the Powers of Congress

Congress...more powerful than the president?

The Founders, when designing our Constitution, were fearful of an executive that had too much power...they had just thrown off the chains of monarchy, and were fearful that by empowering a strong executive they would find themselves back where they started...however, the weakness of the Articles of Confederation manifested the need for stronger central government with an executive to enforce the laws passed by Congress...So they attempted to resolve this dichotomy by creating three branches of government with the legislative branch being the most powerful of the three....Yet, today their is some skepticism as to whether the legislative branch remains to be the most powerful institution in the United States Government...Your objective today is to explore the question "What makes the legislative branch so powerful?" by answering this question you will then proceed to answer the final question which is " Is Congress more powerful than the president of the United States?

You may use your textbook p. 157 and the following links to answer the question.

http://articles.mcall.com/2010-10-02/opinion/mc-letter-lampenfeld-constitution-che20101002_1_congress-supreme-court-checks-and-balances

http://www-student.unl.edu/cis/pols100w05/online_course/unit3/lsn07-tp01.html

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/can-president-be-too-strong

http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/teacher_lessons/3branches/5.htm
You must make one initial post and then a second evaluating the response of one of your peers. Post are graded on quality and whether you met the required number of posts.

Is a woman man enough to serve?

US government has just authorized a new policy allowing women to serve in combat? What are your thoughts on this new shift in our military? Can women serve as faithfully and equally as men on the battlefield? Does this pose any dangers or potential threats to our military or the security of our nation? Share your thoughts....I linked a video that has a discussion this same topic to help stimulate your thoughts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HALZowDySaI

President's Inauguration...Vision for the country?

Yesterday marked the first official day of President Barack Obama's second term. It was an opportunity for our nation's leader to address the country and construct a vision for the next four years.  But what did that vision consist of? There is much that can be learned from the speech both in regards to the issues confronting our country and in regards to the social climate of our country. Read the transcript of President Obama's inaugural address....what issues does he believe face our country? How does he plan to address them? What insights into American society are revealed by his address? What is your general opinion or beliefs about what was said and what it means for our country?

Many Comparisons were drawn between Lincoln and Obama as leaders by commentators and political analysts...Read Lincoln's 2nd Inaugural Address... What issues did Lincoln face heading into his second term? What plan did he outline for addressing it? Do believe similarities exist between the two? Explain..

http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/speeches/inaug2.htm Link to Lincolns address