New York Times

Reihan Salam's book in the New York Times | 'How Obama Reconciles Dueling Views on Economy'

Communications — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:59:00 -0400

New America in the News:
Even some Republicans have started to wonder whether the Reagan strategy on taxes has run its course. Earlier this year, two young conservative writers, Ross Douthat and Reihan Salam, came out with a book called “Grand New Party.” Their basic thesis is that the Republican Party, for all its successes over the past generation, has failed to cement its majority because of economics. If the party’s agenda continues to revolve around tax cuts that mostly benefit the well off, the book argues, Republicans risk allowing a generation-long Democratic majority, like the kind that ruled the country from F.D.R. to L.B.J. To avoid this outcome, the authors offer an agenda of what they call Sam’s Club Republicanism, focused on the working class. LINK

What Does Obama Have in Common With Frederick Douglass?

Articles — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 11:18:00 -0400

In his brief time on the national stage Barack Obama has been compared to a host of great 20th-century orators, including John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan. But the most apt comparison may be to one of the greatest 19th-century orators: Frederick Douglass, the abolitionist leader.

In The New York Times recent examination of Mr. Obama’s career as a law school professor, a former student noted that he regularly evoked Douglass and not simply for his speaking skills but also for his “use of a collective voice that embraced black and white concerns.” For those seeking to get a clearer sense of what type of president Mr. Obama… more

There’s No Paying in Baseball

Articles — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 12:31:00 -0400

This year’s Little League World Series, which began on Friday, is a lavish, nationally televised American sporting event. At the site of the series in South Williamsport, Pa., there is a tent for the tournament’s corporate sponsors to show off their products, an instant-replay system to decide close calls and a perfectly groomed, two-stadium baseball complex.

For all of the tournament’s seductive gloss, Little League was born in poverty. In 1938, Carl E. Stotz, a Williamsport oil company clerk, lost his job when the business shut down the plant where he worked. As Stotz explained in his 1992 autobiography, “A Promise Kept,” when he wasn’t working the odd… more

Gregory Rodriguez in the New York Times | 'In a Generation, Minorities May Be the U.S. Majority'

Communications — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 11:36:00 -0400

New America in the News:

Ethnic and racial minorities will comprise a majority of the nation’s population in a little more than a generation, according to new Census Bureau projections, a transformation that is occurring faster than anticipated just a few years ago.

The census calculates that by 2042, Americans who identify themselves as Hispanic, black, Asian, American Indian, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander will together outnumber non-Hispanic whites. Four years ago, officials had projected the shift would come in 2050...

...Gregory Rodriguez, a senior fellow at the New America Foundation, a public policy institute, argued that while “assimilation became a dirty word in the 1960s and ’70s,” America has always been evolving and becoming enriched by new cultures, whether from Europe or from South America and Asia. LINK

Ghaith al-Omari in the New York Times | 'Israel’s Political Situation Dims Hopes for Peace Deal'

Communications — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 08:42:00 -0400

New America in the News:

“There is zero chance” now, said Ghaith al-Omari, a former negotiator for Mr. Abbas. Mr. Omari said that the best the Palestinians could now expect was that Ms. Rice could manage to preserve something to hand to the next administration.

“The best we can hope for is a stabilization package that will make it easier for the next president to engage the process,” Mr. Omari said. LINK

Michael Lind in the New York Times | 'Government as the Big Lender'

Communications — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 08:35:00 -0400

New America in the News:

...The new reality is scorned by libertarians and conservatives, who fear state intrusions on the market, and by populists and progressives, who dislike the idea of education and housing increasingly resting upon the government’s willingness to finance it.

“If you’re a socialist, you should be happy,” said Michael Lind, a fellow at the New America Foundation, a research institute in Washington. “But you should really wonder whether you want people’s ability to pay for housing and college dependent on the motives of people in Washington...” LINK

Reihan Salam in the New York Times | Book Review 'Grand New Party'

Communications — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 10:05:00 -0400

New America in the News:

...The conservatives Ross Douthat and Reihan Salam, both with The Atlantic Monthly, neither hard-core party activists nor longtime political operatives, want to provide a road map to get the party to brighter and more long-lasting sunshine.

The core thesis of their book “Grand New Party” is that the working class in America — the non-college-educated half of the electorate — continues to ping-pong between the parties and is there for the taking by any group that can seriously and directly address its concerns. The authors note: “Since 1968, these voters have provided the ‘silent majority’ that elected Nixon, the ‘Reagan Democrats’ who gave the Gipper his landslides and the ‘angry white men’ who put the Gingrich G.O.P. over the top in 1994. ... Yet after each Republican triumph, this working-class constituency ... has become disillusioned with conservative governance and returned to the Democratic column...” LINK

Len Nichols in New York Times | 'Ranks of Underinsured Are Rising, Study Finds'

Communications — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 11:58:00 -0400

New America in the News:

“Cost is central,” he said. He noted that a national debate is already under way about how best to control medical expenses, through changes in the payment process and better information technology... LINK

Len Nichols in New York Times | 'Ranks of Underinsured Are Rising, Study Finds'

Communications — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 07:55:00 -0400

New America in the News:

...The Commonwealth study also underscores the need to address the rising cost of health care, which is starting to leave even those in the middle class vulnerable to financial stress, said Len Nichols, a health economist who directs the health policy program for the New America Foundation, a nonprofit group that advocates universal health care.

“Cost is central,” he said. He noted that a national debate is already under way about how best to control medical expenses, through changes in the payment process and better information technology...FULL STORY

Sara Mead in New York Times | Teaching Boys and Girls Separately

Communications — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 10:00:00 -0500

New America in the News:

New York Times | Teaching Boys and Girls Separately

. . . More recently, in what Sara Mead, an education expert at the New America Foundation, calls a “man bites dog” sensation, public and parental concerns have shifted to boys. Boys are currently behind their sisters in high-school and college graduation rates. School, the boy-crisis argument goes, is shaped by females to match the abilities of girls (or, as Sax puts it, is taught “by soft-spoken women who bore” boys). In 2006, Doug Anglin, a 17-year-old in Milton, Mass., filed a civil rights complaint with the United States Department of Education, claiming that his high school — where there are twice as many girls on the honor roll as there are boys — discriminated against males. His case did not prevail in the courts, but his sentiment found support in the Legislature and the press. That same year, as part of No Child Left Behind, the federal law that authorizes programs aimed at improving accountability and test scores in public schools, the Department of Education passed new regulations making it easier for districts to create single-sex classrooms and schools. . .