More Books

Several book-related postettes, rolled into one handy and convenient post.

Democracy's Edge, by Frances Moore Lappe

I read an excerpt of this on Atrios, and then found Amazon has an excerpt, too. Something about the description and the excerpts struck me, and I ordered it. It should be here any day; I'll let you know how it was.

Instead of going up to Gerlach afterward and telling him his ad was an assault on democracy -- something I prided myself for doing at the time -- I could have simply stood up when he refused to disown his own ad. I could have announced that I would remain standing until Mr. Gerlach acknowledged his mistake. My voice would have quivered as my heart pounded. But my example might have enabled others to stand. And even if not one person had joined me, at least there would have been an inescapable message in the room about the preciousness of democratic principle. Beyond focusing on policy differences, everyone there would have been called to reflect on the need to defend democracy itself.

Conservative Nanny State, by Dean Baker

I heard about this on Tiny Revolution yesterday. I haven't read it yet, but it's a free e-book (PDF), so there's no excuse for either of us not to.

Conservatives want to use the government to distribute income upward to higher paid workers, business owners, and investors. They support the establishment of rules and structures that have this effect. First and foremost, conservatives support nanny state policies that have the effect of increasing the supply of less-skilled workers (thereby lowering their wages), while at the same time restricting the supply of more highly educated professional employees (thereby raising their wages).

Now It's My Turn, by Mary Cheney

Okay, I'm not recommending this one, but the review Jesus' General posted for it on Amazon is well worth a read.

I'm not sure I understand why Miss Cheney became a Republican political operative. After all, the party isn't exactly welcoming people like her--87% of all Republicans want to stone her to death and 92% want her to just shut up while they watch her make-out with another woman.

I imagine she has a good reason. Perhaps, she thinks a soul is a small price to pay for access to all that wealth and power, or maybe she was worried that Dick would shoot her in the face if she declined. In any event, she worked very hard to elect people who will do everything possible to deny her the benefits that come with achieving personhood. I like that about her. I wish more people would sacrifice their selfish desire to be treated with dignity in order to serve our betters more effectively.