United States Government and Politics

Instructor: Steve Killian killians@thewalkerschool.org

Course Description:
This semester course typically is completed in the senior year but may be taken earlier with department permission. The primary focus is on the three branches of government and their interaction with each other. The course also examines institutional, societal, and constitutional influences on changes in how the American political system has developed. Students planning to attend a college in the University System of Georgia are strongly recommended to take this course.

Book List:
Government in America - People, Politics and Policy
Other selected readings

Important Links:
Syllabus Fall Semester
Syllabus Spring Semester
Survival Guide
Current Events Guidelines
Class Presentations
Essay Questions
Introductory Vocab
If you fully understand these concepts, you should ace this course

For parents

 

Useful Links (General):

Textbook Student Guide

The US Constitution

The Federalist Papers

The one size fits all government website

The Presidency

House of Representative

Senate

Supreme Court

Findlaw.com (Good site for Supreme Court Cases)

US Government Statistics

Georgia Government

Politician Biographies

Useful Links (Elections):

What is going on in Congress these days?

Who Represents Me And What Do They Think About The Issues?

How do I Register to Vote

Where do I vote?

How do I use Georgia's new touch screen voting system?

How can a poll of 800 people represent the views of 200 million?

Electoral College explanation and election results

Presidential tracking poll 2008

Electoral College Predictor 2008 #1

Electoral College Predictor 2008 #2

Electoral College Swing State Map 2008

Presidential Polls Summary

Useful Links (News Sources):

Center For Media and Public Affairs

Domestic
The Hill
Newsweek MSNBC Online
Fox News Network
CNN
The Washington Post

The Washington Times

The New York Times

The Atlantic Monthly

National Public Radio

Christian Science Monitor

Foreign

Voice of America (US government)

Reuters News Service (German)

Der Spiegel (German)

La Monde (France)

The Economist (UK)

BBC Online (UK)

The Guardian (UK)

Turkish Weekly (Turkey)

Pravda (Russia)

Arab News (Saudi Arabia)

The Times (India)

Asahi Shimbun (Japan)

Asia Times (Hong Kong)


Useful Links (Specialized):

The CIA World Fact Book

US Presidents

The Smithsonian Museum of American History

Library of Congress American History

History House

Women's Suffrage

 

Political Satire:

The Capitol Steps

Generic political jokes

Bushisms

John Kerry Jokes

PG-rated Bill Clinton Jokes

Generic political jokes

 

National Debt Clock :

The following is a running total of the US national debt based on an algorithm provided by zFActs.com.

 

National Debt Clock
 

 

Divide the total you see by the population of the country (300 million) to determine your share of the national debt. This is how much more money the government must now take from you in taxes or deny to you in benefits (in the form of national defense, student grants and loans, highway construction, law enforcement, etc.)

Since the 1960s, the national debt has gone up in every administration, Repbublican and Democrat. It has gone up when Democrats have controlled Congress and when Republicans have. No party is solely responsible. The voters who have chosen the politicians are. Who do you blame if you have never voted? Have you ever seen the bumper sticker on the expensive car, "I am spending my children's inheritance!" It is more true than you thought.

The Walker School, 700 Cobb Parkway N., Marietta, GA 30062
Telephone: (770) 427-2689  •  FAX: (770) 514-8122