The 112th Congress has already delivered on a campaign promise. They read the entire Constitution on the House floor. Like most campaign promises, however, it wasn’t as easy as it sounded. There was a quibble about which version to read, the original version or the current version that reflects revisions, amendments or deletions…. actually, they [...]
Posts under ‘BLUE/Government’
Wikileaks and the First Amendment
Being a tech enthusiast, I’m not quick to scoff at the idea of “hi-tech terrorists.” Cyber security must be considered a high priority for effective government, but the current Wikileaks stories suggest that our liberty is at stake as much as our security. If you don’t identify with the extremes (i.e., set our data free [...]
America’s “Futures Plural”
An interesting post on Big Think provokes thoughts on our future as well as how we teach about our past. Niall Ferguson, a Harvard history professor, takes on the question, “What will be the U.S.’s place in the world over the next 20 years?” He discusses a future where the U.S. as a waning empire [...]
Stephen Colbert: Human Rights vs. American Rights
It wasn’t a stellar interview. Michael Posner appeared on the Colbert Report last week and, as Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, he might have been better prepared for Colbert’s first question. Colbert’s question: What do these three things (democracy, human rights and labor) have to do with one another? Posner’s [...]
Big Feet
One of the commitments of the Politicolor community is making complex ideas accessible. This rendition of carbon footprints attempts to do just that. If the U.S. doesn’t take the lead, who else can fill those shoes? Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend on Facebook Share on Linkedin share via Reddit Share with Stumblers Tumblr [...]
The Essential Declaration
I was a little late discovering this project but it’s perfect for alumni of either NEH institute. Slate is asking the public to express the most essential idea of the Declaration of Independence on Twitter. Can you boil it down to 124 characters or less? Post your ideas as comments here and we’ll tweet them [...]
The Size of the Spill
When an infographic is done well, it helps you make sense of what can be an overwhelming torrent of information. I’ve heard the Deepwater Horizon spill referred to as a spill as large as “an Exxon Valdez a day.” While the data is incomplete in this 50+ day saga, this infographic from Fast Company helps [...]
Knowing Political Knowledge
In The Politics, Aristotle suggests political knowledge is sovereign knowledge: In all the branches of knowledge and in every kind of craft the end in view is some good. In the most sovereign of these, the capacity for [leadership in] political matters, the end in view is the greatest good and the good which is [...]
What If Who We Are, Is Not Who We Should Be?
I consider this writing to be several things, really: an evolution, a mixture, and in the practical sense, a thesis segment. It took on its last form as a presentation for the 2009 National Academy. Consider the following. “There is to be no interracial dating Students who are partners in an interracial marriage will be [...]
Obama to NAACP: Our Work is Not Over
In a recent lecture, Will pointed to the constitutional nature of the speech President Barack Obama gave to the NAACP to mark their centennial convention. Obama marks the occasion as an opportunity to celebrate “not simply the journey the NAACP has traveled, but the journey that we have, as Americans, have traveled over the past [...]
