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THE BOOKS WITH "BUZZ":
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Learn the real story behind the WMD in Iraq:

The Way of the World: A Story of Truth and Hope in an Age of Extremism
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Read Barack Obama's vision for America:

The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream
by Barack Obama

DaveW recommends:

I Am a Strange Loop
by Douglas Hofstadter

Need some laughs?

I Am America (and So Can You!)
by Stephen Colbert

rae recommends:

Dark Ages America: The Final Phase of Empire
by Morris Berman.

On BooMan’s shelf:

The End of Iraq: How American Incompetence Created a War Without End
by Peter W. Galbraith

This looks interesting:

Adventure Divas
by Holly Morris

Here’s a good one from
Elizabeth Gilbert:

Eat Pray Love
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The Conscience of a Liberal
by Paul Wellstone

From northcountry’s bookshelf:

The New Golden Age:
The Coming Revolution Against
Political Corruption and Economic Chaos by Ravi Batra

A novel about contractors in Iraq from the woman that runs The Spy That Billed Me:

Outsourced: A Novel
from RJ Hillhouse.

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"Explosive" State of War: The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration
by James Risen

The book the CIA doesn't want you to read: Jawbreaker: The Attack on Bin Laden and Al Qaeda: A Personal Account by the CIA's Key Field Commander
Larry Johnson's review

BT's all-time best seller:

PERMACULTURE:
A Designers' Manual
$79.95 * Sale: $59.95

Unequal Sisters: A Multicultural Reader in U.S. Women's History (Third Edition)

The Undercover Economist: Exposing Why the Rich Are Rich, the Poor Are Poor And Why You Can Never Buy a Decent Used Car!

The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl
by Timothy Egan

Green Press Initiative
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Journalistas: 100 Years of the Best Writing and Reporting by Women Journalists by Eleanor Mills * NYT review

Bury Me Standing: the Gypsies & Their Journey

1491: New Revelations of the Americas before Columbus

Brokeback Mountain
by Annie Proulx
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Check out Powell's
"At The Movies"

Imperial Ambitions: Conversations on the Post-9/11 World by Noam Chomsky (Power & Terror: Post 9-11 Talks)

The Price of Privilege:

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Banned Books * Are you a fan of Film Noir, Art House, Documentaries or Hong Kong Action? * Searching for a long-lost children's book or a first printing of Miles Davis' Kind of Blue on vinyl? Find it at Alibris!

:
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"A Question" - Conversation Continuation | 72 comments (72 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: Focus (4.00 / 4)

I agree with eschewing the labels for the most part. Defining ourselves and others according to the arbitrary frameworks devised by others usually telegraphs a lack of inner clarity, not to mention playing directly into the hands of the opposition who devised those arbitrary characterizations for strategic interests of their own.

I would say though that we have to be very careful not to over-engineer the message, and unfortunately, when times are tough, the tendency is often to do more engineering, not less.

To my way of thinking, if we could somehow vanish all the political consultants operating on individual Dems and on the party apparatus in general, we'd be light years ahead of where we are now instantly without having to do anything.

The calculus of ambition almost always crowds out principled action, and nowhere is this more true than in the political arena. But for me, even though this is true, even though I am embarrased at the shallowness and self-absorption demonstrated by so many of our elected officials, even when I cringe more often than not when they prance up to the microphones to perform, I still believe that it's possible that we can impress upon them the idea that if they don't get on the stick and start doing the right thing that we'll dump them. And, in a perfect world, if we could remove the consultants from the scene, getting our message through to them would be much easier. And maybe, just maybe, our elected officials themselves would learn how to speak their own words again.

When "We the People" can finally get our officials to listen to us more than to their paid advisors, then progress will be made. My hope is that by expanding these kinds ofdiscussions we'll discover the methods and the energirs to do exactly that.

Denial is our most dangerous adversary.

by sbj on Sat Feb 4th, 2006 at 12:55:16 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Focus (4.00 / 3)

I think that they are backed into a corner by an honest message coming from several directions, most politicians and their consultants would adjust accordingly.

I think it's beyond the time of asking them nicely to do their job. It's time to organize these messages from the grassroots and take them as far as possible. This can be done with or without the present officeholders as they choose whether or not to support the needs of the people.

by rumi on Sat Feb 4th, 2006 at 01:03:34 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Focus (4.00 / 2)

Maybe we're looking at this from the wrong side of the one-way glass. Seems to me we're involved in a loosely-affiliated movement, external to any political party. Meaning: the way to approach this is to use the speed and agility of the 'net to reach consensus on that elusive set of principles. Propagate those principles across the blogosphere as a sort of declaration of independence (lower case), coupled with a request to sign.

External, party-neutral, nation-wide.

by rba (nearnight12@yahoo.com) on Sat Feb 4th, 2006 at 08:46:44 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Focus (4.00 / 2)

Seems to me we're involved in a loosely-affiliated movement, external to any political party. Meaning: the way to approach this is to use the speed and agility of the 'net to reach consensus on that elusive set of principles. Propagate those principles across the blogosphere as a sort of declaration of independence (lower case), coupled with a request to sign.

This has been my assessment of the best way to maximize the potential of the energy generated by concerned citizens.

It doesn't even have to be complete agreement as long as the variety of alliances are based on mutual respect for each other's beliefs. This requires setting aside some differences to achieve greater common goals but everyone can benefit from their efforts without exploitation or selling out. Some measure might require compromise but most of what we're facing is crucial to all of us. For the most part it's focusing on the positive shared goals instead of focusing on what keeps us apart from each other.

by rumi on Sat Feb 4th, 2006 at 09:11:16 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Focus (none / 1)

Exactly. I think we're all in "substantial agreement" here. Searching for a mechanism to put reality to concept, I can only point to ActBlue. Misconstrued as only a funding mechanism, the network may be built there. Take a look if and when you have time.

by rba (nearnight12@yahoo.com) on Sat Feb 4th, 2006 at 11:28:15 AM EST
[ Parent ]

"A Question" - Conversation Continuation | 72 comments (72 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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