Friday, November 1, 2013

Written Assignment #3 - 8 week classes

I want you to write at least 150 words on the the following subject - based on whichever class you are in - and submit it through BlackBoard.

2305 - This week you will begin to look at the legislative branch - Congress - and if you have been following the news and keep up with commentary you know that there are questions about whether the institution is broken. I've complied a handful of posts related to this subject.

I've put these under the label Is Congress Broken?

I want you to familiarize yourself with the subject and weigh in on the question. First off - Is Congress really broken, or is it functioning as intended? If it is, why is that the case and what can done about it?

2306 - We are witnessing yet another conflict between the national and state governments. This time over the abortion legislation passed in the 83rd legislative session which met this past spring. There are several other areas where the decisions of the state government have been challenged at the national level. These conflicts help illustrate the cultural conflict between Texas and the US. In one of the early set of slides we went over political culture around the nation - the individualistic, traditionalistic and moralistic cultures - and highlighted areas of conflict. We argued that cultural differences help explain the disputes that happen between the Texas and National government.

Using the dispute over access to abortion, as well as any others you may come across, I want you to test these whether it is indeed the case that current conflicts between Texas and the US boil down to cultural differences. Give examples and explain thoroughly.

Good luck and I look forward to what you write.