National Security
Following the devastating earthquake in Haiti, Andrew Sweet and Rudy DeLeon argued that disaster assistance is the right thing to do for the country and its hard-pressed population, and Ann Garcia and Angela Kelley made the case for granting Hatian nationals Temporary Protected Status to help Haiti’s society and economy recover.
CAP also released several columns in the wake of the attempted Christmas Day hijacking about improving our national security system, including a piece from Ian Millhiser about readying the necessary IT infrastructure and suggestions from Ken Gude on more effectively “connecting the dots” across security agencies. Danya Greenfield wrote that implementing a sustainable development strategy for Yemen is imperative to U.S. national security, and Eric Alterman looked at conservatives’ reaction to the so-called “underpants bomber” and their arguments for keeping Guantanamo open as a result of the attempted bombing.
Sam Charap provided an inside look at the upcoming presidential elections in Ukraine in both a video and a column, and Winny Chen examined how Beijing might respond to Google, a new U.S. Taiwan arms deal, and a string of human rights criticisms.
Martin Luther King Day
In advance of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, CAP released a package of materials exploring the state of minorities more than 40 years after King’s death, including a look at racial and ethnic disparities in the health care system, and a by-the-numbers breakdown of health care in LGBT communities showing how a person’s race and sexual orientation affect their care. In addition, analysis from Luke Reidenbach and Christian E. Weller across a number of indicators showed that minorities are suffering disproportionately in the recession, and this week’s Easy Being Green offered tips for green volunteering this MLK Day.
Domestic
A report from Ellen-Marie Whelan and Daniel Derksen on closing the health care workforce gap suggested policy changes to meet the health care needs of the 21st century, and a chart from Jessica Arons showed how how current health reform bills treat abortion funding by comparing the House and Senate bills to current law.
In this week’s public opinion snapshot, Ruy Teixeira found that conservatives continue to misread the public on health care, and recent polls show strong support for key components of the reform bills.
A report on the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, examined the failures of the plan under President George W. Bush and how it can be improved by the Obama administration, and a column by Sam Fulwood offered insight into the political storm caused by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s comments about Barack Obama.
Energy and Environment
Daniel J. Weiss checked in on the Obama administration and 111th Congress’ progress on the environment one year into Obama’s presidency, and a memo from Weiss and Rebecca Lefton outlined the dangers from U.S. oil imports and why we need clean-energy and climate legislation to move beyond dependence.
Sally Steenland’s interview and accompanying video with Mohamad A. Chakaki, a doctoral student at MIT, looked at the Green Muslim movement, as well as social justice issues and the challenges and opportunities facing young Muslim Americans today.