Visiting Fellow Bill Thomas

AEI welcomes visiting fellow Bill Thomas and research fellow Alex Brill. Thomas, who became a member of Congress in 1978 and rose through the ranks to become chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, has been described as one of the brainiest, savviest, and most hard-working members of the body. He will participate in AEI’s work on corporate-tax and budget policy. Brill returns to AEI after serving as chief economist at the House Ways and Means Committee and senior advisor to Thomas.

In February, AEI introduced Education Outlook, the newest addition to the Institute’s popular Outlook series on issues in public policy. In the first issue of the series, resident scholar Frederick M. Hess questions whether reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act will be as successful as the original law.

Visiting Scholar Richard Vedder

Economic insecurity is in the news again. On January 31, visiting scholar Richard Vedder testified before the Joint Economic Committee about the economic challenges facing the middle class. In December 2006 the AEI Press published The Wal-Mart Revolution: How Big-Box Stores Benefit Consumers, Workers, and the Economy, which Vedder coauthored with Wendell Cox.

A January 15 Associated Press article quotes Joseph Vranich, who argues that Amtrak and its system of cross-country trains is “totally planned by a centralized, monopolistic, Washington, D.C., organization.” Vranich is the author of three books on Amtrak, including End of the Line (AEI Press, 2004), in which he describes the major problems plaguing Amtrak and proposes solutions to put the derailed system back on track.

The Thomas B. Fordham Foundation recently awarded Stephan and Abigail Thernstrom one of the 2007 Fordham Prizes for Excellence in Education. The prizes are bestowed upon “scholars who [make] major contributions to education reform via research, analysis, and successful engagement in the war of ideas.” Stephan Thernstrom is the Winthrop Professor of History at Harvard University. Abigail Thernstrom, an AEI adjunct scholar, is vice chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. She is currently working on a forthcoming AEI Press book about the Voting Rights Act.

Visiting Fellow Roger Noriega

Mark Falcoff and Roger F. Noriega ponder what the future will hold for Cubans after the death of Fidel Castro, whose declining health has been the topic of much recent speculation. In his January Latin American Outlook, Falcoff considers the direction in which Raul Castro, Fidel’s brother, would take Cuba. In February’s issue, Noriega stresses the importance of Cubans reclaiming their freedom, lives, and country.

Michael Rubin reviews several books about the war in Iraq in the Spring 2007 issue of the Middle East Quarterly. Rubin observes that while the most popular of these books have often lacked quality and accuracy, there exist some books that are truly important to understanding the current situation in the Middle East: “Several authors have produced works that will make lasting contributions, be they to future generations of war and post-conflict reconstruction planners, or scholars looking more deeply into the fabric of Iraq.”

AEI's Danielle Pletka and former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto

On February 8, former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto visited AEI to discuss the political and security situations in Pakistan. Bhutto, the first and only woman to hold this office, served as prime minister from 1988 to 1990 and again from 1993 to 1996.

AEI mourns the loss of the distinguished political scientist Nelson Polsby. A member of AEI’s Council of Academic Advisers, Polsby wrote more than twenty books during a long career. Polsby had a passion for the workings of Congress, and he wrote widely about the institution. In 1964 he and Aaron Wildavsky published Presidential Elections, now in its eleventh edition, which remains a classic in its field. He also wrote often about British politics, coauthoring British Government and Its Discontents with AEI adjunct scholar Geoffrey Smith.