National security responsibilities fall across many entities in the federal government. The federal courts are often consulted to evaluate how far the federal government can go to keep Americans safe. Find a news article from the last eight weeks that demonstrates judicial power over the actions of the federal bureaucracy (FBI, NSA, CIA, ICE, or other agencies or bureaus).

In Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation in public schools violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because “separate is inherently unequal.” Does this mean that schools should be legally required to have racially balanced student populations? In other words, should the racial composition of the school be required to match the racial composition of the surrounding area’s population (i.e., if the county is 60% white, 30% Hispanic, and 10% black, should each school in […]

“By removing the organization of economic activity from the control of political authority, the market eliminates this source of coercive power.  It enables economic strength to be a check to political power” (Milton Friedman, Capitalism and Freedom, p. 15).  Critically assess the foundation for Friedman’s claim here taking into account how Friedrich von Hayek and Charles Lindblom might react to it.  If democracy means equality […]

We aren’t all alike in appearances, thoughts, backgrounds, ages, beliefs, etc. That is not to say we can not try to understand each other and realize that our United States of America, in the perfect ideals of the Founding Fathers, was established as a place of freedom for all as Americans. Interestingly enough, the statistics say that more immigrants have come to America than all […]

For the first short assignment you read a positive depiction of Houston’s diversity. Less positive is the city’s traffic problem. We have all had the experience of being stuck on one of Houston’s congested roadways and find ourselves late to class or work. As the city continues to grow, an effective mobility regime will take on added urgency, but what is the solution. Please read […]

The readings from this lesson focuses on methods used to assess the desired end state and successful accomplishment of a given task as well as the steps or activities of the task to determine if they are fulfilling the intent or larger purpose of the task.  The key concepts examined in this lesson are Measures of Effectiveness, Measures of Performance, and Indicators.

Harris County Commissioners Court meets every other Tuesday. Remember from your reading how counties are “general law” forms of government? They have much less rulemaking power than cities, and much less authority to spend money without specific approval from the governing body. When you look at a Commissioners Court agenda, it’s always surprising – at least to me – to see what is essentially the […]

Topic: Moral Criticisms of the Market Question/Prompt: This assignment requires you to read “Moral Criticisms of the Market” by Ken S. Ewert (found in the Reading & Study folder). Note that in his article, Ewert is defending the free market from “Christian Socialists.” He states their position and then gives a rebuttal. Do you agree with the critique of the market in Ewert’s article? Why or why […]

Review the OSHA Recommended Practices for Safety and Health Programs (Links to an external site.) six (6) step approach to hazard prevention and control and use your findings to analyze the case study presented below.  https://www.osha.gov/safety-management Incident Summary A brick mason was removing deteriorating mortar from bricks in a building that was being renovated. To loosen the mortar, the mason was using a hand-held grinder and vibratory […]

 The coronavirus crisis (“COVID-19” for CORONAVIRUS DISEASE discovered in 2019) has changed the face of our nation and of much of the world. When you started the semester, could you have imagined that all our HCC campuses would be closed, all our classes converted to online…the same for HISD, the University of Houston, and colleges, universities, public and private schools across the state and nation. […]