Booknote: Librarians With Spines

Yago S. Cura and Max Macias, Librarians with Spines: Information Agitators in an Age of Stagnation. Los Angeles, CA: HINCHAS Press, 2016. ISBN: 9780984539888.

Genre: nonfiction
Subgenre: library and information science (LIS), essays, activism, librarianship
Format: paperback
Source: print copy from editors provided in exchange for honest review 

This book is a collection of essays from librarians doing a variety of things in the field. We get a look at activities and voices that we rarely see or hear within the "polite" circles of librarianship. This  is a book that more librarians need to be reading so they can break out of the usual milquetoast practice and perhaps even free themselves of the illusion that our profession is neutral, an illusion that can be particularly dangerous in these "Hard Times."

The book is arranged as follows:

• A short preface
• Two short introductions by the book's editors
• Nine essays
• A short conclusion
• A list of the references from the essays

Editor Yago S. Cura notes in his introduction that this book was a private endeavor. The editors used donated money to fund its publication and published it as  "private information professional citizens" (vii). This frees them to publish items of interest without corporate restrictions. The book also shows that there are good, radical librarians of all colors doing great work in their communities, making a difference very often one patron at a time. These are not librarians likely to get named "Movers and Shakers" or receive "major" accolades that come and go and are often nothing more than a resume line. These are stories of hard working librarians in the field doing some good. They do what they can very often with what little they have. They are the kind of librarian I aspire to be.

The book covers a good variety of topics ranging from LIS education to youth services to graphic  novels and zines. Personally, I found the essay by Mary Rayme on prison librarianship interesting largely because I see little on that topic in the library literature; she also does a good job to demystify the work a prison librarian does, and she humanizes her patrons as well. In terms of style and presentation, the essays vary from informal to academic. Essays mainly look at librarians in their work, but we also get a look at LIS education as well as a look at our professional organizations. When you put it together, for a small book as this, the editors cast a very wide net in their quest to show the many colors and diversity in librarianship. In doing so, the editors challenge us to ask ourselves: who do we serve? who are we really working for? why do we become and continue to be librarians?

Overall, library schools need to buy copies to hand out to their incoming students. Just like some colleges do that "freshman common reading" thing, maybe this book becomes a common reading for incoming library school students. In a time when much of library literature is just pretentious, overwrought, often too theoretical, and  barely read, and mostly colorless, the editors here offer a solid collection representing librarians of colors presenting their work, showcasing what works or not in an accessible way. I am glad to have read it, and I highly recommend it.

5 out of 5 stars

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Additional reading notes. I took a lot of notes while reading this book. I am not including them all here in order to keep this blog post at a manageable level. As always, the review part is already done. You can stop or keep reading as you wish:

Why the editors published the book:

"Max Macias and I are primarily publishing this book to highlight the thoughtful, innovative work so many radical librarians are doing across the country. You know who you are. We see the work you concoct, day in-day  out, at your information laboratories" (vi). 

They also published it to remind us all why we really do what we do. They also define what is a librarian with a spine:

"A librarian with  a spine is a resourceful, buoyant information professional that feels an obligation to the community they serve and, so, they act with that community's best interests in mind when they create programs, events, and initiatives" (viii). 

Anthony Bishop on the issue of diversity at library conferences. This is something I have certainly witnessed and experienced. This is especially applicable at so-called "diversity" conferences:

"I find the same types of librarians attend these conferences: low-level librarians with little or not authority to affect change and in turn the conferences become large venting sessions where great ideas are discussed but no real action can come out of it" (14). 

Bishop goes on to point out that he has no fear of reprisal in being brave, but we have to be honest, realistic, and sympathetic to those who fear job loss or other reprisal if they speak up. Librarianship is a very small world, and if you get labeled as a "trouble maker" (or as having as "bad attitude" if you speak up a bit too "aggressively" to the powers that be), retaining and/or keeping employment can be an issue. I am personally in a bit of a better situation now (though perhaps not by much), but I have been in the boat of "you can speak up and be all activist" or you can stay employed and put food on the table. I tend to like not starving, and so does the family I provide for. The point is that as idealistic as many want to be, risk can be very real, and those of us who can need to speak and act for those who cannot, and we need to work for the day when we can all do and speak what is right freely.

A reminder from Lopez and Winslow:

"Librarians of color have an obligation to mentor young librarians early and often" (78). 

And as tiring as it can get, we have to mentor cross-racially as well.

A simple definition of "critlib":

"Critlib, or critical librarianship, is the discussion and application of social justice in the library field" (Branum quoted  in 84). 

Critlib does need to include library managers, and those managers do have to be willing to stick their necks out. Personally, if there is one lesson I learned from library managers in my life, especially the bad ones, is that you need to be ready and willing to "take the bullet" for your subordinates if need be. Your job is to make sure they can do best job they can, support them to the best of your ability and provide them the resources they need, and stay the hell out of the way so they can do the work. And when higher ups somehow try to muck things up, as they often do, your job as manager is to run interference and keep those mucking higher ups out of the way. You step in, and you do not simply expect those with the most to lose to do all the work.

In this regard, as supervisor, I am often guided by this quote attributed to General George S. Patton, Jr. of all people:  

"Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity."

Then again, one of my personal mantras is also attributed to General Patton (which I think more librarians with spines need to use too):

"We herd sheep, we drive cattle, we lead people. Lead me, follow me, or get out of my way."

Finally for these notes, why neutrality is not an option for decent librarians:

"The act of neutrality is the act of siding with  the status quo and refusing to be an ally. For librarians of conscience, neutrality is not an option" (Branum quoted in 91). 

Booknote: Tears We Cannot Stop

Michael Eric Dyson, Tears We Cannot Stop: a Sermon to White America. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2017.  ISBN: 978-1-250-13599-5.

Genre: nonfiction
Subgenre: African American studies, Black politics, social studies, social justice, racism, race relations
Format: hardcover
Source: Berea branch of the Madison County (KY) Public Library.

Up front, I have to say this is probably a book the campus faculty reading group needs to read and discuss instead of yet another academic treatise. The sad thing about that is that it would be preaching to the choir, and this book needs to be read widely, especially  by White Americans who seriously need to get a clue about the Black experience in the United States. Given the racial tensions rising and the emboldening of bigots due to the Pendejo In Chief regime, this book is definitely timely.

Dyson combines deeply and often moving personal experiences with solid arguments and a call for major change in the United States. The book is arranged in the form of a church service (Protestant church; keep in mind that Dyson is an ordained minister). This structure allows him to do exposition, a call, and then the sermon where he lays it all out. In essence, Dyson is telling White people the things they need to hear and ought to know. The time for ignorance, innocent or more likely willful, is over once one reads this book.

The book can be a pretty heavy read at times, and at times things can look seriously bleak. Yet like a good sermon, you can find a small ray of hope at the end, but readers do have to do some work after the service. Among his solutions, he offers a different idea on the old concept of "reparations." It is worth a look.

As reader, I  found myself nodding in agreement at times. I was also moved, and there were moments of despair at the bleak picture the book presents at times. Yet I came out having learned more. I am trying to keep a bit optimistic in these hard times, but I admit books like these, necessary as they are, do not make it easy. In the end, I really liked it. I recommend it, and I hope more people read it.

4 out of 5 stars.

* * * * * 

Additional reading notes: 

Why the book is unlike his other social analysis books and why he uses the form of a sermon:

"What I need to say can only be said as a sermon. I have no shame in that confession, because confession and repentance, and redemption play a huge role in how we can make it through the long night of despair to the bright day of hope" (6). 

Dyson points out that whiteness is not a solo act. It has a supporting cast, and one of the biggest supporters is the field of American history, which is not as objective as we are led to believe:

"But the truth is that what so often passes for American history is really a record of white priorities or conquests set down as white achievement. That version of American history is a sprawling, bewildering chronicle, relentlessly revised. It ignores or downplays a variety of peoples, cultures, religions, and regions, all to show that history is as objective and as curious and as expansive as the white imagination allows" (52). 

The above quote is also a great case for why you should read widely and diversely.

Next we get the answer to whiny poor whites who exclaim their whiteness offers them no privilege:

"It has been striking, too, to observe whites for whom their whiteness isn't a passport to riches, whites for whom whiteness offers no material reward. But there is a psychological and social advantage in not being thought of as black; poor whites seem to say, 'At least there's a nigger beneath me.' And it's a way for poor whites to be of value to richer whites, especially when poor whites agree that black folk are the source of their trouble-- not the corporate behavior of wealthier elites who hurt black and white folk alike. It's a way to bond beyond class. It's a way for working class whites to experience momentary prestige in the eyes of richer whites. And there are a lot of privileges that white folk get that don't depend on cash. The greatest one may be getting stopped by a cop and living to talk about it" (66).

The above quote reminds me of three things:

• LBJ's quote: "If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you." (confirmed by Snopes he did say it). 
• Lawrence Fishburne's character's speech on gentrification in Boyz in the Hood (reminded for a different reason; link to YouTube clip). 
• Twitter accounts like @trump_regrets. 

Defining white fragility, something we are seeing a lot more of lately:

"White fragility is the belief that even the slightest pressure is seen by white folk as battering, as intolerable, and can provoke anger, fear, and yes, even guilt. White fragility, as conceived by antiracist activist and educational theorist  Robin DiAngelo, at times leads folks to argue, to retreat into silence, or simply to exit a stressful situation" (98). 

To help folks get better educated, Dyson does offer a very extensive reading list in the "Benediction" chapter. 

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This book qualifies for the following 2017 Reading Challenges: 

Booknote: Why We March

Artisan Books, Why We March: Signs of Protest and Hope: Voices from the Women's March. New York, NY: Artisan (division of Workman Publishing), 2017. ISBN: 9781579658281. 

Genre: nonfiction
Subgenre: politics, photography and art, women's studies
Format: e-book galley
Source: NetGalley

This is one of those books that are put together rather quickly in order to do fundraising for a cause. Quality on this type of book can often vary. I can assure readers that the quality on this book is pretty good. The book was compiled to coincide with the 2017 Women's March; proceeds of the book according to the publisher were to go to Planned Parenthood.

The book is a photography collection of posters from the Women's March. The march took place in  various locations around the world, and the book authors strived to reflect this in the wide selection of posters they present. The posters range from serious to amusing, from straightforward to witty, from funny to moving. In addition, the photos capture many of the women and allies who marched and their strong resolute spirit. Text is very minimal, just enough to identify locations. This allows readers to focus on the photographs.

I will say that libraries will likely want to acquire this. It makes for a good piece of documentation of a particular event in time. Also, it is an easy book to read through, and I am sure many patrons will appreciate it. It is one I would certainly order for my library.

4 out of 5 stars.

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Book qualifies for the following 2017 Reading Challenges:

Holiday Post: Books and Reading.

Welcome to 2017 here at The Itinerant Librarian. We continue with the 12 Days of Christmas, and  here is my holiday post on books and reading.  I know many folks take a few moments at this time of the year to look back at what they read in 2016; I will be posting my own 2016 reading report later this  month. I also know those folks may be looking for reading ideas for 2017, and that is where this post comes in. I hope some of these links are helpful to folks. I will add my comments here and there. If I have read something featured in any of these lists that I think is worth recommending I will. As always, comments are welcomed.

Some of the big lists

This is a sampling of the usual suspects. You know, the big shot lists that almost everyone looks at.

• It does not get any bigger than Amazon, and yes, they have their list of customer favorites for 2016. See what the hot sellers have been for them in terms of new releases. These are their customer favorites in terms of sales. I leave it to my readers to make of that what they will.
• The New York Times announced their 100 Notable Books for 2016. Much of the fiction on the list is literary fiction, which I do not care for personally. However, the nonfiction part of the list features some books that may be relevant to the hard times coming in 2017. There are quite a few titles on their nonfiction list I am interested in including: Dark Money and  Evicted (which is already on my TBR list). Their nonfiction list has a few others I am interested in, so this is a list I may revisit down the road.
• Here is The Washington Post's list of best books for 2016. They offer their top ten then their notables in various categories. In the graphic novels category, I have March: Book Three and Sheriff of Babylon (volume 1 and volume 2) on my TBR list. From their nonfiction list, The Bad-ass Librarians of Timbuktu has been on my TBR for a while. Maybe this is the year I finally get to it. I am also interested  in Ten Restaurants That Changed America and maybe United States of Jihad. In science fiction, Infomocracy sounds intriguing. It is one I had not heard of until I read the WaPo piece. 
• Newsday has a list of books they think deserved more buzz in 2016. From the list, I may consider giving The Limousine Liberal a look.
• The Guardian has their best of 2016 lists in part one and part two. From this list, Weapons of Math Destruction has been on my radar for a while. It sounds like a book I ought to read not only as an informed reader but also as a librarian. Gangster Warlords also sounds interesting to me. Then again, I always find Latin American history interesting.
• The Telegraph has their best 50 books for 2016.
• Maclean's has their list for best books of 2016. From this list, The Money Cult sounds interesting to me, and I may consider adding to my TBR list. 

Other Lists

These are other lists I have found that may be of interest. They are not quite from the big shots.

• Inc magazine offers their best 10 nonfiction to give as gifts this holiday season. From this list, I have Atlas Obscura on my TBR list. I follow the Atlas Obscura blog on my feed reader, so the book interests me. The rest of the books on the list are the kind of stuff they think appeals to business readers (no surprise there).
• BuzzFeed has a list of their 18 Best Nonfiction for 2016. They link to other lists in other categories too.  
• Mother Jones has a list of the books they are giving as gifts this year. From their list, My Father the Pornographer is on my TBR list. So is Listen Liberal. 
• Here is Book Riot's list. 
• Blake Butler at Vice offers the 22 best books he read in 2016.
• The TED people have a list of 70 books to make you feel hopeful at the end of 2016. Given this has been one seriously fucked up year, that is one hell of a tall order. The list does have a bit of everything.
• Ask a Manager lists her 2016 book recommendations. This is another list with a bit of everything, past and present. 

Books to help you understand things

2016 as I mentioned was a seriously fucked up year. So of course we are getting lists to help you understand just what the hell happened. Here is a sampling of that.

• The media has gotten a lot of flak for their lousy coverage of events in 2016, especially the U.S. election. And they deserve all the criticism they get; they dropped the ball on that. Still, understanding the media is important, so here is a reading list for understanding the media from Book Riot.
• Signature offers a list of 7 books to understand the incoming Trump administration.This is a bit different of a list. It is not really books about Trump. Only real book about him or with his name is his own Art of the Deal. It is more books on topics that will be affected by the man. I can offer you two books I have read that may help you understand Trump better and are not on this list. One is Ted Rall's Trump: a Graphic Biography (link to my review), and the other is Yuge! 30 Years of Doonesbury on Trump (link to my review). Believe me, Doonesbury has been warning us about Trump for years.

A bit of diversity

From international reads to ethnic groups to LGBT, here are some books to help you diversify your reading.This is not comprehensive; it is just a sampling of things that came in my feed reader. If you have other lists related to diversity you want to add, feel free to link them in the comments for me to check out.

• Here is an essential Boricua (that is Puerto Rican for those who may not know) reading list for 2016 from the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at CUNY. I was glad I came across this list as it is hard for me to find this kind of books let alone lists where I am at now. The list covers various categories. I will do my best  to pick out some items to read from this list, and if I do, I will review them here on  the blog. 
• Remezcla has a list of 15 must read books from Latin America and Latino authors.
• Based on a True Story has a list of books featuring LGBT characters that she read in the past year. This may give you a start in reader's advisory.
• The folks at Words Without Borders has a list of their favorite international reads. These are mainly works in translation to English.
• Via The Japan Times, a list of recent books about Japan. 
• Via BuzzFeed, a list of books by Indian authors published in 2016.
• NPR offers a small list of best books in translation.  
• Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia offers its best books for 2016. It even breaks it down by categories such as fiction in Spanish language and fiction in Catalan. 

Some graphic novels and comics

Graphic novels and comics are one of my favorite reading formats, so naturally I have to offer some suggestions.

• Mental Floss has a list of what they consider the 31 most interesting comics of 2016. I thought I read a lot of comics and graphic novels in 2016, yet I managed to miss a lot of these. To me, some of these seem intriguing, others not so much. See what you can discover. 
• Here is Slate's list of ten comics and graphic novels.

 Some adult fare

And finally, here is a bit for folks who like erotica and sex writing. If you are not one of those folks, you can skip this last link.

• Violet Blue offers her list to help you kink your Kindle (or other e-reader, or in some cases you can get them in print). I will warn her site can be NSFW. From this list, I do have the Circlet Treasure of Erotic Wonderland on my TBR, and I will review it after I read it.

Booknote: The Beginning of the American Fall

Stephanie McMillan, The Beginning of the American Fall: a Comics Journalist Inside the Occupy Wall Street Movement. New York: Seven Stories Press, 2012.  ISBN: 978-1-60980-452-7.

Genre: graphic novels and comics
Subgenre: nonfiction, politics, current affairs, protest movements
Format: trade paperback
Source: Berea branch of the Madison County Public Library

This graphic novel is a brief history of the Occupy Wall Street Movement. The movement started in 2011, and by now it seems to be mostly a note in history. McMillan is a comics journalist who was involved in the movement. Her book came out in 2013; by then the movement was already in decline. Much  of it, as we learn from reading the comic, was due to lack of unity. Too many radicals with too many ideas, many of them dense, who could not agree on how to move forward and do something more than protests. I say that because at various points even the author questions if protests accomplish anything or not. On reading the book, I see its timeliness; it caught the movement as it rose and as it fizzled out. There have been other books on the topic, but for folks who may know little of the movement and its background, this book makes an accessible entry point.

The author works her way up from October 2010 to the time the movement fizzles out about a year later or so. McMillan combines her comics art with a good amount of theory. This theory is interspersed throughout the book at various points to illustrate or expand on events or to explain rationales. You also get theory in a series of appendices at the end of the book. These appendices include a list of groups discussed in the book, notes on the concept of organizing, and notes on how to organize. In the appendices, the author also discusses her method in creating the book:

"I participate in political activity. I also draw cartoons and write. This book is a mix of all those, which I would not be able to keep separate even if I wanted to. I don't claim that this account encompasses 'the whole truth,' but that it is my interpretation of events, one of many fragments of a broad spectrum of analysis and observations about the movement--all shaped by personal idiosyncrasy, experience, and outlook" (122). 

That is one detail that struck me. This movement was very fragmented. All sorts of leftists briefly came together, but their differences, some significant and some petty, kept them from doing nothing more than camp protests and some noise. One does have to ask where are they now? Mostly gone their separate ways and back to their small niches it seems. There in lies the problem: as long as they keep simply talking theory, not really agreeing on anything, any form of revolution, which is sorely needed, will not get anywhere.

McMillan emphasizes the need for analysis and understanding how movements work, goals, philosophies, so on. This is why  she includes so much material within the comic. But after a while, it's time to stop sitting around sipping lattes and whatever organic food while talking theory and doing something, something other than yet another bunch of signs and a protest within the oppressive structures.

As a snapshot of a historical yet brief moment, the book works. As inspiration, not so much. When one character in the comic says she is tired of all the consensus b.s., I admit part of me felt the same. It's all talk, and talk, and then talk some more, and no matter how democratic and inclusive they try to be, a lot of it is b.s. I have studied theory; I've had the privilege (at a high cost to myself in various ways I'll add), and after a while you get to the point where you ask, if you believe in action as well, is this all there is? This comic in the end, for all its strengths, just left me like that, asking if that is all there is.

Book won the RFK Center for Justice and Human Rights 2016 Journalism Award.

3 out of 5 stars.

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Additional reading notes:

Possible book to read mentioned: Aric McBay, et.al., Deep Green Resistance.

Arundhati Roy on protests as being allowed, which basically then disarms them. This I found honestly depressing even as I see it to be true:

"I don't think the whole protest is only about occupying physical territory, but about reigniting a new political imagination. I don't think the state will allow people to occupy a particular space unless it feels that allowing that will end up in a kind of complacency, and the effectiveness and urgency of the protest will be lost" (qtd. in 70). 

The author calls for anti-capitalist organizations, and she also points out how many activists lack knowledge of how capitalism functions. As I often say, you need to know your enemy:

"Many activists don't know how capitalism actually functions. We have to understand why the system is structurally impossible to reform, so that we can deal with the necessity-- and our responsibility-- not to fix it (because oppression is built into it from the start) but to do away with  it, and figure out all that will entail. We may in fact be the last generation with the opportunity to do this" (100). 

If she is hoping for today's generation, which is more interested in Pokemon GO! than politics, we may as well give it up now. As good as the above sounds, by now people are too brainwashed to not just support the selfish capitalist system but to actually like it and perhaps even worship it. Just look at the two choices the corporate parties in the United States are offering in the 2016 presidential election cycle. Do we need anti-capitalist organizations to bring down the current oppressive system? Yes. Is it going to happen any time soon? Not by a long shot. Americans more often than not are too stupid and docile for their own good. They fought a revolution (of privileged white men) to get rid of the British, but that spirit is long gone and given way to complacency, arrogance, and just plain idiocy.

So, you say let's have a protest. That's just fine with the powers that be, for the real owners. To them, that is just you letting off a little steam so you'll go back to work and worrying about the Kardashians:

"The system has many methods of dealing with dissent. One is open repression. But before they resort to that, they try everything else, including co-opting it. They draw it into dead ends it creates for this purpose: pressuring public officials, working with corporate and state funded non-profits, exercising formal civil rights such as free speech-- as long as we don't threaten the actual relationship of power, we have all these means of dissent that we're permitted to exercise. And because the system has ideological hegemony (in other words, brainwashing), most people can't conceptualize resistance outside of this framework allowed by the system itself. Spontaneously, they follow the paths that have been laid out for them" (100-101).

Sounds  pretty depressing  and hopeless,  but it's pretty accurate. Heck, the Civil Rights Movement in the U.S. may  have been the last with enough will and clout to move the powers that be. Today, movements just come and go as the next shiny thing-- a new iPhone, Pokemon GO!, another celebrity-- comes along. This is the reason the creator of the film Idiocracy recently lamented his film had become a documentary. It's one serious  uphill struggle. And considering that even the few who might get it can't even agree on "the difference between bright green and deep green" (106), the powers that  be will just keep on oppressing. The real owners know they are perfectly safe from any revolutionaries who'd rather split hairs over theory and minutiae than make a unified front. It will stay  business as usual.

In  the end, the author tried to end on a positive note, but the writing is on the wall, and it is clear. It does not look good. That boot stomping on someone's face remains strong. However, the real owners simply exploiting any movements' weaknesses and constant bickering and internal contradictions then watching them fizzle out demoralized is more insidious and effective  for the real owners. And as long as people keep falling for it, it's just another day in paradise.


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This book qualifies for the following 2016 Reading Challenges:

Booknote: A Fighting Chance (Audiobook edition)

Elizabeth Warren, A Fighting Chance. New York: Macmillan Audio, 2014. ISBN: 9781427239167.

Genre: nonfiction
Subgenre: politics, United States politics, autobiography
Format: Audiobook on 9 CDs. The book is read by the author.
Source: The Berea branch of the Madison County Public Library

Warren's book opens with a prologue where she summarizes her life story and how she came to politics and her battles in the U.S. Senate. She says the book will tell a very public story about fraud, bailouts, and elections, and I can tell you that after reading it she delivers on that promise. The book is also a personal story about mothers and family. It is about what she has seen and lived and what is worth fighting for, including giving your kids a fighting chance for the future. A fair fighting chance is a strong theme throughout the book. In the first chapter, she tells the story of her parents, and we learn about her early life.

Later in the book, she tells of teaching her first bankruptcy class at UT-Austin. She tells the story of a big fancy pants professor who helped write the federal bankruptcy law that came to speak to her class. When asked, and without any evidence whatsoever, he argued that anyone going into bankruptcy was a deadbeat who made poor choices. It was the "conventional assumption. In reality, none of the so-called experts like him let alone the legislators in Congress had any idea of the reality on the ground. After the professor left, Warren pondered the following question: why is Congress making laws without knowing the reality on the ground? By the way, Congress for the most part still passes legislation without a clue or idea of the reality for common Americans.

Further on, she tells the story of how banks basically kept making bad loans, even as they took bankruptcy losses, because in the short term exploiting vulnerable people was very profitable. Her early meeting with representatives from Citibank when they tell her they were not interested in curbing such lending is illustrative of the problem with the deregulation banks lobbied for and pushed through Congress. By the way, their lobbying also got Congress to make bankruptcy a lot more harder to use for those common people who are really struggling. She was a law professor at the time, but back then she already saw the cynicism and damage the banks were doing and how many real people were getting hurt in the process.

The book combines autobiography with an overview of the issues she has fought for. One the issues, she does explain things quite well, including the D.C. corruption by lobbyists as the middle class continued to be pummeled. On the final stretch of the book she moves from being an agency director to her run for office and getting elected. Warren is a talented, caring, compassionate individual trying to do some good in the hellhole of corruption and selfishness that is Washington, D.C. Some of the revelations she makes of how D.C. operates are simply disgusting, or they should be disgusting to decent people.

In addition, the book does have some moving moments, often from people, simple, humble people who turn to her because no one else will stand up for them. The book then ends with her election to be a U.S. Senator from Massachusetts. In the book, Warren displays a great ability to explain things clearly. In running for office, she does reveal some naive moments resulting from her idealism, and she did also have some rude awakenings when confronted with Washington D.C.'s reality. In the end, at the very least, she wants every American to have a fair and even fighting chance. Not many other politicians offer that.

There are tons of books by politicians out there, but this is one of the very few worth reading. Her story is inspiring, and her arguments for reform and change are necessary and clear. As a reader, Warren does have a sincere, moving voice, the voice of someone who cares and you can relate to.

4 out of 5 stars.

* * * * *

Additional reading notes: 

Warren was one of the first law scholars, or any scholar for that matter, who went to find evidence of who really went bankrupt, and it was not the deadbeats that "experts" just assumed existed. She goes on to explain how the middle class of the United States was basically almost obliterated by predatory banks who used lobbyists to regulate themselves and by the stagnation of wages. Not even working two incomes could save them:

"On average, once the basic bills were covered-- the mortgage, the health insurance, daycare, the cost of preschool or college tuition-- the modern two-income family had less money each month than the one-income family of a generation earlier." 

Warren defines that as the two-income trap. For these two-income families, they were basically one disaster away from bankruptcy and ruin. Once families ran out of money, they used debt, and they went down a cliff. Much of this she had expanded upon in her previous book The Two-Income Trap, which you will note was published in 2003, way before the great recession of 2008 hit. She was one of the voices already calling out the issues, but for the most part, only few listened while the government and banks just did not give a shit.

The more I read the book, the more amazed I was that she decided to run for public office to fight. It amazes me the few decent people in D.C. and her have not torched that whole nest of vipers and walked away after washing their hands. The amount of Republican obstructionism, and it needs to be called out for what it is, and just plain fuckery are beyond the pale. As she states at one point:

"No matter the crisis. No matter the sense of urgency of the moment. In Washington, it was always my team versus your team, and in all that pushing and pulling too many times the people we were supposed to serve got left behind." 

She also goes over the deficit and has a word for Right Wingers and Republicans whine about how horrible is the deficit (the one they created by the way and others have to clean up for them) and the need for austerity:

"We hear about the deficit as if it's a monster, and America's only choice is to slash and burn huge swaths of our budget immediately or face total destruction. All or nothing. Live or die. Yes, the deficit is a serious problem, and it deserves serious attention, but I don't buy that there's only one way out. I think we have to face a more fundamental issue first: how we spend our government's money is about value, and it's about choices. We can cut back on what we spend on seniors and kids and education as the Republicans in Congress insisted we should, or we can get rid of tax loopholes and ask the wealthy and big corporations to pay a little more to keep investing in our future. How we spend our money isn't some absurdly complicated math problem. It's about choices." 

On Washington corruption and politics being disgusting to decent people, I have to say that given that the same assholes keep getting elected and re-elected, one honestly has to conclude there are not that many decent people, let alone informed one who can exercise critical thinking, among the electorate. As George Carlin said so well on his monologue about voting and politics:

"If you have selfish, ignorant citizens, you're going to get selfish, ignorant leaders. Term limits aren't going to do any good; you're just going to end up with a brand new bunch of selfish, ignorant Americans. So, maybe, maybe, maybe, it's not the politicians who suck. Maybe something else sucks around here. . . like, the public. Yeah, the public sucks." 

Given the truth in that, it is amazing Warren got elected. Then again, her opponent at the time, Scott Brown, ran a seriously dirty campaign, which Warren details in the book. 

* * * * *

This book qualifies for the following 2016 Reading Challenges:

Additional Reading Notes for The Tea Party and the Remaking of Republican Conservatism

For books that engage me and make me think deeply, I often take additional notes on points I wish to remember. I usually include those notes in my reviews. However, this book packed so much that I felt a need to write out a second post on it to put out the additional concepts and thoughts I wanted to remember and reflect upon. You may want to read my review of the book first before you keep reading here in order to get the full picture.

* * * * * 

The Tea Party is not really that "revolutionary":

"When we explore the passions of Tea Partiers in detail, we will see that they are new variants of long-standing conservative claims about government, social programs, and hot-button social issues" (11). 

The media, especially right wing media, basically inflames and helps keep the Tea Party alive, even with misinformation:

"From Fox News to right-wing radio jocks and bloggers, media impresarios have done a lot to create a sense of shared identity that let's otherwise scattered Tea Parties get together and feel part of something big and powerful. Media hosts also put out a steady diet of information and misinformation--including highly emotional claims-- that keep Tea Party people in a constant state of anger and fear about the direction of the country and the doings of government officials" (13). 

This is a book written by social scientists. It is written in accessible language, but it is still grounded in evidence. The evidence includes public records, news reports, national social surveys, and questionnaires to Tea Party members as well as extensive field interviews with tea partiers.

Traits of Tea Party members (the majority of them), according to the book:

• Middle aged or older, often seniors. 
• Better, well-off economically, but not "wealthy." 
• White.
• Many are regular church goers and more likely to be evangelicals. 
• At least some college education.
• Many are or were small business owners or other professional occupations. Many are retired. 
• Given that they are disproportionately older whites, they tend to have higher incomes than typical Americans. 

 And tea partiers could not really care less about reaching young people. They see themselves (arrogantly so, I might add) as "older and wiser."

"Despite occasional efforts at intergenerational outreach,  Tea Partiers do not seem anguished about their upward-tilted profile" (25). 

The Tea Party does often use violent rhetoric, and as a result has attracted some extremists into its midst, which the rarely if ever repudiate. This can include the presence of Oath Keepers and members of the John Birch Society. However, fiery rhetoric and extremists aside, most tea partiers are fairly ordinary other than using aggressive language and activism (let's label it of the gadfly variety for the sake of being charitable).

While a lot of tea partiers are evangelicals and social conservatives, a good number are libertarians. However, as secular as they claim to be:

"In our fieldwork experience, the many rank-and-file members who hold heartfelt Christian conservative views set the tone for the Tea Party as a whole. Libertarian members tend to accomodate the social conservative view, at least to some degree" (37).

So libertarians in the Tea Party, much like in real life, are pretty much useless and worthless. This accommodation, which if you think about it means sacrificing many of their "principles", does allow the Tea Party to survive a bit longer.

Now tea partiers hold reverence for the U.S. Constitution, but it is clear that for all they flaunt it, they have barely read it. Heck, they barely understand it and more often than not are ignorant of the document's history and context:

"Despite their fondness for the Founding Fathers, Tea Party members we met did not make any reference to the intellectual battles and political compromises out of which the Constitution and its subsequent amendments were forged, let alone to the fact that key Founders were Deists, far from any branch of evangelical fundamentalism. Nor did they realize the extent to which some of the positions Tea Partiers now espouse bear a close resemblance to those of the Anti-Federalists-- the folks the Founders were countering in their effort to establish sufficient federal authority to ensure a truly United States. The Tea Partiers we met did not show any awareness that they are echoing arguments by the Nullifiers and Secessionists before and during  the U.S. Civil War, or that their stress on 'states' rights' is eerily reminiscent of dead-ender white opposition to Civil Rights laws in the 1960s" (50).

This collective ignorance also goes along with their cherished idea that anyone can read and interpret the Constitution. The above evidence clearly points to the contrary. Add to this their anti-intellectualism and disdain of experts, and this makes a recipe for national disaster.

And for all their anti-government whining, there is this piece of irony:

"Ironically, many organizers and leaders of local Tea Parties are supported in part by Social Security or veterans' pensions, and also enjoy health benefits from Medicare or veterans' health care programs. U.S. taxpayers subsidize their incomes and well-being, and hence give them the time and capacity to organize protests and Tea Party groups" (93). 

This also goes along with their selfish mentality where they "earned" those benefits while everyone else is a "moocher." It is flat out selfish hypocrisy.

Bottom line, their tent can be so big at times to include all sorts of extremists and other right wing idea pushers because of hating on enemy:

"If an organization seems to be against Obama and liberals, Tea Partiers are trusting to the point of gullibility" (118). 

Clearly, critical thinking of any kind is not happening among tea partiers.

More bottom line:

"All in all, Tea Party citizen engagement in the democratic process-- a positive thing-- is married to a level of out-group intolerance and refusal to contemplate compromise and give and take that are surely worrisome for U.S. democracy" (201). 

This is where I do not agree with the authors. Tea partier engagement has not been a positive thing. Their bigotry and intolerance of diversity, outright ignorance, and often aggressive violent rhetoric are not positive things, and if anything, have added to the toxicity of the political environment in the United States. People who would readily take away the rights of those who they see as different are not worthy of applause just because they "engage in the democratic process." If anything, they pervert that process to the detriment of the nation as a whole. That is far from "a positive thing."

Booknote: The Tea Party and the Remaking of Republican Conservatism

Theda Skocpol and Vanessa Williamson, The Tea Party and the Remaking of Republican Conservatism. Oxford, NY: Oxford University Press, 2012. ISBN: 978-0-19-983263-7.

Genre: nonfiction
Subgenre: politics, history, United State politics, U.S. political parties, media
Format: hardcover
Source: My library has this book. 

A lot of what Skocpol and her coauthor write, reporting on their research, confirms what many of us already know about the Tea Party in terms of it being white, older, and extremely conservative. As I have often said, you've got to give the devil his due; the Tea Party members are very good at organizing politically and mobilizing, a lesson the Left seems to consistently ignore at its own peril. However, no matter how genteel the authors portray many of them, the fact that so many of them espouse extremist views and are outright bigots, due in large part to the strong social conservative presence in the party, simply cannot be ignored. Add to this a fairly strong and selfish libertarian presence, which is often at odds with the social conservatives, and the tea partiers do make a fairly toxic element in American politics. What the book does then is provide a mostly objective view of the Tea Party and its members. A strength of the book is that the authors let tea partiers speak for themselves. More often than not, these folks provide the best evidence of why we need a progressive sense of public good and caring for each other in the United States.

On a side note, the book The Elephant in the Room, which I read back in 2009, discusses the tense blend between libertarians and social conservatives in the GOP; some of the insights from that book are applicable here.  If you have read that book, much of what the authors of The Tea Party say on the topic will be familiar ground.

If nothing else, this is a book that serves to understand the rise of the Tea Party in American politics, the kind of people it attracts, and why it remains such a strong influence in the GOP. For progressives who may not be as well informed on the Tea Party, this book makes good basic reading. Skocpol and Williamson lay out where those people are coming from, why they enjoy varying degrees of appeal, and how they play a long term game for right wing power. Progressives who are clueless or complacent need to read this book, then get to work, or risk losing more of the progress we've fought so hard to gain.

Part of the book can be skimmed as the authors can get a bit repetitive on some points. While it does reveal some aspects of the Tea Party that are not commonly known or seen in the media, we also see their rhetoric is firm right wing conservatism in a newer package.

The chapter on billionaires and larger organizations was interesting in revealing the relationships of convenience between the PACs and lobbying groups, desperate to their right wing often extreme messages out, and local tea parties who do not want to be tainted and want to remain "independent" but are often starved for content and substance, even if that content is often inaccurate just as long as it fits their worldview. There is a serious cynicism going on as groups such as FreedomWorks know tea partiers would not readily accept their most radical ideas. Yet tea partiers accept them just as long as such groups keep concepts just vague enough so as not to be unpalatable. More often than not this is not innocence; it's selective understanding often sustained by a heavy degree of selfishness. They've earned their benefits, so everyone else who comes after them be damned. For instance, as long as they can keep their Social Security, which they "earned," they do not care much if those who come after them, "entitled" moochers in their eyes, get it as well. And this is exposed in their own words. The authors' extensive on the ground interviews and research reveal all this. It does so in a straightforward way. There is no need to spin here. The authors simply present the evidence, and the evidence of the Tea Party's toxicity on American politics becomes clear.

The book is also interesting to read in light of how things have turned out over time. For example, as powerful as Glenn Beck was in helping shape an image of the Tea Party for the media and influencing tea partiers, it has to be noted that he no longer works for Fox News. The authors cover Beck's dismissal from Fox News in the final chapter of the book. Howard Kurtz, previously CNN's media critic who pointed out how Fox News practically co-sponsored Tea Party events, took a rightward turn and went to work for Fox News. Events in these instances moved faster than the book's content, which illustrate how swiftly things can turn in media and politics.

Yet as loud as they can be, the authors also revel that they are not as big as the media make them out to be. However, given juggernauts like Fox News backing them, they do remain a dangerous influence. Yet, as the 2015 elections showed in places like Kentucky, the Tea Party can, along with other Right Wing ideologues, still pack a punch. The GOP is still stuck with the Tea Party. The key still remains whether progressives will turn out to vote in 2016 in contrast to their failure to do so in 2015.

The research in the book is documented by ample notes in the back of the book. The book is divided into six chapters that look at topics including who are the Tea Partiers and their beliefs, their relations with PACs and other political groups, the role of the media, and where they stand on American democracy.

Overall, the authors are pretty charitable at times, probably in the interest of politeness. Still, the book gives a pretty clear picture of what the Tea Party really is and stands for; disjointed as Tea Party groups can be, they do all share some core self-centered values in common. If nothing else, a big lesson is to not underestimate them.

For students of American politics and current U.S. politics, this book is essential. Academic libraries will want to acquire this one, especially for students writing on topics such as Obama's presidency, the contemporary Republican Party, and of course the Tea Party. It is not always riveting reading, but in this day, it is necessary reading.

3 out of 5 stars.

Note: Given this is a pretty lengthy post, and that the book just packs so much, I am putting my additional reading notes on a separate post (coming soon). If you are interested in learning more, read that as well.

Also, Skocpol, one of the authors, visited my college recently. You can read my notes from that event here.

Holiday Post 2015: Traditions, Manners and Other Miscellany

The holidays are finally here. As I write this, we are four days away from Christmas Day. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, Festivus, the Winter Solstice, some other celebration, or none at all, I hope this is a time for peace and rest for you out there. This year, we ran a bit late putting up our Christmas tree, which we did last night. The coquito did get made a bit earlier this week, so we are enjoying that just fine.

By the way, coquito, the traditional Puerto Rican holiday drink, is fairly easy to make, and there are many recipes out there. We choose a version without eggs, but the basics are rum, condensed milk, coconut cream or coconut milk (depends how much coconut flavor you like and how thick you want it to turn out), and some cinnamon to garnish. From there, it can vary. Some folks like adding nutmeg or some other holiday spices when they blend it. Other recipes ask for condensed and evaporated milk. For rum, naturally Puerto Rican rum is preferable, especially white rum, but hey if what you got is dark rum from some other island, hey, rock on. My best advice is to run a search on Google and find a recipe you like, try it out. If you are really curious, leave me a comment, and I will tell you mine. By the way, this is something you drink out of a shot glass; you don't chug it.

Celebrating the Holidays

As I have mentioned before, in our household we are very easy going about the holidays. We are not church goers. For us, resting and spending time at home with family after a long year of work is what matters. Our daughter is home for college, so she gets to rest after an arduous semester. We open presents, snack, have some coquito, then later a nice meal. Since I will be spending time with the family, this week I will be featuring some posts with links and interesting things I have found to amuse you while I am gone. As always, comments are welcome.

• Now for many folks, I understand that the holidays can be a time of stress. Putting up the tree and dealing with some details around the house can be hard. So here are 15 tips and tricks to help out from better ways to put up the tree if you use a natural tree to using a piece of bread to sweep up glass from the floor. The last tip about wrapping the whole tree, if you have a fake tree, does not work as well for us since we have limited space. We store ours in a large tub. Story via Mental Floss.
• Money can also be a source of stress during the holiday season. Many people consider the usual: gifts, food for the feast, so on. But they often fail to consider other additional costs of the holiday that may not appear so evident. So via Wise Bread, here are "13 Holiday Season Costs Everyone Always Forgets About." 
• And speaking of costs, it seems the items on the traditional 12 Days of Christmas song are a bit more pricier this year, according to PNC's Christmas Price Index. A hat tip to The Week.
• Our pets, for those of us who have pets, are part of our families, and we do our best to include them in our celebrations. However, you want to make sure your pets remain safe and happy, and this is a time of year where it is very likely they might eat something or mess with something that could be bad for them. To help out with that, here are some tips on holiday pet dangers to avoid, via Wise Bread. For example, those nice poinsettias a lot of people like can be toxic to pets if they gnaw on them.
• This is the time of year when many people feel generous. One way to express that generosity is giving to charity. But do you know how to vet a charity or nonprofit to make sure your money goes to where it does the most good? Via ProPublica, here is "How to Vet Nonprofits Before You Give."
• Apps are popular these days for folks who use their smartphones. If you are one of those folks, you may be interested in one or more of these apps to help you get things done over the holidays. Via Mental Floss.
• If you are traveling and you are staying at someone else's house, here are few reminders on do's and don'ts of being a house guest from The Art of Manliness.
• Now, you may do your best to mind your manners when you go visit your relatives for the holiday, but chances are you got a cranky right winger Uncle Bob who worships Trump and Rush. You may be tempted to tell him to go eff himself, but instead, Robert Reich gives you some ideas so you can at least have a conversation armed with facts.

Christmas cards, not so ordinary decor, and other odds and ends

Let's have a look at some quirky stuff.

• Just for fun, here are some amusing holiday cards via the blog from Shoplet.
• Really, really like Christmas? Here are some decorations for those hardcore folks. Via BuzzFeed.
• Ugly sweaters are still a tradition for some, and here are a few of them. Via COED.
• Are you a man proud of his beard? Have a hard time caring for it? Want to groom it better? Or maybe make a nice gift for the bearded man in your life? Why not some homemade holiday beard oil? Art of Manliness has a few recipes for that. 
• Here is one more homemade gift you might consider: making Christmas stockings from old shirts. Grist has an article on that. 
• And it seems with the march of time, gift giving for the holidays is more much commercialized and manufactured. No real surprise there. Story via USA Today.

Stay tuned for other holiday posts this week where I will look at gifts, what the hell happened in 2015, and of course, books and reading. Enjoy your week and holidays.

Book Review: War Against All Puerto Ricans

Nelson A. Denis, War Against All Puerto Ricans: Revolution and Terror in America's Colony. New York: Nation Books, 2015. ISBN: 978-1-56858-501-7.

Genre: Nonfiction
Subgenre: history, politics, country studies
Format: Hardcover
Source: Borrowed from my library, Hutchins Library at Berea College

"Empires are devils disguised as guardian angels. The American flag is a skull and crossbones over two bunches of bananas. Democracy is a lady who presents herself with a machine gun between her legs, tear gas at her breast and her hat adorned with pistols and .45 revolvers." --Pedro Albizu Campos, speech given in Santurce, April 16, 1948. Quoted in the book. 

I have to say that this is likely the best book I've read all year. Denis has written a history of Puerto Rico in the 20th century that strives to recall the true horror and history of American possession of its colony. This is history you barely hear in "History of Puerto Rico" classes back on the island; I sure as heck did not hear much of this when I went to high school there. For many Puerto Ricans, the only way to learn this history, prior to this excellent book, was from older relatives and oral histories, or maybe some academic books that barely made a blip on a radar, or doing some deep research into primary sources (assuming you even know where to look).

As for U.S. people, I can guarantee very few may know even a glimpse of this history. This is not material you will find in American public schools; I know; I taught high school for a few years in the U.S., and this did not make U.S. history books. Heck, if Al Sharpton can say on national television via MSNBC that "undocumented" Puerto Ricans would have to be deported, you know the average U.S. person likely has no clue. By the way, for the record, there is no such thing as an undocumented Puerto Rican (follow the link and get a clue if you need one. Go on, the post will be here when you get back). This book goes a very long way in bringing back a history that has been mostly erased.

As my mother would have said, "esto es como una novela de García Márquez" ("this reads like a García Márquez novel"). Indeed the book at times reads like fiction with elements of magic realism. Let me assure you however that what you are reading in Denis' book is nonfiction, and all of it is definitely true. Not only is it true, but it is also a very well documented work from primary sources and reinforced by secondary sources. This is truth that can no longer be hidden; the facts cannot be denied, and they are not really in dispute.

Denis has a gift for writing. This is a very compelling story that draws you in. Once you start, you are riveted. You'll probably stay up late reading the rich prose. He truly brings the history and people involved to life. And by the way, as part of documenting, the book features extensive notes. Now people often skip reading notes in history books. I urge you to resist that notion. Do read the notes. In fact, the notes are often just as interesting as the main story. You will get more value out of the book if you read the notes.

After the preface, the book is arranged into three parts: Facts, People, and Events. Each part then has a set of chapters. Since facts, people, and events often overlap, the narrative is not fully linear; you may go back and forth a bit in the historical timeline. This allows the author to examine things from different angles, and it gives readers a fuller view of the history. In addition to notes, the book has an excellent bibliography. It also has a section on sources and methodology where Denis explains his research process, how he got access to various sources, and how he put the book together. The book also includes a good selection of photographs.

So, what are some things you will learn? Learn about such amazing things as:

• Who was the Green Pope? (Chapter 4)
• Why some say, when it comes to Puerto Rico, "it's only Chinatown" (Chapter 8, also think of the classic film)
• Learn how to rule a whole country with only a one-page report (Chapter 11). 
• Heard of something called the School of the Americas? Well, before that, Puerto Rico had the Academy of Truth. Where do you think they practiced the stuff to be taught later at the School of the Americas? (Chapter 16). 
• And gaze at the tragedy of the King of Towels (Chapter 23, and no, this has nothing to do with Douglas Adams). 

In the end, I cannot recommend this book highly enough. If you are Puerto Rican, it is a duty to read this; this is our history, the history they do not want you to read. Read it. Urge others to read it. Heck, once it gets translated into Spanish, this book needs to be required reading in all Puerto Rican schools. If you are a U.S. person, you need to read this. This is part of your history as well, a part that odds are good you never learned about in school nor in college. You guys own a colony,  yes, a real colony. You own it. You took it from Spain in 1898, and in 1917, whether Puerto Ricans wanted it or not, you made Puerto Ricans into American citizens. The least you can do is read this book and try to understand Puerto Rico, its people, and its history. If nothing else, reading this book will save you from looking like an idiot if you ask a Puerto Rican how long it takes to drive to the U.S. from there (true story) or how come Puerto Ricans do not pay taxes (which they do, and often they pay more than you do).

This book is highly recommended for public and academic libraries. It is essential if you already have works on U.S. history and Latin America. The copy I read was the one I bought for our library, but rest assured I will be buying my own personal copy soon. This is a book I will be talking about and sharing any time anyone asks about Puerto Rico.

Before I close this review, I have to warn some readers. This is not an easy book to read. For some with sensitive hearts, it may get gruesome. It is a violent history, and Denis presents it as it was. But it is necessary reading. This history has been buried for too long; it is high time it sees the light.

I am giving it the full 5 out of 5 stars.

* * * * * 

Additional reading notes:

In large measure, Nelson Denis was inspired to write the book by the FBI files the bureau kept on Puerto Ricans and also by the story of his father. In a nutshell, here is what Denis did to get to the book:

"I read thousands of FBI documents and hundreds of newspaper accounts; I scoured university, museum, and historical society archives. I tracked down oral histories, personal interviews, private correspondence, diaries, church registry, and old photos. I read amicus curiae briefs,  congressional testimony, Senate committee reports, CIA manuals, and Defense Department contracts. I walked the streets of Puerto Rico where people had been murdered. I talked to their families. Then I started writing" (xiii). 

What Denis hopes for readers:

"This is not a pretty story. If it helps you to understand the world in which we live, then I have done my job. The rest is up to you" (xiii). 

The ridiculous attempts of the U.S. to impose English on Puerto Rican children no matter what, usually using teachers that barely, if at all, knew English themselves:

"On a given day, while displaying a chart of the major food groups, she might explain in barely comprehensible English the importance of nutrition and eating all the foods on the chart: broccoli and carrots, turnips and iceberg lettuce, plums, a large meatloaf, and other strange things. If a child remarked that none of the vegetables on the chart grew in Puerto Rico and the class laughed, Mrs. Del Toro would slam her pointer on the blackboard" (20). 

By the way, the "pollito, chicken" song was a big part of my childhood. It is still often used as a children's lullaby, a remnant of that era.

Looking at Barceloneta, a.k.a. as Ciudad Viagra:

"As of 2008 Puerto Rico was the world's largest shipper of pharmaceuticals, accounting for nearly 25 percent of total shipments. Sixteen of the twenty biggest-selling drugs in the United States are produced in Puerto Rico, and the profits are enormous. North American sales of Viagra exceed $1 billion per year with profit margins of roughly 90 percent per pill" (33). 

And before that, thanks to the 936 Laws, my father made a good living selling industrial hardware to those pharmaceutical companies. That is a story I could write about another time. By the way, President Clinton eliminated those laws in order to make some deal or other with rich friends and Republicans; this is also discussed in the book. Anyhow, as time did prove, things got a lot worse as some experts did predict even as Clinton's folk and others said it would not be too bad. (Read a bit more on the 936 law here and here) However, before that, a very different medical industry had root in Barceloneta:

"For decades the doctors in Barceloneta sterilized Puerto Rican women without their knowledge or consent. Even if told about la operación (the operation), the women were not informed that it was irreversible and permanent. Over 20,000 women were sterilized in this one town. This scenario was repeated throughout Puerto Rico until-- at its high point-- one-third of the women on the island had been sterilized and Puerto Rico had the highest incidence of female sterilization in the world" (33-34). 

This was part of the eugenics movement sweeping the U.S. in the 1920s and 1930s (the movement in the U.S. went back to the late 19th century). And that is not even all. Read about American doctor Cornelius Rhoads, who could likely make even Dr. Mengele blush. (See Rhoads' Wikipedia entry, which may be a bit generous to the guy; one thing you can tell is the Rockefeller Foundation had to spend a few bucks cleaning up his image). 

March 21, 1937: The Ponce Massacre (the Wikipedia link gives you the quick version, but read the book for a better view of the event). It was Palm Sunday. What it was in the end: 

It was "an instance of state-sponsored terror intended to cow an entire population into submission--particularly those who wanted independence-- with a show of deadly brutality" (54). 

The massacre was ordered by then Governor Blanton Winship, who after he lost his job in 1939 after a federal inquiry long forgotten, went on to a military career in World War II and a cushy job prosecuting Nazis in Nuremberg. He was never indicted for his crimes in Puerto Rico: 

"A tragic awareness would soon spread throughout the island: the United States cared more about Nazi war crimes in Europe than murder in broad daylight in Puerto Rico" (54).

Something else revealed by the Ponce Massacre, which a witness who filmed it from a hidden spot learned that day: 

". . . to those from the north, Puerto Ricans were not equals, or citizens, or even fully human. They were animals. And so they could be shot on Palm Sunday like rabid dogs in the street" (145). 

From the bibliography, some titles I may want to read. As usual, links to WorldCat unless noted otherwise: 

• Albizu Campos, Pedro, and Manuel Maldonado-Denis, ed. La conciencia nacional puertorriqueña. Mexico: Siglo Veintiuno Editores, 1972.  
• Butler, Smedley D., War is a Racket. Los Angeles: Feral House, 2003.  
• "Che" Guevera, Ernesto, Guerrilla Warfare. Thousand Oaks, CA: BN Publishing, 2007. 
• Gill, Leslie, The School of the Americas: Military Training and Political Violence in the Americas. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2004. 
• Gonzalez, Juan, Harvest of Empire: a History of Latinos in America. New York: Penguin Books, 2001. 
• Meneses de Albizu Campos, Laura, Albizu Campos y la independencia de Puerto Rico. Hato Rey, PR: Publicaciones Puertorriqueñas, 2007. 
• Tinajero, Araceli, and Judith E. Greenberg, El Lector: a History of the Cigar Factory Reader. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 2010. 
• Weiner, Tim, Legacy of Ashes: the History of the CIA. New York: Doubleday, 2007. 
• Zinn, Howard, A People's History of the United States. New York: Harper Collins, 2005. 

* * * * * 

This book qualifies for the following 2015 Reading Challenges: 

Book Review: The Radical King

Martin Luther King, Jr., The Radical King, edited and with introduction by Cornel West. Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 2014. ISBN: 978-0-8070-1282-6.

Genre: nonfiction
Subgenre: speeches, writings, biographical, politics, race studies, history, African American studies
Format: hardback
Source: Borrowed from Berea branch of Madison County Public Library

This book is a collection of speeches and writings by Martin Luther King, Jr. that highlight more of his radical and social justice thoughts and stances. Yes, he worked hard for African American civil rights, but he fought for so much more, against war and poverty as well, and he was very outspoken about American imperialism. These are aspects of his life and work that many have forgotten, yet they remain very relevant.

In a time when it seems a black man in the U.S. is killed by police as a regular occurrence,, often for no other reason than the color of his skin, reading this book is not easy. The riots in Baltimore, which were happening around the time I was reading the book, remind us that racism and oppression of minorities are very much present and with us today in the United States. King preached nonviolence, but he also acknowledged that:

". . . the riot is the language of the unheard. And what is it that America's failed to hear? It's failed to hear that the plight of the Negro poor has worsened over the last few years. It has failed to hear that the promises of justice and freedom have not been met. It has failed to hear that large segments of white society are more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice, humanity, and equality, and it is still true. It is still true that these things are being ignored" (239). 

That was from his speech "The Other America," which he delivered in 1968; it was a speech he gave to a  union composed largely of African Americans, Puerto Ricans, and others of color. It gives me a bit of a chill or thrill knowing Puerto Ricans heard his words. But more than that, and here is why at times reading Dr. King now is so hard, is that today it may be a case of willful deafness. It's not that America can't hear the plight of its poor and oppressed. It's that America actively chooses not to hear it, chooses to ignore it, and inflict violence on its minorities. In that context, violent response to violence is the unheard finally saying it is enough, you will hear us; we are calling you out on your abuses and sins. In reading this book, were Dr. King alive today, he'd probably (I'd like to think) still follow the path of nonviolence, but it would be hard for many to believe with so many violently opposed. In so many ways, Jim Crow never left. King's words remain so true and relevant, and they speak a truth that is not easy nor cuddly, and they are certainly not words conservatives can co-opt, for such words indict them and their exploitative oppression of others. And others includes many for King cared not just for his people, but for all people-- Black, Latino, white, poor, so on.

The book is arranged in four thematic parts. The themes are:

• Radical love
• Prophetic vision: global analysis and local praxis
• The revolution of nonviolent resistance: against empire and white supremacy
• Overcoming the tyranny of poverty and hatred 

Each part includes a selection of his speeches and writings reflecting the theme. There is a "classic" or two, such as "Letter from Birmingham Jail," which is pretty much mandatory reading in the few schools that may teach something of civil rights in U.S. history, and "The Other America," which is often quoted, but I get the impression very few people have read the whole thing. "The Other America" is a powerful piece when you read all of it. If all you know of Dr. King is his "I have a dream" speech, you are seriously missing out on what Dr. King really had to say and all he fought for. This book aims to remedy that. If you read it from start to end, you will get a sense of how Dr. King's thinking evolved from his early days to become a social justice fighter for all, even when some of his allies left him or rebuked him for, in essence, what they saw as going off topic. If you read his words, you see that topics like poverty, war, imperialism, oppression, so on are not really off topic. They are all part of a larger picture he saw and wanted us to see in order to make things right.

The book is edited and introduced by Dr. Cornel West. In the introduction, he argues that so many do not know the radical King. He highlights examples of King's more radical views, imagining how King's broader and radical views would have been better known had he lived longer to continue his work. I have been fortunate to be able to learn more about the radical King (reading this book, reading and seeking out more works by him and about him, my work at Berea College, and my journey on the civil rights tour). More folks need to know him now.  I'll tell you who did know Dr. King really well then, aside from his family and those closest to him: the FBI and the U.S. Government who labeled him "the most dangerous man in America" (x). You earn that label for speaking truth and making the powerful and the oppressor very uncomfortable, by calling them out and demanding for them to make things right and deliver on the true promise of America. For King, as West writes,

"The litmus test for realizing King's dream was neither a black face in the White House nor a black presence on Wall Street. Rather, the fulfillment of his dream was for all poor and working people to live lives of decency and dignity" (xi). 

We are a very long way from that dream, and we seem to be getting further away from it these days.

West also introduces each thematic part with a short commentary that puts the writings in context. Each essay or speech includes a small introductory note so we know when it took place and get a sense of what was going on at the time. The book also features notes and an index.

I liked the book. The book could be a bit exhausting to read at times. I also did jump a bit in reading it for some selections are more interesting that others. Some works are more intense than others. Also, keep in mind that Dr. King was a minister, so he does employ much religious imagery, and he comes to his work from a Christian view. Though he strives to be inclusive, there are some moments when the Christian privilege can come across a bit too strong, especially for heathens like me or folks from other faiths. I tended to favor his works geared to more general audiences, but your mileage may vary. In the end, it is also fascinating to see how well read he was and how be brings those readings into his thinking.

3 out of 5 stars.

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Additional reading notes:

MLK quoting Gandhi and nonviolence:

"Now, it's possible to resist evil; this is your first responsibility, never adjust to evil, resist it. But if you can resist it without resorting to violence or to hate, you can stand up against it and still love the individuals that carry on the evil system that you are resisting" (28-29). 

What makes a religion that is spiritually dying in the words of MLK. This is as relevant today as it was when Dr. King wrote it in 1958. I admit that for me this is another reason I am a heathen. Very few organized religions fit the following statement:

"It has been my conviction ever since reading Rauschenbusch that any religion which professes to be concerned about the souls of men and is not concerned about the social and economic conditions that scar the soul is a spiritually moribund religion only waiting for the day to be buried" (40). 

The theologian MLK mentions above wrote Christianity and the Social Crisis. On a side note, it is interesting to me how well-read King was as he mentions and discusses writers and thinkers whose work he read and pondered in his road to nonviolence.

King on nonviolence resistance with love. Here he quotes Booker T. Washington:

"Booker T. Washington was right. 'Let no man pull you so low so as to make you hate him" (52-53). 

Then again, that idea is not just for the nonviolent. Even Michael Corleone knew the significance of not hating your enemies:

"Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgment." --From the film The Godfather, Part III.

It's just something to ponder. King naturally wraps his nonviolent resistance in a Christian blanket; it's where he is coming from. But whereas King sees Gandhi as one of Jesus' "other sheep" (which I find a little pretentious), reality may well be that decency and morality are not Christianity's exclusive franchise. Although King does have his ecumenical moments of acknowledging other faith paths or those with no faith. That is a big deal considering how many Christians today think it's their way or else. Yet King then falls back into, in essence, they've got to believe in something. Why? Why can it just not be because they are decent people? Here are King's words that prompted this line of thought for me:

"It is true that there are devout believers in nonviolence who find it difficult to believe in a personal God. But even these persons believe in the existence of some creative force that works for universal wholeness. Whether we call it an unconscious process, an impersonal Brahman, or a Personal Being of matchless power and infinite love, there is a creative force in this universe that works to bring the disconnected aspects of reality into a harmonious whole" (53).

I think a large swatch of atheists would say not believing in a personal god is not difficult at all. And they are fine, decent people.

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This book qualifies for the following 2015 Reading Challenges: