Media...

Where do you get your news? Do you stick to one major media source, or do you hunt around for a variety of perspectives? Why do you like this/these particular media source(s)?

Quote

Natasha supplied this quote from Winston Churchill: "If by the age of 20 you're not liberal, you don't have a heart. If by the age of 40 you're not conservative, you don't have a brain." Controversial! Discuss!

Cindy Sheehan Arrested...

Protesting mom Cindy Sheehan was arrested outside of the White House today: http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/09/26/wardemonstrations.ap/index.html
What do you think? How should Sheehan be treated? Does she present a clear and present danger? If such protest effective?

Political Party - Your Choice!

Morgan has inspired me to start this post. She is frustrated with the existing major parties, so she wants to create her own. If you could create your own political party, what would it be like? What would its values be?

Ideologies Galore...

Here's the website I told you about today in class: http://www.politics1.com/parties.htm
Check it out, paying close attention to the plethora of political parties. Which ones had you heard about before? Which ones surprise you? Which ones would you like to learn more about? Do any of these ever stand a chance at having some major national influence?

Unfunded Mandate....

Suppose that hidden deep within the pork of a random bill, there was an unfunded mandate that all public school students must wear school uniforms. What would the response be from the constituents (the voters)? What would the response be from the Supreme Court? Would they exercise judicial review? On what basis?

When Scholars Rank the Presidents...

...Bush comes in at #19. This is according to today's Wall Street Journal. Here's the order, according to a survey conducted by the WSJ and James Lindgren of Northwestern Law School:
1. George Washington
2. Abraham Lincoln
3. Franklin Roosevelt
4. Thomas Jefferson
5. Theodore Roosevelt
6. Ronald Reagan
7. Harry Truman
8. Dwight Eisenhower
9. James Polk
10. Andrew Jackson
11. Woodrow Wilson
12. Grover Cleveland
13. John Adams
14. William McKinley
15. John Kennedy
16. James Monroe
17. James Madison
18. Lyndon Johnson
19. George W. Bush
20. William Taft
21. George H.W. Bush
22. Bill Clinton
23. Calvin Coolidge
24. Rutherford Hayes
25. John Quincy Adams
26. Chester Arthur
27. Martin Van Buren
28. Gerald Ford
29. Ulysses Grant
30. Benjamin Harrison
31. Herbert Hoover
32. Richard Nixon
33. Zachary Taylor
34. Jimmy Carter
35. John Tyler
36. Millard Fillmore
37. Andrew Johnson
38. Franklin Pierce
39. Warren Harding
40. James Buchanan

What do think of this? Share your thoughts!

United We Stand, or a Nation Divided?

The red and blue election night maps from the past two presidential elections indicated that we may be a nation divided. Events such as 9/11, however, were initially quite unifying. The recent events surrounding Hurricane Katrina seem to be showing both division and unity. As we get ready to discuss American political culture in class, start to think about this. What do you think? Are we a nation divided? Explain your position on this issue.

You Can't Say That!

We all loved the video in class by the same name.... but seriously.... There's been more talk recently of the government pursuing the further limitations of what can be said on televison. There is even interest in censoring what is said on satellite television. Given Kanye West's controversial comments during Friday's benefit concert on NBC, this issue is being pushed further into the spotlight. What should the government's role be in censoring our various sources of media?

Rehnquist

Chief Justice William Rehnquist, 1924-2005

A Collapse in Federalism?

Right now, the national, state, and local governments of the Gulf states are struggling to bring law and order, as well as food and shelter, to the many displaced people affected by Hurricane Katrina. Please read Paul Krugman's NY Times editorial here: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/02/opinion/02krugman.html and respond. Do you agree with his points? Disagree? How can the national, state, and local governments work together to deal with the ensuing chaos? Fully explain your position, as well as make any further comments or suggestions for how this horrible situation should be dealt with.

Cruel and Unusual?

In class today, we discussed the 1976 case Gregg v. Georgia, in which the Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty is NOT cruel and unusual punishment. Individual states, however, may decide whether or not to impose the death penalty as a punishment for their worst offenders. Illinois currently is investigating its own death penalty system, as it has imposed a moratorium on executions. What are your thoughts? Do you believe that the death penalty IS cruel and unusual? What should Illinois do to either revamp or eliminate its death penalty system?