papablues050164's reviews
136 reviews

Out of 43 men, only one can catagorically claim to have never touched a drop of alcohol while in the Oval Office. We have the expected drunks and find a few Prezs who brewed their own, from George Washington to Ike's bathtub gin during Prohibition to Obama's own White House beer. Fun ed.

It might have bene better if the author wasn't so fond of imposing modern Republican notions of economy at every turn. Coolidge becomes most sympathetic after his son Calvin Jr. dies, but freqwuently his efforts to balance th budget--of which too many pages are expended--make him appear callous. 'Starve the govermnemnt beast'? That's very much a George Norquist thing to say. His denial of bonuses to veterans of World War 1 is almost beyond belief as well; leave it to the States to take care of tgem? Sorry--it was the FEDERAL govermnent that asked them to serve, so it becomes the FEDERAL governemnt's responsibility to care for them after all the sacrifices they made. There are so many examples of this penny-pinching bordering on mania. Not enough words on family; too much on economy.

The subtitle tickled my interest. In the entire history of man, not many people can have claimed to have discovered a planet; Albert Einstein (so far) is the only man who has definitively destroyed one.

Ohh, we are such a virtuous nation...what bullshit. we tend to view America through a narrow prism, regarding our early American patriots are saints spontaneously rising against British tyranny. the truth is there are many shades of grey, and lots of smuggling involved. John Hancock, 1st man to sign the Declaration? Rum smuggler. Oh, the heroes of the Alamo and Texas independence? Squatters and slavers. Virtue is all well and good, but as far as imposing the weight of the law on Porn and Alcohol--well, congratulations, y'all made both into major industries. That's the sound of one hand clapping, folks.

This devastates every argument our failed leaders have imposed on us for the last 40 years when it comes to 'free trade'. it demolishes the free-trade arguments and shows that our tax-cut obsessions have created a class of elites and corporations virtually above the law. we are now at the point where we began during the American Revolution, except that now the enemy is self-made and may take generations to un-fuck-up-asize wht we've done to ourselves.

It's even worse than you thought.

Little is known of the fanatic who set the world in flames. This graphic novel paints the journey of a young Serb's descent into one act of assassination that changed everything. It bounces between Princip and Archduke Ferdinand who was evidently clueless of the world outside his happy family.
Highly rec.

Well, we're f----d.
Otto presents a passionate and lucid argument. Unfortunately the forces of ignorance and stupidity have won this election. If there's any justice, Florida and Washington DC will be gargling sea water by the time of our grandchildren. As of right now I can only see our country sliding deeper and deeper into fundamentalist medievalism.

Two things to consider; when you pick up a book like this, when it reaches the point of 800 pages in length, in hardback, it can no longer be considered a book. This thing is now a weapon.
I'm serious! You could hurt someone smacking 'em in the back of the head, or just dropping it on their foot.
Second: by and large, the young Beatles were pretty much dick to their first loves, and Paul was no exception. His marriage to Linda Eastman was an exceptional one, but he treated Jane Asher poorly. Norman presents an honest picture in an eminently readable fashion. It may turn into a project to finish but well worth the journey.