FEATURED ITEM:
	Great American Hypocrites: Toppling the Big Myths of Republican Politics

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BOOKS

Great American Hypocrites: Toppling the Big Myths of Republican Politics How does George W. Bush, "who spent his entire life wallowing in privileged, sheltered hedonism, become the swaggering…fighter-pilot warrior whose courage and masculine toughness we needed to protect us from the terrorists?" In Great American Hypocrites, Salon writer Glenn Greenwald unpeels the carefully cultivated media personas of Republicans like Bush, shows us what's underneath and describes how these personas are created in the first place. Most pertinently, Greenwald takes on the ubiquitous image of Sen. John McCain as a "truth-telling, apolitical maverick" and describes how McCain, as leader of the party that congratulates itself on its family values, divorced his first wife, pursued and married the heiress to a multimillion-dollar fortune, flip-flopped in his positions on issues like immigration and torture and now is paying obeisance to the same right-wing extremists he once briefly criticized. Small wonder he's "a natural candidate, right at home in a party led by Great American Hypocrites." Available from powells.com.

Outright Barbarous: How the Violent Language of the Right Poisons American Democracy Since Sept. 11, extremist pundits have reshaped American political life. Rather than merely arguing for or against proposals, they purposely launch vicious attacks on progressives and moderates and in the process "turn violent rhetoric into a dominant idiom for talking politics." That's the shrewd insight of political and language expert Jeffrey Feldman. He analyzes statements by some of the many Republicans with a mic, like Rush Limbaugh, James Dobson and Ann Coulter ("Liberals don't want to fight terrorism. You want there to be lots of 9/11's."). Feldman shows that while their rhetoric can be slanderous and sometimes even goofy—it's also effective. Available from The Union Shop Online.™

Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America One of the by-products of the Bush administration is a bumper sticker that reads, "I Never Thought I'd Miss Nixon." Rick Perlstein's new book makes you see why missing Nixon might not be such a good idea. This splendidly written history of America begins with the 1965 Watts uprising and ends with Nixon's landslide re-election victory in 1972. Atlantic Monthly correctly notes the breathtaking scope of Nixonland, which encompasses Woodstock and Watergate, the death of Robert Kennedy, the Tet Offensive, Jane Fonda, George Wallace and a cast of thousands more. But throughout, Perlstein never loses sight of Nixon—"a brilliant and tormented man," as he describes the president who poisoned the well of American politics as few others have. Available from powells.com.

CD

Building the Union Local In case you haven't already heard, one of the most spectacular performers of pop music in the country is one of us, and her name is Lynn Marie Smith. This Michigan AFT organizer electrifies union audiences with the best tunes from the songbook of rock classics—but sings them with new lyrics about workers and their unions. The formula works incredibly well. "Dancing in the Street" becomes "Marching in the Street," "Living la Vida Loca" is "Building the Union Local." The lyrics are catchy and the songs have long been national monuments—but what really carries the day is Smith's charm and her extraordinary gift to grab hold of this music and make it her own. They don't call her the Motown Diva for nothing. Available from the Labor Heritage Foundation.

WEBSITE

www.bluegreenalliance.org Don't miss this website. It's a snapshot of where we're headed. The Blue Green Alliance, launched in 2006, may be the new kid on the block, but the coalition already is doing a spectacular job of bringing blue-collar (and pink-collar and white-collar) workers in the union movement together with environmentalists. Browse awhile and you'll find out about the coalition's efforts to combat global warming, push for clean energy, promote fair trade that includes labor and environmental protections and reduce toxic chemicals.