AP Test Payment

As you know, taking the AP exam in May is one of the requirements of this course. Additionally, you are ALL in a great position to pass this exam. While the exam may seem like a lot of money, it is a great deal cheaper than college tuition.

If you haven't made your payment you need to:

Pick up an AP request form from Ms. Gomez in Room 021 or in guidance
Bring a check made out to "Boston Latin School" for $97 or $10 if you are eligible for free or reduced lunch
Give your request form and check to Ms. Gomez by March 4 (the date of the presidential inauguration until the 20th Amendment changed it to January 20)

Gay-Straight Alliances and Government

New York Times Article on GSAs in Utah

Hi everyone, here is an interesting article that shows the connections among interest groups and legislation and high school clubs. What is very interesting is the "unintended consequences" that can come from legislation. You can really see many of the concepts we discussed in the first four months of class in this article.

Busy Times in Current Events

Hopefully you are following the news on your own. But, just in case you want to read some articles that illustrate what we are studying in class here are some articles I thought you might find interesting.

Redistricting in Massachusetts

The results of the 2010 census are out. As we thought, Massachusetts lost a seat.

New York Times Census Summary

Here is an article about the overall changes noted in the census.


Lame Duck Congress

Here is a great summary about the lame duck Congress.

Have a great break!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just in case you thought I was making up the fact that the President pardons turkeys every year......



Here's the coverage in various news outlets:

NPR

Rueters

CBS

LA Times

Current Events and FRQ

Hello everyone,

Remember we have an FRQ on elections on Monday. This could cover topics in Chapter 10 and what we have done in class since the last exam. Please review the text and your notes. I will have two questions and you will be able to choose one of them to answer.

Here are some articles on the election!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/11/AR2010111107910.html

This article addresses the role the election might have on Nancy Pelosi's future

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-11-03/wealthy-candidates-reap-poor-returns-in-u-s-voting-booths.html

Remember, the Buckley case says that candidates can spend as much of their own money as they want on a race.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704462704575590510679315310.html?mod=WSJ_ele_main

A Wall Street Journal article summarizing the election results

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2010/11/11/a_preview_of_2012_redistricting_107924.html

Finally, an article about redistricting

Online Resources for the Election Prediction Assignment

Real Clear Politics gathers courses from a variety of media outlets and is a really good place to go to get quick polling data.

Here is a link to the CNN politics page. CNN is generally considered a "middle of the road" political source. So, keep that in mind when using it.

Here is a link to the Washington Post's campaigns section. They did list all the Democrats first in the competitive races. So, keep that in mind in terms of possible bias, etc.

Here is a link to the Washington Times election section. The Washington Times is considered the more conservative of the Washington, D.C. papers.

Here is a link to Fox News' electoral map. Remember, it is important to use all news sources to try to make an educated prediction.

This is a good place to get started for background on the ballot questions. However, you will need to look at newspapers and news website to get polling information.

Argument day podcasts: Snyder v. Phelps

Click here for a link to the lawyers summaries of their cases that they presented to the court yesterday, October 6, 2010 in the First Amendment case.

Click here if you would like a link to a list of all the coverage of the case.