With the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg the most divisive element of this already divisive presidential election is likely to be the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett to replace RBG on the Supreme Court.
Central Ohio News
Thoughts about current issues making news in Central Ohio
Book Review Number 46
For God and Country: The Christian Case for Trump – Ralph Reed
Ralph Reed is one of the founders of the Christian Coalition as well as the founder and chairman of the Faith and Freedom Coalition. I chose to read this book because of its title and author.
Just Wondering!!
During President Trump’s press conference earlier today, I heard him badly mispronounce vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris’ name. I am wondering if any of his supporters can tell me whether he is suffering some cognitive impairment or if he was just being hateful and misogynistic.
Book Review Number 44
Surviving Autocracy – Masha Gessen
Masha Gessen, is a Russian-American journalist, author, and activist who is an outspoken critic of President Vladimir Putin as well as President Donald Trump. He holds dual citizenship and has lived the political reality in both countries under both presidents. He currently lives in New York.
Book Review Number 43
The SS officer’s Armchair: Uncovering the Hidden Life of a Nazi – Daniel Lee
Most histories of the Third Reich focus on its senior leadership. This book, on the other hand, is the story of one of the tens of thousands of lower level mostly anonymous SS officers;
Book Review Number 42
Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men – Caroline Criado Perez
This book should be required reading for every male before he can get a drivers license or register to vote.
The author is a British writer, broadcaster, and feminist activist. In this volume she documents gender inequality and its root causes worldwide. She makes the case that a massive data gap exists between the assumed “default human” (an average male) on which the whole world has been built since the beginning of human history and the reality that the “atypical” (or female) half of the population’s uniqueness is generally ignored.
Is The Fed Out of Control?
A couple of weeks ago a friend asked me to comment on an article in Time titled “How Jay Powell’s Coronavirus Response Is Changing the Fed Forever”. It is a discussion of the expansion of the Fed activities as they relate to our current economic crisis. You can read the original article at the following link:
Book Review Number 39
BELEIVE ME: The Evangelical Road to Donald Trump – John Fea
John Fea is a professor of American history; he is also a practicing evangelical Christian. He takes the title of his book, “Believe Me”, from one of Trumps most commonly used expressions.
My Credo – Systemic Racism in the United States
The past couple of weeks seem to have awakened white Americans to the reality of systemic racism in our law enforcement community. Nationwide protests have erupted after four police officers literally murdered a handcuffed black man while bystanders were pleading for officers to stop their assault on him. With clear video of the murder, there is new hope and growing consensus that this time may be different. I desperately hope that is true. But there is a substantial difference between hope and expectation.
Book Review Number 38
Fair Shot: Rethinking Inequality and How We Earn – Chris Hughes
Chris Hughes is one of the founders of Facebook. Through his own experience he came to conclude that hard work mixed with a very large measure of pure luck can produce a few ultra-wealthy individuals nearly overnight. He believes that the same forces that made Facebook possible, however, make it harder for everyone else in America to make ends meet. I read this book when it was first published a couple of years ago; I decided to re-visit and reconsider his perspective in light of the our current economic reality.
Black, White, or Gray?? 