OBJECTION!: HOW HIGH-PRICED DEFENSE ATTORNEYS, CELEBRITY DEFENDANTS, AND A 24/7 MEDIA HAVE HIJACKED OUR CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

Book Description

Court TV host Nancy Grace presents her case in this behind-the-scenes look at the high-profile cases everyone is talking about ancy Grace is a name millions of Americans recognize from her regular appearances on Court TV and Larry King Live. Legions of loyal fans tune in for her opinions on today's high-profile cases and her expert commentary on the challenges facing the American judicial system. Now, in Objection!, she makes her case for what's wrong with the legal system and what can be done about it.

Customer Reviews:

Taking on the liberal justice system! .......2007-09-16

Nancy Grace takes on our liberal, soft on crime, pro criminal, anti victim justice system and she takes them on hard and she is holding nothing back! If you are a Nancy Grace fan you will love this book! Nancy Grace at her BEST!

OUR CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM IS FOR SALE.......2007-07-27

This is one amazing woman. The story about how she became a lawyer is nothing short of awe inspiring. And the stories in the court room will make you cringe and maybe even cry. And then there's the stories of the high profile celebrities who walked after they murdered. Very disconcerting and nauseous.

Disappointing........2007-04-14

Pandering.

Easy read though. As she implicitly acknowledges in every chapter of this book, she's a prime example of what she's criticizing.

She also appears to be intellectually dishonest and does not respect the legal system. Her tirades (and "tirades" is fairly accurate) against high priced defense attorneys (easy target, everybody hates them, right? me too) are quite simplistic for what I'd expect from a former prosecutor.

I can't believe that a person who comes across as a fairly average thinker, and a zealot, somehow managed to achieve a 100% conviction rate, without bending the rules a LOT.

Still, not a bad read. Burned through it very fast.

I would have given it 2 stars, until I found out there were sections in the book plagiarized. An former officer of the court who steals intellectual property, that deserves a ZERO.

Media and money can win you a case........2007-02-14

Nancy Grace host of her own show on CNN, a legal commentator on Court TV and a former prosecutor who never loss a case criticizes the criminal justice system including defense attorneys, judges, and juries. She also comments on controversial cases like Michael Jackson, Kobe Bryant, and Scout Peterson among others. She also suggests ways to reform the legal process to help victims of crime rather then criminals. Her book is factual and you can tell she has a zeal for justice. And I agree with almost everything she says in this book, especially that criminals should not profit from their convictions.

She's Nuts!.......2007-02-02

It is impossible to read this pitifully bad book without also conjuring up the image of Nancy Grace on CNN. She appears nightly with her face invariably twisted and contorted in rage and disgust, while bullying the weak and hapless and hopeless. It is beyond bizarre that CNN allows this embarrassing, demented freak to continue to appear on its programming. Nancy Grace may be the meanest and most cynical person appearing on television. And she's crazy.

Where the Right Went Wrong: How Neoconservatives Subverted the Reagan Revolution and Hijacked the Bush Presidency

Average customer rating:

An interesting critique of Iraq, but otherwise it's deceptively just a critique of liberals
Pat Buchanan is an honest, smrt guy
Interesting read from a true conservative
An Unsettling Book for Those Who Need to be Unsettled
I Always Wondered...

Where the Right Went Wrong: How Neoconservatives Subverted the Reagan Revolution and Hijacked the Bush Presidency
Patrick J. Buchanan
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0312341164
Release Date: 2005-04-21

Amazon.com

Although the George W. Bush administration is famous for being "on message," delivering a consistent and polished political perspective no matter what, such consistency apparently does not extend to every member of the conservative universe. In Where the Right Went Wrong, veteran pundit and occasional presidential candidate Patrick Buchanan offers up scathing criticisms of Bush's policies, the arrogance and boorishness of which, he warns, could ultimately dramatically destabilize the United States' superpower status. The problem, in Buchanan's eyes, is the rejection of traditional Reagan-era conservatism by an administration under the sway of the so-called "neoconservatives," who favor a pre-emptive military strategy and big government and don't mind running up dangerously huge budget deficits to support it. The war in Iraq, fought without direct demonstrable threat, alienates America in the eyes of the rest of the world, says Buchanan, squandering the global goodwill earned after the 9/11 attacks and creating exponentially larger numbers of terrorists who will threaten the U.S. for generations to come. The zeal over free trade among elected officials, a feeling notably not shared by Buchanan, Ross Perot, and Ralph Nader, is costing America jobs, Buchanan theorizes, and leading to a de-industrialized service-sector-only economy, an end to American self-sufficiency in favor of a reliance on global corporations, and a looming economic crisis. Refreshingly, and unlike pundits of his day, Buchanan crafts his arguments by examining world history, offering detailed analogies to the Roman Empire, the Civil War, and pre-Soviet Russia among others. Conservatives alienated by the Bush administration will find an eloquent champion in Buchanan and even liberals, who may not have known there was a conservative argument against war in Iraq, stand to learn something from a right side of the aisle perspective so different from that found in the Bush White House. --John Moe

Book Description

Revised and expanded to account for the 2004 election-a searing indictment of the G.O.P. by three-time presidential candidate and bestselling author, Pat Buchanan The New York Times bestseller Where the Right Went Wrong chronicles how Beltway conservatives have abandoned their principles, and how a handful of insiders have hijacked U.S. foreign policy, and ignited a 'war of civilizations' with the Islamic world that will leave us mired down in Middle East wars for years to come. Where the Right Went Wrong calls to task the Bush administration for its abandonment of conservatism including: -The neo-conservative cabal-liberal wolves in conserva-tive suits -Why the Iraq War has widened and imperiled the War on Terror -How current trade policy outsources our sovereignty and industrial strength. A controversial clarion call, Where the Right Went Wrong defines the battle for the heart of the G.O.P.

Customer Reviews:

An interesting critique of Iraq, but otherwise it's deceptively just a critique of liberals.......2007-10-15

I enjoyed listening to this book as a liberal, and as it seems other liberals have, partly because it's gratifying in some way to hear someone normally opposed to your point of view to criticize his own "side" for ineptitude. Buchanan lays out why we should have never gone to Iraq and how it is becoming (already in 2004) an imbroglio.

But now that I've had more time to think about the book, I've come to the conclusion that it's mainly a very typical condemnation of liberalism. Buchanan is mainly talking to fellow conservatives about conservative ideals, and that's fine. As a liberal, there are certainly some issues that I agree with conservatives on. I thought this was a kind of book where Buchanan would find common ground with his usual liberal foes and we could come together to try to figure some things out and solve some issues rather than participating in the same cliche arguments.

But other than saying basically the same thing many liberal critics of the war have been saying all along, Buchanan never suggests reaching out to those normally on the other side of the ideological line. Almost the opposite. The book, while condemning Iraq and the neoconservatives who started it, is a lot about how the neoconservatives are not conservatives at all. While I would agree with that assessment, Buchanan suggests they were simply liberals who decided to pretend to be conservatives when republicans started winning. So basically, while liberals have been the main critics of the ware since before day one, those responsible for getting us into the war were also liberal and this then cancels out any good the liberals have done to criticize our involvement. Buchanan never gives credit to the liberals who have been criticizing the war all along, even while making many of the same arguments they have been making!

While most of this book is about Iraq, Buchanan does talk about some issues closer to home - social conservative issues like abortion, the Supreme court, trade with China, and immigration. While these are important subjects on their own, I don't see how they relate to Iraq or neoconservatives. Either neoconservatives don't really concern themselves with social issues, or they go along with the social conservatives. True, Bush is more liberal on immagration, but I don't think that has anything to do with somehow being manipulated by neocons as it's been argued is the case with Iraq. So is all of this here just to make it more clear to his fellow conservatives that Buchanan is just as anti-liberal has he's ever been and just because he happens to hold a similar position as them on Iraq, that this should in no way be taken that he wants to have anything to do with them?

While many liberals will see this book as vindication and even a fig leaf of sorts, I just don't see it as anything but a the same old rhetoric about how horrible liberals are. Perhaps conservatives need some reminder in this sense ans Buchanan seems to be showing that there's been a great deal of confusion as to what conservatives really stand for, at least in terms of foreign policy. Maybe his thought that reminding them who their real foe is (liberals) is the sure fire way of reuniting them into a cohesive group again?

Pat Buchanan is an honest, smrt guy.......2007-09-26

Pat Buchanan knows what he's talking about -- having been involved in Republican politics going back to Barry Goldwater, this book provides Mr. Buchanan an opportunity to discuss what is wrong with the current Republican Party, and clearly illustrates how and why the current Republican Party is a liberal, big government, imperialist party which holds no similarities with the traditional Republican Party.

If you once supported the Republicans and have come to oppose their big government spending, or are a current Ron Paul supporter, this book is right up your alley.

Every American should read this book to see exactly what needs to be done to stop the current undemocratic and elitist two party system in this country, and how we can take our Republic back.

Interesting read from a true conservative.......2007-06-12

Pat Buchanan is well-known as a speechwriter and political analyst. He's also run for President and written a host of good books about conservatism in America. In this book, Buchanan's thesis is that the conservative Republican party has been hijacked by neo-cons, most of whom defected from the Democratic party. These neo-cons have hijacked the party of Ronald Reagan and even, according to Buchanan, our current President's brain. While this might be overstated, his bottom line is well-argued. Buchanan attacks the neo-cons on immigration, free trade, and our new role as world policeman. He pulls no punches.

What I so like and admire about Pat Buchanan is that he cuts through the political baloney and tells it like he sees it. The chips fall where they may. He's not a goose-stepping ideologue of either party. And unlike many windbag political commentators, this guy really believes what he's saying and doesn't just spout off to grab attention and make money. I don't agree with him on everything, but I always respect his opinion and the way he argues it.

Warning--Not recommended for people who do not like their preconceptions challenged. If you do, you should stick to Ann Coulter and Michael Moore.

An Unsettling Book for Those Who Need to be Unsettled.......2007-06-06

Great powers remain great only for as long as they can resist getting involved in the sticky political, military, and economic affairs of other nations. This philosophy is called isolationism although in WHERE THE RIGHT WENT WRONG, Patrick Buchanan prefers to call it protectionism. Buchanan notes that throughout most of America's history, we were strict isolationists who involved ourselves in overseas matters only when American interests were clearly at stake. Beginning with the Second World War, the United States has deliberately chosen to abandon those principles of the Founding Fathers that permitted them to avoid the collapse of one European regime after another. Buchanan now sees the United States at the tipping point where in its quest for American Empire is sure to travel the same path that other former empires proudly began but badly finished.

Buchanan notes that the United States is probably the strongest power that ever was, yet despite that its power is not unlimited. As long as America retained its industrial base, avoided treaties with foreign powers that could drag us into ill-advised wars, ran budget surpluses, and understood that our republic was ours only for as long as we could keep it, then the United States could remain First among Equals. Buchanan maintains a near sorrowful edge in his voice as he notes that the neocons have changed all that. He calls them ex-Trotskyites, ex-liberals, ex-Reds, and pretty much ex-students of history. He accuses them of misleading President George Bush on a wide spectrum of issues that range from the War on Terror, open borders immigration folly, budget overruns, and globalism. He examines each of these with a dispassionate eye, always pointing out that these arenas of political life are deteriorating yearly. Essentially, the link connecting each of them is the neocons' blind faith in American power to establish a Pax-American hegemony worldwide. Since the general thrust of his analysis is an admitted conservatism, left-wingers who believe in Big Government, socialism, and secular progressivism will surely object. I had a problem with what I saw as no small anti-Israel bias when he suggests that we ought to abandon Israel on the grounds that its existence is not crucial to ours. However, most of his analyses hold sufficient water for me to agree that if the United States does not reclaim its historical roots of America first, last, and always, then the sun that set on the British Empire must surely set on us too.

I Always Wondered..........2007-04-14

HOW MY PARTY ENDED UP IN THE TOILET. NOW I KNOW. AN EYE OPENING ACCOUNT OF THINGS. ANOTHER WINNER BY PAT.

Crude Politics : How Bush's Oil Cronies Hijacked the War on Terrorism

Average customer rating:

Opens Your Eyes as to Why!
Worrying revelations
Crude Politics: Biased journalist
A little oil on the side never hurts.
Informative View of Oil and Politics

Crude Politics : How Bush's Oil Cronies Hijacked the War on Terrorism
Paul Sperry
Manufacturer: Thomas Nelson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0785262717

Book Description

In Crude Politics, Paul Sperry presents alarming evidence that the Bush administration diplomats resumed talks with Pakistani officials over gas and oil pipelines in Afghanistan while the United States was still reeling from the horror of September 11, 2001.

Paul Sperry contends that, true to America's energy-based foreign policy of the last half-century, the Bush administration seized the opportunity to use the attacks as reason to oust the Taliban-the major obstacle blocking plans for the precious pipelines linking Caspian reserves to hot Asian markets. With journalistic integrity and painstaking research, Sperry will enlighten readers on:

How commercial gain within the current oil-friendly administration has undermined our nation's war on terror.
How our safety has been jeopardized because of an overriding effort to charge ahead with a new "Silk Road" through Afghanistan, making the capture of Osama bin Laden a secondary concern.
The nature of war and the politics behind the major decisions being made in the current administration, including those regarding Iraq and other "axis of evil" countries.
Crude Politics also pulls back the veil on Bush's behind-scenes operator for regime change in both Afghanistan and Iraq -- former energy consultant Zal Khalilzad.

Customer Reviews:

Opens Your Eyes as to Why!.......2006-07-22

Great non-partisan examination about how the Bush administration oil barons have used the power of the military and politics in an attempt to put some stability in governments near the Caspian Sea for its huge untapped oil reserves. The huge oil companies will not make the investments in that region until the governments are more cooperative and trustworthy. The oil reserves are bigger than ever imagined and industrial leaders in China and India are desperate for this supply. The evidence is factual and well documented. I serve in state government so this book has been critical to gain a better understanding of the actual motives for war. This is highly recommended for a business person, government person, or interested citizen

Worrying revelations.......2004-06-08

Like a lot of people all over the world, we wondered why the U.S. needed to go to war (and with the wrong country) when Europe had dealt with its terror problems in the past (I.R.A., E.T.A., Algerian separatists, Red Brigade etc.,) through old-fashioned police-work, choking off finance, intelligence gathering and arrests. We (allies and non-allies alike) also weren't buying the 'WMD's on every corner' and 'links with U.B.L. and terror' thing either. It was all a bit too flimsy, and the reasons for war changed every month as the prior ones got picked to shreds.

So rather than being an ill-informed 'Bush-basher', I devoured books by the barrow load (including this one) to try to get to the bottom of it all. The sources all seem to check out (I looked up several) and there doesn't seem to be any 'selective interpretation' of the facts either.

But as any good journo would tell you, cross-check your facts! I recommend you also read:
Owen Harries - 'Benign or Imperial?'
Noam Chomsky - 'Hegemony or survival' (I know his politics are left of centre, but that doesn't entirely invalidate some facts and insights he gives)
George Soros - The bubble of American Supremacy'
Clyde Prestowitz - 'Rogue Nation'
Greg Palast - 'The best democracy money can buy' (requires some filtering - he ocassionally draws too long a bow)
Bob Woodward - 'Plan of Attack'

Balance these against books from 'the right', but avoid the literary 'Genghis Khan is a wimp' types (I.E. Limbaugh, Hannity, Coulter et al).

This president has changed your country from being one of the most sympathised with post 9-11, to THE most hated nation on the planet. If you want to know why, read this book and the others, and don't swallow that rubbish about 'it's because they envy our democracy and freedom' etc. Scandinavia has the same freedoms and an arguably higher standard of living than the U.S. yet doesn't have a tenth the problems.

I urge you to read this book and others before you vote - it's a real eye-opener.

Crude Politics: Biased journalist.......2004-03-11

Though I'm somewhat impressed with the author's access to facts, I'm dismayed at his illogical use of them. Anyone in this country who depends on trucks, that transport food and all consumer goods and necessities, ought to be concerned with the price we pay for gasoline in this country. If we allowed the terrorists to control the production of middle eastern oil, I hope anyone who votes against President Bush, will be happy paying somewhere around $6-8.00 per gallon of gasoline. A vote for J. Kerry will do that to us. Remember these words.

A little oil on the side never hurts........2003-10-21

Crude Politics is one of the better books I've read or heard about in this time of political unrest. I was first drawn to it because of the author's position;

"Paul Sperry is the Washington bureau chief at WorldNetDaily.com, a position he previously held at Investor's Business Daily, where he wrote for 12 years. A Hoover Institution media fellow, his reports on national security issues have been picked up by virtually every major news agency in the world. Sperry's journalistic courage and integrity are backed by years of experience, including extensive reporting and editing on national affairs, economics, manufacturing, real estate, and general business coverage." - WorldNetDaily.com website.

For those who haven't visited the site, WorldNetDaily.com website is usually a very right-wing news group, often posting stories that support a right-wing agenda.

The position of the author is important because he says in his book that he voted republican in the last few elections and even for now President Bush. The website also reinforces how conservative this reporter is by recounting Sperry's 1999 clash with President Bill Clinton on questions over the "Chinagate" fund-raising scandal that led him to be banned from the White House for the duration of the presidency.

So why then has this author written a book denouncing the Bush administration's agenda on the war on terror? Has he flipped sides? Hardly. He is just one of many who have growing concerns that the legitimate war on terror has been hijacked to serve the personal, economic interests of a few oil barons.

Sperry gives a great deal of attention not to Iraq (as this book was being written at the time the US was just about to invade Iraq), but to Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia; three countries that have been working to secure an oil and natural gas pipeline in the Caspian Basin for over a decade. Sperry shows how the Bush administration transformed the war on terror as an "in" to this same pipeline deal that will prove to be one of the world's most wealthy oil and natural gas sources.

For those who claim that Bush and his administration are only concerned with the American public's safety, this book will enlighten them that, although they may indeed care about us, they care more about their pocket-books and long-term oil ventures.

Why would people like Bush, who comes from a long line of oil men, who have many decades of strong allegiances with Saudi oil men, suddenly stop all pursuits of oil, just to serve the American public for a few years? Why would Vice President Cheney, former CEO of Halliburton, one of the biggest oil contractors in the world, suddenly ignore the prospect of buried oil treasures overseas? And why would national security advisor Condoleezza Rice trash a decade of serving the Chevron Corp (who liked her work so much they named an oil tanker after her) just to fight some terrorists?

It doesn't add up. These people have oil coursing through their veins, and to suggest they've given it all up on purely moral grounds is like saying I don't need air to breathe anymore.

Sperry's book is a must for those seeking a solid investigation of the war on terror and its obvious ties to oil. Unlike most of the political books littering the shelves today, Paul Sperry presents a thoughtful and non-fanatical approach that asks simple questions to subjects that have been spun by our Commander in Chief and his oil-soaked cronies.

Informative View of Oil and Politics.......2003-10-12

This book was an amazing indictment of the Bush administration's foreign policy. Basically, the book detailed numerous linkages between the oil industry and the administration's war or terror and then made conclusions that the war on terror has really been driven by oil politics rather than by national security policies. This is a fascinating inside look at the politics of power and money.

When a book like this makes such an indictment against a present administration, indictments that have largely been ignored by the main-stream media, I think it is important to rigorously check the references and sources listed in the book. As such, I actually followed some of the author's (Paul Sperry) sources and came to the conclusion that he was extremely detailed in his source information and documentation.

I would highly recommed this book to anyone who wants to get an inside view of money and power and special interests in the American political scene. I think its best read with a completely non-partisan viewpoint if you can.

Called: Hello, This Is Mrs. Jefferson. I Understand Your Plane Is Being Hijacked. 9:45 Am, Flight 93, September 11, 2001
Average customer rating:

Inspirational

KJV Charles Ryrie Study Bible

Less than expected

Understanding unconditional love

Extraordinary, emotional and enspiring!

Called: Hello, This Is Mrs. Jefferson. I Understand Your Plane Is Being Hijacked. 9:45 Am, Flight 93, September 11, 2001
Lisa D. Jefferson , and Felicia Middlebrooks
Manufacturer: Northfield Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 188127375X

Customer Reviews:

Inspirational.......2007-10-13

Wonderful book,A very Sad book that will bring you to tears...then to thoughts of God.

KJV Charles Ryrie Study Bible.......2007-04-10

Excellent study for the serious student of the Word. Comments are consise but thorough enough for clarity. Extra info on doctrine at the back is interesting and helpful. Several colorful maps are also included and throughout the Bible info is listed for quick reference, ie, the Ten Commandments, the Jewish calendar, the names describing God, timelines, the miracles of Jesus, etc.. The actual pages of the book are thin so take care turning pages. The maps are on good stock. Overall this is an excellent study Bible.

Less than expected.......2007-02-04

It seemed like a forced effort to make a story out of one short but famous incident.

Understanding unconditional love.......2007-01-03

I have visited the crash site twice, once on 9/11/06. In her book, I was emotionally sent back in time to the very essence of what was taking place both in the air and on the land. Two Lisa's lives were changed forever that morning. The Christian faith that Lisa Jefferson gave to Todd, was a message to me, that in tragic events we can reach out to one another. Lisa's life has been changed, and so has our country's. She has made the term "How may I help you" have meaning, so we will never forget that help may be a phone call or a helping hand away. Praise the Lord for the Lisa Jefferson's in our world.

Extraordinary, emotional and enspiring!.......2006-09-05

This is a must read for everyone, written for everyone. A very easy read. I was amazed and moved to tears by the detailed account of Todd's call taken by Lisa on 9/11/01. I am forever inspired not only by the heroes of Flight 93 but also by the courage of Lisa Jefferson who unselfishly shares her heart and soul in this book.

Hijacked: The Real Story of the Heroes of Flight 705

Average customer rating:

The Real Story of the Heroes of Flight 705
good read
A Really Good Book
WOW! HEROS! Ordinary men in an extraordinary situation
Hijacked

Hijacked: The Real Story of the Heroes of Flight 705
Dave Hirschman
Manufacturer: Delta Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0440613884
Release Date: 1998-09-08

Book Description

David Sanders, Jim Tucker, and Andy Peterson had taken off on a regular "out-and-back," delivering and picking up packages for FedEx's next-day service. They had one jumpseat passenger, an off-duty colleague who they assumed was simply taking advantage of the FedEx perk allowing virtually all employees to ride the company jet for free. The shock came twenty minutes later, before the plane had reached its normal cruising altitude.

The lone passenger attacked the pilots with hammers and a spear gun. He'd had his diabolical plan in the works for months: By crashing the plane into the Federal Express Memphis hub, he'd ruin the company, which he felt had treated him unfairly. With superhuman strength fueled by sheer fury, the attacker struck. What he didn't count on was the skill and intelligence of the pilots. While Sanders and Peterson tried to stop the relentless battering, copilot Tucker swung the aircraft into dangerous flight maneuvers in an attempt to literally knock the man off his feet. Covered in their own blood and exhausted from the struggle, the pilots finally managed to subdue their attacker, returning the plane safely back to Memphis as heroes.

From the Paperback edition.

Customer Reviews:

The Real Story of the Heroes of Flight 705.......2007-05-13

Great book. Plenty of detail and insightful analysis of the hijackers psyche leading up to the hijacking of the FedEx flight. The author takes time to describe and link all the major participants in this inflight drama so that the reader has a clear and fluid picture of why this event occurred; of how it occurred and and the efforts of the crew to survive once it became clear that the hijacker was out kill the flight crew and possibily many more on the ground. The book is reveting. I started it, the book oneday intending to read a few pages and put it down. I read a fourth of the book on the first day, approximately a three quarters by the second day and finished the book on the third day. Could only put it down when something pressing like work got in the way. I highly recommend this book.

good read.......2003-04-04

Very good read for the details on this incident. More photos and diagrams would have been nice and the plane on the cover sure doesn't look like a FedEx DC-10!

A Really Good Book.......2002-04-07

This book really reads fast, the only thing that slowed me down was that I kept telling my wife bits from the pages. When the attack took place the author does a great job of making you see the full event? I do not even remember hearing much about this in the past but here are all the facts. It really makes the hardened cockpit doors look like a long overdue idea. Sometimes with airline books you get a lot of pilot speak that is hard to understand but not here - the author does a great job of explaining everything, almost like if he were with you in the living room while you read. You also really get to feel for the victims of this madman. You do not have to be interested in airlines to get a lot out of this book; it is just an overall great read.

WOW! HEROS! Ordinary men in an extraordinary situation.......2002-03-30

I first read about this story in Reader's Digest and was so engrossed in it that I went to my local Bookstore and ordered it shipped "RUSH". I was raised at an airport and have been an avid follower of aviation. I found this book to have a GREAT balance of technical and lay details of aviation. Furthermore, I had a long talk with a FedEx 727 Captain who was "Non-Reving" on our airline about this incident, he knows this crew personally and was there at the Memphis airport when this happened. He also thought that the book was well written and quite accurate and realistic. I LOVE true stories of courage and strength. I was not disappointed in the purchase of this book. GOOD LUCK to David, Jim, and Andy and their families. Our prayers are with you all. Dave ... Thanx for a GREAT Book. God Bless ... mike

Hijacked.......2000-09-02

As a commercial pilot myself, I found this book impossible to put down. I first learned of the story on a television documentary, and had to read the book for more details. While pilots routinely train for all sorts of emergencies (fires, engine failures, electrical failures, etc.), a brutal hijacking like this is something that you don't train for, much less even think about. I found the author spent a little too much time on human elements (families, backgrounds, etc.), but the book still makes excellent reading for pilots and non-pilots alike. After reading this book, those with any sort of flying phobia should feel very satisfied with the capabilities of cockpit crews and aircraft.

Against the Grain: How Agriculture Has Hijacked Civilization

Average customer rating:

A book for a welcome yet unexpected change of view
We are a victim of all we eat!!
Insightful, nuanced, but arguments need more proof
from hunter/gatherers to farmers & famine
Thoughtful assessment of the sorry state of agriculture

Against the Grain: How Agriculture Has Hijacked Civilization
Richard Manning
Manufacturer: North Point Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Grassland: The History, Biology, Politics and Promise of the American Prairie
The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
The Fatal Harvest Reader
Stolen Harvest: The Hijacking of the Global Food Supply
The Meat You Eat: How Corporate Farming Has Endangered America's Food Supply

ASIN: 0865477132
Release Date: 2005-01-13

Book Description

In this provocative, wide-ranging book, Richard Manning offers a dramatically revisionist view of recent human evolution, beginning with the vast increase in brain size that set us apart from our primate relatives and brought an accompanying increase in our need for nourishment. For 290,000 years, we managed to meet that need as hunter-gatherers, a state in which Manning believes we were at our most human: at our smartest, strongest, most sensually alive. But our reliance on food made a secure supply deeply attractive, and eventually we embarked upon the agricultural experiment that has been the history of our past 10,000 years.

The evolutionary road is littered with failed experiments, however, and Manning suggests that agriculture as we have practiced it runs against both our grain and nature's. Drawing on the work of anthropologists, biologists, archaeologists, and philosophers, along with his own travels, he argues that not only our ecological ills-overpopulation, erosion, pollution-but our social and emotional malaise are rooted in the devil's bargain we made in our not-so-distant past. And he offers personal, achievable ways we might re-contour the path we have taken to resurrect what is most sustainable and sustaining in our own nature and the planet's.

Customer Reviews:

A book for a welcome yet unexpected change of view.......2006-03-13

A book that takes up where the classic, "The Naked Ape", left off. This goes into the very beginnings of civilization and the fall out for some of the whys and consequences of it. Its premise is that our nature as hunter-gatherers is diametrically opposed with our agricultural/civilization way of life. Indeed civilization benefits only a small percentage of society. Mankind, as a whole, was far better off in being and soul as the hunter-gatherers. Well researched with an intuitive yet novel approach reminiscent of Desmond Morris's original. The kind of book that leaves you at its end with a better perspective of the world in which we live. A great book.

We are a victim of all we eat!!.......2006-02-04

There is no scholarship in the book, a few reference that are minimally supportive to his cause.
The premise of the book is that Agriculture hijacked civilization 10,000 years ago. Hijacked!!! How do you prove that one? He believes ALL agriculture is detrimental, including organic. He asks us to go back to hunting and gathering in the form of "perenial polyculture" and describes the satisfaction of a Buffalo hunt in a farmers field. He believes (no proof at all) that hunter gatherers had sensory abilities that make us moderns practically robotic. Are we victims of agriculture? - there is a real arrogance here for the reader, who apparently is too ignorant to see what has happened. This author has not got a clue what it meant to be a hunter gatherer, and there is little description of their lifestyle other than how the author feels when he goes out hunting.This is real belief in and grief for the loss of the garden of eden.
It is written like a expose, a conspiracy of the elite( probably started by a female), who just wanted to keep slaves and accumulate wealth.
This is a real disservice to people trying to improve/reform and innovate in agriculture.
It should have no stars at all(that option did not seem to be available) and I would not have read it, if it had not been choosen by my bookclub

Insightful, nuanced, but arguments need more proof.......2005-08-03

This book looks at how agriculture has affected the history of civilization and argues several conclusions. First, agriculture is not the optimal way for humans to draw sustanence from the earth. Instead, a lifestyle of hunting fishing, and gathering is. Second, the advent and spread of agriculture brings with it the concepts of social organization and hierarchy, private property, division of labor, slavery, and diseases spread to man from animals. Third, agriculture in the industrial world has reached the point that farms produce more food than people can eat, and farm products are now tools of trade and barter. Last, in industrial countries, agriculture and associated industries have colluded to create national policies that encourage more and more agricultural output and consumption, even though nobody starves in said countries.

Being a book about the history of the world and how it has changed, the author examines several key issues relating to the subject. These include:
1. The transition from a purely hunter-gatherer society to a society where hunting/gathering was practiced along with agriculture.
2. The transition to a purely agricultural society

The author argues that each of these steps was probably helpful in the short run in terms of better diet and higher sustainable populations, but in the long run they were less efficient than what came before it. Specifically, they led to overpopulation and then famine as soils were depleted. This in turn forced communities to migrate and come into contact with other communities, thereby leading to war. Long term effects include the growth of government to regulate and manage agriculture, armies to guard farm land, and the division of society into different groups according to how each could best contribute to the agricultural process.

The arguments and conclusions provided in this book are very insightful and would be new to most lay readers. However, there are several drawbacks to this book. First, it is short of empirical evidence. Many of the arguments are made using idealized models. Second, the book argues mainly from the history of the West, the Middle East and Africa. There is little mention of how agriculture has evolved over time and space in Australasia, Oceania, and pre-Columbus Americas. These are crucial omissions as the geography and climate in these lands vary greatly from that found in Europe, the Middle East, and sub-saharan Africa. Third, the arguments made in this book tend to minimize the affects due to different geographies, climates, and the occurrence of natural disasters such as earthquakes, volcanoes, etc...

Overall, this book is very insightful and worth reading. The subject matter of this book is growing in importance in recent decades, and agricultural policy is becoming highlighted as a factor in international relations, especially between Western and non-Western countries. The book's arguments should be read carefully though, and there are doubtless better referenced texts on this subject.

from hunter/gatherers to farmers & famine.......2005-04-22

Rebeccasreads highly recommends AGAINST THE GRAIN as the one history book that will change the way you look at the food on your plate, the vittles in your fridge, the produce at the supermarket, & the vast fruited plains of grains.

Richard Manning ranges far & wide, from past to present & into the future. He opens heretofore sacrosanct doors to show us how we handled agriculture & how we're doing it now, & what it is doing to our food supply. As well as the "dead zones" we are creating.

You will travel from a world newly refurbished after the glaciers withdrew down the ages on every continent & see our way of life from a truly different point of view.

After reading AGAINST THE GRAIN you might just find yourself mourning for a different way of life, one closer to this planet we call home.

Outstanding!

Thoughtful assessment of the sorry state of agriculture.......2004-09-28

Walk into to any supermarket and you probably feel very good about all of the choices you have. After all, the average supermarket carries over 25000 items these days. But if you are like most people, the vast majority of the items you will wind up purchasing are highly processed and contain precious little in the way of nutritional value. Did you know that nearly 2/3 of the calories the average American consumes come from just three crops--corn, wheat and potatoes?
Author Richard Manning sure got my attention with this fascinating book "Against The Grain". Manning argues that for the vast majority of history human beings were "hunter-gatherers". That is, people would migrate to where the food was and partake of a vast assortment of foods, everything from fruits and vegetables, to nuts and legumes and fresh meat. This all began to change about 10000 years ago with the advent of agriculture. Over the centuries people came to rely on fewer and fewer crops for survival. Manning notes that the pattern was virtually identical all over the world. Soon human beings came to rely on just a handful of crops, all high in carbohydrates, for survival. In recent decades the rise of huge conglomerates like ADM (Archer Daniels Midland) has further exacerbated the problem. Corporate entities do not view crops as food. Rather, they view crops as commodities and it is for this reason that family farms have all but disappeared, people in poor nations go unfed despite massive crop surplusses and those in rich nations wind up eating a largely bland and less than nutritious diet.
For those of us like myself who are poorly informed on these issues this book is certainly an eye-opener. Manning not only exposes the serious flaws in our current system but also proposes reasonable fixes to a number of these problems. Perhaps when we become aware of all those "empty" calories we ingest each day we will begin to think more carefully about the foods we eat. This book is extremely well written and kept my attention throughout. I would recommend it to just about anyone eager to learn more about these extremely serious issues.

Conservatives Betrayed: How George W. Bush and Other Big Government Republicans Hijacked the Conservative Cause

Average customer rating:

A Well-Written Conservative Salvo Against Betrayal in Republican Ranks
Conservatives and Liberals betrayed
Highly recommended for its thought-provoking content
All people who think they are voting republican need to read this
A Generally Disgusting Approach to Governance

Conservatives Betrayed: How George W. Bush and Other Big Government Republicans Hijacked the Conservative Cause
Richard A. Viguerie
Manufacturer: Bonus Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Buck Wild: How Republicans Broke the Bank and Became the Party of Big Government
Leviathan on the Right: How Big-Government Conservativism Brought Down the Republican Revolution
Impostor: How George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy
State of Emergency: The Third World Invasion and Conquest of America
America's Right Turn: How Conservatives Used New and Alternative Media to Take Power

ASIN: 1566252857

Book Description

An essential training manual for all conservatives, Conservatives Betrayed challenges the political right to implement a nationwide conservative agenda and serves as a warning to the Republican Party to fall in line if it hopes to remain in power.

Customer Reviews:

A Well-Written Conservative Salvo Against Betrayal in Republican Ranks.......2007-08-24

~Conservatives Betrayed: How George W. Bush and Other Big Government Republicans Hijacked the Conservative Cause~ describes the intellectual bankruptcy of so called `Big Government Conservatism,' which is an oxymoronic cliche if there every was one. Neoconservatism was the product of Old Left New Dealers that vacated the Democratic Party because of its perceived social radicalism in the 1960s and 1970s. Though, they were very much content with the New Deal welfare state and hoped to make it operate more efficiently. They gravitated towards Republican-affiliated think tanks and the halls of political power. Eventually they became the core intellectual intelligentsia of the two successive Bush administrations, with neocons holding key cabinet positions. Neoconservatives laud the statemanship of Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman. Viguerie observes, "As he pursued these policies, President Bush's strongest support came from Big Government Republicans and from so-called 'Big Government conservatives' who, of course, are not conservatives at all." Viguerie continues, "Now, these `Big Government conservatives' -- sometimes confusingly called `neoconservatives' -- have not been shy about their intentions to hijack (or, from their point of view, 'lead') the conservative movement. Irving Kristol, often called the `grandfather of neoconservatism,' wrote in The Weekly Standard (August 25, 2003) of `the historical task and political purpose of neoconservatism:' `to convert the Republican Party, and American conservatism in general, against their respective wills, into a new kind of conservative politics suitable to governing a modern democracy.'" Viguerie hits the nail on the head -- the Republican Party has been hijacked. It's no longer helmed by the principled conservatives who once called for fiscal conservatism, limited government, and devolving power and authority back to states and localities in favor of dual federalism and the Tenth Amendment.

In this trenchant analysis, Vigurie offers a principled conservative broadside against the current Republican administration under George W. Bush and the Congress. The Republicans have given us a failed foreign policy and a failed domestic policy. After the publication of this book, conservative voters tired of the status quo apparently stayed home, and a few switched sides. Hence, the new Democratic Congressional majority in 2007 has made its ascendancy. The Republicans had their shot for a true blue Republican Revolution and making good on the promises of 1994, but they blew it. He demonstrates how the Republicans have compromised on every major front, whether in the culture war or in maintaining some semblance of fiscal responsibility in the federal government. As political humorist P.J. O'Rourke penned, "The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer, and remove the crabgrass on your lawn. The Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work and then they get elected and prove it." The Republicans have certainly proved that government doesn't work, and Vigurie documents it chapter-by-chapter.

Viguerie surmises the failure of twentieth-century American liberalism as its rejection of "the core principles and values of Western Civilization." The Judeo-Christian foundation has been swept aside and supplanted with moral relativism and ever-increasing government. But as Viguerie notes, "Moral relativism only breeds moral chaos, and ever-bigger government simply doesn't work. Big Government doesn't solve problems, it magnifies them." Mindful of the Republican Party's failure, Viguerie concedes that "much of the machinery of the conservative movement has been hijacked by people who do not believe in the core principles of conservatism." For all practical purposes, the political Left defines and dominates the American political discourse, and the GOP establishment more often than not is parroting the rhetoric and agenda of the Left (p. xxi). If left to examine the federal budget bloat, and the growth of federal spending during the last few years under a Republican President and Republican Congress, many conservatives would have trouble believing that its not Democrats calling all the shots. Despite, fervent Democratic criticism of the contemporary Republican administration, the Left perhaps accomplished much more of its agenda with the Republican Congress at the helm than it ever did during the Clinton years. For the past six years, the GOP had a virtual lock on the federal government controlling a majority in both houses of the Congress and having a man in the White House. So, they must take the blame and accept accountability for this despondent state of affairs.

In 1994, with the so called Republican Revolution, the prospect of devolution of usurped federal power back to the states seemed quite tenable. However, within a few years came the concurrent disillusion and realization amongst principled conservatives that it was simply politics as usual in Washington, D.C. When the GOP finally gained ascendancy in the twenty-first century - controlling both the White House and Congress - their betrayal of conservative principles was made manifest for the world to see.

The Republican disloyalty to the conservative principle of keeping education as a local matter is another example of rank GOP compromise. The U.S. Department of Education got its start in 1979 during the Carter years as a payoff to the Leftist teacher's union which favored aggressive centralization of education policy and a national curriculum, in spite of its dubious constitutionality. As Viguerie observes, between 2000 and 2005, discretionary federal spending on education increased an astounding 60 percent. The No Child Left Behind Act has demonstrated an array of unintended consequences, such as compelling teachers to teach for the test while it impedes the quality of programs for exceptionally gifted students.

Richard A. Viguerie deserves praise for putting loyalty to principle over partisan loyalty. He flat out says that if certain principals amongst Republican leadership aren't worth voting for than don't vote for them. Nonetheless, he urges conservatives to take their party back, and I believe the GOP can still be a vehicle for conservative, constitutionalist political activism. As a supporter of the 2008 Ron Paul Presidential campaign, I believe there is hope for a serious grassroots Republican activism that is principled, conservative and constitutionalist. The American Conservative Encyclopedia writes of Vigurie, "Of all the conservative activists in the field of politics over the last few decades, perhaps none has had as profound an impact as Richard Viguerie." Vigurie gained acclaim for his innovation in direct mail campaigning which practically set the stage for the Reagan Revolution, mobilizing the conservative electorate. Viguerie is a man who believed in that rhetoric about limited government and free-markets that Reagan uttered in his First Inaugural. He still thinks conservatives should stand their ground and contend in earnest for it.

Other recommendations:
Impostor: How George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy by Bruce Bartlett

Conservatives and Liberals betrayed.......2007-04-07

Reading books like these it is difficult not to reach the conclusion that Republicans are slow thinkers. It has taken them almost half a century, and an egregious traitor, to discover that the Republican Party has betrayed them, and still they don't see who the traitors are.
.
George W. Bush has been so bold in his acts of treason (not only to the Republican Party, but to all Americans), that, after so much hesitation and self-doubt, a few Republicans are finally beginning to realize that the Republican Party has been infiltrated by traitors. But they are not "big government Republicans," as Mr. Viguerie wants us to believe, nor are they "the neocons and the religious right," as Philip Gold [Take Back the Right] claims, neither are they just fiscally irresponsible Republicans, as Stephen Slivinski [Buck Wild] asserts.
.
Actually, the betrayal has not been limited to the Republican party. Both parties have been infiltrated by traitors, and both true conservatives and true liberals have been betrayed. And the betrayal is not the result of the isolated actions of good-intentioned people making big mistakes. No. It has been the result of a carefully conceived plan.
.
In his book Tragedy and Hope, first published in 1966, professor Carroll Quigley mentioned in detail why the Conspirators infiltrated and controlled both mayor parties:
.
"The argument that the two parties should represent opposed ideals and policies, one, perhaps, of the Right and the other of the Left, is a foolish idea acceptable only to the doctrinaire and academic thinkers. Instead, the two parties should be almost identical, so that the American people can `throw the rascals out' at any election without leading to any profound or extreme shifts in policy." [p. 1247].
.
This explains why the 2000 elections were a charade in which both Gore and Bush participated, and the 2004 another charade with Bush and Kerry as main actors. Contrary to what some brainwashers want us to believe, Bush did not steal the 2000 election. Both the 2000 and the 2004 elections were stolen from the American people.
.
Who are the Conspirators who have infiltrated their agents in the Republican and Democratic parties? They are Wall Street bankers and Oil magnates. Who are their secret agents? They are easy to find: all of them are members of the dreaded Council on Foreign Relations. Actually, behind any major act of treason to this country one can find one or more CFR members.
.
Books like Viguerie's give conservatives the false hope that they can take back control over the Republican party. But that will no be possible. The only alternative for true conservatives and true liberals is to leave the parties of treason and join another party, or create a new one. And do it as soon as possible, before it is too late to save this country.

Highly recommended for its thought-provoking content.......2006-12-09

Written by Richard A. Viguerie, who in 1999 was cited as one of the Washington Times' thirteen "Conservatives of the Century", Conservatives Betrayed: How George W. Bush and Other Big Government Republicans Hijacked the Conservative Cause is a fierce attack upon the Bush administration from the conservative point of view. Viguerie does not speak for the neo-conservatives, who have drastically inflated spending and expanded federal government; he speaks for the old conservatives who believed in the values of fiscal restraint and small government, and who recognize the threat that excessive national debt - much of which is now owed to powers overseas! - poses to national security and to America's future, as more and more of America's annual budget must be applied to interest payments alone. Viguerie is emphatically a social conservative as well as a fiscal conservative; he speaks strongly against "obese government" characterized by excessive bureaucracy, pork-barrel spending, and mounting deficits; the social ills caused by uncontrolled illegal immigration; abortion; judicial activism; and more. Though not all readers will agree with Viguerie's opinions about the "culture war" in America and some will find his antagonistic attitudes toward illegal immigrants and homosexuals distasteful, his core exhortations against wasteful government spending are a desperately needed wake-up call. Even more valuable is his suggestion that conservative voters disassociate themselves from any one party and become a block whose favor needs to be wooed by both parties, in order to exert more influence and power - a suggestion that holds merit for any political subsection. Highly recommended for its thought-provoking content, regardless of whether the reader personally agrees with Viguerie on all points.

All people who think they are voting republican need to read this.......2006-11-10

Brutally frank, a little redundent, but honest as only a died in a wool cloth coat wearing republican can explain what's wrong with the neo-con's agenda for world hegonomy, and international imperialism at the expense of bankrupting the future for American tax payers.

A Generally Disgusting Approach to Governance.......2006-09-27

Viguerie complains about Bush's expansion of federal spending - at a rate far exceeding that of Clinton (actually, Clinton's spending DECREASED when measured in constant dollars and per capita). Means of "accomplishing" this included expanding Medicare and involvement in school funding and direction, and getting stuck in the Iraq mess. In addition, Viguerie is upset about the vast numbers of illegal aliens, as am I - Bush has DECREASED employer enforcement efforts vs. Clinton, and supports various means of allowing them to stay. Meanwhile, the tax code has become more complicated (Viguerie wants a flatter tax - a ridiculous program in a nation with scandalous increases in wealth disparity - mostly due to corporate welfare and legalized robbery by business tycoons), no federal programs have become abolished, Bush has embroiled the nation in a horribly expensive (blood, money, and international reputation) quagmire in Iraq, and millions of American jobs are lost or suffer reduced pay and benefits due to "free trade" outsourcing (Viguerie wants more).

Failure to take serious action to create a constitutional amendment to establish marriage as between one man and one woman is still another source of Viguerie's ire. Seems like a good step (along with several others pushed in the book) towards establishing a Taliban-like government in America. (Haven't we got more important things to deal with - like global warming, Iraq, the economy, illegal Mexicans, the ballooning trade and federal deficits, conservation, etc.?)

Viguerie does NOT speak to other areas of "conservatism" that have also become identified with Bush II - eg. power-grabs vs. Congress, ignoring laws and treaties he does not agree with, rollbacks of basic freedoms (my guess is that no useful information has been obtained thereby), almost total shutting out of Democrats in the legislative process, Katrina and Iraq bungling, and constant withholding of and distorting information necessary for an informed citizenry. Thus, the reader is left assuming that these aspects are OK with Viguerie.

I used to pride myself on being a THINKING, pragmatic conservative - after all there is enormous wasted in government and it should be cut back. Education and medical care are two areas ripe for considerable quality improvement and reduced costs via government action. However, after Bush and Viguerie I am appalled by the lack of thought and morality now associated with "conservatism," and would hate to be considered such anymore.

Hoodwinked: How Intellectual Hucksters Have Hijacked American Culture

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"A lie, told often enough becomes the truth"
Fantastic
You Can't Tell A Book By Its Cover
Left Out--The Truth Shall Make You Flee
IF you buy this book you are indeed hoodwinked

Hoodwinked: How Intellectual Hucksters Have Hijacked American Culture
Jack Cashill
Manufacturer: Thomas Nelson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1595550119

Book Description

For a century, "progressive" writers and filmmakers-multiculturalists like Ward Churchill and Alex Haley, sexual revolutionaries like Kinsey and Margaret Mead, quasi-Marxists like Noam Chomsky and Michael Moore, and radical naturalists like Paul Ehrlich and Rachel Carson-have been using falsehood and fraud as their principal weapons in their assault on traditional American culture. For years, an unconnected squad of literary detectives, anthropologists, scientists, and historians, has been picking off the frauds and their enablers one by one. Taken together, the work of these critics is devastating. Jack Cashill's Hoodwinked synthesizes their dogged research and reveals the depth and breadth of the corruption at the very foundation of contemporary intellectual culture.

Customer Reviews:

"A lie, told often enough becomes the truth".......2007-07-23

"A lie, told often enough becomes the truth"-----Lenin

Cashill has a Ph.D. in American studies from Purdue, and is a former Fulbright professor in France. This hard hitting, captivating and well written book focusses on how radical naturalism, sexual hedonism, Marxism, and multiculturalism have sabotaged our moral culture; and the hoaxes from Piltdown man to global warming. Eventually there will come someone who catches the lies, enabling us to discern the truth; Cashill fills this book with people who've brought us to this difficult time. He backs up his investigation with substantial end notes.

Chapter One invites us into the world of the "new morality"; created by the likes of Michael Moore, Ward Churchill, and the many other intellectual liberals who follow this road to oblivion. These are the men of fraud and deceit; of a man centered world.

Chapter Two, though a bit drawn out, examines the great lie of communism, socialism, and Marxism. Marxism has disguised itself in the liberals (sorry, "progressives") of America. These radical beliefs are so strong in being right that it overrides the conscious: leading to the shameless discrediting and proving the west wrong; the lawyers new strategy of getting off (foreign) criminals; the hyperboles, false reporting, and deliberate ignorance of the atrocities world-wide, and apologists attitude in journalism; and Hollywood and the great classical writers influence. Cashill also takes a look at histories influences: such as the coming of communism, Marxism, and progressivism's roots. "The progressive mind is a many-turned thing."

Chapter Three deals with multiculturalism, and the "no objective truths" that is postmodernism; and the relativism the teachers and professors are filling are kids heads with, for example: the early cultural falsehoods of the black man, and blaming the Anglo-Saxon for their ills. Who cares about the truth if there is an ideology to defend. God or man, that is the choice.

Chapter Four: the book would not be complete without mentioning Darwinian naturalism, and the spawn: the fraud of Haeckel, Hitler's Nazism, Mendel, Gould, and of late, Dawkins. Ehrlich's population control and environmentalism blessed us with his predecessor Al Gore. We can thank the eradication of DDT for the progressive environmentalism movement (a sore subject with me); many millions of lives have been lost from malaria.

Chapter Five brings us into the social engineering of Margaret Sanger's Planned Parenthood and the fall out: Margaret Mead and Alfred Kinsey. Many of these propagators and hoaxes still blindly live on today.

"When their own dreams fail, as those dreams inevitably do, progressives are more likely to either ignore or romanticize the past than to reevaluate it."

Good accompaniments: Dinesh D'Souza's "What's So Great About America" and Michael Crichton's "State of Fear"

Wish you well
Scott

Fantastic.......2007-02-23

A tour de force from one of our most overlooked prose stylists and one of the strongest intellects in the conservative movement. The one and two star reviews are liberal sour grapes. It is true that if you read TNR or The Nation, you will not like this book.

You Can't Tell A Book By Its Cover.......2007-02-17

Upon reading HOODWINKED an observation by the anthropologist Franz Boas came to mind:

"We could read our newspapers [and books] with much greater satisfaction if our language, like the Indian Kwakiutl idiom, compelled us to say whether a report is based on self-experience, or inference, or on hearsay, or whether the reporter has dreamed it."

HOODWINKED, published by Nelson Current, the political imprint of Thomas Norton, Inc., a publisher of Christian books, is authored by a PhD in American Studies from Purdue, winner of both a Fulbright professorship and film documentary awards. Certainly Dr. Cashill has appropriate "self-experience" to argue his thesis that:

"Control of the cultural establishment is just one reason why fraud plagues the political left. The less obvious but more fundamental reason is that progressive authors and their cultural support groups live in a world where God, if not fully dead, is irrelevant. By default, progressives tend to ground their morality in the shaky materialist philosophy introduced by the Greek philosopher Epicurus and popularized by Darwin and Marx."

Looking for compelling evidence of the left-wing conspiracy Cashill warns us of, I read on to his coverage of the Sacco-Vanzetti affair (which I concentrate on in this review). He introduces it with the section heading: A COUPLE OF WOPS IN A JAM. Although, as Cashill notes, there are dozens of books, including six volumes of published trial transcripts (Henry Holt, 1927) and extraordinarily detailed internet site accounts (e.g. Court TV's CRIME LIBRARY), Cashill relies largely on Robert H. Montgomery's SACCO-VANZETTI: THE MURDER AND THE MYTH (Western Islands, 1965) while marginalizing, tainting or dismissing those whose analysis differs from his such as then Harvard law professor and later Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter's THE CASE OF SACCO AND VANZETTI - A CRITICAL ANALYSIS FOR LAWYERS AND LAYMEN (Little Brown, 1927), the views of later Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., and the proclamation by Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis in 1977, the 50th anniversary of the executions of Sacco and Vanzetti "that any stigma and disgrace should be forever removed from the names of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti."

Instead, Dr. Cashill points us to the evidence against them: the "guns, bullets, and shotgun shells that would match those used in the two crimes" and gives short shrift to the concept of "reasonable doubt" and the ample alternative case put forward, for example, by Frankfurter. [Credible forensic evidence is still being debated for and against Sacco as the murderer (cf. J.E. Starrs, JOURNAL OF FORENSIC EVIDENCE, 1986, 31, 630-54; Henry Lee, FAMOUS CRIMES REVISITED, Strong Books, 2001). Cashill decries the "Manichean divide" he claims liberals set up, managing in the same breath, to complain about the "standard Democratic stump speech" of John Edwards in the 2004 U.S. presidential race, and that "progressives worldwide have historically shown little faith in the wisdom of their fellow citizens."

Dr. Cashill has not relied on "hearsay" for his rendering of events, but rather, has imposed his own Manichean divide on them. His account leaves out or glosses over what made the Sacco-Vanzetti affair a cause celebre world wide and not simply among those wishing to promote, or being duped by, a Marxist agenda and propaganda campaign, as he claims was the case. The trial of these two Italian anarchists was defined by judicial, prosecutorial, defense and juror errors,submerged in an atmosphere of very scary times in which an anarchist under FBI custody crashed out the 14th floor to the street below, a murderous bomb exploded on Wall Street and another in front of the home of an attorney general. Hence, contrary to Cashill's certainties, and to the detriment of his overarching thesis that we are hoodwinked, it is most unlikely that the many questions about the guilt or innocence of Sacco and Vanzetti will ever be answered. That is, unless one dreams it.

Left Out--The Truth Shall Make You Flee.......2006-10-13

Looking for a well written, concise, documented expose of leftist-liberal political/social/historical/academic prevarications over the last century. Look no further. This is the book. It deserves a Pulitzer Prize. It drives a stake through the rotten and dishonest heart of so called "progressive" ideology of the so called "intellectual elites".

IF you buy this book you are indeed hoodwinked.......2006-10-05

This guy is so intent on disproving leftist theories, that he actually misstates the facts. It was never proven, that Bartomelo Vanzetti had Allasendro Beredialli's (the guards) gun. It was however widely known that Berdeilli's widow cried: "If only he had brought his gun that day!"
THe fact is that Cashill did not do his homework and makes unfair and inaccurate statments.

Supreme Injustice: How the High Court Hijacked Election 2000

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Book review
He makes it interesting
Digital Version of Supreme Injustice, Alan Dershowitz
Explains the damage done to American justice in this case
U.S. Supreme Court Saved America from Civil War!

Supreme Injustice: How the High Court Hijacked Election 2000
Alan M. Dershowitz
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Betrayal of America: How the Supreme Court Undermined the Constitution and Chose Our President (Nation Books)
Too Close to Call: The Thirty-Six-Day Battle to Decide the 2000 Election
Breaking the Deadlock: The 2000 Election, the Constitution, and the Courts
Bush V. Gore: The Court Cases and the Commentary
Down and Dirty : The Plot to Steal the Presidency

ASIN: 0195158075

Book Description

Many on both sides of the political fence were mystified by, and in some cases, furious at, the Supreme Court's decision in Bush v. Gore. While legal columnists lined up to decry the court's decision in the days following its ruling, nobody has explained the decision in the context of the court's history of dealing with politically-charged cases, and nobody has looked in detail at how the individual justice's previous writings were or were not reflected in the ruling. In 'Supreme Injustice', Alan Dershowitz will approach the ruling systematically from historical, political , and legal grounds. His ultimate conclusion will be that the Supreme Court did more damage to itself than is apparent now, creating a disturbing precedent that will come back to haunt it, and sullying its and the American judicial system's reputation for fairness at home and abroad. He will also speculate as to why the Court ruled as it did and explore the myriad consequences of the decision. Alan Dershowitz is famous for explaining complicated legal concepts in a serious but accessible style, both in his Harvard Law School criminal law class and in his numerous books. 'Supreme Injustice', written in this characteristic style, will be published, in all likelihood, in a period where the 'spirit of bipartisanship' currently celebrated by politicians and the media will almost assuredly have begun to wear off, and in which we may have established with some certainty that Al Gore won Florida. It's likely that this combination of events will leave many who disagreed with the ruling looking for a thoughtful explanation of how and why it happened, and it's our belief that they will turn to this book.

Download Description

Millions of Americans were baffled and outraged by the U.S. Supreme Court's role in ending the presidential election of 2000 with its controversial ruling in Bush v. Gore. The Court had held a unique place in our system of checks and balances, and was seen as the embodiment of fairness and principle precisely because it was perceived to be above the political fray. How could it issue decisions that reeked of partisan politics, and send to the White House a candidate who, for all it knew at the time, may have actually lost the election? In Supreme Injustice, bestselling author and legal expert Alan M. Dershowitz addresses these questions head-on, at last demystifying Bush v. Gore for those who are still angered by the court's decision but unclear about its meaning.

Customer Reviews:

Book review.......2005-09-12

My order was processed in an acceptable amount of time. Book was in condition as advertised.

He makes it interesting.......2005-08-06

Dershowitz makes this potentially dry subject very interesting, while remaining credible. Although I went into the book agreeing with the author, the book got me angry all over again. I'd guess that even those who wanted a Bush presidency would find much of the information in this book interesting.

Digital Version of Supreme Injustice, Alan Dershowitz.......2004-12-18

The biggest dissapointment I had with getting this book is that I purchased the Microsoft Reader Version. One is led to believe that one can highlight, cut and paste, etc., by using this new tool for reading. Actually, all you get is electronic pages that are inert. They cannot be printed, one cannot cut and paste from them, all one can do is stare at them on the screen. In order to transfer the print from screen to one's computer, one must first copy (by hand) the print, re-type it on screen into another program, then save. In other words, the e-version, for the researcher is not only ABSOLUTELY USELESS, it DOUBLES THE AMOUNT OF WORK ONE MUST DO TO EXCERPT MATERIAL FROM A BOOK.
I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT KIND OF PERSON MICROSOFT HAD IN MIND WHEN THEY CREATED THIS INFLEXIBLE PRODUCT. IT IS CERTAINLY A DISASTER FOR ME, AND I INTEND TO REQUEST A REFUND ON MY "DIGITAL PURCHASE" SINCE ALL I PURCHASED WAS AN INERT, DOUBLE-THE-WORK TO READ AND EXCERPT BOOK. WHAT A DISASTER! WHAT AN UNMITIGATED DISASTER. IT SORT OF MAKES ONE WONDER WHY THEY EVEN WENT TO THE TROUBLE TO CREATE THIS PRODUCT.

Explains the damage done to American justice in this case.......2004-10-18

For those who do not know the story, the American Presidential election in 2000 was very close. Democrat Al Gore received more popular votes than Republican George W Bush, but such elections are decided state by state, and the winner in Florida was to determine who would be President. In Florida, more voters intended to vote for Gore than for Bush, but due to several irregularities, the vote was very close. Close enough to require a mandatory recount. Close enough so that either candidate could ask for a hand count of disputed ballots.

As it turned out, a complete recount of all ballots would have confirmed that Gore had won. According to Florida law, such a recount should have been performed. When a recount got under way, it grew increasingly clear that Gore might well win. However, the Republican strategy (in a state where Bush's brother was the governor) was to refuse a recount or to delay any recount until the Presidential winner had to be announced. If the Democrats protested, they would take the case to court. To the Supreme Court. And if they lost that case, they would simply have the Florida legislature declare Bush the winner of the state. Either way, Bush would win an illegitimate victory.

Given that the initial count favored Bush, a Republican victory could not be prevented. And even in the unlikely event that a complete hand count (including "overvotes") favored Bush, neutral observers would still note that a plurality of the Florida voters had tried to vote for Gore, and that Florida law was to favor the clear intent of the voters. So the illegitimacy of the result was inevitable no matter how the hand count came out. The only question was where the blame would rest. Would it be on those in Florida who delayed the count? On the Florida legislature? On the Florida Courts? Or on the Supreme Court?

Dershowitz explains how the blame wound up being applied, quite accurately, to the Supreme Court, which took a case and judged it purely on a partisan basis. And he explains what the result of this mischief will be. First, unlike a miscarriage of justice in a criminal case, which might get blamed on the jurors, the Supreme Court judges are there for life. They'll be considered untrustworthy by a huge number of people for the rest of their lives, and that will make the Supreme Court less credible as long as any of them remain on it. Dershowitz also says that it will call into much greater question the entire process by which Supreme Court judges are selected. And of course, this entire affair has exposed the absurdities of our voting system to the world, which regards us with less esteem as a result.

Many Americans were annoyed with the Supreme Court simply because it picked someone other than the person they voted for. Others were angry because it picked the loser rather than the winner. However, Dershowitz is more concerned with the Supreme Court having showed partisanship at all, especially in a manner that threatens the carefully established checks and balances among branches of government so carefully laid out in our Constitution.

Finally, Dershowitz reminds us that the authority of the Supreme Court "rests on public acceptance of its status as a nonpartisan arbiter of law." Judicial integrity gets built up slowly and in this case was squandered quickly. This book does an excellent job of showing just how dismally the Supreme Court performed here.

U.S. Supreme Court Saved America from Civil War!.......2004-06-14

U.S. Supreme Court Saved America from Civil War!
The USA Supreme Court saved America. The USA Constitution saved America from chaos, instalbiliy.

The Constitution created three distinct branches of government with "check and balaces". The "legislative", "executive", "judicial" are vested in three seperate branches of government.... and yet Presidents appoint Judges, the Senate can veto Presidential treaties, Congress can override the Presidents veto on a bill....

That how it is supposed to work. Each of the three branches is distinct, seperate, and yet still exercise power over the other.

The USA Supreme Court stepped in to stop the endless recount and saved America from a Civil War. The Supreme Court did the job it was supposed to. The Supreme Court did the job given by the Constitution.

THOSE CAN DO WILL DO, THOSE CANNOT DO WILL TEACH.

Dershowitz is an academic, with tenure, of course, job for life, until he drops dead. Academic never have to work, compete, produce goods, services like in the real world.

If this know-it-all is so smart, why doesn't he run for Congress or President.

Book Description

Concerned about the dangers of unchecked executive power, the Founding Fathers deliberately assigned Congress the sole authority to make war. But the last time Congress did so was in 1941, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harborsince then, every president from Harry Truman to George W. Bush has used military force in pursuit of imperial objectives without congressional authorization. In vivid detail, War Powers recounts this story of subversion from above. Drawing on congressional hearings, Supreme Court opinions, media reports, and scholarly accounts, legal historian Peter Irons examines how the Constitution has been stretched, distorted, and violated as presidents usurped a shared, solemn powereschewing congressional approval and often suspending civil liberties in the process. An insightful and rousing history, War Powers takes us up to the recent preemptive invasion of Iraq, offering a necessary account of our most pressing contemporary constitutional crisis.

Customer Reviews:

Who has the POWER to make WAR?.......2005-12-12

Political science professor (University of California - San Diego) Peter Irons poses to answer one question, "Why and how do we go to war?" "War Powers" is a clear and concise answer to the question that starts with exploring our country's humble beginnings, the framing of the U.S. Constitution (1787), to probing the background of George W. Bush's invasion of Iraq (2003).

The subtitle of Irons' book, "How The Imperial Presidency Hijacked The Constitution," is a precise foreshadowing of the book's contents. Irons' meticulous research, most notably the actions of presidents beginning with Franklin D. Roosevelt and on, are powerful reminders of how presidents have overstepped their constitutional powers. The author stresses Congress has only declared five wars as Congress continued to abdicate its constitutional war power while the presidency became increasingly imperial. Presidents Ford, Carter, Reagan, Clinton and both Bushs have all claimed an "inherent" right to initiate military action without prior congressional approval.

"War Powers" is valuable for it shows how the U.S. rose to its current position as the sole supreme power. But more importantly, the treatise is a warning and a call to return war-making powers "to their constitutional home in Congress, as the Framers intended." Irons shines light on the erosion of our country's foundation, which often has been completely dismissed by presidents like Franklin D. Roosevelt who stated, "The Constitution is just a piece of paper."

Bohdan Kot

Good account of the evolution of Presidential Ceasarism.......2005-12-11

Mr. Irons presents a good history of the deterioration of our government's understanding of the war-making power, from the democratic mechanism enshrined in our Constitution by our Founding Fathers requiring Congressional authorization for war, to the dictatorial war-making powers claimed (and exercised) by modern day Presidents, and abetted by a supine Congress.

There should be no dispute that the Founding Fathers intended that Congress should initiate war and the President should merely prosecute it, until the Congress decides to conclude hostilities. James Madison said, "...those who are to conduct a war cannot in the nature of things, be proper or safe judges, whether a war ought to be commenced, continued or concluded. They are barred from the latter functions by a great principle in free government, analogous to that which separates the sword from the purse or the power of executing from the power of enacting laws". (pg 26) The Constitution spells out that intention with utter clarity, and it appears that the US government respected that provision until the Lincoln regime, when the old Constitutional order was finally overthrown, although technically Lincoln claimed he was suppressing a rebellion, rather than fighting a formal "war". Some may point to President Polk's instigation of the Mexican War as the point when this Constitutional balance was first challenged, but I would view Polk's military machinations as duplicitous, manipulative and certainly illegal, but not as a direct legal challenge to the war-declaring powers of Congress. A previous reviewer points to unilateral military actions on the part of Washington and Jefferson, but I'm not sure what he's referring to. In response to barbary piracy, Washington sent Congress a message saying that, "...it rests with Congress to decide between war, tribute and ransom as the means of re-establishing our Mediterranean commerce". (pg 30) Jefferson as well asked Congress in 1801 for_permission_to send warships to protect US ships from the Barbary pirates. (pg 42) Both Presidents made explicit declarations of Congressional supremacy in that regard. People may debate exactly when the Constitutional arrangement really started to fall apart, but I think it is pretty certain that it really first began to be challenged in the early 20th century, with Teddy Roosevelt, Taft, Wilson, etc. leading to the obscene modern spectacle of a whole string of Presidents explicitly declaring that they alone have the power of unleashing war on any country in the world.

It is almost unbelievable that there are men in a Democratic Republic, besides Ceasar-worshippers, dual loyalist war-mongers (neoconservatives) and arms dealers who would tolerate such an idea from an American Chief Executive, but such men exist in abundance today, in government, academia and opinion-shaping industries who not only tolerate such an idea but promote it for their own perverted ends. That's where I wish Mr. Irons would have expanded his topic- the reasons and motivations behind the mass acquiescence to a dictatorial power-grab by the Executive branch. Is it cowardice? Intimidation? Ignorance? I wish we could have heard some theories about this. Also, in his section on the curtailment of civil liberties during wartime, I wish he would have made mention of the great Sedition trials of WW II, but perhaps the story of those victims, being right wingers, don't register on the radar screens of left-wing professors. Also, Mr. Irons blames the ambiguity and toothlessness of the War Powers Resolution for continued Presidential defiance of the Constitution but I don't believe he made mention of the fact that the Supreme Court has actually struck down certain portions of the resolution. Apart from those quibbles, this is a very good book which liberty-loving citizens should read and act upon, if they value the freedoms bequeathed to us by our Founding Fathers and maintained, to varying degrees of success, by the blood, sweat and treasure of generations of patriots.

Nothing new.......2005-09-20

Irons tries to argue that the imperial presidency is somehow tied to American imperialism abroad. But he never makes his case; instead, he rants and raves about presidential actions he dislikes while ignoring those which contradict his view.

For example, he argues that presidents before Polk all followed to the letter the Constitution's grant of declaring war to Congress - no unilateral presidential war-making. But in fact, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson both undertook military actions without the consent of Congress. Is there a difference between those small wars and others? Irons never tells us.

Irons doesn't uncover anything new or make any original arguments. Don't buy it.

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