Room 3011

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

HoA Films: The Mission

The Mission is a fictionalized account of the expulsion of the Jesuit Order from South America due to pressure from the Spanish and especially the Portuguese. Keen writes of the situation of the Jesuits and their 30+ South American Missions, "Rather than 'Christian socialism,' the Jesuit system could more correctly be described as 'theocratic capitalism'." (Keen 105) What do you think is the difference between these two terms? Would "Christian Socialism" be any more acceptable to the Bourbon's of Portugal and Spain? Why or why not? Answer these questions in the comment section of this blog entry. Remember to include your first name and last initial in your entry.

The Jesuits were expelled from South America in 1767, but that didn't end the pressure on the Society of Jesus. Read this entry from E.B. about Pope Clement XIV to find out what happened to the Jesuits just six years later.

Virginia Governor's Race and the Primary Process

The New York Times has an interesting article this morning about Democratic candidate for Governor Creigh Deeds and his recent poor performance in the polls. It seems that some Democrats are wondering whether Terry McAuliffe would have been a better nominee for the party. Adam Nagourney describes in the article some of the perceived advantages of having McAuliffe as the nominee. What do you think, did the Democrats choose a weak nominee?

Friday, October 9, 2009

The Invisible Primary

This week we discussed the Invisible Primary - the work that candidates do before the primary/caucus season to win support and funding for their presidential campaigns. Jonathan Martin of Politico.com has written an interesting article about Sarah Palin and one aspect of the invisible primary: stumping for other candidates. It seems that the Republican candidates for Governor in both Virginia and New Jersey are not interested in having Palin travel to their states to support the candidates. Read the article to find out why.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Senior AP Gov - Extra Points Opportunity

When you've completed the Ch. 8 exam, try playing the Presidential Quiz in the Presidents app on the iPod Touch. It's challenging, so if you achieve a score of 8/10 or higher I'll add +2 correct answers onto your exam. To receive credit, you'll have to show me the screen with your quiz result (as shown below) - showing the high score screen will not count!

(Mr. McCarthy did not earn the extra credit)

Abdullah M. - 9/10 (fantastic!!)
Elena L. - 8/10 (wow!)
Manik S. - 8/10 (super!)
Zoe W. - 8/10 (excellent!)
Daniel V. - 9/10 (Stupendous!! - I'm running out of words to use)
Kenin D. - 8/10 (phenomenal!)
Robin T. - 8/10
Gabriela T. - 8/10
Kathy H. - 9/10
Larry C. - 9/10
Cindy Z - 9/10
Leah D. - 9/10

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Interesting Healthcare Idea

New App!

Listen to the story titled "Patient Advocates Fear Bias in Wellness Incentives" from the NPR program Morning Edition. You'll need to use the NPR News app on your iPod to listen to this story. After listening to the story, answer the following questions in the comment section of this blog post:

1. How does Safeway attempt to save money on providing health insurance to its employees?

2. Has Safeway's strategy saved money for the company?

3. Why do some organizations criticize the Safeway strategy?

4. Could the federal government institute such a program? Should the federal government institute such a program?

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

La Familia vs. the Zetas

After listening to the two stories from NPR on drug gangs in Mexico, answer the following questions in the comment section of the blog. Include your first name and last initial at the end of your comment.

1. Which gang represents a greater threat to the Mexican government and why?

2. Which nation has a bigger problem with drug gangs: Mexico or Brazil? Why?

HoA Homework

Week of Oct. 5 - Oct. 9
TUESDAY: Keen pp. 106-117
THURSDAY: Keen pp. 131-143