Friday, May 22, 2009

Mock Congress - Day 6

Period 3
  • Congrats to Jen on getting her bill passed, however there were still many flaws in the bill.
  • There was lots of wasted time in the Congress today. The best way to operate more efficiently is for committees to do a good job of mark-up and for parties to be coordinated before floor debate occurs.
Period 4

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Mock Congress - Day 5

Another great day of legislative action! Bill Logs can be found in posts below, so I'm not going to re-post them here. A reminder to committees to be thorough in your mark-up; this is how you avoid 30 minute floor debates on bills.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Mock Congress - Day 4

Period 4
  • Congrats to Beth for getting her bill (H. 4) passed!
  • Period 4 Bill Log is available for review.
  • A word of advice to committees: take time on mark-up. Only send quality bills to the whole House.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Mock Congress - Day 3

Period 3
  • If you submit a new bill, remember to share your bill with the clerk and to publish your bill.
  • Congressman Sam's bill has been postponed until the next class.
Period 5
  • Parita did a super job as clerk!
  • The Period 5 Bill Log is now available for all Members of Congress to examine.
Period 7
  • Many thanks to Christine for quickly entering the bills and getting the committees moving quickly!
  • The Period 7 Bill Log is now available for all Members of Congress to examine.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Mock Congress - Day 2

Period 3
  • Congratulations on your first day in committees. The Rules Committee did a good job of distributing the bills to all committees.
  • There have been many interesting bills, however I find this bill to be particularly disturbing.
  • It's the Speaker's decision whether any bills that have made it through committee will be debated tomorrow in the whole house. The Period 3 Bill Log is available for viewing.
  • Christy did a great job as clerk!
Period 4
  • Committee work was very productive today!
  • Once you have turned in one bill that you have written yourself, you are free to submit a bill that has been co-authored.
  • The Speaker will determine the agenda for Wednesday. Your bill may be on the agenda - you can check if it's passed committee by examining the Period 4 Bill Log.
  • Kelsey did a great job of tackling more than 20 bills and entering amendments made in committee mark-up!

Friday, May 15, 2009

Mock Congress - Day 1

Congratulations to the period 3 Republicans - you drive a hard bargain!

I'm disappointed in the lack of compassion for pandas exhibited by several of the Mock Congresses :(

Remember that your first bill is due next class! You'll need to turn in your bill and cover sheet to the hopper. You'll also need to submit your bill to GoogleDocs. When you submit the bill to GoogleDocs, make sure that you share it with me (mccarthyroom3011[at]gmail[dot]com and with the clerk of your Congress.

Civil War Project

Details of the Civil War project can be found by clicking here. The majority of our time in class will be spent working on this project.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

If you haven't done so already...

...fill out this form. Many students completed this form in the 3rd quarter.

Monday, May 4, 2009

Internal Assessment Info

Some important I.A. information:

Due Date - remains May 8th, no exceptions. Any papers turned in past this date will be marked down one letter grade per day until the paper is turned in.

Turnitin.com - a turnitin.com account has been created for submission of internal assessments. The class ID is 2716268 and the password is USAAOK. Your paper must be submitted to the class account by May 8th.

Cover Page - A sample cover page can be downloaded here.

Checklist - Consult the following checklist before turning in your final draft. (this checklist was distributed in class in the 3rd quarter)

Double Spacing - Your final draft should be double-spaced with 1" margins.