1. What is a discharge petition?

2. For what reason are Republicans in the House of Representatives launching a discharge petition?

3. What is the name of the proposed Republican Bill? What would it do?

4. When was the last time a discharge petition succeeded?

5. a) How does President Obama's Attorney General Eric Holder's opinion on trying terrorists as civilians differ from that of Republican leader Rep. John Boehner?
b) Which argument makes more sense to you? Why?

6. Read the following statements made by Thomas Sowell in a commentary posted at RealClearPolitics.com.  What do you think of his arguments?

The last time an attack on the World Trade Center was treated as a matter of domestic criminal justice was after a bomb was exploded there in 1993. Under the rules of American criminal law, the prosecution had to turn over all sorts of information to the defense-- information that told the Al Qaeda international terrorist network what we knew about them and how we knew it. This was nothing more and nothing less than giving away military secrets to an enemy in wartime-- something for which people have been executed, as they should have been. Secrecy in warfare is a matter of life and death.

How many Americans may pay with their lives for the intelligence secrets and methods that can forced to be disclosed to Al Qaeda was not mentioned. Nor was there mention of how many foreign nations and individuals whose cooperation with us in the war on terror have been involved in countering Al Qaeda-- nor how many foreign nations and individuals will have to think twice now, before cooperating with us again, when their role can be revealed in court to our enemies, who can exact revenge on them.

OPTIONAL: Do you support or oppose civilian trials for terrorists? Email your representative in Congress asking him/her to support or oppose the discharge petition on "Keep Terrorists Out of America Act." When expressing your opinion, remember to be clear, concise and polite.
--To contact your representative, go to www.House.gov.