Life after Welfare or Political Science

Life after Welfare: Reform and the Persistence of Poverty

Author: Laura Lein

In the decade since President Clinton signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 into law—amidst promises that it would "end welfare as we know it"—have the reforms ending entitlements and moving toward time limits and work requirements lifted Texas families once living on welfare out of poverty, or merely stricken their names from the administrative rolls?

Under welfare reform, Texas has continued with low monthly payments and demanding eligibility criteria. Many families who could receive welfare in other states do not qualify in Texas, and virtually any part-time job makes a family ineligible. In Texas, most families who leave welfare remain in or near poverty, and many are likely to return to the welfare rolls in the future.

This compelling work, which follows 179 families after leaving welfare, is set against a backdrop of multiple types of data and econometric modeling. The authors' multi-method approach draws on administrative data from nine programs serving low-income families and a statewide survey of families who have left welfare. Survey data on health problems, transportation needs, and child-care issues shed light on the patterns of employment and welfare use seen in the administrative data. In their lives after welfare, the families chronicled here experience poverty even when employed; a multiplicity of barriers to employment that work to exacerbate one another; and a failing safety net of basic human services as they attempt to sustain low-wage employment.

Look this: The Best American Travel Writing 2009 or Wind Sand and Stars

Political Science: A Comparative Introduction

Author: Rod Hagu

Long established as the leading text in the field, the 7th edition has been comprehensively updated, revised and rewritten throughout. A new chapter has been added on Political Economy and the classification system used to compare states has been recast to distinguish liberal and illiberal democracies as well as contrasting these with authoritarian regimes. Lively, accessible, student-friendly and truly international in its coverage, the 7th edition includes a substantially enhanced range of case studies, debate boxes, charts and tables.

Table of Contents:

List of illustrative material     ix
Preface     xiii
Guide to learning features     xv
Guide to profiles     xvi
Foundations
Politics and government     3
Politics     3
Government     4
Classifying governments     6
Governance     9
Power     10
Authority and legitimacy     11
The state and sovereignty     13
Nations and nationalism     17
Learning resources     22
The state in a global context     23
Emergence     23
Expansion and restructuring     26
The post-colonial state     29
Collapsed states and state building     32
Globalization and the state     36
Learning resources     42
Democracy     43
Direct democracy     43
Deliberative democracy     46
Representative democracy     48
Liberal and illiberal democracy     49
Waves of democratization     52
Learning resources     59
Authoritarian rule     61
Communist states     65
Fascist states     72
Personal despots     73
Military government     74
Other party states     76
Royal families     77
Theocracy     78
Ruling presidents     80
Learning resources     82
The comparative approach     83
Why compare?     83
What to compare     85
How to compare     89
Avoiding the pitfalls     94
Learning resources     99
Politics and Society
Political culture     103
Political culture in liberal democracies     103
Political culture in authoritarian states     110
Political culture in illiberal democracies     112
Elite political culture     113
A clash of civilizations?     116
Learning resources     120
Political communication     121
Development of the mass media     122
The media: contemporary trends     124
The media in liberal democracies     128
Public opinion     134
The media in authoritarian states     137
The media in illiberal democracies     139
Learning resources     141
Political economy      143
What is political economy?     143
Varieties of capitalism     146
Convergence?     150
The political economies of authoritarian states     152
The political economies of illiberal democracies     157
Learning resources     161
Linking Society and Government
Political participation     165
Participation in liberal democracies     165
Social movements     168
Participation in authoritarian states     172
Participation in illiberal democracies     174
Participation in political violence     175
Revolution     179
Learning resources     184
Elections and voters     185
Scope and franchise     185
Electoral systems: legislatures     186
Electoral systems: presidents     194
Referendums     198
Turnout     200
Voting behaviour     203
Elections in authoritarian states     205
Elections in illiberal democracies     206
Learning resources     208
Interest groups     209
Classifying interest groups     210
Interest groups in liberal democracies      212
Channels of influence     216
Conditions of influence     220
Interest groups in authoritarian states     223
Interest groups in illiberal democracies     227
Learning resources     229
Political parties     231
Party organization     232
Selecting candidates and leaders     235
Membership and finance     237
The waning social base     241
Party systems     244
Parties in authoritarian states     250
Parties in illiberal democracies     253
Learning resources     255
Government and Policy
Constitutions and the legal framework     259
Constitutions     260
Judicial review and constitutional courts     263
Judicial activism     268
Judicial independence and recruitment     272
Administrative law     273
Law in authoritarian states     275
Law in illiberal democracies     277
The impact of international law     278
Learning resources     280
Multilevel governance     231
What is multilevel governance?     281
Federalism      282
Unitary states     290
Local government     294
Central-local relations in authoritarian states     299
Central-local relations in illiberal democracies     300
Learning resources     303
Legislatures     305
Structure     305
Functions     309
Recruitment     318
Membership     319
Legislatures in authoritarian states     324
Legislatures in illiberal democracies     326
Learning resources     328
The political executive     329
Presidential government     329
Parliamentary government     336
Semi-presidential government     344
The executive in authoritarian states     348
The executive in illiberal democracies     351
Learning resources     353
Public management and administration     355
Evolution of the public sector     355
Recruitment to the public sector     357
Organization of the public sector     358
Control and accountability     364
New public management     366
Public management in authoritarian states     368
Public management in illiberal democracies     372
Learning resources     375
Public policy     377
Initiation and formulation     378
Implementation     381
Evaluation and review     382
Policy instruments     384
Public policy in liberal democracies     386
Public policy in authoritarian states     391
Public policy in illiberal democracies     392
Learning resources     395
References     397
Index     427

Saving the Americas or The Presidency of Franklin Pierce

Saving the Americas: The Dangerous Decline of Latin America and What the U. S. Must Do

Author: Andres Oppenheimer

“Once again, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Andres
Oppenheimer shows his deep understanding of the dramatic
changes in Latin America, and the impact of America’s ongoing
indifference to the region. For anyone seeking to understand Latin
America’s re-emerging populism and the effects of this
administration’s disastrous foreign policy in the region, this book
is a must read. Oppenheimer gives his readers hope for a new
vision in Latin America.”
—Bill Richardson, Governor of New Mexico

This new book out in October illustrates in detail how the current administration’s policy towards Latin America is actually creating the very immigration issues President Bush is fighting to solve. Saving the Americas: The Dangerous Decline of Latin America…and What the U.S. Must Do, by Pulitzer-prive co-winner and The Miami Herald sundicated columnist Andres Oppenheimer, highlights the Bush administration’s failure to reach out to its own neighbors in order to create a stable environment for the people of the United States.

“When it comes to everyday issues that affect most Americans —whether immigration, trade, the environment or, increasingly, energy— no region in the world has a bigger impact on the United States than Latin America,” writes Oppenheimer.

As an acknowledged expert on Latin America, Oppenheimer uses his experience and reporting skills to show how this region is becoming increasingly less important on the world stage, and the resulting negative effects on the lives of Americans. “This book began as a message to LatinAmericans about the decline of their region into global irrelevance. But it soon became clear to me that what I was learning was equally
important to people in the United States,” says Oppenheimer. “Though less apparent to most Americans —and less costly— than its blunders elsewhere in the world, the Bush Administration was making major mistakes in Latin America, among other things by declaring the region a major U.S. priority while ignoring it almost entirely, and reflexively pushing free trade as if that alone would ensure hemispheric prosperity.”

Oppenheimer traveled to China, India, Poland, the Czech Republic, Ireland and more than a dozen Latin American countries to see first-hand what is pushing some nations ahead and others back. And in his characteristic style – mixing travel anecdotes, humor and political analysis – he came to surprising conclusion: that despite its current troubles, Latin America can rise from economic and political obscurity, to become a booming market and an influential player in world affairs.


The Spanish-language version of Saving the Americas: The Dangerous Decline of Latin America…and What the U.S. Must Do (Cuentos Chinos) has sold nearly 200,000 copies throughout Latin America and made the region to take a hard look at itself. Costa Rican President and Nobel Prize laureate Oscar Arias has called Oppenheimer's book "A landmark work...that politicians, academics, journalists and other leaders will be citing for years to come," and former Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso describred it as "a must-read."
Now the English version is set to cause the same reaction within the United States.

Interesting textbook: Leadership Roles and Management Functions in Nursing or Dont Sweat the Small Stuff About Money

The Presidency of Franklin Pierce

Author: Larry Gara

"This detailed, insightful, and unsparing study of Franklin Pierce's storm-tossed presidency sharpens our understanding of one of the most crucial chapters in American history. Drawing upon his own original research and a sophisticated examination of the rich secondary literature on the troubled 1850s, Gara has produced a book of genuine interest to specialists and general readers alike."—Richard H. Sewell, author of Ballots for Freedom: Antislavery Politics in the United States, 1837-1860.

"Gara's portrayal of Franklin Pierce as a tragic and complex figure is skillfully done. His major contribution, however, lies in his analysis of American politics and foreign policy during the 1850s. Especially compelling is his analysis of 'young America's' obsession with Central American and the Caribbean—an obsession that not only illuminates our past and our present, but, God forbid, our future."—Richard O. Curry, author of The Border States during Reconstruction

Author Biography: Larry Gara is professor of history and chair of the Department of History at Wilmington College, Ohio. His books include The Liberty Line: The Legend of the Underground Railroad, and Westernized Yankee: The Story of Cyrus Woodman.

Choice

Gara shows Pierce as a personable politician of limited ability who lacked the vision and leadership necessary to master the events of his time. There is no comparable previous study.

Booknews

Franklin Pierce (1804-1869, president from 1853-1857), was one of the least known, least liked, and least successful presidents in American history. In this study of his administration, historian Gara makes no attempt to revive Pierce's reputation. Instead he provides a clear analysis of Pierce's shortcomings and his few successes. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Assault on Reason or Prince of the City

Assault on Reason

Author: Al Gor

A visionary analysis of how the politics of fear, secrecy, cronyism, and blind faith has combined with the degration of the public sphere to create an environment dangerously hostile to reason.

At the time George W. Bush ordered American forces to invade Iraq, 70 percent of Americans believed Saddam Hussein was linked to 9/11. Voters in Ohio, when asked by pollsters to list what stuck in their minds about the campaign, most frequently named two Bush television ads that played to fears of terrorism.

We live in an age when the thirty-second television spot is the most powerful force shaping the electorate's thinking, and America is in the hands of an administration less interested than any previous administration in sharing the truth with the citizenry. Related to this and of even greater concern is this administration's disinterest in the process by which the truth is ascertained, the tenets of fact-based reasoning-first among them an embrace of open inquiry in which unexpected and even inconvenient facts can lead to unexpected conclusions.

How did we get here? How much damage has been done to the functioning of our democracy and its role as steward of our security? Never has there been a worse time for us to lose the capacity to face the reality of our long-term challenges, from national security to the economy, from issues of health and social welfare to the environment. As The Assault on Reason shows us, we have precious little time to waste.

Gore's larger goal in this book is to explain how the public sphere itself has evolved into a place hospitable to reason's enemies, to make us more aware of the forces at work on our own minds, and to lead us to an understanding of what we can do, individually and collectively, to restore the rule of reason and safeguard our future. Drawing on a life's work in politics as well as on the work of experts across a broad range of disciplines, Al Gore has written a farsighted and powerful manifesto for clear thinking.

The New York Times - Michiko Kakutani

This book shows a fiery, throw-caution-to-the winds Al Gore, who . . . has decided to lay it all on the line with a blistering assessment of the Bush administration and the state of public discourse in America.

Boston Globe

Gore's faith in human nature is braver and sharper than (the cynics). . . . This book isn't about him; it's about the republic whose freedoms depend on increasing reasoned debate and reducing intimidating noise.

The New York Times - Michiko Kakutani

… for all its sharply voiced opinions, The Assault on Reason turns out to be less a partisan, election-cycle harangue than a fiercely argued brief about the current Bush White House that is grounded in copiously footnoted citations from newspaper articles, Congressional testimony and commission reports — a brief that is as powerful in making its points about the implications of this administration's policies as the author's 2006 book, An Inconvenient Truth, was in making its points about the fallout of global warming.

Publishers Weekly

As scathing as it is meticulous, Gore's treatise on reason juggernauts its way through the Bush administration, never even needing to include the controversial nature of Bush's presidential elections. He identifies the growing concentration of power in the executive branch virtually ignored by mainstream media. Drawing on the great political philosophers of history and his lengthy career in government, Gore contends that the loss of a genuine public forum in the age of radio and television has led to the decay of democracy. He delivers a serious critique of the United States tempered by hope and faith in the restoration of checks and balances. The articulated venom of Gore's words can be heard in Patton's voice as he narrates. He reads with an intensity that makes this already engaging prose compelling. Patton maintains a distinct smooth and edgy voice, but maintains a cadence that reminds listeners of Gore's own speaking mannerisms. In quoting historical figures, Patton's voice is distinct but not haughty or pompous. The combination of Patton's performance and Gore's words make this an impressive audiobook. Simultaneous release with the Penguin Press hardcover. (June)

Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information

Foreign Affairs

Of all the vice presidents who have not later made it to the Oval Office on their own, Gore is beyond any doubt the most successful. It is not just that his 2000 bid for the presidency gained a solid plurality of the national popular vote and that the result in Florida was so narrow and controversial. Gore stands alone as the only former U.S. president or vice president ever to win an Oscar, and no former vice president can match Gore's literary output in either quantity or impact. The Assault on Reason is vintage Gore: tightly reasoned but passionate, partisan but not demagogic, sweeping and ambitious but closely researched and solidly grounded in particular issues and facts. Above all, it is earnest. Gore believes that the modern conservative movement represents a systematic attack on the role of reasoned debate in policy and public life by an alliance of economic special interests, religious fundamentalists, and other enemies of justice and truth. The Assault on Reason will strike many readers as a well-timed, well-aimed jeremiad. Others, looking back on U.S. political history, will wonder whether the deceit, chicanery, and polarization of politics today is really as unprecedented as Gore would have us believe.<

Library Journal

When 30-second sound bites preempt reasoning, reasons Gore, we're all in trouble. A manifesto for reintroducing sense into public discussion. Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

Table of Contents:

Introduction     9
The Politics of Fear     47
Blinding the Faithful     84
The Politics of Wealth     131
Convenient Untruths     179
The Assault on the Individual     229
National Insecurity     284
The Carbon Crisis     337
Democracy in the Balance     379
A Well-Connected Citizenry     432
Conclusion: The Rebirth of Democracy     476
Acknowledgments     481
Notes     485

Books about: East Asia and the World Economy or Exploring Web Marketing and Project Management Interactive Workbook

Prince of the City

Author: Robert Daley

From the New York Times bestselling author of Tainted Evidence comes a true story of police corruption. In the early '70s, the Federal Government undertook an immense investigation into the corruption penetrating New York's criminal justice system. This is Detective Bob Leuci's true story of being caught in the middle.

Hot Spot or Take This Job and Ship It

Hot Spot: Latin America

Author: David W Dent

From border crime in Mexico to Chavez's revolution in Venezuela, this volume presents up-to-the-minute coverage of the key conflicts, corruption, and revolutionary movements simmering or raging in every region of Latin America. In-depth, comprehensive chapters explore drug wars, imigration issues, terrorism, youth gangs, government corruption, controversy over oil, and political instability. This is a must-have source for current coverage of trouble spots in Latin America, their origins, and subsequent development. Over 30 security-based hot spots are analyzed within these geographical regions. They vary in severity, background, and degree of threat to the United States, the nation itself, or its regional neighbors. Hot spots covered include:

The Zapatista Rebellion

the Darien Gap controversy

Evo Morales

Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso) and Tupac Amaru

the Falklands

and Guantanamo Bay.

Book review: Tax Research or Public Education

Take This Job and Ship It: How Corporate Greed and Brain-Dead Politics Are Selling Out America

Author: Byron L Dorgan

and/or stickers showing their discounted price. More about bargain books