AMERICAN THEOCRACY Unpacked: Arguments Disassembled, Implications Explored, and a Way Forward Suggested (Paperback)
by W. Frederick Zimmerman (Author)Availability: In Stock. Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
And now ATU is available on Amazon.
CRUSOE AND SELKIRK: The Unique Autobiography of Robinson Crusoe and Alexander Selkirk, History’s Two Most Famous Castaways (Stevey Bruce) — June 2007
THE POTTER PENSIEVE: Fans look back at ten years of the Potter phenomenon (Erin Pyne) — July 2007
AMERICAN THEOCRACY Unpacked (W. F. Zimmerman): A searching, Christian, but not unfriendly look inside the controversial bestseller by Kevin Phillips — Summer 2007
AFTER THE DEATHLY HALLOWS (W. F. Zimmerman): Detailed chapter-by-chapter comments, analysis, and speculation on the series finale –Fall 2007
WORLD WAR II AND THE GLOBAL WAR ON TERROR (W. F. Zimmerman): First volume of the series deals with the interwar period through Poland, Norway, and France — Fall 2007
4xCO2 (W. F. Zimmerman) — adapting to the inevitable rise of global carbon dioxide levels to 4x historical levels, or 1120 ppm — Jan 2008
EXOPLANETS FOR KIDS (W. F. Zimmerman) — the most exciting era in the history of astronomy, explained for kids ages 7 to 777 — 2008
THE SOLOMON KEY UNVEILED: Detailed chapter-by-chapter comments, analysis, and research on the eagerly anticipated follow-on to THE DA VINCI CODE — three months after its publication — 2008?
Which forthcoming book sounds the most interesting to you?
Total Votes: 71
Loading …Political book sale patterns, August 2006, using Amazon.com “customers who bought x also bought y data,” from Orgnet.com.
(DV) Jayne: Bush Does Iraq — Anatomy of a Failed Operation
Afterwards we will be able to carry on with our lives just as Spaniards have done since the seventeenth century, just as the French have done since Waterloo, and just as the English and Germans have done since the end of World War II. And, lest we forget, just as Canada has done since its very beginning. Of course our imperial pretensions will be far more modest than before, but we shall be better for it. And eventually we might live down our infamous reputation acquired in both Vietnam and Iraq.
We seem stymied in the sixtieth year of our hegemonic fling, half the period of time enjoyed by England. Like Germany, which consumed itself in the seven decades that elapsed between the Franco-Prussian War and Hitler’s defeat, our claim to imperial status seems in trouble almost before it began, and without the many cultural benefits that both England and Germany enjoyed during their heyday — their science, philosophy, literature, music and art. Like Spain during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, we have little to show for our successes. Spain invented Don Quixote; we’ve invented electronic technology and the atomic bomb.
Does this mean that the Iraq debacle predicts utter collapse for the United States? Not at all. One suspects a “soft landing” will happen instead. Bush or one of his successors in the White House will find a respectable way to remove the American presence from Iraq, and our political and economic leadership will do everything necessary to maneuver a gentle aftermath when the dollar finally bottoms out, as it shall. Afterwards we will be able to carry on with our lives just as Spaniards have done since the seventeenth century, just as the French have done since Waterloo, and just as the English and Germans have done since the end of World War II. And, lest we forget, just as Canada has done since its very beginning. Of course our imperial pretensions will be far more modest than before, but we shall be better for it. And eventually we might live down our infamous reputation acquired in both Vietnam and Iraq.
A pleasingly sensible assessment compared to Kevin Phillips’s overheated appraisal.
Technorati Tags: american theocracy
If we are to exercise fully [our] judgment, sometimes we may be required to lead, inform, correct and on occasion even ignore public opinion in our States.
I think that a rather simple, a rather “corny” but a rather thought-provoking story once told by a Mississippi Senator who had opposed his state best illustrates this point. The Senator involved bore the fascinating name of Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar; and he had gotten himself into the predicament of which I spoke by three different actions: first, he had delivered a moving eulogy in the Congress upon the death of the South’s most implacable enemy, Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts; secondly, he had abided by the decision of the special electoral commission to award the Presidency to the Republican Rutherford B. Hayes in 1876; and finally and most terrible of all, he had violated the instructions of his State Legislature and ignored the wishes of his constituents by opposing the free silver movement which sought to promote easy, inflationary money for the relief of Mississippi and other debtor and depression-ridden states.
When Lucius Lamar returned to Mississippi he was met with bitter hostility. But in a series of powerful speeches which he delivered throughout the State, senator Lamar, a former officer of the Confederacy, told the story which I would like to repeat to you. In the company of other prominent military leaders of the Confederacy, he said, he had been on board a blockade runner making for Savannah harbor; and the Captain had sent sailor Billy Summers to the top mast to look for Yankee gun boats in the harbor. Billy said he had seen ten. But that distinguished array of officers knew where the Yankee fleet was, Lamar related, and they told the Captain that Billy was wrong and that he should proceed ahead. The Captain refused, insisting that while the officers knew a great deal more about military affairs, Billy Summers on the top mast with a powerful glass knew a great deal more about what boats were in the harbor. It later developed, according to Lamar, that Billy was right, and that if they had gone ahead they would all have been captured.
And so Lamar insisted to his constituents that he did not claim to be wiser than they; but that he was in a better position as a member of the Senate to judge what was in their best interests. And he concluded the story with these words:
“Thus it is, my countrymen, you have sent me to the topmost mast, and I tell you what I see. If you say I must come down, I will obey without a murmur, for you cannot make me lie to you; but if you return me to my post, I can only say that I will be true to love of country, truth, and God.”
Take that, netroots!
Report: U.S. May Have Been Abused During Formative Years | The Onion - America’s Finest News Source
team of leading historians and psychiatrists issued a report Wednesday claiming that the United States was likely the victim of abuse by its founding fathers and motherland when it was a young colony.The War of 1812, an example of early abuse by the motherland.
“In its adulthood, the U.S. displays all the classic tendencies of a nation that was repeatedly mistreated in its infancy—difficulty forming lasting foreign relationships, viewing everyone as a potential enemy, and employing a pattern of assault and intimidation to assert its power,” said Dr. Howard Drexel, the report’s lead author. “Because of trust issues stemming from the abuse, America has become withdrawn, has not made an ally in years, and often resents the few nations that are willing to lend support—most countries outgrow this kind of behavior after 230 years.”
According to Drexel, nations that act out in selfish, self-destructive ways in statehood were usually granted too much independence at an early age, especially if the motherland had other newly annexed lands to care for.
Technorati Tags: politics
The Amazon page for AMERICAN THEOCRACY UNPACKED is up and ready! Pre-order from Amazon, or direct from the publisher for $19.94 + $1.59 Media Mail.
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When I began reading American Theocracy, the best-seller by Kevin Phillips, I felt almost immediately that this was an excellent and thought-provoking book that was so wrong about so many fundamental issues that it demanded a strong, immediate, and highly focused response. This book, American Theocracy Unpacked, takes advantage of electronic publishing technology to provide that “nimble” response, less than three months after I started reading Phillips’s book.
In American Theocracy Unpacked, I take a close, almost paragraph-by-paragraph look at Phillips’s arguments. I am confident that the result is respectful but stimulating. I acknowledge and applaud his many important insights, but I also suggest a way forward that is less fearful of an “American theocracy,” and, indeed, more hopeful for America and the world.
In the body of the book, I have used the informal, rather “bulletized” house style that Nimble Books has used to produce “living books” on subjects ranging from Harry Potter and Dan Brown to science, politics, technology, and medicine.
READ THIS BOOK IF …
DON’T BOTHER IF …
HOW THIS BOOK IS ORGANIZED AND WHAT IT CONTAINS
This book follows the same structure as American Theocracy, with the addition of some introductory and interstitial comments.
Technorati Tags: american theocracy, theocracy, phillips, kevin phillips
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