On 12/18,  I went to a holiday party at Frieda Smith's house to thank just a few of you who worked so hard on the Kerry rally last October.

We had a great time. The ever-popular Bill Waldrop spoke and I gave a talk that included some references to some books I think are worth reading by every Democrat and progressive today. Some asked me for a detailed list of the books. So here it is.

• Lakoff, George, Don't Think of an Elephant: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate—The Essential Guide for Progressives.  See http://tinyurl.com/4bn7h.

I recommend starting with this book. It was published this last September as the second in a series and distills much of the essentials of his earlier book, below, in a more concise form. It is a relatively fast read and prepares you for the more detailed ideas in his earlier work.

• Lakoff, George, Moral Politics: How Liberals and Conservatives Think.  See http://tinyurl.com/3vuvv.

This is Dr. Lakoff's more complete work and again, a must-read if one is to understand why conservatives (and liberals) think the way they do. About halfway through the book, suddenly all the right-wing propaganda we've been hearing makes sense based on their version of morality. One suddenly understands why most conservatives espouse what we consider to be diverse and often contradictory positions like anti-abortion, pro death penalty. Like small government, but large military. Like tax loopholes for the wealthy and corporations and while allowing them to ship jobs overseas. Similarly, it explains how our morality leads us to other positions that are as equally diverse and, in their view, contradictory. Like aid for the disadvantaged, environmental protection, equal protection under the law, and universal health care.

• Brock, David, Blinded by the Right: The Conscience of an Ex-Conservative.  See http://tinyurl.com/6hgqt.

David Brock originally worked for Rev. Moon's Washington Times, a notorious Right-wing propaganda mill. He was one of those who were involved in the attempts to bring down the Clintons. But he has seen the error of his ways and has now embraced the progressive view of government. This first book explains how the Right has taken over the media and how it has duped Americans into adopting what is essentially propaganda disguised as honest reporting. I recommend reading this book first. His next book is more complete and up-to-date, but is more difficult to read. He puts so much information into each page, it is like trying to drink water from a fire hose.

• Brock, David, The Republican Noise Machine : Right-Wing Media and How It Corrupts Democracy.  See http://tinyurl.com/7xueb.

What I like about this book is that it gives me a reference for judging the source of so-called news articles and publications that are essentially just distortions from the truth.  For example, someone quotes an article from a seemingly objective organization like, The Heritage Foundation. You look up the Heritage foundation find it is the mother of all think tanks whose single-minded focus is on co-opting the media.

 

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