Objective:
Warm-up:
- What does it mean (your interpretation)?
- What does the author seem to think of Congress (ie, what's his/her bias)?
- What does the quotes imply about how Congress works?
"I have wondered at times what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the US Congress."
Ronald Reagan (1911-2004), actor, 40th President
"If the Congress errs in too much talking, how can it be otherwise in a body to which the people send one hundred and fifty lawyers, whose trade it is to question everything, yield nothing, and talk by the hour?"
Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), author, statesman, 3rd President
"Congress is functioning the way the Founding Fathers intended - not very well. They understood that if you move too quickly, our democracy will be less responsible to the majority...I don't think it's the function of Congress to function well. It should drag its heels on the way to decision."
Barber B. Conable, Jr. (1922-2003), US Congressman, president of the World Bank
"Can any of you seriously say the Bill of Rights could get through Congress today? It wouldn't even get out of committee."
F. Lee Bailey (1933- ), former defense attorney
Homework:
Answer Questions 1-3
Complete Vocabulary through filibuster