POS2041 short essay

• For this assignment, you are required to choose an essay topic (only one) by visiting the websites listed under the heading Chapter Options below.
• Write one short essay (two or three paragraphs: minimum 9 sentences) on the article/topic you selected that includes the following:
  • explain why you decided to research that topic
  • how does it relate to the chapter(s) covered in this module
  • discuss whether you consider this site a good tool for learning about American politics.
  • APA format

Chapter Options:

Chapter 9: Congress

1. National Committee for
   Effective Congress provides a broad range of national and international
   political information. To learn what are the current predictions on
   electoral races at the U.S. Senate, visit http://www.ourcampaigns.com/SenateList.html or http://www.ourcampaigns.com/HouseList.html for information on electoral races in the House of Representatives.
2. Earmarks are the language that
   members of Congress insert into legislation that dedicates funds for
   specific uses, many whose broad benefits can be questioned. http://www.ascrs.org/legislative-and-regulatory/washington-watch-weekly
   tracks your representatives and the bills in Congress they introduce,
   providing estimates of their costs or savings when available.
3. The Library of Congress “Thomas”
   website is an excellent source of information on current legislation. To
   find about present bills at the 113th Congress go to http://thomas.loc.gov/home/LegislativeData.php?&n=BillText&c=113

Chapter 10: The Presidency

1. The War Powers Resolution was
   passed in 1973 to define and limit the president’s power during times of
   war. Read the full text of the resolution on this website: http://www.loc.gov/law/help/war-powers.php. You could also visit any of the links provided on related topics at the end of the resolution’s text. Watch – Optional Study Video
2. Dave Leip’s Atlas of U.S.
   Presidential Elections provides Information on upcoming and past
   presidential elections. By visiting this site you can also experiment
   with the electoral college calculator to see how your state could affect
   the electoral outcome: http://www.uselectionatlas.org/
3. The first lady is an
   important resource for the president in his role as head of state. Read
   about current and past first ladies by visiting the following web-site: https://www.whitehouse.gov/about/first-ladies
4. Presidential attempts to increase
   executive power by influencing or diminishing the authority of other
   branches of government have been a source of political conflict during
   different administrations. To read about news on Congress, the White
   House and current political issues visit http://www.politico.com/.

Chapter 11: Bureaucracy

1. Project on Government
   Oversight is an independent, not-for-profit organization that seeks to
   make government more accountable by investigating corruption and
   misconduct. The group examines all types of government bureaucracies.
   Visit http://www.pogo.org/ to read the articles discussing some of the present issues under investigation.
2. The Department of Homeland
   Security was created after 9/11 to promote bureaucratic communication
   and domestic security. See what the department is doing to protect
   America from foreign threats by visiting: http://www.dhs.gov/topics
3. Suppose that a person was aware of
   some corruption that was occurring in the government agency in which
   she or he worked. What should a person in this situation do? Would it be
   plausible to be a whistle-blower? What are the possible implications
   for reporting corruption? Is it honest and ethical to engage in
   whistle-blowing? If this type of corruption was not reported, would
   ignore the situation to be indicative of honest and ethical behavior on
   the part of the person who was aware of the situation at hand? Explain.
   visit: https://www.whistleblowers.gov,

Chapter 12: The Federal Courts

1. The web-site for U.S.
   Supreme Court Media has a great search engine for finding information on
   landmark cases like Marbury v. Madison, Miranda v. Arizona, Roe v.
   Wade; and the most recent cases of Fisher v. The University of Texas,
   Shelby County v. Holder; and Hollingsworth v. Perry. To find information
   on any of these cases visit: http://www.oyez.org/
2. The U.S. court system
   consists of trial, appellate, and supreme courts. The U.S. Courts
   website provides a look at the different types of courts in the federal
   judiciary. To learn about the federal court system visit: http://www.uscourts.gov.