Scrutinizing the IRS

The Washington Post is running an article entitled, "Acting Director of IRS Resigns."  The article begins, "President Obama said on Wednesday that the acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, Steve T. Miller, would resign, marking the administration’s first action in response to the disclosure that the IRS had targeted conservative groups for special scrutiny."  The article also refers to other challenges that the Administration is currently confronting, including Benghazi, and the eavesdropping on journalists. 

Questions for Discussion: 
1. If you were the head of an organization how would you decide when to fire somebody or to ask for their resignation? What variables should go into this type of decision? 

2. The article states, "Also Wednesday, the White House signaled it would support a renewed effort by lawmakers to pass a “media shield law” that gives new protections to journalists facing subpoenas." How much should journalists be protected from subpoenas?  What are the challenges in determining how much they should be protected? 

3. The President of the United States is currently facing numerous challenging issues.  Think of a time when you have faced numerous challenging issues.  What issues did you face?   What did you do in order to resolve these issues? Do you think that the President will be able to resolve the issues that he is facing?  Why or why not? 

4. The article states that the President said, "his administration would work closely with the multitude of congressional investigations that have been launched in the wake of the IRS controversy, but cautioned that lawmakers should not allow 'politics' to influence their thinking. He also suggested he might pursue a revamp of the laws governing political advocacy groups so they are less vague and 'we can have confidence they are applied in a fair and impartial way.'"  What does it mean to "allow politics to influence...thinking..."?  In what ways might citizens be effected if office holders did allow politics to influence their thinking? 

5. If you were investigating the IRS's attempt to make it more difficult for conservative leaning organizations to attain tax exempt status, what questions would you ask?  Why would you ask these questions? To whom would you want to ask your questions?  Why would you want to ask these specific people the questions? 

Angelina Jolie Makes a Choice

Time Magazine is running an article entitled, "Angelina Jolie’s Double Mastectomy: What We Know About BRCA Mutations and Breast Cancer." Writing about Jolie, the article states, "Describing her decision as 'My Medical Choice,' the 37-year-old actress revealed in an op-ed in the New York Times that she carries the BRCA1 gene mutation, which gives her an 87% risk of developing breast cancer at some point in her life."  

Questions for Discussion: 

1. Do you think that genetic mapping is an important development in medical science?  Why or why not?  See if you can develop arguments on different sides of this question. 

2. If you could say one thing to Angelina Jolie that she would hear, what would you say?  Why would you say it? 

3. There are many different medical tests that all people should take on a regular basis.  What tests do you think are most important for people to take?  What could you do to attract attention to the importance of this test? 

4. The article states, "While radical, her decision to pre-empt any future cancer is a common one, and backed by studies. In 2010, Australian scientists found that women with the BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations who chose to have preventive mastectomies did not develop breast cancer over the three-year follow-up."   What does this say?  What does it mean?  Do you think that it's fair to call Jolie's decision "radical"?  Why or why not? 

5. The you think that human body is sacred?  Why or why not? What would it mean for the human body to be sacred?  If the body is sacred, how should we treat it? Do you think that Angelina Jolie believes that the human body is sacred?  Why or why not? 

Chinese Cars

The New York Times is running an article entitled, "Chinese Creating New Auto Niche within Detroit." The article begins, "Dozens of companies from China are putting down roots in Detroit, part of the country’s steady push into the American auto industry." 

Questions for Discussion: 
1. What can we learn about the Chinese from the fact that they are entering the American auto production market?  Is this good or bad for the economy of the world?  Explain!

2. The article states, "Chinese auto companies are assiduously avoiding the spotlight. "  What does this mean? Based on the information in the article, why do you think this is the case? 

3. What can we learn from this statement, "Typical of the Chinese expansion are the nondescript offices of Changan Automotive in an industrial park in the suburban city of Plymouth"?   Do you think that this is important information to know?  Why or why not? 

4. If you could develop one thing that should be part of all cars within ten years, what would you develop?  Why? 

5. How will transportation in one hundred years be different than it is today?  Do you think that this is realistic?  Why or why not?  

Benghazi Six Months Later

The Washington Post is running an article entitled, "Benghazi E-mails Show Clash Between State Department, CIA."  The article reports, "New details from administration e-mails about last year’s attacks on the U.S. compound in Benghazi, Libya, demonstrate that an intense bureaucratic clash took place between the State Department and the CIA over which agency would get to tell the story of how the tragedy unfolded." 

Questions for Discussion: 

1. Why does this article refer to the information that came out about the events at Benghazi as a story?  Is it appropriate to refer to these news reports as stories?  Why or why not? 

2. What does it mean "to tell a story"? 

3. Why are stories powerful?  What is the purpose of a story?

4.   If you could tell one story as an exemplar about your life, what would you tell?  Why?  

5. Is it possible to have two or more stories about the same event, with each story being true?  Why or why not? Is this even an important question?  Why or why not? 

6. When a story is about a current event that effects an entire county, or even the world, is it important to try and ensure that the story is wholly correct?  Why or why not? Is it more important to try and ensure that this kind of a story is wholly correct than it is to ensure that a story about a small group of people is wholly correct?  Why or why not? 

7. What questions would you ask about the story described in this article to try and learn more about it?