American Politics Commons^™

Interview With Danny Davis, Terence Sims

Chicago Anti-Apartheid Movement

Length: 67 minutes

Oral history interview of Danny Davis by Terence Sims

Dr. Davis begins by outlining his introduction into activism and politics, when he served as executive director for the Greater Lawndale Conservation Commission in 1968. He explains how his definition of apartheid, which he is still fighting against, encompasses the massive underrepresentation of Black Americans in U.S. government positions. He details his childhood in rural Arkansas, growing up with ten siblings on a farm. He recalls early figures in the Civil Rights Movement in Arkansas, like the Little Rock Nine and Martin Luther King, Jr. He explains how …

The Variation In Third Party Politics Across The American States, Trevor Grunwald

Political Science Theses and Capstones

It seems that third party candidates and third parties themselves are usually just a flash in the pan, who once in a while seem to get their fifteen minutes of fame. Ross Perot a native Texan created lots of havoc on the 92 and 96 presidential elections. Also in the great state of Minnesota in 1998 Jesse Ventura became Governor while being a third party candidate. One can’t help but wonder who the next big third party candidate will be, and from which state they will come. Will this person come from a conservative state a liberal state, or will …

The Politic 2010 Spring, The Politic, Inc.

The Politic

No abstract provided.

The State In Disarray: Us Oversight Of Private Security Contractors, Rebecca A. Bernard

Pell Scholars and Senior Theses

“Putting mercy back in mercenary” became the slogan of Blackwater Worldwide after harsh criticism from the media tarnished their image. Blackwater is just one example of a private firm working for the US government. The War in Iraq that began in 2003 had for the first time, contractors performing security functions for military men in an unstable environment (Elsea). Given the heightened reliance on PSCs from the Department of State and Department of Defense, the US government has taken on the burden of establishing regulations to govern their actions and hold them accountable. On September 16, 2007, Blackwater security personnel …

Ewan, Avory Early, 1884-1937 (Sc 2427), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 2427. Letter from A. Early Ewan, Warren County, Kentucky county agriculture extension agent, to members of the Warren County Corn-Hog Production Control Association relating information about contracts to limit production of the commodities mentioned.

Getting Potomac Fever: Increasing Civic Engagement Through Experiential Learning Communities, G. Claire Haeg, Matthew J. Lindstrom

Political Science Faculty Publications

Drawing upon the literature on experiential learning, learning communities, and the scholarship of civic engagement, this paper assesses the outcomes of the Washington D.C. Summer Study Program developed by the College of St Benedict and St. John’s University. We are especially interested in examining the extent to which students who undertake this two month, eight credit internship learning community experience engage with politics and political life. Do students learn more about the US political system, its operation and opportunities? Are they more enthusiastic about public policy and politics? Do they increase their level of trust in government or their feelings …

Risky Business: Effectiveness Of State Market-Based Health Programs, Christopher Stream, Nathan Myers

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Research

Since the 1990s, state governments have been leaders of health care reform. Today, approximately 47 million people are without health insurance. As health care costs and uninsurance levels continue to rise, states are pursuing a variety of government- and market-based strategies to address this growing social problem. Health care research has indicated that state-based programs have proven to be successful in extending access to coverage. However, the question remains as to whether the market-based programs have had a positive impact on state health care. Advocates for market-based state health programs argue that the reforms benefit the greater good because they …

Symbols Of America, Oklahoma State University - Main Campus

Democracy/Government

Bibliography and photographs of a display of government documents from Oklahoma State University.

Biofuels Incentives: A Summary Of Federal Programs, Brent D. Yacobucci

Congressional Research Service Reports

With recent high energy prices, the passage of major energy legislation in 2005 (P.L. 109-58) and 2007 (P.L. 110-140), and the passage of a new farm bill in 2008 (P.L. 110-246), there is ongoing congressional interest in promoting alternatives to petroleum fuels. Biofuels—transportation fuels produced from plants and other organic materials—are of particular interest.

Ethanol and biodiesel, the two most widely used biofuels, receive significant government support under federal law in the form of mandated fuel use, tax incentives, loan and grant programs, and certain regulatory requirements. The 22 programs and provisions listed in this report have been established over …

Agricultural Conservation: A Guide To Programs, Megan Stubbs

Congressional Research Service Reports

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Farm Service Agency (FSA) in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) currently administer over 20 programs and subprograms that are directly or indirectly available to assist producers and landowners who wish to practice conservation on agricultural lands. The number, scope, and overall funding of these programs has grown in recent years. This growth can cause some confusion over which problems and conditions each program addresses, and specific program characteristics and performance.

This tabular presentation provides basic information introducing each of the programs. In each case, a brief program description is followed by …

Water Quality Issues In The 111th Congress: Oversight And Implementation, Claudia Copeland

Congressional Research Service Reports

Although much progress has been made in achieving the ambitious goals that Congress established more than 35 years ago in the Clean Water Act (CWA) to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation’s waters, long-standing problems persist, and new problems have emerged. Water quality problems are diverse, ranging from pollution runoff from farms and ranches, city streets, and other diffuse or “nonpoint” sources, to toxic substances discharged from factories and sewage treatment plants.

There is little agreement among stakeholders about what solutions are needed and whether new legislation is required to address the nation’s remaining …

Previewing Dairy Policy Options For The Next Farm Bill, Dennis A. Shields

Congressional Research Service Reports

Financial stress in the dairy industry in 2009, brought on largely by sharply lower milk prices, activated standing federal programs to support dairy farmers. In calendar year 2009, the federal government spent more than $1 billion to support the industry through the Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) Program, the Dairy Product Price Support Program (DPPSP), and the Dairy Export Incentive Program (DEIP). Following appeals from dairy farmers for more financial assistance, Congress granted another $350 million in October 2009 in the form of supplemental payments to dairy farmers and government purchases of dairy products.

While farm milk prices have increased …

Fy2010 Supplemental Appropriations For Agriculture, Jim Monke

Congressional Research Service Reports

Two separate bills are advancing in the 111th Congress that could provide nearly $4 billion of supplemental funds for agricultural programs in FY2010. The agricultural provisions in these bills have a relatively small funding impact compared with the nonagricultural provisions in the bills.

H.R. 4213 (commonly known as the “tax extenders” bill) would provide up to $3.6 billion for agriculture-related programs. The House and Senate are trading amendments to reconcile differences between each chamber’s version of the bill. The most recent House-passed version from May 28, 2010, includes $1.48 billion for agricultural disaster assistance, $1.15 billion for a settlement of …

Forestry In The Next Farm Bill, Ross W. Gorte

Congressional Research Service Reports

Forest management generally, as well as forest research and forestry assistance, have long been within the jurisdictions of the Agriculture Committees. Although most forestry programs are permanently authorized, forestry has usually been addressed in the periodic farm bills to reauthorize many agriculture programs. The 2008 farm bill (the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, P.L. 110-246) contained a separate forestry title, with provisions establishing national priorities for forestry assistance; requiring statewide forest assessments and strategies; providing competitive funding for certain programs; creating new programs for open space conservation and for emergency reforestation; reauthorizing four existing programs; and prohibiting imports …

Biomass Crop Assistance Program (Bcap): Status And Issues, Megan Stubbs

Congressional Research Service Reports

The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-246, 2008 farm bill) created the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP). The two main purposes of BCAP are (1) to support the establishment and production of eligible crops for conversion to bioenergy in selected areas, and (2) to assist agricultural and forest land owners and operators with collection, harvest, storage, and transportation of eligible material for use in a biomass conversion facility. BCAP is intended to assist with the bioenergy industry’s hurdle of continuous biomass availability.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Farm Service Agency (FSA) implemented one portion of BCAP—the …

Energy And Water Development: Fy2011 Appropriations, Carl E. Behrens

Congressional Research Service Reports

The Energy and Water Development appropriations bill provides funding for civil works projects of the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation, the Department of Energy (DOE), and a number of independent agencies.

Funding for FY2010 Energy and Water Development programs is contained in H.R. 3183, which the House passed July 17, 2009. The Senate passed its version of H.R. 3183 July 29. The Conference Committee issued its report (H.Rept. 111-278) September 30, and the House passed the conference bill October 1, and the Senate October 15. The President signed the bill October 28 …

Carbon Capture: A Technology Assessment, Peter Folger

Congressional Research Service Reports

Carbon capture and sequestration (or carbon capture and storage, CCS) is widely seen as a critical strategy for limiting atmospheric emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2)—the principal “greenhouse gas” linked to global climate change—from power plants and other large industrial sources. This report focuses on the first component of a CCS system, the CO2 capture process. Unlike the other two components of CCS, transportation and geologic storage, the CO2 capture component of CCS is heavily technology-dependent. For CCS to succeed at reducing CO2 emissions from a significant fraction of large sources in the United States, CO2 capture technologies would need to …

Ballast Water Management To Combat Invasive Species, Eugene H. Buck

Congressional Research Service Reports

The 111th Congress may elect to consider legislation (H.R. 500 and S. 237) that has been introduced to amend and reauthorize the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990 to further study vessel ballast water management standards and modify how ballast water is handled.

In recent years, many people have become increasingly aware that the globalization of trade, the increased speed of travel, the massive volume of cargo shipments, and rising tourism have combined to increase the chance of accidental introductions of foreign species into the United States. Aquatic species arrive through a variety of mechanisms—unintentionally when attached …

Agricultural Biotechnology: Background And Recent Issues, Tadlock Cowan

Congressional Research Service Reports

U.S. soybean, cotton, and corn farmers have rapidly adopted genetically engineered (GE) varieties of these crops since their commercialization in the mid-1990s. Over the last decade, GE varieties in the United States have increased from 3.6 million acres to 143 million acres. Worldwide, 25 countries planted GE crops on approximately 309 million acres in 2008. GE varieties now dominate soybean, cotton, and corn production in the United States, and they continue to expand rapidly in other countries. As adoption has spread, policy debates have continued over the costs and benefits of GE products.

Ongoing concerns include the impacts of GE …

Wetlands: An Overview Of Issues, Claudia Copeland

Congressional Research Service Reports

Recent Congresses have considered numerous policy topics that involve wetlands. Many reflect issues of long-standing interest, such as applying federal regulations on private lands, wetland loss rates, and restoration and creation accomplishments. In the 110th Congress, a few of the topics were new, such as wetlands provisions in the 2008 farm bill (P.L. 110-246). The 110th Congress also considered wetland topics at the program level, responding to legal decisions and administrative actions affecting the jurisdictional boundary limits of the federal wetland permit program in the Clean Water Act (CWA).

Perhaps the issue receiving the greatest attention has been determining which …

Animal Waste And Water Quality: Epa’S Response To The Waterkeeper Alliance Court Decision On Regulation Of Cafos, Claudia Copeland

Congressional Research Service Reports

In October 2008, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a regulation to revise a 2003 Clean Water Act rule governing waste discharges from large confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs). This action was necessitated by a 2005 federal court decision (Waterkeeper Alliance et al. v. EPA, 399 F.3d 486 (2nd Cir. 2005)), resulting from challenges brought by agriculture industry groups and environmental advocacy groups, that vacated parts of the 2003 rule and remanded other parts to EPA for clarification.

The Clean Water Act prohibits the discharge of pollutants from any “point source” to waters of the United States unless authorized under …

Gray Wolves Under The Endangered Species Act (Esa): Distinct Population Segments And Experimental Populations, Kristina Alexander

Congressional Research Service Reports

The wolf was among the first animals protected under the Endangered Species Preservation Act, a predecessor to the current Endangered Species Act (ESA). In 1978 the gray wolf was listed as endangered in all of the conterminous 48 states except Minnesota, where it was listed as threatened. With the exception of experimental populations established in the 1990s, the protections for the gray wolf have been diminishing since that date, as wolf populations have increased in some areas. The use of distinct population segments (DPSs), a term created in the 1978 ESA amendments, has played a role in that reduced protection. …

Capturing Co2 From Coal-Fired Power Plants: Challenges For A Comprehensive Strategy, Larry Parker, Peter Folger

Congressional Research Service Reports

Any comprehensive approach to substantially reduce greenhouse gases must address the world’s dependency on coal for one-quarter of its energy demand, including almost half of its electricity demand. To maintain coal in the world’s energy mix in a carbon-constrained future would require development of a technology to capture and store its carbon dioxide emissions. This situation suggests to some that any greenhouse gas reduction program be delayed until such carbon capture technology has been demonstrated. However, technological innovation and the demands of a carbon control regime are interlinked; a technology policy is no substitute for environmental policy and should be …

Nanotechnology And Environmental, Health, And Safety: Issues For Consideration, John F. Sargent Jr.

Congressional Research Service Reports

Nanotechnology—a term encompassing nanoscale science, engineering, and technology—is focused on understanding, controlling, and exploiting the unique properties of matter that can emerge at scales of one to 100 nanometers. A key issue before Congress regarding nanotechnology is how best to protect human health, safety, and the environment as nanoscale materials and products are researched, developed, manufactured, used, and discarded. While the rapidly emerging field of nanotechnology is believed by many to offer significant economic and societal benefits, some research results have raised concerns about the potential adverse environmental, health, and safety (EHS) implications of nanoscale materials.

Some have described nanotechnology …

Agriculture In The Wto: Limits On Domestic Support, Randy Schnepf

Congressional Research Service Reports

Most of the provisions of the current farm bill, the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-246), do not expire until 2012. However, hearings on the 2012 farm bill have already begun. Congress is in the process of reviewing farm income and commodity price support proposals that might succeed the programs due to expire in 2012.

A key question likely to be asked of virtually every new proposal is how it will affect U.S. commitments under the WTO’s Agreement on Agriculture (AA), which commits the United States to spend no more than $19.1 billion annually on domestic farm …

Agricultural Disaster Assistance, Dennis A. Shields, Ralph M. Chite

Congressional Research Service Reports

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) offers several permanently authorized programs to help farmers recover financially from a natural disaster, including federal crop insurance, the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP), and emergency disaster loans. The federal crop insurance program is designed to protect crop producers from unavoidable risks associated with adverse weather, and weather-related plant diseases and insect infestations. Producers who grow a crop that is currently ineligible for crop insurance may be eligible for a direct payment under NAP. Under the emergency disaster (EM) loan program, when a county has been declared a disaster area by either the …

The Politic 2010 Winter, The Politic, Inc.

The Politic

No abstract provided.

Citizens For Peace Activities And Accomplishments 2009, Ann Abdoo

Citizens for Peace

No abstract provided.

A Tale Told By A President, Mark A. Graber

Faculty Scholarship

Part I of this essay makes the case for symbolic politics. Presidents often have political reasons for subjecting courts to mere words. Part II makes the case for constitutional hardball.

Are They Ready For Their Close-Up? Civil Servants And Their Portrayal In Contemporary American Cinema, Michelle C. Pautz, Laura Roselle

Political Science Faculty Publications

Norma Desmond famously says in Billy Wilder’s Sunset Blvd. (1950), “All right, Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my closeup.”1 Since then, this phrase has been uttered countless times to ensure the camera does not start rolling until everyone is ready. But all are not afforded the opportunity to get ready and civil servants fall squarely into this category. We know that government bureaucrats are among those individuals that Americans love to hate and attacks on the civil service come from a plethora of sources.2 And because of the ability of film (as well as other narrative forms) to influence perceptions …