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| Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Political Issues, Sixteenth Edition, Expanded | |
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| Table of Contents TAKING SIDES: Clashing Views on Political Issues, Sixteenth Edition, Expanded | |
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| Democracy and the American Political Process | |
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| Should Americans Believe in a Unique American Mission? | |
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| YES:Wilfred M. McClay,from The Founding of Nations,First Things(March 2006) | |
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| NO:Howard Zinn,from The Power and the Glory: Myths of American Exceptionalism,Boston Review(Summer 2005) | |
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| Humanities professor Wilfred M. McClay argues that Americas myth, its founding narrative, helps to sustain and hold together a diverse people | |
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| Historian Howard Zinn is convinced that Americas myth of exceptionalism has served as a justification for lawlessness, brutality, and imperialism | |
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| Is Democracy the Answer to Global Terrorism? | |
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| YES:George W. Bush,from Speech at National Defense University (March 8, 2005) | |
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| NO:F. Gregory Gause III,from Can Democracy Stop Terrorism?Foreign Affairs(September/October 2005) | |
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| President George W. Bush argues that the best antidote to terrorism is the tolerance and hope generated by democracy | |
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| Political scientist Gregory Gause contends that there is no relationship between terrorism emanating from a country and the extent to which democracy is enjoyed by its citizens | |
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| Issue 3 | |
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| NO:John Samples,from Taxpayer Financing of Campaigns, in John Samples, ed.,Welfare for Politicians? Taxpayer Financing of Campaigns (CATO Institute, 2005) | |
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| Political activist and author Mark Green sums up his thesis in the subtitle of his book, a work that urges adoption of public financing of election campaigns | |
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| In order to make politics more honest and to reduce the dependency of elected officials on selfish interests. Cato Institute director and political scientist John Samples | |
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| Opposes public financing of candidates for public office because it does not achieve any of the goals of its advocates and it forces voters to underwrite the financing of candidates they do not support | |
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| The Institution of Government Issue | |
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| Does the President Have Unilateral War Powers? | |
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| YES:John C. Yoo,fromMemorandum Opinion for the Deputy Counselto the President (September 25, 2001) | |
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| NO:Michael Cairo,from The Imperial Presidency Triumphant, in Christopher S. Kelley, ed. | |
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| Executing the Constitution(SUNY, 2006) John C. Yoo, a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley, argues that the language of the Constitution, long-accepted precedents, and the practical need for speedy action in emergencies all support broad executive power during war | |
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| Michael Cairo, lecturer in International Relations at Southern Illinois University, deplores the unilateral military actions undertaken by Presidents Clinton and Bush; he argues that the Founders never intended to grant exclusive war powers to the president | |
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| Should the Courts Seek the Original Meaning of the Constitution? YES:Antonin Scalia,from Remarks at Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (March 14, 2005) | |
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| NO:Stephen Breyer,fromActive Liberty: Interpreting Our Democratic Constitution(Knopf, 2005) | |
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| Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia rejects the notion of a living Constitution, arguing that the judges must try to understand what the framers meant at the time | |
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| Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer contends that in finding the meaning of the Constitution, judges cannot neglect to consider the probable consequences of different interpretations | |
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| Is Congress a Broken Branch? YES:Thomas E. Mann and Norman J. Ornstein,fromThe Broken Branch(Oxford University Press, 2006) | |
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| NO:Lee H. Hamilton,fromHow Congress Works(Indiana University Press, 2004) | |
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| Congressional scholars Thomas Mann and Norman Ornstein argue that Congress has become increasingly dysfunctional as a result of many self-inflicted wounds, from ethical violations to hyperpartisanship | |
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| Former representative Lee H. Hamilton contends that many of the Congresss so-called flaws are actually faithful reflections of how the American public thinks and feels | |
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| Should the President Be Allowed Executive Privilege? YES:Mark J. Rozell,from Pro, in Richard J. Ellis and Michael Nelson, eds.,Debating the Presidency: Conflicting Perspectives on the American Executive(CQ Press, 2006) | |
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| NO:David Gray Adler,from Con, in Richard J. Ellis and Michael Nelson, eds.,Debating the Presidency: Conflicting Perspectives on the AmericanExecutive (CQ Press, 2006) | |
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| Public policy professor Mark J. Rozell believes that executive privilege is needed for the proper functioning of the executive branch, because presidents need candid advice from their staffs | |
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| Political Science Professor David Gray Alder concludes that neither debate in the Constitutional Convention nor the text of the Constitution provide any support for the view that the Framers supported giving the president the power to conceal information from Congress | |
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| Social Change and Public Policy Issue | |
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| Is Homosexual Conduct Constitutionally Protected? YES:Anthony Kennedy,from the Majority Opinion, inLawrence v. Texas,U.S. Supreme Court (2003) | |
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| NO:Antonin Scalia,from the Dissenting Opinion, inLawrence v. Texas,U.S. Supreme Court (2003) | |
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| United States Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy argues that sodomy laws are unconstitutional because no legitimate state interest justifies intrusion into the lives of homosexuals | |
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| United States Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia believes that sodomy laws reflect long-standing traditions regarding moral behavior that have been incorporated into American law and upheld by the courts | |
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| Does Affirmative Action Advance Racial Equality? YES:Glenn C. Loury,fromThe Anatomy of Racial Inequality(Harvard University Press, 2002) | |
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| NO:Walter E. Williams,from Affirmative Action Cant Be Mended, in David Boaz, ed.,Toward Liberty: The Idea That Is Changing the World(CATO Institute, 2002) | |