Politics. Former FCC Commissioner Nicholas Johnson draws on a half-century in government and politics, from precinct captain to presidential appointments, in this analysis of what's wrong and how to fix it -- sprinkled with contemporaneous blog entries about the 2007-2008 presidential primary from an Iowa perspective.

A sobering account of a disenfranchised American working class and important policy solutions to the nation’s economic inequalities One of the country’s leading scholars on economics and social policy, Isabel Sawhill addresses the enormous divisions in American society—economic, cultural, and political—and what might be done to bridge them. Widening inequality and the loss of jobs to trade and technology has left a significant portion of the American workforce disenfranchised and skeptical of governments and corporations alike. And yet both have a role to play in improving the country for all. Sawhill argues for a policy agenda based on mainstream values, such as family, education, and work. While many have lost faith in government programs designed to help them, there are still trusted institutions on both the local and federal level that can deliver better job opportunities and higher wages to those who have been left behind. At the same time, the private sector needs to reexamine how it trains and rewards employees. This book provides a clear-headed and middle-way path to a better-functioning society in which personal responsibility is honored and inclusive capitalism and more broadly shared growth are once more the norm.

Our Flag Yet Waves is a literary response to the last several years of political turmoil and controversy. Moved by the belief that fundamental American values are being tested and even threatened, Dr. David Heller thoughtfully delineates and discusses his perspective on these ideals as pillars of an Americana that must be protected and cherished -- now more than ever. While addressing such topics as patriotism, equality, inclusiveness, openness to change, American resiliency, unity despite diverse voices, and much more, Dr. Heller offers considerable food-for-thought about our current national debates and dramatic tensions. While addressing these and other pressing subjects, he presents numerous memorable insights, including the following: “The government that governs best governs with the least partiality and the greatest compassion,” “America is a colorful story of unfolding acts, authored across five centuries from immigrants from all the world.” “There is no America and no democracy without truth -- those truths that are self-evident and those that are not.” “America will never run out of statesmen; it’s just that more and more of those statesmen will be women.” “America is a mosaic of a thousand pieces. If you look closely with an open heart you will see that all of those pieces do indeed fit together.”

In a new Brookings Essay, Politico editor Susan Glasser chronicles how political reporting has changed over the course of her career and reflects on the state of independent journalism after the 2016 election. The Bookings Essay: In the spirit of its commitment to higquality, independent research, the Brookings Institution has commissioned works on major topics of public policy by distinguished authors, including Brookings scholars. The Brookings Essay is a multi-platform product aimed to engage readers in open dialogue and debate. The views expressed, however, are solely those of the author. Available in ebook only.

Our Flag Yet Waves is a literary response to the last several years of political turmoil and controversy. Moved by the belief that fundamental American values are being tested and even threatened, Dr. David Heller thoughtfully delineates and discusses his perspective on these ideals as pillars of an Americana that must be protected and cherished -- now more than ever. While addressing such topics as patriotism, equality, inclusiveness, openness to change, American resiliency, unity despite diverse voices, and much more, Dr. Heller offers considerable food-for-thought about our current national debates and dramatic tensions. While addressing these and other pressing subjects, he presents numerous memorable insights, including the following: "The government that governs best governs with the least partiality and the greatest compassion," "America is a colorful story of unfolding acts, authored across five centuries from immigrants from all the world." "There is no America and no democracy without truth -- those truths that are self-evident and those that are not." "America will never run out of statesmen; it's just that more and more of those statesmen will be women." "America is a mosaic of a thousand pieces. If you look closely with an open heart you will see that all of those pieces do indeed fit together."

We are the only species able to talk ourselves into difficulties that would not otherwise exist, from divorce to war. Here's a book full of practical suggestions on how to use our language to improve our lives.

Test Pattern for Living is a kind of guidebook for anyone thinking about what they are doing with their life and why -- whether happy and wanting to stay that way, or working their way through one of life's many stresses. As such it touches on everything from camping to cooking, from religious values to the values of corporate advertising, the role of love and sexuality, and many, many more subjects. It leaves you making your own choices. But it frees you to ask what other choices you might have made if corporate media hadn't spent billions of dollars trying to persuade you to make the choices that maximize their profits.

Democracies are under attack in many countries including our own. Wannabe dictators feel threatened by democraciesÕ existence. Their destructive efforts are abetted by democraciesÕ citizen apathy. This book examines the institutions, the ÒcolumnsÓ that support democracy. They include such institutions as independent media, K-12 and higher education, respected, independent judges, accessible voting systems, and public libraries. These institutions support both an active citizenry and meaningful checks on executivesÕ abuses. This book calls Americans to action Ð with suggestions. It also contains the authorÕs ÒcolumnsÓ Ð an example of citizen use of the column of democracy called media.

The 1960 publication of We Hold These Truths marked a significant event in the history of modern American thought. Since that time, Sheed & Ward has kept the book in print and has published several studies of John Courtney Murray's life and work. We are proud to present a new edition of this classic text, which features a comprehensive introduction by Peter Lawler that places Murray in the context of Catholic and American history and thought while revealing his relevance today. From the new Introduction by Peter Lawler: The Jesuit John Courtney Murray (1904-67) was, in his time, probably the best known and most widely respected American Catholic writer on the relationship between Catholic philosophy and theology and his country's political life. The highpoint of his influence was the publication of We Hold These Truths in the same year as an election of our country's first Catholic president. Those two events were celebrated by a Time cover story (December 12, 1960) on Murray's work and influence. The story's author, Protestant Douglas Auchincloss, reported that it was "The most relentlessly intellectual cover story I've done." His amazingly wide ranging and dense--if not altogether accurate--account of Murray's thought was crowned with a smart and pointed conclusion: "If anyone can help U.S. Catholics and their non-Catholic countrymen toward the disagreement that precedes understanding--John Courtney Murray can." . . . Murray's work, of course, is treated with great respect and has had considerable influence, but now it's time to begin to think of him as one of America's very few genuine political philosophers. His disarmingly lucid and accessible prose has caused his book to be widely cited and celebrated, but it still is not well understood. It is both praised and blamed for reconciling Catholic faith with the fundamental premises of American political life. It is praised by liberals for paving the way for Vatican II's embrace of the American idea of religious liberty, and it is

Nicholas Johnson and eight law students in the University of Iowa Cyberspace Law Seminar, Spring 2009, investigate everything from property rights in virtual worlds to domestic cyber attacks to K-12 students' rights with their online, off-campus speech.