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