50 Must Read Books of the 20th Century - How Many Have You Read?

I just heard about this post and thought the list would be of interest to people who read this blog. I've read many of these books and some of my favorite books are included. How many have you read?

50 Must Read Novels of the 20th Century

Literature, as with all forms of creative expression, is a highly subjective art. The preferences of one individual may not necessarily overlap with those of another. However, many books nevertheless hold significant influence over both contemporaries and society as a whole. If not necessarily read for enjoyment, they ought to at least be acknowledged for their insight and impact. This list intends to blend highly recognized and celebrated works with those that may have gone overlooked by those outside the literary community and deserve more mainstream attention. Regardless of their status, each novel provides readers with something valuable, whether it be historical context, an intelligent exploration of some aspect of society, or some combination thereof.

1. The Jungle (1906)

Author: Upton Sinclair

A muckraking exploration of worker exploitation and inadequate food safety laws in America, this novel directly led President Teddy Roosevelt to pass the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906.

2. The Metamorphosis (1915)

Author: Franz Kafka

One of the quintessential existentialist novels, Kafka’s story of a man who awakes one morning to discover himself transformed into a giant pest (often interpreted as some sort of insect) offers a disheartening glimpse into several societal ills.

3. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916)

Author: James Joyce

A journey of sexuality, exile, colonialism, and aesthetics, this semi-autobiographical novel mirrors many of Joyce’s own personal struggles with himself and his native land.

4. Siddhartha (1922)

Author: Hermann Hesse

Although not a story of Siddhartha Gautama, recognized as the supreme Buddha, the protagonist who shares his name follows a similar path to enlightenment. Every one of his experiences and interactions contribute something valuable towards his journey.

5. The Great Gatsby (1925)

Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald

A celebrated allegory of the jazz age, this novel explores the degradation of the supposed “American Dream” and the depressingly desperate lengths one man resorts to in order to achieve it.

6. As I Lay Dying (1930)

Author: William Faulkner

Slipping through hallucinogenic stream-of-consciousness, the lives of several family members become further intertwined as they gather to bury their matriarch in this thick allegory of Southern decay.

7. The Good Earth (1931)

Author: Pearl S. Buck

Buck’s empathic portrayal of a struggling farmer and his wife influenced Americans to accept the Chinese as their allies in the looming World War. Though tied inextricably with its setting, the narrative of a farmer and his family struggling to maintain control of their lives and their land transcends time and place.

8. The Waves (1931)

Author:Virginia Woolf

A risky, edgy exploration of homosexuality and female desire in an era of alarmism and censorship, Woolf challenged her readers to consider concepts beyond the perceptions of decent society. As friends convene over a mutual tragedy, many of the ideas and philosophies foreshadowing the eventual feminist movement begin to crystallize.

9. Of Mice and Men (1937)

Author: John Steinbeck

The dusty, tragic tale of two migrant workers battling oppression and poverty during the Great Depression, one of Steinbeck’s most renowned works explores his heroes’ relationship to one another as well as the desperation that surrounds them.

10. Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937)

Author: Zora Neale Hurston

Anthropologist Hurston drew from her research in both the Caribbean and the American South to shed light on the personal experiences of Americans from African or Caribbean descent.






To discover the remaining 40 books - visit http://www.onlineaccrediteddegrees.org/50-must-read-novels-from-the-20th-century/

A No Holds Barred Look at the First Year of the Obama Presidency by Earl Ofari Hutchinson

How Obama Governed: The Year of Crisis and Challenge
(Middle Passage Press, Los Angeles, January 2010)
By Earl Ofari Hutchinson

Author and political analyst Earl Ofari Hutchinson takes a no-political holds barred look at Obama’s first year in office in his forthcoming How Obama Governed: The Year of Crisis and Challenge. He answers one compelling question: Did he fulfill the massive and sweeping promise he made to restore hope and effect change in America?

He examines the attacks and counterattacks from the GOP and the Democrats on Obama. He delineates the differences and similarities between Obama and Bush in waging the war on terrorism. He assesses the towering battles over health care, the economy, racial attacks, the GOP counterinsurgency, Afghanistan, and the Henry Louis Gates flap. He provides readers with a guide as to how Obama will continue to govern.

How Obama Governed: The Year of Crisis and Challenge offers a virtual political clinic on the crisis and challenges that the nation and its first African-American president faced his first year in the White House.

To book Earl Ofari Hutchinson for an interview and/or commentary on the promise and pitfalls of Obama’s first year in office. Call 1-323-383-6145 to schedule. Earl Ofari Hutchinson is a nationally acclaimed author and political analyst. Hutchinson is the author of ten books on race and politics in America.

His three most recent books are:

* How Obama Governed: The Year of Crisis and Challenge

* How Obama Won

* The Ethnic Presidency: How Race decides the Race to the White House

His featured interviews and comments on race and politics have appeared in: Time Newsweek New York Times ABC’s World News Tonight.

He has been a guest analyst on:

* Fox News John Gibson Show

* O’Reilly Show

* Hannity & Colmes

* Glenn Beck Show

* PBS Lehrer Report

* NPR’s Talk of the Nation

* CNN News Shows

He is the National Political Writer for New America Media and a regular contributor to: the Huffington Post.

Barbara Bonfigli and Cafe Tempest are on Page Six of the New York Post

In July and August - Barbara Bonfigli, author of Cafe Tempest will tour cyber space with Promo 101 Virtual Tours and Promotional Services. But she has started to promote her book in a variety of places and a recent interview touched on a current event topic that has effected many people. This morning there was a mention of Barbara on Page Six of the New York Post.

Madoff Victims Cynthia Crane & Barbara Bonfigli Meet

June 8, 2009 --

TWO victims of swindler Bernie Madoff met for the first time last week. During Barry Z's show on CBS Digital radio, cabaret singer Cynthia Crane said that after Madoff ripped her off, she had to put her 19th-century Greenwich Village townhouse on the market. Her comment shocked fellow guest, author Barbara Bonfigli, who said, "One day I found out that my first book was being published and two days later that I'd lost all my money" to the Ponzi scammer. The host responded, "Two betrayed Madoff investors [on the same show]. What are the chances of this?"

Listen to the interview here - http://blip.tv/file/2191249

For more information about Barbara Bonfigli and Cafe Tempest - visit her tour home page. We are planning her virtual tour and are looking for appropriate blogs to host her for a day - if you feel your blog would be right - contact nikki @ nikkileigh.com

Tour home page for Cafe Tempest - http://virtualblogtour.blogspot.com/2009/05/cafe-tempest-by-barbara-bonfigli-summer.html

The Lack of Discipline in Public Schools in America

Long before the economic downturn, American teachers had begun to see a decrease in the resources that were allotted to them. Limits were placed on copies and ink toner cartridges; once given out as needed, they now were distributed once a year. Broken classroom fixtures were occasionally patched up but no longer replaced.

As a teacher, I find all of those situations tiresome, but none of those do I consider as detrimental to my effectiveness as a teacher than the lack of discipline. Rules and consequences are needed everywhere. What is quite ironic about the need for discipline in schools is that the students are aware of the need as well. In fact, they are the first ones to admit when there is a lack of discipline. Last year, I asked my students to come up with a theme for our classroom conflict meetings. The idea which won unanimously was “A school without rules is a zoo; a zoo with rules is a school.” The students’ choosing of this motto acknowledged their differences, yet at the same time, showed they understood the need for rules and consequences in order to avoid chaos.

The chaos in my middle school has nothing to do with the school’s diverse population. It has everything to do with the fact that when the students misbehave, the appropriate consequences are not given. As a result, the students are not afraid to misbehave. Last week, I told one of my students that if he did not stop throwing paper across the room, I would send him to the principal’s office. His response: “Go ahead cause I don’t want to be in here. Mrs. Thompson (our assistant principal) is cool anyway.” I sent him to Mrs. Thompson’s office. The student returned to class ten minutes later with a cookie in his hand.

Later that afternoon, I spoke to Mrs. Thompson about the student’s consequences. Mrs. Thompson first suggested that it was my fault because I wasn’t keeping my students engaged. Then she reminded me my student was doing much better than he had last year. He had only been in her office five times this year as compared to ten visits, during the same elapsed time, the previous year. I tried to interject how the student was not only throwing paper across the room, but also that he was throwing it at other students who were actively engaged in learning. My voice went unheard.

After that, I sat silently in Mrs. Thompson’s office because all I’ve ever wanted to be was a teacher, but still – it was all BS. None of this was my fault. It was her fault. It was also her fault the three-student fight had occurred in the cafeteria last week after she had decided it wasn’t necessary to suspend the student who kept threatening the other students. It was the fault of all the administrators that the students had pulled the fire alarm “just for laughs” four times in one week. One day’s suspension was like an extra sleep day for most of the students. After a day of forced rest, the students would come back and tell their friends how much fun they had on their off day.

That lack of discipline is not only my problem; it also hinders the efforts of many public school teachers in the United States. A lack of discipline encourages poor behavior. This behavior manifests a total disregard for authority because the students do not fear the consequences. Without fear, there is no white line that the students are not afraid to cross.

Not only does this lack of discipline make it hard for a teacher to manage his/her classroom, but it also poses safety issues. During a recent fire drill, I noticed a novice teacher attempting to get her class quiet so they could hear her instructions. In the event of a real fire, this could have been a very serious situation.

Additionally, let it be noted that one of the most stated reasons for teacher resignation is the lack of discipline. People may say it was all about the money, but it is never about the money. People leave teaching because they’re tired of the lack of discipline and the shortage of respect.

At the end of the day, when all excuses have been made, the decision boils down to the idea of not leaving children behind and making sure that the school’s discipline record is as clean as possible. Obviously, it’s okay for children to cause other children to fall behind in their learning, and if there is a zero written on the line next to disciplinary referrals, then that school must be the safest school in America. The first part of that statement is clearly wrong, and the second part is equally wrong. Just because you can’t see it or read about it, doesn’t mean it does not exist. Some of the greatest United States disasters were not seen until the very last minute.

Unless the United States educational policy is overhauled to include more teacher input, a tiered balance of responsibility where students and parents share the greatest level, and a stronger, more effective system of discipline, then there will be no hope for public education in the United States, and in the long run, no hope for the United States.

About No Teacher Left Behind

Explored through a series of poems, emails, and brief conversations, No Teachers Left Behind is a fictional yet realistic look at the frustrations of middle school staff.

About the Author

HBF Teacher has been a public school Middle grades teacher for three years. Before that, HBF substitute taught for two years. HBF has also worked as a live-in nanny and an accounts payable representative.

Today when not nurturing young minds, HBF enjoys travel, photography, culinary arts, and the cinema. The Cohen Brothers and Tyler Perry are among her favorite artistic contributors.

Susan Boyle, Whale Hunter by Barbara Weaver Smith

Saturday, April 18, 2009 by Barbara Weaver Smith

This was the week Susan Boyle captivated the world in her first appearance on Britain’s Got Talent. She’s a great illustration of a whale hunter—going after the biggest deal she can imagine, despite being nervous and unsure of how she would be received. She’s a perfectly lovely woman, natural as can be, dressed in her Sunday best and ready to perform. But since she doesn't’t fit the mold of what we’ve come to think of as star quality, no one took her seriously until she sang.

I say Susan Boyle is a perfect whale hunter because when her opportunity finally came, she was ready! She has as beautiful a natural voice as I’ve ever heard. But when she took the stage, it was clear that she has practiced and honed her talent, as she said “since I was twelve.” Her delivery, elocution, timing, crescendo—all facets of her performance were impeccable. During all the years of her “ordinary” life—caring for her mother, doing charity, living with her cat—she was educating her voice and preparing for a day when she could land a whale with it.

We say that whale hunting is 90% process and 10% magic. There is no question that Susan Boyle had some magic—the magic of her voice, the magic of her simplicity, the magic of confounding people's expectations. But what really put her there was process, and what gave her the bravery to sing before an audience of 3000 people in Glasgow was the knowledge that she was prepared. Just before her appearance, she told the host “I’m going to make that audience rock!”

Susan Boyle is not a business woman or a professional speaker or an entrepreneur. She most likely did not think of her performance as a sale or the audience as a Buyers' Table.

She does prove that small fish can hunt whales with perseverance, preparation, and guts. More than 26 million views on YouTube last I checked. Every one waiting for her first recording!

Barbara Weaver Smith is touring cyber space in May and June to promote her book - Whale Hunting Women. Read Barbara's tips to be a successful whale hunter in business and in life.
http://www.thewhalehunters.com/

An Avoidable Disaster

The financial meltdown was caused by millions of bad decisions made by millions of people who thought they were riding a wave of endless wealth creation. The temptation of easy, risk-free profits led to contagious, reckless greed.

It started with the government, which tried to promote home ownership by lowering lending standards and pressuring lenders to write mortgages to people who wouldn’t normally qualify for them. The push for lower standards was greased by contributions and favorable mortgage terms from lenders Fannie Mae and Countrywide Financial to key politicians. This was stunningly successful: our elected officials got money and great deals while the lending executives personally pocketed millions from the easy money they made handling subprime loans.

Given their marching orders, the financial industry leaped in and sold mortgages to people who were bad risks. And they loaned them up to 105% of the property value with no money down. The loans were often made affordable by charging low rates up front that would reset to higher rates in the future. The bet was that the value of the property would increase enough to enable refinancing before the reset.

The borrowers were thrilled. Many bought houses without spending a dime of their own money. And they expected the property values to rise and give them windfall profits with no risk on their part.

Most banks and mortgage companies didn’t keep the mortgages on their books: they were sold to security packagers. The lenders were happy: they made easy money writing the loans and avoided risk by passing it on to others.

The investment bankers, who created the securities and sold them to large investors, were happy because they earned large fees for doing the paperwork. They passed the risk on to investors.

The investors were happy, too: the investments were attractive because of the high rates charged to borrowers and, even better, they were “safe” because they were collateralized by real estate.

What a ride! Everybody was happy, from the borrowers to the investors. Until the autumn of 2008, when the gravy train derailed. That’s when AIG, the largest insurance company in the U.S., went broke. You see, AIG insured the big security investors against default. When mortgage rates reset to unaffordable levels, borrowers stopped making payments. Housing prices dropped and properties turned “upside down:” more was owed than the property was worth. Massive defaults occurred, AIG was on the hook for money it didn’t have, and it became insolvent.

Prudent observers warned about the dangers years before the fall, but everybody was having too good a time to break up the party. When it ended American taxpayers, most of whom weren’t even at the party, were left with the hangover.

Man’s tendency is to be selfish, greedy, and sometimes self-delusional. The Bible tells us this. It’s the root reason the government, banks, mortgage companies, investors, insurance companies and borrowers got caught up in the hubris and diligently worked together to ruin a perfectly good economy.

Those who acted with biblical wisdom dodged the catastrophe that visited others. While 401k’s may now be “201k’s” those who didn’t succumb to the temptation of easy money have avoided the stress, foreclosure, bankruptcy and humiliation that’s affecting others.

This isn’t a cheap “I told you so.” But it’s clear that man’s weaknesses can be countered by biblical teaching. The lessons aren’t impractical, ethereal or unrealistic and they make as much sense today as when they were first written. Man is advised to handle money prudently, guard against greed, use sound judgment and discernment, and avoid fraud.

We’ve got a modern world the ancients wouldn’t recognize, but our psyche and their sensibility are the same today as they ever were. But people shrug off timeless truths and fiascos like this are the result.

Finding Faith in a Skeptical World

Chet Galaska was an atheist who became a Christian in his early fifties. It took several years of learning about the faith for him to shed his skepticism and become a believer.

Finding Faith in a Skeptical World covers subjects that once stood between him and faith. As he searched, he found that his skepticism was based on shallow perceptions he’d accepted at face value. One by one, troublesome issues were explained and they became reasons for belief instead of doubt.

It was as though he had a scale, with reasons for skepticism on one side and reasons for belief on the other. When he started, there was far more weight on the “skeptical” side, but it gradually shifted and became counterweight on the “belief” side. Eventually, the evidence for faith far outweighed the arguments for disbelief, and the case for faith became overwhelming.

Some chapters deal with matters of faith such as prayer, redemption, salvation and sin. Others address issues like Christian hypocrisy, why bad things happen, miracles, Satan and the Christian view of war. Some are about the seemingly contradictory relationship between science and religion that are discussed in chapters on scientific perception, creation and evolution. Other subjects like the sometimes violent and cruel history of Christianity, “Born Agains” and the Christian view of the Jewish people don’t fit neatly into any category. The common denominator is that each addresses an issue that can be misunderstood and create a distorted, negative view of the faith.

The book was written with the intent of providing brief shortcuts for curious unbelievers, those seeking faith, those new to it, and for Christians who may not be familiar with some of the ideas covered. The author realized that a book like this would have been valuable in helping him come to faith. Since none was available, he wrote Finding Faith in a Skeptical World to share the things he learned in a reader-friendly, direct and concise way

Order your copy today on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Finding-Faith-Skeptical-World-Galaska/dp/0981676707

Wall Street is a gamble we can no longer afford to make By: Stephen Edds

For millions of Americans, Wall Street is viewed as an odd curiosity, bordering on a cartoon. When we think of Wall Street, our minds conjure up images of “fat cats” with cigars, and movie characters, like Gordon Gekko from Oliver Stone’s “Wall Street,” uttering the classic line “Greed is good”. Unless you are involved in the financial services industry, your involvement in Wall Street is likely limited to browsing your 401 k statement or checking out the business headlines.

But it’s this perception of Wall Street which is costing us our financial future.

While we weren’t paying attention, Wall Street acted like a teenager with a case of beer and the car keys. Approximately 95 million Americans are trusting over $15 TRILLION to a system that continually betrays that trust, with the help of a complicit Congress, regulatory agencies and select media outlets.

Collapsing banks, bailouts to Wall Street firms; and scandals like those involving former NASDAQ Chairman Bernie Madoff, R. Allen Sanford are just the tip of the news iceberg. This recklessness is having a devastating effect on your 401 k and the economy, as companies downsize, millions are out of work, and our tax money is being spent to bail out firms with bad business practices and no accountability.

It is time we rethink our views of Wall Street.

The problem is that the perception we are being sold about Wall Street is vastly different than the reality. A system that was initially created to support growing businesses and manage risk has evolved into a complex, convoluted gambling scheme that takes as much money as possible from average Americans without producing anything tangible in return. Wall Street promotes the dream of turning a small amount of money into a large amount of money with little effort. But what you are doing is trying to predict an unpredictable, which is the very definition of gambling.

All of the books, seminars, or infomercials promoting ways to “beat the system” are a sham. The authors earn more money from the books and seminars than from following any market prediction system.

The truth is Wall Street is simply the worlds’ largest casino. The belief that you can take a little money and turn it into a lot of money quickly, without effort, is the same concept behind the lottery. But if your neighbor won the lottery, would you be more apt to spend all of your retirement money on lottery tickets?

One of the many striking similarities between casinos and Wall Street is that both need the money of the financial losers to support the winners. There is no money there to back the $15 trillion in stocks, so Wall Street needs new investors to pay those who are cashing out. Without an influx of new investors to pay off the old ones, the market would wither and die. That puts Wall Street’s business model suspiciously close to the definition of a ponzi scheme.

The reality of the market is that for one person to make money, one or more people have to lose money. This may be at the expense of a grandmother, a widow, or retiree trying to recoup their losses.

In most cases, you are simply buying a piece of paper from another person, and gambling on the hope that one day you can sell that paper for more than you paid for it. The paper itself has no actual value, and until you sell it, the value assigned to it is meaningless. At least in a casino, the chips retain their value.

If you are involved in the market, please understand one thing: Wall Street doesn’t care if you make money in the market, or if you lose money in the market, only that you keep your money in motion in the market. That motion creates fees and commissions for the brokers and exchanges. And your broker is not a trained economist, but a trained salesman. Their job is to get you to buy stocks, period.

And the regulatory agencies are largely incompetent. Bernard Madoff committed the greatest fraud in American history, not financial history, but American history.

Madoff was investigated eight times in 16 years by the Securities and Exchange

Commission, with no action taken. And, as Madoff himself said in a 2007 interview, “By and large, in today's regulatory environment, it's virtually impossible to violate rules. And this is something that the public really doesn't understand.” Madoff isn’t the only scam artist, just the largest one.

And yet, Congress has pledged over $700 billion of your tax money to bailout banks and financial firms. So what happened to the trillion dollars that was lost before the bailout? What happened to the $365 billion already spent by Congress? The answer to both questions, according to Congressional hearings, is “no one knows.”

In order to regain control of our financial future, we must re-evaluate our perceptions of Wall Street. Despite their brilliant marketing, Americans must recognize that Wall Street’s business model is a complex gambling operation at the very least, and a legalized ponzi scheme at the worst. We must demand accountability and transparency from those in charge of our money. We must pressure President Obama and Congress into enacting real reforms, instead of empty rhetoric surrounded by sweetheart bailout deals. We must reject the notion that we can create something out of nothing by telling ourselves we’re “investing” instead of gambling, and invest in ourselves and reinvest in our communities. And finally, we must ask ourselves if Wall Street is really worth bailing out? What if those billions per day funneled into Wall Street, which produces nothing in return, was instead spread more effectively in our own communities? I believe it would build a stronger economy in the long run.

Only then can we emerge a stronger country on the other side of this financial crisis.

Stephen Edds, along with T.E. Scott are the authors of “The Losing Game: Why You Can’t Beat Wall Street”

T.E. Scott founded and spent twenty-five years as CEO of Scott Pet Products,(scottpet.com) building the enterprise into a multimillion-dollar company in Rockville, Indiana. Before starting that business, Scott spent thirty-two years working as a baggage handler for Eastern Airlines. When he lost most of his pension when the company went bankrupt in the 1980s, Scott started on the road to exposing the true nature of Wall Street. Scott is retired and resides in Veedersburg, Indiana.

Stephen Edds is a native of Owensboro, Kentucky and is a graduate of Hanover (Indiana) College. Edds spent fifteen years in corporate marketing communications before striking out on his own as a freelance writer and joining Scott as consumer watchdogs with a focus on exposing Wall Street. Edds moved to Indianapolis in 1996, where he still resides with his wife, Erin, and son Levi.

Order your copy today http://www.amazon.com/Losing-Game-Cant-Beat-Street/dp/0981937039

The Left’s Romance with Castro’s Cuba By Jamie Glazov

The Left has had a love affair with Castro’s Cuba ever since he seized power on January 1, 1959. Castro established a Stalinist regime that has persecuted its people in horrific ways for decades. And the Left has shown its gratitude for and intoxication with the brutal display of totalitarian power all throughout.

The horrifying experience of Armando Valladares, a Cuban poet who endured twenty-two years of torture and imprisonment for merely raising the issue of freedom, is a testament to the regime’s barbarity. Valladares’s memoir, Against All Hope, serves as Cuba’s version of Solzhenitsyn’s Gulag Archipelago. Valladares recounts how prisoners were beaten with bayonets, electric cables, and truncheons. He tells how he and other prisoners were forced to take “baths” in human feces and urine.

With this barbaric nature of Castro’s regime in mind, it is completely understandable why the Left initiated a romance with Castro and his slave camp, just as it did with Lenin’s and Stalin’s Gulag. Jerry Rubin set the tone perfectly during his trip to Cuba in 1964, during which he paid special homage to Castro’s chief executioner, Che Guevara. Rubin proudly recalls:

"We were 84 Amerikan students visiting Cuba illegally in 1964. We had to travel 14,000 miles, via Czechoslovakia, to reach Cuba. . . . As Che rapped on for four hours, we fantasized taking up rifles. Growing beards. Going into the hills as guerrillas. Joining Che to create revolutions throughout Latin America. None of us looked forward to returning home to the political bullshit in the United States."

Five years later, in 1969, American leftists formed the Venceremos Brigade, a coalition whose members traveled to work in Cuba to show their solidarity with the Communist revolution. These fellow travelers participated mostly in sugar harvests in the first pilgrimages, while later brigade members engaged in various types of agricultural and construction work. High-profile Western leftists, meanwhile, including Susan Sontag, Jean-Paul Sartre, Norman Mailer, and Abbie Hoffman, also made pilgrimages to Cuba.

Berkeley activist Todd Gitlin traveled to Cuba with an SDS delegation to a Cultural Congress in 1967. In the belly of the totalitarian beast, where he was well aware that dissidents were rotting in jail and being tortured beyond imagination, Gitlin too experienced the intoxication of venerating tyranny. Leaving Cuba proved quite painful for him. He recalls:

"What was palpable was the pain of re-entry to my homeland. . . . At the Mexico City airport, having a drink with Dave Dellinger and Robert Scheer, I looked out the window and saw a billboard advertising Cutty Sark. I had to change seats: after twenty-three days where public space was turned to revolutionary use, capitalist propaganda disgusted me."

What disgusted him, of course, were the withdrawal symptoms he was experiencing—analogous to a drug addict coming off his fix. For twenty-three days he had experienced his euphoria of shedding his inner self and submerging himself within the totalitarian whole. In Cuba he had found a home where even the slightest dissent would be crushed instantly and the concept of the individual was non-existent. The advertisement he saw, therefore, was a horror to him, since it symbolized a free society where individuals could use their free will to pursue their own tastes and desires. This reality is anathema to the believer.

As Gitlin so well revealed, Western leftist intellectuals were greatly inspired by the persecution of intellectuals in Cuba, just as the earlier generation had been by the persecution of intellectuals in Stalin’s Soviet Union. Charmed by the notion of a society in which their own talent—as well as their entire being—would be extinguished, they continued the practice of labelling the totalitarian monstrosity the opposite of what it was.

Western leftists have continued to shower adulation on Castro to this day. Humberto Fontova has written a succinct account of the Left’s continuing dalliance with Castro in Fidel: Hollywood’s Favorite Tyrant. Here is just a portion of his compilation of leftist praise for the death-cult leader:

“Cuba’s own Elvis!”—that’s how Dan Rather once described his friend Fidel Castro. Oliver Stone, another friend, describes Fidel as “very selfless and moral” and “one of the world’s wisest men.” “A genius!” agreed Jack Nicholson. Naomi Campbell said meeting Castro was “a dream come true!” According to Norman Mailer, Castro is “the first and greatest hero to appear in the world since the Second World War.” Jean-Paul Sartre said, “Castro is at the same time the island, the men, the cattle, and the earth. He is the whole island.” . . . Actress Gina Lollobrigida cooed, “Castro is an extraordinary man. He is warm and understanding and seems extremely humane.” Francis Coppola simply noted, “Fidel, I love you. We both have the same initials. We both have beards. We both have power and want to use it for good purposes.” Harry Belafonte added: “If you believe in freedom, if you believe in justice, if you believe in democracy, you have no choice but to support Fidel Castro!”

Steven Spielberg visited the father-god in Havana in the fall of 2002. He called the meeting with Castro “the most important eight hours of my life.”

Castro’s Cuba has been an exhilarating gift to the American Left, presenting it with a totalitarian death-cult to worship with a wonderful geographical bonus: it is close to home, just ninety miles from the Florida coast.

About Jamie Glazov

Jamie Glazov holds a Ph.D. in history with specialties in U.S., Russian, and Canadian foreign policy. He is the managing editor of Frontpagemag.com.

http://www.amazon.com/United-Hate-Romance-Tyranny-Terror/dp/1935071602

Right to Recover by Yvonne Perry - Learn Details About Stem Cell Research

www.right2recover.com

Author, Anne Carter's Novel Cape Seduction Ties to The Oscar Season

I haven't seen "Slumdog Millionaire." Until the Golden Globes, I hadn't even heard of it. EIGHT Oscars! It seems like that happens a lot; a great movie wins, but takes several other categories along the way. I guess it makes sense. And don’t feel bad if you hadn’t heard of it either; after a showing at the Telluride Film Festival in August, 2008, Slumdog

Millionaire debuted with a limited North American release on 12 November 2008, followed by a nationwide release in the United States on 23 January 2009. That limited 2008 release made it eligible for the '08 award.

Have you ever wondered if the recipients know in advance that they've won or lost? Officially, the Academy holds to its rule that winners names are, indeed, sealed in those precious envelopes. In early years, winning names were given to newspapers in advance so that they could get the information into their editions before press time. However, it is said that the Los Angeles Times once leaked the results prior to the broadcast, effectively ruining the evening and the mystery.

In 1948, both Rosalind Russell (shown here) and Loretta Young were up for best actress. The story goes that Russell had everything going for her, including the best PR representation in town. Variety had already typeset her victory for the next day's edition. So certain was she of her win, she began to rise from her seat before Frederic March could utter the words "Loretta Young for the Farmer's Daughter". Not to be shamed by her erroneous assumption, Russell continued to her feet and led an astonished crowd in a standing ovation. That's class.

Why am I so well-versed in this detailed minutia? Because the opening scene of my upcoming romantic mystery, CAPE SEDUCTION, reprises this very night at the Shrine Auditorium in Hollywood. I'm a sucker for old Hollywood, for its glamour, its mystery, its unapologetic excess. Oscar night is one of those almost historic rituals that epitomizes and keeps alive, to some extent, that golden era.

~Anne

Anne Carter is the author of paranormal romantic mystery, POINT SURRENDER, from Echelon Press, Amazon and Fictionwise. Visit Anne at BeaconStreetBooks.com and the Word From Beacon Street

You Can Lead an Atheist to Evidence by You Can't make Him Think by Ray Comfort

All animals, all fish and reptiles have the ability to reproduce of their own kind because they have females within the species. No male can reproduce and keep its kind alive without a female of the same species. Dogs, cats, horses, cows, elephants, humans, giraffes, lions, tigers, birds, fish, and reptiles all came into being having both male and female. If any species came into existence without a mature female present (with complimentary female components), that one male would have remained alone and in time died. The species could not have survived without a female. Why did hundreds of thousands of animals, fish, reptiles and birds (over millions of years) evolve a female partner (that coincidentally matured at just the right time) with each species?

In contrast, the Bible maintains that God instantaneously created man (in His own image) and woman, giving them the ability to reproduce after their kind. So the Bible and the theory of Darwinian evolution are not only opposed to one another, they are incompatible. The only commonality is that they are both miraculous, and they both require faith to believe them.

Those who believe in the theory of evolution are passionate, and for a good reason. If Darwin was right, man is simply an animal with no moral accountability, and his desires therefore to procreate are merely natural survival instincts.

However, if the Bible is true, it throws a huge, cold, and heavy wet blanket over man's desire to follow his sexual instincts. It not only says that he is accountable, but that there will be severe retribution for his adultery, fornication, and even for lust (see Matthew 5:27-28).

The link to his website is www.livingwaters.com and people can buy the book at Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Lead-Atheist-Evidence-Cant-Think/dp/1935071068/

Join Dr Ava on Thursday Feb 12 to Prepare for Valentine's Day - FREE Call

Scott Martineau invited author, sexpert and certified loveologist Dr. Ava Cadell to join him to share her wisdom on how to make this your best Valentine’s Day ever.

Dr. Ava is the Loveologist to the stars in Hollywood, author of 7 books, and founder of Loveology University. She IS THE EXPERT in the subjects of love, intimacy, sex and relationship.

You’ve seen her regularly on Fox, ABC, NBC and CBS news and TV shows as an expert in the field of love, romance and sexual intimacy. There’s no question she hasn’t heard before and there’s no answer she’s afraid to share.

So get ready for a wild, informative fun call that will leave you with tons of ideas to spice up your Valentine’s Day!!

Space is extremely limited on the call bridge line- so only 200 can be on the Telebridge. But I have lots of space on the webcast- so you can listen on your computer.

To reserve your spot enter your Name and Email below and the system will send your reservation... please do it now so you don’t get shut out- these calls have been very popular!

To Sign Up - http://www.consciousonelive.com

World's Best Lover Contest Deadline Extended and a Special Offer For YOU

Exciting Contest for Valentine’s Day

Deadline Has Been Extended to February 9^th

& A Special Offer For You

Inspired by Dr. Ava Cadell, Founder of Loveology University® says, “Our Valentine’s Day contest was propelled by the ever-growing demand from people who need to be coached in all matters of love, relationships and intimacy. Through Love U, an online College of Sexual Knowledge, anyone can learn how to enrich their relationships and become a great lover. Most people know ‘how’ to have sex, but being romantic and making love is a truly an art-form that can—and often needs to be--learned.”

Dr. Ava and Loveology University® are asking “Romantics” to submit a short entry essay on why their lover is the “World’s Best Lover.” These entries can be completed FREE at http://www.loveologyuniversity.com/instruction.aspx. Your entry does not need to be graphic in nature – share what is special about your lover, what makes them special to you and what you feel for them. These are the judging criteria – 50% Uniqueness, 25% Emotional inspiration and 25% Seduction factor.

Upon nominating your lover’s name, you will receive a FREE “Loveology Certificate” stating that he/she has been nominated for the World’s Best Lover – a perfect Valentine’s gift at no cost. PLUS you will receive a FREE e-Book entitled “52 Sizzling Sex Secrets.”

Contest sponsored by Dr Ava Cadell and www.loveologyuniversity.com

The winner will be announced before Valentine’s Day, 2009 and get a $2,000 scholarship or $1,000 cash prize. Entry deadline has been extended to February 9^th, 2009 – the winner will be announced February 13^th.

NOTE: A SPECIAL OFFER FOR YOU

In addition to the free entry and free gifts for everyone who enters the World’s Best Lover contest, I just got word of another special offer for February and for Valentine’s Day. Dr Ava offers an unbelievable number of wonderful courses through Loveology University. Whether you are married, single, in love, looking for love or looking to make your love life better, she has something that would be great for you. If you’re in an industry where you would like to learn more about human relationships, love, sex and much more, this is an offer for you. During the month of February, go to www.loveologyuniversity.com and take a look at the courses that are offered - http://www.loveologyuniversity.com/CourseCatalogue.aspx. If you enter this discount code – NL0109 and you will receive 20% off. I’d order a course or two now, that will give you time to see how much information she offers and you have time to order something else before the end of the month. If you have questions, feel free to contact nikki@nikkileigh.com

Political Analyst Earl Ofari Hutchinson in New Book How Obama Won Says The Economy Holds Deep Peril for Obama

Middle Passage Press

5517 Secrest Dr.

Los Angeles, Ca. 90043

323-296-6331

February 3, 2009
for Immediate Release
Contact:

Earl Ofari Hutchinson

323-383-6145

Political Analyst Earl Ofari Hutchinson in New Book How Obama Won Says These Tough Economic Times Hold Deep Peril for Obama

Political analyst Earl Ofari Hutchinson in his new book, How Obama Won, predicted that the economy would hold deep peril for the new Obama administration. Hutchinson reviews in his book how polls repeatedly showed during the campaign that the economy; or rather the train wreck of the economy was really the only thing on voter’s minds.

Hutchinson also told why and how economic woes would continue to be the only thing on American’s minds after the election and that they would judge Obama’s performance on how quickly and effectively he dealt with the economic crisis.

Hutchinson assesses whether Obama’s vow to cut taxes for the middle-class, clean up Wall Street's mess, and create lots of jobs for everybody would do much too stem America’s economic worries. Hutchinson shows how the economy continues to bear out the old political truism that it's the economy stupid that wins or loses presidential elections as well as makes or breaks presidential administrations.

In How Obama Won, Hutchinson, reminds that from day one of campaign 2008 the enshrined article of political faith was that voters were so furious at Bush for causing massive plant closings, farm failures, corporate bungling, fraud and corruption, the housing collapse, soaring gas prices, and the wholesale flight of jobs to the far corners of the planet. America’s fear and fury over the economic misery will grow worse during the early days of the Obama administration. The test, says Hutchinson, is whether Obama can reduce those fears. How Obama Won is a blueprint for understanding how he’ll try.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst and a Huffington Post columnist. He is the author of The Ethnic Presidency: How Race Decides the Race to the White House (Middle Passage Press, February, 2008).

Contact:
Los Angeles, Cal 90043 U.S.
323-296-6331
hutchinsonreport@aol.com
http://www.learnhowobamawon.blogspot.com
Contact Name: Earl Ofari Hutchinson
Contact E-mail: hutchinsonreport@aol.com

Traps women fall into – Thinking a man is a financial plan

Traps women fall into – Thinking a man is a financial plan
By Doris Roper

Many women, particularly those of baby boomer age and older, rely on a man to be their financial plan. This is mainly due to conditioning that started in childhood.

The typical couple used to consist of the husband who was the breadwinner and the wife who was the homemaker and mother. Women were not encouraged to involve themselves with finances and investments. Those were considered the man’s job. As a result, women did not develop the skills to competently manage money or understand investments.

The unfortunate result of this early programming is that many women feel “dumb” about money and believe that they are not smart enough to learn. They therefore avoid the subject and continue to depend on men to take care of the finances.

When women are caught up in the subconscious belief that men are the ones who take care of the money, they face a great deal of fear and anxiety when they are suddenly confronted with divorce or widowhood. Not only do they have to deal with the emotions that come with such a life-changing event, but they also have to learn to manage a very important part of life at the same time. This is extremely difficult and these women usually feel totally lost.

Escaping the trap

Women should educate themselves as much as they can about finances. It is actually not as complicated or difficult as many believe. Take some classes, hire a financial coach or join a membership site that offers financial education and support.

Research has shown that more than 80% of women will be the sole financial decision maker at some stage in their lives. This is due to the high rate of divorce and the fact that women tend to outlive men, which leaves a great number of widows having to manage the money.

Now more than ever with the current financial crisis, it is vital that women become smart about money. When someone else manages our finances, we tend to be out of touch with the reality of our financial situation and this can cause us to spend more than we should and gets us deeper into debt. Taking control of our own financial management and increasing our skill increases our confidence and ability to face life’s challenges.

Ladies, start to become smart about money today and remember a man is NOT a financial plan!

Doris Roper is president and founder of the W.I.T. Institute - a one-stop resource for women in transition. Doris helps women to figure out how and where to start when facing a transition and plan accordingly. She is a financial life planner, certified divorce planner, mediator and author of WAKE UP your life! A woman's guide to real personal power.

See her website at http://www.witinstitute.com and the Institute's membership site at http://www.smartwomanssuccess.com

Special Offer During January 2009 -

Each time a blog visitor comments on any or all of the blog stops, they will be entered in a random drawing for a 6 month Gold membership to The Smart Woman’s Success Connection http://www.smartwomanssuccess.com/index.php/public/56-gold. This membership has everything you need to know for money management including information about having a financial plan and starting a business and includes a copy of her book in audio and PDF. It also offers a resource for women who want to stop their divorce..

Share your thoughts and comments with author Doris Roper. She will check in throughout the day to answer questions. You’ll learn more and have a chance to win a Gold membership to The Smart Woman’s Success Connection. If you haven't already read her book pick up a copy during the tour at http://www.witinstitute.com/wake_up.html

For more information about Doris Roper and her virtual tour, check the schedule at http://virtualblogtour.blogspot.com/2008/12/wake-up-your-life-by-doris-roper.html

Money and success – Three steps to becoming smart about money and thriving

Money and success – Three steps to becoming smart about money and thriving
By Doris Roper

Becoming smart with money and thriving requires more than a basic financial plan. Knowing how much you need to put away for retirement or college is all very well but to achieve your goals and dreams you need a lot more than mere time-value-of-money calculations. There are many more aspects to being successful and I will discuss three of them here.

1. Awareness

The first step is to become aware of your money blueprint. Most of us are blissfully unaware of all the underlying issues and beliefs that govern the decisions and actions we take.

Have you noticed how some people earn large salaries but are still barely able to make it? Or have you heard about lottery winners who squander all their winnings within the first few years? Why do you think this happens?

They have unconscious beliefs about money that keep them poor or struggling no matter how much money they make or receive. These beliefs usually start in early childhood. The words and actions of our parents concerning money can have a profound influence on our own beliefs about money and wealth.

Did your parents say things like “money doesn’t grow on trees”, “we can’t afford it”, “he’s stinking rich”. These are all statements of scarcity and have a negative effect on our beliefs about money.

How did your parents manage their finances – poorly or frugally? Did dad handle the finances and give mom an allowance? Did they create a lot of debt?

Delve deeper and try to discover your own unconscious programming where money is concerned.

2. Your values, purpose and vision

The next step is to discover what is important about money to you. Money means different things to different people and the amount of money you desire should line up with your values, your purpose and ultimate vision for your life.

Some people think that if they had a million dollars in the bank they would be happy, but we all know that money doesn’t buy happiness as evidenced by all the unhappy rich people in the world.

Do some soul-searching. Figure out what it is you really want, what would give you fulfillment. Ask yourself, “If money were no object, if I could do anything I want, if I had only one year to live, what would I do?” Write down whatever pops into your head no matter how silly you think it is. Don’t limit yourself by worrying about ‘how’ you can achieve it. Just let your imagination go.

3. The nitty gritty

If you realized that you have some negative beliefs about money, you should start reprogramming your mind with positive thoughts.

Hopefully, you figured out what you would really like to do and have in your life. Now you can plan accordingly. Now you can work out the numbers.

Get organized, figure out your net worth, create a spending plan, get rid of debt, establish an emergency fund that will cover 6-8 months of expenses and make sure you save for your goals.

Many people think that carrying out step three is enough. However, unless you uncover and reprogram any negative beliefs you may have about money you are likely to sabotage your own chance of success.

Step two is very important because if you do not know where you are going and what you ultimately want to achieve, you may be swayed this way and that and never reach that place of fulfillment and satisfaction.

Begin taking the necessary actions today that will help you achieve your dreams and thrive!

Doris Roper is president and founder of the W.I.T. Institute and senior partner of CRB Wealth Management in San Diego, CA. She is a financial life planner, certified divorce planner, mediator and author of WAKE UP your life! A woman's guide to real personal power.

See her website at http://www.witinstitute.com and the Institute's membership site at http://www.smartwomanssuccess.com

During January 2009 -- post a comment for Doris and be entered in a drawing for great prizes.