the weaker party

2306 students might find this radio discussion helpful. - Click here for it .

I'll be bugging you about getting a thesis statement soon. Maybe this'll help you get an idea about how to get this done well. Just ...

This is the full list of Supreme Court cases from this years term that I asked 2305 students to consider for their paper. I placed an X by...

This is the full list of Supreme Court cases from this years term that I asked 2305 students to consider for their paper. I placed an X by...

I'll try posting these on a daily basis. These should you if you are in 2306 and need to either figure out what to write about or gather...

A couple 2305 students have proposed looking at Yates v United States. - Click here for Scotusblog's page on the case . The case involve...

For 2306 students still looking for a topic: You could do worse than start here. - Click here for the site . It should be easy for you to fi...

As of 2 pm today these were the topics students were proposing to write about. All were to relate to the activities of the 84th legislative ...

Both 2305 and 2306 students are to get comfortable with the terminology that surrounds government and politics, and among these terms are th...

According to every Justice on the Supreme Court - yes. - Click here for the decision . At least one 2305 student will be looking at the case...

I took a break from blogging but I'll jump back on it now that summer classes have started up. Students should look on blackboard for th...

Edgewood v. Kirby filed: On this day in 1984, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) filed a landmark suit again...

For our look at counties in 2306. For more, click here .

For our review of a semester's worth of material today: The need for public education was written into both the Texas Declaration of...

This is intended to be less a review than a review of key points made over the course of the semester. We will review these today in class....

Here's what you should prioritize as you prep for the test, but don't limit yourself to these. I might get tricky. Current events –...

Think broadly about the following specific items. I might add a few things over the next week - so don't limit yourself to these items -...

In 2305 we've been discussing how the Supreme Court has overturned a number of laws limiting spending on elections base don the argument...

We spent the early part of this week covering this in both 2305 and 2306, since it applies in different ways to each class. In 2305 - civil ...

This supports the argument that increased inequality in the nation, coupled with the increased ability of people to spend as much money as ...

Things are looking rough in the legislature. - Click here for the article . The weekly kumbaya breakfast between the big three Texas lawma...

Click on these two links for a list of items I gave previous classes for the final review. - Final 2305 . - Final 2306 . The questions won...

A large handful of 2306 students are looking at the open carry proposals in the Texas Legislature - some of which we've been following i...

-  Waka Flocka Flame for President: Watch His Exclusive Campaign Video . "I'm dead ass running for president in 2016,"  

Something to chew on prior to next week's oral arguments on gay marriage and the equal protection clause. It also applies to 2306's ...

All from the Texas Tribune. -  Bonnen: Patrick "Playing Games" With Border Security . - Self-Driving Car Bill Stalled by Google, C...

Right now, the race for the White House is all about who can get the money necessary to make a legitimate run. The NYT evaluates the financi...

No - according to 6 people on the Supreme Court. - Click here for the scoop from ScotusBlog . From ScotusBlog's analysis : The Court i...

Among other things, 4/20 is the anniversary of the passage of the Enforcement Act of 1871, also known as the Ku Klux Klan Act. Here's a ...

There's little surprise that this has been popular. The only issue with this subject is how it is framed - what specific topic is drawn ...

President Obama's executive order on immigration is also topical to 2305 students - as well as some 2306 students that are approaching i...

On the heels of the previou post, there's this assessment of the current Congress. The author argues it has been very kind to wealthy co...

A few 2305 students are investigating congressional dysfunction and trying to determine whether the 113th Congress was the most dysfunctiona...

Interesting detail: - Click here for the story . Well, this isn't good : Corporations now spend about $2.6 billion a year on repor...

A number of 2306 students have opted to analyze the various proposals for modifying criminal penalties. These include proposals to look at t...

You want a job in politics? - Read this and do what these people do . The story lists the people from Texas - political professionals - who...

This would have been a good addition to our look at the Texas executive branch. - Click here for it . I'll save it here for a look w...

Don't say I'm not here to help. A proposal was made - and rescinded - in the legislature to increase punishment for recording the po...

This hits some of the themes the story about vaccinations discussed previously this semester hit. How much latitude are we willing to give ...

The announcement came on Sunday the 12th. - The NYT describes it here . Like other candidates she made the annoucement via video. - Wh...

We mentioned in class that Senator Cruz's assumed strategy was to get the support of this part of the Republican coalition first before...

Here's an addition to our discussion of the nature of democracy in the United States. Are we better understood as being an oligarchy - ...

Here's proof .

- More from the White House .

This might be worth perusing in 2305. Its a series of slides explaining different issues associated with federal taxes. Much of this informa...

An item brought up in 2306 today; - Click here for it . At a packed committee hearing Monday evening, advocates for Tesla Motors told a p...

- Click here for it . More in a second.

The author argues that Republicans have been able to lure away members of the middle class. - Click here for the article . American parti...

The same people that argue that Democrats may have a lock on the White House in the near future argue that Republicans may have a similar lo...

There's an argument that they do. It's roughly based on the idea that Republicans are concentrated in a smaller number of large stat...