Saturday, 6 August 2016

Concluding remark 

I sincerely hope that this blog has – over the past year or so – provided you with a better understanding of American Politics. I also hope that the knowledge provided will be of benefit in some way, as education opens up so many doors. More importantly, I trust it has stimulated your interest in politics and thereby enabled you to engage more fully with the subject matter. Indeed, I sincerely hope it gives you the intellectual tools required to play a proper role in the political process of this great nation. America is at its best when it inspires participation amongst its people, and we all truly have a part to play regardless of the circumstances of our birth wherever we reside in this union of ours.
 
Benjamin Franklin once said that “America remains a Republic, if … we can keep it that way. All of us have a part to play.” I sincerely hope that we as citizens of this great country can retain a Republic and avoid the tyranny of ignorance. Ignorance can only serve those in power and the vested interests that shape our system. Be empowered … always! I have dedicated my working life to teaching and writing. There is nothing more important to the next generation; and I hope I can play a small role in that.

Tuesday, 2 August 2016

Bibliography

I have used the following to research my blog over the past few months; 

Acemoglu, D. and Robinson, J.A. (2013) Why nations fail : The origins of power, prosperity and poverty (Profile).
 
Albright, M. (2006) The mighty and the almighty (MacMillan).

Alexander, M. (2010) The New Jim Crow : Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness (New Press).
 
Almond, G.A. and Verba, S. (1963) The Civic Culture : Political Attitudes and democracy in five nations (Princeton University Press).
 
Alter, J. (2010) The Promise : President Obama (Simon and Schuster).
 
Ansolabehere, S. and Iyengar, S. (1995) Going Negative : How political advertisements shrink and polarize the electorate (The Free Press).

Ashbee, E. (2002) American Society Today (Manchester University Press).

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Blumenthal, S. (2006) How Bush rules (Princeton University press).

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Bush, G.W. (2010) Decision Points (Virgin Books).

Campbell, A., Converse, P.E., Miller, W.E. and Stokes, D.E. (1980) The American Voter (University of Chicago press).

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Klein, N. (2007) The Shock Doctrine : The rise of Disaster capitalism (Knopf Canada).

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Kurtzman, D. (2012) How to win a fight with a conservative (Sourcebooks).

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Mearsheimer, J.J. and Walt, S.M. (2007) The Israel Lobby and US Foreign policy (Penguin).

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Mervin, D. (1993) The President of the United States (Harvester-Wheatsheaf).

Metcalf, F. (2012) The Biteback dictionary of humorous political quotations (Biteback publishing).

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Mosca, G. (1896) The Ruling Class (McGraw-Hill).

Moyo, D. (2011) How the West Was Lost (Penguin).

Mulgan, G. (2013) The locust and the bee (Cloth).

Murray, C. and Herrnstein, R. (1995) The Bell Curve (Free press).

Neustadt, R. (1960) Presidential Power (John Wiley).

Northcott, M. (2004) An Angel directs the storm (Tauris).

Nozick, R. (1974) Anarchy, State and Utopia (Blackwell).

Nye, J. (1990) Bound to Lead: The Changing Nature of American Power (Basic Books).

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Patterson, T.E. (1993) Out Of Order (Alfred Knopf).

Pearlman, S. (2012) The Palin Effect : Money, sex and class in the new American politics (Biteback).

Popkin, S.L. (2012) The candidate : What it takes to win and hold the White House (Oxford University press).

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Putnam, R. (1995) Bowling Alone : America's Declining Social Capital (Simon and Schuster).

Putnam, R. (2000) The Collapse and Revival of American Community (Simon and Schuster).

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Rand, A. (2008) Anthem (Penguin).

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Sardar, Z. and Davies, W. (2004) American Dream Global Nightmare (Icon Books).

Sardar, Z. and Davies, W. (2008) Will America change? (Icon Books).

Schlesinger, A. (1973) The imperial Presidency (Mariner books).

Shermer, M. (2011) The believing brain : From spiritual faiths to political convictions (Constable and Robinson).

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Soros, G. (2008) The New paradigm for financial markets : The credit crisis of 2008 and what it means (Public Affairs Ltd).

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Stiglitz, J. (2002) Globalization and its discontents (The Penguin press).

Stiglitz, J. (2003) The Roaring Nineties (Penguin).

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Thompson, H.S. (1994) Fear and loathing on the campaign trail ’72 (Harper Perennial).

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Monday, 1 August 2016

Watergate affair The illegal activities and subsequent cover-up of the Nixon administration. Figures within the Campaign to re-elect the President (CREEP) broke into Democrat HQ in the Watergate building, Washington DC. Watergate instigated a series of events that led to Nixon’s eventual resignation in 1974. The term ‘gate’ is routinely added to controversies that imply an abuse of power.

Wedge issue An issue considered so important that it divides two or more strands of a political party/ideology. There are several obvious examples to consider, but an unusual one is the creation of gambling casinos. Fiscal conservatives in the GOP favor such moves, but social conservatives equate gambling with a sin that is contrary to God’s teachings.

Weltanschauung An outlook taken by an individual (or social group) upon the world around them. The weltanschauung of the founding fathers was unmistakably liberal and fearful of absolutist rule.

Whip system An organization of House leaders who work to disseminate information and promote party unity in voting on legislation. It must be noted that party discipline is relatively weak in the states.

Wholesale politics A means of campaigning that involves indirect contact with citizens, such as running campaign advertisements.

Winner-take-all The practice of assigning all of a given state’s delegates to the candidate who receives the most popular votes. In recent years, there has been a shift towards proportional allocation.

Workfare A set of measures designed to get welfare claimants back to work via changes to the tax and benefit system (such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)). The aim of workfare is to reduce the number of claimants within the United States. The Clinton administration granted waivers from federal rules to over 40 states in order to enable them to pursue their own way of ending welfare as we know it. Under the Obama administration, the fiscal stimulus expanded the numbers eligible for the EITC.

World Bank A non-governmental organization that provides financial support for economic development projects in developing nations.

World Trade Organization An international organization created to oversee trade agreements between nations by facilitating negotiations and handling disputes.

Writ of certification An uncommon way in which a case is brought before the Supreme Court, whereby an appeals court asks the judicial branch to clarify federal law in regards to a particular case.