This week's assignments will focus on the recent push by some to encourage Texas to secede from the union and the possibility that Congress might actually pass, and the president might actually sign, comprehensive immigration reform.
GOVT 2305 (and 2302): I want you to look at immigration reform, and specifically the question about whether it is likely to be passed by the Senate and the House. I've posted a few items on this already. A "gang" of four Democratic and four Republican Senators proposed comprehensive immigration reform, and speculation exists that passage of these reform might easily pass that chamber. The president has also made a set of proposals and seems ready to "go public" to promote them. The question is what will happen in the House because Republicans are in the majority and they are split between a faction that sees it necessary to pass immigration reform in order to gain support from the emerging Latino community, and a factions that is opposed to it - mostly the remnants of the Tea Party.
I want you to read up on this conflict and provide a reasoned, informed commentary on the likelihood that immigration reform can actually pass the 113th Congress, and if so, in what form. Part of the purpose of this assignment is to get you to think more about the separated powers and the fact that each of the elected institutions on the national level are designed differently in order to ensure that they behave differently. The conflict we see is intended. But explain what design factors make this issue - that seems ready to be passed in the Senate - may not be in the House.
GOVT 2306 (and 2301): We've been looking at founding documents, including the Declaration of Independence. We noted that the declaration was intended to convince an impartial world that their desire to be independent. Normally this is something nations do not like to see happen - for an obviously self interested reason - which is why it was important that substantive reasons be offered in order to ensure that the decision was based on reason, not passion.
As you may know, after the 2012 election many petitions were sent to the White House requesting permission for some states - Texas included - to secede from the nation. I want you to find these petitions, and any other supporting documents, and analyze the arguments they make. What reasons were offered? How do these stack up against the arguments made in the Texas Declaration of Independence (2301s might want to look at the US Declaration of Independence). Are the arguments reasonable, or driven by passion? Support your assessment.
General comment: As some of you have already found out - I give low grades to answers that are simply based on personal opinion. The reason is that opinion is easy. These are intended to be analytical exercises that force you to do a bit of research and apply what you learn to the question posed. This is intended to be more challenging than simply spouting off what you believe. Prove to me that you've done the work necessary to understand and process the facts associated with these questions. In other words, I'm not interested - in this assignment - what your personal opinions about immigration and secession are.
