I think we all know that this is a rough time for the printed media. The platform seems to dying, many believe that the abject partisan bias of the magazines and newspapers are to blame. What is truly amazing is that the platform has always been so, from tory and whig papers of the founding to the leftist tabloids of today, bias is the one thing we can truly see has always been there, regardless of the media’s attempts to deny the obvious.

Alan Brinkley has written a biography of the founder of the Time media empire, Henry Luce. Luce was nothing if not a conservative. Born in China to American missionary parents, young Harry was weaned on a love for China and the spreading of the American way of life, if not the religious zeal of his parents. Luce went out in the world to succeed, which he most certainly accomplished. Teaming with a classmate, he worked for years as a reporter and columnist, but they wanted to create something new and different. A magazine that informed the majority of Americans, many of who were not the target of the magazines and papers then in print was the aim of the two men. They created Time Magazine and the rest was history…

Luce was a larger than life figure in the print world, lacking personal charm he excelled at pomposity, commanding respect if not love and admiration. He went on to create Fortune, Sports Illustrated and Life, all magazines that have become publishing legends.

Brinkley has written a great introduction to Luce and I cannot say enough how much I enjoyed this book, which I read in one sitting on a blazing hot Sunday afternoon. The amount of work that Luce put into his empire simply boggles my mind. I feel lazy and in awe…

W. Somerset Maugham is most likely not read today by anyone outside of an English Literature course at University. I, myself cannot remember since University even a conversation about the author or his works. I do remember loving the books so much that I wanted to read this biography more that most.

Selina Hastings’ The Secret Lives of W. Somerset Maugham is a very readable and enjoyable introduction to this fine writer. She really is thorough in her research and that gives the reader a real inside view of the complexities of Maugham’s life, as he struggled to write and keep hidden his personal life from the many adoring fans that made his work best-sellers of their day.

The author lays out the works of Maugham, almost as if this were a biography of the works instead of the man. Some may take issue with the depths she describes as taking away from the need to read these works, yet I find it just the opposite. By describing the plots and details she shows the reader that these books are at once entertaining and readable, enabling for a new generation to appreciate the fine literary treasures that Maugham has left the world.

We all know Christopher Hitchens is one of the best thinking writers working today. He is a well-known atheist and a devout enemy to Mother Teresa, Pope John Paul II and Ronald Reagan, yet in his later years he has been seen as a strong supporter on the war against terror, standing against his old comrades to make a stand. What was unclear is his life story.

Mr. Hitchens has written Hitch-22, a vivid and honest recounting of his life, published and released just as he was diagnosed with cancer. The timing could not be worse for the author, coming just as he was about to launch his press tour for the book. And what a great book this is. Not since David Horowitz wrote Radical Son have I seen such a brutal assessment of an author’s own life.

Hitchens pulls no punches and reveals some stories about himself that no one would have blamed him for keeping quiet (i.e. British Public School relationships). The story of his life shows just why he is one of the best commentators working today – he does not take himself too serious in all matters. His failed relationship with his parents, his brush with the talented writers of his day and his seemingly unending disgust at Bill Clinton make this book a fun read.

Is anyone truly surprised that Obama came out for the Mosque? Furthermore, is anyone surprised that he tempered that feeling when confronted with the total unpopularness of his ideas? This man is lost.

I will admit that I listened to talk radio for years. I was addicted, could not go for a day without the fix of political talk. Yet, as I look back I now see that the fixation on talk radio was very unhealthy. The hosts and topics are there to make you mad. They live by upsetting you. They want to whip you into outrage. This is regardless of political stripe.

I listened every night to Mark Levin (who I respect so much yet cannot listen anymore, I simply have to read his writings), Hugh Hewitt (who is good when Mark Steyn guests) and Michael Savage. These men live to move the discussion into a frenzy. They tend to promote knee-jerk reactions that raise the blood pressure and frustrate the listener.They should be avoided for your own sanity, not to mention eventual happiness.

This brings me to daytime hosts. I like rush, still listen from time to time, but he never makes me upset. His show is humor filled and always filled with impish good cheer. Dennis Prager is another fine show, as is Bill Bennett’s. Yet, one must avoid Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck and Michael Graham for these are the hosts that whip up false anger. their shows are the epitome of bile inducing churn offering no real thought, just raw emotion that sets out to manipulate the listener.

Stick with music, or Adam Carolla.

I seem to remember that the Taliban in Afghanistan was the true enemy and the good war. We were told this by Democrats everyday as they opposed the disposition of Saddam Hussein. Yet, I knew and said that this was a ruse. the Democrats never want to confront evil. They cozy up to tyrants, embrace despots and hate those that do confront evil.

Here is what the enemy does to their own people:

Is this what we want to ignore?

We all know how Democrats love taxes. Some even claim that it is unpatriotic to not support taxes. Yet it comes as no surprise that these same people are the biggest tax cheats. Now John Kerry has been caught mooring his yacht in another state to avoid paying “his fair share” of taxes in his home state.

Will the people ever learn?

Have you ever noticed that the children today have no concept of freedom nor do they see that it may one day not exist? In my youth we lived under the spell of the cold war. We could see daily the victims of oppression. Our parents and grandparents fought for the freedom of others and ourselves in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. We saw the crack downs on dissidents in the Soviet Union or by the Soviet Union. We all know Solidarity and the struggles against the commies. Do our rising generations understand that freedom can be gone at any minute without a vigilant eye towards preserving the freedoms we know enjoy?

This is the basic concept in the 30 essays collected in New Threats to Freedom by Adam Bellow. Communism may not be the threat that it once was, but there are still many serious threats to our freedom. Articles deal with Press freedoms, the fairness doctrine and the co-dependence of welfare providers and the recipients of the welfare. All are covered by some of the best minds in todays society.

I must say that I found this book truly intriguing. I myself have taken a vacation from protecting freedom. I have ignored the travesty of many parts of the Patriot act. I was silent when it became clear that the press were all colluding to limit our freedom while gaining more for themselves. This book reminds me that we must continue the eternal fight against oppression, no matter what form it may take.

I know that the state and their henchmen do not much care for sunlight on their actions. The less that the public knows about their actions, the better they like it. There is nothing as troubling as the growing number of arrests of people that are filming or taping encounters of police officers.

There is no crime against this action. You do have a right to film and photograph public officials, the police are not a special group of excluded officials. The idea that they should not be subject to scrutiny goes against all our ideals as a nation. The government must be held in check by the populace.

In fact the police know that they are abusive and curt with the public. they do not offer respect to those that come in front of them. Many police officers are simply bullies that rely on a badge and the armed power of the government to subdue the people. Certain cops act as revenuers for the state, writing tickets and enforcing asinine traffic laws that make no sense in a busy community – all the while serious crime goes unanswered.

I truly believed that one bonus to Obama being in office would be a decline of race related drama. As with everything else, Obama has failed to live up to even the smallest levels of his potential. His administration is fast becoming a race nightmare – here is video of a federal official admitting that she PURPOSELY denied service to a farmer due to his race – white.