Bill of Wrongs: The Executive Branch's Assault on America's Fundamental Rights

Bill of Wrongs: The Executive Branch's Assault on America's Fundamental Rights, Molly Ivins and Lou Dubose, Random House, 2007

Many years ago, Ivins promised a friend that she would give a speech per month, for free, in some small town in America, in defense of free speech. This book, which turned out to be her last book, was going to celebrate those common people who decided to stand up and be counted. Watching what has happened to the Bill of Rights, America's Supreme Law of the Land, due to the "War on Terror," the book's focus changed.

Jeff and Nicole Rank (she works for FEMA) were arrested on the grounds of the West Virginia state capital and thrown in jail, while local, state and capital police discussed who had jurisdiction over them. They were released, and just before their trial was to start, the city of Charleston dropped all charges. Their crime was to wear anti-Bush t-shirts to a Bush campaign rally to which they had gotten legitimate tickets.

Vice President Cheney was working a crowd in a Colorado shopping mall. Steve Howards walked up to him, told Cheney that he thought Cheney's Iraq policy was reprehensible, and walked away. For that, he was handcuffed in front of his young son, and charged with assaulting Cheney. The charges were later dropped.

The authors also look inside the Dover, Pennsylvania school board, where religious fundamentalists attempted to introduce "intelligent design" into the biology curriculum. After a long trial, and a judicial ruling strongly in favor of evolution, the fundamentalists were voted out of office in the next election. Also included is the story of the four librarians from Connecticut, who refused to comply with a National Security Letter, demanding records on use of a public library computer on a certain day.

This is a gem of a book. It does a fine job showing the size of the holes that the "war on terror" has put in the Bill of Rights, and it is also a very easy read. It is very highly recommended.

Shrub: The Short But Happy Political Life of George W. Bush

Shrub: The Short but Happy Political Life of George W. Bush, Molly Ivins and Lou Dubose, Random House, 2000


Bush flew F-102s in the Texas Air National Guard, in a unit whose unofficial function was to shield the sons of the rich and powerful of Texas from any chance of actually going to Vietnam, after calls were made to the commander of the unit from the office of the Speaker of the Texas Legislature. He jumped over a waiting list of 100,000 people and 150 pilots after scoring the absolute minimum on the pilot exam. Under Governor Bush, Texas has the worst air in America, leading the country in areas like cancer risk and overall toxic releases. He has a record of being friendly to business, who respond with checks containing lots of zeros. Valuable public policy, according to Bush, is that which is good for business.

While Bill Clinton and Al Gore love getting into the details of public policy, Bush is exactly the opposite, a self-described hater of meetings and briefings. Bush has been called hyperactive and lazy.

Ivins and Dubose do an excellent job at showing Bush's actual record as Governor of Texas. This book is highly recommended.The first rule in political journalism is to look at a politician's record. Ivins, the nationally syndicated columnist, and Dubose, editor of the Texas Observer, put George "Dubya" Bush under the microscope.