State of the Union scorecard

Alright, as promised, here is my scorecard for tonight’s State of the Union Address. We’ll take a look on Thursday to see how many of you out-predicted me on your scorecards.

State of the Union Scorecard

Topic:

Health Care :

• Hmm, while I’m positive Bush will address Health Care, I’m low on specifics. Perhaps individual health care accounts that might be similar to what Bush wanted for Social Security in last years speech. Reducing malpractice suits is another probable answer.
  
• “All Americans deserve good, affordable health-care.”
  “we must limit these frivolous malpractice lawsuits that are lining the pockets of trial lawyers and driving up health-care costs for all Americans.”

War in Iraq

• I expect an emphasis on why American soldiers are necessary for the prosperity and freedom of Iraqis. He’ll probably refer to the democratic elections from this fall as a sign of progress and a further reason for U.S. involvement

Energy

• With the rise in oil prices, another call for reducing Americans dependence on foreign oil is a good bet. Perhaps more tax-incentives for hybrid cars or hydrogen-powered vehicles.

Possible “Lenny Skutniks”

1. Samuel Alito (although he might be seated in the front with other S.C. Justices—he’ll definitely get a mention)

2. a U.S. soldier from Afghanistan (perhaps mentioned during the War on Terror pieces)

3. a Hurricane Katrina victim


Other predictions:

• Number of applause interruptions __64
• Standing Ovations _14
• Total Time of Address __58 min
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Using RSS, Bloglines, and Furl

Okay, we're going to step it up on our blogs this semester. There's a lot of information out there that can be a great asset to our class, but we'll need to find beter ways to use it efficiently. We're not looking to "surf" the web, but rather to use the web to gather information. For our upcoming research paper, we'll use online resources extensively. This will mean much more than just "googling" a topic (although I am a big google fan--google maps are the best.*)

We're going to look at a few online resources that will help you "work smarter, not harder." With RSS, you won't need to spend your time searching in vain. RSS brings the news to you. Bloglines lets you subscribe to your usual websites (and your classmates blogs). We'll look at how to find "feeds" from news media, blogs, google searches and more.


We'll run through some of this in class, and we'll start the Presidency unit with a "baby" online research paper using our blogs, RSS, and bloglines. This will serve as good practice for our upcoming policy projects.

If you get lost, check with a member of your group and consult the website. Some of this will just take a little experimentation as we find what works best.


*Double True