AP Registration ends 3/11

AP registration ends next week on the 11th. They can register the week after (14th-18th), but then it is a fee of $10 per exam (that gets very pricy). AP registration will officially end on the 18th. No registration sheets will be taken after that. Register in guidance.

Gadafi and Sheen, Oh My!

On the same day, these interviews by ABC News. Blog your thoughts, who is more delusional, Moammar Gadafi or Charlie Sheen?

Study on Facebook

Seriously.

(From Ken Wedding's Teaching Comparative Blog)

There's a Facebook page for Comparative Government and Politics where anyone can ask a question or for an explanation.

It's at "AP Comparative Government and Politics: What You Need to Know"

There's a page-long list of discussion topics (countries and basic theory and methodology) as well. It's at Discussions. Last year's discussions are still posted and you might find what you're looking for there.

Jeff Silva-Brown has an AP Comparative Government hashtag on Twitter: #apcompgov You're welcome to follow those discussions, too.

Check all of them out.

The former AP Comparative Government chief reader also has a site designed at attacking the FRQ portion of the comparative test. It's at:

http://studyingcomparative.blogspot.com/

The Ugly Truth: An open and shut (not up) case

Leaders of the controversial Westboro Baptist Church today vowed to "quadruple" the number of protests at military funerals around the country following a Supreme Court ruling that the displays are protected under the First Amendment.

The 8-1 decision, written by chief Justice John Roberts with a lone dissent from Samuel Alito, is here:

http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/10pdf/09-751.pdf

(From MichaelMoore.com)

Back in the 90s, We Were the First to Deal with the Reverend Fred Phelps:U.S. Supreme Court correctly rules First Amendment gives crazy old Fred Phelps the right to picket military funerals... so now it's up to all of us to use our First Amendment rights to make fun of his vile protests.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/

Voter Registration at WV 3/3

Naperville Township clerk Carol Bertulis will be here Thursday, 3/3 during lunch periods in the student cafeteria to register anyone to vote who is going to be 18 years old by April 5. All that's needed is two forms of ID (one with address). IE: drivers license; school ID.

Any adults in the building that need to register to vote for the local elections that include school board, city council, and mayor in Naperville, are welcome.

Executive Branch still doing its job on DOMA

Last week a wedge issue with separation of powers illustrations was raised when the Justice Department announced that it would not defend in court, but still enforce the Defense of Marriage Act (passed in 1996 by Congress and signed by Democratic President Bill Clinton).

While President Obama says his stance on gay marriage, "is evolving," so was discussion on this issue in the last week. It may be surprising how much mis-information is repeated on this governmental non-action. A liberal professor form the University of Wisconsin during last week's Institute Day mis-spoke on the subject when she was giving her session on teaching controversial topics in school.

This NPR piece is great. Again, I'm shocked at how many people, and not just the commentators on FOX, don't understand that there is a difference between refusing to enforce a law, which I don't think a President can do under the Constitution, and refusing to defend the constitutionality of a law in court. The Supreme Court has the final word, and if they say the law is constitutional, the Obama Administration would have to continue to enforce it--the NPR piece makes it very clear that it is still being enforced now.

The NY Times also has an interesting article on sexual orientation may now be subject to strict scrutiny vs. rational basis testing in the courts.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/24/us/24marriage.html?hp

It is unusual but it has happened before, under both Democratic and Republican presidents. Here is an example from the administration of the first President Bush:

http://articles.latimes.com/1992-11-06/business/fi-1371_1_cable-operators

Bottom line is that there is a big difference between enforcing the law, which the administration has clearly said it intends to do, as that is the president's obligation under the Constitution, and defending its constitutionality in court when the law is challenged, which they are not required to do if they agree that it is unconstitutional. Others can defend it, and the Court can rule however it likes.

Here is the Justice Department's statement:

http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2011/February/11-ag-222.html

The Constitutional Question, headed for the Supreme Court eventually, is does DOMA violate the Full Faith and Credit Clause?

Breaking News: SC rules 8-1 in favor of Westboro Baptist Church in Snyder v. Phelps

Chinese, Russian window on the world

Unsettling? Foreign Policy reports on how Russia, China...and the U.S. view events in Egypt:

One of the principal bases of U.S. foreign policy under President Barack Obama has been to create as constructive relations as possible with Russia, China, and other great powers. The administration had some degree of success in 2010: notably the Russia "reset" policy and managing inevitable trade and other tensions with rising China. But 2011 looks set to be more challenging as events continue to unfold in Egypt after the mass demonstrations that ousted President Hosni Mubarak and as the United States, Russia, and China all prepare for elections in 2012.

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/02/15/how_russia_and_china_see_the_egyptian_revolution

The Teaching Comparative blog has this:

The populist revolutions in the Middle East are prompting reactions in China. The reactions illustrate the fears of the authoritarians in China.

Well-Oiled Security Apparatus in China Stifles Calls for Change

Two months of upheaval in the Mideast have cast doubt on the staying power of all authoritarian governments. But in China calls for change are so far being met with political controls wielded by authorities who, even during a period of rising prosperity and national pride, have not taken their staying power for granted.

The nearly instantaneous deployment of the police to prevent even notional gatherings in big cities the past two weeks is just one example of what Chinese officials call “stability maintenance.” This refers to a raft of policies and practices refined after “color revolutions” abroad and, at home, tens of thousands of demonstrations by workers and peasants, ethnic unrest, and the spread of mobile communications and broadband networking.

Chinese officials charged with ensuring security, lavishly financed and permitted to operate above the law, have remained perpetually on edge, employing state-of-the-art surveillance, technologically sophisticated censorship, new crime-fighting tools, as well as proactive efforts to resolve labor and land disputes, all to prevent any organized or sustained resistance to single-party rule...

Chinese Move to Stop Reporting on Protests

Chinese police, citing newly enacted restrictions on journalists, have moved to forcefully prevent foreign reporters from covering public protests that have been largely nonexistent, establishing “no reporting” zones in Shanghai and Beijing and, in one case, beating a videographer and injuring two other reporters…

Why China Is Nervous About the Arab Uprisings

As protests swept the Arab world, toppling two regimes, the Chinese government has strengthened its elaborate security apparatus with crackdowns on human rights lawyers and activists.

On the Chinese Internet, anonymous calls for a "Jasmine Revolution" -- modeled after the pro-democracy demonstrations in the Middle East -- have been squelched by authorities. Words like "Egypt" and "Tunisia" have been blocked on some Web searches and social networking sites have been made inaccessible.

Unlike Arab countries with deteriorating economies, China has experienced rapid economic growth in the past decade. Is that keeping a lid on broad discontent in China? If that is the case, why is the Chinese government so nervous? Could popular protests of a similar scale sweep China in the near future?...

Andrew Jacobs on The Takeaway Radio Program