Millsaps Introduction to American Politics: 2005

Monday, November 07, 2005

orwellian language

Check out this link. Do you see any of Orwell's rules being violated here?

http://www.theneweditor.com/index.php?/archives/1324-Rioting-in-France-Spreads-to-300-Towns.html

Friday, November 04, 2005

my comments on the Orwell handout

here is a link to my notes on Orwell and the notes on the CCM readings that we did not, for the most part, talk about today.

http://home.millsaps.edu/reinhmr/Orwell_Giblins_answers.doc

http://home.millsaps.edu/reinhmr/CCM_Social Welfare.doc

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

The debate roster as of Friday, November 4th

http://home.millsaps.edu/reinhmr/Debate sign up_3.xls

Sunday, October 30, 2005

We will be discussing foreign policy Friday and Iraq will obviously loom large. Here are a couple of interesting websites on either side of the issue:

http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=84414

http://www.strategypage.com/qnd/iraq/articles/20051030.aspx

Sunday, October 23, 2005

By the way

If you are interested in seeing the paper that tomorrow's lecture comes from you can read Chapter 5 of my dissertation. I have linked to the entire dissertation here:

http://home.millsaps.edu/reinhmr/Dissertation.pdf

Friday, October 21, 2005

Monday

Here is what we are reading Monday:

http://home.millsaps.edu/reinhmr/Murray.pdf

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Link to Friday's Readings

Here is a link to Friday's readings:

http://home.millsaps.edu/reinhmr/WhiteMagic.pdf

http://home.millsaps.edu/reinhmr/PoliticsLanguage.mht

http://home.millsaps.edu/reinhmr/ghandi.mht

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

readings

We are going to take a few days to discuss what makes a good persuasive essay. I have posted some readings on the subject. The file "Arguments 1-3" is the main reading.

http://home.millsaps.edu/reinhmr/Arguments1.pdf

http://home.millsaps.edu/reinhmr/Arguments2.pdf.doc

http://home.millsaps.edu/reinhmr/Arguments3.pdf

http://home.millsaps.edu/reinhmr/Murray.pdf

http://home.millsaps.edu/reinhmr/LincolnsHumor.pdf

http://home.millsaps.edu/reinhmr/WhiteMagic.pdf.doc

Monday, October 17, 2005

lecture note links

Thursday, October 06, 2005

Criticism of the President from the Right

Mr. Sunshine on the President's nomination for the Supreme Court:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/04/AR2005100400954.html

interesting article

Here is an interesting article about shifting loyalties among African Americans (that has very little to do with Congress)

http://realclearpolitics.com/Commentary/com-10_5_05_JA.html

Saturday, October 01, 2005

levitt

here is a link to the chapter from Levitt's book where he lays out his more abortion-->less crime argument.

http://home.millsaps.edu/reinhmr/WhereHaveAlltheCriminalsGone.pdf

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Professor's politics

Here is an article on the political leanings of college professors that makes interesting reading in light of Professor McElvaine's editorial:

http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/006/120xbklj.asp

Judicial Interpretation

Nice article on Justice Breyer's conception of the Constitution:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/26/opinion/26mon4.html

An astute analysis of the current political situtation:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2002522690_dionne27.html

An analysis of policy developments:
http://realclearpolitics.com/Commentary/com-9_26_05_MB.html

The last two articles are by political scientists.

Friday, September 23, 2005

interesting article

this is an interesting article on abortion and the role of the Supreme Court:

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-gelernter23sep23,0,1959549.story?coll=la-news-comment-opinions

Friday, September 16, 2005

Professor McElvaine's Op-ed

Here is a link to our own Robert McElvaine's Op-ed that came out last Friday.

http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050909/OPINION/509090315/1166

What do you think of it as a piece of persuasive writing?

Wednesday, September 14, 2005

China

This is a link to an article about a subject that seems to have fallen off the radar screen in recent years, human rights in China. This is an issue that will loom large in coming years and I would be interested if you have any thoughts on it.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-boot14sep14,0,7012691.column?coll=la-news-comment-opinions

Recalling our second principle of politics, do you see where Western or American companies might face a collective action problem?

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

The Bridge

Has anyone heard about this story?

http://justoneminute.typepad.com/main/2005/09/recapping_gretn.html

Thursday, September 08, 2005

surprising article

Here is something I didn't know:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/07/AR2005090702462.html?nav=most_emailed

If you find any articles you think would be interesting feel free to link to them in comments.

Links

Read the editorials linked to below and the blogs I link to on the right.

Read these writers both for their arguments and their writing style. Are they writing to persuade or to entertain? Which ones do you find persuasive and why?

We will spend the first class period discussing the aftermath of the Hurricane from the perspective of politics and public policy.

Politics is about conflict between groups, any groups. Keep in mind as you read the many possible axes of conflict: among different levels of government, between different levels of income, different races and regions, between public and private provision of services as well as between the political parties. Keep these many possible definitions of the conflict in mind as you read and think about the events of the last two weeks and come prepared to argue.

I am looking forward to seeing you all Monday.

Maureen Dowd
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/07/opinion/07dowd.html?incamp=article_popular

Mark Steyn
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2005/09/06/do0602.xml

Eugene Robinson
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/05/AR2005090501035.html

Dennis Byrne
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-0509050119sep05,0,2233752.story?coll=chi-newsopinioncommentary-hed

Wednesday, September 07, 2005

Plan B

Ok, we are going to change plans slightly. Instead of going right back to the constitution I was thinking we should take a day and discuss the events of the last two weeks. I am posting some links to some interesting op-ed pieces that I would like you to read as well as a couple of the blogs I mention on the syllabus. Then, instead of going right back to the reading schedule I had given you for the next couple of weeks I think we should detour and talk a bit about federalism and the bureaucracy, two things you have probably done some thinking about lately. I'll link to the new syllabus from this page.

Sunday, August 28, 2005

Hello

Hello Students,

This is how we are going to talk to each other outside of class.

At the top of this page you see a button to create your own blog. Go there and follow the instructions.

The trick is to make the name of your blog fit with this one. In the place where it asks you to paste in the URL of the blog you are setting up just type millsapsemailname.

Get it? make a URL out of the words "Millsaps" and the unique part of your email address. That way we can all access each other's blogs really easily.

You will probably also want to run a spell check on your items before you post them (as I forgot to do with this one).

There is a link section on the website where you can put up links to sites that you think are interesting. I would enjoy seeing what sites you think are worth reading (even if they aren't connected to politics). I'll try to put up some links too.

If you read this before Monday, here is something to think about. LGS appear to argue that the primary motivations of the Founders were economic. Do you believe that? More importantly, what kind of evidence would persuade you one way or the other?