Archive: Politics
Sin, Redemption and the State
So you've sinned. Now what? Gary A. Anderson, a professor in the Department of Theology at Notre Dame, may have an answer for you. In his book "Sin: A History," published by Yale University Press in September, Anderson explores the roots of sin and atonement. Hint: help the poor. But...
By Steven E. Levingston | November 17, 2009; 05:30 AM ET | Comments (0)
Fort Hood and the invisibility of Arab Americans
A memorial to the victims of the Fort Hood shooting stands on the grounds of Casa Del Norte, the apartment complex where the gunman Maj. Nadil Malik Hasan lived in Killeen, Texas. (Eli Meir Kaplan/Getty Images) The Fort Hood shootings have re-ignited conversation about the place of Arab and...
By Steven E. Levingston | November 16, 2009; 05:30 AM ET | Comments (14)
Top 10 most destructive government actions
Martin L. Gross has a beef with the way Washington works, or rather, the way Washington has of mucking things up. In "National Suicide: How Washington Is Destroying the American Dream from A to Z," Gross lays out how tax dollars are wasted, government programs fail and scams are perpetrated....
By Steven E. Levingston | November 13, 2009; 05:30 AM ET | Comments (16)
The new Cold War: the War on Terror
An Afghan mobile vender pushes his cart through war damaged buildings in Kabul, Afghanistan, last week. (Gemunu Amarasinghe/AP) Some policies die hard. In "America's Cold War: the Politics of Insecurity," published by Harvard University Press in October, authors Campbell Craig and Fredrik Logevall argue that American policy formed during...
By Steven E. Levingston | November 12, 2009; 05:30 AM ET | Comments (2)
Racial reconciliation: Mississippi leading the way?
In "The Past Is Never Dead: The Trial of James Ford Seale and Mississippi's Struggle for Redemption," Harry N. MacLean explores the issue of racial reconciliation. The book wonders whether the conviction of former Klansman Seale can atone for an era of racially motivated sins. We asked MacLean to reflect...
By Steven E. Levingston | November 11, 2009; 05:30 AM ET | Comments (0)
Animal empathy and its political implications
Primatologist Frans de Waal has some surprising news about human empathy: among the beasts of the animal kingdom, we are not alone in this emotion. De Waal says research shows that both lab rats and elephants, among other creatures, have an instinctual tendency toward empathetic behavior. We asked de Waal,...
By Steven E. Levingston | November 10, 2009; 05:30 AM ET | Comments (2)
Evangelicals' political clout: real or imagined?
Every election cycle the political power of evangelicals and the Christian Right seems to come under fresh scrutiny. But what is the actual impact of the group's excellent mobilization efforts. Steven Brint, professor of sociology and associate dean of the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences at the University...
By Steven E. Levingston | November 9, 2009; 05:30 AM ET | Comments (1)
'Going Rouge': The Sarah Palin coloring book
By Stephen Lowman Love her or hate her, people are drawn to Sarah Palin. Now, a new book wants you to color her. (Images courtesy of Michael Stinson; Click to Enlarge) One year after the race for the White House, publishers have released several books about the GOP vice presidential...
By Steven E. Levingston | November 6, 2009; 05:30 AM ET | Comments (15)
Racism without racists
Rich Benjamin spent two years traveling through white America and discovered a country filled with kind and endearing white individuals. In his book "Searching for Whitopia: An Improbable Journey to the Heart of White America," published by Hyperion in October, Benjamin reveals that he also found something else: a legacy...
By Steven E. Levingston | November 5, 2009; 05:30 AM ET | Comments (47)
Iran, the bomb, and religious devotion
A security guard hides his face from a photographer outside the Bushehr nuclear power plant in Bushehr, Iran, last February. (Sajad Safari/Bloomberg News) In his book "Dying for Heaven: Holy Pleasure and Suicide Bombers -- Why the Best Qualities of Religion Are Also Its Most Dangerous" author Ariel Glucklich...
By Steven E. Levingston | November 4, 2009; 05:30 AM ET | Comments (6)
A prescription for mental health care reform
As Congress struggles to bring about health care reform, those suffering from mental illness can only hope some improvement comes to the nation's mental health services. Author Timothy A. Kelly has a prescription for reform in his book "Healing the Broken Mind: Transforming America's Failed Mental Health System" published in...
By Steven E. Levingston | November 2, 2009; 05:30 AM ET | Comments (3)
Liberals under Nazism: lessons for today?
It's a common belief that German liberal democrats fled their homeland at the rise of Nazism, or at least resisted Nazi policies. Not so, says historian Eric Kurlander in "Living With Hitler: Liberal Democrats in the Third Reich," published in August by Yale University Press. Many liberals stuck it out,...
By Steven E. Levingston | October 28, 2009; 05:30 AM ET | Comments (5)
Novel comparison: Ayn Rand and Ralph Nader
By Justin Moyer Ralph Nader -- capital-L Liberal, safety-fetishist, and presidential-election spoiler -- might not want to share a bookshelf with Ayn Rand -- small-l liberal, objectivist, and all-around mean girl. Yet, both authors felt it necessary to produce lengthy works of fiction to present their fuming ideologies: Rand's published...
By Steven E. Levingston | October 23, 2009; 05:30 AM ET | Comments (3)
In Praise of Human Organ Sales
Nobel Prize-winning economist Gary S. Becker has long used economic principles to challenge social preconceptions. In 2004, he teamed up with the jurist and legal scholar Richard A. Posner to jointly write a blog. Together, they have spoken out on a wide range of issues including sex and marriage, jobs...
By Steven E. Levingston | October 22, 2009; 05:30 AM ET | Comments (6)
Cleland on recovery from emotional wounds of war
By Stephen Lowman In his memoir "Heart of a Patriot: How I Found the Courage to Survive Vietnam, Walter Reed and Karl Rove," former Georgia Democratic Senator Max Cleland writes about painful moments from his past with candor and frankness -- qualities seldom associated with politicians. How did he think...
By Steven E. Levingston | October 20, 2009; 05:30 AM ET | Comments (5)
Easing the Pain of War
Michael Anthony comes from a military family - his grandfather, father, four brothers and a sister were all service members. It was nothing extraordinary for him to enlist, and he went off to Iraq as an operating room medic. But what he discovered about war and the men and women...
By Steven E. Levingston | October 16, 2009; 05:30 AM ET | Comments (0)
A Plea for Politics of Moderation
Is it possible to have to strong opinions without shouting others down? Perhaps -- if we can develop a healthy appreciation of doubt, says Peter L. Berger, university professor emeritus at Boston University. In his book, "In Praise of Doubt: How to Have Convictions Without Becoming a Fanatic," co-written with...
By Steven E. Levingston | October 13, 2009; 05:30 AM ET | Comments (1)
Muslim Middle Class at Odds With Extremism
A Palestinian man sells sweets as Palestinians prepare for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr at a market in Gaza City last September. (Reuters/Mohammed Salem) The Muslim future lies in the rising middle class not in extremist fundamentalism. So argues Vali Nasr, professor of international politics at the Fletcher...
By Steven E. Levingston | October 8, 2009; 05:30 AM ET | Comments (8)
Era of Washington Harrumphing
President Bush meets with his speechwriting staff. Matt Latimer is seated on the couch, to the left of the President. (The White House) Matt Latimer, former speechwriter for President Bush, is getting the back of the hand from his one-time colleagues in the administration because of his memoir, "Speech-less:...
By Steven E. Levingston | October 7, 2009; 05:30 AM ET | Comments (0)
Guns and Democracy
The intent of the second amendment right to bear arms has come under debate since health reform protesters showed up with guns at town hall meetings last month. We asked Joshua Horwitz, a visiting scholar at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and executive director of the Coalition...
By Steven E. Levingston | October 6, 2009; 05:30 AM ET | Comments (58)
Protecting Free Speech in the Digital Age
Who should control the Internet? Author Dawn Nunziato says regulators are at a crossroads in determining the future of online communications. Nunziato, a professor of law at the George Washington University Law School, is author of "Virtual Freedom: Net Neutrality and Free Speech in the Internet Age," published by Stanford...
By Steven E. Levingston | October 5, 2009; 05:30 AM ET | Comments (2)
Path to a Pashtun Rebellion in Afghanistan
Pashtun children make their way from an armored personnel carrier toward Marines on patrol in the Helmand province of Afghanistan last August. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson/file) In the debate over U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, author Seth G. Jones believes the path to success lies in facilitating a Pashtun revolt against...
By Steven E. Levingston | October 2, 2009; 05:30 AM ET | Comments (8)
ACORN Author Wades Into Public
By Stephen Lowman "Some of you may have heard of ACORN recently," said Busboys and Poets' Don Allen last night as he introduced ACORN founder Wade Rathke. It was a safe bet on Allen's part. After all, half of the two dozen people in attendance at the beginning of...
By Steven E. Levingston | September 30, 2009; 12:09 PM ET | Comments (2)
Reagan Lessons for Obama?
President Obama has the charm of a predecessor from the other side of the political spectrum: Ronald Reagan. What lessons might Obama take from the Gipper? We asked Steven F. Hayward, author of "The Age of Reagan: The Conservative Counter-Revolution, 1980-1989," to weigh in. Hayward is a resident scholar at...
By Steven E. Levingston | September 30, 2009; 05:30 AM ET | Comments (9)
Baby Steps on the Environment
Earth's inhabitants got a welcome surprise in the past year: Greenhouse gas emissions shrank thanks in large measure to the sluggish economy. David Owen, author of "Green Metropolis: Why Living Smaller, Living Closer, and Driving Less Are the Keys to Sustainability," published this month by Riverhead, urges Americans to keep...
By Steven E. Levingston | September 29, 2009; 05:31 AM ET | Comments (0)
Lamenting a Lack of Common Ground
Discord is the political language of the moment. Democrats turn a deaf ear to Republicans, and Republicans aren't listening to Democrats. In his new book "I Can't Believe I'm Sitting Next to a Republican: A Survival Guide for Conservatives Marooned Among the Angry, Smug and Terminally Self-Righteous," Harry Stein wonders...
By Steven E. Levingston | September 25, 2009; 05:30 AM ET | Comments (2)
Missile Defense and the Geopolitics of Proliferation
A demonstrator carries a banner during a protest march in May 2007 in downtown Prague against a possible location of a U.S. missile defense radar system in the Czech Republic. (Petr David Josek/AP) President Obama's decision to scrap a missile defense system has prompted questions about the motives and...
By Steven E. Levingston | September 22, 2009; 05:30 AM ET | Comments (3)
Jaycee Dugard and Sex Offender Registry Laws
Marchers wear buttons as they parade through South Lake Tahoe to celebrate the reappearance of Jaycee Dugard. (Max Whittaker/Reuters) GUEST BLOGGER: Wayne A. Logan When Phillip Garrido was arrested in connection with the kidnapping 18 years ago of Jaycee Dugard, questions immediately arose how Garrido, a man with a...
By Steven E. Levingston | September 9, 2009; 05:30 AM ET | Comments (46)
Blagojevich's Profits, Glenn Beck vs. O'Reilly et al., Tom Ridge's Surprise at 'Hyperventilating' Public
Rod Blagojevich, the impeached former Illinois governor, may have profits from his new book stripped from him if he is convicted of charges against him; a new state law would allow it ... "Glenn Beck's Common Sense" lacks the personality of Bill O'Reilly's political books, the heft of Pat Buchanan's,...
By Steven E. Levingston | September 3, 2009; 05:30 AM ET | Comments (0)
