Deadline for Make-up Posts

No blog post due this Saturday (5/2). Saturday is the deadline though for any make-up posts.

Extra Credit

April 27th will be extra credit night. To earn 25 points toward your final grade you must give a 5 minute presentation on one of the following readings listed below:

Militants Found Recruits Among Guantanamo's Wrongly Detained

America's Prison for Terrorists Often Held the Wrong Men

Behind TV Analysts, Pentagon's Hidden Hand

How TalkingPointsMemo Beat the Big Boys on the U.S. Attorney Story

The Climate Change Lobby Explosion

Web2.0 Debate: Keen v. Weinberger

A Hereditary Perk the Founding Fathers Failed to Anticipate

Net Neutrality's Quiet Crusader

Supreme Court Upholds Voter Identification Law in Indiana

Voter, Beware

Choose one of these readings and then tell the class about it. Be as thorough as possible and be prepared to answer questions. You may use any visual aids, handouts, etc. that you'd like. If you feel you must use a powerpoint slide show, do not include words on any of your slides. I'll discuss more details about the assignment in class next week.

These will be assigned on a first come first serve basis. Use the comments section of this post to claim one of the articles. You'll present in class in the same order. I'll add more articles if necessary.

Class Notes: Week of 4/13

Last night we briefly discussed interest groups and watched the first half of the documentary "Free Speech for Sale."

The text defines an interest group as "a private organization or voluntary association that seeks to influence public policy as a way to protect or advance some interest." In the documentary, how did the group (with the misleading name) "Farmers for Fairness" seek to influence public policy?

What are other examples of interest groups? What is a 527 group? What is issue advocacy?

Class Notes: Week of 3/30 (The Courts)

Article III of the U. S. Constitution creates the federal judicial branch.

The U. S. Supreme Court is the final arbiter of federal constitutional questions. The Court has the power to declare state and federal laws and actions null and void when they conflict with the Constitution. (See p. 425 of the text. This is known as judicial review--a power that the Court basically claimed for itself.)

There are 9 justices on the Supreme Court. Justices and federal court judges are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. They serve life terms. The number of Supreme Court justices is determined by Congress.

The laws of each state establish the state courts. State court judges are selected in a variety of ways. A majority of states (including Kentucky) choose their judges in elections. Some states use merit selection systems to appoint judges.

The judicial branch is considered the least democratic of the three branches of government. Why?