Governments

Now that the American government is controlling Saddam's infamous Abu Ghraib/Ghurayb prison, the site of many atrocities like those described in Cruelty and Silence, we owe it to ourselves to study the crimes against humanity that were perpetrated there. Arguments about whether the old death chamber should be destroyed or maintained for future generations go without much notice in the United States, as do the reports of ongoing investigations to insure we follow legal guidelines in handling the prisoners we now hold at Abu Ghraib. We owe it to ourselves to operate this facility in a manner which testifies to our philosophy and way of life. And when we question ourselves, the cause in Iraq, the price we pay, the chances of success, we should understand the nature of the vicious regime which created the disfunctional and factionalized Iraqi society we see today. Cruelty and Silence helps us develop a long-term perspective to the challenges ahead.

This is one of the best books I have read all year. Ten years old, it is still agonisingly relevant. In its bearing witness to human cruelty, human indifference but also human courage, it is as unflinching, as passionate and as magnificent as the works of Primo Levi. Beautifully written, meticulously observed, focussed on people, not abstractions, it is a book that haunts me and will continue to do so for a long time to come. If you have any doubts at all about the rightness of invading Iraq, read this book. There will be no doubts left, only a terrible regret that the ousting of the Saddam regime was not done long, long ago.

As an arab-american familiar with the brutal insanity of Saddam Hussein's regime, I've always been puzzled by the Arab talking heads who routinely criticize the U.S. for it's targetting of Iraq. Makiya's writing was instrumental in helping me understand this in somewhat deeper terms than simple anti-americanism, though his insightful and revealing writing has only heightened my frustration.

Regarding the current political climate: You can certainly question the U.S.'s motives, but if you find yourself struggling to find "smoking guns" vis-a-vis terrorism and WMDs to ethically support replacing Saddam's regime, look no further than this book.

Beautifully written; there are points at which you will literally be moved to tears.

While some of the interviews in this fascinating volume on the dark consequences of American culture are very slanted, 'Dialogues' is filled with tremendous revelations and alternative perspectives on a diverse range of critical issues, including war, the environment, the death penalty, public education, globalization, agricultural subsidies, propaganda, urban planning, maternity, urban poverty, religion, and racism. Jerry Brown engages in very profound conversations with key left-wing figures on all of these issues and more that will astound and edify any reader with an open mind. This book brings to life the kinds of political figures normally thought of as tree-hugging nanny-state bleeding-hearts, and critically considers consequences and alternatives to the contemporary global economy.

Two elements in particular distinguish this text. First, Brown speaks with thinkers of profound philosophical depth, so perspectives on the environment, the death penalty, etc., are given in the context of larger alternative worldviews. This immerses the reader in the deeper substance of political debates, and makes this book a very stimulating read. Second, the perspectives offered bring to light facts and arguments never considered in mainstream political debates. The experiences revealed in the dialogues on racial segregation in New York City and investment in India are particularly startling.

Reading this book, I found myself being repeatedly inspired by the contributors' passion for social justice, and by the peculiarity and novelty of their perspectives. I really don't think that you can come to any conclusions about American politics until you've read this book or one like it; you can't call left-wingers crazy until you're truly exposed to how powerful some of their perspectives are. Before embracing received concepts such as "development," "free trade," "schooling," etc., read this wonderful, wonderful book, and then see whether you think that American common sense is really so commonsensical after all.

The contributors to this text all have an agenda, so beware. But if this book were required reading in every school in America, I think we would see a generation of millions of young people inspired to fight for justice and to eradicate human misery.

Jerry Brown is that rare thing - an ethical politician. Read this book to get some insight into the otherwise private nature of an influential figure. Read how Mayor Brown served with Mother Theresa in Calcutta and decided to save a city rather than "monitor" government at the state or national level. Courageous and noble man.

This book was excellent in the contents and it is full of interesting thoughts and ideas, expressed by a selected assortment of 18 people that inspired Jerry Brown himself. In the book, he gets to interview each one of them in a sort of dialogue that engages these peoples ideas. Most of the topics deal with social and political criticism, well founded by the way, and it is very insightful into looking beyond the reality of everyday life, what are the larger mechanisms at work, what are our limitations, what are the problems, what are the underlying issues, etc. It tends to uncover many assumptions and should provoke in the reader much thinking on issues that affect us all in today's society, from religion to environmentalism to capitalism.

I found an electronic copy of Formosa Betrayed on the internet ... and read it through the wee hours of night, after putting my kids to bed, for four days until I finished the book. It is captivating and masterfully written; the truth told with authority by a former American vice consular to Taiwan who was there to witness the atrocities of the Chiang Kai Shek regime right after WWII. I felt a sense of relief after reading this book for some reason. Telling and documenting the truth about the "Taiwan experience" post-WWII is dangerous, but had to be done by someone who was raised up for just that task. Thanks Mr. Kerr for being there and for writing this piece of Taiwan's history confirming Taiwan's status as separate from China. From now on I'll sleep soundly as a Taiwanese American knowing that the truth has been revealed and any one can read it, if they dare.

This book is not just a masterpiece on the tragic incident of 2-28-1947, it is the US military blueprint of the undefined status of Taiwan under a peace treaty in 1951. Few readers may realize that Lt. George Kerr was a US Naval Civil Affairs Officer during the World War and how he has singlehandedly established the credible evidence of the Nationalist Chinese illegal seizure of Taiwan territory before the Japanese had even surrendered the island in 1951. George Kerr was a US Naval specialist on the Laws of Occupation while the Formosans were still legally under Japanese rule. In addition to this piece of authoritative legal history, he edited over 1300 pages of a US Navy Civil Affairs report for the proposed Taiwan invasion which General MacArthur stopped in favor of retaking the Philippines. In the end, these unused US military volumes of area studies and economic knowledge was used by the Nationalists to effectively dismantle the vast Japanese industrial base in just a few years prior to 1949. It seems that the Japanese had actually developed the Taiwan island economy far beyond anything comparable on the China mainland in 1945. This puts into dispute regarding the Chinese claims to have been the success secret of the Taiwanese economy. They destroyed it, shipped it to China, and then had to start over from stratch in 1949. It seems that Kerr's Formosa Betrayed offers more insights for those island natives seeking to reclaim their stolen property as "Japanese nationals" prior to 1952. However, they must dig deeply into the US Army Field Manuals for Civil Affairs (eg. FM 27-10, FM 41-10, etc), and Formosa Betrayed will clearly explain the historical context of the belligerent occupational authority period of 1945-52 for this very purpose. Under the San Francisco Peace Treaty, Allied Powers were the legal occupiers and the thieving Nationalists were still officially subject to the supreme authority of General MacArthut. It was the US Military Government whom was legally occupying Japan and her territorial dependencies like Formosa. Taiwan will never be the same once interested readers grasp the historical significance of their unalienable legal rights under the Laws of Occupation (SFPT). And Formosa Betrayed is unquestionably the foremost legal and historical authority for supporting these claims made under necessary civil affairs expertise embedded deeply into the book. Unlock the secrets of the Taiwan Relations Act with Formosa Betrayed, if you dare.

Along with oral history from family and friends involved in the incident, this book is one of the two best sources which clarified to me that Taiwan is Taiwan, and China is China. An excellent account of the 228 Incident, one of many "forgotten Holocausts", with extensive research and clear writing that shows the source of today's confusion over Taiwan's international status.

Also a very good source for showing how much damage a foreign government that does not care for its people can do; a classic story of corruption and cover-up.

This expatriate Californian still can't believe that The Gropinator made it to the governor's office. That said, this book is chock-full o' beefcake photos, hilariously captioned. Andy Borowitz is an incredibly prolific writer these days, and almost everything he touches turns to comic gold (including his daily news "SHOCKERS!" delivered by e-mail).

A great gift item, too. Buy 'em by the bag!

You'll smile, you'll chuckle at the antics of our nation's strongest governor groping his way to lead the Golden State. Borowitz's GOVERNOR ARNOLD will lift your spirits to new heights in these weighty, troubling times.

This book appears to be a humor book but after a few pages you begin to realize what an amazing Governor Arnold has been in his first 100 days. No amount of special effects could match the Gov's accomplishments already. Don't mess with Cally -- or I'll blow you up...should be the new State Motto.

I wouldn't have believed this book unless I'd seen it with my own eyes.

Many Western readers may find it strange that one of the most prominent Moslem writers and intellectuals has devoted a book to " Islamic terrorism."
But this, in fact, is one of the strengths of this unusual book. The most important part of the book is the last part in which the author argues a strong case for democratization in the Moslem world.
He insists that there will be no victory in the war against terrorism until and unless all Moslem nations develop open, democratic societies.

This may sound like a tall order.
But Taheri is convinced that the Moslem world will enter the mainstream of international life by adopting democracy.
A.K

Sell your rosary and buy a gun!
This is the chilling advice given to Moslem youths by Hassan al-Banna, an Egyptian schoolteacher who founded the terrorist organization known as the Ikhwan al-Moslemeen or Moslem Brotherhood.
Many took his advice and murdered a string of political leaders and intellectuals in sevberal Arab countries.
Over the half a century that followed the Ikhwan moderated their message and are now trying to impose their brand of Islam on Moslem societies through persuasion rather than murder.
But their message bred other radical groups- from the Fedayeen of Islam to which Khomeini belonged, to Osama Ben Laden's Al Qaeda.
This book tells the story of Islamist terrorism which dates back to 1400 years!
In a sense the author shows that Islam and terror are Siamese twins, inseparable.
The fact that the author himself is a Moslem, with an impeccable pedigree, makes the book more authoritative.
Above all, however, it is the fast pace of the book, the wealth of information it offers, and the honesty of its analysis that are impressive.
PBL

As the world marks the first anniverary of the 9/11 tragedies we ae bombarded with countless books and articles on whether or not Islam, the religion of some one billion people across the globe, had anything to do with the attacks.
In this book we learn that Islam and terror go back a long way. In fact, three of the first four Caliphs of Islam were assassinated by terrorists. Since then, political murder has been a feature of life in the lands of Islam.
The author, himself a Muslim, says that Muslims should acknowledge the role that terror has played, and continues to play, in their political lives with honesty.He recalls the case of German intellectuals who opted for self-denial in the face of Nazism, and advises Muslim intellectuals not to play ostrich as terror in the name of religion devastates thir lies and, more recently, the lives of others, too.
The Western reader may at times find it hard to follow who is who in this dense jungle of terrorists with unfamiliar names. But the message is clear:Osama Ben Laden is just one of countless beasts thriving in that jungle, and even not one of the most important. A READER IN INDIA

"I saw the Iraqi soldiers come into the hospital with guns. They took the babies out of the incubator ... and left the children to die on the cold floor."

Casual news observers will recognize this quote, or at least the essence of it.

During the build-up to the Gulf War, this story, told by a teen-age Kuwaiti girl, was repeated again and again in the news media. As much as anything else, the anecdote softened public resistance to American intervention in Kuwait - a huge military undertaking that never completely shed its mercenary hue, but which enjoyed broad public support nevertheless thanks largely to a media that seemed ill-equipped or unwilling to get beyond the veneer of official proclamations and gee-golly techno-wizardry to the tough business of covering a war.

Less casual observers might know that the story was a pure fabrication. In fact, it took two curious reporters relatively little effort during the war's aftermath to discover what the entire Washington press corps had missed - not only was the story not true, but the girl who told it was the daughter of a Kuwaiti ambassador.

What very few of us probably realize to this day, however, was that the tale was just one piece of a coordinated propaganda campaign conducted by PR flacks on behalf of the Kuwaiti royal family. All told, the Kuwaitis spent $11.5 million to win the hearts and minds of their American saviors, most of it paid to Hill & Knowlton, one of the largest public relations firms in the world. For that relatively modest sum, Kuwait was able to summon the sympathy and might of the world's most powerful democracy, despite Kuwait's own questionable commitment to human rights. And going along for the ride the whole way were the American media.

The victory of public relations over reportage prior to the Gulf War is just one of the fascinating nuggets found in Arthur E. Rowse's Drive-By Journalism: The Assault on Your Need to Know, a blistering indictment of the current state of American journalism. A veteran journalist and media critic who has worked for National Public Radio, U.S. News & World Report, The Boston Globe and The Washington Post, Rowse writes like a man who knows how the sausage is made and isn't too pleased about his grandchildren having to eat it.

His book chronicles a spate of journalistic cardinal sins and exposes a rogues'gallery of media decision makers who have turned the sacred business of informing the public into a scramble for ratings and profits.

Elian, Monica, O.J. and JonBenet are just the tip of the iceberg, and, in Rowse's view, symptoms of a much more pernicious dynamic than just the public's demand for sensation and scandal.

At the heart of the media's current reliance on fluff, trivia and sensationalism, he argues, is the trend toward corporate ownership of media outlets. While journalism has always been a business, the profit motive was once far more balanced by - even subordinate to - journalistic standards.

In the 1960s, when CBS head Bill Paley was questioned by a member of his news division about the cost of his ambitious plans for news coverage, his response was more typical of that era: "Don't worry about that. I've got Jack Benny to make money for me. You guys cover the news."

Since then, says Rowse, mainstream media outlets have fallen all over themselves to slash staffs while favoring grislier, more sensational, more irrelevant coverage. Thus, crime reporting has become more frequent and more strident even as crime has dropped, while stories with emotional impact like the Elian Gonzalez saga supplant coverage of policy decisions that affect millions of Americans.

And instead of discussion about candidates' qualifications or stances on pressing national problems, campaign coverage is dominated by trivial horse race issues like who's raised the most money.

This hasn't just made us more uninformed, argues Rowse. We've also become much more susceptible to disinformation. Eager to fill the hard news gap left by the media have been special interest lobbyists, public relations flacks and think tanks - well-funded and well-organized groups with agendas to sell.

Rowse also explores the well-worn canard that our mainstream media are predominantly liberal. Not only does the prima facie evidence - that media are increasingly coming under the control of profit-driven corporations - suggest a conservative tilt, a look at the opinion pages of daily newspapers, where aggressive spin is encouraged, tells a different story as well. Of the top political columnists in the nation, the far-right Cal Thomas, with 537, is syndicated in the most dailies. George Will is second with 450. In fact, based on client numbers, Rowse counts a 3-to-1 advantage for conservative columnists over liberal ones. Add in talk radio, which is almost exclusively the province of right-wingers, and the liberal media myth explodes.

Other disturbing trends cited by Rowse are the increase in "gotcha" journalism; a snowballing, media-fueled cynicism about government's ability to address national crises; and a tendency to tilt reporting toward advertisers and affluent readers at the expense of broader coverage. (If the stock market is this strong then inflation-adjusted wages couldn't possibly have fallen in the last 20 years, right?)

If there's a criticism here it's that Rowse is woefully short on solutions, and those he does offer feel like spit in the wind. Perhaps the only real recourse, then, is for us as individuals to simply smarten up. Drive-By Journalism is a good first step down that path.

In Drive-by Journalism, Arthur Rowse makes a convincing case that a lack of reliable news is crippling American democracy.

As a result of deregulation of the news and entertainment industries, a steady series of corporate mergers has concentrated the media into a five-firm oligopoly of unprecedented power. We may think we have a lot of channels to choose from, but they all come from the same handful of sources, all of which are more interested in satisfying corporate investors than in producing an informed electorate. Rather than compete, the media conglomerates collude like mafia bosses, divvying up the available markets, using every available second of air time to sell us products, services, and a consumer lifestyle. This does not speak well to the likelihood of our getting trustworthy news.

Rowse deftly slaps down the ridiculous yet pervasive myth that the mass media are liberally biased and demonstrates conclusively that quite the opposite is true. Although many reporters have liberal tendencies, they are not the ones who determine which stories get reported. News networks have become lap dogs for their parent companies, and these media giants are as conservative as they are powerful. Moreover, they respond to advertisers, not the viewing public. NBC, for example, wouldn't dream of reporting on General Electric, the most notorious polluter in the nation, because GE is now NBC's parent company. The same is true of ABC and Disney, CBS and Westinghouse. In fact, every major network is now owned by the biggest advertisers in the nation. Don't think that isn't affecting what gets reported on the 6 o'clock news.....

According to Rowse, about 40% of what we see on the news these days is not even the product of investigative journalism; it is pre-packaged propaganda "donated" to the networks by political and corporate public relations firms. By accepting these gracious handouts, the networks can reduce the number of expensive journalists they employ. The result, of course, is that networks no longer investigate; they merely serve as conduits through which powerful organizations deliver their pre-fab images to the public.

Perhaps Rowse’s most frightening point is the link he makes between poor news reporting and citizen apathy. With nothing but info-tainment and scandal stories on the news, Americans have no viable means to choose between one candidate and another, between one policy and another. So they don’t bother. With voters thus sidelined, well-funded corporate lobbyists have the undivided attention of our lawmakers, whom they outnumber 40 to 1.

This book is well-documented, well-organized, well-written, and vitally important in our times. Better still, it’s truly interesting. Rowse provides fascinating insider anecdotes that bring all his statistics to life. Very highly recommended.

In Drive-By Journalism: The Assault On Your Need To Know, Arthur Rowse sets for a compelling and persuasive argument that we are being lulled into political and social apathy by the steady beat of media produced "news-amuse" journalism. Rowse points out that media mergers are rapidly creating a huge news cartel with just five conglomerates controlling what most people see, read and hear in television news broadcasts and major urban center newspapers. Profit-at-all-costs pressures have created a kind of "drive-by" journalism with an emphasis on trivia and tragedy ("If it bleeds, it leads!). News producers must nowadays showcase information in a recreational or entertainment framework that prefers sensationalism over substance, sound bites over insights. That's why such critical matters as health care, gun control, tax equity, campaign reform, and the environment are made subservient to personality and horse race style coverage. Drive-By Journalism should be on the shelves of every community library in the country, and required reading for journalism students, media activists, and those charged with the responsibility for gathering, analyzing, and disseminating the news of the day.

John Becker is a man with a strange background. His childhood keeps him up nights, afraid of the dark. And yet, he has an uncanny ability to get into the heads of the killers he's asked to track.But this ability takes its tol on him. So when the FBI call him in, it's because they really need the help.

In this book it's to track down a killer they are calling Lamont Cranston, a kidnapper and killer of young boys. Only his profile doesn't seem to be working. Why? Because this is no typical killer. So while Becker struggles with his past and why he can't wrap his head around this case, another boy's life is in the balance.

This book, like Wiltse's others, has great pacing and keeps you wanting to urge the characters on. A wonderful ending as well.
Well worth the time to read, just be prepared to want more!

jon jordan

I loved reading this book. I read the books "Into the Fire" and this one out of order. Now is this the faulty, complex and human hero that I have come to love. I don't read thrillers for goody-two shoes protagonists. We all have evil inside of us and whether we choose to act upon that evil thought or restrain ourselves is what makes us moral or immoral, IMO. Becker and Crist while full of fault are moral they acknowledge the dark side that resides in all of us. This is one good book!

WILTSE TELLS A STORY OF TWO KILLER, THAT BECKER MUST MAKE HIMSELF UNDERSTAND. ONE OF THE BEST BOOK I HAVE EVER READ.

More than two decades after his death, almost three decades after he left the governor's office, Tom McCall remains the defining figure of Oregon politics. It was during his tenure in office (1967-1975) that Oregon gained its reputation as a national leader in innovative public policy.

The McCall era saw Oregon protect virtually all of its beaches for public use; adopt the first bottle bill in the nation; clean up the Willamette River; adopt the country's first statewide land-use planning system; and much more. Although many of these concepts did not originate with McCall, he was the catylist and provided the leadership to make them a reality.

This era is brilliantly chronicled by Brent Walth in "Fire At Eden's Gate." Walth, a reporter for the Eugene Register-Guard, and now The Oregonian, knows the state and its leadership well, and this allows him to tell the McCall story with comprehensiveness and clarity. But this is more than a political biography; Walth also chronicles the story of McCall's celebrated family (including grandfather Thomas W. Lawson, "the Copper King"), his path to the governor's office, and his sometimes troubled personal life.

Anyone interested in understanding Oregon public life in the second half of the 20th century should enjoy and benefit from reading this well-crafted biography.

This biography of the modern day father of Oregon, makes this native long for days past. For days when Oregon was a leader on the national politcla/cultural/social scene.

Walth does an excellent job detailing not only the political successes of one of Oregon's greatest politicians, but also of the man's personal shortcomings.

I am not certain how much appeal this book will have to non-Oregonian's or people who are unfamiliar with the Pacific Northwest, but I feel that it should be required reading by all students of political science attending Oregon universities.

Our state legislators who are constantly invoking McCall's name and legacy to advance their own political gains, would do well to read this biography. Our elected officials of today pale in comparison to the individual giants of years past.

I am a Native Oregonian living on the east coast and this book helped me understand why I feel like a fish out of water in the midst of uncontrolled suburban sprawl, minimal recycling facilities, and chemical pollution violations are repeatedly ignored by local politicians.
Mr. Walth's book was exciting to read. I recommend it to anyone seeking to understand Oregonians and why we're so proud of the place we call home. Brent Walth tells the story of how Tom McCall gave us that pride.

Recent years have brought forth several efforts to examine the attitude of Christian leaders in Germany toward the Nazis as they came to power in Germany. Equally interesting, but much more difficult to uncover, is the attitude of the Nazi leaders towards Christianity. As Richard Steigmann-Gall makes clear in The Holy Reich: Nazi Conceptions of Christianity, 1919-1945, the difficulty comes from the fact that there was not a unified "Nazi view" of Christianity. Some Nazis were pagans, others considered themselves to be Christians, and many shifted their views over time. As for the official position of the regime, Steigmann-Gall finds no evidence of a Nazi plan to rid Germany of all forms of Christianity. Rather, the plan was to eliminate Catholicism and to reshape Protestantism. Indeed, many National Socialists actually considered themselves to be good Christians. They were able to do so because they rejected the traditions and lines of authority within the existing Protestant and Catholic churches. Thus freed from hierarchy and tradition, they were able to interpret Scripture according to their own views. Bolstered by some extremely harsh writings by their German hero Martin Luther, the Nazis reformulated biblical teachings to serve their racial doctrine. They elected a hand-picked Reich bishop to unify Protestant Churches into a single new confession of "German Christians" whom they then hoped to exploit. This plan for "positive Christianity" failed, however, because too many conservative Protestant ministers rejected the core values of Nazism. By 1937, it became clear that the Nazis would not be able to construct a single German, Protestant Church, and relations soured. Hitler's position in all this is somewhat ambiguous. His few clear anti-Christian statements relate to specifically Catholic doctrine, not to Christianity more generally. One is left with the impression that Hitler fully rejected the teachings of the Catholic faith into which he had been baptized as a child, but that he never truly rejected his own warped view of Protestant Christianity. An extremely valuable contribution. THis is a First Things review

In Nazi Conceptions of Christianity, 1919-1945" the author, Richard Steigmann-Gall, shows that the Nazi face of Christianity grew out of 19th Century Protestant liberalism's efforts to accomodate the growing modernism and secularism of Western Europe. But, more importantly it clearly shows that time and again it was the Catholic Church, whether it was the Vatican or on the Diocesan level, that consistantly stood in opposition to Naziism's anti-life programs like the T4 program (the purposeful killing of the mentally ill) and the eradication of Jews, Gypsies, and others. The same cannot be said for most of the Protestant churches in Germany. This is not to say that there were no Catholics involved in even the darkest deeds of National Socialism, but Richard Steigmann-Gall shows that many of the Catholics who embraced Naziism either abandoned their Catholic faith, became quasi-pagans, or converted to Protestantism.

Finally, a fair treatment of this dark period of history and the relationship of the Nazi regime and Christianity. We get to see how form Naziism's inception to its demise that the some churches and the regime went from embracing each other to almost outright hatred. Many surprises in this book that will shatter your preconceived notions about Christianity, Paganism, and Atheism in Nazi Germany. This is a must read for all Roman Catholics who need a good academic response to the calumny of writers like John Cornwell, James Carroll, or Garry Wills. This book should be in every Roman Catholic apologists library.

Prof. Steigmann-Gall presents a convincing argument for the influence of Christianity on Nazism and anti-Semitism; contradicting the prevailing view that Nazism was an atheistic movement. I found this book to be well thought out and intriguing.

I read most of the book and found nothing about any holocaust hoax mentioned by reviewer "ruggero." Looking in the index showed no listing for the word holocaust at all. It might be in there somewhere, but I doubt it. The author seems too smart and too honest to deny the genocide against the Jews and numerous others in Hitler's regime.

What I did find were plenty of impressively documented pieces of evidence that both FDR and Truman knowingly allowed communists to crawl throughout their administrations, even up to the level of positions advising the president. Furthermore, it's rather obvious that Truman passively helped the communist forces of Mao tse Tung take over the nation of China. He did that by cutting off aid to the Nationalists. Before that of course he winked while Stalin scooped up all of Eastern Europe.

Great book, important work, should be a part of everyone's library for quotes and reference value. Plus America needs to become more informed so we can combat the enemies of truth, those infesting and controlling the Democratic party and the mainstream news networks. Yes, that makes me sound like a conspiracy nut. The problem is, if there really were a conspiracy, what would we call the people who figure it out? That's me, nut or whatever.

The Iron Curtain over America by John Beaty. Originally published in 1951, scholar and WWII intelligence officer Beaty's classic diagnoses America's condition in mid-century and finds our land threatened by the cancerous growth of Communist and Zionist subversion and control. The extraordinarily well-informed and courageous Beaty was one of the first Americans to breach the Iron Curtain of silence guarding the Holocaust hoax and the Middle East mess, and to call (in vain) for Americans to clean out the Augean stables of New York, Washington, and Hollywood. A revisionist classic.

Boy, I love these types of books. Printed in the height of the Cold War, Beaty sees just about every Democratic leader as a stooge for Communism, and every Republican leader as the last line of defense against the gathering Red hordes. Hilarious! In its defense, there is some good information on the frustration that President Truman had as the Chinese revolution was taking form.

That said, this book was most certainly a John Birch Society pick of the week, right along with the dangers of fluoridation, integration, and secret radio waves emitting from televisions which transmit signals from Joseph Stalin.

Read this to understand the thinking of the early extreme Right Wing, which today feels at home with the likes of Pat Buchanan, etc.