A majority of Americans think the federal government poses a threat to rights of Americans, according to a new national poll.
Fifty-six percent of people questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Friday say they think the federal government's become so large and powerful that it poses an immediate threat to the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens. Forty-four percent of those polled disagree.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Followup on Attitudes Toward Concentrated Power
A new poll reinforces a point that we discussed in class this past week. CNN reports:
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Tocqueville at the Summit
The day after we discussed Tocqueville's analysis of the tyranny of the majority, Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) mentioned it during the health care summit:
So this is the only place, the Senate, where the rights to the minority are protected and sometimes, as Senator Byrd has said, the minority can be right. I remember reading Alexis de Tocqueville's books, which most of us have read, and he said in his "American Democracy" that the greatest threat to the American democracy would be the tyranny of the majority.
Thought question: did this comment reflect what Tocqueville actually wrote? Do you think that anybody in the room had read Democracy in America?
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
The Riddles
On the following pages, you each have three questions. Answer two. (Give a different answer to each question: do not write one essay covering both.) Each answer must have at least four different sources, two of which must be hardcopy or microform books or government publications. In other words, you must go to the library.
Your sources may include specialized references such as The Almanac of American Politics, but do not cite general-purpose encyclopedias such as Encyclopaedia Britannica and Encyclopedia Americana. And especially do not count on Wikipedia, which is sometimes unreliable. (You might be able to get leads from Wikipedia, but then go elsewhere for verification and citable sources.) In your answer, you should not merely identify persons or concepts. You should also explain the subject matter’s political significance.
- Assignments should be typed, stapled, and double-spaced, and no more than four pages long. (Each answer should take about two pages.) Use 12-point type and one-inch margins.
- Put your name on a cover sheet. Do not identify yourself on the text pages.
- You may use endnotes or parenthetical references. Either way, put your documentation in proper format such as Turabian.
- Watch your spelling, grammar, diction and punctuation. Errors will count against you.
- Return assignments by the start of class, 10 March. Essays will drop one gradepoint for one day's lateness and a full grade for two or more days’ lateness. I will grant no extensions except for illness or emergency.
Adams,
- He led DOA and later became a prophet. Describe his policies.
- Mahoney helped found it. In 1966, fighting Rocky, it captured Row C! Explain.\
- Gilpin argued for the government. On the other side were Baldwin and the famous MA guy. Did the latter’s argument really track with the version that audiences saw
Adomian, Garrison
- He was on the AIP ticket. Four years earlier,
- Tell how Eaton’s `05 victory inspired a song.
- The whip quit because of dealings in speculative-grade bonds. He was close to a dealer (future jailbird). Explain.
- He was not from
- Why did the Railsplitter send the scion to the Court of St. James?
- The
Bamidele, Stephanie
- Why did the former SAG prexy invite the man with one white glove to the White House? Why did a future SCOTUS member object to a followup letter?
- Did Jacobson provide uppers to the MA president? Explain the consequences.
- House shrink colluded with tappers?
Bellman, Erica
- Did Stone the scribe (who graduated 49th) take Kremlin gold? Explain the controversy.
- At DOL,
- Dr. Pitney was its father. Today it has many slots. What happened when a recent leader disappeared? A sign of corruption?
Christensen, Daniel
- After CCP (part of a trio) declined to offer a sixpence, the
- Why did Jack send Dean to tell Charles about the quarantine?
- Fact was not factual, and AZ solon collected. Explain.
Daily, Robert
- Stewart’s Bailey had a B&L. What prompted #41 to sign a bailout of similar outfits?
- Why did Dana `65 (onetime WH ghost) back C. Wilson’s signature cause?
- Ethel and her husband fried after the chief said his brethren would not step in. Now cables strongly suggest that they indeed worked for Uncle Joe. Explain.
de Avila, Alexander
- Did Tiny’s beating lead TR to hold a WH meeting? Explain.
- Bill, of
Downs, Brian
- EDS, Shah, Isaiah 40:31 – what is the connection?
- How did a future justice help a future president in an
- Pitney’s business associate was a sot. Explain the impact on his son.
Eames, Anna
- “Legacy” project of bearded “pledge” guy has changed many names. Explain his success. (Hint: Cassavetes co-star.)
- Love, RN’s czar? His successor was much more energetic. Explain. (Hint: son was a dud candidate in 2002.)
Eldred, Christopher
- Sightless Sooner solon's grandson read to him while going to school. The lad grew up to seek office more than once. What happened?
- Prexy with a deformed arm sought the top job but fell by a few points. Explain.
- Ms. Reynolds caused big trouble for Cabinet secretary, who eventually came clean in print. Explain.
Haddad, Noor
- Former DOD guy supported creation of DOT, which he would deal with as a CEO. But most memorable role was as dad. Explain.
- Hawks flown from
- Rust, some said, perpetuated lockjaw in sensitive places. Explain.
Hollander, Matthew
- A model for one of Jack’s roles, the brother of the former UM prexy was a political issue. Explain.
- In July of 1952, he made a major mag cover. How did he end up on the Hill? (Hint: gold.)
- Why did “the Plumbers” go after the therapist of the man who copied the “Papers”?
Joseph, Anna
- Jill and Jane (alumnae of same school) did a tome on the Pin Point guy. A hatchet job?
- ALP split in `44. Rose: no red! Explain.
- Diminutive
Langdon, Stephen
- What happened when
- Why did solon, former “Captive Warrior,” complain about material on Enola Gay?
- Former Light Crust Flour spokesperson thwarted future prez in `41. Explain.
Lee, Beth
- Why would Ms. Varney’s outfit have an interest in the equilibria analyzed by a Crowe character?
- In the capital where Carcieri is currently #1, grad’s dad did not want to hear from rabbi. He fought and eventually won. Tell how.
- Did Lee’s 8 terms wreck the city of elms?
McDonald, Brendan
- How did the Reds kill the MD who belonged to JBS and became an MC?
- WASP worked for JEC and earned the soubriquet “Mad Dog.” Did his work on a “clash” justify the name? (Hint: high school)
- Why did the former “irreconcilable” join with the Little Flower to ban yellow dogs?
Miller, Sydney
- Why did TNR refer to Gertrude’s son as Hoosier’s brain?
- Veep contender ended up in Amex ads. Explain his significance.
- Future novelist presided over the decision to hang a Zurich-born soldier. Did the proceedings set a precedent?
Olesen, Erin
- Why did the
Pai, Aditya
- Dad of “The All-American” girl did best in ID, with over 9 percent. (But he got less than 2 percent in the home state he shared with his foe.) Why did he run?
- Bearing the name of a fragrant fruit, he helped cause the biggest bankruptcy of its kind and ended up in stir. Explain.
- Green won. Black disagreed, saying 1901 lines were unfair. Explain.
Perkins, Alexander
- On 9/2/58, POTUS’s signature started a program that would eventually bear the name of the Hindman guy. Explain its significance.
- GA guy tried to make nice at Hampton Roads, but his old Hill pal stonewalled. Explain.
- Why did the former Ms. Rosenbaum face attack from the writer who had once been “Crosley”?
Saisekar, Avantika
- How does Dr. Blumenthal’s spouse (BC `68) want to fix the safety of rides?
- How did the former
- How did the mayor (future veep) rouse the Philly convention and prompt a breakaway?
Stern, Sara
- Dunham `60 studied the land of “The Year of Living Dangerously.” Explain the personal toll of the field work.
- Maggie, helming Commerce panel, took on
- Tell how the last bearded chief shot down the Blue Eagle.
Sutter, Brian
- RAT (fat guy’s son) took heat for opposing the trials of the jerries. Why did he do so?
- LAS bears his name. Did he inspire Spradlin’s role?
- Scoop backed RN on Spartan and Sprint. Why?
Widmann, Michael
- He joined fellow former LI solon to form DMG. But before that, he led the trade group for suds. Explain its significance.
- Stone’s fictional kids are a reax to leftish bias, according to
- The
Monday, February 22, 2010
Constantine, Tocqueville, and Suffragettes
When Emperor Constantine faced religious heresy in Rome's North African provinces, he first attempted to persecute the heretics out of existence. They soon became martyrs, so he tried a different strategy. Rather than oppose the heretics, he ignored them and lavished attention on North Africa's orthodox believers. The heretic movement fizzeled out from a simple lack of p.r.
I was surprised to open Democracy in America and be reminded of Constantine's politics. Tocqueville's comments about the tyranny of the American majority make it clear that it acts as a sort of Constantine, crushing his opponents by making them voiceless shades amongst the living.
"[The master] does say: ' You are free not to think as I do... but from this day you are a stranger among us.... When you approach your fellows, they will shun you as an impure being...Go in peace. I have given you your life, but it is a life worse than death'" (Tocqueville 255-6).
If the majority actually was consistently right, such a system would work wonderfully. Unfortunately, when I think of major social movements --particularly women's rights -- I remember that they were only able to finally prevail by using modern media to force the public's attention. How saddening it is to think of the generations of young women before me who might have been able to fully enjoy the fruits of citizenship, had they not been condemned to silence by a majority whose claim to enlightenment rested solely on its numbers.
I was surprised to open Democracy in America and be reminded of Constantine's politics. Tocqueville's comments about the tyranny of the American majority make it clear that it acts as a sort of Constantine, crushing his opponents by making them voiceless shades amongst the living.
"[The master] does say: ' You are free not to think as I do... but from this day you are a stranger among us.... When you approach your fellows, they will shun you as an impure being...Go in peace. I have given you your life, but it is a life worse than death'" (Tocqueville 255-6).
If the majority actually was consistently right, such a system would work wonderfully. Unfortunately, when I think of major social movements --particularly women's rights -- I remember that they were only able to finally prevail by using modern media to force the public's attention. How saddening it is to think of the generations of young women before me who might have been able to fully enjoy the fruits of citizenship, had they not been condemned to silence by a majority whose claim to enlightenment rested solely on its numbers.
A Few Matters of Style
A quotation should never suddenly appear out of nowhere. Some kind of information about the quotation is needed. Name the author, give his or her credentials, name the source, give a summary. You won't do all of these each time, but you should usually name the author. For example:
a. But John Jones disagrees with this point, saying, "Such a product would not sell."
b. In an article in Time Fred Jackson writes that frogs vary in the degree ofshyness they exhibit: "The arboreal tree frogs seem to be especially. . . ."
Superscripted footnote numbers follow punctuation: apostles,1 “Jesus said, ‘Love your neighbor.’”1 Avoid footnote markers within sentences. Put them at the end.
[Y]ou should use single quotation marks (') only to set off quoted material (or a minor title) inside a quotation. "I think she said `I will try,' not `I won't try,'" explained Sandy.
Quotation marks with other punctuation:
Keep periods and commas within quotation marks.
So, for example:
According to Professor Jones, Lincoln "feared the spread of slavery," but many of his aides advised him to "watch and wait."
In the above example, both the comma and period were enclosed in the quotation marks. The main exception to this rule involves the use of internal citations, which always precede the last period of the sentence. For example:
According to Professor Jones, Lincoln "feared the spread of slavery," but many of his aides advised him to "watch and wait" (Jones 143).
Note, however, that the period remains inside the quotation marks when your citation style involved superscript footnotes or endnotes. For example:
According to Professor Jones, Lincoln "feared the spread of slavery," but many of his aides advised him to "watch and wait."2
"Patriotism is slavery" ~ Tolstoy
When I hear the word Patriotism I think of 911. I think of all the American flags flying across the country after the terrorist attack. I think of a country torn by tragedy uniting against a common evil. In this sense, patriotism has a positive connotation to me. It makes me proud to be an American.
On the other hand, I do not usually think about the fact that American leaders have rallied support for internment, censorship and other actions that as an American I am not proud of.
In thinking about patriotism I came across two different individuals with contrasting ideas. The first, Leo Tolstoy, is famous for his quotes regarding the evil of patriotism, saying the flag is the banner of war.
A public opinion exists that patriotism is a fine moral sentiment, and that it is right and our duty to regard one's own nation, one's own state, as the best in the world; and flowing naturally from this public opinion is another, namely, that it is right and our duty to acquiesce in the control of a government over ourselves, to subordinate ourselves to it, to serve in the army and submit ourselves to discipline, to give our earnings to the government in the form of taxes, to submit to the decisions of the law-courts, and to consider the edicts of the government as divinely right. And when such public opinion exists, a strong governmental power is formed possessing milliards of money, an organized mechanism of administration, the postal service, telegraphs, telephones, disciplined armies, law-courts, police, submissive clergy, schools, even the press; and this power maintains in the people the public opinion which it finds necessary.
This quote brought me back a couple of chapters to the idea of federalism and how the federal government has been able to grow and gain authority in times of conflict. As a proud American I am not ready to accept the cosmopolitan viewpoint and still want to believe that allegiance to one's country can be positive. However, Tolstoy and other opponents of patriotism define it as blind support of one's country and argue that a patriot must support their country over another regardless. This type of patriotism clearly leads to moral conflicts and would suggest an allegiance to mankind not a specific nation is the only way.
The second individual is Stephen Nathanson, whose essay "In defense of 'Moderate Patriotism'" examines Tolstoy's accusations against patriotism. Nathanson argues that people can love and be loyal to their own country as long as they do so in a moral way.
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