the weaker party

Who'd a thunk it ? The Cold War is now officially over.

President Bush issued another signing statement when he signed the Defense Authorization Act recently. The American Constitution Society gi...

Home schooled students are consistently among my best. The home schooling process has been controversial in some quarters because of questio...

Same rules as the past tests. Two full paragraphs, well written and researched, gets an A. Less gets less. 1. What role does the executive...

Maybe you really don't, though you think you do. Take the Implicit Association Test . It's a strange exercise, and it tells me that ...

Late last year Congress passed and President Bush signed into law, the Sudan Accountability and Divestment Act . The bill makes it easier fo...

It took about three weeks--very fast by congressional standards--but President Bush signed the Economic Stimulus Act into law yesterday. Th...

I had no plans to post on the Clemens testimony before Congress--though it is an interesteing look at the oversight function of Congress--bu...

Got you attention didn't I? Who says federalism can't be fun? The US 5th Circuit court, by a 2-1 vote, overturned a Texas law bannin...

In my experience, yes. Most students seek confirmation of preexisting beliefs, not exposure to new ideas. Susan Jacoby writes about the phe...

In order to thwart efforts to investigate the firings of lawyers in the Justice Department, the Bush Administration prevented two officials,...

The close contest between Clinton and Obama has brought to light the existence of superdelegates and the role they play in the party nomina...

For the first time in recent memory, a presidential vote in Texas matters. Recent successes by Obama have led the Clinton campaign to call T...

Here's what's on tap for the next two weeks. GOVT 2301 Readings: AG: Chapter 2 and 3; PTP: Chapter 2 and 3 Goals and Objectives. If ...

A recent story in the New York Times touches on conflic t between religious denominations. Pope Benedict XVI has unnerved some Jewish leader...

Politifact.com has something they call the truth-o-meter which they use to evaluate the truth behind the various claims and statement made...

For the first time since 1960, a sitting U.S. Senator is posed to win the presidency . Most recent presidents have been governors, which ha...

Are we creeping towards authoritarianism ?

Sean Wilentz asks the only important question that can be asked of any presidential candidate: What is your vision of the presidency? What ...

This is a first as far as I know. A member of the House of Representatives--Arizona's Jeff Flake--has started a website promoting his at...

Here are a few belated links regarding the results of the primaries held last Tuesday. The Washington Post and the New York Times both hav...

His name is Frank Buckles . Once he is gone, no one in the U.S. will have any first hand knowledge of the war. With him will go an entire ge...

The President began the 2009 budgetary process by introducing his proposed budget . The actual process has been underway as his agencies sen...

Its a curious obsession says Stanley Fish . Two quotes from his article: "In the January issue of GQ, Jason Horowitz described the worl...

Expansion Management Magazine says so and they have a study ( the Legislative Quotien t ) to prove it. Here's a related story from a Mi...

As expected, the tax relief bill that raced through the House is stalling in the Senate. This is partly due to an attempt by Democratic lea...

The freshman representative from Houston's 146th district has been in the news recently . Note the story's focus on his decision t...

Confusion over the current slate of presidential candidates and the current mood of the electorate has led some to speculate that a partisan...

Here's a bit of history involving the Texas Rangers I was not familiar with. They apparently ran amok on the Texas Mexico border for a ...

As my 2301's get set to read through Federalist #10 we have remember the problems that can result from the decisions democratic systems ...

Like the questions for the first quiz, I expect at least two full paragraphs for each question. You will note that some will require some re...

People think, quite a bit according to the results of this online poll . Large majorities of voters believe the president has considerable s...

Before too much time elapses, here are links to comments on the President's Final State of the Union Speech. Q & A's from the Wa...

Not long ago, Republicans in the Senate were talking about doing away with the filibuster as a tactic to defeat judicial nominees. It was ca...

The U.S. House of Representatives voted 385-35 to approve a tax rebate for over 110 million Americans. The Senate is considering its own pl...

Can a Sandwich Be Slandered ?

This Houston Chronicle story featuring Harris County Judge Ed Emmett has him concerned that party's recent successful run might be at a...

These are the items I expect you to know by the end of next week if you are in my 2301 or 2302 classes. 2301: You will know The conflicts ...

In this clip from a Good Morning America interview with Matilda Cuomo--wife of Mario-- about mentoring you'll hear her mention my wife ...

I added a new link in the "Elections" section. The Living Room Candidate has comprehensive collection of all of the campaign comm...

Another good column from David Brooks today . Moderately conservative Republicans are supporting John McCain despite the fact that (more id...

After watching stocks tank around the world yesterday, while the markets took a day off due to MLK Day, the Federal Reserve attempted to to ...

These are the written questions for my 2302 TBA students. I expect at least two full paragraphs for each question. You will note that some w...

Wesley Snipes' lawyers are arguing that they are not and that criminal tax evasion charges are groundless. One argument that has been m...

The first 2302 quiz will focus primarily on material we cover in class and the text of the Constitution in your American Government book...

After trying to cheerlead the economy back to health, the president seems to have conceded that the economy is unhealthy and needs assistan...

That's the title of a great column today by David Brooks . It brings to the discussion of the current crazy primary season recent theor...

It keeps you from being indicted for arson and obstruction of justice . Now it seems that the foreman of the grand jury that stated that th...

The first 2301 quiz covers the first chapters of each of your textbooks, plus the Declaration of Independence which is at the back of your A...

The Huckabee camp is apparently using push polls against McCain. McCain supporters in South Carolina are asked if they know that McCain --...

That seems to be the consensus on the Supreme Court as it rules today that New York state's method of selecting trial court judges gives...

The Supreme Court heard arguments yesterday on Virginia v. Moore yesterday. The case involves the application of the exclusionary rule whi...

The Constitution, given its simplicity, creates dilemmas. The freedoms it establishes for the public can also make it more difficult for gov...

The Supreme Court heard arguments in two related cases: Crawford v. Marion County Election Board and Indiana Democratic Party v. Secretary ...

Real Clear Politics argues that Hillary won NH because she has been able to revive the New Deal Coalition .

Pollsters make a good living making correct predictions so they are justifiably concerned when they get an election wrong. Double digit proj...

If Rod Dreher is right , Huckabee's success so far among Republicans (as well as Ron Paul's I'd add) does not bode well for Wa...

A link to the News Hampshire Primary results: Politico.com The Wikipedia entry outlines its historical importance . So does the state's ...

The New York Times reports on problems with the machines . They turn out to be far more unpredictable than first anticipated.

So says Andrew Sullivan .

Before more time slips, here are links to sites with info about the Iowa Caucus in general and the results of last week's caucus in part...

For prospective 2301 students, I've posted my syllabus for the 3 week mini. Note that we will be reading selections from Plutarch's ...

Here are the final exam questions for my TBA GOVT 2301 and 2302. Write at least 500 words for each, but feel free to write more. Final 2301 ...

That's how David Brooks describes the evolution of China's government . The Harvard Alumni Association with an army.

Need a few extra points on your final? Block walk this week for Chris Peden this Saturday and write up a one page summary of what you did. ...

Here's some intriguing history on the relationship between marriage and government . Marriage did not always need the stamp of approval ...

A thought crime bill is introduced in Congress .

Grover Norquist proposes an amendment limiting family succession in elected office . Is this really necessary? And is he just trying to keep...

Print media woes continue. The Houston Chronicle, under the radar, announces a reduction of 10% of its staff . Here's another link . W...

The Alternative Minimum Tax has been in the news because it is estimated to affect up to 25 million taxpayers next year. It was originally...

Terms, concepts etc... public policy the public policy process constitutional issues economic policy making the prerequisites for a market e...

The following should help you on the next test. Please try to be familiar with these terms and concepts prior to our upcoming classes. freed...

Is the growing gap between the poor and wealthy a fitting subject for public policy? Perhaps its more important to ask whether the nature of...

in 2301, when we cover public opinion polls well discuss push polls . These are campaign ploys designed to expose respondents, who think th...

Here's an interesting back and forth between Gary Becker and Richard Posner on China's slow embrace of private property--or what p...

Federal Judge Richard Posner argues that they cannot . For prosecutors and detectives, success is measured by arrests, convictions and sent...

This is a bit late for our discussion of the courts, but Grits for Breakfast tells us the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has OK'ed th...

From the Financial Times comes a story regarding Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ( ADHD ). They tell us the following: A fascina...

While the web continues to grow, the number of newspapers--and newspaper reporters--continues to decline. Grits for Breakfast tells us that ...

Some posts in the Ethical Blogger underscore the unique impact of the web on politics and political evolution overall. The first points out ...

A controversy brewing among New York Times editorialists touches on the southern strategy which we've touched on in 2301. The controv...

Speaking of grand juries, Barry Bonds finds himself on the wrong side of one . The charges are perjury and obstruction of justice. The charg...

We touched on grand juries in class, much more so than I normally do. That sometimes means that have to dust off cobwebs on the spot. Some q...

We've been comparing the lawyers marching in Pakistan with the monks in Myanmar. I still think the sight of marching lawyers just seems ...

I let the conflict over the Mukasey nomination slip without comment, but wanted to get some links up for posterity. His nomination raised ...

Here's a great opportunity to get involved in the political process. Dean Hrbacek is competing for the Republican nomination for the 22n...

Due to my illness Monday I'm postponing test 3, scheduled for the Wednesday the 13 th and Thursday the 14 th for my 16 week lecture cl...

Now that Democrats are the majority party in Congress, they receive the bulk of the political contributions from political action committee...

Pork trumps politics . Of course one person's pork project is another person's floodgate, so we should curb our cynicism. Is this an...

I've been trying to be more clear in lectures about what liberal and conservative decisions look like. One distinction has to do with ci...

George Will has written an update on the ongoing dispute over the nature of congressional war powers . He supports an resolution introduced ...

Given events in Pakistan and scenario I drew up for something similar happening today, here's something from The Writer's Almanac . ...

The idea makes more and more sense to me the longer I think it over. Why not give kids a monetary incentive to perform well (or at least bet...

I've decided to make all of the written tests available now. You'll see links in the usual place. Hopefully this will allow you to a...

Our boy Ron Paul set a single day fundraising record for a Republican presidential candidate. $4.2 million, all on line . Here's the sit...

Sci-Guy wonders if and when humans will be able to marry robots . This is what happens when guys can't get dates. Should someone in the ...

Both alcohol proposals pass in Brazoria County. Here are l ocal results from the chron . Statewide results from the Texas Secretary of Sta...

One of the more interesting aspects of the continuing investigation of Blackwater International, for me, is contained in this story about t...