American Politics Commons^™

2010 Mandate: What Should We Do About The Death Penalty?

CACTUS--Citizens' Assembly for Critical Thinking About the United States

The 2010 Citizens’ Assembly for Critical Thinking about the United States (CACTUS) must study arguments and proposals for keeping, changing or eliminating the death penalty, identify and analyze the perceived issues and problems leading to the proposals, including arguments in support of the death penalty as now it now exists in the United States. The Assembly must then decide whether the death penalty should be kept as it currently exists or that a change is warranted, and if so at what level or levels of government or through what type of Constitutional amendment the changes should be implemented; and if …

Assembly's Final Report

CACTUS--Citizens' Assembly for Critical Thinking About the United States

Each CACTUS brings new excitement along with new challenges. CACTUS 2010 was exciting because it was larger than in past years, more freshmen enrolled than in previous years, and our topic “What should we do about the death penalty? Keep it? Change it? Abolish it?” was by far the most profound, with implications touching on topics such as social justice, safety, equality, religious and ethical arguments, the Bill of Rights, and federalism, to name just a few.

Revolt Against The Czars: Why Barack Obama’S Staffing Critics Are (Mostly) Wrong, José Villalobos, Justin Vaughn

Selected Works Temporary Series

Rather than view the alleged proliferation of “czars” in recent presidential administrations as a threat to the constitutional order, we consider it part of an ongoing reorganization of the presidential branch designed to maximize leadership capacity as presidents continue to take more responsibility for policy development and implementation, a phenomenon driven as much by congressional abdication as presidential zeal for power. The real debate lies over whether the president can delegate his constitutional authority to those who work beneath him. We posit that presidents may choose to delegate within their own discretion, so long as it is within the limits …

White House Staff, Justin Vaughn, José Villalobos

Selected Works Temporary Series

The White House Staff provides the bureaucratic framework that makes presidential leadership possible. Even though modern presidents continue to face constraints by the constitutional structure and political reality in successfully straddling the expectations gap that continues to enlarge, the staff presents the president with his best opportunity to anticipate and exploit leadership opportunities in the best case and manage crisis and cope with challenges in the worst. In recent decades, scholarly efforts to analyze the influence and importance of the White House staff has continued apace the institution’s own evolution. In this chapter, we evaluate the state of these efforts …

I Know What You Did Last Summer: The Ballot Initiative And Voter Turnout, Shayne Henry

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

“Know Thy Neighbor,” a public interest group established in 2005, has grabbed headlines in recent years for making public (or threatening to make public) the names of hundreds of thousands of registered voters who signed petitions qualifying anti-gay rights measures for state general election ballots in Massachusetts, Florida, Arkansas, Oregon, and Washington. These names, together with the mailing addresses, birthdates, and dates of signature for each signer, have long been public information in most states, but never before have they been put into a format (i.e., searchable, online databases) making them easy to access and analyze. In this pilot project, …

In The Wake, Lindsey Mantoan

Faculty Publications

Lindsey Mantoan reviews a performance of In the Wake (by Lisa Kron) for Theatre Journal.

Revolt Against The Czars: Why Barack Obama’S Staffing Critics Are (Mostly) Wrong, José Villalobos, Justin Vaughn

Departmental Papers (PS)

Rather than view the alleged proliferation of “czars” in recent presidential administrations as a threat to the constitutional order, we consider it part of an ongoing reorganization of the presidential branch designed to maximize leadership capacity as presidents continue to take more responsibility for policy development and implementation, a phenomenon driven as much by congressional abdication as presidential zeal for power. The real debate lies over whether the president can delegate his constitutional authority to those who work beneath him. We posit that presidents may choose to delegate within their own discretion, so long as it is within the limits …

White House Staff, Justin Vaughn, José Villalobos

Departmental Papers (PS)

The White House Staff provides the bureaucratic framework that makes presidential leadership possible. Even though modern presidents continue to face constraints by the constitutional structure and political reality in successfully straddling the expectations gap that continues to enlarge, the staff presents the president with his best opportunity to anticipate and exploit leadership opportunities in the best case and manage crisis and cope with challenges in the worst. In recent decades, scholarly efforts to analyze the influence and importance of the White House staff has continued apace the institution’s own evolution. In this chapter, we evaluate the state of these efforts …

The Obama Effect On American Discourse About Racial Identity: Dreams From My Father (And Mother), Barack Obama's Search For Self, Suzanne W. Jones

English Faculty Publications

During the 2008 presidential campaign, Joseph Curl reported that the Obama organization "would not answer when asked why the biracial candidate calls himself black," replying only that the question didn't "seem especially topical." Biracial ancestry and racial identity are still sensitive subjects in the United States, not suitable for sound bites. But they are perfect topics for the introspective musings of an autobiography, and Barack Obama must have thought he had answered this question in depth in Dreams from My Father (1995). In his introduction, Obama hesitates to use the term "autobiography" because it connotes, he says, "a certain closure"; …

Agricultural Biotechnology: The U.S.-Eu Dispute, Charles E. Hanrahan

Congressional Research Service Reports

In May 2003, the United States, Canada, and Argentina initiated a dispute with the European Union concerning the EU’s de facto moratorium on biotechnology product approvals, in place since 1998. Although the EU effectively lifted the moratorium in May 2004 by approving a genetically engineered (GE) corn variety (MON810), the three complainants pursued the case, in part because a number of EU member states continue to block already approved biotech products. Industry estimates are that the moratorium costs U.S. corn growers some $300 million in exports to the EU annually. Corn gluten exports from the United States to the EU …

Introduction To America's Four Gods: What We Say About God And What That Says About Us, Paul Froese, Christoper Bader

Sociology Faculty Books and Book Chapters

Despite all the hype surrounding the "New Atheism," the United States remains one of the most religious nations on Earth. In fact, 95% of Americans believe in God--a level of agreement rarely seen in American life. The greatest divisions in America are not between atheists and believers, or even between people of different faiths. What divides us, this groundbreaking book shows, is how we conceive of God and the role He plays in our daily lives.

America's Four Gods draws on the most wide-ranging, comprehensive, and illuminating survey of American's religious beliefs ever conducted to offer a systematic exploration of …

Can Mature Democracies Be Perfected?, Guy-Uriel Charles

Faculty Scholarship

One of the more vexing questions about democracy that is often debated among political theorists, political scientists, and legal scholars is whether the democratic character of mature democracies can be improved. From one view, that of democratic realists, mature democracies are perfected as a matter of definition and as a matter of realistic expectations. Because mature democracies are those that respect core democratic principles, variations outside the core are simply policy differences based upon each democratic polity’s willingness to engage in a different set of trade-offs. For democratic realists, variations in democratic practice that are not related to core democratic …

Asian Carp And The Great Lakes Region, Eugene H. Buck, Harold F. Upton, Charles V. Stern, James E. Nicols

Congressional Research Service Reports

Four species of non-indigenous Asian carp are expanding their range in U.S. waterways, resulting in a variety of concerns and problems. Three species—bighead, silver, and black carp—are of particular note, based on the perceived degree of environmental concern. Current controversy relates to what measures might be necessary and sufficient to prevent movement of Asian carp from the Mississippi River drainage into the Great Lakes through the Chicago Area Waterway System. Bills have been introduced in the 111th Congress to direct actions to avoid the possibility of carp becoming established in the Great Lakes.

According to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, …

Agriculture-Based Biofuels: Overview And Emerging Issues, Randy Schnepf

Congressional Research Service Reports

Since the late 1970s, U.S. policymakers at both the federal and state levels have enacted a variety of incentives, regulations, and programs to encourage the production and use of agriculture-based biofuels. Initially, federal biofuels policies were developed to help kick-start the biofuels industry during its early development, when neither production capacity nor a market for the finished product was widely available. Federal policy has played a key role in helping to close the price gap between biofuels and cheaper petroleum fuels. Now, as the industry has evolved, other policy goals (e.g., national energy security, climate change concerns, support for rural …

Renewable Energy Programs In The 2008 Farm Bill, Megan Stubbs

Congressional Research Service Reports

The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-246, the 2008 farm bill) extends and expands many of the renewable energy programs originally authorized in the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-171, 2002 farm bill). The bill also continues the emphasis on the research and development of advanced and cellulosic bioenergy authorized in the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act (P.L. 110-140).

Farm bill debate over U.S. biomass-based renewable energy production policy focused mainly on the continuation of subsidies for ethanol blenders, continuation of the import tariff for ethanol, and the impact of corn-based ethanol …

The Object Of Torture Is Torture: Extraordinary Renditions To Jordan And Human Rights In The War On Terror, Kat Mitchell

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Hassan Saleh bin Attash, a Yemeni national, was just seventeen at the time of his September 2002 arrest in Pakistan. The young man spent four days in a Karachi prison before being taken to a United States-run prison in Kabul, where he was held and allegedly tortured through the middle of September. He was then rendered to Jordan.

Governing Gambling In The United States, Maria E. Garcia

CMC Senior Theses

The role risk taking has played in American history has helped shape current legislation concerning gambling. This thesis attempts to explain the discrepancies in legislation regarding distinct forms of gambling. While casinos are heavily regulated by state and federal laws, most statutes dealing with lotteries strive to regulate the activities of other parties instead of those of the lottery institutions. Incidentally, lotteries are the only form of gambling completely managed by the government. It can be inferred that the United States government is more concerned with people exploiting gambling than with the actual practice of wagering.

In an effort to …

Moving Away From Regulation And Legislation: Solving The Network Neutrality Debate During Obama’S Presidency, Cara J. Daley

CMC Senior Theses

This paper examines the Net neutrality, or argument that the Internet should remain and open and equal platform, debate in the United States up to November 2010. After critically examining the past regulatory and legislative efforts, the feasibility of alternate solutions invested in protecting citizens' interests is examined.

War, Race, And Gender In American Presidential Elections In 1964 And 1972, Baxter Norcross

CMC Senior Theses

This paper examines the partisan shift that took place in American Presidential elections during the Vietnam War. Specifically, I examine the landslide elections of 1964 and 1972 and how race, gender, and American casualties played a part in the shift.

The Unintended Consequences Of Increased Transparency In American National Government, Abigail K. Woodruff

CMC Senior Theses

In the past century, there has been an increasing trend in American government toward opening government procedures to the general public. The intention of these reforms was to improve government accountability and responsiveness, increase public education and involvement in government, and prevent corruption and undue influence by special interests. Conventional wisdom about open government, however, does not take into consideration many of the repercussions of opening up congressional proceedings to the glare of public scrutiny. Reforms in the 1970’s opened the deliberative process and made members of Congress more vulnerable to constituent and interest group pressure. These effects have had …