Are you a conservative who feels like the media and entertainment industries are out to tear down everything you hold dear? It's not your imagination, and it's not right-wing paranoia. Derek Hunter documents this phenomenon and provides copious examples in Outrage, Inc.: How the Liberal Mob Ruined Science, Journalism, and Hollywood.
Part of the problem, especially with the media, is that "outrage fuels page views, and page views equal money." The click-driven economy determines what stories are promoted, the more outrageous the better. But they compound the problem with the selective outrage. If a celebrity is a known progressive, his or her problematic social media goofs are given a pass much more quickly than a more conservative person's goofs or gaffes.
Science has become infected by the bug of bias and progressivism. Scientists--or people who play scientists on TV--are promoted as experts in fields in which they have no expertise, simply because they are articulate and photogenic while promoting progressive talking points. Celebrities who have become famous for their skills reciting lines on the movie screen are sought out for their opinions on matters cultural and scientific simply because of their recognizability and popularity.
Hunter was counted among the Never Trumper conservative crowd in the 2016 election, and certainly does not act as a Trump mouthpiece. However, he does share Trump's frustration with the unbalanced reporting that dominates the airwaves and internet. Hunter's answer? Don't turn off media and entertainment, but be aware of the bias that permeates it all, and question everything. "Liberals are attempting to craft safe spaces where their views and opinions won't be challenged. Don't accept that." Hunter makes great arguments, provides abundant examples to support his thesis, and challenges the liberal stranglehold on the media. We would be wise to follow his lead.
Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!
Monday, December 31, 2018
Sunday, December 30, 2018
Book Love, by Debbie Tung
Do you love books? You probably don't love books as much as Debbie Tung, but every book lover will love Tung's cartoon collection Book Love. Tung's life clearly revolves around reading. For everyone who looks forward to escaping with a book, who gets a little excited about seeing a friend's stuffed bookshelf, who can't resist a book sale, and who just might prefer the company of a book to the company of other people, you will smile in solidarity with this book lover.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!
Wednesday, December 26, 2018
Billionaire at the Barricades, by Laura Ingraham
Donald Trump doesn't have many cheerleaders in the media more enthusiastic than Laura Ingraham. The Fox News personality jumped on the Trump train early and has remained a vocal supporter. Her book Billionaire at the Barricades: The Populist Revolution from Reagan to Trump looks at the movement that put Trump in the White House, starting a generation ago with Reagan and the movement he created.
Ingraham's walk through the last several decades of presidential history brings the modern populist movement into clear focus. It's a walk down nostalgia lane, and a look at several presidential administrations through a unique lens.
Trump's popularity and ultimate election can be attributed to many things, but his speaking to and for the working class and middle class voters sealed his place in politics. As Ingraham points out, Trump is not an ideological conservative or libertarian. He's a pragmatic businessman who wants to do what is best for American workers, workers who have felt like they haven't had a president looking out for their interests for many years.
Trump is far from perfect, but America is better off with him at the helm than with Hillary. Ingraham reminds us of Hillary's contempt for many Americans, we "deplorables," which only follows from her boss Obama, who said we're clinging to our guns and religion. Trump may be self-destructing his administration with every ill-advised tweet, but when he does manage to push through his agenda items and get his appointments confirmed, America wins. Here's hoping for four more years!
Ingraham's walk through the last several decades of presidential history brings the modern populist movement into clear focus. It's a walk down nostalgia lane, and a look at several presidential administrations through a unique lens.
Trump's popularity and ultimate election can be attributed to many things, but his speaking to and for the working class and middle class voters sealed his place in politics. As Ingraham points out, Trump is not an ideological conservative or libertarian. He's a pragmatic businessman who wants to do what is best for American workers, workers who have felt like they haven't had a president looking out for their interests for many years.
Trump is far from perfect, but America is better off with him at the helm than with Hillary. Ingraham reminds us of Hillary's contempt for many Americans, we "deplorables," which only follows from her boss Obama, who said we're clinging to our guns and religion. Trump may be self-destructing his administration with every ill-advised tweet, but when he does manage to push through his agenda items and get his appointments confirmed, America wins. Here's hoping for four more years!
Sunday, December 23, 2018
Periods Say Stop, by Michael Dahl, illustrated by Chris Garbutt
It's about time the tiny yet so significant period gets the recognition it deserves. Michael Dahl's Periods Say Stop., with illustrations by Chris Garbutt, shows how hard periods work. They have many jobs and prevent sentences from going on and on, giving readers a chance to take a breath.
The illustrations are vivid and busy, and the text is full of energy, but Dahl doesn't skimp on the educational element to the book. He includes descriptions of sentence types and lists other tasks that periods fulfill.
It's not a grammar text book, but it's a fun way to introduce and reinforce the purposes of periods. You'll like this book. Period.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!
The illustrations are vivid and busy, and the text is full of energy, but Dahl doesn't skimp on the educational element to the book. He includes descriptions of sentence types and lists other tasks that periods fulfill.
It's not a grammar text book, but it's a fun way to introduce and reinforce the purposes of periods. You'll like this book. Period.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!
Friday, December 21, 2018
Virtue Signaling, by John Scalzi
I enjoy seeing an author pull back the curtain so his readers can get to know him. Sci-fi author John Scalzi has been doing that for years on his Whatever blog (https://whatever.scalzi.com/). Here he posts personal, topical, timely, witty, and random thoughts about life, family, politics, culture, or whatever is on his mind. Scalzi’s new book, Virtue Signaling and Other Heresies: Selected Writings from Whatever, 2013-2018, collects a variety of these blogs into book form.
The best bits are Scalzi’s reflections and stories about family. He is crazy about his wife and daughter He holds his mother—who raised him as a single mom after his dad left—in high esteem. He also writes lovingly about his school and the teachers who shaped him and the libraries that have sustained him throughout his life. He writes, “Every time I publish a new book—every time—the first hardcover copy goes to my wife and the second goes to the Bradford library.” Scalzi is a man with a deep appreciation for the forces and people who shaped him, and a desire to pass along his good fortune to make a better world.
Some of the passion, on the other hand, is pretty annoying. Scalzi is WOKE and be wants you to know it. He was for gay marriage before it was cool. He is absolutely NOT racist, sexist, or homophobic. And if he thinks you are, you are surely an a—hole. He talks about being tolerant of other beliefs, but, for most of the things he cares about, if you disagree with him you are an a—hole.
Scalzi’s biggest target is President Trump, “just about the biggest a—hole in all of the United States of America.” Trump “is a terrible person and an even worse president, probably the worst in living memory.” Like so many of Trump’s critics, of which there are legion, he takes anything Trump says or does and gives it the most uncharitable spin. I am aware Trump offers much to criticize, but Scalzi can’t bear the thought that Trump and his policies might accomplish something positive for the country.
He beats the drum of Trump’s racism repeatedly. Of course, according to Scalzi, I’m clearly a racist if I even dare to suggest that Trump is not a racist. He might throw me in the with the “race-baiting xenophobic religious bigots” that he says now populate the GOP. He can’t se the good Trump has done and is doing for black Americans and other minorities, and he can’t seem to see any of the negatives that drove voters away from Hilary. On the blog this vitriol dripped out over several years. Packing it into a book was overload. Yuck.
In a couple of his essays, Scalzi talked about appreciating the work of an artist who has had a moral fall. E.g., enjoying a book by an author who is a known rapist. I agree with him, that the art can be separated from the artist. I can enjoy Bill Cosby’s comedy routines whole not approving of his taking advantage of women. In the same way, I can enjoy Scalzi’s fiction while being disgusted by his vicious, unbalanced derision of the President of the United States.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!
The best bits are Scalzi’s reflections and stories about family. He is crazy about his wife and daughter He holds his mother—who raised him as a single mom after his dad left—in high esteem. He also writes lovingly about his school and the teachers who shaped him and the libraries that have sustained him throughout his life. He writes, “Every time I publish a new book—every time—the first hardcover copy goes to my wife and the second goes to the Bradford library.” Scalzi is a man with a deep appreciation for the forces and people who shaped him, and a desire to pass along his good fortune to make a better world.
Some of the passion, on the other hand, is pretty annoying. Scalzi is WOKE and be wants you to know it. He was for gay marriage before it was cool. He is absolutely NOT racist, sexist, or homophobic. And if he thinks you are, you are surely an a—hole. He talks about being tolerant of other beliefs, but, for most of the things he cares about, if you disagree with him you are an a—hole.
Scalzi’s biggest target is President Trump, “just about the biggest a—hole in all of the United States of America.” Trump “is a terrible person and an even worse president, probably the worst in living memory.” Like so many of Trump’s critics, of which there are legion, he takes anything Trump says or does and gives it the most uncharitable spin. I am aware Trump offers much to criticize, but Scalzi can’t bear the thought that Trump and his policies might accomplish something positive for the country.
He beats the drum of Trump’s racism repeatedly. Of course, according to Scalzi, I’m clearly a racist if I even dare to suggest that Trump is not a racist. He might throw me in the with the “race-baiting xenophobic religious bigots” that he says now populate the GOP. He can’t se the good Trump has done and is doing for black Americans and other minorities, and he can’t seem to see any of the negatives that drove voters away from Hilary. On the blog this vitriol dripped out over several years. Packing it into a book was overload. Yuck.
In a couple of his essays, Scalzi talked about appreciating the work of an artist who has had a moral fall. E.g., enjoying a book by an author who is a known rapist. I agree with him, that the art can be separated from the artist. I can enjoy Bill Cosby’s comedy routines whole not approving of his taking advantage of women. In the same way, I can enjoy Scalzi’s fiction while being disgusted by his vicious, unbalanced derision of the President of the United States.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!
Wednesday, December 19, 2018
Last Call for Liberty, by Os Guinness
For many decades Os Guiness, a resident alien living in the U.S., has offered insightful and prophetic commentary on the state and direction of his adopted nation. In Last Call for Liberty: How America's Genius for Freedom Has Become Its Greatest Threat he returns to themes he has addressed before, bringing his assessments up to date.
The United States is in a struggle between conflicting visions of freedom. "A false and cancerous 'freedom' has started attacking healthy freedom." From a historical perspective, Guinness characterizes it as a struggle between the ideals of the revolutions of 1776 in the United States and 1789 in France. The modern left in the U.S. is heir more to 1789 than 1776. "The seismic shifts accompanying the 1960s counterculture, and in particular the shift from the older classical liberalism to the new Left/liberalism, were deliberate. They represented a powerful counterrevolution that at numerous points has shown itself the true heir of 1789 . . . than 1776."
American liberty, Guinness writes, is built around covenant and community, not libertinism and communalism. Unlike the French Revolution, the United States is built on free expression of religion, not on the rejection of religion. The creeping influence of 1789 has had an impact on political life in the U.S. "There are many partisans and few statesmen" in American public life. As the last few years have shown, political divisions are deep. "The 'Never Trumpers,' both Democrats and his fellow Republicans, and politicians, journalists, academics, as well as celebrities, have developed such a manic obsession about the president that they cannot see straight or talk of much else." This "crisis," though, is less a reflection of one man's flaws, but of society's crisis of understanding of freedom.
Guinness doesn't leave the reader completely without hope. But the wrong view of freedom, the "striking genius for freedom has become [America's] Achilles' heel and now threatens [America's] premature and quite unnecessary decline." We can still "stay true to the better angels of [our] founding promise" but it seems like the decline into 1789 seems powerful and perhaps irreversible. We need voices like Guinness's to keep us heading in the right direction.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!
The United States is in a struggle between conflicting visions of freedom. "A false and cancerous 'freedom' has started attacking healthy freedom." From a historical perspective, Guinness characterizes it as a struggle between the ideals of the revolutions of 1776 in the United States and 1789 in France. The modern left in the U.S. is heir more to 1789 than 1776. "The seismic shifts accompanying the 1960s counterculture, and in particular the shift from the older classical liberalism to the new Left/liberalism, were deliberate. They represented a powerful counterrevolution that at numerous points has shown itself the true heir of 1789 . . . than 1776."
American liberty, Guinness writes, is built around covenant and community, not libertinism and communalism. Unlike the French Revolution, the United States is built on free expression of religion, not on the rejection of religion. The creeping influence of 1789 has had an impact on political life in the U.S. "There are many partisans and few statesmen" in American public life. As the last few years have shown, political divisions are deep. "The 'Never Trumpers,' both Democrats and his fellow Republicans, and politicians, journalists, academics, as well as celebrities, have developed such a manic obsession about the president that they cannot see straight or talk of much else." This "crisis," though, is less a reflection of one man's flaws, but of society's crisis of understanding of freedom.
Guinness doesn't leave the reader completely without hope. But the wrong view of freedom, the "striking genius for freedom has become [America's] Achilles' heel and now threatens [America's] premature and quite unnecessary decline." We can still "stay true to the better angels of [our] founding promise" but it seems like the decline into 1789 seems powerful and perhaps irreversible. We need voices like Guinness's to keep us heading in the right direction.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!
Monday, December 17, 2018
Liars' Paradox, by Taylor Stevens
Taylor Stevens's Vanessa Michael Monroe series is a strong action series with a memorable, bad-to-the-bone female lead character. With Liar's Paradox, Stevens begins the Jack and Jill series. This new series in the same genre of international action and intrigue, but, so far, Jack and Jill don't measure up to Monroe.
Jack and Jill are twins, now in their 20s, who have been raised by Clare, their mysterious, paranoid, reclusive mother. They spend their entire childhood on the run, never knowing their father. Clare trains them in the arts of self-defense, spy craft, survival, hand-to-hand combat, weapons, and staying invisible.
The story starts with Jack kidnapping Jill from her boyfriend's house. He drags Jill against her will on a road trip to their mom's house, an off-the-grid hideout in the middle of nowhere. Just as they arrive, the house blows up, and Jack and Jill come under fire. Thus begins the flow of the book: Jack and Jill, on the run, hunter and hunted. They want to find whoever killed or kidnapped their mother. Jack and Jill are hunted by hired killers. The chase, the plotting, and the fighting become the focus of the book.
Stevens writes the action well. The fighting and hunting scenes are breathless and exciting. The weakness of Liar's Paradox is the rest of the story. Why are these people hunting each other? Who is Clare, really? Who's calling the shots? To the extent that these questions are answered, I never really cared. Stevens falls into the same problem as a number of movies I've seen, where assassins are targeting each other but the motivations are murky. That's the case here. Stevens sheds little light on who these assassins have worked for, or who their targets have been. We just know they are now targeting each other. It just seems pointless and cartoonish. . . .
Nevertheless, as I said, Stevens writes good scenes. It's just the framework holding it all together that was sketchy. Now that she has created these characters and developed their backstory, I could see this series taking off when she comes up with an actual story going forward.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!
Jack and Jill are twins, now in their 20s, who have been raised by Clare, their mysterious, paranoid, reclusive mother. They spend their entire childhood on the run, never knowing their father. Clare trains them in the arts of self-defense, spy craft, survival, hand-to-hand combat, weapons, and staying invisible.
The story starts with Jack kidnapping Jill from her boyfriend's house. He drags Jill against her will on a road trip to their mom's house, an off-the-grid hideout in the middle of nowhere. Just as they arrive, the house blows up, and Jack and Jill come under fire. Thus begins the flow of the book: Jack and Jill, on the run, hunter and hunted. They want to find whoever killed or kidnapped their mother. Jack and Jill are hunted by hired killers. The chase, the plotting, and the fighting become the focus of the book.
Stevens writes the action well. The fighting and hunting scenes are breathless and exciting. The weakness of Liar's Paradox is the rest of the story. Why are these people hunting each other? Who is Clare, really? Who's calling the shots? To the extent that these questions are answered, I never really cared. Stevens falls into the same problem as a number of movies I've seen, where assassins are targeting each other but the motivations are murky. That's the case here. Stevens sheds little light on who these assassins have worked for, or who their targets have been. We just know they are now targeting each other. It just seems pointless and cartoonish. . . .
Nevertheless, as I said, Stevens writes good scenes. It's just the framework holding it all together that was sketchy. Now that she has created these characters and developed their backstory, I could see this series taking off when she comes up with an actual story going forward.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!
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