2311Fall2011

817.272.2991

PO Box 19539

University of Texas at Arlington

Arlington, TX 76019

UTA Political Science Home Page

Professor Story's Home Page

POLS 2311

Professor Dale Story

Fall 2011

449 University Hall

story@uta.edu

Fall 2011 Office Hours (by appointment): 10-11am MWF; 9:30-10am TTr

Hand-outs

Additional Readings/Videos

First Exam
Second Exam
- Westboro Church
  - Westboro Church Protests at Military Funerals
  - Supreme Court Ruling in Westboro Church Case
- Florida Early GOP Primary
- Increase in Protests and Direct Action
- Rick Perry Proven Leadership Campaign Commercial (not to promote Rick Perry but to illustrate negative campaigning and the total reliance on images):
  - Actual Version
  - Edited Version
- Rick Perry in Florida Debate
- Obama Gaffes
- Rick Perry Raises $18 Million
- Republican Straw Poll in Florida, 2:15
  - 3,939,380 people voted for McCain in Florida in the 2008 presidential election
  - 2,657 voted in the recent Florida Straw Poll (0.07% of the above number)
- Acrimonious Republican Debate
- Herman Cain's 999 Proposal Questioned by Anti-Tax Crusader
- More on 999
- Perry and Flat Tax Proposal
- Obama and Student Loan Relief
Third Exam
- Perry's New Hampshire Speech
- Obama Fund Raisers Linked to Lobbyists
- Court
  - In God We Still Trust
  - Westboro Church Protests at Military Funerals
  - Supreme Court Ruling in Westboro Church Case
  - Desegregation? Houston ISD is the largest in Texas and 7th largest in the nation. It is 62% Hispanic, 27% African-American, and 8% Anglo. 63% of students are classified as "at risk"; and 79% qualify for the free lunch program (Texas Monthly, Oct. 2011, p. 130)
  - Court Blocks Texas Redistricting
- Is Cain a Serious Candidate?
- Non-Aligned Movement
- Aid as a Percentage of Gross National Income
- Gross National Income Per Capita ("average annual income") can range from roughly $100 in the poorest developing country to over $80,000 (the CIA has a figure for one country of $180,000) in the wealthiest developed country (the figure for the United States is around $47,000).
- "Social Net" Policies
  - Percentage of Population Below the Poverty Rate Highest Since 1993
  - Social Security payments--3.5% increase for Jan. 2012--first increase since 2009. Monthly Social Security payments average $1,082 (around $13,000 annually). The Social Security Administration says that most retirees rely on Social Security for a majority of their income (for many it can be upwards of 90% of their annual income).
  - Ranks of the Poorest Grow
  - Higher Poverty Rate
  - Wealth Gap Between Young and Old Grows
- Targeted Killing of U.S. Citizen

Supplementary Materials for Janda, et.al.

From Cengage, Select Higher Education, Create an Account, Select your publisher (Wadsworth), Sign-In, Search for the Janda textbook.

Announcements

Review sessions with our GTA, Ms. Jasieniecki. All of the meetings are on Mondays and Wednesdays in room UH 14 (basement level) between 12:00-1:00pm. Here are the dates: Monday 11/14; Wednesday 11/16; Monday 11/21; Thanksgiving: no meeting; Monday 11/28; Wednesday 11/30; Monday 12/5; Wednesday 12/7. Students need to bring: the course outline, their notes, the book, and their questions to the sessions.
Any student who has not missed either Exam 1 or Exam 2 may take the Comprehensive Make-Up Exam on the last day of classes. Comprehensive means the totality of the Syllabus (from Day One to the Last Day). This will than be considered as a fourth exam. Instead of distributing the assigned percentages to three exams, I will distribute them among four exams. Of course, one risks the possibility of lowering their grade if their performance on this Comprehensive Make-Up Exam is lower than their existing average. You will need to send me an email stating that you will be taking this Comprehensive Make-Up Exam by 5pm, Friday, December 2. In your subject line, you must have "Your Last Name, POLS 2311, Make-Up Exam" (or 10 points deducted on that exam). If you do not send me this email, you will not be able to take this Exam. If you do send me this email, you must take this Exam (i.e., you may not change your mind--if you do not show for the exam after confirming that you will, your grade will be a zero).
If it would be of any assistance, I would be glad to provide any student feedback regarding their notes from this class. Obviously, I am not going to criticize your particular approach, but I will certainly provide you with some opinions as to whether you are covering the correct information, enough information, etc. All I request is this Friday (Nov. 11) that you provide me with a copy of your notes from:
1. Monday, Nov. 7
2. Wednesday, Nov. 9
3. The "Obama Fund-Raisers..." article
Depending on how many I receive, I will do my best to return these to you on Monday, Nov. 14.
No class, 12/2
It is the responsibility of every student to confirm that they are registered for this class.
Confirmation of Enrollment of Student Response Pad in a Particular Course.
Remember--if you did not enroll your Student Response Pad for this course by the deadline, you will be utilizing the option that does not include the Daily Quizzes. But that is not a punishment, failure, disadvantage, etc. Your other grades will still be weighted to give you 100% (for perfect scores). In fact, a plausible scenario is that your grade will be better without the Daily Quizzes than with them.
Student Response Pad Quick Reference Guide.
Seating Chart. Adobe created a blank p. 2 in the PDF. Thus, pp. 1 and 3 will show the entire class. Please start utilizing this seating chart beginning Wed., Sept. 14.
More Colleges Using Student Response Pads