Story in the Public Square
Story in the Public Square is an ongoing initiative to examine the use of storytelling in public affairs. From Homer’s depiction of war to the contemporary storytelling of bloggers, journalists, and filmmakers, the power of storytelling to inform, persuade, scare, and inspire is a critical part of our public dialogue. Individuals learn from stories, they retain them better than cold-facts, and they repeat them – spreading the story and all … Read More
Do We Need A Ceiling?
The fiscal cliff fight was not pretty and in the end the issue was only postponed. The next big fight will take the stage now concerning the debt ceiling. In about three weeks, the Treasury department will run out of its legal authority to borrow money. If the ceiling is not raised, the U.S. will default and will be unable to pay interest on its bonds, potentially collapsing the global … Read More
Sustainability: A National Strategic Imperative
In 2011, a strategic document entitled “A National Strategic Narrative” emerged from the Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The “Narrative” argues for a new American grand strategy that would focus the nation’s foreign and domestic policies toward the common goal of building our national strength at home as a means to foster our credible influence abroad. Specifically, the National Strategic Narrative offered the concept of sustainability as our … Read More
Smuggler Nation: How Illicit Trade Made America
In tracing America’s long and often tortuous relationship with the murky underworld of smuggling, Peter Andreas provides a much-needed antidote to today’s hyperbolic depictions of out-of-control borders and growing global crime threats. Urgent calls by politicians and pundits to regain control of the nation’s borders suffer from a severe case of historical amnesia, nostalgically implying that they were ever actually under control. This is pure mythology, says Andreas. For better … Read More
State of the Union Address and Cybersecurity Executive Order: President Obama Takes Action to Protect America’s Critical Infrastructure
In his first State of the Union address since the election, President Obama warned: “We know hackers steal people’s identities and infiltrate private e-mail. We know foreign countries and companies swipe our corporate secrets. Now our enemies are also seeking the ability to sabotage our power grid, our financial institutions, and our air traffic control systems.” The President then added: “we cannot look back years from now and wonder why we did … Read More
The Future of Digital Security: Will Your Devices Soon be Obsolete?
The rapid rise in the availability of ever smaller, inexpensive, and increasingly powerful networked devices has revolutionized how—and how quickly—we create, process, store, and share information. These developments have transformed our world to such an extent it’s hard to recall what life was like before. Despite their rapid growth, however, the security challenges that have been created as a result of their expansion—password hacking, phishing emails, Internet fraud, identity theft, … Read More
Breaking Down the Front Line: Women in Combat (Op-Ed)
Last week, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and the Pentagon made the decision to lift a ban that would allow women into combat. Since the announcement, made on Thurs., Jan. 24th, there have been mixed feelings among the public. Lieutenant Jerry Boykin, former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence, is the prominent voice against women in combat. In his CNN article, “Women in Combat a Dangerous Experiment,” Boykin makes his … Read More
Big Bangs, A Medieval Hat, and Other Controversies: The Dangers of Social Media During the Inauguration (Op-Ed)
While President Obama was being sworn in for second term on Monday, also Martin Luther King Jr.’s Day, the American people were focused more on the seated audience members than the man standing behind the podium.Many eyes were on the lovely dressed First Lady Michelle Obama and her new fringe-style bangs, as well as Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s mystery hat. Eric Wilson’s article in The New York Times, Mrs. Obama’s … Read More
Pell Center Wins Major Grant Award from Rhode Island Council for the Humanities
Award will Support Initiative to Examine the Role of Storytelling in Politics and Public Life Newport—The Pell Center at Salve Regina University has won a major grant award from the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities (RICH), an independent state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The grant, announced by RICH on Monday, January 14, is to support Story in the Public Square, a project to examine and … Read More
The White House Looks Up in 2013: Congress Approves $60 Billion in Aid for Hurricane Sandy Victims and more
The 2013 Presidential Inauguration has yet to come to pass, but the White House and Congress have passed an piece of important legislation for those affected by Hurricane Sandy and laid out ambitious plans in regards to gun control for the months ahead. On Tuesday night, Bloomberg reports the House of Representatives voted for an additional $50.5 billion in aid on top of the $9.7 billion package approved by both Congress and the House on Jan. 4th. According to the Bloomberg article, … Read More