Author Steven Smith presents a candid picture of life as a race that sometimes leaves us tired and weary. But we do have the option of running a different race, a race that is not about beating the competition or finishing first. Its about making sure we are heading in the right direction. The book gives hope that we dont have to get swallowed up in the mad dash that leads to nowhere. By developing a relationship with God, we can embark on the journey of a lifetime, one that is both satisfying and challenging. We are reminded of the timeless truth that a race that is never begun can never be finished. And a race that is never finished can never be won.
Three Strikes, I'm In. I believe anyone has the opportunity to make their passion or desires a reality. The choice is yours, and the decision is totally up to you. If you want something bad enough, your passion can become a burning desire, and you should make an attempt to go after it. If you never try, then you may sit there wondering what it would have been like if you would have taken that opportunity. I am blessed to say that I am a disabled vet and a cancer survivor, but through those adver
With its rock-bottom approval ratings, acrimonious partisan battles, and apparent inability to do its legislative business, the U.S. Senate might easily be deemed unworthy of attention, if not downright irrelevant. This book tells us that would be a mistake. Because the Senate has become the place where the policy-making process most frequently stalls, any effective resolution to our polarized politics demands a clear understanding of how the formerly august legislative body once worked and how it came to the present crisis. Steven S. Smith provides that understanding in The Senate Syndrome. Like the Senate itself, Smith’s account is grounded in history. Countering a cacophony of inexpert opinion and a widespread misunderstanding of political and legislative history, the book fills in a world of missing information—about debates among senators concerning fundamental democratic processes and the workings of institutional rules, procedures, and norms. And Smith does so in a clear and engaging manner. He puts the present problems of the Senate—the “Senate syndrome,” as he calls them—into historical context by explaining how particular ideas and procedures were first framed and how they transformed with the times. Along the way he debunks a number of myths about the Senate, many perpetuated by senators themselves, and makes some pointed observations about the media’s coverage of Congress. The Senate Syndrome goes beyond explaining such seeming technicalities as the difference between regular filibusters and post-cloture filibusters, the importance of chair rulings, the changing role of the parliamentarian, and the debate over whether appeals of points of order should be subject to cloture margins, to show why understanding them matters. At stake is resolution of the Senate syndrome, and the critical underlying struggle between majority rule and minority rights in American policy making.
Party Influence in Congress challenges current arguments and evidence about the influence of political parties in the US Congress. Steven S. Smith argues that theory must reflect policy, electoral, and collective party goals. These goals call for flexible party organizations and leadership strategies. They demand that majority party leaders control the flow of legislation; package legislation and time action to build winning majorities and attract public support; work closely with a president of their party; and influence the vote choices for legislators. Smith observes that the circumstantial evidence of party influence is strong, multiple collective goals remain active ingredients after parties are created, party size is an important factor in party strategy, both negative and positive forms of influence are important to congressional parties, and the needle-in-the-haystack search for direct influence continues to prove frustrating.
Is American democracy being derailed by the United States Senate filibuster? Is the filibuster an important right that improves the political process or an increasingly partisan tool that delays legislation and thwarts the will of the majority? Are century-old procedures in the Senate hampering the institution from fulfilling its role on the eve of the 21st century? The filibuster has achieved almost mythic proportions in the history of American politics, but it has escaped a careful, critical assessment for more than 50 years. In this book, Sarah Binder and Steven Smith provide such an assessment as they address the problems and conventional wisdom associated with the Senate's long-standing tradition of extended debate. The authors examine the evolution of the rules governing Senate debate, analyze the consequences of these rules, and evaluate reform proposals. They argue that in an era of unprecedented filibustering and related obstructionism, old habits are indeed undermining the Senate's ability to meet its responsibilities. Binder and Smith scrutinize conventional wisdom about the filibuster—and show that very little of it is true. They focus on five major myths: that unlimited debate is a fundamental right to differentiate the Senate from the House of Representatives; that the Senate's tradition as a deliberative body requires unlimited debate; that the filibuster is reserved for a few issues of the utmost national importance; that few measures are actually killed by the filibuster; and that senators resist changing the rules because of a principled commitment to deliberation. In revising conventional wisdom about the filibuster, Binder and Smith contribute to ongoing debates about the dynamics of institutional change in the American political system. The authors conclude by suggesting reforms intended to enhance the power of determined majorities while preserving the rights of chamber minorities. They advocate, for example, lowering the
The story "If I Were A Tree" follows a young boy as he questions what it might be like to live as one of the many different types of trees he discovers at the park - only to realize that being a tree would mean missing out on the unique and special things he loves about himself and being a part of his family.
This book presses us to look harder at closely held beliefs and to question deeply rooted premises and commitments with which we are perhaps too comfortable."---Richard W Garnett Noire Dame Law School --
Lawyers regularly take the lead in polls as the most unpopular of all professions, ahead, even, of bankers and journalists. But the lawyers featured in this book are different. The stories they tell and the cases they fought are admirable and often inspiring. They devoted their careers to representing victims of injustice rather than the rich and the privileged. Their clients included Martin Luther King and Angela Davis, the prisoners in the infamous massacre at Attica, people who suffered torture, police abuse, mass arrests, and segregation. They held the system to its promises of freedom of speech and assembly, the right to privacy, and equal justice for all, often exposing the ultimate incompatibility of democracy with capitalism. Combining profiles with engaging interviews, Lawyers for the Left will be of interest to progressives inside the legal profession, as well as a wider left increasingly aware that legal challenges are important in putting the brakes on an administration veering sharply to the right. It will also disabuse those who believe that God only invented lawyers so that politicians would have someone to look down upon.
DIV Who ought to govern? Why should I obey the law? How should conflict be controlled? What is the proper education for a citizen and a statesman? These questions probe some of the deepest and most enduring problems that every society confronts, regardless of time and place. Today we ask the same crucial questions about law, authority, justice, and freedom that Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, and Tocqueville faced in previous centuries. In this lively and enlightening book, Professor Steven B. Smith introduces the wide terrain of political philosophy through the classic texts of the discipline. Works by the greatest thinkers illuminate the permanent problems of political life, Smith shows, and while we may not accept all their conclusions, it would be a mistake to overlook the relevance of their insights. /div
Familiar accounts of religious freedom in the United States often tell a story of visionary founders who broke from centuries-old patterns of Christendom to establish a political arrangement committed to secular and religiously neutral government. These novel commitments were supposedly embodied in the religion clauses of the First Amendment. But this story is largely a fairytale, Steven Smith says in this incisive examination of a much-mythologized subject. The American achievement was not a rejection of Christian commitments but a retrieval of classic Christian ideals of freedom of the church and of conscience. Smith maintains that the First Amendment was intended merely to preserve the political status quo in matters of religion. America's distinctive contribution was, rather, a commitment to open contestation between secularist and providentialist understandings of the nation which evolved over the nineteenth century. In the twentieth century, far from vindicating constitutional principles, as conventional wisdom suggests, the Supreme Court imposed secular neutrality, which effectively repudiated this commitment to open contestation. Instead of upholding what was distinctively American and constitutional, these decisions subverted it. The negative consequences are visible today in the incoherence of religion clause jurisprudence and the intense culture wars in American politics.
A rediscovery of patriotism as a virtue in line with the core values of democracy in an extremist age "Like you perhaps, I still regard myself as an extremely patriotic person. Which is why I so admired [this book]. . . . It explained my emotion to me, as it might yours to you." --David Brooks, New York Times "Smith superbly illuminates the distinctiveness of the American idea of patriotism and reminds us of how important patriotism is, and how essential to making America better."--Leslie Lenkowsky, Wall Street Journal The concept of patriotism has fallen on hard times. What was once a value that united Americans has become so politicized by both the left and the right that it threatens to rip apart the social fabric. On the right, patriotism has become synonymous with nationalism and an "us versus them" worldview, while on the left it is seen as an impediment to acknowledging important ethnic, religious, or racial identities and a threat to cosmopolitan globalism. Steven B. Smith reclaims patriotism from these extremist positions and advocates for a patriotism that is broad enough to balance loyalty to country with other loyalties. Describing how it is a matter of both the head and the heart, Smith shows how patriotism can bring the country together around the highest ideals of equality and is a central and ennobling disposition that democratic societies cannot afford to do without.
Offering a new reading of Spinoza's masterpiece, Smith asserts that the 'Ethics' is a celebration of human freedom and its attendant joys and responsibilities and should be placed among the great founding documents of the Enlightenment.
An exceptional work. I stand in awe of anyone who can piece together the puzzle of a man's life so fully, especially a man as odd and contradictory as Herrmann. A brilliant job."—Leonard Maltin "Bernard Herrmann was a master of psychology. His incredibly innovative music ‘inhabited’ the film it was in, creating moods that stayed with the audience long after the film was over. Steven Smith captures the very heart of what Herrmann represented. I highly recommend this book to anyone who truly wants a glimpse into the world of this musical giant who changed the very nature of film composing."—Esa-Pekka Salonen, music director, Los Angeles Philharmonic "Fascinating. The scholarship is impeccable, the judgments sound, and the whole thing as compulsively readable as eating popcorn."—Nicholas Meyer, director and writer
This lively book reassesses a century of jurisprudential thought from a fresh perspective, and points to a malaise that currently afflicts not only legal theory but law in general. Steven Smith argues that our legal vocabulary and methods of reasoning presuppose classical ontological commitments that were explicitly articulated by thinkers from Aquinas to Coke to Blackstone, and even by Joseph Story. But these commitments are out of sync with the world view that prevails today in academic and professional thinking. So our law-talk thus degenerates into "just words"--or a kind of nonsense. The diagnosis is similar to that offered by Holmes, the Legal Realists, and other critics over the past century, except that these critics assumed that the older ontological commitments were dead, or at least on their way to extinction; so their aim was to purge legal discourse of what they saw as an archaic and fading metaphysics. Smith's argument starts with essentially the same metaphysical predicament but moves in the opposite direction. Instead of avoiding or marginalizing the "ultimate questions," he argues that we need to face up to them and consider their implications for law.
Smith’s poetry exhibits a love for formal diversity. The variety in his work comes from his belief that if the poet is true to the process of recording his consciousness, then the form will change as the poet’s consciousness changes."— Richard Truhlar "Steven Smith explores the edges of our understanding— encounters with each other, that zone we instinctively fear and revolt from— only to bring us closer to an understanding of ourselves."— Kristjana Gunnars
Preaching for the Rest of Us serves as a starter's guide to text-driven preaching. Driven by the conviction that pastors hold the weighty and honorable responsibility of explaining Scripture to their congregations, Gallaty and Smith present a clear step-by-step process for re-presenting Scripture in compelling text-driven sermons. This unique type of preaching is the interpretation and communication of a text of Scripture driven by the substance, structure, and spirit of the text. It's not the presentation of a sermon, but the re-presentation of a text of a Scripture. For those who don’t feel trained for text-driven preaching, whose preaching template is tired and predictable, or need a preaching restart, Preaching for the Rest of Us provides a compelling reason and method for preaching texts of Scripture.
Backed by five years of research, David Marcum and Steven Smith's egonomicsinforms readers that the key to great leadership is understanding exactly what ego is - and what it should not be. With the aid of real-life examples and persuasive writing, egonomics argues that while most people believe ego is negative, it is actually a healthy, necessary element to management effectiveness and business leadership. Marcum and Smith illustrate that the distinction between a good and a great leader is how humility affects their ambition, and egonomics is full of ideas that help both upper and middle management keep their egos in balance. With a compelling combination of business and psychology expertise, these two specialists explain how (a) being too competitive can make you less competitive, (b) seeking respect and recognition dilutes effectiveness and (c) humility, curiosity and veracity are the essential components to outstanding leadership. Full of the best advice from the experts in the field, egonomics is poised to be the blockbuster business bestseller of the season.
Exalting Jesus in Jeremiah, Lamentations is part of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series. Edited by David Platt, Daniel L. Akin, and Tony Merida, this new commentary series, projected to be 48 volumes, takes a Christ-centered approach to expositing each book of the Bible. Rather than a verse-by-verse approach, the authors have crafted chapters that explain and apply key passages in their assigned Bible books. Readers will learn to see Christ in all aspects of Scripture, and they will be encouraged by the devotional nature of each exposition presented as sermons and divided into chapters that conclude with a “Reflect & Discuss” section, making this series ideal for small group study, personal devotion, and even sermon preparation. It’s not academic but rather presents an easy reading, practical and friendly commentary. The author of Exalting Jesus in Jeremiah, Lamentations is Steven Smith.
Decoding The Grapes of Wrath" examines Steinbeck's multifaceted tapestry, reflecting the trials, tribulations, and resilience of the Joad family amidst the backdrop of the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. This guide navigates through the novel's rich thematic landscape, uncovering layers of social injustice, unity, economic disparity, and the elusive American Dream. It reveals how these themes are not just historical footnotes but resonate with enduring relevance, illustrating the profound struggles and hopes that define the human condition. The Joad family's character dynamics and interactions with the broader world offer poignant insights into Steinbeck’s narrative mastery. The relationships explored within these pages testify to the strength of familial bonds and solidarity. Steinbeck’s symbolic universe enriches the narrative with deeper meanings and reflections. This guide carefully dissects these symbols, illuminating their significance in enhancing the novel's emotional depth and thematic breadth. At the heart of this guide is a discussion of Steinbeck's moral lessons, emphasizing the novel's profound commentary on empathy, communal responsibility, and the imperative of confronting societal injustices. Steinbeck’s literary style, characterized by its blend of stark realism, evocative descriptions, and authentic dialogue, receives special attention for its role in bringing the narrative's emotional and thematic complexities to life. Finally, the novel's climax and resolution are dissected to understand the pivotal moments that define the characters’ arcs and the thematic culmination of the story. This study guide, therefore, serves as an essential companion for readers navigating "The Grapes of Wrath," offering a comprehensive analysis that enriches the engagement with Steinbeck’s masterpiece.
There is a difference between preaching from the Bible and preaching that allows the Bible to drive the substance, structure, and spirit of the sermon. A text-driven sermon allows the structure of the text to become buoyant, to come to the surface so that the sermon can be built around that structure. In this way the word of God (the meaning of the text) is presented in a way that is influenced by the voice of God (the genre of the text). In Recapturing the Voice of God, veteran preacher Steven W. Smith teaches how to preach genre-sensitive, text-driven sermons—to allow the structure of the text to be the structure of the sermon. To do so, one must understand the genre of the literature in which God has chosen to reveal Himself. After a brief defense of genre-sensitive preaching, Smith categorizes Scripture genres according to their structure: story, poem, or letter. From these macro-level genres, each individual genre is explored for its unique features (law, prophecy, epistles, etc.). Smith then offers practical help in structuring a text-driven sermon and includes sample sermons as illustrations.
Ever since the Supreme Court began enforcing the First Amendment's religion clauses in the 1940s, courts and scholars have tried to distill the meaning of those clauses into a useable principle of religious freedom. In Foreordained Failure, Smith argues that efforts to find a principle of religious freedom in the "original meaning" are futile, but not because the original meaning is irrecoverable. The difficulty is that the religion clauses were not originally intended to approve any principle or right of religious freedom. Rather, the clauses were purely jurisdictional in nature; they were intended to do nothing more than confirm that authority over questions of religion remained with the states. This work will be of great interest to law scholars, lawyers, judges, and other readers concerned with the subject of religious freedom.
Wall Street has a history far richer than the Hunts' attempt to corner the silver market and the development of the "junk bond." Walter Werner and Steven Smith explore the relationship between the securities markets and the historic development of the American economy in Wall Street, emphasizing the importance of the period 1790 through 1840. The book focuses on the corporate response to the capital needs of the developing economy, and the role of the securities markets in mobilizing and allocating that capital. Werner and Smith argue that a long view of our corporate history demonstrates that the line of development from the corporate system of 1790 is direct and continuous. The authors contend there was no corporate revolution; rather, each successive era set the stage for the next, and all have built on the foundations laid during the period from 1790-1840, which they call the Bank Age. The authors view the history of the corporate system as a process of continuous maturation where securities markets and public corporations have always been of vital importance to each other. Wall Street is written in non-technical language for the general reader and provides insight into the early years of the bull, the bear, and the buck.
Decoding Lord of the Flies" explores the iconic novel's various themes, characters, conflicts, and literary techniques. This guide provides a deep and insightful analysis of the novel, making it an essential resource for students, teachers, and anyone interested in the novel's enduring significance. The study guide begins by exploring the novel's historical background and the cultural and social context in which it was written. It then goes into a detailed analysis of the novel's characters, including Ralph, Jack, Piggy, Simon, and others, examining their motivations, conflicts, and character arcs. The guide also provides an in-depth exploration of the novel's major themes. Moreover, it examines the conflicts in the novel, including the conflicts of man vs. nature, man vs. society, man vs. self, and man vs. fate, providing detailed references and analysis for each. The study guide discusses how the novel was written and the literary techniques used by Golding to explore the novel's themes and ideas. These techniques include symbolism, allegory, and foreshadowing, which are all explained in detail. Finally, the book explores the significance of the novel's title and its representation of its central themes. "Decoding Lord of the Flies" provides a comprehensive and insightful exploration of one of the 20th century's most iconic and enduring works of literature.
Steven B. Smith examines the concept of modernity, not as the end product of historical developments but as a state of mind. He explores modernism as a source of both pride and anxiety, suggesting that its most distinctive characteristics are the self-criticisms and doubts that accompany social and political progress. Providing profiles of the modern project’s most powerful defenders and critics—from Machiavelli and Spinoza to Saul Bellow and Isaiah Berlin—this provocative work of philosophy and political science offers a novel perspective on what it means to be modern and why discontent and sometimes radical rejection are its inevitable by-products.
The joy born of the Word can now expand to all those who, by faith, let themselves be changed by God's word." – Pope Benedict XVI, Verbum Domini For many Catholics, Scripture remains an elusive part of their Faith, or worse yet, a weapon used against them when encountering challenges from other denominations. If you think you have to be a Bible scholar to understand the Scriptures, think again! The Word of the Lord was written by one of the foremost Catholic Bible scholars and tested in several graduate level seminary Scripture courses. Yet everyone will appreciate the book's clear, straightforward approach, perfect for the average Catholic. From crucial topics to more common questions, you will find explanations, answers, and interpretation that will launch you into the exciting adventure that awaits you in Scripture. Wherever you are on your faith journey, The Word of the Lord will guide you forward to seek the face of Christ in Scripture. "It is no longer because of your words that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world."– John 4:42
Decoding Persepolis" takes the reader deep into Marjane Satrapi's "Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood," offering a comprehensive look into the memoir's exploration of character dynamics, themes, symbolism, and the overarching narrative. The guide begins by exploring Marjane's intricate relationships with her family and friends, which form the emotional backbone of the story. Throughout the memoir, Marjane navigates a labyrinth of conflicts, mirroring the tumultuous environment of revolutionary Iran. These conflicts range from internal struggles with faith and identity to confrontations with societal norms, the education system, and the broader political turmoil that envelops her country. This guide examines the author's use of potent symbolism throughout the narrative, using elements like the veil, keys to paradise, and cigarettes to convey repression, manipulation, and rebellion themes. The climax of the story is reached with Marjane's increasing rebellion against societal norms, leading to her parents' decision to send her to Austria. This moment of departure marks a significant transition in her life, symbolizing not just a physical departure but also a departure from childhood."Persepolis" provides a deeply personal glimpse into a critical period of Iranian history, inviting readers to reflect on the intersections of politics, family, and personal development. Through its exploration of Marjane's growth amidst political upheaval, "Decoding Persepolis" aims to enhance students' understanding of the memoir, unpacking Satrapi's complex themes and narrative strategies.
Interest in Leo Strauss is greater now than at any time since his death, mostly because of the purported link between his thought and the political movement known as neoconservatism. Steven B. Smith, though, surprisingly depicts Strauss not as the high priest of neoconservatism but as a friend of liberal democracy—perhaps the best defender democracy has ever had. Moreover, in Reading Leo Strauss, Smith shows that Strauss’s defense of liberal democracy was closely connected to his skepticism of both the extreme Left and extreme Right. Smith asserts that this philosophical skepticism defined Strauss’s thought. It was as a skeptic, Smith argues, that Strauss considered the seemingly irreconcilable conflict between reason and revelation—a conflict Strauss dubbed the “theologico-political problem.” Calling this problem “the theme of my investigations,” Strauss asked the same fundamental question throughout his life: what is the relation of the political order to revelation in general and Judaism in particular? Smith organizes his book with this question, first addressing Strauss’s views on religion and then examining his thought on philosophical and political issues. In his investigation of these philosophical and political issues, Smith assesses Strauss’s attempt to direct the teaching of political science away from the examination of mass behavior and interest group politics and toward the study of the philosophical principles on which politics are based. With his provocative, lucid essays, Smith goes a long way toward establishing a distinctive form of Straussian liberalism.
Crafted for believers and seekers alike, this guide takes you on an enriching journey through the teachings of Jesus as recorded in the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Whether you're a seasoned scholar or new to biblical study, this book offers: Contextual Analysis: Understand each parable and allegory's historical, cultural, and scriptural backdrop. Detailed Summaries: Familiarize yourself with the characters, plot, and messages of these age-old stories. Interpretive Insights: Explore the symbolism, metaphors, and theological underpinnings of these teachings. Theological Implications: Explore the divine principles that form the bedrock of these narratives. Points for Reflection: Engage with thought-provoking questions aimed at applying these eternal truths to your life today. Perfect for individual study, small groups, or academic settings, this guide illuminates the complexities of these biblical texts and serves as a spiritual roadmap for ethical living and profound faith. Discover the transformative power of stories that have shaped civilizations and delve into the heart of Christian teachings.
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