December 26, 2004
Review: "Constitutional Chaos" by Judge Adrew P. Napolitano (4 moose)
I am pretty much a law-and-order kind of American. The Patriot Act doesn't bother me, I think we worry too much about the rights of criminals, and I think too many judges impede enforcing the law.
I'm not going to pretend that Judge Napolitano has caused a radical change to my viewpoints on those issues, but I am definitely questioning the foundations of my beliefs.
I recommend everyone read "Constitutional Chaos." If you are more of an ACLU type, it'll confirm some of your concerns, but you'll get a more conservative perspective. If you are a conservative (like me), you'll learn that the government is ignoring laws they enforce on you and me, throwing away the key on untried suspects, and using the "War on Terror" as an excuse to ignore civil liberties.
I wish folks like the ACLU could argue as thoughtfully as Judge Napolitano...but perhaps they have been and I just wasn't willing to listen.
I felt there were a few shortcomings in his work:
- Sometimes he seems to think he has "proven" something when he hasn't.
- He writes as if everything his example defendents say is true (that is, he doesn't seem to show proper skepticism).
- He doesn't seem to show any flexibility -- civil rights trump everything else.
I still readily give "Constitutional Chaos" 5 moose...
Posted by alan at 4:13 PM | TrackBack
Review: "Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis (5 moose)
A week or so ago I finished reading "Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis and I couldn't recommend a book more highly. Warmth and logic seem to exist separately, but Mr. Lewis combines them in an incredible way...
The version I have also has "The Screwtape Letters" -- another good work (although I wouldn't give it 5 moose like I have "Mere Christianity").
I'll end my review here...but will be quoting more great part of C.S. Lewis' masterpiece in this blog...
Posted by alan at 4:07 PM | TrackBack
November 13, 2004
Review: "How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must)" by Ann Coulter (3.5 moose)
It seems to me that whenever someone wants to do a "moral equivalency" to some whacked-lefty like Michael Moore, Ann Coulter is their proof that "both sides do it."
Well, I disagree. It is true that Ms. Coulter has a sharp tongue, and goes a bit further than I would with some of her comments, but she doesn't make up facts or distort the truth (that is, unlike the Michael Moore's of this world, she doesn't lie).
"How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must)" is almost entirely a collection of past columns she has written, including some that were rejected (it's a shame, however, it didn't include the one USA Today zapped during the Democratic National Convention, "Put the Speakers in a Cage"). Some chapter titles should give you an idea of what she covers:
- At Least They Didn't Run Jimmy Carter This Time
- Barbra Streisand Feels Your Pain (According to Her Publicist)
- Give Us Twenty-two Minutes, We'll Give Up the Country
- The Only Cop the New York Times Likes Is the One in the Village People
- Elián González: The Only Immigrant Liberals Ever Wanted to Deport
And so on...
Okay, I'll admit it...her columns and books are a guilty pleasure -- but I also can't help but feel she is a wonderful person underneath that razor-sharp tongue -- and you can't impugn her logic.
Strangely enough, with the myriad great articles included in the book, the one that pops up first in my memory is about dating in Washington, D.C, "Capital Punishment." An excerpt:
What are you supposed to say to completely insane things like that? I've never figured that out, which is whey these conversations tend to end in hostile silences. "Call me when you'd like to go out to dinner" isn't asking for a date; it's asking me to ask you for a date.
For my male readers in Washington, asking for a date entails these indispensable components: an express request for a female's company on a particular date for a specific activity. Oh yes, and the request has to be made to the female herself. Roughly once every two weeks, I get a female on my answering machine asking me if I'd like to go out with some dumbass male friend of hers who's too afraid to call me himself. (For those outside Washington, I'm not kidding.)
This isn't a screeching, hate-filled, anti-male screed. It is a schreeching, hate-filled anti-D.C. screed. There's no large sociological point about relationships between sexes here. It's Washington.
Now imagine that tact when you are discussing real hot-button political issues :-)
It's a very good book. I probably would have given it four moose except I'm not a big fan of "old" articles, and kind of felt like a bait-and-switch was done on me when I ordered it (I didn't realize it was a compendium of previous works). Neither is Ms. Coulter's fault, and I still recommend you buy the book, but my moose are mine to give or keep :-)
P.S. Although not as meaty as "How to Talk to a Liberal," I highly recommend her first book, "Treason." I'd definitely give that 4 moose, maybe 4.5 because she does such a great job disproving liberal mantras about the cold war...