PSC 212: American Policy System, Time Table

Janda/Hula, Essentials edition, 14: Policymaking [PPT] and The Budget | Cengage, self-study activities for this book
Janda, Full edition, 17: Policy-Making | Lecture and Discussion Notes
Idealog (Web) [are you liberal, conservative?]
PoliticalCompass.org: plots your ideological position from a quiz; explanation of the two dimensions of political thinking [local file].  (More sophisticated than Idealog). [Graphs, and instructions on clipping the screen]
List of basic values and services, compiled from the class

What is distinctive about the US policymaking process?
What types of public policy are there?
What types of ideology are there and how do you fit in these schemes of belief?
What values and services should be promoted by government?

Janda/Hula, Essentials edition, 12: Order & Civil Liberties [Local PPT, civil liberties]
Notes to Janda, Full edition, 15: Order and Civil Liberties | Lecture and Discussion Notes
Serow 9: Liberties & Rights

49: Miranda v Arizona (1966, rights of accused) [Case Notes] [Local PPT] [Jeremiah]
50: Donald Kettl, "System Under Stress," (Patriot Act) [Nick]
53: Craig Rimmerman, "The Lesbian and Gay Movements" [5e]  [Blair]
54: Alderman & Kennedy, "In Our Defense" (Native American right to religion, 1991). [Reporter]

Humor about rights and social stereotypes:

Monty Python's Flying Circus, "The Precision Drilling Sketch," 1970s era, on YouTube (early TV skit bending stereotypes)
Monty Python's Flying Circus, "Homicidal Barber & The Lumberjack Song," 1970s era, on YouTube (early TV skit bending stereotypes)
Monty Python's Flying Circus, "The Spanish Inquisition," 1970s era, on YouTube

Consider limits to free speech and free expression in videos:

Woman football player from New Mexico attacks opponents (compilation by French TV, 2000s era), on YouTube
NRA "Just an Elitist Hypocrite," ad versus Obama on gun control, Jan 2013, on YouTube

What types of civil liberties are there in a liberal democracy?
In what sense do civil liberties compromise society's need for order and security?
In what ways has the gay rights movement successful, and what obstacles remain?
What sort of need can justify a state overriding the right to religious practice?

Janda/Hula, Essentials edition, 13: Equality & Civil Rights [Local PPT, civil rights]
Notes to Janda, Full edition, 16: Equality and Civil Rights | Lecture and Discussion Notes
Serow 9: Liberties & Rights

48: Anthony Lewis, "Gideon's Trumpet" (1964, Right to counsel.) [Blair]
51: Richard Kluger,"Simple Justice: Brown v Board ..." (1975, schools desegregation) [Jeremiah]
52: Charles Ogletree, "With All Deliberate Speed," (2004, on Brown II's meaning.)[Jackson X]
55: Mary Ann Glendon, "Rights Talk", (what do rights mean, 1991) [Rhett]
Oyez.org Supreme Court Cases |

How are civil rights anchored in the US Constitution?
What types of equality are there and which ones are valued in the US?
How was the right to counsel established?
How did school desegregation come about and what was the role of the courts?
Did the two Brown v Bd cases contradict each other?
What are the difficulties of implementing affirmative action, and how do people's rights conflict?
Can there be rights without responsibilities?

Humor: Monty Python's Flying Circus, "How to Contradict People," 1970s era, on YouTube

President Obama's Second Inaugural address, 21 Jan. 2013, from NY Times, on YouTube, 18'[Local PPT]
Similarities in President Obama's two inaugural addresses, 2009 and 2013, CNN, 2'
 

Janda/Hula, Essentials edition, 14: Policymaking and The Budget [Local PPT, Macroeoconomic theories]
Notes to Janda, Full edition, 18: Economic Policy | Lecture and Discussion Notes

What types of economic policy are there, and with what effects?
What is the business cycle and how does it affect government?
How should government control the business cycle, if at all?
What is the difference between monetary and fiscal policy?
What difference does it make if the government takes in more revenue than it spends -- or vice versa?
Which policy should the government adopt in a recession -- or a boom?
Who develops the President's budget?
What are the stages of the budget process?
Can the Congress ever balance the budget?
Is deficit spending caused by ... liberal democracy?
How much of the US budget is controllable this year by the President and Congress?
Distinguish between progressive and regressive tax policies.
By the standards of the developed world, how fair are US and Alabamian tax policies?
Who should pay for government services?
Should government attempt to reduce the inequality of the market?

Serow, 15: Political Economy ...

83: Michael Harrington, "New American Poverty" (1984)  [Blair] 
84: Milton Friedman, "Free to Choose" (1980, individualism)[Reporter]

Is there really no poverty or squalor in modern America?
Insofar as there is poverty, does society have any moral obligation to alleviate it?
What are the virtues of the free market?
How is Friedman intellectually indebted to Adam Smith and to Friedrich von Hayek?
How did Friedman, in the 1980s, influence President Reagan and Prime Minister Thatcher?
Is the free market desired to make us rich -- or to give us political freedom?
Do government handouts to the poor make them dependent -- or more free?
Are countries with larger government sectors necessarily less rich, and less free, than free market countries?

President Obama, State of the Union address, late Jan. 2013, on Whitehouse.gov, YouTube and media sites

See Dates page for Test 1, which may include multiple choice, short answer and essay questions on all the above.

Notes to Janda, Full edition, 19: Domestic Policy | Lecture and Discussion Notes
President Obama's domestic policy proposals, WhiteHouse.Gov/Issues
President-elect Obama's domestic policy proposals from campaign 2008 (Johns Hopkins U.)
Serow, 15: ... & Public Welfare

85: Sharon Hays, "Flat Broke with Children," [Reporter]
86. Michele Wucker, "Lockout"[Jeremiah]
87. Steven Cohen, "Understanding Environmental Policy"  [Reporter]
88. Kevin Phillips, "Bad Money"  [Reporter]

What types of entitlements are provided in the US, and to what groups in society?
To what extent is there poverty in the modern US?
Is it fair to say welfare benefits breed dependency instead of a helping hand?
Were President-elect Obama's policy proposals radical or moderate? To what degree have they been implemented?

Notes to Janda, Full edition, 20: Global Policy | Lecture and Discussion Notes | PPT
Serow, 16: America in Changed World

89: Sam Huntington, "Clash of Civilizations."[Blair]
90: Fareed Zakaria, "The Post-American World" [Reporter]

AWAC: AL World Affairs Council, recommended
For AWAC speaker event and Presidential State of the Union message: check Dates page.
Old and New diplomacy; Multilateralism v Unilateralism (Lewis, lecture outline.)

What are the key concepts of international relations?
How can the world function safely without a world government?
Should nation states conduct their foreign policy by realism -- or is there room for idealism?
Is public opinion capable of exerting influence on US foreign policy?
What should replace the cold war as a theme of US foreign policy for the 21st century?

When feasible: Test 1 returned, with exemplary written answers presented

Serow, 17: America in World

91: Chalmers Johnson, "Blowback,"  [Nick]
92: Joseph Nye, "Soft Power," [Rhett]

Is the US a global empire nation? [Johnson]
Is there a real phenomenon of "blowback" -- and what does it mean? [Johnson]
Do open and covert actions abroad frequently "blowback" against the US? [Johnson]
Do these "blowbacks" often outweigh the benefits of the actions taken? [Johnson]
What are the different sorts of power? [Nye]
Can soft power produce better results than force? [Nye]
Is it better to be feared than loved by other countries? [Nye]

Note: owing to illness, class is cancelled on Thursday 21 Feb. 2013.  Patnode is postponed to week 8.
Patnode, Roberts' Rules, Modern Edition.  NEW

How can we secure fairness in policy debates?
What are motions? How do we open debate?
How can we close debate in order to make a decision?
How do we make priorities in who speaks and what motions to consider?
How do we ensure a minority voice can be heard, yet decisions can be made and accepted?

Note: owing to illness, class is cancelled on Thursday 21 Feb. 2013.
In week 8, there will be a lecture and exercise on Robert's Rules, and Patnode will be discussed. [Local PPT]
Teams of students will work up simulations with a motion, pro and con speeches, and amendments.Notes
Dye, Understanding Public Policy, - cancelled for week 8, in 2013

Dye, Understanding Public Policy, 5: Health Care | Lecture

Is the health care system more based on a private market or on public delivery?
What systems of health care does the US operate for the military, the elderly, the poor, and children?
Does the US system distribute health care resources efficiently?
Why are so many Americans left out of the health insurance system?
Should the US health care system be reformed, and how?

Health Care Reform Act, March 2010: lecture notes| White House | Alabama

What are the goals of the health care reform?
When will the provisions come into effect?
Will the reforms actually increase or decrease federal costs?
How were the reforms put through the House and the Senate?
Who supported or opposed the reforms?
Will the reforms achieve universal coverage?
Which groups will benefit? Which will pay for those benefits?
Spring 2012: did the new Republican majority repeal or reform the act?

Debate on policy, with a presiding officer, motion, pro and con speeches, and amendments.

See Dates page for Test 2, which may include multiple choice, short answer and essay questions on all since Test 1.
Dye, Understanding Public Policy, Crime & the (in)Justice System | Lecture Notes | Discussion Notes

Is the criminal justice system so irrational that it is failing to control crime?
What types of crime are there?
What are the causes of crime?
Why does crime increase or decrease?
Does harsh punishment -- or even the death penalty -- deter crime?

PBS: Nixon's China Game; film. [Shown in 2013]
Should a rising power whose ideology is repugnant, be isolated or accommodated?
Should diplomacy be conducted personally by presidents -- or institutionally by diplomats?
Should diplomacy be conducted in secrecy or by "open covenants, openly arrived at"?

When feasible: Test 2 returned, with exemplary written answers presented

Machine Politics:| Lecture Notes | Scores
Riordon, Plunkitt of Tamany Hall [PPT] [Rhett & Walt]

PBS video, "Settin' the Woods on Fire: George Wallace" [Documents Index].
Jeremy Lewis, "George Wallace", Ency. of Political Parties & Elections, 1991.
[Note, this was written before Dan Carter's 1995 book, The Politics of Rage, & PBS video, were published.]

What are the central beliefs of Plunkitt about local politics?
Is there anything about Plunkitt's argument that fits your own state's politics today?
To what degree was George Wallace a southern version of Plunkitt -- and what are the contrasts between those men?
How did interpretation of the politics of Wallace change after 1991?
What were Wallace's political beliefs and practices as a young man?
How did Wallace change from 1957 onwards, and why?
In what sense, if any, was Wallace racist?
What were Wallace's skills as a campaigner and as an executive?

 
Speaker, not offered in 2013: Prof. Jaime Demick, on her sexual harrassment case in Maryland |PPT outline
Helping federal officers prosecute a novel type of assault -- and amending Maryland law to establish an offense against public health. Students' lecture notes, 2009 | 2008

Training in registration and forum for any registration issues and courses available.
Explanation of research project: see Dates page and Requirements page
Explanation of the course rotation and courses offered for next term; and interviews with academic adviser for pre-registration advising. 

Library Reserve or DBX readings:
Thomas Patterson, 21:  State and Local Politics.
Alexis de Tocqueville, "Equality" (excerpt of Democracy in America, 1835). [Blair]
V.O. Key, "Alabama" from Southern Politics in State & Nation (1949). [Reporter]
PBS Video, "Going to Great Lengths: The AL Constitution of 1901".

How do the powers of state institutions vary from those of the federal government?
Does Alabama retain any characteristics now that Key found in 1949?
What kind of society did Tocqueville espy -- and is anything still the same?
What's wrong with the 1901 constitution and what reforms have been proposed?

Forum and feedback about any registration issues and courses available.
Training for research project, with references and audiovisual presentation; see Dates page & Requirements page

Alabamian Politics: (links updated 2012)
AL in NJ Almanac of American Politics (2010 edition) (2012 edition not yet available free)
What are the political characteristics of our state?
How does Alabamian politics seem from the point of view of conservative researchers in Washington DC?
What upheavals in the legislature and executive have taken place since the 2010 edition?

AL Federal districts MAP & list (pre-2008; updated in part)

What are the characteristics of Alabama's electoral districts and elected officials?
How well do current elected officials match their districts?
Are there any elected officials who could be successfully challenged in the next election?
How are Alabama's economy, society and politics changing?

Using Almanac, AL.com's newspaper article search, Senate.gov & House.gov, brief presentations:

District 1 and US Rep. Bonner  [Bailey] ??
District 2 and US Reps. Bright and Roby  [Walt]
District 3 and US Rep. Rogers  [Jeremy W]
District 4 and US Rep. Aderholt  [Justin J]
District 5 and US Reps. Griffith and Brooks [Blair]
District 6 and US Rep. Bachus  [Justin N]
District 7 and US Reps. Davis and Sewell [Andy]

Senior US Senator: Shelby  [Reporter]
Junior US Senator: Jeff Sessions: autobiography  [Jeremiah] | Press Releases | internships in DC and AL
 Governor [notes needed] [Jeremiah]
Legislature [notes needed] [Jackson X]
The Republican sweep of the legislature, 2010 [Nick] (May draw upon Mike Hubbard's book, DBX and AL.com's newspaper articles) NEW

PBS Video, "Conscience of a Congressman" (Carl Elliott) -- if time permits.

Illustrated presentations by students of their research projects, followed by interrogation and critical thinking discussion
Presentations timetable | Advice |  NEW
Examples from past seniors' capstone presentations (see Rainey, McCollum and Pierce for model PPT files)
Course evaluations
[19-20 April 2013, No PSC classes Friday, owing to ALaPSA conference]

Alabamian Politics: Library Reserve Binder or DBX readings
Presentations on Alabamian state government by our current Capitol Interns, if available.
Video, "Big Jim Folsom" -- if time permits.

What are the characteristics of Alabama governance?
How is the public administration of Alabama improving?
What's wrong with taxing and budgeting in Alabama?
In what ways do job discrimination continue to haunt Alabama?
Check out recent articles on Alabama politics at AL.com.
How did the AL voters realign in the 1990s toward the Republican party?
How did AL's realignment in the 1990s reflect changes across the South?

 

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