“My mother always said democracy is the best revenge,” remarked Bilawal Bhutto Zardari after reading his mother’s will, which declared him Chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). Like her son, Benazir Bhutto was also appointed chairman of the PPP without elections. It is somehow ironic that these strong advocates of “democracy” were not themselves […]
Main Street Blues
Politicians and others in recent weeks have been liberal in invoking the image of a suffering main street when considering the so-called Wall Street bailout plan and its potential effects on the average American. Senators John McCain and Barack Obama each used variations of the term twice during Friday’s debate, and traditional media and bloggers […]
Over and over again I hear people discussing the possibility of the United States losing its position of leadership in the world. China, they say, is rising. Russia, they worry, is becoming more belligerent. What is going to happen, they wonder, when America is no longer number one? This subject attracts a lot of attention. […]
In 1990, with the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and again in 1998 with the passing of the Section 508 amendments to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Americans with disabilities won victories toward the better use of technology for all. Like curb-cuts outside office buildings or wheelchair-accessible bathrooms, the purpose of these acts […]
You might well have heard of public school environments as places of "zero tolerance," authoritarian in nature, and even comparable to jails or correctional facilities in terms of their disciplinary measures. Tardiness results in an entire lesson missed sitting in study hall; disrupting class earns a whole day of detention; rough-housing might lead to suspension, […]
This week on Dialectica: the LBJ Sustainability Working Group provides a prelude for their Bicycle Pub Crawl (10/3) with a discussion on bicycling issues in Austin. Representatives from the Yellow Bike Project and the Orange Bike Project will be on-hand to dissect issues the Statesman refuses to report on. [soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/114251895%3Fsecret_token%3Ds-hfumT” params=”” width=” 100%” height=”166″ […]
Hillary McCain-Obama
I’d like to put forward a new candidate. Her name is Hillary McCain-Obama, and she is perfect! She has all the credentials needed to be a great president. She is a wonderful legislator, has great military experience and projects a unifying and inspiring presence that mesmerizes not only people here in the United States, but […]
The deadline is fast approaching… Topic areas under consideration include, but aren’t limited to: Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development; International Law and Security; Poverty Alleviation and Human Development; or any other topic in the international context. SUBMISSIONS ARE DUE BY September 19, 2008 Submissions should be between 2,500 and 5,000 words and contain a cover […]
The U.S. has a lot of failed policies concerning areas such as economics and foreign affairs, but it seems one place they seem to be able to get it right is with science and technology policy. The most apparent reason for this is that the government has a good policy when it comes to making […]
Tonight, students from the LBJ School of Public Affairs present the inaugural show of Dialectica, a community program to provide KVRX listeners with in-depth information about policy issues through a compelling, issue-driven narrative. This evening’s program focuses on education in China. We share an exploration of the Chinese educational system, review its historical framework, and […]