Students fail civic knowledge

[Mikey]

Very good, Sionnach. Territory was taken from both Maryland and Viriginia to form the District of Columbia, which is indeed extraterritorial to any state. DC has its own congressional seats as well.

[Sonic Glitch]

The Valedictorian of my class swore it was in PA, and he was born, raised, and educated in NYS...

Well, Philadelphia was the capital once, briefly...

Wasn't that when D.C. was burned... I really don't remember my U.S. history well...

Well, there was the little matter of the country being founded in Pennsylvania, and it was the capital throughout (most) of the revolutionary war (there was the little matter of the British Occupying it during the war....)

[Lazar]

Very good, Sionnach. Territory was taken from both Maryland and Viriginia to form the District of Columbia, which is indeed extraterritorial to any state.

Although the Virginia part was given back to Virginia in the 1840s.

DC has its own congressional seats as well.

No, it just has one non-voting observer.

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

I can answer all of those except the length of a senator's term.

[Captain Picard's Hair]

I can answer all of those except the length of a senator's term.

6 years.

[Sionnach Glic]

I guessed at four years, myself.

[Mikey]

2 for congressional reps, 6 for senators.

No, it just has one non-voting observer.

I thought it had 2 observers?

[Lazar]

I thought it had 2 observers?

Nope, just one (Eleanor Holmes Norton). But the 23rd Amendment does allow DC to choose 3 presidential electors as if it were a state.

[Mikey]

Well, I guess the g-men will be coming to revoke my citizenship now.

[sunnyside]

Actually whether they have representation is in flux right now. There has been a quite a bit of pushing for a while to get representation in the District.

I'm a little fuzzy how it wound up this way, but the Democrats want to add representatives for DC, because, for some reason, the area has a massive impoverished population that should make any elected officials to the Senate Democrats most of the time.

However the Republicans had enough power locally somehow or other to get a rider attached to the bill that liberalizes the area's gun laws, which the liberals hate.

So right now I believe the bill is in a weird sort of limbo where the Democrats aren't sure if they want to actually pass the thing or not.

[Lazar]

I'm a little fuzzy how it wound up this way, but the Democrats want to add representatives for DC, because, for some reason, the area has a massive impoverished population that should make any elected officials to the Senate Democrats most of the time.

They didn't propose giving it Senate seats, just one House seat with full voting rights. It seems to be almost all Democrats that support it, but they've managed to get Senator Orrin Hatch on board because the Bill would provide an extra seat for Utah (which IIRC came just a few hundred residents short of getting an extra seat in the last reapportionment - although that might become moot once the 2010 reapportionment is carried out). But yes, it does seem to be stalled in the House as a result of the gun thing.

EDIT - Actually they got 6 Republicans to vote for it in the Senate.

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

I can answer all of those except the length of a senator's term.

6 years.

Thank you.