1. Write your journal
2. Directions: On another sheet of paper, answer the following questions. You do not need to write down the questions, just the answers. You can use you textbook. This assignment is worth 100 points, and is due at the end of the period.
1. What are the two kinds of federal courts? (507)
2. Who appoints federal judges? (509)
3. What two kinds of cases do district courts hear? (513)
4. How many U.S. Courts of Appeals are there? (514)
5. What Supreme Court decision established judicial review? (518)
6. How many Supreme Court justices are there? (520)
7. If you get busted shoplifting, will a federal or state court hear the case? (508)
8. When Paula Jones accused President Clinton of sexual harassment, would a federal or state court hear the case?
9. Who appoints Supreme Court justices? (394)
10. What document governed the United States before The Constitution? (44)
11. How many branches of government did The Constitution establish? (66)
12. What are the branches of government called? (66)
13. What is the name of the system that allows the branches of government to check each other? (67)
14. How amendments have been added to The Constitution? (76)
15. How many major political parties are there in America? (116)
16. How old do you have to be to run for the Senate? (pg. 277)
17. How long are Senator Terms? (pg. 272)
18. In the Vice President’s absence, who is the presiding officer of the Senate? (pg. 323)
19. How long are House of Representatives members elected to serve? (pg. 272)
20. How old do you have to be to run for the House of Representatives? (pg. 272)
21. How many members are in the House of Representatives? (267)
22. How many members are in the Senate? (275)
23. How much money do members of Congress make? (282)
24. Who has the power to tax? (294)
25. What house of Congress has the power to impeach? (311)
26. How many presidents have been impeached? (311)
27. What house of Congress confirms major Presidential appointments? (313)
28. When does Congress begin a new term? (320)
29. Who is the presiding officer of the House of Representatives? (322)
30. Where does most of the work in Congress get done? (329)
31. Who signs bills passed by Congress into law? (345)
32. What constitutional amendment deals with Presidential disability? (360-361)
33. How old must the President of the United States be? (356)
34. How much money does the President make per year? (358)
35. According to the Presidential Succession Act of 1947, who follows the Vice President in the line of presidential succession? (359)
36. If an incumbent President is seeking another term in office, who will his party likely nominate? (374, “Who is Nominated)
37. What is the least amount of presidential electors a State can have? (380, Map)
38. How are a State’s presidential electors chosen? (378, “Choosing Electors”)
39. What is the maximum amount of years a President can serve in office? (357)
40. Is the president responsible for recommending legislation? (405)
Monday, December 13, 2010
Friday December 10, 2010
1. Write your journal
2. Take the following quiz:
American Government Quiz.
Directions: You can use your notes and work. You can work in groups. Write your answers on another sheet of paper. You do not need to copy the questions.
1. According to the documentary, which Supreme Court Justice was responsible for inventing The Supreme Court?
2. How many cases did the 1st Supreme Court hear?
3. Is Judicial Review in the original constitution?
4. What is the establishment clause?
5. What is the free exercise clause?
6. What is the lemon test?
7. What is an example of the establishment clause?
8. What is an example of the executive clause?
9. What defines an American according to page 545?
10. According to page 545, describe the nation’s religious makeup.
11. How did the Supreme Court rule in United States v. Nixon?
12. How did the Supreme Court rule in Gideon v. Wainwright
13. How did the Supreme Court rule in Roe v. Wade?
14. How did the Supreme Court rule in Korematsu v. United States?
15. How did the Supreme Court rule in Regents of the U. of California v. Bakke?
16. How did the Supreme Court rule in Miranda v. Arizona?
17. How did the Supreme Court rule in Tinker v. Des Moines?
18. How did the Supreme Court rule in Marbury v. Madison?
19. How did the Supreme Court rule in Brown v. Board of Education?
2. Take the following quiz:
American Government Quiz.
Directions: You can use your notes and work. You can work in groups. Write your answers on another sheet of paper. You do not need to copy the questions.
1. According to the documentary, which Supreme Court Justice was responsible for inventing The Supreme Court?
2. How many cases did the 1st Supreme Court hear?
3. Is Judicial Review in the original constitution?
4. What is the establishment clause?
5. What is the free exercise clause?
6. What is the lemon test?
7. What is an example of the establishment clause?
8. What is an example of the executive clause?
9. What defines an American according to page 545?
10. According to page 545, describe the nation’s religious makeup.
11. How did the Supreme Court rule in United States v. Nixon?
12. How did the Supreme Court rule in Gideon v. Wainwright
13. How did the Supreme Court rule in Roe v. Wade?
14. How did the Supreme Court rule in Korematsu v. United States?
15. How did the Supreme Court rule in Regents of the U. of California v. Bakke?
16. How did the Supreme Court rule in Miranda v. Arizona?
17. How did the Supreme Court rule in Tinker v. Des Moines?
18. How did the Supreme Court rule in Marbury v. Madison?
19. How did the Supreme Court rule in Brown v. Board of Education?
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Wednesday and Thursday December 8 and 9, 2010
1. Write your journal
2. Using the Supreme Cour Glossary in your textbook, pages 799-806, for the following cases, in your own words, write what the court decided, and then write whether you agree with the decision and why.
Cases:
United States v. Nixon
United States v. Eichman
Tinker v. Des Moines School District
Schenck v. United States
Roe v. Wade
New York Times v. United States
Marbury v. Madison
Miranda v. Arizona
Korematsu v. United States
Gideon v. Wainwright
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
2. Using the Supreme Cour Glossary in your textbook, pages 799-806, for the following cases, in your own words, write what the court decided, and then write whether you agree with the decision and why.
Cases:
United States v. Nixon
United States v. Eichman
Tinker v. Des Moines School District
Schenck v. United States
Roe v. Wade
New York Times v. United States
Marbury v. Madison
Miranda v. Arizona
Korematsu v. United States
Gideon v. Wainwright
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Tuesday Decemver 7, 2010
1. Write your journal
2. In your textbook, read pgs. 537-544 and answer all the questions for the section assessment and read pg. 545 and answer questions 1-3
2. In your textbook, read pgs. 537-544 and answer all the questions for the section assessment and read pg. 545 and answer questions 1-3
Monday December 6, 2010
1. Write your journal.
2. We watched a movie, so to make up the notes, you need to read pgs. 517-522 in your textbook and answer the section assessment. Then you need to read pg. 523 and answer the questions.
2. We watched a movie, so to make up the notes, you need to read pgs. 517-522 in your textbook and answer the section assessment. Then you need to read pg. 523 and answer the questions.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Friday December 3, 2010
1. Write your journal about anything that you want.
2. Take the following quiz:
American Government Quiz
Directions: Do not write on this sheet of paper. You can use your notes and work in groups. Write your answers on another sheet of paper. You don’t have to copy the question. Just write the number and answer the question.
1. Who is a defendant?
2. Who is a plaintiff?
3. What is a criminal case?
4. What is a civil case?
5. What is a precedent?
6. What is judicial review?
7. What is judicial power?
8. If there is a murder on a cruise ship, where would the case be heard?
9. If you get caught shoplifting at Wal-Mart, where would the case be heard?
10. If you decide to sue President Obama, where would the case be heard?
11. If you get a ticket for speeding, where would the case be heard?
12. If you decide to sue someone in another state, where would the case be heard?
13. If you get caught downloading music and movies illegally, where would the case be heard?
14. If you rob a federally insured bank, where would the case be heard?
15. If you steal my car, where would the case be heard?
16. In appealing a case to The Supreme Court, where does a case go after the case is filed in a federal district court?
17. If a case is appealed to the Supreme Court, what is 1 of the 3 things the Court can do?
18. What happens if the Supreme Court decides to hear a case?
19. How does the Supreme Court operate? (Hint: There are 4 different components)
20. Grab a magazine and write a paragraph summary of a story you find interesting.
2. Take the following quiz:
American Government Quiz
Directions: Do not write on this sheet of paper. You can use your notes and work in groups. Write your answers on another sheet of paper. You don’t have to copy the question. Just write the number and answer the question.
1. Who is a defendant?
2. Who is a plaintiff?
3. What is a criminal case?
4. What is a civil case?
5. What is a precedent?
6. What is judicial review?
7. What is judicial power?
8. If there is a murder on a cruise ship, where would the case be heard?
9. If you get caught shoplifting at Wal-Mart, where would the case be heard?
10. If you decide to sue President Obama, where would the case be heard?
11. If you get a ticket for speeding, where would the case be heard?
12. If you decide to sue someone in another state, where would the case be heard?
13. If you get caught downloading music and movies illegally, where would the case be heard?
14. If you rob a federally insured bank, where would the case be heard?
15. If you steal my car, where would the case be heard?
16. In appealing a case to The Supreme Court, where does a case go after the case is filed in a federal district court?
17. If a case is appealed to the Supreme Court, what is 1 of the 3 things the Court can do?
18. What happens if the Supreme Court decides to hear a case?
19. How does the Supreme Court operate? (Hint: There are 4 different components)
20. Grab a magazine and write a paragraph summary of a story you find interesting.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Wednesday and Thursday, December 1 and 2nd, 2010
1. Write your journal. You can write it about anything that you would like.
2. From pg 520 and 521-522, Draw, or make a graphic organizer, about how to appeal to the Supreme Court, AND How The Court Operates.
3. Read the following and answer the following questions:
Key figures:
• 15, 652 secret
• 101,748 confidential
• 133,887 unclassified
• Iraq most discussed country – 15,365 (Cables coming from Iraq – 6,677)
• Ankara, Turkey had most cables coming from it – 7,918
• From Secretary of State office - 8,017
According to the US State Departments labeling system, the most frequent subjects discussed are:
• External political relations – 145,451
• Internal government affairs – 122,896
• Human rights – 55,211
• Economic Conditions – 49,044
• Terrorists and terrorism – 28,801
UN security council – 6,532
1. Thinking about an eventual collapse of North Korea: American and South Korean officials have discussed the prospects for a unified Korea, should the North’s economic troubles and political transition lead the state to implode. The South Koreans even considered commercial inducements to China, according to the American ambassador to Seoul. She told Washington in February that South Korean officials believe that the right business deals would “help salve” China’s “concerns about living with a reunified Korea” that is in a “benign alliance” with the United States.
2. Suspicions of corruption in the Afghan government: When Afghanistan’s vice president visited the United Arab Emirates last year, local authorities working with the Drug Enforcement Administration discovered that he was carrying $52 million in cash. With wry understatement, a cable from the American Embassy in Kabul called the money “a significant amount” that the official, Ahmed Zia Massoud, “was ultimately allowed to keep without revealing the money’s origin or destination.” (Mr. Massoud denies taking any money out of Afghanistan.)
3. An intriguing alliance: American diplomats in Rome reported in 2009 on what their Italian contacts described as an extraordinarily close relationship between Vladimir V. Putin, the Russian prime minister, and Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian prime minister and business magnate, including “lavish gifts,” lucrative energy contracts and a “shadowy” Russian-speaking Italian go-between. They wrote that Mr. Berlusconi “appears increasingly to be the mouthpiece of Putin” in Europe. The diplomats also noted that while Mr. Putin enjoyed supremacy over all other public figures in Russia, he was undermined by an unmanageable bureaucracy that often ignored his edicts.
4. In a 2006 account, a wide-eyed American diplomat describes the lavish wedding of a well-connected couple in Dagestan, in Russia’s Caucasus, where one guest is the strongman who runs the war-ravaged Russian republic of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov.The diplomat tells of drunken guests throwing $100 bills at child dancers, and nighttime water-scooter jaunts on the Caspian Sea. “The dancers probably picked upwards of USD 5000 off the cobblestones,” the diplomat wrote. The host later tells him that Ramzan Kadyrov “had brought the happy couple ‘a five-kilo lump of gold’ as his wedding present.” “After the dancing and a quick tour of the premises, Ramzan and his army drove off back to Chechnya,” the diplomat reported to Washington. “We asked why Ramzan did not spend the night in Makhachkala, and were told, ‘Ramzan never spends the night anywhere.’ ”
5. Sunday's release of diplomatic cables include what seems to be an order from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to American diplomats to engage in intelligence gathering, directing her envoys at embassies around the world to collect information ranging from basic biographical data on diplomats to their frequent flier and credit card numbers.
6. Among the questions put to the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires was a series about President Fernandez de Kirchner's mental state and health: how she managed her nerves and anxiety, how stress affected her behavior toward advisers and decision-making, whether she was on medications, and how she calmed down when distressed.
The cable also asked about President Fernandez de Kirchner's approach to dealing with problems, and whether she shared her husband's "adversarial view of politics." It also asked about how the Argentine first couple divided up their day and on what issues each of them took the lead or deferred to the other.
7. As the United States negotiated with countries around the world to find new homes for the remaining detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Kuwait's minister of interior had a solution for the four Kuwaiti citizens left in the prison.
"You picked them up in Afghanistan; you should drop them off in Afghanistan," Shaikh Jaber Al-Khalid Al-Sabah is quoted as saying, "in the middle of the war zone," where the detainees could be killed in combat.
The 2009 cable titled "The Interior Minister's remedy for terrorists: Let them die," is among the diplomatic documents posted online by WikiLeaks.
8. Some cables reveal decidedly less than diplomatic opinions of foreign leaders. Putin is said to be an "alpha-dog" and Afghan President Hamid Karzai to be "driven by paranoia." German Chancellor Angela Merkel "avoids risk and is rarely creative." Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi travels with a "voluptuous blonde" Ukrainian nurse.
9. The Obama administration offered sweeteners to try to get other countries to take Guantanamo detainees, as part of its (as yet unsuccessful) effort to close the prison. Slovenia, for instance, was offered a meeting with President Obama, while the island nation of Kiribati was offered incentives worth millions.
10. Many Middle Eastern nations are far more concerned about Iran's nuclear program than they've publicly admitted. According to one cable, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has repeatedly asked the U.S. to "cut off the head of the snake" -- meaning, it appears, to bomb Iran's nuclear program. Leaders of Qatar, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and other Middle Eastern nations expressed similar views.
11. The U.S. ambassador to Seoul told Washington in February that the right business deals might get China to acquiesce to a reunified Korea, if the newly unified power were allied with the United States. American and South Korean officials have discussed such a reunification in the event that North Korea collapses under the weight of its economic and political problems.
Questions to Answer
1. Do you think this information is damaging to The United States’ credibility? Why or why not?
2. Which example do you feel is the most damaging and why?
3. Which example do you feel is the least damaging and why?
4. How should the countries mentioned respond to these messages?
5. What should the United States do to the countries mentioned?
6. The United States of America is the most powerful country in the world, shouldn’t they be able to say and do whatever they want? Why or why not?
7. What should happen to the person, or people, who leaked this information?
8. Do these leaks change your perception of the government? Why or why not?
9. What do you think other countries say about President Obama?
10. Do you think the government should be able to keep secrets? Why or why not?
2. From pg 520 and 521-522, Draw, or make a graphic organizer, about how to appeal to the Supreme Court, AND How The Court Operates.
3. Read the following and answer the following questions:
Key figures:
• 15, 652 secret
• 101,748 confidential
• 133,887 unclassified
• Iraq most discussed country – 15,365 (Cables coming from Iraq – 6,677)
• Ankara, Turkey had most cables coming from it – 7,918
• From Secretary of State office - 8,017
According to the US State Departments labeling system, the most frequent subjects discussed are:
• External political relations – 145,451
• Internal government affairs – 122,896
• Human rights – 55,211
• Economic Conditions – 49,044
• Terrorists and terrorism – 28,801
UN security council – 6,532
1. Thinking about an eventual collapse of North Korea: American and South Korean officials have discussed the prospects for a unified Korea, should the North’s economic troubles and political transition lead the state to implode. The South Koreans even considered commercial inducements to China, according to the American ambassador to Seoul. She told Washington in February that South Korean officials believe that the right business deals would “help salve” China’s “concerns about living with a reunified Korea” that is in a “benign alliance” with the United States.
2. Suspicions of corruption in the Afghan government: When Afghanistan’s vice president visited the United Arab Emirates last year, local authorities working with the Drug Enforcement Administration discovered that he was carrying $52 million in cash. With wry understatement, a cable from the American Embassy in Kabul called the money “a significant amount” that the official, Ahmed Zia Massoud, “was ultimately allowed to keep without revealing the money’s origin or destination.” (Mr. Massoud denies taking any money out of Afghanistan.)
3. An intriguing alliance: American diplomats in Rome reported in 2009 on what their Italian contacts described as an extraordinarily close relationship between Vladimir V. Putin, the Russian prime minister, and Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian prime minister and business magnate, including “lavish gifts,” lucrative energy contracts and a “shadowy” Russian-speaking Italian go-between. They wrote that Mr. Berlusconi “appears increasingly to be the mouthpiece of Putin” in Europe. The diplomats also noted that while Mr. Putin enjoyed supremacy over all other public figures in Russia, he was undermined by an unmanageable bureaucracy that often ignored his edicts.
4. In a 2006 account, a wide-eyed American diplomat describes the lavish wedding of a well-connected couple in Dagestan, in Russia’s Caucasus, where one guest is the strongman who runs the war-ravaged Russian republic of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov.The diplomat tells of drunken guests throwing $100 bills at child dancers, and nighttime water-scooter jaunts on the Caspian Sea. “The dancers probably picked upwards of USD 5000 off the cobblestones,” the diplomat wrote. The host later tells him that Ramzan Kadyrov “had brought the happy couple ‘a five-kilo lump of gold’ as his wedding present.” “After the dancing and a quick tour of the premises, Ramzan and his army drove off back to Chechnya,” the diplomat reported to Washington. “We asked why Ramzan did not spend the night in Makhachkala, and were told, ‘Ramzan never spends the night anywhere.’ ”
5. Sunday's release of diplomatic cables include what seems to be an order from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to American diplomats to engage in intelligence gathering, directing her envoys at embassies around the world to collect information ranging from basic biographical data on diplomats to their frequent flier and credit card numbers.
6. Among the questions put to the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires was a series about President Fernandez de Kirchner's mental state and health: how she managed her nerves and anxiety, how stress affected her behavior toward advisers and decision-making, whether she was on medications, and how she calmed down when distressed.
The cable also asked about President Fernandez de Kirchner's approach to dealing with problems, and whether she shared her husband's "adversarial view of politics." It also asked about how the Argentine first couple divided up their day and on what issues each of them took the lead or deferred to the other.
7. As the United States negotiated with countries around the world to find new homes for the remaining detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Kuwait's minister of interior had a solution for the four Kuwaiti citizens left in the prison.
"You picked them up in Afghanistan; you should drop them off in Afghanistan," Shaikh Jaber Al-Khalid Al-Sabah is quoted as saying, "in the middle of the war zone," where the detainees could be killed in combat.
The 2009 cable titled "The Interior Minister's remedy for terrorists: Let them die," is among the diplomatic documents posted online by WikiLeaks.
8. Some cables reveal decidedly less than diplomatic opinions of foreign leaders. Putin is said to be an "alpha-dog" and Afghan President Hamid Karzai to be "driven by paranoia." German Chancellor Angela Merkel "avoids risk and is rarely creative." Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi travels with a "voluptuous blonde" Ukrainian nurse.
9. The Obama administration offered sweeteners to try to get other countries to take Guantanamo detainees, as part of its (as yet unsuccessful) effort to close the prison. Slovenia, for instance, was offered a meeting with President Obama, while the island nation of Kiribati was offered incentives worth millions.
10. Many Middle Eastern nations are far more concerned about Iran's nuclear program than they've publicly admitted. According to one cable, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has repeatedly asked the U.S. to "cut off the head of the snake" -- meaning, it appears, to bomb Iran's nuclear program. Leaders of Qatar, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and other Middle Eastern nations expressed similar views.
11. The U.S. ambassador to Seoul told Washington in February that the right business deals might get China to acquiesce to a reunified Korea, if the newly unified power were allied with the United States. American and South Korean officials have discussed such a reunification in the event that North Korea collapses under the weight of its economic and political problems.
Questions to Answer
1. Do you think this information is damaging to The United States’ credibility? Why or why not?
2. Which example do you feel is the most damaging and why?
3. Which example do you feel is the least damaging and why?
4. How should the countries mentioned respond to these messages?
5. What should the United States do to the countries mentioned?
6. The United States of America is the most powerful country in the world, shouldn’t they be able to say and do whatever they want? Why or why not?
7. What should happen to the person, or people, who leaked this information?
8. Do these leaks change your perception of the government? Why or why not?
9. What do you think other countries say about President Obama?
10. Do you think the government should be able to keep secrets? Why or why not?
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Tuesday November 30, 2010
1. Write your journal. Topic: Do you think people should judge other people? Would you feel comfortable deciding whether someone was guilty or not guilty? Would you feel comfortable sentencing someone to prision?
2. Complete the following:
Federal Courts vs. State Courts.
Directions: Using the chart on pg. 508, determine if the following cases should be heard in Federal Courts or State Courts. Write your answers on another piece of paper.
1. You get pulled over in Fontana for a speeding ticket.
2. You get a truancy ticket.
3. There is a collision at sea.
4. There is a robbery of a private yacht at sea
5. There is a murder on a cruise ship
6. You decide to sue the Fontana Unified School district because your government class is too easy.
7. The State of Louisiana decides to sue BP for the oil spill
8. You get busted for shoplifting at Victoria Gardens
9. There is a dispute over a contract to deliver a ship’s supplies at dockside
10. Your parents are suing the neighbor over a tree that overhangs into your backyard
11. Jay-Z and Beyonce decide to get a divorce
12. You get a ticket for texting while driving
13. The State of California decides to sue the State of Texas
14. You decide to sue the F.B.I for invasion of privacy
15. You decide to sue the President of Argentina
16. The State of California decides to sue China
17. You get arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol
18. You get arrested for breaking into your neighbor’s house and stealing their copy of Call of Duty
19. You get busted for smuggling drugs on a boat from Cuba
20. You get busted for smuggling illegal aliens from Haiti
21. Melvin Blue entered a federally insured bank and robbed money from the safe. Where will this case be filed?
22. Two weeks later, Blue robbed a man who had just taken money out of an ATM machine in a grocery store. Where will this case be filed?
23. Mary Brown works for ABC Corp.; she claims that her boss refused to promote her because she is a woman. Where will Mary Brown file this case?
24. True or false. "Of all court cases filed annually in this country, for every federal case filed, thirty are filed in state courts."
25. Kidnapping across state lines
26. You decide not to pay income tax
27. You download music illegally
28. You download movies illegally
29. Terrorism crimes
30. McDonalds declares bankruptcy
2. Complete the following:
Federal Courts vs. State Courts.
Directions: Using the chart on pg. 508, determine if the following cases should be heard in Federal Courts or State Courts. Write your answers on another piece of paper.
1. You get pulled over in Fontana for a speeding ticket.
2. You get a truancy ticket.
3. There is a collision at sea.
4. There is a robbery of a private yacht at sea
5. There is a murder on a cruise ship
6. You decide to sue the Fontana Unified School district because your government class is too easy.
7. The State of Louisiana decides to sue BP for the oil spill
8. You get busted for shoplifting at Victoria Gardens
9. There is a dispute over a contract to deliver a ship’s supplies at dockside
10. Your parents are suing the neighbor over a tree that overhangs into your backyard
11. Jay-Z and Beyonce decide to get a divorce
12. You get a ticket for texting while driving
13. The State of California decides to sue the State of Texas
14. You decide to sue the F.B.I for invasion of privacy
15. You decide to sue the President of Argentina
16. The State of California decides to sue China
17. You get arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol
18. You get arrested for breaking into your neighbor’s house and stealing their copy of Call of Duty
19. You get busted for smuggling drugs on a boat from Cuba
20. You get busted for smuggling illegal aliens from Haiti
21. Melvin Blue entered a federally insured bank and robbed money from the safe. Where will this case be filed?
22. Two weeks later, Blue robbed a man who had just taken money out of an ATM machine in a grocery store. Where will this case be filed?
23. Mary Brown works for ABC Corp.; she claims that her boss refused to promote her because she is a woman. Where will Mary Brown file this case?
24. True or false. "Of all court cases filed annually in this country, for every federal case filed, thirty are filed in state courts."
25. Kidnapping across state lines
26. You decide not to pay income tax
27. You download music illegally
28. You download movies illegally
29. Terrorism crimes
30. McDonalds declares bankruptcy
Monday November 29, 2010
1. Write your journal. The Topic: How was your break? What were the highs? What were the lows? What would you change about your break?
2. We did vocabulary. Using your textbook glossary, write down the word, the definition, and use the word in a sentence for the following words:
Inferior Courts
Plantiff
Defendant
Origianl Jurisdiction
Jurisdiction
Appelate Jurisdiction
Criminal Case
Civil Case
Majority Opinion
Precedent
Judicial Review
Writ of Certiorari
Judicial Power
Jury
2. We did vocabulary. Using your textbook glossary, write down the word, the definition, and use the word in a sentence for the following words:
Inferior Courts
Plantiff
Defendant
Origianl Jurisdiction
Jurisdiction
Appelate Jurisdiction
Criminal Case
Civil Case
Majority Opinion
Precedent
Judicial Review
Writ of Certiorari
Judicial Power
Jury
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Friday November 19, 2010
1. Write your journal
2. We took a test. You are going to need to make it up when you get back.
2. We took a test. You are going to need to make it up when you get back.
Wednesday and Thursday November 17 and 18, 2010
1. Write your journal
2. Take the following notes.
3. Study for the test. Study guide at end
Notes:
• Presidential Power
• The Growth of Presidential Power
• The power of the presidency has been cause for debate mainly because the Constitution provided a loose definition of executive power.
• The influence of strong Presidents, the demands of the American people for strong leadership, and the need for decisive action during national emergencies has worked to strengthen the powers of the presidency.
• The Growth of the Executive Power
• The passage of thousands of laws by Congress, mass media expansion, and the nation’s complex economic life have all contributed to the growth of the executive power.
• Other Presidential Duties
• The President appoints Cabinet members with Senate approval.
• The President names most of the top-ranking officers of the Federal government with Senate approval. Supreme Court vacancies, federal judges, etc.
• Typical sequence in appointment process: nomination, Senate committee hearings, Senate debate, rejection/confirmation
• Other Presidential Duties Cont…
• The President’s power to execute the law covers all federal laws, whether or not the President agrees with them.
• The President shares military powers with Congress.
• A President can use armed forces abroad at his or her discretion.
• Treaties negotiated by the President must get the Senate’s consent, can be repealed by Congress, and declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
• Other Presidential Duties Cont…
• The President exercises legislative power over Congress by recommending legislation.
• The President has the ability to veto legislation from Congress.
• The President has the ability to grant pardons, a legal forgiveness of a crime. Presidential pardons can be given after a person has been convicted in court, and before that person is tried, or even before that person has been formally charged.
Study Guide:
Study Guide for Executive Branch Test
1. What constitutional amendment deals with Presidential disability? (pgs. 360-361)
2. How old must the President of the United States be? (poster and 356)
3. How much money does the President make per year? (poster and 358)
4. Why did the electoral system break down in the election of 1800? (Book Section and 366)
5. If an incumbent President is seeking another term in office, who will his part likely nominate? (Board Questions and 374, “Who is Nominated)
6. How are a State’s presidential electors chosen? (Board Questions and 378, “Choosing Electors”)
7. What is the maximum amount of years a President can serve in office? (poster and 357)
8. According to the Presidential Succession Act of 1947, who follows the Vice President in the line of presidential succession? (poster and 359)
9. Who can challenge the President’s decision to resume duties after an illness? (25th Amendment notes and pg. 361)
10. What is the least amount of presidential electors a State can have? (Board Questions and 380, Map)
11. What are the two formal duties of the Vice President? (pg. 361)
12. What is the first session of the national convention generally devoted to? (Board Questions and 373, “The First Two Days)
13. Where does the first caucus take place in presidential primaries? (Board Questions and “The Caucus Convention Process)
14. What is the most widely supported plan for reform of the Electoral College? (Board Questions and 383, “Direct Popular Election)
15. What are the major flaws in the Electoral College system? (Board Questions and 379, “Flaws in the Electoral College)
16. Why has the power of the presidency been cause for debate? (Notes)
17. What has been used to strengthen the presidency? (Notes)
18. Who does the president share military powers with? (Notes)
19. Where does the president get power to for the ordinance power in order to issue executive orders? (Question Handout)
20. Why does the president need the ordinance power? (Question Handout and 394)
21. What is the difference between a treaty and an executive agreement? (Question Handout)
22. What is the sequence of events in the appointment process? (Notes)
23. What does the President’s power to execute the law cover? (Notes)
24. What are executive agreements? (Question Handout)
25. What are the steps for treaties? (Question Handout and Notes)
26. Who appoints and Cabinet members? Who approves Cabinet members? (Notes)
27. Why has the executive power grown? (Notes)
28. When can the President use armed forces abroad? (Notes)
29. How does the President exercise legislative power over Congress? (Notes)
30. When can the President use the power to grant pardons? (Notes)
2. Take the following notes.
3. Study for the test. Study guide at end
Notes:
• Presidential Power
• The Growth of Presidential Power
• The power of the presidency has been cause for debate mainly because the Constitution provided a loose definition of executive power.
• The influence of strong Presidents, the demands of the American people for strong leadership, and the need for decisive action during national emergencies has worked to strengthen the powers of the presidency.
• The Growth of the Executive Power
• The passage of thousands of laws by Congress, mass media expansion, and the nation’s complex economic life have all contributed to the growth of the executive power.
• Other Presidential Duties
• The President appoints Cabinet members with Senate approval.
• The President names most of the top-ranking officers of the Federal government with Senate approval. Supreme Court vacancies, federal judges, etc.
• Typical sequence in appointment process: nomination, Senate committee hearings, Senate debate, rejection/confirmation
• Other Presidential Duties Cont…
• The President’s power to execute the law covers all federal laws, whether or not the President agrees with them.
• The President shares military powers with Congress.
• A President can use armed forces abroad at his or her discretion.
• Treaties negotiated by the President must get the Senate’s consent, can be repealed by Congress, and declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
• Other Presidential Duties Cont…
• The President exercises legislative power over Congress by recommending legislation.
• The President has the ability to veto legislation from Congress.
• The President has the ability to grant pardons, a legal forgiveness of a crime. Presidential pardons can be given after a person has been convicted in court, and before that person is tried, or even before that person has been formally charged.
Study Guide:
Study Guide for Executive Branch Test
1. What constitutional amendment deals with Presidential disability? (pgs. 360-361)
2. How old must the President of the United States be? (poster and 356)
3. How much money does the President make per year? (poster and 358)
4. Why did the electoral system break down in the election of 1800? (Book Section and 366)
5. If an incumbent President is seeking another term in office, who will his part likely nominate? (Board Questions and 374, “Who is Nominated)
6. How are a State’s presidential electors chosen? (Board Questions and 378, “Choosing Electors”)
7. What is the maximum amount of years a President can serve in office? (poster and 357)
8. According to the Presidential Succession Act of 1947, who follows the Vice President in the line of presidential succession? (poster and 359)
9. Who can challenge the President’s decision to resume duties after an illness? (25th Amendment notes and pg. 361)
10. What is the least amount of presidential electors a State can have? (Board Questions and 380, Map)
11. What are the two formal duties of the Vice President? (pg. 361)
12. What is the first session of the national convention generally devoted to? (Board Questions and 373, “The First Two Days)
13. Where does the first caucus take place in presidential primaries? (Board Questions and “The Caucus Convention Process)
14. What is the most widely supported plan for reform of the Electoral College? (Board Questions and 383, “Direct Popular Election)
15. What are the major flaws in the Electoral College system? (Board Questions and 379, “Flaws in the Electoral College)
16. Why has the power of the presidency been cause for debate? (Notes)
17. What has been used to strengthen the presidency? (Notes)
18. Who does the president share military powers with? (Notes)
19. Where does the president get power to for the ordinance power in order to issue executive orders? (Question Handout)
20. Why does the president need the ordinance power? (Question Handout and 394)
21. What is the difference between a treaty and an executive agreement? (Question Handout)
22. What is the sequence of events in the appointment process? (Notes)
23. What does the President’s power to execute the law cover? (Notes)
24. What are executive agreements? (Question Handout)
25. What are the steps for treaties? (Question Handout and Notes)
26. Who appoints and Cabinet members? Who approves Cabinet members? (Notes)
27. Why has the executive power grown? (Notes)
28. When can the President use armed forces abroad? (Notes)
29. How does the President exercise legislative power over Congress? (Notes)
30. When can the President use the power to grant pardons? (Notes)
Monday, November 15, 2010
Tuesday November 16, 2010
1. Write your journal
2. Read and complete the following questions. Questions are at the very end
Ordinance Power- Power of the President to issue executive orders; originates from the Constitution and acts of Congress.
PRESIDENTIAL ORDINANCE-MAKING POWER
As a means of carrying out constitutional and statutory duties, Presidents issue regulations, proclamations, and EXECUTIVE ORDERS. Although this exercise of legislative power by the President appears to contradict the doctrine of SEPARATION OF POWERS, the scope of administrative legislation has remained broad. Rules and regulations, as the Supreme Court noted in United States v. Eliason (1842), "must be received as the acts of the executive, and as such, be binding upon all within the sphere of his legal and constitutional authority."
Proclamations are a second instrument of administrative legislation. Sometimes they are hortatory in character, without legislative effect, such as proclamations for Law Day. Other proclamations have substantive effects, especially when used to regulate international trade on the basis of broad grants of statutory authority. Still other proclamations have been issued solely on the President's constitutional authority, as with pardons and AMNESTIES and ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S proclamations in April 1861. When a statute prescribes a specific procedure in an area reserved to Congress and the President follows a different course, proclamations are illegal and void.
From ancient times a proclamation was literally a public notice, whether by trumpet, voice, print, or posting. Yet in 1873 the Supreme Court in Lapeyre v. United States declared that a proclamation by the President became a valid instrument of federal law from the moment it was signed and deposited in the office of the secretary of state, even though not published. These early proclamations eventually found their way into the Statutes at Large, but not until the Federal Register Act of 1935 did Congress require the prompt publication of all proclamations and executive orders that have general applicability and legal effect.
Executive Orders- Directive, rule, or regulation issued by a chief executive or subordinates, based upon constitutional or statutory authority and having the force of the law.
What is an Executive Order?
Executive Orders (EOs) are legally binding orders given by the President, acting as the head of the Executive Branch, to Federal Administrative Agencies. Executive Orders are generally used to direct federal agencies and officials in their execution of congressionally established laws or policies. However, in many instances they have been used to guide agencies in directions contrary to congressional intent.
A Brief History and Examples
Executive Orders have been used by every chief executive since the time of George Washington. Most of these directives were unpublished and were only seen by the agencies involved. In the early 1900s, the State Department began numbering them; there are now over 13,000 numbered orders. Orders were retroactively numbered going back to 1862 when President Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus and issued the Emancipation Proclamation by Executive Order. There are also many other Executive Orders that have not been numbered because they have been lost due to bad record-keeping. Such is not the problem today. All new Executive Orders are easily accessible
Many important policy changes have occurred through Executive Orders. Harry Truman integrated the armed forces under Executive Order. President Eisenhower used an EO to desegregate schools. Presidents Kennedy and Johnson used them to bar racial discrimination in federal housing, hiring, and contracting. President Reagan used an EO to bar the use of federal funds for advocating abortion. President Clinton reversed this order when he came into office.
President Clinton has come under fire for using the EO as a way to make policy without consulting the Republican Congress. Clinton has signed over 300 EOs since 1992. In one case, he designated 1.7 million acres of Southern Utah as the Grant Staircase - Escalante National Monument. He also designated a system of American Heritage Rivers and even fought a war with Yugoslavia under Executive Order.
Executive Agreement- A pact made by the President directly with the head of a foreign state; a binding international agreement with the force of law but which (unlike a treaty) does not require Senate consent.
EXECUTIVE AGREEMENTS
EXECUTIVE AGREEMENTS, a term signifying international agreements concluded by the president, as distinguished from treaties, which can be ratified by the president only with consent of the Senate. In international usage they are often called "treaties in simplified form," whether embodied in one text or in an exchange of notes. Executive agreements are as effective as formal treaties in conferring rights and obligations under international law. The Constitution mentions them obliquely as "agreements" or "compacts," without specifying limitations as to procedure, form, or substance. Early suppositions that they bind only the administration that concludes them, or that their use must be confined to routine matters, have been negated by practice. Although executive agreements are usually administrative agreements that implement policies already determined, there are many that have determined significant policies—for example, the Rush-Bagot Agreement (1817) limiting armament on the Great Lakes; the exchange of notes enunciating the Open Door policy in China (1899, 1900); the Boxer Protocol (1901); the Gentlemen's Agreement (1907) on Japanese immigration; the Lansing-Ishii Agreement (1917) on Japanese interests in China; the armistices after the Revolution, the Spanish-American War, and the two world wars; the Atlantic Charter (1941); and the Moscow, Teheran, YALTA, and POTSDAM agreements during World War II (1943, 1945).
There are numerous examples of executive agreements established by the President. Famous historic examples include the mutual protection deal struck with the United Kingdom at the onset of World War II, the postwar agreements with the Soviet Union at Yalta and Potsdam in 1945 and the peace treaty established with Vietnam in the early 1970s. Modern examples include the North American Free Trade Agreement from 1994 and membership in the World Trade Organization. These were all brokered by executive agreement with no oversight by the legislative branch.
Treaty- A formal agreement between two or more sovereign states.
Ratification and Implementation of U.S. Treaties and Agreements
When conducting U.S. treaty research, it is important to understand the ratification and implementation process. Negotiation of treaties and international agreements is the responsibility of the Executive Branch. The U.S. Department of State provides the Foreign Service with detailed instructions for the negotiation and conclusion of treaties and international agreements. These instructions are part of the Foreign Affairs Manual, Circular 175.4 Circular 175 summarizes the constitutional requirements for determining whether an international agreement should be considered a treaty or an agreement. It outlines the general procedures for negotiation, signature, publication, and registration of treaties and international agreements.
1. Outline of the Treaty Making Process:
Secretary of State authorizes negotiation
U.S. representative negotiate
Agree on terms, and upon authorization of Secretary of State, sign treaty
President submits treaty to Senate
Senate Foreign Relations Committee considers treaty and reports to Senate
Senate considers and approves by 2/3 majority
President proclaims entry into force
2. 6. 2000-current
2000 - Patent Law Treaty (PLT) - (not ratified by U.S.)
2001 - Convention on Cybercrime - a highly controversial proposal (U.S. Senate ratified August 2006 [4] )
2002 - SORT (Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty) AKA Moscow Treaty - limits the nuclear arsenals of Russia and the U.S.
2004 - International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture AKA "International Seed Treaty" - to assure farmers' access to seeds of the world's food security crops (not ratified by U.S.)
2005 - Kyoto Protocol - climate change (not ratified by U.S.)
2005 - Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement
Questions:
Ordinance Power:
1. Where do the ordinance powers originate?
2. In order to carry out constitutional and statutory duties, what do Presidents issue?
3. What are proclamations?
4. What is an example of a proclamation?
Executive Orders:
1. Who gives executive orders?
2. What are executive orders generally used for?
3. What did Harry Truman change with an executive order?
4. What did Ronald Reagan change with an executive order?
Executive Agreements:
1. Does an executive agreement need Senate consent?
2. Who negotiates an executive agreement?
3. What is an example of an executive agreement before World War II?
4. What is an example of an executive agreement after World War II?
Treaties:
1. What is a treaty?
2. What branch of government is responsible for the negotiations of a treaty?
3. What House of Congress must approve a treaty?
4. What treaties have not been ratified by the United States in the 2000’s?
2. Read and complete the following questions. Questions are at the very end
Ordinance Power- Power of the President to issue executive orders; originates from the Constitution and acts of Congress.
PRESIDENTIAL ORDINANCE-MAKING POWER
As a means of carrying out constitutional and statutory duties, Presidents issue regulations, proclamations, and EXECUTIVE ORDERS. Although this exercise of legislative power by the President appears to contradict the doctrine of SEPARATION OF POWERS, the scope of administrative legislation has remained broad. Rules and regulations, as the Supreme Court noted in United States v. Eliason (1842), "must be received as the acts of the executive, and as such, be binding upon all within the sphere of his legal and constitutional authority."
Proclamations are a second instrument of administrative legislation. Sometimes they are hortatory in character, without legislative effect, such as proclamations for Law Day. Other proclamations have substantive effects, especially when used to regulate international trade on the basis of broad grants of statutory authority. Still other proclamations have been issued solely on the President's constitutional authority, as with pardons and AMNESTIES and ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S proclamations in April 1861. When a statute prescribes a specific procedure in an area reserved to Congress and the President follows a different course, proclamations are illegal and void.
From ancient times a proclamation was literally a public notice, whether by trumpet, voice, print, or posting. Yet in 1873 the Supreme Court in Lapeyre v. United States declared that a proclamation by the President became a valid instrument of federal law from the moment it was signed and deposited in the office of the secretary of state, even though not published. These early proclamations eventually found their way into the Statutes at Large, but not until the Federal Register Act of 1935 did Congress require the prompt publication of all proclamations and executive orders that have general applicability and legal effect.
Executive Orders- Directive, rule, or regulation issued by a chief executive or subordinates, based upon constitutional or statutory authority and having the force of the law.
What is an Executive Order?
Executive Orders (EOs) are legally binding orders given by the President, acting as the head of the Executive Branch, to Federal Administrative Agencies. Executive Orders are generally used to direct federal agencies and officials in their execution of congressionally established laws or policies. However, in many instances they have been used to guide agencies in directions contrary to congressional intent.
A Brief History and Examples
Executive Orders have been used by every chief executive since the time of George Washington. Most of these directives were unpublished and were only seen by the agencies involved. In the early 1900s, the State Department began numbering them; there are now over 13,000 numbered orders. Orders were retroactively numbered going back to 1862 when President Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus and issued the Emancipation Proclamation by Executive Order. There are also many other Executive Orders that have not been numbered because they have been lost due to bad record-keeping. Such is not the problem today. All new Executive Orders are easily accessible
Many important policy changes have occurred through Executive Orders. Harry Truman integrated the armed forces under Executive Order. President Eisenhower used an EO to desegregate schools. Presidents Kennedy and Johnson used them to bar racial discrimination in federal housing, hiring, and contracting. President Reagan used an EO to bar the use of federal funds for advocating abortion. President Clinton reversed this order when he came into office.
President Clinton has come under fire for using the EO as a way to make policy without consulting the Republican Congress. Clinton has signed over 300 EOs since 1992. In one case, he designated 1.7 million acres of Southern Utah as the Grant Staircase - Escalante National Monument. He also designated a system of American Heritage Rivers and even fought a war with Yugoslavia under Executive Order.
Executive Agreement- A pact made by the President directly with the head of a foreign state; a binding international agreement with the force of law but which (unlike a treaty) does not require Senate consent.
EXECUTIVE AGREEMENTS
EXECUTIVE AGREEMENTS, a term signifying international agreements concluded by the president, as distinguished from treaties, which can be ratified by the president only with consent of the Senate. In international usage they are often called "treaties in simplified form," whether embodied in one text or in an exchange of notes. Executive agreements are as effective as formal treaties in conferring rights and obligations under international law. The Constitution mentions them obliquely as "agreements" or "compacts," without specifying limitations as to procedure, form, or substance. Early suppositions that they bind only the administration that concludes them, or that their use must be confined to routine matters, have been negated by practice. Although executive agreements are usually administrative agreements that implement policies already determined, there are many that have determined significant policies—for example, the Rush-Bagot Agreement (1817) limiting armament on the Great Lakes; the exchange of notes enunciating the Open Door policy in China (1899, 1900); the Boxer Protocol (1901); the Gentlemen's Agreement (1907) on Japanese immigration; the Lansing-Ishii Agreement (1917) on Japanese interests in China; the armistices after the Revolution, the Spanish-American War, and the two world wars; the Atlantic Charter (1941); and the Moscow, Teheran, YALTA, and POTSDAM agreements during World War II (1943, 1945).
There are numerous examples of executive agreements established by the President. Famous historic examples include the mutual protection deal struck with the United Kingdom at the onset of World War II, the postwar agreements with the Soviet Union at Yalta and Potsdam in 1945 and the peace treaty established with Vietnam in the early 1970s. Modern examples include the North American Free Trade Agreement from 1994 and membership in the World Trade Organization. These were all brokered by executive agreement with no oversight by the legislative branch.
Treaty- A formal agreement between two or more sovereign states.
Ratification and Implementation of U.S. Treaties and Agreements
When conducting U.S. treaty research, it is important to understand the ratification and implementation process. Negotiation of treaties and international agreements is the responsibility of the Executive Branch. The U.S. Department of State provides the Foreign Service with detailed instructions for the negotiation and conclusion of treaties and international agreements. These instructions are part of the Foreign Affairs Manual, Circular 175.4 Circular 175 summarizes the constitutional requirements for determining whether an international agreement should be considered a treaty or an agreement. It outlines the general procedures for negotiation, signature, publication, and registration of treaties and international agreements.
1. Outline of the Treaty Making Process:
Secretary of State authorizes negotiation
U.S. representative negotiate
Agree on terms, and upon authorization of Secretary of State, sign treaty
President submits treaty to Senate
Senate Foreign Relations Committee considers treaty and reports to Senate
Senate considers and approves by 2/3 majority
President proclaims entry into force
2. 6. 2000-current
2000 - Patent Law Treaty (PLT) - (not ratified by U.S.)
2001 - Convention on Cybercrime - a highly controversial proposal (U.S. Senate ratified August 2006 [4] )
2002 - SORT (Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty) AKA Moscow Treaty - limits the nuclear arsenals of Russia and the U.S.
2004 - International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture AKA "International Seed Treaty" - to assure farmers' access to seeds of the world's food security crops (not ratified by U.S.)
2005 - Kyoto Protocol - climate change (not ratified by U.S.)
2005 - Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement
Questions:
Ordinance Power:
1. Where do the ordinance powers originate?
2. In order to carry out constitutional and statutory duties, what do Presidents issue?
3. What are proclamations?
4. What is an example of a proclamation?
Executive Orders:
1. Who gives executive orders?
2. What are executive orders generally used for?
3. What did Harry Truman change with an executive order?
4. What did Ronald Reagan change with an executive order?
Executive Agreements:
1. Does an executive agreement need Senate consent?
2. Who negotiates an executive agreement?
3. What is an example of an executive agreement before World War II?
4. What is an example of an executive agreement after World War II?
Treaties:
1. What is a treaty?
2. What branch of government is responsible for the negotiations of a treaty?
3. What House of Congress must approve a treaty?
4. What treaties have not been ratified by the United States in the 2000’s?
Monday November 15, 2010
1. Write your journal
2. Read pages 365-367 and answer question 1-5 on pg. 367
3. Answer the following questions:
1. If an incumbent President is seeking another term, who will his party likely nominate? pg. 374 "Who is Nominated"
2. How is a State's presidential electors chosen? pg. 378 "Chosing Electors"
3. What is the least number of presidential electors a state can have? pg. 380, Map
4. What are the 3 flaws in the electoral college system? pg. 378. "Flaws in the Electoral College"
5. What is the most widely supported plan for reform of the electoral college? pg. 383 "Direct Border Election"
6. Where is the first and most widely publicized caucus during presidential primaries? pg. 372, "The Caucus Convention Process" last paragraph.
7. What is the first session of the national convention generally devoted to? pg 373, "The First Two Days"
2. Read pages 365-367 and answer question 1-5 on pg. 367
3. Answer the following questions:
1. If an incumbent President is seeking another term, who will his party likely nominate? pg. 374 "Who is Nominated"
2. How is a State's presidential electors chosen? pg. 378 "Chosing Electors"
3. What is the least number of presidential electors a state can have? pg. 380, Map
4. What are the 3 flaws in the electoral college system? pg. 378. "Flaws in the Electoral College"
5. What is the most widely supported plan for reform of the electoral college? pg. 383 "Direct Border Election"
6. Where is the first and most widely publicized caucus during presidential primaries? pg. 372, "The Caucus Convention Process" last paragraph.
7. What is the first session of the national convention generally devoted to? pg 373, "The First Two Days"
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Wednesday November 10, 2010
1. Write your journal
2. Watch this video and write a 1/2 page summary http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7032552n
2. Watch this video and write a 1/2 page summary http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7032552n
Tuesday November 9. 2010
1. Write your journal
2. Make a poster for President, using Formal Qualifications pg. 356-357 and Pay and Benefits pg. 358, and a poster for Presidential Succession pg. 359
2. Make a poster for President, using Formal Qualifications pg. 356-357 and Pay and Benefits pg. 358, and a poster for Presidential Succession pg. 359
Monday, November 8, 2010
Monday November 8, 2010
1. Write your journal.
2. Give examples of how president Obama would exercise the following powers:
2. Give examples of how president Obama would exercise the following powers:
Chief of state
chief executive
chief administrator
chief diplomat
commander in chief
chief legislator
chief of party
chief citizen
3. The President of the United States makes $400,000 per year. In your opinion, is this too much or too little money? Why or why not? How much money should the president make? Your response must be one paragraph.
Friday November 5, 2010
1. Write your journal
2. Vocabulary. You have to write the word, definition, and use the word in a sentence for the following words:
Chief of state
chief executive
chief administrator
chief diplomat
commander in chief
chief legislator
chief of party
chief citizen
2. Vocabulary. You have to write the word, definition, and use the word in a sentence for the following words:
Chief of state
chief executive
chief administrator
chief diplomat
commander in chief
chief legislator
chief of party
chief citizen
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Wednesday and Thursday November 3 and 4, 2010
Today was block scheduling.
1. Write your journal
2. We took the test. You are going to have to take the test when you come back, so study for it.
1. Write your journal
2. We took the test. You are going to have to take the test when you come back, so study for it.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Tuesday November 2, 2010
1. Write your journal
2. Here is the study guide for the test:
Study Guide- The Legislative Branch. Chapters 10, 11, 12, pages 258-349
1. How old do you have to be to run for the Senate? (pg. 277 and Posters)
2. Why is the lawmaking function of Congress central to democracy? (Notes)
3. What are the qualifications for Senators? (pg. 277 and Posters)
4. Screening bills for floor consideration is a major duty of whom? (Notes)
5. What is the regular period of time during which Congress conducts its business? (Notes)
6. What longstanding custom is required of candidates for the House of Representatives? ( 272, last paragraph)
7. How long are Senator Terms? (pg. 272)
8. What are the qualifications to run for a Senator? (pg. 277 and Posters)
9. What branch of Congress must approve treaties? (Notes)
10. Who has the power to propose constitutional amendments? (Notes)
11. What did the implied powers doctrine, upheld in McCulloch v. Maryland, give Congress the power to do? (Notes)
12. Who does Congress share foreign relations power with? (Notes)
13. What 3 roles do members of Congress fill? (Notes)
14. On the average, which group of people occupies the majority of seats in Congress? (Notes and pg. 279)
15. When are congressional elections held? (Notes)
16. What are the differences between the Senate and the House of Representatives? (pg. 272 and Posters)
17. In McCullough v. Maryland, what did the Supreme Court uphold? (Notes)
18. Who has the power to declare war? (Notes)
19. What branch of Congress has the power to impeach? (Notes)
20. How can a bill become a law without the President’s signature? (pg. 346)
21. At what step, do most measures or bills die? (Worksheet, pg. 344)
22. What is the purpose of a filibuster? (Notes)
23. What is eminent domain? (Notes)
24. What is the Necessary and Proper clause also known? (Notes)
25. In the Vice President’s absence, who is the presiding officer of the Senate? (pg. 323)
26. How many members are in the House of Representative? (Notes)
27. What is Gerrymandering? (Vocabulary and pg. 271)
28. How long are House of Representative members elected to serve? (pg. 272)
29. How old do you have to be to run for the House of Representatives? (pg. 272)
30. How many Senators are there from each state? (Notes)
2. Here is the study guide for the test:
Study Guide- The Legislative Branch. Chapters 10, 11, 12, pages 258-349
1. How old do you have to be to run for the Senate? (pg. 277 and Posters)
2. Why is the lawmaking function of Congress central to democracy? (Notes)
3. What are the qualifications for Senators? (pg. 277 and Posters)
4. Screening bills for floor consideration is a major duty of whom? (Notes)
5. What is the regular period of time during which Congress conducts its business? (Notes)
6. What longstanding custom is required of candidates for the House of Representatives? ( 272, last paragraph)
7. How long are Senator Terms? (pg. 272)
8. What are the qualifications to run for a Senator? (pg. 277 and Posters)
9. What branch of Congress must approve treaties? (Notes)
10. Who has the power to propose constitutional amendments? (Notes)
11. What did the implied powers doctrine, upheld in McCulloch v. Maryland, give Congress the power to do? (Notes)
12. Who does Congress share foreign relations power with? (Notes)
13. What 3 roles do members of Congress fill? (Notes)
14. On the average, which group of people occupies the majority of seats in Congress? (Notes and pg. 279)
15. When are congressional elections held? (Notes)
16. What are the differences between the Senate and the House of Representatives? (pg. 272 and Posters)
17. In McCullough v. Maryland, what did the Supreme Court uphold? (Notes)
18. Who has the power to declare war? (Notes)
19. What branch of Congress has the power to impeach? (Notes)
20. How can a bill become a law without the President’s signature? (pg. 346)
21. At what step, do most measures or bills die? (Worksheet, pg. 344)
22. What is the purpose of a filibuster? (Notes)
23. What is eminent domain? (Notes)
24. What is the Necessary and Proper clause also known? (Notes)
25. In the Vice President’s absence, who is the presiding officer of the Senate? (pg. 323)
26. How many members are in the House of Representative? (Notes)
27. What is Gerrymandering? (Vocabulary and pg. 271)
28. How long are House of Representative members elected to serve? (pg. 272)
29. How old do you have to be to run for the House of Representatives? (pg. 272)
30. How many Senators are there from each state? (Notes)
Monday November 1, 2010
1. Write your journal
2. We took notes today. Here they are:
• Congress
The Legislative Branch
• The House of Representatives and the Senate
• 435 members of the House of Representatives- Based on population of the state.
• 100 members of the Senate- Two from each state.
• Members of Congress are legislators, committee members, and servant to constituents.
• Both members of the House and the Senate are elected by citizens of their states. Elections are held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November of each even-numbered years.
• Where does Congress get its Power?
• Article I, Section 8, of the US Constitution states the expressed powers of the Congress.
• The implied powers doctrine, upheld in McCulloch v. Maryland, gives Congress the power to do anything reasonably related to carrying out the expressed powers.
• The “Necessary and Proper Clause” also known as the “elastic clause” allows Congress to do things not explicitly expressed in the Constitution.
• Congressional Diversity (or lack thereof)
• Our Representatives
• Congressional Powers
• Collect taxes, duties, and excises.
• Borrow money
• Coin Money
• Punish Counterfeiters
• Establish post offices and post roads.
• Punish pirates
• Create courts inferior to the Supreme Court
• Declare War
• Raise and support armies.
• Propose constitutional amendments
• Impeach
• Investigate
• Congress also makes laws
• Bills, or proposed laws, must be approved by a majority of the Senate and the House
• The lawmaking function of Congress is central to democracy because it is the means by which the public will become public policy.
• Most bills, or measures, are introduced in committees.
• Screening bills for floor consideration is a major duty of committee members.
• Senate Committees
• House Committees
• Congress Hodgepodge
• Congress meets for a session
• All treaties must be approved by 2/3 vote of the Senate
• Congress shares foreign relations power with the President
• The House of Representatives is given the power to impeach
• The purpose of a filibuster is to prevent action on a bill
• Eminent Domain is the inherent power to take public property for private use.
2. We took notes today. Here they are:
• Congress
The Legislative Branch
• The House of Representatives and the Senate
• 435 members of the House of Representatives- Based on population of the state.
• 100 members of the Senate- Two from each state.
• Members of Congress are legislators, committee members, and servant to constituents.
• Both members of the House and the Senate are elected by citizens of their states. Elections are held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November of each even-numbered years.
• Where does Congress get its Power?
• Article I, Section 8, of the US Constitution states the expressed powers of the Congress.
• The implied powers doctrine, upheld in McCulloch v. Maryland, gives Congress the power to do anything reasonably related to carrying out the expressed powers.
• The “Necessary and Proper Clause” also known as the “elastic clause” allows Congress to do things not explicitly expressed in the Constitution.
• Congressional Diversity (or lack thereof)
• Our Representatives
• Congressional Powers
• Collect taxes, duties, and excises.
• Borrow money
• Coin Money
• Punish Counterfeiters
• Establish post offices and post roads.
• Punish pirates
• Create courts inferior to the Supreme Court
• Declare War
• Raise and support armies.
• Propose constitutional amendments
• Impeach
• Investigate
• Congress also makes laws
• Bills, or proposed laws, must be approved by a majority of the Senate and the House
• The lawmaking function of Congress is central to democracy because it is the means by which the public will become public policy.
• Most bills, or measures, are introduced in committees.
• Screening bills for floor consideration is a major duty of committee members.
• Senate Committees
• House Committees
• Congress Hodgepodge
• Congress meets for a session
• All treaties must be approved by 2/3 vote of the Senate
• Congress shares foreign relations power with the President
• The House of Representatives is given the power to impeach
• The purpose of a filibuster is to prevent action on a bill
• Eminent Domain is the inherent power to take public property for private use.
Friday October 29, 2010
1. Write your journal
2. We did a worksheet, so you are going to need to ask me for it.
2. We did a worksheet, so you are going to need to ask me for it.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Wednesday and Thursday October 27 and 28, 2010
Today was block schedule.
1. Write your journal
2. Read formal qualifications of House Members on pg. 272 and Qualifications for Senators on pg. 277. Then make a full page want advertisement recruiting people to run for office. You need to make a want-ad for Representatives and a seperate want-ad for Senators.
3. When you come back to class, ask me for the handouts you will need to start working on your senior portfolio.
1. Write your journal
2. Read formal qualifications of House Members on pg. 272 and Qualifications for Senators on pg. 277. Then make a full page want advertisement recruiting people to run for office. You need to make a want-ad for Representatives and a seperate want-ad for Senators.
3. When you come back to class, ask me for the handouts you will need to start working on your senior portfolio.
Tuesday Ocotber 26, 2010
1. Write your journal
2. You picked the right day to miss because we listened to a college presentation. There is nothing to make up.
2. You picked the right day to miss because we listened to a college presentation. There is nothing to make up.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Monday October 25, 2010
1. Write your journal
2. Read 275-278 and complete the section assessment and 279-284 and complete the section assessment.
2. Read 275-278 and complete the section assessment and 279-284 and complete the section assessment.
Friday October 22, 2010
1. Write your journal
2. For each blue and red heading in pages 262-273 in your textbook, create a question and answer it. There are 18 questions and answers.
2. For each blue and red heading in pages 262-273 in your textbook, create a question and answer it. There are 18 questions and answers.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Wednesday and Thursday October 20 and 21, 2010
If you missed one of these days it was block, so that is why it appears there is more to do.
1. Write your journals.
2. For the following two articles, you need to 1. Read them. 2. Write a half page summary 3. Write 2 weaknesses and 2 strenghtes of the articles.
Article 1:
Bloomberg on Mosque Vote\
Here is the full text of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's speech following a vote that clears most major hurdles for the construction of a planned mosque and Islamic center near Ground Zero:
"We have come here to Governors Island to stand where the earliest settlers first set foot in New Amsterdam, and where the seeds of religious tolerance were first planted. We've come here to see the inspiring symbol of liberty that, more than 250 years later, would greet millions of immigrants in the harbor, and we come here to state as strongly as ever – this is the freest City in the world. That's what makes New York special and different and strong.
"Our doors are open to everyone – everyone with a dream and a willingness to work hard and play by the rules. New York City was built by immigrants, and it is sustained by immigrants – by people from more than a hundred different countries speaking more than two hundred different languages and professing every faith. And whether your parents were born here, or you came yesterday, you are a New Yorker.
"We may not always agree with every one of our neighbors. That's life and it's part of living in such a diverse and dense city. But we also recognize that part of being a New Yorker is living with your neighbors in mutual respect and tolerance. It was exactly that spirit of openness and acceptance that was attacked on 9/11.
"On that day, 3,000 people were killed because some murderous fanatics didn't want us to enjoy the freedom to profess our own faiths, to speak our own minds, to follow our own dreams and to live our own lives.
"Of all our precious freedoms, the most important may be the freedom to worship as we wish. And it is a freedom that, even here in a City that is rooted in Dutch tolerance, was hard-won over many years. In the mid-1650s, the small Jewish community living in Lower Manhattan petitioned Dutch Governor Peter Stuyvesant for the right to build a synagogue – and they were turned down.
"In 1657, when Stuyvesant also prohibited Quakers from holding meetings, a group of non-Quakers in Queens signed the Flushing Remonstrance, a petition in defense of the right of Quakers and others to freely practice their religion. It was perhaps the first formal, political petition for religious freedom in the American colonies – and the organizer was thrown in jail and then banished from New Amsterdam.
"In the 1700s, even as religious freedom took hold in America, Catholics in New York were effectively prohibited from practicing their religion – and priests could be arrested. Largely as a result, the first Catholic parish in New York City was not established until the 1780's – St. Peter's on Barclay Street, which still stands just one block north of the World Trade Center site and one block south of the proposed mosque and community center.
"This morning, the City's Landmark Preservation Commission unanimously voted not to extend landmark status to the building on Park Place where the mosque and community center are planned. The decision was based solely on the fact that there was little architectural significance to the building. But with or without landmark designation, there is nothing in the law that would prevent the owners from opening a mosque within the existing building. The simple fact is this building is private property, and the owners have a right to use the building as a house of worship.
"The government has no right whatsoever to deny that right – and if it were tried, the courts would almost certainly strike it down as a violation of the U.S. Constitution. Whatever you may think of the proposed mosque and community center, lost in the heat of the debate has been a basic question – should government attempt to deny private citizens the right to build a house of worship on private property based on their particular religion? That may happen in other countries, but we should never allow it to happen here. This nation was founded on the principle that the government must never choose between religions, or favor one over another.
"The World Trade Center Site will forever hold a special place in our City, in our hearts. But we would be untrue to the best part of ourselves – and who we are as New Yorkers and Americans – if we said 'no' to a mosque in Lower Manhattan.
"Let us not forget that Muslims were among those murdered on 9/11 and that our Muslim neighbors grieved with us as New Yorkers and as Americans. We would betray our values – and play into our enemies' hands – if we were to treat Muslims differently than anyone else. In fact, to cave to popular sentiment would be to hand a victory to the terrorists – and we should not stand for that.
"For that reason, I believe that this is an important test of the separation of church and state as we may see in our lifetime – as important a test – and it is critically important that we get it right.
"On September 11, 2001, thousands of first responders heroically rushed to the scene and saved tens of thousands of lives. More than 400 of those first responders did not make it out alive. In rushing into those burning buildings, not one of them asked 'What God do you pray to?' 'What beliefs do you hold?'
"The attack was an act of war – and our first responders defended not only our City but also our country and our Constitution. We do not honor their lives by denying the very Constitutional rights they died protecting. We honor their lives by defending those rights – and the freedoms that the terrorists attacked.
"Of course, it is fair to ask the organizers of the mosque to show some special sensitivity to the situation – and in fact, their plan envisions reaching beyond their walls and building an interfaith community. By doing so, it is my hope that the mosque will help to bring our City even closer together and help repudiate the false and repugnant idea that the attacks of 9/11 were in any way consistent with Islam. Muslims are as much a part of our City and our country as the people of any faith and they are as welcome to worship in Lower Manhattan as any other group. In fact, they have been worshipping at the site for the better part of a year, as is their right.
"The local community board in Lower Manhattan voted overwhelming to support the proposal and if it moves forward, I expect the community center and mosque will add to the life and vitality of the neighborhood and the entire City.
"Political controversies come and go, but our values and our traditions endure – and there is no neighborhood in this City that is off limits to God's love and mercy, as the religious leaders here with us today can attest."
Article 2:
Close Search Build the Ground Zero Mosque
Ever since 9/11, liberals and conservatives have agreed that the lasting solution to the problem of Islamic terror is to prevail in the battle of ideas and to discredit radical Islam, the ideology that motivates young men to kill and be killed. Victory in the war on terror will be won when a moderate, mainstream version of Islam—one that is compatible with modernity—fully triumphs over the world view of Osama bin Laden.
As the conservative Middle Eastern expert Daniel Pipes put it, “The U.S. role [in this struggle] is less to offer its own views than to help those Muslims with compatible views, especially on such issues as relations with non-Muslims, modernization, and the rights of women and minorities.” To that end, early in its tenure the Bush administration began a serious effort to seek out and support moderate Islam. Since then, Washington has funded mosques, schools, institutes, and community centers that are trying to modernize Islam around the world. Except, apparently, in New York City.
The debate over whether an Islamic center should be built a few blocks from the World Trade Center has ignored a fundamental point. If there is going to be a reformist movement in Islam, it is going to emerge from places like the proposed institute. We should be encouraging groups like the one behind this project, not demonizing them. Were this mosque being built in a foreign city, chances are that the U.S. government would be funding it.
Mosques in America: Faith and Anger The man spearheading the center, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, is a moderate Muslim clergyman. He has said one or two things about American foreign policy that strike me as overly critical —but it’s stuff you could read on The Huffington Post any day. On Islam, his main subject, Rauf’s views are clear: he routinely denounces all terrorism—as he did again last week, publicly. He speaks of the need for Muslims to live peacefully with all other religions. He emphasizes the commonalities among all faiths. He advocates equal rights for women, and argues against laws that in any way punish non-Muslims. His last book, What’s Right With Islam Is What’s Right With America, argues that the United States is actually the ideal Islamic society because it encourages diversity and promotes freedom for individuals and for all religions. His vision of Islam is bin Laden’s nightmare.
Rauf often makes his arguments using interpretations of the Quran and other texts. Now, I am not a religious person, and this method strikes me as convoluted and Jesuitical. But for the vast majority of believing Muslims, only an argument that is compatible with their faith is going to sway them. The Somali-born “ex-Muslim” writer Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s advice to Muslims is to convert to Christianity. That may create buzz, but it is unlikely to have any effect on the 1.2 billion devout Muslims in the world.
The much larger issue that this center raises is, of course, of freedom of religion in America. Much has been written about this, and I would only urge people to read Michael Bloomberg’s speech on the subject last week. Bloomberg’s eloquent, brave, and carefully reasoned address should become required reading in every civics classroom in America. It probably will.
Bloomberg’s speech stands in stark contrast to the bizarre decision of the Anti-Defamation League to publicly side with those urging that the center be moved. The ADL’s mission statement says it seeks “to put an end forever to unjust and unfair discrimination against and ridicule of any sect or body of citizens.” But Abraham Foxman, the head of the ADL, explained that we must all respect the feelings of the 9/11 families, even if they are prejudiced feelings. “Their anguish entitles them to positions that others would categorize as irrational or bigoted,” he said. First, the 9/11 families have mixed views on this mosque. There were, after all, dozens of Muslims killed at the World Trade Center. Do their feelings count? But more important, does Foxman believe that bigotry is OK if people think they’re victims? Does the anguish of Palestinians, then, entitle them to be anti-Semitic?
Five years ago, the ADL honored me with its Hubert H. Humphrey First Amendment Freedoms Prize. I was thrilled to get the award from an organization that I had long admired. But I cannot in good conscience keep it anymore. I have returned both the handsome plaque and the $10,000 honorarium that came with it. I urge the ADL to reverse its decision. Admitting an error is a small price to pay to regain a reputation.
1. Write your journals.
2. For the following two articles, you need to 1. Read them. 2. Write a half page summary 3. Write 2 weaknesses and 2 strenghtes of the articles.
Article 1:
Bloomberg on Mosque Vote\
Here is the full text of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's speech following a vote that clears most major hurdles for the construction of a planned mosque and Islamic center near Ground Zero:
"We have come here to Governors Island to stand where the earliest settlers first set foot in New Amsterdam, and where the seeds of religious tolerance were first planted. We've come here to see the inspiring symbol of liberty that, more than 250 years later, would greet millions of immigrants in the harbor, and we come here to state as strongly as ever – this is the freest City in the world. That's what makes New York special and different and strong.
"Our doors are open to everyone – everyone with a dream and a willingness to work hard and play by the rules. New York City was built by immigrants, and it is sustained by immigrants – by people from more than a hundred different countries speaking more than two hundred different languages and professing every faith. And whether your parents were born here, or you came yesterday, you are a New Yorker.
"We may not always agree with every one of our neighbors. That's life and it's part of living in such a diverse and dense city. But we also recognize that part of being a New Yorker is living with your neighbors in mutual respect and tolerance. It was exactly that spirit of openness and acceptance that was attacked on 9/11.
"On that day, 3,000 people were killed because some murderous fanatics didn't want us to enjoy the freedom to profess our own faiths, to speak our own minds, to follow our own dreams and to live our own lives.
"Of all our precious freedoms, the most important may be the freedom to worship as we wish. And it is a freedom that, even here in a City that is rooted in Dutch tolerance, was hard-won over many years. In the mid-1650s, the small Jewish community living in Lower Manhattan petitioned Dutch Governor Peter Stuyvesant for the right to build a synagogue – and they were turned down.
"In 1657, when Stuyvesant also prohibited Quakers from holding meetings, a group of non-Quakers in Queens signed the Flushing Remonstrance, a petition in defense of the right of Quakers and others to freely practice their religion. It was perhaps the first formal, political petition for religious freedom in the American colonies – and the organizer was thrown in jail and then banished from New Amsterdam.
"In the 1700s, even as religious freedom took hold in America, Catholics in New York were effectively prohibited from practicing their religion – and priests could be arrested. Largely as a result, the first Catholic parish in New York City was not established until the 1780's – St. Peter's on Barclay Street, which still stands just one block north of the World Trade Center site and one block south of the proposed mosque and community center.
"This morning, the City's Landmark Preservation Commission unanimously voted not to extend landmark status to the building on Park Place where the mosque and community center are planned. The decision was based solely on the fact that there was little architectural significance to the building. But with or without landmark designation, there is nothing in the law that would prevent the owners from opening a mosque within the existing building. The simple fact is this building is private property, and the owners have a right to use the building as a house of worship.
"The government has no right whatsoever to deny that right – and if it were tried, the courts would almost certainly strike it down as a violation of the U.S. Constitution. Whatever you may think of the proposed mosque and community center, lost in the heat of the debate has been a basic question – should government attempt to deny private citizens the right to build a house of worship on private property based on their particular religion? That may happen in other countries, but we should never allow it to happen here. This nation was founded on the principle that the government must never choose between religions, or favor one over another.
"The World Trade Center Site will forever hold a special place in our City, in our hearts. But we would be untrue to the best part of ourselves – and who we are as New Yorkers and Americans – if we said 'no' to a mosque in Lower Manhattan.
"Let us not forget that Muslims were among those murdered on 9/11 and that our Muslim neighbors grieved with us as New Yorkers and as Americans. We would betray our values – and play into our enemies' hands – if we were to treat Muslims differently than anyone else. In fact, to cave to popular sentiment would be to hand a victory to the terrorists – and we should not stand for that.
"For that reason, I believe that this is an important test of the separation of church and state as we may see in our lifetime – as important a test – and it is critically important that we get it right.
"On September 11, 2001, thousands of first responders heroically rushed to the scene and saved tens of thousands of lives. More than 400 of those first responders did not make it out alive. In rushing into those burning buildings, not one of them asked 'What God do you pray to?' 'What beliefs do you hold?'
"The attack was an act of war – and our first responders defended not only our City but also our country and our Constitution. We do not honor their lives by denying the very Constitutional rights they died protecting. We honor their lives by defending those rights – and the freedoms that the terrorists attacked.
"Of course, it is fair to ask the organizers of the mosque to show some special sensitivity to the situation – and in fact, their plan envisions reaching beyond their walls and building an interfaith community. By doing so, it is my hope that the mosque will help to bring our City even closer together and help repudiate the false and repugnant idea that the attacks of 9/11 were in any way consistent with Islam. Muslims are as much a part of our City and our country as the people of any faith and they are as welcome to worship in Lower Manhattan as any other group. In fact, they have been worshipping at the site for the better part of a year, as is their right.
"The local community board in Lower Manhattan voted overwhelming to support the proposal and if it moves forward, I expect the community center and mosque will add to the life and vitality of the neighborhood and the entire City.
"Political controversies come and go, but our values and our traditions endure – and there is no neighborhood in this City that is off limits to God's love and mercy, as the religious leaders here with us today can attest."
Article 2:
Close Search Build the Ground Zero Mosque
Ever since 9/11, liberals and conservatives have agreed that the lasting solution to the problem of Islamic terror is to prevail in the battle of ideas and to discredit radical Islam, the ideology that motivates young men to kill and be killed. Victory in the war on terror will be won when a moderate, mainstream version of Islam—one that is compatible with modernity—fully triumphs over the world view of Osama bin Laden.
As the conservative Middle Eastern expert Daniel Pipes put it, “The U.S. role [in this struggle] is less to offer its own views than to help those Muslims with compatible views, especially on such issues as relations with non-Muslims, modernization, and the rights of women and minorities.” To that end, early in its tenure the Bush administration began a serious effort to seek out and support moderate Islam. Since then, Washington has funded mosques, schools, institutes, and community centers that are trying to modernize Islam around the world. Except, apparently, in New York City.
The debate over whether an Islamic center should be built a few blocks from the World Trade Center has ignored a fundamental point. If there is going to be a reformist movement in Islam, it is going to emerge from places like the proposed institute. We should be encouraging groups like the one behind this project, not demonizing them. Were this mosque being built in a foreign city, chances are that the U.S. government would be funding it.
Mosques in America: Faith and Anger The man spearheading the center, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, is a moderate Muslim clergyman. He has said one or two things about American foreign policy that strike me as overly critical —but it’s stuff you could read on The Huffington Post any day. On Islam, his main subject, Rauf’s views are clear: he routinely denounces all terrorism—as he did again last week, publicly. He speaks of the need for Muslims to live peacefully with all other religions. He emphasizes the commonalities among all faiths. He advocates equal rights for women, and argues against laws that in any way punish non-Muslims. His last book, What’s Right With Islam Is What’s Right With America, argues that the United States is actually the ideal Islamic society because it encourages diversity and promotes freedom for individuals and for all religions. His vision of Islam is bin Laden’s nightmare.
Rauf often makes his arguments using interpretations of the Quran and other texts. Now, I am not a religious person, and this method strikes me as convoluted and Jesuitical. But for the vast majority of believing Muslims, only an argument that is compatible with their faith is going to sway them. The Somali-born “ex-Muslim” writer Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s advice to Muslims is to convert to Christianity. That may create buzz, but it is unlikely to have any effect on the 1.2 billion devout Muslims in the world.
The much larger issue that this center raises is, of course, of freedom of religion in America. Much has been written about this, and I would only urge people to read Michael Bloomberg’s speech on the subject last week. Bloomberg’s eloquent, brave, and carefully reasoned address should become required reading in every civics classroom in America. It probably will.
Bloomberg’s speech stands in stark contrast to the bizarre decision of the Anti-Defamation League to publicly side with those urging that the center be moved. The ADL’s mission statement says it seeks “to put an end forever to unjust and unfair discrimination against and ridicule of any sect or body of citizens.” But Abraham Foxman, the head of the ADL, explained that we must all respect the feelings of the 9/11 families, even if they are prejudiced feelings. “Their anguish entitles them to positions that others would categorize as irrational or bigoted,” he said. First, the 9/11 families have mixed views on this mosque. There were, after all, dozens of Muslims killed at the World Trade Center. Do their feelings count? But more important, does Foxman believe that bigotry is OK if people think they’re victims? Does the anguish of Palestinians, then, entitle them to be anti-Semitic?
Five years ago, the ADL honored me with its Hubert H. Humphrey First Amendment Freedoms Prize. I was thrilled to get the award from an organization that I had long admired. But I cannot in good conscience keep it anymore. I have returned both the handsome plaque and the $10,000 honorarium that came with it. I urge the ADL to reverse its decision. Admitting an error is a small price to pay to regain a reputation.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Tuesday October 19, 2010
1. Write your journal
2. Decide if the following people are good or bad and write your responses in a half page summary: President Obama, George W. Bush, Tiger Woods, George Lopez, Bill Clinton, and Chris Brown.
3. Write another half page on how the media has impacted you. How media can be a good thing and how how media can be a bad thing.
2. Decide if the following people are good or bad and write your responses in a half page summary: President Obama, George W. Bush, Tiger Woods, George Lopez, Bill Clinton, and Chris Brown.
3. Write another half page on how the media has impacted you. How media can be a good thing and how how media can be a bad thing.
Friday October 15, 2010
1. Write your journal
2. Create a list of 10 places you get information from. Rank that list from 1 to 10 of importance and then write half a page evaluating your list.
2. Create a list of 10 places you get information from. Rank that list from 1 to 10 of importance and then write half a page evaluating your list.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Wednesday and Thursday October 13 and 14, 2010
It was block scheduling, so if you missed one day, you missed two days worth of assignments.
1. Write your journal
2. You are going to have to make two campaign posters. One for a candidate and one for an issue. These can be fictitious or real. Each poster must have a slogan or title and a picture.
3. Make a list of 10 media sources where you (yourself) get information.
4. Make a list of 10 people or events, that you feel are portrayed negatively or inaccurately in the media.
1. Write your journal
2. You are going to have to make two campaign posters. One for a candidate and one for an issue. These can be fictitious or real. Each poster must have a slogan or title and a picture.
3. Make a list of 10 media sources where you (yourself) get information.
4. Make a list of 10 people or events, that you feel are portrayed negatively or inaccurately in the media.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Tuesday October 12, 2010
Write your journal
We finished watching Mr. Smith Goes to Washington today. Though you didn't get to see the end, in a shocker, Mr. Smith wins and Senator Paine confesses he was doing to bidding for Jim Taylor. I would like you to write a 1/2 page reaction to the movie. Here are some questions you can answer to help you write 1/2 page about it. Was this a good movie? Why or Why not? What does it have to do with government? What did you learn from the movie? Should this be required viewing for all government classes? Why or why not?
We finished watching Mr. Smith Goes to Washington today. Though you didn't get to see the end, in a shocker, Mr. Smith wins and Senator Paine confesses he was doing to bidding for Jim Taylor. I would like you to write a 1/2 page reaction to the movie. Here are some questions you can answer to help you write 1/2 page about it. Was this a good movie? Why or Why not? What does it have to do with government? What did you learn from the movie? Should this be required viewing for all government classes? Why or why not?
Monday, October 4, 2010
Wednesday and Thursday October 6 and 7, 2010
Today is block scheduling. You must write your journal, and must read Chapter 8: Mass Media and Public Opinion, pages 206-230, and complete the section assessments on pages 212, 221, 230. You have to remember, when you miss a block schedule day, you are really missing two days for this class. That is why it appears to be lots of work.
Tuesday October 5, 2010
Write your journal.
Today we made political posters. You see them all around town. They want you to vote for a candidate or for a certain issue. You need to make two posters. One is for a candidate (the candidate can be a past president, you, or a made-up candidate), and another is for an issue (gun control, abortion, gay marriage, or any other issue you can think of). Each poster can be on a regular piece of paper. The poster must be in color, and there must be a HEADING, PICTURE, and SLOGAN for each poster.
Today we made political posters. You see them all around town. They want you to vote for a candidate or for a certain issue. You need to make two posters. One is for a candidate (the candidate can be a past president, you, or a made-up candidate), and another is for an issue (gun control, abortion, gay marriage, or any other issue you can think of). Each poster can be on a regular piece of paper. The poster must be in color, and there must be a HEADING, PICTURE, and SLOGAN for each poster.
Monday October 4, 2010
Write your journal.
Complete the following vocabulary words by writing the word, copying the definition from the glossary, and making a personal association with the word: suffrage, registration, gerrymandering, closed primary, soft money, off-year election, gender gap, political socialization, open primary, party identification, nomination, general election, hard money.
You must also read 214, and 249, and answer all questions.
Complete the following vocabulary words by writing the word, copying the definition from the glossary, and making a personal association with the word: suffrage, registration, gerrymandering, closed primary, soft money, off-year election, gender gap, political socialization, open primary, party identification, nomination, general election, hard money.
You must also read 214, and 249, and answer all questions.
Friday October 1, 2010
Write your journal. We watched a documentary about the 2008 Presidential Election, so to make up for that, you must go to this site http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_2008
and write a 1 page summary of what you learned.
and write a 1 page summary of what you learned.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Wednesday and Thursday September 29 and 30, 2010
This is for block scheduling. Depends on which day you missed.
Write your journal.
Take a look at the Tuesday September 28th entry. It talks about what Republicans and Democrats believe on certain issues. You need to write what you believe about those issues.
Write your journal.
Take a look at the Tuesday September 28th entry. It talks about what Republicans and Democrats believe on certain issues. You need to write what you believe about those issues.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Tuesday September 28, 2010
Write your journal
Copy the following notes:
• Republicans are conservative
– favor traditional institutions and the status quo
– favor laissez-faire system
• define
– favor a limited role for government in society and believe that people should help themselves, not rely on the government
– favor lower taxes
– believe in the trickle-down theory
• Democrats are liberal
– favor change in society
– oppose government intervention into one’s private and social life
– support regulations on economic activity and businesses
– favor an active role for government in society
– believe that involvement – be it environmental regulations against polluting or anti-discrimination laws- can improve the quality of our lives
– willing to increase taxes to support programs
Abortion
• Democrat:
– Abortion is a woman’s right and should be legal
• Republican:
– Abortion should be illegal and restricted by government
Flag Burning
• Democrat:
– Flag burning is political speech and is protected by the Constitution
• Republican:
– Protect the flag from burning by a constitutional amendment
Gun Control
• Democrats:
– Favor/Gun control is needed
• Republicans:
– Oppose/Gun control is unconstitutional
Natural Environment
• Democrats:
– Strong regulations are needed to protect the environment
• Republicans:
– Strong environmental laws harm the economy
Race Relations
• Democrats:
– Strong anti-discrimination laws are needed
– favor affirmative action
• Republicans:
– People and businesses can be trusted not to discriminate
– Many oppose affirmative action
Minimum Wage
• Democrats:
– Favor/Increase the minimum wage to help workers
• Republicans:
– Oppose/Do not raise the minimum wage because it hurts businesses
Healthcare
• Democrats:
– Government should require universal access to healthcare
• Republicans:
– Private insurers are preferable to government controlled system
Taxes
• Democrats:
– Increase taxes on the wealthy to pay for public programs
• Republicans:
– Cutting taxes for everyone helps the economy
Military
• Democrats:
– Cut military spending; expand veteran’s benefits; act in concert with other nations and/or with support from NATO and the UN
• Republicans:
– Increase military spending; cut veteran’s benefits; don’t be constrained by other nations or by NATO and the UN
Death Penalty
• Democrats:
– Oppose/It is not a deterrent and innocent people are in jeopardy
• Republicans:
– Favor/The death penalty is necessary and effective
Gay Rights
• Democrats:
– Favor/Gays rights and marriage are civil rights
• Republicans:
– Oppose/Marriage is a sacred trust between a man and woman
Prayer in School
• Democrats:
– Oppose/Violation of the separation between church and state
• Republicans:
– Favor/It is a religious right and our Judeo-Christian heritage
War in Iraq
• Democrats:
– Favored at first but now criticize President Bush for messing it up
– Want to get more countries support
– Want a defined exit strategy
• Republicans:
– President Bush stated 8-21-06 that US will not leave Iraq until the job is done
– Admits to mistakes in Iraq and says it will be a tough fight
– Hope Iraq’s new gov’t and people will eventually be stable enough in several years for US withdrawal
Copy the following notes:
• Republicans are conservative
– favor traditional institutions and the status quo
– favor laissez-faire system
• define
– favor a limited role for government in society and believe that people should help themselves, not rely on the government
– favor lower taxes
– believe in the trickle-down theory
• Democrats are liberal
– favor change in society
– oppose government intervention into one’s private and social life
– support regulations on economic activity and businesses
– favor an active role for government in society
– believe that involvement – be it environmental regulations against polluting or anti-discrimination laws- can improve the quality of our lives
– willing to increase taxes to support programs
Abortion
• Democrat:
– Abortion is a woman’s right and should be legal
• Republican:
– Abortion should be illegal and restricted by government
Flag Burning
• Democrat:
– Flag burning is political speech and is protected by the Constitution
• Republican:
– Protect the flag from burning by a constitutional amendment
Gun Control
• Democrats:
– Favor/Gun control is needed
• Republicans:
– Oppose/Gun control is unconstitutional
Natural Environment
• Democrats:
– Strong regulations are needed to protect the environment
• Republicans:
– Strong environmental laws harm the economy
Race Relations
• Democrats:
– Strong anti-discrimination laws are needed
– favor affirmative action
• Republicans:
– People and businesses can be trusted not to discriminate
– Many oppose affirmative action
Minimum Wage
• Democrats:
– Favor/Increase the minimum wage to help workers
• Republicans:
– Oppose/Do not raise the minimum wage because it hurts businesses
Healthcare
• Democrats:
– Government should require universal access to healthcare
• Republicans:
– Private insurers are preferable to government controlled system
Taxes
• Democrats:
– Increase taxes on the wealthy to pay for public programs
• Republicans:
– Cutting taxes for everyone helps the economy
Military
• Democrats:
– Cut military spending; expand veteran’s benefits; act in concert with other nations and/or with support from NATO and the UN
• Republicans:
– Increase military spending; cut veteran’s benefits; don’t be constrained by other nations or by NATO and the UN
Death Penalty
• Democrats:
– Oppose/It is not a deterrent and innocent people are in jeopardy
• Republicans:
– Favor/The death penalty is necessary and effective
Gay Rights
• Democrats:
– Favor/Gays rights and marriage are civil rights
• Republicans:
– Oppose/Marriage is a sacred trust between a man and woman
Prayer in School
• Democrats:
– Oppose/Violation of the separation between church and state
• Republicans:
– Favor/It is a religious right and our Judeo-Christian heritage
War in Iraq
• Democrats:
– Favored at first but now criticize President Bush for messing it up
– Want to get more countries support
– Want a defined exit strategy
• Republicans:
– President Bush stated 8-21-06 that US will not leave Iraq until the job is done
– Admits to mistakes in Iraq and says it will be a tough fight
– Hope Iraq’s new gov’t and people will eventually be stable enough in several years for US withdrawal
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