Final Exam Review

US GOV’T FINAL

The final will be made up of 50 multiple choice questions and one 20 point essay. Pay close attention to the number of questions that will be included from each unit that we have studied.

I.  Introduction     Government                            Events leading to independence

                              Types of Government             Articles of Confederation

5 ques.                  Types of Economies                Declaration of Independence

                                        Democracy

II.  Constitution                            Preamble                           Limited Government

      and Amendments                    Articles                              Checks and Balances

                                                      Amendments                     Separation of Powers

                                                      How to add Amendments            Judicial Review

10                                                 Supremacy Clause             Federalism

                                                      Popular Sovereignty          Necessary and Proper Clause 

III.  Federalism                             Concurrent

                                                      Enumerated/Expressed

                                                      Implied

5                                                    Reserved

IV.  Legislative Branch        Facts about members of Congress

                                             Powers of Congress

                                             How a Bill becomes law

10                                                       Types of Committees

                                             Budget information

                                   

V.  Executive Branch           Facts about President and Vice President

                                             Powers of the President

                                             How the President is elected (Electoral College)

10                                         Cabinet

                                             Other offices and agencies that help the President

VI.  Judicial Branch             Facts about Federal Judges

                                             3 levels of Federal Courts

                                             Information on the US Supreme Court

5                                           Types of Jurisdiction

VII.  Political Parties

      Liberals/Moderates/Conservatives

5

Another Supreme Court case appeal denied

Police, tasers, pregnant woman, school zone....check out this link. Again don't comment on the woman's role in the case but rather why the US Supreme Court may have ruled the way they did in this case. So with the Supreme Court's decision, what happens to the woman/to the Seattle police officers???

Mr. Thompson

Olmsted Court

Ok I gave you the US Supreme Court and the State Supreme Court but a couple of you asked about so here it is...the link to the state court for Olmsted County. Go ahead a surf around and post what you find. See if you can find out when your friend court case is being heard, figure of what types of cases are heard on what days, see what the court is busy with these days.

Mr. Thompson

Obamacare

Since we have used this case as our example for several of our discussions on the US Supreme Court, I thought it only fair you get to comment on the law and subsequent SC ruling. Here is an article written from a very definite perspective. Comments are welcome.

Mr. Thompson

Supreme Court Case

Wow, so much of what we talked about in class is in this article. Feel free to comment on the process or the content of the case. There are also plenty of references to the content we studied during the amendments to the Constitution.

Mr. Thompson

Minnesota Supreme Court

As you become more of an expert on our US Supreme Court, here is a link to our State Supreme Court. You may respond with content or comparison.

Enjoy,
Mr. Thompson

Read this music lovers!

Check out this article. I don't really care if you think downloading music should be illegal or not...I am more curious of the role of the federal courts in the decision. Feel free to post comments or in this case maybe questions that you hope to have answered by someone.

Mr. Thompson

Welcome to the US Supreme Court

This is the home of the US Supreme Court. Feel free to surf the site for something you think is of interest and post your comments. Remember to write it well and respond to the following: what did you learn and why did you find that significant.

Mr. Thompson

Executive Test review

US GOVT REVIEW       EXECUTIVE BRANCH 

Ch. 8 The Presidency

1.      Know your chart on president + vice pres. eg. terms, limits, qualifications etc.

2.      You ned to understand how the Electoral College works.

3.      Be familiar with the president’s and vice pres. powers.

4.      Be familiar with the major duties and responsibilities of the pres.

a.       Commander in chief         e. Head of state

b.      Chief Diplomat                 f. Chief executive

c.       Legislative leader              g. Economic planner

d.      Party leader                       h. Judicial leader

Ch. 9 Presidential Leadership (Cabinet and Executive Office)

1.      Know what the Cabinet is. How long it has been around. How is a Secretary chosen. What is the role of the Cabinet.

2.      Know the 15 Depts. what each does.

3.      The Executive Office-What is it? Who created it and why?

A.    White House Office

i.                    Press Secretary

ii.                  Chief of Staff

iii.                White House Counsel

B.     National Security Council

i.                    National Security Advisor

ii.                  CIA

C.     Office of Management and Budget

i.                    Budget Director

D.    National Economic Council

Ch. 10 The Federal Bureaucracy

1. Know the difference between a Regulatory Agency, an Independent Agency and a Gov’t Corporation.
2. The Civil Service
3. Iron Triangle
4. Why has our federal bureaucracy grown so much over the years?
5. Know some of the major influences on our govt’s. policy-making.

A. Congress - legislation

                                               Budget

                        B. Courts

                        C. Other groups eg. gov’t agencies, interest groups

      There are a lot of other terms that we have studied that are in your notes. Be sure to review your notes to refresh on some of these important terms.

Be prepped and ready for Thursday,
Mr. Thompson

President Obama/Gay Marriage

After one of our classmates reported the NC amendment defining marriage, I saw this article about the President and his views on marriage. I don't want your views on the topic as that can be a very sensitive issue but feel free to comment on the President stating this publicly as the campaign season starts to heat up.

Mr. Thompson

Want to be President?

Whoever gets sworn in as US president in January 2013 will get to deal with Iran. Now that you know what you do as President and some of the powers you have at your disposal as president, imagine you take the Oval Office in January and get to deal with Iran and President Ahmedinejad. The following article gives you some info on the situation that exists in Iran according to some nations. Deal with Iran and run the risk of driving up oil prices at home. Don't deal with them and run the risk of an international crisis should Israel act. Anyone want to be president of the US?

Mr. Thompson

President Obama Pardons

After our quiz the other day some of you asked about who President Obama has pardoned. The following link gives you that info and also has an internal link to compare our 44th president with our other 43 presidents.

Enjoy, Mr. Thompson

Reporter's story of amazing visit to Afghanistan

Imagine the story you could tell if you were invited to fly to Afghanistan onboard Air Force One with the President. Check out this reporter's story.

Comments are welcome,
Mr. Thompson

The White House

Check out the website of the Executive Branch. You can click the link on the president's schedule and find out what a typical day in the life of President Obama looks like. There are a ton of links...feel free to open one read something and comment about its significants or what you learned. You can even contact the White House should you feel inclined.

Have fun surfing the homepage of our beloved White House,
Mr. Thompson

The Plum Book

When you are elected president of the United States, you receive the Plum Book which lists about 9000 jobs that you as president may have to appoint someone to. Do you know 9000 good people that you would be willing to entrust some part of the bureaucracy and your good name (remember you appointed them to the position). Check out the Plum Book for a possible career opportunity...great pay, all federal holidays off. Feel free to comment  by the time we test on the Executive Branch.

Mr. Thompson

Taxes-Income, Sales and Excise

Here is a great link to the 50 states and the taxes they collect on your income, the goods you buy, and excise taxes on items like gas, cigarettes, alcohol etc. You can do some comparison shopping for the state you might want to live in our visit to get the best deal on a variety of taxes. Feel free to comment on what you learned about how our 50 states differ on the taxes they collect from their citizens.

Mr. Thompson

OMB

Here is the link to the Office of Management and Budget website. Feel free to search around. You can access some history of our debt and deficits, you can access the budget for this year, you can access a lot of interesting info about our government's spending of your taxes and how much the government collects in taxes from you. Feel free to post some comments about waht you found and what you learned.

Mr. Thompson

Vikings Stadium?

It isn't Congress but the Minnesota Legislature is an awful lot like Congress in terms of how it is organized, the law-making process, and the budget process (taxing and spending). Here is an article about the state trying to help get a Viking's stadium built.

Mr. Thompson

What? There is a limit to how much the US can be in debt?

We have a debt ceiling in the US. The gov't cannot go in debt more than that amount. Click the link to read the article about this "ceiling" or limit.

CEILING

Mr. Thompson

Secret Service

I know this story has nothing to do with the Legislative Branch but it is current and as described is "probably the greatest scandal to hit the Secret Service". Feel free to read and comment. Besides there is a US Constitution quiz attached to this site that is interesting to take since you are all Constitution experts now. For the record, I got 13 of 15 correct.

Mr. Thompson

The Buffett Rule

President Obama's weekly radio address from Sunday April 15th is attached in which he again explains his support for the Buffett Rule which could be up for a vote as early as next week. Yes I know the president is in Colombia but he still must do his job. Feel free to read his comments and respond with your own thoughts.

Mr. Thompson

Tax Day

Tax Day this year is April 17th. The following link is an article that you can respond to if you wish. There is plenty in this article to whet your appetite on taxes since I know you all love this topic. Your entry should be a brief comment about something you learned and why you thought it significant. Don't summarize the article and don't tell me whether you liked the article or not! Also, please read other posts so you don't re-state something someone else has already commented on. However you can piggyback on previous comments.

Tax Day

Mr. Thompson

Welcome Gov't Students

Here is your task should you chose to accept it.

The Congressional Pig Book is CAGW's annual compilation of the pork-barrel projects in the federal budget.  The 2010 Pig Book identified 9,129 projects at a cost of $16.5 billion in the 12 Appropriations Acts for fiscal 2010.  A "pork" project is a line-item in an appropriations bill that designates tax dollars for a specific purpose in circumvention of established budgetary procedures. 

Using the following link find an example of "pork barrel spending" by our Congress. You must include in your entry:
        A. The name of the Representative or Senator and the state he/she is from
        B. The amount of money the project
        C. An amusing description of what the money is to be spent on.
        D. You need to find an example that is recent though and not something from the 1960's.

http://www.cagw.org/

ALL ENTRIES MUST BE UNIQUE!  DON'T WAIT TO BE THE 63RD STUDENT TO POST TO THE BLOG AS YOU WILL NEED TO READ ALL COMMENTS TO INSURE YOURS HASN'T BEEN USED ALREADY!

Here is an example:
      In 2010, Senator Thad Cochran (Mississppi) managed to get $500,000 for the University of Southern Mississppi for "cannibus eradication". What a dope project! Maybe drug sniffing dogs should be taken down to our Southern states where the grass apparently is greener.

Assignment is worth 10 points and is due by the date we take our test on Congress.
Mr. Thompson

Intro Congress Assignment

            Organize a T -Chart that addresses the following facts about the 2 houses of Congress.

(Completed for ­­­­­­ Thursday)

a.    Number of members in each house                      

b.   Number of members from each state           

c.    Qualifications to be a member (There are 3)

d.   Length of term and term limits (# of terms allowed to serve)

e.    How are members chosen for each house (elected, appointed, by whom?)

f.     Area that each member represents

        House                      /                       Senate

A.                                A.

B.                                B.

C.                                C.

D.                                D.

E.                                 E.

F.                                  F.

Review for Constitution Test WEDNESDAY

Constitution Review

US Govt.   45 points     40 multiple Choice and one 5 pt  writing task

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.

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

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 are moving out of your parent’s/guardians house and going out on your own. 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. You must convince the world you should be able to move out. 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)

Final copy emailed to me by Midnight Sunday March, 11th

The final hard copy will be handed in Monday March12th (in class)

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 independence.

B. Reason 2

a.    Support

C. Reason 3

a.    Support

III.         Conclusion (1 paragraph)

A. “declaration of intent”

Have fun and be creative,

Mr. Thompson

US Government Quiz

Friday Feb 10th, first chance to shine on a quiz. Below find your review.

20 point quiz - 15 multiple choice and 1 short writing prompt (paragraph)

Gov’t

State

·       4 characteristics of all states

How did gov’t develop?

·       4 theories

Why do we have government?  What does gov’t provide?

·       4 purposes

Types of Gov’t

·       4 types

·       Synonyms-autocracy, totalitarian, oligarchy, republic

Characteristics of democracy (Reading from Text)

Economic types or systems (3)

Mr. Thompson

Review for Gov't Final Exam

US GOV’T FINAL

The final will be made up of 50 multiple choice questions and one 20 point essay. Pay close attention to the number of questions that will be included from each unit that we have studied.

I.  Introduction     Government                     Events leading to independence

                              Types of Government     Articles of Confederation

5 ques.                  Types of Economies        Declaration of Independence

                                      Democracy

II.  Constitution                 Preamble               Limited Government

      and Amendments       Articles                     Checks and Balances

                                          Amendments           Separation of Powers

                                       Adding Amendments    Judicial Review

10                                   Supremacy Clause        Federalism

                                       Popular Sovereignty     Necessary and Proper Clause 

III.  Federalism                   Concurrent

                                          Enumerated/Expressed

                                          Implied

5                                        Reserved

IV.  Legislative Branch        Facts about members of Congress

                                             Powers of Congress

                                             How a Bill becomes law

10                                                       Types of Committees

                                             Budget information

                                   

V.  Executive Branch           Facts about President and Vice President

                                    Powers of the President

                                    How the President is elected
10                                Cabinet

                                   Other offices and agencies that help the President

VI.  Judicial Branch       Facts about Federal Judges

                                        3 levels of Federal Courts

                                        Information on the US Supreme Court

5                                     Types of Jurisdiction

VII.  Political Parties

      Liberals/Moderates/Conservatives

5

Work hard to be prepared,

Mr. Thompson

Executive Test review

50 points  (Multiple Choice and/or essay)

Ch. 8 The Presidency

1.      Know your chart on president + vice pres. eg. terms, limits, qualifications etc.

2.      You will need to be able to explain the Electoral College

3.      Be familiar with the president’s and vice pres. powers.

4.      Be familiar with the major duties and responsibilities of the pres.

a.       Commander in chief         e. Head of state

b.      Chief Diplomat                 f. Chief executive

c.       Legislative leader              g. Economic planner

d.      Party leader                       h. Judicial leader

Ch. 9 Presidential Leadership (Cabinet and Executive Office)

1.      Know what the Cabinet is. How long it has been around. How is a Secretary chosen. What is the role of the Cabinet.

2.      Know the 15 Depts. what each does.

3.      The Executive Office-What is it? Who created it and why?

A.    White House Office

i.                    Press Secretary

ii.                  Chief of Staff

iii.                White House Counsel

B.     National Security Council

i.                    National Security Advisor

ii.                  CIA

C.     Office of Management and Budget

i.                    Budget Director

D.    National Economic Council

Ch. 10 The Federal Bureaucracy

1. Know the difference between a Regulatory Agency, an Independent Agency and a Gov’t Corporation.
2. The Civil Service
3. Iron Triangle
4. Why has our federal bureaucracy grown so much over the years?
5. Know some of the major influences on our govt’s. policy-making.

                        A. Congress - legislation

                                               Budget

                        B. Courts

                        C. Other groups eg. gov’t agencies, interest groups

      There are a lot of other terms that we have studied that are in your notes. Be sure to review your notes to refresh on some of these important terms.

Mr. Thompson

Voter turnout

Since we are getting closer and closer to election day, here is a link to some voting data from the 2008 Presidential General Election state by state. Check out Minnesota....something I am sure you are all very proud of. Comments are welcome. Remember to post what you found out and then to comment on why that is significant or in this case your theory on what might cause the data to look the way it does.

Mr. Thompson

Voter requirements

Check this site out. Read about the requirement needed to be able to vote in any of our states. Compare Minnesota's requirements versus any other state. Does Minnesota make it easier to vote or more difficult than most states. Thinking of moving? Find out what is required of a voter to be able to participate in this great civic action wherever you may be headed or thinking of going.

Mr. Thompson

Our Courts in Minnesota

This link provides you access to a ton of information on our state courts. You can go to the website of our very own court in downtown Rochester. You can find out how to file suit against that neighbor who's dog won't stop barking at 1 AM and interupting you from your government studying. You can find out how to appeal that traffic citation. Have some fun learning about stuff you hopefully will never have to put to practical use.

Mr. Thompson

Minnesota Supreme Court

Each state has their own Supreme Court. This link allows you to access the homepage of the Minnesota Supreme Court. Look around the site and then post something you found that you thing your classmates might be interested in. You can meet the 7 justices, find out what cases they are hearing in the near future, learn about some of the people who work within the court system, and a plethora of other good tidbits.

Mr. Thompson

The US Supreme Court

The US Supreme Court is the highest court in the land. This is the website of the court. You can access the cases they are currently hearing, meet the justices who are currently on the court, read about the rules of the court should you want to visit the court etc. There is a lot of info on this site. Feel free to do a little exploring and post something interesting you found and explain a bit about it.

Mr. Thompson

Are you ready to caucus Minnesota?

For those of you wanting to caucus in Minnesota, or just wondering what caucusing is all about, here is a 5 minute video explaining the caucus process. I am also including the primary and caucus schedule for the various states for 2012. You can see when Minnesot'a caucus' are compared to other states. Feel free to comment the content from either of the 2 links.

Mr. Thompson