Book Description
reissued with a new foreword and epilogue by the author
"A passionately argued, cogently written, lively discourse on the increasingly peculiar politics of sex."
--New York Times Book Review
"Defending Pornography is valuable precisely because of its lucid, broad exploration of the long debate over pornography."
--The Washington Post Book World
"A triumphant (and sensual) view of women that stands in stark contrast to the bleak vision of powerlessness and paternalism offered her critics."
--The Wall Street Journal
Traditional explanations of why pornography must be defended from would-be censors have concentrated on censorship's adverse impacts on free speech and sexual autonomy. In contrast, Nadine Strossen focuses on the women's rights-centered rationale for defending pornography.
Customer Reviews:
Terrific Book That Supports Freedom of Speech and Sex-Positive Feminism.......2005-12-03
As the long time president of the "American Civil Liberties Union," Nadine Strossen is one of my heroes. This book is a powerfully reasoned and completely honest assessment of pornography and why it should be protected as free speech. However, Strossen goes beyond the basic First Amendment arguments to discuss the reality of sexually expressive material and the benefits it can hold for our society, including women who are now breaking free from the chains of puritanism and double standards while expressing themselves sexually. She also provides many examples and comments from anti-censorship feminists such as Nina Hartley and Molly Ivins. Heck, even a writer I remember from my childhood - Judy Blume - provides quotes about the dangers of censorship.
Most of Strossen's arguments are directed towards the anti-pornography feminist fringe, with Andrea Dworkin and Catherine MacKinnon being the two most visible members. Strossen, who is also a feminist, clearly demonstrates the hyprocisy and absurdity of the MacDworkinites. Just to give you an idea of the nuttiness of the MacDworkinite perspective, Dworkin wrote in her book "Intercourse" that all heterosexual intercourse is actually rape. This is because she believes all women are so oppressed by men that they even lack the power to say "yes" to consensual sex. As a supporter of women's rights, I have always believed that the true spirit of feminism is about empowering women to achieve full freedom and equality, part of this being a woman's right to express herself sexually. But, apparently, the MacDworkinites consider women to be weak and childlike, unable to make even the most basic of choices for themselves.
Such ridiculous ideas could normally just be laughed at. But the MacDworkinites have made a hypocritical political alliance with the Religious Right which makes them a real threat in terms of enacting censorship legislation. For example ,they passed censorship laws in Indianapolis and Canada. Of course, their alliance with the Religious Right and other puritanical conservatives should be no suprise. Throughout the world it is the countries, such as Saudi Arabia and Iran, that are the most sexually repressed where women are the most socially and economically oppressed. Those countries, like the MacDworkinites, consider women to be weak and fragile, needing isolation and even public veiling to protect them from men. This is in contrast to sexually liberated countries, like Sweden and Denmark, where women enjoy a relatively high level of freedom and equality. Of course, reality has no place among the idealogically obsessed MacDworkinites.
Hooray for Nadine Strossen and the "ACLU"! Hooray for Freedom and Equality! Read this outstanding book!
Anti-freedom of speech book, poor panicky work.......2002-05-16
If I could give it zero stars, I would.
This is the book equivalent of the poor, panicky, slippery slope argument that says, "first they ban the advertising of cigarettes to minors, what's next? the banning of the right to BREATHE???" I.e. the argument that takes too little data and extrapolates too far with it to come up with implausable, panicked, pseudo-data. It's a book based on fear (and playing upon the irrational fears of others), rather than on reality or truth. It ignores factual data and instead runs with fear and panicked opinion.
This fear-based book also ignores the fact that since porn is a billion dollar business, based on a percentage of repeat customers (rather than on the entirety of the U.S. population, which is what they would have you believe, rather than prove it with rental/purchase data), and because it revolves around business and money, these frightened slaves of porn will have nothing to worry about (in the way of "losing" access to it), because as long as porn turns a dime (turns a dime for the producers, not the stars, in this completely unregulated industry without ethical economic practices), it will be here, just like gas powered cars and automatic weapons.
It's funny how the side that supports so called freedom of speech likes to remove the freedom of speech to hate porn, protest it, and educate others about it's harms. It's just like the book, "Animal Farm," where there are two sets of laws, one for those who fall in line with this pro-porn standing, and a different, restricted law for those who disagree and exercise their right to do something about it.
They should just be honest and say, "freedom of speech for US, not YOU."
Hurray for Free Speech!.......2001-02-24
With some concern about ten years ago I began hearing about a group of feminists who were campaigning against pornography. Catherine MacKinnon, one of the leaders, wrote, "Pornography, in the feminist view, is a form of forced sex... an institution of gender inequality... [P]ornography, with the rape and prostitution in which it participates, institutionalizes the sexuality of male supremacy." MacKinnon teamed up with another feminist, Andrea Dworkin, who has spouted a remarkable range of anti-sex rants: "Intercourse with men as we know them is increasingly impossible... It means remaining the victim... It means acting out the female role, incorporating the masochism, self-hatred, and passivity which are central to it." The MacDworkinites, as they are called, might be considered by some just a branch of feminists that are even more radical than their sisters, but the problem is that they are eager to chip away at the First Amendment.
That brings them into conflict with the American Civil Liberties Union, and in 1995 Nadine Strossen, President of the ACLU, wrote a fine argument against the MacDworkinites, which has now been issued with some updates, _Defending Pornography: Free Speech, Sex, and the Fight for Women's Rights_ (New York University Press). It is a thrilling invocation of the principles of liberty given by the First Amendment, and a reasoned but passionate argument against those feminists who would for some notion of a greater good restrict free speech to make social gains.
The MacDworkinites have made some enormous leaps of definition and logic that to them justify suppression of certain forms of speech. They define pornography as sexually explicit description that subordinates or degrades women, and they insist that as such it causes discrimination and violence against women. The ACLU has successfully battled against the definition of pornography pushed by the pro-censorship feminists in various states and communities, but it has, of course, not taken legal action in Canada, which in 1992 adopted the definition and made illegal sexually explicit expression that might be deemed dehumanizing or degrading to women. The Canadian law has no provision for work that has serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value (as our obscenity laws do now), and it allows for suppression of an entire work even if only parts of it meet the new obscenity definition. MacKinnon and Dworkin saw this as a stunning victory for women. What happened in Canada is that the feminists who worked for the new law have been stunned to find it used against them. Women's bookstores, in particular, were raided if they carried sexual material. Homosexual material was found by definition to be degrading and was seized. And, in a delicious irony, two books entitled _Pornography: Men Possessing Women_ and _Woman Hating_ were seized by Canadian Customs at the American border, because they contained illegal descriptions of pain and bondage. The descriptions, however, were there for the purpose of persuading society against misogyny, and the books were written by Dworkin herself.
Much of _Defending Pornography_ deals with the legal reasons that MacDworkinist regulations undermine women's rights and human rights, and the chilling effect that such regulations would have on free expression, but it does touch on pornography in a more general view. If there should be no laws restricting freedom of the press (or other media), what is so particularly special about sexual content that justifies laws restricting freedom of the press? Why, if a work has sexual content, must we insist that it have artistic, scientific, or political content as well, when we do not do so for anything else? If men and women (and women are increasingly users of erotic material) find pornography entertaining (and even the Meese commission found it could be educational), how does it benefit society to restrict such material? And are such benefits worth the losses that censorship, censorship exemplified by the MacDworkinist restrictions, would necessarily make? _Defending Pornography_ makes plain the losses that have already occurred and serves as a call to arms against prudes or well-intentioned advocates that would cut back First Amendment rights.
A must read for debaters.......2000-12-14
Despite the acrimony of some (obviously biased) reviewers, this is an outstanding book. Strossen has become a regular source for high school and collegiate debaters for precisely the type of solid analysis you'll find here. The legal argumentation is great and its nice to hear from an actual lawyer, not merely a social scientist who thinks s/he understands the field.
The rest of the book is also well-written, good structure and organization, decent index, entertaining style, excellent logic. It is obviously, designed to argue in favor of free speech, but her critics' responses that she ignores data do not impede the force of her argument. In fact, a lot of the data they rely on is less than ideally gathered, as Strossen points out. If it wasn't a powerful attack, Strossen's opponents wouldn't be as viciously opposed to this book as they are.
If, like me, you need evidence for debate rounds or are preparing a thesis on free speech, this book is essential, if only because it has generated so much debate. Don't be mislead by the mediocre rating or the views of an unsuccessful porn star, this book is a "must read".
Tiresome..........2000-08-24
Ms Strossen's book makes for boring reading. Her sole argument, as one might expect, is this: individual freedom at all cost no matter how much it might hurt a given community or someone's dignity. Now, I cannot see how this has any meaning to real life.
Average customer rating:
- A personal tale from the Digital Freedom Front
- A Thrilling, Inside Story of Internet Legal Development
- Human stories about cyberspace and law
- A coherent, passionate take on the subject
- Reconciles online ethics and law
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Cyber Rights: Defending Free speech in the Digital Age
Mike Godwin
Manufacturer: The MIT Press
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ASIN: 0262571684 |
Amazon.com
Cyber Rights is an exceptionally rational and compelling account of the most explosive and controversial issues surrounding freedom in cyberspace. Author Mike Godwin is the well-known outspoken activist for online civil liberties and counsel to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). He's been directly involved in many of the news-making cases and offers cogent analysis of very thorny situations, such as:
- Time magazine's infamous "Cyberporn" issue, which featured a flawed study and which many believe was at least a partial cause for passage of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 (later overturned);
- the case of Jake Baker, a college kid who distributed his stories about rape and torture in newsgroups, which resulted in his computer being confiscated by police;
- the Church of Scientology's line in the sand regarding intellectual property and the backlash against Scientology in online debates;
- the libel conflicts experienced by Net journalists Matt Drudge and Brock Meeks; and
- Philip Zimmerman's (the programmer who developed the encryption tool Pretty Good Privacy [PGP]) fight with the Clinton administration to allow the use of encryption software.
Godwin is a natural teacher, carefully describing each event and explaining the issues surrounding it. Unlike many writers, he shows that he thoroughly understands the arguments for restricting speech. He then methodically takes the arguments apart, covering what is normally boring legal theory and explaining it in a lively manner so that readers are drawn into the story.
This book differs from other books on the topic in two ways: it's entertaining and it's a personal account. It's obvious that Godwin enjoys telling his stories, and he passes his enthusiasm on to readers. Readers also get a sense of Godwin's personal involvement as he describes his role in exposing the erroneous study that was the basis of Time magazine's "cyberporn" scare. In his chapter on the court decision that overturned the Communications Decency Act of 1996, it's clear that Godwin's work for the EFF is not just his job, but his passion. --Elizabeth Lewis
Book Description
Lawyer and writer Mike Godwin has been at the forefront of the struggle to preserve freedom of speech on the Internet. In Cyber Rights he recounts the major cases and issues in which he was involved and offers his views on free speech and other constitutional rights in the digital age. Godwin shows how the law and the Constitution apply, or should apply, in cyberspace and defends the Net against those who would damage it for their own purposes.
Godwin details events and phenomena that have shaped our understanding of rights in cyberspace--including early antihacker fears that colored law enforcement activities in the early 1990s, the struggle between the Church of Scientology and its critics on the Net, disputes about protecting copyrighted works on the Net, and what he calls "the great cyberporn panic." That panic, he shows, laid bare the plans of those hoping to use our children in an effort to impose a new censorship regime on what otherwise could be the most liberating communications medium the world has seen. Most important, Godwin shows how anyone--not just lawyers, journalists, policy makers, and the rich and well connected--can use the Net to hold media and political institutions accountable and to ensure that the truth is known.
Customer Reviews:
A personal tale from the Digital Freedom Front.......2003-03-25
I started off a review of a Bruce Sterling novel with a statement of full disclosure, so I must do the same here--even more so. Mike is a long-time friend from when I lived in Austin, Texas. He knew me, as they say, when. After my disastrous first year at the University of Texas, he helped me identify the classes to take that would awaken my interest (including Shakespeare at Winedale). Mike grilled me on my reading critically, forcing me to be able to talk about books on a level besides enjoyment. He was also the organizer of the Dull Men's Club, a regular meeting group for argument and drinking that often became similar to the Austin BBS Users Reading Group. Yes, I think it safe to say that he was, and still is, a friend.
As he explains his history in this book, Mike was in the right place at the right time interested in the right things. Mike's interest in electronic communication and constitutional law and his journalistic background all brought him to the attention of Mitch Kapor, who made his money with Lotus when they were known for a spreadsheet called 1-2-3. Kapor was forming a think tank to work on his pet project, the rights of people on the electronic frontier. This group eventually became the Electronic Freedom Foundation (EFF) and Mike Godwin was hired as its first employee to be its legal counsel.
Nearly ten years later, the world has changed. The EFF has been part of some historic court battles and media frenzy and Godwin was there at each step of the way. In Cyber Rights, he explains these issues by giving you his personal history and his involvement. I can't think of too many other people who could have written a book like this (although Bruce Sterling's The Hacker Crackdown comes close; Bruce, however, was never so intimately involved in his non-fiction). Mike's background as a journalist keeps this from being a snooze, even when the legal hair-splits start looking like a bad day at Supercuts. If anything, some people may be turned off by his relative informality. I thought it actually helped, by showing that these are not dry issues that only lawyers and civil libertarians can love. Mike is passionate that the future of our society lies in the battles we are fighting today regarding what we can and can not do on the Internet.
What freedom are we talking about? Those guaranteed to you in the First Amendment, specifically freedom of the press, where the Internet is showing itself to be a new medium, just as radio and TV were earlier. In radio and TV, this freedom was abridged because of the issues of access to a limited spectrum. The Internet, however, is almost limitless, even more so than newspapers and publishers, who heretofore have enjoyed the full benefit of First Amendment protection. The issues that come up in these debates include: libel, pornography, privacy, marketing, and copyright. The Internet has changed the ground rules on all of these, yet most legislation and court cases have tried to link the Internet to older traditional media (likely due to our legal practice of using case law precedents), whereas Godwin feels that a new media, a new press, requires different interpretations.
I liked this book so much that I spent part of last semester designing a composition unit around the book and a writing assignment that would use Godwin's issues as a baseline to discover how things have changed since he finished the book at the end of 1997. I did not realize when I designed the unit that I would get a chance to put it immediately into practice, but circumstances have enabled me to teach two months of a freshman composition course this next semester on "Writing in a Technological Age and we'll be tackling Godwin's issues in February (in March, we'll be looking at Geoff Ryman's Internet novel, 253). I went by the bookstore earlier this week and noticed that I'm not the only teacher who is requiring this book; a professor in the School for International Studies is also using it as a text.
Okay, you're likely not one of my students, so you aren't required to read this book, so why should you? If you use the Internet for business or pleasure, the topics discussed herein are directly applicable to your continued use of this resource. Godwin explains in simple terms why you should be concerned, what the difficult issues are, and what things are being overblown by Chicken Littles. If you've been following these issues closely, this is a good summary; if you don't know what I'm talking about at all, this is your introduction.
A Thrilling, Inside Story of Internet Legal Development.......2000-02-04
"Cyber Rights" provides a real insider's view aboutthe early development of Internet law in the United States, focusingon free speech, privacy and copyright issues, among others.
He notes that some things have changed since he wrote "Cyber Rights": "One of the great ironies of cyberlaw is the extent to which policymakers were panicky about anonymity on the Net in the early 1990s -- nowadays it's increasingly obvious that the Internet is one of the least anonymous places there is, since so much that you do there is archived and recorded."
Human stories about cyberspace and law.......1999-04-05
This is the book that picks up where Bruce Sterling's "The Hacker Crackdown" leaves off. Lots of talk about law and philosophy, but wrapped in a series of very human stories. I was caught up in it from the introduction on.
A coherent, passionate take on the subject.......1999-04-04
What I liked was Godwin's willingness to invest some of his own passionate belief into his accounts of the principles and cases he discusses. This is also the first book I've seen that builds a coherent, positive theory of free speech on the Net rather than just a defensive one. I found the discussions of memes and virtual communities absolutely central to the book.
Reconciles online ethics and law.......1999-04-03
One of the things I liked about this book was the way in which it addressed the ethics of online publication (don't spread bad memes, try to counter bad memes with good ones) with the First Amendment (which basically keeps government out of the meme-regulation process). In other words, policing the Net should be a matter of individual ethics rather than of legislation or prosecutions. I didn't find the messages of this book inconsistent at all -- it seems to me to be one of the goals of First Amendment advocacy to explain how free speech leads to good results. I think that anyone who approaches the book as a simple guide to online rights is missing the larger message, which is that there is a philosophy of free speech and privacy that has to shape how we deal with the Internet.
Book Description
Guns Saves Lives contains true stories of Americans who altered the course of their lives and others by their use of firearms. They stayed alive and, in many instances, saved the lives of loved ones. They saved the lives of untold others from violence their assailants were trying to commit. They changed the lives of the thugs significantly, at least temprorarily, by sending them to jail, or permanently by killing them outright. Robert Waters interviewed the citizen defenders in this book and makes their stories available in far greater detail that the local media cared to. The hidden side of the gun ownership story is seldom told, but Robert Waters does so in this book.
Customer Reviews:
stories with a moral.......2007-03-23
This book contains 12 long stories of ordinary Americans attacked or invaded by gun-wielding strangers, who defended themselves with guns. A thirteenth chapter contains a number of shorter stories.
Several things come out of these stories. One is that if gun restrictions had been in effect, such a trigger locks, these innocent people would be dead. Another is that police tend to blame the victim first, before investigating. But after investigation, the victims are usually freed. Sometimes this blame even takes precedence over giving the victims medical attention. Another is that mainstream newspapers only carry negative stories about guns, they don't carry all the stories in which people save their own lives with guns.
Books like this are needed to counter the one-sided picture being painted by the mainstream press. Give a copy to everyone you know who is against guns.
Gun control is only one of the threats facing America today, but it does play an important role in that threat. To learn more about the other threats, read While America Sleeps: How Islam, Immigration and Indoctrination are Destroying America from Within.
What the media never shows!!!.......2005-09-29
With all social books, I bought and read this with an open mind. It turned out to be an excellent book highlighting and discussing various stories of people defending themselves and their loved ones with the proper use of a handgun. These very newsworthy stories are what scare the hateful media and liberal anti-Americans. It shows that there are people out there who use guns to defend themselves. Why the anti-gun crowd don't see or understand this if beyond me and all the rest of the freedom loving folks in this great country. Really though, what I see is that they don't want the people who they want to subjugate to have the means to resist a takeover of the country. The U.S. is on a slippery slope towards a total elimination of our freedom and rights to where the elites will have complete control of the country but I digress since that is another conversation.
This book should be a learning lesson to those who are straddling the fence on the legitimacy of handgun usage. I dare anyone to ask themselves whether they would just "peacefully" not resist to being murdered, raped, robbed or whatever (like the anti-gun crowd want you to do) or would you rabidly and vehemently defend yourself. If you decide to defend yourself, wouldn't you want to have the best means to do so in your hands? Not all of us are athletically inclined to be expert martial artists and be able to physically deter most types of attacks (then again not all martial artists are invulnerable either) which leaves us with to find other means of defending ourselves. These means include a handgun. Whether you agree with owning a handgun or not, it does not give a person the right to deny that right to others.
To speak from personal experience, my mother does not like guns nor will own a gun but she will not deny ME the right to own or use one. Something to think about for you anti-American, anti-freedom, hateful people out there.
At least get a fighting chance!.......2004-02-28
As someone from the US I have to laugh when someone from the UK (where people have been blowing each other up en mass instead of shooting them for years) has the audacity to be condescending about the gun violence in this country. At least with a gun you have a fighting chance to defend yourself. Thankfully, we are very unlike the UK where crowded buses or department stores are routinely blown up, just to make a point, something that rarely happens in the US. Thank the founding fathers, we still have the right to defend ourselves with honest weapons. The world is full of crazies, whether guns are outlawed in that particular spot on the globe or not. All those cameras on every street corner in Great Britain haven't kept their populace safe, any more than our police force can keep all of us safe. Guns Save Lives demonstrates exactly how informed and even slightly trained citizens can make a difference in the random violence that can intrude on their otherwise peaceful lives. If someone is in doubt that it could happen to them, let them take a walk through these pages. It does happen. Check out the site of this book's publisher Loompanics for a real eye opener. Or call 8003802230
Real Life Threats.......2003-09-14
This book was hard to put down. A must read for anyone who wants to know what REALLY happens outhere in the real world. You always think it happens to someone else, until you are someone else. It sheds light on the truth. You only hear the horror stories about guns. Not how they save countless lives. Keep in mind responsible gun use must be practiced. None the less you shouldn't be discouraged from owning a firearm for self-protection. This book gives you a view of what has happened to ordinary people, just like you and me. It doesn't tell of every circumstance possible, but does shed light on what happens in the real world. It was worth the reasonible price aked.
recommended book on armed self-defense.......2003-09-11
Author Robert A. WATERS points out that every year thousands of US citizens defend their life, their families and their property against violent criminals with firearms (which of course does not necessarily include the discharge of the weapon, let alone shoot to kill). In this compilation the reader is introduced to about a dozen true stories where people used their guns for personal defense. It has to be pointed out that all of these people were ordinary law-abiding citizens - housewives, shop owners, teachers, elderly men and women. None of these persons was a gun fetishist, militant survivalist or psycho. They were people like you and me.
Firstly it has to be mentioned that GUNS SAVE LIVES is not recommended for the squeamish. The harrowing graphic description of violent crimes is often quite shocking.
I have to admit that as true crime buff I read the book mainly for entertainment purposes. However there are undoubtedly some lessons to be learnt about guns, self-protection and crime from this book:
* It really shocked me how brutal and vicious the criminals were. Most of the attacks were completely unprovoked. A teenage boy who all of a sudden killed his mother with a baseball bat and a kitchen knife, before embarking on a killing spree in his highschool, shooting dead two pupils and seriously wounding seven others (until the vice principal stopped him with his .45 calibre handgun). A psycho who stabbed a gun shop owner repeatedly in his chest and abdomen with a samurai sword. The shop owner managed to shoot him with his concealed carry weapon.
A drug addict so desparate in need of some dollars for a fix that he almost choked and severely injured a 91 year old man with a hunting knife. Thankfully the old man was able to use his gun to save his life. A trio of young criminals, who robbed three drugstores on one day in order to get money for the lawyer of one of the trio, who awaited a trial for drug charges, shooting dead a female shop assistant and severely wounding another one. This woman would be dead, hadn't she shot back with a .38 calibre revolver. A psycho who unprovokedly stabbed a mother of three in her house. The woman lost one of her eyes and one of her sons was injured, but she was finally able to use her handgun against the intruder.
These criminals showed little respect for the lives of their victims. Almost all of them had a long history of arrests and convictions.
* Not surprisingly, almost all stories took place in the Southern states of the USA, where more liveral gun laws enable citizens to use a firearm for self-defense and thus, as is convincingly shown, increase their chance to survive an attack from a violent criminal.
* Also not surprisingly many criminals benefitted from an overly lenient justice system. One of the cases that struck me most was the accomplice of a robber, who plea-bargained and was sentenced to only 50 hours of community service (!).
* All of the people in the stories who defended themselves with a gun knew how to use it: two were gunshop owners, one was a seasoned hunter, one was a former soldier, others attended instruction courses, were shown the proper use of a gun by their husbands, or went to the shooting range on a regular basis.
* All of the victims (with one exeption) had their guns ready (on the nightstand, under the pillow or the bed, in their car) and did not use gun locks or stored their firearms in safes.
* Some of the victims were better armed than their assaulters.
* It appears that sometimes one gun is not enough as the case of a gun shop owner shows, who was overpowered by two attackers. They tried to shoot him with his own handgun, however the man was able to use a backup gun against his assailants.
I agree with most of what the author wrote, however I am aware that GUNS SAVE LIVES is not flawless. I don't buy it that no one ever ran into legal troubles when using a firearm for selfdefense. I feel that the author did not elaborate on the risks of armed selfdefense. Is it really out of the question that somebody who defends himself with a gun isn't mistaken for the criminal by intervening police? Or that an attempted trial of armed self-defense prompts a criminal to respond violently and thus results in an escalating situation? In my view the book is often a bit simplistic.
I also think that some of the quoted dialogue is more fitting for a B-movie than appropriate for a serious book on guns and self-defense, like e.g. "That dope fiend took one bullet but he didn't take a penny of my money." (p.55)
Book Description
Defending Life is the most comprehensive defense of the prolife position on abortion ever published. It is sophisticated, but still accessible to the ordinary citizen. Without high-pitched rhetoric or appeals to religion, the author offers a careful and respectful case for why the prolife view of human life is correct. He responds to the strongest prochoice arguments found in law, science, philosophy, politics, and the media. He explains and critiques Roe v. Wade, and he explains why virtually all the popular prochoice arguments fail. There is simply nothing like this book.
Customer Reviews:
Put on your thinking caps!.......2007-09-30
My undergraduate education was in engineering and I work in electronics (I'm what you might call a "ones and zeros" kind of guy.) So, I am pretty far from being a philosopher or a lawyer - but I do work with logic every day. And Dr. Beckwith's "circuit analysis," trouble-shooting, and reasoning on this incredibly important issue - pass the logic test. ;)
I highly recommend this book for anyone with an interest in the abortion debate.
For people who are inclined towards the "Pro Abortion Choice" perspective - here is what you are up against (intellectually speaking.) You should seriously consider reading this book to flesh out your position(s) and arguments for defending abortion choice. And be prepared to have your reasons for being "Pro Abortion Choice" put to the test!
For people more inclined to be "Pro Life" - this book will no doubt help you improve your ability to articulate and defend your position. It will also (more than likely) give you a good understanding of all the key points related to the abortion issue, as well as a equipping you with an education in the best arguments from the "Pro Abortion Choice" camp.
In either case, if you are under the assumption that being "Pro Life" is a "religious" perspective - you will definitely be set straight. Don't expect to encounter a religious or theological perspective in this book. Agnostics, Atheists, and Theists all have equal playing field here.
I came away from this book much better informed about the abortion debate, much more grounded in my "Pro Life" perspective, and much more motivated to help raise awareness about what abortion really is.
And I came away feeling like I made a new friend in Francis Beckwith.
The case against abortion.......2007-09-27
This is certainly the newest pro-life work to appear, and arguably among the best. It not only lays out the legal, rational, moral and philosophical case against abortion choice, but it more broadly makes the case for human equality and the sanctity of life.
Beckwith is an American professor of law and philosophy who has written extensively on these issues previously. This volume brings together years of thinking and debating on this contentious issue. It is an invaluable resource for all those wishing to stand up for human life at all stages of development, and to counter the arguments of the pro-choice brigade.
The first third of the book paints with broad brush strokes, examining moral reasoning, legal considerations, and political dimensions of the abortion debate.
The second third of the book looks more closely at the abortion debate per se, looking at the science, the morality and the arguments involved in the debate about abortion.
The final third of the book extends these considerations to recent developments in bioethics, including cloning and stem cell research.
The second and longest section of this book does many things, including carefully dismantling the various arguments put forward by the pro-abortion camp. All the leading pro-abortion thinkers, such as Thompson, Boonin, Stretton, and Dworkin are taken on, with their positions carefully assessed and interacted with.
On the broader issue of human equality, Beckwith argues for the substance view which states that a human being "is intrinsically valuable because of the sort of thing it is and the human being remains that sort of thing as long as it exists". That is, an individual "maintains absolute identity through time while it grows, develops, and undergoes numerous changes".
Various functions and capacities, whether fully realised or utilised do not constitute a person. Thus a human being is never a potential person, but is always a person at different stages of development, whether potential properties and capacities are actualised or not.
This view stand in stark contrast to the utilitarian and functionalist views held by most pro-abortionists. They argue that personhood is not inherent or intrinsic, but based on certain capacities and functions, be it consciousness, sentience, self-awareness, the ability to reason, and so on.
As to the specifics of the abortion debate, Beckwith responds to the numerous objections raised by pro-abortionists over the years. For example, consider the argument often heard, involving the hard cases of rape and incest. These are certainly tragic events, but in no way can they be used to justify an abortion.
First, such cases are extremely rare, making up just a tiny fraction of all abortions. Second, to argue for the legalisation of abortion because of these extreme cases would be similar to arguing that we eliminate traffic laws because in some rare cases they need to be violated, as in rushing a loved one to hospital.
Third, it simply begs the question by assuming the unborn child is not fully human. Fifth, to justify abortion in these circumstances is to argue that it is acceptable to forfeit a life for the alleged benefit of another. But a basic ethical intuition argues that we may not kill one person to possibly save another. John may desperately need a vital organ of Mary to stay alive, but he has no right to demand it, especially if it entails killing her in the process.
The more recent, and difficult, cases of embryo research, human cloning and stem cell therapies are also examined, looking at the various justifications given for them, and their pro-life responses. Similar issues arise here concerning the nature of personhood and the inviolability of life.
Beckwith closes by laying out his case as it has been argued throughout: the unborn are full members of the human community; it is wrong to kill members of that community; abortion kills the unborn entity; therefore abortion is morally wrong.
The three hundred pages of tightly-knit argumentation and logical-constructed reasoning take on nearly all the major justifications for abortion. All are found wanting - morally, legally, and philosophically. Beckwith is to be praised for assembling in one volume some of the best pro-life argumentation around.
Outstanding Contribution to Abortion Debate.......2007-09-21
Beckwith's primary purpose is to provide a thorough defense of the pro-life position and its grounding in the "substance view" of human persons--a view he claims best explains human equality. He writes: "This book is, in a sense, then, not really a book about abortion, but rather, a book about human equality." Frank contends that the larger metaphysical question--who are we?--should be answered by enlarging our definition of the human family to include the unborn. His secondary purpose is to examine the relationship between abortion and law, politics, and public discourse.
The pro-life argument Frank defends can be outlined as follows:
1. The unborn entity, from the moment of conception, is a full-fledged member of the human community.
2. It is prima facie morally wrong to kill any member of that community.
3. Every successful abortion kills an unborn entity, a full-fledged member of the human community.
4. Therefore, every successful abortion is prima facie morally wrong.
The book is divided into three parts. Part 1 deals with moral reasoning, the law, and politics. Part 2 is the core of Frank's case for the pro-life view, which includes both the scientific and philosophic considerations. Part 3 takes on cloning and embryonic stem-cell research.
The thrust of the text is philosophical and jurisprudential rather than religious. In each case, the arguments presented pass the test of public reason. That's not because he thinks theology doesn't count as real knowledge (indeed, he argues elsewhere it does). Rather, he's cutting-off secular critics who unjustly dismiss pro-life arguments with the wand of "faith"--which they define as non-rational and subjective.
Frank sums up the current controversy this way: "At the end of the day, the abortion debate is about who and what we are and whether we can know it."
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- Judge Johnson Advanced Our Constitutional Liberties
- Judge Johnson Advanced Our Constitutional Liberties
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Defending Constitutional Rights (Studies in the Legal History of the South)
Frank M. Johnson
Manufacturer: University of Georgia Press
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Judge Johnson Advanced Our Constitutional Liberties.......2001-12-24
Judge Frank M. Johnson achieved national recognition for his decisions that supported Martin Luther King and other leaders of the civil rights movement, and for his defense of the individual rights of women, students, prisoners, mental health patients, and poor criminal defendants. Because these decisions expanded the scope of those Constitutional amendments that assert individual liberties and proclaim the equality of all citizens, Judge Johnson is often viewed as one of the great liberal judges of the Twentieth Century. On the contrary, as Tony Freyer convincingly demonstrates in his analytical introduction and conclusion to this selective collection of Judge Johnson's writings and public statements, Johnson's core values were fundamentally conservative, in that they were "based on individual freedom defined in terms of equal opportunity and equality under law."
The law, of course, is the U.S. Constitution, and Johnson's decisions, as his essays indicate, were informed and circumscribed by a profound understanding of the mechanics of the law. As Johnson told Bill Moyers in a 1980 public television interview, the transcript of which is published for the first time in this book, Johnson realized certain limitations when he opposed busing as a tool of desegregation because "when you make a child, or children, get up at five o'clock in the morning and wait for a bus to haul them 10 or 15 miles, past schools to which they were formerly eligible to go, then I think you are doing tremendous damage". Striving for judicial clarity above and beyond moral fervor, Johnson also said that he had never been inside of a prison or a mental facility because he "needed not to go there," but to make his decisions on "the basis of evidence that's presented during the adversary proceeding."
Judge Johnson's momentous injunction in Williams v. Wallace that ordered Governor George Wallace to allow a four-day civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery (from March 21 to March 25, 1965), led by Dr. King along Highway 80, was rendered in a carefully crafted opinion based on the principle that the right to protest on public property should be "commensurate with the enormity of the wrongs that are being protested and petitioned against."
As these essays make clear, Judge Johnson believed that the role of the American judiciary and of the entire legal profession should be one of activism, not on the side of morality, but to maintain the supremacy of the law. Johnson wrote that " the lawyer should remember that a disrespect or disregard for law is always the first sign of a disintegrating society."Throughout his forty-one years on the bench, Judge Johnson sought to decide the cases that came before him solely on their particular merits. His injunctive orders that sought to remedy deplorable conditions in prisons and mental health facilities were taken because, in his view, elected officials had failed to discharge their designated and constitutional responsibilities for fair and equitable governance. Judge Johnson clearly believed that all citizens, including the mentally retarded, the insane, and those convicted of felonies, still have certain basic rights to include sanitary living conditions, freedom from unwarranted punishment, and, if feasible, the right to rehabilitation. As he eloquently concluded his essay "Equal Access to Justice," the promise inscribed on the Supreme Court Building of "Equal Justice Under Law" cannot be fulfilled unless there is equal access to justice.
Towards the end of his judicial career, Judge Johnson wrote: "If we abdicate responsibility to address the difficult questions of our time, those in need of refuge from the torrents of political, economic, and religious forces will find no haven in the law and the law will no longer be supreme. . . . A judge must always be consumed by a passion for justice which propels judgment toward the just conclusion." This forceful summation of an American judge's responsibilities is elaborated in this artfully chosen collection of Johnson's insightful and thought-provoking essays. This is a valuable addition to the biographic literature on Frank Johnson that should be welcomed by all students of recent American History.
Judge Johnson Advanced Our Constitutional Liberties.......2001-12-23
Federal Judge Frank Johnson achieved national recognition for his decisions that supported Martin Luther King and other leaders of the civil rights movement, and for his defense of the individual rights of women, students, prisoners, mental health patients, and poor criminal defendants. Because these decisions expanded the scope of those Constitutional amendments that assert individual liberties and proclaim the equality of all citizens, Judge Johnson is often viewed as one of the great liberal judges of the Twentieth Century. On the contrary, as Tony Freyer convincingly demonstrates in his analytical introduction and conclusion to this collection of Judge Johnson's writings and public statements, Johnson's core values were fundamentally conservative, in that they were based on individual freedom "defined in terms of equal opportunity and equality under law." The law, of course, is the U.S. Constitution and Johnson's decisions, as his essays indicate, were informed and circumscribed by a profound understanding of what the law does and does not permit. As Johnson told Bill Moyers in a 1980 public television interview, published for the first time in this book, Johnson opposed busing as a tool of desegregation because "when you make a child, or children, get up at five o'clock in the morning and wait for a bus to haul them 10 or 15 miles, past schools to which they were formerly eligible to go, then I think you are doing tremendous damage." Johnson also said that he had never been in a prison or mental institution because he "needed not to go there," but to make his decisions on "the basis of evidence that's presented during the adversary proceeding." This is a valuable addition to the biographic literature on Frank Johnson, that should be welcomed by all students of recent American History.
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- Self Defense is a Civil Right
- It is so accurate, I couldn't put it down
- A clearly-written guide to gun policy & activism
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Firing Back: A Clear, Simple Guide to Defending Your Constitutional Right to Bear Arms
Clayton E. Cramer
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Armed America: The Remarkable Story of How and Why Guns Became as American as Apple Pie
ASIN: 087341344X |
Customer Reviews:
Self Defense is a Civil Right.......2007-08-22
The purpose of this book is to aid a person in answering questions about the right to keep and bear arms. You can compare the arguments and the facts (p.4). The author wants a society that is more peaceful and free. Chapter 1 explains why self-defense benefits society (p.9). Cramer learned how the corporate media lies about "gun control". Chapter 2 tells how people don't change their minds because of a sole event but because of experiences in the real world. Well-written letters can affect elected officials (p.11). He gives practical advice. [It is best to write a letter, then rewrite it the next day. You will think of changes. Review and rewrite on the third day and finish.] Page 16 gives good advice on a letter to the editor, and about personal responses (p.17). Cramer discusses local organizing (p.18). Those costs can be eliminated by keeping it informal with a low overhead.
Cramer explains the advantage of joining the National Rifle Association. [It is a large group that is responsible to its members who elect their leaders. Unlike the "Gun Control" lobbies.] His advice on good manners is excellent (pp.22-24)! Chapter 3 has excellent advice on discussing topics. Cramer's comments are correct (p.34), but he doesn't mention corporate bias. Are newspapers always accurate? Chapter 4 is one of the most important. Reading a book on Classical Logic will help you evaluate reports in the media, such as news shows. Page 41 omits any mention of the "appeal to ignorance", often used in advertising. Page 44 tells about the trick of responding to a question with another question. [Some radio talk shows are skilled in distracting a caller. Just make a note on what you want to say and refer back to your topic when the host jumps to another topic. Consider the possible responses and your answers.] Chapter 5 explains why crime statistics are not 100% correct, and surveys are sometimes designed to get the results desired by the person paying for the survey (p.54). Chapter 6 tells why statistics from other countries are often flawed (p.63). Cramer provides data on the murder rates among different groups (p.68). He shows what was overlooked; some groups in Seattle had a lower homicide rate than in Vancouver (p.72). America's higher murder rates are balanced against higher suicide rates and repressive laws in other countries (pp.74-75). Those stories about "Children and Guns" are mostly cooked up (p.87).
Chapter 8 tells why the true aim of "Handgun Control Inc." is ban all handguns. Who was its founder (p.90)? Does that explain its influence with the new media? Registration doesn't solve crimes (p.95), it is only for confiscation (p.91). That Haynes decision isn't "crazy", it merely proves that registration won't stop criminals (p.98). Registering bullets has problems (p.101). Chapter 9 discusses the "cost benefit analysis" argument. Who benefits from a loss of rights? Cramer exposes the false story about restrictions on handguns in Washington DC (pp.119-122). The murder rate skyrocketed once you adjust the murders for the population (fewer people result in fewer murders). That story about the dangers of a gun in the house was concocted (p.125). King county (Seattle and suburbs) has one of the highest suicide rates in the country. Guns in the home prevent crimes such as home invasion robberies. Page 143 explains how misinformation in the media works. High capacity magazines can save lives (p.144). Chapter 11 explains why gun prohibition won't work. Both guns (p.151) and ammunition (p.153) are easily manufactured. There could be unintended consequences (p.154).
Chapter 12 discusses Constitutional rights. Gun Control advocates don't read the court decisions they claim for their support (p.159). The Bill of Rights protects Americans from state laws that deny fundamental rights (p.162). He explains "US vs Miller" so you can understand this decision. Chapter 13 says "it can't happen here" as long as citizens are well-armed. The Second Amendment is not about hunting. The right to self-defense is a human right (Chapter 14). You can't depend on the government. Violence against minorities has often occurred when local governments ignored these crimes (p.184). "Shall issue" laws have lowered murder rates (p.185). There is a short chapter on "The Media" (Chapter 15). Journalists are generalists who have to write for a general audience, they don't have the time and interest for technical details (p.188). Violent programming on television may be the main cause of increasing violence in society (pp.189-190). Don't expect the corporate media to change a policy that brings them millions (p.191). Journalists, like other employees, know the corporate rules and may have a biased outlook. Confusion about the word "semi-automatic" can be eliminated by using "self-loading". Chapter 16 recommends a number of books for further reading.
It is so accurate, I couldn't put it down.......1999-04-07
This book is an excellent way to inform oneself of their constitutional rights and arguments to win any gun debate. I recommend it with all my heart. It exposes the dirty tricks of the anti-firearm statistacs that gun control advocates have used. It also tells you the honest to god truth behind guns in america. If you haven't read this book and own a firearm you don't know the half of the damage that gun control advocates have done to the publics view on gun owners. I urge you to read this and have a accurate information explain to people the truth about guns in america.
A clearly-written guide to gun policy & activism.......1997-10-16
The first part of the book is a short guide to gun rights activism, with advice on how to write letters to newspapers and elected officials, and other tips for activists. The much larger portion of the book covers various policy topics (for example, public health, crime statistics, various frauds perpetrated by anti-gun and pro-gun advocates). The information is presented in a clear, straightforward writing style, thoroughly supported by endnotes and other documentation. Thus, Firing Back is great one-volume source to help you write letters to the editor, educate your co-workers or friends about the gun issue, and turn yourself into a more informed citizen. Review by Dave Kopel, Independence Institute, http://i2i.org.
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- Insightful, exciting read; convinced me to go to law school
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Defending Rights: A Life in Law and Politics
Frank Askin
Manufacturer: Humanities Press Intl Inc
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ASIN: 0391040065 |
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Insightful, exciting read; convinced me to go to law school.......2004-06-08
For a long time I was looking for a book that could describe public-interest law from a day-to-day perspective. Although Askin packs decades of his career into the book, he provides lots of detail about the many victories and setbacks he has experienced--what happened in each case, why he believes it happened, how much luck played a role, how he disagreed with others about strategy, etc. In all it's the most accessible book about law I have ever read, thanks to Askin's friendly style, straightforward writing, and passion for the events he is describing.
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- Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit
- Eisenhower on Leadership: Ike's Enduring Lessons in Total Victory Management
- Evita: An Intimate Portrait of Eva Peron
- Evita: The Real Life of Eva Peron
- Fear No Evil: A Novel
- Gifts to the Tsars, 1500-1700: Treasures of the Kremlin
- Girl Wars: 12 Strategies That Will End Female Bullying
- God and Juggernaut: Iran's Intellectual Encounter With Modernity (Modern Intellectual and Political History of the Middle East)
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The Lanahan Readings in Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
Harmful to Minors: The Perils of Protecting Children from Sex
