Booman Tribune ~ Comments ~ Big Mac Does a Nose Plant

Gift Cards * New Arrivals

NOTE: Overstock bests Amazon's prices and is "blue."

THE BOOKS WITH "BUZZ":
______________

Senator Edward M. Kennedy tells his extraordinary personal story:

True Compass: A Memoir
by Edward M. Kennedy.

Read Barack Obama's vision for America:

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

Boran2 and maryb2004 recommend:

The Big Over Easy: A Nursery Crime
by Jasper Fforde

Must-have information for all presidents-and citizens-of the twenty-first century?

Physics for Future Presidents: The Science behind the Headlines
Richard A. Muller

rae recommends:

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

On BooMan’s shelf:

Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
by Doris Kearns Goodwin

This looks interesting:

Adventure Divas
by Holly Morris

Here’s a good one from
Elizabeth Gilbert:

Eat Pray Love
by Elizabeth Gilbert

"Crash" * Best Motion Picture, Academy Awards * Only $11.79 at Overstock * 2006 SAG Winner, Best Ensemble

Check out
Powell's new section:
NEW FAVORITES
Selected new arrivals at 30% off

Recommended by Indianadem and ejmw:
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.

Great Deals
----- * ^ * -----

Find mystery novels by Nancy Pickard ("Kansas")

Challenging Empire: How People, Governments, and the UN Defy US Power by Phyllis Bennis (interviewed on DN!)

Featured by Keith Olbermann, New (Powell's Sale): Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower by William Blum (whose other books merit serious consideration)

"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
----- * ^ * -----

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
----- * ^ * -----
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:

How Parental Pressure and
Material Advantage Are Creating a Generation of
Disconnected and Unhappy Kids
by Madeline Levine

Save 35-70% on
name brand clothing,
footwear, and outdoor gear
at SierraTradingPost.com
:

We listened to PEN American Center's "State of Emergency" and found 1940s books by Curzio Malaparte only at Alibris. (Selection (MP3) excerpted from "The Skin.")

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!

:
:

Big Mac Does a Nose Plant | 21 comments (21 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: Answer From The Democratic Wing (none / 0)

Brisk indeed, Oscar! Don't forget the phony anti-terrorist actions (Sudanese aspirin factory, anyone?) timed to draw attention away from his domestic troubles?

And yes, that pun was intended. ;)

Let's also not forget the DMCA, numerous extensions of police powers, handing control of Congress to the GOP, and so damaging the Democratic Party that we ended up with Dubya. NAFTA? Try the repeal of Glass-Steagall. Then there was the discreet non-stop bombing campaign in Iraq, Dubya-esque inaction on the I/P conflict (barring the traditional presidential eleventh-hour legacy-saving Hail Mary pass), and... well, I could go on all day.

The worst thing he did, IMHO, was welfare "reform". He reinforced the vicious Republican myths about the poor and hurt millions of the most vulnerable American families for political gain, instead of standing up to Gingrich and his fellow fascists and pointing out that 80% of welfare recipients were a) in the system for less than two years, and b) children.

Peace and prosperity, my ass. The only reason Clinton doesn't stand out as one of the worst presidents of the 20th century is that he was bookended by even worse presidents. Considering how low the GOP sets the bar, being better than a Republican really doesn't count for much.

by corvus on Tue Jun 9th, 2009 at 11:56:21 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Answer From The Democratic Wing (none / 0)

Bill Clinton was the first black Republican President.

by Bob In Pacifica on Wed Jun 10th, 2009 at 12:08:13 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Answer From The Democratic Wing (none / 0)

Sadly, I disagree with you on a couple of points.

First, welfare reform was nowhere near the worst of Clinton's domestic policies. I opposed it at the time, but I do not believe most of my fears were realized. He was a coward to sign it because of its draconian measures towards resident aliens, but the war on drugs was far worse, as was bank consolidation.

Second, our presidents have been epically bad. The last president we had other than Clinton that could be considered halfway decent was LBJ and he gave us Vietnam escalation. Kennedy's tenure was too brief to fairly judge, but he made some rather glaring errors. Truman gets rehabilitated by some, but I don't buy most of it. He left office as unpopular as Dubya for a reason.

Skipping FDR, the three preceding Republican presidents were absolutely dreadful. And Woodrow Wilson was an incredibly flawed president that gave us the Palmer Raids, and thought Birth of a Nation was a splendid film. Taft sucked. McKinley was the like a Dubya for his century.

In the entire twentieth-century, the only presidents I would elect again for a second chance are Teddy and Franklin Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, Kennedy (to give his a full-term), and Clinton. I'd take LBJ over the rest of him for his moral courage. I'd take Carter after that because he was a decent fellow.

As frustrating and disappointing as Clinton was, he was actually one of our better presidents. That's mainly because he was smart, curious, and genuinely interested in policy. He was also a mater politician, which helps.

by BooMan on Wed Jun 10th, 2009 at 12:10:23 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Answer From The Democratic Wing (none / 0)

You realize that all reads like a condemnation of democracy, or one of those resigned acceptances of democracy as the least awful of the available alternatives.

Of course, I'd have to agree with that. After two terms of Dubya, the only excuse I can come up with for democracy is that the alternatives all suck more, not because democracy doesn't suck in every imaginable way.

Unfortunately, until we come up with a reliable way to manufacture benign and enlightened philosopher-kings, I'm going to be stuck in the bleachers waving my pro-democracy pennant with a distinct lack of enthusiasm.

by corvus on Wed Jun 10th, 2009 at 12:37:05 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Answer From The Democratic Wing (none / 0)

Meh.

I think we did alright considering.

Our country is rather fucked up, but we compare pretty favorably with other countries.

The good thing is that Obama can probably earn a spot in Mt. Rushmore simply by not getting caught with his penis in someone not-his-wife's mouth.

by BooMan on Wed Jun 10th, 2009 at 12:45:11 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Dwight Eisenhower?????????? (none / 0)

Which did you prefer, his policy towards Iran, or Guatamala? Or was it the 4 recessions we had under his administration?

by AliceDem on Wed Jun 10th, 2009 at 12:40:37 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Dwight Eisenhower?????????? (none / 0)

The Iran and Guatemala coups are among Ike's biggest blunders. Along with them, I'd say the general glide-path of the early CIA were the biggest blots on his presidency. And the Bay of Pigs is really the legacy of that.

So, yeah, Ike made some errors, some of which really came back to bite us in the ass.

But, you know, FDR gave us the Japanese Internment camps, and Teddy gave us some rather muscular imperialism, and Woodrow flubbed the League of Nations and gave us the Palmer Raids.

No president is flawless and most of them have been terrible. Eisenhower's record is near the very top of 20th century presidents. I don't think it is really debatable, but I'm willing to debate it.

by BooMan on Wed Jun 10th, 2009 at 12:55:03 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Big Mac Does a Nose Plant | 21 comments (21 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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