Citizenship in the Nation Merit Badge

Session #2

Session 2

Session #2 will take place on Tuesday, May 5, 2020, at 6:00 PM Central Time. This week's preparation will take about 3 hours, but 2.5 hours of that will consist of watching TV. However, it will take 5 days, so get started right away!

Session 2 Preparation "Homework"

At Session 2, we will complete requirements 3, 4, and 7. Requirement 3 isn't hard, but it will take 5 days, so get started right away. Do the following before session 2:

Requirement 3: For requirement 3, you need to read the newspaper five days in a row, or watch a national TV newscast five days in a row. Pick either a newspaper or TV news, and do one of the following (newspapers or TV):
- Newspapers
  To meet this requirement, you need to read the front page of the newspaper five days in a row. This must be a major daily newspaper such as the Star-Tribune or the Pioneer Press. If you prefer, it can be an out-of-town paper such as the New York Times or Chicago Tribune.
  
  Most newspapers have all of their content online, so you can meet this requirement by reading the newspaper's website. However, you want to make sure that you read all of the stories that are on the newspaper's front page.
  
  Most newspapers will have about five major stories on their front page. Therefore, you can meet this requirement online by reading the top five national articles on the website every day for five days. You will need to read a total of 25 articles.
- TV News
  
  You can also meet this requirement by watching the national newscast for five days on a TV network. Here are the times these newscasts are aired in Minneapolis-St. Paul:
  - CBS: Channel 4, 5:30 PM
  - NBC: Channel 11, 5:30 PM
  - ABC: Channel 5, 5:30 PM
  - CNN: Various Times
  - Fox: Various Times
  If you miss the newscasts at these times, you can also watch them played back online at these links:
  To meet requirement 3, just pick a network, and watch the newscast for five days. If you miss one broadcast, then watch it online later that day. (The cable news channels generally don't have their full newscasts repeated online. However, you can tune in to a later newscast the same day.)
Requirement 4: The best source of information for requirement 4 is pages 11-23 of the merit badge book. If you don't have a merit badge book, you can get the information you need at the following links:
Requirement 7: For requirement 7, you need to memorize the names of the three branches of government: Legislative, Executive, and Judicial. Then, read pages 25-31 of the merit badge book, or the resources listed below:
- Three Branches of Government Video
- Checks and Balances Video

Session 2 Call-In Instructions

Session 2 will take place at 6:00 PM Central Time on Tuesday, May 5, 2020. Plan on the session lasting about 45 minutes. Here are the call-in instructions: Dial 1-712-775-8972. When prompted, enter the conference code 127735. Normal long-distance charges (to Iowa) apply for this call.

We will complete requirements 3 and 4. Be prepared to do the following:

We will take turns telling what you learned from watching the news or reading the newspaper. Be prepared to tell about a national issue that affects you and your family, and how it affects you.
Will will have a discussion of the Declaration of Independence, the Preamble to the Constitution, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Amendments to the Constitution. This will be a group discussion, but everyone needs to talk.
Everyone will need to name the three branches of government (legislative, executive, and judicial). Then, we will have a discussion about the three branches and their functions. You will need to explain how you can be involved in each branch. You will need to explain how each branch of government "checks" and "balances" the other branches, and why this is important. This will be a group discussion, but everyone needs to talk.
We'll talk a little about next week's requirements.

About Your Counselor

Richard P. Clem is a registered merit badge counselor in the BSA Northern Star Council, and an assistant scoutmaster of Troop 461 in Maplewood, Minnesota. He is an attorney and continuing legal education (CLE) provider in Minnesota. He has been in private practice in the Twin Cities for about 30 years. He has a J.D., cum laude, from Hamline University School of Law in St. Paul and a B.A. in History from the University of Minnesota. His reported cases include: Asociacion Nacional de Pescadores a Pequena Escala o Artesanales de Colombia v. Dow Quimica de Colombia, 988 F.2d 559, rehearing denied, 5 F.3d 530 (5th Cir. 1993), cert. denied, 510 U.S. 1041 (1994); LaMott v. Apple Valley Health Care Center, 465 N.W.2d 585 (Minn. Ct. App. 1991); Abo el Ela v. State, 468 N.W.2d 580 (Minn. Ct. App. 1991).

You cane visit his websites at RichardClem.com, w0is.com, and OneTubeRadio.com.

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Richard P. Clem, Attorney
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e-mail: clem.law@usa.net
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