Tag Archives: Politics-CivicInterest

Playing to the Edge

Posted on August 11, 2016 by smellincoffee

Playing to the Edge: American Intelligence in the Age of Terror© Michael Hayden 2016464 pages As someone who became a civil libertarian in response to the increasingly sweeping powers of the surveillance state during the Bush administration, I began reading … Continue reading →

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Glass Houses

Posted on August 2, 2016 by smellincoffee

Glass Houses: Privacy, Secrecy, and Cyber Insecurity in a Transparent World© 2011, 2013 Joel Brenner320 pages Glass Houses, originally titled  America the Vulnerable, outlines some of the major ways that private citizens, corporations, and the government itself are exposed to … Continue reading →

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So You Want to Read about the Revolution

Posted on July 3, 2016 by smellincoffee

Although I’m reading American literature for Independence Day instead of history, why not share some favorites from previous years’ Independence Day salutes? Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin from HBO’s John Adams. Founding BiographiesJohn Adams, David McCulloughFirst Family: John … Continue reading →

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The Great Debate

Posted on June 29, 2016 by smellincoffee

The Great Debate: Edmund Burke, Thomas Paine, and the  Birth of Right and Left© 2013 Yuval Levin296 pages The Great Debate uses the war of letters between Edmund Burke and Thomas Paine  to explain the philosophical differences between conservatism and … Continue reading →

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Three for One: Robbing Banks and Being Robbed by the Banks

Posted on June 21, 2016 by smellincoffee

I stumbled upon The Great Taos Bank Robbery at some point last year. What road led me to it I can’t say, but it is a most interesting little book — a combination of folk history, humorous stories, and archaeology.  The … Continue reading →

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Lights Out

Posted on June 13, 2016 by smellincoffee

Lights Out: A Cyberattack, a Nation Unprepared© 2015 Ted Koppell288 pages In Lights Out,  investigatory journalist Ted Koppel comments on the vulnerability of the United States’ power grid to a cyber attack,  and reviews the way government agencies, private citizens, … Continue reading →

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Cyber War

Posted on June 10, 2016 by smellincoffee

Cyber War: The Next Threat to Our National Security and What to Do About It© 2010 Richard Clarke, Robert Knake320 pages Soon, the ultimate tool will become…the ultimate enemy! So said the 1982 trailer for Tron, a heavily dated computer … Continue reading →

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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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Big Box Swindle

Posted on June 5, 2016 by smellincoffee

Big Box Swindle:  The True Cost of Mega-Retailers and the Fight for America’s Independent Businesses© 2006 Stacy Mitchell336 pages What happened? Where did America go? ..everything’s Wal-Mart all the time, no more mom & pop five and dime.. (Merle Haggard, … Continue reading →

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On the Grid

Posted on May 14, 2016 by smellincoffee

On the Grid: A Plot of Land, an Average Neighborhood, and the Systems That Make Our World Work© 2010 Scott Huler256 pages If modern humans have retained a penchant for magical thinking, little wonder. Our homes accomplish marvels seemingly by the … Continue reading →

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