Part 1) Are the Courts more important or less important today than a few hundred

Part 1) Are the Courts more important or less important today than a few hundred years ago? Looking at today’s Supreme Court decisions often being political and 5-4 votes, is the idea of judicial independence no longer valid? Are the courts just another political tool for parties? Give examples. How should the courts continue to run? Also, how should the nominations of justices be handled to avoid having it become another political spectacle?
Part 2) Welfare is a controversial topic. Most people don’t want to pay for someone who doesn’t need it or doesn’t want a job, but most people also want it there if something were to happen to them. What should welfare requirements be? Is it a right to all people or a privilege under certain conditions? How much money should a welfare recipient receive? Should you get enough to buy a car? Cable and internet access? What if I want to eat steak? Should I be allowed to buy my son candy with welfare money? Should I be allowed to buy alcohol with welfare money? Why or why not?
Part 3: What foreign policy should the U.S. take? Would you want to focus on making friends with everyone and play nice or would you establish yourself as an authority not to be messed with? Under what conditions would you send out the military? Would you send troops into harms way to make a point or to scare a country into submission? If that didn’t work, would you go to war? When is it OK to go to war with another country?