Two Books in Two Months

I have recently finished two books in the last two months, Confessions of a Shopaholic and Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.

The Last Song and Scandalgate

Recently I have read two books and I recommend them both.

The Myths of Motherhood

This excerpt is taken from The Myths of Motherhood by Shari Thurer in 1994. I think it's worth reading and thinking about:

"The psychological research to date continually looks for bad outcomes from maternal employment and other-than-mother care instead of looking for bad outcomes from the lack of societal supports to mothers. In other words, the way psychologists have been framing their research questions reflects the culture's idealized myth of motherhood. So while research had failed to demonstrate the deleterious effects of day care, it has also failed to demonstrate the deleterious effects of no day care - because it did not set out to find them. The unfortunate result is that our psychological research has inadvertently contributed to the maintenance of the status quo, instead of stimulating questions about social change and help for mothers."

While this excerpt is taken from Perfect Madness: Motherhood in the Age of Anxiety by Judith Warner:

"Instead of saying, 'I feel terrible. I feel guilty,' maybe [women] can take these results and advocate for [national] family-leave policies that create more options for mothers of babies," said researcher Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, the lead author of the 2002 day-care study, as she expressed her frustration with all the hand-wringling and guilt expressed in the study's wake by working mothers. "Every other industrialized nation had done it. Why can't we?"

Let me know what you think!

Commencement Speech

This was the speech Ted Koppel of Nightline gave at the commencement exercises at Duke University. This speech is also in the book Scandalgate:Exposing America's Moral Deficit Disorder by Kenneth J. Brown.
This speech took place more than a decade ago, and it shocked the audiences then, but I think the idea is very valid still today.

"In the place of truth we have discovered facts; for moral absolutes we have substitued moral ambiguity. We now communicate with everone and say absolutely nothing. We have reconstructed the Tower of Babel and it is a television antenna, a thousand voices producing a daily parody of democracy in which everyone's opinion is afforded equal weight regardless of substance or merit....

We have actually convinced ourselves that slogans will save us. Shoot up if you must, but use a clean needle. Enjoy sex whenever and with whomever you wish, but wear a condom. No! The answer is No! Not because it isn't cool or smart or because you might end up in jail or dying in an AIDS ward, but No! because it's wrong....

In its purest form, truth is not a polite tap on the shoulder. It is a howling reproach. What Moses brought down from Mount Sinai were not the Ten Suggestions. They are commandments. Are, not were. The sheer brilliance of the Ten Commandments is that they codify in a handful of words acceptable human behavior, not just for then or now, but for all time."

Another Great Quote

Here is another great quote from Scandalgate:Exposing America's Moral Deficit Disorder by Kenneth J. Brown:

Alexis de Tocqueville was one of the most enthusiastic tourists to ever grace our shores. This perceptive French-man toured the United States in 1835, chronicling his stimulating discoveries. One of his most famous dictums appeared at first glance to be a wonderful compliment. In reality it embodied a colossal warning:

"I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and ample rivers, and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power....America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great."

Scandalgate

This is an excerpt from a book I just finished titled:

Scandalgate: Exposing America's Moral Deficit Disorder

by Kenneth J. Brown

This quote is discussing the practices of the Clinton Administration during the Monica Lewinsky scandal and I thought it is particulary true about politics in general, even still today.

"Bludgeon your opponent. Win at all costs. Truth doesn't matter. Survival does. Whatever it takes to outlast your opponent is all that matters. Winning isn't everything. It's the only thing.

Welcome to the postmodern world."

p.102

The Govenator & Nicholas Sparks

I just watched the movie Red Heat with Arnold Schwarzenegger and I truly believe the creators of this movie were Socialists. Throughout the whole movie there is an undertone of America vs. Russia. You'll have to watch the movie to see why.

Also, I just started Nicholas Sparks' latest novel, The Lucky One, and it is really interesting so far. It had a really funny beginning, so you will definitely have to check this book out. His novels always have great stories, and you never know if you are going to get a happy story or a tear-jerker. Oh, well, we will see about this one!