While we are still celebrating...

(thanks, apgov.org)

With Town of Greece v. Galloway still to be decided by the Supremes, and while we are doing whatever we do on our "Winter Holiday," a few items to show that truth is sometimes stranger (funnier?) than fiction. Who knew (I didn't) that the headquarters for the group that got the Florida Capital "reclaimed" by a Nativity Scene only to be countered by a Festivus Pole, is one of Chicago's Very Own.



Festivus Pole in State Capitol

 

The case of Nativity scenes being "secular" and not to be off-limits to government display was established in the 1983 Establishment Clause case, Lynch v. Donnelly.

 

Lynch v. Donnelly - Oral Argument

Looking better after UPS delays?

 

 

On Dec. 1, Amazon launched (see how I did that) this video to show off a "30 minutes or less" delivery system they are working on in their next generation R&D lab. From their YouTube post, "Putting Prime Air into commercial use will take some number of years as we advance technology and wait for the necessary FAA rules and regulations."

 

An extra Popp Point available if you can name another bureaucratic agency might have a say in in Amazon's new idea and why. BTW, this was released Dec. 1 -- not April 1. No foolin.' And also, does this idea look better in light of the gifts that didn't get delivered in time for Christmas by UPS and FedEx?

 

Amazon, UPS offer refunds for Christmas delivery problems



Elections in Action: AP Government Second Semester Extra Credit

Elections in Action, part of the Mikva Challenge, is a nonpartisan organization that believes that 'Democracy is a VERB'.  Elections in Action challenges high school students around Illinois to be active participants in the political process through elections, activism, and policy-making programs. Elections in Action wants young adults to learn civics by being actively engaged in democratic activities inside and outside the classroom, and believes that schools, neighborhoods, and cities can be transformed by the insight and expertise of young civic leaders.

If you successfully complete three different, approved activities through Mikva Challenge, you will earn extra credit onto your 2^nd semester final grade.

Approved activities include:

ð       Monday, Jan. 20:  Republican debate at WTTW studios

**WVHS can only send FOUR students!  You will be asking questions to the candidates LIVE.  What an incredible opportunity.  

**Interested students must formulate questions to ask the candidates. Questions must be posted on Political Warrior in the comment mode of this post by 1/7/14.  If more than four students wish to attend, they will be selected based on the quality of their questions.

**Question Guidelines / five questions per student, one per category below:

1.      Questions for a specific candidate
2.      Questions about a youth-related issue
3.      Current events related questions
4.      Character/human interest questions
5.      MLK-related questions (since it will be MLK Day, after all)

ð       Tuesday, Feb. 25:  Student-moderated/student-audience Republican lieutenant governor debate at **Community High School, West Chicago from 7- 8pm.

ð       Saturday, March 1: Mikva Challenge Campaign Field Day in DuPage County.

**Tentatively scheduled at Waubonsie Valley High School from 10-2 pm.

ð       Tuesday, March 18: Becoming successfully trained as an election judge in DuPage County’s First Judge Program. Wolak has applications that will be available after break. [BTW, you get paid.]

ð       Ongoing: volunteering for a state or local campaign.

** You may do this more than once if your activities are on different dates

You need to do a 1-page, typed reflection for each activity OR fill out the attached “On the Campaign Trail” form that follows.  All of your reflections and forms are due before Spring Break! 

More information will be available after break. But especially for the questions and the interest in being part of the student auidence for the WTTW Channel 11 GOP Gov. Debate, you at least think, and maybe post, while on break.

Just the Facts, Man: Race, Religion, History and the Holidays

Fact Check: Santa is Real. Insert his/her race here ____________.

Vocabulary check (From Huff Post Live video)

Megyn Kelly's argument is delusional (or salty in WVHS vernacular). Zach Carter is polemic in his critique of the Fox anchor's Soap Box position.

Huffpost Live on Santa, Jesus, Race and Media

U2 Inspired by Mandela on 'Ordinary Love'

U2's Ordinary Love written for the new Nelson Mandela film (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom) could be an Oscar nominee for best song. Great to have a new track from my guys!

Mark Rubinstein ‏@mrubinsteinCT
#Mandela After 27 years in prison was asked how he could forgive & seek reconciliation. "If I didn't, I would still be in that prison."

U2 Inspired by Mandela on 'Ordinary Love'

Point, Counterpoint: Raising the Minimum Wage

The Logical Floor

Moderate minimum wages do more good than harm. They should be set by technocrats not politicians

 

(From The Economist)

 

ON BOTH sides of the Atlantic politicians are warming to the idea that the lowest-paid can be helped by mandating higher wages. Barack Obama wants to raise America’s federal minimum wage by 40% from $7.25 to $10.10 an hour, and more than three-quarters of Americans support the idea (see article). In Germany, one of the few big rich-world countries still without a national wage floor, the incoming coalition government has just agreed on an across-the-board hourly minimum of €8.50 ($11.50) from 2015. In Britain, which has had a minimum wage since 1999, the opposition Labour Party is keen to cajole firms into “voluntarily” paying higher “living wages”.

 

For free-market types, including The Economist, fiddling with wages by fiat sets off alarm bells. In a competitive market anything that artificially raises the price of labour will curb demand for it, and the first to lose their jobs will be the least skilled—the people intervention is supposed to help. That is why Milton Friedman called minimum wages a form of discrimination against the low-skilled; and it is why he saw topping up the incomes of the working poor with public subsidies as a far more sensible means of alleviating poverty. More

 

 (From NY Times, Laura D'Andrea Tyson)

Raising the Minimum Wage: Old Shibboleths, New Evidence

 

The last several decades have been especially hard on American workers in jobs that pay the minimum wage. Adjusted for inflation, the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour today is 23 percent lower than it was in 1968. If it had kept up with inflation and with the growth of average labor productivity, it would be $25 an hour.

 

Congressional Democrats have proposed legislation to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour and index it to inflation, and President Obama signaled support in a recent speech highlighting the economic and political dangers of growing income inequality. Predictably, opponents of an increase in the minimum wage are once again invoking the hackneyed warning that it will lead to higher unemployment, especially among low-skilled, low-wage workers who are the intended beneficiaries.

I heard the same refrain in 1996 when I served as chairwoman of President Bill Clinton’s National Economic Council, and he worked with congressional Democrats to raise the minimum wage to $5.15 an hour at a time when it had fallen in real terms to a 40-year low. To hear Republican opponents and lobbyists for retailers and fast-food companies, we were about to inflict a cold-hearted fate on young people and minority workers. The same chorus is voicing the same dire predictions today....

 

...

Contrary to the warnings of its opponents, a higher minimum wage would, under current economic circumstances, mean more employment, not less.

An increase in the minimum wage would also increase the effectiveness of the earned-income tax credit to reduce poverty and increase demand among low-income households with high propensities to consume. As David Neumark asserts in his recent Economix post, since the mid-1990s, when President Clinton championed a sizable increase in the earned-income tax credit, it has provided much greater income support to low-income families than the minimum wage. But as Professor Neumark acknowledges, the earned-income tax credit and the minimum wage are not substitutes for each another. They work together and can lead to better outcomes than either policy alone. Full Article

 

_____________________

 

Your Thoughts?

Religion in Public Life Part II By Youdia

I love when you Political Warriors contribute material to keep talking about in the Youdia. Here are three current events that show mixed Establishment Clause, and Free Exercise policy being played out around the country.

(From TeenTribune)

Should schools be made safe for Christmas?
Just in time for the holidays, Texas is making sure everyone remembers that wishing someone "Merry Christmas" is now protected by law in its public schools. Conservatives are hoping similar measures will gain momentum across America. Bill French, dressed as Santa, helped raise awareness for Texas' new Merry Christmas law. More

(From NY Times, forwarded by John C.)

Judge Rules Against Cross on U.S. Land

LOS ANGELES — A federal judge ruled Thursday that a cross on federal land in San Diego violated the First Amendment ban on a government endorsement of religion and ordered it removed within 90 days.

But the quarter-century fight over the 29-foot cross atop Mount Soledad may not be over. The judge said he would stay the order if there was an appeal. The case has wound through the courts since the 1980s, while the cross has become emblematic of the national debate over the place of religion in public life. More

(From Mint Press News, forwarded by Kayla A.)

Wedding Photog Asks Supremes For Cert

A New Mexico wedding photographer who was found to have violated an anti-discrimination law by refusing to photograph the “commitment ceremony” of a lesbian couple is attempting to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that the government cannot compel her to create expressive images that conflict with her religious beliefs.

 

Elaine Huguenin is appealing a New Mexico Supreme Court decision that said “a commercial photography business that offers its services to the public, thereby increasing its visibility to potential clients, is subject to the anti-discrimination provisions” of the New Mexico Human Rights Act.

The court in August rejected Huguenin’s argument that serving same-sex couples would unconstitutionally compel her “to engage in unwanted expression” because she has a deeply-held religious belief that marriage is the union of a man and a woman. The case began in September 2006 after she turned down the request of Vanessa Willock to photograph her commitment ceremony, saying she only photographed “traditional weddings.” More

Blagojevich lawyers to ask for retrial, reduced sentence

Breaking News, or Same Old Story? Another ex-Illinois governor was appealing a conviction at the Dirksen Federal Building. What constitutional arguments are Blago's attorneys going to make to try to get the three-judge panel to reverse his conviction?

Blagojevich lawyers to ask for retrial, reduced sentence: The ex-governor's attorneys will ask an appeals court to overturn Blagojevich's corruption convictions, and grant him a whole new trial.

Cheers! A toast to Popp (not soda here) Point Leaders

As a teacher of sociology, this linguistic map that popped up a couple of years ago in the NY Times, which tracked where in the country do people call their fizzy drinks, "Soda," "Pop" or "Coke," was of interest to me:
http://ideas.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/11/the-soda-vs-pop-map/

Why am I posting this now? Well, later in the second semester we will examine the difficult concept of governing in a country with over 500 languages (Nigeria), but for the here and now it gives a visual that helps me give credit to the Blogging Points leaders as we wind down the first semester.

I call these Popp Points in honor of the student that helped me create the first AP Government Blog (in 2006), WV grad Alex Popp. So here they are the extra credit Popp Point leaders for blogging this first semester (10 pts EC max., "Major Award" for total points winner):

 

Popp Point (blog posts) Leaders as of 12/12/13:

 

1. Eric O. -- 8

2. Grant P. -- 5

2. Tara P. (sociology) --5

4. Howie -- 4
4. Ashley Y. (6th hour traditional) -- 4

6. Lisa C. -- 3

6. Carly L. -- 3

6. Brendan G -- 3

9. John C. -- 2

9. Anna L. -- 2

9. Claire H. -- 2

9. Katie B. -- 2

9. Kayla A. -- 2

9. Ryan H. -- 2

9. Pei C. -- 2

 

Others receiving one point: Ester F.; Gloria G.; Bailey Y.; Aamna G.; Remi Y.; James O.; Caitlin F.; Hot Pocket; Scott C.; Brianne S.; Sami B.; Nathan W.; Mahum Z.

 

EC point opportunity runs out on 1/6/14. This year we have had more postings than last year, when for the first time nobody qualified for maximum Popp Points. So far this year nobody has shown max effort either. So this weekend, make a resolution to pop the lid on your ideas and share them here for points.

Holding Court

Call this post a full-court press on Supreme Court news and views (article on Stevens "The Dissenter," and "The Incredible Shrinking Court," need to be read by Monday):

1) From the 2005 Senate comfirmation hearings of Samuel Alito, political cartoonist Mike Lane illustrated the constitutional conundrum facing the newest justice and the term stare decisis -- lettting the precedent stand unless there are compelling reasons not to -- and a woman's right to choose an abortion.

Alito's mother said, "Of course he's against abortion,'' in a classic sound-byte before during the confirmation hearings. The question is not really what the Alito believes personally, but as NPR reported in 2005 if that Roe v. Wade was settled law.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5012335

2) U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas made news by speaking his mind, something he's not prone to do while on the job.

As the above data shows, Thomas' silence during Supreme Court oral arguments is legendary. While his colleagues pepper lawyers with questions, Thomas listens. While the other 8 justices force legal teams to perform verbal and logical gymnastics 30 minutes at a time, Thomas often leans back in his large chair and stares at the ceiling.

When he does speak during oral arguments, it's almost always in private conversation with Justice Breyer. (And from the looks at the menus that they swap, those conversations are often about what to get for lunch.)In the past, Justice Thomas has said the oral argument time is not meant for Justices to show off but for the lawyers to make their legal arguments before the Court. But Thomas has recently said--in jest-- that “My colleagues should shut up!”

________________________

3) In the Ny Times article, "The Disenter," gives insight into how the High Court has moved right and now the self-proclaimed conservative, and eldest (and now retired) member of the Supremes, may have been be The Nine's most liberal justice:

"Justice Stevens, the oldest and arguably most liberal justice, now finds himself the leader of the opposition. Vigorous and sharp at 87, he has served on the court for 32 years, approaching the record set by his predecessor, William O. Douglas, who served for 36. In criminal-law and death-penalty cases, Stevens has voted against the government and in favor of the individual more frequently than any other sitting justice. He files more dissents and separate opinions than any of his colleagues. He is the court’s most outspoken defender of the need for judicial oversight of executive power. And in recent years, he has written majority opinions in two of the most important cases ruling against the Bush administration’s treatment of suspected enemy combatants in the war on terror — an issue the court will revisit this term, which begins Oct. 1, when it hears appeals by Guantánamo detainees challenging their lack of access to federal courts.

"Stevens, however, is an improbable liberal icon. “I don’t think of myself as a liberal at all,” he told me during a recent interview in his chambers, laughing and shaking his head. “I think as part of my general politics, I’m pretty darn conservative.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/23/magazine/23stevens-t.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

This is one of the two linked articles you need to read and comment on by Monday.

4) The second article you need to have read by Tuesday is Time's cover story from October, 2007:

The Incredible Shrinking Court

"The irony is that the Court's ideology is playing a dwindling role in the lives of Americans. The familiar hot-button controversies--abortion, affirmative action, the death penalty, police powers and so on--have been around so long, sifted and resifted so many times, that they now arrive at the court in highly specific cases affecting few, if any, real people. And it's not clear that Roberts wants to alter that trend. His speeches on the judicial role suggest a man more interested in the steady retreat of the court from public policy than in a right-wing revolution. Unless the Roberts court umpires another disputed presidential election (à la Bush v. Gore in 2000--a long shot, to say the least), the left-right division will matter mainly in the realm of theories and rhetoric, dear to the hearts of law professors and political activists but remote from day-to-day existence. What once was salient is now mostly symbolic."

READ MORE

5) SCOTUSblog STAT PACK

Probably way more statistics on The Supremes, but if you are doing this assingment option, filter through the Stat Pack and share the three (3) biggest takeaways that you get from the numbers about our current Supreme Court. Why are these stats interesting to you?

SCOTUS Blog Stat Pack

6) Finally, a re-run post from 2009's 'Global Warming' SC decision:

The world saw former Vice-President being called a “rock star” and getting an Oscar from movie stars for his documentary on the “climate crisis,” and later a Nobel Peace Prize. But with far less glitz and fanfare, the legal definition of whether global warming is damaging US and the world was being argued in the U.S. Supreme Court a few months ago.

The new “swing vote” on the high Court is Justice Anthony Kennedy and his questions during the oral arguments in Massachusetts, et al. v. EPA (05-1120) seemed to indicate that justices may be ready to decide more than the case at bar.

At issue is the states’ (MA. and 12 others, including Illinois) lawsuit challenging the federal bureaucracy’s (EPA) lack of enforcement of an act of Congress (1990 Clean Air Act). The questions the Court is considering are:1) May the EPA decline to issue emission standards for motor vehicles based on policy considerations not enumerated in the Clean Air Act?2) Does the Clean Air Act give the EPA authority to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases?Breaking down the oral argument, Justice Kennedy seemed to be saying the Court has a bigger, global, question to answer. But not all on the bench seemed to think it was in the Court’s jurisdiction.

From the transcript of the oral argument, Justice Kennedy is questioning counsel for the petitioners, the Massachusetts states attorney:

JUSTICE KENNEDY: At the outset, you made this, some of this perhaps reassuring statement that we need not decide about global warming in this case. But don't we have to do that in order to decide the standing argument, because there's no injury if there's not global warming? Or, can you show standing simply because there is a likelihood that the perceived would show that there's an injury?

MR. MILKEY: Your Honor, especially in this case where none of our affidavits were challenged, I don't think the Court needs to go there ultimately on the merits because we showed through our uncontested affidavits that these harms will occur. There was no evidence put in to the contrary, and I would add that the reports on which EPA itself relies conclude that climate change is occurring.

JUSTICE KENNEDY (later): What is the scientific answer to if global warming exists? I think this Court might have to press for an answer to this question.

(Justice Antonin Scalia’s prides himself as a strict constructionalist, and a Constitutional scholar. He never claimed to have aced Mr. Rosiano’s “Cosmic Journey” class, he chimes in):

JUSTICE SCALIA: Mr. Milkey, I always thought an air pollutant was something different from a stratospheric pollutant, and your claim here is not that the pollution of what we normally call "air" is endangering health. That isn't, that isn't -- your assertion is that after the pollutant leaves the air and goes up into the stratosphere it is contributing to global warming.

MR. MILKEY: Respectfully, Your Honor, it is not the stratosphere. It's the troposphere.

JUSTICE SCALIA: Troposphere, whatever. I told you before I'm not a scientist. (Laughter.)

JUSTICE SCALIA: That's why I don't want to have to deal with global warming, to tell you the truth.The decision in Massachusetts, et al. v. EPA (05-1120), given last June ruled in favor of Massachusetts.

Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency - Oral Argument

 

 

 

Nelson Mandela (1918-2013)

(From PBS.org)
He united a nation and inspired the world.

In the wake of Nelson Mandela's passing, we've made FRONTLINE's The Long Walk of Nelson Mandela available to watch online for the very first time.

In The Long Walk of Nelson Mandela, FRONTLINE tells the intimate and surprising story of the Nelson Mandela few people know: a bomb-throwing revolutionary who became a skilled politician in prison, and a passionate man who sacrificed the love of his life for a country that needed him more.

Watch and blog, what YOU and YOUR GOVERNMENT LEADERS can learn from Nelson Mandela.

Viewers & Teachers Guide