The
Academical Village All Things Political -- Dr. David Garrison
Bonus Ops for Govt
2301(all sections) These bonus opportunities are available
to all Dr. Garrison's GOVT 2301 sections. A maximum of 50
bonus opportunity points is allowed for a semester. Please choose bonus
ops throughout the semester. Please do not do all fifty points worth the last
week of class. Submit bonus ops in class or if appropriate by email.
For all bonus opportunities copy and paste the
bonus op with point value, etc. at the top of your bonus paper. Be sure to
include documentary proof such as movie ticket stub, copy of the meeting
program, meeting agenda, movie rental receipt, etc. Cite
all reference sources. Items below are not available as bonus ops if they are chosen as Task
assignments. (DL = semester deadline , last class day before final exam)
The Constitution Tree Bonus
(10 points, due by last class meeting before
final exam)
-Dallas Morning News
-- photo courtesy of Sheila Chinn, former Govt. student
The Constitution Tree Bonus Opportunity is available
throughout the semester.
You probably have to have a romantic soul to even contemplate
this opportunity.
There is a 200+ year old tree, a huge towering oak, in Plano's
Bob
Woodruff Park which I call the Constitution Tree. At the base
of the
tree is an arbor society plaque certifying that the tree was alive
and well
when the U.S. Constitution was written in 1787. Recently it has
suffered the ravages of time: Jake Batsell, "Loss
of Branch May Be a Gain," Dallas Morning News, August 1, 2006
and Thedore Kim, "Bob
Woodruff Park in Plano to host Texas Tree Climbing Championships,"
Dallas Morning News, May 20, 2010.
Find the tree. Sit under it, think about America, and
read Abraham Lincoln's
Gettysburg Address or Robert Frost's
The Black
Cottage while there. Write your thoughts and ruminations from this
experience in two pages.
Document
the tree with a photo or a rubbing of the plaque. Hint as to the tree's location: It is in a clearing where
people may
walk and sit and picnic. In other words, it is not in a
totally wooded
location. One further hint... the tree likes water, a southern
sun, and
is close to a park structure. Bob Woodruff Park is between E. Parker Road and E. Park Blvd.
bordered on the west by Shiloh Rd. and on the east by San Gabriel Blvd.
In fact the park is divided by Park Blvd. Thus part of the park lies
south of Park Blvd. See also the
Bicentennial Burr Oak Tree.
Find the tree. Sit under it, think about America, and read
one of the following: the U. S. Constitution, the
Declaration of Independence, the Gettysburg Address,
or Robert Frost's The Black Cottage while there.
Write your thoughts and ruminations from this experience.
Document the tree with a photo or a rubbing of the plaque. Hint as to the tree's location: It is in a clearing where people may
walk and sit and picnic. In other words, it is not in a
totally wooded
location. One further hint... the tree likes water, a southern
sun, and
is close to a park structure. Bob Woodruff Park is between E. Parker Road and E. Park Blvd.
bordered on the west by Shiloh Rd. and on the east by San Gabriel Blvd.
In fact the park is divided by Park Blvd. Thus part of the park lies
south of Park Blvd.
Child
Drawing of a Picture of the Government (5 points, write one page, due by Exam
1) Ask a child to draw a picture of the government. Then ask the child to
explain the drawing. Attach the drawing to your written explanation.
"The Iron Law of Oligarchy" about.
(5 points, write one page, due by the first
exam)
What is the "Iron Law"? Whose idea is it? How does it apply to American
politics?
by
Thanh Tan
A district covering Rockwall County and parts of Collin
County is up for grabs. Republican observers expect a close
race between former judge
Jim Pruitt and
Scott Turner, a professional athlete turned businessman.
Texas Presidential Electors &
"Faithless" Electors ( 10 points, due
by Exam 2) Find the names, hometowns, and
political party affiliations of the Texas presidential electors for the most
recent
presidential election. Always indicate your sources. Also, find several examples
of 'faithless' electors. List their name, how they were faithless,
and the situation or reason for being faithless.
____________________________________________________________________________
(10 points, result page, Ex2)
Are you more
news-savvy than the average American?
Test
your knowledge of the major political
parties by taking our short 13-question
quiz. Then see how you did in comparison
with 1,000 randomly sampled
adults asked the same questions in a
national survey conducted Mar. 29-Apr.
1, 2012 by the Pew Research Center.
When
you finish, you will be able to compare
your News IQ with the average American,
as well as with the scores of college
graduates and those who didn't attend
college; with men and women; and with
people your age as well as other ages.
Take the Quiz!
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
National Journal April 10, 2012 |
10:53 AM
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Television documentary: "Diary of a Political Tourist,"(15 points, due within one
week of showing)
Watch the HBO television program
"Alexandra
Pelosi's Diary of a Political Tourist,"
and write three pages. Its
first showing is Monday, October 11, 2004 from 7-8:30 p.m. on HBO
television. The documentary is a sequel to Ms. Pelosi's "Journeys With
George" and follows the Democratic presidential contenders in 2004. The DVD
is available in the LRC.
Movie:
"The
Candidate,"
(20 points, due
by Exam 2) Watch this groundbreaking
political movie from the 1970s starring Robert Redford. Write three
pages. This movie is also available on reserve in the SCC LRC and at video
stores.
What's
a Blog? (
5 points, write one page, due by the second exam)
What's a Blog? Read one of the Texas blogs listed below from the San Antonio
Express-News. Listed below are other San Antonio and Texas blogs.
MySanAntonio.com is not responsible for content on their sites, but we do
appreciate your feedback. If you'd like to suggest a blog for this list, please
let us know at news@mysanantonio.com.
The Jeffersonian
B and B
The Main Point by Michael Main
LoneStarTimes.com
Newshog
Dos Centavos
Grits for Breakfast
Off the Kuff
In the Pink Texas
Pinkdome.com
Burnt Orange Report
Rick Perry vs. the World
FrontBurner
All Things Conservative
The Agonist
RealLivePreacher.com
Rhetoric & Rhythm
The Red State
Alan Weinkrantz PR Web Log
Documentary Film:
Unprecedented:
The 2000 Presidential Election featuring Danny Glover
(10 points, write two pages, due
by last due date)
Watch the documentary film Unprecedented, write two
pages. NOT AVAILABLE AS BONUS IF CHOSEN FOR TASK 2.
Streaming VideoTelevision program: Frontline, Tuesday:
"Karl
Rove: The Architect"(10 points, write two pages, due
within one week)
FRONTLINE
http://www.pbs.org/frontline/
- This Week: "Karl Rove -- The Architect" (60 min.),
Radio:
Rush Limbaugh (5
points, due by last class before final exam)
Listen to
Rush
Limbaugh and write one page. TV:
Nightly News (5
points, due by last class before final exam)
Watch
"Nightly
News" on the NBC News and write one page. TV:
CNN's Headline News (5
points, due by last class before final exam)
Watch
CNN Headline
News and write one page. TV:
World News Tonight (5
points, due by last class before final exam)
Watch
"World
News Tonight," on the ABC News and write one page. TV:
CBS Evening News (5
points, due by last class before final exam)
Watch the
"CBS
Evening News" on the CBS News and write one page. TV:
Hannity (5
points, due by last class before final exam)
Watch
Hannity s on the Fox New Channel and write one page. TV:
The O'Reilly Factor (5
points, due by last class before final exam)
Watch
Bill O'Reilly's
"The
O'Reilly Factor" on the Fox News Channel and write one page.
Are
the Media Biased? A View from the Left (5
points, due by second exam)
Visit
Fairness &
Accuracy in Reporting and write one page.
Film:
Journeys
with George: A Home Movie (15 points, due by last due date)
Watch the DVD home movie by Alexandra Pelosi of the
Bush campaign for President in 2000 and write three pages. Write so specifically
that there is no doubt you saw the movie.
Attach video receipt. The DVD is on reserve reading for Dr.
Garrison at the SCC LRC. It may be available in local movie rental stores.
PBS News Hour (10
points, due by last regular class period)
Watch this one hour news program any evening. Write two
pages.
NPR, "All Things Considered" (10 points, good throughout
the semester)
Listen to one hour of
National Public Radio's "All Things Considered"
http://www.npr.org/programs/atc/index.html
from 4-6:30 p.m. on KERA 90.1. Write two pages.
NPR, "Morning Edition" (10
points due by Exam 2)
Listen to one hour of National
Public Radio's "Morning Edition"
http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/index.html
from 5-9a.m. on KERA 90.1. Write two pages.
Frontline
(10 points, due within one week)
Watch this PBS television program and write two pages.
http://www.pbs.org/frontline/
The Dixiecrats (10 points, due by second exam day)
Meet the
Dixiecrats
at NOW. Write two pages of comment.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
A new Hispanic broadcast TV
network is coming, plus a host
of new cable channels aimed at
Latinos.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Times editorial board member Jon Healey explains the debate
around the FCC's proposed rules.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius
Genachowski on Oct. 6 2011. Senate Republicans have challenged the FCC's
net neutrality rules. (Christopher Powers / Bloomberg)
Joshua Green on Obama's reelection strategy
With stubbornly high unemployment, slow recovery, and low job
approval numbers, Obama's chances of reelection look unlikely,
writes Joshua Green in
The Boston Globe. "But the news isn't all bad.
Obama remains personally popular -- remarkably so, given all
this lousy news. And he continues to amass a set of
accomplishments that, taken together, could supply his
reelection campaign with a compelling narrative," Green writes.
He has corrected or improved many of the problems "bequeathed
him by his predecessor, George W. Bush." He ran on an anti-Iraq
war campaign, and he has kept his promise to end it. That
"should resonate even with voters frustrated about the economy.
So should his record of dispatching terrorists and dictators."
On the trickier issue of the economy, "two successes stand
out," Green says. "First, the Troubled Asset Relief Fund - the
bailout - initiated under Bush has been almost entirely repaid
under Obama's stewardship, and money lent to Wall Street banks
has earned taxpayers a profit." Second, he has initiated banking
reforms that, though they don't go far enough for Occupy Wall
Street protesters, go much further than the repeal proposed by
Republican opponents. Whoever gets the White House in 2013 will
still have to find a way to help the economy recover, but
Obama's path, letting the Bush tax cuts expire and raising taxes
on the wealthy, is one preferred by most voters. "Despite all
this," Obama's campaign doesn't often bring up Bush. "Certainly,
pinning every misfortune on one's predecessor would wear on the
public .. As reelection strategies go, this is far from ideal.
But it may be Obama's best bet."
(5 points, write 1page, DL)
Jonathan Chait on Paul Ryan and income inequality
"Rising income inequality," writes Jonathan Chait in
New York Magazine, "is an ideologically inconvenient issue
for conservatives." Yet the fact that income inequality is
growing ever greater is "stark." Our debate, though, is between
Democrats who want "to slightly arrest the growth of inequality
by hiking taxes on the rich a few percentage points" and
Republicans, who want "to slash
taxes for the rich and programs
for the poor, thereby massively increasing inequality."
Rather than defend the position, the right denies the facts,
Chait says. Rep. Paul Ryan spoke to the Heritage Foundation, and
he gave a "portrait of a mind in the grips of an ideological
fantasy." One reason he gave for opposing tax hikes on the rich
is because it won't raise very much money. "A 100 percent tax
rate on their total annual income would only fund the government
for six months," he said. Chait counters, "Another way to put
this is that the richest 1 percent of taxpayers earn 17 percent
of the nation's income." Ryan then contrasts European
"class-bound society" with America's "economic opportunity,"
saying that in Europe, "Top-heavy welfare states have replaced
the traditional aristocracies, and masses of the long-term
unemployed are locked into the new lower class." Chait says,
"Unfortunately, Ryan's understanding of reality is a complete
inversion of actual reality" in America where rich children are
provided vastly better educations and even poor children who
overcome odds and go to college are less likely to graduate.
"Ryan's decision to cite Europe as a place where people can't
move beyond their birth station is especially unfortunate. In
fact, social
mobility in Europe is higher than in the United States,"
Ryan can be understood as someone who is "deeply influenced by
the theories of Ayn Rand," who feared redistribution of wealth,
and at a time in America's history where Russian Communism gave
legitimate real-world cause for that fear. "The world of Rand's
imagination bore a slight resemblance to the world she
inhabited," Chait writes, "but it bears no resemblance to the
contemporary United States."
(5 points, write 1page, DL)
Nicholas Kristof on 'crony capitalism' Readers
often ask Nicholas Kristof if Occupy Wall Street protesters
"really are half-naked Communists aiming to bring down the
American economic system," he writes in
The New York Times. "The answer is no," he says.
"On the contrary, [Occupy Wall Street] highlights the need to
restore basic capitalist principles like accountability," or to
save the system from "crony capitalism." Kristof says he's "as
passionate a believer in capitalism as anyone." But in recent
years, the system has allowed financiers more than a "fair
share," which, once achieved, is only natural for them to want
to keep. Furthermore, capitalism succeeds because
it provides the possibility of bankruptcy and failure. "It's the
possibility of failure that creates the opportunity for triumph.
Yet many of America's major banks are too big to fail, so they
can privatize profits while socializing risk." It isn't just the
protesters making these claims. Without structural changes to
this system, Paul Volcker noted this month, we can look forward
to "increasingly frequent, complex and dangerous financial
breakdowns." Some inequality in an economy provides incentives,
Kristof notes, but too much can be harmful. "First, the very
wealthy lobby for favors, contracts and bailouts that distort
markets; and, second, growing inequality undermines the ability
of the poorest to invest in their own education," which
generates still more inequality. That's why Kristof thinks the
crisis facing capitalism comes not from protesters but from a
banking system with no accountability.
(5 points, write
1p, EX2) Editorial: Gov. Perry and the
American way
On the 40th anniversary of John F.
Kennedy's historic visit to Ireland, Washington
journalist James R. Carroll penned a detailed account of
that trip in a delightful book,...
Thursday, May 26, 2011 The Atlantic Wire (5 pts each, 1p,
due by DL
Jimmy Carter on the Israel-Palestine Borders
In The New York Times, the former U.S. President
clarifies that Obama's statement about Israeli and
Palestinian borders reflecting 1967 lines "was not a new U.S.
policy." It was, Carter notes, a resolution made by the U.N.
Security Council in 1967 that, since then, "has been widely
acknowledged by all parties to be the basis for a peace
agreement." He points out that former Israeli and Egyptian
leaders Menachem Begin and Anwar Sedat agreed, in 1978, that
this U.N. resolution would be the "basis for a peaceful
settlement of the conflict between Israel and its neighbors" and
that "the Israeli and military government and its civilian
administration will be withdrawn [from the West Bank and Gaza]
as soon as a self-governing authority has been freely elected by
the inhabitants of those areas." Carter believes Palestine has a
good chance of successfully convincing the U.N. to recognize it
as a state, creating an urgency for Israel to "give up the
occupied land in exchange for peace."
David Ignatius on Optimism in Afghanistan
The Washington Post columnist
is optimistic about recent developments in Afghanistan. The
U.S. government, with the help of German mediators, have
recently begun talks with, possibly, the "most credible Taliban
official to surface so far in outreach efforts over the past two
years by U.S., European and regional governments." At the same
time, "India and Pakistan are speaking similar language about
their support for an Afghan-led negotiated settlement," which is
a good sign of progress as "friction between India and Pakistan
has been a major obstacle to an Afghan settlement in the past."
Finally, Ignatius notes, "the U.S.-led coalition entered this
fighting season having cleared several major Taliban strongholds
in Kandahar and Helmand provinces, providing more leverage.
There's some independent evidence that the Taliban is feeling
the pressure." Ignatius does acknowledge that "it's hard to
judge where the balance lies in this fight, but it's a grinding
war that may make both sides more ready for a diplomatic
outcome." He suggests that "the death of bin Laden created an
opening to resolve a conflict whose triggering personality is
now gone."
The Boston Globe Editors on Lance Armstrong's Fall from
Grace The Editors at the Boston Globe
think that if rumors of Lance Armstrong's supposed steroid
use are revealed to be true, "it would be tragic. Because, more
than any of the baseball players caught up in the steroid
scandal, Armstrong is a symbol of hope and perseverance in the
face of bad odds." The accusations leveled against Armstrong, by
two of his teammates, that he used and sold illegal
performance-enhancing drugs, have landed him under investigation
for "crimes including fraud, conspiracy, drug trafficking, and
money laundering." The Editors insist that, if he is found
guilty, "his overall character would be tarnished. He would
still be strong in some ways, but not where it really counts."
Armstrong's brave defeat of cancer and seven consecutive Tour de
France wins made him "larger than his sport, and [he] stood for
so much more," they argue. "A conspiracy of silence doesn't suit
a world-class hero. It doesn't even suit an ordinary bike
racer."
Rita Redberg on Medicare's Unnecessary Expenses
The cardiologist
points out in The New York Times that while the
politics and finances of Medicare have been topics of focus in
the news recently, hardly any attention has been paid to the
fact that "Medicare spends a fortune each year on procedures
that have no proven benefit and should not be covered." Examples
include colonoscopies, prostate cancer screenings and cervical
cancer screenings for patients over the age of 75, even though
the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force advises against all
three; as well as other procedures and modes of treatment that
have largely proven riskier than they are effective. "The chief
actuary for Medicare estimates that 15 percent to 30 percent of
health care expenditures are wasteful." Redberg explains that
"our medical culture is such that if the choice is between doing
a test and not doing one, it is considered better care to do the
test," making it difficult for Medicare to "deny coverage for
services for which the task force has found no benefit."
Changing this system would be easy if Medicare itself had not
become too politicized, but now, "this solution remains hidden
in plain view."
Karl Rove on Selling the GOP Budget
The Bush architect
takes to The Wall Street Journal to explain why
Democrats are foolish to think that Kathy Hochul's victory in
New York's 26th district means they will have the upper hand in
the budget debate going forward. Rove notes that the percentage
by which Hochul won was only one point "more than Barack Obama
as he was losing the district in 2008. Not exactly a compelling
performance." Rove agrees that the GOP's new Medicare
reforms--supported by Hochul's Republican opponent--did, in
fact, play a role in the election, but insists that few
independent minds were changed. Still, he argues that "next
year, Republicans must describe their medicare reforms plainly,
set the record straight vigorously when Democrats demagogue, and
go on the attack." As the 2012 election draws nearer, "there
needs to be preparation and self-education, followed by
extensive town halls, outreach meetings, visits to senior
citizen centers, and the use of every available communications
tool to get the reform message across."
Texas Political Culture as Seen by Molly Ivins (10
points,
write two pages, due the last class day before the
final)
Read Molly Ivins,
"Is
Texas America,"The
Nation, November 17, 2003
"Texas Political Culture as Seen by the Economist"(10
points,
write two pages, due the last class day before the final)
Read this view of the
Texas political culture:
"The Future is Texas,"The Economist,(economist.com), December 19, 2002
(5 points, write 1page, DL) The German Hill Country & the Civil War
In today's excerpt the concept of equality as expressed in the
Declaration of Independence had the purpose of conveying
America's right was the right to be equal with other nations.
But in the decades after independence, and culminating in
Lincoln's Gettysburg address, Americans began reading the
Declaration's ringing affirmation that "all men are created
equal" in different terms:
"What the Declaration of Independence was really intended to
declare was this plain fact: that a new people were preparing to
assume their 'separate and equal Station' among the nations of
the world, bid political adieu to their British countrymen, and
seek the political recognition to which 'the Laws of Nature and
of Nature's God entitle them.' ...
"Yet in calling this sovereign people into existence, the
authors of the Declaration and the Constitution uneasily
confronted one morally embarrassing challenge. In 1776 slavery
was legal in all the new states, but the vast majority of
African and African American slaves were concentrated in the
plantation states, from Maryland south to the frontier outpost
of Georgia. Were these hundreds of thousands of slaves who
constituted this exploited labor force capable of becoming part
of this new American people? In a fiery passage of the
Declaration, Jefferson tried to finesse this problem by blaming
the British monarchy for imposing the institution of slavery on
unwilling American colonists. Congress deleted this entire
passage, not only because many southern delegates were committed
to slavery, but also because the delegates knew that many
colonists were all too happy to draw their own prosperity from
the sweat of other brows. Eleven years later the Federal
Convention faced a similar problem. How could slaves be counted
for purposes of representation when they could never be regarded
as citizens in any conceivable sense of the term? To be a slave
was to lack all legal rights - to be neither citizen nor
subject, but simply an involuntary object of laws imposed on you
and your descendants. The framers' solution - to call slaves
'other persons' and count each of them as three-fifths of a free
person for purposes of allocating representation among the
states - was a mark of the moral embarrassment that later led
abolitionists like William Lloyd Garrison to denounce the
Constitution Of 1787 as 'a covenant with death.'
"That Constitution, in a sense, nearly died with the election of
Abraham Lincoln to the presidency in 1860 and the ensuing
secession crisis of 1861. But it was revived with the three
Reconstruction amendments that freed the slaves, affirmed a new
version of equal citizenship, and prohibited (at least in
principle) 'race, color, or previous condition of servitude'
from being used to deny the right to vote. The new
constitutional vision of the 1860s reflected principles that
many Americans had come to ascribe to the Declaration of
Independence well after its adoption. The equality
Americans claimed in 1776 was the right to become a nation like
other nations. But in the decades after independence, Americans
began reading the Declaration's ringing affirmation that 'all
men are created equal' in different terms. Now it challenged the
hierarchies of social class and legal status, race and gender
that the congressional delegates of 1776 could still take for
granted. A vision of equality among peoples was giving
way to one of equality within a people. That was how
Lincoln restated the founding proposition that 'all men are
created equal' in the Gettysburg Address of 1863 - a less formal
and official document than the texts reprinted in this volume,
but one that helped to complete the vision of peoplehood that
Jefferson had first articulated four score and seven years
earlier."
Jack N. Rakove, The Annotated U.S. Constitution and
Declaration of Independence, Belknap Harvard, Copyright 2009
by the President and Fellows of Harvard College, pp. 4-7.
Americans
are closely divided in their abortion positions, with 49% calling
themselves "pro-choice" and 45% "pro-life," similar to a year ago.
Public support for making abortion legal in either all cases or no cases
is much lower, at 27% and 22%, respectively, while 50% favor something
in between.
Pundit/Commentators:
Who & what are the
Atlantic 50?
(5 points, write one page, due by Exam 2) Media:
Politico: (5 points, write one page, due by DL) What is the new media development
called Politico?
Media: Texas Tribune: What is the Texas Tribune? (5 points, write one
page, due by DL) The
Wizard of Oz: A Populist Allegory (5 points, write one page, due by DL) Song: Dixie(5 points, write one page, due by Ex2)What are the
lyrics to the song "Dixie." What is the significance of the song for southern &
Texas politics?
Write a Letter to the
Newspaper Editor (15 points,
due by last class day before final) Write a
letter
to the editor of your local newspaper. Give your opinion on a local issue of concern to you. Submit
your letter and a copy of the published letter to document your effort.
Washington Week with Gwen Ifill and National Journal
(5 points, write one page,
due within one week of viewing)
8 - 8:30 pm EDT
"Washington Week," the longest-running news and public affairs program on public
television, has forged an editorial partnership with "National Journal," the
nonpartisan publication that for 36 years has been dedicated to providing
comprehensive coverage of the politics and policy of the federal government.
(CC, Stereo)
Television program:
Bill Moyers, Journal: $$$ in Political Campaigns(10 points, write two pages, due
by Exam 2)
Child
Political Party ID (5 points, write one page, due by Exam 2) Ask a child the
political party ID question that major public opinion polls ask of respondents.
Current
USA Political Party ID (5 points, write one
page, due by Exam 2) What is the current political party ID distribution in the
U.S.?
Current Texas Political Party ID (5 points, write one page, due by Exam
2) What is the current political party ID distribution in Texas?
Television program: Stop the Presses
(10
points, write two pages, due by Exam 2)
PBS News Hour (10
points, due by last regular class period)
Watch this one hour news program any evening. Write two
pages.
NPR, "All Things Considered" (10 points, good throughout
the semester)
Listen to one hour of
National Public Radio's "All Things Considered"
http://www.npr.org/programs/atc/index.html
from 4-6:30 p.m. on KERA 90.1. Write two pages.
NPR, "Morning Edition" (10
points due by Exam 2)
Listen to one hour of National
Public Radio's "Morning Edition"
http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/index.html
from 5-9a.m. on KERA 90.1. Write two pages.
CNN, GPS with Fareed Zakaria (10 points, 2p, DL) Watch this television program. Sundays.
Frontline
(10 points, due within one week)
Watch this PBS television program and write two pages.
http://www.pbs.org/frontline/
Film: The Robert Redford film
Lions for Lambs: (15 points, write three pages, due
by Ex2)
proceed through the voting site. Write one page about your voting experience and what you learned about
voting rights. "All
the King's Men" (15 points, due by last class day before the final)
Watch the movie "All the King's Men," Columbia Classics, 1949 based on
Robert Penn Warren's Pulitzer Prize winning novel of the same title. Write three
pages of your impressions so specifically that there is no doubt that you
watched the movie.
"All
the President's Men" (15 points, due by last class day before the final)
Watch the movie "All the President's Men," based on the nonfiction
book about the Watergate scandal. Write three
pages of your impressions so specifically that there is no doubt that you
watched the movie.
Documentary
Film: Bush's Brain (10 points, due within one week)
See the documentary film "Bush's Brain" based
on the book of the same name. Now available on DVD in the LRC. Write two pages.
TV: C-SPAN
or C-SPAN2 (10
points, due throughout the semester )
Watch one hour of C-SPAN or C-SPAN2 programming relevant to
your course. Write two pages. See
www.c-span.org for schedule.
Web: Online NewsHour: Campaign Ad Wars
(10 points, due by
second exam)
Watch, listen, and/or read
"Campaign
Ad Wars," at PBS Online Newshour and write two pages.
State Sales Taxes (5 points, due by last
regular class day)
Find a list of the states' sales taxes and note where Texas ranks.
Find
Dr. G's flags
(5
points, write one page, due before the flags come down) Surely you have noticed the nations' flags hanging in
the halls of SCC in anticipation of International Student Day
Dr. G is the sponsor of four flags of the nations. Which four? You may submit
answers by email. Hints: Two flags are from intimately related but estranged
countries. Red is the predominant color in one flag with golden -yellow stars
while red, blue, and a white sun are dominant in the other. One flag has a tree in its center. The fourth
nation, a former state of the USSR, is arid and mountainous and sits close to where Europe becomes Asia.
Red crosses on a white background are the colors in its flag. More hints may be forthcoming.
The
Texas Ten Percent Rule for College Admissions: UT & A&M (
5 points, due by the last class day before the final)
Current
Events: Texas/USA Politics in the News (
5 points, due throughout the semester)
Go to
www.quorumreport.com
and click on news clips. Pick a Texas or USA politics/government new story or
opinion column from the news clips list and go to that
newspaper
or
magazine
web site and read the news story or
opinion
column. and write two pages. Or you may go directly to the web site of the Dallas
Morning News, Ft. Worth Star Telegram, Austin American Statesman, Houston
Chronicle, San Antonio News Express, the El Paso Times, etc. for the stories
or columns. You may choose more than one article/column over time. Each counts
five points.
Meet the Press (10 points, due within one week)
Watch one program of Meet the Press
9-10 a.m. Sundays on KXAS NBC Channel 5. Write two pages.
Politopia Quiz,
Politopia, Institute for Humane
Studies, George Mason University Attach your results page. (10 points, write one
page and include result page, due by Exam 1)
Juneteenth (
5 points, 1 page, due by the first exam)
What is Juneteenth?
U.S.|
May 23, 2010
Financial Overhaul Bill Poses Big Test for Lobbyistshttp://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/23/us/politics/23lobby.html(10
pts, 2p., due Ex2)
By ERIC
LICHTBLAU and EDWARD WYATT
The House Financial
Services Committee has been a magnet for money from Wall Street, but the
sweeping new regulations approved by the Senate are trying that relationship.
New York Times
MAGAZINE|
May 23, 2010
The Teachers' Unions' Last Stand(10
pts, 2p., due Ex2)
By STEVEN
BRILL
How President Obama's
Race to the Top could revolutionize public education.
OPINION|
May 22, 2010
Op-Ed Columnist: More Than Just an Oil Spill
(5 pts, 1 page, due by Ex2)
By BOB
HERBERT
The disaster in the
Gulf of Mexico is threatening an ecosystem the same way that big corporations
like BP threaten our political system.
OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR Sandra Day O"Connor, "Take
Justice Off the Ballot,"
BOOKS|
May 23, 2010(5
pts, 1 page, due by Ex2)
Paper Chase
By LLOYD
GROVE
A former Journal
reporter's definitive, even cinematic, account of Rupert Murdoch's conquest and
occupation of the paper
.
(10
points, print result page, due by DL)
Find Dr. G's flags
(10
points, write one page, due before the flags come down) Surely you have noticed the nations' flags hanging in
the halls of SCC in anticipation of International Student Day
Dr. G is the sponsor of four flags of the nations.
1. Which four? 2. What form of government does each country have?
3. Describe the current U. S. foreign policy toward each country. You may submit
answers by email.
Hints: Two flags are from intimately related but estranged
countries. Red is the predominant color in one flag with golden -yellow stars
while red, blue, and a white sun are dominant in the other. One flag has a tree in its center. The fourth
nation, a former state of the USSR, is arid and mountainous and sits close to where Europe becomes Asia.
Red crosses on a white background are the colors in its flag. More hints may be forthcoming.
Research paper: Cell Phones & Polling (10 points, write two pages, due by
Exam 2)
Latest Findings on Cell Phones
and Polling
The Pew Research Center has been studying the challenge to survey
research posed by the growing number of wireless-only households.
Scott Keeter, Pew’s Director of Survey Research, provides a summary
of its latest findings.
Read more
Newspaper article: Texas & M. D. s (5 points, write one page, due by DL)
Ronald Reagan In His Own Words (5
points, write one page, due by last due date)
Listen to some of
Ronald
Reagan's most famous speeches from National Public Radio and write one page
about Reagan particularly as the "Great Communicator." Web
site: Feminist Politics
(5 bonus points,
write one page, due by exam 2)
Visit feminist.org.
Television
program/streaming video:BookTV.org
(10
points, write two pages, due by deadline)
Watch one hour conversation with a political book
writer.
Streaming Video Television program:
Frontline: The Last Abortion Clinic (10 bonus points, write two pages, due within one week)
http://www.pbs.org/frontline/clinic/
Television program:
The McLaughlin
Group: Any weekly show (5 bonus points, write one page, due within one week)
Television program:
Texas Monthly Talks
(5 bonus points, write one page, due within
one week)
All Texas Monthly Talks programs that are politically relevant count as Bonus
Ops.
"Governor Davis' Ghost"
(5points, due the last class day before the final)
Read and write one page:Carolyn
Barta, "Governor Edmund
Davis' Ghost Laid to Rest in Last Election," Dallas Morning News,
January 5, 2002, 5J. http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/viewpoints/stories/010503dnedibarta.34098.html
We have a passion for: Learning, Service
and Involvement, Creativity and Innovation, Academic Excellence, Dignity and
Respect, Integrity.
(5
pts., 1 p., due by DL)
Christian Science Monitor - December 2, 2012
SHOULD REPUBLICANS LOOK TO TEXAS FOR IMMIGRATION INSPIRATION?
When Texas Gov. Rick Perry made news last year for saying
that those who opposed the education of immigrant kids didn't have a heart, it
was widely seen as a gaffe that helped bring down his presidential campaign. But
three weeks after the 2012 election, the GOP-dominated House on Friday passed an
immigration bill aimed at expanding visas for college graduates focused on
science and technology – a proposal that could serve as the precursor of
comprehensive immigration reform, complete with "heart" as it echoed
appreciation of immigrant contribution. The GOP's dramatic philosophical
turnaround on immigration policy has been pilloried by critics on both the left
and right as tokenism after Hispanics soundly broke for Obama.
Ft. Worth Star Telegram - December 1, 2012
KENNEDY: TEXAS SECESSION ISN'T YESTERDAY'S NEWS WITH TEA PARTY
Three weeks into the newest Texas Revolution, it's going
nowhere. That online petition for secession lost steam after 100,000 signatures.
Even the Weatherford guy who started it calls it a fad. The state Republican
Party chairman dismissed the idea on NPR last week, saying there is "zero
chance" and he works in the "real world." Even noted Republican Chuck Norris,
who wrote in 2009 how "thousands of cell groups" would rise up in rebellion,
meekly sent an endorsement for Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott without
anti-Washington saber-rattling. Absolutely nobody takes the idea seriously.
Except the Tea Party.
(5
pts., 1 p., due by DL)
Dallas Morning News - December 2, 2012
DMN: DALLAS’ COUNCIL LINES AREN’T PERFECT BUT SHOULD STAND
Let’s stipulate that the process for redrawing Dallas’ City
Council districts teetered dangerously, especially toward the end when naked
racial and ethnic politics took over. The map adopted is far from perfect. It
disserves a Latino electorate that makes up 37 percent of Dallas’ voting-age
population, the city’s largest racial or ethnic voting bloc. It keeps northern
districts reasonably compact and within communities of interest but only
marginally improves the situation in southern Dallas.
(5
pts., 1 p., due by DL)
Christian Science Monitor - December 2, 2012
SHOULD REPUBLICANS LOOK TO TEXAS FOR IMMIGRATION INSPIRATION?
When Texas Gov. Rick Perry made news last year for saying
that those who opposed the education of immigrant kids didn't have a heart, it
was widely seen as a gaffe that helped bring down his presidential campaign. But
three weeks after the 2012 election, the GOP-dominated House on Friday passed an
immigration bill aimed at expanding visas for college graduates focused on
science and technology – a proposal that could serve as the precursor of
comprehensive immigration reform, complete with "heart" as it echoed
appreciation of immigrant contribution. The GOP's dramatic philosophical
turnaround on immigration policy has been pilloried by critics on both the left
and right as tokenism after Hispanics soundly broke for Obama.
(5
pts., 1 p., due by DL)
San Antonio Express News - December 2, 2012
PERSONAL INJURY LAWYERS ROB DEMOCRATS OF BROADER SUPPORT
Should Texas Republicans create a broader message on
immigration reform in order to more effectively engage the demographic rise of
Hispanic Texans? Certainly. But do changing demographics in Texas assure that
Democrats are on the verge of emerging from their long political exile and
electing a charismatic Hispanic to statewide office? Not a chance. At least not
until Democrats change their party's financial backers and reject the public
policies they routinely push in support of personal injury trial lawyers.
(5
pts., 1 p., due by DL)
Austin American Statesman - December 2, 2012
MACKOWIAK: TEXAS DEMOCRATS A LONG WAY FROM RELEVANCY
There are two types of politicians
in Texas: statewide elected officials and everyone else.
The reason is that being elected statewide in a state of
25 million people with 20 media markets that each have
at least one television station and daily newspaper is a
tall task. Democrats, basking in the glow of the 51.5 to
47.5 percent national election victory, including an
eight point improvement with Hispanics, now boast that
Texas (which Mitt Romney won 57-40) will be in play in
2016.
by
Morgan Smith
The latest school finance lawsuit following the state's $5.4
billion cut to public schools suggests that schools need
more competition.
Animal
Services of Local Government: Adopt a Pet (20
points, write three pages & include documentation, due DL)
Adopt a pet from a local government animal shelter -- typically a
city and/or
county
function.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Top Ten Cities & Metro Areas
(10
points, due by last due date) According to the latest Census
Bureau figures list the ten most populous U. S. cities and their populations in rank order. What form
of city government does each use? Also, list the ten most populous U. S.
metropolitan areas and their populations in rank order. Always indicate your sources.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Restaurant Scores (10
points, due the last class day before the Final Exam) List ten of your favorite restaurants
and their most recent health department scores. Write up your comments on
the scores and what the city health department does.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Ten Busiest Airports (5 points, due the last class day before the
Final Exam) According to the most recent figures,
list in rank order the ten busiest airports in the world and the ten busiest
airports in the USA. Who owns and operates DFW Airport and how does DFW
rank?
Ride DART Light Rail (5 points, due last class day before the final
exam NOT AVAILABLE IF YOU CHOOSE THE DART WEB SITE BONUS) Ride DART
Light Rail. Write one page about your experience and the future of mass
transportation in metropolitan areas. Attach the DART ticket stub to your
paper.
Web
Site: The Trinity River Corridor Project (5 points, write one page, due by deadline)
What is the
Trinity
River Corridor project of the City of Dallas?
The Calatrava bridges (5 points, write one page, due by deadline)
What are the Calatrava bridges for the city of Dallas?
Collin County & Parkland Hospital
(5 points,
due by last class day before final)
Read Ron J. Anderson,
"A
Regional Safety Net,"Dallas Morning News, July 22, 2004 and
write one page. NOT AVAIABLE AS A BONUS
OP
ISD School Board Meeting (15
points,
due the last class day before the final; 5 additional points if you have a
conversation with a board member.)
Attend you local Independent School District (ISD)
regular board meeting. Take detailed notes and attach the Official Agenda of the
meeting for credit. Have an official sign your agenda to document your
attendance. Include your conversation in your notes if you choose the extra
credit.
County Commissioners Court Meeting (15
points,
due the last class day before the final; 5 additional points if you have a
conversation with a commissioner or the county judge.)
Attend your county's commissioners court regular
meeting at the county courthouse. Take detailed notes and attach the Official
Agenda of the meeting for credit. Have a board member or the college
president sign your agenda to document your attendance. Include your
conversation in your notes if you choose the extra credit.
Teen
Court
(5 points, write one page, due by exam one)
Teens face justice in court of peers Dallas Morning News - Sunday February 5, 2006 At a Plano Teen Court trial last month, J.J. Pearce High
senior David Bashover was a defense attorney representing a teen who skipped
class to have sex in a car with her boyfriend. (read
more)
COGs (5 points,
write one page, due the last class day
final) What is
a COG and what do they do? List the COGs in Texas. Which COG do you
live in?
CCCCD Board of Trustees Meeting: (15 points,
due the last class day before the final; 5 additional points if you have a
conversation with a board member or the college president.)
Attend the CCCCD Board of Trustees regular monthly
meeting at the Collin College Higher
Education Center in McKinney. Take
detailed notes and attach the Official Agenda of the meeting for credit. Have a
board member or the college president sign your agenda to document your
attendance. Include your conversation in your notes if you choose the extra
credit.
Arts of Collin County(5 points, write one page, due by
semester deadline) Visit the DART Web Site
(5 points,
due last class day before the final exam NOT AVAILABLE IF YOU CHOOSE
THE DART LIGHT RAIL BONUS ABOVE) What is
DART? Is your city a member of DART? Does DART Light Rail serve your community?
Write one page about DART.
"The Air, the Air. The Air Is Everywhere" (5 points, due by last
class day before final)
Read Randy Lee Loftis,
"EPAWidens
North Texas Smog Net,"Dallas Morning News, April 15, 2004 and
write one page.
(5 pts, 1p, due DL) Who is the highest salary Public (Government)
CEO ( city managers, school superintendents, community college
president/chancellors, DART, DFW Airport, Parkland Hospital, etc.) in the DFW
metro area? How much pay? (5 pts, 1p, due DL) Who is the highest salary city manager in
the DFW metro area? How much pay?
Love
Field, DFW, & the Wright Amendment (
5 points, due by last class before final exam) Read Dee Kelly,
"Don't Ground Wright
Amendment,"Ft. Worth Star-Telegram (star-telegram.com), June 11,
2004 and write one page.
Television
program: Subdivided: Isolation &
Community in America airing on KERA Ch. 13
Wednesday January 3, 2007
(10 points, write two pages, due by
deadline)
The
Environment: The Ogallala Aquifer (5 points, write one page, due by the last
due date) Visit the
Ogallala Aquifer.
07:59 AM CDT on Wednesday,
April 28, 2010 By MICHAEL A. LINDENBERGER /
The Dallas Morning News mlindenberger@dallasnews.com
LRC
DVD: Life in the Balance: The Health Care Crisis in Texas (15 points, write
three pages, due within one week)
Watch the KERA13 production and
statewide
broadcast of
Life in the
Balance: The Health Care Crisis in Texas. Note the Texas local government
role in particular.
DVD copy in the SCC libra
DART Light Rail & Austin's Capital Metro (10
points,
due the last class day before the
final)
Read Ben Wear,
"Talk
Done, Dallas Walks the Rail Walk,"Austin American-Statesman (statesman.com),
July 4, 2004 and write two pages.
Love Field (5 points, due the last class day before the final)
What is Love Field? Who owns Love Field? What is the Wright
Amendment? The Shelby Amendment? Write one page. DFW Airport (5 points; due by last class before the final)
Visit
the DFW Airport web site. Write one page.
State & Local Property Taxes (5 points, due by last
regular class day)
Find a list of the state and local governments' property taxes and note where Texas ranks.
Dallas County Texas (5 points, write one page, due
deadline)
Visit the official website of Dallas County Texas. Collin County Sheriff (5 points, write one page, due
deadline)
Visit your county sheriff's department online. Your County Commissioner (5 points, write one page,
due deadline)
What county commissioner's precinct do you live in? Who is your county
commissioner? See the county online. The City of Austin, Texas (5 points, write one page,
due deadline) Visit
Austin online. What plan of municipal government and what
election system does the city use? What is its population?
The City of Dallas, Texas (5 points, write one page,
due deadline)
What plan of municipal government and what election system does the city
use? What is its population? The City of
Houston, Texas(5 points, write one
page, due deadline)
What plan of municipal government and what election system does the city
use? What is its population?
The City of
San Antonio, Texas(5 points,
write one page, due deadline)
What plan of municipal government and what election system does the city
use? What is its population? The City of
Ft. Worth, Texas(5 points, write one
page, due deadline)
What plan of municipal government and what election system does the city
use? What is its population? The City of
Los Angeles(5 points, write one page, due deadline)
What plan of municipal government and what election system does the city
use? What is its population?
New York City(5 points, write one page, due deadline)
What plan of municipal government and what election system does the city
use? What is its population?
(15 points, write 3p., within one week of event) The Face of
Homelessness:
Finding Solutions for Collin County
You are cordially invited to the third annual "The Face
of Homelessness" panel presentation.
7 - 9 p.m.
Monday
January 23, 2012
Living Legends Conference Center - Spring Creek Campus
2800 E. Spring Creek Pkwy, Plano
Presentations by city representatives, school districts, social service
agencies, and the Collin County Homeless Coalition regarding initiatives
to resolve the homeless issue in Collin County. Question and Answer
session to follow.
Event is free and open to the public.
For more information, contact the Center for Scholarly and Civic
Engagement at
csce@collin.edu or call 972.881.5927.
Financing
Texas Public Schools (5 points, due by last due date)
Read Terence Stutz,
"Report
Lays Down School Tax Options,"Dallas Morning News, March 9,
2004 and write one page.
Americans
are divided as to whether a third major party is needed in U.S. politics
today, after they gave majority support to the concept in 2011 and 2010.
At most, 4% of voters currently support a third-party candidate for
president.
by
Julián Aguilar
Attorneys for the state and the federal government will meet this
month to iron out a timeline for the state's challenge to Section 5
of the Voting Rights Act. The litigation is why the state isn't able
to immediately file an appeal to last week's voter ID decision.
Animated
Political Cartoons: Mark Fiore
(Per article, 5 points, write 1page, DL)
The
Academical Village All Things Political -- Dr. David Garrison
Michael Novak, theologian 
Jim Wallis, Sojourners 
Richard Land, Southern Baptist
Convention’s Ethics & Religious
Liberty Commission 
Andrew Kohut, Pew Research
Center 
Richard Cizik, New Evangelical
Partnership for the Common Good
Colleen Carroll Campbell,
columnist and author 
M. A. Muqtedar Khan, University
of Delaware 
Leith Anderson, National
Association of Evangelicals 
Josef Sorett, Columbia
University 
Jean Bethke Elshtain, University
of Chicago 
Adam Brown
(5 points, write one page, due by
Ex2)
Newspaper story: Bruce Nichols,
