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Entry # 8 |
MaY 2,
2008 |
| Just a
friendly reminder that I will be in on Sunday from 4-6 pm to answer your
last minute questions and to give you a chance to review all your tests
from this past year. I hope you do spend some time with the review
book and give it your all on Monday.
I always seem to get a bit melancholy at this time of the school
year. We've spent a ton of time together and I will miss you all.
For fun, I've put together a list of possible jobs you might have if we
were to fast forward 25 years and you all lived inside the Beltway.
Enjoy and the list--it is just for laughs!
Sarah Benjamin--Head
of Congressional Budget Office; doesn't trust Republican Prez one
bit...
Clare Berner--Lobbyist
for multinational sports fitness company; senior member on US Squash
Emma Feiwel-Director
of Kennedy Center for the Arts (and part-time singer)
Allie Fox-Headmistress
of all-girls National Cathedral School in D.C. First man, Nicholas
Philip spends the day eating crumpets with the moms at grade level
coffees--what a guy!
Tommy Hotchkiss-Head
Counsel for for Tobacco a lobby named "Smoke 'em if You Got 'em"
Charlotte-Kiechel-Secretary
of State; ushers China into a true Democratic era while also forcing the
Chinese to put Kim Jon-Il of North Korea out to pasture...
Walter Luse-Senator
Luse is in his first term on the "hill"; first bill requires no stone
walls to be built anywhere near the Capitol parking lot.
Dixon Mallory-Hairdresser
to the Pols; favorite of Speaker Brian "you don't matter" Platter--a
kingpin who rules the House with an iron fist and pearly smile.
Sarah McCarrick-Leads
hostile takeover of Newsweek Magazine by Time, Inc. Changes color
scheme of new mag to purple & white just to torture her old AP Gov't
teacher
Dan Morrisroe-Former
Rep from MA...Kicked out of Congress for violating House rules regarding
attendance.
Nina Mullen-Heads
the President's Counsel on Education--wants America's teachers to learn
how to spell...starting with her name M-U-L-L-E-N; emotionally scarred
from poor HS teacher
Justin Nowell-First
player/owner of the Washington Bullets--wife works for Treasury
Dept.--knew he could never marry a liberal.
Tommy Piscina-Starts
"Brew Me? Brew You!" Lobbying Inc--supports reduction of sin tax
Brian Platter--See
Dixon Mallory above; Speaker of the House; #2 man in the free world
Diana Snyder-Starts
Filibuster Films; first documentary film entitled "Too Luse" detailing
the sordid life of first-term Senator Walter "Crash" Luse; married to
Michael Moore's son
Ariel Troy-Head
of OMB; was a college buddies with current Prez Nick Simmons; goes toe
to toe with Ms. Benjamin over budget number estimates on an annual
basis.
Peter Weinberg-Superhero
extraordinaire, he saves Social Security from insolvency by spinning
the world backwards thus taking the whole planet back in time thereby making
the population younger and ineligible for entitlement benefits.
Mr. Booth-He
is a crusty (or salty, Nina) soul now 68 years-old and still frustrated
with the Republican leadership in the country...decides to follow up on
his famous moniker and knocks off President Simmons while he is sleeping
on Simmons Mattress (what a coincidence!). He proceeds to
run across a grassy knoll and is hunted down in an abandoned warehouse.
His last words were, "Sic Semper Tyrannis."
Best,
Boother |
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Entry # 7 |
March 6,
2008 |
| I've
posted the past few assignments online (told you them in class but...)
due over he past few days as well as the reading for the rest of the
quarter. Suffice it to say, when we get back from Spring Break,
you'll have a very busy week in my class. We will cover the
Judiciary Chapter and take a test on the Bureaucracy and the Judiciary.
Yes, only a seven week quarter instead of eight and you'll still have
two tests--I was able to do this by cutting out some of the
supplementary reading and by not assigning you current events in the the
last week. Not a perfect solution but one necessitated by the fact
we missed so much school because of snow, shortened classes, etc.
In any case, I really do hope you enjoy Spring
Break and come back refreshed to enjoy your last spring term in high
school!
--Boother |
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Entry # 6 |
february 25,
2008 |
|
Another snow day this past Friday adds to the disjointed feel of this
3rd quarter...I do apologize and understand the difficulty in focusing
with all these starts and stops. Still, we've got to keep moving
forward and thus, you will have a test this Thursday 2/28 on the
Legislative and Executive branches...
Why a test after only two chapters? There is
just too much info in these two chapters not to test...I suggest you go
back over the chapter summaries, pull out key Poly Sci phrases and yes,
do re-read Articles I & II of the Constitution.
Talk about your Poly Sci phrases, Monday
2/25 will be a big day in class for we'll cover, Presidential Character,
review Veto Power, cover Executive Privilege, Executive Orders,
Impoundment, Independent Council, and Impeachment.
See if you can ratchet yourselves up in time
for Thursday's assessment...in the meantime, if you are stressing, check
out the song that won an Oscar for best song in a movie last
night...great song, great movie and any song that beats a Disney trio
gets my vote!
CLICK
HERE
--Boother |
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Entry # 5 |
January 31,
2008 |
| One
semester down, one to go...at the very least, I hope your exam showed
you how much we've done/how much you've learned over the past five
months. Still, in relation to what the college board will expect
you to know for the AP in May, you are only about 35% oft the way home.
Next up is the longest chapter in the book--Congress. Just as the
founding fathers felt the need to write much on Congress (see
Constitution Article I), so too has Wilson put much "pen to paper" on
this unique institution. I urge you to take a deep breath and
then get back on the horse we call AP Gov...I have forewarned you that I
will pop quiz at least once a chapter to prod you into staying on task.
It's been a good run so far so let's keep it up!
--Boother |
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Entry # 4 |
december 10,
2007 |
| How's that song go?
"It's the most wonderful time of the year...." You bet it is...time to
put aside the text for a bit in order to delve deeper into the world of
campaigning. Sure, you'll have to write a paper when you get back
but for now, you are in the trenches with Ollie & Chuck. It's
1994, Bill Clinton has been in office for two years and the Republicans
have had it. They can't get the White House but what about
Congress? Get ready for Goodin (Mark Goodin that is) Politics.
There are more curveballs in The Perfect
Candidate than in a full season of ball. And when
all is said and done in Virginia, you get to hit the campaign trail with
Governor George W. Bush. That's right, the loveable, laughable
huckster G.W. on his pursuit of the Republican nomination in 1999-2000
and the White House. So sit back and enjoy the shows....
Top Ten Moments in AP Gov't Thus Far:
10. Free Time Magazines (thanks to a special friend way up the
ladder :) )
9. Seeing Pete & Clare for the second time almost every day (not
really but thought I'd be nice)
8. Hotchkiss coming in as a late draft pick and acting like a
starter (on occasion)
7. The little ideological battles that take place amongst the
Current Events folk from GA (boy, can they rattle off the stats!)
6. Sitting as a knight (or Queen Allie!) at the round table!
5. The Oregon video on referendums Prop #9--can't repeat some of
the phrases here but I know cross-cutting cleavages are not a dirty
thang...
4. John Kerry on the Windsail...what charisma!
3. Piscina talking ever so passionately about EMILY'S List.
2. Troy riled up about the death penalty stats (been fired up ever
since!) and straightening out all the commie liberals in class--softies!
1. Booth wearing a bandage saying he had some skin ailment but
actually he'd been clawed by Hilary at a Dem Fundraiser (give me my
$4,600 now!)
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
--Boother |
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Entry # 3 |
November
5,
2007 |
| That's it....you've survived
the first quarter. My guess is you can look back on the past eight
weeks and say you've learned a few things. I am very happy with
where you are as a class--a good enthusiasm and a good interest in
politics these days. And why not? We've got Hillary still
15-20 % points ahead of Obama in the polls while Giuliani seems to be
leading the pack for the Republicans but lookout--Fred Thompson has
jumped ahead of Mitt Romney. Can you imagine if Hillary and Rudy
duke it out?!? Don't forget about the local race tomorrow where
unless a bridge falls or a beach is up for grabs, the Democrats usually
struggle to overcome the fact that Greenwich has 1.8 registered
Republicans for every 1 registered Democrat. If those numbers hold
true then Peter Tesei is your new First Selectman with Peter Crumbine as
one of two Selectman. So who fills the third spot? I've
never seen such hard work on the side of the Democrats and it will be a
dogfight between Frank Farricker and Lin Lavery. Even though
Farricker is the only one officially running for First Selectman, in our
wacky election worked in Greenwich, who ever gets the most votes between
party friends Farricker and Lavery will get the third seat. This
will be the closest and most interesting vote in town.
Content wise, we move on to lobbying. We'll have fun looking
at the various groups who support issues and of course, candidates with
big money--hey its the American way and who is going to mess with free
speech? We'll even watch a bit of Colbert as his spoofs on the
whole corporate fundraising thing.
Berner, isn't it squash season yet?!?
--Boother |
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Entry # 2 |
september 28,
2007 |
|
Thanks to the prodding of four-term Senator Berner, I am updating the blog...from where I sit, it's been a good start to the year so far for
your class. It seems you enjoy the mix of nuts & bolts Poly Sci
sprinkled with a dash of current events on a daily basis. Don't
get me wrong, I like the theoretical but the textbook material just
seems to make more sense when you look at it through the real life
political events of the day. I thank you for your dedication so
far...I really do try to treat you like adults--adults who enjoy
intellectual discourse as well as a bit of good-natured ribbing. I
hope you know we teachers enjoy hanging out with teenagers every year.
Its been great to get to know you and your classmates for with rare
exception, I've neither taught nor even met many of you 'till now!
I'd like to think you feel like you are getting your money's worth...
I leave you with a joke mocking the
Democrats...good luck with your paper this weekend!
"The Washington Post reports that Senator
Hillary Clinton is trying to win the Democratic nomination by reaching
out to women. After hearing this, Bill Clinton said, 'Oh sure, when she
does it, it's okay.'" --Conan O'Brien
Berner...go beat on a squash ball and leave me alone...outaa here. --Boother
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Entry # 1 |
september 10,
2007 |
It
is hard to believe it has been six
years since the attack on the World Trade Center. So many memories
and random connections to 9/11 seem to keep popping up in my head...I am
sure all of you will experience the same flood of memories as you go through your day tomorrow. I'll think about the guys I played hockey
with over in Rye, New York--guys who never made it out of the building
that fateful day. I'll think of all the brave people who ran into the
Towers to help victims of the attacks. I'll think my brother, a
First Gulf War vet whose birthday so happens to be on September 11th.
I'll think of my wife and my kids and how great life is when compared to
the hardships currently endured by those who lost a loved one in 2001.
Six years later these are still scary times to say the least...
And what is the government's role in all of
this? Do we blame them? Look up to them for guidance?
A little of both? Things sure have changed for those in power as
well. The Patriot Act, War in Afghanistan, War in Iraq,
saber-rattling with Iran, detainees in Cuba, secret CIA prisons
world-wide, North Korea acting up, etc.. No matter what side of
the political spectrum you are on you've got to admit the Prez and his crew
have one tough job on their hands. And yet, George's time is
slowly running out and every natural-born America over 35 is running for
President in 2008...or so it seems.
I do wish we'd find Bin Laden, get some
moderate Muslims in power (I actually think the Muslims in our country
are our best hope, they have proven they can practice religion and
still respect and revere a secular government system) and somehow settle
things down in the Middle East.
What happens next will be hard to
predict but you'll not only have a good view of it from this class but
also a venue in which to voice your ideas. it was a great summer
but I can't wait to get in
the mix with each and everyone one of you...
Welcome to AP Government--Game On! |
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