Think Tanks

Wikipedia on 7/31/09 listed political think tanks by their bias. The following is a partial list taken from that source. The idea here is to inform teachers of the possible bias of a source of information that might be used in the classroom.

Centerists think tanks include: American Consumer Institute, American Institute for Economic Research, Aspen Institute, Council on Foreign Relations, and Rand Corp. The source lists 21 others.

Conservative think tanks include: American Enterprise Institute, Heritage Foundation, Hoover Institute, Hudson Institute, and Project for New American Century. The source lists 10 others.

Liberal think tanks include: Brookings Institution (the oldest), Center for American Progress, Commonweal Institute, Institute for Policy Studies and Economic Policy Institute. The source lists 14 others.

Libertarian think tanks include: Cato Institute (best known of this group), Ayn Rand Institute, James Madison Institute, Show-Me Institute, Goldwater Institute. The source lists 14 others.

(More research will be required to complete this information).

(Source: Wikipedia on 7/31/09.)

Ponzi Scheme

The case of the Bernard Madoff fraud is based on the mail fraud conviction of one Charles Ponzi who "bilked thousands of people out of $ 10 million in 1919-20". Hence, the name of the fraud ever since has been a "Ponzi Scheme". This source suggests that from now on the fraud might be called a "Madoff Scheme". (More research will be required on this issue).

(Source: "Madoff won't appeal 150-year term, lawyer says" by Larry Neumeister of The AP. In The Record on 7/10/09).

Populists

This might be a good time to read up on the Populists of the 1890's. Karl Rove-and others of that ilk-are saying that Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich are modern day populists. This source says that because they "bark a lot"; their style is to express "popular outrage". But the real populists of history did not "bark" at "poor people, teachers, unions, liberals, minorities, protesters, environmentalists, gays, immigrants or other demonized groups that generally reside far outside the center of the power structure". Populists were those who stood "up against the corporate powers that be", that supported "ordinary folks in their ongoing democratic fight against the moneyed elites". This source provides a definition of populism as a movement with a "focus on breaking the iron grip that big corporations have on our country-including on our economy, government, media and environment". A definition of classic liberalism is a movement that "seeks to live in harmony with concentrated corporate power by trying to regulate its excesses". This source also notes that populism is either ignored-in the classroom-or "trivialized as a quirky pitchfork rebellion by rubes and rascists" over the issue of "free silver".

(Source: "The Spark of Populism" by Jim Hightower in The Progressive magazine July 2009).

WWII and Relocation Camps

Togo W. Tanaka was a newsman and American citizen of Japanese descent who in 1942 was sent with 100,000 other Japanese-Americans to relocations camps in the American west. He was born in Oregon and graduated from UCLA before working for a Japanese language newspaper in LA. He was sent to Washington DC prior to Pearl Harbor to ask if his paper would be allowed to continue publishing. He was held for 11 days with no contact with his family or employer before the War Department released him w/o being charged with any crime. He was taken into custody 4 months later and shipped to Manzanar in Death Valley. The interesting thing about his story is that he remained loyal to the US government while in the camps and became a target of camp residents who were angered by his pro-government position. A mob might have killed him at Manaznar if he had not hidden; two residents did die. He was moved from the camp to Chicago and went on to work for a book company after the war. The US government took away his rights and fellow Japanese Americans hated him: "he was truly in a no-man's land" said his son. (The US government took away his constitutional rights in 1942; are we doing the same to some of those being held at Gitmo today?)

(Source: "Togo W. Tanka, 93; chronicled life in Japanese camps during WWII" by Elaine Woo of the Los Angeles Times. In The Record obit page on 7/7/09).

Robert Strange McNamara

The Secretary of Defense, so identified with the Vietnam war that it was often called "McNamara's War, died this week at the age of 93. He was made S of D by JFK in 1961 while he was head of Ford Motor Company and was considered at the time as one of a group known as the "whiz kids". Even thou he worked for the World Bank for years trying to improve life in rural areas in developing countries, it is fair to say that his handling of the Vietnam War was the key issue of the professional life. This is most likely the case because he came to admit, late in life, that we-and he-were "terribly wrong" in our involvement in the war there. In his book-In Retrospect: the Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam-published in 1995, he notes his "deep misgivings" about US policy as early as 1967 (the year this writer was drafted) and also that he did not think the bombing of the north would work. He told Time Magazine in 1991 he thought the bombing would not work "but that he went along with it 'because we had to try to prove it would not work, number one, and because other people thought it would work" (pardon me, but that does not sound like leadership to me, or for that matter, make any sense). RSM "continued to express public confidence" that the bombing would work if we applied enough of it, "despite (his) doubts". On a broader issue it is noted in this obit that RSM was responsible for changing US defense policy away from "massive retaliation" favored by John Foster Dulles to a policy of "flexible response".

(Source: "Robert S. McNamara, 93; manager of Vietnam War" by Peter Yost and Mike Feinsilber of The AP. In The Record on 7/7/09)

Al Franken

The Senate race between Al Franken-the Democrat-and Norm Coleman-the Republican-has finally come to an end after 8 mouths of court fights and re-counting of election ballots. Al Franken was "unaninously" declared the winner by the Minnesota Supreme Court yesterday and Coleman "conceded". His election gives the Democrats a 60 vote margin that has not occurred since the 1970's and a filibuster proof majority. However, two Democratic Senators, Byrd of WVA and Kennedy of MA, are both "absent from the Capitol" due to illness.

(Source: "Nearly 8 months late, Franken wins seat" by Brian Bakst of the AP. The Record on 7/1/09).

Immigrants and work

Immigrant workers are sending money home-their native countries-to their families in the amount of $ 50 billion a year. This is reported by the World Bank. It is estimated that in 2009 that amount may decrease by 5 %. In some cases immigrants here are requesting some of their money be sent here to them due to a lack of work opportunities in the US. This is referred to as "reverse remittances". This source suggests that the result may be some immigrant laborers returning to their native countries.

(Source: "Immigrant workers ask home for help" by Samantha Henry of the AP. The Record on 7/1/09)