Monday, September 30, 2013

Shaping Our Nation By Michael Barone

As Congress clashes over immigration reform, New York Times bestselling author Michael Barone reveals the power and lasting influence of migrations on American history, politics, and culture.

SHAPING OUR
NATION
How Surges of Migration Transformed America and Its Politics
 
 
BY MICHAEL BARONE

New York Times bestselling history writer Michael Barone is an authority on the demographic patterns and details that explain our country from the inside out. In SHAPING OUR NATION: How Surges of Migration Transformed America and Its Politics, he turns his attention to a unique facet of U.S. history, exploring how dramatic waves of migration have sculpted our political, economic, and cultural landscape.

If you could be transported back in time 400 years, you would find most of the concentrations of population - China, India, the Muslim world, Western Europe, and Russia - very familiar. But the North America of 1600 looked vastly different from today. Today America represents 5% of the world's population, 25% of its economic production, and 50% of its military capacity. By shedding light on mass movements of people to and within the U.S. over the last few centuries, SHAPING OUR NATION tells the fascinating story of the rise of American people and power.

With immigration reform in the news and on the horizon, SHAPING OUR NATION is a timely and important primer on how the U.S. came to be populated. Multiculturalism in this country is nothing new - from its colonial beginnings, America has been diverse and unpredictable, a nation in flux, shaped by people moving from one place to another, pursuing dreams and escaping nightmares. Our ability to deal with these changes, century after century, is a testament to the power of our Constitution and democracy.

Much of the fabric of modern American politics and culture can be traced back to these important surges of migration, many of which were neither predicted at the time nor fully understood until now. Barone begins with the Scots-Irish migration in the 1760s, which set the template for centuries to come: a seemingly spontaneous mass movement, motivated by a desire to create a community in which people could live and thrive as they wanted. In the comprehensive and surprising history that follows, Barone reveals fascinating details such as:

  • In the early nineteenth century, two migrations - Yankees moving westward and plantation slavery expanding from the coast - put Northerners and Southerners in competition for control of the country's interior, leading to the culture clash that would become the Civil War.
  • The Irish migration to the U.S., after the 1845 potato blight, was the first surge to end in cities rather than the countryside. As Irish Catholics populated places like New York, Boston, and Philadelphia, their presence came to characterize the politics and pop culture of urban America - effects of which are still felt today.
  • The opening of the Ellis Island immigration station in 1892 was followed by a vast and unanticipated surge of migration from Eastern and Southern Europe which was only stopped by the outbreak of World War I in 1914 and by restrictive immigration laws in the 1920s.
  • German and Scandinavian migration to Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Dakotas resulted in a distinctive politics that still exists today - this area has been the most pacifist and isolationist part of the nation for more than a century.
  • Despite the fervor surrounding border patrols, immigration from Latin America to the U.S. has actually plummeted since the early 2000s.
Drawing on his vast knowledge of American politics and demographics, Barone investigates our constantly churning population, and the shifts and surges that have brought us to today. SHAPING OUR NATION paints a rich portrait of a country skilled at absorbing diversity and accommodating population shifts, and provides a complex and vital analysis of America's past, present, and future.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: MICHAEL BARONE is a senior political analyst for the Washington Examiner and author of the New York Times bestseller Our First Revolution and Hard America, Soft America. A resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, he is also a Fox News Channel contributor and coauthor of The Almanac of American Politics. His column is published Wednesdays and Sundays. He blogs regularly for the Examiner's Beltway Confidential site.

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Writing from Left to Right By Michael Novak

The Political Transformation
of Michael Novak
How a Prominent Philosopher Made the Move from Liberal to Conservative

Michael Novak, the highly acclaimed author of The Spirit of Democratic Capitalism and Business as a Calling offers a memoir of how he changed his mind over the years and moved from embracing a liberal worldview to a conservative one.

Writing from Left to Right presents an intriguing look at how Mr. Novak, an early left-leaning liberal, developed his political views over the course of major events in U.S. history. Finding himself in the middle of many crucial events of his time - Vatican II, war-torn Vietnam, the student riots of the '60s, the Reagan revolution, the collapse of the Berlin Wall - this lifelong Democrat began supporting many Republican candidates. Novak recalls spending fascinating days with inspiring leaders like Sargent Shriver, Bobby Kennedy, George McGovern, Jack Kemp, Vaclav Havel, Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, and Pope John Paul II, who helped shape - and reshape - his political views.

In his extraordinary new memoir, Mr. Novak shares with us:

  • his days in Vietnam covering the 1967 election;
  • his meeting with Bobby Kennedy;
  • his days working with George McGovern;
  • insights on the election of 1976, the Carter years, and Ronald Reagan;
  • his meetings with Lady Thatcher;
  • his dinner with the Holy Father at the Vatican; and more...
"At eighty, I look back over the events I have witnessed, and I revisit the lessons I learned the hard way," recalls Novak. "Events and facts forced me to change my mind about the ideas with which my education imbued me."

Writing from Left to Right is not only a thought-provoking memoir; it is an insider's look into the political movements that have influenced American history in the last part of the twentieth century and the moral compass that guided them.

Charles Murray says, "Michael Novak [is] a theologian and public intellectual whose books have influenced countless lives, including mine." Newt Gingrich affirms: "Anyone interested in the moral, personal, and intellectual journal of the last half century should read this memoir of the most important theologically inspired citizen I have ever worked with."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Michael Novak is one of the world's most influential living social philosophers. Since the 1960s, he has played a prominent role in American political life, writing on everything from the ethics of the free market and welfare reform to the faith of the Founding Fathers. He has taught at Harvard and Stanford, and held chairs at Syracuse, Notre Dame, and the American Enterprise Institute, a leading international think tank. In 1994 Novak received the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

An Inconsistent Truth


The Movie They Don't Want You to See

Indoctrination of our youth on the issue of global warming is coming to an end if filmmaker Phil Valentine has anything to say about it. His award-winning documentary, An Inconsistent Truth, calls out Al Gore on the lies and deception that have dominated the discussion since the release of An Inconvenient Truth in 2006 and Valentine is on a crusade to educate the world about the facts.  Valentine's film not only rights the wrongs of Gore's film; it explores the culture that drives the global warming movement as well as its motivations.

Since Gore's movie came out, many have been convinced that the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has unanimously endorsed the theory of anthropogenic global warming.  Nothing could be farther from the truth.  As An Inconsistent Truth demonstrates, the climate has been getting warmer and cooler all by itself for millions of years. The resources Valentine has amassed is astounding; he interviews several renowned scientists including a lead author of the IPCC.  They don't believe in manmade global warming.  In fact, they understand that natural causes are at play and believe that global warming alarmists, motivated by money, are trying to create hysteria in the world.

"It's all about guilt," Valentine says.  "If they can convince people they're guilty of destroying the planet, they can get them to open up their wallets."  Valentine lays waste to Gore's contention that CO2 is a pollutant and is destroying the planet.  He also nails Gore for his blatant hypocrisy (his lavish lifestyle is well known to the public as he jets around the world and inhabits many extravagant properties), dogging him for an interview at his Nashville mansion and even showing up at one of his book signings.


An Inconsistent Truth is not some boring slideshow presentation like Gore's movie.  It's an informative and sometimes humorous look at the issue of climate change.  In Valentine's movie, we learn:

  • what happened to the melting Arctic sea ice;
  • that Alaska is in a decade-long cool-down;
  • that global warming stopped 16 years ago;
  • that Antarctic ice is growing dramatically;
  • that tree-rings prove climate was warmer in Roman and Medieval times than it is now;
  • the truth about "green jobs;"
  • that polar bears are not dying off;
  • that Earth may be headed into another "Little Ice Age;" and 
  • the world is not about to come to an end because of the activities of mankind. 
In its first two weeks in theaters, An Inconsistent Truth was the top-grossing movie per screen in the country. In February of 2012, the movie took second place for Best Documentary at the Appalachian Film Festival. The film went on to win the Excellence in Filmmaking Award at the Anthem Film Festival and Best Documentary at the Nevada Film Festival. The movie is now available on DVD at AnInconsistentTruth.com.

BREAKING NEWS: A leaked copy of the world's most authoritative climate study reveals scientific forecasts of imminent doom were drastically wrong. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) - the ultimate watchdog whose massive, six-yearly 'assessments' are accepted by environmentalists, politicians and experts as the gospel of climate science - released its report yesterday. They are cited worldwide to justify swinging fossil fuel taxes and subsidies for 'renewable' energy. Yet the leaked report makes the extraordinary concession that over the past 15 years, recorded world temperatures have increased at only a quarter of the rate of IPCC claimed when it published its last assessment in 2007. [more...]

ABOUT THE PRODUCER/WRITER/HOST of An Inconsistent Truth: Phil Valentine is the host of the award-winning, nationally syndicated radio talk show, The Phil Valentine Show, which is heard in over 110 markets across the United States. He has been named by Talkers Magazine as one of the Heavy Hundred: The 100 Most Important Radio Talk Show Hosts in America. He is the author of several books including, The Conservative's Handbook, Tax Revolt, and Right from the Heart: The ABCs of Reality in America.  

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Book Tour Planning 101

By

Excellent article for authors who are proactive in their careers and in promoting their own books!

Here are a few things to consider as you begin to think about planning a tour that will best fit your needs.  [more...]

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Sell Your Business for More Than It's Worth By Michelle Seiler-Tucker


Learn All the Secrets to Building a Business
...and Selling it for its Optimal Value

Have you ever wondered why some businesses thrive when others take a nosedive? Or why some entrepreneurs are suc­cessful when others are not? Why do some businesses sell for maximum value, other businesses sell for pennies on the dollar, and some businesses do not sell at all?

In her award-winning, best-selling #1 business book on Amazon.com, Sell Your Business for More Than It's WorthMichelle Seiler-Tucker challenges business owners: "Give me thirty minutes and I will identify what's wrong with your business and show you how to fix it and sell it for more than it's worth!" Michelle's groundbreaking method defines the big mistakes entrepreneurs make and gets their business sold! In her new book, Michelle will show you:
  • what will make your business sell for the maximum value in the quickest amount of time;
  • whether or not your industry is desirable to buyers;
  • that the more years in business, the greater the return;
  • that customers are the fuel in your business;
  • whether your business is based on brand or location loyalty;
  • how not to lose huge profits in the sale of your business; and
  • how to interview, educate and qualify buyers... and much more...
Sell Your Business for More Than It's Worth addresses the vital issues that add value to your business as well as increase the sales price potential of your business. This dynamic book will define industries that are desirable to buyers and it will open your eyes so you may dis­cover if your industry is thriving or dying and what you can do about it. This must-read book will provide valuable tips on creating congruent profit centers and diversifying your product/client mix. And you will learn how to build brand loyalty versus location loyalty.

Most importantly, Sell Your Business for More Than It's Worth is a blueprint for anyone who wants to increase market share, become more profitable, and for anyone who wants to sell their business for top dollar. This extraordinary book will demonstrate how to increase profits, plan your exit strategy, and sell your business for maximum value in the quickest time possible in an easy to understand step-by-step approach.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Michelle Seiler-Tucker has had an amazing entrepreneurial career. She has owned and operated eight successful businesses. Michelle is founding partner of the Capital Business Solutions Franchise, President of Capital Business Solutions, Better Business Brokers, The Business Doctors and Advanced Medical Rehab. She is the leading authority on buying, selling and improving businesses, as well as increasing a business's revenue streams. Michelle has sold hundreds of franchises and businesses and has helped buyers from all walks of life to live the American dream, create financial freedom and obtain a better quality of life.