Ballot for February meeting

On January 27, 2009, I sent the following e-mail:

I've narrowed our list of choices...down to 15. Sorry -- editing -- eliminating options -- is not my strong suit.


In the category of terrorism/Middle East/"the war-we're-in":

1) Stealth Jihad: How Radical Islam is Subverting America without Guns or Bombs, by Robert Spencer (328 pages; 2008)

2) Militant Islam Reaches America, by Daniel Pipes (336 pages; 2002)

3) Hog Pilots, Blue Water Grunts: The American Military in the Air, at Sea, and on the Ground, by Robert Kaplan (448 pages; 2008)

4) The Arab Predicament: Arab Political Thought and Practice since 1967, by Fouad Ajami (299 pages; 1981, with re-issues)

5) The Middle East, by Bernard Lewis (448 pages; 1996, with re-issues)

6) The Closed Circle: An Interpretation of the Arabs, by David Pryce-Jones (480 pages; 1989, with re-issues)

7) What Went Wrong?: The Clash Between Islam and Modernity in the Middle East, by Bernard Lewis (208 pages; 2001, with re-issues)


In the category of current affairs and economics..."the nominees are":

1) The 10 Big Lies About America: Combating Destructive Distortions About Our Nation, by Michael Medved (288 pages; 2008)

2) Basic Economics: A Citizen's Guide to the Economy, by Thomas Sowell (448 pages; 2000, with re-issues)

3) Applied Economics: Thinking Beyond Stage One, by Thomas Sowell (400 pages; 2004, with re-issues)

4) Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand (1200 pages; 1957, with re-issues)

5) Road to Serfdom, by F.A. Hayek (272 pages; 1944, with re-issues)

6) Capitalism and Freedom, by Milton Friedman & Rose Friedman (208 pages; 1962, with re-issues)

7) Free to Choose: A Personal Statement, by Milton Friedman and Rose Friedman (360 pages; 1980, with re-issues)


Finally, in the category of…American history and American values, there is…only one nominee (there can only be one) -- a joint effort:

The U.S. Declaration of Independence (1776); the U.S. Constitution (1787); the Bill of Rights (1789) and the other amendments to the Constitution (1795-1992; total, approx. 58 pages); the Federalist Papers (528 pages; 1787-88, with re-issues); and, possibly, the Anti-Federalist Papers, too (416 pages; coincident with the Federalist Papers)

How about…voting closes, Thursday, at noon, and how about three votes per person – first choice, second choice, and third choice, and I assign five points, three points and one point to each?

Let the games begin!