Free Access to Early 20th century and 19th century articles via JSTOR

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Estranged academics, individuals in the private sector, and the public at large can rejoice (a bit) as JSTOR has officially announced that it will make American articles and journals published before 1923 publicly available. Journals published prior to 1870 in other countries will also be made available. The official announcement states: I am writing to … Read more

That’s the Spirit!

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In spite of the massive flooding in Binghamton, I'm finding some time to focus on something else.   So hey, remember the debt deal?  Sure you do.  Well things are already off to a great start with that bipartisan commission.  Apparently Senator John Kyl is threatening to leave the bipartisan commission if defense spending remains … Read more

Bipartisanship and foreign policy

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Kindred Winecoff has a post up regarding a post by Matt Yglesias on the level of partisanship in American politics.  I’ve some thoughts on the issue.  I should also stipulate that I’m coming at this from a strictly foreign policy-oriented perspective.  Some of this bleeds over into domestic politics, but I’m sure there’s a lot that I’m not covering by approaching the topic from this point of view.

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Libya Update (the sequal)

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Given the post from last week, I'm somewhat surprised that this has happened so fast.  There was some speculation that the scrapping of uniforms by Ghadaffi's soldiers meant that the battle into Tripoli would be a long and drawn out affair, as Ghadaffi loyalists geared up for more of an insurgency-style campaign against the rebels.  However, it's also possible that they were just ditching the uniforms so as to not get killed.  Either scenario is plausible, and the reality is probably a mixture of the two.  Anywho, I had just a couple of thoughts as to where we go from here.

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Raising Taxes on Everyone but the Wealthiest Americans?

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A few weeks ago, it appeared as though certain House Republicans would have rather seen the country go into default rather than raise taxes. Now it seems that the GOP is willing to let the temporary payroll tax cuts expire as planned. This is the same GOP who fought hard to make sure the Bush … Read more

Stuff is still happening in (the sequel)…

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I really don't know how many times I'll be able to use that title, but given that the American audience has become so distracted by the Washington debt ceiling battle, I decided to check on some old favorites and post a quick update on goings on elsewhere.   Libya:  Apparently Libyan rebels have made "significant" … Read more

Jonathan’s Card Has Ended

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Penny Arcade, a comic that usually discusses video games and the video game industry, weighs in on Jonathan’s Card–apparently, homo economicus can gain utility by not only defecting and receiving the largest share possible, but also gains utility purely by gaming the experiment. Unfortunately, it appears the test has come to an end (Starbucks deactivated … Read more

The Future of Political Science (summary, short discussion)

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I have mentioned, in a previous post, all of the books that fill up my summer reading list. As of now, I have at least one book completed and several more have been added to my list.  I have recently finished The Future of Political Science: 100 Perspectives, a collection of 100 short articles aimed at discussing what … Read more

Good for the Money: International Finance, State Capacity, and Internal Armed Conflict

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Things are pretty crazy around here with the impending school year and upcoming conference season.  However, since the country is currently swept up in credit rating mania, I figured I would take the time to pass along some new research that is immediately relevant and serves as a nice complement to the Pontichelli and Voth … Read more