Tag Archives: politics

North Korea: Another Country

Posted on May 22, 2010 by smellincoffee

North Korea: Another Country© 2004 Bruce Cumings241 pages “It helps in understanding North Korea if you have lived in a fundamentalist Christian community…just like the North Koreans, we believed in the absolute purity of our doctrines. We focused inward and … Continue reading →

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A Power Governments Cannot Suppress

Posted on February 11, 2010 by smellincoffee

A Power Governments Cannot Suppress © 2007 Howard Zinn 293 pages This year I have become convincted that democracy is not something that happens at the ballot-box but on the streets. It consists in mass movements forcing the institutions that … Continue reading →

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Red Emma Speaks

Posted on February 4, 2010 by smellincoffee

Red Emma Speaks: An Emma Goldman Reader© 1973, 1996 ed. Alix Kates Shulman464 pages           Emma Goldman was an incorrigible political activist and social critic during the Gilded Age, speaking out against nearly everything society held dear – the government, capitalism, … Continue reading →

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The Motorcycle Diaries

Posted on January 28, 2010 by smellincoffee

The Motorcycle Diaries: Notes on a Latin American Journey© Ernesto Guevara (Ocean Press 2004)175 pages “Along the roads of our daydream we reached remote countries, navigated tropical seas and traveled all through Asia. And suddenly, slipping in as if part … Continue reading →

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The Zinn Reader

Posted on November 21, 2009 by smellincoffee

The Zinn Reader© 1997 Howard Zinn668 pages When I pulled this book from the shelf, I did so with the intention of checking it out and reading it over the Thanksgiving holiday. I did not anticipate the book monopolizing my … Continue reading →

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Are We Rome?

Posted on August 27, 2009 by smellincoffee

Are We Rome? The Fall of an Empire and the Fate of America © 2007 Cullen Murphy 262 pages Lead poisons our wine and makes us stupid / Gladiators keep us entertained / More votes cast for idols than for … Continue reading →

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The Audacity of Hope

Posted on August 22, 2009 by smellincoffee

The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream © 2006 Barack Obama 375 pages Knowing my interest in political speeches, a friend of mine asked me in 2005 if I’d ever heard of Barack Obama, who spoke at … Continue reading →

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Securing Democracy

Posted on August 10, 2009 by smellincoffee

Securing Democracy: Why We Have an Electoral College © 2001 ed. Gary Gregg II 171 pages “The Framers of the Constitution would have been appalled at the notion that over time the presidency would become an objection pf partisan ambition, … Continue reading →

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This Week at the Library (24/9)

Posted on September 24, 2008 by smellincoffee

Books this Update: Rules of Civility, George Washington Foundation’s Edge, Isaac Asimov Holidays on Ice, David Sedaris The Leopard, Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations, Al Franken I began this week with … Continue reading →

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This Week at the Library (31/7)

Posted on July 31, 2008 by smellincoffee

Books this Update: The Communist Manifesto, Karl Marx Nine Tales from Tomorrow, Isaac Asimov Building a Bridge to the Eighteenth Century, Neil Postman Books that Changed the World, Robert B. Downs The Elegant Universe, Brian Greene I mentioned a few … Continue reading →

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