I cannot. The reason is this: I have not read the book. I probably shouldn’t have said that for that reason. I won’t fraud myself by lying and saying I have read it. I will though! OT post forthcoming. I will say this, I have had the pleasure of listening to his radio show. Plenty of halftruth’s spit out in the hour or so that I could stand listening to it. That is where my reaction came from.
It’s too bad, because he seems funny, and intelligent, and somewhat insightful. I just see him as blindly liberal, as the others mentioned are blindly conservative. At least he’s from Wisconsin, they can take the blame for him. I’ve given up and started listening to sports talk radio:More Vikings chat!
Now…how about that"The Daily Show" with John Stewart. Unbiased?
If you want a bit of info on all of the different politcal parties try CNN.com politics. They do a little shorty on each party, with a link to each parties web page. I found it interesting to read about them.
I would rather spend three weeks with my inlaws passing kidney stones while watching “Friends” than listen to 5 seconds of Ann Coulter.
I have no problem with conservatives or liberals per se, but I am quite biased towards rational proponents of either school.
Sean Hannity, Ann Coulter, and Rush Limbaugh are entertainers; avoid them if you want to approach the issues rationally.
In the realm of rational conservative authors I would first look at the Old Timers: William F. Buckley and George Will.
Also of interest is Michael Hitchens, he is quite rational and always cracks me up with his brit accent and thin skin.
On the liberal side try the old timer Chalmers Johnson, and then look at Eric Alterman and Joshua Micah Marshall.
Also to get good info try watching CSPAN, the Washington Journal program in the mornings is very good and often hilarious. I laugh my ass off listening to the offbeat and often irate viewers who call in. CSPAN is as unbiased as you can get with politics.
Each of the authors I listed have web sites, they are good for the most part.
Enjoy yourself.
And oh yes, on the anarchist side try Noam Chomsky, and be sure and bring your gas mask to the WTO protest.
There are no non-biased books. Every one presents a point of view either explicitly or implicitly. There are an infinite number of “facts” available and the unavoidable choice of which ones to present in itself serves to express the opinions and beliefs of the author.
I think people would be far more informed if the "news’ media gave up their facade of neutrality and blantantly expressed opinions. Of course if they asked tough questions and expressed unfavorable opinions they wouldn’t get the invitations to the DC party circuit or get called on at press conferences, and if they really dredged up the dirt would likely run into trouble with the FCC pulling their license for failing to serve the “public interest”.
It’s what you do with the facts that matter.
This also applies to the viewer. People will tend to derive conculsions to support their attitudes, values and belifes.
I think people would be far more informed if the "news’ media gave up their facade of neutrality and blantantly expressed opinions.
Problem is the mass media has already given up its neutrality, it’s just the facade that remains. There are lots and lots of articles masquerading as reporting that are really opinion pieces. Nedra Pickler is an egregious example of this… (google the name to see what I’m talking about).
You can combine the “Better Training for Distance Runners” and the Bible and read:
“The Cyclist’s Training bible” and “The Triathlete’s Training Bible: A Complete Training Guide for the Competitive Multisport Athlete” both by Joe Friel.
Does TSR also take second hand books? Perhaps someone could send you a copy.
But you will still distort what they tell you to fit the way you want to read it, or skip the chapters you don’t like such as various fitness tests.
Wow, I thought this thread was dead in the water weeks ago. Thanks for all the great recommendations. I’ve got some research and lots of reading to do. Funny thing is, in the end my vote probably won’t change any, but hopefully it will be a more educated vote.
Although it contains a a slant… I would recommend “Truman”. A thoughtful book which conveys a sense of how to view the presidency in the context of the office and history. The great presidents always have a deep and abiding love and understanding of history (ours and western civilization) – regardless of liberal or conservative.
“If I wrote my thoughts the nice men in the white coats would put me in a nice padded cell with a crayon to draw on the walls with my toes.”
Alternatively, they will give you a radio show and broadcast you across the country. Imagine your influence then. Actually, now I think about it, that might be dangerous
There are also the books by Richard Clarke and O’Neil that have stirred controversy, but I believe them to be fairly impartial and are at least factually wholly accurate.
Also have a look at Noam Chomsky - he’s something of a Leftist, but argues on a level that is vastly superior to any mainstream political commentary.
