How much money do I need to run for office?

This site has a plethora of information about the amount of money candidates for President, House, Senate and others have raised and spent to run for office. See how much President Obama has raised thus far. Find out how much our Minnesota candidates for US House and US Senate have in the bank so far as they campaign for office. Spend a few minutes scouting around on this site. See if you can find out if Mr. Thompson has made any campaign contributions and to which candidates.

Extra credit for the first person who can find out how much money President Obama spent to get elected president in 2008 and post the amount.

Enjoy looking at OpenSecrets and the world of campaign finance.

Mr. Thompson

Make a 2012 prediction on next President

Electoral Vote.com is back up and running. This site takes polls that are conducted regularly and gives you a prediction of who may win the upcoming election. You can look at the presidential race although we don't know who the Republican candidate is yet. You can also look at other races. eg Senate races in the 2012 election. This site is constantly updating and will have more info as we get closer to Nov of 2012. You can put your cursor on any state and get previous election results as well. You can get a quick history of whether the state is a blue state, a red state or a battleground state. for those of you excited for the next election and your first opportunity to vote this site is kind of interesting to keep checking to see what the nation's peole are thinking through poll data. Enjoy Electoral Vote.com.

Mr. Thompson

End of US Military in Iraq

After 9+ years the US military is leaving Iraq. Feel free to comment on the article on today's announcement by Leon Panetta. Keep comments text based and don't just go on an emotional rant please.

Mr. Thompson

Dec. 15th assignment

This is Thursday's assignment. Due to be completed for Monday Dec. 19th.

Take a page of your notes and divide into 8 boxes. Label the boxes with the 8 roles below. Write a 1-2 sentence explanation of the president’s job in each of these 8 roles. Give 2 good examples of something President Obama has done or may do while fulfilling this role or “wearing this hat”.

A. Head of State               E. Party Leader

B. Chief Executive            F. Diplomatic Leader

C. Legislative Leader         G. Commander in Chief

D. Economic Leader         *H. Judicial Leader

*not in text but you’ll figure it out because you are smart.

A. Define the term,

B. note if it is a power expressed in the

     Constitution or if implied,

C. match with the role the president would be

     fulfilling that we discussed earlier.

       Executive Order              Pardon         Ambassador

       Executive Agreement       Amnesty       Embassy

       Impoundment                 Treaty           Reprieve

       Veto                          

You need to be familiar with the War Powers Act,

       A. What is it the War Powers Act

       B. When it was passed and

       C. What were the circumstances which led to its passage.

What does it means when a president states he has “executive privilege”?

Mr. Thompson

      

Payroll Tax Cuts

Referenced this topic in class the other day while looking at the White House website. Check this article out. President Obama wants the tax cuts extended and yet he is threatening a veto of the bill passed by the US House depending on what the Senate does with the bill. Lots to think about in this article. Notice how our Rep. Tim Walz voted compared to most Democrats.

Mr. Thompson

Thursday's assignment

1.  Executive Branch- Identify the 4 components of the Executive Branch.

  Eg. Legislative = Congress = House and Senate

2.  Make a chart and answer the following for both.

President   /     Vice President

A. Formal Qualifications (3)

B. Length of term

C. Term limits

D. Succession (who takes over if they leave office

      before end of term)

E. How are they chosen?

3.   Bonus…next presidential election (month,date,year)

Mr. Thompson

The White House

Ever wonder what goes on at the White House. Ever consider what President Obama might be busy working on. Ever think about what a typical day looks like in President Obama's schedule. Now you can access what the nation's 44th President does to keep himself busy running the largest economy in the world. Welcome the your White House!

Mr. Thompson

Who do you think will represent the Republican Party in the 2012 Presidential Election

A recent poll conducted asked the question "Do you find (Republican candidate of choice) an acceptible candidate for President?" See what people in the US said. There were other questions asked. Feel free to peruse the poll results and comment.

Mr. Thompson

Look Minnesota made the Washington Post

Check out the following link. This is the first of several articles you can respond to in teh month of December to complete your Dec blog assignmnent. Find out what economists are projecting for our fine state's finances and what that might mean for you as a person graduating from high school and entering the next phase of your life.

Mr. Thompson

Test on Congress

Below find your review sheet for our test on Wed. Spend the time to get ready as we are getting closer than you might think to the end of the semester.

Review for Test on Legislative Branch US Government

Terms

Bicameral                                 Session                             House Leadership
Apportionment                         Gerrymandering                  House Speaker
Franking Privilege                           Packing                        Majority Leader
Immunity                                       Cracking                        Minority Leader
Exclusion                                 Censure                               Party Whips
Filibuster                                  Incumbent                       Senate Leadership
Constituents                             Quorum                               President
Cloture                                                                                 President pro tempore
                                                                                             Majority Leader     
Types of Committees                                                         Minority Leader
    Standing
    Sub
    Select
    Joint
    Conference

1. Know the various committees listed above, what each does, who serves on each type, and how Congressman are selected to serve on committees.
2. Know the facts about the 2 houses of Congress.

a.      Number of members

b.      Number from each state
c.      Qualifications
d.      Length of term and term limits
e.      How members are selected
f.       Area they represent

3. Congressional Districts

a.      How big are the districts
b.      How often the Districts change size, shape and number.

4. Budget

a.      The differences between debt, deficit, and surplus.
b.      Recent trends in spending.
c.      5 largest expenses.
d.      Mandatory vs. Discretionary spending
e.      5 largest sources of revenue

5. How a Bill becomes a Law.
6. Expressed powers vs. Implied powers.
7. Know the people that represent you in the US Congress from the state of Minnesota. Name, Party and Office eg Rep/Senator

Prep well, Mr. Thompson

Anyone want to be a Budget Hero?

Play the game found at the following link. Your job is to balance the budget and save the country from disaster. You need to become a BUDGET HERO! Once you have tried Budget Hero, you will be given your "score card" or your results of your actions. Post a comment describing some of your actions eg. what spending did you cut or what taxes did you affect, and then describe the effect these actions had on the budget.

This is a required assignment of all students in government and needs to be completed by December 9th.

Mr. Thompson

US/NATO - Pakistan Incident

This article provides conflicting stories of the recent incident involving NATO forces and Pakistani soldiers along the Afghanistan border. What do you do if you are the US government and this incident has occurred? Pakistan is a needed ally in this region as our military battles the Taliban in the mountains of Afghanistan. This one is a real headscratcher. Good luck trying to fix this situation.

Mr. Thompson

The Super Committee, Budget Cuts, and our Debt

This article appeared in a San Fransisco paper today and since we have spent the last 2 days discussing the significance of this situation I thought you may want a chance to vent. Feel free to comment on your thoughts about the committee's failure and the consequences. Make sure your comments are text based and not just an emotional rant on our current dilemma with our gov't's spending.

Mr. Thompson

Task to work on in government

Read pages 141-145 on Committees in Congress and be prepared to answer the following questions for Wednesday.

1.What is a committee?

2.What does the Constitution say about committees?

3.Where did committees come from then?

4.Why did the committee system develop?

5.What’s the difference between the various types of committees: standing, sub, select, joint, conference?

6.How are members of Congress assigned to committees?

7.How are committee chairpersons selected?

8.What party will the chairperson come from?

9.What is the chairperson’s job?

10.How many members does each party get on a committee?

 

Mr. Thompson

Election Day Nov 8th

What? There is an election tomorrw!!! All over the US people will be going to the polls tomorrow. In Minnesota, thousands will be going to vote on funding education. This article was actually on the front page of our very own Post-Bulletin. Read the article and give me your thoughts!

Mr. Thompson

Vikings Stadium

Wow!!! We just talked about this topic in class today and the results of a statewide poll were released today. 807 adults statewide were asked a series of questions about the Vikings staying or leaving Minnesota, where a possible new stadium should be located and how that stadium might be paid for. Check out the question about "public" money and how Mninnesotans feel.

In case you were wondering asking 800+ people randomly picked from across the state will give you a pretty accurate picture of how Minnesotans fell +/- about 4%. Just ask anyone who is in Statistics.

Looking forward to your comments Vikings fans.

Mr. Thompson

Joel Stein Article

I couldn't get the whole article but there is enough of the entire article for you to hopefully get Mr. Stein's message. Joel Stein writes a column for Time magazine and I happened across this most recent article and thought you would enjoy. Feel free to read and comment on Mr. Stein's point.

Mr. Thompson

What is "Occupy Wall Street"?

Here is the link to the Wiki entry for the topic that is abuzz not just in New York, or even the US but has ignited world-wide. Don't read teh entire piece (unless inspired to do so) but if you read the first 3-4 sections you will have a good idea of what this movement is about.

Mr. Thompson

Census 2010 data

Scroll down to the bottom and access several maps about the US population based on the most recent census. Spend a few minutes to review the maps and then write a response based on something you discovered. Please be sure to site the map you used as you discuss whatever it was you thought was significant

Bachmann to Protestors: Stop Blaming Free Market

Article about of very own Michelle Bachmann, Minnesota Congresswoman and presidential hopeful. Feel free to read the article and comment of what Rep. Bachmann had to say.

Mr. Thompson

Lawmakers Aim to Stop Defense Cuts if Debt Panel Fails

Article about our nation's budget and Congress' efforts to reduce our nation's deficit. Feel free to read the article and respond. Remember keep your reponses specific to the text and use the text to support your point.

Mr. Thompson

Review for Gov't Test Wednesday

Constitution Review

US Govt.   40 Multiple Choice Questions

Terms to Know

Constitution                                  6 Basic Principles                                         Implied Powers

Preamble                                               Popular Sovereignty                            Expressed Powers

        Know the 6 Goals                        Federalism                                            Elastic Clause

Articles                                                   Separation of Powers                          Necessary + Proper Clause

Amendments                                        Checks + Balances                              Full Faith + Credit Clause

Bill of Rights                                         Limited Gov’t.                                      Supremacy Clause

                                                                Judicial Review

You need to know the terms and concepts from the Amendments (you are responsible for Amendments 1-10, 13, 14, 15, 17, 19, 23, 24, 26.) Don’t memorize the Amendments by number.

Slander                                                  Libel                                                       Petition

Probable Cause                                    Reasonable Cause                              Double Jeopardy

Freedom from Self-Incrimination    Eminent Domain

Miranda Warning                                Due Process                                          Grand Jury

Trial Jury                                               Criminal                                                Civil

Bail                                                         Fine                                                        Suffrage

Capital Punishment                            Poll Tax

You need to know the content of the 7 Articles. Refer to the quiz we took in class.

Be familiar with the process to add an amendment.

Prep Well, The end of the Quarter is near,
Mr. Thompson

Review for Test on Friday

Test = 30 multiple choice + a 10 point essay. Essay you will have choices - you will pick 1.

Multiple Choice
Review your Ch 1 information (5 questions)
Liberal/Conservative  (5 questions)
Colonial History (4 questions)
Declaration of Independence (4 questions)
Articles of Confederation (5 questions)
Constitutional Convention (7 questions)

Essay choices will come from the last 4 parts listed above.

Prep well,
Mr. Thompson

Assignment "Personal Declaration"

Assignment     Personal Declaration of Independence

Each of you will write your very own Declaration of Independence to the world. Your job will be to tell the world why you should be able to graduate from John Marshall and go out on your own and be independent. Your “declaration” should include the following:

An introduction- this paragraph should follow the example that Thomas Jefferson used in his introductory paragraphs  but in your own words.

You should provide 3 good reasons why you should be given this independence (diploma). You must convince the world you should be able to graduate. So pick three compelling reasons to support your claim.

Your “declaration” should have a conclusion at the end to wrap it up.

(Much like Jefferson does with his declaration)

The assignment is worth 30 points.

The assignment will be typed and single spaced (double space between paragraphs). Be sure you save it someplace so it can be editted if needed.

The final copy will be handed in on __Friday Oct. 14th______________________

YOU MUST FOLLOW JEFFERSON’S FORMAT HOWEVER!!!!!

I.                 Introduction (1 paragraph)

A. “inalienable rights”

B. “truths”

C. “call to action”

II.             Body (3 paragraphs)

A. Reason 1 “Achievement”

a.    Support-make the connection between achievement and your graduation.

B. Reason 2

a.    Support

C. Reason 3

a.    Support

III.         Conclusion (1 paragraph)

A. “declaration of intent”

Mr. Thompson

Assignment

The Declaration of Independence
A. speaker
B. subject
c. Context
d. Date signed (month, day and year)
e. Identify 2 audiences (Who is author writing to and why do you consider that person/group an audience?)   Include specific line(s) from the text to support   your choice of audiences.f. What’s the author’s purpose? (Why put this in  
      writing)
G. Structure: Identify the 3 parts of the
    Declaration. (don’t put intro, body and conclusion!)
Bonus: Xtra Credit for next class…
  Identify “Dunlap Broadsides”

Mr. Thompson