What You Should Know About Politics...But Don’t: A Nonpartisan Guide to the Issues

280 Pages·2011·1.32 MB·English

by  Jessamyn Conrad

Copyright © 2008, 2011 by Jessamyn Conrad All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.
ISBN: 978-1-61145475-8
For my parents
Contents
Preface
An Introduction to Political Affiliations
1: Elections
Background to Current Debates
Electoral College
Bush v. Gore
Help AmericaVote Act
Mechanics of Voting
Voter Registration, Voter Fraud, Voter Suppression
Congressional Redistricting
Gerrymandering
Voting Machines
Campaign Finance
Presidential Elections
Party Conventions
Primaries and Caucuses
Electoral College
Popular Vote Reform
2: The Economy
Background to Current Debates
Economic Pie
Fiscal vs. Monetary Policy
Federal Reserve
Great Depression
GDP Growth
Stagnation, Recession, Depression, Stagflation
Subprime Mortgage Crisis
Current Debates:The Subprime Mortgage Crisis and the 2001 Tax Cuts
Interest Rates
Alan Greenspan
Inflation
2001 Tax Cuts
Alternative Minimum Tax
Capital Gains and Dividend Taxes
Estate Tax vs. Death Tax
Pay-Go
Flat Tax
Regressive vs. Progressive Taxation
Reaganomics: Supply-Side and Trickle-Down Economics
Compassionate Conservatism
Federal Deficit
National Debt
Discretionary vs.
Mandatory Spending
Social Security
Deficits Don’t Matter
Value of the Dollar
Oil Denominated in Dollars
3: Foreign Policy
Background to Current Debates
From Isolationism to Intervention
Appeasing Hitler
Postwar Consensus: Soviet Containment
Vietnam
The Ideological Groups
Isolationists
Paleoconservatives
Liberal Internationalists
Realists
Neoconservatives
Liberal Hawks
Background to the Iraq War
US and Iran
First Gulf War
Operation Desert Fox
Afghanistan and Al-Qaeda
The Case for War
Preemption
Weapons Inspection
Media Support for War
Use of Force Measure in Congress
Planning the Invasion of Iraq
Liberation
Iraqi National Congress
Troop Numbers
De-Baathification
Disbanding the Iraqi Military
Al-Qaeda-in-Mesopotamia
The Surge
What’s Ahead: Beyond Iraq
Iran
Pakistan
Russia
China
India
North Korea
4: The Military
Background to Current Debates 186 The Draft
GI Bill
Current Debates
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Homeless Veterans
Walter Reed Scandal
Recruiting Difficulties
Lower Standards
Military Contractors
Order 17 and Contractors’Accountability
Black-water and the Fallujah Attack
Overextension of Supply Lines
No-Bid Contracts
Dick Cheney and Halliburton
Black-water and Its Political Ties
5: Health Care
Background to Current Debates
Health Insurance
HMOs
Medicare
Medicaid
S-CHIP
Universal Access and Universal Coverage
Current Debates
Universal Health Care
Rising Costs
Tort Reform
Liability Laws
Big Pharma
Medicare Part D
Emergency Care
Single Payer, One Risk Pool, Socialized Medicine
Health Care Rationing
6: Energy
Background to Current Debates
Growing Energy Use
Shrinking Energy Supply
Current Debates
Nuclear Power
Coal
Electricity Deregulation and the California Energy Crisis
Peak Oil Production
Recessions
OPEC
Oil and the First Gulf War
CAFE or Fuel Standards
ANWR
Natural Gas
7: The Environment
Background to Current Debates
Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring
Nixon and the EPA
Clean Air Act
Superfund Toxic Waste Cleanup
Acid Rain
Ozone Hole
Environmental Groups
Current Debates
Climate Change
Global Warming
Greenhouse Effect
Effects of Global Warming
Kyoto Accords
Cap-and-Trade
Carbon Offset
Carbon Market
Carbon Tax
Conservation
An Inconvenient Truth
Resource Wars
Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
Massachusetts Sues the EPA
Arsenic and Lead in Drinking Water
Healthy Forests Act
ANWR
Wind Power
Ethanol
Biodiesel
Hydrogen Fuel
Solar Power
8: Civil Liberties
Background to Current Debates
Second Amendment
Gun Control vs. Gun Rights
Fourth Amendment
Warrantless Wiretapping
FISA
USA PATRIOT Act
Fifth Amendment