Topic Review
Merrion v. Jicarilla Apache Tribe
Merrion v. Jicarilla Apache Tribe, 455 U.S. 130 (1982), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States holding that an Indian tribe has the authority to impose taxes on non-Indians that are conducting business on the reservation as an inherent power under their tribal sovereignty.
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Topic Review
Boreout
Boredom boreout syndrome is a psychological disorder that causes physical illness, mainly caused by mental underload at the workplace due to lack of either adequate quantitative or qualitative workload. One reason for boreout could be that the initial job description does not match the actual work. This theory was first expounded in 2007 in Diagnose Boreout, a book by Peter Werder and Philippe Rothlin, two Switzerland business consultants.
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Topic Review
Politics of the Belly
The Politics of the Belly, a translation of the French term politique du ventre, is a Cameroonian expression popularised by Jean-François Bayart in his 1989 book L'État en Afrique: La Politique du Ventre to describe African politics and, in particular, the relationship between clientelism, corruption and power. According to Lynn M. Thomas of the University of Washington:
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Topic Review
Udall Family
The Udall family is a U.S. political family rooted in the American West. Its role in politics spans over 100 years and four generations. Udall politicians have been elected from four different states: Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Oregon. If viewed as a combined entity, the Udall-Hunt-Lee family has been elected from six states: Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Oregon, and Utah. Three Udall family cousins were nominated by the two major American political parties for the United States Senate elections of 2008, of which the two Democrats were elected and seated in 2009.
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Topic Review
Marriage Equality (Same Sex) Act 2013
The Marriage Equality (Same Sex) Act 2013 was an act of parliament of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly that was intended to legalise same-sex marriage in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It was first presented to the ACT Legislative Assembly on 19 September 2013 by the ACT Attorney-General, Simon Corbell. The law intended to build on the existing recognition of same-sex unions in the Australian Capital Territory, which included recognition of de facto partners, civil partnerships and same-sex-only civil unions (with civil unions being replaced by same-sex marriage if the Act was successfully passed). The act was passed in the Legislative Assembly on 22 October 2013. It came into operation on 7 November although wedding ceremonies under the provisions of the Act did not occur until 7 December 2013. West Australian parliamentarian Stephen Dawson and his husband Dennis Liddelow were the first same-sex couple to marry under the new laws. Upon the law's commencement, the Abbott Government challenged the legal and constitutional validity of the Act, lodging an immediate challenge in the High Court of Australia. The case was heard on 3 December and a ruling was handed down on 12 December 2013. The High Court unanimously struck the act down in its entirety, on the basis that it was in conflict with the federal Marriage Act, which defined marriage in Australia as the union of a man and a woman. The court did however expressly confirm in its ruling that the Parliament of Australia had the constitutional authority to amend the definition of marriage in the Marriage Act, so as to allow same-sex couples to marry.
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Topic Review
Dog-Whistle Politics
Dog-whistle politics is the use of coded or suggestive language in politics to garner support from a wider audience for a candidate. Dog whistles serve the purpose of attracting the intended political audience without garnering ire with opposing audiences, similar to ultrasonic dog whistles used in sheepherding. The concept of dog-whistles has similarities to the concept of code words. Accusations of dog-whistling may be used to accuse an individual of expressing a "hidden" meaning when no such message was intended and the actual words used are innocuous. Such accusations can be a form of political correctness or gaslighting and are by their nature impossible to refute. An example is the accusation that using the phrase "international banks" is evidence of anti-Semitism. When it exists, a dog-whistle is a type of doublespeak used in political messaging. Dog whistles work by employing language that has normal meanings to the majority, but can be implied or loaded to mean very specific things to intended recipients. One example commonly believed to be dog whistling may include is the use of 'family values' as a signal to Christians that the candidate is Christian and would support policies related to Christian values without raising flags among the non-religious who might oppose a Christian candidate. This type of dog whistle would serve the purpose of gaining popularity with Christians without losing popularity with non-Christians.
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Topic Review
Election Audits
Election auditing refers to any review conducted after polls close for the purpose of determining whether the votes were counted accurately (a results audit) or whether proper procedures were followed (a process audit), or both. Both results and process audits can be performed between elections for purposes of quality management, but if results audits are to be used to protect the official election results from undetected fraud and error, they must be completed before election results are declared final. Recounts may be considered to be a specific type of audit, but not all audits are recounts. The Verified Voting Foundation explains the difference between audits and recounts: Post-election audits are performed to “routinely check voting system performance…not to challenge to the results, regardless of how close margins of victory appear to be", while "recounts repeat ballot counting (and are performed only) in special circumstances, such as when preliminary results show a close margin of victory. Post-election audits that detect errors can lead to a full recount.” In the US, recount laws vary by state, but typically require recounting 100% of the votes, while audits may use samples. Recounts incorporate elements of both results and process audits.
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Topic Review
List of Autodidacts
This is a list of notable autodidacts which includes people who have been partially or wholly self-taught.
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Topic Review
Shotgun Wedding
A shotgun wedding is a wedding that is arranged to avoid embarrassment due to premarital sex possibly leading to an unintended pregnancy, rather than out of the desire of the participants. The phrase is a primarily American colloquialism, termed as such based on a stereotypical scenario where the father of the pregnant bride-to-be threatens the reluctant groom with a shotgun to ensure that he follows through with the wedding.
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Topic Review
Sunset Provision
In public policy, a sunset provision or clause is a measure within a statute, regulation or other law that provides that the law shall cease to have effect after a specific date, unless further legislative action is taken to extend the law. Most laws do not have sunset clauses and therefore remain in force indefinitely, except under systems in which desuetude applies.
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