By Dena T. Smith While abortion is certainly a hot-button issue on the American Political Scene, the fervent debate over the topic – mostly fueled by a clash between liberal and conservative, predominately religiously-oriented moral entrepreneurs – faded into the background after the presidential election season. In short, abortion is an issue that, while always central … Continue reading »
Tagged with politics …
election day and attributing blame
By Dena T. Smith In elections, we determine who to vote for via a number of factors: party affiliation, the economy, the character of the candidate, advertising, etc. It’s a complicated process. One key force in determining the outcome of elections is who is attributed responsibility for both the pitfalls and promise of a given … Continue reading »
The Paradoxical Invocation of Humanity
nmccoy1 This week, Republican Congressman Terry Franks invoked humanist philosophy to simultaneously defend pro-life (anti-abortion) and question President Obama’s humanity and citizenship. It would be laughable logic if this trend were not so prevalent and effective. Franks called Obama an “enemy of humanity” referring to Obama’s decision to support international aid to organizations that perform … Continue reading »
The Salience of Political and Financial Climate in Policy Frames
by NickieWild Politics often guides the course of technological development. One of the most obvious places that this has occurred, and continues to occur, is the United States’ NASA program. With the US essentially still fighting two wars, the looming health care, Medicare, and Social Security crises, and the general poor state of the economy, … Continue reading »
Comparing the role of government in self-control problems from behavioural and neoclassical economic perspectives
The post has been moved to: http://williampaulbell.wordpress.com/2009/09/12/comparing-the-role-of-government-in-self-control-problems-from-behavioural-and-neoclassical-economic-perspectives/ <About> <Portfolio> <Academia> <LinkedIn> <Twitter> <Blog>
Fake-Booking, Astroturfing, and Other Social Movement Hazards
by NickieWild What makes social movement activity “authentic”? Recently in American politics, there has been a lot of discussion about “astroturfing”: protests at and disruptions of town hall meetings held by members of Congress that appear to be grassroots activity, but which are sponsored and organized by corporations and PACs (Political Action Committees). Two of … Continue reading »
The G8 protests and the logically inconsistent foundations of neoclassical economics
This post has been moved to http://williampaulbell.wordpress.com/2009/08/29/the-g8-protests-and-the-logically-inconsistent-foundations-of-neoclassical-economics/ <About> <Portfolio> <Academia> <LinkedIn> <Twitter> <Blog>
Health care and emotions – the politics of preaching
By Dena T. Smith Since his inauguration, President Obama has used just about every forum possible to stress the need for health care reform. We’ve heard the pragmatic arguments: in the current system, we spend too much money on treatment rather than focusing on preventative care or that all the power is in the hands … Continue reading »
Health Care Reform? If it’s not too “costly.”
By Dena T. Smith Health care reform is in the foreground of the American political landscape. Politicians in favor of transformation face staunch opposition and must convince the public and their fellow representatives in congress of both the imminent need and potential effectiveness of a major overhaul. Classical studies on altruistic behavior inform us that actions aimed at … Continue reading »
Racist Language in the U.S.: Alive, But Not Well
by NickieWild Is racist language still acceptable in the United States? As with most things in social science, the answer depends on the situation and people involved. Recently, the television program on the CBS network “Big Brother” self-censored an episode where two contestants used a derogatory term to describe fellow contestants who were of Mexican … Continue reading »
