It Takes a Party

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/13/opinion/it-takes-a-party.html?_r=0 DUE 20 APRIL 2015. What personality traits are necessary for a candidate to run for President?? What issues are important to Republicans?? What issues are important to Democrats?? How will negative campaigning influence the election?? What topics will be used to attack the Republican candidate?? What topics will be used to attack the Democratic candidate??

Florida Bakery Faces Threats After Refusing To Print Anti-Gay Message On A Cake

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/05/florida-bakery-anti-gay-message_n_7007390.html DUE 13 APRIL 2015. SO...Assume that you are a Senator attempting to solve this problem: Under what circumstances should businesses be able to refuse service to any person? Explain in detail with a great deal of thought.

New Federal Data Show Student Loan Borrowers Suffering More Than Previously Believed

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/27/federal-student-loans-delinquency_n_6957036.html DUE 6 APRIL 2015. What are the statistics regarding student loan debt? Who guarantees student loans?? What are the reasons for high student loan debt??? Most importantly, what are the back-end costs (or repercussions) of students not paying back their student loans????

There's A Decent Chance Your Raise Might Beat Inflation This Year

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/11/cfo-survey-wages-rising-finally_n_6848312.html DUE 16 MARCH 2015. What is the "normal" rate of acceptable inflation to create growth in the economy? What is the current inflation rate? Why does the author feel that pay raises will beat inflation? How long have wages been down? If it is true that raises exceed inflation, what are the implications for economic growth in the future and WHY??

Forbes 500 List Reveals A Disturbing Truth About Our Economy

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/02/forbes-500-rich-list_n_6784594.html DUE 9 MARCH 2015. According to the author, why is the 15% of wealthiest Americans coming from finance disturbing in our economy?? Do you see the increasing trend in wealth from finance a problem for the future? Click on the FORBES 2014 list of 400 Richest Americans and scan the list. Describe the person(s) on the list you admire and tell why.

Elizabeth Warren And Sherrod Brown Fight Fed Audit, Foreclosure Transparency

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/17/elizabeth-warren-rand-paul-federal-reserve_n_6699820.html DUE 23 FEB 2015. What is the purpose of the bill proposed by Rand Paul? Why are Democrats opposed to it? What do economists like Paul Krugman think about the bill?? What do you think: should the FED be audited or should the FED be independent of Congressional meddling? Why or why not?

Yemen crisis: US, UK and France close Sanaa embassies

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-31411284 DUE 17 FEB 2015. Why are the United States, the United Kingdom, and France withdrawing from their Yemen embassies? The Houthis are accused of initiating a "coup"--what is a coup? What are the Houthis' plans with regards to the current structure of Yemini Parliament? Who is the new rebel leader??

Democrats might skip Benjamin Netanyahu speech

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/02/democrats-might-skip-benjamin-netanyahu-speech-114891.html DUE 9 FEB 2015. Who is Benjamin Netanyahu?? Who asked him to speak before Congress?? What did President Obama think about this invitation?? What implications will a Democratic boycott create for international relations with Israel??

Northeast Corridor braces for 'potentially historic' snowstorm

http://www.foxnews.com/weather/2015/01/26/northeast-braces-for-another-major-snowstorm/ DUE 2 FEB 2015. Why is this snowstorm a major problem for government officials?? Why is this a problem for Florida?? Why is this a problem for power companies (in NE and in Florida)??

Obama Pushes 'The Right Thing' For Workers: Paid Leave, Minimum Wage, Pay Equity

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/20/obama-paid-leave-sotu_n_6489552.html DUE 26 JAN 2015. Discuss President Obama's rationale for pushing paid leave, raising the minimum wage, and pay equity during the State of the Union address. How will this help the economy? Why are Republicans opposed to these measures?? If President Obama wants these things done, how will he do it? Why??

No Child Left Behind Rewrite Should Limit Standardized Testing, Duncan Says

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/12/no-child-left-behind-2015_n_6453092.html. DUE 20 Jan 2015. What is/are the major focus of NCLB?? Why does the Obama Administration want to rewrite the legislation? What major changes would be implemented? WHY is this legislation a problem to teachers and students? What future economic issues are likely to result from the quality of education in the United States (ie. NCLB)???

Russia Entering 'Full-Fledged Economic Crisis'

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/22/russia-crisis-idUSL6N0U61L320141222. DUE 12 January 2015. What are the predominant reasons for Russia's economic woes? What does the term "junk" refer to in this article? What will be the impact of inflation for the Russian economy?