Feb 10 Census Data Start to Show Katrina’s Long-Term Impact on New Orleans New Orleans as seen From space on Jan. 26; Creative Commons photo courtesy NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center Long before last year's Census, it was clear that New Orleans was a changed city. A drive past the vacant… Continue reading
Feb 04 Egypt Coverage Divide Seen Among Patchwork Nation Community Types By Dante Chinni The scenes playing out in Egypt and across the Arab world are not just dramatic, they are remaking the region and U.S. policy for years to come. Regimes have been pushed out leaving an unsettled landscape in one of the… Continue reading
Feb 02 As Recession Lingers in Evangelical Epicenters, How Will Voters React? Nixa, Mo.'s Main Street; Creative Commons photo courtesy Casey Spivey NIXA, Mo. | By most standard measures -- gross domestic product, consumer spending and the like -- the United States is in the midst of a… Continue reading
Jan 25 Gun Rights Legislation Under Consideration in Several States Gun legislation is back in the spotlight after the shooting in Tucson that wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and killed six. Long before the rampage hit the headlines, several states had been moving to broaden gun rights, arguing… Continue reading
Jan 20 As Republicans Push Health Reform Repeal, How Do Americans View Law? In terms of keeping promises, Wednesday's vote to repeal the health reform law stands as a significant checkmark on the House Republican agenda, but what does it mean outside of Washington? Maybe not as much as GOP leaders… Continue reading
Jan 19 Philadelphia Among City Economies Riding Out the Highs and Lows Philadelphia's City Hall building. Photo via Flickr user Th.omas. PHILADELPHIA | High atop the city hall the statue of William Penn looks down on this city and sees a city that stands as a symbol of the hopes and… Continue reading
Jan 14 Patchwork Nation: The Gun Law Divide When Congress returns to Washington to begin work in earnest following the shootings of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 18 other people in Tucson, gun control advocates will likely be making the case for new measures. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D- N.Y.,… Continue reading
Jan 07 Where Does the Tea Party Stand With Americans, New Congress? On Thursday, as their first act, members of the new Republican-led House read the U.S. Constitution aloud. The reading was not about civics - one would assume lawmakers have the basics down by now - it was… Continue reading
Jan 04 Better Days Ahead in 2011? Measuring American Optimism in the New Year Say this about Americans: they are nothing if not hopeful. While 2009 and 2010 may have brought economic trouble and pain, the mood among most Americans appears surprisingly upbeat going into 2011. In each of Patchwork Nation's 12… Continue reading
Dec 29 Midterm Results Reveal Problems for Democrats in Key Communities Christmas 2010 is in the past and New Year's is approaching, which means it's time to start thinking about ... 2012. Yes, Iowa and New Hampshire are more than a year away, but for presidential hopefuls the political… Continue reading