Events Books

Judge Bork is a brilliant thinker. Book is a masterpiece of brilliant deduction and understanding of critical political, educational and judicial issues in America, and provides the reader with a foundational grasp of why there is such volatile division between political ideologies in America. We need more thinkers and writers like Judge Bork.

The Tempting of America is the finest book ever written in defense of the judicial theory known as 'original understanding.' In this brilliant tome, Bork enunciates the dangers and abuses (by activist judges of the Right as well as the Left) inherent in rejecting the original understanding, shows the logical impossibility of constructing an unbiased alternative and shows that the original understanding is not only what the Founding Fathers intended, but is the only safe and non-partisan way to allow a free people to govern itself.

Complaints? This book is a heavy, intellectual read, not for the faint of heart. It merits attention and study--but it will reward your efforts ten-fold.

Now for the good stuff: After I read Bork's book, I told fellow law students there were few law school courses I would not trade for it. I only wish I had read it before sitting through Constitutional Law.

Yet the book would be worth the reading for anyone interested in the law. It is likely the most complete and well-reasoned statement of the conservative position (and arguably the historical "American" position) on judicial philosophy, legal practice, and several key political doctrines, including the separation of powers, federalism, and the Madisonian system. He begins:

"In the Past few decades American institutions have struggled with the temptations of politics. Professions and academic disciplines that once possessed a life and structure of their own have steadily succumbed, in some cases almost entirely, to the belief that nothing matters beyond politically desirable results, however achieved. . . . It is coming to be denied that anything counts, not objectivity, not even intellectual honesty, that stands in the way of the `correct' political outcome."

He goes on to describe the greatest threat to the law today:

"In the law, the moment of temptation is the moment of choice, when a judge realizes that in the case before him his strongly held view of justice . . . is not embodied in a statute or any provision of the Constitution. He then must choose between his version of justice and abiding by the American form of government. Yet the desire to do justice, whose nature seems to him obvious, is compelling, while the concept of constitutional process is abstract, rather arid, and the abstinence it counsels unsatisfying. To give in to temptation, this one time, solves an urgent human problem, and a faint crack appears in the American foundation. A judge has begun to rule where a legislator should."

Bork argues that these result-oriented decisions have moved holdings steadily to the left for the last half century. As a result, many Americans do not like those outcomes and are no longer "deceived by the claim that those results are compelled by the actual Constitution." Soon the law may go the way of the press, Bork fears, losing legitimacy with a large part of the public. And conservative activism would only make it worse.

"Conservatives . . . may decide to join the game and seek activist judges with conservative views. Should that come to pass, those who have tempted the courts to political judging will have gained nothing for themselves but will have destroyed a great and essential institution. . . . There are only two sides. Either the Constitution and statutes are law, which means their principles are known and control judges, or they are malleable texts that judges may rewrite to see that particular groups or political causes win."

Bork answers a likely question: "What does it mean to say a judge is bound by the law?" It means he is bound by the only thing that can be called law: the principles of the text, whether Constitution or statute, as generally understood at the enactment." He notes that the lay reader may wonder at this statement. Isn't that obvious?

"Of course, the judge is bound to apply the law as those who made the law wanted him to. That is the common, everyday view of what law is. I stress the point only because that commonsense view is hotly, extensively and eruditely denied by constitutional sophisticates, particularly those who teach the subject in law schools."

Here, Bork argues, commonsense is sound. He quotes Justice Story. "A constitution of government is addressed to the common sense of the people; and never was designed for trials of logical skill or visionary speculation."

Bork resumes: "Story might have been addressing today's constitutional cognoscenti, who would have judges remake the historic Constitution from such materials as natural law, conventional morality, prophetic vision, the understanding of an ideal democracy, or what have you. No matter the base from which they start, they all wind up in the same place, prescribing a new constitutional law that is much more egalitarian and socially permissive than either the Constitution or the American public. That, surely, is the point of their efforts."

Some of my most engaging law school professors saw everything as relative, and the law as an evolutionary force, changing the times and changing with the times. Any appeal to original intent is an appeal to something not only irrelevant but also unknowable. (Of course, the original intent of a contract is evident from the four corners of the document, right? But that's not possible with the Constitution apparently, nor are the numerous speeches and ratifying conventions any help.) Here Bork concedes a distinction. For hair splitters, sure--original intent "calls for speculation." But the ORIGINAL UNDERSTANDING is not at all hard to determine. The reason so many are unhappy with the doctrine of original understanding is not--as they claim--that they have philosophical questions about epistemology. Activists deride appeals to original understanding because they fear such a rule would never have won for them the great civil rights cases of the late 20th century--and those they hope yet to win.

But Bork disagrees. Here his book becomes a tremendous resource. He examines the history of the Court and most of the great cases, explaining that many revisionist cases could have reached the same results through an appeal to original understanding and would have strained logic less in doing so. BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION is the most stunning example Bork cites of a case in which the Court felt compelled to look outside the original understanding of the Constitution when it did not need to. The result is that the century's most immediately, even dangerously controversial decision was based on an argument few could accept. It need not have been this way. Bork's discussion of the this point alone will be worth the price of the book for some.

Bork has no raging desire to see the poor cases overturned, however. Out of respect both for stare decisis and the integrity of the Court itself, Bork would not even reverse the most badly reasoned case of the 20th century, ROE V. WADE. To be more precise, Bork places Roe in a group of cases "so embedded in the life of the nation, so accepted by society, so fundamental to the . . . expectations of individuals . . . that the result should not be changed now." (*I believe he has since modified this position.)

This brings up another interesting issue. Bork makes the case for judicial integrity, the most important commitment of any judge. The temptation to fudge the law to help bad facts is one the judge must resist, because any time the law is compromised, it is weakened. The judge's task is simple:

"In a constitutional democracy the moral content of law must be given by the morality of the framer or legislator, never by the morality of the judge. The sole task of the latter--and it is a task quite large enough for anyone's wisdom, skill, and virtue--is to translate the framer's or the legislator's morality into a rule to govern unforeseen circumstances. That abstinence from giving his own desires free play, that continuing and self-conscious renunciation of power, that is the morality of the jurist."

WHO IS ROBERT BORK TO TALK ABOUT A DISCIPLINED JUDICIARY, ABOUT PERSONAL OR PROFESSIONAL INTEGRITY, some will ask. The second half of his book addresses just that. He describes in detail the nomination process he endured and the lies told about him in the campaign to keep him off the bench. For example, his position in a number of cases was exactly the opposite of the way it was described in the hearings. He received a ringing endorsement from the ABA before taking a seat on the D.C. Court of Appeals. Once there he decided a number of cases in favor of women and minorities. But in the Senate confirmation hearings he was asked, "Why are you against women?" He repeatedly directed Senators Kennedy, Biden, and others to the pages in the opinions proving he had in fact held exactly the opposite. But as they say, a lie told often enough begins to seem true--and such was the case with the lies told about Bork. During one private moment of peculiar candor, Ted Kennedy shook Bork's hand and said, "Nothing personal." Then they vilified him.

Bork's book then, is his public defense. In that it is unique. Not only did the Reagan administration do little to defend him, so unprepared were they for the unprecedented campaign to destroy a judicial nominee, but Bork himself made no public defense.

"The public interest generated by the enormous campaign against me caused dozens of reporters to seek interviews, and television and radio talk programs repeatedly asked me to appear. Despite the unanswered hostile campaign, I decided that it was improper for a judicial nominee to wage a counter campaign by discussing his views on substantive issues anywhere before the Senate, even if it meant letting slanders go unanswered."

Toward the end White House strategists plead with Bork and his wife to appear on a Barbara Walters special. "But . . . we decided we would rather go down than compromise ourselves with what would be, in effect, a personal media appeal." White House advisors thought this a serious mistake; some thought it cost him a seat on the bench. "However that may be, I continue to think that was the right decision.

"The entire process of a judicial confirmation was politicized more than ever before in America's history, but at least I did not contribute to that."

In 1987, President Ronald Wilson Reagan nominated Judge Robert H. Bork to the United States Supreme Court. Leftist pressure groups immediate launched a strident attack on Judge Bork and his record, including such tactics as printing his video rental history in newspapers. The ensuing firestorm gave the American lexicon a new verb - to Bork.

In 1990, Robert Bork first published this book as an explanation of his judicial philosophy, attempting to clear his name. The book has three parts. The first part gives a history of the Supreme Court, showing how the use of judicial activism (judges ruling based on the biases of their own class, rather than on the wording of the Constitution) has been a part of the Court since the early days of the Republic. The second part of the book deals with various theories of Constitutional practice. And, the third part is Judge Bork's memoirs of his nomination battles.

Overall, even after all these years, I still found this to be a fascinating book. In particular, his history of judicial activism was highly enlightening.

What I couldn't help but wonder is how things have changed since this book came out in 1990. The recent firestorm of criticism of the Supreme Court's radical expansion of the power of eminent domain in the case of Kelo v. City of New London, have produced no great groundswell of support for reigning in the Court's activism. Indeed, after the initial criticism, most Americans accepted the new rules of eminent domain as the new law of the land. The activism of the Court was accepted.

So, was this a highly influential book? I suppose that only time will tell. But, I must say that as a history of the United States Supreme Court, and as an explanation of the theories of reasoning used by judicial thinkers, it is absolutely excellent. I loved this book and highly recommend it.

This book may be heavy going in places, but this is because the author deals with a complex and important subject. The single most compelling lesson is how an intellectual elite has become forced to rely on the least democratic element of our government in order to negate the results of free elections, all in the name of "liberalism"! It should be a basic text of any American Government class.

This book is full of enlightening facts that you don't hear in the press. Miller and File are real experts on this stuff. This book is well worth the buy and I have recommended it to all of my colleagues.

This book is great, should be required reading for every US household.

This is obviously written by people with great knowledge about a difficult set of subjects. What sets this book apart from others is that the authors present the material in a fashion that everyone can digest and therefore come to understand the very complex issues surrounding global terrorism.

The book fully addressed and shed light on almost 40 topics regarding the war on terrorism. It gave me a greater understand of WHY the U.S. is a target, HOW al Qaeda operates, WHO bin Laden is, HOW the US and its allies can and are responding.

Ever wonder about the history of the Arab/Israeli conflicts?, the history of the conflicts in Northern Ireland?, what makes al Qaeda different from other terrorist groups? ...its all in here, and then some.

The book lists more more than 40 terrorist groups operating trhoughout the world, what their "cause" is, and the their bases of operation. It identiifes terrorist orgranizations on each continent, and by country. It gives some detail and information about states that sponsor terrorism, and the complex politics involved in each case.

Overall, the book is a "must read." It really gave me a clearer understanding of the global politics in play when it comes to the issue of terrorism.

Great detail and facts about:
What IS terrorism -its defined in many ways, this book clarifies why different countries and even different parts of the US gov. define it differently.

The al Qaeda organization and its global reach,

Terrorist operations in: Africa, Middle East, Europe, Latin AMerica, Asia, etc.

Terrorism and International Law

and it even presents a balanced viewpoint on the hot issue of Civil Liberties.

Overall- I give it 5 stars, and that's because I couldn't give it 6.

To the authors -GREAT job!

This book is exactly what I was looking for. It is well-written, clear, comprehensive, interesting, and very insightful. I learned more from this one book than from two months worth of newspapers, magazines and TV news programs. I give it my highest recommendation, and encourage every American to buy it!

A great, comprehensive guide that helped me to understand why this happened in a historical context. Also helped me to get a better grasp of what to expect with the war against Afghanistan and Al Qaeda. Now I know why this happened and what to expect. The news media seems to breeze over historical elements in favor of status quo Anthrax and millitary events but this book really helped me to get caught up on my facts. Highly recommended!

This book is an excellent study of the all too timely
issue of international terrorism. Unlike much of the coverage
of the tragic events of September 11th, and of
other terrorist atrocities in the past, it provides a scholarly, but highly accessible, account of the wider context of these events, including the history of terrorism and the search for a working definition of the term.
It also provides a concise history of the major terrorist organisations, and also clearly lays out the range of possible responses in the international community to the threat
of terrorism. This book packs a great deal into a relatively
small, and very readable, format--take the time to read it and you will not only be better informed, but also provoked to think more deeply about this crucial contemporary issue.

In Westchester County, New York, anyone who knows Jillian Westfield will believe she lives the perfect life in her lovely upscale family home. Her husband Henry adores her and their infant daughter has a vocabulary of sixteen words. She seems to be the model of lifestyles described in the upbeat family living magazines she reads. However, Jillian is unhappy as she is already tired of cleaning up their daughter while her lawyer husband hides behind long office hours. Adding to her despondency is learning that her post graduate college lover, Jackson is getting married.

Following a deep, chi-clearing massage, Jill awakens not to her daughter's cries, but somehow seven years ago when she worked in Manhattan advertising and dated Jack yet remembering her future. Each time she reaches a major decision point, she considers selecting the other opportunity she rejected the first time. As she redoes pivotal points even Jill wonders where her selections will leave her.

With nods to It's A Wonderful Life and Peggy Sue Got Married, TIME OF MY LIFE is a poignant character driven drama as the heroine gets the chance to answer the what if fantasies people make about their past. Jillian carries the wonderful story line as she debates herself on whether to select the alternatives or follow the same path she already knows where it is going. Allison Winn Scotch provides a deep tale of second chances.

Harriet Klausner

TIME OF MY LIFE is what it's all about--great writing and a great story, a heroine you can root for and a happy ending worthy of Hollywood. Allison Winn Scotch is a fabulous writer, whose tackled a subject that pretty much all of us can relate to, and produced a winner. TOML is what great womens fiction is all about and why I'm such a huge fan of the genre.

Off to make more room on my keeper shelf.

I read Time of My Life while on vacation and I had to keep sneaking away to read because I HAD to finish it! It's one of those books you cannot put down because you're dying to find out what happens next.

I was expecting the book to have alternating chapters of the then and the now, but most of it does take place in the THEN. While I was tearing through the pages of Time of My Life I kept thinking, "This so has to be made into a movie!" It reads just like a movie on the big screen as it unfolds before your eyes.

Allison Winn Scotch's characters are so real, the plot so believable, you may just be making an appointment to get your chi unblocked very soon as well! (Read the first chapter and you'll know what I mean!)

If you've ever wondered what could have been if you took a different path in life then this is the book for you. It combines humor and heart and gives the reader the chance to reflect on their own life and choices. The characters feel real and multi-dimensional. If you want a book that can keep you up late so you can read just one more chapter- then be sure to grab this one.

Time of My Life may be initially thought of, chosen and read for its "what if" fantasy, yet the story is actually grounded in diverse and discomforting universal issues that are not limited to marrying the right man. Writing in a strong, confident and smart voice, Allison Winn Scotch is in total control of her protagonist's indecisiveness and this is what gives the book a well-earned reality check mark. Whatever time of life you may be in, this novel is a reminder that the past holds the lure of potential but the present is where all things are created possible for the future. A most entertaining and thoughtful read, you'll enjoy the escape into second chances

This book had some good tips for dog training and was easy and fun to read.

Great book, easy reading. Gives encouragement to anyone who may be handicapped in anyway, not just blind. Gives you insight to your own dog and how much they love you and want to please you. It also includes a beautiful well written love story between people. I throughly enjoyed reading this book, and I don't normally read much.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I was especially interested in not only the technology that is available to the blind, but also the different activities they are still able to do. Being "inside" the dog's mind was an interesting perspective. I could almost feel the anguish that both the man and the dog went through, as well as the triumph. I stayed up until 1:30 AM to finish it. I am going to read it again before I pass it on to the next reader.

I heard Betty White's interview on a local radio station and quickly bought the book on Amazon. I work at a dog boarding kennel and my husband likes to climb mountains. This book was perfect for me.

I was surprised to see (and feel) the braille on the books cover. When the readers perspective changed to the dogs point of view, it was simple yet meaningful at the same time. Not many people take the time to "see" through the dogs eyes. I would have liked more of Nelson's view toward the end of the book.

I finished the book in 3 days. I've already passed it onto a friend that is a veterinarian technician.

"Together", is a beautifully written book that lets you into so many places you are not allowed to go. Into the heart and head of a wonderful dog, who understands he has a job and wants to do it, well. And, into the heart of a man who has never had to totally trust others and finds out how in trusting others he could totally trust himself. This book is a lovely gift of the sharing of souls.. A book for all. Men will also enjoy this book. And any young person who loves dogs and the mountains. It is my favorite gift, to give, this summer.. My guy friends have truly enjoyed ..a lot.

As a middle-aged, college educated, white man I find it amazing that I cannot find critism with Rev. Farrakhan. After all the propaganda against him I was prepared to hate the man. Then I actuallly read him. And I listened to his entire sermon on C-SPAN, not just once, but twice. The man speaks with righteousness- not self-righteousness, but the righteousness of God. From my own studies and sources I know that he speaks the truth. If he has a hidden agenda, other than speaking truth to power, I do not see it. This man has the Spirit within him and there is no guile to his words. I could have remained anonymous here, but I choose to acknowlege a great man. And no, I am not a Muslim, nor do I plan to convert....

When Americans express their concerns about the Nation, and what they want for future generations, they want safe streets, quality education and the freedom to pursue the joy and happiness that this World can provide. At the 1995 Million Man March, Minister Farrakhan urged all to refrain from drug abuse, not to disrespect self or others, and not to harm any person. Coincidentally, the U.S. crime rate has dropped since the Million Man March to it's lowest rate in over 10 years. A Torchlight for America offers the same guidance in a clear, straight forward context.

This book was amazing as I read through the captivating pages. As a social scientist living in Japan I believe that this is a must read as well as one to be translated. As a student and teacher I found the statistics to be quite informative, concise and worth adding to my bibliography for an upcoming book I am finishing. This book is a must read for any any nation desperately trying to survive (including America) in this 21st century!

My name is Matthew. I first read A Torchlight For America while a college student. The book is clear, concise and well-written.

If you are even a little interested about Min. Farrakhan, read this book. This is a good chance to hear him without the media or anyone else interjecting. Min. Farrakhan has a track record (more than 45 years at the time of this writing ) of teaching the truth to the powerless. He has a proven track record of reforming people. He has a proven methodology for teaching Islam to people who have no knowledge of the faith. He has a proven track record of unifying Muslims, Jews and Christians (see: http://www.noi.org or http://www.finalcall.com ). He is a guiding light for people.

I am thankful to God for Min. Farrakhan. God has used Min. Farrakhan to guide me into healthy personal, professional, and emotional relationships.

If you still think funny about him in spite of my testamony, read this book, and e-mail me about it: bro_matthew@yahoo.com .

I am sure reading this book will make you see differently. I am sure Min. Farrakhan's brilliance will illuminate everyone who reads it.

Peace. *Bro. Matthew

Every American should read Min Farrakhan's book. It answers the painful realities that must be addressed if this country is to realize its full potential and destiny. It is a book for all races, faiths, creeds and colors. Written in a clear, concise and direct language, "A Torchligh for America" is a must read for any progressive thinking person who is serious about solving America's problems.

Author Jennifer Van Bergen is revealed to be a very diverse individual with experience in domestic and international law, journalism, and human rights. She is also a trained Shakespearean actress, singer, and songwriter. She practices astrology and studies Egyptian hieroglyphs when she has nothing else to do, hence her qualifications.

THE TWILIGHT OF DEMOCRACY is actually two books in one. Book I: Deciphering The Democratic Code, explains the basis of American law with frequent references to various legal cases related to Constitutional law. It provides a foundation for moving into Book II: The Bush Plan, which reveals how the Bush administration's interpretation of the law varies from tradition by defining the characteristics of a fascist state.

Probably the most striking revelation within her analysis is the total collapse of Constitutional law in the year 2000 when the U.S. Supreme Court intervened in our national election. Not only did the court not have jurisdiction, but it knowingly violated American law by intervening.

This did not go unnoticed by those with experience in Constitutional law. What remains perplexing is the fact that the Democratic Party, as well as the public, did nothing to halt this obvious travesty. Here we have the highest court in the land, a major segment within our government's checks and balances, taking action on behalf of the political party to which its members belonged, hence setting the stage for subsequent attacks on the Constitution itself.

The author also discusses the breakdown of Congress and the eventual passage of the Patriot Act. Though not discussed in this publication, it may be of interest to note that the UK has for a number of years maintained what it calls the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). There are similarities, but they will not be discussed here. What is important to note is how the PTA has been used against the Nationalist community in Northern Ireland, particularly during the Thatcher years. Where on the one hand the IRA was demonized and specifically targeted, Unionist organizations were basically ignored and, in a number of cases, worked in tandem with state security forces against the Nationalist community.

Likewise, the Patriot Act, though established under the pretext of fighting terrorism, has become a tool for invading and manipulating the private lives of Americans. Book II provides a number of examples where the Patriot Act has been used in this capacity and its tendency for "data mining."

It should be remembered that Congress shut down the Total Information Awareness data mining program because it violated the Constitutional rights of Americans. The author here reveals the presence of a MATRIX program, Multistate Anti-TeRrorism Information eXchange, implemented in Florida under the auspices of President Bush's brother, Jeb Bush, marketed at the state level, hence bypassing Congressional oversight, and paid for by Homeland Security.

In closing, the author also makes points on torture, fair trade, detention, and the use of the military for global and economic expansion. The book does not make accusations, it simply states what is based on the historic laws of the land. The reader can either accept or reject the significance of the picture that reveals itself. Alternatives are not promising.

Jennifer Van Bergen has written a most important book that is a must read for all Americans who cherish freedom.
Miss Van Bergen,a member of the ACLU and The National Lawyers Guild,is a most articulate spokesperson for the point of view that under the leadership of President Bush America is drifting slowly,but surely,toward a corporate state(read fascism).She points out that it is NOT only the so called "Patriot Act"that threathens the rights of Americans(circumventing the 4th amendment)but also such things as The North Free Trade Agreement(NAFTA) and the lesser known The Free Trade of (the) Americas Agreement(FTAA),both of which deny benefits to the average person,curtails labor rights,but also hands over all kinds of new "rights" to "corporate bloodsuckers"(my term), so that they can continue to plunder the environment and enforce "wage slavery" on 90%+ of the population.She examines the state of the courts,and the three separate,but equal branches of our government,and with the GOP already claiming The Presidency and a having a majority in both houses of Congress the independence of the judiciary is in great question,and with the Democrats sitting back and allowing Bush to stack the courts with hard right thugs,the future of this country as a free democratic republic is in great jeopardy.For all their talk about opposing "judge made law",and being in favor of "strict construction"(original intent) the GOP members of Congress are making the road to fascism easier by NOT OPPOSING Bush's vision(as if he ever had a vision concerning anything)of a unitiary goverment,which if allowed to proceed will only lead to dictatorship,slavery,and death. Ms Van Bergen book was written before the (anti)immigration debate really started with its harsch provisions conerning "aid to illegal aliens".These provisions are so reactionary and hateful that key leaders of the Catholic Church(Cardinal Mahoney,of L.A.for one) urge Church members NOT to cooperate with these fear-mongering articles,of the new immigration bill.For once a Church leader standing up for the teachings of Jesus!
This 228 page book includes the very helpful Britt's List -the fourteen points common to fascist regimes,and "The Cheney Plan for Global Dominance,a truely frightening scenario.
As I write this CBS News reports that the governments wants all internet companies to keep the records of ALL internet users,in order to fight terrorism and sexual abuse cases.I sure believe that one!1984 is here!!
Ignorance is Strength.
Slavery is Freedom!
War is Peace!
This is an excellent book!!!

An attorney with the South Florida Branch of the ACLU and an adjunct faculty member at the New School for Social Research, Jennifer Van Bergen understands that making the case for her position is essential to having the American people understand the danger which we and the country remain in.

Van Bergen uses factual evidence to demonstrate how the Bush administration is eliminating democracy under the guise of 'homeland security'. Using very loaded flag-waving rhetoric, this government is attempting to have people believe that any criticism of their actions is infact support for 'the terrorists'.

The problem is that 'the terrorists' are never actually identified and remain annoymous masses in this same scenario. After all, the real focus of the Bush administration is keeping people scared so many will not question the actions of their government and there is a greater chance that those who do dissent can be labeled as 'troublemakers'.

During the 1960's the federal government used 'red menace' rhetoric to justify the wiretapping and surveliance of left wing activists. The 'remote' possibility of communist infiltration (and subsequent social impacts) in these organizations were considered enough to justify the actions. Following Hoover's death, Congress placed long-needed restrictions on the FBI's ability to place American citizens under surveliance and made that information available through public request. To read the administration's support for the PATRIOT Act honestly feels like we are ignoring all of this history and failing to learn from the past.

This failure is also how a 'conservative' administration squares the obviously expanded bureacracy against their public promotion of limited government. PATRIOT Act expansions are a big exception to their usual rules specifically because the conservatives are the ones who are doing the government expansion and surveliance. The ultimate impact on citizen freedoms is secondary (if weighted at all) to the president and his buddies getting and maintaining their absolute power over everybody else.

The conclusions in this book are chilling---and ever more accurate with each passing day. It is an accessible read for people wanting affirmation that they are not reading into things, but is also important for audiences who need to know what their government is really doing.

The one point on which Jennifer Van Bergen as author of "Twilight of Democracy" and George W. Bush agree is over the assertion made by the latter that "America has been changed forever by the tragedy of 9-11." From that point forward Van Bergen, an attorney active in the South Florida branch of the American Civil Liberties Union, and Bush travel widely disparate ideological paths.

Van Bergen shrewdly delineates the path traveled by the Bush Administration in the wake of September 11, 2001 as it declared war against terrorism and sought to acquire powers held by chief executives in totalitarian states and denied them in democratic nations. Only Congresswoman Barbara Lee of California voted against granting the executive branch the sweeping powers it sought in the wake of 9-11 as the House and Senate voted in an otherwise unanimous manner.

One important point that Van Bergen makes that has been mentioned all too infrequently is that the entire war on terror announced by Bush after 9-11, and used as an immediate basis to launch a fierce military attack in Afghanistan, is predicated on spurious constitutional and common law grounds. In any military or police action a specific nation or organizational entity needs to be identified. Bush's war on terror does not meet that important criterion since its fails the specificity test.

As Van Bergen carefully delineates, by declaring war on a non-specific entity and stating that such a conflict has no measurable end in sight, the opportunity is ripe for an octopus-like executive branch to, in the interest of preserving democracy, bring about its demise in the interest of safeguarding the nation and its people from terrorism. The instrument of accomplishment was the infamous Patriot Act, which left the Bill of Rights in tatters.

The sweeping arm of the law swooped down on innocent citizens and aliens in America who were Arabs and practiced Islam. The umbrella expansiveness of the Patriot Act permitted them to arrest suspects without a warrant and detain them for non-specific periods of time without charging them. The dangerous abrogation of rights extended beyond this slippery slope and into the constitutional guarantee of right of counsel. In instances where attorneys were permitted to speak with such defendants, authorities were permitted to listen in on the conversations, rendering the privilege of counsel essentially null and void through destroying confidentiality. Again, these tactics are hallmarks of totalitarianism and anathema to democracy.

A tactic used to circumvent dealing with defendants in traditional constitutional circumstances is to declare any individual suspected of terrorist acts or giving support to terrorist groups as enemy combatants. This has been used in the infamous Guantanamo Bay prison to evade American constitutional or international safeguards such as the U.S. Constitution and the Geneva Code. Democracy is denied on the pretext of saving the institution, a tragic contradiction through which freedoms have been trampled and America has come closer to representing apartheid South Africa than a constitutional democracy.

In addition to laying out the legal case against the usurpation of democracy by the Bush Administration, Van Bergen also lists fourteen basic points cited earlier by Lawrence W. Britt as dangerous common threads associated with Fascism.

They include such totalitarian hallmarks as excessive nationalism, media control, pervasive scapegoating, obsession with militarism and national security, protection of corporations and denial of workers' basic rights, obsession with crime and punishment, rampant cronyism and corruption, and fraudulent elections.

Americans should remember with caution the words spoken by Benjamin Franklin when he left Constitution Hall and was asked what kind of government had been bestowed on the new nation called America, t o which he responded, "A Republic if you can keep it."

Jennifer Van Bergen has given us a book that should be must reading for every American. If you think we might be on our way towards a Fascist state in America, you need to read this book. Ms. Van Bergen explains how the PATRIOT Act has damaged the United States Constitution. She also tells us what we must do to correct the current state of America.
The book is very well done, in easy to understand language. This book should be on the reading list of every American.

How well do you think you know the ancient philosophers. How much do you know about the Russian revolution, or the Peloponnesian War. Do you understand quantum mechanics, the Theory of Relativity or Aristotle's Metaphysics? Can you speak intelligently about Conservatism and Liberalism? This book will challenge your intelligence. It will challenge the amount of information you think you possess for everything from ancient philosophy through the Renaissance to modern politics and pop culture. I found myself constantly checking to see exactly who it was Mr. Richey was quoting because I had never heard of the person. Or I found myself checking historical facts regarding a person or event that I thought I knew all about. This is a book that will challenge not how smart you think are, but how much you think you understand about what you know. It will challenge you to think about why our society seems to be going down the drain, and what we might do to slow or stop the spiral. There is definitely a conservative slant to Mr. Richey's writings, but it is hard to disagree with his arguments. I look forward to more of Mr. Richey's writings, hopefully expounding upon some of the many subjects found in this work.

How well do you think you know the ancient philosophers. How much do you know about the Russian revolution, or the Peloponnesian War. Do you understand quantum mechanics, the Theory of Relativity or Aristotle's Metaphysics? Can you speak intelligently about Conservatism and Liberalism? This book will challenge your intelligence. It will challenge the amount of information you think you possess for everything from ancient philosophy through the Renaissance to modern politics and pop culture. I found myself constantly checking to see exactly who it was Mr. Richey was quoting because I had never heard of the person. Or I found myself checking historical facts regarding a person or event that I thought I knew all about. This is a book that will challenge not how smart you think are, but how much you think you understand about what you know. It will challenge you to think about why our society seems to be going down the drain, and what we might do to slow or stop the spiral. There is definitely a conservative slant to Mr. Richey's writings, but it is hard to disagree with his arguments. I look forward to more of Mr. Richey's writings, hopefully expounding upon some of the many subjects found in this work.

How well do you think you know the ancient philosophers. How much do you know about the Russian revolution, or the Peloponnesian War. Do you understand quantum mechanics, the Theory of Relativity or Aristotle's Metaphysics? Can you speak intelligently about Conservatism and Liberalism? This book will challenge your intelligence. It will challenge the amount of information you think you possess for everything from ancient philosophy through the Renaissance to modern politics and pop culture. I found myself constantly checking to see exactly who it was Mr. Richey was quoting because I had never heard of the person. Or I found myself checking historical facts regarding a person or event that I thought I knew all about. This is a book that will challenge not how smart you think are, but how much you think you understand about what you know. It will challenge you to think about why our society seems to be going down the drain, and what we might do to slow or stop the spiral. There is definitely a conservative slant to Mr. Richey's writings, but it is hard to disagree with his arguments. I look forward to more of Mr. Richey's writings, hopefully expounding upon some of the many subjects found in this work.

I think that this book will open the minds of a lot of people that are stuck in limbo bewteen the left and right way of thinking.
The humor will make you laugh. The political parts will make you think. A lot of it will make you scratch your head whale you search for your dictionary.
A awsome read.

Very well written book offers a great deal of food for thought. While I tend to lean a little closer to the center, I found Mr. Richey's musings extremely refreshing and genuinely entertaining.

I do however take exception for the continuing trend of the white washing of the Reagan years (let's not forget the national debt tripled under Reagan, eventually quadrupling during the senior Bush's administration. Not to mention the Iran-Contra scandal, also not to mention the Savings and Loan scandal which is to date the largest theft in documented World history, etc...) The ever popular Clinton bashing, (hey didn't he fix the majority of those debt problems left by his predecessors mentioned in the last statement...) Oh that's right, he had an affair in the White House. Never mind, apparently that cancels out all of his validity and achievements. Be rest assured America, that no one is having sex in the White House during this administration! The republican collective conscience always tends to forget or choose to ignore their scandals.

This book will make you reflect on America's triumphs and shortcomings. Our current U.S. leaders should aspire to be as well read and articulate as Mr. Richey.

I read this book in the early 90s when I was working for an organization that served food to people with late-stage HIV disease. As I write today to an old friend about the path my life has taken, this book (and Sandra Lipsitz Bem's Lenses of Gender) comes to mind as being absolutely critical to a shift in my political perspective and life choices. Specifically, I moved from social service to social advocacy work because this book made clear the role of welfare institutions in the maintenance of social, political and economic inequality. Frankly, reading the book while working in such a context made me absolutely sick to my stomach (in the way that awakening to your sucker-hood usually does). I recommend the title enthusiastically. (And note that so much still needs to be done.)

This book offers a rare first hand glimpse into the welfare experience, and in doing so exposes many hypocrisies and problems within it. MUCH has been written about welfare, but rarely has anything been written regarding how welfare recipients see themselves and the system. Therefore, this book is a must for anyone who thinks they know everything about how the welfare system operates, or how it should be run.

The book starts off with Funiciello's experiences as a welfare recipient, including her decision to go on welfare, and her attempts to find a job which should have been able to break her out of it. She then talks about her experiences with a welfare rights organization in New York. She tells stories of women who were trying to navigate their way through the welfare bureaucracy with varying amounts of success. She then goes on to give her opinions about what is wrong, and why we have yet to come up with a satisfying solution.

This book was a breath of fresh air for me, and forced me to reconsider much of what I thought about welfare, it's role in society, and the treatment of its recipients.

Shortly...I enjoyed this book enormously. Ms. Funiciello is a concise and clear writer. She writes about welfare from the recipient's point of view, revealing the absurdities and cruelties without getting sesationalist. A very good read.

Theresa Funiciello used her own (and her friends) experiences on welfare to show readers what being on welfare is really like. No cash cows existed for these women, they were at the bottom rungs of an 'affluent' society.

She argues that big corporations receive their own welfare in the form of tax subsidies. However because they are rich in a capitalist society championing the accumulation of wealth as success, we are not supposed to view this arrangement as being 'lazy' or 'lacking a work ethic'. Attacking low-income women who cannot write a multimillion dollar check is considered politically safer.

Funiciello is also wary of liberals who claim to support welfare mothers, but are too busy talking about themselves to hear the women themselves(pp. 212-255). She takes the Catholic Church to task for claiming to organize against poverty, while it is simultaneously one of the country's largest land holders (p. 226-227) and now appears more interested in self-preservation than alleviating human suffering. She also dislikes non-profits which don't eliminate poverty, but somehow are eager to have that one additional charity ball where they can don diamonds and eat caviar.

Funiciello believes that it is the American system itself which puts American women and children in poverty. She is savvy enough to recognize that some so-called 'do-gooders' whose own income depends on working in anti-poverty programs are not eager for a real socioeconomic revolution to occur. Then these 'colleagues' would have to see Funiciello and her sisters as activist equals instead of victims or cases. Even some social workers who started out with good intentions became burnt out from their own time spent trying to decipher the mysteries of American social services.

Contrasting, Funiciello's social justice calls for a universal guaranteed income which would prevent people from becoming poor. Funiciello says the success of this program would ultimately rest on initial and subsequent program appropriations, but provides European evidence to document these programs do work and people do not stop working with a guaranteed adequate income (pp. 300-302).

Instead, it can actually open up paid job hours for more people in a society (pp. 304-305) and eliminate the corrupted social service professionals from the field by virtue of a greatly reduced clientele base.

Funiciello also provides a concise synopsis of inner-city and older suburban neighborhood deterioration. Neighborhoods do not simply deteriorate on their own, the best and brightest in a community move away from an area which they sense is becoming neglected and those who cannot move away are left to attempt muddling through as best they can. The closure of stores and banks inadvertently prompts some of those remaining people to legitimize the underground economy as being their only means for survival.

Funiciello writes on a very timely topic with focused indignation. Her personal convictions are based upon experience, but she recognizes the dangers of drowning arguments in emotion. Because this book lacks an index, the prospective reader must commit to reading the entirety of this title and will find it very difficult to 'jump' around in the text.

Funiciello has spent time on both sides of the welfare system and within which found an undeniable constant...the desparate need for change. In her informative masterpiece, she creates three short books. A personal account as a welfare receipient, the reality of non-profit organizations, and a look at possibilities in welfare reform. Each section is written with remarkable insight and is teeming with pertinent information. The most inspiring trait to this piece is that Funiciello, even at the darkest of moments, remains a glimmer of hope for the men, women and children struggling to survive in the most powerful country in the world.

John Taylor was a member of the House of Representatives from Virgina. He also wrote "New Views of the Constitution" in 1823 which is a thorough but difficult read (Tayor was an attorney and writes like one). Taylor witnessed trends in the national government that were moving towards weakening the Constitution of states rights and self-determination into the Whig desire for power and centralization that would benefit the northern industrialialists. A Virginian born into the values of Jeffersonian Democracy, his writings forewarned of the coming of what became the Republican party, it's centralized grasp for power, empire building and the loss of personal freedoms subjected to the centralized government and their favored corporations. I wish I could have read such quality volumes in my high school history classes instead of the revisionist history that perpetuated the mythology of the centralized government.

This volume is well worth the read. It is my experience that most of the population will not understand what you learn from them, nor be interested in the conflict that it will awaken within them.

John Taylor of Caroline was arguably the best farmer in Virginia during the first quarter of the nineteenth century, carrying out experiments and advocating scientific farming techinques. In addition, he was a sometime politician and constant cultural critic. Tyranny Unmasked argues that the moneyed class in the north and especially in the cities created conditions that would eventually destroy American freedom as conceptualized by Thomas Jefferson: the freedom created by the independent "yeoman farmer" beholden to no higher power for his livelihood. According to Taylor, the emerging finance-oriented capitalist economy developing during this period distorted the "pure" capitalism in which an unmanipulated market provided the best measure of price for goods offered by productive workers. In this work and others, and especially in his uncollected congressional speeches, Taylor rails against the "pecuniary aristocracy" of big financiers that he saw as having undue influence on American laws and policies.

The main caveat I refer to for potential readers has to do with Taylor's advocacy of slavery. Some commentators have justified this advocacy with the typical appeal that southern culture demanded that he support his region's beliefs. While the pressures of social and cultural acceptance were intense, even admirers of Taylor should be disturbed by his (as well as Jefferson's) promotion of a type of American freedom founded not only on denying African Americans any freedom at all but also on horrendous treatment that literally worked many slaves to death and made even those in less oppressive situations live in constant fear.

Taylor was truly a genius in critiqing the society in which he lived but he also supported the continuation of a monstrous blight on American life and identity.

John Taylor of Caroline is one of the most brilliant political philosophers that America has ever produced. This work in particular demonstrates a compelling critique of government interference in economic matters that also demonstrates Taylor's firm grasp of political economy. Above all, this book is an absolute joy to read.

John Taylor of Caroline's " Tyranny Unmasked" is a brilliant analysis of enonomic and political economy in the early 1820's. Taylor points out the injustice and folly of protective tariffs and their effects. He astutely shows how by " protecting" an industry from competition you effectively raise the price of the product and foster a government- business alliance destructive of liberty. He shows how financial interests use tariffs to unfairly gain advantage over other competitors and also how they
attain dominence over the representatives of the people through
their influence. Taylor recommends a Jeffersonian ideal of free trade, low taxes, and an abolition of protective tariffs. Overall a great Jeffersonian read.

Once upon a time, educated Americans could be presumed to be familiar with the writings of the Greeks and, especially, the Romans. This familiarity prepared them for republican citizenship in a way that today's smorgasbord approach to post-secondary education manifestly does not prepare contemporary Americans. Read _Tyranny Unmasked_ for evidence of the first of these assertions: John Taylor of Caroline, self-consciously provincial Virginia planter, foresaw the following 150 years' course in America with great clarity, and he lamented it the whole way. This is a great book by one of America's all-time great political thinkers.

This book prepared me well for the AP exam so I would and did recommend it to friends. Cliffnotes makes a great study tip but be warned of the mistake in the court case review. It's Map Vs Ohio not Illinois. But that's the only draw back.

This 356-page book was written in the traditional narrative style of CLIFF NOTES and READER'S DIGEST condensed books. If the large over-sized fonts were reduced to standard and if the empty white spaces were eliminated, the contents would have been condensed to 256 pages. This made the information very manageable for studying.

The vocabulary and writing style were simple enough for a high school sophomore or junior to handle. Also, the information was very well organized and concise. As an example, let us exam the chapter on the U.S. Constitution. The ten pages summarized and condensed 37 pages of GOVERNMENT IN AMERICA, the standard text used in high school AP Government classes. Basic information with a sprinkling of details and updated examples was covered. Subtopics were sectioned off, and important terms and vocabulary were bold printed for the reader to focus. After the topic discussion, there was a 15 multiple-choice question test. The questions were constructed in the same style as the items in the actual AP test. Following these exercises were three sentence explanations on each of the answers. All in all, the format as described above was used for all other chapters that followed.

After the subject reviews, there were two sample practice tests. Again, the multiple-choice answers were explained in detail. More impressive was the author's treatment of the Free-Response Section. On each of the essay questions, he provided scoring guidelines, sample essays, and analyzes of the written works.

Appendixes were located at the end of the book. These contained a glossary of key terms, a copy of the U.S. Constitution, a listing of important U.S. Supreme Court cases, and an eight page listing of internet sources.

My only criticisms of this book focused on the second and third items in the Appendixes. Instead of a copy of the U.S. Constitution, a better alternative was to provide an annotated and simplified version. This document was very hard to understand with its 18th Century prose and "high level" vocabulary. Fortunately such a simplification does exist. It is located in the latest Compton Encyclopedia under "Constitution." Secondly, the U.S. Supreme Court case listing needed to be better organized. The cases should to be individually grouped by Constitutional issue and sub-grouped by whether they expanded or limited the specific civil liberty.

As a suggestion, buy Pamela K. Lamb's 5 STEPS TO A 5 AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS to accompany Soifer's text. Instead of a narrative approach, the contents was arranged in outline format. In other words, the information presented in U.S. GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS was further condensed in outline form by Lamb. This arrangement made it easier for studying.

This book is a great, concise prep for AP US Government. It has a clear well-organized layout and cuts out all the extraneous information so you know exactly what you need to know for the AP Test. I could not recommend it more highly.

Paul Soifer strikes again with his gorgeous portrait of the US Government, and preparation for the AP exam. I think I met Paul one time, albeit not for long, and he sold me on the book. I then took the book and have studied with it. I am assuming I will get a 5 on the test. Doc, This buds for you!

This is another great Cliffs AP book which will help you get your college credit. It really is a help for reviewing the branches of the government, how a bill becomes a law, the Constitution, the amendments, elections, and civil rights. Those are the main, "must know," topics you need to review to get a 5.