Sunday, February 16, 2014

Please watch at least two videos on C-SPAN and describe how you could add anything that you saw/heard to your book on Congress.

The website:
http://www.c-span.org/

Farm Bill Conference Committee:
http://www.c-span.org/video/?315910-1/farm-bill-conference-committee

Oversight of the National Institute of Health budget by the Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services
http://www.c-span.org/video/?312764-1/senate-appropriations-subcmte-looks-nih-budget

Clip of a House debate:
http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4484585

The House vote on the Public Lands Bill and the next week's schedule:
http://www.c-span.org/video/?317561-2/us-house-legislative-business&start=3454

Senator McCain urges his colleagues to take action in Syria (graphic):
http://www.c-span.org/video/?317782-4/senator-john-mccain-syria

45 comments:

Unknown said...

I think my partner and I will add more about the structure of the debates and the process of a bill after watching the videos on the House speaking. The overall nature of the speaking is different in each house, and although it would have been discussed a little bit with the inclusion of the House Rules Committee and the filibuster, the actual debating portion probably wouldn't have been included.

Unknown said...

What stuck with me the most of the videos I watched was the graphic pictures of the Syrian people that John McCain showed during his speech asking his colleagues to want to take action in Syria. I think my partners and I will add that this method, appealing to Senators morality and emotions with graphic images, is one of the methods Congressmen use to try and sway others to their viewpoint.

Mr. Bretzmann said...

@Erika those were pretty powerful images weren't they? That doesn't happen often. Big pictures and charts are rare on the floor of either chamber.

Anonymous said...

The video I watched contained the Syrian people form John McCain's speech. After watching this video, my partner and I can add to one of our chapters by talking about different persuasive methods that congressmen use. The method that John McCain used of showing powerful images seemed to be very effective.

Mr. Bretzmann said...

@Nick I'm glad you two are going to add that into your book. Are you going to describe what it looks like, or give examples of what they talk about in the House?

Unknown said...

As i watched people give their "statements" about what they feel needs to be done on a specific topic I think its important to add that one truly does need to DEG (describe, explain, example) as to what they are talking about. I will need to add this in mine and my partner's book on congress.

Unknown said...

I think persuasive methods are something every member of congress has been exposed to and used. John Mcain's images are just a strong example. I think in my book I am not only going to explain persuasive techniques used, but how they connect with other aspects such as the incumbency advantage.

Mr. Bretzmann said...

@abigail Which "statements" did you watch? I like that you want them to DEG it!

Unknown said...

The part that I think we need to add more information about the President Pro Tempore. I think that the books don't fully explain the importance of his role in the house. He needs to know all of the rules of the house, and whether or not certain request may be granted. He needs to decide which way the house is going to vote (verbally or electronically), and the time allotted for the representatives to vote.

Mr. Bretzmann said...

Have you looked at the Conference Committee or the Oversight hearing videos? Two big things to consider when learning about Congress.

Anonymous said...

Bri and I need to add more examples in general because we got the DE part down but we are missing the G part. We failed to include some details about how the debates of bills are structured. I believe the National Institutes of Health Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Request video really showed the structure of how it functions and the process of how it is discussed. Many examples are brought in the process to support or refute the legislation.

Anonymous said...

Something my partner and I could add is how congress persuades people. I got this by watching the video of Jon McCain urging his colleagues to take action in Syria. The pictures are scary and graphic so they appeal to people emotionally and then would want to help. I think it would be a good idea to also find different types of methods of persuasion used my Congress.

Anonymous said...

The first video that I watched was the Farm Bill Conference Committee. From that, I believe that I gain more information on how a debate within the House actually works. I'm not sure why, but I had this image in my head that it was something special, and it was pretty much like any other debate it seemed. I was mildly amused that the House had to be called to order multiple times- I'd think that they'd be a bit more formal/respectful.

I'd also thinking of including information from the clip with Senator McCain on Syria. I found it a bit surprising that he used such strong images, but they were an effective appeal to pathos that got his point across. However, with images like that, anyone who disagreed with him ran the risk of looking immoral, insensitive, or just downright cruel.

Anonymous said...

This week my partner and I learned about the difference between the two chambers of Congress. This included the many distinct aspects between the filibusters in the Senate and the Rules Committee in the House. After having found out that the Rules Committee can virtually limit the amount of time spent debating a bill as well as what parts of a bill can be amended, I imagined that the committee discussions over bills would be very structured and short. Now that I have seen some of Farm Bill Conference Committee meeting I see that there is less formalities than I expected. The meetings are also much longer than I assumed. Both of these will be noted in our book about Congress.

Anonymous said...

In response to the very graphic images utilized by John McCain, I, like many of my peers, will be sure to include an explanation and examples of persuasion tactics used in the Congress. Additionally, I will further describe a congressional debate, and what occurs during them.

Anonymous said...

I think my partner and I will include a little more about the persuasive techniques used by Congress members. How they persuade their colleagues and other citizens around the nation. Also, we need to include more on the structure of debates in Congress. I feel they are very important and serve as a key role in the House and the Senate.

Nick Berger said...

I think that my partner and I will include the various types of persuasive techniques. These can be specifically seen when McCain shows the graphic pictures, and in the clip of the house debate when the congressmen giving specific examples and using words with strong connotation.

Anonymous said...

Me and my partner are going to add persuasive techniques and how congressmen use them. I thought the video with John McCain using those images to persuade his audience was good because it really caught my attention.

Unknown said...

In our group we never described the congressional debate yet in our book. Also, the persuasion techniques done by the members of Congress. We didn't address the difference between the Rules Committee in the House and the filibuster in the Senate.

Unknown said...

Along with many others on this blog I need to reinforce my information with examples just like John McCain did when he was talking about Syria. Also, just like in the public land debate i have to show many different viewpoints on my topics.

Anonymous said...

I think it would make a book about a topic like Congress a little more interesting by adding the persuasive techniques mentioned in the video! How congress is persuasive and how it gets what is desired. Also, adding information about specific examples (either debates which have already passed, or are currently going on) makes an argument or just a general statement more powerful and interesting!

Nic Blommel said...

I could put in a few paragraphs about the structure of debates and about the methods Congress uses to persuade people. I got this by watching the same video Brandon watched

Nic Blommel said...

I could put in a few paragraphs about the structure of debates and about the methods Congress uses to persuade people. I got this by watching the same video Brandon watched

Cassie Kujawa said...

My partner and I could use a technique that Senator McCain used in his efforts to change the war in Syria, not necessarily use something graphic within our book, but use the method of taking something and showing it in a way that you can't forget it the way he did with the images. If we can find something that we understand so well we can create a way to get the point across in a way you can't forget.

Unknown said...

I watched the video with John McCain and how he persuaded the people. I believe my partner and I could add more on how the Congress persuades people and the structure of Congress.

Unknown said...

After watching these videos, I would add to chapter two more depth about the structure of Congress. Except I would like to go into the debate process of Congress and persuasion strategies, like McCain's use of the graphic images during his speech, which I applaud, by the way. A picture indeed says a thousand words.

I would like to go into the difference between the House and the Senate, like what we discussed on Thursday(?) with the Rules Committee and the filibuster.

Unknown said...

My partner and I could add to our book more persuasion techniques that congressmen use. From the way they talk, how they present things, or even the extreme measures they'll take to bring capture ones attention. This is an important part of what they do on a day to day basis. Therefore we'll probably add this aspect to chapter 2 of our book.

Anonymous said...

What I would want to include in my book is how congressmen appeal to emotions and use empathy to sway people. For example John McCain used the graphic images from Syria in order to get people to change the policy and their opinion of Syria. It's amazing how far some politicians are willing to go just to push their own personal agenda or the agenda of those backing them. Though unethical at times, persuasion like this is necessary in politics as well as every day life.

Unknown said...

My partner, Ben and I need to add more about how congress can persuade other members with both double speaking and getting their main point across.

Anonymous said...

After watching the Syria video, I think that my partner and I will add the ways that members try to persuade the other members. This video had some very graphic photos and I feel that they were very powerful and I bet it persuaded at least a couple of people. I feel that this method, of using visuals is very persuading and that Congress should do it more often if they want to get their point across. So this is definitely something I think we will add to our book.

Unknown said...

I think my partener and I will add more about how debates work and add persuasive pictures. I also think we have to describe, explain, and give an example of our points.

Anonymous said...

My partner and i will need to add information about how congressmen need to be good at persuading to get legislation passed that they and their party feel will benefit the people they represent.

Anonymous said...

My partner and i will have to add more on the debates and the structure of the House. Also my partner and i can add more on persuasion methods on debates and the certain things they can to do persuade people to their viewpoint.

Unknown said...

I will include more information on how members of Congress are able to be persuasive to fellow members and citizens to benefit where they stand.

Anonymous said...

I think these videos could help me add modern connections to my book on Congress. At the moment, most of my book details the constitutional outlines of Congress and its historical impact. Through these, we can add how modern day issues, like those in Syria, are brought up and resolved within the Congress to further detail the Congressional processes. One big thing a lot of people seem to be commenting about is persuasive methods. I, too, believe this could be added to our book on Congress to further the understanding of the future readers of the book.

Anonymous said...

Before publishing out book, my partner and I will go into further discussion about debates and how much of an impact they can have on other representatives and senators. Because many congressmen specialize in certain areas, they may be less knowledgeable about other topics. Because of their lack of knowledge, debates and speeches can influence congressmen into voting a certain way when it comes to deciding on a bill.

Unknown said...

I could add more about debates because we did not include that it our book. We could also could include that information about how it is helpful to include images to tug at the emotions of Senators to help persuade them.

Anonymous said...

I watch Senator John McCain speech on Syria and the House debate on public land. Right away you could tell the differences as to how the Senate and House function. The House seemed so much more formal with tons of rules such as time limits.

Unknown said...

After watching the public land debate I was kind of surprised by the formalities of it all. I could probably add a little piece dealing with the rules of debate in the House of Representatives. Then maybe lead that into the lack of rules of debate in the Senate, creating filibusters.

Unknown said...

After watching the video with the House, I learned a lot more about the structure and organization of the passing of a bill. Also watching the debates and how they were done, gave me more insight into the overall mood of the House. My group and I will probably add something more about the overall vibe of the House, as well as, the nature of the debates within the House.

Anonymous said...

After watching the videos, my partner and I could add more modern examples of decisions congress makes and how debates are conducted. We could also be more specific on how the Senate and House of Representatives differ when it comes to conducting these debates.

Unknown said...

These video examples all show Congress in action, dealing with present issues in modern legislation. I think it's important that I include some, if any, of these examples to my book on Congress. As of now, the book describes and explains the history, structure, and operations of Congress. Therefore, I believe it is fairly important to apply examples to the information I have already provided. I hope this will further convey my understanding of Congress to potential readers of my book. Also, along with a majority of my classmates, I think that persuasive tactics of Congress, such as John McCain's utilization of graphic Syrian images, are something that should be added. It think it is important that emotional methods of persuasion are included along with the typical logic associated with Congress.

Unknown said...

I watched the videos on the House debate and vote and learned more about how the House actually operates. I will probably add more on the structure and organization as well as voting procedures. It was interesting to see how much the congressman got interrupted while presenting his amendment. I may add something about the atmosphere of the House as well.

Unknown said...

(2/10-2/16)
I would add in more about filibusters and persuasive speeches. These tools are really useful to members to sway their decision in a vote, and are used accordingly. I don't think my partner and I had enough about this in our book.

Unknown said...

(2/10-2/16)
Here is a link to the website I read to learn more about filibusters:
http://www.nolabels.org/understanding-filibuster