Author: Lily Geismer
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 069117623X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 386
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Book Description
Don't Blame Us traces the reorientation of modern liberalism and the Democratic Party away from their roots in labor union halls of northern cities to white-collar professionals in postindustrial high-tech suburbs, and casts new light on the importance of suburban liberalism in modern American political culture. Focusing on the suburbs along the high-tech corridor of Route 128 around Boston, Lily Geismer challenges conventional scholarly assessments of Massachusetts exceptionalism, the decline of liberalism, and suburban politics in the wake of the rise of the New Right and the Reagan Revolution in the 1970s and 1980s. Although only a small portion of the population, knowledge professionals in Massachusetts and elsewhere have come to wield tremendous political leverage and power. By probing the possibilities and limitations of these suburban liberals, this rich and nuanced account shows that—far from being an exception to national trends—the suburbs of Massachusetts offer a model for understanding national political realignment and suburban politics in the second half of the twentieth century.
Author: Lily Geismer
Publisher: Public Affairs
ISBN: 9781541757004
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 416
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Book Description
The 40-year history of how Democrats chose political convenience over addressing inequality--and how the poor have paid the price. For decades, the Republican party has been known as the party of the rich: arguing for "business-friendly" policies like deregulation and tax cuts. But as our national and global economy confronts a crisis of inequality, the truth is that Democrats have been unwilling to take risks that would help eliminate poverty. In this incisive new book, political historian Lily Geismer shows how the Democratic party of the 80s and 90s -- particularly during the height of the Clinton years -- peddled policy ideas that centered on helping the poor without asking the rich to make any sacrifices: doing well by doing good. Micro-lending became a big business, and private programs to promote democracy and equality abroad grew trendy. But as social programs in the private sector boomed, the structure of the government began to weaken, contributing to a crisis that has now fully arrived. Geismer makes her case through artful storytelling and a savvy eye, conjuring in meticulous detail the political moments that led to these fateful decisions. We've seen skyrocketing income inequality, huge discrepancies between the haves and have-nots, and growing poverty in America. This is the story of how we got ourselves into this mess, and where we can go from here.
Author: Lee Kronert
Publisher: WestBow Press
ISBN: 1449767834
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 183
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Book Description
The public education system in New York is in turmoil. Is this because of leadership in Albany, the No Child Left Behind Act, parents who fail in their effort to raise children properly, or is it just the fault of kids who show little to no respect for authority, peers, or themselves? Or should we accept the most popular place of blame? The teacher is the problem. The former world, where teachers were revered, looked up to by children and parents, and respected because of the crucial role they played, is all but a forgotten memory. Today, parents and school administrators often demonize teachers and are openly critical of the tenure system, which protects their positions seemingly forever. Riverton School District has lots of issues. There is rampant bullying and peer intimidation. Some kids are even afraid to come to school. The disrespect and outrageous behavior runs not only unchecked, but leadership in Albany wants to see even less discipline and consequences for the young perpetrators. Brendan Moss teaches eighth-grade math at Riverton. As a widower and devoted father of three, he does his best to assist young people, but the school superintendent wants to use the veteran math teacher as a test case to overturn the right to lifetime tenure. Dont Blame the Messenger addresses school policies, State Department of Education leadership, bullying, and why a teachers tenure should be maintained and viewed as something good for kids and the process of learning. The author works in the trenches, where truth and reality collide. Opinions on what is wrong with public education vary. Dont Blame the Messenger is written by a teacher who knows how it really is.
Author: Robert Cirino
Publisher: Random House Trade
ISBN:
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 356
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Book Description
Author: Thomas E. Mann
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 0465096735
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 273
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Book Description
Acrimony and hyperpartisanship have seeped into every part of the political process. Congress is deadlocked and its approval ratings are at record lows. America's two main political parties have given up their traditions of compromise, endangering our very system of constitutional democracy. And one of these parties has taken on the role of insurgent outlier; the Republicans have become ideologically extreme, scornful of compromise, and ardently opposed to the established social and economic policy regime.In It's Even Worse Than It Looks, congressional scholars Thomas Mann and Norman Ornstein identify two overriding problems that have led Congress -- and the United States -- to the brink of institutional collapse. The first is the serious mismatch between our political parties, which have become as vehemently adversarial as parliamentary parties, and a governing system that, unlike a parliamentary democracy, makes it extremely difficult for majorities to act. Second, while both parties participate in tribal warfare, both sides are not equally culpable. The political system faces what the authors call &"asymmetric polarization," with the Republican Party implacably refusing to allow anything that might help the Democrats politically, no matter the cost.With dysfunction rooted in long-term political trends, a coarsened political culture and a new partisan media, the authors conclude that there is no &"silver bullet"; reform that can solve everything. But they offer a panoply of useful ideas and reforms, endorsing some solutions, like greater public participation and institutional restructuring of the House and Senate, while debunking others, like independent or third-party candidates. Above all, they call on the media as well as the public at large to focus on the true causes of dysfunction rather than just throwing the bums out every election cycle. Until voters learn to act strategically to reward problem solving and punish obstruction, American democracy will remain in serious danger.
Author: David Faris
Publisher: Melville House
ISBN: 1612197736
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 209
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Book Description
An accessible, actionable blueprint for how Democrats can build lasting, durable change—without having to amend the Constitution. “American democracy could disappear altogether within our own lifetimes. Everyone who wants to avoid that catastrophe must read his book.” —Guardian The American electoral system is clearly falling apart—more than one recent presidential race has resulted in the clear winner of the popular vote losing the electoral college vote, and Trump’s refusal to concede in 2020 broke with all precedents…at least for now. Practical solutions need to be implemented as soon as possible. And so in It’s Time to Fight Dirty, political scientist David Faris outlines accessible, actionable strategies for American institutional reform which don’t require a constitutional amendment, and would have a lasting impact on our future. With equal amounts of playful irreverence and persuasive reasoning, Faris describes how the Constitution’s deep democratic flaws constantly put progressives at a disadvantage, and lays out strategies for “fighting dirty” though obstructionism and procedural warfare: establishing statehood for DC and Puerto Rico; breaking California into several states; creating a larger House of Representatives; passing a new voting rights act; and expanding the Supreme Court. The Constitution may be the world’s most difficult document to amend, but Faris argues that many of America’s democratic failures can be fixed within its rigid confines—and, at a time when the stakes have never been higher, he outlines a path for long-term, progressive change in the United States so that the electoral gains of 2020 aren’t lost again.
Author: Mark R. Warren
Publisher: Beacon Press
ISBN: 0807015806
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 218
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Book Description
Parents, young people, community organizers, and educators describe how they are fighting systemic racism in schools by building a new intersectional educational justice movement. Illuminating the struggles and triumphs of the emerging educational justice movement, this anthology tells the stories of how black and brown parents, students, educators, and their allies are fighting back against systemic inequities and the mistreatment of children of color in low-income communities. It offers a social justice alternative to the corporate reform movement that seeks to privatize public education through expanding charter schools and voucher programs. To address the systemic racism in our education system and in the broader society, the contributors argue that what is needed is a movement led by those most affected by injustice--students of color and their parents--that builds alliances across sectors and with other social justice movements addressing immigration, LGBTQ rights, labor rights, and the school-to-prison pipeline. Representing a diverse range of social justice organizations from across the US, including the Chicago Teachers Union and the Genders and Sexualities Alliance Network, the essayists recount their journeys to movement building and offer practical organizing strategies and community-based alternatives to traditional education reform and privatization schemes. Lift Us Up! will outrage, inform, and mobilize parents, educators, and concerned citizens about what is wrong in American schools today and how activists are fighting for and achieving change.
Author: Ezra Klein
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1476700397
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 213
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Book Description
ONE OF BARACK OBAMA’S FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2022 One of Bill Gates’s “5 books to read this summer,” this New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller shows us that America’s political system isn’t broken. The truth is scarier: it’s working exactly as designed. In this “superbly researched” (The Washington Post) and timely book, journalist Ezra Klein reveals how that system is polarizing us—and how we are polarizing it—with disastrous results. “The American political system—which includes everyone from voters to journalists to the president—is full of rational actors making rational decisions given the incentives they face,” writes political analyst Ezra Klein. “We are a collection of functional parts whose efforts combine into a dysfunctional whole.” “A thoughtful, clear and persuasive analysis” (The New York Times Book Review), Why We’re Polarized reveals the structural and psychological forces behind America’s descent into division and dysfunction. Neither a polemic nor a lament, this book offers a clear framework for understanding everything from Trump’s rise to the Democratic Party’s leftward shift to the politicization of everyday culture. America is polarized, first and foremost, by identity. Everyone engaged in American politics is engaged, at some level, in identity politics. Over the past fifty years in America, our partisan identities have merged with our racial, religious, geographic, ideological, and cultural identities. These merged identities have attained a weight that is breaking much in our politics and tearing at the bonds that hold this country together. Klein shows how and why American politics polarized around identity in the 20th century, and what that polarization did to the way we see the world and one another. And he traces the feedback loops between polarized political identities and polarized political institutions that are driving our system toward crisis. “Well worth reading” (New York magazine), this is an “eye-opening” (O, The Oprah Magazine) book that will change how you look at politics—and perhaps at yourself.
Author: Melissa Gregg
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0745637469
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 232
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Book Description
This book provides a long-overdue account of online technology and its impact on the work and lifestyles of professional employees. It moves between the offices and homes of workers in the knew "knowledge" economy to provide intimate insight into the personal, family, and wider social tensions emerging in today’s rapidly changing work environment. Drawing on her extensive research, Gregg shows that new media technologies encourage and exacerbate an older tendency among salaried professionals to put work at the heart of daily concerns, often at the expense of other sources of intimacy and fulfillment. New media technologies from mobile phones to laptops and tablet computers, have been marketed as devices that give us the freedom to work where we want, when we want, but little attention has been paid to the consequences of this shift, which has seen work move out of the office and into cafés, trains, living rooms, dining rooms, and bedrooms. This professional "presence bleed" leads to work concerns impinging on the personal lives of employees in new and unforseen ways. This groundbreaking book explores how aspiring and established professionals each try to cope with the unprecedented intimacy of technologically-mediated work, and how its seductions seem poised to triumph over the few remaining relationships that may stand in its way.
Author: Randy Grieser
Publisher: ACHIEVE Publishing
ISBN: 1988617014
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 170
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Book Description
An ordinary leader is someone who leads a small organization or team that is doing great things. They manage the majority of the world’s workforce, but they don’t lead large corporations or big government agencies. Ordinary leaders are rarely written about in books or quoted in magazines. They are, however, important. Maybe not globally, but in their own realm of influence, their leadership makes a difference. The term “ordinary” is also used to highlight the belief that no one ever arrives as a leader. In fact, if someone thinks of themselves as extraordinary, they will not be a very effective leader. Author Randy Grieser presents 10 key insights for building and leading a thriving organization. These are the principles he identifies as instrumental to success as a leader. Writing for leaders everywhere, he inspires, motivates, and explains how to make each insight a reality in your organization. Become a more passionate, productive, and visionary leader by exploring and embracing these 10 insights: Motivation and Employee Engagement: Organizations flourish when employees go beyond what is expected of them. Passion: A passionate, inspired workforce begins with the leader. Vision: Visionary leaders energize and inspire people to work towards a future goal. Self-Awareness: Knowing your strengths and weaknesses is vital for leading any organization. Talent and Team Selection: The right employees must, first and foremost, fit the workplace culture. Organizational Health: Employees are most engaged when leaders are committed to the emotional well-being of everyone. Productivity: Focusing on how and what things get done increases efficiency. Creativity and Innovation: Building processes for innovation puts creativity to work. Delegation: As you free up your time, you will also increase employee engagement. Self-Improvement: Personal development makes all the other principles easier to achieve. Also included are the perspectives of 10 ordinary leaders from a range of professions, survey feedback from over 1,700 leaders and employees, and a resource section that provides detailed guidance and examples for putting these ideas into action.
