Category: Political science

Think about what standard of evidence should be used to remove a president from office. Using evidence from the sources below, write an argument about whether there is sufficient evidence and argument to remove the president Trump from office immediately.

Read the impeachment charge against President Trump. ( Attached below as a PDF)

Read the transcript of President Donald Trump’s speech ( https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/1/11/full-transcript-donald-trump-january-6-incendiary-speech ) or watch selections of the speech ( https://www.c-span.org/video/?507744-1/rally-electoral-college-vote-certification ) to the crowd that marched on the Capitol building on January 6.

Other sources of information you may find useful:

Watch Georgia’s Republican Secretary of State, George Raffensperger, describe Trump’s pressuring him to overturn the results of the election: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/georgia-election-brad-raffensperger-60-minutes-2021-01-10/ 

Arizona certification of election results: https://azsos.gov/2020GECanvass

PA certification https: https://www.media.pa.gov/pages/state-details.aspx?newsid=435

PA certificate of electors https: https://www.archives.gov/files/electoral-college/2020/ascertainment-pennsylvania.pdf

PA court decisions rejecting objections: https://www.democracydocket.com/state/pennsylvania/?by_case_type=post-election

The dialogue should be about 1,200 to 1,500 words long

Watch the following short video about “The Melian Dialogue,” which is probably the most famous chapter of Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War.

https://nerdfighteria.info/v/Sc28Hw8Jd04/

When you’re finished watching, please read “The Melian Dialogue” (see attached).  It’s quite short, but it packs a powerful punch.  One thing John Green doesn’t mention is that this dialogue is considered the first written statement of the realist position in international relations.
Your assignment is to re-write (or re-imagine) “The Melian Dialogue” where the Athenian emissaries use not a realist approach but rather something akin to a liberal internationalist and/or constructivist approach.  That is, they do not suggest that the strong do what they like and the weak suffer what they must; they do not say that international relations is just about the dynamics of power; they do not threaten the Melians to align themselves with Athens or else.  Instead, the Athenians try to persuade the Melians that maintaining neutrality during this war isn’t right because Athens stands for just principles and represents the cornerstone of civilization in the Hellenic world while Sparta does not.  It’s up to you to decide how this conversation will go, where it will lead, what arguments the Athenians and Melians will make, and whether the Athenians’ appeals are ultimately successful.
Have fun with this, and be sure to write this in the form of a dialogue between the emissaries of these two city-states, Athens and Melos.  Think of your dialogue as a play with two actors.  Make the conversation colorful and compelling.  The dialogue should be about 1,200 to 1,500 words long.  I’ve also attached some PowerPoint slides that provide some context for “The Melian Dialogue” and highlight some key passages.

Read the following passage from The Manifesto:

Does it require deep intuition to comprehend that mans ideas, views, and conception, in one word, mans consciousness, changes with every change in the conditions of his material existence, in his social relations and in his social life?  What else does the history of ideas prove than that intellectual production changes its character in proportion as material production is changed? The ruling ideas of each age have ever been the ideas of its ruling class.

After studying the above passage, write a ONE-PAGE response when addressing the following intellectual problem:

If ones social class shapes ones consciousnessi.e.: ones self-awareness and understanding about the worldwhat must be done, or better, what must happen, to ensure that the working class can think differently from the ruling class to start a revolution? In other words, if the ruling class dictates how people think, how then can workers think about revolution if they–the workers–can only contemplate ideas put into their heads by the ruling class?

NO OUTSIDE SOURCES. only cite The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx (attached below)

Students should offer evidence for their arguments. Must be a minimum of 750 words.  Submissions should include a works cited page (note: there must be a parenthetical citation at the end of each sentence that contains information from a source). The textbook should be one of the sources and included on the works cited page (sources other than the textbook may be used as well).

You should use New Courier or Times New Roman, 12 point font, double-spacing, and one inch margins on all four sides of the paper.  The assignment is to be formatted according to the Modern Language Association (MLA) style which includes a works cited page but does NOT include a title page.

Writing Topics:
1) Discuss how the population has changed in Texas and how it is projected to change in the future.  (Hint: Look at the charts and graphs in Chapter 1.)  In what ways might Texas politics change in the future based on its racial and ethnic makeup?  Based on the population growth, urbanization and economic transformation of the last two decades, how might Texas change in the next two decades?  Which areas will grow in population, and what might Texas government have to do to respond to that growth?  (Be specific)
2) Compared to the US Constitution, why is the Texas Constitution so frequently amended? How does the turnout for elections dealing with constitutional amendments compare to turnout for presidential elections? (Refer to Who are Texans? in Chapter 2). Do you think the level of turnout influences the legitimacy of the amendments that are passed or rejected?  Do you think that more people should participate in constitutional amendment elections? Why or why not?  Is there anything the state can do to increase turnout for constitutional amendment elections?
3) Has the evolving relationship between the federal government and the states changed for the better or worse? Why? How has Texas generally responded to mandates from the federal government? Do you think the federal government should be allowed to enact unfunded mandates on the states?  What state issues, if any, do you feel the federal government should be involved in?  Why these and not others?
4) Do you think political parties serve an important function in Texas?  Why?  What are some of the barriers to third parties in Texas?  Do you think Texas should make it easier for minor parties to gain political power?  Why or why not?  What changes would you make in order to improve the visibility and power of minor parties in Texas?
What are some of the past and more recent barriers to voting in Texas?  (Be specific) What accounts for the low level of voter participation in Texas?  What can be done to increase voter participation?  (Specifically discuss at least two policy proposals that election officials could adopt.)  Under legislation passed in 2017, Texas will be eliminating straight-ticket voting beginning with the 2020 elections.  Do you agree with this?  Why or why not?
5) What are some of the positive and negative consequences of former members of the Texas Legislature lobbying current members of the legislature?  People in the legislature and outside observers have discussed putting limitations on lobbying by former members.  Should Texas enact laws to limit the ability of ex-legislators to lobby? What major proposal was put forward in the 2019 legislative session?  How far did the bill go in the Texas Legislature?  (Note: The Texas Tribune is a good source for information on the legislative session.)
6) Discuss the gender, racial and educational makeup of the Texas Legislature.  (Refer to Who are Texans? in Chapter 7.)  Does it adequately represent the population of the state?  If the legislature had more people of color, more women, or more people of varying levels of education, do you think it would pass different policies?  If so, what kinds of policies might they pass?  (Be specific here.)  Does the part-time nature of the Texas legislature encourage or discourage people from particular occupations to run?  Do you think a full-time legislature could make the legislature more representative?  Why or why not?

In the attached document (below as PDF)

You will find six speeches made by modern presidents as they unilaterally initiated the use of force. For each speech, briefly describe how the president *legally* or *constitutionally* justifies his *authority* to use force. (Not why using force is his preferred policy choice). If you can’t find any authorizing language, please note that.

Speech 1: George H. W. Bush “Address to the Nation Announcing United States Military Action in Panama”

Speech 2: George H. W. Bush, “Address to the Nation Announcing the Deployment of United States Armed Forces to Saudi Arabia”

Speech 3: Bill Clinton, “Remarks Announcing a Missile Strike on Iraq and an Exchange With Reporters”

Speech 4: Bill Clinton, press conference, including remarks on sending troops to Bosnia

Speech 5: Bill Clinton, health care press conference, including remarks on air strikes against Serbia

Speech 6: Barack Obama, “Remarks on the Situation in Libya”

please only use the primary source attached. no secondary sources allowed.