Review: Comeback America–Turning the Country Around and Restoring Fiscal Responsibility (Hardcover)

3 Star, Banks, Fed, Money, & Concentrated Wealth, Budget Process & Politics, Capitalism (Good & Bad), Complexity & Catastrophe, Congress (Failure, Reform), Corruption, Crime (Corporate), Crime (Government), Economics, Electoral Reform USA, Empire, Sorrows, Hubris, Blowback, Executive (Partisan Failure, Reform), Intelligence (Wealth of Networks), Politics, Power (Pathologies & Utilization), True Cost & Toxicity, Truth & Reconciliation, Values, Ethics, Sustainable Evolution, Voices Lost (Indigenous, Gender, Poor, Marginalized)

3.0 out of 5 stars Ten Years Late, More Whimper than Roar

February 7, 2010

David Walker

I was watching David Walker as he served nine of his fifteen years at Comptroller General, with light-weight whimpers to Congress until he finally got Peter Peterson to bail him out of government and give him a chunk of cash for making movies and writing a book and creating a web site that very few serious under 40 pioneers pay attention to.

I was thrilled to see him tell Congress in 2007 that the US was bankrupt–both Senator McCain and Senator Obama could have cared less–and so he walked quietly back to his holding cell at the General Accountability Office (GAO).  His “loyalty” to impeachable masters is just as troubling to me as the loyalty of our military leaders during the neo-con rampage.

This book loses one star for the publishers arrogance and ineptitude in failing to use all of the tools Amazon provides, so that readers like myself who read a great deal and do not buy books on whim, can actually look at the table of contents. If you want a sense what the author has to say, see the Wikipedia page on the US Federal Budget where the author's fingerprints are elegantly visible.

If and when the publisher acts more responsibly and provides Look Inside the Book information as well standard entries via Amazon Advantage (about the book, about the author, editorial reviews), I will buy the book, read it, and review it.

The book loses a second star for being wildly praised by all the unethical losers that got us into this mess in the first place by sacrificing their ethics and selling the two party system out to Wall Street. Bill Bradley in particular is a major disappointment, he slunk off to Allen and Company where George “Slam Dunk” Tenet is also in hiding, and they have profited handsomely for betraying the public trust for over a decade. Edumund Burke said “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Even better is the following from Chief Justice Louis Brandeis:

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Worth a Look: Digital Democracy–Possibilities

Change & Innovation, Civil Society, Culture, Research, Democracy, Intelligence (Public), Politics, Power (Pathologies & Utilization), Priorities, Technology (Bio-Mimicry, Clean), Voices Lost (Indigenous, Gender, Poor, Marginalized)
Amazon Page

Wiki Government: How Technology Can Make Government Better, Democracy Stronger, and Citizens More Powerful

“A sweeping visionary yet highly pragmatic book! Beth Noveck concretely shows how to leverage the participatory nature of web 2.0 technologies to build a new kind of participatory democracy and a smart, lean government. She speaks from experience. A must read not just for policy folks and the digerati but for any of us wanting to understand how to tap the collective and diverse wisdom of the America to create a better, more connected style of democracy.”

Phi Beta Iota: Focuses on the patent process–use Look Inside to study contents before making a purchase decisioin.  We have ordered the book and will review it within the week.

Amazon Page

The Myth of Digital Democracy

Both utopian and dystopian interpretations have been made of the Internet's influence on many spheres of life–and democracy is no exception. . . . Absent from much of this debate is evidence-based analysis of the effects of the Internet on the business of politics. Many theories have been built on nothing more than anecdote, inference and assertion. In The Myth of Digital Democracy, political scientist Matthew Hindman fills important gaps in the evidence base, and does so accessibly.

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Review: Peace–A History of Movements and Ideas

5 Star, Civil Affairs, Civil Society, Consciousness & Social IQ, Democracy, Diplomacy, Economics, Empire, Sorrows, Hubris, Blowback, Future, History, Humanitarian Assistance, Insurgency & Revolution, Iraq, Justice (Failure, Reform), Military & Pentagon Power, Peace, Poverty, & Middle Class, Philosophy, Politics, Power (Pathologies & Utilization), Stabilization & Reconstruction, Truth & Reconciliation, Voices Lost (Indigenous, Gender, Poor, Marginalized)
Amazon Page

5.0 out of 5 stars An Utterly Superb Intellectual Contribution–a Major New Reference

January 10, 2010

David Cortright

This book is a gift to humanity, a foundational reference of such extraorindary value that I earnestly believe it should be required reading for every single liberal arts program in the world, and used as a core book in all graduate international relations programs.

Part I reviews the history of peace movements; Part II reviews core themes of peace within religions, populism, democracy, social justice, responsibility to protect and wraps up with three cahpters on a moral equivalent, realizing disarmament, and realistic pacifism.

The footnotes, the bibliography, and the index are world-class. The paper is glossy and annoyingly unreceptive to ink, but as a library volume or one that does not allow notes, this is an absolute top-notch production at a phenomenally reasonable price. I have the note mid-way: utterly brilliant blending of works of others within own architecture–superior scholarship.

The book does not touch on the evolutionary activism, conscious evolution, integral consciousness literature, and this is not a criticsm as much as a roadsign: the following five books complement this work in a distinct fashion.
Reflections on Evolutionary Activism: Essays, poems and prayers from an emerging field of sacred social change
Conscious Evolution: Awakening Our Social Potential
Integral Consciousness and the Future of Evolution
The Compassionate Instinct: The Science of Human Goodness

HUGE EYE-OPENER; Pashtun Peace Army in Pakistan-Afghanistan, the Servants of God, discussed on pages 193 and 313. I've been working Information Operations (IO) and used to do Covert Action and I am pretty sure neither CIA nor DIA have a clue that this is a major historical movement that could be reactivated.

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Review: To Lead the World–American Strategy after the Bush Doctrine

5 Star, Culture, Research, Democracy, Diplomacy, Leadership, Military & Pentagon Power, Politics, Power (Pathologies & Utilization), Security (Including Immigration), Strategy
Amazon Page
5.0 out of 5 stars Superb From Right of Center–VERY Satisfying Competent Collection
January 10, 2010

Melvyn Leffler and Jeffrey Legro

Of the three books I bought to explore this particular theme, this was the best by far and the only one to earn five stars. Twelve chapters, twelve authors, not a single runt in this litter. The notes are outstanding.

Although this book's contributors are out of touch with the results of the UN High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges, and Change, whose report, A More Secure World: Our Shared Responsibility–Report of the Secretary-General's High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change (also free online) is now the global standard for any serious strategist and every globally-oriented intelligence professional, what this group knows and share is valuable and I found this book totally absorbing over two nights of reading. They do not, however, have a grip on intelligence or how deeply we have hurt–and have been perceived to have hurt–the rest of the world.

Early on as I go through the book fast I am impressed by the balance between skepticism of the traditional thinking and spending habits (one size fits all heavy metal military) and a focus on the importance of having a broad capability that can respond to and impact on a diversity of threats most of which cannot be easily anticipated.

Some highlights, generally identifying the specific author

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Review: Mandate for Change–Policies and Leadership for 2009 and Beyond

3 Star, Executive (Partisan Failure, Reform), Politics, Priorities
Amazon Page
3.0 out of 5 stars Rotten Job by Publisher, Too Expensive
January 1, 2010

Chester W. Hartman et al

I would normally have bought this book, I used past Mandate for Change books to devise the twelve core policies for Earth Intelligence Network (Agriculture, Diplomacy, Economy, Education, Energy, Family, Health, Justice, Immigration, Security, Society, Water), and I was very intrigued by the title but there are three strikes here:

1) Publisher has not done their job in posting table of contents and other descriptive materials.

2) The book is way too expensive, it costs a penny a page for books in lots of 2,500 or so, the publisher is being greedy and not serving the public interest–the author should go with Amazon's books on demand or post the book free online.

3) No other comments? It would appear neither the existing Administration nor anyone else cares about what's in this book. I would, if it were better documented and more reasonably prices.

Strike three, this book is OUT.

BUT: If anyone has this book and wants to share the Table of Contents, I would be very interested, my contact information is on the About page of PBI/PIB.

To access my other 1,500 or so reviews, 99% non-fiction, in 98 categories, use Phi Beta Iota, the Public Intelligence Blog, where all reviews lead back to Amazon pages for the respective books.

My own two mandate for change books, both free online as well as here at Amazon:
Election 2008: Lipstick on the Pig (Substance of Governance; Legitimate Grievances; Candidates on the Issues; Balanced Budget 101; Call to Arms: Fund We Not Them; Annotated Bibliography)
Collective Intelligence: Creating a Prosperous World at Peace

Am working on a third, being posted chapter by chapter at PBI/PIB, seeking comments, critques, etcetera.
INTELLIGENCE for EARTH: Clarity, Diversity, Integrity, & Sustainaabilty. Goes to the printer 1 February at the latest.

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Worth a Look: Best Libertarian Books

5 Star, Democracy, Philosophy, Politics

Full Source Online

The Best Libertarian Books of the Decade

David Gordon

Click on the books to read the great descriptions that accompany each of the selections.  Here we provide the titles and links to Amazon.  * will be reviewed here.  digets at end of each book are the original order in which books placed by David Gordon.

2001 Democracy: The God that Failed: The Economics and Politics of Monarchy, Democracy, and Natural Order (Hans-Hermann Hoppe) 04

2002 Social Security: False Consciousness and Crisis (John Attarian) 01

2002 A History of Money and Banking in the United States: The Colonial Era to World War II (Murray Rothbard) 09

2003 The Real Lincoln: A New Look at Abraham Lincoln, His Agenda, and an Unnecessary War (Thomas DiLorenzo)* 02

2004 Against Leviathan: Government Power and a Free Society (Robert Higgs) 02

2005 Norms of Liberty: A Perfectionist Basis for Non-Perfectionist Politics (Douglas Rasmussen and Douglas DenUyl) 08

2007  Mises: The Last Knight of Liberalism (Jörg Guido Hülsmann) 05

2007 The Politically Incorrect Guide(tm) to Capitalism (Robert Murphy) 06

2009 Meltdown: A Free-Market Look at Why the Stock Market Collapsed, the Economy Tanked, and Government Bailouts Will Make Things Worse (Thomas Woods)  11

2009 The Revolution: A Manifesto (Ron Paul) 07

2006 The Elements of Justice (David Schmidtz) 10

Review (Guest): Integrity–Good People, Bad Choices, and Life Lessons from the White House

5 Star, Biography & Memoirs, Consciousness & Social IQ, Corruption, Crime (Government), Executive (Partisan Failure, Reform), Justice (Failure, Reform), Politics, Power (Pathologies & Utilization)
Amazon Page

REVIEW BY  Russell J. Geoffrey (East Greenwich, RI)

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars INTEGRITY: easy to lose, hard to restore

February 4, 2008

He was a Navy officer serving on the USS Yorktown by the age of 22, in law school at 26, a staff assistant to the counsel to the president at 29, and Undersecretary of Transportation at 33. At 34, he was in jail. How could this happen to a man raised in a highly moral family, with an excellent education, with Christian Middle American values and a strong sense of patriotism? Yet here was Egil “Bud” Krogh at 33, starting a prison sentence for violating the civil rights of Dr. Lewis Fielding, a California psychiatrist. Bud says the principal cause was the collapse of integrity of those members of the White House's Special Investigative Unit (SIU) who conspired, ordered and carried the break-in of the doctor who had been consulted by Dr. Daniel Ellsburg, the “leaker” of the Pentagon Papers” to the New York Times in early 1971.

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