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Weekly Current Event AssignmentThe key to making the study of Government exciting (or at least not boring) is to discuss it with current events. We are going to spend time watching World News Tonight as well as completing weekly current event assignment. These will be due every other Friday on a rotating schedule, unless I indicate otherwise. They must be handwritten.Where can I find the current event?What can you use as a current event? Current news from a reliable news source or a political cartoon that reflects something in the news.What is a "reliable news source"? Let's stick with the mainstream media here. That means you can use any mainstream U.S. news source that is reliable and generally accepted (CNN, Fox News, MSN, etc.). I find that the Associated Press site is a good source for news (many local papers use their feed for their own stories). You could also follow Reuters as a general news source. You may also use news magazines (i.e., Time, Newsweek, Politico, The Week) for news. Are you worried that you are in a bubble? Hopefully this assignment will help widen that circle. You can also train yourself to look at news sources that you wouldn't normally use by deliberately picking news from "the other side". The site categorizes their sources as left, right and middle and they regularly post multiple articles on the same news event in a format that allows you to compare the coverage from different sources.What do I have to do?Each assignment should include the title of your article, the source of the article, date of your article, the link to class, and a copy of the article. You will then write a short summary (operative word is short - no more than 3-5 sentences) of the article. You should then make an explicit connection to something we are learning in class. (See “connection to class” below) This is harder in the beginning, but it gets easier as we move along.If you use a political cartoon, you would include the image itself, an explanation of the cartoon and what it depicts - you might want/need to do a very short summary of the news item the cartoon was drawn as commentary on, and a connection to our course content.Connection to classArticle I - Powers and structure of the legislative branchArticle II - Powers and structure of the executive branchArticle III - Powers of the judicial branchArticle IV - Relationship between the states and federal governmentNon-Constitution topics: citizen participation in the government, influence of interest groups, international governmentYour Week:Group A: 2/11; 3/4; 3/18; 4/8; 4/22; 5/6; 5/20Group B: 2/25; 3/11; 3/25; 4/15; 4/29; 5/13; 5/20Sample Title: Heritage or Hate? ?How should Presidential candidates respond to the shooting in Charleston?Source: Date: June 22, 2015Connection to Class: Article IV - Relationship between the states and federal governmentSummary: In this article, political analysts discuss the responses of Republican presidential candidates to the controversy over the Confederate flag still flying over the South Carolina capitol after the shooting of nine parishioners at the First Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina last week. The discussion centers around the conflict between attracting the voters and not alienating the base in the Republican party, while also balancing core principles dealing with state sovereignty under federalism versus a national response. The article discusses the responses of all Republican candidates who are presently in the race and does a good job of highlighting the difficulty of running a campaign in the U.S. today.Connection: Federalism is a fundamental organizational principle of the government in the United States. This article highlights issues that are currently under controversy in the United States when it comes to balancing out the powers of each level of government. It also discusses political campaigns and strategies, which are topics that will be discussed in the political parties and elections unit. ................
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