Politics! discussed on October 25th

This controversial, impassioned call-to-arms for a return to the ideals that fueled the French Resistance has sold millions of copies worldwide since its publication in France in October 2010. Rejecting the dictatorship of world financial markets and defending the social values of modern democracy, 93-old Stéphane Hessel -- Resistance leader, concentration camp survivor, and former UN speechwriter -- reminds us that life and liberty must still be fought for, and urges us to reclaim those essential rights we have permitted our governments to erode since the end of World War II. Stephane Hessel was born in Germany in 1917, emigrated with his Jewish writer father and mother to France in 1924, and fought in the French Army in 1940. After being captured by German forces, he escaped from a prisoner of war camp and joined General Charles de Gaulle's Free French in London. On his clandestine return to organise the Resistance in France, he was caught, arrested, tortured and sent to concentration camps. He escaped death to work after the war on drafting the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, whose ideals he defends passionately to this day

Michele Bachmann is one of the most compelling leaders in America. But despite all the magazine covers and cable television stories, most people don't know who she really is, where she comes from, or what she believes. So she decided to tell her own story and let the reader decide. As you'll learn in this fascinating memoir, Bachmann wasn't the type of kid who started dreaming about the White House in elementary school. She grew up in Iowa and Minnesota as a typical midwestern girl, grounded by her family and her faith. She was raised to believe in the American dream: that anyone could succeed if they worked hard and took advantage of this country's boundless opportunities. She followed her dreams to college and law school, pursued a career as a federal tax attorney, started a successful business with her loving husband, raised five great kids and (over time) twenty-three foster children. By her early forties she was very happy as a full-time mom and homemaker and was a leading education reform advocate in Minnesota. Then she became what she calls "an accidental politician." The political insiders who ran Minnesota held a one-party line-Al Franken-style liberalism. Bachmann became especially concerned about a state-mandated education curriculum that stressed political correctness over academic excellence. She started making calls, writing letters, and recruiting others to act. When her state senator (an entrenched insider) refused to listen, someone had to challenge him for his seat. No one else volunteered, so Bachmann jumped in-and won. That was the start of an amazing journey from obscurity to the state senate, to the U.S. Congress, to an underdog campaign for president. Along the way her style has been consistent. She says what she means and she does it. She is the rare political figure who fights for her beliefs. She speaks from the heart, with common sense about limited government, the sanctity of life and marriage, the power of free enterprise, and the need to confront America's enemies. She also talks about putting principles above partisanship, even if that means ruffling the feathers of the Republican elite.

Every day, President Obama reads ten representative letters among the thousands he receives from citizens across the land. The letters come from people of all ages, walks of life, and political points of view. Some are heart breaking, some angry, some hopeful. Indeed, Obama reads as many letters addressed ?Dear Jackass? as ?Dear Mr. President.? Eli Saslow, a young and rising star at the Washington Post, became fascinated by the power of these letters and set out to find the stories behind them. Through the lens of ten letters to which Obama responded personally, this exceptionally relevant and poignant book explores those individual stories, taking an in-depth look at the misfortunes, needs, opinions, and, yes, anger over the current state of the country that inspired ten people to put pen to paper. Surprisingly, what also emerges from these affecting personal narratives is a story about the astounding endurance and optimism of the American people. Ten Letters is an inspiring and important book about ordi nary people and the issues they face every day?the very issues that are shaping America?s future. This is not an insider Washington book by any means, but a book for the times that tells the real American stories of today.

?You can?t say that. You?re fired.? Prize-winning Washington journalist Juan Williams was unceremoniously dismissed by NPR for speaking his mind and saying what many Americans feel?that he gets nervous when boarding airplanes with passengers dressed in Muslim garb. NPR banished the veteran journalist in an act of political correctness that ultimately sparked nationwide outrage and led to calls for Congress to end its public funding of the media organization. In Muzzled, Williams uses his very public firing as a launching pad to discuss the countless ways in which honest debate in America?from the halls of Congress and the health care town halls to the talk shows and print media?is stifled. In today?s partisan world, where media provocateurs rule the airwaves and political correctness dictates what can and cannot be said with impunity, Williams shows how the honest exchange of ideas and the search for solutions and reasonable compromise is deliberately muzzled. Only those toeing the party?s line?the screaming voices of the extremist?get airtime and dominate the discussion in politics and the media. Each side, liberal and conservative, preaches to a choir that revels in expressions of anger, ideology, conspiracies, and demonized opponents. The result is an absence of truth-telling and honest debate about the facts. Among the issues denied a full-throated discussion are racial profiling; the increased reliance on religious beliefs in debating American values and legislation; the nuances of an immigration policym gone awry; why abortion is promoted as a hot button wedge issue to incite the pary faithful and drive donations; the uneasy balance between individual freedom and our desire for security of against terrorism; and much more. A fierce, fresh look at the critical importance of an open airing of controversial issues, Muzzled is a hard hitting critique of the topics and concerns we can?t talk about without suffering retaliation at the hands of the politically correct police. Only by bringing such hot button issues into the light of day can we hope to grapple with them, and exercise our cherished, hard-won right of free speech.