PAST EVENTS
Special Screening: “Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry”
The MoMa, REACT to FILM and The Common Good at presented a screening of the Academy Award short-listed documentary “Ai WeiWei: Never Sorry.” “Ai WeiWei: Never Sorry” is the inside story of a political dissident for the digital age who inspires global audiences and blurs the boundaries of art and politics. The screening was followed by a Q&A with director Alison Klayman.
The MoMa, REACT to FILM and The Common Good presented a screening of the Academy Award short-listed documentary Ai WeiWei: Never Sorry.
Ai WeiWei: Never Sorry is the inside story of a political dissident who inspires global audiences and blurs the boundaries of art and politics. The screening was followed by a Q&A with director Alison Klayman.
Ai Weiwei is China’s most famous international artist and its most outspoken domestic critic. Against a backdrop of strict censorship and an unresponsive legal system, Weiwei expresses himself and organizes people through art and social media. In response, Chinese authorities have shut down his blog, bulldozed his newly built studio, and held him in secret detention.
First-time director Alison Klayman gained unprecedented access to Weiwei while working as a journalist in China. Her detailed portrait provides a nuanced exploration of contemporary China and one of its most compelling public figures.
Ai Weiwei is a Chinese artist and activist. His activity as a dissident has gone hand in hand with his artistic career and he has continued to produce work testifying to his political beliefs while at the same time making plenty of room for creativity and experimentation. (1)
After returning to China from his studies abroad, Ai contributed to the establishment of Beijing’s East Village, a community of avant-garde artists. In 1997, he co-founded the China Art Archives & Warehouse (CAAW), one of the first independent art spaces in China. In 2003, Ai started his own architecture practice, FAKE Design. In 2007, as a participant of documenta 12, Ai brought 1001 Chinese citizens to Kassel as part of his Fairytale project. In 2008, Ai and the Swiss architecture team of Herzog and de Meuron designed the Beijing National Stadium. Recently, Ai Weiwei’s film Human Flow participed in the 74th Venice International Film Festival. (1)
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(1) Material from the Galleria Continua website.
Special Screening of “ETHEL” at MOMA
The Common Good was proud to present a special screening of an extraordinary film, “ETHEL,” about the life and work of Ethel Kennedy, the widow of Robert F. Kennedy and, as the film proves, a force in her own right. The screening was followed by an informal conversation with the Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Rory Kennedy and others.
The Common Good was proud to present a special screening of the extraordinary film ETHEL, which deals with the life and work of Ethel Kennedy, the widow of Robert F. Kennedy and, as the film proves, a force in her own right. The screening was followed by an informal conversation with the Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Rory Kennedy and others.
“Rory Kennedy’s affectionate and revealing documentary about her mother, Ethel Kennedy.”
“Ethel – Rory Kennedy’s “lively and very loving tribute to her mother.”
“Ethel is a loving, touching and sometimes mischievous tribute to Ethel Kennedy, 84, by her youngest daughter, Rory Kennedy, a filmmaker. It is presented as a “private look inside a highly public life.”
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Senator Alan Simpson “The Fiscal Cliff: Go Big or Go Home”
Former Republican Senator from Wyoming Alan Simpson, co-chairman of the Simpson-Bowles plan and a key figure in the budget reform debate, spoke to members of The Common Good. The plain spoken former senator provided an intimate briefing on the impending “fiscal cliff” and prospects for a bipartisan solution to these problems.
Former Republican Senator from Wyoming Alan Simpson, co-chairman of the Simpson-Bowles plan and a key figure in the budget reform debate, spoke to members of The Common Good.
The plain spoken former senator provided an intimate briefing on the impending “fiscal cliff” and prospects for a bipartisan solution to these problems. With debate on the impending “fiscal cliff” dominating Washington and the national news-cycle, it was a great opportunity to hear the ultimate insider’s view on how or whether our political parties find common ground before the US goes over the “fiscal cliff” at the end of this year.
Alan Simpson served as a Senator from Wyoming from 1979 to 1997. He was a conservative and an opponent of government regulation, as well as an outspoken advocate for access to abortion, gay and lesbian rights, and equality for all persons regardless of race, color, creed, gender, or sexual orientation. He was Republican whip from 1985 to 1995 and chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee from 1981 to 1987 and from 1995 to 1997. During his tenure, Simpson also chaired the Immigration and Refugee Subcommittee of Judiciary, the Nuclear Regulation Subcommittee, the Social Security Subcommittee and the Committee on Aging.
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Neil Barofsky on the “Broken Promises” of the Bank Bailouts
The Common Good hosted former TARP Special Inspector General Neil Barofsky for a candid discussion of the bank bailout and aftermath and why citizens should not only feel shortchanged about what was supposed to be done with the billions spent on TARP, but the system vulnerabilities that still remain.
The Common Good hosted former TARP Special Inspector General Neil Barofsky for a candid discussion of the bank bailout and aftermath and why citizens should not only feel shortchanged about what was supposed to be done with the billions spent on TARP, but the system vulnerabilities that still remain.
Neil Barofsky, in his new book, Bailout, writes that the American people “should be enraged by the broken promises to Main Street and the unending protection of Wall Street.”
From December 2008 to March 2011, Barofsky, a formal federal prosecutor and lifelong Democrat, served as special inspector general of TARP, charged with protecting against abuse and fraud in the program.
According to Barofsky, TARP did meet one of its primary objectives, which was to help prevent the entire collapse of our financial system. The other goals, which have more of a focus on helping Main Street institutions and individuals and businesses definitely small enough to fail — those goals all came up short.
TARP was supposed to be used by the banks to restore lending to individuals and businesses to pump that oxygen into the lifeblood of the economy, and it just didn’t happen. TARP was also supposed to help homeowners, with an original goal of helping up to 4 million homeowners, but today only around 800,000 homeowners have been helped— 20 percent of that goal.
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The Common Good Trip to Cuba
We are thrilled that we offered our first trip with The Common Good, we traveled to Cuba with travel experts. The trip included visits to the Bay of Pigs, Hemingway’s home, cultural, political and economic highlights in Havana, Cienfuegos and Trinidad and other important places of interest.
We are thrilled that we offered our first trip with The Common Good, we traveled to Cuba with travel experts. The trip included visits to the Bay of Pigs, Hemingway’s home, cultural, political and economic highlights in Havana, Cienfuegos and Trinidad and other important places of interest.
On October 28, 2011, Californians Building Bridges (CBB) was granted a license by the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control, License # CT-18210, to travel and engage in travel-related transactions directly related to educational exchange activities that will result in meaningful interaction between the travelers and individuals in Cuba. CBB was founded on the principle of joining together communities and providing greater opportunities to those who are economically deprived by emerging cultures, socio-economic, and religious backgrounds. Attendees traveled under this license during your trip and participated in a full-time schedule of educational activities.
CBB scheduled daily activities that gave insight into the local customs, history, and politics that shape the lives of the Cuban people. These activities included language lessons, salsa classes, guest speakers, and field trips to local areas of interest, such as Hemmingway’s home. The group had an opportunity to visit a cigar factory, the Rum and Fine Arts Museums, local artist’s homes, and the Tropicana Cabaret.
Trip includes the following and more:
Coordination of full-time daily program and volunteer activities
6 nights of accommodation in a 5-star Hotel
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Visit to cigar factory, Rum Museum, Fine Arts Museum, Morro Castle, and Tropicana Cabaret
Transportation by luxury air-conditioned motor coach and local guide.
Round-trip air transportation from Miami to Havana
Pre-departure briefing
Gratuities to local guides and driver
Travel license, visa and health insurance
Not Included:
Passport
Trip cancellation and interruption insurance
Checked baggage fees and airport taxes
Transportation between New York and Miami
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Power Lunch with Grover Norquist
The Common Good was fortunate enough to host Grover Norquist for a live talk about politics, government spending, fiscal conservatism, and, of course, taxes and tax reform.
The Common Good was fortunate enough to host Grover Norquist for a live talk about politics, government spending, fiscal conservatism, and, of course, taxes and tax reform.
Grover Norquist may be one of the most powerful non-elected people in the country. He is President of Americans for Tax Reform, leader of the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, and one of the most effective issues management strategists in Washington for three decades.
Mr. Norquist has been called both “the most innovative, creative, courageous and entrepreneurial leader of the anti-tax efforts and of conservative grassroots activism in America” and “The dark wizard of the Right’s anti-tax cult.”
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Nobel Prize Economist Paul Krugman on Reigniting the Economy
The Common Good held a discussion with Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman, as he spoke about how to get the U.S. out of economic stagnation, austerity versus growth and topics from his recent book “End this Depression Now“.
The Common Good held a discussion with Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman, as he spoke about how to get the U.S. out of economic stagnation, austerity versus growth and topics from his recent book “End this Depression Now“.
The Great Recession is more than four years old—and counting. Yet, as Paul Krugman points out in this powerful volley, “Nations rich in resources, talent, and knowledge—all the ingredients for prosperity and a decent standard of living for all—remain in a state of intense pain.” How bad have things gotten? How did we get stuck in what now can only be called a depression? And above all, how do we free ourselves? Krugman pursues these questions with his characteristic lucidity and insight. He has a powerful message for anyone who has suffered over these past four years—a quick, strong recovery is just one step away, if our leaders can find the “intellectual clarity and political will” to end this depression now.
Paul Krugman is the recipient of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Economics. He is a best-selling author, columnist, and blogger for the New York Times, and is a professor of economics and international affairs at Princeton University. Mr. Krugman received his B.A. from Yale University in 1974 and his Ph.D. from MIT in 1977. He has taught at Yale, MIT and Stanford. At MIT he became the Ford International Professor of Economics. Mr. Krugman is the author or editor of 20 books and more than 200 papers in professional journals and edited volumes. His professional reputation rests largely on work in international trade and finance; he is one of the founders of the “new trade theory,” a major rethinking of the theory of international trade. In recognition of that work, in 1991 the American Economic Association awarded him its John Bates Clark medal, a prize given every two years to “that economist under forty who is adjudged to have made a significant contribution to economic knowledge.” Mr. Krugman’s current academic research is focused on economic and currency crises. At the same time, Mr. Krugman has written extensively for a broader public audience. Some of his recent articles on economic issues, originally published in Foreign Affairs, Harvard Business Review, Scientific American and other journals, are reprinted in Pop Internationalism and The Accidental Theorist.
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House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi
The Common Good was pleased to host House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, who spoke on a range of topics from current developments in the Middle East to tackling the fiscal cliff, economic recovery, deficit reduction and how to cure the political dysfunction in Washington.
The Common Good was pleased to host House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, who spoke on a range of topics from current developments in the Middle East to tackling the fiscal cliff, economic recovery, deficit reduction and how to cure the political dysfunction in Washington.
Nancy Pelosi is the Democratic Leader of the House of Representatives in the 112th Congress. From 2007 to 2011, she served as the first woman Speaker of the House and is also the first woman in American history to lead a major political party in Congress, having served as House Democratic leader from 2003 to 2007. Leader Pelosi has represented San Francisco, California’s Eighth District, for 25 years.
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Col. Jack Jacobs & Colin Kahl, Middle East Hot Topics
The Common Good held a lunch discussion with Col. Jack Jacobs, Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, best-selling author and respected commentator on national security and foreign affairs, and Colin Kahl, Middle East expert at Georgetown University, who will brief us on “Middle East Hot Topics” – Iran’s nuclear game, Pakistan as danger zone, easing NATO and US troops out of Afghanistan and other key areas.
The Common Good held a lunch discussion with Col. Jack Jacobs, Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, best-selling author and respected commentator on national security and foreign affairs, and Colin Kahl, Middle East expert at Georgetown University, who will brief us on “Middle East Hot Topics” – Iran’s nuclear game, Pakistan as danger zone, easing NATO and US troops out of Afghanistan and other key areas.
Colonel Jack Jacobs, who entered military service through Rutgers ROTC, earned the Medal of Honor for exceptional heroism on the battlefields of Vietnam. He also holds three Bronze Stars and two Silver Stars. Jacobs was an adviser to a Vietnamese infantry battalion when it came under a devastating fire that disabled the commander. Although bleeding from severe head wounds, then-First Lieutenant Jacobs took command, withdrew the unit to safety, and returned again and again under intense fire to rescue the wounded and perform life-changing first aid. He saved the lives of a U.S. adviser and 13 allied soldiers.
He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and is a director of the Medal of Honor Foundation. He is also a military analyst for NBC/MSNBC.
Dr. Colin H. Kahl is a Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) focusing on Middle East security and defense policy and an associate professor in the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service.
Dr. Kahl has published widely on U.S. defense policy in the Middle East, including articles in Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, International Security, The Los Angeles Times, Middle East Policy, The National Interest and The New York Times. He has also published numerous works on the sources of political instability and violent conflict in developing countries, including States, Scarcity, and Civil Strife in the Developing World (Princeton University Press, 2006).
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Economist Dambisa Moyo on “Winner Take All: China’s Race for Resources and What It Means for the World”
The Common Good hosted a luncheon with globally-recognized economist Dambisa Moyo, as she discusses her recent book Winner Take All: China’s Race for Resources and What It Means for the World.
The Common Good hosted a luncheon with globally-recognized economist Dambisa Moyo, as she discusses her recent book Winner Take All: China’s Race for Resources and What It Means for the World.
Winner Take All is about the commodity dynamics that the world will face over the next several decades. In particular, it is about the implications of China’s rush for resources across all regions of the world. The scale of China’s resource campaign for hard commodities (metals and minerals) and soft commodities (timber and food) is among the largest in history. To be sure, China is not the first country to launch a global crusade to secure resources. From Britain’s transcontinental operations dating back to the end of the 16th century, to the rise of modern European and American transnational corporations between the mid 1860’s and 1870’s, the industrial revolution that powered these economies created a voracious demand for raw materials and created the need to go far beyond their native countries.
So too is China’s resource rush today. Although still in its early stages, already the breadth of China’s operation is awesome, and seemingly unstoppable. China’s global charge for commodities is a story of China’s quest to secure its claims on resource assets, and to guarantee the flow of inputs needed to continue to drive economic development. Moyo, an expert in global commodities markets, explains the implications of China’s resource grab in a world of diminishing resource
An international economist and one of the world’s leading experts on macroeconomics and global affairs, in 2009 Moyo was named by Time as one of the “100 Most Influential People in the World,” and was named to the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders Forum. Her writing regularly appears in economic and finance-related publications such as the Financial Times, the Economist, and the Wall Street Journal. In September 2009 Moyo was featured on Oprah Winfrey’s “Power List” of twenty remarkable visionaries. She has appeared as a guest CNN, CNBC, BBC, and Fox Business. She has done numerous speaking engagements at organizations including OECD, World Bank, IMF, Council on Foreign Relations, and the American Enterprise Institute. In 2009 she spoke at the TEDx conference at the EU Parliament. She holds a PhD in economics from Oxford and an MPA from Harvard. She lives in New York and London.
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Jodi Kantor on her new book “The Obamas”
Thanks to Democratic Leadership for the 21st Century (DL21C), The Common Good presented a unique event with Jodi Kantor, award-winning New York Times correspondent and author of the bestselling book The Obamas, about the President and First Lady’s years in the White House. Jodi discussed her latest book The Obamas and shared her insights on the president’s first term and give a more personal picture of the powerful couple.
Thanks to Democratic Leadership for the 21st Century (DL21C), The Common Good presented a unique event with Jodi Kantor, award-winning New York Times correspondent and author of the bestselling book The Obamas, about the President and First Lady’s years in the White House. Jodi discussed her latest book The Obamas and shared her insights on the president’s first term and give a more personal picture of the powerful couple. In her work, she reveals the human beings behind the political figures—their ambitions, biographies, challenges and successes.
When Barack Obama won the 2008 presidential election, he also won a long-running debate with his wife Michelle. Contrary to her fears, politics now seemed like a worthwhile, even noble pursuit. Together they planned a White House life that would be as normal and sane as possible. Then they moved in.
In the Obamas, Jodi Kantor takes us deep inside the White House as they try to grapple with their new roles, change the country, raise children, maintain friendships, and figure out what it means to be the first black President and First Lady. Filled with riveting detail and insight into their partnership, emotions and personalities, and written with a keen eye for the ironies of public life, THE OBAMAS is an intimate portrait that will surprise even readers who thought they knew the President and First Lady.
Jodi Kantor is a prize-winning investigative reporter for The New York Times and a best-selling author. For six years, Ms. Kantor wrote about Barack and Michelle Obama. Her book "The Obamas" chronicles their behind-the-scenes adjustment to the jobs of president and first lady. Writing in the New York Review of Books, Ezra Klein said, “Jodi Kantor’s ‘The Obamas’ is among the very best books on this White House.” Before becoming a reporter, Ms. Kantor was the New York editor of Slate magazine and The Times’s Arts & Leisure editor. (1)
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(1) Material from the She Said (the book) website.
Joel Benenson: Obama’s political strategist and pollster
Thanks to Democratic Leadership for the 21st Century (DL21C), The Common Good was pleased to present a unique event with Joel Benenson, lead pollster and senior strategist to President Barack Obama. Joel Benenson shared his insights on his work on the President’s historic 2008 run, how the race is shaping up this year, and took a look at New York politics and the role of the women’s vote in the election this November.
Thanks to Democratic Leadership for the 21st Century (DL21C), The Common Good was pleased to present a unique event with Joel Benenson, lead pollster and senior strategist to President Barack Obama.
Joel Benenson shared his insights on his work on the President’s historic 2008 run, how the race is shaping up this year, and took a look at New York politics and the role of the women’s vote in the election this November.
Joel Benenson was the lead pollster and a senior strategist for President Barack Obama during the 2008 election, and he continues in that role today. He has also been a pollster and strategist for U.S. senators, governors and mayors from around the country. He played an integral role as a pollster for the DCCC in 2006, when the Democrats won back the majority in the House of Representatives. The team Benenson was on won eight of 10 races, including three in which incumbents were defeated.
In addition, Benenson is the President of the Benenson Strategy Group, which he co-founded in 2000. His extensive experience, prior to his becoming a pollster in 1995, includes working as a political journalist for the Daily News in New York and serving as communications director for Gov. Mario Cuomo’s 1994 campaign. He was previously a vice president at the New York ad agency FCB
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Aftermath: Supreme Court & Health Care with Carl Bernstein, Jeffrey Toobin & Susan Blumenthal
The Common Good hosted a lunch discussion with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Carl Bernstein, expert legal analyst for CNN and The New Yorker, Jeffrey Toobin and former Assistant Surgeon General and Senior Global Health Advisor for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Rear Admiral Susan Blumenthal. They will discuss the implications of the Supreme Court decision regarding Obama’s Affordable Care Act.
The Common Good hosted a lunch discussion with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Carl Bernstein, expert legal analyst for CNN and The New Yorker, Jeffrey Toobin and former Assistant Surgeon General and Senior Global Health Advisor for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Rear Admiral Susan Blumenthal. They will discuss the implications of the Supreme Court decision regarding Obama’s Affordable Care Act.
What are the ramifications for health care policy? Will John Roberts’ vote with the majority and ruling shape future law? What is the political fallout in an election year? Please join us to discuss this monumental Supreme Court decision with one of the most consequential journalists of our lifetime and our other stellar discussants.
Carl Bernstein shared a Pulitzer Prize with Bob Woodward for his coverage of Watergate for The Washington Post. In the four decades since, in books, magazine articles, commentary, and television reporting, Bernstein has continued to build on the theme he and Woodward first explored in the Nixon years—the use and abuse of power: Political power, media power, financial power, and spiritual power. His most recent book is the best-selling biography, A Woman in Charge: The Life of Hillary Rodham Clinton. He is the author, with Woodward, of All the President’s Men and The Final Days, and, with Marco Politi, of His Holiness: John Paul II and the History of Our Time; and the author of Loyalties: A Son’s Memoir — about his family’s experience in the McCarthy Era.
Carl Bernstein shared a Pulitzer Prize with Bob Woodward for his coverage of Watergate for The Washington Post. In the four decades since, in books, magazine articles, commentary, and television reporting, Bernstein has continued to build on the theme he and Woodward first explored in the Nixon years—the use and abuse of power: Political power, media power, financial power, and spiritual power. His most recent book is the best-selling biography, A Woman in Charge: The Life of Hillary Rodham Clinton. He is the author, with Woodward, of All the President’s Men and The Final Days, and, with Marco Politi, of His Holiness: John Paul II and the History of Our Time; and the author of Loyalties: A Son’s Memoir — about his family’s experience in the McCarthy Era.
Rear Admiral Susan J. Blumenthal, M.D., M.P.A. served as U.S. Assistant Surgeon General and Senior Global Health Advisor in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), where her work for over 20 years as a top Federal government leader focused on a broad range of public health and science issues facing the Nation and world. She is an internationally recognized medical expert and leader who has been a major force in bringing important public health issues including women’s health, global health, disease, obesity, and violence prevention, and mental illness to increased scientific and public attention, helping to place them at the top of our nation’s health care agenda. Dr. Blumenthal has also been involved in the national public health response to terrorism, emergency preparedness, biotechnology issues, and emerging disease threats including pandemic flu and AIDS. She has established many international health collaborations including a Middle East Health Initiative. She was a pioneer in applying information technology to improve health and was among the first in the government to use the Internet for health education, envisioning and establishing several award winning health websites. Dr. Blumenthal was recently decorated with the Distinguished Service Medal of the U.S. Public Health Service, its highest honor, “for distinguished and pioneering leadership, groundbreaking contributions and dedicated public service that has improved the health of women, our Nation, and the world.
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Chris Hayes: Getting Past the “Fail Decade”
The Common Good hosted a lunch discussion with Chris Hayes, host of Up with Chris Hayes on MSNBC, about his new book Twilight of the Elites, which analyzes how our institutions have imploded, spawning a lack of trust between citizens and the elites. Chris spoke about the shortcomings of contemporary American financial and social meritocracy, with the intelligence and humor we’ve come to expect from him.
The Common Good hosted a lunch discussion with Chris Hayes, host of Up with Chris Hayes on MSNBC, about his new book Twilight of the Elites, which analyzes how our institutions have imploded, spawning a lack of trust between citizens and the elites. Chris spoke about the shortcomings of contemporary American financial and social meritocracy, with the intelligence and humor we’ve come to expect from him.
Over the past decade, Americans watched in bafflement and rage as one institution after another – from Wall Street to Congress, the Catholic Church to corporate America, even Major League Baseball – imploded under the weight of corruption and incompetence. In the wake of the Fail Decade, Americans have historically low levels of trust in their institutions; the social contract between ordinary citizens and elites lies in tatters.
How did we get here? With Twilight of the Elites, Christopher Hayes offers a radically novel answer. Since the 1960s, as the meritocracy elevated a more diverse group of men and women into power, they learned to embrace the accelerating inequality that had placed them near the very top. Their ascension heightened social distance and spawned a new American elite--one more prone to failure and corruption than any that came before it.
Christopher Hayes is Editor at Large of The Nation and host of Up with Chris Hayes on MSNBC (Sat 8-10am and Sun 8-10am.) From 2010 to 2011, he was a fellow at Harvard University’s Edmond J Safra Foundation Center for Ethics. From 2008-2010, he was a Bernard Schwartz fellow at the New America Foundation. From 2005 to 2006, Hayes was a Schumann Center Writing Fellow at In These Times.
Since 2002, he’s written about political culture and political economy. His essays, articles and reviews have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Time, The Nation, The American Prospect, The New Republic, The Washington Monthly, The Guardian, and The Chicago Reader.
His book about the crisis of authority in American life, Twilight of the Elites: America After Meritocracy, will be published by Crown in June 2012
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Governor Ed Rendell on “A Nation of Wusses”
One of nation’s most candid, smart and disarming politicians, former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, joined The Common Good to talk about his new book, A NATION OF WUSSES: How America’s Leaders Lost the Guts to Make Us Great.
One of nation’s most candid, smart and disarming politicians, former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, joined The Common Good to talk about his new book, A NATION OF WUSSES: How America’s Leaders Lost the Guts to Make Us Great.
Governor Ed Rendell explains why America’s leaders rarely call for sacrifice for the greater good—to avoid making any sacrifices themselves!
Rendell has seen job security become the primary consideration of any person with power in America—their own job security! Most politicians and bureaucrats can see no further ahead than the next election, sometimes no further than the next press conference. Americans are rarely afraid of sacrifice and hard work when they mean building a better future, but when was the last time you heard of a leader of anything making a sacrifice for the greater good? The people can only win when they make it clear to the powers that be that making the right choices, even the hard ones, is the key to winning the next election.
Explains in rollicking stories ranging from the profane to the profound that most hard choices are only “hard” because the polls conflict with your principles
Ed Rendell rose to the top of Philadelphia, then Pennsylvania, then national politics, by doing what he thought was right, and there were plenty of times that looked like it would be his downfall as well
This book revisits the high points of Ed Rendell’s career and current landscape to define the political fights his peers seem just as afraid of winning as losing
Rendell is a former head of the Democratic National Committee, a current MSNBC Senior Political Analyst, and a Partner at Ballard Spahr LLP
Among current office holders and candidates, he sees politicians pretending to stand on principle while, in fact, pandering to their bases; flip-flopping on issues, not because of new information, but because of new polls; and criticizing rivals for actions they would have praised if done by allies. While not at all shy about singling out Republicans like Scott Walker, Eric Cantor, and Mitch McConnell, Rendell has no trouble taking on Democrats who refuse to stand up to the teachers’ unions or distance themselves from allies who run into trouble. Other politicians might have left out of their memoirs stories like what happened to their plaque in the park, the story of Swifty the five-legged donkey, a dirty Al Gore joke, the time they considered pretending to faint, and who they’re already supporting for president in 2016. Luckily for readers, Ed Rendell is not that kind of politician. Complete with a scathing list of the “Top Ten Reasons Why Most American Politicians Are Wusses” and packed with uproarious tales of politicians in action that will make you wonder why these folks keep getting elected, you might have to go back to Ulysses S. Grant to find a politician with a book as lively and honest as A Nation of Wusses.
“Ed Rendell is one of the more refreshing and insightful voices in the conversation around American politics. He is a rare breed who tells the truth even when it doesn’t support his agenda. This book is a clever, intelligent, and entertaining retrospective on his life in politics featuring many of the characters he met along the way.”
“Ed Rendell gives us more than a political memoir—his book is a fun, funny, and authentic account of a life spent in government, and a no-holds-barred argument for bold leadership in America.”
“Ed Rendell’s book is big-city politics at its best. It’s got the roar of the El, the stale cigar smoke of City Hall. Rendell writes with hoagie on his breath—or was that a Philly cheesesteak? It’s The Last Hurrah for the twenty-first century.”
After 34 years of public service, including 24 years as an elected official, Governor Rendell continues to pursue many of the same issues he was passionate about while serving. His commitment to making America a cleaner, more efficient place and to fostering investment in our nation’s crumbling infrastructure is as strong as it has ever been. He continues to participate in national political discourse as a news analyst for NBC. He also serves as Special Counsel at the law firm Ballard Spahr. Additionally, he sits on several boards, is a Brookings Fellow and teaches government and politics courses at the University of Pennsylvania. Governor Rendell also recently penned his first book, A Nation of Wusses: How America’s Leaders Lost the Guts to Make Us Great. In A Nation of Wusses, Rendell chronicles his storied political career with his trademark candor while making a strong statement about the state of American leadership.
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Jack Abramoff on Lobby Reform
The Common Good hosted controversial reformed Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff for a luncheon discussion and Q&A about reforming lobbying practices in U.S. national politics after the release of his highly acclaimed book Capitol Punishment.
The Common Good hosted controversial reformed Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff for a luncheon discussion and Q&A about reforming lobbying practices in U.S. national politics after the release of his highly acclaimed book Capitol Punishment.
Capitol Punishment: The name Jack Abramoff is synonymous with Washington scandal, but the fascinating facts of his case are either largely unknown or wildly misunderstood. His memoir will serve as a corrective – an engrossing, informative work of political nonfiction that is also a gripping real-life thriller. The biggest surprise twist comes in the form of Abramoff himself, a smart, funny, charming, clear-eyed narrator who confounds every expectation of the media’s villainous portrait. He’s a perfect bundle of contradictions: an Orthodox Jew and upstanding family man with a staunch moral streak, caught in multiple scandals of bribery and corruption with an undercurrent of murder. Abramoff represented Indian tribes whose lucrative casinos were constantly under threat from proposed changes in law; though he charged the tribes many millions, he saved them billions by ensuring votes to support the livelihoods of their reservations. Much of Jack’s share was funneled not into his own coffers, but to charities. Abramoff on the front pages could not be further from the Jack Abramoff who’s ready to tell his honest and compelling story.
Jack Abramoff’s rollercoaster life story might as well be a major motion picture. In fact, it is. Dubbed on the cover of Time Magazine as the “Man Who Bought Washington,” Abramoff rose to become the nation’s most successful and prominent lobbyist, before becoming enmeshed in the most harrowing political scandal since Watergate.
Abramoff started his political career at Brandeis University as head of the College Republicans. After becoming national chairman of that group, Abramoff was soon named head of President Ronald Reagan’s grassroots lobbying organization on Capitol Hill. He held that position while attending Georgetown Law Center at night, and obtained his JD in 1986. After a detour into motion picture production, Abramoff returned to the nation’s capital to build one of the most successful lobbying practices in history.
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The Power of Protest: Todd Gitlin & Jesse LaGreca
The Common Good hosted author Todd Gitlin for a lunch discussion with about his new book Occupy Nation and how the protest movement has shaped the political landscape. One of the major leaders of the original movement, Jesse LaGreca, also joined the discussion and provided an insider’s perspective.
The Common Good hosted author Todd Gitlin for a lunch discussion with about his new book Occupy Nation and how the protest movement has shaped the political landscape. One of the major leaders of the original movement, Jesse LaGreca, also joined the discussion and provided an insider’s perspective.
Todd Gitlin is a writer, sociologist, communications scholar, novelist, poet, who has become a prominent critic of the tactics and rhetoric of the Left as well as the Right. He emphasizes what he sees as the need in American politics to form coalitions between disparate movements, which must compromise ideological purity to gain and sustain power by working together within the two major political parties. He argues that the Republican party has managed to accomplish this with a coalition of what he calls two “major components – the low-tax, love-business, hate-government enthusiasts and the God-save-us moral crusaders” but that the Democratic Party has often been unable to accomplish a pragmatic coalition between its “roughly eight” constituencies.
Jesse LaGreca has worked as a freelance writer for the Daily Kos under the name MinistryOfTruth for the last three years and is one of their most frequent writers and commenters. He’s a member of various subgroups on the site, including their Anonymous forum, Environmental Foodies, and the Progressive Policy Zone. Mr. LaGreca was a major activist during the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York and a frequent speaker on behalf of the movement. His introduction into mainstream media came when an unaired Fox News interview with Griff Jenkins was put on YouTube. In the clip, LaGreca spoke articulately and intelligently about the OWS movement and criticized Fox News for marginalizing the movement. He was named the face of “The Budding Stars of Occupy Wall Street,” according to the Atlantic Wire and was featured in various interviews from ABC’s This Week to The New York Observer.
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Governor Tim Kaine on the Election Cycle
The Common Good had a luncheon discussion with former Governor of Virginia, former head of the DNC, and current Senate candidate Tim Kaine.
The Common Good had a luncheon discussion with former Governor of Virginia, former head of the DNC, and current Senate candidate Tim Kaine.
Governor Kaine, whose experience as Virginia’s 70th Governor offered a model for economic growth and reform, shared his views on the critical economic issues in the election cycle and what changes he believes should be implement to create a stronger and fairer economic system in our country.
Tim Kaine has served people throughout his adult life as a missionary, fair housing attorney, teacher and elected official.
Tim grew up in Kansas City, working in his father’s ironworking shop, where he learned the values of thrift and hard work. He graduated from the University of Missouri and Harvard Law School.
Tim began his public service career when he took a year off law school to work with Jesuit missionaries in Honduras. He served as principal of a technical school that taught teenagers carpentry and welding. There, Tim committed his life to serving others and grasped the power of education to enable each person to live up to their God-given potential.
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DA Cyrus Vance: Cybercrime, Counter-Terrorism and More
New York District Attorney Cyrus Vance joined The Common Good for a lunch discussion about cybercrime, counter-terrorism, youth crime reduction, and technological improvements in not just fighting, but reducing, crime.
New York District Attorney Cyrus Vance joined The Common Good for a lunch discussion about cybercrime, counter-terrorism, youth crime reduction, and technological improvements in not just fighting, but reducing, crime.
Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., became District Attorney of New York County on January 1, 2010. Mr. Vance is a recognized leader in criminal justice reform and proposed a compelling vision for moving the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office forward, with a focus on crime prevention.
Since taking office, Mr. Vance has reorganized and consolidated the resources of the District Attorney’s Office by creating the Cybercrime and Identity Theft Bureau, the Major Economic Crimes Bureau, the Special Victims Bureau, the Public Integrity Unit, the Violent Criminal Enterprises Unit, and the Hate Crimes Unit. Additionally, the groundbreaking Crime Strategies Unit for the first time gives Manhattan Assistant District Attorneys, in partnership with the New York Police Department, a geographical understanding of the multifaceted crime issues in all of the communities they serve.
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It's Even Worse Than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided With the New Politics of Extremism
The Common Good hosted distinguished authors Thomas Mann and Norman Ornstein, whose latest book It's Even Worse Than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided With the New Politics of Extremism has been a central discussion topic since its publication several weeks ago.
The Common Good hosted distinguished authors Thomas Mann and Norman Ornstein, whose latest book "It's Even Worse Than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided With the New Politics of Extremism" has been a central discussion topic since its publication several weeks ago.
Hyper partisanship has gridlocked the American government. Congress's approval ratings are at record lows, and both Democrats and Republicans are disgusted by the government's inability to get anything done. In It's Even Worse than It Looks, Congressional scholars Thomas E. Mann and Norman J. Ornstein present a grim picture of how party polarization and tribal politics have led Congress—and the United States—to the brink of institutional failure.
The authors bring their seminal book up-to-date in a political environment that is more divided than ever. The underlying dynamics of the situation—extremist Republicans holding government hostage to their own ideological, anti-government beliefs—have only gotten worse, further bolstering their argument that Republicans are not merely ideologically different from Democrats, but engaged in a unique form of politics that undermines the system itself. Without a fundamental change in the character and course of the Republican Party, we may have a long way to go before we hit rock bottom.
Norman Ornstein is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he studies politics, elections, and the US Congress. He is a cohost of AEI’s Election Watch series, a contributing editor and columnist for National Journal and The Atlantic, a BBC News election analyst, and the chairman of the Campaign Legal Center.
Thomas E. Mann is a political scientist, author, and pundit who works at the Brookings Institution. He primarily studies and speaks on elections in the United States, especially campaign finance reform. In The Rise and Fall of the Media Establishment, Darrell West calls Mann “The king of the pundits”, for his numerous appearances on CNN and in prominent newspapers such as The Washington Post.
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The Common Good has been hosting events since 2006 that cover important issues of today, highlighting speakers who have worked to bolster our democracy and can provide great insight on the issues that matter.