Great beards of history

We covered The Communist Manifesto, at Sunday's meeting.

Well, before the meeting, I thought, We've all seen pictures of Karl Marx, but what does Friedrich Engels look like. So I found out, on Wikipedia.

I thought, What an impressive beard.

I saved the Wikipedia page, and, at an opportune moment in Sunday's meeting (I can't remember what brought it up), I pulled out my computer, and passed it around.

That got us thinking about other great beardos.

We came up with:

Antonin Dvorak

Rutherford B. Hayes (after the 1876 elections, against Samuel J. Tilden (about which I wrote a paper -- I think, in high school), he was called Rutherfraud and His Fraudulency)

Leo Tolstoy

Brigham Young



Ali Sistani

Zoroaster

Z. Z. Top

Then we remembered Santa Claus. How could we forget?!

October 2010 meeting

Sunday, October 31, two o'clock

Place

The Panera's on Tiedeman, in Brooklyn (details and a map, below), in their enclosed meeting room (which I reserved -- one of their concerns is the busy Sunday crowd, which might require the extra space; I told the manager that the "overflow" crowd could join us in the room).

This month's topic

We're going "off the books" this month, with a talk and discussion led by Jeff Kanter on the federal reserve, money, and banks -- how they work, their histories, and what's been happening lately. In the last several months, I forwarded links to several services Jeff provides -- self-banking, alternate currencies, and debt reduction. Below, a few links from Jeff to videos and books, and if I get any related readings, I'll pass those along.

For this month

First, a video of a talk by Mike Maloney to a Russian Bankers' symposium on how the banking system works; here's Amazon's listings of Maloney's books.

Next, a lecture by G. Edward Griffin, "The Birth of the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank - How usury destroyed America," maybe based on his book The Creature from Jekyll Island: A Second Look at the Federal Reserve.

At the last meeting, Jeff told us about the movie "America: Freedom to Fascism," by the late filmmaker and libertarian activist Aaron Russo -- Russo's Wikipedia page says he was also a 9/11 truth activist. You can see the whole movie on YouTube. The start of the movie (about the 16th Amendment and the federal income tax) reminded me of a 1954 book I recently listed -- The Income Tax: The Root of All Evil, by Frank Chodorov (who was an early associate of William F. Buckley, Jr.).

Jeff also forwarded a link to TrueWorldHistory.info, "a repository of outstanding documentaries about money"; at the bottom of the page, there are links to an "Expanded Video List" and "Recommended Books."

All of this reminds me of a book whose title I think I forwarded before, but... -- it's 13 Bankers: Wall Street Takeover, Next Financial Meltdown (by Simon Johnson & James Kwak); Harvey says a reviewer referred to 13 Bankers as being more detailed and comprehensive than Scheer's book.

Finally, the web-site of a magazine I saw in North Carolina, Republic Magazine, highlights the book Dishonest Money, by Joseph Plummer -- about the banking system and federal reserve.

First vote

On January 28, 2009, I sent the following e-mail:

Below, all the votes I've received...for February’s reading

If you're not there, please let me know. Or, if I've made a mistake, too.

Thanks.

Otherwise, go...and.... Start your engines!

* * *

Matt: 10 Big Lies, Medved (5 pts)

Chris: Basic Economics, Sowell (5); Hog Pilots, Kaplan (3); Declaration/Constitution (1)

Greg: Stealth Jihad, Spencer (5); Declaration/Constitution (3); 10 Big Lies (1)

Tom: Declaration/Constitution (5); something on the war-we’re-in , for which Ayad assigns Arab Predicament, Ajami (3); 10 Big Lies, Medved (1)

Dianne: Applied Economics, Sowell (5); Hog Pilots (3); Declaration/Constitution (1)

Loisirene: Stealth Jihad (5); Basic Economics (3); 10 Big Lies (1)

Jane: Declaration/Constitution (5); Capitalism & Freedom, Milton & Rose Friedman (3); Atlas Shrugged or Fountainhead, Rand (1)

Michael: Stealth Jihad (5); Hog Pilots (3); 10 Big Lies (1)

Dan: Declaration/Constitution (5); Applied Economics (3); Stealth Jihad (1)

Marilyn: What Went Wrong, Lewis (5); Basic Economics (3)

Janet: 10 Big Lies (5); Middle East, Lewis (3); Arab Predicament (1)

Ayad: Arab Predicament (5); Declaration/Constitution (3); Closed Circle, Pryce-Jones (1)


Final tallies:

Ten Big Lies: 5, 1, 1, 1, 1, 5 = 14

Basic Economics: 5, 3, 3 = 11

Hog Pilots: 3, 3, 3 = 9

Declaration/Constitution: 1, 3, 5, 1, 5, 5, 3 = 23

Stealth Jihad: 5, 5, 5, 1 = 16

Middle East: 3, 3 = 6

Applied Economics: 5, 3 = 8

Capitalism & Freedom: 3

Atlas Shrugged or Fountainhead: 1

What Went Wrong: 5

Arab Predicament: 1, 5 = 6

Closed Cricle: 1


We Declare…The Constitution.

Possibly, The Heritage Foundation (http://heritage.org), and/or our local Ashcroft Center for Public Policy (in Ashaland), or the Cato center (DC) might have free copies...of the Declaration and the Constitution.

Final thought: as far as the Federalist Papers...and the Anti-Federalist Papers, I'm sure...we won't all...read everything, so, maybe, whoever gets...the farthest...can fill the rest of us in...on what we've missed.

Thanks -- and...Enjoy!

Ballot for February meeting

On January 27, 2009, I sent the following e-mail:

I've narrowed our list of choices...down to 15. Sorry -- editing -- eliminating options -- is not my strong suit.


In the category of terrorism/Middle East/"the war-we're-in":

1) Stealth Jihad: How Radical Islam is Subverting America without Guns or Bombs, by Robert Spencer (328 pages; 2008)

2) Militant Islam Reaches America, by Daniel Pipes (336 pages; 2002)

3) Hog Pilots, Blue Water Grunts: The American Military in the Air, at Sea, and on the Ground, by Robert Kaplan (448 pages; 2008)

4) The Arab Predicament: Arab Political Thought and Practice since 1967, by Fouad Ajami (299 pages; 1981, with re-issues)

5) The Middle East, by Bernard Lewis (448 pages; 1996, with re-issues)

6) The Closed Circle: An Interpretation of the Arabs, by David Pryce-Jones (480 pages; 1989, with re-issues)

7) What Went Wrong?: The Clash Between Islam and Modernity in the Middle East, by Bernard Lewis (208 pages; 2001, with re-issues)


In the category of current affairs and economics..."the nominees are":

1) The 10 Big Lies About America: Combating Destructive Distortions About Our Nation, by Michael Medved (288 pages; 2008)

2) Basic Economics: A Citizen's Guide to the Economy, by Thomas Sowell (448 pages; 2000, with re-issues)

3) Applied Economics: Thinking Beyond Stage One, by Thomas Sowell (400 pages; 2004, with re-issues)

4) Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand (1200 pages; 1957, with re-issues)

5) Road to Serfdom, by F.A. Hayek (272 pages; 1944, with re-issues)

6) Capitalism and Freedom, by Milton Friedman & Rose Friedman (208 pages; 1962, with re-issues)

7) Free to Choose: A Personal Statement, by Milton Friedman and Rose Friedman (360 pages; 1980, with re-issues)


Finally, in the category of…American history and American values, there is…only one nominee (there can only be one) -- a joint effort:

The U.S. Declaration of Independence (1776); the U.S. Constitution (1787); the Bill of Rights (1789) and the other amendments to the Constitution (1795-1992; total, approx. 58 pages); the Federalist Papers (528 pages; 1787-88, with re-issues); and, possibly, the Anti-Federalist Papers, too (416 pages; coincident with the Federalist Papers)

How about…voting closes, Thursday, at noon, and how about three votes per person – first choice, second choice, and third choice, and I assign five points, three points and one point to each?

Let the games begin!

Follow-up to first meeting

Having gathered suggestions, I wrote, in a January 25, 2009, e-mail:

I'm tempted...to eliminate any options, and...just make an executive decision, and pick the Declaration of Independence/Constitution/Bill of Rights/Federalist Papers. I know you, Marilyn, said...it'd be too much...like being in school -- getting homework -- and I'm sure...a lot of us...agree -- it is.

It is, though, pretty-much, where things start...for us -- as Americans -- and...as conservatives.

Well, I'm going to narrow down the choices -- to one or two...for each of the broad categories...I detected -- from what people said: 1) Middle East/terrorism/war we're in/international affairs; 2) "back to basics," American values, American history, conservative values; 3) current affairs, talk-show hosts' books, economics.

first meeting

We had our first meeting, Sunday afternoon, January 25, 2009 -- there were 15 of us, at Zoup's restaurant, in Independence, Ohio.

ongoing list of recommendations

(newest at top, with any comments/information from the recommender)

Loisirene:

1. The 5000 Year Leap: Principles of Freedom 101, by W. Cleon Skousen -- excellent accompaniment to the Constitution; an easy, quick read which has two parts: Part 1, "Structuring a government with all the power in the people"; Part 2, "The Founders basic principles." The book is an excellent insight into what guided the Founding Fathers while writing the Constitution.

2. The American Patriot's Almanac, by Wm. J. Bennett and John T.E. Cribb

3. The Heritage Guide to the Constitution

* * *

Greg:

Samson Blinded: A Machiavellian Perspective on the Middle East Conflict, by Obadiah Shoher; Google banned this site (http://www.samsonblinded.org/service/download.htm) from the advertising program. Amazon deleted all reviews to stop the discussion. We need your help to bring Shoher's message. Tell your friends. Link to us. Text on this site is adapted and abridged. Please download the book. There's plenty of food for thought in this book, which, wrongheaded or not, is both open and fearless. Kirkus Discoveries. In memory of Avraham Stern who resurrected the concept of reciprocal violence

* * *

Ayad:

Who Are We?: The Challenges to America's National Identity, by Samuel Huntington

Shakespeare: Inventing the Human, by Harold Bloom

* * *

Chanan:

Search for Cosmic Justice, by Thomas Sowell

Straight Talk About Criminals, by Stanton Samenow; & his Inside the Criminal Mind

The Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era, by James M. McPherson

Bruce Catton’s biography of Ulysses S. Grant

The Gathering Storm, by Winston Churchill

Empire, by Orson Scott Card

* * *

Marxism: Philosophy and Economics, by Thomas Sowell

* * *

Matt (Jan. 26, 2009):

The Next 100 Years: A Forecast for the 21st Century by George Friedman

* * *

Dianne (Jan. 25, 2009):

Letters to a Young Conservative, by Dinesh D'Souza

Countdown to Terror, by Kurt Wheldon

The Anti-Federalist Papers

American The Last Best Hope #1 and #2, by Bill Bennett

1776, by McCullough

John Adams,

The Middle East, by Bernard Lewis (1996, with re-issues)

Moment of Truth in Iraq, by Michael Yon

The End of Racism, by Dinesh D'Souza

Myths, Lies and Downright Stupidty, by John Stossel

Freakonomics, by Levitt, Dubner

Invisible Acts of Power, by Myss

The Essential Thomas Jefferson, edited by John G. Hunt

All the Laws But One, by Rehnquist

The Terrorist Watch, by Kessler

When Every Moment Counts, by Bill Frist

Why Terrorism Works, by Alan Dershowitz

Willful Blindness, by McCarthy

War and Decision, by Feith

State of War, by James Risen

Rewriting History, by Dick Morris

Why the Jews? by Dennis Prager

It's My Party, Too, by Christie Todd Whitman

Surrender is Not an Option, by John Bolton

Making War to Keep Peace, by Jeane J. Kirkpatrick

Things That Matter Most, by Cal Thomas

Crisis of Islam, by Bernard Lewis

Holy War Inc., by Peter Bergen

The Enemy at Home, by Dinesh D'Souza

What Went Wrong?: The Clash Between Islam and Modernity in the Middle East, by Bernard Lewis (2001, with re-issues)

One of my favorite and most eye-opening books on what it means to be an American is "The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin." A book I would love to read again.

Stephen Hayes book called "Cheney" was fantastic. Dick Cheney is a man to be admired, not villified.

* * *

Ryan (Jan. 25, 2009):

documentary Homegrown Jihad: Terrorist Camps Around the U.S., by Christian Action Network (Ryan Mauro) – pretty incredible – should watch

* * *

Ayad:

Bush vs. the Beltway: How the CIA and the State Department Tried to Stop the War on Terror, by Laurie Mylroie (a friend of mine, with whom I’ve worked, extensively)

her book on the ’93 World Trade Center bombing, and Saddam’s probable sponsorship

something, especially a good, well-researched novel, about the period when the Roman empire adopted Christianity as the state religion, and the people started…adopting…to this new way of looking at the world – going from…pagan worship…or whatever/however they believed, before, to worshipping on god, believing in Jesus…, etc.

All Quiet on the Western Front

William Shirer’s books on Nazi Germany and the fall of France

The Human Factor, by Ishamel Jones, about our dysfunctional CIA

Joseph Conrad’s books

George Orwell’s books

Why Popcorn Costs So Much at the Movies

Chernow’s biographies – on John D. Rockefeller; Alexander Hamilton

something by or about James Madison – I have one, about him and his wife called A Perfect Union: Dolley Madison and the Creation of the American Nation

My Antonia, by Willa Cather

Harold Bloom’s books

Babette’s Feast, by Isak Dinesen

Delicate Prey, by Paul Bowles

Herodotus

Eric Sevareid’s Not So Wild a Dream

Edmund S. Morgan

James Morris

something on the history and decline of the Spanish empire & its dependence on gold and silver, and what that did to them

* * *

Harvey (Jan. 24, 2009):

1. The Looming Tower, by Lawrence Wright -- events leading to 9/11 attacks. Hugh Hewitt covered it at length, with the author. NY Times said "marvelous." Fascinating.

2. Miracle at Philadelphia by Katherine Drinker Bowen. Fictional account of Constitutional Convention.

3. Marx in 45 Minutes.

4. Myths and Facts. A guide to Arab-Israeli Conflict. Mitchell G. Bard.Ph.D.AICE. Available online at jewishVirtualLibrary.org.

5. Battleground: Fact and Fantasy in Palestine. Samuel Katz. History of Israel, Zionism, building of the state, and wars to 1972.

6. From Time Immemorial: The Origins of the Arab-Jewish Conflict over Palestine, by Joan Peters -- on immigration into British Mandate. true figures for Arab population. Good review by Daniel Pipes at www.danielpipes.org/article/1110.

7. America Alone: The End of the World As We Know It, by Mark Steyn

8. Conscience of a Conservative, by Barry Goldwater

The Reagan Diaries, by Ronald Reagan; & his An American Life; and others

The Reagan I Knew, by William F. Buckley, Jr.; & his God and Man At Yale; and others

I think Buchanan's recent books on dire effects of immigration sound a real warning. The problem is that he's a lover of Franco, an apologist for Hitler and obsessed with the (evil) Jews. As Buckley said, roughly, I cannot clear him of charge of anti-Semitism.

* * *

Marilyn (Jan. 24, 2009):

THE MURDERERS AMONG US, THE WIESENTHAL MEMOIRS, EDITED BY JOSEPH WECHSBERG; SIMON WIESENTHAL'S FIRST BOOK AND THE BEST OF ANY OF THE BOOKS HE WROTE. YOU'LL GET TO KNOW THINGS YOU NEVER EVER KNEW; IT IS JUST EXTRAORDINARY!! I met Simon.

IN MY BROTHER'S IMAGE, BY EUGENE L. POGANY -- TRUE story of twin brothers who were born in Hungary of Jewish parents, but raised as devout Catholic converts until after WW2. Then separated by faith after the Holocaust. You will never guess in a million years what this book is about. It is excellent.

SUITE FRANCAISE, IRENE NEMIROVSKY This story was hidden and unknown for 64 years. REMARKABLE STORY. NATIONAL BESTSELLER

MAN'S SEARCH FOR MEANING, VIKTOR E. FRANKL -- "ONE OF THE GREATEST BOOKS OF OUR TIME"

Learn about the life of one of THE GREATEST SINGER, PHILOSOPHER, POET, BRILLIANT...YES!!, CHARISMATIC, AND OBSESSED SEEKER WHO REJECTED AUTHORITY IN ANY FORM. what a mind!!! The following is the title and it is the only book on JIM MORRISON THAT IS THE BEST WRITTEN ON HIS LIFE, none OF THE OTHER BOOKS ARE. It's a pity he died so young.

NO ONE HERE GETS OUT ALIVE, JERRY HOPKINS AND DANNY SUGERMAN

THE SILENT TWINS, MARJORIE WALLACE A REMARKABLE AND TRAGIC STORY IT’S ONE BOOK LIKE NO OTHER WRITTEN EVER!!! BOOKS OPEN YOUR MIND TO THE UNKNOWN SUBJECTS YOU WOULD NOT HAVE KNOWN THAT IS ALL AROUND US IN OUR WORLD OF DAILY LIVING.

THIS IS MY GOD......HERMAN WOUK. REMARKABLE.......VIVID, PASSIONATE, HIGHLY READABLE. answers MANY QUESTIONS, EXPLAINS TO YOU AND IS EASY READING. (JEWISH FAITH) Our laws of the US. was taken from the TALMUD. IT IS PROBABLY OUT OF PRINT, CAN PICK IT UP FOR VERY LITTLE MONEY.

* * *

Marilyn:

We Were Soldiers Once...And Young: Ia Drang--The Battle That Changed The War In Vietnam by Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore (Ret.) and Joseph L. Galloway -- POWERFUL!!

Laura BUSH, BY RONALD KESSLER, very good; came out last year

* * *

Ayad:

Democracy in America, by Alexis de Tocqueville – in full or abridged

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain; & Puddin’ Head Wilson; & others

Lincoln, by David Herbert Donald

look on Amazon, and see which books have the highest ratings

The Federalist Papers

The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway

The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald; & his Tender Is the Night

Russian classics -- by Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Turgenev, Gogol

Danielle Steele

The Arab Predicament: Arab Political Thought and Practice since 1967, by Fouad Ajami (1981, with re-issues); & his The Foreigner's Gift: The Americans, the Arabs, and the Iraqis in Iraq (2006); & Dream Palace of the Arabs: A Generation's Odyssey (1998)

The Arab Mind, by Raphael Patai (1973, with re-issues)

The Closed Circle: An Interpretation of the Arabs, by David Pryce-Jones (1989, with re-issues)

Mythology, by Edith Hamilton

The Bible – particular books of the New and Old Testaments

any Shakespeare

Shakespeare’s sonnets

Jane Austen

Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bronte

What Do You Say After You Say Hello?, by Eric Berne

The King Must Die, by Mary Renault (The story of the mythical hero Theseus, slayer of monsters, abductor of princesses and king of Athens. He emerges from these pages as a clearly defined personality; brave, aggressive and quick. The core of the story is Theseus' Cretan adventure.)

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff series

The Story of Philosophy, by Will Durant

The Discoverers, by Daniel Boorstin; & his The Creators: A History of Heroes of the Imagination; The Seekers: The Story of Man's Continuing Quest to Understand His World; The Americans (The Colonial Experience; The Democratic Experience; The National Experience)

Moby Dick, by Herman Melville

Leaves of Grass, by Walt Whitman

Mrs. Dalloway, by Virginia Woolf; or others

The Guns of August, by Barbara Tuchman; & her A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century; The Proud Tower: A Portrait of the World Before the War, 1890-1914; The March of Folly; From Troy to Vietnam

The Road to Serfdom, by F.A. Hayek

Capitalism and Freedom, by Milton Friedman

Free to Choose: A Personal Statement, by Milton Friedman and Rose Friedman

primer, survey on U.S. history

* * *

Michael:

Herman Wouk’s non-fiction sequel

* * *

Ayad:

James Q. Wilson, on American values, history

* * *

Michael:

Robert Kaplan’s books, including Hog Pilots, Blue Water Grunts: The American Military in the Air, at Sea, and on the Ground (2008)

* * *

Marilyn (Jan. 22, 2009):

"THE LAST EMPEROR", by Arnold C, Brackman (I liked and is so interesting)

BLACK WHITE AND JEWISH.

* * *

Marilyn (Jan. 21, 2009):

Hitler's Empire: How the Nazis Ruled Europe, by Mark Mazower (726 pp)

* * *

Loisirene & Karl (Jan. 21, 2009):

Steven Emerson American Jihad The Terrorists Living Among Us (he also has other books)

Howard Linett, Living with terrorism survival lessons from the streets of Jerusalem (may not be easy to obtain)

Paul Sperry, Infiltration how Muslims spies and subversives have penetrated Washington

Thomas Sowell’s Basic Economics: A Citizen's Guide to the Economy (2000, with re-issues) -- any of his books would be good to discuss; & Applied Economics: Thinking Beyond Stage One (2004, with re-issues)

Wm. J Bennett, America the last best Hope vols 1 and 2

Laurent Maurwiec , Prince of darkness the Saudi assault on the west

Ayaan Hirsi Ali, The cage virgin an emancipation proclamation for women and Islam

Brigitte Gabriel, Because They Hate -- a survivor of Islamic terror warns America (she has a new book out too)

Daniel Pipes’s Militant Islam Reaches America (2002)

Melanie Phillips’s Londonistan

Michael Savage, Liberalism is a mental disorder Savage Solutions (some of his other books are hilarious; though I don't know how appropriate for a group discussion)

Robert J. Allison, The Crescent Obscured: The United States and the Muslim world 1776-1815

Bat Ye-or Eurabia The Euro-Arab axis

Edwin Meese III (ed.), The Hertiage guide to the Constitution (this would probably take several sessions to fully go through)

The Forgotten Man, Amity Shales (about FDR & the depression)

Fleeced, by Dick Morris

Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand

5000 Year Leap (mentioned on radio talk shows)

Karl Marx, Economic & philosophical manuscripts (one copy in library. I wanted to read about KM since socialism & communism are forms of government I know little & we are headed in this direction)

Jonah Goldberg, Liberal Fascism (easy to understand explanation of this form of government & others)

Novels: any Vince Flynn or David Baldacci

* * *

Marilyn (Jan. 20, 2009):

"THE NIGHTINGALE SONG": great book for all, on the top 5 Generals OF THE US; top-seller

“THE CHILDREN," BY CHARITY BLACKSTOCK.. EXCELLENT BOOK; I KNEW THE AUTHOR, SHE LIVED IN ENGLAND.

FIVE YEARS TO FREEDOM, A TRUE STORY OF A VIETNAM POW. BY JAMES N. ROWE.

"OUR MAN IN DAMASCUS: ELIE COHN” BY ELI BEN-HANAN -- excellent book, true story of the greatest spy

* * *

Marilyn (Jan. 16, 2009):

on Israel, from 2008 (by Moshe Phillips)

The Aaronsohn Saga, by Shmuel Katz

The Bielski Brothers, by Peter Duffy

The First Tithe, by Dr. Israel Eldad

Hamas vs. Fatah: The Struggle For Palestine, by Jonathan Schanzer

Schmoozing with Terrorists, by Aaron Klein

Shackled Warrior: Israel and the Global Jihad, by Caroline Glick

Stealth Jihad: How Radical Islam is Subverting America without Guns or Bombs, by Robert Spencer (2008)

* * *

Beverly (Jan. 12, 2009):

Who Killed the Constitution?: The Fate of American Liberty from World War I to George W. Bush, by Thomas Woods and Kevin Gutzman (2008)

The Bill of Rights: A User’s Guide, by Linda Monk (2004); & her The Words We Live By: Your Annotated Guide to the Constitution (2004)

* * *

Ayad (January 2009):

U.S. Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution & Bill of Rights

* * *

Dan (October 2008):

The 10 Big Lies About America: Combating Destructive Distortions About Our Nation, by Michael Medved (2008)