Dates
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Lecture
Topics
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Political Tidbits
Snack Food for Thought
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Week 9: Making Public
Policy
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May 24
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American Politics in a Global
Environment
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May 23
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Spending Policies
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- The China
Trade Bill Vote Postponed
- See today's New York Times for an
analysis.
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May 22
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Taxing Policies
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- The China Trade
Bill
- Today's House vote on this bill, which would
recognize China as a permanent normal trading partner of
the U.S., is too close to call. See two articles on the
politics.
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Week 8: The Presidency and the
Bureaucracy
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May 17
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The President and
Rule-Making
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May 16
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The President, Office and
Powers
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- US. v.
Morrison
- The Supreme Court said that Congress could not
legislate concerning violent crimes against women; that
was the states' job.
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May 15
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Visitors from Baltic countries
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Week 7: Congress and the
Presidency
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May 10
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Representation and Public
Opinion
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- Vermont's Campaign
Law
- See what people are saying about Vermont's law that
seeks to curb campaign spending.
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May 9
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The Operation of
Congress
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May 8
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The Congress as
Rule-Maker
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Week 6: Group-Government
Linkages
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May 3
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Groups In the System
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May 2
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Group-Government
Linkage
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May 1
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Midterm examination
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Week 5: Elite-Mass
Linkages
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April 26
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Party
Reform
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April 25
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The
Nature of American Parties
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April 24
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Varieties of
Electoral Systems
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Week 4: Political Nature of
the Masses
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April 19
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Participation
and Elections
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April 18
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The Mass
Media
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April 17
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Assessing
Public Opinion and Crosstabs
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Week 3: Institutionalizing
Democracy
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April 12
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Federalism and Limited
Government
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- E-Conomics
Problem
- With Congress' Internet tax
commission deadlocked, governors and mayors are
desperately seeking solutions to their e-commerce
sales-tax dilemma.
- Police
Power
- "the power inherent in every sovereignty to control
men and things under which authority the state may,
within constitutional limitations, prohibit all things
hurtful to the comfort, safety, and welfare of society
and prescribe regulations to promote the public health,
morals, safety, and order, and to add to the general
public convenience, prosperity and welfare."
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April 11
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Judicial Review and Limited
Government
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- History of the
Census
- Begins with the constitutional basis of the census
and shows how questions have expanded over time.
- Real Americans
Don't Answer Nosy Questions
- This critical piece contends
that the federal government has gone far beyond its
constitutional mandate.
- All census questions,
1850-1950
- Check out my inventory of all census questions over
100 years. Are today's questions more intrusive than
those 150 years ago?
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April 10
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Democracy and the
Constitution
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- Elian
and Ideology
- An All-Pro wide receiver explains conservative
values.
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Week 2: Democratic
Theory
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April 5
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Institutional
Models of Democracy
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April 4
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Democratic
Theory, an Overview
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- National
Poll on Elian Gonzalez
- Several Gallup Polls report that most Americans favor
returning Elian Gonzalez to his father.
- Newspaper
comment on Elian Gonzalez
- A University of Miami professor says, "In Elian's
case, the only apparent argument for keeping him in the
United States is that Fidel is a bad guy and Cuba is a
poor and miserable place."
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Week 1: The Purposes of
Government
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