Date Change

Due to the senior trip, the due date for your blog is Wednesday June 3 2009 by 3:30 pm. Please print a hard copy of all your posts and turn them in.

WEDNESDAY JUNE 3

Due Date

Your Blog Semester Project is due:

Friday June 5

Last chance

Remember your spring break posts need to be completed by this wednesday or your second marking period grade will automatically dropped a full letter grade.

To those of you who have completed your initial posts. Congratulations. Mazel Tov! Keep it up. Remember you still have more work to do.

By the first week of June You must have completed
at least:
6 Summarize and Comment
5 Link and Comment
4 Opinion

( You are about halfway there)

You should also be commenting on each others blogs as well. In order to respond to a comment posted on your wall, you can write a new post or you can comment on your own wall in response.

Feel free to leave shout outs to people who you think are doing a good job with this project. Maybe it will encourage more followers.



Keep it up folks.

check out NYTIMES for current articles

http://www.nytimes.com/

Right to Vote Quiz

Please answer this prompt in at least three paragraphs then post it as a comment
Should convicted felons be allowed to vote? What about those in jail, on parole or probation? What is the purpose of felony disenfranchisement, and does it actually serve that purpose?

Vocab
Disenfranchisement: the deprivation of some a legal right or
privilege, particularly the right to vote.

Felony: a serious crime punishable by a prison sentence of more than one year
(or death).

Probation: an alternative sentence to jail for a convicted offender, giving him
or her freedom contingent on good/lawful behavior, and under close supervision
by a probation officer.

Parole the conditional release of a convicted offender, upon good behavior and
rehabilitation in prison. The offender’s parole can be revoked and he or she can
be sent back to prison for poor/unlawful behavior committed during this release.

some things to think about....
Restriction of voting rights is estimated to disenfranchise about 13 percent of
black men nationwide, a proportion about twice that of the general population.

Teresa Williams has five felony drug possession convictions. She is in a job
training and drug abuse recovery program.
"I would like to be involved in voting for my children's future," said Miss
Williams, who has two children, ages 7 and 9. "I have to pay taxes, why can't
I vote?

"There are 50,000 kids whose fathers and mothers are in [Maryland]
institutions if any of those guys come out, you'd want them to assume
responsibilities for their lives and their kids. Voting is part of that
responsibility," Mr. Currie said.”


FEEL FREE TO SEARCH THE INTERNET FOR RESEARCH TO BACK UP YOUR OPINION BUT DO NOT PLAGIARIZE. COPY AND PASTE THE LINK, or else...

DUE BEFORE YOU LEAVE FOR SPRING BREAK

Below is the minimum of blog posts that must be completed before you leave for break.

• 1 Welcome Post


• 2 Summarize and comment posts


• 2 Link and comment posts


• 1 Opinion Post


• 2 Comments on your classmates' blogs.

If you are having difficulty, please come meet with me at lunch. Look for comments from me on your blogs with suggestions.

Good Luck!

Creating your blog

A Few Announcements:

You need to have your blog created with the opening explanation post completed by this Thursday. Completing this assignment will count as your quiz. You may work on it at home as well.

Some reminders:

1. Make sure the name of your blog relates to the topic that you will be discussing in your blog. If you decide to change the name or topic. You should probably just start a brand new blog. Ask me if you are having trouble.


2. Once your blog has been created, comment on this post and copy and paste the address of your blog.


3. The explanation post: Welcome people to your site. Let them know what you are trying to do. Why are you interested in this topic and why should others become more aware? What type of articles and information can I find on this blog? (2-3 Paragraphs please----- SPELLCHECK)


4. All done????? Get Creative! Add pictures to your blog and explore the different functions that are available on blogger. start searching for articles

Due Thursday March 26 2009. * Use your time effectively.

Brainstorming for your BLOG

This semester you will become a political activist! This will be a semester-long blogging assignment. Your first step is to think of a blog topic that you will write about for the following semester. The more specific the issue is, the more interesting your blog will be. In order to figure out what you want your blog to be about you have to research ideas and make sure there is enough information out there for you to have interesting posts. You will have to find current articles to post on your blog. Use your chart to record some of your ideas.


Below are a few websites that may help you decide on your topic.

http://www.accd.edu/PAC/LRC/issues.htm
A list of controversial topics in alphabetical order.


http://www.saveourenvironment.org/
Interested in saving the environment? Check this out.

http://www.amnesty.org/
Amnesty international campaigns for human rights for all people. If you are interested in whats going on in other countries or want to know more about poverty? Check here.

What do you care about?

Figure it out.

What did we do this week?

Interpreting Amendments to the Constitution (1^st and 14^th)

Quiz 1.4

Please pick one quote to address and then answer the following questions in a cohesive essay.

Paragraph 1: What does this quote mean? ( 5- 6 sentences)_

- BASICALLY= WHATS THIS ABOUT- ( If I never read the quote, what could you tell me about it)

- Break each phrase down if you need to.

Paragraph 2: How does it relate to the either the 1^st Amendment or 14^th Amendment ( 5-6 sentences)

-start by telling me what the amendment guarantees.

-Then tell me how it relates to either the Skokie trial or to Gay Marriage.

Paragraph 3: Give me your opinion on the issue ( 6-8 sentences)

Support it with at least 2 valid reasons.

Choose your quote:

“By prohibiting gays to wed, the government is not merely discriminating against them on a cultural level. Rather, they argue, the United States has no less than 1,100 federal laws in which marital status is a factor. By denying gays the ability to legally marry, they argue, the government denies them many of the rights and benefits associated with marriage. “– Gay/ Lesbian Activist

Or

"It is better to allow those who preach racial hatred to expend their venom in rhetoric rather than to be panicked into embarking on the dangerous course of permitting the government to decide what its citizens may say and hear .... The ability of American society to tolerate the advocacy of even hateful doctrines ... is perhaps the best protection we have against the establishment of any Nazi-type regime in this country." – Federal Judge Bernard striking down an ordinance.

Please type your response on a word document and then copy and paste it into the comment box. If the comment box is not working, you may email it to kevynklein@gmail.com. ( make sure you fill in your profile as google/ gmail)

What is a blog?: Your First Assignment

Hello Class,

So I am sure you are all wondering why we are in the computer lab today? Well, we are about to embark on a cyber journey through political blogs. Each of you will be required to start your own political blog and update it for the remaining part of the semester. Remember, this class is not solely to learn about the different branches of American Government, but to become actively engaged in domestic and foreign politics. One way to get involved in politics is to stay educated about different issues that are important to you. In developing your opinions about politics, you will find yourself becoming more actively engaged in what we learn about in class.



Our first lesson: What is a blog?

"A blog is a personal diary. A daily pulpit. A collaborative space. A political soapbox. A breaking-news outlet. A collection of links. Your own private thoughts. Memos to the world.

Your blog is whatever you want it to be. There are millions of them, in all shapes and sizes, and there are no real rules.

In simple terms, a blog is a web site, where you write stuff on an ongoing basis. New stuff shows up at the top, so your visitors can read what's new. Then they comment on it or link to it or email you. Or not.

Since Blogger was launched in 1999, blogs have reshaped the web, impacted politics, shaken up journalism, and enabled millions of people to have a voice and connect with others.

And we're pretty sure the whole deal is just getting started."

- http://www.blogger.com/tour_start.g

What is a political blog?
(straight from Wikipedia)

A political blog is a common type of blog that comments on politics. In liberal democracies the right to criticize the government without interference is considered an important element of free speech. In other jurisdictions bloggers use the uncensored nature of the internet to bypass state controlled news media but as a result may find themselves persecuted.^[1][2]

Political blogs often have a clearly stated political bias. Although mainstream media news is often presented as impartial, bloggers believe that it does in many cases have a hidden political agenda. This assertion is supported by the propaganda model. Stating political bias at the outset is therefore seen as being more honest. On the other hand, blogs are often seen as being too anonymous and lacking in factual reliability to be trustworthy. However, they can serve as a soapbox for opinions not represented in mainstream media.^[3]

The increasing popularity of political blogs by independent political commentators has led to their adoption by media companies, politicians and other organisations^[4] hoping to be seen to be more accountable to their audiences, but these are often not considered "proper" blogs by the blogging community.

Check out this blogging video: Blogging in Plain English

Your assignment for today:

• Use Blog Catalog ( click on me)
• Please spend the rest of the period looking up blogs.
• You must find ONE example of a regular blog ( such as blogs on entertainment, daily life, gardening?) and ONE example of a political blog.
• In the comment section please copy and paste the blog you found and write 2- 3 sentences explaining what you may find on this type of blog and why you chose it. Make sure to include your name at the bottom of the post.
  

This is my first post

Hey,
Ms. Klein here. I am testing out the world of blogging to see how I can get my students involved. I want them to pick a particular issue that is important to them and blog about it.