Before your Mom or anyone else you know votes, they really should read one, two, or all of these books. The books are well-researched and intelligently written, they're neither shrill nor unjustifiably alarmist, most are widely available, and most are not particularly partisan. Reading just one book (or even just one chapter) is all it will take to change many voters' minds; reading two or more of these books should do the job for almost any voter. There's enough time before the election for a little good reading to make a big difference. So go for it; make a difference!



"CRUEL AND UNUSUAL: BUSH/CHENEY'S NEW WORLD ORDER"

by Mark Crispin Miller, author of "The Bush Dyslexicon: Observations on a National Disorder" and "Boxed In: The Culture of TV" and a professor of media studies at New York University.

[Miller's book is a must-read--especially Chapter 6, "The Clear and Present Danger," which explains the extreme right's "Christian Reconstructionist" agenda (which seeks to establish a brutual pseudo-"Christian" theocracy in the U.S.), and shows how supportive many Republican leaders are of this agenda.]

"WEAPONS OF MASS DECEPTION: THE USES OF PROPAGANDA IN BUSH'S WAR ON IRAQ"

by Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber, authors of "Mad Cow U.S.A" and "Toxic Sludge is Good for You!" Stauber is the founder and director of the Center for Media & Democracy, whose website is www.PRwatch.org

"WORSE THAN WATERGATE: THE SECRET PRESIDENCY OF GEORGE W. BUSH"

by John W. Dean, author of "Blind Ambition: The White House Years" and a former counsel to President Richard Nixon.

"BUSH ON THE COUCH: INSIDE THE MIND OF THE PRESIDENT"

by Justin A. Frank, M.D., a clinical professor in the Department of Psychiatry at George Washington University Medical Center and a former president of the Greater Washington Chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility.

"AMERICAN DYNASTY: ARISTOCRACY, FORTUNE, AND THE POLITICS OF DECEIT IN THE HOUSE OF BUSH"

by Kevin Phillips, author of "Wealth and Democracy" and a former White House Strategist.

"THE BEST DEMOCRACY MONEY CAN BUY: THE TRUTH ABOUT CORPORATE CONS, GLOBALIZATION, AND HIGH-FINANCE FRAUDSTERS"

by Greg Palast, an investigative journalist for the BBC with a background in energy policy and regulation.

"THE PARTY'S OVER: OIL, WAR AND THE FATE OF INDUSTRIAL SOCIETIES"

by Richard Heinberg, member of the core faculty at New College of California and publisher of the monthly online newsletter "Museletter" at www.Museletter.com

"THE NEW PEARL HARBOR: DISTURBING QUESTIONS ABOUT THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION AND 9/11"

by David Ray Griffin, Professor of Philosophy of Religion at California's Claremont School of Theology.

"BLACK BOX VOTING: BALLOT TAMPERING IN THE 21st CENTURY"

by Bev Harris (You can download this book for FREE in .pdf format from www.BlackBoxVoting.org)

...and if your Mom wonders why the TV news (and most of "mainstream media") has failed to cover the stories in these books--and what can be done to reform the U.S. media--have her read:

"THE PROBLEM OF THE MEDIA: U.S. COMMUNICATION POLITICS IN THE 21st CENTURY"

by Robert W. McChesney, a professor at the University of Illinois and co-founder of Free Press, whose website is www.MediaReform.net