Assignment 1:  Politics – Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

Write a three to four (3-4) page paper in which the student answers the following three (3) items using headers to separate each item:

1. Discuss either two (2) civil liberties or two (2) civil rights events (past or current) that have influenced a sense of social responsibility in the American government today. Provide examples to support your answer. Note: In your response, consider how the events influenced the way state, local or national political leaders or agencies responded in a socially responsible or ethical manner toward the community.
2. Discuss two (2) media events (past or present) that have positively and or negatively influenced the public’s opinion of a government agency. Provide examples to support your answer. Note: Consider how a news story or media coverage of an event positively or negatively changed the public’s opinion (or perception) regarding how responsible a government agency should be towards meeting the needs of its customers; i.e. the American people.
3. Discuss two (2) differences between the Republican and Democratic parties that may have an ethical impact (positively or negatively) on the American people. Provide examples to support your answer. Note: Consider the different ideals, values, morals, and/or goals held by the Republican and Democratic parties, and their different views on the ethically or morally right way to govern and make the best policies for the people they serve. Determine if your example presents any type of ethical concerns for or against the public interest of the American people.

***A sample guideline for the paper has been attached.

In your research, you cannot use Wikipedia, online dictionaries, Sparknotes, Cliffnotes, or any other Website do that does not qualify as an academic resource.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

• Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
• Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are to:

• Identify informed opinions on issues and questions involving the U.S. government, national political processes, policy making, and the notion of democracy.
• Employ terminology used to study political science and American government.
• Distinguish between civil rights and civil liberties in the context of Supreme Court protection of freedom of expression.
• Develop reasoned written and spoken presentations on issues and questions involving the U.S. government and national political processes using information in the course.
• Explain how the federal system of government works.
• Explore different perspectives on issues and questions about the U.S. government and national political processes.
• Describe the importance of an informed, effective citizenship for the national government and political processes.
• Use technology and information resources to research issues in the field of U.S. government and politics.
• Write clearly and concisely about U.S. government and politics using proper writing mechanics.

Directions: Read the following hypothetical situation. Upon completion, please identify all points at which hearsay is present, also listing any possible exceptions that may apply.

Facts: John has been arrested for attempted murder. His accuser, Lisa, claims that John tried to poison her by putting arsenic in her coffee. The following witnesses are being asked to testify at trial:

Karl works at a hardware store and recalls John’s buying a box of arsenic. As Karl wrote out the receipt, John said, we’ve got a real pest I’ve got to get rid of.”

Tina is John’s sister. She claims that John’s friend, Mike, admitted that he poisoned the coffee. However, Mike apparently drank out of the wrong cup and wound up poisoning himself. Mike slowly sank into a coma and died before he could testify.

Fred is being asked to testify that he saw John putting a substance into a cup that Lisa was drinking from.

Stella is John’s former girlfriend. She claims that John told her, “I’m gonna get even with Lisa one of these days.”

Hal was an inmate in the same jail cell as John. Hal claims that John told him, “I didn’t do anything wrong.”

Ralph wants to testify that he heard Lisa state, “I’m going to make sure John spends the rest of his life in jail by poisoning myself.”

Ruby is going to recount at a worker’s compensation hearing the substance of a conversation that she had with Lisa in which Lisa admitted that she was not really too emotionally upset to work, as she had previously claimed.

summer intersession online class

from 5/27/2014 till 6/13/2014 

This course explores the historical relationships between the dominant, Euro-American culture and other cultures. Students consider concepts including post-colonialism, transnationalism, and globalism, and examine how these factors have shaped the production, circulation, and consumption of art.