Refreshing escape from the paranoia of the Left
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Refreshing. It's the Best current review of the science, economics, environmental, and political aspects on Climate Change in 2015.
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Primetime Propaganda by Ben Shapiro surprised me because when I heard that it was written by a conservative columnist, I was expecting this venomous, hate filled, ideological rant against the admittedly quite liberal television industry. What I actually got was a rational and fairly even handed approach towards the television industry that spoke to the creators and consumers of television from the 1950's through today and he discovered that yes many of them are liberal, but that the injection of liberal politics into television programs was not some liberal minded conspiracy to bring about the ruin of society, but rather just an incidental reaction to the fact that most TV writers are liberal. Shapiro goes to great links to declare that most Hollywood writers are not ultra militant liberals while mentioning that most conservatives are not ultra-right loons, which I found refreshing given the nature for branding in this increasingly politicized society.

My favorite chapters in this book are the first one which provides a historical overview of television industry and the next two chapters which deal with how various comedies that America loves like Dick Van Dyke and the Honeymooners gave way to the Family Ties, Cheers, and Friends of the 1990's and spread liberal messages to the masses. In Chapter 3, Shapiro tackles the dramas ranging from the more innocent fare of the 1950's down to the Grey's Anatomy's and ER's of contemporary times. Shapiro praises a number of shows including Southland, House, even Glee is described as well written, before he begins his criticisms. There are a couple of points where Shapiro's conservative views bleed through the pages a bit, but that's to be expected and to a large extent Shapiro's on high ground: I mean would it kill us to have a little more conservatism in Hollywood instead of the teenage sex factories produced by some networks. My criteria for a book is did it make me think, was I entertained and the answer to both these questions is yes. So I implore liberals, moderates, and conservatives alike to put down their biases and pre-conceived notions and read this book.
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Once again, David Horowitz has a winner in this book. This ex-Leftie really knows what he's talking about, because he was raised in a Communist household and was a leader in the New Left in the '60s. He knows how the Left thinks, and he can deconstruct their arguments like no one else. If you really want to know what the Left has been up to since 9/11, this is the book for you.

In addition to being perceptive and insightful, Horowitz is an extremely good writer. His arguments are not inflammatory, just on target. Even if you don't agree with all of his assessments, this book is an extremely important book for you to read, to understand how the Left Wing in our country is undermining our security.
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If the common citizen and 'permanent political class' in America read Dr. Haidt's book, they will both likely experience a paradigm shift in their attitudes toward politics. With humor and verve and after extensive research, the insights from this evolutionary, political and moral psychologist shatter the insular self-congratulatory moral positions of both the political Left and Right.

Professor Haidt explains partisanship and morality politics in terms easy for a layman to understand while providing startling new analysis of what motivates political loyalties. During the reading process the reader is inexorably drawn into revising their own political biases, such that centrism becomes an inescapable result. By a better understanding of the moral politics practiced by the 'other,' Dr. Haidt gently establishes open-mindedness as both a pragmatic as well as principled personal goal of a voting citizen.

If every political pundit, columnist, politician, and civic-minded American read this book, our politics would experience a paradigm shift for the better.
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Having recently read Bernard Goldberg's "Arrogance" (and reviewed it on Amazon), I dug into David Brock's "The Republican Noise Machine" with the same kind of anticipation -- an expose of the workings of the partisan news media from one who used to labor in the belly of the beast.  However, having also read several enthusiastic reviews of Goldberg's book by other Amazon contributors, I was impressed with how many readers felt their own prior belief in "liberal media bias" had been validated in "Arrogance."  I fear that a lot of people will read "The Republican Noise Machine" looking for just that kind of validation of their passionate perception of a "vast right-wing conspiracy" in the nation's news media.  No news organization, no reporter, is free of the cultural biases that influence all of us.  A "liberal" can be just a quick to jump to conclusions or be "selective" in including or excluding facts as anyone elsewhere on that simplistic political spectrum. One of the great dangers alluded to in Brock's book is the growing tendency of news consumers to read and view only what "confirms" their preconceptions -- a human failing, perhaps, but a failing nonetheless.

Having said that, I found Brock's evidence of a "conservative" media cabal more convincing than Goldberg's claims for "liberal" dominance.  Of course, they're talking about two different types of media distortion.  Goldberg sees primarily a bias of culture in the Elite Media, which he portrays as an exclusive club, sitting smug in its coastal enclaves, looking down its nose on the rest of the country.  But, Goldberg says, there's no organized left-wing conspiracy to dominate Big Media - the bias occurs because "the club" is so restrictive as to who can become a member.  (One wonders how in hell Dan Rather was allowed in?)

Brock, on the other hand, makes a valid case for a well-organized, well-financed campaign by "conservative" Republicans over the past 35 years or so to dominate various channels of information by which Americans get the news - and to shift the parameters of public debate "back" toward the right's agenda.  Chapter by chapter, he lays out a plausible narrative detailing the interaction of certain foundations and corporate funders, conservative think tanks and religious organizations, Republican politicians, and journalists-with-agendas who move easily across ethical lines.  The sheer size of the enterprise is staggering, encompassing not only obvious right-wing organs like Fox News and "The Washington Times," but at least portions of the "liberal" media that Goldberg assails - e.g., "The Washington Post" and CNN.  The usual suspects whom "liberals" love to hate - Limbaugh, Coulter, O'Reilly - are given ample space, along with less-well-known advocates of a "conservative" propaganda network - Richard Mellon Scaife, Brent Bozell III, William Kristol, Roger Ailes and many others.

There are times when the sheer volume of information Brock presents in "The Republican Noise Machine" seems a bit numbing, but little of it is extraneous.  My only major quibble is that there are not more notes detailing sources of information, but this doesn't affect the overall credibility of the book.

Brock's earlier "expose" of the "conservative" media, "Blinded by the Right," was essentially the personalized confession of a rather naive young man who seems to have been disillusioned not only by the right-wing media's lack of integrity and journalistic ethics, but by the Republican party leadership's hypocritical anti-gay agenda.  The earlier book came across as a little whiney, however credible its insights.  "The Republican Noise Machine" is a far more solid piece of work.  Brock doesn't offer any "solutions" to the issue of right-wing media bias, save the obvious - constant monitoring of media misstatements, half-truths, and outright lies, and greater support for news outlets that strive for the unobtainable - and, thus, all the more noble - ideal of objective reporting.
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<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Ameritopia-The-Unmaking-of-America/dp/1439173249/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Ameritopia: The Unmaking of America</a>Ameritopia is a much needed breath of fresh air exposing the questionable motivations of those on the Left, many of whom don't seem to even understand their own roots.  I find it amusing how the extreme negative reviews seem to be a campaign by those hostile to the American message of freedom with responsibility.
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I thoroughly enjoyed this book, even as an adult, and would recommend it to anyone, especially if you feel like American history is being increasingly distorted by the left.
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This work is a must-read for anyone concerned with the trends on the far left, often dubbed the "regressive left", a term coined by Maajid Nawaz. (Forgive me if I spelled his name wrong!)

The postmodernist have hijacked the left in the West. They're after free speech and they're pro censorship, and if you don't go along with their dogma, you're a racist, Islamophobe, misogynist, homophobe etc.

We all know the effects of controlling speech, read history: medieval Christianity, Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, Maoist China, much of the Islamic world today.  That is hell on earth, folks, and it always starts with speech.  And now it's starting again, in Western academia, media, and leftist politics.

Read this and educate yourself. When the day comes, don't say you weren't warned.
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Moores The New Bossism of the American Left guides the reader though the entrenched bureaucracy that has secured itself to all facets of the American Experiment. The heavy handed days of Tammany Hall have long passed, but the machine politic blueprint still drives the way in which political interest is directed. While the left glowingly dons the trapping of free speech and free thinking, any challenge is considered Undemocratic or labeled Unscientific and ultimately squashed.

Ideas of dissent may be allowed as a side dish to the main course on occasion, so long as the appropriate rings have been kissed. The New Bossism of the American Left challenges the mind to accept that our constitutional rights may not be so represented or respected. Moores work lifts the veil showing us Popular Opinion may not be so popular, and indeed may only represent a mighty few who work in crucial intersecting shadows and wield unseen sway away from our constitutional rights and responsibilities. A must read!
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I was a sixties left winger and have gradually been drifting back sanity. I feel like Professor Scruton's wonderful book is a final step away from the craziness of our thinking at that time. Like many radicals, I swooned over John Lennon's "Imagine" thinking it to be the description of something actually achievable. But I was on autopilot, not really aware of the long lineage of vacuous thinkers who had made that belief seem self-evident. Scruton shines a revealing light on all these intellectuals and after meticulously describing their belief systems, proceeds to systematically demolish them. Their underlying commonality he shows us is resentment of power and an airy-fairy intellectual construction of a fantasized alternative with no rational basis or empirical support. I almost gave this 3 stars because the question that haunted me throughout the entire book he only addressed in the last two pages: why do left wing Utopian fantasies persist even in the face of historical evidence against them? Why do elite students at the best US universities, perhaps the most privileged human beings the world has ever created still have this burning resentment against "unfair power structures." But Scruton is a philosopher, not a psychologist or theologian and others have written on this topic (Jonathan Haidt and Renee Girard for  example). Great book
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WONDERFUL MUST READ.  As this country appears to be going left at a rapid rate, and the Leftists always feel they are so right,  here is a great way (and an easy read) to confront/debate them and put them in their place.....
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There are a lot of political books out there and a lot of autobiographies. I find this book to be the most intriguing in both categories. Rich in stories of personal and family experience, you'll find yourself on the brink of tears as Medved relates the hardships of his grandparents in the old country and, if you're like me, you'll crack up laughing at his description of the Hippie wanna-be classmates he studied with at Yale who readily conformed to the 60's "nonconformist" drug culture like it was the latest fad.

Michael demonstrates that his early rejection of the ideas of modern liberals like Hilary Clinton and John Kerry were more values-based than politically based. Most of this early rejection had to do with an skeptical attitude toward "coastal elitism" gained while hitchhiking across the vast, American "fly over country", or what we now term the "red states". On these adventures, he met extremely nice, intelligent and knowledgeable truckdrivers and small town folks who challenged the sheltered existence of his uppity classmates.

Modern liberals reading this book might scoff that Medved was always a conservative - a common tactical claim made against many who experience a true conversion. But I believe there are things here with which even they will be forced to agree and plenty they can chuckle about, or perhaps at least crack a smile and admit his point. On the other hand, as a conservative who has made his own "right turns" and as regular listener of Michael's radio show and a sometimes caller, I love the book dearly and laughed raucously at his wit and wisdom from beginning to end. If you like thoughtful books, stuff like Michael Barone's "Hard America, Soft America" and Allan Bloom's "Closing of the American Mind" then you will truly appreciate "Right Turns" more than the standard cookie-cutter, conservative book club fare.
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Mark Levin cuts through the baloney and explains the direction that our beloved country is headed--a direction which isn't very nice. Learn the reasons behind the "feel good" attitude of utopian masterminds and why the political correctness of the 21st century isn't just bothersome, it is the driving force to allow the statists to rid us ALL of our liberties. Definitely worth reading, as are his other books.
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In these exciting times I feel a need to read a political thriller every week or so. There are a lot of books about having our rights rescinded via the Patriot Act. Plenty of books about CIA, Mossad, Blackwater, special ops adventures. Huge number of exposes about colorful politicians, hey even the dull ones normally get a book or two.

Who can resist books about international bankers, Illuminati, and the Bilderbergs? Not I. Due to the extreme difficulty in uncovering inside information on the Bilderbergs, I had yet to find a comprehensive tale of intrigue covering their august adventures. Then I got banned for mentioning the book at a political forum so I simply had to get it immediately.

I'm glad I did. This book is fun to read and about as informative as you could reasonably hope it to be. I think 2008 will be a watershed year in world history. It is probable that the Bilderbergers will provide the water. And the shed.

Forget the CFR, the Trilateral Commission, the masons/illuminati, and the transnational corporate heads. They all largely answer to the Bilderberg Group.
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I stumbled upon this deliciously eloquent author in listening to one of my favorite podcasts, "shrink wrap radio" (episode #340 and worth listening to). It is essential for anyone who wants to rethink their understanding of right/left brain dichotomy beyond the annoyingly universal misconceptions.
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I love Ben Shapiro!  Great read.  After debating with the Left for the past year or so, I feel like I already knew all of their arguments (since they don't have many), but this was a very interesting read regardless.  For those who don't know and want to learn about the pathetic talking points and buzzwords of the Left, I highly recommend this.
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Most of my reading this summer has been in preparation for a new course on Political Correctness in American Society. The amount of material out there is staggering. A recent search on the phrase "political  correctness" had over 50,000 hits. The phrase is all over the culture  in skirmishes left and right. I am enjoying this research, but it is  professional, not pleasure, reading. Thus it was with great interest and  anticipation that I ordered How I Accidentally Joined the Vast-Right Wing  Conspiracy (And Found Inner Peace). I was not disappointed.
Harry Stein  is my senior by almost a decade, but the ideological journey and cultural  landmarks he chronicles look familiar to me. Stein is a writer and  journalist with 6 books and credits at the New York Times, GQ, Esquire and  TV Guide. He is currently an ethics columnist for the Wall Street Journal.  His account of his journey is breezy, funny, well-researched, open and  honest. It has the distinct advantage, in my view, of being simultaneously  pleasurable, professional AND subversive in the cause of freedom. Hard to  beat that combination.
Stein's journey from 60's radical student activist  to 90's conservative begins with paternity and family life circa 1980  (there's that decade difference again) That's probably not a big surprise.  But the Manhattan media and literary world and upper middle class  Hastings-on-Hudson suburban neighborhood that Stein and his family inhabit  might well be the most politically correct environment known in modern  America, other than a university campus that is. Stein chronicles how his  father's eye view takes in the culture wars on Clinton, abortion, gay  rights, feminism, affirmative action and more, and how the disconnect  between received liberal wisdom and his perspective on these issues places  him and his wife, who is the quiet leader of this expedition, at  ideological odds with their professional and local communities.
The  Presidential election of 1992 is a revealing landmark in ideological  journeys. Stein is well aware of Clinton's (now) obvious moral and ethical  failings and casts a protest vote for Perot. (It must be noted that this  author was not nearly so prescient, but there's that decade again, slightly  compressed. I dropped my Democratic registration after Hillary's health  care debacle, was an independent for Angus King in '94 and a registered  Republican in '97. My journey started later, but progressed somewhat faster  in the 90's. Of course it's not over yet.)
Stein has done his research,  sifting through the cultural archives both recent and historical to  chronicle the personal and societal consequences of our debates on gender  equality, gay rights, diversity and freedom of speech and association. He  writes quite personally about abortion, and his continued support for  choice against a backdrop of deep regret for an American culture that takes  it so cavalierly. He documents how ideological viewpoint effects what is  and is not presented by various media outlets, including The New York Times  at some length. He misses the degree to which the internet has energized  and enabled the subversive vast right-wing conspiracy, but there's that ten  years again.
It's a great read, and food for your brain too. I'll be  ordering a copy for the UMM library.
How to Tell if You've Joined the  Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy
You hear someone talking about morality and  you no longer instantly assume he must be a sexually repressed religious  nut. You're actually relieved that your daughter plays with dolls and your  son plays with guns.  Watching network news, you notice that the person  opposing affirmative action is identified as a conservative  spokesman," while the one supporting is just a "Harvard  professor". Jon Reisman is a faculty member at the University of Maine  at Machias