Your Home for Civics

Make sure to bookmark this page, as most of our class materials will be linked to this site.

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

The Immigration Debate

YOU DECIDE 2008 - IMMIGRATION
Read/view multiple perspectives on the immigration reform debate and make up your own mind. This will be one of the topics for our debate rounds in the new year.

Question to Respond to:
How should we as a nation address the issue of immigration? Justify your response by citing evidence/arguments presented in the sources below. You must incorporate at least three four sources into your response for full credit. Due Monday 12/8/08

Specific areas of immigration you can address. These are but a few.:
Jobs
Cost to Taxpayers
Border Control
Illegal Immigrants
Effect of Population Growth

Additional Guiding Questions:
  1. On what issues do the various sides agree?
  2. What are the major points of disagreement?

The Arrival of Immigrants at Ellis Island - Brief look at immigration from a historical perspective.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7516216082856962759&q=immigration+site%3Avideo.google.com&total=1484&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=3

By the Numbers - (Numbers USA - Advocacy Organization) What is this organization advocating? Are there flaws in the interpretation of the "Numbers"?
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4094926727128068265&q=immigration+site%3Avideo.google.com&total=1484&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0

Immigration and Hispanics Forum - (NDN - Advocacy Organization)
Beginning to 19:00. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) - Introductory comments
23:00 to 39:00.Simon Rosenberg - President of NDN - Changing demographics and the hispanic voters.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8440058738521148171&q=immigration+debate+site%3Avideo.google.com&total=111&start=20&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=1

States' Immigrant Policies Diverge
In Differences, Some See Obstacles For a National Law

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/14/AR2007101401266.html?referrer=emailarticle

Benefits of Immigration
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8520758607235721123&q=immigration+benefits+site%3Avideo.google.com&total=127&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0

Minutemen: The Immigration Debate
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=347017415491805038&q=immigration+debate+site%3Avideo.google.com&total=111&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0

English only debate over immigration in Carpentersille, Illinois. A small town grapples with immigration.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5371119415173542897&q=immigration+debate+site%3Avideo.google.com&total=111&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=8

The above videos and stories are but the tip of the iceberg. Do some of your own research.

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Campaign Commercials

Links to some of the commercial sites we used in class.

Dueling Ads

News Story on the Obama 1984 ad
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=2963398&page=1

Hillary 19841 min 14 sec - Apr 10, 2007Description: Barack Obama spot using Macintosh 1984 ad.

Barack 19841 min 8 sec - Mar 19, 2007Average rating: (2 ratings)Description: Barack Obama in a 1984 like moment. A must see for all Obama, and Hillary Clinton Fans.

Infomercial/Attack Ads:

Code Pink Hillary Clinton Cindy Sheehan Sean Penn Barack Obama 1984 anti Iraq8 min 32 sec - Feb 12, 2007Average rating: (67 ratings)Description: Pansy4Peace Production's anti war video featuring Code Pink, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, 1984, Senn Penn, Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon. Original music written and performed by Code Pink. Thanks to Kirsten Michel - kirstenmichel.com - for her contribution of footage from Code Pink. *******Code Pink clips used by permission - Kirsten Michel - KirstenMichel.com*******

Hillary Clinton 1984 in 2008: The Big Lie That Won Her Election to the Senate10 min 36 sec - Jan 25, 2006Average rating: (58 ratings)Description: Documentary trailer that exposes the lies Hillary made to the voters and her opponent through the Washington Post (www.hillcap.org) and to the FEC in 2000 about who her largest contributor was,(Spider Man creator Stan Lee's partner, Peter F Paul) how much he gave and why he gave more than $1.6 million to her so he could have Bill Clinton work with his public company, Stan Lee Media, when Clinton left the White House.

Ad Sites:

Political Communication Lab – Stanford U.
http://pcl.stanford.edu/campaigns/2008/

Race42008
http://race42008.com/