Tuesday, September 30

Pick out one of these elections:
North Carolina- Senate
Louisiana- Senate
Iowa- Senate
Arkansas- Senate
Alaska- Senate
Kentucky- Senate
Colorado- Senate

1- Use Current Issues- Reading/Research handout to write up your research on this election.

2- Under "Critical Questions" list what seem to be the major issue of this campaign?

3- Under "Description of this topic"- describe what if there are particular groups- minorities, women, conservative Republicans, liberal Democrats who the pollsters feel will be important?

4- "Perspectives" Liberal"- which candidate fits this label- what are this candidates major selling points?
  "Conservative"- which candidate fits this label- what are this candidates major selling points?

5- Your Perspective- sorry not yours- what do polling numbers now indicate?

QOD- Emails

You are responsible to email me the QOD for the following dates-
Sept 19- Allen
Sept 22- Bledsoe
Sept 23- Campbell
Sept 24- Claeys
Sept 25- Clark
Sept 26- Cox
Sept 29- Creek
Sept 30- Ettinger
Oct 1- Goodman
Oct 2- Haneghan
Oct 3- Hatfield
Oct 6- Kidd
Oct 7- Klinck
Oct 8- Masey
Oct 9- Melvin
Oct 14- Moline
Oct 15- Mitchener
Oct 16- Montgomery
Oct 17- Nalley
Oct 20- Nelson
Oct 21- Park
Oct 22- Ricks
Oct 23- Smith
Oct 24- Southern
Oct 27- Taylor
Oct 28- VanVelsor
Oct 29- Villareal
Oct 30- Windbigler

Email a paragraph describing this topic to Massey. If your assigned date has already occurred- email the paragraph by Oct 1. On other dates- have the paragraph sent by assigned date. This will help us study for our semester exams.

Monday, September 25

Assignment-

1- House of Representatives-
A- How many members are there in the House?
B- Presently how many are Republicans?
C- Presently how many are Democrats?
D- What is the significance of getting a majority?
E- In the mid-term elections this November, how many of the Representatives are up for election?
F- What are 3-4 key races according to experts? What is your source?
G- What is the projection of what may happen in the election? What is your source?

2- U.S. Senate
A- How many members are there in the Senate?
B- Presently how many are Republicans?
C- Presently how many are Democrats?
D- What is the significance of one party getting the majority?
E- Is there a motivation for one party to get a particular number above a simple majority?
F- In the mid-term elections this November, how many of the Senate are up for election?
G- What are 7 key races in the Senate? What are your sources?
H- What is the projection of what may happen in the election? What is your source?

3- Historically, what happens in mid-term elections?

4- Govenors
A- How many Governors are Republicans?
B- How many Governors are Democrats?
C- How many are up for election?
D- What are heated races?

QOD's Week 5

Monday, September 29-  Grover Norquist

Tuesday, September 30- Chris Christie

Wednesday, October 1- Sam Brownback

Thursday, October 2- Mark Udall

Friday, October 3- Kira Kazantsev

Eric Cantor

Cantor has been a Republican from Virginia in the House of Representatives. While he has been leader of the Minority Leader of the House. In a surprise result, Cantor lost in a Republican primary to a Tea Party candidate. His loss was a surprise as some polls had showed him ahead by 30 points, and Cantor outspent his opponent by 40-1 margin. After losing the primary, Cantor shortly after resigned from the House.

James Foley

Foley is the American who was beheaded by ISIS. His execution was a filmed and sent out for the world to view. It appears the executioner was actually a British man who has joined ISIS. This beheading brings up questions about whether the US should pay ramsons to terrorists who kidnap Americans- we do not at this time. This event also helped stir American public opinion to bomb ISIS.

Joseph Woods III

Joseph Woods III was sentenced to be executed by lethal injection. The drugs did not work and his execution took over 2 hours. This appears to occur more often than one would think. It raises questions about capital punishment.

QOD's Week 4 (Sept 22)

Monday, September 22- Enrique's Journey

Tuesday, September 23- Vladimir Putnin

Wednesday, September 24- Eric Snowden

Thursday, September 25- John Walsh

Friday, September 26- Robin Williams

Articles Related to Adrian Peterson Case

From CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/16/living/spanking-cultural-roots-attitudes-parents/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

From Child Trends
http://www.childtrends.org/?indicators=attitudes-toward-spanking

Reggie Bush of Saints talks about disciplining his 1 year old
http://www.nola.com/saints/index.ssf/2014/09/reggie_bush_supports_decision.html

Wednesday, September 17

A- The research you are doing on the topic of your choice should be turned into the tub before you leave today.

B- You are going to start reading on the NFL and Adrian Peterson today. You will be addressing the following questions. You will be able to work on this today and tomorrow in class.  Here is what you need to do with the topic:

1- Who are four players who have been charged or convicted for assault charges this year in the NFL? What teams are they with and what has been their punishment by society and by the NFL?

2- Does Minnesota have any history on how they deal with players involved in crimes? Why are they probably treating Peterson differently?

3- Initially Minnesota said they would allow "due process" to take place. Explain what "due process" is? Does the NFL have anything unique in its player contracts that allow them to suspend or punish before due process?

4- Initially Minnesota activated Peterson to play. Describe 5 companies who responded to this decision and how these companies either what action they took or what action they threatened to take? Do you think this had an impact?

5- Do people feel the commission of the NFL has stepped up in the Peterson and in other cases?

6- Describe what Peterson allegedly did? Does he appear to have any history of this?

7- What appears to be Peterson's defense? What do statistics show in regards to whether an abused child is more likely to be abusive?

8- The Vikings placed him on the "Exempt" list late Tuesday or early Wednesday. What exactly does this list mean?

9- Explain ow society may have sent a message to these NFL players that they are special and above the law since they have been teenagers.

10- Find an editorial or an essay that shares your beliefs on this topic. State your beliefs in a paragraph and put the site / title of the essay you found. 

James Brady

James Brady was President Reagan's press secretary. Brady was severely injured by a shooter who was trying to kill Pres. Reagan. Brady and his family pushed thru legislation dealing with gun controls after his near death experience. This year Brady died, and his death nearly twenty five years after the shooting was determined to be as a result of the shooting.

Ed O'Bannon

Former college and pro basketball player, Ed O'Bannon, won a successful lawsuit vs. the NCAA. In part, O'Bannon, made the claim the NCAA was making money off players thru video games, jerseys, and tickets, but the players were not receiving adequate compensation. It is believed this case will open the door for athletes at NCAA schools to receive more money than just scholarships.

Koch Brothers

The Koch Industries is the second largest company in the U.S. and is also a conglomerate, whose subsidiary businesses operate in some of the world's most profitable markets. The company has spent millions of dollars lobbying the federal government this past decade from defense appropriations to financial regulatory reform. Koch's biggest industry, however, is petroleum refining, and the bulk of their lobbying is related to energy issues. The company's lobbying totals sky rocketed in the two years since Democrats swept power in 2008. The # of contributions to candidates from Koch Industries PACs is x3 the contributions from individuals. 

Flight MH17

Flight MH17 was an international passenger flight that was shot down over the Ukraine. Many believe that pro-russian separatists shot it down with weapons provided by russian forces that have been mixed within the ranks of the separatists. As of right now none of this is confirmed due to the fact that separatists have not allowed the U.N to investigate into what happened and the sources of information on the crash are not reliable enough to trust.

Maps of Conflict in Iraq & Syria

Maps from the NY Times which show the conflict with ISIS.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/06/12/world/middleeast/the-iraq-isis-conflict-in-maps-photos-and-video.html?_r=0

ISIS vs ISIL

NBC's explanation for the difference--
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/chuck-todd-knows-why-obama-prefers-isil-to-isis/

Fox's explanation for the difference--
http://nation.foxnews.com/2014/08/24/obamas-use-isil-not-isis-tells-another-story

QOD's- Week 3

Monday, September 15- James Brady

Tuesday, September 16- Joseph Wood III

Wednesday, September 17- James Foley

Thursday, September 18- Eric Cantor

Friday, September 19- Bruce Levenson

Who is Writing?

For anyone who is following the blog- our students volunteer to write the description of each event. They are trying to put a brief explanation which refer back to at a later date. Part of their final exam will be a matching test over our QOD topics.

Tim Horton

 Burger King is trying to merge with the Canadian industry, Tim Hortons. They're doing this so Burger King can avoid hefty U.S. taxes. They would still be taxed within the country, but the Burger King's that are not in the country will not be taxed.

Some people are upset and believe they should boycott the company.

Don Morgan

Don Morgan is a 44 year old man from North Carolina who just recently was arrested for trying to join ISIS terrorists in Syria. He had always dreamed of serving in the military and was in bootcamp to be in the National Guard. Morgan spent 8 months in the Middle East where he tried to sell military-grade guns and ammunition online. When he returned to the United States, he was arrested in the JFK airport.

Nathan Hochman

Nathan Hochman is the L.A. Commission President. He had purposed the idea that there should be a cash-drawing prize when residents cast their ballots. The reason for this is so people get more involved into their community.

  The issue of the matter is that by California law it is prohibited for voters to receive cash or gifts of the sort. Even though the main idea is just to bring in voters, There cannot be any type of payment for voting. 

Kevin Ward

http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/spectator-videos-may-hold-clues-for-kevin-ward-jr-s-fatal-race-car-crash/

Kevin Ward was a dirt track racer who unfortunately was hit and killed by Tony Stewart. Kevin Ward got out of his car after Tony Stewart spun him out and then soon after Kevin Ward was ran over. Tony Stewart could possibly face criminal charges and face possible legal consequences.

Voter Turnout

http://www.idea.int/vt/countryview.cfm?CountryCode=US

http://www.campusvoteproject.org/statistics

QOD's- Week 2

Mon Sept 8- Don Morgan

Tue Sept 9- Tim Hortons

Wed Sept 10- MH17

Thu Sept 11- Koch Brothers

Fri Sept 12- Ed O'Bannon

Raymond Burse

Raymond Burse is the president of Kentucky State University. Burse decided to decrease his own salary so the lowest paid workers could get a boost in their paychecks. He did it because he knows there are tough times and he wants to ensure people who work at the university that the school board and president care about them and want to do the very best for them. Raymond Burse did what he did because he could and it wasn’t to make other universities do it too. He is in the news because his generosity was very considerate to the low paid workers.

Alva Earley

A young African American teen in the 1950's who was wronged and denied his educational diploma from Galesburg High School from disobeying old segregation rules and now all these years later is finally getting his diploma!

Resources

There are many resources a person can use to read about and to better understand current issues. As you become familiar with sources, you may find some sources will tend to have a liberal or a conservative slant to their presentations. Their "slant" may show up in what articles they choose to print and what they choose not to print. But despite what some people would lead you to believe, most media saves their opinion for the editorial page.

Just because a paper prints articles we don't agree with, that does not mean they are biased. And it is important for us to read material that supports and also attacks our beliefs. The following are some national resources you might find helpful:

http://www.latimes.com/           Los Angeles Times

http://www.ajc.com/                 Atlanta Constitution

http://www.washingtonpost.com/     Washington Post

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/        Huffington Post

http://www.washtimesherald.com/      Washington Times

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/              The Telegraph (Britain)

http://www.denverpost.com/            The Denver Post

http://www.foxnews.com/                Fox News

http://www.nbcnews.com/                NBC News

http://www.msnbc.com/                   MSNBC News

http://www.cnn.com/                        CNN News