Richard K. Olsen and Julie W. Morgan (UNC): Happy Holidays: Creating Common Ground in the “War on Christmas”. A review of Capture the Flag: The Stars and Stripes in American History by Arnaldi Testi. A review of Red Families v. Blue Families: Legal Polarization and the Creation of Culture by Naomi Cahn and June Carbone. Irene Taviss Thomson on her book Culture Wars and Enduring American Dilemmas. TLC is banking on its new Sarah Palin reality show to help solidify its reputation as the "heartland values" channel — will it work? How to succeed in politics: The Tea Party movement is a movement without a cause — if the Whigs, Populists and Feminists can be co-opted by the the Democrats and Republicans, it is clear this newest third party will suffer the same fate. Tea Party Justice: Sam Alito is establishing himself as the judicial face of the right's peculiar sense of victimhood. Is the "midnight knock on the door" coming to America? First Glenn Beck, now George Will: The Washington Post columnist endorses Straussian falsehoods about American liberalism. Cenk Uygur on why Washington is more right-wing than the rest of the country. Robert L. Borosage on the political path for progressives in the face of rabid right-wing resistance. From Liberty, Gary Jason racks up the many, many, many lies of Barack Obama. Kathleen Parker on Obama as our first female president. E.J. Dionne Jr. on how Obama changed the Right. John Richardson on how Obama really thinks: A primer for the Left and Right. Julian E. Zelizer on Carter, Obama, and the Left-Center divide. Commentators have tried fitting Obama into all kinds of historical analogies — but clear narrative arcs are rare in the messy reality of governing. Obama adopts behavioral economics: Nudging, not commanding, companies and consumers to do thrifty and healthy things is a White House priority as promoted by OMB's Cass Sunstein. Lessons from Right to Left: Emily Smith on the rise of DC’s liberal policy machine.
