YOUR CONGRESSMAN IS COMING TO YOUR SCHOOL TO TALK ABOUT THE ROLE THE US PLAYS IN FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC POLICY.
IN THE COMMENTS SECTION BELOW WRITE DOWN SOME QUESTIONS YOU'D LIKE TO ASK HIM BASED ON THE VIDEOS I HAVE PROVIDED:
PETER KING AND THE IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL
PETER KING AND THE MEXICAN DRUG CARTELS
PETER KING ON PRESIDENT TRUMP'S POLICIES TOWARD N. KOREA AND CHINA
As a graded homework assignment, I would like you to think of some questions you have based on the above videos or your own personal politics. I would like you to make every effort to address these questions to the Congressman on Monday.
1. What are the positive and negatives of calling out the "Washington Establishment" in his first speech as President?
2. The President's speech is reflected on the new edition of the White House Home page: White House Issues Page
Which portions of the speech appealed to his constituency?
Which portions of the speech do you think most appealed to independent voters?
Which portions of the speech appealed to opposition voters?
3.The below link is from a liberal website VOX, but the video itself was produced prior to the address and offers a fairly good checklist on what makes for an effective speech.
What did you learn about law making from this episode?
Both parties when they are in the majority have made motions to eliminate filibusters. Should filibusters be removed from Senate law making procedures?
Friday, December 9, 2016
FANTASY CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE
USE THE ABOVE VIDEO AS A GUIDE FOR DRAFTING YOUR FANTASY CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE
LEAVE A COMMENT IN THE BLOG RESPONDING TO THE FOLLOWING QUESTION
CHOOSE ANY COMMITTEE THAT GRABS YOUR INTEREST AND EXPLAIN HOW BEING A MEMBER OF THAT COMMITTEE EXPANDS A SENATOR'S OR CONGRESSMAN'S INFLUENCE.
Monday, October 17, 2016
NOW THAT THE DEBATES ARE OVER.
Answer the following question:
Who would you vote for? Give a positive reason why this person is good for the office NOT why the other person is bad.
Thursday, October 6, 2016
The Second Presidential Debate
DECISION 2016
Town Hall moderated by
Anderson Cooper
Watch the debate on Sunday October 9th at 9:00 - 10:30
Offer your reactions and comments on the debate as it occurs.
Remember the Rules
1. Respect each others opinion.
2. Don't take their comments at face value
3. No off topic comments
4. No inappropriate Language / or inappropriate comments.
a) Should New Hampshire always be allowed to be the first primary?
b) Is there value for the Republican candidates who came in 4th or lower in Iowa to stay in the race?
c) What does a win for Sanders mean for his chances going into South Carolina? Consider Hillary was expected to dominate Iowa and Sanders virtually tied her there. Also consider that Sanders is campaigning in his backyard as a Senator from Vermont.
d) Offer your general opinion on any candidate you may find interesting. Please remember to check back and reply to another students opinion as well.
Saturday, September 26, 2015
THE POPE AND A JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS
A) Did the Pope act as a diplomat or as a religious icon?
B) What role should religion play in US domestic policy decisions?
Remember to discuss these issues responsibly respecting each other's opinions.
Friday, December 26, 2014
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF THE PRESIDENT
Today's Date (For example: Jan. 1 2015)
Dear President __________ (Write the President's name here),
In the body of the letter, you should first briefly introduce yourself. Remember to include you name and address so that you can receive an answer to your letter.
Explain why you are writing this letter to the President. Perhaps you have a question, a suggestion, an opinion, a request, a concern, or a criticism for the President.
Look up the President's schedule ( and using critical vocabulary from the President's Packet, write well thoughtout questions, concerns or requests.) Please avoid expressing your personal politics but rather assert you concerns as a high school students starting your adult lives. The letter should focus on a day in the life of the President.
My goal here is that you
A) can use critical vocab to ask questions about the President's day and
B) express your concerns as a young citizen
Ask the President specifically for a response that you would like (for example, you might request that the President visit your city or support legislation helping students).
Remember to thank the President for reading your letter.
Thank you, (or use another closing phrase)(Sign your name here) Acopy of your letter is due to me on January 6th/7th depending on our day 1/ day 2 schedule. We will mail them together.
Thursday, December 18, 2014
Winter Break Assignment:
Watch a movie about the Presidency and blog a review of the movie citing 5 critical vocabulary terms from the packet provided to you in class.
Lobby groups and other special interests allow Americans a voice in government. What dangers are present in American democracy when that access into the government is abused?
Watch the following video and offer your opinion using at least two vocabulary words from the unit.
Thursday, November 20, 2014
EXTRA CREDIT BLOG
PLAY THE REDISTRICTING GAME.
Post your results and one vocabulary word you learned when you were playing
http://redistrictinggame.org/
Play the Basic Section of Mission 2 - You should see a section that looks like this:
Mission 2: Partisan Gerrymander Gerrymander the State of Hamilton in your party's favor. Basic - Advanced - Learn More - Quotes
Monday, October 27, 2014
THANK YOU FOR ATTENDING THE LICSS WORKSHOP ON INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM.
If you leave an e-mail address in the comments section I will happily foward my materials to you if you didn't get a handout at the conference.
Monday, October 6, 2014
FEDERALISM AND HURRICANE KATRINA
Federal, State and Local government all failed to communicate with each other in dealing with Hurrican Katrina. Hundreds lost their lives in the aftermath. Politicians spent a great deal of time blaming each other. The babies of Katrina are now attending high school. We will be talking to the kids in this video via Skype in class.
a) Please watch the above video and please offer a comment based on your reaction and your familiarity with government agancies dealing with crisis management. Was Sandy easier for New Yorkers because of the lessons earned from Katrina?
b) What should have been done that was not done, in your opinion? Please answer in the context of vocabulary from chapter 3.
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Flip Classroom # 1: Political Sociailization Phase 1 - Home study - Do you have any questions about the Google Slides presentation? Phase 2 - Contacting the NY Congressional Delegation. Why did we do this actvity in class? What was the connection to your homework? Please post a question regarding the content we've discussed over the last two days? Good Luck finishing the summer assignment.
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Checks and Balances:
The President, Congress and a Foreign Policy Crisis in the Middle East
Sep 2, 2014 9:04pm
An additional 350 U.S. troops will go to Iraq to protect U.S. personnel stationed in Baghdad, the White House announced today.
The State Dept. had requested extra military personnel for security, and after the Department of Defense reviewed that request and recommended it be granted, President Obama approved the additional forces today, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest announced in a statement to reporters.
“The additional forces will not serve a combat role,” Earnest wrote. In today’s daily press briefing, Earnest again reiterated Obama’s stance that the U.S. will not send combat troops to fight on Iraq.
A U.S. official said the 350 new troops headed to Baghdad are a mix of Marines and Army personnel already serving in the U.S. Central Command’s theater of operations, which stretches from Egypt eastward through the Middle East and Turkey, up to Kazakhstan.
This deployment will bring to 820 the total of U.S. forces responsible for augmenting diplomatic security in Iraq, Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby said in a statement to reporters, noting that a total of 405 military personnel will go to Baghdad, allowing 55 currently stationed there to leave Iraq.
While these troops will provide security, Earnest noted that the U.S. will continue helping Iraqi troops fight ISIS. U.S. bombs have continued to fall on ISIS targets in northern Iraq, in support of Kurdish forces fighting ISIS west if Erbil, since Obama authorized the airstrike campaign just over three weeks ago. Last week, the U.S. military expanded its anti-ISIS campaign southward to assist Shiite Turkmen surrounded by ISIS forces in the town of Amirli, and the Pentagon announced another airstrike there over the weekend.
On Thursday, the president will attend a NATO summit in Wales, where he will gather with U.S. allies that have expressed fears about the threat of ISIS, particularly as it has recruited large numbers of fighters from European nations.
“The president will be consulting this week with NATO allies regarding additional actions to take against ISIL and to develop a broad-based international coalition to implement a comprehensive strategy to protect our people and to support our partners in the fight against ISIL,” Earnest wrote, hinting at broader cooperating and potential action.
Obama is also sending top advisers to the region, Earnest announced: Secretary of State John Kerry, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, and top White House counter-terrorism adviser Lisa Monaco will travel separately to the Middle East “in the near term to build a stronger regional partnership,” Earnest wrote
What is your opinion? Should the US escalate military forces into Iraq and possibly Syria? Will the American people be willing to engage in a third ground war afterour conflicts against Saddam Hussein in Iraq and Al Queda in Afghanistan? Offer your opinion in this blog. Please be respectful of other people's opinion and please base your answers on Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 readings.
