With the midterm congressional races heating up and November 7 right around the corner, we are once again privileged witnesses of American democracy in action…or, as Alan Wolfe sees it, American democracy inaction. In his new book, Does American Democracy Still Work?, Wolfe identifies the current political conditions that have
There will be a Book Club session on TPMCafe for Reed Hundt’s In China’s Shadow: The Crisis of American Entrepreneurship on Monday, September 25th and in the days following. TPMCafe is an off-shoot of Josh Micah Marshall’s popular TalkingPointsMemo blog. Their regular contributors are a mix of academics, former government
Fidel Castro celebrated his 80th birthday on Sunday, a month after handing over power to his brother, Raúl. Fidel’s age combined with his ailing health has many people wondering what kind of changes will happen in Cuba if he dies. On the final page of Cuba: A New History (Yale
Yesterday, Cuba’s government announced that its ruler, Fidel Castro, had survived intestinal surgery, but didn’t give any more details about his condition. On Monday evening, Castro, who will turn 80 on August 13, temporarily handed power to his brother, Raúl, before undergoing the surgery. After his surgery, Castro released a
Last Thursday David Lesch, author of The New Lion of Damascus (Yale University Press, 2005), wrote an op-ed piece for the Washington Post on Syrian president Bashar al-Asad: Syrian President Bashar al-Asad has been a lonely man in international circles of late. Indeed, one of the few Americans with whom
In the coming weeks, the federal Department of Education is expected to issue final regulations allowing public school districts greater flexibility in establishing classes and schools that separate students on the basis of sex. The new rules will represent an about-face on federal interpretations of Title IX, the law prohibiting
Alan Wolfe, Professor of Political Science at Boston College and author of the forthcoming Does American Democracy Still Work? (Yale University Press; available September 4, 2006), has written the cover story for the July/August issue of Washington Monthly, entitled “Why Conservatives Can’t Govern.” The article, which has attracted significant attention
On Thursday last week, after a trial stretching four months and jury deliberations spanning six days, former Enron executives Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling were convicted of fraud and conspiracy, crimes for which they could face life sentences in prison. “The jury sent an unmistakable message,” prosecutor Sean Berkowitz said.
On Monday, May 29, Americans will observe Memorial Day, commemorating the U.S. men and women whose lives were lost, and continue to be lost, in military service for their country. The day marks a fitting occasion to look back at the wars which have defined our nation’s history and the
What do The Godfather, The Cat in the Hat, and Machiavelli’s The Prince have in common? According to Stanley Bing in this weekend’s Wall Street Journal, they are among the five books that offer the soundest advice for proper business etiquette. Before your eyes roll too far into the back