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Citizens United - A Primer on the Court Case

Citizens United is a nonprofit corporation and conservative advocacy group that successfully sued the Federal Election Commission in 2008, claiming its campaign finance rules represented unconstitutional restrictions on the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of speech. The U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision ruled that the federal government cannot limit corporations  Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã‚  or, for that matter, unions, associations, or individuals  Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã‚  from spending money to influence the outcome of elections. The ruling led to the creation of super PACs. â€Å"If the First Amendment has any force it prohibits Congress from fining or jailing citizens, or associations of citizens, for simply engaging in political speech,† Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote for the majority. About Citizens United Citizens United describes itself as a being dedicated to the goal of restoring government to U.S. citizens through education, advocacy, and grassroots organization. â€Å"Citizens United seeks to reassert the traditional American values of limited government, freedom of enterprise, strong families, and national sovereignty and security. Citizens Uniteds goal is to restore the founding fathers vision of a free nation, guided by the honesty, common sense, and good will of its citizens,† it states on its website. Origins of Citizens United Case The Citizens United legal case stems from the groups intention to broadcast â€Å"Hillary: The Movie,† a documentary it produced that was critical of then-U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, who at the time was seeking the Democratic presidential nomination. The film examined Clintons record in the Senate and as the first lady to President Bill Clinton. The FEC claimed the documentary represented electioneering communications as defined by the McCain-Feingold law, known as the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002. McCain-Feingold prohibited such communications by broadcast, cable, or satellite within 30 days of a primary or 60 days of a general election. Citizens United challenged the decision but was turned away by the District Court for the District of Columbia. The group appealed the case to the Supreme Court. The Decision The Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision in favor of Citizens United overruled two lower-court rulings. The first was Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce, a 1990 decision that upheld restrictions on corporate political spending. The second was McConnell v. Federal Election Commission, a 2003 decision that upheld the 2002 McCain-Feingold law banning â€Å"electioneering communications† paid for by corporations. Voting with Kennedy in the majority were Chief Justice John G. Roberts and associate justices Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia, and Clarence Thomas. Dissenting were justices John P. Stevens, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, and Sonia Sotomayor. Kennedy, writing for the majority, opined Governments are often hostile to speech, but under our law and our tradition it seems stranger than fiction for our Government to make this political speech a crime. The four dissenting justices described the majority opinion as a rejection of the common sense of the American people, who have recognized a need to prevent corporations from undermining self-government since the founding, and who have fought against the distinctive corrupting potential of corporate electioneering since the days of Theodore Roosevelt. Opposition President Barack Obama leveled perhaps the most vocal criticism of the Citizens United decision by directly taking on the Supreme Court, saying the five majority justices â€Å"handed a huge victory to the special interests and their lobbyists.† Obama lashed out at the ruling in his 2010 State of the Union address. With all due deference to separation of powers, last week the Supreme Court reversed a century of law that I believe will open the floodgates for special interests, including foreign corporations, to spend without limit in our elections, Obama said during his address to a joint session of Congress. I dont think American elections should be bankrolled by Americas most powerful interests, or worse, by foreign entities. They should be decided by the American people, the president said. And Id urge Democrats and Republicans to pass a bill that helps to correct some of these problems. In the 2012 presidential contest, however, Obama softened his stance on super PACs and encouraged his fundraisers to bring in contributions to a super PAC that was supporting his candidacy. Support for the Ruling David N. Bossie, the president of Citizens United, and Theodore B. Olson, who served as the group’s lead counsel against the FEC, described the ruling as striking a blow for freedom of political speech. â€Å"In Citizens United, the court reminded us that when our government seeks ‘to command where a person may get his or her information or what distrusted source he or she may not hear, it uses censorship to control thought,’† Bossie and Olson wrote in The Washington Post in January of 2011. â€Å"The government argued in Citizens United that it could ban books advocating the election of a candidate if they were published by a corporation or labor union. Today, thanks to Citizens United, we may celebrate that the First Amendment confirms what our forefathers fought for: ‘the freedom to think for ourselves.’† Sources Bossie, David N. How the Citizens United ruling freed political speech. Theodore B. Olson, The Washington Post, January 20, 2011. Justice Kennedy. Supreme Court of the United States Citizens United, Appellant v. Federal Election Commission. Legal Information Institute. Cornell University Law School, January 21, 2010.   Remarks by the President in State of the Union Address. The White House, January 27, 2010. Who We Are.  Citizens United, 2019, Washington, D.C.

Apush Dbq 2 Free Essays

During the Washington, Adams, and Jefferson administrations (from 1776 to 1807) neutrality was America’s main foreign policy. In determining that neutrality was the overall focus of American diplomacy, one must assess the deviations from, as well as the success, of neutrality. Neutrality was originally implemented by George Washington in order to maintain the young country’s best interests. We will write a custom essay sample on Apush Dbq 2 or any similar topic only for you Order Now However, lapses in neutrality occurred when the government was forced to favor one foreign power, either Great Britain or France, through treaties. Furthermore, commercial interests ultimately drove America’s decisions and thus influenced the effectiveness of neutrality. Despite such lapses in success, America’s number one foreign policy remained neutrality. Political leaders found involvement in European affairs to be irrelevant and detrimental to the young nation, thus neutrality was the primary focus of America. George Washington was a strong supporter of neutrality despite his highly opinionated cabinet (Hamilton was pro-British and Jefferson pro-French). In 1793, in response to King Louis XVI’s beheading in the French Revolution, Washington issued the Proclamation of Neutrality which stated that America would â€Å"adopt and pursue a conduct friendly and impartial toward the belligerent Powers†¦ † (D). Washington opted to remain neutral in order to avoid conflict with Britain and France, refusing to side with either one. Furthermore, Washington emphasized the necessity of neutrality in his farewell address in 1796. He explained that the â€Å"great rule of conduct for [Americans] in regard to foreign nations†¦ † was to have â€Å"†¦ s little political connection as possible† (J). Thus, Washington established the importance of neutrality which was also supported by John Adams. During the Revolutionary War (right after the Battle of Saratoga) the Americans formed the Franco-American alliance and gained French support from the king. However, John Adams wrote in his diary in 1775, â€Å"That We ought not to enter into any Alliance with her [France], which should entangle Us in any future Wars in Europe,† (A). Adams supported Washington’s push for neutrality and recognized the consequences of forming an alliance with France. Adams was right about the Franco-American Alliance, which later resulted in France seeking American aide against Britain after Louis XVI was beheaded. On the other hand, Adams approved Jay’s Treaty with Great Britain which upset the French who were at war with the British. Jay’s Treaty settled the return of confiscated goods and ships to the Americans and established that pre-Revolutionary War debts must be paid as stated in the Treaty of Paris in 1783. Americans had avoided these debts even though the Treaty of Paris stated that â€Å"creditors on either side shall meet†¦ o the recovery of the full value in sterling money of all bona fide debts heretofore contracted,† (E). During the Jefferson administration, foreign tensions rose and eventually lead to the War of 1812. Jefferson also enforced neutrality, claiming in his Inaugural Address in 1801 that the nation will maintain â€Å"honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none†¦ à ¢â‚¬  (K). Such ideas were evident in his response to the Chesapeake-Leopard Affair. In 1807, the British warship Leopard fired on an American warship, the Chesapeake, killing three Americans and impressing four others. Impressment was the act of forcing American sailors into the British navy as depicted in document M (M). Instead of declaring war as many American citizens wanted, Jefferson issued the Embargo Act, which cut off all American shipping to Europe in an attempt to cripple the British economy and prevent them from confiscating American goods and impressing their sailors. However, Jefferson’s attempt to maintain neutrality back-fired and crippled the American economy more than Europe’s. Conflicts between Great Britain and France often caused lapses in America’s focus on neutrality. Specifically, during the Washington’s administration and the French Revolution, â€Å"Citizen† Genet, the French minister to America, broke the typical rules of diplomacy by appealing directly to the American people. He called for American support of the French Revolution, pointing to the Franco-American Alliance which stated that the two nations shall â€Å"make all efforts in its Power, against their common enemy [Britain]†¦ † (C). Such support would directly violate America’s primary foreign policy, neutrality. Thus, Washington refused to support the French Revolution and make an enemy of Great Britain. This decision angered pro-French Americans who supported France’s aspiration to establish a republic. As a result, Thomas Jefferson, who was pro-French, resigned from his position of Secretary of State in disagreement with Washington’s Proclamation of Neutrality. The ratification of Jay’s Treaty with Great Britain further infuriated French supporters, failed to solve the issue of British impressment, and even promised that Americans would pay pre-Revolutionary War debt to Britain (F). Moreover, it caused the French to be outraged with the Americans and started French seizure of American ships. Political tensions between the three nations continued during John Adams’ presidency with the XYZ Affair in 1798. Three French agents, known only as X, Y, and Z, demanded a high fee from American delegates to enter negotiations for a treaty regarding the French seizure of American ships. This tested the young nation’s focus on neutrality as outraged Americans called for war with France. As a result, neutrality was pushed aside as the Quasi War, which was never officially declared, broke out. The public anger caused by the war strengthened the Federalist party, who used the power to pass the Alien, Sedition, and Naturalization Acts. These Acts limited Democratic-Republican power by: increasing the number of years required for immigrants to become citizens (Naturalization Act), by authorizing the president to deport aliens deemed a threat to the nation (Alien Act), and by making it illegal for newspaper editors to criticize the president or Congress (Sedition Act). The Convention of 1800 concluded the Quasi War, however impressment continued into Jefferson’s presidency during the Napoleonic Wars, making it more difficult for the young nation to maintain neutrality. Thus, conflicts between Great Britain and France often involved America despite the American focus on neutrality. Commercial interests often times caused disruptions of neutrality and competed as a priority of the young nation. Because commerce was of high importance to the growing nation, neutrality, in order to maintain trade, was necessary. Thomas Paine even stated, â€Å"Our plan is commerce,† and emphasized the importance of neutrality to the American economy by saying â€Å"we ought to form no political connection with any part of it [Europe],† (B). For instance, Jay’s Treaty negatively affected American commerce and political relations with France. Additionally, James Madison criticized the treaty as being â€Å"ready to sacrifice†¦ the dearest interests of our commerce†¦ † (G). The treaty not only affected political diplomacy with France, but also affected relations with Spain and their North American colonies. Spain saw the treaty as a sign that the Americans were building an alliance with Britain and felt a need to strengthen their American territories. This lead to Pinckney’s Treaty, in 1795, which set the boundary line between the United States and the Spanish territories, as well as allowed the use of the Mississippi River and the Louisiana sea port to both the Americans and the Spanish (H). Pinckney’s Treaty protected American commerce along the Mississippi and resulted in peaceful relations with Spain. Later, during Adams’ presidency, the seizure of American merchant ships by France raised tensions that resulted in the Quasi War. The disruption of American commerce forced the nation to disregard neutrality in order to protect their trading rights. The Convention of 1800 concluded the war and promised that â€Å"Property captured†¦ shall be mutually restored†¦ † (I). The Convention revealed the evident commercial intentions of the Quasi War and set the American economy as a priority equal to that of neutrality. However, Great Britain continued to seize American ships and impress American sailors. Instead of engaging in war, Jefferson opted to pass the Embargo Act of 1807 in an attempt to sustain neutrality. The Act prevented trade with any European nation, attempting to damage Britain’s economy and preclude impressment. Unfortunately, the plan backfired and devastated the American economy. Thus, Americans felt a greater need to deviate from neutrality in order to better their commerce. Although America faced disruptions in neutrality, ultimately, it remained the nations overall primary foreign policy. From 1776 to 1807, neutrality kept the young nation out of unnecessary European conflicts and served to maintain the country’s best interests. How to cite Apush Dbq 2, Papers

Accounting Information System for More Pty Ltd - myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theAccounting Information System for More Pty Ltd. Answer: Introduction Accounting information systems play an essential role in collection, storing, processing as well as recording of data for providing information during the process of decision making. These systems are made up of interrelated components, where it is divided into smaller sub-systems helping to achieve the organizational objective. The key characteristics of accounting information system are relevance, completeness, timeliness, verifiability, accessibility, understandability as well as reliability. Web-based systems and its wide-spread usage have helped the accounting information systems to identify organizational risks along with the creation of accounting procedures for maintaining optimum control over risk (Belfo Trigo, 2013; Accounting Information Systems, 2013). The key objective of the paper is to discuss the revenue cycle, weaknesses related to internal control along with the processes to mitigate the risks arising due to the weaknesses. Additionally, Ransom-ware attack and its brief overview have been explained in this paper. Overview of Revenue Cycle Figure: Revenue Cycle Revenue Cycle is referred as a set of business activities, helping to exchange goods as well as services for cash with the customers. Maximum of the transactions in todays business takes place on credit, where the amount is paid after the goods are shipped on time to the consumers. There are two key phases in the revenue cycle, which starts with the physical phase, where the good is received by the buyer and ends with the financial phase, where the buyer pays the cash for the delivered product. As mentioned in the accounting information system, there are two subsystems handling the above mentioned phases (Hall, 2008; Hall, 2012). The subsystems include processing of sales order for the physical phase while cash receipts look after the financial phase. Additionally, activities of revenue cycle are divided into two major categories including manual system and computerized system. Manual systems follow the manual procedures of sales, billing, warehouse, credit, shipping, general ledger, accounts receivable as well as inventory control. Moreover, sales returns, cash receipts, control of revenue cycle are parts of manual system. Accounting system based on computers start with automating the process of sales order through batch technology and reengineering the same with real-time technology. The procedures of manual systems are enhanced with the use of information technology, where procedures of cash receipts get automated and reengineered. Usage of Point-of-sale (POS) systems as well as reengineering through EDI along with Internet has made the process of revenue cycle easier than before (Hall, 2008; Hall, 2012). Identification of Practical Controls Table: Weaknesses, Impacts and Measures for the Identification of Practical Controls (Source: Ayam, 2015; Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, 2015; Office of the Auditor General of Canada, 2004) Overview of Ransom-ware attack Based on the case study as reported by ABC (2017), it has been found that in May 2017, 57000 organizations in nearly 100 nations suffered cyber attack globally, including Ukraine, Russia, Taiwan as well as India among others, where the un-patched older versions of Microsoft windows were commonly used (ABC, 2017). This cyber attack was identified as a ransom-ware attack named Wannacry, which created a flaw in the software of Microsoft Corporation (McGoogan, Titcomb Krol, 2017). The cyber attackers took advantage of the vulnerabilities related to the older version of Windows operating system. Additionally, European nations including Spain and Portugal among others were forced to turn down the patients in the clinics as well as hospitals because they lost access due to the cyber extortion of ransomware. According to British cyber centre, FedEx Corporation, which is the leading shipper globally, was one of the victims of the attack, where the systems got affected due to the malware ente ring through spam mails (ABC, 2017). The National Security Agency identified that hackers were spreading a ransom-ware that locked up files as well as folders completely. Wannacry ransom-ware demanded payments during the cyber attack on systems of several users, where hackers used this trend for quick payout of money. A ransom-ware is described as a cyber attack or virus, which takes full control of others system and blocks away all sources of access to it until and unless the asked amount is paid (McGoogan et al., 2017; ABC, 2017). Based on the research conducted by the Kaspersky Lab experts, Ransomware demands nearly $300- $600 for restoring the system, which increases every two hours if not paid (ABC, 2017). The process starts when a user unintentionally clicks on a ransom-ware link or downloads it. The hacker through malicious software enters into the system as soon as the link is opened and launches the attack to lock down the system as a whole, where access of the owner gets d enied. Microsoft had already issued patches for the software to fix up the issues but majority of the people were still found using the same old version (McGoogan, Titcomb Krol, 2017; ABC, 2017). Recommendations and Conclusion Considering the motherboards and More Pty Ltd, such a ransom-ware cyber attack may occur in the future. Therefore, the company should follow the measures of controlling the information security, monitoring as well as documentation as mentioned above. Data should hence be saved in more than one systems, where if one systems gets attacked by the ransom-ware, the other system can be used for the accessing the data. Encryption of data is compulsory, which reduces the chances of cyber attack as encrypted data cannot be hacked easily by any hacker. Day-to-day recording of data should be done by Motherboards and More Pty Ltd., which will lessen the burden with the passage of time. Access should be made limited for the users, which will further prevent clicking on dangerous links as well as sites. Additionally, Motherboards and more Pty Ltd should use latest version of Microsoft windows or any other operating system with fix-patches installed in it to prevent their system from the disruptive attack of Ransomware. Accounting information system plays an important role and simplifies the processes of collecting, recording as well as handling data and information. Proper techniques used during electronic data storage will secure the data for a longer duration, where the leaders or managers can effectively conduct a decision making process. Conclusively, it was found that a ransom-ware is a dangerous attack and therefore Motherboards and More Pty Ltd should follow the processes as mentioned in the study. References ABC. (2017). Biggest ransomware outbreak in history' hits nearly 100 countries with data held for ransom Retrieved September 21, 2017, from https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-13/biggest-ransomware-outbreak-in-history-hits-nearly-100-nations/8523102 Accounting Information Systems. (2013). Accounting Information Systems Explained. Retrieved September 20, 2017, from https://www.accountinginformationsystems.org/ Ayam, J. R. A. (2015). An analysis of revenue cycle internal controls in Ghanaian universities. Case Studies in Business and Management, 2(2), 1. Belfo, F., Trigo, A. (2013). Accounting information systems: Tradition and future directions. Procedia Technology, 9, 536-546. Hall, J. A. (2008). Accounting Information Systems. United States: Cengage learning. Hall, J. A. (2012). Accounting Information Systems. United States: Cengage learning. McGoogan, C., Titcomb, J. Krol, C. (2017). What is WannaCry and how does ransomware work? Retrieved September 20, 2017, from https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/0/ransomware-does-work/ Office of the auditor General of Canada. (2004). 2004 march report of the auditor general of canada. Retrieved September 20, 2017, from https://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/internet/English/att_20040306xe05_e_13231.html Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. (2015). Annual assessment of the internal revenue service information technology program. Retrieved September 20, 2017, from https://www.treasury.gov/tigta/auditreports/2015reports/201520094fr.pdf