but are we too late?

After reading Mark R. Levin's Plunder and Deceit: Big Government's Exploitation of Young People and the Future I think that every young person should take the time to do the same. As a member of the rising generation, I am going to inherit this mess, and I want to know everything. Levin tells everything.

Our annual debt as a country has exploded from $10 trillion to 18 trillion and rising under the current President. My generation and my children's generation will be paying the interest off this debt in a world where good jobs are harder to come by. And this is just a tiny blimp in the problems our country is facing, and what Levine touches on in this book.

It's clear that Levin doesn't care for Obama, and some may find this book to be a ploy to stop our generation from voting for candidates like Obama, and that may be true. But facts are facts, and current events are current events, Levine is here to educate us. The moral of the story is that if we want a better America, we are going to have to build it ourselves.

so many piggy banks.

America's Fiscal Constitution: Its Triumph and Collapse by Bill White is a must read for anyone  invested in the U.S. government. I'm talking voters, politicians, tax-payers...so pretty much everybody. We didn't just become a nation of severe debt overnight. There is a history behind it, and White tells about our past in foreign policy and political agendas in such an engaging way, even I wasn't bored, and that says a lot as I have the attention span of a small child. White begins at the beginning. Once his introduction is complete, he jumps into the narrative, starting with the Founding Fathers being unable to pay the bill for George Washington's retirement party for four months because the pre-Constitutional Convention federal government was so broke. Hmm, it's all starting to make sense now. We were never good at this.

White also shared his own theories on the subject. One theory being that raising taxes will not reduce deficits, so if the government were to cut taxes, it will fuel economic growth and energize the nation's economy. I choose that one.

well that was eloquent.

There is much to say about the government and religion, whether they should be kept separate or the idea that one cannot be without the other. Our country was founded on a belief in God. And that's all that I'm going to say about that. Robert Boston has more to say in his book Taking Liberties: Why Religious Freedom Doesn't Give You the Right to Tell Other People What to Do.

Boston covers all of the major controversies facing our world today: birth control, same-sex marriage, religion in public schools, Christmas, etc. and he's super nice about it. The main idea is that you should worry about yourself and no one else. If you don't want to kiss a girl (and like it), then by all means, don't kiss a girl. If you don't believe in birth control then don't take it, girlfriend. It's actually really simple. Respect other people and what they believe, and they will respect you.


I am all about religious freedom, but imposing your beliefs on other people is just annoying. Christian's get SUCH a bad rap for that. I once took an afternoon to volunteer for a religious nonprofit and had this other volunteer damning me to hell if I didn't believe exactly the way he did. It made me embarrassed to be a Christian, and when I see him from time to time, I hide. Bullying people into believing what you believe or their "going to hell" is not being a Christian, it's being an asshole. I'm going to start dropping Boston's book anonymously around town.

we've gotta fight for our right...

Former Senator, Olympia Snowe presents a strong case for the trouble with the current Congress in her political memoir titled Fighting for Common Ground: How We Can Fix the Stalemate in Congress. In a nutshell, Snowe is fed up with Congress. After 18 years in the U.S. Senate, the Maine Republican called it quits. When she announced she would not seek re-election in 2012, she cited increasingly partisan politics as a major factor. In Fighting for Common Ground, Snowe shares of how she went from being an orphan at the age of nine, to a GOP lawmaker known for reaching across the aisle. The main premise of the book is her take on what’s wrong with Congress today and how to fix it. She says she's "confident in the truism that there is nothing we can't accomplish together. Including making our government work again." Let's hope so.

well this will make you stop and think.

Before I begin this review, I need to state that I am not a Democrat or a Republican, I am not voting for Obama or Romney. I caught up on my DVR when the debates were on, and I plan on moving to Canada as soon as possible. That being said, I do believe that everyone should know all of their options before casting their vote in November. While you're at it, you should pick up Edward Klein's The Amateur. Klein conducted nearly 200 interviews with the people closest to Obama to fill these pages, giving us insight into what happens behind White House doors. Close to 1,000 pages of insight into the man who is running this country (in some of your opinions) into the ground.

Some of the information is a bit startling, honestly. And based on Klein's credentials, I'm not looking to second guess him. The Amateur is bound to give those of you who voted Obama in 2008 some buyers remorse.