This is a phrase I first heard while listening to the Savage Nation radio show. It was from an explanation about a stimulus package from the Obama administration by Robert Reich. The stimulus would go to fund new construction jobs. However, Reich says that he doesn't want to use the money to fund "high-skilled people who are already professionals or to white male construction workers." This is part of the myth that today, white men still have an unfair advantage over minorities and women.
I admit that I do not know all of the statistics regarding race and gender for this country, aside from whites being the majority race in the country and the wage-gap myth. All I have is my experiences from coming to age in a major melting pot area of the country: Arizona. I was always exposed to other races, ethnics, and females in my everyday life. Early childhood was truly less complicated than what I and every one of my peers were exposed to later in life. Everyone was equal. There wasn't talk about racism, sexism, bigotry, bias, and privilege. As I moved up to middle and high school, the education about history and social issues started flooding in. We were all taught that whites owned slaves and women were slaves to men. Getting to the end of high school, the budding radicals vowing to fight racism, patriarchy, and the rich started cropping up around me. Peers, teachers, television shows, and even some of my own family members all believed that evil, greedy, privileged, racist, patriarchal, homophobic, extremist, Islamophobic, bigoted white men were responsible for all of the country's ills and then-presidential candidate Obama was going to put a stop to it. I heard about how white men are terrible people and need to prove constantly that they are not like that. The funny thing is is that the reality just did not match this vision.
My high school life and early college years was spent trying to prove I wasn't like those other evil white men. I now realize that not only is this fight futile, but is a complete fabrication. No matter what I do or what I say. I will always be seen as racist and sexist, simply because I am a white male. The fact that this is a racist and sexist assumption to make of me. However, I am deemed privileged, so any defense of my character or accusation of another person's bigotry is halted right away. Any injustice I may have ever experienced or am going to experience is just me being selfish and apathetic of "disadvantaged" minorities and women. I am instructed to feel guilty for being what I am, even though I did not have a choice in the matter.
I was taught to be proud of who I am and that everybody is equal. Unlike those early years, I have come to the realization of the double standard of "political correctness" (PC). Political correctness is just code for "non-white males." I have decided a while back that I will hold everyone to equal standards and have pride in who I am. I have this one body for this one life, and I will be damned if I am going to be told that I am a shameful person for being who I am.
- Forsaken Eagle
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Finished Two Books, Starting Two Books
I finished reading Michio Kaku's "Beyond Einstein" today and I completed David Flynn's "Why the Left Hates America." Both were great books, in my opinion.
"Beyond Einstein" delved into the history of the ultimate unified field theory of physics: superstring theory. After the history is established, Kaku explains some of the amazing symmetries string theory creates that explains the strangest phenomenon in the universe (ex: the Big Bang, dark matter, and higher dimensions). A criticism I have for this book, however, is the sob story regarding the female astronomer Vera Rubin. The writer goes to great lengths to explain her apparent "weep[ing]" about science still being predominantly male. Any woman who wants to go into science can (sometimes with a generous scholarship or grant) if she wants to. However, women generally do not go into the scientific and engineering fields. When one looks at the literary and social studies, one sees a very large portion of female scholars. Feminists would say women are just better than men in these fields for inherent female traits. On the other hand, these same harpies scream and cry "sexism" and "patriarchy" because more men are better in math and science. If this little emotion-over-logic-type diatribe was left out of science books, the better the writers would become. Other than that, this book does a great job at what Kaku set out to do: publish a book that can explain the significance of the scientific movement to establish a unified field theory of the universe.
Overall, Kaku's book gets four-and-a-half stars out of five.
"Why the Left Hates America" is a political book regarding leftists (not to be confused with liberals and Democrats) and their irrational hatred of the United States. Flynn spends the first half drawing out the history of the left's campaign against America. The second half deals with why America is not as terrible as leftists claim it is. The chapter "The Five Big Lies" lists what Flynn claims are the biggest untruths hurting America's image. These are: America oppresses women; America destroys the environment; America is a racist nation; America is a warmongering empire; and America robs from the poor. Flynn successfully displays the obvious that America is still, by far, the light unto the world. Leftists downplay America's great qualities with her negatives while ignoring the negatives and promoting/creating positives of other cultures. It is important to note that America's negatives (slavery, oppression of women, environmental damage, etc.) are not near as bad as most other third world and even some first world countries! On top of that, Flynn provides his own and other conservative speakers' experiences on the censorship and sometimes aggressively radical opposition to conservative views on college and university campuses. Flynn successfully demonstrates (with numerous sources cited) the hypocritical and irrational behaviors of the radical left, and he defends America's great accomplishments as the ultimate experiment in freedom. Why does the left hate America? Because America is the antithesis of "every pet theory the left holds dear."
I give Flynn's book five stars out of five.
As I hinted, I have decided to start two new books today: "The Demon-Haunted World" by Carl Sagan and "The New Reagan Revolution" by Michael Reagan. It is fair to notice that I alternate between different books at the same time. I also like to have different subject material, usually a science book and a political book.
I did not think I would delve into two reviews in one post, but I felt I was brief enough. I have taken a fine liking to having reading time on a more frequent basis. I greatly enjoy taken in new information and learning to draw new methods of critical thinking. In the meantime, I am spending time while not working, reading, and going to college watching the progress in Washington and Civil War history. Hopefully more blog entries will follow.
- Forsaken Eagle
"Beyond Einstein" delved into the history of the ultimate unified field theory of physics: superstring theory. After the history is established, Kaku explains some of the amazing symmetries string theory creates that explains the strangest phenomenon in the universe (ex: the Big Bang, dark matter, and higher dimensions). A criticism I have for this book, however, is the sob story regarding the female astronomer Vera Rubin. The writer goes to great lengths to explain her apparent "weep[ing]" about science still being predominantly male. Any woman who wants to go into science can (sometimes with a generous scholarship or grant) if she wants to. However, women generally do not go into the scientific and engineering fields. When one looks at the literary and social studies, one sees a very large portion of female scholars. Feminists would say women are just better than men in these fields for inherent female traits. On the other hand, these same harpies scream and cry "sexism" and "patriarchy" because more men are better in math and science. If this little emotion-over-logic-type diatribe was left out of science books, the better the writers would become. Other than that, this book does a great job at what Kaku set out to do: publish a book that can explain the significance of the scientific movement to establish a unified field theory of the universe.
Overall, Kaku's book gets four-and-a-half stars out of five.
"Why the Left Hates America" is a political book regarding leftists (not to be confused with liberals and Democrats) and their irrational hatred of the United States. Flynn spends the first half drawing out the history of the left's campaign against America. The second half deals with why America is not as terrible as leftists claim it is. The chapter "The Five Big Lies" lists what Flynn claims are the biggest untruths hurting America's image. These are: America oppresses women; America destroys the environment; America is a racist nation; America is a warmongering empire; and America robs from the poor. Flynn successfully displays the obvious that America is still, by far, the light unto the world. Leftists downplay America's great qualities with her negatives while ignoring the negatives and promoting/creating positives of other cultures. It is important to note that America's negatives (slavery, oppression of women, environmental damage, etc.) are not near as bad as most other third world and even some first world countries! On top of that, Flynn provides his own and other conservative speakers' experiences on the censorship and sometimes aggressively radical opposition to conservative views on college and university campuses. Flynn successfully demonstrates (with numerous sources cited) the hypocritical and irrational behaviors of the radical left, and he defends America's great accomplishments as the ultimate experiment in freedom. Why does the left hate America? Because America is the antithesis of "every pet theory the left holds dear."
I give Flynn's book five stars out of five.
As I hinted, I have decided to start two new books today: "The Demon-Haunted World" by Carl Sagan and "The New Reagan Revolution" by Michael Reagan. It is fair to notice that I alternate between different books at the same time. I also like to have different subject material, usually a science book and a political book.
I did not think I would delve into two reviews in one post, but I felt I was brief enough. I have taken a fine liking to having reading time on a more frequent basis. I greatly enjoy taken in new information and learning to draw new methods of critical thinking. In the meantime, I am spending time while not working, reading, and going to college watching the progress in Washington and Civil War history. Hopefully more blog entries will follow.
- Forsaken Eagle
Saturday, April 2, 2011
"Trickle Up Poverty" Review
I finished reading Michael Savage's book, Trickle Up Poverty, yesterday at the library. Overall, I enjoyed the book for its great content. I am a regular listener of the Savage Nation (when not working or at school), and I will say that this book is like an extended show of Savage's. For some people, liberals and conservatives alike, this could be a bad thing. Many can be turned off by Savage's "angry old man" style of talking, and his slight ego can be annoying. Both of these elements are in the book, which may turn some people away.
However, the real meat of the book is the amount of information regarding the current events in America today (within the last 100 years being current). Savage breaks apart his passages into very typical but very important topics for Americans today, including: global warming, health care reform, and the economic crisis, among other things. As the subtitle of the book ("Stopping Obama's Attack on Our Borders, Economy, and Security") suggests, Savage's work is an answer to the first almost two years of Obama's presidency. Michael opens his book with an introduction about how Obama is taking apart the United States like a child takes apart an old watch. Being unable to put the watch back together, Obama finds another watch and tears it apart. This is Savage's analogy of what Obama is doing to this country, whether intentionally or not.
Michael Savage spends quite a few pages going over Obama's Marxist-Leninist past. Much of the information he achieves on Obama is from Obama's own books: Dreams From my Father (an autobiography) and Audacity of Hope. I have not read either of these books, but Savage claims he has read them. If one is to take Savage on his word, the information Obama himself provides is quite disturbing. Obama, as far as anyone knows, was born in Hawaii, a very fringe state of the United States with a liberal slant by all counts. However, Obama and his family moved around to different areas of the world, such as Indonesia. Obama eventually moved to mainland U.S. and graduated from Harvard. During his college years, Obama was friends with a rich Arabic student. He allegedly enjoyed many luxuries while friends with him. However, they parted ways and Obama didn't have as easy of a life from there, living in a far less luxurious lifestyle from there. This, it turns out, is a major influence to his anti-capitalistic beliefs of the rich taking from the poor. He traveled to Chicago to become an active ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) member. He would eventually become a senator for Illinois. Obama would soon ascend to become the 44th president of the United States of America.
Michael Savage spends the rest of the book explaining the very issues threatening our country's well-being. As is the theme of the book, Savage provides information and personal insight to how Obama is either letting the country deteriorate through misguided policy or even intentionally trying to promote a socialist revolution. Savage, making the book more like his show, also talks about his own life during childhood and in the present to make connections to the issues confronting America. Savage's ego comes out during his book, like when he references his previous book ("Liberalism Is a Mental Disorder") as "my bestselling book". He also comes along as an arrogant know-it-all at certain points by explaining it is he alone who is pointing out the obvious. However, unlike the liberals he denounces, Savage actually cites sources for his "baseless" accusations. His style may be egotistical and linguistically aggressive, but Michael is like a caring uncle who has been around the block a few times, has faced discrimination without help, has scientific degrees which has trained him to use logic to draw conclusions, and ultimately cares deeply about the American way and how to preserve it.
Overall, I would say I enjoyed reading Michael Savage's book. I did get myself lost on the "Nightmare On Wall Street" chapter, but I think my attention span for reading massive amounts of information has gone up since. This book provides a great analysis on Obama and the state of America at large. Savage has explained on his show that this book was meant for the November 2010 mid-term elections and is here for the upcoming 2012 presidential election. This book provides a good starting point to understanding the gravity of the situation the American people face. Looking past Savage's intimidating style, he ultimately cares about what is happening in the United States and supports all who want to promote individual rights and responsibility.
I would score this book as four-and-a-half stars out of five.
- Forsaken Eagle
However, the real meat of the book is the amount of information regarding the current events in America today (within the last 100 years being current). Savage breaks apart his passages into very typical but very important topics for Americans today, including: global warming, health care reform, and the economic crisis, among other things. As the subtitle of the book ("Stopping Obama's Attack on Our Borders, Economy, and Security") suggests, Savage's work is an answer to the first almost two years of Obama's presidency. Michael opens his book with an introduction about how Obama is taking apart the United States like a child takes apart an old watch. Being unable to put the watch back together, Obama finds another watch and tears it apart. This is Savage's analogy of what Obama is doing to this country, whether intentionally or not.
Michael Savage spends quite a few pages going over Obama's Marxist-Leninist past. Much of the information he achieves on Obama is from Obama's own books: Dreams From my Father (an autobiography) and Audacity of Hope. I have not read either of these books, but Savage claims he has read them. If one is to take Savage on his word, the information Obama himself provides is quite disturbing. Obama, as far as anyone knows, was born in Hawaii, a very fringe state of the United States with a liberal slant by all counts. However, Obama and his family moved around to different areas of the world, such as Indonesia. Obama eventually moved to mainland U.S. and graduated from Harvard. During his college years, Obama was friends with a rich Arabic student. He allegedly enjoyed many luxuries while friends with him. However, they parted ways and Obama didn't have as easy of a life from there, living in a far less luxurious lifestyle from there. This, it turns out, is a major influence to his anti-capitalistic beliefs of the rich taking from the poor. He traveled to Chicago to become an active ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) member. He would eventually become a senator for Illinois. Obama would soon ascend to become the 44th president of the United States of America.
Michael Savage spends the rest of the book explaining the very issues threatening our country's well-being. As is the theme of the book, Savage provides information and personal insight to how Obama is either letting the country deteriorate through misguided policy or even intentionally trying to promote a socialist revolution. Savage, making the book more like his show, also talks about his own life during childhood and in the present to make connections to the issues confronting America. Savage's ego comes out during his book, like when he references his previous book ("Liberalism Is a Mental Disorder") as "my bestselling book". He also comes along as an arrogant know-it-all at certain points by explaining it is he alone who is pointing out the obvious. However, unlike the liberals he denounces, Savage actually cites sources for his "baseless" accusations. His style may be egotistical and linguistically aggressive, but Michael is like a caring uncle who has been around the block a few times, has faced discrimination without help, has scientific degrees which has trained him to use logic to draw conclusions, and ultimately cares deeply about the American way and how to preserve it.
Overall, I would say I enjoyed reading Michael Savage's book. I did get myself lost on the "Nightmare On Wall Street" chapter, but I think my attention span for reading massive amounts of information has gone up since. This book provides a great analysis on Obama and the state of America at large. Savage has explained on his show that this book was meant for the November 2010 mid-term elections and is here for the upcoming 2012 presidential election. This book provides a good starting point to understanding the gravity of the situation the American people face. Looking past Savage's intimidating style, he ultimately cares about what is happening in the United States and supports all who want to promote individual rights and responsibility.
I would score this book as four-and-a-half stars out of five.
- Forsaken Eagle
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