Tag: politics

Can your speech be silenced?

Muzzled book cover

Not too long ago, a liberal radio personality on NPR was fired for discussing his own social prejudices, saying those in Muslim garb on airplanes trigger something in him that makes him uncomfortable (“worried” and “nervous,” he states).

Was this an inappropriate firing? He was, after all, sharing his opinion on another network. And, also, in the full context of the interview (view a discussion on CNN of it here), his argument included a discussion of the dangers of using religion to label someone as dangerous?

You won’t get an argument from us about if it was right or wrong, but you can read Juan’s take on it. His book, Muzzled: The Assault on Honest Debate, discusses his firing and the effect it had on his career. He also discusses what it implied to the modern media and the implications it has towards others who wish to express opinions and/or honest feelings that might not be of the most popular opinion.

So check it out, currently on our new books shelf, and see for yourself.

Is your campus being bought and sold? This book thinks so

Today’s book, The Lost Soul of Higher Education by Ellen Schrecker, posits that outside interests are leading an idealogical assault on academic freedom. From corporate influence on material taught, distribution of funds, and using the current economic state to scare initiatives into action or inaction, the author compares the intrusion of outside interests on campuses across the US to the obstacles faced during the McCarthy era – and she would know, she’s a Cold War scholar.

So pick it up and see what you think. It should be of interest to anyone working, attending, or paying for higher education.

It’s almost election time, learn about the process

Not everybody has been happy with how elections have been handled in the 21st century. Ushered in with the 2000 presidential elections and the hanging chads, continuing on to complaints about the voting process in every election since, people are looking at what can be changed.

Today’s book, Reforming the Electoral Process in America by Brian L. Fife, looks at what processes, if any, can be improved to insure a better, easier, and more accurate method of getting the people’s truly selected choice into their office.  It’s a good read for anyone leaning left or right to learn about what takes place in the voting booth, and what could be done better.

And whether you read the book or not, make sure you know where to vote!

The Breaking Up of India

Some of the most long-term effects of British colonization can be seen in India.  The book, The Partition of India by Ian Talbot and Gurharpal Singh, looks at the separation of India that occurred in 1941, as the British relocated many communities and created, among other things, what has become Pakistan.  The book tells of the events leading up to it, the effects it had, and the long term violence, political, and identity problems that have resulted from it.

H-2-Oh Snap

Water : the epic struggle for wealth, power, and civilization by Steven Solomon is all about how settlements and their relationship to water have helped shape society. And this isn’t a “They built it by a river!” lame account of what should be obvious to anyone who has ever been thirsty. This actually goes into detail about dynasties collapsing based on unrest related water, how the Nile’s flood patterns effected their political relations, and how modern civilization is yet to tap into some of these strategic advantages of their water supplies.

And, since I mainly seem to feature books that scare the crap out of me, it is worth noting that it also concludes with a heavy-handed warning that we’ll run out of water and everyone will die.  That’s an over-simplification of the message, but the author does emphasize that something must be done as water supplies grow more scarce.  That being said, he seems to focus on strategies to make one’s nation superior during times of scarce water as opposed to “How to make more water”, but it doesn’t make it any less interesting.

Crashing the Party?

One can track a shift in the Republican Party as some members started to focus on issues like homosexuality, Christianity, abortion, abstinence education, or any combination of the aforementioned. Many turned to evangelical church figureheads to be leaders for the party.  The schism this may have created and the reasons why it may have occurred are posited in Max Blumenthal’s Republican Gomorrah: Inside the Movement that Shattered a Party. Though it is an examination of many facts, it is also strongly opinionated: Blumental suggests that sexual abuse may have shaped certain key leaders in the movement, and he also works for Media Matters, an organization that montiors the media for bias, but has been accused of leaning left on the political spectrum.

With all the talk on the news about the Republican Party being in what sports teams might call “a rebuilding year,” Republican Gomorrah is an interesting hypothesis about what may have led to it.

BotD Takes a Break From Politics

… sort of.

Are you stressed about the election?  Are you fatigued from American politics and all its laborious processes?  Are your eardrums hurt by Kieth Olbermann, Bill O’Reilly, or anyone else?

Maybe it is time to turn to foreign political families.  Speaking for Myself: My Life from Liverpool to Downing Street is the autobiography of Cherie Blair, barrister and (more famously) wife of former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair.  This is the full biography, not just her life in the British spotlight.  Her childhood was unique and she was established long before Blair’s rise to leadership.  An interesting story worth a read.