possessing the tools used to create counterfeit money. Counterfeiting can also involve non-monetary fraud, such as forging documents from a federal court, forging a federal agency’s seal, or forging postal stamps.

The penalties for counterfeiting are severe. Federal law would allow for up to 25 years in jail and fines for $250,000 or more if the financial gain was by more than just the defendant. When this occurs, fines can be doubled.

Forgery, while considered a felony in all 50 states, can also be seen as a misdemeanor depending on the action taking place. For a misdemeanor, a state may sentence the defendant to restitution, fines, and probation, in addition to potentially one year in jail. When felony charges are passed down, perpetrators can expect multiple years in prison and fines ranging up to $125,000 depending on the state and the charge.

__________

What is an infraction? 

In general, infractions are the least serious type of crime. An infraction is a violation of a rule, ordinance, or law. In most jurisdictions, there is no jail time associated with an infraction and it will not appear on a criminal record. Typically, payment of a fine or community service will be the only punishment. However, federal criminal law classifies an infraction as a crime with a jail sentence of not more than five days. Traffic tickets are examples of an infraction, but other offenses may also be categorized as infractions, such as trespassing, littering, disorderly conduct, and other petty offenses.

Infractions usually involve little to no time in court (much less jail). However, infractions can turn into more serious crimes if left unaddressed or unpaid. It is not uncommon that an infraction has different classes (e.g., moving violations, non-moving violations, and other petty offenses). The law typically provides for an increasing range of fines and potential penalties for the different classes within the infraction category.

 

What is a felony?

A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanour is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resulted in the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods, to which additional punishments including capital punishment could be added; other crimes were called misdemeanors. Following conviction of a felony in a court of law, a person may be described as a felon or a convicted felon.

What is a misdemeanor?

A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than administrative infractions (also known as minor, petty, or summary offences) and regulatory offences. Typically, misdemeanors are punished with monetary fines or community service.

For more, click here, 

Criminal Code: 
- Title 18 of the United States Code.
- Texas Penal Code.

From the Texas Association of School Boards: Post-Legislative Update Info - HB 8 - SB 17

A look at feedback regarding two critical bills passed by the legislature that impact community colleges in Texas.

- Click here for the material. 

 https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/judge-texas-preemption-law-unconstitutional-18338300.php

 https://www.houstonpublicworks.org/current-watering-restrictions

More Texas news:

- Drag shows are protected by 1st Amendment, performers tell federal judge.

- Texas eighth graders will soon be required to learn about climate change. But not without a showdown over textbooks.

- Their water is undrinkable. So these West Texas residents have taken matters into their own hands.

- The U.S. government hoped companies would want to build wind farms off the Texas coast. No one did.

From the Texas Tribune: Texas National Guard member fires across Rio Grande, wounds Mexican citizen

One of the concerns of the framers of the U.S. Constitution was that individual states would provoke wars with other nations. It's doubtful that this incidence will do so, but you never know.

- Click here for the article.

A National Guard member on duty at the Texas-Mexico border in El Paso fired across the Rio Grande, injuring a 37-year-old Mexican man in Ciudad Juárez on Saturday night, according to the Texas Military Department and Mexican news outlets.

“On the night of 26 August, a National Guard Servicemember assigned to Operation Lone Star discharged a weapon in a border-related incident,” a spokesperson for the military department said in a statement. “The incident is under investigation. More information will be made available as the investigation progresses.”

According to El Diario, a Spanish language newspaper in Juárez, Darwin José García of the southern Mexican state of Veracruz initially told police he was migrant attempting to cross into the U.S. But the man later told reporters he was practicing a sport on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande around 8:50 p.m. Saturday while a group of migrants were crossing the river, according to the newspaper. García said he then heard shots and realized he had been shot in the leg, the newspaper reported.

 https://news.gallup.com/poll/509801/americans-rate-dallas-boston-safest-cities.aspx

This is a nice poetic sentiment, but it does not describe the reality of the U.S. and Texas Constitutional systems

They are both all about creating private property rights. It contains a point though.

__________

- What Are Property Rights, and Why Do They Matter?

- Texas Statutes (scroll down to property code).

Russian citizens ‘won’t dare’ accuse Putin of ordering Prigozhin’s death...

You might find this interview useful in understanding how the mass public behaves - especially how it follows the news - in an autocratic society (a society ruled by one person - like Vladimir Putin's Russia).

According to the man being interviewed, Russian's are not following the news about the war and are reluctant to express opinions about it, or many other issues. When asked, they repeat the official opinions they hear on television.

"They think of the right thing to say to be safe."

Does this also describe the United States and/or Texas? Might be worth a discussion.

What is a Constitution?

Definitions:

- Wikipedia: 

A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed.

When these principles are written down into a single document or set of legal documents, those documents may be said to embody a written constitution; if they are encompassed in a single comprehensive document, it is said to embody a codified constitution. The Constitution of the United Kingdom is a notable example of an uncodified constitution; it is instead written in numerous fundamental Acts of a legislature, court cases, or treaties.

- University College, London:

A constitution is the rule book for a state. It sets out the fundamental principles by which the state is governed. It describes the main institutions of the state, and defines the relationship between these institutions (for example, between the executive, legislature and judiciary). It places limits on the exercise of power, and sets out the rights and duties of citizens.

- Legal Information Institute: 

A constitution is the most fundamental law of a sovereign body. The term is capitalized only when referring to a specific constitution (e.g., U.S. Constitution, Texas Constitution, etc.).

In many cases, "constitution" refers to a single written document that explicitly creates government institutions, defines the scope of government power, and guarantees certain civil liberties.

Nonetheless, a constitution does not inherently need to be written. In the case of an unwritten constitution, the term might simply refer to the general structure of a certain government regardless of how it arose or evolved. For example, the United Kingdom does not have any written constitution.

- Constitution Net.

A constitution is a set of fundamental legal-political rules that:

(1) are binding on everyone in the state, including ordinary lawmaking institutions;
(2) concern the structure and operation of the institutions of government, political principles and the rights of citizens;
(3) are based on widepread public legitimacy;
(4) are harder to change than ordinary laws (e.g. a two-thirds majority vote or or a referendum is needed);
(5) as a minimum, meet the internationally recognized criteria for a democratic system in terms of representation and human rights.

Where are the tribes that once lived in Texas now?

This list of specific tribes comes from Inside Texas Politics: 

So what's happened to them? I've also linked you to pages containing further information about each tribe.


Kiowa
- TSHA.
- Wikipedia.

Where are they now? In 1867, the Kiowa were moved to a reservation in southwestern Oklahoma. Today, they are federally recognized as Kiowa Indian Tribe of Oklahoma with headquarters in Carnegie, Oklahoma. As of 2011, there were 12,000 members.

Osage
- Wikipedia.

Where are they now? In the 19th century, the Osage were forced by the United States to remove from Kansas to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma), and the majority of their descendants live in Oklahoma. In the early 20th century, oil was discovered on their land. They had retained communal mineral rights during the allotment process, and many Osage became wealthy through returns from leasing fees generated by their headrights. However, during the 1920s and what was known as the Reign of Terror, they suffered manipulation, fraud, and numerous murders by outsiders eager to take over their wealth.


Comanche
- Wikipedia.

Where are they now? Decimated by European diseases, warfare, and encroachment by Europeans on Comanchería, most Comanche were forced to live on reservations in Indian Territory by the late 1870s.


Jumano
- Wikipedia.

Where are they now? The last historic reference was in a 19th-century oral history, but their population had already declined by the early 18th century. Scholars have generally argued that the Jumanos disappeared as a distinct people by 1750 due to infectious disease, the slave trade, and warfare, with remnants absorbed by the Apache or Comanche. Hodge proposed that they had become part of the Wichita people.


Lipan Apache
- Wikipedia.

Where are they now? Many Lipan Apache descendants today are enrolled members of the Mescalero Apache Tribe in New Mexico. Other Lipan descendants are enrolled with the Tonkawa Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma and Apache Tribe of Oklahoma, also known as the Kiowa Apache or Plains Apache. Other Lipan Apache descendants live in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arizona, and northern Mexico.


Wichita
- Wikipedia.

Where are they now? Today, Wichita tribes, which include the Kichai people, Waco, Taovaya, Tawakoni, and the Wichita proper (or Guichita), are federally recognized as the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes (Wichita, Keechi, Waco and Tawakoni).

Caddo
- Wikipedia.

Where are they now? The Caddo Confederacy was a network of Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands, who historically inhabited much of what is northeast Texas, west Louisiana, southwestern Arkansas, and southeastern Oklahoma. Prior to European contact, they were the Caddoan Mississippian culture, who constructed huge earthwork mounds at several sites in this territory, flourishing about 800 to 1400 CE. In the early 19th century, Caddo people were forced to a reservation in Texas. In 1859, they were removed to Indian Territory.


Attacapan
- Wikipedia.

Where are they now? After 1762, when Louisiana was transferred to Spain following French defeat in the Seven Years' War, little was written about the Atakapa as a people. Due to a high rate of deaths from infectious epidemics of the late 18th century, they ceased to function as a people. Survivors generally joined the Caddo, Koasati, and other neighboring peoples, although they kept some traditions. Some culturally distinct Atakapan descendants survived into the early 20th century.


Tonkawan
- Wikipedia.

Where are they now? Today, Tonkawa people are enrolled in the federally recognized Tonkawa Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma.


Karankawa
- Wikipedia.

Where are they now? In the 1820s, Texan colonists arrived in their land under the leadership of Stephen Austin who commissioned a captain to expel the Karankawa from the Austin land grant, leading to multiple attacks, including the Skull Creek massacre of 19 Karankawa. By the 1840s, the Karankawa, now exiled, split into two groups, one of which settled on Padre Island while the other fled into the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. During 1858, Mexican rancher Juan Nepomuceno Cortina led a group of Mexicans and Texan colonists against what was believed to be Karankawa's last known refuge, killing many, and by 1891, the Karankawa ceased to exist as a functioning tribe.


Coahuiltecan
- Wikipedia.

Where are they now? After the Texas secession from Mexico, Coahuiltecan peoples were largely forced into harsh living conditions. In 1886, ethnologist Albert Gatschet found the last known survivors of Coahuiltecan bands: 25 Comecrudo, 1 Cotoname, and 2 Pakawa. They were living near Reynosa, Mexico.

__________

From the Houston Chronicle: In first trial for feeding homeless outside Houston library, jury finds Food Not Bombs not guilty

Few seem to agree on how homelessness should be dealt.  

- Click here for the ordinance in question.

First, relevant terms and concepts: 

- trial
- jury
- ordinance
- City Council
- verdict.
- tickets, each seeking $254
- freedoms of expression and religion
- Houston city attorney Arturo Michel
- said in a statement emailed Sunday evening. “It is a
- health and safety issue
- the protection of Houston’s residents
- complaints and incidents
- jury selection
- officer
- Houston Police Department
- crime suppression unit
- Central Library
- exercising my constitutional right
- reasonable doubt
- permission
- poverty
- permission had been rescinded
- unanimous verdict: not guilty.

- Click here for the article.

The first of a controversial series of tickets Houston has issued the volunteer group Food Not Bombs went to trial Friday. And before the end of the day, a jury found the volunteer, Phillip Picone, not guilty of violating city law for feeding those in need in front of the Central Library.

The ordinance was put in place by City Council in 2012 but largely had gone unenforced for over a decade, municipal records show. The city began issuing tickets after funding its own dinners at a police parking lot just outside the courthouse doors where the trial was being heard. Houston has declared that the lot is the approved public site for any group that wants to give away meals.

In an emailed statement, a city spokesperson explained that the meal program Houston is funding at the police parking lot is designed to use food to attract people to a place where they can engage with an array of services “on a reoccurring basis.”

“This is why we fight back,” Picone said after the verdict.

As of the hearing, Food Not Bombs had received 45 tickets, each seeking $254, for continuing to pass out meals at the library instead. Volunteers have argued that the law is immoral and violates their freedoms of expression and religion. Nine more tickets are scheduled for court Thursday and Friday.

“The City of Houston intends to vigorously pursue violations of its ordinance relating to feeding of the homeless,” said Houston city attorney Arturo Michel said in a statement emailed Sunday evening. “It is a health and safety issue for the protection of Houston’s residents. There have been complaints and incidents regarding the congregation of the homeless around the library, even during off hours.” The city has also decided to stop using the Central Library as an official cooling center during heat emergencies like the one unfolding this week.

During jury selection Friday, Picone’s lawyer, Paul Kubosh, explained the Houston law to potential jurors with slices of cake wrapped in cellophane.

One by one, he placed them atop a wooden partition separating him from the jurors, recalled two Food Not Bombs volunteers present. If he gave five slices to people in need, without permission of the property owner, he was fine, he said, according to the volunteers. If he gave six, he’d be violating the ordinance. And if he gave them to people who were not in need, that was also fine. (Kubosh is representing a number of people in Picone’s situation free of charge.)

The lawyer representing the city called up the officer who issued the ticket as a witness. Adam A. Ancira, an officer with 14 years of experience with the Houston Police Department, works with the crime suppression unit. He said he had gone to the Central Library the evening of March 3 because Lt. Jennifer Kennedy had told him to issue a citation for violating an ordinance against charitable feeding.

FOOD FIGHT: Houston just started enforcing a decade-old ban on feeding the homeless. Volunteers are fighting back.

Ancira body camera footage shows him getting out of his vehicle and handing Picone a sheet of paper as other volunteers stood nearby, at least one recording the scene. “Here’s your warning,” Ancira said. “You don’t feed the homeless.” He said they would issue one person a ticket and wait until the meal had concluded. “We’re not here to harass you or anything.”

"I'm exercising my constitutional right," Picone protests in the video.

After the video played, Ancira answered a series of questions. His arms were crossed, holding either side of his chest. “I’m human, too,” he said. “I like feeding the homeless, too. You just can’t do it there.”

TICKETS: Houston issued over 1,400 tickets to homeless for 'encamping' in 2022, up from 63 in 2018

He said the ticket in early March was the only time he had issued a citation for violating the charitable feeding ordinance. Since then, other officers have issued a ticket to a Food Not Bombs volunteer every Monday and Wednesday.

In his closing statement, Kubosh argued that there was room for reasonable doubt as to whether Picone had violated the ordinance. The group had been feeding people at the location for 12 years, and in 2012, then-Mayor Annise Parker gave them permission to feed the homeless there. That permission still lives on the city’s website. He argued that the police did not have the authority to give or take away permission, which opened room for reasonable doubt.

He ended with an appeal, not to the details of the ordinance, but to see the volunteers as people trying to do good. “People have a passion for things,” he said. “(The volunteers) have a passion for getting rid of poverty, and this is how they put it to work.”

Phillip Picone and Shere Dore fist bump after Picone is found not guilty for violating a Houston ordinance against giving free meals without permission from public property. Volunteers with the organization Food Not Bombs have wracked up over three dozen tickets for providing meals outside of the public library downtown.

The city's lawyer, who declined to give her name, argued that the warning the police had handed to volunteers made it clear that permission had been rescinded. She said that the idea that permission given in 2012 overrode the Houston Police Department’s notice “does not make sense.”

Shortly after, the jurors filed back into the room and issued their unanimous verdict: not guilty.

Picone turned toward two Food Not Bombs volunteers in the audience, Shere Dore and Tilal Ahmed, and smiled widely. Kubosh, who had thought of a verse from Proverbs when taking on the case — “Do not exploit the poor because they are poor and do not crush the needy in court” — later said he felt, at that moment, confirmed in his faith. The two officers who had been called as witnesses to the ticket had already left.

The courtroom stood as the jury exited, and Houston’s attorney thanked each juror for their service. Some smiled slightly as they filed out of the courthouse.

What are the essential functions of government?

This might also make a good topic for a weekly written assignment.

A more general question might be "What is government for?"

The answer would vary depending on ideology, or political culture. 

These were the government services deemed essential by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security during the pandemic.

Do you agree with the list?

- Healthcare/Public Health
- Law Enforcement, Public Safety, and other First Responders
- Food and Agriculture
- Energy
- Water and Wastewater
- Transportation and Logistics
- Public Works and Infrastructure Support Services
- Communications and Information Technology
- Critical Manufacturing
- Hazardous Materials
- Financial Services
- Chemical
- Defense Industrial Base
- Commercial Facilities
- Residential/Shelter Facilities and Services
- Hygiene Products and Services

Relevant links: 

- Office of the Texas Governor:   Governor Abbott Issues Executive Order Implementing Essential Services And Activities Protocols.

- Department of Homeland Security: ADVISORY MEMORANDUM ON IDENTIFICATION OF ESSENTIAL CRITICALINFRASTRUCTURE WORKERS DURING COVID-19 RESPONSE.

So this happened . . . (Municipal Infrastructure)

A leak has appeared in front of my house. Its the wet spot in the street. I know its a leak because it hasn't dried up, even when it was 109 degrees outside. 

It's likely that a water pipe beneath the street is leaking and the water is flowing up. It's also probably draining away the dirt and rocks beneath the street, so I may very have a large pothole soon. 
This is an infrastructure issue, and it falls under the authority of the city, specifically the public works department. 

This is a city thing - a municipality. It fits within the subject of local government, but one of the many different types that exist. By the way, if you don't live in a city, this service will be provided by the county. If it is provided at all. And these are funded by property taxes, as well as revenue drawn form water bills and sales taxes. 

I called 311 to report it and a few days later the blue flag appeared, and then the red marks appeared the day after that. I'm assuming that this will be a hole at some point soon allowing city workers to repair the water main. I may be without water for  while.

In case you are curious, the black spot across the road is one of my cats, chillin, diggin the scene, like cats do.  

Some links to put this sort of thing in context.

- Houston Public Works.

- 311 Home Page.

- Houston 311 Service Requests.

- What Does Water Main Mean?

- Houston City Council: DISTRICT G: Water Main Replacements.

- Houston Water.

Federalism - From Alvin ISD: Required Postings

Different levels of government - and different agencies within those levels - require public schools in the Alvin Independent School District to make certain information available to the community. 

- Click here for the online info.

I copied and pasted them below.

Notice that the laws that require the posting of specific information is included.

ADMINISTRATIVE

District of Innovation (Texas Education Code § 12A.005(a)(1) and 19 Administrative Code 102.1305(3) and 102.1307(a)(1))
Notice of School Board Meeting (Texas Government Code § 551.056)
School Board Meeting Agenda (Texas Government Code § 551.056)
Archived School Board Meeting Recordings (Texas Government Code § 551.128(b-1)
Texas Academic Performance Report (19 Administrative Code 61.1022(f))
Campus Report Card (Texas Education Code § 39.362)
Performance Report for the District (Texas Education Code § 39.362)
Most Recent Performance Rating (Texas Education Code § 39.362 and Title I Part A, § 1116)
Definition of Each Performance Rating (Texas Education Code § 39.362)
Local Performance Ratings & Compliance Status (19 Administrative code 61.1023(h)
Annual Federal Report Card (20 U.S.C. 6311(h)(2)
Conflict Disclosure Statements and Questionnaires (Texas Local Government Code § 176.009)
Group Health Coverage Report and Plan (Texas Education Code § 22.004(d))
School District's Employment Policies (Texas Education Code § 21.204(d))
Employment Vacancies (Texas Education Code § 11.1513(d) and (e)
Highly Qualified Teachers (NCLB P.L. 107-110, Section 1119 (b)(1)(A))
Minimum Personal Leave Program (Texas Education Code § 22.003(c-1)
Alvin ISD Statement of Nondiscrimination
The Public Information Act


FINANCE

Landowner Bill of Rights (Texas Property Code § 21.0112)Energy Usage (Texas Government Code § 2265.001)
Proposed Budget Summary of Proposed Budget (Texas Education Code § 44.0041)
Adopted Budget (Texas Education Code § 44.0041)
ESSER Uses of Funds Plan


ACADEMIC

PSAT/NMSQT and Advanced Placement Tests (Texas Education Code § 29.916)
College Credit Programs (Texas Education Code § 28.010)
High School Graduation Plan (Texas Education Code § 28.02121)
Transition and Employment Guide (Texas Education Code § 29.0112)
IDEA Procedural Safeguards (20 U.S.C. § 1415(d)(1))


HEALTH

Policies for Physical Activity (Texas Education Code § 28.004)
Number of Times the District Health Advisory Committee has Met (Texas Education Code § 28.004)
Policy Regarding Vending Machines (Texas Education Code § 28.004)
District Policies on Tobacco Products (Texas Education Code § 28.004)
Parents can Request their Child's Physical Fitness Assessment (Texas Education Code § 28.004)
List of Required and Recommended Immunizations (Texas Education Code § 38.019)
District Health Clinics offering the Flu Vaccine (Texas Education Code § 38.019)
Department of State Health Services Internet Website (Texas Education Code § 38.019)
Procedure for Reporting Bullying (Texas Education Code § 37.0832(e))
Safe Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Services (RIPICS) Plan

Lyrics in the News

I'm considering making this the topic of our next weekly written assignment


"Try that in a Small Town

Sucker punch somebody on a sidewalk
Carjack an old lady at a red light
Pull a gun on the owner of a liquor store
Ya think it's cool, well, act a fool if ya like
Cuss out a cop, spit in his face
Stomp on the flag and light it up
Yeah, ya think you're tough

Well, try that in a small town
See how far ya make it down the road
Around here, we take care of our own
You cross that line, it won't take long
For you to find out, I recommend you don't

Try that in a small town
Got a gun that my granddad gave me
They say one day they're gonna round up
Well, that shit might fly in the city, good luck

Try that in a small town
See how far ya make it down the road
Around here, we take care of our own
You cross that line, it won't take long
For you to find out, I recommend you don't

Try that in a small town
Full of good ol' boys, raised up right
If you're looking for a fight


Try that in a small town
Try that in a small town
Try that in a small town
See how far ya make it down the road
Around here, we take care of our own
You cross that line, it won't take long
For you to find out, I recommend you don't
Try that in a small town
Try that in a small town
Ooh-ooh
Try that in a small town

__________

"Rich Men North Of Richmond"

I've been sellin' my soul, workin' all day
Overtime hours for bullshit pay
So I can sit out here and waste my life away
Drag back home and drown my troubles away

It's a damn shame what the world's gotten to
For people like me and people like you
Wish I could just wake up and it not be true
But it is, oh, it is

Livin' in the new world
With an old soul
These rich men north of Richmond
Lord knows they all just wanna have total control
Wanna know what you think, wanna know what you do
And they don't think you know, but I know that you do
'Cause your dollar ain't shit and it's taxed to no end
'Cause of rich men north of Richmond

I wish politicians would look out for miners
And not just minors on an island somewhere
Lord, we got folks in the street, ain't got nothin' to eat
And the obese milkin' welfare

Well, God, if you're 5-foot-3 and you're 300 pounds
Taxes ought not to pay for your bags of fudge rounds
Young men are puttin' themselves six feet in the ground
'Cause all this damn country does is keep on kickin' them down

Lord, it's a damn shame what the world's gotten to
For people like me and people like you
Wish I could just wake up and it not be true
But it is, oh, it is

Livin' in the new world
With an old soul
These rich men north of Richmond
Lord knows they all just wanna have total control
Wanna know what you think, wanna know what you do
And they don't think you know, but I know that you do
'Cause your dollar ain't shit and it's taxed to no end
'Cause of rich men north of Richmond

I've been sellin' my soul, workin' all day
Overtime hours for bullshit pay

Supply and Demand - The mug shot publishing industry and the reputation management industry

Flip sides of a coin. We have (somewhat) a right to information, within limits. But we also have a right against defamation, again within limits. 

Two private industries have evolved to supply these competing demands.

- Click here for the Wikipedia for the mugshot publishing industry.

The mugshot publishing industry is a niche market of tabloid journalism in the United States. The industry consists of companies that publish mugshots and booking details of individuals arrested by law enforcement agencies. These companies publish the arrest information in tabloids, through local and multi-jurisdictional search websites. The related reputation management industry profits when individuals pay a fee to have their mugshot removed from one or more websites; often the same entity owns both the publishing site and the removal service, which has led to allegations of and lawsuits for extortionate practices and arrests of mugshot business owners on charges of identity theft, money laundering, and extortion. In 2018 the journal of the American Bar Association called the industry an "online extortion scheme."

- Click here for the Wikipedia for the reputation management industry.

Reputation management, originally a public relations term, refers to the influencing, controlling, enhancing, or concealing of an individual's or group's reputation. The growth of the internet and social media led to growth of reputation management companies, with search results as a core part of a client's reputation. Online reputation management, sometimes abbreviated as ORM, focuses on the management of product and service search engine results.

Ethical grey areas include mug shot removal sites, astroturfing customer review sites, censoring complaints, and using search engine optimization tactics to influence results. In other cases, the ethical lines are clear; some reputation management companies are closely connected to websites that publish unverified and libelous statements about people. Such unethical companies charge thousands of dollars to remove these posts – temporarily – from their websites.

This field of public relations has developed extensively, with the growth of the internet and social media the advent of reputation management companies. The overall outlook of search results has become an integral part of what defines "reputation" and reputation management now exists under two spheres: online and offline reputation management.

Land - History of Native Americans, and Indian Removal, in the United States

According Wikipedia anyway.

- Click here for the page. 

Here's the map they offer showing where the various tribes existed.

British and American policy - as well as Spanish, Mexican, and Texas - prioritized Indian containment and/or removal. Land was the most lucrative resource available. Aggressive measures were used to acquire and develop it.

- Click here for the Wikipedia on Indian Removal. 

Here is an image of removal from the Southeast.

Due Process - What is a Mugshot?

Lots were taken and released yesterday, 8/23/23 (click here for them).

Why are they taken? Why are they published? Is it fair to do so? An arrest is not the same as a conviction. Do they punish the - still presumed to be - innocent?

- From Wikipedia:  

A mu- g shot or mugshot (an informal term for police photograph or booking photograph) is a photographic portrait of a person from the shoulders up, typically taken after a person is arrested. The original purpose of the mug shot was to allow law enforcement to have a photographic record of an arrested individual to allow for identification by victims, the public and investigators. However, in the United States, entrepreneurs have recently begun to monetize these public records via the mug shot publishing industry.

Photographing of criminals began in the 1840s only a few years after the invention of photography, but it was not until 1888 that French police officer Alphonse Bertillon standardized the process.

- Why Do We Use the Word Mug as a Synonym for Face?
.
- The Mugshot Industry: Freedom of Speech, Rights of Publicity, and the Controversy Sparked by an Unusual New Type Business. 

From Teaching America: The Educational Background of the Framers (of the U.S. Constitution)

Almost everyone of them had an elite education, and intended suffrage to be limited to those with similar levels of education. 

This was accomplished with allowing states to use property ownership as a requirement to vote. The expansion of voting to non-property owning white males over 21 allowed wage earners to vote for the first time. This occurred in the late 1820s and facilitated the rise of Andrew Jackson and the creation of the Democratic Party.

Here is a description of the educational background of the people who wrote the original U.S. Constitution - prior to the addition of amendments. 

- Click here for article. 

The Delegates Arranged by School
Harvard
Elbridge Gerry (1762)
Rufus King (1777)
William Samuel Johnson (M.A. 1747)
Caleb Strong (1774)
George Washington (Honorary LLD 1776)

Yale
Abraham Baldwin (1772)
Jared Ingersoll (1766)
William Samuel Johnson (1744)
William Livingston (1741)
Roger Sherman (Honorary MA 1768)
William Livingston (Honorary LLD 1788)

College of New Jersey (Princeton)
Gunning Bedford, Jr. (1771)
William R. Davie (1776)
Jonathan Dayton (1776)
Oliver Ellsworth (1766)
William C. Houston (1768, M.A. 1771)
James Madison Jr. (1771)
Alexander Martin (1756, M.A. 1759)
Luther Martin (1766)
William Paterson (1763)
David Brearly (Honorary M.A. 1781)
John Dickinson (Honorary LLD)

Middle Temple (London)
John Dickinson (1757)
John Rutledge (1760)
John Blair (Juris Doctoris)
Jared Ingersoll (Juris Doctoris 1776)

College of William and MaryJohn Blair
James McClurg (1762)
John F. Mercer (1775)
William L. Pierce (attended)
Edmund J. Randolph (attended)

King’s College (Columbia)
Gouverneur Morris (1768, M.A. 1771)
Alexander Hamilton (attended)

College of Philadelphia (University of Pennsylvania)
Thomas Mifflin (1760)
Hugh Williamson (1757, M.A. 1760)
James Wilson (Honorary M.A. 1766)

Dartmouth
John Langdon (Honorary LLD 1805)
Newark AcademyJames McHenry (1772)
Inner Temple (London)William Houstoun (1776)
Oxford (England)Charles Cotesworth Pinckney (1764)
St. Andrews (Scotland)James Wilson
Glasgow (Scotland)Richard Dobbs Spaight (1778)
Edinburgh (Scotland)James McClurg (M.D. 1770)
College of Saint Omer (Netherlands)Daniel Carroll (1747)

Tutor or Professor
Abraham Baldwin
William C. Houston
James McClurg
Hugh Williamson
James Wilson
George Wythe