This week listen to this MPR program with Justices Sandra Day O’Connor and David Souter at the JFK Library that was broadcast on January 5, 2011 at http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2011/01/05/midday2/. Several issues are addressed by these former justices, including the importance of civic education to a democratic society, reforming state judicial elections, and their takes on some of the Supreme Court decisions since they left the court.  In this discussion, you will heat these former justices talking […]

Using the Standard Form 86 paper from the previous assignment, conduct an interview with the individual (I do not expect you to actually interview anyone, just write it out as if you were) and question them on the areas they had difficulties answering. After completing the interview, complete an adjudication of the individual explaining if you would grant the person a clearance or not.

Several decades before the writing of the Constitution, the French theorist Montesquieu proposed a separation of powers. Montesquieu argued for a strict separation of legislative, executive, and judicial power. The framers of the U.S. Constitution rejected his idea and instead divided legislative, executive, and judicial power among separate branches while also granting each branch a share of the power of the other two branches. To […]

Imagine you are the chief of staff for the chairman of the board of   supervisors responsible for the stadium district of your county. The   professional sports team who uses the stadium believes that the   20-year-old stadium is in need of upgrades to stay competitive with   other teams around the league. They are demanding that the county pays   $200 million for said upgrades or they will […]

The written assignment this week requires you to apply your critical thinking skills and evaluate the impact of federalism on selected topics. Prepare:  For this week’s assignment please review Chapters 1 through 5 in the course text and any other additional articles or videos that will help you prepare for this assignment. Conduct personal research as required to fulfill the assignment requirements. Reflect: This assignment […]

Research Paper (6 points)–Students will be asked to write a three (3) page research paper that requires at least three (3) references on one of the topics passed out on the second day of class. Students must pose an argument to answer one of the questions from class that they will answer using evidence from the references they cite in their paper. The paper needs […]

Below are the criterion that you should use for your critique: Access: * Prepared in HTML (for text, tables and frames) and GIF (graphics) formats * Parts should not take too long to load * Usually possible to reach site * URL for site remains stable; if changed, is hot-linked to new URL Design: *Use should be intuitive * Large or complex pages, typically those […]

What are the advantages and disadvantages of decentralized government? Why can a federal system of government take advantage of both centralized and decentralized collective decision making? Why are local governments likely to be limited to a greater degree than the central government in the extent to which they can engage in redistribution and stabilization programs?

Explain the differences between Liberalism and Conservatism. Does ideology really make a difference in the United States today? Support your reasoning with examples. How does this impact American culture, government and politics in your opinion? You will be expected to support your discussion with primary texts and from pre-approved secondary sources (including, but not limited to, the course text, online lectures, and a list of […]

The Framers of the Constitution, to ensure that no single person or entity had a monopoly on power, instituted a system of checks and balances. Thus, the United States has three branches of government: the executive, the legislative and the judicial. Each of these branches has a distinct and essential role in the function of the government and also exercises some control over the actions […]