Anbody reading 'State of War'

[TayTay]

the James Risen book about 'The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration?'

Holy jumped up kerist in a side car! This is some serious, serious shit. I recommend that you run, not walk to the nearest bookstore and catch this thing while it is still 30% discounted. (Although I think it's a bestseller. I bought it today and they had to refill the pile of books.)

The chapter on the NSA spying on Americans, domestic, un-friggin-constituional spying on Americans is enough to get this bastard impeached. And there are other whole chapters of how this Admin is screwing Americans out of their civil liberties. (I might just get over my grudge against the NYTimes because of this book.)

Get it. Now. Read it. Now. If you can't afford it, give me a PM and you are on the reading list and I will send you my copy after my husband reads it. (It's only 225 pages of fairly large type. I got it today and will finish it tomorrow. Easy read. My husband is a slow reader, it will take him a week. Then it can be lent out.)

OMG, no wonder the Bushies are so mad that this stuff got out. I seriously think it might derail the Alito nomination. It is worth a filibuster to get rid of him, based on his compliance in setting up some of this stuff.

[whometense]

1. Thanks for the heads up

My boss gave me a gift card to B&N for Christmas, and I wasn't sure what to use it for. I'll go get it tomorrow.

[FreedomAngel82]

3. Another one on the list

I saw his interview on the "Today show" from crooksandliars.com and the interview was pretty good. A long with that book I want to buy the one from Howard Zinn (A People's History).

[whometense]

6. I have Zinn's book,

haven't read it all, but keep going back to it. Fascinating.

[ginnyinWI]

10. I read "A People's History" last summer

And I will add, it took me ALL summer to read--and I'm a pretty fast reader! But it was really worth it to get the other side of history--from the people's perspective. Recommended.

[kerrygoddess]

2. Will get it tomorrow

My neighbor works in a book store. I just finally read Joe Wilson's Politics of Truth over Christmas and deeply regret I did not read it when it came out.

Edited to add -

I started a Reading Room on the Dem Daily to discuss books. This sounds like a good starter! Thanks Tay Tay!

[FreedomAngel82]

4. Ah, that's another one I wanna get

Joseph Wilson's.

[YvonneCa]

7. I read Wilson's book last summer...

...interesting detail to the Plame story. Has anyone read Gary Hart's book, THE FOURTH POWER, yet? I've just started it...but it is EXCELLENT. He sets out a plan for the US going forward into the 21st century...and clarifies why this administration's path/policy is the wrong one.:patriot:

[TayTay]

12. Wow! Excellent idea.

Thanks for this. I will check in tonight. (Today got unexpectedly busy.)

And I meant what I said about lending this out. I have Joe Wilson's book and can lend that out as well. Just PM. Books are expensive and the Wilson book, for example, currently just sits on a shelf all read and everything. If you want to read it, PM and I will send it out. Books like to be read, it makes them happy. So, if money is a problem, let me know and we will work to solve it. (Hey, that sounds like a Democratic idea, don't ya think?)

[ray of light]

13. I had a traveling Zinn book that I loaned out.

I just asked people to sign the cover with their state (name if they wanted) so we could see how far the book travelled. Sadly...nobody bothered emailing me (which I had asked that they do) so I could keep track of the journey. Still...I liked the idea of the travelling democracy book.

[WildEyedLiberal]

5. I saw it at Target today

I may have to get it with my B&N employee discount and the remainders of my store credit. It looked pretty damn explosive.

[wisteria]

8. Thanks for the reminder. I had wanted to buy a copy of this one.

You make it sound like a must read-now I know I have to get a copy tomorrow.

[babylonsister]

9. Risen will be on MTP today, FWIW. Maybe Timmy will give him

some good time, though Kate O'Bierne is also on. :puke:

[ProSense]

11. Sounds good!

All the tales left to tell about what happened since 2000. The final chapters I hope are prison diaries. Hey, as long as they're telling there stories from behind bars, I'd read it and only if I don't have to pay to do it.

[TayTay]

14. This is yet another confirmation of what JK said.

And Rummy needs to go. Now. He is a disgrace to his office. So much of the power grab and all the mistakes that followed from Rummy's putting Intelligence under Pentagon control is unforgiveable. He has to go. Now!

There is a lot in this book. The neocons and Bush hating Clinton and anyone else who thought of getting Al Qaeda as a 'law enforcment' type thing. Rummy basically taking over the functions of the Intelligence gathering agencies and putting under Pentagon control. (They gather the intel, plan retribution and war based on that intel and are accountable to no one.) The neocons squashing of dissent. The NSA spying which is blatantly unlawful. All that stuff. It make you sick reading about it. But we have to know ths stuff. So that it can be fought.

[globalvillage]

15. Risen's on MTP now (replay)

EST.

[jillan]

16. I just came on to post that as well.

Recorded it earlier, just watching.
Timmy gave him a few minutes. No comment from Timmy.
Sounds like it's worth reading.

[fedupinBushcountry]

17. The big question to me is

Why in the hell did the NYT's not rele4ase all this info during the election. The author Risen said it was not his decision but the Times. his makes me sick, the American people deserved to hear this last year.

What else will we learn about what happened and when it happened that would have effected the election.

[karynnj]

19. I agree

The other thing was they didn't back Kerry when there were sources they could use. There were NYT reports at the time of the Afghan invasion that more or less made it obvious that Kerry was right whan he talked about letting BL get away. All the papers mostly quoted Kerry and Franks (lying) disputing it.

[jillan]

21. Timmy even asked him about this.

He never did give a straight answer. :(
Just kind of a 'better now than never' answer.

[kerrygoddess]

18. I started it last night...

Didn't get too far had to sleep!

[TayTay]

20. In a lot of ways, it's like a 'greatest hits' of what has gone wrong

The pages on the Downing Street memo and what that implies are worth the price of admission.

We know a lot of what is in this book, but it is nice to have it all in one place. On the other hand, this is the most maddening collection of Admin sins and deceptions that you can imagine. Risen goes through a lot of the set up to the war, the culture and organizational fear that allowed the cooked data to get through and the invasion of Iraq to go forward.

There are a lot of books out now about the war and how we got there. This one is good, timely and fairly short. It's a pretty good recap of what we know, it fills in a lot of spaces and is thoroughly disturbing. It's like watching a car wreck in slow motion.

The NYTimes should never have held this info. I got the feeling that Risen knew that this got tangled up in the Miller story and so much else during 2004 and the Times blinked on it. that is shameful. But, as he said, at least they are releasing it now. (Small compensation for the country, but there is that. So, Mrs. Lincoln, what did you think of the play?)

[ginnyinWI]

22. James Risen was on Hardball tonight

They replay that show late at night/early morning I think.

[ginnyinWI]

23. Update: Risen to appear on Charlie Rose tonight, too! n/t

[jenndar]

24. Risen was on TDS last night.

It'll be rerun this afternoon.

[jillan]

25. Risen on right now CNN n/t