I'm totally not getting extra points

The current two party system in the United States has its benefits and downfalls. The signers of our Constitution were not strong believers in a party system, but ultimately today it is the basis of our elections for different reasons.

Benefits:
The two party system allows involvement of the public into decisions made by leaders elected. If there were to be only one party, it wouldn't matter what the public thought, or what their political concerns were. A two party system allows candidates to compete for public support by "listening." The two party system also calls for a more simple majority to win the election. This allows more than half of public to support the outcome. The two party system within Congress also allows for checks and balances of legislation with the President as well.
If there were to be more than two(sometimes three) parties, a simple majority may not win the election. This is turn would have more than half of the public lacking support for the outcome of an election. I think many smaller parties could be related to the development of factions, which is strongly advised against in the Federalist Papers.

Downfalls:
For obvious reasons, not everyone can be fairly represented by the existence of only two parties. Occasionally a strong independent candidate will rise, but campaigning only deters borderline republicans or democrats from voting for their respected party. Representatives are also very distracted by each other, and this distraction may result in less attention to the public. The two party system also deters more voters from the election polls as opposed to a multiple party system due to the fact that many people are not represented by the candidates who are running for office.

Convicts, Guns and the Military

My roommate recently read a a small excerpt from a newspaper to me that I found to be quite interesting. I was watching TV, so I was only halfheartedly listening, but the article briefly discussed some new legislation that may allow convicted felons to enlist in the military. I thought it would be NEAT to look at the advantages and disadvantages of this new legislation and I hope that you, my classmates, will also comment.

Advantages:
-Discipline may be needed in certain cases of younger felons
-Socialization is sometimes needed for rehabilitation
-Military provides jobs for those who may not otherwise have an opportunity to apply for higher caliber positions

Disadvantages:
-Those who are not felons may have social issues with those who are(bias)
-Distracting behavior may disrupt training(too much babysitting)
-Convicts+Guns = Maybe not so good result

What do you think?

Minority Shminority

I believe the minority is very important for several reasons. I think many people would lose interest in a political competition with no second place. For the minority, that's precisely where they are standing, not the winners, but if the first place man screws up, the silver team is ready to jump up and resume its place. Without this constant fear of the minority breathing down the backs of members of the majority, our legislature would be unbalanced and corrupt.
The minority gives the opposition a chance to be heard, even if their ideas are not implemented, they do shape legislation just by mere presence. If the minority size is close to the size of the majority this creates an opportunity for the roles to switch if their are some sway participants. Without the sway of participants, the decisions made may be very one sided and will not give people the opportunity to introduce and implement new ideas. Size however may be a factor in legislation decisions, but I believe even if the minority is small, it still serves the purpose of representing the population as a whole. It only takes a few votes to establish a minority, but many minorities dissenting from a population makes a statement and is clearly heard.