The American Statehouse

The American Statehouse PDF

Author: Charles T. Goodsell

Publisher:

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 246

ISBN-13:

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The American statehouse, then, is not just a temple - of the state - but a temple of democracy - of the people."--BOOK JACKET.

Statehouse Democracy

Statehouse Democracy PDF

Author: Robert S. Erikson

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1993

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 9780521424059

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The authors demonstrate that state policies are highly responsive to public opinion through the analysis of state policies from the 1930s to the present.

Three Men in a Room

Three Men in a Room PDF

Author: Seymour Lachman

Publisher:

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 216

ISBN-13:

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The inside story of one of the country's most secretive and misruled statehouses by a former New York State senator;. "Democracy takes decades to take root and flourish. New York is learning that it takes just three men in a room to maim and seriously harm a vigorous and representative system of government."-from Three Men in a Room It might be a scene from a movie: three powerful and secretive men sit in a private corner of an exclusive New York club, imperiously making decisions that affect the lives of millions of people. But the scene takes place in Albany, New York, and the exclusive members are the governor, the senate majority leader, and the speaker of the assembly of the New York State legislature. Three Men in a Room is an insider's exposé of how one of the country's largest and most powerful governments-with the fourth-largest budget, behind only the federal government's, California's, and Texas's-has become a model of corrupt, inefficient, and undemocratic governance. Seymour Lachman ran the New York City Board of Education, taught political science, and was then elected to New York's legislature. What he found when he arrived in the halls of the state senate was a Potemkin village of government where legislators vote on bills they haven't read during legislative sessions they haven't attended. After four terms, Lachman left his safe seat in disgust, and has now written this sharp, mordant, and impassioned call for reform. Although Lachman's story takes place in one of the country's most progressive states, the problems described in this book are rampant in statehouses throughout the country.

State Houses

State Houses PDF

Author: Susan W. Thrane

Publisher: Erin, Ont. : Boston Mills Press

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781550464573

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A magnificent celebration of America's state capitol buildings. These glorious buildings are, in the author's words, "the homes of history," where laws are passed, where democracy is enacted, where history is written. Though each state capitol bears some similarity to the other forty-nine, each in its architecture and design reflects uniquely the pride of its state, both culturally and historically. For this unprecedented project, photographer Tom Patterson traveled to each of America's fifty state capitals to capture the architectural beauty and dignity of its capitol building in glorious large-format color images. Writer Susan W. Thrane reveals fascinating details about each capitol building's beginnings: the events surrounding construction background on its architects and builders dimensions and costs primary features and main rooms unique furnishings and works of art. The book also discusses important moments in the history of each building and the state itself, including: the origin of the state's name its capital city when the state was admitted to the Union, and the number of members in its legislative bodies.

Statehouse and Greenhouse

Statehouse and Greenhouse PDF

Author: Barry G. Rabe

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2004-02-17

Total Pages: 232

ISBN-13: 0815796358

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No environmental issue triggers such feelings of hopelessness as global climate change. Many areas of the world, including regions of the United States, have experienced a wide range of unusually dramatic weather events recently. Much climate change analysis forecasts horrors of biblical proportions, such as massive floods, habitat loss, species loss, and epidemics related to warmer weather. Such accounts of impending disaster have helped trigger extreme reactions, wherein some observers simply dismiss global climate change as, at the very worst, a minor inconvenience requiring modest adaptation. It is perhaps no surprise, therefore, that an American federal government known for institutional gridlock has accomplished virtually nothing in this area in the last decade. Policy inertia is not the story of this book, however. Statehouse and Greenhouse examines the surprising evolution of state-level government policies on global climate change. Environmental policy analyst Barry Rabe details a diverse set of innovative cases, offering detailed analysis of state-level policies designed to combat global warming. The book explains why state innovation in global climate change has been relatively vigorous and why it has drawn so little attention thus far. Rabe draws larger potential lessons from this recent flurry of American experience. Statehouse and Greenhouse helps to move debate over global climate change from bombast to the realm of what is politically and technically feasible.

The U.S. House of Representatives

The U.S. House of Representatives PDF

Author: Matthew Spieler

Publisher: Macmillan

Published: 2015-12

Total Pages: 189

ISBN-13: 1250040361

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In the third in this unique civics series, Matthew Spieler clearly and concisely explains the functions and importance of the United States House of Representatives

Storming the Statehouse

Storming the Statehouse PDF

Author: Celia Morris

Publisher: Scribner

Published: 1992

Total Pages: 362

ISBN-13:

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In 1990 Ann Richards and Dianne Feinstein ran the two most conspicuous political campaigns in the country, aiming for governorships in Texas and California. An insider's look at these two races, this book draws on the author's unparalleled access to political advisers, consultants, campaign staff, reporters, and friends.

Sisters in the Statehouse

Sisters in the Statehouse PDF

Author: Nadia E. Brown

Publisher:

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 267

ISBN-13: 0199352437

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Theories of descriptive representation among female legislators consistently document the ways in which women are marginalized in office. However, they tend to treat identity as constant over time and context and so fail to account for the substantive work of legislators. Sisters in the Statehouse looks at the situation from a different angle, taking an in-depth look at African American female state legislators to examine the impact of race and gender on Black women's political experiences, policy preferences, and legislative influence. Brown links personal narratives to the political behavior of her interview subjects to understand how their experiences with racism and sexism have influenced their legislative decision-making and policy preferences. As such, this is the first study that empirically examines how difference is recognized and put into practice among Black women legislators. Brown demonstrates that identity influences political decision making in ways that distinguish the work of Black women from that of other state legislators. Sisters in the Statehouse is a groundbreaking inquiry into how an intersectional approach can enhance our understanding of political representation.

Public Opinion

Public Opinion PDF

Author: Walter Lippmann

Publisher:

Published: 1922

Total Pages: 448

ISBN-13:

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In what is widely considered the most influential book ever written by Walter Lippmann, the late journalist and social critic provides a fundamental treatise on the nature of human information and communication. The work is divided into eight parts, covering such varied issues as stereotypes, image making, and organized intelligence. The study begins with an analysis of "the world outside and the pictures in our heads", a leitmotif that starts with issues of censorship and privacy, speed, words, and clarity, and ends with a careful survey of the modern newspaper. Lippmann's conclusions are as meaningful in a world of television and computers as in the earlier period when newspapers were dominant. Public Opinion is of enduring significance for communications scholars, historians, sociologists, and political scientists. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

Schoolhouses, Courthouses, and Statehouses

Schoolhouses, Courthouses, and Statehouses PDF

Author: Eric A. Hanushek

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2009-04-27

Total Pages: 432

ISBN-13: 1400830257

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Improving public schools through performance-based funding Spurred by court rulings requiring states to increase public-school funding, the United States now spends more per student on K-12 education than almost any other country. Yet American students still achieve less than their foreign counterparts, their performance has been flat for decades, millions of them are failing, and poor and minority students remain far behind their more advantaged peers. In this book, Eric Hanushek and Alfred Lindseth trace the history of reform efforts and conclude that the principal focus of both courts and legislatures on ever-increasing funding has done little to improve student achievement. Instead, Hanushek and Lindseth propose a new approach: a performance-based system that directly links funding to success in raising student achievement. This system would empower and motivate educators to make better, more cost-effective decisions about how to run their schools, ultimately leading to improved student performance. Hanushek and Lindseth have been important participants in the school funding debate for three decades. Here, they draw on their experience, as well as the best available research and data, to show why improving schools will require overhauling the way financing, incentives, and accountability work in public education.