Author:Stephen Holmes and Cass R. Sunstein Title: The Cost of Rights: Why Liberty Depends on Taxes Publication Info: W. W. Norton & Company (2000), Paperback, 256 pages Summary/Review: This is a book that I thought was a response to the widespread idea in the contemporary United States that taxation is a bad thing that restricts liberty. While…
Tag: Politics
Book Review: Becoming a Citizen Activist</em< by Nick Licata
Author: Nick Licata Title: Becoming a Citizen Activist Publication Info: Seattle, WA : Sasquatch Books, [2016] Summary/Review: A Seattle city councilor provides ideas, strategies, and practical advice for how any citizen can effect positive political change in their communities. It includes tips on how to deal with elected officials as well as demonstrating a cause to the public at…
My Vote For President (and some more important things)
I know everyone has been waiting to see the official 2016 Presidential endorsement of a minor blogger with 289 followers, and here it is! Actually, I think endorsements are mostly bunk and it drives me crazy how the media constantly speculates over who will endorse who and how many votes an endorsement will gain when…
Book Review: Feminism is for everybody : passionate politics by bell hooks
Author: bell hooks Title: Feminism is for everybody : passionate politics Publication Info: Cambridge, MA : South End Press, c2000. Previously read by the same author: All About Love: New Visions Summary/Review: This book is a short primer on feminism that bell hooks always wanted but had to write it since it didn’t exist. hooks lays down…
5 Favors I Ask of Clinton Supporters Should Clinton Be Elected President
The Democratic Party has determined that Hillary Clinton will be their presidential candidate and many people I know and love are celebrating the fact. Personally, Clinton’s record of supporting neoliberal ideology and a hawkish militarism make fear she would not be a good President, and I’m anxious that her unpopularity nationwide will mean she will…
5 Reasons Why Sanders Campaigning to the Convention is Good for the Democrats
If you listen to the popular news media and supporters of Hillary Clinton, the contest for the 2016 Democratic Party presidential nomination is over and Secretary Clinton won. But contender Bernie Sanders has vowed to continue his campaign until the Democratic National Convention in July, and even has a path to winning the pledged delegates….
Podcast of the Week: “The Supreme Court’s Loaded Gun” by Decode DC
The topic of this week’s Decode DC is the worst decision ever made by the United States Supreme Court. Korematsu v. United States validated interning Japanese-Americans during World War II, and has never been overturned. With the idea of surveillance and internment of Islamic-Americans under discussion in the 2016 election, a lot of people are…
2016 Election Reading List
In 6 months Americans will go to the polls to vote for our next President as well as representatives, senators, and countless state and local officials. I decided to put together a list of books on political and social topics that I find informative on various issues. Of course, while I think these are important…
Book Review: The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein
Author: Naomi Klein Title: The Shock Doctrine Narrator: Jennifer Wiltsie Publication Info: Macmillan Audio (2007) Summary/Review: This book exposes the ideology of neoliberalism, the idea that government should be limited to the bare bones and that corporations should be completely unregulated, a school of thought promoted by Milton Friedman at the University of Chicago. The book begins with…
Book Review: Listen, Liberal by Thomas Frank
Author: Thomas Frank Title: Listen, Liberal: Or, What Ever Happened to the Party of the People? Publication Info: Metropolitan Books (2016) Previously Read By Same Author: What’s the Matter With Kansas and Pity the Billionaire Summary/Review: I received a free advanced reading copy of this book through the Library Thing Early Reviewers program. Thomas Frank asks…
Podcast of the Week: “How Ann Boleyn Gave Us Our Right To Privacy” by Decode DC
Decode DC once again comes to Podcast of the Week with “How Ann Boleyn Gave Us Our Right To Privacy.” Today Americans view privacy as a fundamental civil liberty, a right that puts a boundary on what the government can do. Our ‘right to privacy’ has become part of the essential contract Americans make with…
Book Review: The new Jim Crow : mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
Author: Michelle Alexander Title:The new Jim Crow : mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness Publication Info: New York : [Jackson, Tenn.] : New Press ; Distributed by Perseus Distribution, 2010. Summary/Review: Alexander’s book demonstrates how mass incarceration in the United States has succeeded slavery and Jim Crow segregation in creating inequality and an undercaste…
Podcast of the Week: “How Did the Flint Water Crisis Happen?” by ProPublica
How Did the Flint Water Crisis Happen? is an important podcast by the investigative journalism agency ProPublica about one of the greatest criminal acts performed by a government against its people in American history. This is an important listen for gaining better understanding of this still under-reported humanitarian crisis in Michigan.
Podcast of the Week: DecodeDC – “When Words Speak Louder than Actions”
The Podcast of the Week is episode 122 of DecodeDC: “When Words Speak Louder than Actions” Who’d of thunk that the remedy to low congressional approval would be as simple as being nice?
What is the Future for Public Schools in Boston?
Once again, Massachusetts public schools are ranked the the best in the nation. This may be surprising to many based on the constant political rhetoric that public schools in Massachusetts are a “disaster.” One of the major issues is the great gap in achievement between low-income students and their more affluent peers. For me and…
Book Review: Hand to Mouth: Living in Bootstrap America by Linda Tirado
Author: Linda Tirado Title: Hand to Mouth: Living in Bootstrap America Narrator: Linda Tirado Publication Info: New York : Penguin Audio, p2014. Summary/Review: Tirado writes and narrates this extended essay on the poor in United States, unflinchingly and wryly explaining why the poor do the things the do and how both right-wing and left-wing stereotypes of…
Book Review: Pity the Billionaire by Thomas Frank
Author:Thomas Frank Narrator: Thomas Frank Title: Pity the Billionaire Publication Info: Macmillan Audio, 2012 ISBN: 9781427223128 Previous books read by the same author: What’s the Matter With Kansas? Summary/Review: Thomas Frank explores the ways in which the crash of 2008 and ensuing great recession failed to lead to a populist revolt against capitalists nor for greater government…
Book Review: Reign of Error: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America’s Public Schools by Diane Ravitch
Author: Diane Ravitch Title: Reign of Error Publication Info: Knopf (2013) Summary/Review: This is the most important book I’ve read all year and one that I think every American should read. Educational historian Diane Ravitch unravels the multi-pronged attack of the “school reform” movement on public education, teachers, and the core principles of democracy. While school reformers…
Worst Night of the Year Won’t Go Away
Believe it or not it’s been three years since I posted how much I hate Daylight Saving Time, and particularly the night in which we must “spring forward” the clock 1 hour. I’m not looking forward to waking up tomorrow and dragging myself through the day. I’ve nothing new to write, but here are my…
Movie Review: In The Loop
Title: In The Loop Release Date: 17 April 2009 Director: Armando Iannucci Production Co: IFC Films, BBC Films Country: United Kingdom Language: English Genre: Comedy | Satire Rating: *** This satirical film depicts mid-level government officials in Britain and the US as they work towards declaring war against an unnamed Middle Eastern country (an obvious parody…
