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THE PARANOID STYLE in AMERICAN POLITICS and OTHER ESSAYS by Richard Hofstadter

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  -Originally published by Harper's Magazine in 1964 and in book form by Alfred A. Knopf in 1965. -Audiobook published in 2018 by Tantor Audio. -Read by Keith Sellon-Wright. -Duration: 10 hours, 44 minutes. -Unabridged. Award-winning historian Richard Hofstadter (1916-1970) wrote these essays over a series of years and compiled them into a collection with a loose theme of how American politics is affected by paranoid conspiracies.  Barry Goldwater (1909-1998) He starts with the presidential candidacy of Barry Goldwater and the political commentary of groups like the John Birch Society. His descriptions of the Goldwater campaign sound so much like the Trump campaign of 2016 that a reader can almost replace the name Goldwater with the name Trump. The details are, of course, different, but the tone is practically the same.  The ideological framework of the John Birch Society is replaced with QAnon, the fear of communism is replaced with the fear of immigrants but the tone is practica

THE JEFFERSON RULE: WHY WE THINK the FOUNDING FATHERS HAVE ALL the ANSWERS (audiobook) by David Sehat

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Published by Tantor Audio in May of 2015 Read by Tom Perkins Duration: 8 hours, 16 minutes If you are a person that likes to debate on the internet than you have undoubtedly experienced Godwin's Law . Godwin's Law states that if you debate long enough on the internet, someone will inevitably make a comparison to Nazism, Hitler, the Holocaust ("You don't like Donald Trump's hair? What are you the hairdo Nazi?!?").  A similar rule exists when discussing American politics - eventually someone will refer back to the Founding Fathers. It is especially easy to quote Thomas Jefferson - he was so prolific and well-written that it is easy to break out a quote to support your point of view. In the case of Jefferson, it is often too easy because he was extremely inconsistent in his political views. To start easy, he did write " We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unaliena

THE CONSERVATARIAN MANIFESTO: LIBERTARIANS, CONSERVATIVES, and the FIGHT for the RIGHT'S FUTURE by Charles C. W. Cooke

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   Libertarians and Conservatives - Natural Allies, Natural Rivals Published in 2015 by Crown Forum Charles C. W. Cooke is a writer for National Review  and as such he has been in the center of a storm as the political Right works through a new generation of thought on a variety of issues. In some issues, the political Right is united, such as on the concept of Limited Government and keeping taxes as low as possible. Ron Paul Generally speaking, Libertarians bond more readily with the Right than the Left, which is why Ron Paul identified as a Libertarian for years yet caucused with the Republicans in the Congress and ran for president as a Republican. The dislike of the Nanny State on many issues pushes them together as temporary allies on many issues. But, on other issues such as the War on Drugs and Gay Marriage the Right is split and split deeply. Cooke is attempting to nudge the Republicans a little more to the Libertarian point of view on things so that these temporar

THE LIBERTY AMENDMENTS: RESTORING the AMERICAN REPUBLIC (audiobook) by Mark R. Levin

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Published by Simon and Schuster Audio in August of 2013. Narrated by Jason Culp. Opening and closing chapters read by Mark R. Levin. Duration: 6 hours, 54 minutes. For the past several years Conservative commentator Mark R. Levin has been laying out his arguments that demonstrate the government is over-reaching its Constitutional limitations in a series of books. He has discussed the Supreme Court in Men in Black , the roots of statist politics in Liberty and Tyranny and pointed out the ongoing actions of statists in Ameritopia . Now, in The Liberty Amendments , Levin details how he would address the problem using a series of Constitutional amendments. Since it is unlikely that the current crop of Senators and Representatives would vote to amend the Constitution and limit their power, Levin urges the states to initiate the process by calling for a national convention. Mark R. Levin His proposed amendments include: -Term limits for Congress (12 years); -Repeal t

The Forgotten Conservative: Re-Discovering Grover Cleveland by John M. Pafford

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Published by Regnery History in May of 2013 Grover Cleveland. Quick! Name me any fact about Grover Cleveland that you can think of! Was he the one that was so fat that he got stuck in the bathtub? No, that was Taft. Is he on the Mount Rushmore? No, those are Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and T. Roosevelt. Was he a famous Civil War general that became president? No, that was Grant, Garfield, Hayes and Harrison. Grover Cleveland, the 22nd and 24th President (1837-1908) Was he the president who was elected, got beat running for his second term but ran again and then won so that you have to learn his name twice if your teacher makes you learn the presidents? Yes. That's him. But, as John M. Pafford demonstrates in The Forgotten Conservative, Grover Cleveland was a man  of contradictions. He was a uniquely principled man who was also mired in a sex scandal (the famous taunt went:  " Ma, Ma, where's my Pa?"  "Gone to the  White House , ha ha ha!&

Parliament of Whores: A Lone Humorist Attempts to Explain the Entire U.S. Government by P.J. O'Rourke

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Originally published in 1991. I read the 1992 Vintage Books paperback edition. Dated but still has teeth. P.J. O'Rourke goes after the ridiculousness that is the federal government with his trademark irreverent style in this 1991 book. Some of the commentary is dated (lots of talk about the forgettable 1988 presidential election with Republican George H.W. Bush going against Democrat Michael Dukakis. Also, the first one I voted in) but some of it is incredibly relevant. For example, the story of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHSTA) looking into the mystery of suddenly accelerating Audis 1n 1986 was reminiscent of the same problem with Toyotas that filled the news channels in 2009 and 2010. Perhaps O'Rourke's most famous line comes from this book: "Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys." (pg. xvii in the preface) This sentiment is pretty typical of the book as a whole and one that I

The American Spirit: Celebrating the Virtues and Values that Make Us Great by Edwin J. Feulner and Brian Tracy

An introduction to Conservatism Published in 2012 by Thomas Nelson The American Spirit lists twenty "virtues and values" that serve to introduce the reader to the basics of Conservatism. These virtues and values include Patriotism, Responsibility, Optimism, Honesty, Faith, Tolerance and Open-Mindedness, Idealistic Realism, Problem Solving and Courage. As I noted above, the book is an introduction to Conservatism. I am a Conservative and have been reading Conservative literature for a long time. The discussion is "bite-sized" rather than far-ranging and deep and is bound to be a little simplistic. For example, during the discussion on education there is praise for the idea of rating schools A-F but no discussion of the criteria that go into rating schools, or even if a central government (in this case a state government) should even be inserting itself into education and giving schools a letter grade. After all, education has long been a traditional functio

Ameritopia: The Unmaking of America (audiobook) by Mark R. Levin

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Much more intellectual than I expected Published in 2012 by Simon & Schuster Audio. Read by Adam Grupper and the author, Mark R. Levin. Duration: Approximately 8 hours. Over the years I have listened to Levin's radio show from time to time (he used to be carried in my city) and what I always remember from that show is Levin's frequent bombastic outbursts, a kind of manufactured rage that was meant to punctuate his points but lost their punch as I realized that he wasn't just getting angry over some particularly egregious issue, but he was angry over all of them. But, I have listened to three of his audiobooks and find them to be much better than his radio show. The first one I listened to ( Men in Black ) was just for a goof and I was surprised to find that it was pretty solid and the next one ( Liberty and Tyranny ) was even better. This one was an intellectually robust look at the major philosophers who have espoused tyrannical forms of governments disguised

Ronald Reagan: Our 40th President by Winston Groom

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Published by Regnery Publishing, Inc. in 2012. Winston Groom, forever to be known as the author of Forrest Gump , has busied himself with a series of non-fiction books as of late. His latest is this short biography, Ronald Reagan: Our 40th President . The publisher lists this book as "juvenile nonfiction" but this adult also enjoyed this 148 page biography. This is not a controversial "let's set the record straight" book. I detected no political bias except for the fact that is a generally friendly book towards Reagan. That being said, Groom covers the lows of Reagan's personal (strained relationships with his children, for example) and political life (Iran Contra - it gets more attention than almost any aspect of his presidency) and covers them as thoroughly as a book of this size should. Ronald Reagan (1911-2004) This is a great book for high school students because it is easy to read, does not dwell on topics for too long and covers all parts

After America: Get Ready for Armeggedon by Mark Steyn

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"If something cannot go on forever, it will stop" The above quote is from the economist Herbert Stein. Besides being a clever little bit of the obvious, a Yogi Berra-type quote, it is also part of a scary thought about America itself that Mark Steyn points out in After America - America cannot keep doing what it is doing forever and hope to lead the world - it will stop. It cannot keep  borrow 40% of its budget forever and hope to keep its economy afloat or offer its children a decent future. America cannot hope that a post-America world will be pleasant - as Steyn notes on page 14 "...it's not hard to figure out how it's going to end." After America: Get Ready for Armageddon is really the sequel to America Alone: The End of the World As We Know It a book that details how low birth rates, a general cultural malaise and a nanny state stupor threatens to overwhelm the same countries that once led the world in political, military and cultural might. N

The Vision of the Anointed: Self-Congratulation as a Basis for Social Policy by Thomas Sowell

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Good, but needed more detail Thomas Sowell , a noted conservative thinker and a genuinely interesting person (I've heard him as a guest on a local radio station several times) writes an effective book against the actions of those whom he calls 'The Annointed.'  The Vision of the Anointed: Self-Congratulation as a Basis for Social Policy is effective, but not a great work. Who are The Annointed ? He uses the term in a sarcastic way here to illuminate those 'Teflon prophets' (he uses that term because some of them are still considered credible despite no evidence that their predictions have ever come true) that scream doom and gloom and offer the direst of predictions unless we immediately give them the power to save us - since we are too simple to see the problem for ourselves and take the actions needed to save ourselves. Thomas Sowell It does not necessarily need to be someone with world-shaking problems, like Paul Ehrlich and his populatio

110 People Who Are Screwing Up America (And Al Franken Is #37) by Bernard Goldberg

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Goldberg takes aim - both left and right (but mostly at the left) Just so you know, I was officially tired of the Coulter / Moore slamfest format about two years ago and I went cold turkey for quite a while. Mostly, they end up being long lists of high crimes and misdemeanors committed by the other side and while that is interesting it also starts to get silly after a while. Does either party or any party have a perfect record? No. Both have loudmouths and losers that shoot off their mouths and write insane things. I'm a Republican and there are Republicans that I would just as soon sit down and shut their mouths - they've said enough idiotic things to last a lifetime - let someone else have a chance! Bernard Goldberg Now, Goldberg is in a different class (mostly) from the partisan bashers. He avoids the acid comments (a la Coulter, Savage, Franken, Moore) and he really knows how to write. Bias and Arrogance are the reason I picked this one up - they

South Park Conservatives: The Revolt Against Liberal Media Bias by Brian C. Anderson

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An up and down work I will admit, the title of South Park Conservatives: The Revolt Against Liberal Media Bias got my attention and it was the reason that I picked it up. For the record, I am not a big fan of South Park, but I could see where he might go with it based on my limited exposure to the series (I've seen maybe 10 episodes of the show). I was not disappointed with the "South Park" section of the book. However, that is only a small section of the book. The first 1/3 or so is your traditional "Look how they are slandering us in the media!" finger-pointing exercise that both Liberals and Conservatives use in their books. While useful for setting up the rest of his book, I could have done without it. I've been there, done that and, frankly, I am tired of it. The middle part, the part concerning Conservative comedy, such as South Park, Dennis Miller and Colin Quinn was very good. Anderson sets up the jokes so that they usually

An Inconvenient Book: Real Solutions to the World's Biggest Problems by Glenn Beck

Entertaining, not terribly deep Much like a typical day on Glenn's show, An Inconvenient Book: Real Solutions to the World's Biggest Problems is fun, easy to digest, all over the place and sometimes a bit kooky. Glenn starts out with a bang with his anti-Al Gore chapter and it is strong. In the middle he gets off track with chapters like the one about chick flcks and guy movies, blind dates and the one about aging (I fail to see how wearing a toupee or not is one of the world's biggest problems). His constant cheap shots on overweight people is not endearing, either. However, his chapters on the United Nations, political correctness, college education and the minimum wage are all very strong. He ends up with his pet theory that America is being led towards a Mexican-American-Canadian united country. He discusses this from time to time on his show. He makes a weak case in his book and it is a dud of a chapter to end with. Not having footnotes, endnotes o

Crunchy Cons: The New Conservative Counterculture and Its Return to Roots by Rod Dreher

Neat idea but bad follow through I grabbed Crunchy Cons: The New Conservative Counterculture and Its Return to Roots on impulse as I was leaving the local purveyor of books. You see, I am a "Crunchy Con" of sorts, being an avid recycler. But, this book really failed to reach me. In fact, I felt like I was being preached at with certain topics being outright hammered into my skull due to their repetitive re-occurrence. Pluses: -The book addresses the fact that the conservative movement is not monolithic and their are a variety of reasons for people to espouse conservatism. -Embraces a belief in buying local - something I try to do when I go out to eat or shop whenever reasonably possible. -Points out how silly it is to apply big business agricultural regulations to family farms. Negatives: -What the heck is "crunchy"? Search the internet and you may get a reference to "Crunchy granola", which basically means being hippie-like. Or, you

I Can't Believe I'm Sitting Next to a Republican: A Survival Guide for Conservatives Marooned Among the Angry, Smug, and Terminally Self-Righteous by Harry Stein

I am the guy the book is aimed at (a Conservative that is an active member of a teacher's union) and I found it only okay... To give you an idea about how serious of a conservative I am, my bookmark was a copy of "Imprimis" (Hillsdale College's free newsletter featuring excerpts from speeches by conservatives). I picked I Can't Believe I'm Sitting Next to a Republican: A Survival Guide for Conservatives Marooned Among the Angry, Smug, and Terminally Self-Righteous up sight unseen figuring it would be organized like one of those "Guide for Dummies" books. The book is intended to be a "survival guide" for Conservatives that are out of place - the conservative college professor, social worker, or in my case, the conservative active and involved member of a teacher's union. As I said, I thought it might be a hoot, especially if it were organized like one of those "Dummies" books, imagining categories like "What to do i

America's March to Socialism: Why We're One Step Closer to Giant Missile Parades (audiobook) by Glenn Beck

Not original material, but a compilation of an ongoing segment of his radio show Published by Simon and Schuster Audio in 2009. Multicast performance (but mostly Glenn Beck). Duration: 1 hour, 6 minutes. Glenn Beck's America's March to Socialism: Why We're One Step Closer to Giant Missile Parades is a compilation of an ongoing "bit: or segment of his radio show called, "America's March to Socialism." The bit features a 1940s/50s style voice over guy telling us he's bringing us even more proof that America is heading towards socialism while a military marching plays in the background, bringing those old Soviet-style "missile parades" to mind, thus the title. There are about 20 bits on here, including an introduction. One problem is the relentless background theme music - it can be annoying, although I listened while walking the dog and it kind of helped get me in a rhythm... This is the happy Glenn - the Glenn that lampoons and q