We discussed some current events including the "registration" of visitors & immigrants from certain countries and today's deadline. I read the Harper's Weekly Review. I showed the current issue of US News & World Report (distort) which contains blatant lies in it's article about American Empire.

I asked for feedback concerning a final exam. I offered a couple of questions that I'll ask for a takehome final that will be due finals day. On finals day we will watch the movie "Walker" which concerns US imperialism in Nicaragua.

We watched the rest of the John D. Rockefeller video. I interrupted it at several points to clarif the concepts of economies of scale, competetive advantage, vertical integration. I tried to solicit some opinions and some wrestling with the material we were viewing. I got small response.

Assignment: respond to the movie. Tell me what you think of Rockefeller and his business practices. Tell me what you think of his donations to charity and his Sunday school teaching. I want to hear your opinion.

I passed back papers. We discussed current events a bit. I handed out four papers. The first is about the robber barons. Another concerns industrialism and the Civil War and also has a chapter by Michael Moore about Welfare Mamas (corporate welfare recipients). I introduced the video from "The Prize" (about oil) which PBS aired a few years ago. We are watching the first segment which is about John D. Rockefeller and the rise of the Standard Oil Company. We'll continue tomorrow.

We discussed a variety of current events including the Kurds. I encourage everybody to come to Hot Topics on Wednesday at lunch in room 169 concerning the Kurds. I talked a bit about how the robber barons began to make their fortunes during the Civil War. (Many of them were in their 20s and hired substitutes to go to war for them when their were drafted). I handed out a page describing the concept of "Social Darwinism" and we talked about it briefly. I handed back papers that I had graded during the break.

Assignment: read "Social Darwinism" handout and be prepared to discuss