You Decide! Current Debates in American Politics, 2010 Edition Book

Preface     XV
Constitution     2
Guns, Safety, and the Constitution's Meaning: Individual Right or Subject to Regulation?
Guns, Safety, and the Constitution: Individual Right
Advocate: Robert A. Levy, Senior Fellow in Constitutional Studies, Cato Institute
Source: Testimony during hearings on "Oversight Hearing on the District of Columbia's Gun Control Laws," before the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Government Reform, June 28, 2005
Guns, Safety, and the Constitution: Subject to Regulation
Advocate: Daniel A. Farber, Henry J. Fletcher Professor of Law and Associate Dean of Faculty and Research, University of Minnesota
Source: "Disarmed by Time: The Second Amendment and the Failure of Originalism," Chicago-Kent Law Review, 2000
Federalism     16
Federal Regulation of Medical Marijuana: Appropriate National Power or Usurpation of State Authority?
Federal Regulation of Medical Marijuana: Appropriate National Power
Advocate: John Paul Stevens III, Associate Justice, U.S. Supreme Court
Source: Opinion in Gonzales v. Raich, June 6, 2005
Federal Regulation of Medical Marijuana: Usurpation of State Authority
Advocate: Sandra Day O'Connor, Associate Justice, U.S. Supreme Court
Source: Opinion in Gonzales v. Raich, June 6, 2005
Civil Rights     32
Evaluating the "Right to An Abortion" Decision in Roe V. Wade: Positive Impact or Negative Impact?
Evaluating the "Right to an Abortion" Decision in Roe v. Wade: Positive Impact
Advocate: R. Alta Charo, Professorof Law and Bioethics; Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development, University of Wisconsin Law School
Source: Testimony during hearings on "The Consequences of Roe v. Wade and Doe V. Bolton," U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Property Rights June 23, 2005
Evaluating the "Right to an Abortion" Decision in Roe v. Wade: Negative Impact
Advocate: Teresa Collett, Professor of Law, University of St. Thomas School of Law, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Source: Testimony during hearings on "The Consequences of Roe v. Wade and Doe V. Bolton," U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Property Rights June 23, 2005
Civil Liberties     44
The Phrase "Under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance: Violation of the First Amendment or Acceptable Traditional Expression?
The Phrase "Under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance: Violation of the First Amendment
Advocate: Douglas Laycock, Professor, School of Law, University of Texas; and Counsel of Record for 32 Christian and Jewish clergy filing an amicus curiae brief with the Supreme Court in Elk Grove School District v. Newdow
Source: A discussion of the topic "Under God? Pledge of Allegiance Constitutionality," sponsored by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life and held before the National Press Club, Washington, D.C., March 19, 2004
The Phrase "Under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance: Acceptable Traditional Expression
Advocate: Jay Alan Sekulow, Chief Counsel, American Center for Law and Justice; and Counsel of Record for 76 members of Congress and the Committee to Protect the Pledge filing an amicus curiae brief with the Supreme Court in Elk Gove School District v. Newdow
Source: A discussion of the topic "Under God? Pledge of Allegiance Constitutionality," sponsored by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life and held before the National Press Club, Washington, D.C., March 19,2004
American People/Political Culture     60
Eventual Citizenship for Unauthorized Immigrants: Rewarding Illegal Behavior or Rewarding Contributions to America?
Eventual Citizenship for Unauthorized Immigrants: Rewarding Illegal Behavior
Advocate: James R. Edwards, Jr., Adjunct Fellow, Hudson Institute
Source: Testimony during hearings on "Should We Embrace the Senate's Grant of Amnesty to Millions of Illegal Aliens and Repeat the Mistakes of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986?" U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Claims, July 18, 2006.
Eventual Citizenship for Unauthorized Immigrants Rewarding Contributions to America
Advocate: Tom Harkin, U.S. Senator (D-IA)
Source: Congressional Record, March 29, 2006
Public Opinion/Participation     72
Volunteer Border Patrol Groups: Laudable Patriots or Dangerous Vigilantes?
Volunteer Border Patrol Groups: Laudable Patriots
Advocate: Chris Simcox, President of Minuteman Civil Defense Corps
Source: Testimony during hearings on "Securing Our Borders: What We Have Learned From Government Initiatives and Citizen Patrols," U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform, May 12, 2005
Volunteer Border Patrol Groups: Dangerous Vigilantes
Advocate: Asheesh Siddique, Editor, The Princeton Progressive Review, Princeton University
Source: "The New Nativism," Campus Progress News, Spring 2005
Media     82
Shielding Journalists' Sources From Subpoena: Protecting Democracy or Impeding Justice?
Shielding Journalists' Sources from Subpoena: Protecting Democracy
Advocate: Norman Pearlstine, Editor-in-Chief, Time Inc.
Source: Testimony during hearings on "Reporters' Shield Legislation: Issues and Implications," U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, July 20, 2005
Shielding Journalists' Sources from Subpoena: Impeding Justice
Advocate: James B. Comey, Deputy Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice
Source: Testimony during hearings on "Reporters' Shield Legislation: Issues and Implications," U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, July 20, 2005
Interest Groups     96
The Pro-Israel Lobby in the United States: Goliath or David?
The Pro-Israel Lobby in the United States: Goliath
Advocates: John Mearsheimer, R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science and co-director of the Program on International Security Policy, University of Chicago; and Stephen Walt, Robert and Rene Belfer Professor of International Affairs, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
Source: "The Israel Lobby," London Review of Books, March 23, 2006
The Pro-Israel Lobby in the United States: David
Advocate: Alan Dershowitz, Professor, School of Law, Harvard University
Source: "Debunking the Newest - and Oldest - Jewish Conspiracy: A Reply to the Mearsheimer-Walt 'Working Paper,'" Faculty Research Working Papers, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
Political Parties     140
Hillary Clinton and the 2008 Presidential Election: the Democrats' Best Bet or a Problematic Candidate?
Hillary Clinton and the 2008 Presidential Election: The Democrats' Best Bet
Advocate: Carl Cannon, White House correspondent for the National Journal
Source: "She Can Win the White House," Washington Monthly, July/August 2005
Hillary Clinton and the 2008 Presidential Election: A Problematic Candidate
Advocate: Amy Sullivan, editor, Washington Monthly
Source: "Not So Fast," Washington Monthly, July/August 2005
Voting/Campaigns/Elections     158
Providing Proof of Citizenship When Registering to VOTE: Reasonable Requirement or Unnecessary Barrier to Participation?
Providing Proof of Citizenship When Registering to Vote: Reasonable Requirement
Advocate: Patrick J. Rogers, attorney and member of the Board of Directors of the American Center for Voting Rights Legislative Fund Source: Testimony during hearings on "Non-citizen Voting," before the House of Representatives, Committee on House Administration, June 22, 2006
Providing Proof of Citizenship When Registering to Vote: Unnecessary Barrier to Participation
Advocate: Christine Chen, Executive Director of Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote
Source: Testimony during hearings on "Non-citizen Voting," before the House of Representatives, Committee on House Administration, June 22, 2006
Congress      172
Congressional Term Limits: Promoting Choice or Restricting Choice?
Congressional Term Limits: Promoting Choice
Advocate: Paul Jacob, Executive Director, U.S. Term Limits
Source: Testimony during hearings on "Limiting Terms of Office for Members of the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives," U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on the Constitution, January 22, 1997
Congressional Term Limits: Restricting Choice
Advocate: John R. Hibbing, Professor of Political Science, University of Nebraska
Source: Testimony during hearings on "Limiting Terms of Office for Members of the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives," U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on the Constitution, January 22, 1997
Presidency     184
Censure President Bush for Abuse of Power: Justified or Politically Motivated?
Censure President Bush for Abuse of Power: Justified
Advocate: John W. Dean, former Counsel to the President of the United States
Source: Testimony during hearings on "Senate Resolution 398 Relating to the Censure of George W. Bush," U.S. Senate, Committee on the Judiciary, March 31, 2006
Censure President Bush for Abuse of Power: Politically Motivated
Advocate: Professor Robert Turner, Associate Director, Center for National Security Law, University of Virginia
Source: Testimony during hearings on "An Examination of the Call to Censure the President," United States Senate, Committee on the Judiciary, March 31, 2006
Bureaucracy     198
The Department of Education and Women in Sports: Undermining Progress or Regulating Reasonably?
The Department of Education and Women in Sports: Undermining Progress
Advocate: Nancy Hogshead-Makar, Professor, Florida Coastal School of Law and U.S. Olympic triple goal medalist in swimming (1984)
Source: Testimony during hearings on "The First Tee and Schools: Working to Build Character Education," U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Education and the Workforce, June 28, 2006
The Department of Education and Women in Sports: Regulating Reasonably
Advocate: Amanda Ross-Edwards, Lecturer, Department of Political Science, North Carolina State University
Source: "Additional Clarification of Intercollegiate Athletics Policy: A Step in the Right Direction," an essay written especially for this volume, October 2006
Judiciary     214
Filibustering Federal Court Nominees: Frustrating the Majority or Protecting the Minority?
Filibustering Federal Court Nominees: Frustrating the Majority
Advocate: Orrin G. Hatch, U.S. Senator (R-UT)
Source: Congressional Record, May 10, 2005
Filibustering Federal Court Nominees: Protecting the Minority
Advocate: Harry F. Byrd, U.S. Senator (D-WV)
Source: Congressional Record, March 1, 2005
State and Local Government     230
Taking Property by Eminent Domain for Economic Development: Serving the Public Good or Abusing of Government Power?
Taking Property by Eminent Domain for Economic Development: Serving the Public Good
Advocate: Jeffrey Finkle, President And Chief Executive Office, International Economic Development Council
Source: Testimony during hearings on "Protecting Property Rights After Kelo," before the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Energy And Commerce Committee, Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection, October 19, 2005
Taking Property by Eminent Domain for Economic Development: Abuse of Government Power
Advocate: Michael D. Ramsey, Professor, School of Law, University of San Diego
Source: Testimony during hearings on "Protecting Property Rights After Kelo," before the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Energy And Commerce Committee, Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection, October 19, 2005
Budgetary Policy     244
A Line-Item Veto for the President: Prudent Way to Restrain Spending or Unwise Grant of Power?
A Line-Item Veto for the President: Prudent Way to Restrain Spending
Advocate: Paul Ryan, U.S. Representative (R-WI)
Source: Testimony during hearings on "The Constitution and the Line-Item Veto," U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on the Constitution, April 27, 2006
A Line-Item Veto for the President: Unwise Grant of Power
Advocate: Cristina Martin Firvida, Senior Counsel, National Women's Law Center
Source: Testimony during hearings on "The Constitution and the Line Item Veto," U.S. House of Representatives, Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on the Constitution, April 27, 2006
Criminal Justice Policy     258
The Death Penalty: Fatally Flawed or Defensible?
The Death Penalty: Fatally Flawed
Advocate: Stephen B. Bright, Director, Southern Center for Human Rights, Atlanta, Georgia; Visiting Lecturer in Law, Harvard and Yale Law Schools
Source: Testimony during hearings on "An Examination of the Death Penalty in the United States" before the U.S. Senate, Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on the Constitution, February 1, 2006
The Death Penalty: Defensible
Advocate: John McAdams, Professor of Political Science, Marquette University
Source: Testimony during hearings on "An Examination of the Death Penalty in the United States" before the U.S. Senate, Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on the Constitution, February 1, 2006
Education Policy     278
Affirmative Action Admissions: Promoting Equality or Unfair Advantage?
Affirmative Action Admissions: Promoting Equality
Advocates: 41 College Students and 3 Student Coalitions
Source: Amicus Curiae brief to the United States Supreme Court in Grutter v. Bolligner (2003)
Affirmative Action Admissions: Unfair Advantage
Advocates: 21 Law Professors
Source: Amicus Curiae brief to the United States Supreme Court in Grutter v. Bolligner (2003)
Foreign Policy     292
U.S. Military Forces in Iraq: Stay the Course or Withdraw Quickly?
U.S. Military Forces in Iraq: Stay the Course
Advocate: George W. Bush, President of the United States
Source: "This Is Going To Be Freedom's Century," address delivered at the Freedom House, Washington, D.C., March 29, 2006
U.S. Military Forces in Iraq: Withdraw Quickly
Advocates: Wesley B. Renfro and Brian Urlacher, doctoral students, Department of Political Science, University of Connecticut
Source: "With Terrorism Growing and Civil War Looming the United States Must Withdraw from Iraq," an essay written especially for this volume, October 2006
Credits     311