Green is the new red : an insider's account of a social movement under siege by Will Potter.

In his second book on the environment (after The Next Eco-Warriors), Potter warns that the U.S. government is using post-9/11 anti-terrorism resources to target environmentalists and animal right activists (in some cases for doing nothing but speaking up). After being threatened with a domestic terrorist label for leafleting, Potter turned to uncovering the "Green Scare" and details here the story of the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) and controversial protests that resulted in severe jail sentences for participants. Tracing funds from animal-exploiting corporations to Congress and the passing of the big business-friendly Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, Potter reports on an increased usage of the terrorism enhancement in court cases. Citing Freedom of Information Act sources, he reveals that the U.S. government has constructed secret prisons, or Communication Management Units (CMUs), to house suspected terrorists in conditions even more extreme than those of Supermax facilities (which house Zacarias Moussaoui and Eric Rudolph, among others). Potter warns of the crumbling of "the legal wall separating `terrorist' from `dissident' or `undesirable,'" and concludes his account with a call to action and a decry of the injustice that results in the "terrorist" label being put on those who threaten American corporate interests. Alarming.
(Apr. 16) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Read Reviews/Check Availability/Request Hold

The declaration of independents : how libertarian politics can fix what's wrong with America by Nick Gillespie & Matt Welch

Everywhere in America, the forces of digitization, innovation, and personalization are expanding our options and bettering the way we live. Everywhere, that is, except in our politics. There we are held hostage to an eighteenth century system, dominated by two political parties whose ever-more-polarized rhetorical positions mask a mutual interest in maintaining a stranglehold on power. The Declaration of Independents is a compelling and extremely entertaining manifesto on behalf of a system better suited to the future--one structured by the essential libertarian principles of free minds and free markets. Gillespie and Welch profile libertarian innovators, identify the villains propping up the ancien regime, and take aim at do-something government policies that hurt most of those they claim to protect. Their vision will resonate with a wide swath of frustrated citizens and young voters, born after the Cold War's end, to whom old tribal allegiances, prejudices, and hang-ups about everything from hearing a foreign language on the street to gay marriage to drug use simply do not make sense. (Publisher's description)

Check Availability/Read Reviews/Place Hold

Why conservatives tell stories and liberals don't : rhetoric, faith, and vision on the American right by David M. Ricci.

Ricci (political science and American studies, Hebrew U., Jerusalem) teases out the script that political conservatives in the US have used to get or remain in power despite the devastation their actions have caused across the country and the world. He is particularly interested in how the pieces fit together into a seamless whole. He covers rhetorical ploys: rejections, irrefutables, and promotions; articles of faith: enemies, enchantments, and stories; and the reality check of a tale against tales. Liberals cannot construct an alternative, he says, because they think too much, but can counter the conservative tale.

Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Check Availability/Read Reviews/Place Hold