Tag Archives: law

Saving Congress from Itself

Posted on June 7, 2016 by smellincoffee

Saving Congress from Itself: Emancipating the States and Empowering their People© 2014 James F. Buckley120 pages According to the latest Gallup poll, only 11% of Americans approve of Congress’ job performance, but virtually every senator or representative who runs for … Continue reading →

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The First Congress

Posted on March 29, 2016 by smellincoffee

The First Congress: How James Madison, George Washington, and a Group of Extraordinary Men Invented the Government© 2016 Fergus Bordewich416 pages The first attempt at creating an American confederation resulted in a chronically bankrupt and impotent organization which no one … Continue reading →

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The Lincoln Lawyer

Posted on March 20, 2016 by smellincoffee

The Lincoln Lawyer© 2005 Michael Connelly404 pages Mickey Haller is a lawyer on the move, a criminal defender whose clients are so numerous and widespread that he conducts business from the backseat of his Lincoln Towncar.  For him, the law … Continue reading →

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The Cult of the Presidency

Posted on February 14, 2016 by smellincoffee

The Cult of the Presidency: America’s Dangerous Devotion to Executive Power © 2008 Gene Healy 264 pages Every four years, men and women with permanently-fixed smiles assure us that they will end corruption in D.C, get the economy moving, and … Continue reading →

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American Cicero

Posted on June 24, 2015 by smellincoffee

American Cicero: The Life of Charles Carroll © 2010 Bradley Birzer 230 pages When Charles Carroll of Carrollton signed the Declaration of Independence, he was risking the biggest fortune on the American mainland.  But Carroll had yearned for independence for … Continue reading →

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The Cost of Liberty

Posted on June 21, 2015 by smellincoffee

The Cost of Liberty: The Life of John Dickinson© 2013 William Murchinson257 pages “Experience must be our only guide; reason may mislead us.” Can you claim to be a Founding Father if you didn’t sign the Declaration of Independence?  What … Continue reading →

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The English People on the Eve of Colonization

Posted on June 8, 2015 by smellincoffee

The English People on the Eve of Colonization© 1954 Wallace Notestein302 pages    If there was ever an exemplar for not judging a book by its cover, The English People on the Eve of Colonization is it. The binding is … Continue reading →

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The Colonial Experience

Posted on June 5, 2015 by smellincoffee

The Americans: The Colonial Experience© 1967 Daniel Boorstin528 pages               Daniel Boorstin’s The Americans delivers a cultural history of the American colonies, beginning first with profiles on the disparate groups that settled on the eastern seaboard (Puritans, Quakers, and … Continue reading →

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Rise of the Warrior Cop

Posted on May 30, 2015 by smellincoffee

Rise of the Warrior Cop: the Militarization of America’s Police Forces © 2013 Radney Balko 400 pages A man’s home is his castle…but now the cops have bettering rams.. Among the sins of George the III, according to the Declaration … Continue reading →

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The Internet Police

Posted on February 14, 2015 by smellincoffee

The Internet Police: How Crime Went Online (and the Cops Followed)© 2014 Nate Anderson 310 pages  Not since the steam engine has the world been so utterly transformed than by the Internet. Originally a military network, it is now infrastructure, undergirding modern life … Continue reading →

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