Living Democracy, 2010 Update Edition, California Edition, Books a la Carte Edition

by Shea, Daniel M.; Smith, Christopher; Green, Joanne Connor; Clarke, Milton

• ISBN13: 9780205834761
• ISBN10: 0205834760
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2011-01-01
• Publisher: Longman

Summary

This update includes coverage of the seismic changes that have taken place across our political landscape since the second edition published and Barack Obama took office. In addition, this update features many new photos and updated tables and figures reflecting the most recent data available.

 

• Chapter 3 (Federalism): Includes updated data on federal grants-in-aid and local and special governments.
• Chapter 4 (The Judiciary): Features coverage of Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination and confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court, as well as new data on the number of court petitions and cases heard during the most recent Supreme Court term.
• Chapter 5 (Civil Liberties): Provides new information on cases related to the fourth and sixth amendments.
• Chapter 6 (Civil Rights): Provides updated data on educational attainment and income by race as well as workers’ earnings by occupation.
• Chapter 7 (Congress): Features a new opening vignette addressing the rowdy town hall meetings on health care reform during the summer of 2009; discusses the impact of Senator Arlen Specter’s switch to the Democratic Party; examines the issue of civility and Representative Joe Wilson’s outburst during the president’s address to Congress in September of 2009; includes updates on the wealthiest Congressional members based on 2009 survey results; and provides updated data on the standing committees and the occupations, education, party profile, and gender composition of the 111^th Congress.
• Chapter 8 (The Presidency): Includes a new opening vignette on the difference between campaigning and governing, using Obama’s campaign and early months of governance as an example; provides updated information on President Obama’s Cabinet and the 2009 Executive Office of the President, as well as updated information on presidential vetoes; examines Vice President Joe Biden’s likely role and impact; and includes coverage and analysis of C-Span’s 2009 ranking of American Presidents.
• Chapter 9 (Bureaucracy): Updates data on the number of federal employees and departments in the executive branch of the federal government.
• Chapter 10 (Political Socialization and Public Opinion): Provides new information comparing public opinion about health care in America with that of public opinion in Europe; includes updated data on public opinion related to abortion; and highlights updated data on women in the federal government, family life and poverty, and earnings by education level.
• Chapter 11 (Politics of the Media): Examines allegations about the death of newspapers; provides updated data on internet access; includes new research on misperceptions about the War in Iraq correlated to people’s primary sources of news; and includes improved coverage of pseudo events, including former President George W. Bush’s infamous “Mission Accomplished” landing on an aircraft carrier.
• Chapter 13 (Interest Groups): Updates data on types of interest groups and spending on inside lobbying.
• Chapter 14 (Elections and Participation in America): Features a new opening vignette on close elections, highlighting the impact of Minnesota’s close Senate race between Norm Coleman and Al Franken; and includes updated data on the incumbent fundraising advantage in the 2008 election.
• Chapter 16 (Public Policy in the United States): Includes a new opening vignette detailing the battle over health care reform and new information on Obama Administration policies throughout the chapter.
• Chapter 17 (Making Economic Policy): Features a new opening vignette dealing with the origins of the 2008-2009 financial crisis and the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act; and includes new data on the unemployment rate and misery index, federal deficits and surpluses, and percentages of health-care-related spending.
• Chapter 18 (Foreign and National Security Policy): Introduces a new opening vignette on the subject of President Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize win; provides coverage and analysis of Obama’s failed bid to bring the 2016 Olympics to Chicago; and includes updated information on Vice President Joe Biden’s foreign policy role and President Obama’s National Security Council.
• Chapter 19 (California: Historical Perspective): Supplies updated information on California’s economic and budget crisis, as well as Governor Schwarzenegger’s severe drop in approval ratings.
• Chapter 20 (Democracy, California Style): Provides coverage of the electorate’s rejection, in May of 2009, of five ballot measures intended to ameliorate the budget crisis; and includes updated information on ballot propositions since 2000.
• Chapter 21 (The California State Legislature): Includes updated information and analysis of Speaker Karen Bass’s assumption of the speakership position at a critical juncture, when the state consistently receives low approval ratings.
• Chapter 22 (The California Executive and Bureaucracy): Updates the opening vignette with reflections on the 2006 and 2008 Government Performance Project reports; examines Governor Schwarzenegger’s tendency to do the unexpected and its impact on policy; and includes updated information on the state insurance commission and Steve Poizner’s role and performance as head of that organization.
• Chapter 23 (The California Judiciary): Updates the opening vignette on the role of the California State Supreme Court on the issue of same-sex marriages; provides new data on the budget of the California Department of Corrections and how the state’s fiscal meltdown has impacted corrections facilities in the state.
• Chapter 24 (Local Government in California): Includes a thoroughly revised and updated section on the funding of county governments in light of the state’s financial/budget crisis; and provides new information on the evolution of power utilities and their efforts to use renewable energy resources.
• Chapter 25 (California Fiscal Policy): Features a new section on the state budget crisis; includes new information on the temporary increase of the sales tax in 2009 and its likely impact; discusses the potential impact of the federal stimulus package for the state of California; includes coverage of the state’s decision to revoke parts of Proposition 1A and “borrow” local government funding; provides updated data on the state’s unemployment rate; and reflects on the future of California’s political economy.