It may be hard to believe, but Inc. Magazine lists Tacoma in the top twenty midsized cities for doing business. In the overall rankings of all cities Tacoma comes in at 77--which may not sound that impressive, but compare it to Portland (169) or Seattle (179). Read the whole thing here; similar findings from the Milken Institute here.
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Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Monday, October 30, 2006
Voter Guides
From Professor Bass:
Students in the PG312 Parties, Elections, and Campaigns class have been following particular House and Senate races across the country all semester, researching the candidates, issues, ads, funding, polls, and much, much more. As part of their projects, they’ve put together voter guides on each of their races, and we are making them available to you below. So if you are looking for information on races you’ll vote in next week, or are just interested in learning more about races in the news, here is your one-stop-shopping for many of the most hotly contested races of 2006!
2006 Midterm Election Information
Local Races
The TNT has a link to candidate profiles and campaign coverage on the front page of their website (in the middle of the page): http://www.thenewstribune.com/
Voter Guides
Students in PG 312 have written voter guides for the following races. Incumbents italicized.
Senate Races
Students in the PG312 Parties, Elections, and Campaigns class have been following particular House and Senate races across the country all semester, researching the candidates, issues, ads, funding, polls, and much, much more. As part of their projects, they’ve put together voter guides on each of their races, and we are making them available to you below. So if you are looking for information on races you’ll vote in next week, or are just interested in learning more about races in the news, here is your one-stop-shopping for many of the most hotly contested races of 2006!
2006 Midterm Election Information
Local Races
The TNT has a link to candidate profiles and campaign coverage on the front page of their website (in the middle of the page): http://www.thenewstribune.com/
Voter Guides
Students in PG 312 have written voter guides for the following races. Incumbents italicized.
Senate Races
- California – Feinstein (D) v. Montjoy (R)
- Connecticut – Lieberman (I/D) v. Lamont (D) v. Schlesinger (R)
- Florida – Nelson (D) v. Harris (R)
- Maine – Snowe (R) v. Bright (D)
- Maryland – Cardin (D) v. Steele (R) Open seat; currently D
- Michigan – Stabenow (D) v. Bouchard (R)
- Missouri – Talent (R) v. McCaskill (D)
- Montana – Burns (R) v. Tester (D)
- Nebraska – Nelson (D) v. Ricketts (R)
- New Jersey – Menendez (D) v. Kean (R)
- Ohio – DeWine (R) v. Brown (D)
- Pennsylvania – Santorum (R) v. Casey (D)
- Rhode Island – Chafee (R) v. Whitehouse (D)
- Tennessee – Corker (R) v. Ford (D) Open seat; currently R
- Virginia – Allen (R) v. Webb (D)
- Washington – Cantwell (D) v. McGavick (R)
- West Virginia – Byrd (D) v. Raese (R)
- AZ-08: Graf (R) v. Giffords (D) Open seat; currently R
- CA-14: Eshoo (D) v. Smith (R)
- CO-03: Salazar (D) v. Tipton (R)
- CO-07: O’Donnell (R) v. Perlmutter (D) Open seat; currently R
- CT-02: Simmons (R) v. Courtney (D)
- IL-06: Roskam (R) v. Duckworth (D) Open seat; currently R
- NH-01: Bradley (R) v. Shea-Porter (D)
- NM-01: Wilson (R) v.
- NC-11: Taylor (R) v. Shuler (D)
- OH-18: Padgett (R) v. Space (D) Open seat; currently R
- OR-05: Hooley (D) v. Erickson (R)
- PA-08: Fitzpatrick (R) v. Murphy (D)
- TX-17: Edwards (D) v. Taylor (R)
- TX-22: Sekula-Gibbs (R) v. Lampson (D) Open seat; currently R
- VA-02: Drake (D) v. Kellam (R)
- WA-02: Larsen (D) v. Roulstone (R)
- WA-08: Reichert (R) v. Burner (D)
- WA-09: Smith (D) v. Cofchin (R)
The Best Barber (Chair) in Tacoma
For years I've had my hair cut at a little place on Sixth Avenue not far from campus. It's been a barber shop since time immemorial, though little of the original detail is left. However, Matt, a new partner in the business, recently restored and installed an incredible 100 year old barber chair that makes you feel good just sitting in it. Oh, and he's the only guy in the South Sound who can give you a shave with a straight razor. The News Tribune has taken note; read the article here.
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Day of the Dead
Our colleagues down the hall in Foreign Languages have the artistic edge over us, to be certain. They often decorate the alcove on our floor to celebrate important holidays, including Day of the Dead. I thought I'd snap a couple of pictures this morning to share their work with you all.
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Saturday, October 28, 2006
Ephemera: Duck and Cover
Some years back a colleague found this stuck in a university library book and gave it to me. Given how old this is (the early 1950s) I'd say the book hadn't had a lot of readers. A somewhat creepy Cold War souvenir.
Friday, October 27, 2006
Sam and Barack
Sam Kussin-Shoptaw '09 has been very busy this week with his internship (that he got off the blog) with Darcy Burner, who is running for Congress against Dave Reichert. As the campaign moves into the home stretch Sam's responsibilities have grown and his opportunity for sleep declined. One side benefit of all this work, however, is the ability to hobnob with those in power--Sam was at a rally on Thursday held by Senator Barack Obama, Senator Maria Cantwell, and Darcy Burner in Bellevue. We plied Sam with a camera and asked him to take some pictures. Here are a few; you'll find all of them here.
Sam with State Representative Deb Eddy.
Darcy Burner
Barack Obama, Darcy Burner and some guy who looks like he's trying to steal Obama's tie.
Darcy Burner, Barack Obama and Maria Cantwell.
Thanks for the photos, Sam, and we look forward to hearing more about your experiences.
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Sam with State Representative Deb Eddy.
Darcy Burner
Barack Obama, Darcy Burner and some guy who looks like he's trying to steal Obama's tie.
Darcy Burner, Barack Obama and Maria Cantwell.
Thanks for the photos, Sam, and we look forward to hearing more about your experiences.
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Thursday, October 26, 2006
Professor Hansen on the West Bank
This fall Professor Hendrik Hansen spent some time in Israel and the West Bank. He sent along a number of photos which you can find here. I've posted a few below with Professor Hansen's captions.
Bethlehem
Golan Heights, on the border with Syria
Ramallah
"Checkpoint Atarot, between Ramallah and Jerusalem (it's forbidden to take photos there, that's why it is not straight)
"A view from the Dominus flevit church on the Dome of the Rock (which is close to the Al Aksa Mosque). Dominus Flevit Church is on the Mount of Olives; the church's name is Latin for "The Lord wept". Jesus cried here when he arrived in Jerusalem and predicted the destruction of the Temple, which was destroyed in the year 70 CE (Luke 19, 37-42)."
Bethlehem
Golan Heights, on the border with Syria
Ramallah
"Checkpoint Atarot, between Ramallah and Jerusalem (it's forbidden to take photos there, that's why it is not straight)
"A view from the Dominus flevit church on the Dome of the Rock (which is close to the Al Aksa Mosque). Dominus Flevit Church is on the Mount of Olives; the church's name is Latin for "The Lord wept". Jesus cried here when he arrived in Jerusalem and predicted the destruction of the Temple, which was destroyed in the year 70 CE (Luke 19, 37-42)."
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Hungary 56/06
As some of you have probably read, the anniversary celebrations commemorating the 1956 Hungarian Revolution in Budapest went badly. Jennifer (Eidum) Zinchuk '03 took in the scene and reports on her blog. Read the story here.
Generation Next
Since I'm out of touch, I was unaware of Generation Next, a joint effort between USA Today and MacNeil/Lehrer Productions at PBS. They have what looks to be an interesting blog, and are currently canvasing for letters from those aged 18-29 on the important issues around the 2006 election. Find the blog here, and the flier for student submissions here.
Best article on the blog--parents hiding GPS devices in their kids' cars. There's also an interesting discussion on the diametrically different (and equally problematic) cases of helicopter parents and toxic parents.
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Best article on the blog--parents hiding GPS devices in their kids' cars. There's also an interesting discussion on the diametrically different (and equally problematic) cases of helicopter parents and toxic parents.
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Talk: What's at Stake in the Upcoming Elections?
As an aside, Irene Lim does wonderful posters for us. Thanks, Irene!
Opportunities for Minorities from the American Political Science Association
Here are two opportunities for members of minorities who want to go into a doctoral program in political science. If you are interested in either, come see me, drop me an email or give me a call.
Minority Fellowship Deadline - November 6
APSA has doubled support for minority fellowships to 12 funded fellows annually. The APSA Council acted after hearing a report from the Minority Programs Review Committee on the effectiveness of the program in helping to sustain minority student acceptance to and retention in graduate school. The Council also broadened eligibility to include Asian Pacific American students, beginning with the funding round this Fall. Fellows with stipends receive a $4,000 fellowship, disbursed in two $2,000 payments during their graduate studies -- one at the end of their first year and one at the end of their second -- provided that they remain in good academic standing.
The 2007 deadline for applications is Monday, November 6, 2006. Application reviews will commence thereafter and awards will be announced at the end of November.
For more information, see www.apsanet.org/section_427.cfm. For more information, please contact: Hayle Ziobro at hziobro@apsanet.org.
APPLICATIONS MUST BE POSTMARKED BY November 6, 2006.
Minority Identification Project
In 1989, APSA established the Minority Identification (MID) Project as part of its efforts to diversify the political science profession. Faculty members in undergraduate programs are encouraged to contact minority students about careers in political science and then submit the names of promising minority candidates for graduate study to the MID database. Core Schools -- graduate programs participating in the MID Project -- actively recruit students identified in the MID database. The program complements the important efforts already made through the Ralph Bunche Summer Institute and Minority Fellows Program. For more information, visit www.apsanet.org/section_428.cfm.
Minority Fellowship Deadline - November 6
APSA has doubled support for minority fellowships to 12 funded fellows annually. The APSA Council acted after hearing a report from the Minority Programs Review Committee on the effectiveness of the program in helping to sustain minority student acceptance to and retention in graduate school. The Council also broadened eligibility to include Asian Pacific American students, beginning with the funding round this Fall. Fellows with stipends receive a $4,000 fellowship, disbursed in two $2,000 payments during their graduate studies -- one at the end of their first year and one at the end of their second -- provided that they remain in good academic standing.
The 2007 deadline for applications is Monday, November 6, 2006. Application reviews will commence thereafter and awards will be announced at the end of November.
For more information, see www.apsanet.org/section_427.cfm. For more information, please contact: Hayle Ziobro at hziobro@apsanet.org.
APPLICATIONS MUST BE POSTMARKED BY November 6, 2006.
Minority Identification Project
In 1989, APSA established the Minority Identification (MID) Project as part of its efforts to diversify the political science profession. Faculty members in undergraduate programs are encouraged to contact minority students about careers in political science and then submit the names of promising minority candidates for graduate study to the MID database. Core Schools -- graduate programs participating in the MID Project -- actively recruit students identified in the MID database. The program complements the important efforts already made through the Ralph Bunche Summer Institute and Minority Fellows Program. For more information, visit www.apsanet.org/section_428.cfm.
Next Stop: Oprah
This fall has seen the release of the second edition of Essentials in Comparative Politics, a text authored by myself, Professor Fields and Share. The main text came out in fall, but the case study text (covering the US, UK, Japan, Russia, China, Iran, India, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa and Nigeria) just showed up yesterday. This is first hardback edition of the cases, as in its previous incarnation it only existed as an online text.
If you are interested in knowing more, the publisher has all the details here.
We decided to pose with our publication like the proud parents that we are.
From left to right: Fields, O'Neil, Share.
From left to right: Fields, O'Neil, Share.
If you are interested in knowing more, the publisher has all the details here.
My Favorite Spam
Our once impenetrable email filter on campus has been breached in recent weeks by a smattering of spam. Here's one from my inbox this morning, and seemingly custom-garbled for a political scientist:
From: "Presidents Neither"
To: poneil@ups.edu
Subject: religions. Pikie
Dirty web usual ctd is weighs or inthe or occupy or nation impose or martial law.
I couldn't agree more, and will take this issue up in my next class discussion on Pikie nation impose dirty web.
From: "Presidents Neither"
To: poneil@ups.edu
Subject: religions. Pikie
Dirty web usual ctd is weighs or inthe or occupy or nation impose or martial law.
I couldn't agree more, and will take this issue up in my next class discussion on Pikie nation impose dirty web.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Professor Weinberger's Daedalus Talk
Yesterday Professor Weinberger gave a talk to the Daedalus Society on campus entitled "Restoring the Balance: War Powers in An Age of Terror". This dinner and talk is typically not directed towards students, but this year our department was encouraged to send along some of our majors who might like to attend. A few shots from the event, courtesy Professor Ferrari.
Professor Weinberger, Linz Heppe '07 and Amelia Lamb '07.
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Professor Weinberger, Linz Heppe '07 and Amelia Lamb '07.
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Fantasy Congress
Why play Fantasy Football?
"To put it simply, create an account, join a league, draft a team of real U.S. Members of Congress and have fun as you compete to score as many points as possible. As the Members of Congress you drafted put real legislation through the lawmaking process they will score points for your team."
Fantasy Congress!
"To put it simply, create an account, join a league, draft a team of real U.S. Members of Congress and have fun as you compete to score as many points as possible. As the Members of Congress you drafted put real legislation through the lawmaking process they will score points for your team."
Fantasy Congress!
Our Ivy League Alums
By my reckoning we now have three alums currently in graduate school at Harvard, two of which are at the Kennedy School of Government--including Kendall LeVan '05. Kendall offers her help to anyone considering grad school, so email me if you want to get in touch with her.
Greetings!
I thought it was about time that I sent an email to say hello. I have very much enjoyed reading the UPS politics department blog over the last however many months. It is fantastic to hear what everyone is up to in their disparate regions of the world.
I ended up in Cambridge going to the Kennedy School of Government and am finally settling into classes and life on the east coast. While I am enjoying it here immensely (the resources at KSG are amzaing; for example, yesterday I went to a study group with Michael Gerson, President Bush's main speech writer for many years; and last week I went to a film screening with Christiane Amanpour), I must say I miss Tacoma and the laid back attitude of UPS (even Joseph Nye's national security knowledge can't compete with Bill Haltom's Raider's jersey!)
More and more I realize that I wouldn't trade my time there for anything. Most of my fellow classmates went to Harvard College, Brown, Princeton, UPenn and so forth. They find it amazing that I had 8-person classes capable of genuine discussion. In terms of education, community and people, I believe I lucked out.
Anyway, now that I am done being nostalgic, I wanted to a) thank you again for your help in my getting to where I am b) offer myself as a resource if you have any students contemplating graduate programs and/or beginning the application process and c) hear what you are working on at the moment and see if you had any must-reads (I will forever think of you as a great recommender after the thesis class reading list). I think that is all.
Hope all is well in Tacoma, Kendall
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Greetings!
I thought it was about time that I sent an email to say hello. I have very much enjoyed reading the UPS politics department blog over the last however many months. It is fantastic to hear what everyone is up to in their disparate regions of the world.
I ended up in Cambridge going to the Kennedy School of Government and am finally settling into classes and life on the east coast. While I am enjoying it here immensely (the resources at KSG are amzaing; for example, yesterday I went to a study group with Michael Gerson, President Bush's main speech writer for many years; and last week I went to a film screening with Christiane Amanpour), I must say I miss Tacoma and the laid back attitude of UPS (even Joseph Nye's national security knowledge can't compete with Bill Haltom's Raider's jersey!)
More and more I realize that I wouldn't trade my time there for anything. Most of my fellow classmates went to Harvard College, Brown, Princeton, UPenn and so forth. They find it amazing that I had 8-person classes capable of genuine discussion. In terms of education, community and people, I believe I lucked out.
Anyway, now that I am done being nostalgic, I wanted to a) thank you again for your help in my getting to where I am b) offer myself as a resource if you have any students contemplating graduate programs and/or beginning the application process and c) hear what you are working on at the moment and see if you had any must-reads (I will forever think of you as a great recommender after the thesis class reading list). I think that is all.
Hope all is well in Tacoma, Kendall
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Monday, October 23, 2006
Alum Update: Estevan Munoz Howard '04
Estevan writes of his recent time abroad and how our incessant use of the concept of social capital in PG 250 finally brainwashed him:
"Since I graduated in 2004 I have mostly been living abroad. Last year I was teaching English in Japan; this year I'm managing an ecolodge in the Ecuadorian Andes. I look forward to finally returning home in June of 2007, at which point I will be finalizing my plans for graduate school and applying to programs next Fall to attend school the following year (2008)....For the longest time I was torn trying to decide which subject to focus on in my studies: Environmental Politics or Latin American Politics. However, since coming here to Ecuador and experiencing the local culture (we live in a very small town) a new interest has taken over and quickly eclipsed the other two. My attention has returned to the idea of social capital...studying it, writing about it, fostering it...
I am interested in working to promote social capital because I see it as a crucial factor in our social and political well-being and I believe that with its increase many other questions and dilemmas can be addressed. I realized that many of the problems we are experiencing in the States are directly related to deficiencies in various types of social capital. I've recently been reading studies and theses regarding this subject on the World Bank website, among others, and they have really piqued my interest.
...I have found the APSIA programs to be interesting. I am particularly interested in the dual-degree programs that combine international affairs with public policy or social work. But the more I look into social capital, the more I feel like that might be the field I will go into (although these fields are clearly not mutually exclusive). I've noticed that there don't seem to be many comprehensive organizations whose specific aim is to build social capital in general. There are several that focus on raising social and political awareness or getting people involved in solving specific problems, but I haven't found too many that attempt to link the various forms of social capital together, at least, not explicitly. At this point, I'm interested in getting experience working with non-profits in the Seattle area and then who knows...maybe starting one of my own or expanding another one that is already out there. Ideally, I would be able to work with an organization that takes a more unified approach to the promotion of social capital...one that seeks to build it on both macro and micro levels...possibly with international programs as well as national ones."
Any alums out there who have thoughts on programs or opportunities that Estevan should look into, given his interests above? Comment below or send me an email and I'll pass it along to him.
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"Since I graduated in 2004 I have mostly been living abroad. Last year I was teaching English in Japan; this year I'm managing an ecolodge in the Ecuadorian Andes. I look forward to finally returning home in June of 2007, at which point I will be finalizing my plans for graduate school and applying to programs next Fall to attend school the following year (2008)....For the longest time I was torn trying to decide which subject to focus on in my studies: Environmental Politics or Latin American Politics. However, since coming here to Ecuador and experiencing the local culture (we live in a very small town) a new interest has taken over and quickly eclipsed the other two. My attention has returned to the idea of social capital...studying it, writing about it, fostering it...
I am interested in working to promote social capital because I see it as a crucial factor in our social and political well-being and I believe that with its increase many other questions and dilemmas can be addressed. I realized that many of the problems we are experiencing in the States are directly related to deficiencies in various types of social capital. I've recently been reading studies and theses regarding this subject on the World Bank website, among others, and they have really piqued my interest.
...I have found the APSIA programs to be interesting. I am particularly interested in the dual-degree programs that combine international affairs with public policy or social work. But the more I look into social capital, the more I feel like that might be the field I will go into (although these fields are clearly not mutually exclusive). I've noticed that there don't seem to be many comprehensive organizations whose specific aim is to build social capital in general. There are several that focus on raising social and political awareness or getting people involved in solving specific problems, but I haven't found too many that attempt to link the various forms of social capital together, at least, not explicitly. At this point, I'm interested in getting experience working with non-profits in the Seattle area and then who knows...maybe starting one of my own or expanding another one that is already out there. Ideally, I would be able to work with an organization that takes a more unified approach to the promotion of social capital...one that seeks to build it on both macro and micro levels...possibly with international programs as well as national ones."
Any alums out there who have thoughts on programs or opportunities that Estevan should look into, given his interests above? Comment below or send me an email and I'll pass it along to him.
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Professor Bonura is Keeping Busy
In case you thought that faculty on sabbatical sat around all day eating bon-bons, here's evidence that Professor Bonura, at least, keeps busy. On November 8 he's giving a presentation at St. Andrew's College, Oxford on Muslim civil society in Southeast Asia. Best wishes for the talk!
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Sunday, October 22, 2006
Wage Gaps and Higher Education
From The Wall Street Journal's College Online, a report that the wages of those with undergraduate degrees are not faring as well in the economy as one might expect: "It is in the middle -- where many four-year college graduates work -- that imports, overseas outsourcing and technology seems to be reducing U.S. employer demand most significantly, and thus restraining wages."
So who is doing better? Those with professional and (some) graduate degrees. Read the whole piece here, and there's an accompanying video with more data.
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So who is doing better? Those with professional and (some) graduate degrees. Read the whole piece here, and there's an accompanying video with more data.
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