Blog Has Moved

OK, the blog has officially moved now to it's new location on MilitantLibertarian.org. You'll now find the blog at:

http://reviews.militantlibertarian.org

Let me know if you like the new site and how it looks. I'm adding a few new things to the way it functions, including a contact form where you can request specific things you'd like to see reviewed.

Thanks and see you at the new site!

Note: for those subscribed via RSS, if your feed URL says "feedburner.com" at the front, you've already been migrated to the new site and don't need to do anything. If yours still says "blogspot.com," you'll need to go to the new site and re-subscribe using the button link at the top-right.

Thanks everyone and Happy New Year!

Moving and Stuff

I've been very busy lately, so I've kind of slacked off on posting here. It's been a week since my last review when I originally had the goal of doing two reviews per week. Sorry about that.

The good news is that I haven't totally been neglecting the blog either. I've decided to move it to the MilitantLibertarian.org domain where it belongs, so stay tuned for the announcement of that, which will be coming soon.

The setup isn't ready yet, but I have a great layout prepared and it's coming along nicely. The RSS and other subscriptions should follow to the new location without a hitch, so no worries there.

Thanks for your patience and have a Merry Christmas!

The Iron Web

The Iron Web by Larken Rose

I have a couple of things to confess before I get into this book: I am a fan of Larken Rose's political writing and this book pisses me off.

For the first part, I believe Rose to be one of the foremost writers of anarchistic political thought today. He has a way of concisely, deliberately, and succinctly explaining facets of free range thought. He does it without flowery language nor does he do it by resorting to collegiate-level writing that few enjoy or understand.

For the second bit, the fact that he can do that and write a really great novel pisses me off. Why? Because I've tried to write fiction. Many times. It's a lot harder than you'd think. Larken makes it look easy. Bastard.

That should tell you where I'm going with this review. The Iron Web is likely the best modern book I've read since John Ross' Unintended Consequences. The two books have a somewhat similar trail, being about the police state and emerging freedom, but they have two very different ways of expressing the idea.

The story that The Iron Web revolves around is relatively simple. A group of anarchists live in the woods of Northern Arizona. The government, of course, calls them terrorists. Soon enough, the standard Waco/Ruby Ridge scenario begins.

The story mostly revolves around three major characters:

• Jessica, a well-to-do 19-year-old innocent,


• Jason, a rookie BATFE agent, and


• Betsy, personal secretary to a Senator who is the President-elect.

The story unfolds both in the woods of Arizona and in the office of a United States Senator. The two worlds are very different, the goings-on are related, but the perspectives are mostly at odds.

The Iron Web is an excellent read and well worth the time. It will enlighten and entertain any libertarian, anarchist, or Glenn Beck wannabe. Neo-cons probably won't like it and Obamabots will hate it.

I highly recommend this book, which you can get from the author at this link.

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/0

Climate Money

Originally posted on Aaron's Environmental Corner

I’ve now read all three of Joanne Nova’s booklets. This is the second of the three, as I reviewed The Skeptics Handbook a couple of weeks ago.

This book, Climate Money, is a sort of addendum to Skeptics as it moves from the science to the politics. It is primarily about the “premier” body of climate alarmists (global warming advocates), the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the funding they and other governmental agencies receive to “study” climate change.

In fact, the whole book can be summed up with Nova’s singular fact:

“The U.S. Government has spent over $79 billion since 1989 on policies related to cliamte change…”

Compare that to the paltry $23 million (with an M, not a B) that Exxon-Mobil was lambasted for spending on skeptical queries in about the same time frame. For those who aren’t easily able to grasp millions and billions, that means the evil oil company spent 0.00029% of what government did to combat what the global warming scientists were saying.

Let’s say you’re looking for a job. You just graduated from the university, you’ve got $90,000 in student loan debts, and you have a bright, shiny, spankin’ new Ph. D. to use to get a job. Your field is, say, physics as it applies to climatology. You start looking.

You can choose to work for the short-term, short-lived $23 million in funding that Big Oil is promising or you can work for the global warming lovers in various government agencies and get a piece of that $79,000 million they have.

Hmm…

Further, if you choose the global warming train, you get to write papers that, so long as they agree with the conformist (AGW) viewpoint, will have only a modicum of criticism from peers. Most of the auditing, in fact, will be left to volunteers who will come from great organizations like Greenpeace and ACORN. You know, those groups with the stellar reputations for honesty and good will.

Continuing through Nova’s book, you’ll find that she discusses the infamous “hockey stick graphs” that have been thoroughly debunked, she shows the “weather stations” that collect vital “warming data” which have been placed by air conditioners, over pavement, or on top of buildings.

Then she gets into the real nuts and bolts of climate alarmism and CO2 spewing: carbon trading schemes.

This is where the bankers, business men, and Wall Street types “go green.” By that, we don’t mean they become ecologically aware either. They literally see green in these markets. Which is why, suddenly, these are all the rage amongst governments pushing to pass the latest and greatest way to screw all of us while pretending it’s to save the planet.

Overall, Nova’s work is awesome and this book in particular is of real interest to those who also follow politics. It’s coverage of the political side, coupled with the money-grabbing end of things really pulls together the entire global warming alarmists’ game. It exposes what is really going on so the rest of us can see it clearly.

Plus, it’s quite timely what with Climategate and the coming talks in Copenhagen.

Download the book for free from Joanne’s website by clicking here. It’s 19 pages long in PDF format.

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/0

Molon Labe

Molon Labe by Boston T. Party

First off, it must be said that this is Boston's first attempt at fiction. I should also note that Boston is a good friend of mine. That said, I found this novel to be compelling, very interesting, but also flawed.

The book is about a Free State Project centered in Wyoming. Boston is primarily a non-fiction writer and this shows in the amount of data and information contained in this book and its story line. The premise is awesome and the book, while it could use some editing, is well written. The plot is good and keeps you interested as well - the real pull coming from the main character's continual outsmarting of the feds. The greatest flaw in this book is the assumption that thousands of libertarian-minded people will be willing to work together for a short time in order for the plan (the plot) to succeed. Not very realistic. :)

While this book has a few problems, it's well worth reading. It's a great idea, gives great information on the plans for a Free State West (which Boston is working on for Wyoming and which I am actively participating in), and a realistic process and timeline for doing so. I have yet to read a book from Boston T. Party that I can't recommend to others.

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/0