Politics of the US
Republicans challenge appeals court meeting in Maui
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' upcoming conference on a Hawaiian island sounds more like "a vacation than a business trip" to discuss the administration of justice, two Republican U.S. lawmakers charged on Monday.
In a letter to Chief Judge Alex Kozinski, Senators Charles Grassley and Jeff Sessions wrote that Congress has an obligation to guard against "waste, fraud and abuse" and demanded details about the conference, set for August 13-16 in Maui.
The letter came in the wake of the disclosure of a lavish, four-day conference in Las Vegas in 2010 involving the General Services Administration, an independent agency of the federal government, that cost $823,000 and featured fine food, a comic, a clown and talent show.
Democrats and Republicans denounced the GSA conference as a spending scandal, and quickly passed legislation to better guard against such gatherings.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in San Francisco, covers eight western states plus Hawaii. It stood by its upcoming conference, describing it as an important gathering.
Cathy Catterson, the court's executive, wrote that the 9th Circuit understands its responsibilities as a "steward of public funds" and that its conference is "authorized by law" to improve "the administration of justice."
In a statement, Catterson also said recreational activities - such as fishing, golf, yoga and surfing - that will be offered between working sessions will be paid for by attendees, not the government.
Read more: reuters.com
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The United States Constitution has never formally addressed the issue of political parties, primarily because the Founding Fathers did not originally intend for American politics to be partisan. In Federalist Papers No. 9 and No. 10, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, respectively, wrote specifically about the dangers of domestic political factions. In addition, the first President of the United States, George Washington, was not a member of any political party at the time of his election or throughout his tenure as president. Furthermore, he hoped that political parties would not be formed, fearing conflict and stagnation. Nevertheless, the beginnings of the American two-party system emerged from his immediate circle of advisers, including Hamilton and Madison.
In partisan elections, candidates are nominated by a political party or seek public office as an independent. Each state has significant discretion in deciding how candidates are nominated, and thus eligible to appear on the election ballot. Typically, major party candidates are formally chosen in a party primary or convention, whereas minor party and Independents are required to complete a petitioning process.
Tea Party The Tea Party movement
Republican Party (United States) Republican Party (Grand Old Party, GOP) - one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States.
Democr.–Farmer–Labor The Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) is a major political party in the state of Minnesota and the state affiliate of the Democratic Party.
Constitution Party (United States) Constitution Party - founded as the U.S. Taxpayers' Party.
Green Party of the United States Green Party of the United States (GPUS)
Libertarian Party (United States) Libertarian Party (LP) - third largest and fastest growing political party in the United States.
Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party - one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States.
Politics
The United States is a federal constitutional republic, in which the President of the United States (the head of state and head of government), Congress, and judiciary share powers reserved to the national government, and the federal government shares sovereignty with the state governments.
Billy Long The U.S. Representative for Missouri's 7th congressional district, serving since 2011.
Terry Branstad The 42nd and current Governor of Iowa since January 2011.
Timothy F. Geithner The 75th and current United States Secretary of the Treasury, serving since 2009.
Blanche Lincoln Former United States Senator from Arkansas (1999 to 2011).
Richard Nugent The U.S. Representative for Florida's 5th congressional district, serving since 2011.
Frederica Wilson The U.S. Representative for Florida's 17th congressional district, serving since 2011.
Bob Latta The U.S. Representative for Ohio's 5th congressional district, serving since 2007.
Harry Reid The senior United States Senator from Nevada since 1987 and U.S. Senate Majority Leader since 2007.
Rudy Giuliani Was the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001 and currently he is a candidate in the US presidential election, 2012.
Steny Hoyer The 24th Minority Whip of the U.S. House of Representatives since 2011 and a member of U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland since 1995.
Don Young The U.S. Representative for Alaska's At-large congressional district, serving since 1973.
Buck McKeon The U.S. Representative for California's 25th congressional district, serving since 1993.
Debbie Wasserman Schultz The U.S. Representative for Florida's 20th congressional district, serving since 2005.
Dan Lipinski The U.S. Representative for Illinois's 3rd congressional district, serving since 2005.
Steven Palazzo The U.S. Representative for Mississippi's 4th congressional district, serving since 2011.
Lee Terry The U.S. Representative for Nebraska's 2nd congressional district, serving since 1999.
Bill Johnson The U.S. Representative for Ohio's 6th congressional district, serving since 2011.
Michael Steele Was the 64th Chairman of the Republican National Committee from 2009 until 2011.
Gwen Moore The U.S. Representative for Wisconsin's 4th congressional district, serving since 2005.
John McCain The senior United States Senator from Arizona, serving since 1987.
Butch Otter The 32nd and current Governor of Idaho since January 2007.
Mike Rounds The 31st and former Governor of South Dakota from 2003 to 2011.
Mary Landrieu The senior United States Senator from the State of Louisiana, serving since 1997.
Patrick Leahy The senior United States Senator from Vermont serving since 1975.
Ben Nelson The senior U.S. Senator from Nebraska, serving since 2001.
Mike Rogers The U.S. Representative from Michigan since 2001 and the Chairman of the House Intelligence since 2011.
Scott Tipton The U.S. Representative for Colorado's 3rd congressional district, serving since 2011.
Cliff Stearns The U.S. Representative for Florida's 6th congressional district, serving since 1989.
John Mica The U.S. Representative for Florida's 7th congressional district, serving since 1993.
Robert Dold The U.S. Representative for Illinois's 10th congressional district, serving since 2011.
Rick Berg The U.S. Representative for North Dakota's At-large congressional district, serving since 2011.
John Sullivan The U.S. Representative for Oklahoma's 1st congressional district, serving since 2002.
Charlie Dent The U.S. Representative for Pennsylvania's 15th congressional district, serving since 2005.
John Carter The U.S. Representative for Texas's 31st congressional district, serving since 2003.
Marsha Blackburn The U.S. Representative for Tennessee's 7th congressional district, serving since 2003.
Jason Chaffetz The U.S. Representative for Utah's 3rd congressional district, serving since 2009.
General strike in the United States of America Strike action by a critical mass of the labour force in a city, region, or country.
Tom Corbett The 46th and current Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, serving since 2011.
Sam Brownback The 46th and current Governor of Kansas since 2011.
Chuck Schumer The senior United States Senator from New York since 1999.
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