| August 2006
Politics & Government: Bush Administration | Elections | Federal Government | Judicial System |
Government Initiatives: Homeland Security | Social Security & Welfare
Politics & Government:
C1 - Power of One
Jeffrey Rosen
New Republic, July 24, 2006, #235, pp8-10
"The article focuses on efforts by the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush to expand executive power. The U.S. Supreme Court case “Hamdan vs. Rumsfeld” in June 2006 limited presidential authority by rejecting the legality of military tribunals for prisoners in Guantanamo Bay.” The author compares the Bush Presidency to the Reagan area and the expansion of executive power, referred to as unitary executive theory, at the time. Jeffrey Rosen is a law Professor at George Washington University and author of the forthcoming book, “The Most Democratic Branch: How the Courts Serve America. Fulltext
C2 - America's Missing Constitutional Link
Sabato, Larry
The Virginia Quarterly Review, Summer 2006, v82, #3, pp148-163
This article proposes a drastic overhaul of how the United States elects its presidents. “ It's manifestly obvious. The last thing the United States needs is more politics. Or so the American people, who hate politics, believe. And on this point, alas, they are very wrong. One reason citizens dislike politics is that the political system doesn't work terribly well, but it doesn't work well because we have neglected to create wise rules to govern it. We can place the blame for this deficiency squarely on the shoulders of the Founders. In so many respects, today's political system is broken, and there is currently no reasonable prospect of fixing it. Our schedule of presidential primaries and caucuses is a front-loaded mess, and the Congress, the parties, and the states refuse seriously to tackle its reform. The Democrats are currently tinkering at the edges of reform, just as the Republicans attempted to do in prior years, but little will come of it because of the powerful interests with heavy investments in the status quo.” Larry J. Sabato, Professor of Politics at the University of Virginia, is the author of more than twenty books on American politics. Fulltext
C3 - A Tale of Two Disasters
Kweit Grisez, Mary, Kweit, Robert W.
Publius, Summer 2006, v36, #3, pp.375-388
“The report to the U.S. president entitled ‘The Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina’ concludes that in the event of catastrophic disasters the traditional intergovernmental response to disaster should give way to a more dominant role of the national government. This article considers whether it is possible to respond effectively to disaster in the traditional, intergovernmental mode by comparing the response to Katrina with the response, which was widely considered to be successful, to another disaster, in Grand Forks, North Dakota. The research suggests that an intergovernmental response can be successful if those who respond to the disaster interact in a collaborative network. The article considers whether such collaborative networks can be created and evaluates some of the recommendations from the report as potentially helping to create collaborative networks.” Mary Grisez Kweit and Robert Kweit are Professors at the University of Dakota. Fulltext
C4 - Public Opinion on U.S. Federal and Intergovernmental Issues in 2006: Continuity and Change
Cole, Richard L.; Kincaid, John
Publius, Summer 2006 v.36, #3; pp443-460
“A 2006 trend survey found that Americans most often select local government as giving them the most for their money, followed by the federal and state governments. African Americans are most supportive of the federal government as giving them the most for their money; Hispanics are most supportive of local government. As in many previous years, the local property tax was viewed as the worst tax, followed by the federal income tax, state sales tax, and state income tax. Americans displayed reduced trust and confidence in the federal government; however, trust in all three spheres of government-federal, state, and local-dropped between 2004 and 2006, possibly reflective of the poor response of all governments to Hurricane Katrina. Analysis of surveys since 1972 reveals that there has been a long-term decline in the public's support for the federal government and a corresponding increase in support of state and especially local governments.” (read, at) Richard L. Cole is Professor at the University of Texas, Arlington. John Kincaid is Professor at Lafayette College. Fulltext
C5 - Logical and Consistent? An Analysis of Supreme Court Opinions Regarding the Death Penalty
Robinson, Matthew; Simon; Kathleen
Justice Policy Journal, Spring 2006, online edition, 59p
"This paper examines opinions by Supreme Court justices of the most significant death penalty cases of the 1970s and 1980s [i.e., Furman v. Georgia (1972), Gregg v. Georgia (1976), Woodson v. North Carolina (1976), and McCleskey v. Kemp (1987)]. It seeks to determine what main justifications were used by justices to support their own opinions, how inconsistent over these cases were justices in issuing their opinions, and what factors led to changes in opinions across time. This article also examines three types of inconsistency in issuing of opinion and seek to explain such inconsistencies to illuminate why capital punishment is still legal despite numerous problems with its application. It is these cases that best illustrate why capital punishment persists." Matthew Robinson is Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at Appalachian State University and is past President of the Southern Criminal Justice Association. Kathleen Simon is Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at Appalachian State University and is past President of the North Criminal Justice Association. Fulltext
C6 - Toward a Consistent Ethic of Judicial Restraint
Lawler, Peter Augustine
Society, July/August 2006, v43, #5, pp. 51-58
"The article discusses judicial activism and its effect on United States Supreme Court nominations. Before his reelection in 2004, United States President George W. Bush promised to appoint conservative judges and Supreme Court Justices, ones who would oppose judicial activism and aim to make the Court do less. A contradiction occurs when claiming that conservative judges would be against judicial activism, as conservatives wish to strike down affirmative action laws and use constitutional amendments to make new laws. Peter Augustine Lawler is Dana Professor of Government at Berry College, editor of Perspectives on Political Science, and a member of the President’s Council on Bioethics. Order Article
C7 - The Catholic Court Appeal
Robert F. Cochran Jr.
Touchstone, July 2006, v19,# 6, pp.40-45
The author examines why there are so many Catholics on the Supreme Court: “There may be political explanations for the attractiveness of Catholic justices, but I think three Catholic doctrines—natural law, subsidiarity, and religious freedom—help to explain why a majority of the justices are now Catholic. My argument is not that citizens who support, presidents who appoint, and senators who confirm these justices consciously do so because they want Catholic religious beliefs on the Court, but that these doctrines yield habits of thinking that make Catholics attractive candidates to the broad range of the American people.” Robert F. Cochran is the Louis D. Brandeis professor of Law and Director of the Institute on Law, Religion and Ethics at Pepperdine University of Law. Fulltext
Government Initiatives:
C8 - Foreign Investment and National Security: Getting the Balance Right
Larson, Alan P.; Marchick, David M.
Council on Foreign Relations Press, July 2006, 44p
“In this Council Special Report, Alan P. Larson and David M. Marchick discuss the benefits of foreign direct investment in the United States and the security risks posed by foreign ownership of certain U.S. assets. They examine the inner workings of the committee that conducts security reviews—the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS)—and recommend what policymakers should and should not consider in reforming it. The authors acknowledge that a lack of transparency in the process mixed with a new security environment, in which foreign ownership is seen as more politically sensitive, has cast doubt over the nature and effectiveness of the process, and they offer suggestions on how best to address congressional concerns. At the same time, they argue that CFIUS has been more effective than is commonly assumed and warn against alleged cures that promise to be far worse than any “disease” that currently exists.” Alan P. Larson is a Senior Adviser at Covington and Burling, where he provides clients with strategic advice and counseling on international trade, finance, and antitrust/comity issues . David M. Marchickis a Partner at Covington and Burling. He advises foreign investors and domestic companies seeking national security approval for foreign investments under the Exon-Florio amendment to the Defense Production Act of 1950. Fulltext
C9 - Bringing Healthcare Policy into the Information Age
Christian, Cora
Vital Speeches of the Day, July 2006, v72, #18/19, pp.521-526
“Today there are 36 million people over the age of 65 in the U.S., and over 20 million are women. In general, people are living longer and healthier lives now than at any other point in history. In the past century, the number of people older than 65 has increased over 11 times-from 3 million to 36 million. Women, who typically live longer, make up the majority of this group. Thirty years from now, this age group will double to well over 70 million, with women still expected to be the majority. […] These statistics leave no question that aging will have a major impact on the U.S. in the future; they also have major implications for health service providers.” Cora Christian, M.D., MPH, is a member of the AARP Board of Directors. Fulltext
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