After 30 plus years of teaching, Susie Marcus became a consultant to Classroom Law Project, and now she is applying her wisdom and experience and creating weekly current events for you. Each current event includes links to articles, questions to consider, pre-teaching & extensions, and connections to Oregon State Standards. Click below to view the most current event, or any events in our archive.
Susie’s Current Event: May 21, 2013
Download this current event.
THE BASICS
Topic
Abuse of Power?
Articles
“Benghazi, IRS, AP: A guide to the 3 storms confronting the White House”
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/16/18298571-benghazi-irs-ap-a-guide-to-the-3-
storms-confronting-the-white-house?lite
Political cartoons about abuse of power
http://www.cagle.com/author/nate-beeler/
Questions to Consider
- What do the Benghazi, IRS and AP scandals have in common?
- How much information should be available to the People in a representative
- government? Why would a government keep information confidential?
- How is our system of checks and balances set up to prevent the abuse of power?
- What department of government includes the IRS? To whom does the Director of the
- IRS report?
- What rights do reporters have under the First Amendment? Is it appropriate to
- suspend these rights? If so, when? How do you balance liberty and security?
- What is limited government and how does it apply to the recent scandals?
THE EXTRAS
Pre-teaching, Extensions, & Further Reading
“Transparency and Open Government”
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/TransparencyandOpenGovernment
“Carney: WH officials knew of IRS targeting but didn’t tell Obama”
http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/domestic-taxes/300753-carney-white-houseofficials-
knew-of-irs-targeting-but-didnt-tell-obama
“DOJ’s secret subpoena of AP phone records broader than initially revealed”
http://openchannel.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/20/18377209-dojs-secret-subpoenaof-
ap-phone-records-broader-than-initially-revealed?lite
“Rep. Issa subpoenas Benghazi auditor Thomas Pickering”
http://thehill.com/blogs/global-affairs/terrorism/300491-issa-subpoenas-benghaziauditor-
pickering
“Why IRS investigation is already Obama’s Watergate—and Benghazi too”
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/DC-Decoder/2013/0519/Why-IRS-investigation-isalready-
Obama-s-Watergate-and-Benghazi-too-video/%28page%29/2
“Brief History of the IRS”
http://www.irs.gov/uac/Brief-History-of-IRS
Freedom of the Press
http://my.billofrightsinstitute.org/page.aspx?pid=481
10 Most Important US Supreme Court Cases for Journalists
http://www.howstuffworks.com/10-supreme-court-casesjournalists.
htm#page=10
Lesson Plans
Powers of the Government
http://www.icivics.org/sites/default/files/On%20the%20Level_0.pdf
What’s the connection?
Constitution
Article 2, Section 2
http://www.usconstitution.net/xconst_A2Sec2.html
Amendment One
http://www.usconstitution.net/xconst_Am1.html
Amendment Four
http://www.usconstitution.net/xconst_Am4.html
“Constitution Check: Whose constitutional rights are at stake in the IRS scandal?
http://blog.constitutioncenter.org/2013/05/constitution-check-whose-constitutionalrights-
are-at-stake-in-the-irs-scandal/
Key Theme Three: Uses and Abuses of Power
http://worldhistoryforusall.sdsu.edu/themes/keytheme3.htm
Separation of powers under the United States Constitution
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separation_of_powers_under_the_United_States_Constitution
Oregon State Social Science Standards/CCSS
6-8.RH.2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide
an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.
9-10.RH.2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide
an accurate summary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of the text.
11-12.RH.2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source;
provide an accurate summary that makes clear the relationships among the key details and
ideas.
Current Event Archive
Click on the hyperlinked current event titles below to download the Word document. Since the following documents are less current than they were upon release, some of the website links may not work. You can often find archived articles by searching the referenced website for the article title.
Immigration Reform5/14/13
Syria 5/7/13
Rule of Law 4/30/13
The Answer to Terrorism: Look for the Helpers 4/23/13
Women as Political Leaders 4/16/13
North Korea 4/9/13
Tuition for undocumented students in Oregon 4/2/13
Profile in Courage 3/26/13
Hugo Chavez: Champion of the poor and/or autocratic leader? 3/19/13
Filibuster: Exercise in political expression or effort to obstruct? 3/12/13
Oscar Pistorius: murder or tragic mistake? 3/5/13
Sequester 2/26/13
Drones 2/19/13
State of the Union Address 2/12/13
Terrorism Trial 2/5/13
Women in Combat 1/29/13
The Inauguration 1/22/13
The President’s Cabinet 1/15/13
The most important news events of 2012 1/8/12
Gun violence: How can we do better? 12/18/12
Egypt: What is next? 12/1/2012
The “fiscal cliff” 12/4/2012
Role of Egypt: Peacemaker or troubled democracy 11/27/2012
What did the election mean? 11/13/2012
Sandy’s Effect on the Election 11/6/2012
Who votes? Presidential Election 2012 10/30/2012
Affirmative action and how to protect diversity 10/30/2012
U.S. foreign policy and the presidential election 10/16/2012
Vice-Presidential Debates 10/9/2012
Debates in the Presidential Election 10/2/2012
Violence in Middle East 9/18/2012
Voter ID Laws 9/11/2012