The Salt Lake City 14Th Ward Album Quilt, 1857: Stories of the Relief Society Women and their Quilt

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Progress War and Reaction: 1900-1933
David R. Ross
Manufacturer: Harlan Davidson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0882957597

Among the many countries that underwent transitions to democracy in recent decades, only Russia is as important to the United States and the world as Brazil. The fifth-largest country and population in the world, with nearly one-half the inhabitants of Latin America, Brazil has the world’s ninth-richest economy. Given the nation’s size and influence, its capacity to achieve stable democracy and economic growth will have global impact. Understanding democracy in Brazil is therefore a crucial task, one which this book undertakes.

Theoretically, the author argues that most party systems in the third wave of democratization, after 1974, have distinctive features that require us to reformulate theories about party systems generally; previous works have paid scant attention to the importance of variance in the degree of institutionalization of party systems. The author also argues that many third-wave cases underscore the need to focus on the capacity of the state and political elites to structure and restructure party systems from below.

Empirically, the author studies the Brazilian party system and democratization, with particular reference to the 1979-96 period. He underscores the weakness of the party system and the resulting problems of democratization. He argues that the party system is poorly institutionalized, explores the reasons for the difficulties of party building, and addresses the consequences of weak institutionalization, which leads him to reaffirm the central significance of parties in the face of widespread skepticism about their importance.

In recent years a growing number of citizens have defected from the major parties to third party presidential candidates. Over the past three decades, independent campaigns led by George Wallace, John Anderson, and Ross Perot have attracted more electoral support than at any time since the 1920s. Third Parties in America explains why and when the two-party system deteriorates and third parties flourish. Relying on data from presidential elections between 1840 and 1992, it identifies the situations in which Americans abandon the major parties and shows how third parties encourage major party responsiveness and broader representation of political interests.

As for weaknesses, Gillespie almost completely ignores La Raza Unida Party. While the party was relatively short lived and confined primarily to Texas--though it had some temporary success in expanding the party to other Southwestern states with relatively large Mexican-American populations--the party's impact on Texas politics (with clear ripple effects on national politics) was profound. Prior to La Raza, the Texas Democratic Party was a white boy's party in virtually every sense of the word. The clear threat of La Raza compelled Texas Democrats to open the party to Mexican Americans and, in the process, also assisted in making it more open to African Americans. These changes helped to fuel the exodus of white racist Democrats into the Texas Republican party, spurring Repbulican ascendency to domination in the State and contributing to the ascension to the White House by both George H. and, especially, George W. Bush.

More Americans now identify as political independents than as either Democrats or Republicans. Tired of the two-party gridlock, the pandering, and the lack of vision, they've turned in increasing numbers to independent and third-party candidates. In 1998, for the first time in decades, a third-party candidate who was not a refugee from one of the two major parties, Jesse Ventura, won election to state-wide office, as the governor of Minnesota. In 2000, the public was riveted by the Reform Party's implosion over Patrick Buchanan's presidential candidacy and by Ralph Nader's Green Party run, which infuriated many Democrats but energized hundreds of thousands of disaffected voters in stadium-sized super-rallies.
What are the prospects for new third-party efforts? Combining the close-in, personal reporting and learned analysis one can only get by covering this beat for years, Micah L. Sifry's Spoiling for a Fight exposes both the unfair obstacles and the viable opportunities facing today's leading independent parties.
Third-party candidates continue be denied a fighting chance by discriminatory ballot access, unequal campaign financing, winner-take-all races, and derisive media coverage. Yet, after years of grassroots organizing, third parties are making major inroads. At the local level, efforts like Chicago's New Party and New York's Working Families Party have upset urban political machines while gaining positions on county councils and school boards. Third-party activists are true believers in democracy, and if America's closed two-party system is ever to be reformed, it will be thanks to their efforts.

There's plenty of other fascinating material in the book also, especially about the Green Party, and new material about how Jesse Ventura was elected Governor of Minnesota in 1998, and about how a majority of justices on the U.S. Supreme Court are hostile to new and minor political parties (this conclusion is clear from Sifry's account of the Forbes debate decision, and the Twin Cities Area decision about "fusion").

Trees and People: Forestland Ecosystems and Our Future

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Trees and People: Forestland Ecosystems and Our Future
Richard N. Jordan
Manufacturer: Regnery Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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