During the early 1880s a continual interaction of events, ideas, and people in Ireland and the United States created a ""Greater Ireland"" spanning the Atlantic that profoundly impacted both Irish and American society. In A Greater Ireland: The Land League and Transatlantic Nationalism in Gilded Age America, Ely M. Janis closely examines the Irish National Land League, a transatlantic organization with strong support in Ireland and the United States. Founded in Ireland in 1879 against the backdrop of crop failure and agrarian unrest, the Land League pressured the British government to reform the Irish landholding system and allow Irish political self-rule. The League quickly spread to the United States, with hundreds of thousands of Irish Americans participating in branches in their local communities. As this ""Greater Ireland"" flourished, new opportunities arose for women and working-class men to contribute within Irish-American society. Exploring the complex interplay of ethnicity, class, and gender, Janis demonstrates the broad range of ideological, social, and political opinion held by Irish Americans in the 1880s. Participation in the Land League deeply influenced a generation that replaced their old county and class allegiances with a common cause, shaping the future of Irish-American nationalism.

In this space, we wanted to put our photograph with President Obama when he spoke in Bellevue in February 2012. It is hanging in our living room, one of our proudest possessions, equal to our wedding picture. However, to use the photo here, we would have needed permission from OFA. Not likely, we think.

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Send your comments by e-mail to [email protected]. We will publish the signed ones on the Web at www.prudent-ventures.com. Look there for news about the book, our campaign activities, and comments.

Three years after the advent of Zimbabwe's Inclusive Government in February 2009, the country still awaits the elections that people hope will lead to a more enduring political settlement. Zimbabwe: Mired in Transition reviews the experience of recent years assesses the progress that has been made. What is the public mood, and how has it changed? What steps have been taken to reform the media? How important is a new constitution. Although the economy has stabilised to some extent with the adoption of a multi-currency regime, industrial and agricultural production are depressed, and investment inflows are limited; what spaces exist for fiscal reform? Are local authority structures and the state bureaucracy equipped to handle the tasks that will ne asked of them? In terms of two important areas, the book extends its analysis further back than 2009. First, is the issue of emigration. Estimates of the number of Zimbabweans in the diaspora range from three to four million; what impact us this having on national development, and to what extent might the trend of migration be reversed? The second concerns young people, the chapter on which concludes: 'We already have a "lost generation" - those who were once called the "born frees." Unless positive changes are made, we will still have another'. This collection of eleven essays examines in detail some of the pressing questions which Zimbabweans must ask as they chart a way forward.

Wingnuts live on the extreme edges of the political spectrum. They're the professional polarizers and the unhinged activists, the hardcore haters and the paranoid conspiracy theorists. They're people who always try to divide us instead of unite us. And at a time when the fringe is blurring with the base, they've hijacked American politics.
The Obama era has been a boom-time for Wingnuts, kicked off by a financial collapse and the election America's first black president. For some, losing an election feels like living under tyranny. John Avlon tracks down preachers who pray for the president's death, goes inside the growing "Hatriot" militia movement and identifies the fright-wing swamp where the Obama "Birthers" and the Bush-era "9/11 Truthers" bubble up.
Wingnuts echo earlier fear-fueled movements in American history. But bolstered by the rise of hyper-partisan media, the Wingnut echo chamber is more influential than ever before and it has led directly to the division and dysfunction in Congress.
Avlon asserts that the time has come for the moderate majority of Americans to straighten their civic backbone and hold the extremes accountable while restoring a sense of perspective to our politics.

From the start of Barack Obama's presidency in 2009, conservative populist groups began fomenting political fractiousness, dissent, and surprising electoral success. The Tea Party was one of the major characters driving this story. But, as Khadijah Costley White argues in this book, the Tea Party's ascent to major political phenomenon can be attributed to the way in which partisan and non-partisan news outlets "branded" the Party as a pot-stirrer in political conflicts over race, class, and gender. In other words, the news media played a major role in developing, cultivating, and promoting populism's brand, particularly within the news spaces of commentary and opinion. Through the language of political marketing, branding, and promotion, the news media not only reported on the Tea Party, but also acted as its political strategist and brand consultant. Moreover, the conservative press acted more as a political party than a news medium, deliberately promoting the Tea Party, and aiding in organizing, headlining, and galvanizing a conservative political base around specific Tea Party candidates, values, and events. In a media environment in which everyone has the opportunity to tune out, tune in, and speak back, The Branding of Right-Wing Activism ultimately shows that distinctions between citizens, journalists, activists, politicians, celebrities, and consumers are more symbolic than concrete.

No topic is more polarizing than guns and gun control. From a gun culture that took root early in American history to the mass shootings that repeatedly bring the public discussion of gun control to a fever pitch, the topic has preoccupied citizens, public officials, and special interest groups for decades.
The Gun Debate: What Everyone Needs to Know(r) delves into the issues that Americans debate when they talk about guns. With a balanced and broad-ranging approach, noted economist Philip J. Cook and political scientist Kristin A. Goss thoroughly cover the latest research, data, and developments on gun ownership, gun violence, the firearms industry, and the regulation of firearms. The authors also tackle sensitive issues such as the effectiveness of gun control, the connection between mental illness and violent crime, the question of whether more guns make us safer, and ways that video games and the media might contribute to gun violence. No discussion of guns in the U.S. would be complete without consideration of the history, culture, and politics that drive the passion behind the debate. Cook and Goss deftly explore the origins of the American gun culture and the makeup of both the gun rights and gun control movements.
Written in question-and-answer format, the book will help readers make sense of the ideologically driven statistics and slogans that characterize our national conversation on firearms. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in getting a clear view of the issues surrounding guns and gun policy in America.

What Everyone Needs to Know(r) is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press

Celebrities are increasingly front and centre in public debates on everything from solving world poverty to halting genocide, confronting obesity, and finding spiritual contentment. Bono, Bill Gates, Al Gore, Bob Geldof, Oprah, Madonna, and Angelina Jolie are just some of the entertainers, politicians, pundits, elite business people, and policy-makers whose highly visible political activism has become an integral part of their public personas. These pop icons tend to be celebrated as "philanthrocapitalists" with a unique ability to remedy the world's problems. However, as Age of Icons demonstrates, the solutions these icons promote for addressing global injustice, when examined critically, can be seen to work through the very same institutions that create these problems in the first place. This volume assesses the growing role of popular icons in the construction of a culture that appears to incorporate a critical attitude towards the capitalist experience while, in fact, legitimizing the neoliberal character of the modern world. It will be an eye-opening read for anyone interested in the juncture between current events and celebrity culture.

"It's been a long time since I've read a more interesting, informing, and inspiring book."-Bill Moyers What can we do beyond Occupy Wall Street? Political and economic systems are failing us, and it's time for citizens to create change-individually and collaboratively. In The Leaderless Revolution, Carne Ross sounds a call to action. With dramatic stories from the United States and around the world, Ross's analysis contrasts with the naive, Panglossian optimism of globalization boosters like Thomas Friedman. Uncontrolled economic volatility, perpetual insecurity, rampant inequality, and accelerating climate change are heading us into a dangerous period of prolonged crisis. Ross-a former British diplomat to Iraq who resigned over his nation's involvement in the U.S.-led invasion-draws from his own experiences to offer an empowering new vision of how we can put things right.

Born in Gering, Nebraska on May 2, 1920, Dale Cannady has witnessed a dramatically changing world. Using the GI Bill to gain his college education at the University of Washington in Seattle, Dale rose to be Assistant City Planning Director in Portland, Oregon. My Thoughts is the culmination of 92 years of experience and observation.

Spurred by the disconnect between what was being taught in the classroom and actual practice, Godwin, Ainsworth, and Godwin set out to answer the question, "Was political science missing some key aspects of the interactions between lobbyists and policy makers?" Built on interviews with over 100 lobbyists, these authors show that much of the research on organized interests overlooks the lobbying of regulatory agencies even though it accounts for almost half of all lobbying-even though bureaucratic agencies have considerable leeway in the how they choose to implement law. This groundbreaking new book argues that lobbying activity is not mainly a struggle among competing interests over highly collective goods; rather, it's the public provision of private goods. And more to the point, this shift in understanding influences our perception of the strengths and weaknesses of American democracy. Through a series of highly readable case studies, the authors employ both neopluralist and exchange perspectives to explore the lobbying activity that occurs in the later stages of the policymaking process which are typically less partisan, involve little conflict, and receive scant public attention. Lobbying and Policymaking sheds new light on lobbying influence on the policy process, and is an ideal way to expose students to cutting-edge research in an accessible, fascinating package.

This report is an in-depth study of electoral commissions in six countries of West Africa 'Benin, Cape Verde, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone - assessing their contribution in strengthening political participation in the region. As institutions that apply the rules governing elections, electoral management bodies (EMBs) have occupied, over the last two decades, the heart of discussion and practice on the critical question of effective citizen participation in the public affairs of their countries. The way in which they are established and the effectiveness of their operations have continued to preoccupy those who advocate for competitive elections, while reforms to the EMBs have taken centre stage in more general political reforms. Election Management Bodies in West Africa thus responds to the evident need for more knowledge about an institution that occupies a more and more important place in the political process in West Africa. Based on documentary research and detailed interviews in each country, the study provides a comparative analysis which highlights the similarities and differences in the structure and operations of each body, and attempts to establish the reasons for their comparative successes and failures.

With Factions of the government collapsing across America and the middle class drastically diminishing, is there hope for the American people? Albert Einstein said, "We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them." The actions of the Democrats and Republicans have clearly and inarguably shown their inability to work for the people. Yes, there is an opportunity. This opportunity comes in a different form of government that gets back to the basics, government by the people for the people. Mega corporations have infiltrated government and have stolen your very way of life. The time is now to step up and be the American that you are, or forever hold your peace.

In this book you'll discover:
Why right now is the best opportunity in history to regain and strengthen freedom in America. How minimal effort on your part can turn America around. How to create a healthy, safe, and prosperous country. How this book can improve every aspect of your life. How self responsibility, good character, and action can influence politics

"Each and every chapter I read, the same thought came to me: I wish I had written this book. Michael Pickens has nicely summarized dozens of communication and leadership tips, tricks, and techniques, along with great examples, that I have sub-consciously used for years. I keep saying to myself: YES, YES, YES " Mark Hinkle, Libertarian Party Chairman 2010-12
"This powerful book is packed full of practical concepts that will help to develop strong leaders within the Liberty Movement" Judge Jim Gray, 2012 Libertarian Vice Presidential Candidate
"This book is a must read for those who choose to make the world a better place for their family, their neighbors, their community, and our country as a whole." Tom C. Liotta, Author, "Creating Champions for Life"
"I see how the constitution has been eroding year after year and the negative results that it has had for the American people. This book is a must read for anyone who would like to restore good health, real safety, and prosperity to the American people. Get this book NOW Before time runs out." Larry Nicholas, Chairman, Washington State Libertarian Party