2014+State+of+the+Union

=2014 State of the Union Speech=

Hopefully you took the initiative to watch this and/ or read it and about it. We didn't have school the day before, of, or after, but it was well publicized both in the media and on our wikispace.

We will view excerpts in class- as the agenda set by the president for Congress this year will help guide our own Mock Congress in February,

But once you've seen, or read the speech and the Republican response, please post your comments here. How did the President do? Did he address the issues that you care about? Did his recommendations seem practical and do-able? Do you agree or disagree with his general positions and policies? What did you think about how Congress responded and reacted to his speech? Was the tone appropriate? Which issue- or which challenge are you most interested in working on during our Mock Congress? Which of the guests invited by the president to be recognized in his speech most connected with you?

Here is a link to the video of the speech: http://www.whitehouse.gov/sotu

Here is a link to the text of the speech and the Republican response: http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2014/01/politics/sotu-speech-transcript/index.html

Finally, here again is the announcement we posted to the HarmonSS8 home page in advance of the speech. Let us know if you participated in Big Block of Cheese Day and addressed a question or more to the White House staff on call to answer.

This Just In, the White House is opening a virtual "Big Block of Cheese" day on Wednesday after the State of the Union so that anyone can ask questions for the president and his staff to answer. This goes back to an event held by president Andrew Jackson in 1837.

Here is the link to the White House Announcement with instructions for participating and posting your questions

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2014/01/24/first-ever-virtual-big-block-cheese-day-white-house-open-questions

Check out this video promo:

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President Obama will give his 6th State of the Union Address Tuesday evening at 9pm. We are asking students to tune in for at least 30 minutes to watch and take notes. A hand out provided in class will provide further options and instructions. We will preview this in class and follow up with discussion on Wednesday. This follow up on our National Issues discussion and will help set our issues agenda for this year's Mock Congress.